Drift's Samurai Showdown

by John Sazaklis

  “This is Officer Wong,” the man whispers into a walkie-talkie. “I need to report a serious break-in and a lot of damage.”

  Foxtrot’s audio receptors perk up. He turns toward the sound and spies the human.

  “Perfect,” Foxtrot says, whipping out his blaster. “Some target practice for ol’ Trigger-Happy!”

  The Decepticon takes aim, but Drift blocks his shot.

  “You lack finesse, Foxtrot,” Drift says. “I will handle this!”

  In a flash, Drift unsheathes his sword and spins gracefully through the air. With a blur of movement, his blade slices and dices the ceiling above them. Then he lands without even making a sound.

  A moment later, a large portion of the hallway collapses, leaving a pile of debris that seemingly crushes the security guard.

  THUD!

  “Wow! This samurai has got some style,” Forager exclaims. “These fleshbags don’t stand a chance against that can opener of his!”

  Foxtrot snarls and holsters his blaster.

  Meanwhile, on the other side of the rubble, a perfectly unharmed and frightened Officer Wong hightails it to his police cruiser and speeds away.

  With their stashed Energon in tow, the bots hustle out the exit and shift into vehicle mode. Satisfied that their heist is complete, they blaze a trail back to the scrapyard.

  Upon their return, the Decepticons dump their loot near the captives. Their fluids are pumping from the caper, and they finally begin to let down their guard around Drift.

  Reminiscing about their old days running the space ways together, Forager reenacts a particularly crazed fight. He waves his arms and fires his blaster all around.

  “Then I tried to grease that gearhead’s wheels, but he threatened to blow my gasket!” Forager says, finishing his story.

  The crook laughs so hard he falls backward. His exhaust pipe starts to sputter and a noxious gas fills the air.

  “Filth!” gasps Stilts, covering his beak. “That went right in my vents!”

  Forager laughs even harder, and even Foxtrot manages to break a smile.

  “Ah yes,” says Drift, standing and drawing several shuriken from his waist. “I seem to remember bailing your bumper out using… these!”

  He slings the throwing stars across the scrapyard, whizzing them through the bars of the jail.

  The sharp, spinning blades barely avoid hitting Denny, Russell, and the Mini-Cons, all of whom duck and recoil in fear.

  The Ronin laugh uproariously and continue telling old battle tales as they wander off down another corridor.

  Once the Decepticons are out of sight, Russell checks out something tied to one of the shuriken.

  It is a note that reads: Go now. Release the others.

  Russell shows the note to his fellow captives, a slow smile dawning on each of their faces.

  Drift is not a traitor after all!

  Slipstream checks the bars near where the shuriken entered and realizes that his master had discreetly sliced through the cage door, opening a space large enough for everyone to climb out!

  Quickly and quietly, the five escapees slink toward the command center.

  Upon reaching the control console, Fixit rapidly types away, and the stasis pods containing Bumblebee, Strongarm, Sideswipe, and Grimlock open up.

  WHOOSH!

  Bumblebee pops up and shakes the stasis freeze from his optics.

  “Come on, team,” he says, rallying the bots. “It’s time to catch that Drift!”

  Chapter 10

  “Bumblebee, NO!” Russell shouts as the Autobot leader shifts into vehicle mode. “It’s not what you think! Drift isn’t a bad guy!”

  “He could have fooled me,” Bumblebee responds. “He led us straight into an ambush.”

  “That wasn’t Drift,” Russell explains. “One of the Decepticons can make holograms. Drift was a part of their gang a long time ago, but he quit when they were going to hurt a bunch of people. Jetstorm and I helped Drift infiltrate them to rescue you!”

  Bumblebee considers this new information.

  “It looks like I might owe Drift an apology if we make it out of this,” Bumblebee says. “But right now we need to act before their scanners notice we’re out of stasis. Let’s go help our teammate, Autobots!”

  Team Bee tears through the scrapyard and quickly come face-to-face with the Ronin outside the diner. Without pause, they all leap into battle!

  Grimlock barrels his massive bulk at Stilts, but the nimble bot immediately switches into his plane mode and flies out of reach. He fires at the Dinobot from up high. CHOOM!

  Strongarm discharges her blaster at Forager, who scurries under a pile of old cars and tunnels out of reach.

  “You ain’t putting me back in that cell, law-bot!” Forager screams.

  Sideswipe sets his sights on Foxtrot, the most deceptive of the Ronin.

  The young Autobot flips through the air toward his target—only to smash right through a hologram instead! While Sideswipe regains his bearings, the real Foxtrot appears and delivers a painful blow.

  “Flashy but not too bright,” the Decepticon says.

  As the rest of the team struggles against the Decepticons, Bumblebee dashes straight toward Drift. The samurai instinctively draws his sword.

  “This is not as it appears, Bumblebee!” Drift shouts over the din of crashing metal. “I am not a traitor.”

  Bumblebee grinds to a halt right in front of the samurai-bot.

  “I know, and I’m sorry for not trusting you earlier. Your past is behind you. But right now, we have a tough fight ahead of us, and we need to work together.”

  Bumblebee and Drift exchange curt nods. As Bee joins Sideswipe’s fight against Foxtrot, Drift catches up with Grimlock.

  The frustrated Dinobot is hurling cars up in the air at Stilts, with little success.

  “Grimlock, catch!” Drift yells to the Dinobot, tossing him a small object.

  Grimlock looks at the device in his hand. “This tiny thing?” he exclaims. “I was having better luck with the cars.”

  “Trust me,” Drift says.

  The Dinobot winds his arm back and throws the device at the flying Ronin.

  “One lob-ball special, coming up!” he announces.

  Upon impact, the capsule becomes an expanding net like the one Stilts used to capture Slipstream and Denny.

  The net tangles the Decepticon’s wings and brings him down in a crash landing.

  SMASH!

  “Let me out of here! I hate tight spaces!” Stilts cries, twisting and turning on the ground.

  “Better get used to it,” Grim tells him. “Those stasis pods aren’t exactly roomy!”

  With Stilts dispatched, Drift and Grimlock sprint over to find Strongarm struggling with Forager, who has tunneled deep into a heap of junked cars. Every time Strongarm gets close, Forager fires his blaster left and right, covering the area.

  Drift scans the area and sees the hydraulic lift machine.

  “Strongarm, use that construction vehicle to remove his advantage!” Drift instructs her.

  Strongarm, cautious to have confidence in Drift’s loyalty, leaps behind the wheel of the large lift.

  Pulling one lever, Strongarm swings the machine around and knocks over most of the stacked cars, exposing Forager’s hiding spot. Then Strongarm flips on the powerful magnetic field, which catches Forager and drags the kicking and screaming Ronin high off the ground.

  CLANG!

  “Lemme go! Lemme go!” Forager yips. “I don’t like heights!”

  “Hang in there,” Strongarm says smugly.

  She joins Drift and Grimlock, and the trio race toward the fight against Foxtrot.

  When they turn the corner, they find that Bumblebee and Sideswipe are not fighting the single remaining Ronin—they’re tussling with over fifty Foxtrots!

  “I know most of them are holograms, but the real Ronin keeps attacking us while we’re distracted!” Sideswipe tells Drift, bringing him up to speed.


  Drift thinks for a moment.

  “Everybot stay calm and close your optics,” Drift says.

  “I thought you were on our side! Are you trying to get us blasted?” Strongarm asks.

  “Do what Drift says, cadet!” Bumblebee orders. “Trust your instincts!”

  The five Autobots stand totally silent, shoulder-to-shoulder and back-to-back. After a nanocycle of concentration, one noise breaks through the din of holographic humming: the clinking of Foxtrot unlatching his sidearm!

  “There!” the bots all shout in unison.

  Bumblebee, Strongarm, and Sideswipe point their plasma cannons and fire. The real Foxtrot takes three simultaneous hits and staggers back.

  Projection discs crunch underfoot as Grimlock tramples across the scrapyard, extinguishing holograms left and right.

  Foxtrot tries to make a break for it, but Drift gets a running start and tackles him to the ground.

  “Ronin take care of their own,” Drift says. “And you’ve been outfoxed.”

  He delivers a wallop of a punch right to Foxtrot’s snout, laying him out flat!

  POW!

  Grimlock brings one massive foot down on the Ronin’s tail, preventing him from crawling away.

  “You may have defeated the Ronin, Deadlock,” Foxtrot whispers, struggling under the Dinobot’s weight. “But you can never change who you really are.”

  “There is no Deadlock, only Drift now,” the reformed Autobot says.

  “And Drift was never wicked like you to begin with,” Bumblebee adds.

  The Autobot leader turns toward Drift and reaches out his hand. “I apologize, Drift. I should have trusted you.”

  “Your apology is not necessary, Bumblebee,” Drift replies, shaking his hand. “I did not trust you all with my past, and it became a danger to us. It is not in my nature to be so… open… but I vow to do better.”

  The Autobots help carry the rest of the bad bots back to the stasis pods, where Russell, Denny, and the Mini-Cons are waiting.

  Drift bows before Slipstream and Jetstorm.

  “I humbly seek your forgiveness, students,” he says.

  Jetstorm and Slipstream look at each other, unsure of how to respond. They bow in return.

  “We humbly grant it, master,” the Mini-Cons reply in unison.

  “Even though I am your master, I am still learning as well,” Drift says quietly. “Today I have learned the virtue of trust, and that running from your past will only leave you to confront it alone and unprepared.”

  Grimlock surprises Drift with a big Dinobot embrace.

  “Welcome back!” he cheers.

  “It is also not in my nature… to be so… close,” grunts Drift.

  The Autobots laugh and congratulate one another on another mission accomplished.

  “I guess we do make a great team after all,” Bumblebee says to Drift.

  “And you make a great leader, Bumblebee,” Drift replies. He bows to the yellow Autobot commander.

  Bumblebee returns the gesture.

  Drift helps his teammates load Foxtrot, Forager, and Stilts into stasis. As the pods slide shut, locking away the Ronin criminals, Drift can feel his past as Deadlock disappear with them.

  He is no longer a Decepticon, a masterless samurai, or a Ronin fighting only for himself. He is an Autobot, fighting for Earth… and for his new friends!

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  Chapter 1

  “Stop in your tracks, Decepticon!” shouts Bumblebee. “You’re under arrest!”

  The Autobot leader blasts his plasma cannon. The rapidly moving target leaps from side to side then somersaults over the Cybertronian lieutenant, landing behind him. The agile adversary shoves Bumblebee to the ground.

  “Is that the best you got, law-bot?” taunts a familiar voice.

  It is Bumblebee’s teammate: the youthful, energetic, and rebellious Sideswipe.

  He scowls at Bumblebee and yells, “You’re scrap metal!”

  Sideswipe then smiles, extends his arm, and helps his sparring partner off the ground.

  “Pretty impressive,” Bumblebee says. “You’ve got some nice moves, but the tough-bot attitude might be a bit over the top, don’t you think?”

  The young Autobot laughs. “You got to be a tough-bot if you want to intimidate those Decepticons, Bee.”

  “Thanks for the advice,” Bumblebee replies. “Who’s next?”

  The Autobot leader scans the scrapyard that currently serves as their headquarters and training area.

  Located on the outskirts of Crown City on planet Earth, the scrapyard belongs to a pair of humans: Denny Clay and his son, Russell. The Clays have befriended Bumblebee and his robot team and sometimes help them on their mission to track down and capture a number of Decepticon fugitives from the planet Cybertron.

  “It is my turn, sir,” calls out Strongarm. The young cadet dutifully strides over to the center of the training area.

  Back on Cybertron, Strongarm was a member of the police force serving under Lieutenant Bumblebee. Now she helps serve and protect anyone or anything that may come to harm at the hands of the Autobots’ evil enemies on Earth.

  “Let’s see if your moves are as good as mine,” Sideswipe says to her. “Not everyone gets the best of Bee. But I did!”

  “Show some respect, Sideswipe,” replies Strongarm. “You may have advanced ‘street smarts’ back home, but you’re no intellitron. Bumblebee is your commanding officer, and you should treat him as such!”

  “You’re right,” snaps Sideswipe. “So I only have to listen to him. Not you!”

  “Fine,” huffs the police-bot. “Who says I want to waste nanocycles talking to you anyway?” Strongarm retorts. “I’d have to use smaller words and talk… very… slowly.”

  “Enough!” Bumblebee says, exasperated. “We are all on the same team, whether we like to admit it or not. The real foes are out there and we need to be prepared. Something terrible is on the horizon, and by the AllSpark, I sure hope we can handle it!”

  “Yes, sir,” Strongarm says. “Let’s continue training.”

  “Where are Grimlock and Drift?” Sideswipe asks.

  Grimlock is a Dinobot and former Decepticon who defected to the Autobots, and Drift is an honorable bounty hunter. They’re also part of Bumblebee’s ragtag team.

  “Drift has a free pass from today’s training,” Bumblebee replies. “He took the Groundbridge to an area with an allegedly high concentration of Energon. You know how he likes his solo missions.”

  “Yeah, Drift sure is a real-deal tough-bot,” Sideswipe says. “Glad he’s on our side.”

  Bumblebee chuckles. “I asked him to recon and report back,” the leader says. “If there is Energon out there, we’ll travel to the location and harvest the power source right away.”

  “Excellent,” Strongarm cheers. “Another mission!”

  “I totally understand your enthusiasm, Strongarm,” Bumblebee replies. “Things have been a little quiet around here.”

  “Yeah, quiet until the storm hits,” Sideswipe says, slamming his fist into his palm. “I’m ready for whatever the Decepticons got!”

  “I have a feeling the Decepticons may be after something as big and as powerful as the AllSpark.”

  Strongarm gasps. “But, sir, harnessing that kind of power could bring about unimaginable destruction!”

  Bumblebee nods grimly.

  Sideswipe breaks the uncomfortable silence and tries to lighten the mood. “Speaking of destruction, what’s Grimlock up to?”

  “He’s recharging on top of a pile of old cars,” a voice answers.

  The Autobots turn to see Russell, their twelve-year-old human friend. “Grimlock found a nice sunny spot, and he’s lying in it like a big lizard.”

  “Hey, Russell,” Bumblebee says. “What’s up?”

  “Shouldn’t you be at lob-ball practice?” asks Sideswipe.

  Russell chuckles. “Here on Earth,
it’s called football.”

  “Oh, right,” Sideswipe says, trying to remember the word. “Foot. Ball.”

  “We’re on spring break from school,” Russell continues.

  “Spring break?” Strongarm asks, puzzled.

  “Yeah.”

  Suddenly, Fixit rolls into the training area from behind a dented billboard.

  “Who has a spring break?” Fixit asks. “It’s about time! I’ve been itching to repaint… repeat… repair something.”

  The multitasking Mini-Con was pilot of the prison transport ship Alchemor—the same ship that crashed to Earth and let loose the Decepticon criminals aboard. Now he rounds out the rest of Team Bee as the resident handy-bot.

  After the crash, Fixit developed a minor stutter, but he manages to correct his vocabulary with a quick check.

  The Mini-Con weaves in and out between the legs of the Autobots, twitching his digits excitedly.

  “No one had anything break,” Bumblebee says, looking himself over. “As far as I can tell.”

  Russell laughs. “Spring break is another term for taking a vacation from school.”

  “What’s a vacation?” Strongarm asks.

  “It’s time off,” Sideswipe replies. “Like an extended holiday.”

  Strongarm’s optics open wide with surprise. “Who would want to take time off from school?”

  “Not Miss Perfect Attendance, I’m sure,” Sideswipe retorts.

  “Every single cycle!” Strongarm announces proudly.

  “Really? I’m impressed, cadet,” Bumblebee says. “That’s an excellent record!”

  “I know!” Strongarm beams.

  Sideswipe rolls his optic sensors.

  “Anyway,” Russell interrupts. “My friends Hank and Butch are going away with their families for the next week and, well, I’m kind of stuck here, where nothing exciting has happened in ages.”

  The boy kicks a rock and sits on an overturned shopping cart.

  “That’s not so bad,” Fixit replies. “I’m stumped… stunned… stuck here all the time when all the other bots are out on missions or when they play games together.”