Code of Loyalty (A Drift X OC Fanfic)

Chapter 19 - A Peek At Drift's Past

Everyone just stared.

They stared, and stared, and stared. Mouths gaped open, optics wide like flying saucers. And then, all hell broke loose...

"By the vaulted heights of--!" Ratchet exclaimed.

"You had him hidden behind the bar?!" Drift questioned with a yelp.

"So embarrassing." Chromedome sighed, facepalming his helm.

"--Not seriously telling me he's been there the whole time?!" Skids nearly screamed.

"Cool." Whirl complimented.

Hina vented, rubbing the back of her neck. "Of you'd think it's cool." She cleared her throat, sitting up straight as she looked up at Rewind who pushed Rung, who was seated in a dolly, over to the table. "Rewind, what is he doing here?"

"He's here for something important." Rewind slapped a hand on the psychiatrist's shoulder. "You don't mind, do you bud?"

Rung's face stayed blank as he just sat there, not saying anything to anyone.

"What, he's not talking?" Drift asked the Minicon.

"He's not anything- And that's why I invited you all here." Rewind explained as he looked over to his best pal. "Tell'em what you told me Domey."

"Rung can't return to full operating status until he's made a number of critical neural connections. But he has to do it himself. And the longer it takes him to do so, the greater the risk of total shutdown." Chromedome explained.

"So, what can we do?" Hina asked with concern.

"One way of stimulating Rung's cerebro circuitry is by talking to him- telling him a story." Rewind answered.

"Stories?" Hina questioned with confusion. "Okay, you've lost me."

"Stories rely on the listener making a subconscious effort to bridge the gaps in the narrative- and that exercises certain higher-level brain functions." Chromedome explained.

"So yes- You're here to help me tell a story. A totally epic story based on real events that defiantly happened." Rewind added.

"Well, that leaves me out. I'm sorry guys, I'd like to help, but I'm defiantly sure I wasn't around for anything that you'd guys would tell in your story." Hina admitted.

"Then you can chill with us Hina!" Swerve suggested with a smile.

"Yeah, Rewind is letting us stick around to just listen and learn what we've really missed for the past... uh..." Tailgate began.

"Long time?" Swerve corrected.

"Yeah that's it!" Tailgate exclaimed.

"Well, alright then. I'll just listen." Hina agreed, shrugging as she was about to lean to the side to rest on Drift's shoulder, but stopped when she noticed Whirl eyeing her. If she were to try and pull something "romantic" so to speak out in public, he would blab and reveal their secret. She quickly jerked back, steadying herself. "So boys, where do we start?"

Rewind activated his camera, bringing up a map of a certain area on Cybertron. Different coloured lines and circles filled the screen.

"This is a diagram of a sociotemporal hotspot. I kind of- collect them. It's a hobby, but first let me show you the theory... if you dig deep enough- If you shift through enough data, you'll find that everything and everyone are connected. The paths that led you here are many and varied. But I've got a billion lifetimes' worth of information on my database. News reports, medical records, CCTV footage, you name it- and guess what? Four million years ago, thanks to one Autobot, you all came within each others orbit."