Drift stood in the corner of the room, watching the crowd with a quiet intensity. His presence was still commanding, his sleek white and blue frame as striking as ever, but there was something different about him now. The warrior who had once been Deadlock, relentless and ruthless, was gone. In his place stood someone who exuded restraint, contemplation. It was unsettling, even for Drift.

His optics scanned the room, though his mind wandered to the past, to the many battles he'd fought against the Autobot in front of him. The clashes had been fierce, each one leaving its mark, but now… now he stood among Autobots, fighting for something different. Redemption, perhaps, though Drift wasn't sure if he could ever truly earn it.

When their optics met across the room, Drift’s spark stuttered for a brief moment. He hadn’t expected to see them here. After all these years, the one who had always been there on the other side of the battlefield, the one he could never quite defeat, now stood mere feet away. His calm voice broke the silence between them, as smooth and controlled as ever. "Never thought I’d see you here," Drift said, his tone quieter than he intended. "You still think of me as Deadlock, don’t you?"

He felt the weight of their gaze on him, wondering if they saw the change. He wasn’t sure if he could show them the whole truth — the truth of who he was now, of who he was trying to become.

For a moment, Drift’s thoughts turned inward. Perhaps there was no way to explain. Perhaps he didn’t even fully understand it yet.