#was listening to the extended version of slipknots danger - keep away which put me in the mood to draw this

[vyxed]

lore stuff

in Time Rift, Drift hasn't seen his older brother in 30 years, from Ash's perspective though it's only been 2 years

more context under the cut (copied and pasted from his TH)

cw violence / cw character death

In the TR timeline, Drift hasn't seen his older brother since getting trapped in the future at 14 (and later, given the option, deciding to live there.) The two used to be close, having grown up in the same troubled household, they'd only ever had each other for support... so leaving his brother behind was a difficult choice, but Ash supported the decision.

Drift misses his brother a lot and wonders what became of him. He wonders what Ash would think of him now... Drift's not the bumbling nervous little kid he used to be. He's old, wounded, tired, traumatised, with kills under his belt... there are days wishes he still had his brother around for guidance/ support, but he's scared to even imagine how a meeting like that would go. Drift looks and feels like a monster these days. Not that he ever plans to meet Ash again, too much risk involved when it comes to meddling with time any more than he already has. Every visit to the past, and every change,  spawns a Time Rift, which can displace things at best be incredibly destructive at worst. Wishful thinking, though. For a years, he resigns himself to the belief "out of sight, out of mind" - Ash was a free spirit, and was always so upbeat and full of confidence. He had dreams and would stop at nothing to achieve them. Surely he lead a good life.

Drift doesn't discover until his mid-40s that Ash died only 2 years after he left.

This is long after Drift had resolved his conflict with Silver, felt secured in his the stability of his life and family, and sat firmly on the belief that the past should not be tampered with, lest it cause problems for the future. Learning what became of his brother puts Drift in turmoil. He knows he shouldn't go back but he can't get past his emotions when it comes to stuff like this. Ash was only 19. He deserved better. Emotionally charged, he travels back in time to various points before the event, desperate to figure out what happened and put an end to it. He avoids confronting Ash directly though as he's afraid to be seen in the state he looks these days.

He does however figure out what happened, finds the culprit responsible for his brother's murder, and kills them in a fit of anger. This causes issues way off in the future - Silver is alerted to people and structures disappearing and is alarmed, reluctantly enlisting Cia's help to hopefully talk some sense into Drift.

Drift meanwhile is distraught, having just beat someone to death. This stuff's never been easy but it feels especially wrong when its for a crime that hasn't been commited yet... and it's for naught anyway, cause when he looks into the timeline, something else winds up killing his brother. He's already strained enough by this game of cat and mouse. He could try to resolve that too but at this point it feels like destiny is just spitting in his face. As long as Drift isn't around, he can't guarentee his brother's safety, he can't stay in the past forever.

...But he could take Ash back with him?

He's still terrified by the idea of meeting again... and the future is brutal, he's not sure how Ash would cope with that, or if Drift could even keep him safe there either... hell, probably not, Drift's getting on in years now, but he's running out of options...

Drift manages to locate Ash, but not before Silver and Cia manage to track Drift down and warn him about the problems he's causing - that Time Rifts are opening, people are disappearing, and he desparately needs to stop right now and return home. They call out at him urgently, and he pauses for a moment, but then continues toward Ash without a word - it seems like he's not listening. Cia and Silver don't follow him any further, just watch from afar out of fear they themselves might cause issues by interacting with anyone here without a plan...

When Ash and Drift make eye contact they both stop dead in their tracks - Drift feeling overwhelmed with emotion, after 30 years and all the hell he's endured, whilst is Ash just bewildered by the sight of this old scarred cyborg dude who kinda resembles his dad. Neither of them really know what to make of it till Drift breaks down crying and hugs his brother, clutching him like he'll lose him forever if he ever lets go. Ash is understandably confused and uncomfortable, but he also gets the vague feeling that he knows this guy and tries to comfort him by ruffling his hair, the same way he used to comfort Dizzy when he had a bad day, which only makes Drift tear up even more - in this brief moment, he just feels like a kid again.

"...Diz??" Ash asks quizzically.

"It's me." Drift responds, and although Ash attempts to probe him about what the hell even happened to him, Drift doesn't respond any further, so instead Ash just hugs him back for a while until they eventually let go. Drift tells him to take care. Ash repeats the same sentiment, still confused, but as Drift walks away he's already accepted that he's not gonna get an answer.

Out of his brothers sight, Drift returns to Cia and Silver and gives them a resigned nod, before stepping into the portal Silver has opened up for him. Cia follows close behind.

Silver sticks around for a while to reverse all the changes and plug the damage it caused before he leaves.