The beginning of the war starts in Cybertron. A country so big, so peaceful, yet a war was created. A war where a greedy man killed innocents for power. His name... was Megatronis. Originally, he said he wanted more peace in the world, he wanted to be one of the leaders of the country, to be called a Prime. He had shortened his name to Megatron in this quest. But his once best friend, an man who was so close to him, found out his true wanting. That man was named Orion Pax.
When Orion found out his friend's true colors, he went to the council of Primes and spoke to them in a way so riveting, they saw that he was worthy to be a Prime, thus changing his name to Optimus Prime.
But alas, Megatron had already gained a great amount of power. The modern country had already been half plunged into his wrath. All who wished to serve him... were an army called Decepticons. But Optimus did not give up so easily. Those who wanted to partake in the battle against the Cons and not stand by, fought with Optimus Prime, calling their side the Autobots. They did everything they could to stop the many plans of Megatron. Those who wanted the war to stop but did not want to fight, did not chose sides, and were called Neutrals.
The Neutrals were in the midst of the war, unarmed, vulnerable, weak, and suffering. Megatron had many rules, and one worked like this: If you did not work for him, you were against him. The Decepticons rampaged the Neutrals on the streets and in their homes, killing them, imprisoning them, or taking them as his slaves. Going against this, young Optimus Prime declared to the Autobots that they would protect the Neutrals at any cost.
But some Neutrals didn't just sit and wait for something to happen. Some fought against Megatron and the Decepticons without being an Autobot. They were called Marauders. They stole from the Decepticons, destroyed any of their work, and raided their bases and storage facilities on their own.. Sometimes they worked alone, other times they worked in tiny groups. Prime didn't have a problem with Marauders, but whenever he had a run in with one, he tried to get them to join with him, being unsuccessful most of the time.
Now years have passed, Megatron now has practically destroyed the entire country and Optimus and his followers have diapered into their secret hideout, fighting against the Decepticon army. Neutrals are still scared and being taken by Megatron, Marauders are still rampaging and raiding, and the Autobots
Jack closed the book. It was the millionth time he's read it, and he still thought it sounds like a fairy tale by putting the words "alas" and "thus" in it. It was about the war that was going on around him, and he didn't have anything better to do at the moment. He looked around the treehouse hideout. He lived here with his friends Miko and Raf, who were Marauders like him. Their current home wasn't exactly a dream home, but it was good enough for them. They moved their location every few months, or until they get caught.
Since they didn't have that much stuff and their parents weren't around to bug them about neatness, they always had the place a mess. Like Jack's room, the seeing bag he was laying on at the moment was messed up and crinkled. His clothes were sprawled all over the room, a few books were on the ground, all opened and pages being bent. And scraps of food were laying around. Home, sweet, home, Jack thought as he left the book on his sleeping bag as he left his room to go to the main room.
In there, loot and bags littered the floor, their shoos were scattered around the door, and right now, Raf and Miko were playing cards at the table, which still had old food on it. Jack sat in his normal seat at the table between them as Miko smirked at smacked a card face-up onto the center of the table. "Ha-ha! Queen of Hearts! Whachya gonna do now, Raf-y?" Jack smiled at the Japanese girl as Raf laid a card over it. "King'd you," the youngest said as he adjusted his glasses.
The three had met on the streets at very young ages. Their families had been taken as prisoners by Megatrons men, a few members being killed in the process. Jack had watched his father get killed trying to protect him and his mother with his own eyes, and soon after, his mother had gotten him time to slip away. And it had happened when he was six. Then one day, walking on the streets, nearly tripping over a crying four-year old hugging her knees in the middle of the street, asking to be roadkill.
Miko said her story was that her parents were taken from her to act as slaves of Megatron, being left behind and put into the hands of foster parents. She didn't want a new pair of parents, so she ran away. Jack understood her pain and they instantly became friends.
Then, when the two had chosen an abandoned-looking house to stay at for the night, they found a two year old boy crying in one of the rooms under a bed, Raf. Raf said that he was just playing in his room when his door was kicked open and Cons had dragged him out. But his parents and older siblings didn't give up without a fight. They distracted the Cons long enough to give only Raf enough time to hide. When the noises stopped, Raf said he knew that they were gone, but didn't come out.
The three young children were friends since they first laid on each other. Their families had all been Neutrals, but after loosing them for that, they didn't want to stand by and cry. But Miko said she didn't want to go to the Autobots. She said it would make them seem weak. And weirdly, the boys had agreed. Their parents had risked their lives to protect them. The least they could do is fight on their own in their honor. Ever since, they had been a small group of Marauders.
Miko sat there for a moment, slack-jawed as Jack laughed. She growled as she looked at the clock. "It's eight," she said. Jack stopped laughing and smiled. "Where we going today, Raf?" the leader asked. Raf pulled out his laptop and typed for a few seconds before responding. "There's a food supply being delivered to a nearby Con storage facility in the town. What's our food status?" Miko got up ad checked all the places where they held their food. "Barely anything," she said when she finished looking in the last spot.
"Then that's where we're going," Jack said as Raf closed his laptop. They got their backpacks and put their supplies in them. They grabbed extra bags to put the food in. "What time?" Jack asked Raf. "They arrive at the facility at ten, so we have to catch the trucks to get us in at 9:30." Jack nodded. "Then we head out in an hour." Jack smiled.
Jack led the others on his motorcycle. It wasn't the best, but it was fast, and that's all he needed. Behind him, Miko and Raf were driving their own vehicles. Even though they were too young to die, no kind of Marauder followed any rules, especially transportation. Miko drove a worn down truck while Raf rode a sports car they once stole. They parked them a good enough distance away from the facility then climbed up to the rooftops of a nearby building.
They jumped from rooftop to rooftop till they were in position. They waited till they saw several delivery trucks drive close. They crouched behind the ledge of the building they were on, out of sight of the drivers. On each truck, a Decepticon symbol was painted on them in dark purple. Jack signaled to them, and they jumped onto the roof of one of the trucks with a metal thud.
They sat there for about thirty minuets till the facility came into view, and they laid on their stomachs. The trucks stopped for a few moments to be inspected, then they were on the move again. When they were inside, they jumped onto the low ceiling rafters, hidimg in the shadows till the place was empty. When they were sure everyone had left for the night, they came out of hiding by using a rope Miko had packed to get to the ground.
Jack signaled with his hands for them to split up. Jack ran to a crate and pulled a crowbar out of his bag. When the roof of the crate finally opened he was greeted with the smell of ripe fruit. Apples, mango's, peaches, pears, bananas, oranges, and other fruits filled the crate. Jack smiled as he took out another bag and carefully stuffed it with fruits. The crate was halfway empty when the bag was full. Jack placed the lid back on then moved to the next one.
When all his bags were filled with fruit and boxed food, he met up with Miko and Raf and showed each other what they got. Miko had gotten a bunch of bottled drinks and sweets while Raf had gotten canned food and vegetables. "You just had to get the un-fun food, did you, Raf," Miko said in a hushed tone. "Lets just get out of here," Jack said. As they started to walk they heard a clank and froze in place. "Crap," Jack whispered as they looked up.
On the roof, there were several enormous black windows, and right now one was being opened by two people. "Hide," Jack whispered loudly to his friends and they took cover behind a bunch of crates. They watched the strangers as one braced the window open with a long metal pipe and the other looked around from the rafter he was standing on. Not noticing the three Marauders, he gave a thumbs up to his partner.
"Who are they?" Raf whispered. "Fellow Marauders?" Miko replied in the same tone. At that moment even more people had started filing in one after another. "Yeah, fifty Marauders. When have you ever heard of fifty Marauders in one place together, let alone work together?" Jack asked. Something caught his eye. Something shiny. And it was wrapped around each stranger's neck. The Autobot symbol.
"What are the Autobots doing here?" Jack asked. "Oh, probably to say 'hi' to the 'Cons," Miko said, sarcasm dripping off her lips. Jack glared at her, but then a female voice in a lowered yet loud tone drew his focus back to the group of Autobots. "Alright, prepare at least two crates each, then hook them up when the cables come."
It was hard to see the speaker in the moonlit room, but their silhouette showed that it was a young, fit girl with a ponytail, and she was standing on top of a bunch of crates staked on one another, two older looking kids-one boy and one girl- standing on other stacks of crates at her side, one crate lower.
Jack watched as the three got off their stacks and walked around, watching and helping their coulees attach harnesses to crates. Soon, wires came down through each window and the girl spoke again. "Alright, half of you get onto the roof, the rest attach the cables to the crates." The Bots obeyed the order and went back to work. "Are you sure we weren't followed?" she asked the other girl. "Positive. We did a scan and knocked out all guards. And we had the techies turn off all alarms and cameras," the girl said. "Trust us, we're safe," the boy assured.
When they were finished, one of the Autobots jumped up to one of the windows and gave a thumbs up, and crates started lifting off the ground and out of each window. As that happened, the Bots started leaving the facility the same way they came in till only Jack, Miko, Raf, and the three Bots were left to make sure no trace of them were left. Jack silently prayed that they didn't come behind their crates. "Uh-oh," he heard Raf say and immediately turned his head and his eyes widened. Miko was about to sneeze.
Jack frantickly twisted his head back and forth from Miko to the Autobot members over and over again. Just before Miko was about to sneeze, Jack covered her nose, interrupting the sneeze. They stayed as still as stone as the boy passed the crates they were behind. They sighed quietly as the boy left the crates and back to the center of the facility. But they spoke too soon as Miko let out one of her loud sneezes. "'AH-CHOOOOO!" They froze again as soon as she finished wiping her nose.
The sound of footsteps coming towards them quickly sent them into an whispering argument. "Miko, you just had to sneeze!" "Well excuse my nose!" "Can we argue about this later!?" "Freeze!" They did exactly as they were told. They turned their heads slowly in union and Jack's heart stopped beating for an instant. The girl who was giving orders was finally lit by the moon, and she was beautiful.
She had bright blonde hair with the ends dyed bright blue. She wore jeans that went barely past her legs with worn down blue sneakers and a faded purple shirt under a military green jacket, and her eyes were the brightest blue he'd ever seen. The older looking girl on her right wore mostly purple and bright silver while the boy on her left wore more green than burnt red. But each held a knife in one hand.
The blonde walked up to Jack and pointed the tip of her knife to is throat, its metal gleaming in the moonlight. "Who are you?" Jack didn't answer, he just smirked, and it must've annoyed the girl. Living on the streets and always on the go and having to be careful, Marauders had to read people so they could know who to trust. Right now Jack saw that the girl didn't like people not obeying her at certain times. What she did nest proved it.
"Answer me! Who are you and what are you doing here!?" Jack finally answered. "You seem trustworthy, so I'll tell you our names. I'm Jack, the girl is Miko, and the boy is Raf. We're Marauders and we came here for easy food." As he spoke, they rose to their feet, but the girl didn't stop pointing her knife at Jack's throat. At the last part her gaze seemed to soften for an instant but quickly regained its seriousness as she drew back her knife. "Is that so? Well then, I guess you're not a threat to us." The insult stung Jack, and no doubt the others, but they didn't move.
"I'm Eliza Clarkson, Warrior class in the Autobot army. The girl is Digit, and the boy is Wrench, former Scouts, now Warrior class." At their names, Digit and Wrench bowed their heads. Jack wasn't surprised at the weird names and 'class' thing.
In each army there were several rankings. There were Wreckers, who were reckless fighters; Scouts, who spied on the opposing side and checked the area before entering; Laborers, who built and destroyed buildings in Autobot territory; Warriors, who fought on the front lines: and finally, a Prime. These were the basics. But there was no such thing as a Decepticon Prime. All the original Primes had died at the beginning of the war, and only one Prime was left.
The names were merely nicknames to hide the identity of all who were a part of the war. But some like their actual names and keep them. Because from what Jack heard, once you had a nickname, the armies didn't use your actual name for a long time. At least until you leave the army, or died. Some people just didn't want to change or forget their past.
Jack stood still as Eliza Walked up to him. "Let's hope you're not the kind that does things only for money and turn us into the Cons. Now we'll be leaving." As if giving a hidden command, the three Bot members pulled out guns, alarming the Marauders. But instead of pointing and shooting at them, they fired at the rafters. Looking up, Jack realized that they had fired grappling hook launchers.
The three strangers had quickly reached the rafters and ran to the nearest open window. Digit and Wrench left immediately, but Eliza hanged back for a moment, turning to them. "We better not see you again. We run a tight system, and we can't afford a few tricksters delaying us," she said to them. "Also, better watch out, the guards will be waking up soon and will check everything in here. Good luck!" After singing her final warning, Eliza laughed as she jumped through the window and disappeared, her laughter echoing off the walls.