BEAST WARS: LOST SOLDIERS
Disclaimer: I do not own the Transformers franchise or any other copyrighted names and/or items mentioned in the texts to follow. Original characters belong to me unless specified otherwise. Written purely for entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement intended.
AN: I would first like to say thank you for taking time out of your day to read this. I also want to publicly thank God for giving me the time, patients, and whatever is passable as talent to write this. It means a lot to me. This story and every single character in it mean a lot to me. I have been working diligently on this story for years and am proud of what it has become. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
Last, but not least, I would like to thank my baby brother, Arguyus. Without his musings, I would not have had as much inspiration to write this story as I did. This story is almost just as much his as it is mine. Thanks, lil' bro.
#1 - Embark
30 years after Transformers: Armada
Earth: Northern Hemisphere: United States of America, Flagstaff, Arizona
Date: 2033, June 18
The sun shone clear and bright overhead as a lone hunter green 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee traveled down the seemingly endless highway. The four teenagers in the back seats were fast asleep, sagged against either each other or their pillows. The two adults in the front were wide awake and speaking in low voices so as not to wake the younger ones.
The man driving was a rather handsome man of 42 years, his blonde hair only just beginning to gray at the sideburns. He was still fairly muscular, though not as much as he once was. His blue eyes were dulling with age, but a youthful spark still glinted in the depths. He readjusted the lightly framed glasses he wore as he kept his eyes on the road.
His companion was Latino with thick, dark, curly hair peppered with white. He had grown it long enough to tie it back in a loose ponytail. Light laugh wrinkles graced the corners of his eyes and mouth. He was 40 and refused to admit that he was not as fit as he once was. He was lounged in the passenger seat with both feet propped up on the dashboard and one hand behind his head. He was gesturing with his other hand as he spoke.
"And remember when Demolisher appeared outa nowhere and totally smashed those ancient spider-bots before they could crush us?" he said, his voice laced with his Hispanic heritage. "Y'know, Demolisher turned out not to be such a bad guy after the Mini-con Wars. Sucks that he teamed up with Megatron when the bastard came back."
"Not too loud Carlos. You don't want to wake the kids, do you?"
Carlos shrugged, casting a cheesy grin at the driver. "Chill out Rad, they're knocked out and they'll stay that way until we make another stop," he said.
Rad reluctantly agreed as he kept his eyes on the long and empty road ahead. The Rocky Mountains were steadily growing larger in the distance. A few more hours and they would reach the campsite. "I don't want to tell them about the Transformers until we get there."
"Eh, I understand amigo," Carlos said. "I just don't know why we didn't tell 'em sooner."
Rad shrugged. "I guess we were just too busy or it just didn't seem like the right moment."
After that, all was silent in the vehicle.
-x-
A few hours later, as the sun was lowering toward the horizon, the group had stopped at a MacDonald's for dinner. They had branched off into pairs as they ate. Rad and Carlos ate at a booth in the corner, the two boys were at the booth behind them, and the two girls were at a table off to one side.
"This is such a waste of my summer," the first girl said melodramatically, absently stirring her Coke-a-Cola around with her straw. She had photogenic bronze skin and lush, curly black hair. Her voice carried a hint of her Hispanic upbringing. "Driving all day, stuck in a car with them-" She turned and shot a nasty glare at the two boys sward-fighting with a couple of French fries. "Living for a month without my iPhone or TV or the mall."
"Come on Tina," the other girl spoke more positively, her hazel eyes bright. "Daniel and Kenny will leave us alone because they'll be too busy playing in the mud. You make it sound so miserable."
"Because I will be miserable," Tina retorted, removing her hand from the straw and clenching it into a fist before hitting the table. "Emily, this is NOT how I intended to spend my summer. I intended to spend my days by my pool with a glass of pink lemonade and a lime, getting a nice tan and just relaxing. I was going to update my selfie on Twitter every day and keep revealing my beauty secrets."
"You mean your mother's common sense?" Emily rolled her eyes as she listened to her best friend go on and on. "Besides, you're already tan. Are you trying to get cancer?" Tina gave her an irritated glare. Emily laughed.
-x-
It was another three hours before the group finally made it to their destination. The sun was gone and the last of its rays were dying away over the treetops. The birds were silencing their daily songs and snuggling into their nests.
Rad and Carlos began pitching the tents by the light of the headlights. Daniel and Kenny had already disappeared into the woods and could be heard romping around the area, staying close to the campsite. Tina sat in the car, complaining about bugs and snakes and bears. Emily was trying to coax her out.
"Come on Tina, just put on some bug spray and get out of the car," she was saying. "Look, the boys are gone and there are no bugs on me. Just get out, please?"
Her friend was very reluctant to leave the safety of the car. "But it's so..." She looked out the lowered window and grimaced at the darkening trees and underbrush. "...woodsy."
Emily face-palmed. Sometimes she wondered why Tina was her best friend.
-x-
Camp had finally been set up and dinner had been eaten and campfire stories told (mostly by Daniel and Kenny). Everyone had gone to bed hours ago. Tina had finally left the car, but now refused to leave the tent. She and Emily shared a small tent while Rad, Carlos, and their boys shared a larger one.
All was now still around the camp. Night birds in the distance called to one another and the occasional woodland creature scurried through the undergrowth. Then, a light came on inside the small tent. It moved around clumsily until the wielder unzipped the flap and stepped out.
Emily walked unsteadily towards the trees, carrying a small spade and a roll of toilet paper in one arm while pointing the flashlight with her other hand. She had slipped her bare feet into her tennis shoes in her need to relieve herself. When she felt she was far enough away from the camp, she stopped and began to set about her business. It didn't take her long to finish and she headed back towards the tents.
Suddenly, the wind picked up and she heard a rumbling noise that grew quickly louder every second. The ground began to shake and the wind blasted her and the trees around her. Emily watched as a point of light appeared. She had to shield her eyes as it got larger and brighter. The wind began pulling her towards the swirling, electrical light.
She tried to stand her ground, dropping her tiny shovel and flashlight to crouch down low. She dug her heels into the ground and held on to whatever she could reach. "HELP!" she screamed.
By the time anyone could reach her, all they saw was a fading light and felt a stiff breeze that soon disappeared.
AN: (SPOILERS! SPOILER! SPOILERS!) Now, before you get too deep into this, understand that the main character is a Mary-Sue. She's the daughter of a cannon character, becomes a transformer and a flier, gives herself a name with the word 'star' in it, everyone sympathizes with her, she gets raped, gets caught in a love triangle with mechs on both sides, dies and comes back to life, and ultimately ends the whole war. If that's not a Mary-Sue, I don't know what is. However, I tried my best to make her likable and her story entertaining. She is NOT a self-insert, but she is a piece of me. A piece of the young, immature girl I once was. She holds a special place in my heart and I hope you will come to love her as much as I do.