I don't own Transformers or the Riordanverse. They belong to their owners.

Chapter 8: My Dad Gives Me the Best Homework Assignment Ever.

It wasn't long before summer arrived. I probably would have been happy about this if it hadn't also meant that I was officially expelled from yet another school.

At least Dad seemed to understand why I lashed out like that. He actually told me how much he respected my willingness to stand up for myself and not let anything define me.

You have no idea how much it meant to hear him say that.

It also helped that Thundercracker made it a point to visit more often during the summer. I think he could tell I needed him more than ever.

And I think Dad could tell that too...

Early in the summer, one day started on a pretty average note. Me and Thundercracker were enjoying some fresh air in the backyard and discussing my vegan diet in the way only Thundercracker could.

"It's worth a try," Thundercracker said.

"Thundercracker, going full vegan will not give me psychic powers that will allow me to leave a hole in the moon." I pointed out.

"And I'm a giant robot from outer space! It's worth a shot!" he insisted.

"That's just a movie, you idiot; it won't work!"

"It was a graphic novel series first."

"That's not the-"

"Am I interrupting something?"

I turned around. There was my dad walking into the backyard with a stack of books in his arms.

I broke out into a massive grin, "Dad! You're back early." I said.

"Not exactly." Dad explained, "I was about to start the research for my next role."

"So why are you here with us?" Thundercracker asked.

"Because I want you two to help me with it." Dad then dumped the books he was carrying onto the deck table. I picked one up. It was a copy of "The Odyssey." One of the most famous stories from Greek mythology.

In fact, all the books were Greek mythology-based. Some were actual stories from that time; others were just general research books.

The sight of all those books got Thundercracker excited. "You decided to take the King of Sparta role?!" he asked giddly.

"Yes, and I want you two to help me study for the part."

My grin got bigger. I couldn't believe this. For the first time in forever, Dad was taking a long time off to spend time with me. Sure, it was just homework for his next role, but at least this homework seemed fun, and we'd be doing it together.

"So, where do we start?" I asked.

"How about with the basics?" Dad suggested, "The Olympians."

"The Olympians?" Thundercracker asked.

"They're the main twelve Greek gods or something," I said.

"Twelve?" Thundercracker looked very curious when he heard that.

We started reading after that. We read about Zeus, the king of the gods and lord of the sky, his brother Posideon, his wife Hera, and the others.

The whole time, Thundercracker seemed to be contemplating something.

"Thundercracker? Is something wrong?" Dad asked.

"Oh no. Nothing's wrong," Thundercracker said assuredly. "It's just that this sounds a bit similar to the legend of the Thirteen Primes."

"Like Optimus Prime?" I asked.

"Not exactly." Thundercracker started, "According to our mythology, the Thirteen Primes were the original Cybertronians. Our whole race was formed from them." He spread his arms out. "They're basically deities and legends for my kind."

"Like the Greek Gods are for us?" I asked

"Exactly."

"But where does Optimus fit into this?" Dad asked.

"It's a long story," Thundercracker admitted.

"Well, for once, I have a long time," Dad said.

And I was really glad to hear that.

That's what the next few weeks ended up being comprised of: the three of us reading about Greek mythology and Thundercracker occasionally explaining the legends of Cybertron and how they compared to our legends.

It was one of the best times of my life. It reminded me of when I was younger before Dad got super famous and barely had any time for me. We'd sit around for hours discussing the legends of the Cherokee. This felt like a return to those days.

One of the notable highlights we had was when we were reading about Perseus, one of the few Greek heroes to get a happy ending. Before he was born, his grandfather, King Acirisius, was told his grandson would kill him, so he tried to have Perseus killed to prevent it.

Eventually, Perseus went missing and became a hero, and years later, while at a tournament, Acirisisus was accidentally killed by Perseus during a discus-throwing match.

"So the prophecy came true after all." I noted, "Perseus did kill his grandfather. It just didn't happen the way the king thought it would."

"I guess fate in Greece had a sense of humor," Dad noted.

Thundercracker laughed "You know. This is another story that reminds me of one of Cybertron's legends," he said.

"Go on," I encouraged.

"So remember those Thirteen Primes?" He started, "Well, one of them." He paused dramatically. "His name has been lost to history; he is only known as "The Fallen.""

"Did he get a prophecy?" Dad asked

"Yes. One day the evil Unicron-"

"Unicorn?" I laughed

Thundercracker gave a bemused look. "Unicron. He's our creator Primus's brother and opposite. Where Primus gives life and technology, Unicron causes death and destruction."

"I'm still calling him Unicorn," I said cheekily.

Thundercracker rolled his eyes and groaned, "Anyway, Unicron told The Fallen his fate. That he would kill his love, Solus Prime, and join him to destroy his brother Primus."

I sat there, entranced. Thundercracker was skilled at storytelling for a soldier in an intergalactic war. His voice deepened to give what he was saying dramatic weight; he had good timing, and the words seemed to come naturally to him. Part of me couldn't help but feel like he was wasting his time with the Autobots; he could be making a killing as a narrator.

"But the Fallen refused to accept this. He would never betray his friends or his lover. He thought the prophecy was a load of scrap."

"It wasn't, though, was it?" I guessed.

"No. It wasn't." Thundercracker confirmed, "The Fallen became desperate to prevent this future from happening; he began to obsess over making himself stronger and more powerful to make sure this future would never come. He began to isolate himself from his friends and lover."

"And...what happened?" I asked.

"One day, Solus confronted The Fallen. She begged him to explain what was bothering him. He insisted he was trying to protect her. The two had a long argument, and then..." Thundercracker paused dramatically.

"What?! What happened!?"

"In a fit of rage, The Fallen accidentally fired his most powerful weapon, the requiem blaster, and killed Solus."

Me and Dad were silent. It was a lot to take in.

"The Fallen, in his despair, realized the prophecy had come true." Thundercracker continued, "In his sorrow, he realized fate could not be avoided. So he joined Unicron. Betraying what he once stood for."

"But that's not fair!" I shouted, "The second part of that prophecy only came true because he let it come true!".

"I guess our fate has a sense of humor too," Thundercracker shrugged.

A few days later, we were reading about the Trojan War. We sat down in the backyard under one of the trees (or, in Thundercracker's case, beside one) reading the Iliad. Eventually, right in the middle of it, Thundercracker had a question for us.

"...Tristan, Piper. Do you think any of these stories are real?"

"No. I don't think so." Dad said without hesitation.

"What makes you say that?" Thundercracker asked.

"It's just...too unbelievable." Dad laughed, but it seemed like a sad laugh like he was trying to convince himself.

"Yeah, and a couple of years ago, giant robots from space who turn into vehicles were unbelievable," Thundercracker argued.

"Aliens are different," Dad insisted. "Immortal gods, who interfere with the lives of humans? That's a whole other thing."

"But Troy was real." Thundercracker pointed out, "Your kind found evidence of Troy long ago; so did the Trojan War really happen?".

Dad didn't say anything at first. He just looked down.

"They're fun to tell and read about Thundercracker," he said, "but if I really believed in them, I don't think I could sleep at night. I'd just be looking for someone to blame."

"For what?"

"Everything wrong with the world." I guessed. And everything that had gone wrong with his life: my grandpa Tom/his father dying before he had gotten famous and had the money to help out, mom leaving him with no warning when he wasn't prepared to take care of a baby on his own...

"Yeah..."

Thundercracker sighed sadly. "What do you think, Piper?" he asked.

"I'm not sure what to think, honestly," I admitted.

We got back to reading after that. We read the part where Aphrodite spirited Paris away after he was defeated by Menalaeus, even though Menalaeus had beaten Paris fair and square.

"Man, what a cheater!" Thundercracker mused, "This Aphrodite sounds like a jerk.".

It was a really good summer. But, of course, it couldn't last. Dad had to leave to actually film the movie we had been researching for after all.

As I watched him get into his limousine to get to the airport, I felt awful. The last two months had been some of the best in my life. I got to spend more time with my dad than ever; I actually learned more than I had been at those stupid schools Jane kept sending me to, and for once, everything was simple. It was the closest I'd felt to feeling normal in a long time.

And now it was over.

I went into the backyard and sat under a tree, sulking; that's where Thundercracker found me.

"He's gone?" he guessed.

"Again," I confirmed.

"You know, we can still read up on Greek mythology," he suggested. "We don't need your dad for that."

"It's not gonna be the same." I protested.

Thundercracker thought about it for a minute. "How about I just take you for a ride, then?"

I smiled. "That sounds pretty good."

Thundercracker gave me a nice ride toward the Upper West Coast of the United States. We ended up flying above Seattle, just soaring above the city. It was raining, which made things very atmospheric. I could hear the pitter-patter of raindrops come down on Thundercracker's cockpit.

"So any idea what your next school is going to be?" Thundercracker asked.

"No idea." I said, "Jane's the one who's in charge of picking the school most of the time."

Which probably explained why so many of them sucked.

"Maybe you'll go somewhere cool!" Thundercracker suggested, "Like Harding-Pencroft!"

Harding-Pencroft Academy was some sort of high school that specialized in aquatic-based lessons and careers. I'd seen it mentioned a few times here and there.

I sighed "Thundercracker, I'm not interested in marine biology, and I can't see myself sailing on a ship anytime soon. Water's not my thing."

"Besides. That's one of the schools you get to go to when you aren't a problem kid."

"You're not a problem," Thundercracker said softly.

"Yes, I am." I muttered, "I'm just an embarrassment. A failure. Tristan McLean's ungrateful daughter, who doesn't appreciate her dad and the sacrifices he makes for her,"

Sacrifices, meaning that whenever the hard stuff came up, Dad just gave me to Jane instead. Even with Thundercracker helping me see him more, we still hadn't quite resolved that aspect of our relationship.

"I thought you didn't wanna be the perfect rich kid," Thundercracker said, confused.

"I don't."

"But you also don't wanna be a screw-up?"

"Yes."

"So what do you want, Piper?"

"I don't know," I said sadly.

That wasn't entirely true. I did know what I wanted. I wanted a dad who could be there for me all the time; I wanted a normal house; I wanted a normal school; and I wanted kids to look at me and not see Tristan McLean's daughter.

But the only way I could feel close to that was by acting out and rebelling against the life I had. But then I just ended up feeling miserable all over again because I let Dad down, or I'd have to deal with Jane because he didn't want to deal with this mess and he had more important things to do.

Thundercracker was silent; he probably understood what I was thinking. "Honestly, Piper? Sometimes I don't know who I am either."

"Why?"

"Because sometimes I don't fit in among the other-" He hesitated for some reason. "Autobots. I don't really fit into what they think I should be.".

"That sounds familiar." I laughed.

That did make me feel better. I guess knowing that a giant alien death machine could go through the same problems made them feel less exclusive.

"Tell you what, why don't we find out who we are together?" I suggested.

I couldn't see his face, but I got the impression Thundercracker was smiling. "Sounds good," he said. "And I think I know where I can start."

"Where?"

"Well, all those stories we read? All the stories I told you? They got me thinking."

"About what?"

"I think I've had enough of just watching and reading stories," he said. "I'm gonna make some of my own."

"You're going to be a writer?" I laughed.

"What's so funny?" Thundercracker asked.

"Nothing; it's just... telling a story is one thing; writing is a whole other thing," I said.

"What's wrong with-" but Thundercracker didn't get to finish before a massive lightning strike close to us.

"Whoa!" cried Thundercracker. He did a barrel roll to avoid the lightning. The sudden movement made me sick.

"Lighting's getting pretty tense," I noted, holding down a barf.

"Yeah, maybe we should—WHAT THE!?"

"What!? What is it!?" I asked.

Thundercracker was silent. Coldly silent.

"Come on, Thundercracker, tell me-"

"Piper," he said nervously, 'look in the clouds."

I looked up, and then I gasped.

There in the clouds was a massive bird. Its wing span was as large as a small airplane; its feathers were stormy gray; and every time it flapped its wings, the small sounds of thunder came out; and out of its eyes came lightning that surrounded its body.

"That's..." I stammered. "That's a Thunderbird!"

AKA, a mythical creature from the stories Dad claimed weren't real.

The bird seemed to look at us, both of us and then, almost in an instant, it vanished into the clouds.

For a while, neither of us said anything. Finally, Thundercracker broke the silence.

"Do you know what to think now, Piper?".

"No idea," I admitted.

Thanks for reading, and as always, don't forget to leave a review!