This chapter contains several instances of canon dialogue from the book "Lost Hero" all credit to that dialogue goes to Rick Riordan.

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

Chapter 17: My Family Sucks.

This is officially the worst week of my life.

After... Aphrodite claimed me, everyone had started fawning over me. Saying how I was the right pick after all to go on the quest.

But none of that had anything to do with me.

It was just because I looked hot.

When I finally got a moment away from the crowd, I took the chance to confront Thundercracker, who was just standing there on the side, looking dumbfounded at everything that was happening.

"Thundercracker..." I growled. "What the heck was that!?"

"What? The Drew thing?" He asked, "I'm pretty sure she had it com-"

"I don't need you to fight my battles, Thundercracker! I can handle myself!" I insisted.

"I was trying to help!"

"I don't need your help!"

Thundercracker gave a forlorn look. "I thought we were a team..." he said sadly.

"...So did I," I said coldly.

I turned and started walking away.

Jason found me staying behind when everyone else had gone in, just looking at what remained of the bonfire.

"Hey, Piper..." Jason said.

"Hey Jason..."

"So I didn't get a chance to formally ask: would you join me on this quest?"

"Yeah. Sure." I murmured, not even looking at him.

I rubbed my arms over my shoulders.

"You look cold..." Jason noticed.

"Aphrodite took my snowboarding jacket," I muttered. "Mugged by my own mom..."

Jason found a blanket and wrapped it around me. "We'll get you a new one," he promised.

I smiled, but it was fake. I knew it was only a matter of time before I screwed up and let him down. He probably only cared about me because I looked good. Just like everyone else.

I fought it for the longest time, but eventually, I did have to go into the Aphrodite cabin to get some sleep.

Okay, look. Let's be clear on something. If you personally like make-up and fashion, fine. Go for it. Knock yourself out. There's nothing wrong with liking that stuff.

But if you're like me? Who doesn't care for those things? A night in the Aphrodite cabin was a nightmare.

The whole place was basically a massive doll house with a pink color scheme and everything. Inside were a bunch of fashionable clothes, mirrors, makeup, and all that other junk I spent my life trying to avoid.

Okay, maybe it wasn't entirely awful. Everything was neatly organized for one thing: guys on one side and girls on the other, for instance. But the attitudes of some of those campers were just blegh.

How the heck could I possibly be related to these people?

When I woke up the next morning, I grabbed a nearby hand mirror, looked at my reflection, and promptly groaned. I still looked perfect. No blemishes, no zits, nothing. Apparently, Aphrodite's blessing wouldn't wear off for a few days.

Great.

I would have changed out of the white dress, but everything else that was offered to me was either just as bad or even more ridiculous.

I thought it couldn't get any worse, but I just had to see a King of Sparta poster on the wall.

Like I said, Worst week of my life.

After I finished seeing if the blessing had worn off, I found Drew bossing everyone around. And they all obeyed, even when they clearly didn't want to.

One of the guys—Mitchell, I think—walked up to me. "Hey, um... is your friend still here?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"The blue transformer with wings?"

I groaned. "He's not my friend." I protested.

"Are you sure? Because we could-"

"Mitchell?" asked Drew.

Mitchell sighed. "Yes, Drew?"

"Garbage detail, now," she ordered.

Mitchell nodded and left.

I turned to one of the other girls, a cute eleven-year-old named Lacy. "You just let her treat you like this?" I asked.

Lacy shrugged. "Look, um...here," she said, handing me a backpack. "Inside are all the essentials," she explained, "some rations, ambrosia, nectar, and some normal clothes and a jacket.".

"Oh. Thanks." I said appreciatively.

"You're welcome," Lacy said in a small voice. She tried to rush off, but I caught her arm.

"Hold on? Is something wrong?" I asked.

Lacey didn't say anything, but she looked like she was gonna shake apart from nervousness.

"Drew might find out..." Mitchel said, who was cleaning up trash nearby.

"And then I might have to wear the shoes of shame!" Lacy explained.

"The what?"

Lacy and Mitchel pointed to a pair of shoes on a black shelf. It was a pair of orthopedic nurse's shoes, bright white with thick soles.

I suppressed a laugh. "That's your ultimate punishment?" I giggled,

"It's not funny!" Lacy wailed; she looked absolutely horrified. "I had to wear them for a week once! They don't match with anything!".

"And there are worse punishments." Mitchell said, "Drew has this skill, charmspeak. It's a rare ability, but if she tries hard enough, she can get you to basically do anything."

The moment Mitchell said that the gears started turning in my head, I remembered all the times I had taken things from stores or when I convinced Thundercracker to stand down last night. "Like, convince shopkeepers to give you stuff for free?" I asked.

"Yeah, like that," Mitchell said.

"Please don't give her any ideas!" Lacy protested.

"Okay, sorry..." I said. It didn't matter anyway. I finally knew what to call this ability I had.

Mitchell slowly picked up a banana peel; I swear I saw some mold on it.

"...Look" he started. "Are you sure you can't ask your friend-"

My temper flared up. "I told you! He's not my friend!"

"Aw... but he's so funny..." Lacy mused.

I stood up angrily and glared at Lacy. "He's not funny!" I shouted, "He's a monster!"

"Well. Glad to see we do agree on something, hon." Drew said walking up. She was carrying a big trash can. "Oh, Mitchell, you missed a spot," she taunted as she dumped it on the ground.

Mitchell looked like he wanted to deck Drew, but he just sighed and moved to clean it up.

"Mitchell, you don't have to do that," I ordered.

"Yes, he does," Drew ordered back.

"No, he doesn't!"

"Yes, he does!"

Mitchell just stood there, unsure what to do.

Drew was silent for a bit, just staring at me. "Piper. Look here, hon," she said, passive aggressiveness oozing off her voice. "We run a good cabin here. A good family. We don't need troublemakers like you causing trouble."

"And I don't need bullies pushing me around!" I threw back at her.

Drew rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. So let me give you a crash course on what we do here at Cabin Ten. We match up cute couples at camp, and then we break them up!"

"Why?" I asked.

"For fun! We don't waste our time going on stupid quests."

Lacy raised her hand nervously. "But last night-"

Drew glared at her, and Lacy's voice died.

"It's too bad you won't be around." Drew sighed. "But if you survive your little quest, don't worry; I'll make sure to match you up with someone horrible. You'd deserve it."

My hands balled into fists.

"I mean, I didn't think it was possible for Aphrodite to have an ugly kid; who was your dad? A mutant? An alien? Is that how you met the Transfo-'

"Tristan McLean." I snapped.

The whole cabin turned silent. You could hear a needle drop.

I hated myself. I hated to play the "Famous Dad" card, but I wasn't just gonna let Drew insult him like that.

"My dad's Tristan McLean."

Once everyone got their voices back, the inevitable happened: everyone started to freak out, the girls started swooning, and the guys started getting pumped because one of their favorite action heroes' daughters was with them.

Then they started bombarding me with questions.

"Could you get me his autograph?"

If he lives... I thought to myself, "Sure!" I said, forcing a smile.

"Have you ever been on set?"

"Do you live in a mansion?"

"Do you have lunch with movie stars?"

"Yes, yes, and sometimes..." I muttered.

"Have you had your rite of passage?"

That one caught me off guard: "What rite of passage?" I asked.

An African American girl around my age named Rosalie sighed, "It's dumb. Basically, you have to get someone to fall in love with you and then break their heart. This makes you "Worthy of Aphrodite"," she said, using air quotes.

I stared in horror. "But that's terrible!"

"I know." Rosalie muttered, "That's why it was supposed to be put to a stop years ago, but Drew brought it back after she replaced the original head counselor last summer."

"What happened to the old counselor?" I asked.

Rosalie was silent; she stared forlornly at me. "We don't like to talk about it," she said simply.

"Oh my gosh!" One girl said, "I bet Aphrodite broke your dad's heart; he never loved again, did he?"

I was silent. That was pretty much exactly what had happened.

"How romantic..." she continued. "When you have your rite of passage, you can be just like mom!"

"Forget it!" I shouted, "I'm not breaking anyone's heart for a stupid right of passage!"

"Well then, hon, you'll never be a true daughter of Aphrodite," laughed Drew.

"Save the gatekeeping for online forums!" I retorted.

"Oh, it hardly matters," Drew laughed. "Because Piper? You couldn't break anyone's heart anyway. And all this nonsense of your dad being Tristan McLean needs to stop."

A few of the kids blinked uncertainly.

"You mean he's not her dad?"

"Please," Drew muttered.

I rolled my eyes. Whatever. Anything to get them to stop talking for now. Let them think I was a loser. I already knew I was.

Drew escorted everyone out, but Rosalie, Mitchel, and Lacy stayed behind to help me get ready. At least I had three people I was happy to consider my siblings.

Finally, I was dressed in normal clothes again. When I finished, I mouthed, thank you to Rosalie, Lacy, and Mitchell. As I stepped out, I noticed the King of Sparta poster had been put in the trash.

I was hoping to make it out before Drew noticed me, but sadly, she did. "Hah! All nice. Our little quest girl dressed up in dumpster clothes. Bye!" she said.

I should have just left and forgotten about it, but I couldn't stop myself. "You don't have to follow Drew's orders." I said to everyone there.

"Oh please." Drew scoffed. "Don't listen to her. She's just charmspeaking you all."

"I'm not!" I insisted.

"You may have a little power, Ms. Movie Star, but you don't know the first thing about Aphrodite."

"Forget it!" I shouted.

I walked out of the cabin in a huff and walked to the lakeside.

I knew I should be meeting up with Jason and Leo for the quest, but right now I needed a minute or two to myself. I got to the end of one of the docks, sat down, and started to cry. My tears fell into the water below.

How could my stupid life have gotten so screwed up in only one week? I was finally started to accept my life with Dad, warts and all. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but I finally had a closer bond with him in spite of him needing to leave so often, I had managed to last a full school year without taking anything or getting expelled, and I had the best friend I could ask for.

Now after only a day, all of that was gone. Dad was missing, I was related to a bunch of shallow morons, and my best friend was a liar; no, worse than a liar, he was a monster. A monster who wanted to help conquer my planet!

Let Drew mock me; what did I care?! Every word she was saying was true. What did I care about being a "true daughter of Aphrodite" anyway? What had Aphrodite ever done for me!? She'd broken my dad's heart and left him all alone.

Drew was right; I was a dumpster girl.

I was mid-sob when a comforting hand was placed on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked.

I wasn't sure how to answer that.

He sat down next to me.

"It's okay. I'm here," he said reassuringly.

"Why?" I asked, turning my head to him angrily, "I just met you! You don't know me!"

"Yeah, but I want to."

"Because my dad's Tristan McLean!?" I snapped.

Jason just stared at me with a blank expression. My face turned red. "Oh, right. I didn't tell you that..." I muttered.

Jason shook his head. "I don't care who your dad is, Piper!" Jason insisted,

"You don't know me!" I repeated crossing my arms.

Jason's face hardened, and he stood over me. "Look, you're the one who volunteered to go on this quest. Like it or not, that means we have to work together!"

I sighed and stood up. "You're right." I muttered, "I'm sorry. just- so much has gone wrong for me over the past twenty-four hours. It's been a lot to take in..."

"I know what you mean," Jason admitted. "I'm dealing with memory loss, remember? And I just found out I have a sister. I think we all have our own baggage right now."

He gave me a comforting smile. "So why don't we go through it together?" he asked.

I smiled back, but I felt sad inside. I had made a similar promise with Thundercracker. Would this one end up being broken as well? Maybe I'd be the one to break it too, if the dreams were right about my dad and the only way to be able to save him was by betraying my friends.

"Okay," I said simply.

Before either of us could say anything else, we heard a large thud back at camp.

Okay, Leo found us a robotic dragon to ride.

Awesome.

Jason had just gotten on, and I was ready to join him when I heard him shouting at me.

"Piper, wait!" shouted Thundercracker.

I growled, "You're still here!?" I asked.

"I wanted to see you off..." Thundercracker said meekly.

"Yeah, well, you're seeing me off," I muttered. I started to climb on Festus's back.

"Piper, please... I'm- I'm sorry...".

I just sat there on Festus's back silently.

"Goodbye, Thundercracker." I finally said.

Thundercracker's face dropped, "...Goodbye Piper," he said.

Leo gave the command, and we took off into the sky.

I didn't look back.

So this is the first time in the story I've made a conscious change from the Riordanverse canon that didn't have to do with the presence of the Transformers. Truthfully, it never really made sense to me that the Aphrodite Cabin "Rite of Passage" was allowed to go on as long as it did before Piper came along. Thus, I've revised it a bit, so it's something from the old days that Drew brought back when she took charge of the cabin.

I also added an original character to the mix. Rosalie. She's not really important in the grand scheme of things; I mostly added her in out of a desire to have at least one fashion-conscious girl who's around Piper's age in the Aphrodite Cabin who's actually nice and down to earth.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review.