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

Chapter 6.: Rescue Mission Part 1

Hound and Brawn took Hot Rod back to the Ark-27, with Thalia and Luke tagging along behind them. They found Ratchet, Sunstreaker, and Optimus working on the outside repairs of the ship.

When he saw them return, Ratchet perked up. "There you are," he said.

"Hey, doc..." Hot Rod muttered.

Ratchet walked up and inspected Hot Rod with a scanner and frowned. "I'm sure I don't need to point out the obvious, but you got pretty banged up," he said. "Let's get you to-"

"AH!" screamed Sunstreaker.

"What?!" Ratchet asked.

"What are those things!?" Sunstreaker asked, pointing at the two kids. Ratchet and Optimus looked at the strange creatures intently.

"Um, the things have names," Thalia said. "I'm Thalia, and this is Luke.".

"Hi," Luke said awkwardly, giving a small wave.

"What are they?" Optimus asked.

"Some locals and my friends. They helped me out." Hot Rod gasped.

"As I was saying..." Ratchet said as he did his best to help Hot Rod stand up. "Let's get you the medbay."

Hot Rod resisted as Ratchet tried to move him. "No time...got to...got to." Hot Rod wheezed as she struggled against Ratchet's grip.

"What is it?"

"Some of your friends took Annabeth!" Luke shouted angrily.

"Who's Annabeth?" Sunstreaker asked.

"Another local, apparently; the Decepticons kidnapped her for some reason," Hound explained.

"Right. I've got to save her!" Hot Rod muttered weakly.

"Hot Rod you're in no shape to fight. Get some rest," ordered Optimus. "We'll handle this."

"No way, Optimus! I can still-" Hot Rod attempted to step forward, but staggered and fell flat on his face.

Optimus kneeled at Hot Rod's level. "Hot Rod. I know you don't do good with orders...but that's an order."

"Yes, sir..." came Hot Rod's muffled and resigned voice.

"Ratchet, stay here and fix him up," Optimus ordered again. He turned to Sunstreaker, "Sunstreaker, get Chromia and Prowl; we're going on a rescue mission."

"Sir!" Sunstreaker said before running off.

Luke looked surprised. "You're... you're gonna help us? Just like that?"

"Of course," said Optimus. "Why wouldn't we?"

Luke didn't say anything, but he smiled.

Annabeth looked up from the chair the "Decepticons" had fashioned for her and restrained her in. Several of them loomed over her, watching and waiting—some with expressions of disgust, others with curiosity.

"She's so...small..." Barricade murmured.

"So gross," muttered Skytread.

"Can we squish her!?" asked Quake.

"We need her alive, you idiot!" Starscream pointed out.

"Then can we squish her?" Quake asked.

Starscream glared.

Annabeth didn't know what to do. With her arms tied to the armrests, she couldn't get to the knife Luke had given her, and there were too many of these robots to fight off.

"Mom, please help me..." she murmured.

"What's a mom?" Skytread asked.

"Silence!" shouted Megatron as he walked into the room.

Annabeth was silent. She had calmed down by now and managed to shoot Megatron a defiant glare.

"Now, little human, tell me, what do you know of the Allspark?" Megatron asked.

Annabeth stuck her tongue out.

Starscream raised an eyebrow. "Was that supposed to be an insult?" he asked.

"Yeah. It was." Annabeth fired back.

"Tell me what you know!" Megatron repeated.

"All I know is, it's been an hour, and you guys still haven't fed me anything!" Annabeth shouted, "Don't I have rights as a prisoner?"

"She's got a point..." Thundercracker said, "As a prisoner, she's entitled to at least-"

"We'll worry about feeding her later!" Megatron yelled, "I am giving you a chance to cooperate. Tell me what you know about the Allspark!"

"Nothing," Annabeth answered.

Megatron growled. He turned to Barricade. "Once Soundwave is finished with the repairs to the Nemesis, tell him to get in here," he ordered.

"Yes, Lord Megatron." Barricade responded.

Annabeth tapped her foot nervously. "Come on, Luke. Come on, Thalia. Where are you?" she muttered

As Optimus Prime, Hound, Sunstreaker, Chromia, Prowl, and Brawn went through the forest in their new vehicle modes, no one could shake the sense of futility surrounding the whole thing.

"Optimus, do we have any idea where we're even going?" Prowl asked unhappily.

"I've had Ratchet send the Sky Spy out to look for the Decepticons, but it hasn't picked up anything yet," Optimus answered.

"Optimus, are we even sure this is the best move?" Prowl asked. "We're wasting resources and time that could be used to get ourselves ready. We should be getting the Ark-27 fixed."

Luke fumed; this was the kind of attitude he expected from people bigger than him. "So what? We're supposed to just leave Annabeth?" he asked.

"Not forever, but if the Decepticons kidnapped her, they probably need her alive." Prowl pointed out, "That means we wouldn't have to rush-"

"Prowl!" Chromia scolded, "You would leave a helpless protoform at the Decepticon's mercy?"

Prowl didn't say anything, but he seemed to be sulking.

Sunstreaker growled as another branch hit his windshield and more leaves stuck to his wheels. "GAH!" he muttered. "Why does this planet have so much gunk on it!?" he asked.

"It's not gunk; it's the forest." Thalia responded, "And what did you expect? Lambo's aren't exactly known for being off-road cars."

"Whatever!" Sunstreaker muttered, "Look, Optimus, I hate to say it, but Prowl's got a point. We can't just wander aimlessly; how are we supposed to find the Decepticons?"

Optimus was silent; he seemed to be thinking.

Just then they heard a strange, deep noise that went "HOO."

"What's that!?" asked Hound.

Thalia looked around. There on a nearby branch was an owl. Her eyes widened.

"Guys, look!" she said, pointing at it.

"What is that strange avian creature?" asked Prowl.

"It's called an owl," Luke answered.

"Yeah, and owls are Annabeth's mom's sacred animal!" Thalia exclaimed

"What's a mom?" asked Brawn.

Luke's face turned surly. "Thalia, do you really think that-"

"Luke It's the middle of the day!" Thalia pointed out, "Why else would an owl be out right now?!"

"What are you two talking about!?" Prowl shouted with exasperation.

Thalia was about to explain when the owl began to fly off and flew down another pathway.

"Follow that owl!" Thalia ordered. Hound revved his engine up and started to do so.

"Hound!" shouted Optimus

"What have we got to lose Prime?" Hound asked cheekily.

Optimus had to admit Hound had a point. "Autobots, follow that... Owl!" he ordered.

"URG, we gotta go through even more woods," muttered Sunstreaker.

"Don't worry, Streak; I'm sure that it'll only get worse from here." Chromia teased.

"I should have stayed on Cybertron..." Sunstreaker bemoaned as he and the other Autobots closely trailed after Hound.

"It's about time you got here, Soundwave!" Megatron shouted as the con in question entered the interrogation room.

"Apologies, Lord Megatron, but the hull damage was more severe than we thought," Soundwave explained.

"Just read the human's mind now!" ordered Megatron.

"Affirmative." Soundwave approached the terrified girl, who was doing her best to keep a defiant face up.

"I'm not telling you anything!" she shouted.

"Who said you needed to tell me?" Soundwave asked. He put his robotic hands on each side of Annabeth's head.

Annabeth screamed as she felt electricity jolt through her head. She tried to ask what was happening, but the pain was too intense.

Soundwave for his part stayed composed. Her cries and screams were music to his ears.

As it finally finished, Annabeth slumped down in her chair.

"Well?" asked Megatron.

Soundwave just stood there, trying to process the information he recovered from the human's memories.

"Hey, Soundwave, are you okay?" Thundercracker asked.

Soundwave hesitated. "Subject has no information on the Allspark," he reported.

"What!? Impossible! What about her shirt!?" Megatron asked.

"It appears that it was just a coincidence," Soundwave remarked.

"Okay, now can we squish her!?" Quake asked.

"NO!" Soundwave shouted instantly.

"Why not!?" asked Quake.

"Yes, Soundwave, was there something else in her brain that could prove useful?" Megatron asked.

Soundwave was quiet.

Before anyone else could do anything, the sensors of the ship began going off.

"Warning. Warning. Autobots detected in the vicinity."

"What?!" asked Skywarp. "How did they find us!?"

"I don't know, but I say we give them the girl; she's worthless!" Thundercracker stated.

"No. Megatron was right. There is information in her brain we could use." Soundwave stated.

"Then we know what to do." Megatron said, "Decepticons, get to defensive positions."

The cons began to move outside, but as he was leaving, Spinister was stopped by Megatron. "Except you, Spinister, I want you to guard the prisoner," he ordered.

Spinister gave a silent nod and stood guard as everyone else rushed outside...

"There it is!" shouted Hound.

The Autobots had emerged from the forest and found a mountain lake. The Nemesis was parked next to the lake, with repairs almost complete.

"I've never been so happy to see a Decepticon ship in my life," Sunstreaker muttered with relief as he finally cleared out of the forest.

"What's the plan, Optimus?" Chromia asked.

Before Optimus could answer, a panel on the Nemesis opened, and Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker stepped out of it.

"Improvise!" Optimus declared.

"Works for me!" Brawn said. As he changed into his robot mode, he shouted, "Might over microchips!".

"Get them!" ordered Starscream, and he, Thundercracker, and Skywarp transformed into their jet modes and flew towards the Autobots...

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