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

Chapter 26: Crash Course Part 2

Right now, Chromia really wished she could transform into robot mode.

The chase to rescue Annabeth's dad was turning into a huge mess. She'd spent most of it behind Soundwave, keeping Buzzsaw and Laserbeak busy.

Soundwave continued to push Prowl, carrying Annabeth and her father Frederick, after the Decepticon had rear-ended him. Hot Rod and Hound were trying to catch back up to Soundwave, all the while Laserbeak and Buzzsaw were shooting at them.

Barricade had gone missing after Annabeth had managed to get her dad from him. He'd just driven down another road for some reason. It should have been a relief, but it actually made Chromia even more worried. Barricade wasn't the type to desert his fellow cons.

She really just wanted to transform into robot mode, land on top of Soundwave, and pull Prowl off of him.

But she couldn't; she had to keep in disguise and all that.

It was really a pain in her rear axle.

Luckily, as a motorcycle, she could move more nimbly than the average vehicle, so once the opportunity presented itself, she squeezed past Hound, Hot Rod, and Soundwave, moving to the front of the chase.

"Prowl? Are you okay?" she asked.

"Do I really have to answer that?!" Prowl grunted.

"Just hang on!" Chromia said. "We'll get you out of this!"

"Somebody better do something fast!" Luke shouted.

"I'm working on it!" Prowl yelled. "Hound? You added that new function we talked about?"

"Oh. Right!" Hound responded.

Hound proceeded to slow down and move behind Soundwave.

"Good, a time as ever to try it," Hound muttered. "Luke? Would you do the honors?"

Luke smirked. One of the buttons on Hound's dashboard lit up, and he hit it.

From Hound's front, the winch function on his Jeep mode shifted and changed into a grappling hook. It launched forward, catching on Soundwave's back. If Soundwave felt pain from this, he did not show or express it.

"Pull!" ordered Prowl.

Hound braked hard and came to a stop; the grappling hook line grew tight, and with a loud crunching noise, Soundwave was pulled back, and Prowl was unstuck from his front bumper.

Just then, Soundwave started to go in reverse and headed right towards Hound.

Luke's eyes widened. "Get back!" he yelled. But it was too late. Soundwave slammed into the front of Hound, causing the grappling line to disconnect.

Then Soundwave turned into the other lane and ran off. Buzzsaw and Laserbeak flew back around and followed close behind their commander.

"That's odd; they're giving up?" Chromia asked.

"Maybe he went back to get Frenzy," Thalia suggested.

"Let's worry about it later; let's just get out of here!" Prowl ordered.

"What? We're just going—"

"Yes, Hot Rod, we are," Prowl stated firmly. "We've got Mr. Chase; right now we need to focus on getting out of here."

Hot Rod grumbled, but he still followed Prowl and the other, Hound, lagging close behind. His entire front bumper was mangled thanks to the collision from Soundwave.

"You okay, Hound?" Thalia asked.

"Yeah, nothing Ratchet can't fix."

"Could someone please explain to me what the hell is happening here!?" Frederick asked with exasperation.

"It's a long story, dad…" Annabeth said as the Autobots rounded a corner.

"Were those…robots? And why are these vehicles talking?" Frederick asked.

"They're robots who turn into vehicles," Annabeth answered.

Frederick gave a blank stare. "What?" he asked.

"Look, I'll explain–"

"LOOK OUT!" cried Chromia.

Annabeth looked forward and screamed.

Coming right toward them was a blue F-22 that seemed to "skid" in mid-air in order to get right above Prowl.

"Thundercracker!" shouted Hot Rod.

Before anyone could react, a massive boom erupted from around Thundercracker. Glass from the nearby buildings shattered, and Annabeth, Thalia, Luke, and Frederick covered their ears. Hound, Prowl Hot Rod, and Chromia were all disoriented from the blast and couldn't focus; Hound even ran right into a nearby building.

A grappling winch released from Thundercracker and jammed itself right into Prowl's roof. Prowl hollered in pain.

"What the hell!?" cried Frederick.

"Look out! Can't stop!" yelled the out-of-control Hot Rod as he collided with Prowl just as Thundercracker began to lift the police car up. Prowl started to spin in mid-air.

"Prowl!" shouted Chromia.

Prowl grunted as he was lifted up into the air and dragged by Thundercracker. "Can't focus, can't move!" he yelled.

"HELP!" cried Annabeth.

"Ratchet, Optimus, we got a situation here!" Chromia shouted over her comm.

Prowl had been in tight spots before; he'd been taken captive by Decepticons before too, but this time was probably one for the history books.

Currently being lifted and carried through the air by Thundercracker in vehicle mode, he was unable to do anything. He was in pain from the winch that was still jammed into his roof. He couldn't transform into robot mode without risking harm to his passengers. His processor was starting to clear from the boom that Thundercracker had caused, but it wasn't like that could help him at the moment.

Inside him, Frederick was freaked out of his mind; he still had no idea what was happening here or why his daughter was involved in it.

He looked over at his daughter and saw her shuddering in fear.

He didn't know what to do right now; he didn't know how to tell her it was going to be okay.

"Annabeth…" he said.

Annabeth looked at her dad, confused and scared.

"I…" Frederick didn't say anything; he didn't know what to say. He just hugged Annabeth.

Annabeth gave a surprised look. "Dad, what are you doing?" she asked, confused.

"I'm not letting you go right now."

Annabeth was quiet before returning the hug.

Just then, right as they got above a forest clearing, the winch detached from Prowl, and he started to freefall right toward the ground.

"OH NO!" Annabeth screamed, tears in her eyes.

"HANG ON!" Prowl yelled

Freddrick hugged Annabeth tighter, and Annabeth, for the first time in a long time, hugged her dad back as hard as she could.

There was a loud CRUNCH and a POOF as Prowl landed on the ground, deploying his airbags.

Frederick and Annabeth just sat there for a moment, dazed and confused, before they both tumbled out of Prowl on their respective sides.

Frederick wasn't sure how much more of this he could take…

And that's when he saw the giant blue robot with guns on his arms.

Frederick stagged backward in shock and fear. He heard giant footsteps behind him and saw another giant robot approaching, this one also blue but much more beat up with a red visor.

"Annabeth Chase," Soundwave growled coldly. "You have become an annoyance."

Annabeth looked like she wanted to fire back a comment, but she was too worn out.

"Annabeth, what is going on?" Frederick asked.

Annabeth gasped. "They're aliens." She panted. "They're here to…here to..." she collapsed on the ground.

"Annabeth!" Frederick shouted. He moved to rush over to her side, but the foot of the robot with the visor slammed in between Frederick and his daughter.

Just then Fredrick heard a grinding and clicking sound. He looked back and saw the police car they had been in was now transforming into a giant white robot.

Prowl leaned forward and tried to charge at Soundwave, but Thundercracker shot Prowl from behind.

"No moving Autobot." Thundercracker shot back.

Prowl made a desperate attempt to stand up before falling to the ground again.

Normally this would be one of the best moments in Frederick's life. Up close and personal contact with alien life forms. He had so many questions, so many things he had to know.

If only they weren't hostile.

He looked around and saw the black police car he had been captured in driving up and transforming into a robot too. The three giant robots glared down at him.

"What do you want?" Frederick asked.

"Your mind," Soundwave replied. "We need your knowledge of ancient Greek writing."

Frederick raised his eyebrow. "Why would–"

"NO QUESTIONS," Soundwave stated in a booming voice that seemed to echo all around.

"So I go with you and you leave my daughter alone?" Frederick asked. "Is that it?"

"Who said we needed to bargain?" Soundwave asked. He pressed a button on his shoulder. "Laserbeak. Eject. Operation, Interrogation."

Out of Soundwave's chest, a data disc that turned into a red robotic condor came out, and it flew right toward Frederick and pinned him to the ground with his talons.

Frederick groaned and tried to move, but this condor had him in a steel trap. Its birdlike face looked right into his eyes and seemed to laugh at him.

Soundwave leaned forward so he was right on top of Frederick and put his hands on each side of the human's head. An electric jolt ran through him, causing Frederick to scream in pain.

"How long is this going to take Soundwave?" Barricade asked.

"It shouldn't be too much longer," Soundwave replied. "I just need—"

Just then a shot rang out and hit Soundwave in the shoulder. He grunted in pain.

"Hands off my partner, Decepticon!" Chromia shouted brandishing her laser rifle before firing more shots. Behind her Hound, Hot Rod, Thalia, and Luke charged; all four of them were battered and tired, but they were still standing.

"Gah! They found us!" Barricade yelled.

"We cannot let them get their hands on the human Frederick chase and have access to his knowledge," Soundwave noted. "Take them out," he ordered.

"Got it!" Thundercracker said. He raised his wrists to fire his laser. Before he could pull the trigger, though, Hound whipped out his gun and shot Thundercracker in the chest.

"GAH!" Thundercracker grunted in pain. He looked down at the injury and saw it had exposed some internal circuitry and wires. "Nice shot," he said. "Here's mine!" and he managed to launch a volley of lasers at Hound, who was knocked back a good bit.

Meanwhile, Chromia ran over to where Prowl was lying down injured. She leaned down and grabbed him by the shoulder and helped him back up. "This is not your day, is it, partner?" Chromia asked.

"No, it's not," Prowl muttered. He pulled out his acid pellet gun and aimed it at Laserbeak, who was still holding Frederick to the ground. Laserbeak squealed in fear and flew off, letting Frederick go.

"Are you alright, Mr. Chase?" Prowl asked.

"I'm fine." Frederick answered as he stood up, "Where's Annabeth?"

Prowl looked around, but he couldn't see her right away. "She must have crawled somewhere to safety," he guessed.

"Hey! Could you two help us out here?" demanded Hot Rod. He was caught in combat with both Soundwave and Barricade, while Thalia and Luke were desperately trying to help him. Chromia and Prowl watched as Barricade swung a punch at Hot Rod. He managed to dodge, but then Soundwave managed to shoot him in turn. In retaliation, Thalia forcefully jammed her spear into Soundwave, while Luke aggressively swung his sword at Barricade.

Chromia turned her head at Prowl. "Hey look, I'm not gonna just leave-"

"Do it," Prowl ordered.

Chromia nodded and let go of Prowl, letting him fall to the ground. She leaped up into the air and delivered a flying kick right towards Soundwave, hitting him in the head.

Frederick looked up at Prowl. "So is this what my daughter has been up to lately?" he asked.

"Yeah," Prowl said.

Frederick didn't seem to know how to respond to that. "We need to find her now!" he said.

Thundercracker growled as he hit the forest floor after another punch from Hound knocked him backward.

As he picked himself back up, Thundercracker thought to himself. He needed a way to end this battle quickly, but how?

He looked around the battlefield and saw something out in the corner near some bushes, unnoticed by everyone else.

It was the girl, Annabeth Chase. She was hiding in some bushes and panting hard; her face was red, and she was struggling to catch her breath.

Thundercracker stared at her for a bit, then he closed his eyes. He knew what he had to do. He took a minute to pump himself up and get his game face on...

Hound was about to go after Thundercracker when he heard Luke scream in pain. Barricade had sent him flying across the battlefield with a backhanded swing.

Hound rushed over to his friend and caught him before charging in and tackling Barricade.

Chromia was about to jab her laser rifle into Soundwave's chest and fire when a huge thunder boom erupted all around them.

"ENOUGH!" shouted Thundecracker.

Everyone stopped their battling and turned to look at Thundercracker, even the Decepticons.

"Autobots, surrender, and Frederick Chase, you will agree to come up with us," Thundercracker stated. "Or I kill your daughter."

He took a minute to show Annabeth in his closed fist. She struggled and squirmed desperately, trying to get out. Her expression seemed to say, "Dang it, again?".

"Annabeth no!" Thalia said.

"You piece of scrap!" Hot Rod yelled.

"Let her go now!" Luke ordered.

"No," Thundercracker said plainly.

Chromia and Hound both aimed their guns, but Prowl stopped them. "Wait! You could hit Annabeth!" he pointed out.

"Damn it," Chromia said.

Frederick was frozen in shock, staring off into space.

"Can you hear me, Mr. Chase?" Thundercracker asked.

"Yes, I heard you," Frederick said as he grinded his teeth.

"What will it be? Come with us, or I—"

"I just said I heard you!" Frederick yelled.

"Thundercracker… you…" Chromia stammered. "This isn't you; you don't hurt helpless bot– people."

"Oh, but she is far from helpless, isn't she Chromia?" Thundercracker asked. "As Soundwave pointed out, she has become an annoyance. She has interfered with our plans more often than not! Clearly, she is a worthy combatant."

Soundwave nodded.

"Still you... executing people?" Chromia asked in disbelief.

"Know this Autobots!" Thundercracker stated firmly, "It does not give me pleasure to end the life of another being, but I would do so gladly for the Decepticon cause! There is no line I won't cross, no price I won't pay if it means the Decepticon empire flourishes!"

"Now, what's it going to be?" he finished.

There was nothing but dead silence for a moment; everyone stared at either Frederick or Thundercracker. Annabeth made some whimpering sounds and frustrated grunts.

"All I have to do is squeeze." Thundercracker taunted.

Hot Rod put his feet to the ground; he was about to charge when–

"Wait!" Frederick said.

Thundercracker locked eyes on him.

"If I go with you... You'll let Annabeth go?" he asked.

"You have my word," Thundercracker promised.

"Mr. Chase no!" yelled Hound. Frederick didn't seem to hear him and stepped forward.

"Put her down first," he said.

Thundercracker nodded and knelt down on one knee. He put his hand to the ground and unclenched his fist, letting Annabeth go. The moment she was free, Annabeth staggered out and looked up at her father, "Dad, what are you–"

Frederick remained silent, but he winked at Annabeth, much to her confusion. Then he bumped into her on his way to Thundercracker.

"Well?" Thundercracker asked, "Get in my hand," he ordered.

"Just one thing," Frederick said. He looked like he was struggling to keep a straight face.

"What?"

It all happened too fast for Thundercracker to react. Frederick threw his arm backward, and in that arm was Annabeth's dagger. Then he jammed the dagger into Thundercracker's chest, right where all the exposed circuitry and wires from the shot from Hound were.

The dagger went deep in, and Thundercracker screamed in pain.

His entire body started to twitch, sparks flew all over him, and his eyes glowed. He brought his hands to his face and tried to keep himself steady, but he fell to the ground.

"Thundercracker!" cried Barricade. He ran over to his teammate and tried to help keep him steady.

Soundwave moved over and helped Barricade hold Thundercracker up. "We must take him back to headquarters now," Soundwave said.

A ground bridge opened up behind them, and Soundwave and Barricade dragged Thundercracker into it. Once the three cons were through the portal, it disappeared, leaving the Autobots alone.

For a moment, they just stood there, staring at the spot the ground bridge had been at.

"Annabeth. Your dad is awesome." Hot Rod finally said.

Annabeth didn't say anything. She just looked at her dad with uncertainty and fear.

Frederick walked over to her and handed her dagger back to her. "Nice weapon," he said.

"Dad…" Annabeth murmured as she took the dagger back. "You… You saved me."

The two just stared at each other for a bit before Frederick's eyes turned to the Autobots. "Well, now that we have a moment to catch our breaths," he said. "Wow. Fascinating. Silicon life forms from another planet that can change their shape?"

"Yeah…" Prowl said.

"Dad…" Annabeth groaned, but she couldn't stop a small chuckle from escaping her.

"Look, um... Mr. Chase, these guys really need your help," Thalia said.

"My help?"

"Yeah," Prowl stated. "We need..." he grunted. "We need..". He started to groan, and everyone turned to look at him.

"Is he okay?" Luke asked.

"Prowl?" asked Chromia.

Prowl groaned even more and put his hands to his head.

"Prowl!?" yelled Chromia.

Then everything went blank for Prowl.

Frederick Chase spends several weeks worried out of his mind over the fate of his daughter after she ran away. Unable to do anything, unable to say what needed to be said.

About three weeks after she went missing, he gets a letter from Camp Half-Blood saying she's safe and she's going to live there now.

She doesn't even show up in person to let him know she's alive.

Without seeing each other in person for years, Annabeth and her father grow more and more distant... Annabeth tries to live with him again at one point, but it fails miserably.

The scene changes. A now much older Annabeth is on a train car with a boy with sea-green eyes and black hair. "What would you do if it was your dad?" he asks.

Annabeth gives a cold glare at the boy. "I'd leave him to rot."

"Prowl!"

Prowl blinked and snapped out of it, seeing Chromia staring right at him and the other Autobots and humans looking at him.

"Are you okay?" Chromia asked. "What happened?"

Prowl blinked again and looked around. His eyes locked on Annabeth and her dad.

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

This is another chapter where I'm not 100% satisfied with how the fight scene turned out. I hope it's decent enough for you all.

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