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

Chapter 55: Goodbye Part 1.

Hot Rod's dreams after he blacked out for the second time that day didn't bring him any comfort.

He saw some kind of high-tech submarine blast a torpedo at a nearby cliffside where a huge assortment of buildings was perched. The cliffside began to collapse, and the buildings started to fall into the sea as the screams of terror of all the people inside rang out around him.

He saw five mechanical beasts—a yellow eagle, a red lion, a white tiger, a blue shark, and a black bison—chained up before Megatron and Shockwave. Megatron gestures to Shockwave and a huge amount of voltage shot through the beasts as they roared in pain…

He saw Starscream, standing tall and proud, as energy swarmed around him. The energy came in a variety of colors: blue, black, green, red, yellow, pink, and others. Starscream grinned menacingly as the energy entered him, and he declared. "The power is mine."

He saw himself, along with a few kids and some other Autobots, like Wheeljack and Springer, on the deck of a ship. He couldn't make out a few of them, but one of the kids looked like Grover. Another was a girl with brown hair and whose eyes seemed like they were multiple colors. The girl looked back at another kid with blond hair and electric blue eyes… just like Thalia. The blond guy started to say something when someone threw a spear, and it landed right through his chest. The girl screamed in horror.

He saw a purple transformer he had never seen before, with an orange cannon on his arm, leading a huge army of not just Decepticons, but monsters of every shape and size. They walked forward, ready to conquer...

"Hot Rod!" called a voice.

Hot Rod saw Annabeth and Hound running down the abandoned streets of New York towards Luke. But Luke looked different. He looked—

"HOT ROD!"

Hot Rod snapped his head up and looked around.

He was in some kind of wooden shed. Around him were various pieces of junk and a few confused kids looking at him, paused in mid-work. Hot Rod looked back and forth at the kids until his eyes locked on a face he recognized.

"Hey, Charles." Hot Rod greeted.

"Hey Hot Rod…" Charles Beckendorf greeted back a bit nervously.

"Where's Thalia?" asked Hot Rod right away.

"Look, Hot Rod calm down…" Charles said

"Where is she!?" Hot Rod asked urgently.

"Look, um, dude… you gotta–" One of the kids started to say, but Hot Rod didn't listen. He sat up and burst his way out of the shack.

He looked around the area and saw a bunch of small buildings of different sizes and shapes around him. Twelve of them were positioned in a U shape in the area, and there were a few scattered buildings around them.

He finally spotted the other Autobots—Chromia, Ratchet, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Hound, Prowl, Nightprowler, and Optimus—gathered in the area. Prowl appeared to still be recovering from his injury sustained during the cyclops fight, while Ratchet was examining him. The others were just standing around randomly, seemingly waiting for Hot Rod to wake up; they still seemed a bit surprised to see him, though.

"Hot Rod, you're up," said Chromia.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Hot Rod.

"Hound called us after you went into stasis lock." Sideswipe explained. "Ratchet was finished up with the repairs, so he took us and the Ark-27 over to help."

"Too late…" muttered Nightprowler sadly.

"Easy there, kid." Ratchet said, stepping forward to inspect Hot Rod better. "Let's get you properly checked out–." But Hot Rod just brushed the medics hands away.

"Where's Thalia?" Hot Rod asked

Everyone hesitated.

"Hot Rod…" began Optimus.

"Is she okay!?" asked Hot Rod; his face looked like it was slipping into despair.

"Depends on your definition…" Sunstreaker muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Hot Rod, asked worriedly.

No one answered right away. They just gave Hot Rod an awkward look.

"What!?" asked Hot Rod. He was starting to panic.

"Ahem," said a voice.

Hot Rod turned around to look at where the voice was coming from. Coming from one of the bigger buildings in the area was a strange creature. His front half was that of a normal human, but in place of his legs was a full horse's body with white fur. Standing beside the creature on either side were Annabeth, Luke, and Grover. All three of them had somber looks on their faces and shared the Autobots awkward silence. Annabeth was currently on crutches, and her leg was in a cast.

"You must be Hot Rod," the man said.

"Yeah, who are you?" Hot Rod asked.

"I'm Chiron. I'm the activities director of this camp," he greeted.

"So this is Camp Half Blood…" Hot Rod guessed.

Chiron nodded. "Yes, thank you for—"

"WHERE'S THALIA?!" Hot Rod asked again.

There was another round of silence.

"Hot Rod…" Annabeth finally said, looking like she was trying not to cry.

"What?" asked Hot Rod. "Is she dead?"

"Yes," said Luke bitterly.

"No," said Grover unsurely.

"Not exactly." Chiron said.

Hot Rod didn't say anything, but he gave a confused expression.

"Maybe it's best if we show you…" Chiron said.

Chiron led Hot Rod and the others to the hill where Hot Rod and Thalia had fought off the furies, hellhounds, and the two seekers.

There was something different about the hill though. Now there was a giant pine tree on top of it that Hot Rod was sure wasn't there before.

Hot Rod walked up to the tree and inspected it with the same confused look from earlier before facing Chiron. "I don't understand…" he murmured.

"The tree is Thalia," Chiron finally said.

"...What?" Hot Rod asked in a small voice.

"Best we can tell... Zeus turned Thalia into a pine tree to save her life." Hound added.

"Talk about a crappy idea…" Luke muttered crossly with his arms folded over his chest.

"Luke!" Annabeth scolded.

"Well, it's true!" Luke added.

Hot Rod looked at his friends. Then he looked at the pine tree. He just stared at it for several moments.

"Hot Rod…" Optimus, said softly.

"Well…okay. She's saved." Hot Rod said. He looked back at Chiron "So how do we turn her back?" he asked.

Chiron shuffled his hooves sadly.

Hot Rod's spark sank. "No…" he said in a small voice.

"I'm sorry… If there's a way to change her back, I don't' know it." Chiron said.

"So what? She's just stuck like this!?" Hot Rod asked, the anguish in his voice apparent.

Chiron didn't say anything, but he nodded. Hot Rod looked at the ground with despair in his eyes.

Another silence hung in the air after that. It ended when a huge SMACK rang out.

It was Luke, hitting Grover across the face, pinning him to the ground, and holding him by the throat.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Luke screamed.

"Luke, no!" Annabeth pleaded.

Grover lay there on the ground, struggling against Luke's grip and yet still having a look of guilt and anguish on his face as Luke strangled him. "I'm sorry…" he managed to choke out with tears in his eyes. But Luke didn't get off of the satyr.

"Luke, stop it!" ordered Hound, and he ran over to break the two apart. He picked up Luke by the shirt collar and hoisted him in the air. Once he was free, Grover gasped for air.

"Let me go!" ordered Luke as he squirmed in Hound's grip.

"Luke, he was only trying to help you..." Chiron said calmly.

"Fat load of good it did!" Luke scoffed. "He couldn't get us to camp in time! He led us right into a cyclops' lair! He messed up, and now Thalia's dead because of it!"

"She's not dead!" Grover insisted, as he got up weakly.

Luke crossed his arms. "She might as well be…"

"Luke, you might not have made it to camp at all if it wasn't for him." Hound reminded him as he put Luke down on the ground. "If you want to get mad at anyone, get mad at Hades; he's the one who sent those monsters after her."

Luke turned his back on everyone and looked away. "Yeah…but he's not gonna get punished for it, is he?" he asked bitterly.

No one had an answer for that.

"He's probably laughing on his throne right now," Luke muttered as tears built up in his eyes. "He got exactly what he wanted. And now that he's been rewarded for being a monster, he's gonna keep doing it. He's never going to—"

Hot Rod, who had been quietly looking at the ground during all this, let out a howl of despair, sadness, and rage into the air.

"Hot Rod!" shouted Optimus. He moved to put a comforting hand on the young soldier, but Hot Rod just shoved it aside and started running away down the hill. When he got to the bottom, he transformed into his Dodge Viper mode and started driving off.

"Hot Rod!" Optimus shouted again.

Chiron looked down sadly. "Leave him be," he said to the strange visitor to his camp. "One thing I've learned during my time training heroes is sometimes you need to give them space."

Optimus gave a somber expression toward the old centaur. "Yes. I learned that lesson too…" he said knowingly.

Hot Rod raced through the forest around Camp Half-Blood. He zoomed past the nearby strawberry fields and drove up a nearby mountain. When he got to the top, he transformed and looked around.

It was stunningly beautiful. A lake glistened in the distance; the sky was clear; the trees looked healthy and strong; he saw a hawk or two flying in the distance, and deer trotting down on the ground.

It wasn't fair.

It shouldn't be so beautiful. Not when this had happened. Not when Thalia was gone.

Hot Rod collapsed to his hands and knees and grimaced. He'd never see Thalia again; she'd never get to grow up, go to college, get a job, or have a family.

But worst of all, he'd never get to fulfill his promise to her. He'd never help her find Jason again, never help her see her mom again. He'd promised to always be there for her, and he failed.

Hot Rod let out another scream of anguish and despair before he rolled over and collapsed on his back. He just lay there looking at the sky—that beautiful sky that seemed to taunt him.

He just laid there for several minutes until, out of nowhere, he heard footsteps approaching.

Hot Rod sat up and looked back where the sound was coming from and saw a man in a business suit with black hair walking up to him.

Hot Rod was so miserable he didn't even care that a human had spotted him. "Isn't this a bad place to wear a suit?" he asked, still sulking.

"It's my favorite outfit," the man said.

"Yeah, well, I was under the impression that on this planet, clothing like suits aren't very comfortable for hiking." Hot Rod said. He turned his head away and went back to looking over the cliffside.

The man walked up next to Hot Rod and sat down awkwardly next to him.

The two sat there in silence for a while before the man spoke up again. "I'm...sorry," he choked out, as if it were the most painful thing in the world to say. "I'm not good at…emotional stuff."

"Yeah?" asked Hot Rod. "Like what?"

"Gratitude," the man said.

Hot Rod looked skeptical. "I just met you," he pointed out.

"Yes," the man agreed. "But you knew my daughter."

Hot Rod's downcast optics shot open and looked right at the man. His eyes were electric blue, the same color as Thalia's.

"ZEUS!" Hot Rod exclaimed, staggering back, and standing up. "You're…you're…."

"Yes," the man said. In a flash of electric energy, he grew to Hot Rod's size, so the two were on the same eye level.

Hot Rod didn't say anything at first. He just stood there, his vocal processor hanging open at the sight of the Earth god in front of him.

"Well?" Zeus asked, taking on a stern expression. "Aren't you going to say something?"

"I…I…." Hot Rod stammered. "I'm sorry," he blurted out. "If you're here to blame someone for what happened to Thalia, blame me," he said, looking down at the ground. "I should have protected her… I failed…"

"I could blame you." Zeus admitted.

"See? You're partway there." Hot Rod quipped a bit nervously.

"For once though I'm not going too…" Zeus added.

"Why not?" Hot Rod asked.

Zeus shuffled uncomfortably, as if he were hiding something. He finally spoke up with a weariness in his tone. "Thalia talked about you often," he said. "In her prayers to me."

"She did?" Hot Rod asked.

Zeus nodded. "She told me you were one of the best friends she ever had. You were there for her when I couldn't be. And I…" Zeus hesitated.

"What?" asked Hot Rod.

"...Thank you for that..." Zeus finished with a gag. "Sorry. I'm not used to saying that either…"

"Man, you must be a lot of fun at parties." Hot Rod teased, giving a small laugh.

"I'm a delight for the record." Zeus insisted with his own laugh.

The two laughed with each other for a moment before Hot Rod resumed his dour expression and looked over the horizon again. "Do you have any idea why Hades would do this?" Hot Rod asked. "Thalia didn't do anything to him... Was it really that big a deal that she was born?"

Zeus sighed. "Yes, it was," he admitted.

"Why?" asked Hot Rod.

"Our family doesn't tend to let things go... we can be remarkable grudge holders." Zeus explained. "Hades is the best at that…".

Hot Rod took a moment to take it all in. "There's more to this, isn't there?" he asked suspiciously.

"Hot Rod…" Zeus said sadly. "I can't tell you everything. All I can say is that I've had to make some hard choices as the head of my family. Choices that have had consequences but were necessary to keep us alive and together…"

Hot Rod was quiet, unsure of what to think.

"One day, when you're a leader in your own right, you will understand." Zeus explained.

Hot Rod didn't think he wanted to understand. "This isn't the ending Thalia deserved…" he muttered.

"No. But it is the ending expected." Zeus said. "A hero's fate is hardly ever a happy one. Theseus, Jason, Achilles, Bellerophon, Amelia Earhart, and so many others I could name."

"That's a load of scrap..." Hot Rod insisted, turning to Zeus with an angry expression. "We make our own happy endings. We make our own destiny."

Zeus let out a wistful sigh. "Oh, to be young and naive again," he muttered.

"What!?" Hot Rod asked even angrier.

"I don't want to ruin this chat." Zeus said. "It's been the first time in decades I can just talk to someone without politics and family business getting in the way."

"Sorry…" Hot Rod muttered sheepishly.

Zeus turned to face Hot Rod. "You've done me proud, alien. You have done me a personal favor and have earned my respect. That's a feat not many can say, and even fewer who are aliens."

"Thank you…" Hot Rod said.

"Now take this." Zeus said, handing him something.

Hot Rod looked at the thing in Zeus's hand. It was a bronze rod in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"One of your lightning bolts?" Hot Rod exclaimed in disbelief.

"It's not the master bolt," Zeus said, "but it should do you some good."

Hot Rod took the bolt in his hands and looked at it. Before long, it started to reshape and reform itself into a new form, becoming a sword in Hot Rod's arms.

Hot Rod took the sword in his right hand and swung it a few times; it was perfectly balanced for him, and every swing seemed to radiate electricity. When he was done, Hot Rod put the sword on his back, where it seemed to notch into place somehow. "Thanks," he said.

Zeus nodded. "Oh, one more thing," he said.

"Yeah?"

Zeus's eyes narrowed. "If you tell anyone about me showing you my soft side, I will destroy you."

Hot Rod gulped. "Understood," he said a bit nervously.

With that, Zeus began to glow. Hot Rod turned away as a collision of lightning and energy swarmed around him. When he looked back, Zeus was gone, leaving Hot Rod alone.

Hot Rod let out a sad sigh as he looked over the horizon one last time. "Goodbye, Thalia," he said. "I'll never forget you."

With that, he transformed and started to head back to his friends.

I hope everyone is understanding of the fact I decided to give PJO Zeus a softer side.

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