So a fun fact for you all. I chose the name of the Autobot's ship because I grew up reading the "-ations" era IDW comics, and I wanted to give the name of the Autobot's ship the same name as the ship they used in the "Infiltration, Escalation, and Devastation" series (giving the ship the standard "Ark" name didn't really fit thematically with the plot).
Except the ship I was thinking of was called the Ark-19. The Ark-27 was a completely different Autobot ship.
Oops. I guess it's too late now though. ^^;
I don't own Transformers or the Riordanverse; they belong to their owners.
Chapter 11: Mexican Standoff
A few days after they had arrived on Earth, Hound was outside the Ark-27, once again taking a chance to observe the local environment.
He found himself by a riverbed, much like the energon river he liked to visit back on Cybertron before it dried up.
Hound put his right hand into the water and felt the cool liquid flow through his fingers. He lifted the hand to his face and watched the water evaporate and drip down to the ground.
"You okay?"
Hound turned and saw Luke walking toward him, the newly forged sword the two had crafted on his hip.
"Better than ever," Hound said wistfully.
"What's on your mind?" Luke asked, sitting down.
"Your planet is incredible," Hound answered.
"I guess... I mean, it's just home." Luke replied. "I never really thought about it like that."
Hound kneeled down, picked up some dirt, and began playing with it, letting it fall through his fingers.
"Where I come from. Everything is metal." Hound explained. "The ground doesn't sway when I walk. I don't leave marks where my feet tread."
"Sounds boring," Luke remarked.
"It is, and it only got worse after the Allspark was removed." Hound lamented.
Luke sat down and looked thoughtful. "So what's the deal with this war you guys are in any way?" he asked.
Hound sat down next to him. "It happened a couple thousand years ago," he explained. "Megatron-"
"The gray one? With the cannon on his arm?" Luke asked.
"Yeah him..." Hound continued. "He and Optimus used to be friends, and the two helped unite Cybertron for the first time in ages to drive back the Quintessons."
"Quintessons?"
"Long story. Anyway, even though Cybertron was united, Megatron felt Optimus was letting our culture and planet stagnate and wanted to push it forward into the future."
"That doesn't sound too bad; why did war break out?"
"Because Megatron's idea of progress was to expand and conquer other planets," Hound explained. "Bring back the Cybertronian empire of old."
"Oh..."
"Optimus wouldn't have it, and eventually Megatron raised an army intending to overthrow Optimus, take over Cybertron, and then the whole galaxy," Hound said.
Luke was silent for a bit. "Was Megatron right?" he asked. "Were things stagnating?"
Hound shrugged. "I don't know," he answered. "I do know that even if he was, he's taken things-"
Hounds comm started buzzing. "Hound, this is Ratchet. We need you."
"Got it, Ratchet," Hound answered.
Hound and Luke returned to the Ark-27 and found Ratchet and Optimus waiting for them.
"Hound, we have a bit of a situation." Optimus responded.
"What's up, Prime?" Hound asked.
"This is," Ratchet remarked, and he showed a clip from a news report on a nearby monitor.
The clip showed a human journalist behind a desk holding a piece of paper. "In other news, this footage was shot earlier today of a Russian tank in Mexico," she explained. "When reached out, the Russian government denied sending any troops to the location, but the footage clearly shows..." At that point, the footage of the tank played, showing it rumbling through the Mexican desert.
Hound recognized the tank immediately.
"It's Quake," he said.
"I did some research, and it seems Quake is near the location of a Mexican archeology site," Ratchet explained. "It's probable the Decepticons found something there."
"Hound. I need you to go over there and find out what Quake is up to." Optimus ordered.
"Understood Prime." Hound saluted.
"I'm going too!" said a nearby Brawn. "If you're going up against Quake, you're gonna need some muscle."
Luke gave a confused look. "Wait. How are you gonna get to Mexico?" he asked. "That's like... a thousand miles away!"
Hound smirked. "Let us show you something then."
Hound and Brawn took Luke to a chamber in the Ark-27, where a large circular piece of equipment was located.
"What is this exactly?" Luke asked.
"It's called a ground bridge," Ratchet explained as he worked on a nearby console. "It's something we use for long-distance transportation."
"Wait. This thing's a teleporter?" Luke asked, amazed. "You have an actual teleporter!?"
Brawn laughed "You think this is impressive; you should see a space bridge," he said. "We can go from one planet to another instantly!"
"But if you can teleport from planet to planet, why did you come here in a spaceship?" Luke asked.
"Because usually space bridges require both a donor and a receiver bridge on both planets," Hound explained. "Ground bridges can make a portal on their own, but only on the same planet they're on. The process becomes unstable and randomized if a space bridge doesn't have a receiver bridge. That's why Optimus hurled the Allspark through a space bridge with no receiver end."
Luke looked very confused.
"It's complicated," Hound explained. "Think of it like this: the farther the distance, the more unstable the portal gets."
Luke shrugged. "Alien technology stuff, I guess," he muttered.
"Alright," Ratchet announced. "Coordinates set in. Good luck, you two."
Hound and Brawn both transformed into their vehicle modes, and Hound opened his door. "Hop in, Luke! You wanna see Mexico for yourself?"
Luke smiled and got into Hound.
Ratchet flipped a switch, and a massive swirling green portal emerged in the middle of the circular structure. Hound and Brawn both began to race into it.
Luke grimaced and shut his eyes. "Will this hurt?" he asked.
"Shouldn't," Hound responded just as they hit the portal. The last thing Luke saw was a bright flash of light...
As the light cleared, Luke looked around. The metal halls of the Ark-27 were gone, replaced with miles and miles of open desert. Boulders and cacti were scattered all around.
"Whoa," he said, amazed.
"Hah Hah!" Brawn laughed. "This place is perfect!" he said as he barreled right into a boulder and shoved it aside.
"Easy Brawn!" Hound laughed. "We haven't run into the Decepticons yet."
"Don't care," Brawn stated heartily. "I just wanna hit something! YA!" he cried as he rammed into another boulder.
As they drove through the desert to the site, Hound stayed quiet for a while.
"You okay?" Luke asked.
Hound eventually braked right next to a cactus. The cactus was as big as a small tree.
"Why are we stopping?" Luke asked.
"It's just... it's amazing," Hound said.
"What's the big deal?" Luke asked. "It's just a dumb cactus."
"To you, maybe," Hound responded. "But on Cybertron, hardly anything was green unless it was painted."
"It's just amazing that even here, in this barren wasteland, life can grow..."
Luke looked back at the cactus. "Yeah, I...I guess it is pretty cool," he remarked.
The two just stood there for a moment.
"Hey, losers!" Brawn shouted. "You coming or what?"
"Uh right." Hound spluttered. "We're coming, Brawn."
After several hours, once the archaeological site had cleared of all people, visitors, or otherwise, Quake could finally roll into the area.
He transformed into his vehicle mode and looked around. It was a bunch of stone buildings that were falling apart; some of them were in pyramid shapes.
"All clear, Starscream." Quake shouted.
Starscream flew into the area in his jet mode; he transformed and landed a few feet in front of Quake, and growled.
"This is stupid," he muttered. "We should have just wiped out all the humans here while we had the chance."
"Look Starscream I agree, but you heard Megatron; he doesn't want to do anything to alert the natives too soon," Quake replied.
"I can't believe you of all bots would pass up a fight!" Starscream remarked, disgusted.
"Yeah? Well, I trust Megatron, ever since the Age of Wrath." Quake explained, "What he says goes."
"And that's why you're weak, Quake," Starscream said. "Megatron has lost his way. He has allowed us to remain stuck in this stalemate with the Autobots for years. We need a new leader, a leader who will lead us to victory against the Autobots!"
Quake gave a bitter laugh. "And you think you're it?"
"Of course," Starscream smirked.
"Overlord tried that, remember? It didn't end so well for him." Quake pointed out.
"Overlord was an idiot; all steel and no processor," Starscream responded. "I on the other hand, have both."
"Yeah? That'll be the day." Quake mocked.
"But before we can do that, we need the Allspark." Starscream began looking around. "Now where is that symbol Thundercracker saw?"
"I dunno, I'm just here to provide the heavy lifting." Quake muttered.
After a few minutes of searching, Starscream finally spotted the Allspark symbol on one of the pyramid-like structures.
"There!" he shouted, pointing at it. "Quake. Make a path!" he ordered.
Quake cracked his knuckles and walked over to the pyramid. He jabbed out with his right fist and began tearing the building apart with his bare hands.
"Keep working. If there's something inside there, we must find-" Starscream didn't get to finish before he felt the laser blast hit him, knocking him forward.
He looked back and saw Hound standing there with his rifle drawn; next to him was Brawn, ready to fight.
"You again!?" Starscream said bitterly.
"Yes again," Hound said, and he began to fire more shots at Starscream. Brawn charged at Quake and body-slammed him.
"Come and get it, Autobot!" Starscream shouted, he activated his leg thrusters, and he started to fly. As he hovered in the air he aimed his wrist guns at Hound and began to return fire.
Quake grunted as he picked himself up from Brawn's body slam.
"GRRRRRRR," he growled.
"What's the matter, Quake?" Brawn asked. "Can't handle a friendly hello?"
"If that's hello, then this is goodbye!" Quake shouted. He flung his fist into Brawn's metallic gut, which hit with a clanging sound.
Brawn endured the hit, managing to stay on his feet.
"You know, one of the advantages of being short is that-" he swung his fist upwards, sending Quake flying. "-it makes uppercuts a lot easier!"
Quake flew through the air, his sight a swirl of the desert's tan and the sky's blue. He smashed into another smaller building, causing it to crumble. As he started to get up, he shook his head, trying to get his vision to clear. When it finally did, he saw Brawn coming straight for him.
"Might over-"
Brawn didn't finish before Quake picked up a piece of the building's rubble and threw it at Brawn, causing the Autobot to stumble.
"Yeah? Well, guess what Brawn?" Quake asked, walking up to the Autobot. "You ain't the only one with might." He put his hands together into one fist and slammed them into Brawn's back.
The Autobot stayed down and didn't move.
Starscream shot wildly at Hound while flying through the air. The lasers the Autobot was firing at him whizzed past his body until one hit him in the chest.
"Gah! Nice aim, Autobot!" Starscream mocked as he nursed his injury. "But it won't save you, now that I have you in my sights!"
"Oh yeah, Starscream!?" asked a voice behind him.
"What?" Starscream looked behind him and saw a second Hound.
"Which me is in your sights?" the second Hound mocked. "Is it me?"
"Or me?" Starscream turned right and saw another Hound.
"or even me?" asked a fourth one.
Starscream chuckled. "Playing with holograms again?" he asked.
"What can I say? It's my favorite trick!" all the Hounds said simultaneously.
"Oh yeah? Here's my favorite trick!" Starscream announced as he spun around in a dizzying whirl, firing shots in all directions. One of which hit one of the Hounds.
The Hound grunted in pain, and the hologram versions of him faded. He fell down on one knee.
"Null Ray. It disables any electric device," Starscream explained. "Including your hologram maker."
Hound did his best to move, but the null ray had weakened him too much. He was helpless as Starscream grabbed him by the head and shoved him aside.
"Hey, Brawn. I think it's time to cut our losses, don't you?" Hound asked as he transformed into Jeep mode, painfully.
"Yeah, it stinks, but I think we gotta..." Brawn muttered as he turned into an SUV.
The two Autobots began to move, but before they drove away, they circled around the demolished pyramid before disappearing into the distance.
Quake laughed as he walked up to Starscream. "HAH! That'll teach 'em!" he boasted.
"It's nice when things go our way for once." Starscream laughed, and he and Quake turned back to the pyramid with the symbols on it.
The two began to search through the remains of the pyramid some more.
After about an hour, Starscream was beginning to lose patience. They'd dug through the rubble and found nothing, and even after double-checking, they didn't find anything. Nothing with any Allspark symbols on it, at any rate.
"Impossible!" he shouted. "There's nothing here!"
"That can't be!" Quake groaned. "Why else would the symbol be there!?"
"It doesn't matter," Starscream muttered. "Whatever was here was evidently removed long ago. We need to get back to Megatron."
Starscream groaned. He was not looking forward to facing Megatron after this failure.
Hound and Brawn, now a safe distance away, began to laugh as they drove through the Mexican desert.
"It looks like your plan worked, Luke," Hound said proudly to the human in his cab.
"Son of the god of thieves, remember?" Luke bragged. "You guys did a good job keeping those two cons distracted."
"Hey, kicking Decepticon aft is my specialty," laughed Brawn. "Quake wouldn't have stood a chance against me in a real fight, though."
"Really?" teased Hound. "Looked like you were getting appropriately knocked around to me!"
"Ah, I'll show 'em at the next fight!" Brawn insisted.
"Anyway, let's get back to business," Hound suggested. "What did you find in the pyramid, Luke?"
"Some big slab," Luke explained as he patted the slab in question, currently riding comfortably in Hound's passenger seat. "It was dotted with some of those symbols, so I figured it had to be what we were looking for."
"Let's get this back to Ratchet then," Brawn said. "The doc can make sense of them better than we can."
Ratchet inspected the slab, Hound, Brawn, and Luke had brought back with them carefully.
"Anything Ratchet?" Hound asked.
Ratchet sighed. "Not much, I'm afraid," he said. "It's too new to have any connection to the Allspark."
"So why does it have so many of those symbols on it?" Brawn asked.
"Some of them seem imitative." Ratchet mused. "Perhaps settlers from this 'Atlantis' found their way to this location, and that's where the symbols came from."
Luke looked down. "So this was a bust, then?"
"Not entirely," Ratchet affirmed. "There might be some hints to other locations with more hints. I just need more time to do a more thorough study."
"Sounds good to me," Hound said.
As everyone started walking away to do their own thing, Hound followed Luke. "Hey, don't feel bad, Luke. Your plan worked." Hound comforted.
"Thanks, Hound," Luke said, but he said it funnily.
Like someone who never really had that kind of positive support before...
This is a chapter I'm not 100% happy with. Mostly because it's the first one I've written so far for the Amalgamation verse where most of it was made on the fly (everything up until this point had been roughly planned out, or in Hawk and Dove's case, I had an existing structure I could adhere to).
Still, I hope you guys enjoyed it enough.
And now I want to ask a question of you guys. I said when I first started this that I wanted this fic to stand on its own as a Percy Jackson and Transformers crossover fic, but I've been doing some thinking.
I've really been seriously considering putting some major ties to the events of fellow Rick Riordan book "Daughter of the Deep" into this fic (disregarding the Easter egg I put in the last chapter).
I've been going back and forth on it for a while because I don't want to potentially alienate readers who haven't read DOD, but I also feel like I've come up with some really neat ideas on how to incorporate Daughter of the Deep into this world.
After thinking about it for a while, I've ultimately decided it might be best to ask the readers how you feel about it.
Should I incorporate Daughter of the Deep into this fic? Or should I leave it alone and possibly save it for another time? (In the case I do put it in, I'll do my best to make sure people who haven't read Daughter of the Deep are "caught up" on stuff in it.)
Don't worry about "mucking up my plans" if you vote for "no". This story is adaptable enough that I can work around it.
So please leave your thoughts in a review or vote on the poll on my profile, and as always, thanks for reading.