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

Chapter 19: The Demigod In The Cradle.

One of the benefits of a Transformer having a holomatter avatar was that, if used correctly, you could be in two places at once.

That's what Hound was doing right, now with his main body in the backyard of the Castellan household helping Prowl keep Hot Rod stable and his holomatter avatar exploring Luke's former home. It was a big, secluded house on the right side of a highway with a massive backyard.

Hound found himself looking at the mantle in the living room, which was decorated with several pictures. Some were of Luke when he was younger, but others showed a beautiful blond woman full of life and happiness—the kind of person who could make everyone around them feel good.

Luke's mother; May Castellan.

Hound inspected the pictures some more before giving a somber glance at the kitchen, where the present-day May Castellan was currently putting together sandwiches, cookies, and Kool-Aid drinks with manic energy. Her once smooth blond hair was now gray and sprayed out in all directions, and her once gentle smile was now unnaturally stretched.

"Oh Pound!?" she called.

"It's Hound."

"Yes, would you like a sandwich?"

"I told you. We don't eat food." Hound replied.

"Oh nonsense! Even a growing robot needs his calories." May said as if the illogic of that thought hadn't occurred to her.

Hound sighed and disengaged his avatar, putting his full attention in his main body, where he continued to help Prowl keep Hot Rod stable. Neither of them had Ratchet's medical skills, but they at least managed to get Hot Rod back to consciousness.

"I still think we could have taken that thing." Hot Rod insisted.

"Not with your garbage tactics." Prowl pointed out.

"Hey, I don't give up." Hot Rod said. "It's in the pledge."

Prowl sighed and gave an irritated expression. "Hot Rod, there's a difference between-"

"Do you want a cookie?" May Castellan asked, holding up a burned sugar cookie to the Autobots.

Prowl's irritated expression got even worse, and he scowled. "For the last time! We're robots! We don't consume human food!"

If May was fazed by a giant robot shouting at her, she didn't show it. "Okay," she said chipperly.

"Ms. Castellan!" shouted Thalia from the backyard table where she and Annabeth were sitting. "Can you help me with my bandages!?"

May smiled her creepy smile again. "Of course dear, anything for one of Luke's friends!" she rushed over and began to help Thalia reapply a new coat of gauze for her leg wound. Annabeth, in the meantime, was entertaining herself with a beanbag Medusa toy, one of the many stuffed mythological animal toys May had lying around the property, as if to guard it.

"I don't know whether to admire May for her resilience or get annoyed that she can't take a hint…" Hound muttered.

"Not a hard choice for me," Prowl said coldly.

"Man," Hot Rod mused. "I remember Luke telling us about his mom being nuts, but I didn't think…"

"Her processor was this completely fragged?" Prowl asked.

"Yeah."

Hound turned to Prowl. "Do you have contact with anyone at the Ark-27 yet?" he asked him.

"Not yet," Prowl said. "I'm getting worried. Something must have definitely happened over there."

"And we're stuck here and can't help them…" Hot Rod muttered frustrated.

"And we left your old arm back at Nashville," Prowl muttered. "How could I make such a stupid mistake!?"

"What's so bad about that?" Hound asked. "Ratchet can just make a replacement arm for Hot Rod."

"It's bad because we're supposed to be hiding, and if someone finds that arm, it could be trouble," Prowl explained.

"We'll worry about that later." Hot Rod suggested.

Hound looked over to Luke and Hermes, who were currently in the corner of the backyard, sitting on deck chairs. The two hadn't spoken to each other since Hermes had helped them get to May Castellan's house, so now they were just sitting in awkward silence.

"So Prowl." Hound began. "Do you think you can take it from-"

"Yeah. Go help your friend." Prowl said in a surprisingly assuring voice.

Hound nodded and walked over to Luke and Hermes.

Luke gave a grateful look to Hound before going back to sulking. Hermes looked up at Hound.

"So, you're the latest alien threat to come to our planet?" he asked.

"We're trying to stop a threat, not cause one," Hound said.

"I know that," Hermes said. "Otherwise, Athena wouldn't have trusted you to save her daughter. I'm just worried about what your arrival means for all of us…"

Hound dropped his head. "Me too…"

Hermes looked back at Luke. "...I see you've constructed a new sword," he said pleasantly.

Luke remained spitefully quiet.

"Hmm, this weapon seems almost as solid and sharp as a Celestial Bronze blade; how did you get that?"" Hermes said.

"We made it," Luke said, still not looking at Hermes. "It's close to Celestial Bronze, but it's more like a new metal me and Hound made using materials from Earth and Cybertron."

"Interesting," Hermes noted. "Hephaestus will be quite interested in that. Do you have a name for it?"

Hound shrugged. "We haven't really had a chance to-"

Luke couldn't take it anymore. "Why show yourself now!?" he finally asked, tensing up.

Hermes stood there in silence.

Luke stood up angrily. "So many years of praying, calling, begging, and nothing. You left me with her!" He pointed at his mother without looking at her, as if he couldn't bear to see her, much less call her mom.

Hermes sighed. "Luke, do not dishonor your mother. Despite her current state, she loves you. As for me, I could not interfere with your path. The children of the gods must find their own way."

Hound glared. "Yeah, well, sometimes even the best scouts need help getting where they need to go."

"Exactly," Hermes said. "And you have Annabeth, Thalia, and now these-"

Luke's scowl deepened. "You don't get it, do you!?" he asked. "You didn't have to deal with her every day! You didn't have to be there when she"—he took a steady breath—"was having one of her fits! Screaming at me, shaking me, and saying crazy things about'my fate'. Did you even care!? Did you care that I had to hide in the closet when her eyes started glowing? Did you even know I ran away!?"

"Yes…" Hermes said, "But I knew you had the ability to fend for yourself. When I was a young god, I crawled-"

"Luke's not a god." Hound pointed out.

"So it was for my own good then? Being alone, fighting monsters, having nowhere to go, barely scrapping by?" Luke asked.

Hermes was quiet.

Across the yard, May chattered aimlessly with Thalia and Annabeth; Hound could tell by their expressions that they were getting increasingly fed up. "Can we go now?" Annabeth asked

"Luke I do care," Hermes said slowly. "But gods must not interfere directly in mortal affairs. It is one of our ancient laws. Especially when your destiny…" His voice trailed off, as if he realized he was saying too much.

"What?" Luke asked. He got right in his father's face. "What about my destiny?" His voice sounded both scared and angry.

"Yes. What about his destiny?" asked Hound, crossing his arms.

Hermes hesitated 'You should not have come back." he finally said. "It only upsets you both. I'll speak to Chiron at Camp Half-Blood-"

"What's Camp Half-Blood?" Hound interrupted.

"It's this… summer camp for demigods. It's a place where they can stay safe and protected, train their natural skills, and prepare for the outside world."

"We're doing fine on our own, thank you," Luke said. "We don't need your stupid camp."

Hermes glowered. "Do you really think these aliens can protect you better?" he asked.

"They've done more for me than you have," Luke said coldly. "Now what was that about my destiny?"

Hermes looked restless. Scared. He knew something important.

"Tell him," Hound demanded.

Hermes looked at Hound, then he looked back at Luke. "My son, I'm the god of travelers, the god of roads, If I know anything, it's that you must walk your own path even though it tears my heart-"

"You don't love me."

"I promise I… I do. Go to camp; I'll see if I can get a quest for you…You'll get a chance to be a great hero before…"

"Before what!?" Luke asked, his eyes turning red. "What did my mom see that made her like this!? What's gonna happen to me?!"

Hermes was silent again.

Tears came out of Luke's eyes. "If you love me… tell me," he pleaded.

Hermes' expression tightened, and he gave a sad look. "I cannot."

"THEN YOU DON'T CARE!" Luke yelled angrier than Hound or anyone else had ever seen him.

The whole backyard went silent.

"Luke? Are you okay?" May asked.

Luke hardened his expression, but the tears still fell from his eyes. "You know what?" he said. "It doesn't matter. I have a new family now. I don't need either of you."

"I'm your father." Hermes insisted.

"A father is supposed to be around. I've never even met-"

A beeping sound interrupted everyone, and Prowl's comm unit activated. "Yeah?" Prowl asked.

"Prowl, it's Ratchet," said the voice over the comm. "We finally got power back to the comm systems. Are you okay?"

"We're fine now," Prowl answered. "What about you?"

"We had a bit of an incident with the Decepticons, but it's been resolved. I should be able to open a ground bridge for you soon."

"Thanks, Ratchet," Prowl replied. "Trust me. We're eager to get out of here."

"Yeah." Hot Rod said standing up. "I'm ready to get a replacement arm and a proper repair job…"

"You're leaving!?" May asked frantic.

"Yes," Luke said, not even looking at her.

"You can't go! I just met your new friends! And I have your lunch ready!" May protested.

Hound sighed. "Look, Ms. Castellan, you don't have to worry," he said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We'll take good care of—"

The moment Hound's hand touched May, an electric shock surged through his body. May's eyes glowed green, and green electricity traveled up Hound's arm and spread all over him. Hound screamed in pain, and May collapsed on the floor.

"Hound!" exclaimed Prowl. He rushed over to help his friend, but Hound fell to the ground and started convulsing in the backyard. Hermes stared in horror; the sight looked too familiar to him.

"What's happening to him!?" asked Thalia.

"He's having a cyber seizure!" Prowl said.

Luke rushed over to him; more tears poured out from his eyes. He stared in horror.

"Luke, let me help!" Hermes pleaded.

Luke turned his head with a look of venom. "If the same thing happens to him, I'll kill you.".

Hound gave another scream of pain. May started to randomly babble about "her boy" and "terrible fate.".

"Just let me help!" Hermes said. "It's what you wanted, right!?"

Luke was quiet; he just gave a wordless gesture to his father.

Before everyone's eyes, Hermes began to grow bigger and bigger, until he was bigger than even the Autobots present there.

"Whoa… Now he's started to look a bit more godly." Hot Rod noted.

Hermes bent down and gently restrained Hound, giving him room to convulse but not to the point he'd hurt himself.

"Someone hold his head!" Hermes said.

Prowl rushed over and cupped Hound's head in his hands to stop him from bashing it too hard.

"I thought Apollo was the medical expert…" Annabeth said.

"When your staff is used as a symbol for hospitals and medicine, you pick up a few things," Hermes explained.

Hound screamed again, this one worse than the last.

Luke walked over. "C'mon Hound… Please don't end up like her," he said quietly.

Hound didn't know where he was.

His vision finally started to clear when he was in some kind of city; the streets were cracked and dirty, abandoned cars were littered all over the landscape, and it was dark and quiet.

There were no people around, which made Hound nervous.

"Hello?" Hound asked. "Is anyone there?"

No one answered him.

Hound began to walk down the city street. The darkness seemed to encroach all around him. Hound could tell something bad had happened, or had happened, but what?

All of a sudden he heard an explosion down a nearby street a few feet over. He rushed down the road towards it.

He was greeted with the sight of a literal warzone. Monsters of all shapes and sizes were battling against some human children. They were all decked out in armor and using swords, shields, spears, and bows.

Out of all the children, Hound only recognized two, Thalia and Annabeth; both of them looked a bit older than they were now. The other kids he didn't recognize, like a black-haired kid with sea-green eyes wielding a sword.

Hound was about to step in and help when everything shifted. The warzone vanished, and suddenly he saw a lone figure in the middle of the street with his back to him. It was a young adult with blond hair, and in one hand he held the sword Hound had helped Luke make; in the other he held a scythe.

Hound stepped forward. He had a feeling he knew who it was. "Luke?" he asked cautiously.

Luke turned to look at Hound. He looked a lot older now; his eyes were red with tears, and he looked scared out of his mind. "Hound?" Luke asked.

"I'm here, Luke… I'm here." Hound assured.

"He's… He's got me, Hound…" Luke stammered. "Help me…"

"Who? Who's got you?" Hound asked.

Just then, in an instant, Luke's expression shifted from one of fear to callousness, and his eyes turned a golden color.

Hound stumbled backward, startled, and Luke—no, the thing that had been Luke laughed. "You can't save him, alien," he sneered. "This is Luke's destiny. It's what he wants."

Hound tried to say something, but he couldn't find the words.

"Besides. You're not even supposed to be here in the first place." The being inside Luke raised his scythe and swung it at Hound.

Hound closed his eyes, raised his arms, and braced for impact… but it never came.

When Hound finally opened his eyes, he found the environment had shifted again; now he was in some majestic white place with buildings like the Parthenon darted all around on top of clouds.

He heard a soft sobbing noise and looked to where it was coming from. A much older Annabeth was hunched over crying, and the black-haired boy from earlier was with her.

Hound walked over to see what was happening, and his heart broke. There at their feet was Luke; a massive wound was right in his shoulder.

He was dying, Hound could tell.

"NO!" Hound shouted. He reached his hand forward towards Luke…

And then a crack appeared in front of him, followed by another, and then another as the entire environment around Hound began to crack like it was glass.

As everything around began to break, Luke weakly turned his head over. "Hound?" he asked.

"Luke!" cried Hound. He reached forward when everything around him shattered like glass. Hound began to fall into an empty black void. There was nothing to grab onto and no way to stop his fall.

Hound kept falling and falling until he heard the roar of a jet engine. He looked up and saw a blue, red, and yellow jet coming right toward him. The jet transformed into a robot mode and reached his hand toward him…

"Hound, wake up!"

Hound opened his eyes and saw Hot Rod, Prowl, Annabeth, Thalia, and Luke looking down at him.

"You okay, buddy?" Hot Rod asked.

Hound groaned and started to pick himself up. "Yeah.. I think so.".

"What happened?" Thalia asked.

"I don't know," Hound muttered. He was about to explain when he looked over at Hermes. He looked especially mad, and his expression seemed to say, "Go on. Do it while I'm here."

"I'll explain later," Hound said.

"Don't," demanded Hermes, and he walked over to where Hound was and adjusted his size so he was on eye level with him. He got right Hound's face and gave him a look of anger. "I'm ordering you not to tell him," he said.

Hound could sense the power in the air emanating around Hermes. He got the feeling that this was a guy who could vaporize him in an instant and then go off on his day like nothing happened.

But that wasn't going to stop him.

"With all due respect, your highness," Hound said. "That's my choice."

"What do you want?" Hermes asked.

"Hmm?"

"I'm willing to make a deal with you; don't tell him, and I can give you whatever-"

Hound scowled. "You think you can just deal your way out of this?"

"I could crush you right now, you piece of mechanical junk!" Hermes shouted as his eyes started to glow.

"Um… Hound…" Annabeth said nervously. "You might wanna back off…"

But Hound didn't back off. "I thought gods weren't allowed to interfere with mortal affairs, and by your definition, I'm mortal."

Hermes sneered. "I'm still a god!"

"You're not my god." Hound shot back.

Hermes scowled deepened but he didn't say anything.

Everyone was silent before Prowl finally spoke up. "Ratchet just got back to us. Ground bridge is ready," he said.

At that moment, the portal opened up in the backyard.

"Good. I'm ready to get out of here." Luke muttered, and he started running toward the portal, not even looking back at Hermes or his mom.

In an instant, Hermes' anger vanished. "Luke, wait-" he said, reaching out.

But Luke had already gone through the portal.

Hermes put his head down, and he went back to glaring at Hound.

"Hey, can you two stop the staring contest so we can get out of here?" Hot Rod asked.

Hound nodded and turned away, going through the portal. Prowl, Hot Rod, and Annabeth followed.

Thalia was the last to leave; she gave one last look at Hermes and Luke's mom before going after her friends.

The portal closed behind her, leaving Hermes alone with May in the backyard.

He adjusted himself back to normal human- size and walked over to where May was still sitting and shaking on the ground. She raised her arms and clutched desperately at Hermes shoulder.

"My son," she hissed in a dry voice. "Danger, terrible fate…"

"I know my love," Hermes said sadly. "I know…"

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