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

Chapter 51: On the Run.

After an hour of a high-speed chase, Hound, Hot Rod, and Prowl finally managed to lose Starscream, Skywarp, and the Hellhounds in the middle of a nearby forest.

Once they got a good distance away after losing them, the three Autobots turned into an empty field with no humans in sight. They let the humans and satyr out of them and transformed into their robot modes.

Everyone started panting as they took a moment to catch their breaths.

"Did we lose them?" asked Annabeth nervously.

"Yeah…" Panted Hot Rod. "I think we lost them when we cut through that area with the two giant oaks."

"I need a minute…" Prowl muttered, sitting down. "I'm not used to going that fast."

"I invited you to go on a practice race with me and Sunstreaker." Hot Rod pointed out with a small laugh.

"Pardon me for not being a turbo revving young punk–"

"Enough guys!" Hound shouted.

"Look, can we just slow down!?" Luke asked. "What the heck is going on here? And why is the donkey guy from Carowinds here?"

Grover took a break from his exhausted panting to let out an angry goats bleat. "GOAT!" he shouted insistingly. "I'm part goat."

"Whatever," Luke said.

"Those hellhounds were sent by Hades." Thalia explained. "But why is he after me?"

"You mean you don't know?" Grover asked.

"Know what?" asked Hot Rod.

Grover sighed. "Of course you don't... Why would you?"

"Please tell us." Prowl requested.

Grover took a deep breath. "Children of the big three, Zeus, Posiedon, and Hades, are forbidden," he explained.

"What?" asked Annabeth. "That doesn't make any sense. Most of the stories in Greek myths are about children of Zeus."

"What did Hera finally put her foot down or something?" Hot Rod asked.

"Not exactly…" Grover said. "A while back, the big three decided their children were too dangerous. They've caused some of the worst events in human history. World War II, for instance, was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Posiedon on one side and Hades on the other. So they all made a deal to make sure they wouldn't sire anymore heroes."

"And Zeus fell off the wagon with Thalia's mom…" Guessed Hound.

"Not surprised." Luke muttered bitterly

Thalia closed her eyes and winced. "Now it makes sense," she muttered. "Dad told me once to never tell anyone except the people I could trust the most that I was a child of Zeus. He must have been trying to protect me."

"But why is Hades going after Thalia?" Hot Rod asked. "This isn't her fault. If anything, he should be going after Zeus himself."

"That's the problem." Grover replied somberly. "He can't. Most gods can't go after each other directly. So they try to hurt others by proxy…" He finished his explanation with a bitter twang.

"So what Thalia has to suffer for her dad's mistake?!" Luke asked furious.

"That's what we're trying to stop." Grover answered. "When Chiron heard that Thalia was a kid of Zeus, he ordered me to find you before Hades did. He wants her to come to Camp Half Blood, where she can be protected."

"No."Luke said bluntly.

"Luke!" protested Annabeth.

"We're going to tell you the same thing we told you back at Carowinds." Luke answered. "We're doing fine on our own."

"Doing fine!?" asked Thalia. "Luke, we just nearly got killed by a bunch of psycho dogs!"

Luke glared in Thalia's direction. "And what makes you think this camp can do any better!?" he accused.

"They'd know more about this Greek stuff than we do for one thing." Hound said. "Maybe they can... I don't know; negotiate something…"

"Thanks Hound…" Luke muttered sarcastically with his teeth grinding.

"Luke…" Thalia said as calmly as she could manage. "Maybe this is for the best. You know we couldn't live with giant robots from outer space forever."

Luke sighed. "Yeah but…but…"

"But what?!" asked Thalia.

"This is about your dad, isn't it?" asked Hound. "You don't want to go their because your dad wants you too…"

Luke remained spitefully quiet.

"Luke." Thalia said, taking his hand. "I know you're pissed as your dad for... everything. But I don't think we have a choice now…"

Luke looked down on the ground; he took his hand away from Thalia and sat on a nearby rock. He stayed silent for a couple of seconds.

"Fine," he finally said. "But I'm doing it for you, not him," he answered.

"Thanks Luke…" Thalia said.

"So I guess that settles it." Prowl said. "We're heading to Camp Half Blood."

"Where is it?" Hound asked Grover.

"It's near New York City." Grover explained.

"Cool." Hot Rod said. "Let's get back to the Ark-27 and get the ground bridge running."

"Not an option…" Hound said sadly. "Starscream and Skywarp destroyed the ground bridge controls and damaged the engines... No prizes for guessing why..."

"So we're going to have to get there the old-fashioned way…" Hot Rod muttered.

"Hold it." Prowl interrupted. "We could probably get Thalia there faster and attract less attention if our group was smaller…" he pointed out.

"What are you saying?" asked Thalia.

"I'm saying maybe it's worth considering if only Hot Rod, Thalia, and... Grover, right?"

"Yes." Grover confirmed.

"Thank you. Anyway, maybe it's best if it's only you three going and not the rest of us." Prowl finished.

"No way. We're not leaving Thalia behind." Annabeth answered.

"Yeah. Especially now." Luke agreed.

Grover was quiet. "It would be the smart move…" he muttered.

"You're the one who knows the way," Hound said. "What do you think?"

Grover paused to think about it. "I think I don't want to leave anyone behind either."

"Well… I guess that settles it." Prowl said. "I'll send a call to Ratchet, telling him we'll be gone for a day or two."

"So I guess this is it... we're doing it?" asked Thalia.

"Yeah." Hot Rod answered. He transformed back into his dodge viper mode as Prowl started working on the comms to inform Ratchet of the situation.

"URG." Grover groaned, "I have to get inside the–"

"I told you before." Thalia muttered as she got inside Hot Rod. "Don't be picky."

Grover sighed and got inside Hot Rod.

Hound likewise transformed into his Jeep mode, and after finishing up the call, Prowl transformed into his police car mode. Luke and Annabeth got into their respective partner.

"All right team." Hot Rod said. "Let's roll out."

And with that, the three Autobots headed toward the road, ready to start the long drive to Camp Half Blood.

The next day was a nightmarish slog. The three Autobots drove cross country as fast as possible to get to Camp Half Blood, but it felt like it took forever. Hardly anyone was in good spirits considering the circumstances, and they were on edge the whole time, constantly looking over their shoulders for the odd out of place F-22 Raptor or dogs that were bigger than they should be. In fact, every time they saw a dog, it took everything they had to stay calm and act naturally. At one point Thalia swore three ladies and their poodles had been watching them; Luke had wanted to make sure, but Hound talked him out of it.

To make matters worse, Grover, the one who was supposed to be guiding them to camp, was by far the most freaked out and on edge of all them. It wasn't hard to get the sense this was probably his first major assignment, and he wasn't taking the situation well. He was constantly second-guessing himself and kept getting everyone wandering into dead ends or on the wrong path. He even nearly sent them down the road to Florida at one point, thanks to losing his concentration out of panic.

But at last, the group had finally arrived in New York City in the evening. The three Autobots, still in their vehicle modes, drove down the city streets of Brooklyn in mostly silence, trying to stay as calm and natural as possible. As usual, Thalia and Grover were riding in Hot Rod, Luke in Hound, and Annabeth in Prowl.

"I never thought I'd feel so relieved to see civilization…" muttered Grover.

"Almost there, guys..." Prowl said assuringly. "Just a little bit more."

"Any sign of trouble?" asked Hot Rod.

"No." Luke said as he looked around, his voice a mix of anger and disappointment.

"Something wrong, Luke?" asked Hound.

"I'm fine." Luke insisted.

"You sound almost disappointed." Hound noted.

"Why would I be disappointed?" Luke asked confused.

"Because maybe you're looking for a fight." Thalia guessed.

Luke stayed quiet.

"Uh…guys…" said Annabeth. She pointed right ahead. "Look up…"

Everyone did and saw what Annabeth saw. There flying overheard a couple miles away in the New York Skyline were two F-22 Jet Fighters. One of them had a stark black paint job, and the other was white.

"Ah scrap.." muttered Hound

"Starscream and Skywarp." Prowl muttered.

"Grover, is there a safe space to hide!?" asked Hot Rod

"Uh.."Grover said nervously, locked by indecision.

"Grover, come on, we need to hide now!" Luke shouted.

"Uh…in there!" Grover shouted, pointing at a nearby abandoned warehouse.

Hot Rod, Prowl, and Hound rushed into the building as fast as they could through one of the massive open doors. Even though the place was abandoned, it was still full of discarded junk and boxes, some of which were stacked even higher than they were.

The building was big enough for them to stand up in robot form, so once they were in, Prowl ushered Annabeth out of him and transformed into his robot mode. Then he ran over to the warehouse doors and shut them. Hound and Hot Rode likewise transformed into their robot modes and let their passengers out.

Prowl glanced outside through one of the windows and saw Skywarp and Starscream fly overhead. "Okay…" he said. "I don't think they saw us."

"Any sign of the pack of monsters chasing us?" asked Hound.

Prowl glanced outside quickly. "No," he said. "But I wouldn't be surprised if they're close by."

"I suggest we stay here for a bit." Grover spoke up.

"Yeah right." Luke said angrily. "You've gotten us into so many dead ends. Why should we–"

"Luke…"Thalia muttered. "Lay off him. He's gotten us this far…"

Luke sighed before sitting down with everyone else.

There was a tense and awkward silence that hung in the air for several minutes. Every once in a while, Prowl, Hound, or Hot Rod would glance outside to make sure it was clear. It usually was, but occasionally there was a glimpse of Starscream or Skywarp flying overhead.

After about an hour of tenseness and the latest check revealing the two cons were still in the area, Thalia groaned. "Why won't they just leave!?" she asked.

"I don't know…" Hound muttered. "But we need to do something soon; it's getting darker…We're running out of natural light.".

He was right; the sun was going down and the transition from day to night was slowly ticking by. Soon the only light source they'd have were the Autobots lights.

"Maybe we should call for backup." Annabeth suggested. "Maybe Ratchet's fixed up some of the other Autobots by now."

"NO!" exclaimed Grover nervously. "If you call them, you could lure the pack here. Demigods–"

"Yeah, yeah, we know…" Luke muttered frustratedly. "Demigods and technology don't mix…"

"So what are we supposed to do!?" asked Hot Rod. "We can't just stay here forever!"

"Yeah and I'm getting hungry…" Annabeth whined.

"Me too…" Grover moaned.

Luke sighed and stood up. "I'm gonna go see if I can find a light switch," he offered. "I don't wanna be stuck in the dark on top of all of this."

"Yeah, good idea…" Hound said.

"I'll yell if I need help." Luke said. With that, he walked off into the depths of the warehouse until he was out of sight.

About ten minutes passed, and Luke still wasn't back yet.

"What's taking Luke so long?" asked Thalia.

"Maybe he got his shirt caught in some junk?" suggested Hot Rod.

"Then why wouldn't he yell for—"

"Help!" cried Luke.

Everyone instantly stood at attention.

"Luke!?' asked Hound.

"Help! There's a monster in here! It's got me!" Luke's voice cried again.

Prowl glared at Grover. "I thought you said this place was safe!" he shouted at the satyr.

Grover didn't say anything. He just looked down with a guilty expression.

"Luke, hang on, I'm coming!" Hound shouted as he ran into the mess of boxes and junk and disappeared into the dark.

"Hound wait!" Thalia called as she brought out her spear and shield.

"We gotta move," Prowl said. "Let's get moving. And remember, stick together…" he said.

"Got it," Hot Rod said.

"We're coming, Luke!" Annabeth said.

"We're going in there? Grover asked shakily "Into the dark?"

"Yes. We are," said Prowl.

Grover was once again silent, but he still went along as the group walked into the dark maze of boxes and junk to find their friends.

"I can't see a thing…" Thalia muttered.

"Me either…." Hot Rod muttered. "Something's messing with my night vision…"

"Just stay focused," Prowl said.

"Oh no!" cried Hound.

"Hound!?' asked Hot Rod.

"The monsters got me now!" screamed Hound.

"Where are you!?" asked Thalia.

"Just follow my voice!" Hound called. From the sound of it, it was coming from the left side.

"Don't worry, Hound!" Hot Rod called as he moved through an opening in the left side of the wall of boxes that surrounded them "Hot Rod's on–" Just then there was a "crack" sound, and an avalanche of junk started to pour down in between the opening.

"Hot Rod!" cried Thalia.

"Guys!" Hot Rod yelled. He tried to move, but the growing pile of junk grew too quickly, and it blocked his way to the others.

"Hot Rod, are you okay?!" asked Annabeth.

There was no response.

"Hot Rod?" asked Thalia nervously.

Still no response.

"The monster got him!' Grover shouted, shaking in fear.

"Keep quiet!" Prowl shouted. "You wanna lure the monster to us!?"

Grover clamped both his hands to his mouth and stopped talking; he shook his head meekly.

Annabeth looked around. She started to cry. "What are we gonna do?" she muttered.

"Just stay calm," said Prowl. "We just have to be careful…" He started walking slowly down the corridors of boxes and junk. Thalia, Grover, and Annabeth stuck close to him.

A few tense moments passed as everyone kept walking in the dark.

Thalia was the next to speak up. "Hey Grover. You can pick out demigods, right? Can you do the same to monsters?"

There was no answer.

"Grover?" asked Thalia. She looked over to where Grover had been walking with them, but Grover was gone!

"GROVER!" cried Thalia, starting to panic.

"What the?! Where'd he go!?" asked Annabeth.

"How?!" Prowl asked in disbelief. "How did the monster—"

"It's gonna eat me!" interrupted Grover's voice as it screamed from a fair distance away.

At that moment, gripped by both fear and concern for her friends, Thalia threw all her common sense away and started running to the voice. "Grover, hang on!" she shouted, her voice strained with desperation.

"Thalia, stop!" cried Annabeth. But it was too late. Thalia vanished into the darkness, leaving Prowl and Annabeth on their own.

Annabeth was frozen in fear, unsure of what to do; she was on the verge of a panic attack.

"Annabeth?" Asked Prowl.

"We're doomed, aren't we?" asked Annabeth. "We're gonna be stuck in here forever!" she cried. Tears started to come out of her eyes.

Prowl leaned down awkwardly. Even after knowing Annabeth for several months, he wasn't used to comforting. "Listen… Annabeth. It's okay," he said as delicately as he could.

"No, it's not!" Annabeth said. "The monster got our friends, and soon it's gonna get us too!"

Prowl shook his head. "Annabeth! Shape up!" he ordered.

"What?" Asked Annabeth confused.

"You're gonna let this break you down!?" asked Prowl in as much of a faux-mocking tone as he could manage. "You're Annabeth Chase! You've taken giant killer robots from outer space! You leaped out of me and right onto Soundwave to to save your dad! You stabbed Megatron when he had all the power in the world!"

Annabeth stopped sniffing. "I…I did do that stuff," she muttered.

"Exactly!" said Prowl. "You've done things even us Cybertronians would be scared of! And you're gonna let the dark beat you? Some monster that you humans deal with every day!?"

Somehow, Annabeth managed to stand up proud and tall. "NO!" she declared.

"Then there's only one thing to do." Prowl declared back. He brought out his rifle and sword. "Let's find that monster and rescue our friends!"

"YEAH!" Annabeth shouted as she whipped her knife out.

"Now, we have to be careful." Prowl said, calming down. "Every time one of us heard someone yelling, they got picked up by the monster. I think he's deliberately using the others cries for help against us."

"Yeah." Annabeth agreed. "So we can't split up for any reason. Even if we hear the others cry for help."

"We'll just have to find them on our own." Prowl said. "And just to make sure we aren't separated." He lifted Annabeth up onto his shoulders.

Annabeth pumped her fist in the air. "Look out, monster!" she shouted. "Here comes Prowl and Annabeth Chase!"

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