Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or anything connected to them. I only own the plot.

Here it is! The chapter you've all been waiting for! Answers! Finally! Not much left. I am continually awed by how well this story had been received. Thank you. Without further ado, chapter 8. Enjoy!

SG-1 returns to the safety of the SGC to find something is wrong. The power is out, the gate room is a mess and everyone is missing.

Empty Halls: Vanguard of Destruction

Sub-level fourteen was also in shambles, only now the floor was littered with more than just shell casings. Full magazines of ammunition and loaded weapons were also scattered about. But there was still no sign of any SGC personnel.

The team carefully made their way down the hallways before finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel... literally. At the far end of the corridors, a soft blue light was emanating from the doorway. After a few quick hand signals from the colonel the team entered a standard two-by-two assault position and advanced on the door. When they reached the door, O'Neill and Daniel stood on one side and Carter and Teal'c stood on the other. After a silent count to three, they sprung around the corner and took in what they saw.

The room was once a half empty storage room but now it appeared to be a morgue. The walls were covered in sticky blue goo and entangled in that goo were SGC personnel. All four walls and the ceiling were occupied with the goo and soldiers. The blue goo gave off a faint bioluminescent glow which lit the room. In the center of the room was a strange apparatus. It appeared to be a meter high column of metal debris. On top of the column was a metal sphere which appeared to have been bent and twisted into shape. The goo thinly covered the floor as well, but was heaped around the foot of the apparatus.

Carter, the scientist she is, immediately put a plastic glove from her pocket on and went to check on some of the nearest personnel. O'Neill took the barrel of his P-90 and poked the goo, and then he pulled his weapon back and saw the goo stuck to his gun.

"Are they alive, Carter?" O'Neill asked as he tried to wipe the goo from his gun.

"They're cold sir, but they have a pulse." Carter said as she felt the nearest unconscious airmen's neck. Then she removed her hand and a wad of goo came with it making it difficult for her to pull her hand away.

"Any idea what this stuff is?" The colonel asked.

"It seems to be a very mucilaginous compound with the texture and consistency of mucus." Carter stated as she stared at her hand.

"In English?" O'Neill asked a little annoyed.

"It feels like snot sir."

"Oh." After a second of hesitation, the colonel continued. "How do you know what snot feels like Carter?"

"Sir, I'm a scientist. It's my job to know."

"Oh." O'Neill paused. "Let's get our people down." He reached toward the closest officer.

"Wait sir!" Carter spoke up. The colonel stopped. "That might not be a good idea. Not until we know what's happened to them. O'Neill grudgingly accepted that advice and approached the apparatus in the center of the room. "Any idea what this does?" He poked the sphere with the sticky barrel of his gun. Carter approached it and looked down at the sphere.

"Not yet sir... Wait a minute! These are parts from the backup power generator!"

"Carter, you and Daniel figure out what that thing does. Teal'c and I will make sure that creature doesn't sneak up on us." Teal'c and O'Neill waited by the door as Carter explored the strange device.

About ten minutes later, Carter called her commanding officer back.

"Sir, best I can tell this... machine is feeding off the bio-thermal energy of our people stuck in the goo."

"You figured that out by just looking at it?" The colonel wondered.

"Well sir, the device is hot, the people are cold. There are also tiny fibers linking the machine to the goo to the people. Also-"

"Sorry I asked." O'Neill broke in. "So, how do we... disconnect our people?"

"Well, we shut down the machine."

"How do we do that?"

"Umm... destroy it."

"Destroy it?"

"Yes sir."

"So I just... shoot it?"

"Yes sir." The colonel grinned at the fact he got to destroy something. SG-1 backed up and he let loose on the device. It sparked and cracked and finally toppled over. Then the goo started to dim slowly.

"Is that it?" Daniel asked but before a member of SG-1 could respond a chorus of gasps filled the room as the airmen regained consciousness. Before SG-1 could go to help their allies a growling shriek pierced the still air and the beast roared into the room. It forced its way through the small doorway and stood high on its back legs in the dying light of the goo. The beast was covered in short black fur. It stood as big as a grizzly bear but was much slimmer. Both its hands and feet were tipped with sharp, curved claws that were not even its deadliest weapon. From its back rose a set of bat-shaped but black feathered wings that were tipped with claws. Its face was right out of a horror movie. Big red eyes sat above a wolf-like snout. In its mouth were a hundred razor sharp teeth and two long fangs. That was the organic parts. In seemingly random places on the creature there were metal implants and tubes. There was one on the side of its head as well as its back and its right elbow and left shoulder were metal. There were also tubes connecting the back of its head to the metal panel on its back. The red eyes locked onto SG-1 and SG-1 aimed their weapons at the beast.

"Pitiful Tau'ri...." The beast growled. "You cannot stop me. I will take back what belongs to my creators."

"What belongs to your creators?" Daniel said taking a tentative step forward to try and reason with the beast.

"This world; it is their home."

Daniel looked toward his team, then back to the beast. "Yes, many cultures and peoples out in the universe once lived here."

"My creators want it back!" The beast bore its teeth.

"That's not going to happen without a fight." O'Neill added.

"I know." The beast smiled a devilish smirk that would strike fear into any heart, but SG-1 stood firm. "That's why I'm here."

"You're here to fight us?" Daniel tried to keep the conversation with the beast going so they could learn as much as they could.

"No... I am the vanguard of destruction. I learn."

"What are you learning?

"A strange race you are." The beast cocked its head and lowered its stance. "Physical pain does not scare you. You fear... feelings. Regret, guilt, grief, loss..." the beast trailed off.

"You're learning our fears?" Daniel asked.

"How better to destroy your culture?" The beast paused and looked at the colonel. "Like Charlie." Suddenly before their very eyes the beast seemed to mutate and change into a perfect image of the boy. Whether it was real or in their minds, they didn't know.

"By knowing, we can conquer." The beast said in the sweet voice of a child. O'Neill raised his gun. "You cannot shoot me." The colonel hesitated. "Besides, your weights of metal propelled by that rudimentary weapon are useless against me." The child sighed. "But you have cut off my energy supply. It will take me time to fix. Rather then add you to them so I can learn your fears and feed off your energy, I will have to kill you." The sound of waking airmen was the only sound in the room as the beast approached the group, still in the form of Charlie. "Prepare to die."

O'Neill was the first to lock onto the beast. "You're not Charlie!" He fired and the beast shrieked.

"You will die first!" The boy lunged at the colonel and changed back into the beast in the process. The colonel dodged and rolled toward the door.

"Carter, take care of our people! I got him!" O'Neill rushed out the door and the beast followed with such speed and ferocity that it slid into the wall, unable to make the sudden turn to follow its prey. The colonel ran. He ran past at least six other glowing rooms as he headed for the stairs. He had one chance to kill this beast, he just hoped he'd stay alive long enough to find what he needed.

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