Author's Note: And here is chapter 9 of this crossover. Thank all my reviewers for the reviews they sent me. And, Gromia, to answer your question, as a human Ultra Roddy is almost seven feet tall, and he weighs around 180 lbs, all of it solid muscle. As a robot, he's made of a strange, lightweight alloy, which cuts down on his mass, but he still weighs a good fifteen or so tons.

Disclaimer: Ultra Rodimus is mine. Everyone else I'm borrowing (and torturing).

Unexpected Encounters

Chapter 9: Return Home

Ultra Magnus blinked in surprise, looking down at the creature on Ultra Rodimus's arm. Falcon had a vaguely insectoid body shape, and eight tendrils or tentacles, which were dug into Ultra Rodimus's forearm. The creature chirped pleasantly.

"This is the voice I heard in your mind?" Magnus asked.

((That would be me,)) Falcon mindsent.

Magnus stared at it. "What kind of creature is it?"

"A skrill. Liam told me that the skrills are living creatures taken from their homeworld and bio-engineered to be weapons. They attach themselves to their partners and draw nutrients from their hosts' bodies. They fire energy blasts that can be used to move or disintegrate targets. Falcon chose me as its host." Ultra Rodimus ran his fingers along Falcon's back, and the skrill crooned.

"May I?" Magnus lifted a hand.

"Of course. He likes to be stroked along his back, like this." Ultra Rodimus demonstrated.

Magnus carefully stroked the skrill. Falcon made a sound that closely resembled the purr of a happy cat, and its abdomen began to glow softly.

"I think he likes you," Ultra Rodimus commented with a grin.

"You said it draws its energy from your body?"

"Yes."

"Then what will happen when we go home? Can it even survive attached to a robot?"

Ultra Rodimus frowned. That clearly hadn't occurred to him. He looked down at Falcon, his expression troubled. Falcon's purring faded out as the skrill felt its host's distress.

((What is wrong?)) Falcon asked.

(I may not be able to take you home with me, Falcon. In my natural form I am a machine, a sentient robot. I'm not certain you'd be able to survive. You might not be able to live off my energy.)

The skrill's grip on his arm tightened. ((I'm not letting go!))

(If you come with me you could die.)

The skrill answered with feelings instead of words, letting its host feel its resolve not to be parted from its chosen partner. Live or die, it would remain firmly attached to Ultra Rodimus's arm.

"I'd say it's made up its mind, and there's no way you're gonna be able to pry it off," Magnus commented.

Ultra Rodimus shot him a troubled look, reaching through the lifebond to share his concerns with his mate. Magnus agreed with him, but he also respected Falcon's wish to remain with its chosen host.

Grimlock poked his head into the shuttle. "How we get back?"

Perceptor tapped Grimlock on the nose. "The portal can be opened from here on the planet. We do not have to be on the ship to return to our own dimension."

"At least we won't have to go through the hassle of trying to fit the Dinobots onto the shuttles," Sideswipe muttered, and Ultra Rodimus chuckled.

Liam climbed into the shuttle and took the pilot's chair. "You ready?"

"You have to ask?" Magnus responded.

The Companion protector snorted and powered up the shuttle. Within a few seconds they were off the ground and on their way. Both remained silent, watching as the shuttle made the jump to interdimensional.

"There is something strange about Liam," Magnus whispered in Autobot.

"I know," Ultra Rodimus whispered back. "The Matrix tells me that he is not fully human. But no one else seems to know, so I'll keep my mouth shut. I have the feeling that if his secret should get out, he will be in very deep trouble. It may even prove fatal."

Magnus shuddered. "Then I too will keep quiet."

"A wise idea."

Liam listened to them and wondered what they were saying. "What are you two talking about?" he finally asked.

"Is anyone listening?" Ultra Rodimus countered.

Liam ran a quick check. "No. We're secure."

"We were just noticing that you are not human."

The tall man twisted around to stare at them. "How do you know?!"

Ultra Rodimus touched his chest. "I carry the Matrix of Leadership, an item of great power. It contains the power and essence of our god, Primus. And now it is telling me that you are only part human."

Liam stared at them. Then he confessed the truth of his parentage. Both listened in silence.

"What are you going to do now that you know?" Liam asked after finishing his tale.

"Nothing," Ultra Rodimus told him calmly. "It's obvious that you don't want your secret out, so we won't tell anyone. It is well-known in our reality that a secret told to an Autobot remains a secret. We don't break confidences. At least, most of us don't. Watch out for Jazz and Blaster. They're the biggest gossips on the planet."

"I'll remember that."

They landed on the mother ship. Medics were waiting to take Ultra Rodimus to the medical ward. Da'an was also waiting.

"What happened to the replicant?" Da'an asked.

"It's been destroyed," Liam reported. "Ultra Rodimus brought it down."

"After it took a chunk out of my leg," Ultra Rodimus growled, indicating the bloodstained fabric wrapped around his leg.

Da'an inspected the bluish stain. "Do not humans bleed red?"

"I'm not human," Ultra Rodimus pointed out. "Appearances aside, I'm no more human than you are."

Magnus chuckled quietly.

Da'an glanced from one to the other. "I do not believe you explained where you come from or what you are."

"We're Autobots," Magnus answered. "Sentient machines. We're not organic at all. The passage through the dimensional break transformed us from our natural forms to these bodies. Our real forms would never fit inside this ship. Ultra Rodimus looks vaguely human, but humans aren't, as a rule, more than fifty feet tall. We are."

"More than fifty feet tall?"

"Yes. Quite a bit taller."

Da'an stepped back to let the medics take Ultra Rodimus to the medical ward. He and Liam followed.

When the medic unwrapped the wound, there was a general wince. The wound was deep enough that the bone could be seen faintly. Bluish blood oozed from the torn tissues. A doctor took a sample of the fluid.

"What is this? Is this blood?"

Ultra Rodimus lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "At any given time, my real form contains four different types of hydraulic fluids, six support fluids, a dozen types of lubricants, a circulatory fluid you could call blood, and several cleanser fluids. It could be any of them. Take your pick."

The doctors shooed everyone else out of the room and got to work cleaning and closing the gaping hole. Magnus waited patiently for them to let him in.

"He heals at an incredible rate," the doctor said a day later. "Several times faster than any normal human. That rate has increased since we began treating the wound. At this rate it will be fully healed in about three days. He will have a scar, though."

Ultra Rodimus looked up from the book he was paging through. "Hey, Liam! You owe me a new shirt!"

Da'an shot Liam a curious look. Liam shrugged.

"I tore up his shirt to bind his leg."

"At least you didn't touch his snakeskins," Magnus commented from where he leaned against the wall. "He may have been reluctant to accept them in the first place, but now he'll bite your head off if you even look at them funny."

"He hissed at me when I took his jacket off. I know," Liam muttered.

"He bites," Magnus warned.

"I'll keep my hands away from his teeth."

"Good idea."

"Does he always wear those leathers?" Da'an asked.

"Always. They're tough enough to deflect a point-blank plasma blast. He rarely takes them off. He has an extensive wardrobe, but he doesn't wear much of it. I think that silver and white fur coat he received on Antarsis looks very handsome on him, but he's only worn it once."

"Wrong season for it," Ultra Rodimus shot back.

Finally, Ultra Rodimus was let out of the medical ward. The wound had healed, and only a thick red scar was left. Magnus headed for the shuttle.

"Perceptor!"

The redheaded scientist looked up.

"We're ready!"

Perceptor nodded and picked up his equipment. He had the machine ready in a few minutes.

Liam wandered over to Ultra Rodimus. "It's been nice meeting you."

"Likewise." Ultra Rodimus shook Liam's hand. "We will meet again. I know we will."

"Hey, Mags!" Liam called.

"Yeah?"

"Have Ultra Rodimus tested for psy abilities, will you? So far all of his 'guesses' have turned out to be accurate predictions."

"I'll see to it." Magnus walked over to his mate. "What about Falcon?"

Before Ultra Rodimus could say anything, a blue-green-white light ran down his arm to surround Falcon in an aura of radiance. The skrill let out a screech of surprise. Then the light faded.

"That answer your question?" Ultra Rodimus asked dryly.

"Ah...yes."

Perceptor activated his machine. The dimensional barrier squalled its protest as it was forced open to allow the travelers to return home. The Autobots said their goodbyes, then entered the breach.

To be continued...

Another chapter down, and I dunno how many to go. Send me some reviews and I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can!