Author's Note: This chapter is being written by me, Ultra Rodimus the character, because of circumstances beyond my control. My mistress specifically asked me to write this chapter for her.
Kup: (pokes head in) Are you sure you want to do this? What if she shows up again? Don't you remember the last time?
Ultra Rodimus: I remember, but this time she asked me to type for her.
Smokescreen: Why?
Ultra Rodimus: Last I heard, she was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. So she turned the keyboard over to me and locked herself in the padded room back there. (Points down the corridor) I'm expecting her to lose it any minute now.
Me: AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!
Ultra Rodimus: Right on cue.
(Autobots glance in to see human female sitting in the middle of the floor, surrounded by math books and English books, broken pencils, sheets of paper with scribbles all over them, and clumps of ripped-out hair, looking decidedly crazed)
Ultra Rodimus: Math assignment and English essay. She's losing it.
Jazz: Oh.
Ultra Rodimus: And now, to begin the chapter. At least this time she told me what she wanted me to write, and she gave me free rein on the reviewer responses. Here goes...
Disclaimer: My mistress owns me, my skrill, and the Goa'uld in my head. She wants me to let everyone know that she chose the Goa'uld's name randomly, so if anyone else is using it, she has no intention of stealing.
Cyber Stargate
Chapter 13: Struggle
Ares laughed to himself as he wound around his host's spine and extended his tentacles toward the brain. He was more than eager to seize control of the slave's body, gather his own army, and claim a territory for himself.
As he approached the brain, he felt the raw power of the body he would soon control, and it delighted him. With a body that powerful, perhaps he would be able to overthrow other Goa'uld and take their territories.
(And just where do you think you're going?)
Ares paused. Where had that voice come from? Then he shook off the surprise and attached himself to his host's brain. Cackling, he reached out to seize the slave's mind...
And encountered shields of polished steel. Enraged, he slammed against them.
(That will not help,) that deep voice commented again, sounding amused. (You won't get in.)
-You cannot stop me- Ares roared. -I own you, slave-
For a moment, there was silence. Then the feeling of amusement faded, replaced by cold anger. (Who are you calling 'slave'?) was the rumble.
-You are a slave! I am a god! You exist to serve me- Ares shot back.
(I serve no one.) There was a dangerous edge in that voice. (Get out.)
-Never! You belong to me now-
The mindscape shifted. Instead of facing down those shields, Ares found himself facing his host's own mind, and what he saw shocked him. The slave was old and young at once, and possessed a vast intelligence. His mind was far stronger than the mind of a normal human. Ares saw that the slave was also a limited empath, only able to pick up very strong emotions at close range, but he had experience dealing with matters of the mind.
(I belong to no one!) the host snarled. (Get out! Now!)
-I will not- Ares snapped. Then he struck out. To his immense shock, he was almost instantly thrown back.
((I don't think so,)) a new voice, higher than the slave's, cut in. Its mind was seething with rage. ((You dare try and possess my partner!))
-I will crush him- Ares hissed.
((I think not.)) The third voice was baritone, and its mind was even older than the slave's.
-You will not stop me- Ares surged forward, intent on crushing the insolent slave and taking him over.
(Oh yes we will!)
And then the battle began.
On Earth, the group of Autobots outside the Cheyenne Mountain complex sat in a tight circle, staring at Magnus. The city commander had gone completely still, optics closed, head slightly lowered, not moving even a millimeter. Kup said it was because he was concentrating on the lifebond.
"Why?" Smokescreen asked, looking at the older Autobot.
Kup grunted. "Looks like something is trying to take over Ultra Rodimus's body. Magnus is gone to help him fight it off."
"They're fighting?"
"It's a battle that takes place in the mind. They're driving out an intruder."
"What can we do?"
"Nothing. All we can do is wait."
Inside the ha'tak, a Goa'uld System Lord, three humans, and a large number of Jaffa were watching the still form of the human Autobot. Ultra Rodimus hadn't so much as twitched since the parasite had gone in.
Sam shifted position slightly, staring at the sprawled shape. Something wasn't quite right. The Goa'uld should already have been in control. She could sense naquadah in his blood, but he hadn't woken up.
"Something's wrong," Daniel whispered. "It's taking too long."
As if in response, Ultra Rodimus's fingers twitched. All eyes strained to see any signs of waking. But that twitch wasn't of awakening. It was followed by dozens of small spasms and convulsions, slowly getting stronger. First the fingers, then his hands, arms, and finally his whole body twitched and spasmed as if he was experiencing a mild electric shock. Sam saw the back of his neck ripple.
"He's fighting!" she realized.
Something glowed on his arm, the light showing through the sleeve of his coat. Falcon hissed menacingly, his glow slowly getting brighter.
"Must be one hell of a fight," Jack commented.
Suddenly, Ultra Rodimus's eyes shot open. They were glowing a bright green, like the eyes of a robot. He rolled onto his stomach, shaking all over. Ultra Rodimus managed to push himself up onto all fours, then retched. A foul yellowish fluid came out, followed by the pale, writhing shape of the parasite. It was shrieking in what sounded like pain and terror, struggling to use its fins to crawl away. A Jaffa darted in and scooped it up. He returned it to the container.
Before they could move, Ultra Rodimus had pushed himself to his feet, his blazing eyes full of burning rage. His deadly stare fixed on the group of Jaffa and the parasite they protected. His skrill arm came up.
Falcon's glow surged. The skrill's hiss increased in intensity. Then he released the most powerful blast of energy he could summon, instantly vaporizing Jaffa, parasite, and a massive chunk of wall. An alarm began to scream.
Ultra Rodimus turned his head to fix his glare on Apophis. The System Lord froze, looking like a deer in the headlights.
"Big mistake," Ultra Rodimus hissed.
His clothing and skin melted together and hardened, its surface acquiring the gleam of metal. Already he was increasing in height, losing his human form and morphing back to robot. His stare never left Apophis.
The System Lord suddenly realised what was going on and screamed. The Jaffa fled. Apophis wasn't far behind, but he was still too slow.
The blast from Ultra Rodimus's laser rifle caught up with him two steps away from the door. It incinerated him instantly and tore through the corridor until it reached the hull and blew out through it. Smoke poured out of the hole. Sirens screamed.
"Ouch," Jack muttered as he and his team raced toward the ring room. Ultra Rodimus was now too big to fit into the corridors and would have to find his own way out. The shudder that ran through the ship and the echoing boom let them know that he was out.
"Whatever works," Sam grunted, dodging a piece of wall.
They reached the ring transporter without too many problems. Once out of the ha'tak they darted outside to see what was going on. None of them were quite prepared for the sight of a massive metal dinosaur tearing the ha'tak to pieces with only its teeth and claws. Death gliders were swarming around the creature, but Ultra Rodimus was ignoring them. He spat out a mouthful of hull and sank his teeth into the ship's innards.
Once the ha'tak was dismantled the hard way and the death gliders either swatted or running like scalded dogs, Ultra Rodimus transformed to robot and turned away from the ruins. Without saying a word, he sat down, leaned against a convenient tree, and glared at nothing in particular.
"What's he doing?" Sam wondered.
Daniel glanced at her. "My guess is that he's trying to cool his temper."
"Oh. Sensible."
Teal'c glanced around. "From all indications it will take him some time to calm down. I would suggest that this is an opportune time for you to inspect those ruins, Daniel Jackson."
The archaeologist nodded absently and walked into the ruins. Sam went with him. Jack watched Ultra Rodimus for a few minutes, then approached the Autobot leader.
"Have you made up your mind yet?" Jack asked.
The young Prime glanced down at him. "I really do not like these Goa'uld."
"Now you know why we fight them."
"I know. And we will help."
To be continued...
Ultra Rodimus: Ok, that didn't go quite as planned. But that's how it'll end for now, until my mistress thinks up more ideas to type. Sorry if this chapter is strange. It wasn't supposed to be, but these chapters never go exactly as planned. And here are the reviewer responses:
Fenestrae: Had to happen sometime.
Worker72: Sigh. It never fails. There's always that one reader who never pays attention. Where were you when my mistress posted chapter 8? If you'd read that chapter, you'd know that I have the ability to morph from robot to human at will. It has to do with my molecular structure. I've been on a few dimensional shifts, and the energy fields in the breaches messes with my molecules. Having a revenge-driven psychopath messing with my molecular structure didn't help, either. Long story short, the exposure to molecule-shifting energy fields altered my molecular structure. I can become human at will.
The next person to call this a crash-and-burn fic is gonna get Trypticon dropped on their head!
Gromia: I hope you like this chapter. We can sympathize with you on the computer problems. My mistress is plagued by a computer monitor that flickers and shuts itself off when it's being used.
See you all next chapter!