OUTSIDE ASSISTANCE

By Laura Kinch

Chapter 1

Rating: PG cus its got some gore later on and also Colonel O'Neill's general course language.

A/n: My first crossover! I've actually finished this and just need to type it up, so if you want me to do it quicker send me reviews. ;) And thanks to everyone who's reviewed my other ace lightning stories.

"Looks like it's all over, Ace Lightning!" cackled Lord Fear. "I've got all the pieces of the amulet. Random Virus is at my side, and you're sidekick's life is in my hands."

"If you lay one bony finger on him…" threatened Ace.

"Well then if that's how you feel about it," Lord Fear interrupted, "then I'm sure you won't mind you're friend assisting."

Random Virus snapped his claw, inches in front of Mark's face.

"Ace…" Mark swallowed nervously.

"Stop it, Random!" said Ace. "You're not one of them!"

"Look," cut in Sparx, swinging her sword, "you've got your stupid amulet, let Mark go."

"Yes, you're right of course," said Lord Fear, "I don't need him. I have enough pieces of the amulet to return to the 6th dimension and bring back an unstoppable army of evil. I can't wait to see the looks on these mortal's faces when they see it! And you'll be powerless to stop me." He paused, then grinned. "Then again, a little insurance never hurt, did it?"

A portal whipped open behind Lord Fear.

"Time to say goodbye," gloated Staff Head.

Ace realised with a shock what was happening – Lord Fear meant to take Mark with him. Ace clenched his fists and felt his wrist cannons charge to full power. Not even bothering to think of something smart to say he discharged the energy at Lord Fear.

Random Virus intercepted it and flung it back, sending Ace skidding across the floor.

Sparx joined him a second later, courtesy of Staff Head.

For Mark that second seemed longer. Everything seemed to go into slow motion. Lord Fear had begun dragging him towards the portal and there was no way Ace or Sparx were going to stop him. His mind raced through every possibility of escape. None of them would work. It was clear he couldn't escape. But he knew what he had to do. He had to at least give Ace a chance. Mark grabbed the loop of string around his neck, found the clasp and undid it. He felt the weight on the end drag it off and fall to the ground. Then everything sped up to its normal speed as the portal closed around him.

Ace sat up as his head cleared. The evils were gone but the portal was still there. And closing. Ace made a dash for it.

Half a step away it snapped shut. Ace was stopped short by the wall a foot behind where the portal had just been. I couldn't have gone. But it had. He turned around and sat down in defeat.

"Where are they?" growled Sparx, sitting up off the floor.

"Power down, Sparx. They're gone."

Sparx stood up and brushed herself off. "So what are we supposed to do now?"

"I don't know. We don't have any pieces of the amulet…"

Sparx wasn't really listening. Her eye had caught something shining on the floor. She knelt down and picked it up. "Mark, you little…"

"Come on, Sparx," interrupted Ace. "It's not his fault."

"Yeah, but I bet this is!" Sparx held up the object. It was Mark's piece of the amulet.

Ace got up quickly. "He left his piece of the amulet."

"At least we can power up now."

"Yeah, I guess we'll just have to find out how we can get to the sixth dimension with only one piece of the amulet."

"So let's find out. Then we can fly in there, rescue Mark and kick some bad guy butt!" said Sparx excitedly, accompanying almost every word with an action.

Ace couldn't help laughing. "Alright, Sparx. Let's just figure out how first. And fast. The less time Mark's stuck with Fear the better."

Mark felt like he'd been on the worst roller coaster ride of his life. But the portal couldn't possibly have taken him to the sixth dimension. It was just a game, right?

"Welcome to the sixth dimension," said Lord Fear. "So tell me, mortal, what do you think of the Carnival of Doom?"

"I'll tell you when I can see straight," Mark replied. He was still feeling sick from the trip through the portal.

"Coward…" growled Random Virus.

"Don't worry about him, Random," sneered Dirty Rat. "Well destroy him later, along with Ace Lightning. Right, boss?"

"Correct, rodent," replied Fear. He glanced down at Mark, who hadn't moved off the ground since they'd arrived. Getting impatient he dragged Mark up by the back of his jacket. "Unless you'd like to change that…"

"No, that's fine…"

"Now, answer Lord Fear's question," said Staff Head.

Lord Fear let go of Mark so he could look around. It was just like the carnival at home, only bigger and darker. A huge, rusty ferris wheel creaked around in the near distance. It was the sixth dimension. It looked exactly like his video game. Only this was real. Something caught the corner of Mark's eye. As he looked over he saw what looked like a pair of glowing eyes wink out. "What's that?" he asked.

"Probably a good reason not to try and escape," said Lady Illusion. Mark wasn't sure if she was genuinely warning him or just being evil.

"Now get a move on it!" growled Lord Fear prodding him with Staff towards the Haunted House. Apparently without Duff around he'd decided to pick on Mark instead.

"I'm going!"

Inside, Lord Fear pulled out the pieces of the amulet. "With these," he explained, "I'll be able to return with an army to your pathetic world!"

Heck, what have I got to lose? thought Mark. "You're missing one."

Lord Fear looked at the pieces. "Don't play games with me! You're superhero buddy isn't here to help you. Just hand you're piece over."

Mark made a show of looking down his jacket – in reality he was just trying to work up the courage to answer. "Whoops," he said when he finally looked up. "I seem to have misplaced it."

Lord Fear narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean exactly?"

"I mean I left it behind on purpose," replied Mark levelly.

"What! Do you know what you've done?!"

"Yes. Without all the pieces of the amulet you can't get an army back to earth."

"You stupid mortal! There are other ways to travel between dimensions."

"Good, then Ace should be here anytime now."

Lord Fear growled angrily. How could this pathetic excuse for a lightning knight foul up his plans so many times? On top of that he was making him look bad in front of his evils. Lord Fear decided it was time to take control of the situation – permanently.

"Well it's too bad he'll have no one to save. You should know when you mess with Lord Fear you'll soon have to pay. And you're time to pay is right now. Anvil! Destroy him."

Anvil grinned. "I'm gonna crush the little lightning knight."

"Wait…" said Mark. "Couldn't we talk about this?"

"Not likely, mate," said Staff Head.

Mark backed up against the wall. Anvil was right on top of him. He raised his iron fist. Suddenly Random Virus was between them. "I think you might want to reconsider for a minute," he growled.

Yes, thought Mark. Random Virus' come around.

"Stay out of this lightning knight!" shouted Lord Fear.

"I am not a lightning knight!"

Or not.

"I just think we can use him to capture that coward, Ace Lightning. That's if he has the nerve to show up. After all you did say you wanted some insurance."

"Like we're going to buy that," said Staff.

"No, he's perfectly right," said Lord Fear. "The mortal may yet prove useful. Lady Illusion, take care of him. The rest of you, we've got work to do. And Rat," he added lowering his voice. "Keep an eye on Random Virus. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him."

"You can count on me, boss!"

"We can't get to the sixth dimension with only one piece of the amulet," said Ace, flinging Mark's magazine down on the table. Mark had left it behind at the Thunder Tower and Ace had been pouring through it for the past hour.

"So it's official now," said Sparx sarcastically.

"I just wanted to check, alright."

"Ace, we knew that already. We should be actually doing something instead of just sitting around in here!"

"What would you suggest we do?"

"Help Mark, hello!"

"How?"

"I… I don't know."

"Well neither do I," admitted Ace, slumping in his chair. Who knew what trouble Lord Fear was causing back in the sixth dimension, or what was happening to Mark. He was stuck all alone in another dimension. Ace knew how that felt. And as far as getting yourself lost in another world went the sixth dimension wasn't the best to pick. Hopefully Random Virus would look out for him if his good side took control. Thought as much as Ace trusted his friend he realised he couldn't really count on that.

"Stargate!" exclaimed Sparx abruptly, snapping Ace out of his thoughts.

"You missed it last night, so what?" he said, wondering how she could be worried about what was happening on TV. Lately she had been watching Stargate Sg-1 every week. Mark said it was just fiction and wasn't supposed to be real, despite the fact Sparx insisted it had to be as the ring shaped gate was exactly like the one in the sixth dimension, which was true. Ace had seen it himself and even used it a few times. The amulet was much more useful though as you didn't need a gate on the other end. Although, technically, if there was another gate you could get an inter-dimensional portal much the same as the one created by the amulet.

"Ace, I meant…"

"Wait," said Ace, understanding as Sparx began to protest, "you mean use this world's gate?"

"Yeah! It's exactly the same as the one in the sixth dimension. All we got to do is find it and dial ours."

"Mark did say it's just a TV show," Ace pointed out.

"It can't look just like ours and not be real. They must use the TV show as cover or something. So if someone tries to say they've got a stargate no one will believe them 'cause everyone knows it's just a show, hello!"

Ace looked at Sparx and just smiled and shook his head.

"Don't just stand there, Ace! C'mon, we've got to go find Cheyenne Mountain."

"I'm guessing that's where they keep the stargate?"

"Right," answered Sparx jumping on the lightning flash. "Only I have no idea where that it…"

"So we'll get a map," Ace shrugged. "I think we can pick one up from a place called a gas station."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I've been to one. The guy there was really helpful."

"Then let's go!"

Back at Mark's house, Fiona was doing some work in the kitchen when the phone rang.

"Hello, Fiona Hollander speaking," she said as she picked it up.

It was the school office. "Hi, Mrs Hollander. We were just wondering if your son was sick at home today."

"No," Fiona replied stopping what she was doing. "No, he's not."

"Oh." There was a pause on the other end. "Well, Mrs Hollander, I'm afraid he hasn't turned up at school today."

Chapter 3

A/n: Bit more of stargate coming in this chapter. I"ve tried to explain everything though. Don't forget to review ;)

"Well, Sparx, it certainly looks like they're hiding something down there," commented Ace. Below them was the entrance to Cheyenne Mountain Complex, presumably the SGC – Stargate Command. Of course they weren't exactly going to write that on the door.

"So let's go and see if they'll help us."

"Hold on, they're not just going to let us in. I doubt any of the guards up here even know what's down there. I think we need to get inside before we'll find anyone who can help us."

"Well we're going to have to blast in, Ace. Their security's pretty good."

"I don't think they'll like that."

"I know! But from what I've seen everything's heavily guarded. We can't sneak in anywhere."

"What about how they get their electricity down there. Do you know if they've got that protected?"

"I don't know. Everything else is guarded. Why would they be so stupid as to leave that open?"

"Because," said Ace. "I don't think anyone in this world can move through an electrical wire."

"Hey, you're right. It's worth a try!"

Ace and Sparx flew down behind a big army truck.

"There's a power outlet over there," said Sparx, pointing to a camera on the wall. "But the guy on guard's too close. He'll see us. Think we should knock him out?"

"No," sighed Ace, "I've got a better idea. Close your eyes."

Sparx shrugged and shut them. Ace shut his own and then fired a bolt of lightning into the sky, straight past the guard's face. When they looked up he was stumbling around, trying to clear his eyes from the sudden bright light.

"C'mon, Sparx," Ace whispered.

They walked up to the camera, and turning into pure electricity, disappeared into the wire.

"C'mon, Carter. I can't go fishing by myself!" complained Colonel Jack O'Neill.

The Major smiled and quickened her pace through the corridors or the SGC. "Why not? You always seem to." Jack was constantly trying to get the SG-1 team to go fishing with him. All of them knew that this was not a good idea and Sam wasn't going to get herself dragged in. "Besides, sir, I've got work to do."

"Alright, now that is a lie," said Jack. "We've got a week off. You're not supposed to be working." SG-1 spent most of their time travelling through the stargate to explore new planets millions of light years away, sometimes fighting the Gould and even saving the world a few times. And yet when they got time off and Jack asked them to come fishing with him they all seemed to have something to do. You'd think they'd appreciate a nice, relaxing fishing holiday, thought Jack.

Suddenly the overhead lights flickered. They flared brightly for a half-second, then dimmed back to normal, a few dying completely. It seemed to sweep up the corridor in a wave and then it was gone.

"Sir, did you just see that?" Carter asked, halting.

"Yeah, it's probably a power surge or something… right?"

"I don't think so…" she replied, looking puzzled.

The sound of a siren interrupted them. "Intruders in the control room," came Simmons' voice over the loudspeakers.

Sam and Jack exchanged glances and then ran off down the corridor.

So much for fishing, though Jack.

In a flash of light Sparx and Ace materialised into the control room. Through the glass windows they could see a large ring with a ramp leading up to it – the stargate. It was a dark grey-blue colour with symbols scattered around its circumference.

"Told you I was right," said Sparx triumphantly.

There was a guy sitting at one of the computers. He looked rather shocked.

"Hi there," said Ace, "Sorry to barge in."

Simmons just stared for another second, then took off his glasses, cleaned them, put them back on and stared again. "How'd you get in here?" he finally asked.

Ace started to explain but Simmons seemed to remember what he was supposed to do. "Alright just stay over there and put your hands up." He pulled out his sidearm and waved it at them.

Ace recognised that it must be a weapon and obeyed. Sparx reluctantly followed Ace's example.

"We just need to borrow your 'gate," Ace explained.

Simmons ignored them and set off an alarm. "Intruders in the control room," he said into a microphone.

Ace shrugged as some men with larger guns ran in. "I suppose that works too…"

The General walked in along with Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter.

"What's going on?" General Hammond demanded. He saw Ace and Sparx. "How'd you get in? The 'gate hasn't been active for hours."

Ace went to explain but Simmons interrupted. "They just appeared out of that computer, sir."

"Actually," said Ace, getting slightly annoyed at the technician, "we came down through your power cables from the surface."

"So you didn't come through the stargate?" asked Sam.

"No, we didn't, but we need to use it now."

"You could've just asked," said Jack.

"We were about to. We figured you'd pay more attention if we got down here first."

"Yeah, well you got that right."

"Alright, lower your weapons," said the General. He turned to Ace. "I'm General Hammond, I command this base."

Ace introduced himself and Sparx, and the General introduced Sam and Jack.

"I can't just let you use the gate," the General explained. "Perhaps we can go somewhere else and talk."

"Alright then," said Ace.

"Talk!" cut in Sparx. "Ace, what about Mark!"

"We've got to get to the sixth dimension first, Sparx and we need their help."

"Sixth dimension?" questioned the Major.

"Alright, let's get to the briefing room first," said General Hammond.

Fifteen minutes later Daniel, SG-1's anthropologist/archaeologist/linguist, and Teal'c, a Jaffa who'd teamed up with them to help fight the Gould, had joined the rest of SG-1, General Hammond and the lightning knights in the briefing room.

Ace was explaining how they'd gotten to Earth and about their mission to stop Lord Fear before he took over every known dimension. The Colonel couldn't help thinking it sounded a bit like a video game he'd played once.

Everyone was listening fairly attentively. Daniel noticed that Sam's eyes kept straying to the thing Sparx had called the lightning flash, probably wondering how it worked. It had floated in after them and parked itself up in a corner. Sparx had told them it was safe, unless it malfunctioned and fell down. No one had sat in the seat nearest to it.

"So what do you need to use the stargate for?" Jack was asking. "Can't you just use you're amulet thing or whatever?"

"We'd need at least two pieces," said Ace.

"Bummer," said Jack.

"Lord Fear has the rest. We only got this piece because Mark dropped it when Lord Fear kidnapped him."

"So you need the stargate so you can rescue your friend, right?" Daniel put in.

"That's right."

"I don't think the stargate can take you to another dimension though," said Carter. "At least we've never got it to."

"The Gould have never been able to accomplish this either," said Teal'c.

"Gould?" asked Ace.

"Yeah, they're snakes. They crawl into your head and take over your mind," Jack explained.

"Parasites," corrected Sam. "They use humans as a host."

"I'm sure I've heard that name somewhere…" said Ace. "Probably from Sparx always watching that show. Anyway, I know you can use the stargate to get to the sixth dimension. We have one there."

Daniel thought for a second. "What's the address to get there then?" For the stargate to work a certain number of the symbols had to be dialled in order to give the address of the target 'gate.

"Give me a piece of paper." Ace scribbled on the paper for a few seconds then handed it back.

Daniel wasn't entirely surprised to see it consisted of nine symbols.

"Of course, the ninth chevron!" exclaimed Sam snatching the paper off Daniel.

"We usually only use seven…" said the General.

"If we use eight we get another galaxy," explained Daniel. "So nine must give us another universe or dimension."

"Well we need to leave soon," said Ace. "Mark's been there for a few hours. And it wont take Fear long to get his plans moving."

"Sir, I think we should go with them," said Jack. He turned to Ace and Sparx. "If that's okay with you guys?"

"We need all the help we can get," said Ace.

"When do you need to leave?" asked the General.

"As soon as possible. Within one of your Earth hours I suppose."

"Colonel, I don't know if we can collect enough information in that time. You know we'll need more time than that to scout out something like this."

"General," cut in Daniel, "this is an entire new dimension. Think what new civilizations we'd find. This isn't just one new planet, it's a whole universe."

"New weapons, sir," put in Jack. "Would you let us have some in exchange for helping you?" he asked Ace.

Ace shrugged. "Whatever."

"See we should help them."

"I can't put SG-1 at risk for something that has nothing to do with this planet…"

"Lord Fear is going to bring an army back if we don't stop him," said Ace. "This has everything to do with your planet."

"And what about Mark!" cut in Sparx. Ace had told her to let him talk but she was getting annoyed at everyone going on about everything but Mark. She stood up angrily. "We need to go rescue him now! He may be able to fight okay in his own world but Lord Fear could destroy him in the sixth dimension!"

"Then he is not from your world?" questioned Teal'c.

"No! He's from here. He's just a kid anyway."

"What?!" shouted Jack standing up abruptly. "A kid's been helping you? A human kid? What'd you let him go and get himself kidnapped for?"

"Colonel…" warned Hammond.

"Sir!" O'Neill shot back.

"Colonel…"

"General, they need our help and so does that kid. You can't let…"

"Jack! Get your team ready. You're leaving in a half hour."

Chapter 4

A/n: Yeah I know, this chapters a bit short. Sorry about taking so long to update but I've been busy with uni. Don't worry though cus I will finish. But just in case why don't you remind me with a review... ;) Enjoy da story!

The last thing Mark thought he would feel if he was trapped by Lord Fear with no one to help him he was feeling now. Mark was really, really bored. The evils had imprisoned him in a crystal ball with Lady Illusion on guard. The rest of them had left, presumably to try and recruit as much evil as they could. Which would now be a lot harder for them without the complete amulet, thanks to him. They'd been gone awhile and Lady Illusion was ignoring him.

Mark hadn't had a proper breakfast that morning, having run off the moment he got up to help Ace before school. That, obviously, hadn't turned out so well. So now he was starting to get hungry as well. No one had given him anything to eat, which was probably a good thing as Mark doubted they'd let him go the bathroom. If they even had one. Then again Lady Illusion might let him, and that would involve letting him out of his prison. Mark didn't know what he'd do then, but it was worth a try, not to mention the only thing he could think of.

"You don't happen to have a loo in here do you?" Mark asked.

Lady Illusion glared at him not looking very convinced.

"I really do need to go!" Mark added, trying to sound a bit more desperate.

"I'm not stopping you," she said finally.

Mark sighed and gave up. He slapped the sides a few times but they were still as strong as ever.

"I told you before, you shouldn't try escaping."

Lady Illusion must be as bored as I am, thought Mark. "What else am I supposed to do?" he asked. Maybe he could get her to talk about what Lord Fear was up to. What good it would do though he didn't know.

"You could wait for Ace," Lady Illusion suggested.

"He has to get here first," said Mark. "He's only got one piece of the amulet."

Without the other evils around Lady Illusion seemed less guarded. Or maybe she was just trying to help him in some round about way. Mark decided to try the direct approach. "What's Lord Fear planning on doing now he's only got part of the amulet anyway? No one has to listen to him."

"Some of the less powerful evils will still listen," explained Lady Illusion, "however his army will… not exactly be an army."

Mark smiled. Maybe he'd done more harm then he thought.

"But," Lady Illusion added disapprovingly, seeing Mark's smile, "he may not be too happy about that. Just hope Ace cares enough for you to be useful as a hostage." She turned away, seemingly slightly peeved.

Jealous? thought Mark. He felt like asking her if she'd like to take his place as the hostage. She didn't seem to want to continue the conversation though. "Do you think Ace'll be able to stop them?" he asked anyway.

Phrasing the question around Ace seemed to work 'cause after a few seconds she replied. "He may be able to defeat any evil Lord Fear recruits from the sixth dimension," she paused, "but…"

"But what…?"

"There is an evil from your dimension who Lord Fear's going to talk to himself."

"What?! Someone else from earth is here?"

"I didn't say from earth."

Mark pause, puzzled.

"The amulet has no control over him, so Lord Fear's going to try and make some sort of deal," Lady Illusion continued. "All I know is that he's powerful and I have no idea if Ace can defeat him."

Mark was getting confused. He finally said: "If he's not from earth then, well what is he?"

"He calls himself a Gould…"

Chapter 5

A/n: For those of you who don't watch stargate, u might not realise how bad it is that there is a Gould around. Let's just say u will by the end of this next chapter. Enjoy!

Jack was already in the gate room when his team started arriving. Sam and Sparx seemed to have hit it off straight away. Sparx was showing off her lightning flash and Sam was only encouraging her, eager to see how the machine worked.

"I'll show you more once I get some room to manoeuvre," Sparx was saying. She revved the lightning flash impatiently.

"I just want to know how you get it to fly," Sam replied. "It's got to take a heck of a lot of power to counteract gravity like that."

The Colonel smiled to himself. Trust Carter to want to know all the technical stuff. Jack would be happy if they just gave them a couple, whether they'd be of any military value he didn't know, but they'd certainly beat a motorbike any day.

Teal'c came in and just stood there looking serious. A few minutes later Daniel and Ace arrived.

"Sorry, had to power up," Ace explained.

Seeing Jack's confusion Daniel explained. "He has to absorb electricity to live. Like an energy source or something.

"Mm, I prefer pizza personally," commented Jack. "Everyone ready now?"

"The MALP's come back all clear," said General Hammond from the control room. "I'd like to let it look around a bit more though."

"I don't think Mark has the time," said Ace.

"I'm sure you know what to expect, Ace," the General replied. "Just don't let the Colonel do anything stupid."

"Hey!"

"Sg-1, whenever you're ready."

"Do you need weapons or anything?" Jack asked Ace.

"Got 'em," replied Ace. He held his hands up and let out a small burst of electricity, it crackled across his fists before fading out.

"Now that is cool!"

Sg-1 and the lightning knights started walking up the ramp.

"The wormhole looks weird," commented Daniel, hesitating in front of it. Instead of the normal blue colour the event horizon had taken on a purplish tinge.

Sparx suddenly raced past on the lightning flash, disappearing through the wormhole with a loud whoop.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

Ace and Sg-1 followed her though.

On the other side the gate spat them out. Jack lost his balance due to his unexpected exit speed. Jumping between dimensions seemed a rougher ride than normal. Everyone else seemed to have fallen over as well, except for Ace and Teal'c.

"Ow," said Sparx, righting the lightning flash. "I always take that too fast."

"Well thanks for warning us," said Sam. Sparx helped her up off the ground.

Ace was already panning his wrist cannons around. Jack recovered quickly and pointed his gun around as well.

"We clear?" he asked, not sure if he was missing something.

"We should only run into trouble at the carnival." Ace pointed to a bunch of eerie lights a couple hundred meters away.

"And that's where Mark's going to be?" asked Sam.

"Definitely, it's Lord Fear's hangout."

"Interesting choice," said Jack. "How do you suggest we get him out?"

"We should be able to sneak in. I don't think Lord Fear's expecting us so soon."

"Are you sure we can't just blast in, Ace?" Sparx asked. She pulled her sword out, seemingly from no where, startling Daniel. "That'll take to long. We need to get Mark out quick!"

"It's no good if they destroy us first, Sparx," said Ace.

"Right, we'll sneak in then," said Jack, "we can start 'blasting' if we have to."

"Sounds good to me," replied Ace. "Just as long as we can get Mark out of this safely."

"Maybe if you hadn't got him into it in the first place…" muttered Jack. "Let's go," he said before Ace could reply.

"I believe we can assist each other," Lord Fear said.

Across from him stood what appeared to be a mortal. He had in fact survived for at least twenty years in the sixth dimension, which proved that assumption false. That and his eyes, which flared a glowing yellow as he replied.

"You assume I need your assistance. All I want is out of your dimension. I can do that alone."

"My Gould friend, you have been trying to escape for many years. You have yet to succeed."

"My time will come soon."

"Maybe your time is now," suggested Fear. "Will you at least hear me out?"

The Gould paused. "Go on."

"I need the use of your ship. The pieces of the amulet I have can not make a powerful enough portal to bring all my evils back to your dimension. However, if I use that… portal generator…"

"Hyperdrive," corrected the Gould.

"…hyperdrive," Lord Fear continued, "I can use the amulet to make you ship exit in your own dimension. My evils and I will all be able to return, as will you."

"How ironic," growled the Gould, "I will be leaving in exactly the same way I was imprisoned in the first place."

"They imprisoned you, how sad," said Staff Head.

The Gould glared at him. "It was not I who was imprisoned. It was my host. He is not even worthy to be my host. But I had no other choice. He is a slave – a Jaffa. Even worse," his eyes flared again, "a traitor. He betrayed Ra, his god, to help the Tor'kra. When Ra tried to capture him he escaped in this ship by going to hyperdrive. Ra managed to divert the hyperspace tunnel from his dimension and we came out here. As I said I was forced to take him as a host, there wasn't exactly much of a choice."

Lord Fear nodded. If this Gould was anything to go by they were very picky. But he still had to agree with him.

"No deal, Fear," the Gould said suddenly.

"What?!"

"I will not allow this Jaffa to return."

"Why you," growled Lord Fear, getting ready to shoot him with Staff Head. But then he got an idea. "Why don't you get a new host then?"

"I will only take a human as my host, there are none here."

Lord Fear grinned. "How convenient my friend. I have a new proposal for you to consider."

Chapter 6

"Ace, why are we hiding?" Jack asked. "The coast is clear."

Sg-1 and the lightning knights had made it to the carnival uneventfully. They were now trying to get to the Haunted House, where Mark probably was. Just after they had spread out a bit, Ace had suddenly grabbed Jack and dragged him behind a booth, though the Colonel could see no reason why.

"Look over there," Ace pointed.

All Jack could see was what looked like a garden gnome, sitting on a toadstool, fishing. "That's just a gnome."

"Exactly," growled Ace.

Jack looked around the corner again. Suddenly the gnome looked up at him. "What the…?" Jack said aloud. He hadn't expected that.

Ace grabbed the Colonel again and pulled him out of the way just as something flew past his head and smashed into the opposite booth leaving a hole in the wall.

"What the hell was that?!"

"A fish," said Ace as if it were obvious.

"That thing threw a fish at me! That was a fish?! I wonder what bait he uses…"

Ace checked around the corner again, then stepped out and fired a blast of lightning. The gnome toppled over with a shriek and disappeared.

"Stupid gnomes…" muttered Ace.

Mark's boredom had started to evaporate. He checked his watch; it was about three thirty, afternoon probably. It had felt like longer. Mark wondered if his parents were starting to worry. What on earth was he supposed to say he'd been doing when he got back? If he got back.

The doors to the Haunted House opened with a creak. Mark looked up, half-thinking it might be Ace.

No such luck, it was Lord Fear. He strode in followed by Rat, Googler and Random Virus.

"I trust you're enjoying your stay?" he gloated.

Mark stood up. "Hopefully it won't be for much longer."

"Why yes, we shall be leaving soon," Lord Fear continued. "Our transportation should arrive any minute."

Mark wasn't sure what to make of that. "I don't see any army."

"I don't need one now. I'm sure you must have heard of the Gould?"

"Yeah, but that's just a TV show. It's not real."

"Guess again, mortal."

"Yeah," added Staff Head. "You're about to meet one. I'm sure you'll become very close."

"What?" said Mark. He had an uneasy feeling he was missing something.

Suddenly a set of rings descended from the roof. They stacked up on the floor and then in a flash of light a human form materialised. The rings shot back into the ceiling.

"Ah, my Gould friend," said Lord Fear.

"The ship is waiting," said the Gould in his grating voice. "Now it is time for your part of the bargain."

"Of course. We'll take the mortal up to the ship with us, just to make sure you keep yours."

"But of course."

"Wait," cut in Mark, "what does 'the mortal' have to do with this?"

The Gould turned and looked at him. His eyes flared yellow as he grinned and said, "You are to be my host."

"But, but you already have a perfectly good host! I mean he's tall, handsome…"

"He is a traitor! You should consider this an honour. Do not try to fight it human you cannot stop me from taking control of your mind." He leaned in towards the crystal ball. "Once the transfer is complete, there will be no going back!"

Mark backed away, not believing what he was hearing. He felt he should've just stayed in bed that morning.

Suddenly there was a flash of movement behind the Gould, who spun around in surprise, giving Mark a clear view of Random Virus flinging Lord Fear across the room.

"Rat!" shouted Lord Fear, "you were supposed to keep an eye on him!"

"Sorry, boss!"

Random turned on the Gould. "Leave him alone! He doesn't need you to invade his mind. I couldn't think of anything lower. Are you all like this?"

"I would say so. Though I doubt none do it as well as I."

"You pathetic coward," Random growled drawing out each word.

"How dare you speak to me in such a way," shouted the Gould, his eyes flashing. "I am a god!"

"You must be using a fairly broad definition," said Random rasing his claw.

Lady Illusion hurled a crystal ball at Random Virus, throwing him off long enough for the Gould to pull out a zat gun. The weapon was designed to disable with one shot, which usually hurt like hell, kill with two and would disintegrate the target when it was shot three times. He shot it into Random, who fought the energy for a second then shut down abruptly.

The Gould growled, he'd been hoping Random would stay awake to feel the effects, and took aim again.

"Leave him alone!" said Mark. He wasn't sure if the second shot would work on him but didn't want to find out.

"Yes," said Lord Fear, "let him live. Maybe if that superhero scum turns up he can tell him what's become of his sidekick. I'm sure he'll want to know."

The Gould glared at him. "As you wish," he said finally lowering the weapon.

"Rat!" said Lord Fear. "Go find Anvil and Pigface. It's time to leave. And don't mess up again."

"Sure, boss. I won't let you down!" The rat flew off on his errand.

"Can't we talk about this?" Mark asked desperately. He had no desire to become infested with the parasite. He'd seen enough of Stargate on TV to know he'd probably end up more stuffed in the head than Random Virus. Even the cyborg couldn't help him now and he showed no signs of waking up.

"Sorry, mortal," snickered Staff Head. "You're fate is sealed. That pathetic superhero can't help you now."

"That's the Haunted House," said Ace. "Mark should be in there. I hope he's alright."

"Yeah, me too," the Colonel replied.

There was a loud rattle behind them. Jack and Ace spun around to see Pigface crashing out of a rubbish bin.

"Mmm! Me still hungry. It's time for the main course."

Jack didn't need Ace to tell him this was a bad guy. He pulled out his gun and fired at Pigface.

Pigface squealed and then before Jack could react grabbed his gun and started chewing on it.

"Mmm. Yummy!"

"Hey!" yelled Jack snatching the mangled weapon away.

"Pigface hungry! Give that back!"

"Colonel! Duck!" said Ace. It was a good thing Jack listened. Ace barely waited before blasting.

Pigface squealed and took a swipe at Ace.

Ace flew into the air and landed a short distance away.

"I'm going to eat you!" snorted Pigface and charged Ace.

"Eat this!" said Ace blasting him again, this time knocking him out. Pigface squealed and disappeared.

"Ace! Look out!" shouted Jack. From in the shadows a rhino-like creature with a huge hunk of metal for a hand had appeared.

Jack pulled out his handgun and fired at it.

"Anvil smash you!" yelled the creature, slamming his iron fist into Ace as the lightning knight turned around. Jack's bullets seemed to bounce off harmlessly.

Ace crashed down beside the Colonel.

Anvil finally turned his attention to Jack; the bullets were starting to annoy him. "Stop that!" he growled. He shielded himself with this anvil, causing one of the bullets to ricochet back, nearly hitting Jack.

"Damn it!" You didn't tell us bullets wouldn't work on these guys."

"Must have slipped my mind…" said Ace, getting up.

"C'mon, we gotta fall back."

"Lightning knights don't run from anything."

"For crying out loud! Haven't you ever heard of a strategic retreat? I'm calling for backup."

They both ducked back behind the booth. Jack grabbed his radio. "Sg-1, get here we need help."

"Where is here?" replied Teal'c over the radio.

"Where you can hear all the smashing noises! Hurry up."

Sure enough Anvil was making his way to their position, knocking over everything in his way.

"You got a kid to help you fight these guys?" asked Jack incredulously, trying to see if his mangled gun would work.

"I needed all the help I could get," Ace defended. "I didn't think Lord Fear would do something like this. I should've been able to stop him anyway."

"Yeah, well you didn't. I just hope we're not too late."

"We're not," said Ace. "Mark can take care of himself. You'd be pretty surprised what he can do."

The sound of Teal'c's staff weapon broke the air, followed by a roar from Anvil. Ace and Jack looked back out. Anvil had turned around. He took two more blasts or energy then knocked back the third.

Ace fired a lightning bolt into Anvil's back.

"Anvil will crush you!"

"Shoot him again, both of you!" said Jack. "He can't deflect both."

"I'm running a bit low on power," said Ace. "It'll take too much to knock him out."

"Damn it!"

Sparx suddenly swooped in on the lightning flash, Sam riding behind her. Carter had her sub-machine gun out and fired at Anvil as they flew past.

"Don't do that!" he yelled, swiping at them as Sparx flew perilously close.

Anvil was off balance for a second and Teal'c fired the staff weapon into him again. Sparx pulled out her sword and joined in. He finally faded away.

"Yeah, take that blockhead! Nice shooting Sam," said Sparx, turning around and giving the Major a high five.

"You're driving wasn't too bad either."

"Yeah, nice going, girls," said Jack. "I think we'd all better stick together from now on."

"That would be wise," said Teal'c.

"Um, guys," said Daniel. "This is going to sound weird but, what is a Torkra ship doing in the sixth dimension?'

"What?" said Jack.

Everyone followed Daniel's gaze. Over the Haunted House a small, dull coloured ship with sharp pointed edges was floating.

"Anvil! Pigface!" came a high pitched voice. "Guys, where are you? The boss says it's time to go."

Sg-1 pointed their guns in the general direction.

"Why don't we ask the rat?" suggested Ace.

"What rat…" Daniel trailed off as Dirty Rat flew around the corner.

"You're keeping L.F waiting…" he stopped when he say Sg-1. "Mortals? How'd you get here? You'd better run while you can. He he!" The rat made an attempt at a scary face. "Rar!"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

Jack simply pulled out his zat gun and shot him.

"Ow!" Rat fell to the ground. "Geez, what was that for?"

"At least something works on these guys," grumbled Jack.

Ace walked up and grabbed the rat. "Where's Mark?" he demanded.

"Lightning?! How'd you get here?"

"Long story. But let's hear yours first. What's Fear done to Mark?"

"Nothing, Ace. The kid's fine, honest!"

"He'd better be."

"I don't mean to butt in," said Jack, "but where'd you get that ship?"

"That? That's not ours. We're just borrowing it. It belongs to that Gould guy."

"A Gould?!"

"I knew I'd heard that name somewhere before!" growled Ace.

"Yeah, Lord Fear needs the ship's hyperdrive thing or something to boost the amulet's power so he can get back to your dimension."

"How the hell did you get a Gould to help you?" asked Jack.

"Well Lord Fear made him, um… a deal…"

"What sort of deal?" asked Ace.

"Gould wanted to get back home and a new host so…"

"A host?!" said Sam.

"How nice of him," muttered Jack.

"Sir, he means Mark!"

"Damn!" said Jack and Ace simultaneously. Apparently the Colonel was rubbing off on Ace a bit.

"We've got to get him out of there!" said Sparx.

"Good luck!" snickered Rat. "Looks like they're leaving now."

A flash of light rushed up from the Haunted House and into the bottom of the ship. It was the ring device.

Rat pulled free of Ace. "Sorry, but my ship's leaving." He flew away. "Wait for me!"

"Let's go, people!" shouted Jack. "If that snake gets into his head it's not coming out."

Chapter 7

A/n: Yeah, the final chapter is up! Don't forget to tell me what you all think. Thanks to everyone for all the great reviews!

"How dare they keep me waiting!" grumbled Fear. "On the eve of my greatest victory!"

Googler, Lady Illusion and the Gould had already gone up to the ship. Lord Fear was waiting for the rat to return. He had kept Mark downstairs too, just in case the Gould tried to do a runner.

Mark was still in the crystal ball, unsuccessfully trying to smash his way out.

Rat flew back inside in a rush. "Boss!"

"Where are Anvil and Pigface?"

"Gone, boss. Ace Lightning's here. Along with a bunch of mortals."

"Yes!" said Mark.

"Quiet!" shouted Fear, finally getting really annoyed. The stupid mortal was spoiling everything. He shot a bolt of energy into the ball. It exploded, leaving Mark to fall to the ground unconscious.

"At least that shut him up," said Staff.

Lord Fear grabbed Mark and dragged him to where the rings were. Rat followed.

Suddenly the doors to the Haunted House burst open.

"Hold it there!" shouted Jack.

"How dare you speak to me like that, you puny mortal!" Fear growled.

"Right, now I can see how he gets along with a Gould."

Staff Head shot at Jack, causing the rest of Sg-1 to duck as they came in.

Jack shot back with his zat gun, narrowly missing Lord Fear.

"Mark!" said Ace. "Fear, what did you do to him?!"

"You should be more worried about what I'm going to do to him." His eyes narrowed. "But you're too late." He pressed a button on the wrist device the Gould had given him. The rings descended from the ceiling. Before they touched the floor Lord Fear fired a blast in their direction.

Everyone ducked as the energy slammed into the wall above their heads. When they looked back up the rings had disappeared into the ceiling.

"No!" growled Ace. It was the second time today! He walked over to where the rings had been. "How do these things work?" he demanded.

"We need a remote like what Lord Fear had," said Daniel. "Though I doubt they left one behind…"

"I'm flying up after him," said Sparx.

"You can't," said Sam. "That thing does have weapons. They'll shoot you down."

"Do you see a better way?"

"O'Neill," cut in Teal'c, grabbing the Colonel's attention.

Jack looked where Teal'c was pointing his staff weapon. Out of the shadows rolled a figure. A clanking metal claw swung by his side. Jack raised his weapon, recognizing Random Virus from Ace's description earlier in the briefing.

"What's going on? Where's Mark?"

"It's okay, Random. They're friends," said Ace.

"Mark's gone. Lord Fear was going to destroy him. I stopped him but now some… creature is going to take over his mind. I couldn't stop them."

"Look Random," said Ace, "they've got a ship up there. Do you think you can stop it or something?"

Random seemed to think for a moment. "Yeah, it's still there." He half smiled. "But it's not going anywhere now."

"How'd you know that?" Daniel asked.

"I can feel it," Random explained. "And I've got control of it, for now anyway."

"Great," said Sparx, "let's fly up and blast them!"

"Wait a second," cut in Sam. "You can control the ship from down here?"

"Yeah."

"What about those rings?"

"Yeah."

"Sir," she said to the Colonel, "if we use the rings we can get right in there."

"Ace?" asked Jack.

Ace shrugged. "I don't see another way."

"Great, everyone get under the rings."

"Back to back," suggested Ace. He turned to Random when he saw his friend wasn't following. "Come on, lightning knight. We're going to need your help."

"Maybe that's not such a good idea, Ace," sighed Random. "I could turn mid-battle on you all."

"You stopped Fear from destroying Mark. You've kept you good side in control this long, even though you were surrounded by evil. You can hang on long enough to help save him from this Gould thing, okay?"

"Guys, we gotta go," said Jack, realizing something was going on but also knowing they needed to hurry.

"Alright, I'm not going to let you down, Ace."

"The thought never entered my mind," Ace replied, slapping Random on the back. "Let's go."

"Come on, get this ship moving!" yelled Lord Fear, stepping away from the rings.

"What's the rush?" the Gould replied. He was sitting in the pilot's chair with his hands on what appeared to be a blue crystal ball, which in fact controlled the ship.

"Ace Lightning is here! I don't know how he got here! But he'll be after us to save his precious sidekick if we don't leave soon."

"He cannot get in," said the Gould, turning around in his chair. He saw Mark lying unconscious on the floor. "I hope you haven't damaged my host," he growled, eyes flashing.

"The mortal's fine. He's only unconscious. Believe me, it's better off like that. If he was awake he'd find some way to ruin my plans."

"He won't be able to in a few minutes. Bring the human up here. I want to keep an eye on him. Once we're underway – and he's awake – I will take him over. He'll be helping you before you know it."

"Excellent," said Fear. He dragged Mark to the front and dumped him on the floor.

"What I miss?" asked Mark, the jolt waking him up.

Lord Fear smiled. "Not much. The mortal is awake. Let's get moving."

The Gould seemed to wait a moment.

"Well?"

"My ship is not responding!"

"What?!"

"It is working perfectly, but it will not obey my commands!"

Suddenly the rings stacked up on the floor and in a flash of light Sg-1 and the lightning knights appeared in the cargo bay.

"It's Ace!" said the Rat. "And the mortals!"

"Sorry to barge in," said Ace and blasted Lord Fear.

Fear blocked with Staff Head and staggered backwards. Within seconds a full blown fight broke out.

Sg-1 started firing around, mostly with zats.

Teal'c tried to hit Googler with his staff weapon. Googler dodged the blasts and threw himself at Teal'c, who managed to block him with his staff, but was still thrown across the room.

The rest of Sg-1 quickly found some crates to hide behind.

Sparx flew up to the ceiling, effectively drawing most of Lady Illusion's fire.

"Curse you, Lightning!" yelled Fear

"Forget them!" said the Gould. "Your evils can handle them. I'm closing the doors to the bridge. We need to get this ship moving."

"I think I might have found the problem," said Fear. Random Virus had come up too. As the doors began to close Fear fired a blast of energy at the cyborg. His concentration broken, the ship shuddered violently.

Ace saw the doors closing. He made a dash for them but Lord Fear turned his blast onto him without even stopping.

"Third time not-so-lucky," he gloated as the doors shut. The indulgence cost him. He didn't see that Jack had ducked through until the Colonel fired his zat gun at him.

Jack dove down next to Mark. "You alright, kid?" he asked.

"Yeah… Colonel Jack O'Neill?"

"Spot on."

"But that's just a TV show! It's not…"

Jack just looked at him.

Mark sighed. "Never mind – story of my life."

"Well save it. And keep down."

Back in the cargo bay everyone else was still fighting. Carter fired a few zat blasts at Googler, all of which missed. She ducked as he bounced past.

"The ship's moving…" said Daniel.

"Random, have you still got control?" Sam asked.

"Of what?" Random didn't sound too good, despite that the only damage he'd taken was from Lord Fear.

Ace realized what was happening. "Random, just concentrate on controlling the ship."

"Don't listen to him," said the rat. "Look at them. They're all hiding behind boxes! How cowardly is that?"

Sam remembered what Ace had told them about Random, even as he seemed to withdraw into himself. His evil side was about to take over.

"Yes, I have control!" said the Gould. The ship rocked as it suddenly shot up into the sky.

Jack's shot aimed at Lord Fear went wide. Lord Fear fell over. Jack took advantage of the fact no one was shooting, stood up, and zatted the Gould.

The Gould fell to the floor. He turned around and raised his hand shakily, a hand device pointed at Jack.

Jack fired the zat again. The light in the Gould's eyes seemed to fade a second before the energy hit.

"I'll destroy all you cowards!" yelled Random, his eye flashing red.

"Holy Hannah!" exclaimed Sam. She rolled out of the way as Random's claw crashed into the crate she'd been hiding behind.

"Isn't Random Virus supposed to be your friend?" Teal'c asked Ace as he fired at Lady Illusion. She morphed out and reappeared elsewhere in the room, only to nearly get hit by Sparx on the lightning flash.

"He is my friend," Ace replied, then stood up and fired a blast of energy at Random.

"You will pay for this you pathetic mortal!" yelled Fear. He lifted Staff Head and fired at the Colonel, hitting him in the shoulder.

Jack dropped his zat and fell to the floor.

Mark tried to think of something to do but his thoughts were interrupted by a high pitched screech. He looked down on the floor. A snake-like creature stared up at him. It's frill opened and four fangs widened as it screeched again.

"Damn!" said Jack, seeing the parasite. It must have slithered out of its previous host just before Jack shot him. He made a grab for his zat.

"Oh, no you don't," said Fear. He fired at the spot on the floor, making Jack jump back. The zat however, was knocked towards Mark.

Mark grabbed it and was about to shoot the Gould when he saw that Lord Fear was about to finish off the Colonel.

"Say your prayers, mortal," said Staff.

Suddenly he and Lord Fear were knocked to the ground by a blast of energy.

The Gould flung itself at Mark – and then seemingly exploded, showering Mark in blood and guts.

Mark stared at the mess on his shirt.

"Damn snake," muttered Jack. He was sitting on the floor with his handgun drawn.

"Are you alright, Colonel?" asked Mark

"Yeah, just call me Jack."

"Ok, Jack. I'm Mark."

"Yeah, Ace's told me all about you. He was right too, you saved my ass back there."

"No problem. Wait, right about what?"

Suddenly the cargo bay doors opened. Lord Fear had set them off, desperate for backup.

"Quick, get down!" yelled Jack as a stray bolt of lightning blasted in.

Mark ducked down next to the pilot's chair.

"Lightning!" yelled Fear. "What do you think you're doing?" He shot a bolt of energy at him.

Ace ducked. "Saving the world, what else?"

"You won't stop me this time!"

"You are all cowards!" shouted Random. Lord Fear blasted him.

"What the hell?" said Jack. "This is just what we need."

Random growled, then seemed to struggle for a second. The ship shuddered violently, reacting to the battle of wills. It listed sharply, throwing everyone to the floor.

Lord Fear staggered up. "You may have won this battle, Lightning. But I doubt you'll be able to escape this death trap!" He grabbed his pieces of the amulet and snapped them together. A portal opened, just large enough for him and his evil gang to escape.

"You cowards!" growled Random.

As the evils left Lady Illusion flung a crystal ball next to Random Virus, causing everyone to duck and knocking the cyborg out.

The portal closed down.

A second later the ship lurched again and began to drop.

"Um, who's driving?!" asked Daniel frantically.

Mark looked around. No one was anywhere near him. "I guess that's me…" He slapped his hands onto the blue orb and felt every control on the ship knife into his brain. He shut his eyes and tried to find the steering. Suddenly it was almost like he could see the controls in his mind. He opened his eyes again and willed the ship to pull up. It reacted roughly. Mark smiled. "Just like a video game." He hoped he could figure out how to play this one before they ran into the ground.

The ship broke through the heavy cloud layer. The sixth dimension was extremely stormy and bolts of lightning struck the ship, making it harder for Mark to steer. He could feel the ship responding but still couldn't get it to slow down, which would have been helpful.

"Everyone hang on!" shouted Jack. He didn't bother to try and help Mark. Even if he could've gotten to him the kid was doing a better job than he could.

Mark looked out the front window and saw the ground rearing up. He still couldn't seem to slow down and instead pulled the ship up even more sharply. It groaned and shuddered in protest. Then suddenly the ship screeched to a grinding halt, slewing through the air and bumped into the ground with a mild thud.

"Nice going, kid," said Ace. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, now that you're here."

"You left the brakes a little late," commented Jack.

"Actually I don't think I did that."

"Sorry, that was me," said Random, rolling in.

Jack, Teal'c and Sam turned their weapons on him.

"It's okay, my good side's in control… for now."

The weapons went back down.

"Well, what are you apologizing for?" said Sam. "You just saved us."

"Actually Mark saved you. I only woke up at the last minute. If he hadn't had that much control over the ship I couldn't have stopped it."

"Um, Mark," said Sparx, "I think there's something on your shirt."

"Oh… yeah," said Mark, looking down in disgust. "That's what's left of the Gould, thanks to Jack."

"Well let's get back then," said Jack. "That thing's better off dismembered all over you then in your head, but I'm guessing you'll want a change of clothes."

"Um, yeah, thanks. I think."

Everyone headed out the back of the ship and towards the stargate. Luckily they hadn't landed too far away. Daniel dialed the DHD and the gate opened. They all stepped up and walked through, Mark stopping to poke the event horizon, before he plunged in. The gate room materialized. It wasn't exactly familiar but it was definitely not the sixth dimension. Mark finally relaxed.

"Sam, are you sure this is food?" asked Sparx, poking the green substance. She was sitting in the commissary with Sam and Teal'c.

"Yeah, try it, it's yum," replied Sam her mouth full of jelly.

Sparx finally did, then wolfed down the rest of her cup.

"Told ya," mumbled Sam through more jelly.

Sparx ran off to get some more, nearly knocking Mark and Daniel down as the came back with some real food.

"Sam, what did you feed her?" asked Daniel.

Sam just looked up, her mouth too full to answer.

Daniel rolled his eyes and sat down.

"Finally," said Mark, "I haven't eaten since this morning." He'd changed his shirt and was now wearing a slightly oversized air force jacket. "I don't believe this. I'm in a military base. The food's better then the stuff in our cafeteria."

"I'll say," said Sparx, coming back with three more jelly cups. Sam took one. "Hey, nice jacket. Really makes you look like a superhero."

Mark glared at her. "Are you sure you should be eating those?"

Sparx just grinned at him. "Just 'cause you can't have any 'til you've finished your dinner."

"Dinner…" said Mark. "I should be at home having dinner. Not here. My parents are going to kill me! They probably know I haven't been at school. I'm guessing you guys are gonna make me sign an official secrets act or something. What am I supposed to tell them?"

"You don't need to worry about that," said Daniel. "This place needs to be kept secret. We'll cover for you. And technically we can't make you sign anything, but it's probably not a good idea to try to tell anyone."

"Yeah, I understand. Thanks."

"By the way," continued Daniel, "does anyone know where everybody else has disappeared to?"

"I have not seen O'Neill and the other lightning knights since we returned," said Teal'c.

Ace and Jack were on their way to the commissary.

"I still don't fell right about leaving Random alone," said Ace.

"General Hammond just doesn't want him going nuts," explained Jack. "Aside from killing everyone there's a lot of mechanical stuff I bet he'd mess up.

Random Virus had been locked up in a shielded room as soon as he arrived. He'd actually suggested it himself.

"He's not going to anyway," said Ace.

"I saw what he's like in the sixth dimension, Ace. We can't take the risk."

"I know. But he's a lightning knight. His good sides got to come out on top."

"I'll take your word for that," said Jack sincerely.

"That's a turn around. You didn't trust me about Mark."

"Yeah, well, I was wrong. You know what? That Gould was going to take him and he could've shot it. But he shot Lord Fear instead so he wouldn't kill me. Left himself open. Luckily I got the snake but he couldn't know I'd do that. Then he goes and flys that ship. You know how hard that is? You're real lucky he's on your side."

"You didn't need to tell me that," Ace smiled.

"So," continued Jack, changing the subject, "has Mark ever told you about fishing…"

The End