Chapter 1

The jolt of the ship going into hyperspace woke Vala from her restless sleep. She blinked her eyes a few times before opening them fully. The room was dark and the blue of hyperspace illuminated the gloomy room with an unusual glow. With a heavy sigh, Vala sat upright in the bed. She dangled her feet over the side but its height didn't allow her to touch the floor.

Vala sat in the dark, thinking about her friends and the villagers. She thought about Cameron, Sam and Teal'c reduced to nothing more than ash. Her eyes burnt but tears did not fall. Tears wouldn't bring them back. Tears wouldn't bring back the villagers, another planet filled with good people who didn't deserve to die. Vala harshly swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She needed to do one thing and that was to find Daniel. Daniel. The name echoed through her mind, worsening the burn in her eyes. He had been missing for a few weeks now.

Vala came back to her original conclusion: she must somehow find a way to get on Adria's ship, where she knew for a fact Daniel would be. If she was Adria she wouldn't risk Daniel being away from her, not with the valuable information he had in his head.

Daniel was the only friend she had left; the Ori had made sure of that. Vala vowed to find him before Adria decided she no longer needed him and killed him. She couldn't lose all of her friends; she would not lose Daniel – her Daniel. Vala brought her hand up to her face then forcefully rubbed her eyes to keep the tears from falling.

Vala raised her head as a hiss filled the room. The door across from her opened and Tomin silently entered. A pained look crossed his face as he moved closer to Vala. Her mouth formed a thin line, the cut on her lip still sore from where he'd slapped her. She didn't flinch when he reached and softly touched her lip but her gray eyes grew dark from hatred. When he stepped away, she finally moved away from the bed.

"I'm ready to listen," Vala lied perfectly, her plan beginning to fall into place. The lie was so perfect, she almost believed it herself.

Tomin looked at her as though he wasn't not sure whether to believe her or not. Vala gave him a sweet smile, a sickly sweet smile that made her stomach turn. It had felt like years since she'd had to use her old ways to get what she wanted. However, she pressed on because she had to find the one person who made her want to be a better person, the one person who she could truly call her best friend, the one who she would die for – the one she loved.

"I will be not finishing your teachings," Tomin replied, placing the book of Origin back on the desk in front of the bed. "The Orici has declared she wants to convert Mother," he added, looking up at her slowly.

Vala nodded grimly but inside she wanted to scream. It seemed her plan was falling in place perfectly. Tomin moved from the desk to stand before Vala again. She straightened herself, giving him another smile. It didn't reach her eyes and the pained look returned to his face.

"I will let you mourn your friends in peace." Tomin started to walk away but turned to look back at her. "Before you must forget about them forever," he added quickly before leaving.

Vala was once again left in the dark room by herself. She would have time to mourn her friends when Daniel and she returned home – safe and sound. She looked around the room, finding it sparse except for the Book of Origin and others on the desk. She was never into reading books but she picked up the Book of Origin anyway. As she began to read, she understood what Daniel had said about the words having meaning and the Priors bending it to their will. The core philosophy of the scriptures was sound, but the Orici, Doci, and Priors suppressed the forward development of its morality into a tool to control its followers.

Sometime while reading the book, Vala had lost all track of time. She brought her hand to her face to rub her eyes from reading so long but stopped when she felt wetness on her cheeks. She quickly made her way to the wardrobe in the corner of the room; on top sat a hand mirror. Her fingers brushed against the wetness on her cheeks as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy.

She had been crying and didn't even though it, something she hadn't done since she was little – not since her mother died. Vala forcefully rubbed the tears from her cheeks. She couldn't let them see her tears, let them see her vulnerable. As Vala lowered her gaze to her feet she felt the spaceship drop out of hyperspace. She heard the guards outside the door move forward before it hissed open.

Two guards greeted her as she moved to the interior door. Two strong brutish looking young men who barely look old enough to drink, stood in front of her. Vala could feel their eyes on her as they walked out of the room then down the long corridor to the transport rings.

The view didn't change much once the rings activated. This new spaceship seemed colder and even more threatening than the one before. The guards stayed close to her side until two older guards met them. These two were more good-looking then the two brutish thugs. A small smile crept up on her lips - Adria liked to surround herself with good-looking men. Maybe some part of Vala was in her daughter besides stubbornness.

Vala was taken to a room the same as the one on the other ship. The guards allowed her to walk into it, letting the door hiss closed behind her. On the bed lay the same frock she had worn after toddler Adria had healed her. Vala pulled the pins from her hair, allowing soft curls to rest at her shoulders. Daniel's eyes always seemed to darken when she wore her hair down. She carefully stripped from her Stargate Command uniform, folding it carefully before placing it in the wardrobe.

Vala looked at herself in the full length mirror beside the bed. Her eyes were still puffy but the redness was disappearing. As she moved a curl behind her ear, the door opened beside her.

"I can understand what Daniel sees; your beauty is beyond words."

The sound of the voice was familiar but its texture was wrong. Vala twirled away from the mirror in surprise. She couldn't help but let a gasp fall from her lips when her eyes fell on Daniel. She had seen Priors before but this was different.

His once keen and lovely blue eyes were nothing but a black pupil surrounded by a white iris, the windows to his soul butchered and made unrecognizable. Vala felt the burning sensation of tears return.

"What has she done to you?" Vala asked hoarsely, her voice suddenly sounding different to her own ears.

"What must be done to finish the device," Merlin answered in Daniel's voice. Vala resisted the urge to punch the pompous old geezer in the face, but Daniel's soft smile formed there instead. "What must be done to save Dr. Daniel Jackson and what's left of humanity, our hard work," he added truthfully.

Vala balled her hand into a fist, her nails digging into the palm. Daniel was standing before her, different and but yet the same.

"Will you be teaching me?" Vala asked, in the same sickly sweet voice she had used on Tomin. Merlin might be the good guy but she'd never trusted the Ancients just as she hasn't trusted the Ori. Alterans - one in the same; the light to the dark.

"No," Merlin replied sympathetically but yet there was a wistful tone to his voice. He brought his hand up to his head and pointed towards his temple. "Daniel Jackson would like nothing more than for that to be true, but Adria would never allow it," Merlin added, his brows furrowing as he looked at Vala.

Vala finally looked down at herself, realizing she was standing in front of Daniel, Merlin or whoever he wanted to be - in nothing but a black lacy bra and panties. Vala looked back at Merlin and watched his white eyes dilate.

The white of his eyes pierced into Vala's gray and she scrambled over to the bed. She picked up the blue dress and glared at Merlin.

"Could you please turn around," Vala demanded, motioning with her hand to turn back towards the door. She breathed out a strangled breath as she pulled the dress over her head.

Merlin turned back to Vala as he heard the sound of fabric softly hitting the floor.

"Why did you come here then?" Vala asked harshly, turning to look back at him. "What would your mistress have to say about this?" she asked bitterly. She wished he would just fuck off and let her speak to Daniel - the reason she was here in the first place.

"Adria isn't here," Merlin replied as he continued to stare her.

He had good reason to stare at her. She was just as beautiful as he remembered. It had been well over a thousand years since he last seen her but it was her. His Viviane.

"Would you like me to help you?" Merlin asked cautiously, pointing to the loose shape of the dress.

Vala didn't respond but instead turned around. The back of the blue dress was untied, giving Merlin a full view of her back. Vala straightened her back when she felt Merlin step up behind her. His fingers brushed against her soft ivory skin, causing Vala to take a deep ragged breath. She tried to control her breathing as he tied it leisurely.

"Please just go," she pleaded, her voice weak and fragile. She needed some time alone. This hadn't been part of her plan, she didn't count on Adria turning Daniel into a Prior - one of the little pawns in her game of universal domination.

"I will leave you," Merlin replied, finishing the last string on her dress before quietly walking out the room.

Vala breathed a sigh of relief before she sat down on the bed. She never expected it would be this hard but she never expected to face Daniel like this. She couldn't get it straight in her head and it confused her even more to have Daniel talking and touching her but not of his own free will.

On the Prometheus, Daniel had clothed her in something she wouldn't have dressed herself in and did so while she was unconscious and not in control of her own body. He had loss of control as he had laced up her dress. It felt like Daniel and his presence, but she wasn't sure if Daniel had control of his own body, he would have laced her up or let his fingers brush against her skin.

Vala felt a shiver run up her spine as she recalled the feel of Daniel's fingers on the small of her back. She stood up and moved to the window. The view was a planet not much different from Earth from space; mostly water with patches of green and brown here and there. The planet was slightly bigger than Earth but not by much.

A toll rang through the ship, activating the room lights automatically. Vala remembered the toll was to call the soldiers to the transport rings but she didn't hear any of them in the corridor outside her room. It must have been to signal the arrival of the Orici.

Merlin stood with his hands behind his back as he waited for the Orici to arrive. He needed to show her the progress he had made on the Sangraal. The transport activated and seconds later Adria appeared with several guards surrounding her. She smiled at Merlin in a way that made his stomach turn. Adria believed that he played her games and that was all that mattered.

Adria stepped closer to Merlin, her body inches from him. She was close enough that Merlin could feel her warm breath on his face and feel the fire burning in her eyes. They often suffocated him, burning his soul but he sure that was what Adria intended. Merlin felt her lips on his before he even took another breath. This was her usual greeting when she returned to the ship. It would be a lie to say he didn't get a small tingle of pleasure from it, but Daniel Jackson screamed in his head for him to stop.

"I hear we have a visitor," Adria said after she pulled back from the kiss.

"The Mother of the Orici has arrived," Merlin answered, following Adria out of the transport ring room.

Adria made her way to the room she used on this ship. Merlin followed her like a dog, on her heels. Even as she entered her room, he did the same. Adria turned on her heel and looked at Merlin with a suspicious look.

"Have you been to see Mother, Daniel?" Adria asked, giving him a seductive smile that made Merlin cringe. "I know how deeply my mother cares for you, so there is no need to lie."

"Yes, Merlin replied, stepping closer to Adria. "Only to say hello, Orici," Merlin lied, placing his hand against the crook of her neck.

Adria fitted herself into Merlin's arms, and they began a desperate, grasping dance for dominance while Daniel raged and cowered in the farthest corner of his mind. Merlin took over, allowing himself the pleasure of feeling Adria's overheated body with a younger man's lips against her burning skin. As they finished, Adria cried Daniel's name, not Merlin's.

Merlin could feel Daniel's agony as he slipped from Adria's bed. His mind was suddenly filled with images of a red haired woman whose eyes glowed. Merlin silently grasped his head as painful memories from Daniel's past flooded his vision. Hathor. Daniel screamed the name inside his head as Merlin fell to his knees.

Merlin took ragged breaths as the images slowed in his head. In his mind he could see himself looking off in the distance as a concerned voice asked him if he was okay. Samantha Carter, Daniel said quietly in his mind. The aura around the images changed from monochrome to brighter shades. Memories of a steadfast presence, a safe, pure and profound friendship soothed Daniel's mind.

The images moved from Samantha Carter to Vala - to the first time Daniel had meet her on the Prometheus. Merlin could feel the pain from the wound, then the tingle of healing as if it was his own. Vala had been host to a Gou'ald just as Daniel's wife Sha're had been. Merlin felt Daniel's anguish as his own while he watched Sha're's eyes glow.

Merlin breathed slowly, his back resting against the bed. He dropped his head in his hands while pulling his knees up to his chest. Merlin could not look back at that moment but he could sense Adria sleeping soundlessly behind him. Taking several deep breaths, he stood and quietly pulled his robes on. Merlin left the room swiftly then made his way to his own room.

This was the first time they had such an encounter; nothing more than a kiss had ever happened before. The door hissed closed behind him and he headed for the bowl on the desk. Bile rose in his throat before he emptied the contents of his stomach into the bowl.

After cleaning out the contents of the bowl, he sat down on edge of the bed. Looking around the room, Merlin's eyes fell on the almost finished Sangraal. Only a few more pieces were to be made then it needed to be assembled. Their plan would be set into motion but neither of them had counted on Vala being brought to the ship. For both Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran to get back home safely, they had to remain together.

Merlin had a plan on how to keep the two of them together, he just hoped Adria would fall for it. He debated on working on the Sangraal but after the events of the day, both Daniel Jackson and he wanted nothing more than to rest. Merlin laid down on the bed and then looked at the ceiling. Daniel Jackson had grown quiet and Merlin thought about the recent turn of events.

Merlin had never meant to bed the Orici but the tension between Adria and him had been growing. Something was bound to happen and it didn't occur to him that anyone would find a doddering old man desirable. If the Others - especially Ganos Lal - could see him, they would feel vindicated that he remained a mortal.

Merlin had taken precautions to make sure no children resulted from their coupling. He would also make sure it never happened again; he could not put Daniel Jackson through that once more.

Vala wasn't certain whether it was night or day on the planet below but she didn't sleep a wink. She found herself sitting at the desk, once more looking at a copy of The Book of Origin. She could hear the soldiers outside her door at one point but no one entered her room until hours later.

"It is good to have you on the ship, Mother."

Vala dropped the book in surprise. She hadn't heard the door open behind her. It was as if Adria had just appeared beside her.

"Adria," Vala breathed out slowly as she stood from the desk.

Adria walked closer to her mother before enveloping Vala in her arms. Vala brought her own arms around her daughter, mimicking the hug Adria was giving her. When Adria pulled back, Vala give her a weak smile she was sure didn't reach her eyes.

"Will my conversion begin today?" Vala asked, sitting back down in the chair.

"Yes," Adria said, looking at her mother curiously. "While visiting with Daniel this morning, he convinced me to allow him to convert you to Origin."

"He did?" Vala asked suspiciously.

Adria nodded her head yes before speaking again. "Yes, he was quite convincing."

A smile formed on Adria's face that was hard for Vala to describe. It was a smile partly of triumph and satisfaction. Triumph over who? Satisfaction from what?