Copyright: existing characters belong to MGM and the creators of the Stargate Franchise. Story written for fan fiction.
Author: lezaanv
Summary: "Welcome to the second installment of the Seeker. Note to reader: I would advise perusing through the previous story before taking a gander at this one. 'It seems they're not done futzing with the timeline . . .' "
Characters: General Jack O'Neill, Colonel Samantha Carter
Please be advised: story has not been beta'd. I apologize in advance for any mistakes. They are unfortunately mine.
Prelude: INSIDIOR (Plot)
Somewhere in an alternate, alternate universe in the distant future . . .
Upon Capitol Hill, Grandeur gazed over the ruins, eyes scanning over tattered walls of buildings that once represented Washington D.C. After everything he had sacrificed in his lifetime, despite the attempts to restore it, the wreckage remained in its decrepit state.
A deep sorrow triggered within and he crossed his arms over his chest.
Contrary emotions flitted over his countenance for a while, mind fighting against the damage he'd caused and the things he'd suffered. Death followed him like a shadow, and no matter what he did to escape its grasp, it had stayed on his heels. It was always there lying in wait for that one moment, where he would come to a halt, sink down to his knees, and raise the white flag in defeat.
Grandeur closed his eyes imagining its fulfilment when his daughter appeared behind him. He pushed the angst aside, while a neutral expression slipped into place.
"Did he believe you?" He asked, not turning to face her.
She approached nonetheless and stood beside him. Her gaze set on the sunken Whitehouse she could barely make out from their perch.
"Hook, line and sinker." Telum replied.
He peered to the left, inspected the woman next to him and sighed. "I told you fishing expressions were forbidden."
"There is no need to deny your heritage any longer." She said matter-of-factly.
Grandeur turned towards her, disapproval clear on his face. "Neither should you when you're addressing your father."
She ignored him, keeping her eyes on the murky skyline. "That changed the moment you asked me to lie to him."
"Unfortunately, it's part of our duty as protectors of the timeline. I promise it will get better over time."
"It won't if you keep sending me back to him. This time round, he held me in his arms, and promised me he would save our family from Malum. Do you know how that feels for someone who has never met him in this timeline?"
Telum breathed in deep, controlling the surging emotions as best she could, exhaled tersely and turned towards her father.
"It's like staring at a hologram in a prehistoric museum. You are torturing me by using a person who's . . ."
"How do you think I feel? He's my father, Charlotte. Everything I've done is for him."
"You cannot undo your mistake." She gestured at the ruins. "Is this destruction not proof enough?"
"I won't deny that I deserve your anger." His dark eyes narrowed at her, then softened.
Albeit a decade's difference between them, he was the spitting image of her grandfather. She turned away, hating everything they'd become.
"It's something I still blame my mother for." He concluded nonetheless.
"Don't you dare tarnish her name." Telum exclaimed with composed anger. She glanced over her shoulder, emerald eyes glinting in disappointment. "She did everything in her power to make up for her mistakes. If it weren't for her, you wouldn't have had such a resilient daughter."
"I would've had a father and a wife if it wasn't for her need to save him constantly."
"No!" She thundered as she turned around. "You set in motion a cycle of events you cannot undo and now you're placing blame on your parents. After what they've done for this world. The sacrifices they've made so that you can have a bright future. How dare you!"
"Enough Charlotte! What's done is done."
"If it is, why are you still fraught on saving the past? Irrespective of Malum's defeat, and what grandfather now knows . . . no matter what we do, our lives remain the same."
Telum regarded Grandeur for a brief moment, marking the hatred and sadness creasing his countenance. Over the years, guilt, anger and the failure to save their family had eaten away at her father's soul. He was ragged, his own father's façade nothing but a ghost. Even his eyes revealed depths of despair and loneliness. She couldn't bear to see him like this. Nevertheless, if she didn't put a stop to his obsession, she would lose him, for real this time.
"This may seem harsh father, but you must accept your fate and rebuild in the here and now. Our time as Seekers has come to an end."
"No, it's only begun, Charlotte." Grandeur said in a composed manner, triggering a bout of angst within his daughter. She frowned confused as he sneered shrewdly.
"I have one last event to oversee, before this mess deviates into the future my father and my wife dreamed of having one day."
"What are you going to do, Jonathan?" Telum asked, fear trembling in her voice.
He ignored the use of his name and stared at the Washington Monument wasting away in the distance. The look sent a shiver down her spine. For once, she was scared, even more so than what she were of Malum.
"I demand that you tell me." She urged, grabbing a hold of his shoulder.
He jerked away and slid down the crown of Capitol Hill, Telum following quick on his heels. His A.I. cloaked him masking him from her view, though with Irene's new upgrade from the past, she could still keep track of him. Follow him where he headed for the Whitehouse and stop him from causing more destruction to their timeline.
"Father!" She shouted over the com link, but his A.I. blocked the transmission.
"You cannot stop him, Telum. Grief has clouded his mind; he will do anything to feel again."
"Ivan, you have no right to keep me from speaking to him. Irene will . . ."
"She can, but your father has set preventive measures in place, especially for a time such as this."
At the edge of the Capitol's lawn, Telum came to a halt glaring bemused.
"Irene, is this true? Can his A.I. override your connection?"
"Indeed, he has. I can no longer track Jonathan."
"That's impossible."
"He may have made it possible for me to defeat Malum, but he made sure I couldn't overpower Ivan."
"We have to stop him. Take me to 2008."
A long beat followed, the silence working on the Seeker's nerves.
"That's a negative. Ivan hacked the cloak's wristband. We are stranded here."
"My father is more like his mother than he cares to admit." She said aloud. "His emotions coupled with his father's stubbornness - both make for a deadly combination."
"Agreed, but do not neglect that you have the same DNA. Your mother is still very much a part of you, as is your grandmamma."
"So is my grandfather." Telum concluded eyes set on the rugged path before her. "We need to break through Ivan's virus, before my father does something he will regret."
"You should not have obeyed Grandeur's instructions in the first place. Instead, you should have stayed in the year 2006."
"As much as I desired to, you know we had a time limit to our visitation. We only went because of what grandfather had written in his will. He wanted to see me after the incident, and my father used it as an opportunity to relay false information. Like we as Seekers are trained to do."
"I believe the solution to your father's tampering is located in his lab. However, we have to do it the old-fashioned way."
"No way. He disabled the teleportation tech as well?" She exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips.
"And yet, if you look to your far left, you'll notice a rusted motorcycle." Irene stated deadpan.
"Thanks for stating the obvious." Telum replied sarcastically and ran in its direction. "That is if it works." She said under her breath.
"Ivan may have disabled most of my abilities, but still left me the much needed to keep you safe. He is not heartless."
"Ha, says the Artificial Intelligence." She scoffed in return. "Besides, grandmamma made sure I knew how to fix scrap metal."
"I will keep that in mind the next time you ask for my help."
"Yeah, I won't forget to tell her that when we see her again."
If we see them again, she thought to herself as she knelt beside the Scrambler. Its frame was still intact and sturdy, but the harsh environment had withered away its exterior.
"Will you tell him the truth once we make it back to the past? Who he really is?"
Telum paused in her examination
"My father may not know this, but I lied to him and not to my grandfather."
"You cannot hide it from me, Telum. You selected the truth appropriate to the different scenarios. You were untruthful to both of them, merely to protect the bond shared with your father, and secondly, to keep your grandfather's memory alive. Nonetheless, you still failed to answer my question. Will you apprise him of who he really is?"
A loud sigh echoed in the vicinity as Telum pulled a cord from the wristband and connected it to the motorcycle's ignition.
"With everything that I've faced thus far, you'd think confronting him would be easy. But to be honest, the conversation in the elevator and the one by the lake still takes the cake. By far."
A translucent window displayed above her forearm, presenting the Scrambler's internal blueprints. It indicated that a few wires needed connecting and she set to work on fixing it.
"To answer your question: although the conversation intertwined with lies, I told him what he needed to hear. Hopefully, it was enough for what's to come."
