Hi! Another update! This one required a lot more editing than the others so far, so sorry for a late update! That being said, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. The first off-world trip, even if it is not through the Star Gate!
Just wanted to clarify: I can see Yami believing in the Egyptian Gods. He knows he was adopted and brought to Japan from Egypt, therefore would likely be interested in Egyptian history already. Not to mention the fact that Egyptian mythology is really cool! :D So I feel like he might be influenced enough to believe in it. If you would like to hear more of my reasons for this choice, feel free to PM me. I love to talk about why I did things, although I might not answer questions if I feel they will be answered later in the fic.
Also, to answer a question which have been cropping up: yes, Yami is Yugi's adopted brother. In this fic they are not connected through the puzzle (as in Yami was a spirit and gained his own body). Now, that being said, you can read this however you choose. They can be similar due to coincidence, or Yami could be the ka reborn while Yugi is the ba. Either one works, and honestly I would like for people to interpret it how they will. just wanted to clarify the separation issue.
Thank you for putting up with me, and enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Eight:
The young boy ran through the stone halls, laughter ringing around him. He turned a corner, pushing himself up against the wall and giggling as he heard the sounds of pursuit. Soon, a tall man with a graying beard and long, flowing purple robes came around the corner, looking everywhere in an exaggerated manner.
"My son, where could you possibly be hiding? Let's see… Could you be on the ceiling?"T he man peered up at the top of the corridor, searching the stone bricks before shaking his head. "No?Well then, how about in these cracks? I know you must be there!"
Giggling as his father searched the cracks, the boy finally moved forwards, laughing as he wrapped his arms around the man.
"Here I am, Father!I was in front of you the whole time and you missed me!"
Drawing back from the hug, the man looked his son up and down. "My goodness, how in the name of Ra could I have missed you?You're growing up so fast…"The boy smiled up at his father, oblivious to the hint of sadness in the man's features.Before he could respond, though, another figure rounded the corner.
Immediately, the child shrank back behind his father in fear.The falcon's mask seemed to be staring straight at him, although when the figure spoke he addressed the boy's father.
"Lord Ra requires your presence, human.He would like you to go over the resources being diverted to the Gods, as he feels not enough is being sacrificed."
Although he couldn't see his father's expression, the boy felt him stiffen.
"Of course.Please inform Lord Ra that I will be there immediately."
The hawk-headed man nodded, turning and marching back around the corner. When he was gone, the man knelt down in front of his son.
"Don't cry, my son. I promise, nothing will harm you so long as I have breath in my body. There's no need to cry…"
Yami woke up with a gasp, sitting upright. Eyes wide, he sat there until he had calmed down before glancing over at the clock. To his surprise, he was unable to see the numbers through the tears in his eyes. Wiping them away, Yami wondered where such a vivid dream had come from. When his eyes were clear, he glanced back at the clock to find that it was four in the morning. Lying back down, he tried to go back to sleep. However, between his excitement about his first trip to another planet and the emotions from the dream still weighing heavily on him, Yami lay awake for hours staring at the ceiling as he tried to figure out why seeing that man would make him so nostalgic…
Jack moved through the halls, giddy with excitement. They were finally going to be allowed off world, even if it was only to Thor's ship. They were to introduce their long-time friend to their new allies, and although he was certain things wouldn't go smoothly he was still glad to see his Asgard friend.
Turning the corner, he knocked on the door of the room Yami had been given to sleep in while on base.
"Hey, Yami? You up?" he asked, ready to wait for the boy to frantically pull his clothes on. Much to his surprise, however, Yami opened the door almost as soon as he'd finished, dressed and ready to go.
"Wow… You're ready…" Looking closer, he realized that Yami looked slightly tired. "Nervous? Don't worry. We're not going through the Star Gate yet, so it won't be that bad."
Yami nodded. "I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep. I guess it must be nerves. Didn't General Hammond say I had to go through extensive training before going off-world?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah, but we'll be going to Thor's starship. There's no place safer, and it will give you a taste of what traveling off-world is like. Trust me… there's nothing like it."
Yami nodded, looking slightly uncomfortable as he followed Jack through the halls. Probably still worried about the journey, Jack figured. The first time going off-world was always the worst, even if it wasn't the Star Gate, as Daniel had tried to explain to the kid the previous day. Well, hopefully the excitement of meeting their first alien ally would be enough to rid the kid of any nervousness.
They rounded the corner, entering the debriefing room to find everyone already there. One of the Goa'uld, Mana, was yawning widely as she sat at the table while the rest were politely sitting up straight. Jack led Yami far around them, seating him on the opposite side and plopping down next to him.
General Hammond looked around the room, satisfying himself that all were present before beginning. "All right. Today's mission is going to be fairly routine compared to some of the others SG-1 has been on in order to get you used to traveling with them, Yami. There should be no chance for you to get into danger, however if you do stick with Doctor Jackson and Colonel O'Neill. As for you," he commented, turning towards the Goa'uld, "we're going to be introducing you to one of our strongest allies. We'd greatly appreciate it if you would act as… nonaggressive as possible." Jack noticed that Hammond's eyes were locked on Seto, who yawned in an obviously faked manner. Instead Isis, whom Jack was beginning to think was the voice of reason, spoke up.
"I can assure you that we will try to be polite when talking to this 'Thor'. Any ally against the System Lords is welcome, after all."
Jack couldn't help but barely muffle a snort, turning it into a hasty cough which evolved into a very real one. He doubted that… Throughout the rest of the meeting, Jack continued to keep a close eye on Seto, figuring he was the most likely to attempt to kill Yami.
When the meeting was finally over Jack stood, stretching and heading for the door before he was stopped by General Hammond.
"Colonel, I don't need to say this, but I will anyway. Your priority on this mission and all future ones should something go wrong is Yami's safety. If anything starts to happen, I want you to ask Thor to send him back immediately."
Jack nodded, "Of course, General. Mind you, he doesn't look like the sort to just retreat from a fight where others are still in danger, but I'm sure I can carry him over one shoulder and get Thor to beam him back if it comes down to it."
Hammond nodded. "Very well, then. Good luck, Colonel."
"Thank you, Sir." Jack responded, moving after the rest of the group. He caught up to them in the gate room, waiting for him before proceeding. As soon as he had joined the others, he motioned for Walter to go ahead and contact Thor to let him know they were ready.
Within moments he found himself on Thor's ship with the diminutive Asgard standing in front of him. Thor inclined his head.
"O'Neill. It is nice to see you under these circumstances."
"Same to you, Thor." Jack replied, turning to check on the others. Yami stumbled slightly upon appearing, but managed to remain on his feet.
"Well, that's one of the better first trips off-world I've ever seen." Jack commented. "I'd like to introduce you to Thor. He's a member of the Asgard race and has been helping planets designated as being free of Goa'uld presence by a treaty. Of course, he also does the bidding of the Asgardian Council, and this is his ship."
Yami managed a nod, eyes wide as he gaped at his surroundings. Considering they were on the bridge of Thor's spaceship with a view of the space around them, Jack could understand his silence. Thor, meanwhile, was staring at Yami curiously.
"Is this the boy you mentioned, O'Neill? Strange… he looks similar to the descriptions I heard of the Pharaoh who drove the Goa'uld Ra off of your planet."
Jack frowned, "Really? That's interesting… What a coincidence. Our new allies apparently left Egypt not long after Ra was driven out. Have you heard anything about them?"
Thor shook his head. "I'm afraid not, O'Neill. Although the news of Ra's departure reached our ears, afterwards we were busy and no more information was received."
"Ah." Jack commented, motioning the Goa'uld over. "Well, this is Thor, one of our first allies. Thor, this is Isis, Seto, Mahad, Mana, Akhenaden, Karim, Shada, and Shimon, our new Goa'uld allies."
Thor blinked, inclining his head. "It is a pleasure."
Snorting, Seto turned away. "I'm sure it is." Isis gave them a tight lipped smile.
"Please excuse his rudeness. Seto!" she called, following after him. The rest of the Goa'uld also trailed off in various directions to study the ship even as Yami approached, having apparently finished looking around. Only Mahad stayed nearby, Jack noted.
"This is a fascinating ship… I have a question, though. Aren't you upset because the Goa'uld claim to be Gods?"
Jack nodded, wondering where the boy was heading. "Yeah. They convince the populace to allow them to do whatever they want, including mass murder, because they are divine. Why?"
"Well, I was wondering because Thor is the name of one of the Norwegian Gods. How is that any different?"
Thor looked over at Yami, "A wise question. However, our names merely reached the ears of the Tau'ri on Earth. We never attempted to set ourselves up as Gods."
Jack took over. "They were known as Gods on other planets, however that was just a stop gap until they felt the population was ready to learn the truth. The Asgard are very different from the Goa'uld in that respect. The Egyptian Gods were all Goa'uld posing as Gods, whereas the Norwegian Gods were based off of the Asgard, not the other way around."
Frowning, Yami spoke slowly, "I don't believe that. If the ancient Egyptians threw out the false gods, why would they continue to use their names as a basis of their religion? There must have been a reason why they kept the names, so couldn't that imply the Egyptian Gods did exist?"
Jack almost laughed before noticing the kid's serious expression. "You seem to really believe in them," he commented, thrown a little off guard.
Yami hesitated slightly before nodding. "I do. Ever since I was young the Egyptian Gods have always been real for me. Maybe I don't know how to worship them in the way they once were, but I do believe that they exist and can affect us."
Thor spoke up, "Much like the humans on the worlds we protect believe in the same God that was named after me, perhaps there is something in simply believing that we cannot measure using our instruments. Whether they do exist or not, we will likely never know."
Jack nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Mahad watching them closely. Mentally he made a note to up Yami's protection for the night. He didn't like the attention that the kid was attracting from their 'allies'.
