Disclaimer: I don't own 'Stargate: SG-1' or any of the related characters; you should know the drill by now. Also, thanks are due to MaureenT, whose exceptional 'Stargate' fanfics are what first got me interested in the Sam/Daniel pairing originally, to say nothing of the invaluable information and suggestions she has provided for some of the later chapters
Feedback: I'd appreciate it, believe me
Child of the Ancients
They had only walked for a few more metres before they finally arrived at what could only be their final destination; a large cavern, consisting primarily of a deep abyss with a narrow walkway stretching from the cavern entrance to a wider platform in the middle of the abyss.
The platform itself appeared relatively straightforward, but the two objects on it were definitely worth attention; the taller of the objects before them was a dolmen-like structure with a blue diamond-shaped stone pattern on it slightly above the height of the average man, Ancient writing running from the top to the bottom of the dolmen, while the glowing red form of what looked like the Sangraal rested on a lower dias.
"Well... there it is," John said, waving a hand slightly as he indicated the dias in front of them, the small group of five gathered around the entrance of the passage that had lead them to their goal. "So... who's going for it?"
"I am," Daniel, Elizabeth and Liam said practically all at once, only for the subsequent glares between them to culminate when Daniel stepped forward and walked along the narrow bridge, Sam and John automatically placing their hands on Liam and Elizabeth's shoulders respectively to stop them following him; given the bridge's relative size, the last thing they wanted was to have too many people on it unless they had to.
As he walked onto the dias, Daniel reached out to take the glowing red form of the Sangraal, determined to claim the object they'd sought for so long and make the next step towards stopping the Ori once and for all...
Only for his hand to pass through the red orb as though it wasn't even there, the object subsequently 'flickering' in a manner that confirmed Daniel's initial suspicion; if the thing before him wasn't a hologram, he'd be very surprised.
"Well?" Sam called over to him where she and the others still stood at the passage exit.
"It's... it's a hologram," Daniel replied, looking uncertainly back at the rest of the group. "I don't-"
Whatever else he'd been about to say, Daniel stopped talking as the cave was suddenly filled with the sound of mechanisms moving, followed by dust beginning to fall from the cave wall around the entrance. Daniel only just managed to run back across the bridge to join the rest of the team when the sound of what appeared to be large wings replaced the sound of the machinery.
"What the...?" John muttered, looking over at the others apprehensively. "Why is it I'm suddenly getting the feeling that we're not done yet?"
"Possibly because our thoughts on the subject of dragons were wrong?" Liam asked, pointing at a massive form now hovering above them, resembling a massive lizard with two long wings in place of its forearms, hissing at them as it opened its mouth.
"Run!" Elizabeth yelled, voicing the thoughts of all of the group as they turned around to hurry back along the still-open passage behind them, narrowly avoiding the subsequent blast of flame that followed them as they hurried around the first available corner.
"OK," John said, glancing back as the dragon's flames beat against the wall behind them, "looks like Draco's too big to fit through this, but we should probably keep moving..."
"Looks like an exit this way," Sam added, indicating another passage that seemed slightly lighter at the end than the others. "Come on, let's go!"
After a few minutes' more hurried movement, the group finally found themselves back outside the mountain, shaken by this latest turn of events but all still clearly alive.
"OK, what the he-ck just happened there?" John asked, indicating the cave they'd just left by.
"It was a hologram," Daniel explained. "The Sangraal wasn't real."
"What?" Sam said, looking incredulously at the father of her child. "Are you saying we came all this way for nothing?"
"We have to defeat the dragon," Liam said, clicking his fingers as he looked up at the adults with a slight smile.
"I'm sorry, what?" John said, looking back at the young boy with an incredulous stare. "In case you didn't notice, I'm a bit short on vorple swords right now..."
"That's the Jabberwock-" Daniel began, before the sound of rocks breaking prompted the group to glance up just in time to see the dragon emerge from the top of the mountain, its wings spread as it began to dive towards them with a loud screech.
"Whatever you use to slay dragons, we don't have it, so let's run now and sort that out later, huh?" John said.
With that, the group of five turned and ran towards the nearby tree line, Daniel and Elizabeth attempting a couple of quick blasts at the dragon with their Staffs while John and Sam fired their P-90s just long enough to confirm that the dragon was vulnerable to neither.
"So..." Elizabeth asked as the group took up position behind some of the nearest available trees, "what's the plan now?"
"We can't go back to the village now; if the dragon's the final test, we'll just have to figure out how to get past it," Daniel said, looking urgently up at the monstrous creature above them. "The Parchment of Virtues said that 'The Sangraal shall instead belong to he who speaks the guardian's name'; maybe we can stop it with that?"
"Just by saying its name?" Liam asked, looking incredulously over at his father. "Dad, we're dealing with a dragon; I don't think it's going to stop if we tell it to sit!"
"Don't be so sarcastic, Liam; your father might be on to something," Elizabeth said, looking briefly over at the young half-Ascended before she turned back to Daniel. "I admit that the mythological aspects of this kind of thing aren't my strong point, but I know for a fact that there's at least one story where the protagonist gained power over an imp by learning his name..."
"Great," John groaned. "We're taking a stab in the dark based on Rumpelstiltskin..."
"It's not like we have any better ideas, John!" Elizabeth yelled as the dragon roared overhead clearly waiting for them to emerge.
"Wait a minute..." Daniel said, looking upwards with a faint smile as inspiration came to him. "The Parchment said that the Sangraal would belong to 'he who speaks the guardian's name'..."
"Which means...?" Sam asked.
"Wait a minute..." Liam put in, raising a hand uncertainly as he looked over at his father. "I might be wrong, but I think Aunt Oma mentioned something about Morgan Le Fay being the one who hid the Sangraal..."
"So we're thinking that 'the Guardian' is referring to Morgan Le Fay rather than the dragon?" John asked, looking between the two Jacksons as he indicated the air where the dragon was still hovering with what looked like a glare on its face as it looked for them. "In other words, we call this thing Morgan Le Fay and... what?"
"No, that's not it..." Daniel said, shaking his head briefly before he clicked his fingers in inspiration, stood up, and ran to stand in front of the dragon.
"Daniel!" Sam yelled in shock as she stood up and ran after her old friend.
"DAD!" Liam yelled as he followed his mother.
"Ganos Lal!" Daniel yelled upwards at the dragon still hovering above them, just as the dragon was opening its mouth to launch another fireblast at them.
As soon as Daniel had spoken, the dragon's entire body suddenly seemed to glow with a brilliant light before it folded in on itself like it was made of paper before it vanished into nothingness, with only the singed trees around them serving as any indication that it had been there in the first place.
"Huh," John said, nodding slightly in a stunned manner as he and Elizabeth walked over to join the Jackson 'family', before he looked curiously over at Daniel. " 'Ganos Lal'?"
"It was Morgan's name before she Ascended," Daniel replied. "It seemed like our best chance, anyway."
Elizabeth smiled briefly at him.
"Good call," she said simply, before she turned around to indicate the mountains that they'd just fled from with her Staff. "Well, let's try this again, shall we?"
With that brief exchange, the group turned around walked back into the mountain cavern system they'd just left a few moments ago, the cavern still open and unsealed as the group advanced into the underground network that would lead them back to the Sangraal. Finally arriving back in the cavern where the dragon had originally appeared, the five of them advanced carefully along the narrow bridge to gather around the glowing red orb of the Sangraal; with the last trap having been dealt with, nobody saw any point in staying back at a moment like this.
"OK," Daniel said, as he reached out to take the object before them. "Let's get this..."
His voice trailed off as his hand passed through the red orb once again.
"Oh, come on!" Sam said in frustration, looking almost like she was prepared to shoot something for their continued inability to find what they were looking for.
John was just about to voice his own exasperation with this continued lack of progress when he saw the diamond-shaped stone formation on the obelisk behind them glow a brilliant blue...
As soon as the light faded, the cavern they had been standing in earlier had vanished, leaving the five of them standing in a new room with a similar rock structure to the caverns they'd been in earlier.
However, unlike the caverns they'd been exploring for the last several minutes, this cavern appeared to be more like a private study than a simple cave, with wooden torches around them- the torches lighting up almost as soon as they arrived in the room-, along with various books stacked on shelves and a chest of drawers up against the wall, as well as a desk and a couple of chairs that seemed to have been chosen to relax and work in respectively. A few jars and what looked like a crystal ball were positioned on top on the chest of drawers beside the books, but the most obvious anomaly in the room was a strange circular metal table near the centre of the room with metal bars sticking out of it and a relatively smooth upper surface, with no chairs near it or objects on it to give any sign that it was used for anything.
"Uh... what just happened?" Elizabeth asked, looking anxiously at her surroundings as she tightened her grip on her staff; it might be useless against anything other than the Ori or other Ascended, but it at least helped her feel better to know it was there.
"It looks like we were... transported to another chamber," Sam said, she, Daniel and John pulling out their torches to better examine their surroundings. "It's probably a last security measure Morgan installed; maybe it was designed to prevent anyone loyal to the Ori gaining access at the last stage."
"Y'know, that might sound good in theory," John said, as he shone his torch over the books on the nearest shelf, "but I'm still not seeing anything here that looks like a Sangraal; why did she go to all this effort to send us somewhere that doesn't have what we're looking for?"
"I think I know," Sam said from the corner of the room, prompting the rest to turn and look at what she was now staring at; an alcove in the wall filled with what looked like thick green ice, glowing with a faint gleam even as they stared at it, containing an old man with long grey hair and an equally-long beard in grey robes, a slab of rock to the figure's right decorated with Ancient writing.
"'Here lies Myrrdin, Archmage of the Round'," Daniel said, leaning over to read the writing as he, Sam, Liam and Elizabeth gathered around the figure, John slightly at the back as he continued examining the rest of the room.
"Just to clarify..." the male lieutenant colonel said, indicating the figure before them with his torch, "that's the real guy, right?"
"I think so..." Daniel muttered, staring at the figure before him in barely-concealed amazement.
"He must have been here for over a thousand years..." Elizabeth said reflectively. "I mean, I've seen Ancient stasis chambers before, but that was... I mean, this is Merlin..."
"Uh... sorry to interrupt, Dad, but how do we get him out?" Liam asked, raising one hand as he reached out to place another on the 'ice' before them. "I mean, making contact with him won't work-"
"Whoa!" John's voice yelled, the group spinning around in time to see John stepping back as a cylindrical object protruded outwards from the black octagonal shape of an Ancient repository of knowledge positioned on the wall near the strange table they'd witnessed earlier, clearly having been activated by the other man's close proximity to it.
Before anyone could say anything else, a sound behind them prompted the group to turn back to look at the stasis chamber as the 'ice' receded away from the occupant, the old man inside weakly opening his eyes as he began to fall forward, Sam and Elizabeth only just managing to grab his arms before he hit the ground.
"The desk; clear the desk!" Elizabeth yelled over at John, the lieutenant-colonel quickly hurrying over to sweep the books off the nearby table, clearing a space for them to lay Merlin- given all the names that the man before them had gone by, it was easiest to think of him as 'Merlin' as it was the most well-known alias he'd assumed- down on the table. As he was stretched out before them, Merlin weakly opened his mouth as though he was about to say something, his eyes flicking from one figure to the other, before he leant back and closed his eyes, his body slumping slightly as he did so.
"Oh no..." Elizabeth whispered, as she looked up at the others. "Please say he didn't-"
"No, he's alive," Daniel said, leaning over to place his fingers on Merlin's neck to check his pulse. "He probably just needs some time to revive completely."
"All right..." Sam said, nodding briefly at Daniel before she indicated the cave behind her, which appeared to lead to another part of the cavern system they were in. "You, Liam and Elizabeth wait here; John and I will see if we can find another way out of here."
As the two lieutenant colonels walked off, Daniel, Liam and Elizabeth could only stare in silence at the elderly man now lying unconscious before them and hope that he would wake up soon; they hadn't come all this way just for Merlin himself to get tired at the last minute.