Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate or related material; its owners own that. Nasty lawyers: don't sue me.
Title: Triad of Lies
Rating: PG-13
Summary: AU: The Triad on Tollana was never real and now Klorel is on Abydos with a mission, and Skaara's betrothed.
"Sir? Sir!" Samantha Carter hollered down the steel hallways, running towards her CO.
"What is it, Carter?" murmured Jack O'Neill sleepily, rubbing his blood-shot eyes.
"It's the Tok'ra, sir."
"Aw, what now, more bad news?" O'Neill grunted; taking a few more sips of his unusually strong coffee he only drank on days that looked like they were going to be bad.
"Well, yes," Carter nodded tersely, "After they heard about our report of the Tollan technology…"
"Skaara's trial?" replied O'Neill dimly. It hadn't even been a week since they had returned Skaara back to his home planet. He'd been overflowing with joy at finally being home, after all that trauma—
"Yeah, they tried to see if they could get their hands on one of those Goa'uld repressing devises, but…"
"There's always a 'but'."
"Sir, when they went there, they didn't find anything Tollan."
O'Neill stopped and frowned, "What?"
"They said that the place was full of Jaffa and Goa'uld."
"Are they sure they've got the right planet?" O'Neill asked incredulously.
"Positive sir. Everything is the same except that it's crawling with Serpent guards and the people we thought were Tollans… Martouf said they were all Goa'uld," Carter added nervously.
"D'ya think Klorel came back for some dramatic pay-back?"
"It's a theory…"
"And what's wrong with it?"
"Sir, don't you think that their technology was a little… surreal?" Sam wrinkled her nose.
"Well I've never seen anything that's been able to stop a snake from taking over like that," he shrugged.
"Exactly. If they were able to create that technology, why weren't the Asgard able to? They are way more advanced than the Tollan seemed to be."
"If the Tollans weren't real then Skaara's trial—triad thing wouldn't be real either. You saw that, nothing went the bad guy's way and Skaara got to go home. Happily ever after, let's just leave it at that. The worst thing we could do is drag that poor kid back into this," O'Neill grumbled. He felt guilty over all that had happened to Skaara and his family.
"I know Sir, but with the Tollans… it just doesn't add up or something. I'm going on instinct, but I think we've overlooked something important… What if Klorel is still inside Skaara? What if that entire place was all a hoax? You didn't believe them when they said they built their own Stargate either."
"Major, why would Klorel want to go back to Abydos? What is there that he could possible want?" O'Neill exclaimed wildly, "Sandcastles?"
Carter cringed as the thought hit her, "Ammonet? The Goa'uld must still be inside of…"
Realisation dawned on O'Neill's face, "Crap."
"Kasuf?"
The village leader of Abydos turned his head to the source of the voice. He smiled when he saw the familiar face poking in the door of the tent. Kasuf beckoned the girl over, "Nekbet, it is good to see you again."
"Kasuf… something is wrong with Skaara…" the girl confided uneasily.
"Child…" Kasuf smiled warmly, "My son has been though a lot over the past few years, he merely needs time to adjust."
Nekbet shook her head sadly, "No, it's not like that… He's just… not Skaara," Nekbet looked to her leader for understanding, "I don't know what's wrong with him…"
"Nekbet…" Kasuf grimaced, "Sometimes people change. Skaara has gone through some very traumatic experiences. We can't expect him to be exactly as he was before."
"No, I know that. But it's something different. I just can't place what it is," Nekbet looked down at the canvas floor, "I wish I knew what it was…"
Kasuf stood and put a hand on Nekbet's shoulder, "Just talk to him, Nek, he needs your understanding."
Nekbet nodded in understanding. She paused on her way out of the tent as if she was about to say something, but thought better of it and left.
"Skaara?" Nekbet asked tentatively.
"What is it?" the cold, but human, voice replied from the darkest corner of the tent.
Nekbet frowned in determination. She walked forward, "What's wrong?" Skaara turned around to face her. Nekbet continued, "You're not yourself."
Skaara gave her a blank look, "Is that so? How?"
Nekbet wasn't daunted by her childhood friend standing up and pacing around the room, "I have never seen you like this before. Something is definitely wrong with you." She suppressed a when Skaara walked up to her, his face too close to her face for comfort. He smirked; she repressed a gulp.
"Really?" Skaara's smirk grew, "And what is wrong with me?"
Nekbet scowled, "You aren't Skaara. Skaara was never like this… Who are you?"
"I am your God," Klorel answered with his own voice, eyes glowing, "Say anything, and I will destroy your world," he whispered seductively.
Nekbet's eyes darkened with mistrust, but she kept her voice level, "What do you want from us? What have you done to Skaara?"
"Queen Ammonet is buried on this planet. The only way to reach this planet, since the gateway is buried, was through the Tau'ri and the Tok'ra. And I will retrieve Ammonet's body so she may live again, or your people shall feel my wrath," Klorel chuckled.
Nekbet's chest swelled with anger, "I do not know how the Gods work, but I know that they are not Gods, just as Ra was not a God. You cannot do what you say you can. They will find out, and they will stop you."
"I would not have gone through with a plan that I could ever have doubted, you know that dearest Nek," Klorel purred. He raisd his eyebrows when Nekbet continued to glower at him, "Do you doubt me?"
Nekbet turned her face to the ground, "No."
"Good…" Klorel trailed a finger down the side of her face, "Yes… having you could prove to be a very valuable asset. The look of disgust mixed with fear that brought a sadistic smile to Klorel's handsome features, though they were not his own.
"What have you done to Skaara?" the young lady asked weakly.
"Who?"
"Skaara!" Nekbet hissed, "The image you have stolen…"
"I am standing here before you, Nek, can't you see me?" Skaara's voice smiled sweetly at her.
"No, that is just you, the thing inside him. Skaara would never let this happen…"
"You are intelligent, I shall admit. So which story shall you choose to believe? That your beloved Skaara has turned against his people and friends… even his future wife…" the monster smirked knowingly, "Or that your love is dead?"
"Dead," Nekbet whispered venomously, "He would rather die than hurt any of us."
"Of this you are so sure…" Klorel changed his voice back to Skaara's, "I'm touched."
Nekbet bit her lip, trying to decide. Klorel waited patiently on the other side of the room, returning to what he had been doing before Nekbet had disturbed him.
"If I help you, you will leave Abydos and never come back again?" Nekbet asked timidly.
Klorel looked up from his work, "Yes."
"And Abydos will not be harmed, or it's people, ever?"
Klorel smirked, "Not by my forces, no."
"And…" Nekbet gulped, "You will give Skaara back to us?"
"No."
"Then I won't do it," Nekbet announced stubbornly.
"Then I will destroy your civilisation; which will take an inconveniently long time that I had hoped to avoid. Do not doubt my powers, Nekbet, I can see you thinking it."
It was a bluff, but Nekbet didn't take it. She knew too little about the Gods and how they worked. She tried again, this time with more politeness, "Please, you can find another image to possess. Skaara is needed here. If I help you, you must promise to return Skaara to us when you have finished."
"As I have said before; no," Klorel replied flatly, "Think of this; he has either died or betrayed you. Either fate does not merit a return to live on this unholy planet.
"You spoke of bringing your… of bringing an Ammonet back from the dead. If Skaara is dead can he not also be brought back?" Nekbet protested.
"Oh Nek…" Klorel shook his head, smiling, "Ammonet, my Queen, has been killed. Skaara, my host, has been… replaced. There is no longer a Skaara to be brought back."
A long silence followed as Nekbet mulled over this information. Then she spoke, "Ammonet… that is what Shau'ri called herself when she came back to us…"
Klorel nodded, "Yes, she was chosen to be host to the Queen by my father, Lord Apophis."
"You mean… this Lord Apophis chose Shau'ri to be the host for his Queen… and her younger brother to be… his son?" Nekbet questioned incredulously.
Klorel smiled tersely, "Only my father would ever do something so evidently hilarious."
Nekbet said nothing, still staring at the ground in the grip of depression. She jumped when she felt Klorel's fingertips brushing the side of her arm. He leered sinisterly at her frightened face; "You seem so tense. Don't be, it might make people suspicious of us…" he purred, "And we are supposed to be such a happy couple… with our marriage in only half a year."
"Will you be gone by then?" Nekbet asked bitterly, glaring up at him.
"Of course I will be," Klorel replied honestly. This seemed to relax Nekbet a little.
"I have already voiced my concerns about you to Kasuf," Nekbet told him hollowly.
"Then reassure him that you are no longer concerned," Klorel replied promptly, "Ignorant fool… Oh, not you darling," Klorel smiled.
"Don't call me that," Nekbet murmured with a cringe.
"Why, my little desert gem of light," Klorel teased playfully with berley covered sinister intent.
"Skaara would never say that," Nekbet breathed, 'Thank the goodness of our world…' she thought in relief, 'I am safe as long as he stays in character as Skaara…'
"I know…" Klorel whispered in her ear, "I know that your little love was always too hesitant and embarrassed to confront you, even if you were betrothed. I know how he felt for you all those years and how he went to such trouble to hide it. But I won't, darling Nekbet, because I have changed. And don't forget, I can do whatever I like to you, because you can't tell anybody." She could feel him smirk, his face so close to her neck. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck tingled, sending shivers up and down her spine.
"If you go too far, I will tell somebody," she warned.
"You would betray your world for the sake of your stubbornness? How selfish…"
"No, I would not be betraying them, because I believe that we could win against you."
Klorel was highly amused by her bravery, and he let her know it, "But not enough to tell them now?"
"No, I have not had enough time to determine how much of a threat you are to us."
"Nekbet, I am your God," Klorel whispered proudly, spreading his arms in a show of power.
"We have killed one God. We can kill many more," Nekbet growled.
"No. The Tau'ri from the other planet are the ones responsible for Ra's death, and they believe that their work on Abydos is finished. They will not interrupt my plans again," Klorel hissed to himself. He turned away from Nekbet and resumed his work. He was fiddling with the wiring of a Zat'n'kitel, trying to modify it with components of a staff weapon.
"So… now what will happen?" Nekbet asked uneasily.
"Nothing to do with my main goal will occur until the upcoming festival. Until then, you must do three things; pretend that I am actually your betrothed love Skaara, acting exactly like you used to before he was captured, reassure Kasuf that you believe that I am Skaara and…" Klorel paused for effect.
"What?" Nekbet asked, yielding in hopelessness.
"You will inform Kasuf that we have fully made up… and that you are moving in with me," the Goa'uld prince smirked.
Nekbet looked to him in disbelief, Klorel chuckled, "You don't really think I would let you hide from me, did you? And I would really appreciate your company," he added suggestively.
Nekbet left the tent in a rage without saying anything further. Klorel was not worried. He knew she was too worried of her people's sake to tell anybody at this point. He let her go off to think about what he was proposing.
Inside of their head, his host's mind was boiling in fury; 'Nekbet is smart, she can tell you are bluffing.'
'She is also very scared of me. She will not tell anyone, she is too weak.' Klorel retorted darkly.
"She will work it out before you succeed how powerless you really are."
"You hold too much faith in this girl, it will be horribly devistating when she lets you down… I can't wait to watch."
"Nekbet!" Kasuf called brightly, "I have been looking everywhere for you, child, are you feeling any better?" the village leader asked warmly.
"About Skaara, you mean?" Nekbet replied dimly, "Yes, much better. I am sorry to have troubled you, Kasuf."
Kasuf frowned, "Are you sure you are alright? You look very upset about something…"
Nekbet forced a smile; "I was just worried for Skaara… with all that he's been through lately."
Kasuf nodded understandingly, "Sometimes I worry too…" the leader murmured distantly.
Nekbet departed his company when she was called over by another of her childhood friends. She forced her usual smile on her face, "Baki?
"Nek, I was told you were worried about Skaara. Why?" Baki smiled.
"No reason," Nekbet frowned, "I'm fine now."
"If you need to talk, I'm always here," Baki grinned, teasing her.
"Baki…" Nekbet growled in warning.
"I know you and Skaara are betrothed…" Baki sighed, "I know, but if you do ever need to… talk…"
"Baki, listen. I don't need this now. But… just watch Skaara, okay? Make sure he doesn't get into any trouble. He's acting a bit weird from being away for so long."
Baki nodded reluctantly, "If you say so."
Nekbet sighed in relief, "Thanks Baki…"
"Thanks for what?" Skaara's voice floated up from behind them, as happy and cheerful as he had always been. Nekbet felt her insides freeze.
Cliffie! Just me messing around with ideas, this is the onlyidea I've got thatMuse hasn't used yet (yay!) so I'll try to write on it as much as I can,my other KlorelxOC also.And I'm now able to write again because Dad fixed my keyboard! (Which had been broken for the past while) And I got a Stargate DVD for Christmas so now I've actually seen Klorel in action! YAY!!!
Happy holidays everybody!
Llama