Disclaimer: Same as the last chapter… these things are SO repetitious!!
The Taur'i Pharaoh
o O o
Atemu stumbled through the other side of the wormhole, disorientated from the first experience of the Chappa'ai in over 5000 years. Bakura and Seto emerged right behind him and paused to get their own bearings. The Pharaoh was the first to regain his balance and strolled further down the hall they were now in carefully taking in the new settings.
Their surroundings were done in a similar substance as the material of the Chappa'ai but held a black tint rather than the blue-grey. Symbols were scrawled in a single line near their chests amidst the simple line engravings on the walls. They seemed to have a life of their own, running and leaping over each other, down the length of the corridor and beyond. No matter how hard the eye tried it just wasn't able to pin them down long enough to be translated and read easily.
The light was dark and gloomy due to the lack of any windows lining the passageway. The walls themselves swept upwards to meet in a gently curved point thus creating the ceiling. The Chappa'ai itself was actually embedded into a wall, becoming a part of the décor seamlessly. If it wasn't activated and you didn't know what you were looking for they would have had a lot of trouble trying to locate it. The Tomb Robber stared closely at the area of patterns around the artefact, memorising its position so they could find it once their work here was done.
Seto himself was staring at the Chappa'ai, running theories on how the device worked and how he might be able to duplicate it, ever willing for the challenge of new technology.
The thing the all noticed was the distinct lack of native population and maintenance of the habitat. The floor was covered with a layer of dust and the only footprints that could be seen were their own. The peace was once again shattered to the dismay of the three master duellists.
Four more individuals pushed past the event horizon with much more grace then they themselves had achieved. The ancient artefact immediately cut the connection with its twin on the Earth and vanished back into the patterns on the wall, once more hidden from the untrained eye.
Immediately all weapons – both magic and technological – were trained on the opposing group. However none had the chance to attack. Several feet above their heads deep buzzing just within their hearing range began and as the sound registered, both parties felt a wave of pain cascade throughout their bodies. It didn't take long before they all surrounded their consciousness into the welcoming embrace of oblivion.
All was still for several minutes with only the drone hovering above the fallen seven, scanning them for any signs of awakening before its masters could arrive. Before its sensors were able to register any nearby movement, the stale air was stirred by an unknown phenomenon heading directly towards the machine. Within seconds of encountering the wave the drone was destroyed.
A section of the wall had opened and displaying two tall silver figures that regarded the destroyed machine with disdain emanating from the liquid silver eyes. One lowered a tiny device from the palm of its hand and secreted it within a hidden pocket of its robes.
In complete silence they drifted over to the group on the floor and each took a hold of a body, lifting them effortlessly over their shoulders and disappeared back into the revealed entrance. It didn't take them long to reappear on the passageway's threshold but a noise further down the corridor echoed around them. They paused no longer sure of what to do. The two figures leaned further out into the gloom and tried to see what was approaching.
Yet more silver figures slowly materialised from the dark, swift in their approach.
The original figures slowly drifted backwards not particularly eager to have the newcomer's attention on them. The door closed before them with but a whisper of sound before the advancing crowd took a few more steps. The dust was quick to settle once more and the disturbances in the dust from the two taken vanished, thus making it appear as if the five that remained were all that had troubled the area.
o O o
Daniel looked at the door of his cell from his position on the bunk, his faced marred deeply with a frustrated frown.
He had just come back from several different tests. Everything from blood to x-rays and yet neither the General nor anyone else was accepting his cries and pleas of not being a Goa'uld. It just wasn't fair, he grumbled in his thoughts. Until they believed he wasn't in the control of a System Lord they weren't going to listen to a word he said. Therefore there was no way of putting his newfound knowledge before them and not having it thrown back in his face.
They really didn't have time for all this.
The Doctor rose and began to pace the cramped room. Unable to keep some of the frustration bottled up within he threw a fist into a wall. Only to quickly bring it back to his chest, protectively cradled by his other hand. An expression of pain and exasperation flittered across his face and an internal debate waged within the confines of his mind for doing such an idiotic thing.
o O o
Hammond glared at the Stargate in the room below. Everything just had to turn sour after SG1s latest mission to Abydos. Doctor Jackson had returned but they hadn't been able to detect any Goa'uld within Daniel's system. With recent evidence they knew that the snakes now had a new method of gaining hosts they could no longer trust the test results. They needed help from their more powerful allies. However the Tok'ra were unreachable seeing as they gave no address to contact them on. The Tollan wouldn't help; no matter the reason and neither would the Nox. The Commanding Officer of the SGC could only hope that the Asguard would help in some regard or other.
They had already sent out a request for their help and could only hope that Thor would respond quickly.
Sure enough an hour had only just passed when Thor's holographic presence appeared in the meeting room.
"What can I do for you, General Hammond?" The Asguard commander regarded Hammond with curiosity.
"Thank you for replying so quickly, Thor. We have a situation regarding Doctor Jackson and we hope that you can help. We believe that the Goa'uld have found a way to infest a host and leave no trace of their residency. Doctor Jackson has already fallen victim to such a method but we need to make sure. That's where we need your assistance."
"In what way?"
"Could you use your own medical sensors to scan for the Goa'uld's presence?"
Thor blinked slowly his black eyes slightly glazed over as he contemplated the question. He nodded. "Very well, I will bring the equipment down shortly." His small form vanished.
The General sighed in relief and left the room heading for the prisoner's room.
o O o
It wasn't long before Thor transported to George Hammond's side along with a small levitating capsule. Before them Daniel was strapped to a bed, giving his attention to the newly arrived ally after staring sullenly at the ceiling. He just wanted this over with so his friends could determine the truth and would start to listen to him.
He watched as Thor acknowledged the General's presence before approaching him, the capsule faithfully trailing behind. From it Thor removed a small device which he placed on the forehead of the Doctor and then another that was used to show the readings that the first device emitted. The Asguard commander was able to complete over a dozen different examinations with just the two medical instruments in several minutes.
Going over each result carefully, Thor finally turned to face his expectant audience. "There is no foreign Goa'uld based substance within his chemistry. The only thing that is unusual for your species is his energy signature. However that will have no relevance as it does not correspond with any theoretical or known form of infestation by the System Lords."
Hammond released a pent up sigh and nodded to the two nearby soldiers giving them permission to release the Archaeologist.
Daniel's response was a slightly louder in its demonstration. "Finally!" He looked slightly abashed as Hammond looked him in the eyes reprovingly. "Sorry General, I know that you were correct to be cautious but didn't you overreact by not believing the other tests and then to call in help from the Asguard? What could possibly have made you think that I had become Goa'uld with all the negative results?"
"If you'll follow me, I'll show you." The General included Thor in the invitation. He turned and led them all the way to the Control room. Once there he had the technicians there to replay the scene in front large doors to the embarkation room.
Daniel nodded when it was played out. "I can see how that would get your suspicions up. Plus I can tell you what happened, though you're going to have to listen with an extremely open mind. A lot of it is just completely unbelievable. I still can't understand how half of it can be true." Before he continued he looked down at Thor. "Did you ever cross paths with an Egyptian Pharaoh around the time of the System Lords' fall here on Earth?"
"Yes. He approached the Alliance in an attempt to gain our help regarding the enslavement of his people by the System Lords. There was not much we could do at that time; the Alliance was already drifting apart, the Ancients were to vanish not long after. In the end the help we did give amounted to very little. Why do you ask?"
"Because my tale it has quite a bit to do with him. His name was Atemu, I believe, and the temple I found was dedicated to him." The last part he directed back to Hammond. "Anyway, the scene that we just watched was when I found a golden artefact that had mysteriously appeared in my bag. This item actually holds half of a soul that once lived during the time that the System Lords were overthrown."
George was quick to interrupt at this moment. "Half a soul? Isn't that rather a… far fetched idea?"
Daniel nodded. "Yes, sir. I know it's difficult to believe but it's all true. Now do you remember the tournament that you sent us to, over in Japan? After the soul gained control of my body he took us to my office. Once there he did something that Sam would be hard pressed to explain. He was able to create some sort of portal to another dimension. A place a found out later was known as the Shadow Realm. He was trying to find someone called Atemu. The hunt led us to re-emerge from this realm into someone's bedroom in the middle of the night. The person within the bedroom turned out to be Yugi Mutou, the champion of the tournament. I was also shocked to note that the one that inhabited my body, who is known as Bakura, knew the boy as Atemu as well… or at least one half of his soul was the original Atemu from 5000 years ago."
"Atemu still exists?" Thor was astonished at the news. He looked back at the General who himself couldn't make himself believe the… fairy tale story. "General Hammond, if this is the case then you have found the help you need against the Goa'uld. In addition, the story Doctor Jackson tells will have a high element of truth within. Doctor Jackson, where would the Pharaoh be now?"
Daniel sighed. "After they told me part of their tales, and Atemu split Bakura from me, they ventured back into the Shadow Realm. I followed hoping to get Atemu and Yugi, the other half of Atemu's soul, to join our cause. A word of warning, General, the Pharaoh isn't impressed with the Stargate being back in operation. Anyway, once there it wasn't long before we were beset by a System Lord that had infested Bakura's other half's body, the same one that we came across on Abydos, and a fair amount of Jaffa guards. I was captured will the others escaped."
The General looked at Daniel, seemingly for the first time, taking note of the faint wounds that could be seen. It was Thor, however, that spoke up. "If the System Lords have gained a hold over this… power… their own influence will be increased hundredfold, possibly even more. We need to find the Pharaoh and this Bakura individual as soon as we can. Without them we have little hope of overcoming this new threat."
o O o
Ryou was slow to come out of his deep sleep. There was a tickling on the edge of his awareness informing Bakura's Light that something had gone deadly wrong, thus breaking his slumber. Before his eyes even opened to look upon his soul room, he delved into the area of the tickling. What he found sent him sitting straight up, eye's wide in a panic.
His link to Bakura was gone; there wasn't even a slither to announce that it had once existed. Deep soul wrenching sobs began to rack over him. Questions flooded his mind. What had happened? Where was his Dark? Surely he wasn't dead… was he? Or was the Thief just too far away for the connection to work properly?
Ryou could only hope that it was the last question that was true. His body fell back to his bed, curling into a tight foetal position, his cries getting heavier and quieter. He didn't think he could survive for very long being truly alone. Even after Bakura leaving to get help he had always felt his Dark's comforting presence within his soul, relieving the pain of the imprisonment.
He prayed to whatever higher power there was that this new existence of his would not last for much longer.
o O o
There you go! Aren't I just nasty at not telling you who's been taken at the beginning??
Hope you like!! & absolutely luved the fact you all enjoyed the last chapter!
Thanks to all who reviewed!!
RC Tanoshii, Shi-koi (hope I answered a question), Lizeth (I'm going on the fact that you can dial out and unless you complete the action an incoming wormhole can form. Saw it in the episode – 'There But for the Grace of God'), Ms. Zeal, jesphoenix05, tiger-of-ice, Dark Ice Dragon, Ralza, JK Fie'r (can you guess who they are now??), Jill, SithelfJen, Jade Tatsu, Skittles the Sugar Fairy, Dogmatix, Yami Arow (the eight chevron is actually used when they dial out of their system which SG1 found out when O'Neill was infected with the Ancients' knowledge), RogueMoon, Jenniyah, Namonaki Pharaoh, koriaena, rlenavampyre14, Annie:)), Akhet, dbz422, Nancydragon12345
You're all very much my bestest buddies!!! So much that I gave you all an update!
C ya later!!!!!