Chapter Nine:

I stalked from one end of the room to the other, my robes snapping about my legs. I hated them and absently wished I was wearing my jeans again. It had been two days since I had disappeared from the SGC and I was getting worried. Two days of explanations and training and rules – one of which being I could not return to Earth.

The wonderment of being returned to my father had paled the moment they said I could not return to my family. At least, not until I could control my 'abilities'. Whatever that meant. I knew they just wanted more time to convince me to stay.

But what hurt the most about all this was the cold way my father had told me I couldn't go back. As if the heart I knew he had once had was no longer there. I would go back, damn it and nothing was going to stop me. Not my father, not Anubis, not the Ancients. I hadn't asked for the stupid DNA and I wasn't going to sacrifice anything I loved for something I didn't even want.

As for Anubis? Well, the deal with him was he had once been a Goa'uld who had learnt the secrets of something called ascension, which led to leaving this plane of existence for a higher one. The problem was, this higher plane was for those who were pure of soul. Anubis wasn't, and the other Ancients had cast him back down. The only catch was they had let him keep any powers he would have gained in this plane. Which kind of meant he was half-ascended anyway. And then there was the fact, there were others like him.

I was beginning to get the impression that the Ancients might have been smart, insightful people but they sucked at long term planning. This of course, had led to the task my father had been given. When it came to the Ancients attention that he possessed their knowledge and had a gene receptive to their technology, they had decided he was the perfect person to do their dirty work. So a quick genetic manipulation later, he was on his way to becoming exactly what they wanted.

I'm still not entirely sure how they managed it, but the Ancients had trapped dad into this existence some how. He wouldn't tell me, but there had to be something holding him back. I mean, he wasn't the type man to abandon everything he loved. Was he?

The doubt was beginning to creep in, along with the realisation that I didn't really know my father at all.

"Good morning, Shannon." Said a calm voice from behind me.

I whirled, ready to snap at the intruder, but bit back my anger when I saw who it was. I was furious, but it wouldn't do me any good to yell at my teacher. She had already proved to be surreally calm and collected no matter how loud I yelled.

"No, it's not." I said, struggling for calm. "When can I return to Earth?"

"Not today." The tall woman answered, her voice still calm and sure. "This makes you angry." She noted.

Damn right it did! Not trusting myself to reply civilly, I turned and faced the window again, looking out on the inky blackness of space. But I could still see Anaya's calm form in the reflection of the glass. Like the others on this ship (all four of them), she wore the flowing robes of white and had a faint glow about her. He long brown hair fell in a cascade down her back and there was an expression of understanding in her eyes.

I sighed. "What's the lesson today?" I asked.

"We will focus on centring your consciousness again." Anaya said. "You must learn how to do this so you can reach your other abilities."

I followed her example and sank down into a cross-legged position on the floor, facing her. I settled my hands my hands in my lap and closed my eyes. "Empty your mind." Anaya told me, her voice soothing.

I tried, but somehow the feelings of pain and anger running around my head would not go away. I breathed slowly and deeply, trying to shut out my emotions.

"Your mind is not emptying." Anaya said. "You must do this before we can begin."

Did I mention how perceptive these guys were? Apparently they had some sort of telepathic ability, and while they didn't pry into your mind without an invitation, they had an annoying knack of picking up on strong emotion.

"I'm trying!" I snapped in frustration.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, imagining all the hurt and anger flowing out of me with the breath. Slowly my mind emptied and I began to drift.

"Good." Anaya said. "Now feel yourself floating down through the layers of your mind."

This was the part I had never been able to understand or achieve. I was a trained scientist with years of knowledge and analysis behind me. To me, the mind was a sharp tool to be used, not some mystical thing that I could float through.

I blinked my eyes open. This was not working. I wanted to go home!

"How are you doing?" asked a voice from the doorway.

My eyes snapped to the figure of my father standing in the doorway. Anger surged through me and I had to grit my teeth to suppress the urge to start yelling. "When can I go home?" I demanded.

"You can't." my father replied. "Not for a long time. It's too dangerous."

"Dangerous?" I echoed, surging to my feet. "So it's okay with you if everyone at the SGC makes themselves sick with worry at my disappearance?"

"It can't be helped."

"Yes it can!" I snapped. "An hour is all it would take. I don't even have to go! You could send someone else!"

"The Ancients prevent us from meddling." He replied coldly.

"So your sudden appearance in my lab wasn't meddling?" I snapped archly.

"That was different." My father sounded a tad defensive.

Anger surged through me. I wanted to hit him so bad. I opened my mouth to retort when a thought stuck me out of the blue. Due to their acquired knowledge of the Ancients, my father and the others had been forbidden to contact their families and friends. But I was different, because I had been born an Ancient, not made into one.

I didn't know where that thought had come from, but had a suspicion – Oma. She always was a rebel and liked meddling as much as she could. I suppressed a smile and said a quick thank you. "I was essentially born an Ancient, wasn't I?" I asked, surprising everyone with my abrupt change of subject.

"Essentially; yes." Anaya answered. "But you still remain fundamentally human as well. The way I've come to think of it is you're the next step in the evolution of the Ancients. Human were created to someday regain the knowledge the Ancients once had, but in doing so have changed from what the Ancients once created them to be."

"Outside influence." My father added quietly. "We were forced to see things the Ancients never saw and do things the Ancients never did."

I understood that – he was referring to the Goa'uld. Ironically they had led to the development of the same traits they had come to despise in humans. Namely our will to survive and determination to remain free.

I cocked my head to the side, still thinking. This is where things got fuzzy. I was essentially an Ancient, so the rules that bound my father didn't actually apply to me. As an Ancient, I was an equal. They could not order me or forbid me from anything. Not more than I could them, anyway.

A plan began to form in my mind, along with the first flickers of hope in my heart. A hope not just me, but for my father and the others as well. The only problem was, to put my plan into action, I would have to face the other Ancients. And that meant facing them on their own turf. I was an equal – and I would make them see that.

I blinked and focused back on the room around me, only to find my father and Anaya staring at me rather curiously. I stared back at them. "All right." I said. "I'll stay. I'll learn. But on one condition: my father teaches me."

My father nodded slowly, but Anaya smiled and nodded to me. "It is only right that you should learn from him." She said, before giving dad a look that definitely said 'I told you so'. Man, that was eerie.

With the formation of the plan in my mind, came a sense peace and calm I had not felt in a long time. It felt right. I sank back down to the floor and closed my eyes, not waiting for dad to join me. And as I did, I could almost here the click as a door in my mind opened.

I picked up the skills I needed remarkably fast. Everyone seemed shocked at the ease and speed I mastered my new ability – nor did they remark on their strength. Only my father seemed unsurprised at both these outcomes. He simply excepted the fact that my abilities were stronger than everyone else's. He simply said it was due being born an Ancient.

A month later, I was ready. Not perfect by any means, but I had learnt all my father could teach me. It was time.

But there was one thing I had to know before I faced the Ancients. One piece of information that would prove to me whether what I was about to attempt was actually possible and it wasn't just some fool's hope. I needed to talk to my father.

"Dad?" I called out as I entered his room.

"I'm here, Shannon." Came my father's soft voice.

I walked over to where he sat on his bed, head resting back against the wall and his eyes closed. He looked anguished and completely exhausted. "Are you alright?" I asked.

I smiled sardonically, but his eyes remained closed. "No." he said shortly.

I came to sit down beside him, concerned. My father and I had grown closer over the last month and I still loved him, not matter what. He was my father. "What's wrong?" I asked.

He finally opened his eyes and looked at me. I could clearly see the guilt and self-hatred in those brown depths. "It's time you went home." He said softly.

"You're letting me go?" I asked.

"Yes."

"What about the Ancients?"

My father's face hardened to a look of implacable determination. "They can't stop me. Not his time."

I heard the pain behind his words and spoke straight from the heart without a thought. "Come with me."

Dad looked at me, a deep sadness brimming in his eyes. "I can't." he whispered, sounding broken.

"Why not?"

My father shut his eyes again. "Because of you." He said.

"Me?"

"The Ancients…they promised to leave you alone if I stayed. To let you stay on Earth with you mother."

I stared in shock. Oh, God. They had wanted to take me away because of what I was. I could see it so clearly in my mind. "That's why you never tried to come back." I whispered, close to tears.

"Yes."

I leaned forward and hugged my father tightly. I knew now what I was about to do was right. And that I truly was an Ancient – in their minds as well as mine. "Don't worry, Dad." I said. "I'm going to fix it."

Without another word I got up and ran quickly out of the room, knowing my father would soon guess what I had planned. I was right. As I disappeared out the door I heard my father's surprised cry. "Shannon!"

Undeterred from my task, I ran straight to my room and sank down onto the floor. Around me, a ring of candles burned, just as I had left them. I closed my eyes and centred my mind in that calm and silent place I had grown to know so well. I reached out with my mind, drifting further from my body and found the place I sought. It was time to face the Ancients.

I blinked open my eyes, unsurprised at the glowing white light that surrounded me. I could not see anything, but felt their presence all around me. I climbed to me feet, and closed my eyes once more. I smiled at the shocked sensations around me as the light dimmed and the Ancients were exposed.

I saw Oma smile at me when I opened my eyes again, mischief clear in her expression. I suppressed a smile and focused my attention on the four Ancients that stood directly in front of me. These were the people I had come to see; the oldest and wisest – the leaders.

"What are you doing here, child?" One of them asked, his hair snowy white and his eyes a piercing blue.

"I am an Ancient." I said. "And it's time we had a talk."