Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other fandom I manage to squeeze in this story.
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Lightning Dragon's Roar
A Harry Potter Fanfiction
By Zero Rewind
© 2015
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Chapter 57: Trip Home
I kept the kid frozen as I levitated her behind me and snuck around the forested area surrounding the Stargate and the village. Likely, by now, they would have figured out that I wasn't their god, here to rule over them.
They would also be wondering where the little girl was, hence me taking her with me. I made soundless steps in the forest, thanks to a Silencio on my boots. I could hear the faint sound of crying coming from ahead.
That was the direction of the village.
I found a nice, secluded spot, before placing the child back onto the ground, casting a Silencer on her, and cancelling the Full Body Bind.
Immediately, the girl got to her feet and shouted as loud as she could— though no sound came out.
Boy, I loved magic.
I let the girl keep up her attempts at silent shouting for a few seconds longer, before giving her a light flick on her forehead; enough to hurt, but nowhere near lethal.
She glared at me vehemently.
"I want you to use your ears, and listen to what's going on in your little village." I said in a condescending tone of voice, and waited.
She did, as asked, just as the sound of a man shrieking in pain hit us.
There's nothing quite like a full-on shout. I mean, sure, I've heard people raise their voices in an argument, and even get loud enough to cause others around them to wince in both parts pain and embarrassment; my uncle Vernon was living proof of that.
We, humans, were conditioned to speak at a certain level of volume so that we didn't disturb our fellows; it was something of a survival instinct we'd gained over the time we walked the Earth.
But, compared to that man's agonized cries, those loud arguments were nothing.
Less than nothing.
His voice came from the depths of his being; an ancient, built in response to strike fear in the heart of your predator. It was fierce, it was desperate, and it was loud; very, very loud.
So, the little silent girl, faced with something unknown, threatening and monumentally frightening like the cries of a man being tortured, subconsciously moved herself close enough to me that I grabbed her and pulled her into a hug.
She resisted, at first, believing my intentions were to kill her— or worse.
"Calm down, kid." I said slowly and meaningfully. "I've got you. I'm not going to hurt you, okay?"
She kept resisting; ugh, people who don't listen…
So, I just kept repeating the same soothing lines over and over.
The man screamed in pain again, the echoes of his shouting traveling far in the forest.
I clutched her tighter and told her everything would be okay, until she calmed down once more.
"Now, I'm going to cancel the Silencing spell on you. I want you to be as quiet as you can, okay?" I said slowly, and carefully.
Nod.
"You want to help me save everyone from the bad people?"
A more vigorous nod. Good.
I waved my wand at her and said "Finite Incantatem."
And sound returned to the little girl, who was now able to scream and betray my position to the enemies in the village.
She didn't.
I stifled a sigh of relief, merely relaxing slightly in response to her silence.
"What do we do?" She asked fearfully.
"Tell me everything you know about these gods." I ordered, after a few moments of thoughts.
"Why?" She asked in that innocent child like tone, though it also sounded somewhat suspicious.
"The best way to defeating your enemy is by knowing them." I smiled and patted the kid's head in what I hoped to be a non-insulting way.
The girl actually scoffed, a seemingly built in response as she said "You, defeat the might of our goddess Bastet? She is too powerful for us mortals."
"What makes you say that?" I asked.
"The Elders tell us stories of the goddess coming to our land and giving us enlightenment, long ago. They said they were our gods, here to save us from ourselves." The girl said in a practiced voice; more of that brainwashing, really.
I could sort of see where this was going.
"I'm guessing some people didn't agree with Bastet, then?" I questioned.
The girl nodded, but didn't say anything.
"So, what happened to them?" I asked when I realized that she wasn't going to elaborate. "The ones that defied her."
"There were many of us." I picked up on that slip up; she was repeating the tale the exact way she heard it. The use of "us" meant that the Elder telling this story referred to Bastet as an enemy. "We forced her to leave through the Ring of Travel, but she promised to return someday, and punish us all for our sins."
"A few years passed without a sign of the goddess." The girl was explaining. "Our lives had returned to normal. That's when the fire rained from the heavens, striking most of us down, destroying our crops, animals and even our homes. The fire rain continued until only a handful of us remained in a few, small villages."
I absorbed the information, and nodded for her to continue.
She complied.
"After the fire rain ended, a chariot descended from the sky and arrived near the last of us; and out of the chariot came our goddess Bastet, whom we had rebelled against." The girl said but was cut off by the sound of the man screaming. She shivered, before resuming.
"Bastet g-greeted us with o-open arms, willing to forgive us for our transgressions, and reward us for our worshipping of her." The girl stuttered, but composed herself and continued. "We returned into her graces, glad to be her worshippers once more, and have thrived ever since."
Translation: they agreed with whatever she said after she massacred their people for defying her.
"No mortal can defy the gods. They are invincible." The girl said, nodding resolutely with a conviction only a child could possess.
"Let me worry about that, kid." I smiled and ruffled the girl's hair. "Find yourself a place to hide, all right? Things won't be safe here for much longer."
"Lady Bastet is invincible!" She repeated vehemently.
I gave her a reassuring smile.
"If she is so invincible, how was she driven away the first time? Why is she surrounded by guards at all times?" I replied easily, before rapping the top of my head with my wand, feeling a shiver as my Disillusionment spell took effect.
The girl gasped.
"Stay safe, kid. I'll send the villagers out to look for you when it's over, so just wait here." I said, before making my way through the woods, placing a Silencing Charm on my boots. The man screamed again, and his scream acted as a beacon for me. I had gotten a little lost and had slightly deviated from my course.
I saw the first set of guards facing my direction. I was startled for a moment, and was about to break out all the stops, until I realized that they weren't staring at me.
They were just staring off in the distance, at the forest. I took a few steps to the left.
Their gaze wavered slightly, as if adjusting to a change of light in the background. At least, I assumed that's what caused them both to shake their big snakeheads at the same time.
I made my way over to them very, very slowly, making sure not to disturb any large branches or leaves since I didn't want to tip my hand too early.
I got within striking distance and struck the first one with a quick "Stupefy!" before sending another to the other warrior's way.
The first one dropped instantly, having had no time to even think about dodging the sudden spell coming in his face.
The other warrior, on the other hand, acted remarkably quickly, throwing his metal staff to expertly intercept my Stunner, before pulling something out of a holster strapped to his arm.
There was a loud click, and a light beeping noise, most likely signifying the weapon was locked and loaded.
I channeled as much Lightning to my nerves as I could, greatly quickening my reaction time, and I braced myself.
He pulled the trigger. Three sharp beeps were heard before a flash of electricity erupted from the weapon heading straight for me.
Normally, people would feel fear, terror. Possibly anger in the face of their possible demise.
Me? I felt gleeful.
For me, that wasn't my death. That was lunch.
I latched onto the energy shot at me, guiding it to my mouth using my bare hands, and sucked it all in, feeling my energy reserves go back up to full.
I felt a stiffness come over my body, before it faded into a nice, soothing thing.
My shoulder didn't hurt any longer. I didn't feel tired, or weary, either.
The man opened his mouth to speak, but I was already on him, driving my fist into his stomach.
Whatever words were forming were cut completely off as the man grabbed at his stomach in a futile attempt to soothe the pain.
He grabbed onto his strange electric gun, and aimed it at me again. I almost thought he would fire once more, but I heard a laugh coming from inside of the snake head.
Then, he tossed the electric gun to me, and stood up as if I hadn't just punched him with enough force to completely wreck a concrete wall. What the hell was he made of?
But, this was an intriguing development. I deftly snatched the gun, inspecting it for a bit, before placing it in the folds of my mokeskin pouch.
It was a gold mine of a tool, after all. As much Lightning as I needed. The potential uses of such a tool were astronomical.
"Who are you?" The voice asked from behind the armored snake head.
"Sorry, but I don't like talking to people who hide behind some idiotic snake themed armor." I replied a bit wryly.
"My apologies." The man answered in the exact same tone. "But as you do not show your own self, I cannot take the risk of exposing myself, either."
I blinked, realizing I was still under the Disillusionment Charm.
"Then, how did you know where to throw the weapon?" I said, both curiously and suspiciously.
"Though my ears deceive me, my eyes do not." The man replied. "Unnatural movements in the forest, leaves moving away when they should be moving towards us, a slight shimmer in the air signifying the use of a cloaking device of some sort."
I guess I hadn't been careful enough; either that, or this guy was good. Really good.
I waved my wand and cancelled the Disillusionment Charm, appearing before the man.
"A boy." Came the incredulous response.
"Beat you two, didn't I?" I said with a scoff.
"Fair enough." The man admitted, before his snake head helmet slid back into his armor with the clicks and clangs of metal against metal.
I felt a smirk form on my face.
"An old man." I said in the same tone he had employed on me.
The man was dark skinned, and looked as old as Dumbledore, if not older. He did, however, look tough as nails.
On his forehead, there was a strange, golden emblem grafted onto his skin. I looked away from it; a hideous branding.
You could tell that the man had been through countless wars and seen the rises and falls off civilizations as he fought on their turfs.
You could see it from the scars on his face. You could see it from the chilly look in his eyes, or even the way he held himself; it was as if he was awaiting an attack, even this very second.
Moody would love this guy.
"So what's the deal? Who are you and why are you betraying your comrades?" I asked.
"They are controlled by the false gods." The old man explained automatically, as if he'd been dealing with that question for a while now. "My brothers they may be, but they will not hesitate to lay down their lives to protect their god."
There was a short silence, before the old man spoke again.
"My apologies for my lack of manners. I am called Bra'tac of the planet Chulak." The old man said.
"No problem." I answered. "I'm Harry, from the planet Earth."
"Ah, you are with the Tau'ri!" The man exclaimed joyously.
"The who?" I asked in confusion.
"Your brothers and sisters. Your people." The old man exclaimed. "You do not answer to Hammond of Texas?"
That name rang a bell. His name was prominent in those leaked files I had on my computer.
"The leader of the SGC?" I replied, and the old man- Bra'tac, nodded enthusiastically.
"That's not how I arrived here." I explained and gave the man a quick, watered down version of my story, interspersed with the agonized screams of the man being tortured for information.
"An intriguing tale." Bra'tac said, giving me a thoughtful look.
"You know the way back?" I asked hopefully.
"Of course." The man said, but didn't elaborate. I suppressed a face palm.
It was always something.
"What do you want in return?" I asked warily.
Bra'tac chucked, and said. "Kill the Lady Bastet, and I shall guide you to your home, myself."
I considered his words. To be brutally honest, my plan was to kill the guards, incapacitate the so called gods, and force them to show me the way home.
I didn't really need him, now did I?
"I suppose it would be pertinent of me to say that the Tau'ri block their Stargate with an iris forged from a very strong metal alloy." Bra'tac added. "And I possess one of the few devices that allow me to communicate with them."
Shit. That changed things. I didn't want to go through the gate and die like a bug on a windshield.
Splat!
Anyway...
These gods were planet conquerors, responsible for billions upon billions of deaths if they came to every planet with their "sky chariots", raining death and destruction down on their victims.
Killing them was always going to be part of the plan.
"I have your word?" I asked softly. The man went rigid, and gave me the solemn look of a man who valued honor above all else: a true warrior.
"You have it." He said simply.
"Good." I walked past him and stopped. "Because if you don't, I will kill you."
"If I don't." Bra'tac cut me off. "I shall do it myself."
I gave him a nasty glare after he said that, trying to size him up. He gazed back with impassive eyes.
"Cause a distraction for me, and I shall strike when her back is turned." I said.
I gave the man a nod, rapped my wand against my head, and moved further closer to the camp, under the effects of the Disillusionment Charm.
Had I joined up with the man too easily? He might have been a liar who knew exactly what to say to get me to spill my secrets.
Maybe, he was a Legilimens like Dumbledore? I hadn't felt any power coming off of the guy, so it seemed very unlikely.
§Or, maybe he's actually an old man surrounded by enemies, desperate enough to join up with anyone.§ Balthazar noted. §He hid it well, but I've had a lifetime of experience reading humans and their shifts in behavior. He was sad, angry, and hopeful. It is very difficult to fake those emotions in the physical level.§
I frowned thoughtfully, and nodded to myself as a loud noise came from a fair bit behind me.
The distraction, as promised.
I skirted around the village walls, hearing a feminine voice bark out orders in a language I did not understand, but the violent tone behind the words themselves seemed evident enough.
A series of footsteps, and everything was quiet again. I crept towards the gate, and entered the village proper, skirting past the scared villagers who were huddled up in the middle.
Further than them, I saw the two noble-looking newcomers, staring down at a man in chains.
"Please..." The man— whom I recognized as one of the people that was peeking into the hut I was recovering in— begged. "No more."
"Such insolence!" The female, Bastet, practically snarled in anger. "You presume to give orders to someone so far above your station?"
The man only whimpered in response, as Bastet pointed the strange armlet at the man.
I felt a surge of energy in the air as the armlet glowed with power; power that was directed at the man's head.
He screamed again, that same desperate scream caused by more pain than I could imagine.
A few old ladies shouted. Children cried. Hell, even some adults were crying, losing their lunch and such.
What did I do? I crept closer and closer to the two 'gods', using the man's screams as a cover for my approach.
I got within striking distance, and wasted no time, knowing that the guards could be back at any moment.
I did not move a muscle, but my intent was perfectly clear. Magic swirled and writhed within me, emerging into the air and forming half a dozen Lightning Blades, which flew into the two targets with frightening precision, taking them completely unawares.
The Blades embedded themselves within the so called gods' heads, hearts, and backs, severing their spines and causing irreparable damage to both their brains and hearts.
The two twitched for a few moments, before falling over next to the tortured man, who looked more shocked and relieved than Ron learning that the end of year exams were cancelled.
A deathly silence ensued.
I approached the body of the so called God Bastet, and gave it a disdainful gaze, before reaching out with my energy, and latching onto it.
There had been two energies in there, before: a host and a parasite. Now, I could feel only one, trying to stay as still as it could while waiting for prey.
I supposed these creatures penetrated the skin in some way, while someone checked for the body's life signs; an easy target.
I felt for the parasite in the other body, but got nothing, so I locked back onto the first one, and drove a concentrated beam of Lightning through the dead body, eradicating the thing's existence entirely, filling the village with a bright, white light.
There were gasps, and screaming involved, but I ignored it and made my way to the edge of the village, avoiding the villagers who had sprung into action to save their tortured compatriot.
Outside, I saw a rather surprising sight: dozens of guards-beyond my prediction of their numbers- all lying unconscious, with nothing more than scrapes to show that they'd been in fights, at all.
I cancelled the Disillusionment Charm, and began to look around for the source of the soldiers' unconsciousness.
The old man Bra'tac had taken them all on without even killing a single one.
If that didn't show the man's skill and capacity for forgiveness, I didn't know what did.
It reminded me a little of Clark's stubbornness when it came to that particular subject.
A few months ago, I would have scoffed at such a thought, but now, after all that's happened...
I shook my head. "The war is over. I don't have to kill people anymore."
I said it once more for good measure.
"I'm afraid that war never ends, young warrior." I heard Bra'tac say as he walked past his unconscious brethren. "Though one should always attempt to avoid any killing that is senseless."
I shivered. That sounded exactly like something I would say.
I laughed.
"I know Clark would be here to tell me that killing is wrong, and that I should forgive others because, most of the time, they are forced or coerced into it." I said, before shaking my head, and giving the old man a pointed look. "We had a deal."
This was not the time for pointless rhetoric.
I needed to get home.
"They are dead?" Bra'tac said with a bit of shock. I gave a nod and pointed to the village. "I destroyed both the host and the parasites within."
"A wise move." The old man said, making his way to the village. I followed closely behind, ignoring the people who were giving me dirty looks.
"Indeed." Bra'tac confirmed, looking down at the bodies of Bastet and... Whoever her hapless lackey was. "You have honored your own part in the agreement. Now, I must honor mine."
I smiled, and pointed at a random villager, who jumped back, startled. He had been staring. "You."
"Y-Yes?" He stuttered out warily.
"There's a little girl in the forest. Straw doll, looks like she likes to play with dirt." I said. "Know her?"
"I do." The woman next to him said, so I turned my gaze to her.
"I told her to stay there until things died down." I explained. "So I leave the matter of finding her to you."
"You can't just-" the man protested, but shut his mouth when my eyes wandered over his form.
His own eyes flitted to my black scaled arm. Ooh, he was scared of it. I waved it at him.
He flinched.
I smirked, and joined up with Bra'tac, who was already out of the village gates.
"Wait up." I said as I reached him, falling into step with him easily. He kept up his quick, brisk pace for another few minutes, slowing down slightly as we neared the Stargate.
"You are not quite human, are you?" Bra'tac said as we passed by a particularly thorny vine.
I didn't answer.
"I have traveled with many humans." Bra'tac said. "None possessed enough constitution to match my pace for long. Yet, here you are."
"Maybe I'm just more powerful." I said, not really knowing how to answer his line of questioning, and perturbed by it somehow.
"Fair enough." He said as we reached the Stargate. Bra'tac immediately began pressing buttons on the dialing device. "As promised, I shall open the path to your home."
I gave the man a grateful nod, and watched the Stargate's spinning dial, locking in the strange symbols.
As the seventh symbol locked in, the watery substance erupted with a bright, bluish white light, before falling back in, calming down.
I moved to enter it, eager to go home.
"Wait!" Bra'tac grabbed my shoulder. "I must send them the signal to open their iris. If they do not, you would perish."
I smiled sheepishly, suddenly feeling embarrassed at the amateurish move.
"Sorry." I said as I watched him pull out a small device, pushing a few buttons with a practiced air. It definitely looked like it was made on Earth, purely judging by the way it was designed.
He waited for a few moments before the device beeped again and gave a green light. Bra'tac nodded, and led the way, disappearing into the strange water of the gate.
I swallowed, and followed on through.
The experience was jarring, and cold. Freezing cold. I fell into a blue, screeching tunnel that twisted and turned. Outside of it, I could make out what seemed to be stars flying by- a more apt description would have been to say that I was the one flying by the stars, but I was too busy being speechless to accurately describe what I was seeing.
Plus, the whole experience took a few seconds, tops, considering I emerged at the other side, warmth suddenly suffusing every fiber of my being.
I took in my surroundings as the light from the Stargate faded and the portal disappeared.
I was on a metal walkway, leading into a pack of guards, all armed with assault rifles, pistols, knives and the like. They were dressed in familiar military garbs, and stood at ease in this huge concrete chamber.
This was the SGC under Cheyenne Mountain, I guessed.
I felt a familiar sensation in the back of my head: a Darkness linking with my own power. It was Erebus. And I guessed from the slight energy rush I had felt, he was aware I was on Earth once more.
I relaxed a little.
The large steel gate slid open, and from it, emerged three people.
There was a bald, portly man wearing a navy blue uniform, with many decorations and medals pinned to it— probably the leader.
On his right, there was another fair skinned fellow. He looked like he was old enough to be retired from the military, though I could still tell that he could easily handle himself in a fight if he needed to.
He just gave off that sort of presence.
On the portly man's left, stood a bald, tall, dark skinned man wearing a black shirt, dark green military pants and combat boots.
On his forehead was the same golden symbol that was branded onto Bra'tac.
"Tek'ma'te, Bra'tac." He said, embracing the old man by clasping arms with him.
"Tek'ma'tek, Teal'c." Bra'tac said joyously, before giving the portly man a short bow. "Hammond of Texas. It is an honor to see you again."
"The honor is all mine, my friend." The portly man answered in a deeper voice than I had expected, smiling slightly.
"O'Neill." Bra'tac turned to third man.
"Not to sound like a total jerk, seeing as we haven't seen you for months, bud—" the third man— the famous O'Neill who supposedly saved the world from alien invasions according to those leaked files— said, a small smirk playing at his lips. "But who's the kid, and what's with the arm?"
I wanted to punch him in the face.
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