After Adria left Daniel alone in the dark room from before, having told him about the rest of SG-1 and Jack being here, Daniel's conscious was screaming curses at himself. Yet he could do nothing. All he could do was stand where Adria had left him, staring at the unwelcoming door. The Ori had taken control of his body and Daniel couldn't help but think that they had all but destroyed a race that took hosts. Now their new enemy was doing the same?
You have an extensive mind, Daniel Jackson, a low voice said in his head. In the back of his mind, Daniel thought it sounded somewhat like General Hammond…without the Texan accent.
Am I supposed to take that as a compliment? Daniel asked. There was a slight pause and the linguist could imagine the Ori smiling quite easily.
Your time with the Ancients has increased your knowledge immeasurably, the voice commented. Daniel could've snorted had he control of his body.
Yeah, well, it's too bad I don't remember any of that knowledge, isn't it? he snapped. Again, Daniel could feel the Ori smiling.
I have access to those memories, the Ori said slyly. I could show you.
Daniel didn't reply. It wastempting, of that Daniel couldn't lie. But there had to be a catch…
What's your name? he asked, completely changing the subject.
Why do you wish to know? the Ori asked.
Cuz if you're gonna be living in my brain, I'd like to know who's paying rent, Daniel shot back, thinking Jack would've been proud of that one. Again, the Ori smiled.
Maeror, he replied. Maeror is my name.
Inwardly, Daniel frowned. That's Latin, he observed.Means grief, mourning, sorrow…there a story behind your name?
The Ori bristled angrily. It does not matter.
Daniel noticed he had moved to stand in front of the mirror. His eyes narrowed. Oh I think it does, he said. Suddenly he realized his eyes had actually narrowed. Now they were widened with shock at that revelation. Experimentally, he flexed his hand… it moved. He cracked his neck… it worked. He had control of his body! Throughout the conversation with Maeror, Daniel had been pushing ever so slightly, trying to regain control of his own being and it had worked! Elatedly, he walked to the door and opened it. Now to find his friends.
XxXxX
"Did Adria really…?" Cameron was asking as Vala led the team quickly down hallways. She had freed them simply by telling their guards Adria had requested she, Vala, escort the team to the Orici. Vala turned her head back, giving the colonel an incredulous look.
"Are you kidding me? 'Course not."
"So what's the master plan?" Jack asked. Vala shrugged.
"Get outta here, contact Odyssey, and go home."
Jack opened his mouth to argue but a familiar voice from behind them cut him off.
"Guys! Wait!"
The friends turned to see Daniel Jackson running towards them. Quite grateful Vala had grabbed their weapons before releasing them; Jack raised his P90 at his friend, the others following his lead. Daniel skidded to a stop and raised his hands defensively.
"Ah," he commented. "Um…Vala's talked to you, hasn't she?"
Cameron snorted. "Since when does she shut up?"
"Hey!" Vala protested, glaring at the colonel. Daniel ignored the exchange.
"Look, an Ori by the name of Maeror's inside my head and he's taking over my body. I haven't betrayed you. What you saw, Vala, was Maeror deliberately deceiving you," Daniel said quickly. Sam frowned.
"If the Ori's taken over your body…"
"I somehow regained control. It's not unheard of, you could do that sometimes with the Goa'uld," he explained hurriedly.
"That is not a convincing argument, Dr. Jackson," Teal'c pointed out. Daniel sighed tiredly when unexpectedly his face twisted as if fighting an internal power. His head snapped up, his back rigid, his eyes flashing with rage. Jack stepped back, taken off guard. Suddenly all the P90s were yanked out of their hands, flying above their heads. The guns aimed down at the team, triggers moving back slowly.
When all at once, they fell. The friends moved out of the way fast as the P90s clattered to the floor beside them. After snatching his back up, Jack shot a glance at Daniel who was gasping for breath, considerably less tense than he had looked a moment before. The archeologist felt the general's gaze and looked up at him.
"Convincing enough for ya?" he gasped. Jack was about to reply when Adria appeared in the hall behind Daniel suddenly. He cursed under his breath and held up the P90 at her. She noticed the team, guns and all, and smiled wickedly. Not concerned in the slightest, she floated over to Daniel who had turned rigid and tense again.
"Daniel…" she whispered caressing his cheek. Jack recoiled. Okay, sure the woman had a great body but… And Daniel was obviously enjoying it! The idiot! He'd been lying all along! Maybe Vala was right…
"Adria," he purred back. Jack winced. Daniel…purring? Something was seriously wrong with the man. Of course, when a man loves a woman…
"I see Mother has managed to free her friends," Adria observed, turning her head their way a fraction.
"I was just about to summon your men," Daniel said, doting on Adria's every word. "They must be punished…your mother too."
In the corner of his eye, Jack could see Vala's mouth drop. He didn't blame her. This was disgusting! He had quite the urge to tell the two to get a room.
Adria considered Daniel's proposition before shaking her head.
"Her friends will be taken back to the cell. Mother…well, she is my mother, Daniel. She will be able to roam free."
The Orici summoned another hoard of guards and they lead them away. Jack shot Daniel a scathing glare, which only hardened when he heard Vala whisper in shock,
"Adria loves him too…"
XxXxX
And Daniel dearly hoped Vala was wrong. Thatwould just get too sticky. Not that things were already too sticky.
A false smile on her face the entire time, Adria had lead Daniel, possessed still by Maeror, back to that blasted room. As soon as the door shut, Maeror let go, leaving Daniel able to bellow in frustration and rage, kicking his leg out against the chest of drawers. He whirled around, pounding his fists against the door. In the corner of his eyes, he could see that shadowed item of furniture. Daniel knew quite well what it was now. A bed. It wasn't Adria who had been raped. No, it was Daniel. Of course, Maeror had been in control of his body the entire time, so the linguist hadn't been able to fight back. The glance at the bed filled his mind with chaotic memories. Adria's smiling face too close to his, a dragon in his chest trying to rip out at her but unable to do so. The thought repeating over and over in his mind: she's Vala's daughter, she's Vala's daughter!
Daniel's vision filmed over with a red haze, a deafening roar in his ears. The team…Jack, Vala, Sam, Teal'c, Cam…Maeror and Adria had thoroughly convinced them he had turned, had fallen for that bitch that called herself the Orici.
There was a loud crash behind Daniel and he whirled around, panting heavily. The chest of drawers he had kicked viciously had broken. A dead silence now screaming in his ears, the archeologist crouched by the shattered wood. There was on large piece and he picked it up, brushing a finger against the edge and watching neutrally as crimson stained the oak. No thought or feeling inside of him, too far gone already, Daniel stood up, the wood still clutched tightly in his hand. So tightly, he could feel a warm liquid seeping between his fingers yet he felt no pain.
He hated this Ori. This Ori had forced him into so many unthinkable things. But no longer. Daniel was going to cut Maeror out. And if it killed Daniel too, so be it. With a steady, slow hand, Daniel raised the sharp oak…
…When the door opened. The next few seconds were a small eternity in Daniel's world. He spun around, the wood ready as a weapon. Adria! his mind cried and he jammed the oak forward instinctively. The large splinter flew through flesh, hitting dead on in the heart. Adria's eyes widened in shock, her blue eyes glazing over as she whispered her dying word:
"Daniel…"
Shocked, Daniel let go of the wood and Adria fell to the floor. Shaken, he scrambled out of the room, closing the door. He stared at it, confused.
"That was too easy…" he said to himself. First of all, didn't Adria have that necklace that protected her from her enemies? And second, Maeror was Ori. He wouldn't have allowed Daniel to kill the Ori's beloved Orici so easily.
"You are correct, Daniel," an all-too familiar voice said from behind him. The linguist's heart skipped a few beats. "It was too easy."
Daniel turned around slowly. In front of him, Adria stood, giving him her small, discomforting smile. Daniel gaped.
"Then who…?"
A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!