(Disclaimer in chapter 1)
One Plus One Equals One
by novacarta
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Chapter 06
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[…Mental conversation…] "…Verbal conversation…" '…Thoughts…'
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Gringotts Bank – August 1 1991, 13:03pm
"Alright, everything seems to be in order." Lord Ragnok murmured to himself as he checked the mountain of scrolls for signatures. However, just before Daniel could sigh with relief, another stack of scrolls appeared out of nowhere and piled up all over the desk again. He groaned instead, and banged his head at the edge of the office desk.
"Mr. Potter, we are not done yet. We have just finished the Potter vault and the Black vault, here is for the Peverell family." Lord Ragnok started handing him scrolls after scrolls, with detailed explanation of their context.
Daniel picked up a quill and resigned himself to the never-ending job of signing again as a certain imp could only write illegible scrawl with a quill. He had to stop himself from signing 'Daniel Jackson' several times and he suspected he would get a repetitive strain injury soon. Paperwork (or parchment work in this case) done, a few more blood verification finished and a aching wrist later, Lord Ragnok gathered the signed scrolls and left for about 10 minutes.
The goblin lord returned with a small wooden case.
"Gringotts has acknowledged your claims to the Potter vault and the Peverell vault. These are your keys for access." Lord Ragnok gave him the case, which was about the size of a ring box, then continued. "On the other hand, the existing owner of Black vault have not released entrée. As he was incapacitated in jail and not approachable, we could only grant you a 200 galleon monthly allowance according to Clause 11 of the Regulation of Non-blood Heirship."
Harry stopped his admiration of the new gold keys and looked at the goblin lord curiously. "If the owner is not died, how come I become its owner, a subordinate one that is?"
"To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Black was appointed as your godfather by your parents." Lord Ragnok told him with a blank face.
"Godfather?" Harry gaped. [As in…the Godfather of Mafia?]
[As in the person who stood for a child during baptism.] Daniel corrected him immediately. Who should take care of you when your parents died, he mused, wondering if the man's imprisonment was the reason Harry lived with the Dursleys.
Lord Ragnok said no more on this topic, besides telling Harry that he could pay for a full family tapestry if he desired details of his family tree. He opened a side door and gestured Harry to follow him. They walked into a dimly lighted passageway, at the end of it was an atrium several stories high with a glazed roof. The atrium was almost bare of furniture, except those vivid statues and sculptures of goblin fighters covering everywhere of the walls, and one stone pedestal basin standing in the very central.
"There is a muggle saying about hide in plain sight, so we adopted the concept and put the entry of Merlin vault here, to conceal it between the monuments of goblin martyrs." The goblin lord said smugly, and escorted Harry to the pedestal basin.
The basin was an ordinary one, just like any basin you could find in a park, though in a close distance one could see the shallow inscription carved on its interior.
[It's an archaism of the Ancients!] Daniel gazed at the inscription, absolutely enthralled.
[What does it say?] Harry asked. Although the inscription was very beautiful, it meant nothing to him.
[Reach the key for your destination.] Daniel read it, then stated. [It was signed by Moros.]
[But there is nothing in the basin.]
[As the writing is in ancients and Moros was once ascended…] Daniel trailed off as he reached out his hand tentatively to the basin, wrapped his hand in a slight glow of ascended power. His fingertip gave a featherlike touch at the bowl edge, and suddenly a burst of light flashed around the basin. When the light died out, a crystal piece shaped like a credit card was now suspended in the air. The crystal piece was perfectly transparent, yet there was some circuit-like marking engraved on the surface. It floated for a moment then suddenly dropped. Harry made a spontaneous grip for it before Daniel could stop him. He was swept right away once his fingers clutched around the crystal card.
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Somewhere, Someplace – August 1 1991, 13:27pm
When the world stopped spinning, Harry found himself standing in a complete darkness, not even a spark to make out the surrounding, though the airy feeling indicated they were in someplace spacious.
[We really need to work on this body turnover thing.] Daniel commented dryly. He figured that it must be Karama for always being a pain in Jack's ass. [And Don't, Touch, Anything. Not until I check them out.]
[I need to see something before I could touch them.] Harry pouted slightly but nevertheless promised him good behavior.
Daniel looked around and saw only darkness. He made his hand glow and lifted it up, lightening only the area within the radius of his forearm. But it was enough for Daniel to see what lay in front of him.
A Ancient control panel.
The altar-like device resembled the one SG1 discovered on P4X-639 which Daniel and Sam had studied thoroughly after the time-loop was broken. By standing on the platform, the device should light up and ready for activation via those stone tablets.
Yet the darkness remained when he stepped on it.
[Strange.] Daniel murmured.
[Might be it was broken?] Harry suggested.
[Or.] Daniel stared at the crystal piece in his hand for a moment. [Might be something is missing.]
He knelt down to grope for the flanks of the control panel and found what he wanted. He pressed in a loose corner, and a full tray of glowing crystals in varied colors slid out soundlessly. There was a empty socket at 2nd row in the same shape of the crystal piece Daniel held. He inserted the crystal piece and pushed the tray back in place.
Fire flared out along the wall and illuminated the room, revealed a large cavern with no visible exit but two narrow tunnels at the far end. A humming sound could be heard coming from the control device, and the stone tablets shifted up and down in some sequences. When the tablets finally settled down, a human form emerged from the air and stood before the control panel,
[A ghost! Weird!] Harry mouthed the words.
[It's a hologram.] Daniel told him. [A three-dimensional image projected by advanced technology.]
In medieval clothes, transparent and glinting in the flare of torches, no wonder the boy though he saw a ghost. But Daniel knew better. After all, he had met this person before.
"Moros." Daniel said breathlessly.
His suspicion was correct. Moros of the Ancients and Merlin in the Arthurian legend were indeed the same person. Moros must have somehow retained his memory and descended as Merlin, otherwise he wouldn't be able to use the control panel and holographic technology.
"Welcome to the Avalon, my friends." The hologram smiled at him. "I am sure you have a lot of questions, however please put on this ring first. This devise will allow you to separate temporarily. It would be better if we continue our conversation face to face." A platinum ring beamed into existence just as Morors spoke.
Daniel looked at the ring warily for a moment, shrugged and put the ring on his right index finger. He tried to focus on leaving the confining body. To his surprise it was much easier than he expected. He immediately found himself standing besides Harry in flesh, thankfully clothed, with only a effortless though in his mind.
"Now it is most unexpected! You and Sir Galahad look extremely alike." Moros exclaimed when he saw Daniel. ""
"Um…thanks, I guess." Daniel coughed to cover up his embarrassment. "I believe an introduction is needed. My name is Daniel Jackson, supposedly ascended but got stuck into a human body. This little fellow is Harry Potter, the unfortunate roommate of mine."
"Alas! The heir of my bloodline!" Merlin looked down at the small boy, eyes glinted with pleasure.
"Me?" Harry was taken back. "I thought it was Daniel!"
"Daniel is an ascended being but he was no relative of mine. It is you who have the gene of a Alterran." Merlin explained. "I believe that I am your great-great-great-many times-great grandfather on your father's side."
Two jaws dropped on the floor.
"How come no one claimed your heirship before?" Daniel wondered.
"I have to hide my descendants for fear that the Other might track them down. No magic could detect the compressed gene. In fact, without your ascended power Harry won't be able to claim my legacy either." He ran his fingers through his beard and smiled smugly for a moment, then changed the topic quickly. "Anyway, my power source is not enough to sustain me for long. Let me start my explanation first, then you could question me afterward."
"As you might know, there are two groups of ascending beings. The Alterans, or the Ancients, follow their rules of non-interference, while the Ori pose themselves as gods demanding worship from mortal beings. The Ori gain power via their followers and become stronger and stronger, yet the Others refuse to interfere as those who suffer are only in the lower plane. I have argued about this ridiculous rule with the Council but they never listened. And then, I started seeing visions of possible futures. Most of them end up badly. Only one of them, only one single future that I saw showed me a peaceful world with the Ori defeated."
Merlin paused and looked at them solemnly.
"Both of you are the keystones in that particular future, however the casualties are already too severe when you meet each other that half of this galaxy become wastelands. By bringing you back in time, I am trying to nudge the world toward a hopefully favorable direction."
"What do you mean 'bringing me back in time'?" Daniel asked in shock.
"About 10 years of time by my calculation," said Merlin in an innocent tone. "With a deviation of 2 to 3 years."
"Today is the First of August, Nineteen-Ninety-One." Harry told him.
"WHAT?"
"You might have gone a little bit further than necessary, but with limited resources I could only build a old model time-machine in the Arcade." Merlin sighed at the unbelievable look his guest threw at him. "The point is to prepare you for the hardship you will face. Of course more time is better."
"If the Ori is as powerful as the Other, it make no different if we prepare for a few more years!" Daniel said.
"The Ori in fact is more powerful than the Other. Their power is more aggressive and could override us if we are at similar power level. As an ascended being you will have no chance to fight an Ori." Merlin waved his hand at Harry and continued. "On the other hand, magic is the ambient energy drawn from the universe, the joining between you and Harry will harmonize each other and compensate the weakness in our nature."
"Isn't that the Ori outnumbered the Other even before they went different ways? What could I possibly do to resist them?"
"I had invented a weapon to destroy the Ori once and for all. However I have to hide it from the Others as they were in a fury about it. You will come here for a clue of its whereabouts when time comes. Before that, it is better to let it alone or else the Other might notice you."
"In short,' Daniel summarized. "You want us to combine our power, wait until the Ori come out from hiding, and then come back for a clue to find your weapon." It sounded less crazy when simplified into short sentences.
Merlin nodded
"Are you sure it would work?" Daniel looked skeptical. "I mean there are infinite futures. What if I do something wrong and destroy the world?"
"Just do your best." Merlin smiled gently. "In my visions, you never give up and you never stop trying. Don't forget your friends too. They would fight alongside with you until the end. Isn't it all the matter to you?"
Jack, Teal'c, Sam, Janet, General Hammond…Daniel smiled as he recalled his days in SGC. If they could kick big bad gou'ld butts like footballs, the Ori should not be a problem.
"Are you done speaking in riddle now?" Harry whined his annoyance. He felt so stupid when he heard every spoken word but understood none of them.
"Might be you could show him your memory?" Merlin suggested. He gave Daniel a metal helmet. "You could transfer memories into the device, and Harry could view it from your point of view. Time passes faster when he use the device, our conversation will be done by then."
It was essential for Harry to learn about the stargate, SGC and alien beings before Daniel could discuss with the boy. Daniel gathered and selected several representative memories from the first Abydos trip to his ascension, edited the bloody scenes carefully, and poured them into the device as per Merlin's instruction.
The adults left Harry alone to enjoy the sci-fi TV show and returned to their discussion.
"Ask your questions now, Daniel." Merlin urged him. "My time is running out."
"It's about the Other. I stopped sensing them since I've got here. Is it because I am in the past?" Daniel asked. The ascended beings connected with each other into a collective network and shared knowledge via the connection. The linkage was similar to that of a server and a computer. Being cut off from the ascended networks limited his knowledge, although it was already more than Sam would have dreamed of.
"The Council blocked you out when they sent you to confinement. You have to approach them to release the restraint." Merlin explained. "It also means that they cannot sense your location via the connection too. As long as you hide your power signature, no ascended being could find you anymore."
"Hide my signature?"
"Do not worry yourself. Although I spent most of my time on the weapon, I also studied magic at my leisure. Turned out that the combination of magic artifact and ancient technology was remarkably useful." Merlin said. "I have left you everything here for they are no use to me anymore. You would see them when my power is off."
"Harry and I." Daniel asked the question bothered him the most. "Are we joined for life?"
"Theoretically, yes." Merlin admitted. "The most powerful you are, the longer you could separate. Might be one day you only need to meet a few time per year and have a normal life."
They talked for another ten minutes. Then the hologram flared. The lively hologram turned into a emotionless image.
"Please notice that this interactive hologram will be shut down within 1 minutes. According to the current power level, it will sustain the illumination for 1409 hours. The control panel will also stop functioning after you leave. You are recommended to go through the information for the Instruction of future visits, user manual of Merlin devices, floor plan and co-ordination of this establishment, and the complete checklist of the King Arthur treasure"
The image finished his speech and vanished in a flash of light,and a mountain of treasire simultaneously beamed into the cavern, covering the ground with shiny gold and gleaming silver.
"Merlin bless me."
Harry pulled the helmet off his head an hour later. He had to blink quickly to adjust his eyesight. One second he was standing in the comfortably lighted SGC infirmary and the other second he was back in the dimly lighted carven. The memories he had witnessed were unbelievable, yet he knew they were all true.
Journey beyond the stars.
He turned around to look for his companion, and found the man bending over the control panel and reading the stone tablets. Harry didn't pay any attention to the treasure around his feet, he ran forward and threw himself to the man.
"Daniel! Can I join the SGC?"
Daniel recoiled, startled the bouncing child. It was not a well-known fact that Dr. Daniel Jackson was a sucker even bigger than Jack O'Neill for cute animals, innocent children and beautiful women. Thus, he melted instantly under the emerald puppy eyes.
"I have no objection to this idea." Daniel ruffled the raven hair. "You should think it over though. It won't be a easy life to join in the fight."
"But it is awesome!"
"We will talk when you are of age."
"Oh for crying out loud!"
I should have cut this part from the TV show! Daniel moaned.
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