Shanisia and her two companions flew toward the city she'd once called home and felt something drawing her toward the hospital. She allowed her wings to guide her down and smiled when she saw her mother and brother, yet she was probably unrecognizable to them. She felt sorrow deep inside, but she was here to stop a tragedy and hoped when they were finished she could speak with them before they were forced to return.

"Shanisia," Janolia called when the winged serpent glanced toward her.

"Mo…ther," Shanisia managed and smiled as the woman who'd raised and protected her wrapped her in a hug before releasing her.

"I am so proud of you, but it is not safe for you here. You must return to the other realm if you are to survive," Janolia told her.

Shanisia remember what Bariasta had told her about the Chagris and reached for it. She wasn't sure what it was, but it seemed to be an energy force deep inside her and the others. She could feel something strengthening her, making her see everything around her as if it was surrounded by a bright light that would have hurt her eyes had she still been full Talosian.

"Shanisia, can you help Colonel Mitchell and his people?" Darishik asked hopefully.

"We will try," Shanisia told him, shocked at how much easier it was to speak. "Do not let anyone inside until we have taken care of Layonna."

"Be careful, Shanisia, I do not want to lose you," Janolia told her and finally released her.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Darishik asked.

"You can stay safe…that is all I ask," Shanisia said and looked around at the people gathered nearby. Some looked fearful, while others seemed to want to be near them. She smiled inwardly and brought her wings closer to her body as she led her two companions through the main doors.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

Layonna knew she could crush the life from Mitchell's friends with a simple flick of her wrist, but she enjoyed toying with them. It also proved to Mitchell just how helpless he was. She felt the warmth of his blood on her fingers and finally released her hold as she moved toward his companions. A shock ran through her body and she turned to find Daniel Jackson holding some kind of energy weapon in his hands.

"Jackson, get out of here!" Mitchell ordered, but it came too late as with a flick of her taloned fingers she tore a gouge in his right arm and flung him across the room where he lay in a crumpled heap. "Leave them alone!"

"You are the one hurting them, Colonel Mitchell. They are here because of you and I will kill them if you do not agree to come with me! Can you not see you have nothing to fight me with…"

"Perhaps he does not, but we have."

"Shanisia, I might have known you would find a way through," Layonna snarled.

"It was easy; Layonna, and now we will take you back to face Bariasta and the others. You will pay for your crimes against my people and you will release Colonel Mitchell."

"You are naïve, Shanisia. You are no match for the years I have behind me. I have learned to take what I need and unlike newly formed creatures like you I can harness a power beyond your imagination."

"You might find that you can no longer harness the power of the Chagris," Turlean told her and smiled inwardly at the hint of fear in the creature's eyes.

"What do you know of the Chagris?" Layonna asked as she pulled Mitchell closer to her.

"We know it is a power so strong that it can destroy worlds unless it is used properly," Turlean answered.

"That is why we must stop you from using it as you have. We know how to make it work…"

"Bariasta is a weak fool. He had no right to tell you of the Chagris," Layonna spat and twisted her fingers through the newly formed wings on Mitchell's back.

"He simply told us to harness its power and we have done that. We are strong, Layonna, and we will stop you," Shanisia vowed.

"But at what cost? Did Bariasta tell you that if you harness that power without proper teaching then you will not be able to cross through the realm again? You will be forced to stay here as outcasts amongst your own people. Can you really live that way?"

"If that is how it is meant to be then I will live that way, but I do not believe my people would shun us, Layonna. I believe they will embrace our changes because it was our choice. We will show them that our appearance has not changed how we feel and that our family means everything to us," Shanisia said.

"No, Shanisia, they have never embraced our kind and they never will. They will see you as a danger to them and will hunt you down and kill you. I offer you a chance to come with me and share the power of the Chagris with me."

"No, Layonna, that is not what we want. Release Colonel Mitchell and come with us now before anyone else is hurt," Shanisia told her.

"Allow me to leave with Colonel Mitchell and I will not destroy you and your family," Layonna said angrily.

"No," Turlean stated and knew the fight for the people of his world and Mitchell's friends now rested with them. He could feel Shanisia's strength and added his own to the mix as Layonna tried to keep Mitchell with her. The change in Mitchell was intense and he struggled against her touch, giving them the opening they needed to attack with their minds.

Shanisia knew the power of the Chagris was stronger in them because they had harnessed it together. It was something that could devastate worlds if used the wrong way, but they were not using it for evil as Layonna had planned. The room they were in was small, and seemed even smaller with the amount of people inside and the medical equipment that surrounded the bed.

"Colonel Mitchell, are you ready to sacrifice your friends and these people for your own humanity?" Layonna asked, but didn't wait for an answer as Teal'c and Carter got to their feet while Daniel Jackson seemed on the verge of waking up.

"No, he isn't sacrificing anyone…he's adding his strength to ours," Shanisia said. "Harness the Chagris, Colonel Mitchell, the will to do so is inside you."

Cameron Mitchell felt the weakness encumbering his limbs, yet there was something else. Something he'd felt on rare occasions, particularly when he was flying a 302 and again when he found out the members of SG1 were willing to accept him as their leader. He let his mind wander and felt the first stirrings of the power Shanisia spoke of. Whatever the Chagris was, it filled him with a sense of peace and the sense that he belonged here.

"Allow it to free your mind, Colonel Mitchell!"

He heard Shanisia's words, but she hadn't spoken them aloud. It was as if she was inside his mind, showing him how to access what was already there. A hint of a smile formed as he embraced the changes and pulled free of Layonna's grip. The wing like protuberances tingled as if an unseen force was at work and Cam knew he had to do this in order to get rid of Layonna and free the Talosians of her influence.

"Come with me, Colonel Mitchell, and I promise not to return to this realm," Layonna said, but she'd seen the change in the man and flinched at the power she saw in his eyes.

"No, Layonna, it is time to end this," Mitchell said and reached for her as Shanisia and her companions moved to form a wall that she would be unable to move.

"Then you will die with your friends," Layonna snarled as her body went through several changes. She now longer held any of the beauty she once had and it's place were grotesque features that rivaled anything Mitchell ever imagined.

Carter and Teal'c watched helplessly as Mitchell and Shanisia moved to attack Layonna. Mitchell seemed to have trouble moving, and they understood it was because of the changes that had already taken place. It didn't stop him; instead it made him work with the others. There was a scream from somewhere, but they could not tell who it was from as the fight for supremacy continued in the small room.

"Colonel Carter, we should get Daniel Jackson out of here," Teal'c said and looked from her to Mitchell before hurrying to the down man. He lifted Jackson into his arms as a shriek arose from behind him. He felt Carter brush by him and knew she was making sure they had a safe path out of the building.

"Carolyn, get everyone out of here!" Carter ordered when she saw the doctor and two Talosians in a room down the hall.

"Where's Colonel Mitchell?" Lam asked.

"He's inside…we can't help him right now," Carter snapped and grabbed a young woman's arm before leading them outside.

"What happened to Daniel?" Lam asked as Teal'c lowered him to the ground.

"Layonna attacked him," Carter answered and turned to look at the entrance as if just hoping would bring Mitchell to them.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

Cam could feel himself weakening as Layonna seemed to concentrate on him while the other three moved to protect him. He could feel the Chagris working through him and understood Shanisia was allowing him to channel the strange power. He lifted his arms, protecting his upper body from a blow that would have cut a normal man in half. He wasn't a normal man anymore; he was part of the Mastyque, part of the realm Layonna came from.

The blow landed on his forearms and sent shockwaves along his changing nerve paths, but with Shanisia's help he was able to soften the blow and absorb the impact. He smiled, and wondered at the power he was feeling as Layonna tried to strike him again. He could hear her shrieking as if the anger was taking over and knew this was what he had to do to defeat her.

"I will make you pay for this, Shanisia," Layonna warned as Mitchell deflected a blow that should have decapitated the creature on his left. She knew she could not defeat them, not here in a room so small she could not expand her wings and deliver a killing blow. The window behind her offered her a means of escape, but she did not want to leave without her prize.

Shanisia stayed at Mitchell's right while Turlean was at his left. Their third companion had fallen under one of Layonna's first blows and lay unmoving in the corner. She tried to open her mind and allow him to use her senses and felt the joining of their minds. She could feel him drawing her in and the tingling sensation increased as Turlean's mind joined theirs.

Mitchell felt their strength and harnessed it in a way he could not understand. He drew his webbed fingers together and struck out, but did not connect with Layonna's physical body. He did send some kind of energy through his hands and saw the surprise on her face as she was lifted from the floor and thrown through the window.

"We must not let her escape," Turlean warned as Mitchell hurried to the window and dove through it.

Mitchell landed hard and rolled with it before coming up on his feet. It didn't matter that his body was devoid of clothing as he strode toward the creature who had caused so much suffering. He could hear voices around him, but their words made no sense to him as Shanisia and Turlean joined him in his quest to take this woman apart with his bare hands.

Layonna knew she was outnumbered, but she had never backed down from anyone or anything. She still had power, and had been harnessing the Chagris far longer than Mitchell and the others. The fact that Shanisia and Turlean were now bound to Mitchell was a complication she could not have foreseen, but she would not underestimate them again. She stood to her full height and allowed her wings to spread wide as the Talosians and humans alike gathered in the garden behind the trio standing against her.

"Give it up, Layonna! You can't win!" Mitchell spoke through tightly clenched teeth and knew he had to end this before she hurt anyone else.

"I could say the same to you, Colonel Mitchell, but since you have already denied me I will not feel any remorse when I take your life and feed on your friend's hearts."

"You're not leaving here," Mitchell told her.

"You can't stop me. I am far stronger than either of you and even combined you cannot defeat me. I call on the power of the Chagris and the ancestors of the Mastyque to teach these creatures they are but children in comparison," Layonna said and smiled as she felt the power inside her gaining momentum.

"That power will defeat you, Layonna. You have abused the creatures of both realms far too long and now it will be taken from you," Mitchell vowed. He moved toward her and felt Shanisia and Turlean beside him. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other as Layonna drew her wings apart and beat them until a savage wind threatened to throw them backward.

Layonna's eyes darkened when the trio continued toward her and knew they were drawing strength from each other. She knew the only way to defeat them was to separate them and brought her hands together before spreading them wide and screaming until the very air burned with her anger.

Mitchell felt Shanisia and Turlean draw away from him as if by an unseen force, but he did not allow it to stop him. He felt pain twisting through him as the changes to his body intensified. He swallowed convulsively and staggered under the onslaught of air pressure Layonna's rapidly beating wings caused. He knew she would kill him if he allowed her to get too close, but there was something inside him, some force that would not let that happen. He embraced the changes, and understood that he might never be human again, but it didn't matter as long as he rid Talosia of this evil creature.

Layonna felt her victory as Mitchell's body completed the change and he staggered toward her. She could easily take him now because of the weakness that came with the sudden change. She'd known he was close, but hadn't realized just how close he was to becoming a serpent. Shanisia and Turlean had undergone the change, but there was still one final phase they would go through. Mitchell wasn't Talosian, and that could very well be the reason for it happening so soon.

Mitchell allowed the creature to catch him when he staggered toward her. Some of it was real, but most of it was part of his ruse to make her believe he was far weaker than he was. As soon as she grabbed him he raised his arm and spread his now fully formed wings wide before wrapping them around her. He felt her body shudder as she tried to escape, and smiled as Shanisia and Turlean rejoined him. With their combined power they created a cocoon and pressed closer, forming a shield that she could not break.

Layonna screamed as her wings were pressed tight against her body. She could no longer move as the trio combined their strength and body mass to imprison her and stop her from using her arms. Air no longer entered her lungs and she felt the life draining from her as the power of the Chagris was used to keep her from escaping. Death was coming for her, of that she was certain, but she would not go down without taking one final victim. She turned her head, and smiled before allowing her elongated fangs to descend and brought them down on Mitchell's shoulder. She felt the bone break and smiled as she drew energy from his body and knew his death would be her final victory.

TBC