“General Hammond, I believe that Dr. Jackson expressed a desire to see what we bring to the table here?” Shado said the next morning. She looked at the assembled faces in the Briefing Room. “I think that is a fair question, given the circumstances. It will also help us to decide IF this is something that we want to get into or not.”
“Shado, a demonstration is not necessary.” Hammond said. “Both Jacob and I are well aware of what the Circle is able to do…”
“Forgive me, George, but your knowledge is a bit outdated. Things… we… have changed in the past 20 years. What we were capable of then is not what we do now.” she smiled slightly. “We have grown, George. Matured in ways that NO one expected.”
Hammond shot a glance at Jacob then back to Shado. “Just what do you have in mind, Shado?”
She shrugged and grinned. “A minor demonstration, nothing too great. Don’t want to scare the ‘civilians’.” her look encompassed everyone at the table. O’Neill bristled slightly at her tone of teasing.
“Well I would sure like to know what it is that the General thinks you can do to help us.” Daniel said. There was a slight hint of animosity in his voice. Something highly unusual for the archeologist. Teal’c raised an eyebrow at the tone.
“Indeed DanielJackson, I am also curious.”
Faln snickered and Brit intoned en sotto in a perfect imitation. “Indeed.”
“Although, some of us have matured while others apparently are still kids in many ways.” Keeper said teasingly.
“Bite me, Keeper. I know what you are thinking.” Briterra snarked back. He flipped her the bird and smiled serenely at the rest of the room.
Shado raised her eyes to the ceiling. “If you all are ready to act like adults. Time is wasting. Sir, if there is somewhere relatively indestructible?”
Carter and Daniel exchanged odd looks, mouthing the word indestructible. Hammond thought for a few moments then nodded. “I believe we have somewhere that will suit.”
The area that Hammond had decided on was in the bowels of the mountain. It had once housed nuclear warheads, but with the placement of the Stargate, the warehouse had been cleaned out. Now it was just a large empty room. There was an observation window placed high but the obs room itself was rather small with everyone in it. Shado surveyed the room below and the contents of the obs room, satisfaction lighting her face.
“General, this will be perfect.” she turned to Keeper. “War games, Keeper. No rules.” Keeper nodded, everyone grinning at each other. “The winner this time gets dinner at Neelam's tonight. My treat.”
“Gem, your ass is mine.” Blackmage growled at the tall blond standing next to her.
“I don’t think so.”
“Go for it, Mage.” Brit said as they left the room. The snarking continued until it could no longer be heard by those remaining in the observation room. Shado, who had remained, leaned forward and flipped the mike open so that they could hear and be heard. Three minutes later the Circle entered the empty room. Their clothing had been changed for form fitting black jumpsuits; they proceeded to the center of the room, stopped and turned as one to face the window. As a unit, they bowed to the watchers.
“Music, Sensei.” Keeper said his voice echoing in the emptiness. “It’s too quiet in here.” His sentiments were echoed by the others creating quite a clamor. Shado groaned and nodded. “Cool. Ready whenever you are.”
O’Neill was standing closest to Shado, and he felt a tingle like the one the night before. The loud guitars and growls of Rob Zombie’s American Nightmare filled the room below. At its beginning, the Circle began to move. Balls of energy appeared from outstretched hands and burst against shields in rainbows of color. Laughter came over the speakers, and as they watched, the battle grew. The crack of energy drowned out the music being played. The members of SGC could only stare in amazement at the sight before them. The Circle was nothing like they had ever seen. Their movements were quick and fluid, defying gravity. They threw around energy that scorched the concrete walls and shook the room yet seemed unaware that what they were doing was impossible. Ten minutes into the “war games” and they showed no signs of tiring. Not that but the laughter and taunts were growing in intensity as well. This was evidently something they did on a regular basis. Shado encouraged them with well-timed quips and jibes egging on the competition from the observation room. O’Neill and the rest could only watch and listen with growing fascination and wonder as the games escalated in intensity blinding them with the amount of energy being released. Finally, Shado called a halt to the games.
“Ok. Enough.” she said into the mike, stopping them in their tracks. They stood grinning up at her. She shook her head as she surveyed the damage. Brit and Faln were dripping with bright pink paint. Keeper was sporting lime green in his hair, Gem had orange, and Blackmage was polka dotted in various colors. “Sloppy guys. Very sloppy.” A hint of disapproval tinged her voice although she was smiling indulgently at her “kids”.
“Ahhh, Shado. Come on it was just for fun.” Keeper said still grinning. “Sides, the girls were cheating.”
“We were not!” the three protested and retaliated by dousing Keeper in more of the lime green paint.
“General?” Shado asked. Hammond turned wide eyes to her, his surprise at the forefront. “Is that sufficient for you?”
O’Neill cleared his throat and looked at paint dripping down the walls and at the scorch marks on the concrete, and then raised his eyes to Shado. “Is this all you are able to do, or is there more?” He was thinking about the other nascent abilities that had been documented in the report.
She smiled slowly. “Colonel, trust me when I say that this is merely the tip of the iceberg as far as we are concerned.”
“Sensei, why don’t you show them what you can do?” Blackmage suggested. “Give them a show.” Her suggestion was echoed loudly by the others. Shado ducked her head and seemed to be considering for a moment.
“Shado, please.” Hammond said. His voice was soft but there was a hint of command. “You say that your abilities have grown with experience, and from what I can see here, you haven’t exaggerated in the least. We need to know everything.”
She raised her head and met his eyes. “Alright, George. Just don’t say that I didn’t warn you. Keeper, you all come up here.”
“Yes! Sensei is going to play.” they crowed happily. When they joined the others in the obs room, Shado turned to Keeper. “Keeper, monitor things and let me know if things get to be too much.” he nodded his understanding. With a smile at everyone, she left to enter the warehouse.
She came through the open door into the room in a few moments. It closed behind her and the click of the locking mechanism could be heard. She turned her face up to her audience. There was a stillness about her that was unreal. They could see her gathering herself. The tingle that O’Neill felt on his skin increased to an itch, and he could see that everyone else was feeling it as well. Even Teal’c appeared affected by whatever she was doing, he shifted his stance and quirked his eyebrow.
“She’s gathering power.” Keeper said by way of explanation.
“Any idea what she’s going to do?” Hammond asked. Keeper shook his head.
“Whatever it is, it’s going to be big.” Mage said. “She’s setting shields in place.” she nodded to the glow that was slowly surrounding the room. It was a mélange of pastels that coated the walls and floor. They could see through it, to the still figure in the center.
Shado brought her hands to shoulder height and closed her eyes. Energy began to spark in the contained area. The sparks growing in intensity and frequency coalescing into a ball in front of her between her outspread fingers. The ball continued to grow in size until it was the size of a basketball. Satisfied with the size of the ball, she pushed it away from her. It spread out until it formed a flat disk roughly the same size as the Stargate.
“A doorway.” Mage said to answer unspoken questions.
Shado stood head bowed in front of the window for a long moment. Hammond and the watchers exchanged glances briefly, until her next movement caught their attention. Her left hand raised and her hand flexed. In it, heralded by a flash of dark color, a black katana appeared. The edge of the blade sparked with that odd black light for a moment then it was gone.
“ShidoRyu.” Keeper said softly. “She’s calling the Avatars.” His voice seemed overloud in the silence of the small room. He elaborated. “Remember the voices in that place, General? She is going to bring one of them here. Watch and learn just what the military did to her. To us. This is something you all never planned on.” The bitterness in his voice was evident as was his tension as he watched.
In the warehouse, Shado raised the blade above her head, left on the hilt of the black obsidian katana, the right cradling the blade. She looked straight ahead and in one swift move plunged the blade to the hilt into the solid concrete floor. The resultant thunderclap rocked the mountain, causing all to lose their balance; klaxons could be heard coming from the complex. Energy sparked and crackled behind the shields that she had raised as the gate responded to her command. As her audience gained their balance again, they could see a darkness moving in the light from the gate, something very large. O’Neill caught Teal’c’s eye and with an imperceptible nod gave his consent for the Jaffa to prepare for anything. Teal’c moved to stand between the doorway and the rest of the room.
“What is that?” Daniel asked bringing O’Neill’s attention back to the room below them. Any answers were forestalled by the sound of Shado’s voice.
“I greet you, Great One.” she bowed her head slightly, never taking her eyes off the Creature forming in front of her. Massive wings gusted energy around her to settle restlessly on the heavily muscled back. Talons the length of a man's arm gouged deep ruts into the concrete flooring as the heavy mass of the creature fully materialized. The curve of its long tail encompassed the bulk of its body, the tip resting just shy of the embedded hilt of her blade. They could hear the exhalations of its breath, and feel the vibrations of it hitting the glass.
“Holy Hannah.” Carter breathed. “Is that real?” Her blue eyes were wide, fascination in them as she looked at the dragon sitting oh so still in front of them.
“Indeed, she is very real.” Briterra answered. “And very dangerous.”
::WHY HAVE YOU CALLED ME?:: the voices thundered in their ears, causing them all to flinch.
“By the Oath of the Blade and the Rite of the Word, I have summoned you. As a seeker of the True Knowledge, sworn in the Blood, I seek your counsel.”
::I AM NOT BOUND BY YOUR OATHS:: the dragon’s heads whipped and snapped at the air around them.
“Five heads?” Daniel mused. “Tiamat the ruler of Chaos in ancient Celtic legend.”
“You are correct, Dr. Jackson.” Falnphenix whispered. “She is Tiamat, Queen of Chaos.”
“By Rite of Word and Oath of Blade, sworn in the Blood, I name you Tiamat, Queen of Chaos. You will give me that which I seek.” Power gave her words force and the dragon reacted instantly, the five heads surging forward to snap angrily at the small figure. They never reached her, a flash of lightning cracked from the ceiling between Shado and the dragon which hissed its fury.
::WHAT IS IT YOU WISH TO KNOW MORTAL?:: the voices were angry and scornful.
“I wish to see the possibilities that exist in the dimensions, all the outcomes of the choice we must make. I seek the knowledge to determine the paths of those in my care, to know that which is not easily seen.”
::SUCH KNOWLEDGE IS NOT FOR MORTALS TO KNOW. WHY SHOULD I ALLOW THIS? WHO ARE YOU THAT I MUST ANSWER THIS REQUEST? ::
“I am the Shadowed Rainbow, I am the Dreamer between the Worlds, the Hunter of the Shadowed Paths.”
::THESE NAMES ARE KNOWN TO ME :: the dragon’s heads swung to peer down at her. ::FOR THIS KNOWLEDGE THERE IS A PRICE::
Shado nodded. “One I am willing to pay, for this knowledge is greatly needed.” She extended her left arm above her head, palm toward the dragon. In her right hand she held a small dagger, the twin to the blade buried in the floor. “I pay this price willingly.” A quick movement and her wrist was opened to the bone. Blood flowed freely and the dragon dipped its center head and its long tongue lapped greedily at the offering.
“Christ!” O’Neill swore at the sight. “Do something.” he ordered her silent companions. When none of them moved, he started to the door only to be halted by Shadowgem.
“Don’t Colonel. We can’t interfere. IF we try, we risk loosing Tiamat on this plane. And believe me when I say that would be worse than any Goa’uld out there.”
“Colonel.” Hammond’s voice was strained. “She knows what she is doing.” his muttered comment of “I hope.” was ignored by all. Horrified and fascinated, they watched the scene play out before them.
The dragon fed from Shado for what seemed forever. A glance at the clock proved it had only been a few minutes yet by the time it was satisfied, they could see she was swaying slightly on her feet. She lowered her arm, blood still dripping sluggishly from her wrist. She gathered herself and looked into the eyes fixed on her.
::PREPARE YOURSELF:: the voices said. Shado nodded and set her shoulders against the weakness she was experiencing.
“STOP!!” a new voice thundered from behind the dragon. The five heads whipped around, displeasure in their hissing. Shado’s head snapped up and shocked flooded her stance.
“I claim the Rite of Challenge.” a “man” stepped through the portal that the dragon had come through.
“Shit.” Keeper’s voice was strained. “Could this get any more fucked?” anger was in his eyes and he leaned forward to get a good look at the newcomer.
He was tall, well built, with long dark hair falling down past his shoulders. He stalked with an easy grace to a place just to the left of Shado, his lazy grin held a menace that was evident to everyone. Icy blue eyes flicked from her face to take in the watching people. As it passed over them, they could feel the caress of evil he carried.
“Daemon.” she said in greeting. “Why am I not surprised that you would show now?”
“Aww, come on my Love, you honestly didn’t think we would let you get away with this bit of ‘manipulation’?” he reached out a hand and gently traced her cheek. “Looking a bit pale there Babe.” She flinched away from the contact, swaying with the effort.
“Fuck you.” she snapped. He chuckled at her, slapping a hand over his heart in mock wounding.
::PAYMENT HAS BEEN GIVEN AND ACCEPTED. WHY DO YOU INTERFERE?:: Tiamat hissed in irritation.
“She has not the right to request this information, my Queen.” Daemon said suavely. “We feel that it wouldn’t serve the greater good for it to be known what awaits.”
“Since when does the Dark give a rat’s ass about the Greater Good?” Shado ground out between clenched teeth. She was finding it hard to maintain her control over the dragon as it was, and this was only making it more difficult.
::EVEN THE DARK HAS THE RIGHT, NO MATTER IT’S MOTIVATION. RITE OF CHALLENGE HAS BEEN ACCEPTED:: Tiamat snapped her jaws and moved back toward the portal.
“Double fuck.” Keeper said. He closed his eyes for a moment.
“Keeper?” O’Neill said. “Just what is going on?”
“She’s going to have to fight for it now.” he answered. “To the death.”
“Can you help her son?” Jacob asked his concern evident. Keeper shook his head frustration marring his face.
“No. There is not a damn thing anyone of us can do.” Blackmage whispered. The SG-1 team looked at the very pale and very worried faces of the Circle, what they saw made their blood run cold. Daemon’s voice came to them over the monitor.
“You know, if you would just give it up, we could do such wonderful things together.” his voice was low and seductive. Shado shook her head forcefully.
“I DO NOT have time for this.” She moved quickly, sinking the dagger in her right hand into the chest of the man standing next to her. His eyes widened in surprise.
“You didn’t actually think I would fall for that. Again.” he chuckled as he pulled it out with a deft motion.
“One could only hope.” she said as she darted back from him. His chuckling continued as he flipped the knife in his hand. Moving quicker than the watching eyes could see, he threw it back at her, she managed to duck and the blade shattered against the shield.
“Come on, my Heart, you can do so much better than that.” he taunted her. He pressed his attack on her, energy crackling and sparking as it missed the quickly darting figure. Again the warehouse shields cracked as the misses hit against it. Shado was getting weaker; everyone could see it in the slowing of her movements and in the wavering of the shield that surrounded the room. Growls of frustration came from her team members, as well as the watching SG-1 team.
She slipped and one of Daemon’s attacks connected solidly throwing her against the wall where she slid to the floor, breathing hard. Pain filled her face but she pushed herself to her feet. Daemon’s laughter filled the silence.
“You are getting tired, my Dearest, tired enough to perhaps accept my offer at last?” he approached her hand outstretched to help her away from the wall. She took it and held it for a moment. Weariness in her eyes, she looked briefly up at the watching faces. Defeat slumped her shoulders.
“Shado, don’t you dare!” Keeper yelled into the mike. His voice was panicked. “Fight him, damn you!”
“I am sorry. I am so tired.” she said softly. Daemon crowed his triumph and wrapped his arms around her. She enfolded the man in her arms and closed her eyes. The scream came out of nowhere, shocking them all. There was a massive blast of light and fire, and Shado stood holding onto nothing. Where Daemon had stood a pile of ashes remained. She smiled coldly.
“I told you I didn’t have time for this shit.” she grinned up at the shocked audience. “He never learns does he?” Turning she stood before the dragon, her movements slow and labored. “Challenge has been won. I claim the knowledge denied.”
The dragon’s heads lowered and briefly touched their noses to her. Another flash and the dragon was gone. The portal from where it had come, also vanished as did the shield holding them from her. Shado swaying on her feet, turned to look at her audience. “General Hammond, sir, permission to pass out.” she managed to say before sliding to the floor.
_____________
By the time they reached her, she was already conscious and sitting upright on the floor of the now destroyed warehouse. Keeper dropped to the floor beside her and slid his arm around her shoulders. O’Neill crouched on her other side and the members of her team clustered as closely as they could. She gave them a rather bemused smile and gestured weakly around.
“Told you we needed someplace indestructible, George.” she said to the General. “I’m fine.” she grumbled to Keeper’s unspoken inquiry. “Bit of a headache that’s all.”
“Shado, just what the HELL was that all about?” Hammond barked, his voice slightly strained and his accent more defined than anyone had ever heard before. She cocked her head back and looked at the worried man standing behind her. She motioned to the pile of ashes still smoking slightly.
“Old boyfriend.” she said softly grinning from ear to ear.
“Oh, boy, you are looped.” Keeper said his voice gruff. Concern turned his brown eyes dark. “Just sit here for a few ok, Hon?” She shook her head still grinning.
“Nuh unh. Got too much to do. Not time for this shit remember?” she pushed his arm off and tried to stand, O’Neill’s reflexes were sharper and he caught her as she again started to fall. She turned her smile on him and patted his cheek. “You are one hunk of a man, O’Neill. Gonna have to get you in bed at some point. Yep, bet I could teach you a few things.” she giggled at the blush that stained the Colonel’s cheeks.
“Oh man , she’s been zinged.” Blackmage groaned.
“I’d say.” Brit grinned. “She’s going to be impossible.”
“Zinged?” Daniel asked.
“Technical term, Doc.” Shadowgem said trying to stifle his laughter. “Think along the lines of being massively drunk, only without the party.”
“OOOO, did someone say party?” Shado’s face lit up and she tried to move away from O’Neill’s support and swayed back into him. “Where? Here?” she looked around fuzzily at the room. “George we need to talk about your idea of décor. It sucks.”
They couldn’t control their laughter any longer, loud and slightly hysterical it came from her friends, making tears roll down their faces. Keeper paused long enough to wrap her in a tight bear hug.
“Damn, you, Sensei. You scared the hell out of me.” she pushed at his arms trying to free herself.
“Why? The day I can’t handle the Queen of Chaos and a Class 2 Demon is the day I hang it up.” her voice was stronger and she managed to pull away from him this time steady on her feet. “I need my laptop though. Too much for the brain to hold this time. Good lesson for the class though, remember what you ask for, you just might get it. George let me do a memory dump and then we’ll discuss this mission. There are a few things I don’t think you all are aware of.” Her eyes were serious as she looked around the cluster of concerned faces. “Keeper, love, you were so right when you said that we were screwed. Our path and theirs have merged. Anubis has found a way into the Dark.”
“Oh that’s just peachy.” Fallen said. Shado nodded and started to the door just behind Hammond.
“Shado, I’d like Dr. Fraiser to take a look at you and make sure you are ok.” Hammond said stopping her before she could leave. She turned to face the General, the look on his face stopped her protests. She nodded, the motion making her sway a bit.
“Lead on MacDuff.”
O’Neill and Daniel watched them leave the warehouse, Shado giggling again at something only she found funny. Carter and Teal’c joined their teammates in the center of the warehouse. They looked at the gouges in the concrete, the charred walls and the pile of ashes. Their eyes lit on the hilt of the sword still imbedded in the concrete.
“Think she forgot something.” Daniel said moving to the hilt. He knelt on his haunches to examine it. He started to stretch out a finger to touch it.
“Daniel, don’t touch.” O’Neill growled a warning. Daniel snatched his hand back and grinned at Jack.
________
“He’s right, Dr. Jackson. Don’t touch it.” Falnphenix said from the doorway. They hadn’t been aware that she had returned. “Only Sensei can touch ShidoRyu. If you did, well let’s just say you would be spending time in the infirmary with her.”
“Would you care to explain what just happened here?” O’Neill asked. She grinned at him.
“Sure, a quick one though. We need to get Sensei her laptop ASAP, before she has a total meltdown. I’ll explain on the way if you don’t mind.” she said gesturing to the laptop she carried under her arm. They followed her out of the warehouse, Daniel casting a longing glance back at the embedded hilt. His desire to “touch” well known to his teammates, Teal’c blocked him by stepping behind to make sure that the inquisitive archaeologist followed along. As they walked to the Infirmary, Falnphenix gave them a quick tutorial on the paths of existence, and their role as keepers of the balance between the Dark and the Light. Her reference to the Avatars and the Epic Battle caught Daniel’s attention, and he began peppering her with questions.
“So what you are saying then, is that there is a struggle taking place between God and Satan?” Daniel asked in the elevator.
“No, not exactly. More like between the “good” and the “not-so-good”.” she said slightly frustrated. “Instead of thinking along the lines of religious dogma, look at it like this. You know there are people in the world who spend their lives helping others, and that most try to behave in a way consistent with that philosophy, Mother Theresa for example. On the other end you have your John Wayne Gacys or Gary Ridgeways…people who live for the destruction of others. There is a cosmic force at work that each is a part of… the good and evil aspects of life, for want of a better way of putting it. People call these forces God and Satan.” she grinned. “Not all the deities are aliens, Daniel. Those just came in later, snuck in under the radar so to speak, while the true deities were busy. Anyhow, in order for our world to exist there needs to be a balance of good versus evil, otherwise chaos reigns ending in the destruction of everything.” she grinned at the skeptical look on the faces around her. “Without light there can be no darkness… kind of a yin-yang thing. Both exist but can’t exist without each other.”
“Right.” Daniel said. “I can understand that concept. But where do you all come in?”
“Well, that’s even harder to explain. We do our best to make sure that the playing field is even and that neither side has an advantage or disadvantage in this cosmic struggle for supremacy. We keep the balance, because to allow one ‘side’ to win would be to allow our existence to end. We are the children of both light and dark. Right now, we happen to be fighting the Dark because it has been cheating. In time, who knows, we may be fighting the light.”
Daniel shook his head, not quite grasping her concept. “I don’t think I understand.”
Faln patted his arm and chuckled. “It’s ok. There are days I don’t either. It’s enough that we try to keep the playing field even.”
“This creature that your Teacher brought into the warehouse; what plane of existence did it come from?” Teal’c asked.
“Ahh, that’s a bit more difficult to explain.” she chewed her lip for a moment trying to pick her words carefully. “Best way to explain it I guess is like this. We have this plane of existence,” she motioned around them to the hallway, “and then there is another plane that exists along side it, just slightly out of sync.
” “You mean like an alternate universe?” Sam asked excitedly.
“Sort of, but not quite. Have you ever had the feeling you were being watched or that someone was in the room with you, only to find that you were alone? Or better yet, thought you caught something out of the corner of your eye, only when you turned to look at it there was nothing there?” They all nodded at her question. “That is one way of explaining the astral plane… it exists but on a level slightly different from the way our mind perceives the world. On that plane there are creatures that exist only as myth, legend or in some cases religious context. Hence the term avatar, they are beings of power that once interacted with our world but for some reason chose not to any longer.”
“Oma Desala.” Daniel said suddenly, the light bulb going on in his mind.
“Mother Nature?” Faln asked as they prepared to enter the infirmary. “Sort of, but she doesn’t like to come here very often. When we talk with her, it is usually on her plane so we don't like to bother her much. Usually we deal with the totemic spirits or the dragons. They seem to get along better with us than the glowing light group.” The SG-1 team stood slightly stunned and she turned back from the door.
“Wait a minute, you guys have TALKED to Oma Desala?” Daniel said shocked.
“Yeah we have many times. Who do you think taught us how to use what the military so kindly ‘gave’ us? This stuff didn’t exactly come with instructions y’know.” Faln halted in her speech, eyes suddenly focused on Daniel’s face. “Hang on, how do you know Oma Desala?”
“I-um-well it’s a long story.” he stuttered for a moment. “I spent some time as a ‘student’ of hers.” he shrugged not certain just what he could tell the girl in front of him.
“You ascended? Oh wow, that’s way cool.” she grinned. “So did ya learn anything?”
“Nothing that I can remember.” Daniel said softly.
“Talk to Shado, she can help you there. Does it all the time for us when we ‘descend’ from learning with Oma.” with that, Faln pushed open the infirmary door and entered. Once again, the SG team was dumbfounded.
“All the time. When they ‘descend’.” Daniel murmured. His eyes were wide and he looked like he had been hit by a Mack truck.
“She makes it sound like an everyday occurrence.” Sam said just as bewildered as Daniel.
“Maybe it is.” O’Neill said his eyes on the group standing in the Infirmary. “Something tell me that these guys are far from what we consider Normal under any circumstances.”
“Ya think?” Daniel whispered borrowing one of Jack’s favorite expressions.
__________
“Well, Doc, think I’ll live?” Shado asked as they joined the group.
“It’s a bit early to tell. I’d like to run a few tests, given the fact that you have lost a fair amount of blood along with the fact that you passed out.” Dr. Fraiser said raising an eyebrow at the distaste on her patient’s face. “Not to mention that this is your second visit here in 24 hours. If you keep this up you’ll beat SG-1’s record for trips here.”
“That sounds like a challenge.” Shado said mischievously. “I love challenges.”
“Sensei, I brought your laptop. And you left Shido behind.” Fallen said. Shado held out her hand for the laptop and snapped her fingers in frustration.
“Damn, I knew I forgot something.” she said. “Shido, return.” Again O’Neill felt the tingle against his skin and the black katana appeared next to Shado on the infirmary bed. Fraiser gave a startled squeak but recovered instantly.
“No weapons in the Infirmary.” she ordered. Shado rubbed her temple and frowned for a moment.
“Headache?” Mage asked softly. Shado nodded and Fraiser clucked under her breath, but Shado ignored her.
“Here, Daniel, hold onto Shido for me. I know you wanted to take a closer look at him anyway.” She grinned at the archaeologist. Daniel flushed but was reluctant to take it from her side. “Doc, just give me a few minutes then test away.”
“Fallen said it would be dangerous to touch.” he mumbled anxious to touch the beautifully crafted blade.
Shado picked up the katana and ran her finger down the length. “Mellon nin.” she whispered. “It will be just fine.” She flipped it so that the hilt was facing Daniel. Gingerly he took it from her. At the contact he could feel a warmth flow from the hilt into his hand.
“It’s warm.” he whispered. Chuckles came from the assembled team. “Beautiful.”
Shado was still chuckling as she accessed her desktop. Curious, O’Neill moved to the head of her bed standing just behind Keeper. He could see the screen and heard a voice say something as the desktop came into view. He froze at the picture displayed as the wallpaper. It was of him, wearing his BDUs and ball cap, he was standing in front of a piece of architecture that he vaguely remembered from somewhere. Shado tore the headphones from her head and glared at the group.
“Oh you all are SOOOO in trouble.” she growled, blushing furiously. Innocent pairs of eyes looked at her. “Who has been messing with my computer?” At their still innocent faces, she turned it to the room showing the picture of O’Neill to the group. She clicked a button and O’Neill’s voice could be heard saying “Good Morning campers! Sleep well? I did.” At that everyone cracked up including O’Neill.
“Well you did say, Sensei that you would so ‘do’ him.” Keeper said between chuckles.
“Watch it, I know where you sleep remember?” she snarked back trying to hide her embarrassment. “I am really sorry, Colonel. You’ll have to excuse my ‘children’ they have a very twisted sense of humor.”
“Apology accepted, Colonel. Nice to know that I’m… do-able.” he said suavely. Her blush deepened and her eyes promised retribution to her friends. She refused to say any more and settled the earphones firmly on her head. She clicked the icon for her music program and then accessed a word program. She closed her eyes, the watching group could hear music coming from the headphones, and she began to type. Fingers flying fast and sure over the keys. Lines of script began to fill the screen, faster than they could read.
“She’s gonna be a while.” Keeper said softly well versed in Shado-ese. “I recognize her play list… this is the one for really serious shit.”
“Fallen was explaining the paths and planes to us on the way here.” Sam said to fill the quiet. She had been examining Shido along with Daniel.
“I don’t know if I did a good job of it though. Shado is much better at this stuff, at making it make sense.” Fallen agreed. Keeper nodded, he had had experience in trying to explain to “civilians” before. “It helps that Dr. Jackson here actually knows Oma Desala.”
“Cool!” Blackmage said excitedly. “She’s the greatest. I love spending time with her.”
“You all know Oma Desala?” Jacob asked from his place near the wall.
“Apparently, Jacob, they ‘ascend’ and ‘descend’ on a regular basis.” O’Neill said coolly. He was still watching Shado type trying to read what was being entered and failing.
“Incredible.” was all Jacob could say. This was far beyond his realm of experience, his memory of the group was that of their first stumbling attempts at controlling the fallout from that ill-fated experiment. Then they had just disappeared one day, gone from Area 51 with no one knowing how or why. He had his ideas about the why; who could blame them when there had been ‘discussions’ about a few procedures to study the increase in brain activity. It had amazed him that George had kept in contact with them.
“KeeperoftheLight,” Selmac spoke. “I am curious. Why did you respond favorably when General Hammond contacted you? Jacob thought that you certainly had the right to refuse. Given the memory that Jacob has of your time in Area 51, I found it most interesting that you would place yourselves in jeopardy in this fashion.”
Keeper sighed heavily, his face thoughtful. “That’s a good question. She called and we came.”
“Why did you come, son?” Hammond asked. His eyes flickered from one to the next. “I have been asking myself the same question. All things considered, I thought Shado…”
“Would keep us far from you and your knife happy scientists?” Brit filled in for Hammond. “Chalk it up to a misplaced sense of loyalty and the fact that we wouldn’t be here if a certain Major hadn’t put his nuts on the line for us way back when.”
“It is not heresy and I will not recant.” Shado whispered from the bed, drawing all eyes to her. Keeper grinned.
“Singing along, as usual.” he explained. “It helps her sort all the stuff in there.”
“So what is she doing exactly?” O’Neill asked still watching Shado.
“She’s writing down everything that Tiamat showed her. Otherwise all that stuff would drive her crazy. Kinda like having all the knowledge in the world downloaded into your brain all at once. If she didn’t get it out… she would go crazy from the different possibilities that she knows exist.”
“I can relate to that.” he muttered.
“Jack look at this.” Daniel said without looking up from his study of the katana. He ran his hand gently along the blunt edge of the blade, totally oblivious to the ongoing discussion around him. He looked up fascination in his eyes. “It’s a single piece, I don’t know how it was made. There’s not a single mark on it. Absolutely amazing.” Jack had to grin at his friend’s tone. It was so Daniel it was funny. “Who made this?” Daniel asked the room. “Whomever it was, is a master.”
Shado shut her laptop with a snap catching them all be surprise. She straightened and sighed heavily. She looked at everyone and shook her head sadly. “This is so much worse than I thought.” She slid off the bed, tucking the laptop under her arm.
“Shado?” Gem questioned. Her distress was evident through the bond they all shared. She was tuning it down, hiding from them, just as she always did when something was seriously wrong.
“George, we need to talk about this. I won’t commit my kids to anything without first discussing it. And right now, I’m not sure I want to commit them to this at all.” Her voice was cold and her face set.
“Sensei? Talk to me.” Keeper put his hand on her shoulder and drew her close. He of all of them knew her the best. And he didn’t need their bond to know that she was very close to walking out of this mountain and never looking back.
“Final conflict, Keeper, final conflict.” She moved out of his reach. The Circle members hissed and suddenly their ronin swords were in hand, and they looked ready to do battle. “By the ONE, that explains so fucking much! All the damned activity, the attacks… then the silence.” She tossed the lap top onto the bed she had just vacated.
“Fuck. Are you certain?” Keeper asked. His voice was a low growl and menace tightened his lean frame.
“Never been more certain of anything in my life.” She whispered.
“Time frame?” Brit hissed.
“Soon. Very soon.” She took a couple of steps and then turned to face her friends. The SGC personnel were completely ignored, and to be honest, O’Neill wasn’t too keen on calling attention to himself right now. Even Daniel had backed away from them, the katana in his hands forgotten for the moment.
“I am not going to allow this to happen. Not like this. Not now, and certainly not when THEY are calling the shots.”
“It’s not like we have much of a choice, Shado, you know that.” Gem spoke.
“Yes we do. *I* do.” She whirled and paced a bit. She passed close to O’Neill and he could feel the crackle that he was beginning to recognize as Power coming from her. Her agitation was more than evident close up. “I *deny* what I have been shown. *I deny* the possibilities.” Her words were sharp and they could feel the power in them. She stood frozen in place for a moment, then her shoulders slumped slightly.
“See, hon, this is the way it’s supposed to be. Even you know that. This is who we are, what we have lived for. Don’t try to take this away from us. Remember, Duty, Honor and Balance. You taught us that.” Keeper pulled her into his arms in a loose embrace. “Don’t deny us.”
Silence reigned for a few moments, then George cleared his throat. “Shado, what is going on?”
She laughed harshly for a second. “What’s going on? Simple George, nothing more than the Final Battle. And you all are stuck right in the middle. Your buddy Anubis has made a covenant with the Dark powers.” ”And this means?” O’Neill asked.
“We will help you. We have no choice.” Keeper said, letting Shado go. She shook her head, obviously still unhappy at the turn things had taken. “Now, I believe you promised us dinner?”
“I’m not in the mood.” She snapped.
“Sensei, come on, let’s go out have some fun. Take a bit of time to put things in perspective and you will feel so much better. You’ll feel better once you have eaten. You didn’t eat this morning did you?” Faln said sheathing her blade. At Shado’s frown, she nodded knowingly. “See, your blood sugar is low and I know you didn’t sleep again last night… so…” she let her voice trail off.
Shado shook her head and took a deep shuddering breath. “I am fine. This has just caught me off guard. Of all the bloody fucking things to find out….”
“Hey, hon, it’s not like this was unexpected. Not if you think about it. You girls have been dreaming this shit for years. You didn’t honestly believe that all three of you could be wrong did you?” Gem interjected.
“One could only hope.” Shado, Brit and Faln said in unison.
“Yeah right. You all have been having this nightmare for the past 24 years, regularly, and it hasn’t changed.” Keeper chuckled harshly. “Sides you all have yet to be wrong about this stuff.”
“Yeah well it would be nice to be wrong for once.” She stopped her pacing and stood for a moment gazing at a spot just beyond the wall in front of her. “Just once.” She shook herself and looked at O’Neill for a moment. He wasn’t sure what he saw in her eyes, but just for a moment, there was something there that sent a jolt of electricity through him. Then it was gone, leaving him slightly stunned. “Yeah you guys are right. George, I’m too wasted to be of any good around here today. How about we pick this up tomorrow, and you all can give me what intel you have on Anubis and his buddies?”
Hammond nodded, to e honest he needed a break from this as well. The time to process all the things he had seen in the past three hours would be most welcome. “Tomorrow morning, 1000, ok with you?”
“Sure that works.” She turned to pick up her laptop. “Sorry Doc, but your tests will just have to wait. We’ll make sure you have copies of all the pertinent medical data that you will need while we are here. Anything beyond that is out of the question.” Fraiser started to protest from her position just outside the room, but Mage forestalled her.
“Doctor, we are not military nor are we under contract to said military. We are strictly volunteers here. Brit and I have all the stuff you could possibly need and we’ll bring it to you first thing in the a.m.”
The group gathered around Shado in the same manner they had come in to the complex, arrayed in semi circle with her in the center. She smiled tensely at them, then spoke to the SG team.
“Colonel, we’d like for you all to join us.” Her tone didn’t leave room for argument. Jack glanced at Hammond who gave an imperceptible nod of his head.
“Why Colonel, we would be glad to accept your invitation.” He grinned. “Meet you up top.”