Stargate SG1: Heir to the Ennead (3/5)
All disclaimers, notes, warnings and summary are in the Master post: Heir to the Ennead
Chapter Five
The morning of the Tournament dawned as bright and beautiful as every single one of the past five mornings had been.
The Tournament was held as a sort of a closing ceremony for the Akhet festival, and everyone in the village would be in attendance. Just that morning - as he had done every morning for the last four - Jack had gone and stood on the dune and was satisfied that the flood was receding fast enough that it would be gone in a few days. He hoped to take his team home within another four days.
An open-air arena had been constructed behind the temple since the beginning of the flood, and it was filled to almost overflowing with the villagers that had come to watch the Jaffa fight each other with their practice staffs. At the end of the day, the victor would be crowned and would hold a position of honor in the village until the next year, when a new champion would take his place.
Teal'c had been training hard for the past two days, and he was confident about his chances. Saq'ar was the current champion, and Jack thought Teal'c was severely underestimating the man's fighting prowess. But it was sure to be one hell of an entertaining match, provided that they both lasted long enough to meet each other in the final fight.
Jack was sitting on the end of one of the benches that had been hauled into the arena, with Daniel next to him and Sam next to Daniel. Dashu had told them that she had some last-minute business in the village and that she would be arriving later, and had told them not to bother saving her a seat. As the wife of the First Prime, and current Tournament champion, she would have a designated seat next to Niuserre.
The first few matches passed quickly, and the three members of SG1 passed time by alternating between pleasant conversation and actually paying attention to the matches.
When Teal'c stepped into the arena and faced off against his first opponent, Jack smiled.
The fight, such as it was, didn't last long. Not only had Teal'c towered over the obviously much younger Jaffa, but from the first swing of the staff it became obvious that he was much better trained.
"Bra'tac would've loved to see this one."
Daniel laughed beside him. "He'd probably say Teal'c is wasting his time."
"Teal'c is wasting his time," Sam said. "But he's having fun."
Jack shook his head. "Yeah, I don't think Bra'tac believes in fun."
When the other Jaffa landed hard on his back in the dirt and Teal'c lifted his arms in victory, a loud cheer went up from the crowd. Jack and Sam jumped to their feet and threw their arms in the air, too, and Daniel laughed again.
"The wave," he said. "You're doing the wave at a Jaffa tournament."
Jack shrugged as he and Sam sat back down. "Hey, somebody's gotta do it."
"Samantha!"
All three of them snapped around at the sound of Dashu's shout, and saw her running up the stairs toward them. Jack and Daniel stood and stepped out from the bench as she got closer to them.
"Dashu," Daniel said. "I thought your seat was on the other..."
"Oh, I have no time for the trivial games of my husband," she said excitedly. She pushed past both Jack and Daniel without another word and sat on the bench next to Sam.
"Samantha, an amazing thing has happened. The Oracle has left the temple and is giving audience in the village house."
Jack knew what the village house was; the largish stone structure stood just down the street from Niuserre's house and it served as a combination recreation center and government building. He wasn't so sure what an Oracle was, though.
"Oracle?" Sam asked. "What Oracle?"
"She who speaks to the wind and can give you the answers you seek."
Jack looked over at Daniel, and they shared a smile. "The fortune teller's set up shop," Jack whispered.
Daniel nodded. "Sounds like it."
Jack noticed that Sam was looking to him for direction, and he waved at her.
"It'll be at least an hour before Teal'c's up again," he said. "I don't see any harm in you running down to the fortune teller and getting your palm read."
Sam smiled at him, nodded at Dashu, and stood. "Sure, Dashu. That sounds great. At the village house you said?"
The two women walked past and down the stairs, and Jack and Daniel settled back in their seats.
"So," Jack said, "how common is that sort of thing?"
"What, people calling themselves oracles?" Daniel asked. "There's been some version or other of fortune teller in just about every culture known on Earth."
"I wonder what answers Great Swammi the Magnifico is going to have for Carter."
"Young one! Protector!"
Jack leaned closer to Daniel and lowered his voice. "Does he call us that for a reason, or does he just not know our names?"
Daniel elbowed him in the ribs again as a breathless and visibly excited Niuserre drew to a stop at their side.
"A truly amazing thing has happened!" he began.
Jack cut him off with a wave of his hand. "If you're here to tell us about the Oracle coming out of the temple, we've known for half an hour. Not interested."
Niuserre shook his head and lowered his eyebrows. "The Oracle has left the temple?" he asked. "I was not informed of this. Where has she gone?"
"The village house," Daniel answered. "She's holding audience with the villagers."
"Oh, that is not... but that is not for you to be bothered with. No, I have come to tell you that the pyramid has been opened!"
Daniel stood up immediately. "The black pyramid?" he asked. "The one in front of the temple?"
"Yes, yes," Niuserre answered, nodding his head frantically. "The secrets of our originators, the stories that the divine Nephthys herself kept hidden away out of her deep and unending love for the young Prince Anubis. The questions that you have asked that I have been unable to answer."
Jack hadn't thought it was possible for Daniel's eyes to get any larger than they were, but they were growing with every word that Niuserre said. He was chomping at the bit to get inside that pyramid, and Jack had a feeling that if he didn't get out of the way, he'd get shoved.
"Um..." He placed his hand lightly on Daniel's arm to hold him back.
"You must come," Niuserre said. "It is truly an amazing event. Only the Wer-Meu is allowed to enter the pyramid, and only on the day of Opet. That it has been opened for the villagers is astounding and unheard of. You do not wish to miss such a rare opportunity to read the rest of our history, do you?"
"No," Daniel answered quickly with a fierce shake of his head. "No, not at all. We're coming." He turned to face Jack. "Right, Jack? We're going? We can go?"
Jack couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at seeing the look in Daniel's eyes, the intense curiosity and desire for knowledge that burned so bright in him. And not just that, but he'd intentionally sought Jack's advice on whether or not he should go.
"Of course, Daniel," he answered. "Wouldn't miss it."
Jack stepped aside, and Daniel bolted past him. Niuserre and Daniel ran down the steps as quickly as they could, huddled together and no doubt discussing all the wondrous and amazing things they were about to learn.
For his part, Jack was just enjoying the fact that far from taking the opportunity to get away from him, and for the first time since they'd arrived on the planet, Daniel had actually asked Jack to go somewhere with him.
And was happy that he said yes.
"How often does the Oracle grant audiences?" Sam asked.
Dashu's excitement hadn't dimmed since they'd been standing in line, and if anything it had increased. "She has not left the temple in my lifetime," she said. "Nor in the memory of the elders. Until this day, I believed that she was nothing more than a legend, a story invented by the priests."
The half hour that they had been standing in line, waiting for their audiences, had passed quickly, and they found themselves at the head of the line at last. Sam looked back down the long line of people waiting to see the Oracle, and saw the same expressions on their faces that shone from Dashu's. It was obvious that the Oracle's presence was something they all took very seriously, and the confirmation of her existence was something that was bringing them all joy.
For Sam, the experience was dampened by her own suspicions of the Oracle's true nature, which were in turn based on her knowledge of the longevity that she, like the teacher Dashu had called Seshat, seemed to have.
The excited murmur that had been a constant within the crowd died down, and Sam turned to see why.
A Jaffa had appeared at the door to the village house, and he stood at attention. It was obvious that he'd come out to make an announcement, and the villagers were going to hang on his every word.
"The Oracle grows tired," he said, once the assembled crowd had silenced itself. "She bade me wish you all well and bestow her blessing upon you. She will grant one final audience for the day, and then she will return to the temple."
Sam saw the way Dashu bit her lip in excitement, and she smiled.
"Samantha Carter."
Sam turned toward the Jaffa, shocked at having heard him say her name.
"The Oracle has requested that her last audience be with you.".
Teal'c's first two matches had gone as well as he'd expected, and he'd defeated his opponents easily. He only had one more Jaffa to face before he'd earned his way into the final fight, and he was confident that he would be advancing.
As he milled around the the preparation area beneath the stands of the arena, he saw his next opponent standing in a group of several more Jaffa. All of them were talking excitedly, but too softly for Teal'c to hear what they said. He started toward them, intending to wish his opponent luck in their upcoming match.
Before he reached them, though, they all turned and left the preparation area together.
Teal'c stopped where he was and turned around in confusion. No one else seemed to have noticed the sudden departure of almost half of the participant in the Tournament. At the very least, none of them were reacting to it. He saw Saq'ar a few feet away and walked toward him.
"Saq'ar?" he said as he got closer to him. "Has something gone awry? Several of the Jaffa have left the arena."
Saq'ar smiled at him tiredly. "It is no matter for concern," he answered. "From time to time, the Wer-Meu calls small numbers of Jaffa into his service. It is a small inconvenience. Nothing more."
Teal'c tilted his head and looked back at Saq'ar with disappointment. "My next opponent was among those who have left," he said.
Saq'ar clapped him on the arm. "Then why do you worry, my friend?" he asked. "You have advanced into the final fight. I hope that you are prepared for what I will do."
"The entrance is here," Niuserre said. "Just here. It is hidden from view, but it is simple enough to operate."
He pressed on one of the small glyphs that were carved into the surface of the pyramid, and a panel slid aside, revealing a wide corridor inside, lit with torches that already burned brightly.
"The pyramid is offering to you all that it holds, all of its secrets and stories. All it asks in return is that you take nothing with you when you enter." As he spoke, he motioned to the large stone bowl near the door, obviously indicating that they should leave their sidearms there.
Daniel looked to Jack for confirmation again, and Jack nodded. Then Daniel smiled and turned back to Niuserre.
"You're coming with us?"
"Regretfully, no," the priest answered, and he did sound sad about that. "I must return to the village house, to escort the Oracle back to the temple, and then I must attend to the daily offerings. But I have every faith that what you will find inside will answer every question you may still have about the goddess."
Niuserre smiled at them both once more, then nodded his head briefly and walked away.
Daniel pulled his gun out of its holster, pulled out the clip, and put both in the bowl Niuserre had indicated. Jack did the same, but a bit more slowly, and Daniel was almost bouncing up and down in restrained excitement by the time he reached toward the bowl himself.
"I don't know about his, Daniel," he said. "I know we've been walking around with minimal weapons, but completely unarmed?"
"We've been here for six days, Jack. We've eaten their food, drank their wine, and slept in their beds. And you don't trust them yet?"
Jack slowly pulled his hand back, leaving his unloaded gun in the bowl.
"All right," Jack said with a sigh. "What's the worst that could happen, anyway?"
She shouldn't have been surprised to see Seshat standing on the altar, but she was.
"You?"
Seshat nodded deeply and slowly.
"You're the Oracle?"
"I am," the woman answered, her voice even and her tones measured. "I am also High Priestess and advisor to Nephthys."
Sam stepped forward, surprised that there were no Jaffa in the room guarding her.
"No, I don't think you are," she said. "You're not an advisor to Nephthys. And you're sure not human, because that's not even possible. You're at least two hundred and fifty years old, but I'm willing to bet you're even older than that. A lot older."
She'd reached the bottom of the stairs to the raised platform that Seshat stood on, and she stared up at her in open defiance. Now that she was so close to her, the naquadah in her blood was confirming her suspicions.
"I think you are Nephthys," she accused.
Seshat shook her head slowly. "I am not."
"Then why have you been following us?" Sam demanded. "What's with the staring at us, and this whole Oracle thing? Why doesn't anyone remember a time when you didn't exist?"
"I will tell you all that you ask, but you must listen. There is a threat on Iunu, a threat to your friends. But in order to save them, you must trust me."
Sam shook her head vehemently. "I'm not going to trust you!" she said. "I'm going to go find my friends and tell them what you are, though."
Sam turned on her heel and stormed toward the door, preparing herself for the resistance she was sure to meet on her way out.
"Samantha Carter, host to Jolinar of Malkshur; daughter of Jacob Carter, host to Selmak - hear me."
Sam stopped in her tracks and turned around slowly.
"I am not Nephthys," Seshat repeated. "I am Tok'ra." Her eyes flashed gold, and her voice reverberated through the entire room when she spoke again.
"My name is Ma'at."
He'd wasted far too much time walking around the preparation area, stretching and trying to keep his muscles warm. He'd be going into his final fight against Saq'ar with far less power and strength than he would have had he been able to fight his last opponent rather than accept his forfeit.
As he made yet another round of the area he'd begun to think of as the locker room, he overheard three younger Jaffa speaking loudly near him. They were talking about Anubis, but according to what Saq'ar had said, they shouldn't have even known about him. Saq'ar said Nephthys had kept her son's name from appearing in any of the legends and stories on the temple walls, had gone so far as to forbid anyone to mention that she even had a son.
So how did these three know about him?
"The young prince you speak of," Teal'c began as he walked toward them. "Who is it?"
"Why, Prince Anubis, of course," one of them answered excitedly.
"Lord Seth is dead," another declared. "The promise will be kept."
Teal'c tilted his head. "How do you have knowledge of this promise?"
"It's no secret," the third young man said. "The prince's return has been foretold for centuries. We were not allowed to speak of it openly, no, but everyone has always known. And on the day Prince Anubis returns, the Lady Nephthys herself will come out from the temple to greet him."
Teal'c's level of concern on Iunu had been virtually non-existent from the very beginning, but suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck was standing up.
"And when is the prince to arrive?" he asked.
"We do not know," the first young Jaffa said. "These two think he'll walk through the Chappa'ai after the waters have receded. But I think he's already here."
"Teal'c!"
Teal'c turned when he heard the Jaffa who'd been summoning them to the arena call his name.
"You must hurry," the man said. "Saq'ar has already entered the arena. The championship match is about to begin."
"Are you learning anything new?" Jack asked as he looked up and down the corridor.
"Not yet, no," Daniel answered. He was running his fingers along the glyphs and moving his lips, reciting the story to himself. "So far, it's just what Saq'ar told us at dinner the other night."
Jack nodded. "So, what are the odds that we already know all of these vast and amazing secrets Niuserre was going on about?"
Daniel smiled. "At this point? I'm thinking that's actually pretty likely. Because we're almost to the end, and there hasn't been anything we didn't already know."
Jack sighed and looked back down the corridor again. "I don't want to alarm you or anything, but I'm really starting to regret leaving our weapons at the door."
Daniel's finger stopped where it was and he looked at Jack over his shoulder. "Why?"
"I don't know," Jack answered with a shake of his head. "Just a feeling, like there's something horrible waiting for us at the end of this hallway."
"Like what?" Daniel asked with a chuckle. He turned back to the wall again.
"Like... I don't know. One of those bull-man things."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that."
"Why not?"
Daniel glanced back at him and grinned.
"Because the Minotaur was Greek."
"Jolinar knew you," Sam said.
Ma'at nodded her head. "She was my friend for many lifetimes, yes."
"And you know my father?"
"I know Selmak very well," Ma'at said. "And I know of Jacob Carter. I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting him, but I have heard many good things about him."
"And what you said about there being a threat?" Sam stepped forward again. "What are you talking about? What's happening?"
"My words are not strong enough to explain it all," Ma'at answered. She held out her hand, and showed Sam a small black device that she recognized immediately.
She stepped back involuntarily. "No," she said. "You're not using that on me."
"Do you wish to save your friends, Samantha?"
"Of course," she answered immediately.
"You will not be able to save them unless you understand the events that have already been set in motion, and everything that has come before. And to do that, you will need to trust me."
Teal'c stepped into place across the field of battle from Saq'ar, lifted his staff and squared his shoulders. He heard the roar of the crowd around them, but he shut it out of his mind. He focused only on Saq'ar. He looked into the Jaffa's eyes, needing to read them, to judge his opponent's state of readiness and confidence. It was far easier to exploit an opponent's weaknesses if he could see them in his eyes.
But Saq'ar's eyes held no hint of weakness. In fact, they held nothing at all that Teal'c expected to see there.
They held sadness and regret.
Teal'c dropped his staff to the ground as Saq'ar, unable to meet his eye any longer, dropped his head.
"Oh, this is new," Daniel said.
"What?" Jack stepped back to his side and looked over his shoulder even though he knew he didn't have a chance in hell of understanding what he was looking at.
"Nephthys didn't think Anubis would remember her," Daniel answered. "She thought that his love for her would lead him here, but that he'd be so corrupted by Seth that he wouldn't do it intentionally."
Jack's eyes widened. "Well, that's kinda crazy."
Daniel nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it is. But I'm noticing that the tone of these writings has been changing as we've moved down," he said. "It's almost like it was written by someone who was actually..."
"Actually what?" Jack asked.
Daniel swallowed hard and turned to face him.
"Going insane while they wrote it."
Sam's eyes shot open and she couldn't stop the horrified scream that passed her lips.
"No!"
She pushed herself up from the floor, heedless of the memory device still inserted above her ear, and ran out the door.
Teal'c looked away from Saq'ar and up into the stands frantically.
He knew exactly where his team had been seated. He'd seen them standing and cheering for him during and after his first match. He didn't remember them doing it again during the others, and when he saw the three empty seats they had occupied, he knew why that was.
He threw a glare across the arena at Saq'ar, and then he turned and ran.
They'd reached the room at the center of the pyramid, and Daniel was continuing to read the glyphs that covered the walls. Suddenly, he huffed in frustration and threw his arms up.
"It doesn't make any sense!"
Jack shrugged. "Well, if it's the ramblings of a crazy person..."
"It stops in the middle of a word!" Daniel said. "It's just... this whole thing was a waste of time. We've probably missed all of Teal'c's matches, even the last one. And all we learned is that the person who wrote this wasn't entirely stable."
They both heard the strange scraping sound behind them, and they turned toward it in unison.
"Major Carter!"
She didn't slow down when she heard Teal'c call her name, because she knew that he'd have no trouble catching up to her.
"Daniel Jackson and O'Neill are missing!"
"The pyramid!" she called back to him. She couldn't get the images out of her mind, what she'd seen, what she'd heard, what she'd felt. She didn't know how much of it was history and how much of it was future, but she knew they didn't have much time.
"They're in the pyramid!"
She forced herself to run faster when she saw the opened panel in the side. She saw both of their weapons laying in a large stone bowl to one side of the opening, and she recognized them, but she paid them no more attention than that.
She and Teal'c tore down the wide, torch-lit corridor, running deeper and deeper into the pyramid and forcing themselves to run faster with every step. Teal'c reached the large room at the end of the tunnel first, and he stopped just inside of it. Sam skidded to a stop beside him, and her heart leaped into her throat.
Daniel and the colonel weren't there.
And there was blood on the floor.
Chapter Six
The room was completely empty, just four stone walls, the floor, and a high ceiling, but they felt the need to search it before they left the pyramid.
The blood on the floor spoke loudly of both Daniel and Jack having been there at one time, and having left under circumstances beyond their control. It also made her mind keep flashing back to what she'd seen when Ma'at had attached the memory device to her. She didn't understand the technology completely, had thought it only allowed easy access to memories that already existed, but it was obvious that this one was different, because this one had somehow allowed her to see into the future.
She couldn't get it out of her mind's eye, the sight of Daniel and the colonel, both screaming, both covered in blood.
She shook her head and chased the vision away again.
"They're not here, Teal'c," she said. "But we've got to find them."
"Where do we begin our search?" he asked. "We have no knowledge of what has happened here."
"No, we don't," she admitted. "But I know who to ask."
They ran back to the village house almost as quickly as they'd run to the pyramid. The Jaffa stationed at the door stood aside without a word and they passed him without speaking. They burst into the room where Sam had first seen Ma'at, and continued to the dais.
"What the hell is going on?" Sam demanded. "And don't you dare talk to me in riddles or tell me that I have to be patient and trust you. The colonel and Daniel are gone, and you know where they are!"
A shadow pulled itself away from a corner at the back of dais. Teal'c was already moving to stand in front of her, with his arms up in a defensive position, before she realized that shadow was a person. As that person moved to stand next to Ma'at, Sam's heart jumped into her throat again.
"Martouf?"
Jack didn't understand exactly what was going on, but he knew it was bad.
One minute, he and Daniel were turning around to see what made the noise in the pyramid, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up on the dirt floor of some tunnel with his hands tied behind his back, looking directly at a very unconscious and apparently equally bound Daniel. A closer inspection of Daniel's face revealed a small trickle of blood running down from a cut above his right eye. A quick assessment of his own physical state led to the conclusion that he most likely had a similar wound located above his left ear. They'd both been hit in the head with something, obviously.
Having been knocked unconscious and tied up while in a pyramid on what had once been a Goa'uld controlled world could really only mean one thing, and Jack didn't have to look far to confirm the identity of their assailants. There were five Jaffa standing over them, looking down at them. Jack recognized them all. He didn't know any of their names, but he knew that these were Saq'ar's men.
"What the hell?" Jack asked, not really expecting an answer. "I thought you guys were on our side."
"Ah, protector! You have awakened!"
Jack jerked his head back and stared at Niuserre in hatred. "You son of a bitch," he said. "What the hell do you think you're playing at?"
"Oh, this is no game, protector," Niuserre said.
The priest moved closer to Daniel and knelt at his side. He reached down and ran his fingers through Daniel's hair again, and Jack pulled against the ropes around his wrists frantically.
"Don't you touch him!" he ordered. "Get your damn hands off!"
"You do take your responsibility seriously, protector. I can see now why it was you who was chosen for it. I will admit that when I first met you, I was jealous of your position in his life, but now that I have seen you with him, I understand that I could never compare to you." Jack's struggles were futile, and it was obvious they both knew it, because Niuserre looked down at Daniel again and paid him no more mind. "He is as beautiful as I imagined he would be."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jack demanded. "Get the hell away from him!"
"I will not harm him, protector," Niuserre said. "I have been waiting for this day from the moment of my birth. He is as safe with me as he has ever been with you."
"Yeah, I doubt that," Jack spat back. "Because I'm not the one who busted his head open!"
"Yes, that was an unfortunate necessity," Niuserre said. "But how else was I to get you to this place, to meet your destiny?"
Daniel moaned, and his eyelids fluttered. Jack turned his full attention to him.
Niuserre was gently sweeping Daniel's hair away from his face, muttering to himself about how beautiful he was and how perfect it was, and all Jack could think was how beautiful and perfect Niuserre's death would be.
Daniel's eyes opened briefly, but closed again almost immediately.
"Daniel," Jack said softly. "Open your eyes, Daniel."
"Jack?" Daniel's eyes blinked rapidly, and Jack could tell that he was fighting to focus them. "What happened?"
"We've got a bit of a situation here," Jack said.
Daniel's eyes shot open fully, and he locked his gaze on Jack. He could tell by the way Daniel's shoulder stiffened that he'd figured at least part of that "situation" out.
"It's Niuserre again," Jack said. "And five friendly Jaffa."
Daniel sighed and closed his eyes again, but he didn't speak.
"It is wonderful to see that you have awakened as well, young one," Niuserre said.
He stood, and Jack could see the way Daniel's body relaxed the second the man's hand was off of him.
"Your future, and your past, await you both," the priest said.
Jack saw him motion to the Jaffa, and he felt himself being lifted up off the floor by two of the Jaffa. He saw two more lifting Daniel the same way. Once they were mostly steady on their feet, they were led down the tunnel, with Niuserre in front of them and the remaining Jaffa following behind.
They hadn't gone very far before Niuserre was pushing open a set of doors and he and Daniel were being half-carried/half-dragged through them. They were moved to the center of what had to be the largest room Jack had ever seen, ornately decorated with gold and jewels. As gaudy and obnoxious as the decorating was, Jack could only assume that it was some sort of Goa'uld throne room.
He and Daniel were forced onto their knees in the center of the room, then the Jaffa stepped back. Niuserre rushed past them and toward a door at the back of the dais in front of them.
Jack stayed as upright as possible, but Daniel sank back and sat on his heels.
"How you doing, Daniel?" Jack asked.
"Got a headache," Daniel answered. "Really don't like Niuserre anymore."
"That's okay," Jack returned. "I never liked him."
Niuserre walked back through the door he'd disappeared behind, but he wasn't alone. An ancient-looking woman followed behind him slowly, draped in white robes and covered in gold and jewels. Her body and face gave the appearance of a fragility that her steady steps didn't support, her wrinkled face and long grey hair spoke to an age that her eyes didn't seem to share.
She walked down the steps and toward them, not stopping until she stood directly in front of Daniel. She leaned forward, reached down, and placed her hand against the side of his face. Daniel jerked away instantly.
Jack wasn't really surprised when her eyes started glowing. Honestly, with the day they were having, he doubted that anything she could do or say would be able to surprise him.
"Our beloved son. Long have we awaited the day when we would lay our eyes on you once more."
Okay, so that surprised him.
"Nephthys has taken Daniel and Colonel O'Neill," Martouf said.
"That's impossible," Sam protested. "She's not here anymore. Everyone we've talked to has said that she's..."
"She's been in seclusion for the past several hundred years," Martouf interrupted. "But she is here, and she has been all along."
"You knew of this threat?" Teal'c demanded. "Yet you did not inform us?"
Martouf shook his head. "I am sorry, Teal'c. I only arrived myself a few moments ago, but I did know about the situation. Ma'at contacted us the day after you arrived, to inform us that SG1 was on Iunu and that you had been cut off from Earth by the flooding. I came as quickly as I could, and I regret that I was not in time to help you protect the colonel and Daniel."
"If you told him," Sam said, spinning on Ma'at, "then you knew, too. And you didn't tell us, either. Don't say you never had the chance, because you did and you know you did. All those times that the colonel caught you staring at us, and every time he moved toward you, you ran off. If what I saw comes true, if she kills them..."
Ma'at shook her head in denial. "She will not kill them," she said. "On the contrary, I believe that she will do everything she can to protect them."
"For what reason would a Goa'uld protect two Tau'ri?" Teal'c asked. "Particularly two Tau'ri that we can safely assume her high priest has informed her were involved in the death of her husband?"
"She will not be upset with them for that," Ma'at said. "Again, on the contrary, she will be grateful to them. Seth stole her child from her and banished her from her home. She held nothing but contempt for him."
"That still doesn't explain what she wants with them!" Sam cried out. She spun toward Martouf frantically. "Why did she take them, if she's not angry?" she asked. "What is it she wants from them?"
Martouf placed a gentle hand against her arm. "We have been monitoring Nephthys for centuries," he began. "She was never considered a true threat, because she showed none of the signs of inherent evil that the other System Lords did. We allowed her to live here with her followers without interference, because she was good to them. We believed that we would be doing more harm than good if we assassinated her, and we did have other Goa'uld to contend with who were much bigger dangers to the galaxy than she."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"It will, Samantha," Martouf said. "I promise. But you need to understand that Nephthys is unlike any other Goa'uld you have yet encountered, and hopefully unlike any you will face in the future."
"Why, if she is not a threat, do you hope we see no more like her?" Teal'c asked.
Ma'at settled down on the top step of the dais and looked down at where Teal'c and Sam sat on the bottom. Martouf was sitting behind Sam, and one step up.
"Over the decades and centuries of her early banishment, Nephthys became incredibly fond of her host," she said. "And her host of her. They became friends."
"Impossible," Teal'c scoffed. "Goa'uld do not have friends."
"Nephthys did," Ma'at insisted. "Her whole life as a Goa'uld was spent opposing Seth, and Apophis, and Ra, and all of the other System Lords that wished to enslave the galaxy."
"But she brought Osiris back to life?" Sam asked.
"As a favor for her sister, Isis," Ma'at explained. "Yes. But Isis was no more like her husband than Nephthys was like Seth. They were both strong, competent leaders and loving mother figures to the people that worshiped them. They never wished to rule any more people than they did, and they took care of the followers they had."
"Her host was one of her handmaidens in her palace on Earth," Martouf interjected. "She and the girl grew fond of each other, Nephthys offered her immortality, and the girl accepted. As far as we are aware, she is the only Goa'uld host to have ever been blended voluntarily."
"What does this have to do with anything?" Sam demanded.
"When a Goa'uld remains in the same host for more than two or three centuries, changes start taking place," Ma'at said. "It becomes impossible for the symbiote to leave that host, even if they wish to. They become so blended that there is no chance of separating them, either mentally or physically. And as the effects of aging begin to wear on the host, the symbiote is similarly affected. Their blended mind becomes weak, unstable, incapable of separating fantasy from reality."
"You are saying that Nephthys is insane," Teal'c said.
"Yes," Martouf said. "That is exactly what we are saying."
"Okay, so she just took them because she's nuts?" Sam asked. She jumped to her feet and spun around in frustration. "Why couldn't you just tell us that in the first place?"
"No, Samantha," Ma'at answered. "She did not take them just because she is insane."
"Well then what?"
"She took them because she believes Daniel Jackson is her son."
"Lady, you're cracked."
"I'm not Anubis."
The smile on the Goa'uld's face didn't fade, and Jack wondered if she'd heard what either of them said or if she was just ignoring them.
"Soon, you will remember your true self," she said, and Jack decided that she was ignoring them. "I know that your father poisoned your mind and made you forget me, but soon, very soon, you will not pull away from the touch of your mother's hand."
"I'm not him," Daniel said again.
She ignored him again and turned toward Jack. "Our priest informs us that you have served us well, Apuat. That you have protected and cared for our son as we would have done had we been able. You have our gratitude, and your reward will be great."
Jack couldn't help the shudder that ran through him when he heard those words. He'd heard them before, and he didn't remember much being great about the reward he'd been given then.
"He's not Apuat," Daniel said. "And I'm not Anubis."
"I have watched you for many days," Nephthys went on. Her dedication to ignoring them was almost admirable. Or at least, it would have been, if she weren't completely off her rocker. "I have seen you in the temple, reading and speaking in the language of your fathers. I have watched you gaze at the sunrise and sunset over the desert sands, over the pyramid. I have seen you smile as you think of your true home in Egypt."
"I'm an Egyptologist," Daniel said. "Of course I can read and speak the language."
"And you both read and speak the words of your Goa'uld brethren."
"Yeah, that's my job."
Jack shot Daniel a sideways but concerned glance. He could only imagine how badly Daniel had to be freaking out inside at that moment, because he knew that he sure was and he wasn't the one being accused of being a Goa'uld, but he wasn't letting it show in his voice. If anything, the only thing his voice sounded was bored.
"It is your birthright. And you will reclaim it." Nephthys stepped away from them, and motioned to the Jaffa that surrounded them.
Before Jack had time to react, Daniel was being pulled away from him and to his feet, and two massive hands had clapped down on his shoulders, holding him in place on his knees.
"Daniel!" Jack cried out in a panic. "Put him back. God damn you, leave him alone!"
He knew it was pointless, but he fought against the hands and ropes that held him bound on the floor. He couldn't let them take Daniel out of that room, he couldn't let them be separated.
The Jaffa dragged a struggling Daniel along after their goddess, and when she stopped, so did they. They kept their hands on his arms, holding him in place, on his feet directly behind her.
When Nephthys turned around again, she was smiling.
"If you are to lead us, my beloved pet, you must join us."
"I'm not him," Daniel repeated. He was beginning to feel like a broken record, but he had to keep trying. He could only hope that one of these times, his words would get through to her and she would understand. "I'm not Anubis."
As Daniel had expected, Nephthys continued as though he hadn't spoken at all. "You must make the journey for yourself, my son, and return victorious, as Osiris did those many years ago."
Daniel froze.
"Um… what?" It wasn't the most eloquent thing he'd ever said, but it definitely got his point across. She couldn't possibly be talking about what he thought she was talking about, could she?
Nephthys inclined her head and smiled at him indulgently. "You must be led before the Court, you must be weighed, and you must be found worthy. Your uncle endured much during his journey, but he proved his worth. No one doubted his right to lead us upon his return."
Daniel closed his eyes. She was talking about what he thought she was. He ran through the stories in his head as quickly as he could; he had to find a loophole, and he had to find it now, or he was in serious trouble.
He spared a second to glance across the room at Jack, who was still struggling on his knees on the floor, surrounded by Jaffa. So far, they weren't making any move to hurt him, but Daniel knew that it was only because they believed him to be Apuat. No Jaffa would willingly put hands on a member of the Court, but Daniel had to wonder how much longer that would last. If Jack knew exactly what Nephthys was talking about, his "royalty" probably wouldn't protect him too much longer.
He could see the question in Jack's eyes, and Daniel knew exactly what was being asked of him.
'What's she talking about, Daniel? Tell me what she's saying so I can decide what to do about it.'
'Oh, this is not good, Jack. This is so not good. And I can't tell you what she means right now, because I need you here when she's gone.'
Jack didn't like that answer, but Daniel knew he'd accept it for the time being. There was absolutely no way that Daniel wanted Jack finding out what was about to happen while Nephthys was still in the room. The last thing he needed right then was for Jack to go and get himself killed trying to prevent something that couldn't possibly be stopped.
Nephthys was looking at him expectantly, obviously waiting for the joyous reaction she thought he should be having to her latest plan, but Daniel saw absolutely nothing to be joyous about. She wanted him to earn his place as the supreme god of the dead by becoming one of them. She wanted him to somehow lead himself to judgment… and he'd found his loophole.
"If I was Anubis, which I'm not, by the way, how exactly would you expect me to act as both guide and guided?" he asked.
Nephthys smiled again, another long-suffering motherly smile, and raised her hand. "Of course you cannot guide yourself through the gates," she answered, her voice making it clear that she thought he was being nothing more than silly. Then she did something that Daniel hadn't been expecting at all. She turned and gestured grandly at Jack, who looked on in absolute confusion. "Your brother shall guide you."
Daniel's eyes widened in shock. On one hand, he supposed this was a good development, because there was no one better to have at his side for what was coming. On the other hand, when Jack found out what Nephthys expected him to do, he was going to lose it.
"I leave you to contemplate your journey together," Nephthys announced. She reached out her hand and gently touched the side of Daniel's face. He pulled away from her again.
When Nephthys disappeared through the door behind the dais again, with Niuserre trailing along behind her like a love-struck puppy, the Jaffa untied their hands. Jack spun on his guards with his fists raised, but a soft, "Don't, Jack," from across the room stopped him.
The second the Jaffa walked out the door, Jack crossed the room quickly. Daniel hadn't moved since she'd touched him.
"So what is that all about?" Jack asked, obviously agitated by Daniel's response. "What the hell, Daniel?"
Daniel shrugged. "She's crazy."
"Yeah, got that."
"She thinks I'm Anubis."
"Got that, too," Jack said. "And she called me an asshat."
Daniel snorted out a half-hearted laugh. "Apuat," he said. "She called you Apuat."
"So what's an Apuat?"
"Well, depending on which version of the legend you're reading," Daniel said. "Apuat is either another name of Anubis..."
"Not that," Jack interjected. "Because she thinks you're him."
"Anubis' brother..."
"She called me that, didn't she?"
"Or Anubis' caretaker."
Jack's eyebrows shot up. "Caretaker as in...?"
"Nanny," Daniel answered with an ironic smile. "Babysitter."
"Oh."
Daniel looked Jack directly in the eye. "Now where would she get a crazy idea like that?"
Jack ignored the barb and returned to his original line of questioning. "So what is this journey I'm supposed to be leading you on?"
"She wants to weigh my heart," Daniel answered.
Jack scratched at the side of his nose absently. "Um... you're using it."
Daniel shook his head. "Not for much longer, if she gets what she wants from you."
"Okay, so what exactly does she want from me?" Jack demanded.
"She wants you to 'lead' me through the test that I have to pass to gain entrance to the underworld."
"Small problem with that plan," Jack said. "You're not dead."
"Yeah, there is that. But I don't think that's going to be a problem much longer."
Jack cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly. He obviously didn't like the sound of that any more than Daniel did. Daniel shrugged and sighed, then turned and looked Jack straight in the eye.
"She wants you to cut my heart out. Literally."
Part Four
Chapter Five
The morning of the Tournament dawned as bright and beautiful as every single one of the past five mornings had been.
The Tournament was held as a sort of a closing ceremony for the Akhet festival, and everyone in the village would be in attendance. Just that morning - as he had done every morning for the last four - Jack had gone and stood on the dune and was satisfied that the flood was receding fast enough that it would be gone in a few days. He hoped to take his team home within another four days.
An open-air arena had been constructed behind the temple since the beginning of the flood, and it was filled to almost overflowing with the villagers that had come to watch the Jaffa fight each other with their practice staffs. At the end of the day, the victor would be crowned and would hold a position of honor in the village until the next year, when a new champion would take his place.
Teal'c had been training hard for the past two days, and he was confident about his chances. Saq'ar was the current champion, and Jack thought Teal'c was severely underestimating the man's fighting prowess. But it was sure to be one hell of an entertaining match, provided that they both lasted long enough to meet each other in the final fight.
Jack was sitting on the end of one of the benches that had been hauled into the arena, with Daniel next to him and Sam next to Daniel. Dashu had told them that she had some last-minute business in the village and that she would be arriving later, and had told them not to bother saving her a seat. As the wife of the First Prime, and current Tournament champion, she would have a designated seat next to Niuserre.
The first few matches passed quickly, and the three members of SG1 passed time by alternating between pleasant conversation and actually paying attention to the matches.
When Teal'c stepped into the arena and faced off against his first opponent, Jack smiled.
The fight, such as it was, didn't last long. Not only had Teal'c towered over the obviously much younger Jaffa, but from the first swing of the staff it became obvious that he was much better trained.
"Bra'tac would've loved to see this one."
Daniel laughed beside him. "He'd probably say Teal'c is wasting his time."
"Teal'c is wasting his time," Sam said. "But he's having fun."
Jack shook his head. "Yeah, I don't think Bra'tac believes in fun."
When the other Jaffa landed hard on his back in the dirt and Teal'c lifted his arms in victory, a loud cheer went up from the crowd. Jack and Sam jumped to their feet and threw their arms in the air, too, and Daniel laughed again.
"The wave," he said. "You're doing the wave at a Jaffa tournament."
Jack shrugged as he and Sam sat back down. "Hey, somebody's gotta do it."
"Samantha!"
All three of them snapped around at the sound of Dashu's shout, and saw her running up the stairs toward them. Jack and Daniel stood and stepped out from the bench as she got closer to them.
"Dashu," Daniel said. "I thought your seat was on the other..."
"Oh, I have no time for the trivial games of my husband," she said excitedly. She pushed past both Jack and Daniel without another word and sat on the bench next to Sam.
"Samantha, an amazing thing has happened. The Oracle has left the temple and is giving audience in the village house."
Jack knew what the village house was; the largish stone structure stood just down the street from Niuserre's house and it served as a combination recreation center and government building. He wasn't so sure what an Oracle was, though.
"Oracle?" Sam asked. "What Oracle?"
"She who speaks to the wind and can give you the answers you seek."
Jack looked over at Daniel, and they shared a smile. "The fortune teller's set up shop," Jack whispered.
Daniel nodded. "Sounds like it."
Jack noticed that Sam was looking to him for direction, and he waved at her.
"It'll be at least an hour before Teal'c's up again," he said. "I don't see any harm in you running down to the fortune teller and getting your palm read."
Sam smiled at him, nodded at Dashu, and stood. "Sure, Dashu. That sounds great. At the village house you said?"
The two women walked past and down the stairs, and Jack and Daniel settled back in their seats.
"So," Jack said, "how common is that sort of thing?"
"What, people calling themselves oracles?" Daniel asked. "There's been some version or other of fortune teller in just about every culture known on Earth."
"I wonder what answers Great Swammi the Magnifico is going to have for Carter."
"Young one! Protector!"
Jack leaned closer to Daniel and lowered his voice. "Does he call us that for a reason, or does he just not know our names?"
Daniel elbowed him in the ribs again as a breathless and visibly excited Niuserre drew to a stop at their side.
"A truly amazing thing has happened!" he began.
Jack cut him off with a wave of his hand. "If you're here to tell us about the Oracle coming out of the temple, we've known for half an hour. Not interested."
Niuserre shook his head and lowered his eyebrows. "The Oracle has left the temple?" he asked. "I was not informed of this. Where has she gone?"
"The village house," Daniel answered. "She's holding audience with the villagers."
"Oh, that is not... but that is not for you to be bothered with. No, I have come to tell you that the pyramid has been opened!"
Daniel stood up immediately. "The black pyramid?" he asked. "The one in front of the temple?"
"Yes, yes," Niuserre answered, nodding his head frantically. "The secrets of our originators, the stories that the divine Nephthys herself kept hidden away out of her deep and unending love for the young Prince Anubis. The questions that you have asked that I have been unable to answer."
Jack hadn't thought it was possible for Daniel's eyes to get any larger than they were, but they were growing with every word that Niuserre said. He was chomping at the bit to get inside that pyramid, and Jack had a feeling that if he didn't get out of the way, he'd get shoved.
"Um..." He placed his hand lightly on Daniel's arm to hold him back.
"You must come," Niuserre said. "It is truly an amazing event. Only the Wer-Meu is allowed to enter the pyramid, and only on the day of Opet. That it has been opened for the villagers is astounding and unheard of. You do not wish to miss such a rare opportunity to read the rest of our history, do you?"
"No," Daniel answered quickly with a fierce shake of his head. "No, not at all. We're coming." He turned to face Jack. "Right, Jack? We're going? We can go?"
Jack couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at seeing the look in Daniel's eyes, the intense curiosity and desire for knowledge that burned so bright in him. And not just that, but he'd intentionally sought Jack's advice on whether or not he should go.
"Of course, Daniel," he answered. "Wouldn't miss it."
Jack stepped aside, and Daniel bolted past him. Niuserre and Daniel ran down the steps as quickly as they could, huddled together and no doubt discussing all the wondrous and amazing things they were about to learn.
For his part, Jack was just enjoying the fact that far from taking the opportunity to get away from him, and for the first time since they'd arrived on the planet, Daniel had actually asked Jack to go somewhere with him.
And was happy that he said yes.
"How often does the Oracle grant audiences?" Sam asked.
Dashu's excitement hadn't dimmed since they'd been standing in line, and if anything it had increased. "She has not left the temple in my lifetime," she said. "Nor in the memory of the elders. Until this day, I believed that she was nothing more than a legend, a story invented by the priests."
The half hour that they had been standing in line, waiting for their audiences, had passed quickly, and they found themselves at the head of the line at last. Sam looked back down the long line of people waiting to see the Oracle, and saw the same expressions on their faces that shone from Dashu's. It was obvious that the Oracle's presence was something they all took very seriously, and the confirmation of her existence was something that was bringing them all joy.
For Sam, the experience was dampened by her own suspicions of the Oracle's true nature, which were in turn based on her knowledge of the longevity that she, like the teacher Dashu had called Seshat, seemed to have.
The excited murmur that had been a constant within the crowd died down, and Sam turned to see why.
A Jaffa had appeared at the door to the village house, and he stood at attention. It was obvious that he'd come out to make an announcement, and the villagers were going to hang on his every word.
"The Oracle grows tired," he said, once the assembled crowd had silenced itself. "She bade me wish you all well and bestow her blessing upon you. She will grant one final audience for the day, and then she will return to the temple."
Sam saw the way Dashu bit her lip in excitement, and she smiled.
"Samantha Carter."
Sam turned toward the Jaffa, shocked at having heard him say her name.
"The Oracle has requested that her last audience be with you.".
Teal'c's first two matches had gone as well as he'd expected, and he'd defeated his opponents easily. He only had one more Jaffa to face before he'd earned his way into the final fight, and he was confident that he would be advancing.
As he milled around the the preparation area beneath the stands of the arena, he saw his next opponent standing in a group of several more Jaffa. All of them were talking excitedly, but too softly for Teal'c to hear what they said. He started toward them, intending to wish his opponent luck in their upcoming match.
Before he reached them, though, they all turned and left the preparation area together.
Teal'c stopped where he was and turned around in confusion. No one else seemed to have noticed the sudden departure of almost half of the participant in the Tournament. At the very least, none of them were reacting to it. He saw Saq'ar a few feet away and walked toward him.
"Saq'ar?" he said as he got closer to him. "Has something gone awry? Several of the Jaffa have left the arena."
Saq'ar smiled at him tiredly. "It is no matter for concern," he answered. "From time to time, the Wer-Meu calls small numbers of Jaffa into his service. It is a small inconvenience. Nothing more."
Teal'c tilted his head and looked back at Saq'ar with disappointment. "My next opponent was among those who have left," he said.
Saq'ar clapped him on the arm. "Then why do you worry, my friend?" he asked. "You have advanced into the final fight. I hope that you are prepared for what I will do."
"The entrance is here," Niuserre said. "Just here. It is hidden from view, but it is simple enough to operate."
He pressed on one of the small glyphs that were carved into the surface of the pyramid, and a panel slid aside, revealing a wide corridor inside, lit with torches that already burned brightly.
"The pyramid is offering to you all that it holds, all of its secrets and stories. All it asks in return is that you take nothing with you when you enter." As he spoke, he motioned to the large stone bowl near the door, obviously indicating that they should leave their sidearms there.
Daniel looked to Jack for confirmation again, and Jack nodded. Then Daniel smiled and turned back to Niuserre.
"You're coming with us?"
"Regretfully, no," the priest answered, and he did sound sad about that. "I must return to the village house, to escort the Oracle back to the temple, and then I must attend to the daily offerings. But I have every faith that what you will find inside will answer every question you may still have about the goddess."
Niuserre smiled at them both once more, then nodded his head briefly and walked away.
Daniel pulled his gun out of its holster, pulled out the clip, and put both in the bowl Niuserre had indicated. Jack did the same, but a bit more slowly, and Daniel was almost bouncing up and down in restrained excitement by the time he reached toward the bowl himself.
"I don't know about his, Daniel," he said. "I know we've been walking around with minimal weapons, but completely unarmed?"
"We've been here for six days, Jack. We've eaten their food, drank their wine, and slept in their beds. And you don't trust them yet?"
Jack slowly pulled his hand back, leaving his unloaded gun in the bowl.
"All right," Jack said with a sigh. "What's the worst that could happen, anyway?"
She shouldn't have been surprised to see Seshat standing on the altar, but she was.
"You?"
Seshat nodded deeply and slowly.
"You're the Oracle?"
"I am," the woman answered, her voice even and her tones measured. "I am also High Priestess and advisor to Nephthys."
Sam stepped forward, surprised that there were no Jaffa in the room guarding her.
"No, I don't think you are," she said. "You're not an advisor to Nephthys. And you're sure not human, because that's not even possible. You're at least two hundred and fifty years old, but I'm willing to bet you're even older than that. A lot older."
She'd reached the bottom of the stairs to the raised platform that Seshat stood on, and she stared up at her in open defiance. Now that she was so close to her, the naquadah in her blood was confirming her suspicions.
"I think you are Nephthys," she accused.
Seshat shook her head slowly. "I am not."
"Then why have you been following us?" Sam demanded. "What's with the staring at us, and this whole Oracle thing? Why doesn't anyone remember a time when you didn't exist?"
"I will tell you all that you ask, but you must listen. There is a threat on Iunu, a threat to your friends. But in order to save them, you must trust me."
Sam shook her head vehemently. "I'm not going to trust you!" she said. "I'm going to go find my friends and tell them what you are, though."
Sam turned on her heel and stormed toward the door, preparing herself for the resistance she was sure to meet on her way out.
"Samantha Carter, host to Jolinar of Malkshur; daughter of Jacob Carter, host to Selmak - hear me."
Sam stopped in her tracks and turned around slowly.
"I am not Nephthys," Seshat repeated. "I am Tok'ra." Her eyes flashed gold, and her voice reverberated through the entire room when she spoke again.
"My name is Ma'at."
He'd wasted far too much time walking around the preparation area, stretching and trying to keep his muscles warm. He'd be going into his final fight against Saq'ar with far less power and strength than he would have had he been able to fight his last opponent rather than accept his forfeit.
As he made yet another round of the area he'd begun to think of as the locker room, he overheard three younger Jaffa speaking loudly near him. They were talking about Anubis, but according to what Saq'ar had said, they shouldn't have even known about him. Saq'ar said Nephthys had kept her son's name from appearing in any of the legends and stories on the temple walls, had gone so far as to forbid anyone to mention that she even had a son.
So how did these three know about him?
"The young prince you speak of," Teal'c began as he walked toward them. "Who is it?"
"Why, Prince Anubis, of course," one of them answered excitedly.
"Lord Seth is dead," another declared. "The promise will be kept."
Teal'c tilted his head. "How do you have knowledge of this promise?"
"It's no secret," the third young man said. "The prince's return has been foretold for centuries. We were not allowed to speak of it openly, no, but everyone has always known. And on the day Prince Anubis returns, the Lady Nephthys herself will come out from the temple to greet him."
Teal'c's level of concern on Iunu had been virtually non-existent from the very beginning, but suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck was standing up.
"And when is the prince to arrive?" he asked.
"We do not know," the first young Jaffa said. "These two think he'll walk through the Chappa'ai after the waters have receded. But I think he's already here."
"Teal'c!"
Teal'c turned when he heard the Jaffa who'd been summoning them to the arena call his name.
"You must hurry," the man said. "Saq'ar has already entered the arena. The championship match is about to begin."
"Are you learning anything new?" Jack asked as he looked up and down the corridor.
"Not yet, no," Daniel answered. He was running his fingers along the glyphs and moving his lips, reciting the story to himself. "So far, it's just what Saq'ar told us at dinner the other night."
Jack nodded. "So, what are the odds that we already know all of these vast and amazing secrets Niuserre was going on about?"
Daniel smiled. "At this point? I'm thinking that's actually pretty likely. Because we're almost to the end, and there hasn't been anything we didn't already know."
Jack sighed and looked back down the corridor again. "I don't want to alarm you or anything, but I'm really starting to regret leaving our weapons at the door."
Daniel's finger stopped where it was and he looked at Jack over his shoulder. "Why?"
"I don't know," Jack answered with a shake of his head. "Just a feeling, like there's something horrible waiting for us at the end of this hallway."
"Like what?" Daniel asked with a chuckle. He turned back to the wall again.
"Like... I don't know. One of those bull-man things."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that."
"Why not?"
Daniel glanced back at him and grinned.
"Because the Minotaur was Greek."
"Jolinar knew you," Sam said.
Ma'at nodded her head. "She was my friend for many lifetimes, yes."
"And you know my father?"
"I know Selmak very well," Ma'at said. "And I know of Jacob Carter. I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting him, but I have heard many good things about him."
"And what you said about there being a threat?" Sam stepped forward again. "What are you talking about? What's happening?"
"My words are not strong enough to explain it all," Ma'at answered. She held out her hand, and showed Sam a small black device that she recognized immediately.
She stepped back involuntarily. "No," she said. "You're not using that on me."
"Do you wish to save your friends, Samantha?"
"Of course," she answered immediately.
"You will not be able to save them unless you understand the events that have already been set in motion, and everything that has come before. And to do that, you will need to trust me."
Teal'c stepped into place across the field of battle from Saq'ar, lifted his staff and squared his shoulders. He heard the roar of the crowd around them, but he shut it out of his mind. He focused only on Saq'ar. He looked into the Jaffa's eyes, needing to read them, to judge his opponent's state of readiness and confidence. It was far easier to exploit an opponent's weaknesses if he could see them in his eyes.
But Saq'ar's eyes held no hint of weakness. In fact, they held nothing at all that Teal'c expected to see there.
They held sadness and regret.
Teal'c dropped his staff to the ground as Saq'ar, unable to meet his eye any longer, dropped his head.
"Oh, this is new," Daniel said.
"What?" Jack stepped back to his side and looked over his shoulder even though he knew he didn't have a chance in hell of understanding what he was looking at.
"Nephthys didn't think Anubis would remember her," Daniel answered. "She thought that his love for her would lead him here, but that he'd be so corrupted by Seth that he wouldn't do it intentionally."
Jack's eyes widened. "Well, that's kinda crazy."
Daniel nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it is. But I'm noticing that the tone of these writings has been changing as we've moved down," he said. "It's almost like it was written by someone who was actually..."
"Actually what?" Jack asked.
Daniel swallowed hard and turned to face him.
"Going insane while they wrote it."
Sam's eyes shot open and she couldn't stop the horrified scream that passed her lips.
"No!"
She pushed herself up from the floor, heedless of the memory device still inserted above her ear, and ran out the door.
Teal'c looked away from Saq'ar and up into the stands frantically.
He knew exactly where his team had been seated. He'd seen them standing and cheering for him during and after his first match. He didn't remember them doing it again during the others, and when he saw the three empty seats they had occupied, he knew why that was.
He threw a glare across the arena at Saq'ar, and then he turned and ran.
They'd reached the room at the center of the pyramid, and Daniel was continuing to read the glyphs that covered the walls. Suddenly, he huffed in frustration and threw his arms up.
"It doesn't make any sense!"
Jack shrugged. "Well, if it's the ramblings of a crazy person..."
"It stops in the middle of a word!" Daniel said. "It's just... this whole thing was a waste of time. We've probably missed all of Teal'c's matches, even the last one. And all we learned is that the person who wrote this wasn't entirely stable."
They both heard the strange scraping sound behind them, and they turned toward it in unison.
"Major Carter!"
She didn't slow down when she heard Teal'c call her name, because she knew that he'd have no trouble catching up to her.
"Daniel Jackson and O'Neill are missing!"
"The pyramid!" she called back to him. She couldn't get the images out of her mind, what she'd seen, what she'd heard, what she'd felt. She didn't know how much of it was history and how much of it was future, but she knew they didn't have much time.
"They're in the pyramid!"
She forced herself to run faster when she saw the opened panel in the side. She saw both of their weapons laying in a large stone bowl to one side of the opening, and she recognized them, but she paid them no more attention than that.
She and Teal'c tore down the wide, torch-lit corridor, running deeper and deeper into the pyramid and forcing themselves to run faster with every step. Teal'c reached the large room at the end of the tunnel first, and he stopped just inside of it. Sam skidded to a stop beside him, and her heart leaped into her throat.
Daniel and the colonel weren't there.
And there was blood on the floor.
Chapter Six
The room was completely empty, just four stone walls, the floor, and a high ceiling, but they felt the need to search it before they left the pyramid.
The blood on the floor spoke loudly of both Daniel and Jack having been there at one time, and having left under circumstances beyond their control. It also made her mind keep flashing back to what she'd seen when Ma'at had attached the memory device to her. She didn't understand the technology completely, had thought it only allowed easy access to memories that already existed, but it was obvious that this one was different, because this one had somehow allowed her to see into the future.
She couldn't get it out of her mind's eye, the sight of Daniel and the colonel, both screaming, both covered in blood.
She shook her head and chased the vision away again.
"They're not here, Teal'c," she said. "But we've got to find them."
"Where do we begin our search?" he asked. "We have no knowledge of what has happened here."
"No, we don't," she admitted. "But I know who to ask."
They ran back to the village house almost as quickly as they'd run to the pyramid. The Jaffa stationed at the door stood aside without a word and they passed him without speaking. They burst into the room where Sam had first seen Ma'at, and continued to the dais.
"What the hell is going on?" Sam demanded. "And don't you dare talk to me in riddles or tell me that I have to be patient and trust you. The colonel and Daniel are gone, and you know where they are!"
A shadow pulled itself away from a corner at the back of dais. Teal'c was already moving to stand in front of her, with his arms up in a defensive position, before she realized that shadow was a person. As that person moved to stand next to Ma'at, Sam's heart jumped into her throat again.
"Martouf?"
Jack didn't understand exactly what was going on, but he knew it was bad.
One minute, he and Daniel were turning around to see what made the noise in the pyramid, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up on the dirt floor of some tunnel with his hands tied behind his back, looking directly at a very unconscious and apparently equally bound Daniel. A closer inspection of Daniel's face revealed a small trickle of blood running down from a cut above his right eye. A quick assessment of his own physical state led to the conclusion that he most likely had a similar wound located above his left ear. They'd both been hit in the head with something, obviously.
Having been knocked unconscious and tied up while in a pyramid on what had once been a Goa'uld controlled world could really only mean one thing, and Jack didn't have to look far to confirm the identity of their assailants. There were five Jaffa standing over them, looking down at them. Jack recognized them all. He didn't know any of their names, but he knew that these were Saq'ar's men.
"What the hell?" Jack asked, not really expecting an answer. "I thought you guys were on our side."
"Ah, protector! You have awakened!"
Jack jerked his head back and stared at Niuserre in hatred. "You son of a bitch," he said. "What the hell do you think you're playing at?"
"Oh, this is no game, protector," Niuserre said.
The priest moved closer to Daniel and knelt at his side. He reached down and ran his fingers through Daniel's hair again, and Jack pulled against the ropes around his wrists frantically.
"Don't you touch him!" he ordered. "Get your damn hands off!"
"You do take your responsibility seriously, protector. I can see now why it was you who was chosen for it. I will admit that when I first met you, I was jealous of your position in his life, but now that I have seen you with him, I understand that I could never compare to you." Jack's struggles were futile, and it was obvious they both knew it, because Niuserre looked down at Daniel again and paid him no more mind. "He is as beautiful as I imagined he would be."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jack demanded. "Get the hell away from him!"
"I will not harm him, protector," Niuserre said. "I have been waiting for this day from the moment of my birth. He is as safe with me as he has ever been with you."
"Yeah, I doubt that," Jack spat back. "Because I'm not the one who busted his head open!"
"Yes, that was an unfortunate necessity," Niuserre said. "But how else was I to get you to this place, to meet your destiny?"
Daniel moaned, and his eyelids fluttered. Jack turned his full attention to him.
Niuserre was gently sweeping Daniel's hair away from his face, muttering to himself about how beautiful he was and how perfect it was, and all Jack could think was how beautiful and perfect Niuserre's death would be.
Daniel's eyes opened briefly, but closed again almost immediately.
"Daniel," Jack said softly. "Open your eyes, Daniel."
"Jack?" Daniel's eyes blinked rapidly, and Jack could tell that he was fighting to focus them. "What happened?"
"We've got a bit of a situation here," Jack said.
Daniel's eyes shot open fully, and he locked his gaze on Jack. He could tell by the way Daniel's shoulder stiffened that he'd figured at least part of that "situation" out.
"It's Niuserre again," Jack said. "And five friendly Jaffa."
Daniel sighed and closed his eyes again, but he didn't speak.
"It is wonderful to see that you have awakened as well, young one," Niuserre said.
He stood, and Jack could see the way Daniel's body relaxed the second the man's hand was off of him.
"Your future, and your past, await you both," the priest said.
Jack saw him motion to the Jaffa, and he felt himself being lifted up off the floor by two of the Jaffa. He saw two more lifting Daniel the same way. Once they were mostly steady on their feet, they were led down the tunnel, with Niuserre in front of them and the remaining Jaffa following behind.
They hadn't gone very far before Niuserre was pushing open a set of doors and he and Daniel were being half-carried/half-dragged through them. They were moved to the center of what had to be the largest room Jack had ever seen, ornately decorated with gold and jewels. As gaudy and obnoxious as the decorating was, Jack could only assume that it was some sort of Goa'uld throne room.
He and Daniel were forced onto their knees in the center of the room, then the Jaffa stepped back. Niuserre rushed past them and toward a door at the back of the dais in front of them.
Jack stayed as upright as possible, but Daniel sank back and sat on his heels.
"How you doing, Daniel?" Jack asked.
"Got a headache," Daniel answered. "Really don't like Niuserre anymore."
"That's okay," Jack returned. "I never liked him."
Niuserre walked back through the door he'd disappeared behind, but he wasn't alone. An ancient-looking woman followed behind him slowly, draped in white robes and covered in gold and jewels. Her body and face gave the appearance of a fragility that her steady steps didn't support, her wrinkled face and long grey hair spoke to an age that her eyes didn't seem to share.
She walked down the steps and toward them, not stopping until she stood directly in front of Daniel. She leaned forward, reached down, and placed her hand against the side of his face. Daniel jerked away instantly.
Jack wasn't really surprised when her eyes started glowing. Honestly, with the day they were having, he doubted that anything she could do or say would be able to surprise him.
"Our beloved son. Long have we awaited the day when we would lay our eyes on you once more."
Okay, so that surprised him.
"Nephthys has taken Daniel and Colonel O'Neill," Martouf said.
"That's impossible," Sam protested. "She's not here anymore. Everyone we've talked to has said that she's..."
"She's been in seclusion for the past several hundred years," Martouf interrupted. "But she is here, and she has been all along."
"You knew of this threat?" Teal'c demanded. "Yet you did not inform us?"
Martouf shook his head. "I am sorry, Teal'c. I only arrived myself a few moments ago, but I did know about the situation. Ma'at contacted us the day after you arrived, to inform us that SG1 was on Iunu and that you had been cut off from Earth by the flooding. I came as quickly as I could, and I regret that I was not in time to help you protect the colonel and Daniel."
"If you told him," Sam said, spinning on Ma'at, "then you knew, too. And you didn't tell us, either. Don't say you never had the chance, because you did and you know you did. All those times that the colonel caught you staring at us, and every time he moved toward you, you ran off. If what I saw comes true, if she kills them..."
Ma'at shook her head in denial. "She will not kill them," she said. "On the contrary, I believe that she will do everything she can to protect them."
"For what reason would a Goa'uld protect two Tau'ri?" Teal'c asked. "Particularly two Tau'ri that we can safely assume her high priest has informed her were involved in the death of her husband?"
"She will not be upset with them for that," Ma'at said. "Again, on the contrary, she will be grateful to them. Seth stole her child from her and banished her from her home. She held nothing but contempt for him."
"That still doesn't explain what she wants with them!" Sam cried out. She spun toward Martouf frantically. "Why did she take them, if she's not angry?" she asked. "What is it she wants from them?"
Martouf placed a gentle hand against her arm. "We have been monitoring Nephthys for centuries," he began. "She was never considered a true threat, because she showed none of the signs of inherent evil that the other System Lords did. We allowed her to live here with her followers without interference, because she was good to them. We believed that we would be doing more harm than good if we assassinated her, and we did have other Goa'uld to contend with who were much bigger dangers to the galaxy than she."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"It will, Samantha," Martouf said. "I promise. But you need to understand that Nephthys is unlike any other Goa'uld you have yet encountered, and hopefully unlike any you will face in the future."
"Why, if she is not a threat, do you hope we see no more like her?" Teal'c asked.
Ma'at settled down on the top step of the dais and looked down at where Teal'c and Sam sat on the bottom. Martouf was sitting behind Sam, and one step up.
"Over the decades and centuries of her early banishment, Nephthys became incredibly fond of her host," she said. "And her host of her. They became friends."
"Impossible," Teal'c scoffed. "Goa'uld do not have friends."
"Nephthys did," Ma'at insisted. "Her whole life as a Goa'uld was spent opposing Seth, and Apophis, and Ra, and all of the other System Lords that wished to enslave the galaxy."
"But she brought Osiris back to life?" Sam asked.
"As a favor for her sister, Isis," Ma'at explained. "Yes. But Isis was no more like her husband than Nephthys was like Seth. They were both strong, competent leaders and loving mother figures to the people that worshiped them. They never wished to rule any more people than they did, and they took care of the followers they had."
"Her host was one of her handmaidens in her palace on Earth," Martouf interjected. "She and the girl grew fond of each other, Nephthys offered her immortality, and the girl accepted. As far as we are aware, she is the only Goa'uld host to have ever been blended voluntarily."
"What does this have to do with anything?" Sam demanded.
"When a Goa'uld remains in the same host for more than two or three centuries, changes start taking place," Ma'at said. "It becomes impossible for the symbiote to leave that host, even if they wish to. They become so blended that there is no chance of separating them, either mentally or physically. And as the effects of aging begin to wear on the host, the symbiote is similarly affected. Their blended mind becomes weak, unstable, incapable of separating fantasy from reality."
"You are saying that Nephthys is insane," Teal'c said.
"Yes," Martouf said. "That is exactly what we are saying."
"Okay, so she just took them because she's nuts?" Sam asked. She jumped to her feet and spun around in frustration. "Why couldn't you just tell us that in the first place?"
"No, Samantha," Ma'at answered. "She did not take them just because she is insane."
"Well then what?"
"She took them because she believes Daniel Jackson is her son."
"Lady, you're cracked."
"I'm not Anubis."
The smile on the Goa'uld's face didn't fade, and Jack wondered if she'd heard what either of them said or if she was just ignoring them.
"Soon, you will remember your true self," she said, and Jack decided that she was ignoring them. "I know that your father poisoned your mind and made you forget me, but soon, very soon, you will not pull away from the touch of your mother's hand."
"I'm not him," Daniel said again.
She ignored him again and turned toward Jack. "Our priest informs us that you have served us well, Apuat. That you have protected and cared for our son as we would have done had we been able. You have our gratitude, and your reward will be great."
Jack couldn't help the shudder that ran through him when he heard those words. He'd heard them before, and he didn't remember much being great about the reward he'd been given then.
"He's not Apuat," Daniel said. "And I'm not Anubis."
"I have watched you for many days," Nephthys went on. Her dedication to ignoring them was almost admirable. Or at least, it would have been, if she weren't completely off her rocker. "I have seen you in the temple, reading and speaking in the language of your fathers. I have watched you gaze at the sunrise and sunset over the desert sands, over the pyramid. I have seen you smile as you think of your true home in Egypt."
"I'm an Egyptologist," Daniel said. "Of course I can read and speak the language."
"And you both read and speak the words of your Goa'uld brethren."
"Yeah, that's my job."
Jack shot Daniel a sideways but concerned glance. He could only imagine how badly Daniel had to be freaking out inside at that moment, because he knew that he sure was and he wasn't the one being accused of being a Goa'uld, but he wasn't letting it show in his voice. If anything, the only thing his voice sounded was bored.
"It is your birthright. And you will reclaim it." Nephthys stepped away from them, and motioned to the Jaffa that surrounded them.
Before Jack had time to react, Daniel was being pulled away from him and to his feet, and two massive hands had clapped down on his shoulders, holding him in place on his knees.
"Daniel!" Jack cried out in a panic. "Put him back. God damn you, leave him alone!"
He knew it was pointless, but he fought against the hands and ropes that held him bound on the floor. He couldn't let them take Daniel out of that room, he couldn't let them be separated.
The Jaffa dragged a struggling Daniel along after their goddess, and when she stopped, so did they. They kept their hands on his arms, holding him in place, on his feet directly behind her.
When Nephthys turned around again, she was smiling.
"If you are to lead us, my beloved pet, you must join us."
"I'm not him," Daniel repeated. He was beginning to feel like a broken record, but he had to keep trying. He could only hope that one of these times, his words would get through to her and she would understand. "I'm not Anubis."
As Daniel had expected, Nephthys continued as though he hadn't spoken at all. "You must make the journey for yourself, my son, and return victorious, as Osiris did those many years ago."
Daniel froze.
"Um… what?" It wasn't the most eloquent thing he'd ever said, but it definitely got his point across. She couldn't possibly be talking about what he thought she was talking about, could she?
Nephthys inclined her head and smiled at him indulgently. "You must be led before the Court, you must be weighed, and you must be found worthy. Your uncle endured much during his journey, but he proved his worth. No one doubted his right to lead us upon his return."
Daniel closed his eyes. She was talking about what he thought she was. He ran through the stories in his head as quickly as he could; he had to find a loophole, and he had to find it now, or he was in serious trouble.
He spared a second to glance across the room at Jack, who was still struggling on his knees on the floor, surrounded by Jaffa. So far, they weren't making any move to hurt him, but Daniel knew that it was only because they believed him to be Apuat. No Jaffa would willingly put hands on a member of the Court, but Daniel had to wonder how much longer that would last. If Jack knew exactly what Nephthys was talking about, his "royalty" probably wouldn't protect him too much longer.
He could see the question in Jack's eyes, and Daniel knew exactly what was being asked of him.
'What's she talking about, Daniel? Tell me what she's saying so I can decide what to do about it.'
'Oh, this is not good, Jack. This is so not good. And I can't tell you what she means right now, because I need you here when she's gone.'
Jack didn't like that answer, but Daniel knew he'd accept it for the time being. There was absolutely no way that Daniel wanted Jack finding out what was about to happen while Nephthys was still in the room. The last thing he needed right then was for Jack to go and get himself killed trying to prevent something that couldn't possibly be stopped.
Nephthys was looking at him expectantly, obviously waiting for the joyous reaction she thought he should be having to her latest plan, but Daniel saw absolutely nothing to be joyous about. She wanted him to earn his place as the supreme god of the dead by becoming one of them. She wanted him to somehow lead himself to judgment… and he'd found his loophole.
"If I was Anubis, which I'm not, by the way, how exactly would you expect me to act as both guide and guided?" he asked.
Nephthys smiled again, another long-suffering motherly smile, and raised her hand. "Of course you cannot guide yourself through the gates," she answered, her voice making it clear that she thought he was being nothing more than silly. Then she did something that Daniel hadn't been expecting at all. She turned and gestured grandly at Jack, who looked on in absolute confusion. "Your brother shall guide you."
Daniel's eyes widened in shock. On one hand, he supposed this was a good development, because there was no one better to have at his side for what was coming. On the other hand, when Jack found out what Nephthys expected him to do, he was going to lose it.
"I leave you to contemplate your journey together," Nephthys announced. She reached out her hand and gently touched the side of Daniel's face. He pulled away from her again.
When Nephthys disappeared through the door behind the dais again, with Niuserre trailing along behind her like a love-struck puppy, the Jaffa untied their hands. Jack spun on his guards with his fists raised, but a soft, "Don't, Jack," from across the room stopped him.
The second the Jaffa walked out the door, Jack crossed the room quickly. Daniel hadn't moved since she'd touched him.
"So what is that all about?" Jack asked, obviously agitated by Daniel's response. "What the hell, Daniel?"
Daniel shrugged. "She's crazy."
"Yeah, got that."
"She thinks I'm Anubis."
"Got that, too," Jack said. "And she called me an asshat."
Daniel snorted out a half-hearted laugh. "Apuat," he said. "She called you Apuat."
"So what's an Apuat?"
"Well, depending on which version of the legend you're reading," Daniel said. "Apuat is either another name of Anubis..."
"Not that," Jack interjected. "Because she thinks you're him."
"Anubis' brother..."
"She called me that, didn't she?"
"Or Anubis' caretaker."
Jack's eyebrows shot up. "Caretaker as in...?"
"Nanny," Daniel answered with an ironic smile. "Babysitter."
"Oh."
Daniel looked Jack directly in the eye. "Now where would she get a crazy idea like that?"
Jack ignored the barb and returned to his original line of questioning. "So what is this journey I'm supposed to be leading you on?"
"She wants to weigh my heart," Daniel answered.
Jack scratched at the side of his nose absently. "Um... you're using it."
Daniel shook his head. "Not for much longer, if she gets what she wants from you."
"Okay, so what exactly does she want from me?" Jack demanded.
"She wants you to 'lead' me through the test that I have to pass to gain entrance to the underworld."
"Small problem with that plan," Jack said. "You're not dead."
"Yeah, there is that. But I don't think that's going to be a problem much longer."
Jack cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly. He obviously didn't like the sound of that any more than Daniel did. Daniel shrugged and sighed, then turned and looked Jack straight in the eye.
"She wants you to cut my heart out. Literally."
Part Four