by Anne
Disclaimer: The characters of Daniel Jackson, Jack O’Neill, Sam Carter, Teal’c, General Hammond, Janet Frasier, Apophis and anybody else you recognise from the SGC do not belong to me. Neither does the concept of the Stargate, SGC, and the Goa’uld and any thing else related to the series Stargate SG1. They belong to Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Products.
The characters of Methos (a.k.a. Adam Pierson), Joe Dawson, Connor MacLeod and Duncan MacLeod belong to Panzer/Davis, Rysher/Gaumont Television. So do the concepts of Immortality, the Game and the Watchers.
Likewise the characters of Adam Newman, Megabyte Damon, General William Damon, Ami Jackson, Jade Weston, Kevin Wilson or any names or events linked to the Tomorrow People TV series do not belong to me either. They are the property of Roger Damon Price, Thames/Tetra and ITV Television.
“I don’t believe it,” said O’Neill. “Daniel would never do something like that.” He was staring in disbelief at the image that the security cameras had picked up as Daniel and Megabyte had entered the gate room.
Carter spoke up. “Colonel, I don’t think that is actually Daniel. I mean, it’s him but I don’t think he’s in control of his actions.”
“Are we talking mind control, Carter? But who? It’s not Goa’uld. Frasier ran the usual tests when we returned through the Stargate. She didn’t find any sign of anything out of the ordinary.”
The next comment came from Methos. “Think about it, Jack. Who have we met recently who hates telepaths and isn’t too fond of me either? It would explain Daniel’s behaviour too. Remember I told you the last thing I remembered hearing before I lost consciousness was him screaming. That was probably when it happened….”
“Ramiis.” O’Neill felt so stupid. It had been staring him in the face all this time and he hadn’t seen it. Hadn’t wanted to see it. He had known that Daniel had been acting totally out of character and still he hadn’t thought of the obvious. How was he going to explain this to Daniel if, when, he corrected, they managed to get out of this mess?
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” asked Damon. “My son is in the clutches of a lunatic who has a vendetta against Tomorrow People? I’m sorry but I’m more worried about his safety at the moment than that of your Doctor Jackson.”
“Look, I know you’re worried, Bill. I would be too if it were my son, but at the moment it looks as though Ramiis is more interested in using him as a hostage than actually killing him.” Hammond tried to sound reassuring, even though he didn’t feel it himself.
Teal’c interrupted the conversation. “General Hammond, it appears as though Ramiis wishes to speak with you.”
Daniel’s voice came through the Gate room intercom system, through to the control room. “Open the blast doors so that we can see each other,” he said. “I want to see who I am conversing with.”
At least it sounds as though the guy wants to make a deal, thought O’Neill. He tried not to think about what the deal would entail. He had a sneaking suspicion it would have something to do with either Methos or Adam or both.
“This is General Hammond. I presume I am speaking with Ramiis and not Doctor Jackson.”
Damon and Adam moved forward, closer to the big glass partition between the control room and the gate room. Now that the blast doors were open they had a good view of the gate room itself, and of Ramiis/Daniel and Megabyte. Adam could see how worried Damon looked when he saw his son. It was times like this that he was pleased that his own parents weren’t aware of their son’s abilities, but at the same time, watching Damon, he wondered again if he should have stayed in contact after what had happened between them.
Megabyte looked awful. They both noticed at once the bruises on the boy’s face and the dried blood around his mouth. His hands were bound behind him and he seemed quite unsteady on his feet. He noticed them watching him and gave them a shaky smile.
“Very observant, General. Doctor Jackson is, shall I say, not available at this point in time. He, and the boy, shall be returned to you unharmed if you comply with my request.”
“Yeah right,” interrupted O’Neill. “And what makes you think we believe you for a minute? We have absolutely no reason to trust you, none at all.”
Hammond glared at him. “Colonel O’Neill, please be quiet.” He turned to Ramiis. “Please excuse him, he is worried about your hostages, as we all are. Would it be possible to speak to Doctor Jackson?”
“No it would not.” Ramiis tightened his grip on Megabyte. “You may speak with the telepath. Then we will negotiate.”
Megabyte could see the worried looks on the faces on those in the control room, especially his father and Adam. I’m sorry Dad, he thought to himself. He knew this was his only chance to help Daniel, he had to take it, and worry about the consequences to himself later.
“The box,” he yelled. “You’ve got to destroy the box, it’s how he’s controlling…” He felt something hard hit the back of his head, and then …nothing.
Ramiis stared at the still figure on the floor in disgust. He had expected the boy to beg his friends to save him, or at least reassure them that he was relatively unharmed, not this.
Damon jumped to his feet as soon as he saw Ramiis hit Megabyte with his sword hilt. “If you’ve harmed my son…” he began.
Adam took him by the arm. “Sit down, General. You can’t do anything for him now. We’ll get Megabyte out of this, somehow.” He wished he felt as confident as he sounded. He wished his friend still had his powers, then at least he would be able to confirm that he was only unconscious.
“Okay, Ramiis. Let’s cut the small talk and get straight to the point. What do you want?”
“Why, General Hammond, I thought that was obvious. I want Methos, of course. We have unfinished business, which I wish to finish now. Remember Methos, there can be only one. I intend to be that one. Or maybe you intend to let children fight your battles for you again? Do you wish to add one more telepath to the list of those whom you failed to protect? I believe Tutankhamun was calling your name as he died.”
“That wasn’t my fault,” Methos replied, more to reassure himself than Ramiis. He still carried the guilt of the deaths of Tutankhamun and Neret, even all these thousands of years later. If he hadn’t left Egypt when he had, he might have been able to save them from Rameses Ak'Hara. Looking back he was sure that the boy king had told him to leave because he had suspected that another more powerful enemy waited in the wings to kill him. He remembered the look in their eyes as they had all said goodbye for the final time. They had known that he would not see them again, he had just not wanted to admit it to himself. Looking out for himself, as usual, he thought to himself. Sometimes he regretted all he had had to do over the years to ensure his survival. He wondered if it was all worth it.
His thoughts returned to the present as he looked at Megabyte lying on the ground in the gate room. Obviously Tomorrow People haven’t changed much over the years, he thought to himself. Still putting the welfare of others before their own. The boy must have known what Ramiis’ reaction would be when he spoke up.
This time would be different. There was no way he was going to be responsible for the deaths of another generation of Tomorrow People. “Ramiis, I accept your challenge…” he began.
Hammond interrupted him. “Sorry, son. I can’t allow this, not on my command. We will not trade one hostage for another. I’m sorry Bill, I know that’s your son down there, but I’m not about to trade one life for another. I don’t think for a minute that Ramiis would release Megabyte once he has Methos anyway.”
“General Hammond, this doesn’t fall under your jurisdiction. I know this is your base, but this is immortal business. There is no inference in The Game, mortal or otherwise. Methos could see he was wasting his time, there was no way he was going to be able to get past the armed guards either. Unless….
He moved deliberately closer to Adam. “I still need to get my sword,” he said to him. “You know we’re out of any other options don’t you? I know how your kind feel about violence, we just need to distract him…”
Adam nodded. He held out his hand to the immortal and closed his eyes.
Damon suddenly realised what was happening. “No, Adam!”
Adam and Methos disappeared in a flash of white light leaving a very surprised General Hammond and SG1.
“Okay,” said O’Neill looking accusatively at Damon. “They can teleport others as well as themselves. Anything else these kids can do that you forgot to mention?”
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