Part 9 Richie hadn't been lying when he'd told the others he wasn't sure what was going on in his head. Ever since Shu had tried to take over his body he'd had a weird second take on the world. At first Shu had tried to squash Richie's will and supplant the control of his physical form, but the Immortal had fought back. Blind panic had taken over as the alien had attached himself to his system and no matter how had he tried, he couldn't remember anything that had happened. When he had come to himself Shu, as an entity had been gone, which was the only plus Richie could see in the current situation. There was no battle going on inside him, there was just a strange dual knowledge. He knew what Shu had known, or at least part of it. He knew how to behave, what to say, how to use Goa'uld technology. In fact, Richie knew how to be Shu, he could even empathise with the way the alien had thought. His original persona overrode the desires of the Goa'uld, but Richie still knew what they were. He was almost sure there were gaps, things that had been lost in whatever had happened, but most of it was there. It was almost like stepping into another skin when he became Shu, when he let himself pretend to be the alien parasite. He let Goa'uld instincts rule his actions with his human awareness sitting in the background. It was strange, he had woken in what should have been a terrifying situation, and yet he hadn't panicked at all, in fact he had simply turned it to his own advantage. At first he had just let things happen, allowed himself to adjust to the new things, and then he had taken control. He had all but seduced Tefnut, and that was one of the things that really bothered him. It wasn't the fact that he had used her that was the problem, when death was the alternative certain actions were admissible, but what he had felt whilst doing it worried him. He really had desired her, even felt a strange sense of love, as if experiencing the echo of what Shu would have felt. Richie was more than a little confused, but as the party strode through the palace nothing showed on the outside. SG-1 were showing themselves to be very good actors, and nobody gave them more than a passing glance. That Shu was escorting prisoners on his own may have been strange, but people who wanted to live didn't question a Goa'uld, and they were left alone. Sneaking around back passages was not what a royal Goa'uld was prone to doing, and so Richie lead them through the main hallways. Eventually he had no choice but to take them into a part of the building where Tefnut might actually see them. Fate was yet again, against the party and as they entered one of the main antechambers Tefnut appeared with two Jaffa, one of them being Sef't. "Beloved, what are you doing?" the female Goa'uld asked, frowning at the now still party. Richie let a smile wander across his face and strode towards her as if nothing was wrong. "Planning, my darling," he said and gallantly kissed her hand. "I woke this morning with the desire to find you a host such as mine." He slipped a hand under her arm and steered her away from her guards. "I did not wish the Jaffa to hear of the plan," he told her conspiratorially, "you never know when one will be captured and tortured to gain information. This discovery is ours to share, and no one else's. This power shall be ours to do with as we wish." Tefnut looked over at the prisoners who were still doing a good impression of being beaten. "They are the key," Richie continued calmly, "the key to Earth. Our last strategy did not work, but maybe we were too hasty. What we need are puppets whose masters will not see the strings. The humans shall be our game pieces and they shall open their world for us. Never let it be said that the Lion Gods are not cunning." Tefnut was beginning to appear a lot happier with the situation. The plan sounded plausible, and it was obvious she liked the idea of having her own invulnerable body. The race for power always outweighed other considerations in Goa'uld life, and Tefnut was no different. She wandered towards the prisoners, leaving Richie to the task he had had in mind in the first place. Tefnut could be dangerous, but the greatest hazards in the room were the two Jaffa. With a slight nod at Methos, Richie revealed his true colours. His left hand shot up and an energy wave flew across the room. Sef't and his companion were flung backwards, and Sef't at least did not get up again when he hit the wall. A single shot from the staff finished off the Jaffa who refused to stay down. Tefnut was staring at Richie in horror when he finished his task, and by the time she glanced at the so-called prisoners they were all brandishing weapons. "Why?" she asked almost desperately. She obviously thought of treachery from her fellow Goa'uld. She looked like a woman scorned, and Richie suspected she had no inkling of what had really happened. "We have ruled together for millennia," she entreated him, "why abandon me now." "Shu is gone," Richie said evenly, "you are appealing to nothing. Playing with things you do not understand will get you killed." If the Immortal had thought Tefnut appeared horrified before, the new expression on her face made that emotion look pale in comparison. She seemed caught between disbelief, rage and terror, but her emotions slowly coalesced into a hard, cold shell of anger. "I will have you dissected," she said icily. "Shu will be returned to me." Richie found himself laughing despite the situation. With totally certainty he knew that even if she had been in the position to carry out her threat, it would not do her any good. "You weren't listening," the Immortal told her almost as coldly as she had, "I didn't say I dominated him I said Shu was gone. He played with fire, it destroyed him, and now we're leaving." The disbelief was back on Tefnut's face: she seemed frozen. Her Goa'uld sensibilities just couldn't deal with the idea Richie had thrown at her. That her brother's will could have been overcome was almost inconceivable, but that he could be gone forever didn't seem to be in her mindset at all. "What do we do with her?" Carter asked as SG-1 finally mobilised. Tefnut looked stunned and empty, Richie didn't think any of his companions would have the heart to kill her. "We take her with us," O'Neill said eventually. "The game plan has changed, we're leaving here using a royal hostage as passage." Richie couldn't help but feel relief at the Colonel's decision. On an academic level he knew she was a monster, but in his heart he still felt for her. Maybe back on Earth there may be hope for her yet. The new strategy would bring them into direct conflict with the forces between them and the gate, but deception was not really an option any more. Sooner or later someone would find out what had happened, and this way they had a much better chance. "Two royal hostages," Richie pointed out and handed Teal'c the staff weapon. "Yeah well we'd better confiscate those pretty bangles then," O'Neill pointed out, and held out his hand for Richie's only remaining weapon. Out of the corner of his eye the Immortal saw Carter step towards Tefnut, and he saw his sister goddess move. With a cry of fury the female Goa'uld turned on the Major bringing up her own weapon before the human could react. "You will all die," she yelled, and energy ripped out at Carter. Sam screamed the moment it touched her, and Richie knew the woman was dead if he didn't get there immediately. Almost instantaneously, horrible black and green blotches appeared on the Major's skin, there was no time to lose. Forced into action the Immortal never hesitated and he turned, pushing Carter out of the way. Tefnut's power turned on him, but even as the corruption touched his skin it vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. His Immortal body was an easy match for the death touch that Tefnut dealt. The woman was engulfed in a rage so great nothing could possibly reach her, she had to be stopped or she would destroy everyone. Richie's own hand came up and even as her power poured into him so his poured into her. Within a few seconds she began to scream herself. There was shock in her eyes as her skin began to flake from her body, and Richie almost stopped, but at least this way she would die quickly. He locked his eyes with hers and turned every ounce of power he had on her. In seconds Tefnut, Goddess of moisture and Daughter of Ra was a dried out husk. Richie couldn't bring himself to destroy her completely. Turning her into a pile of dust was not something he could do to a woman that part of himself had loved for so long and he released her body to fall to the ground. For a long moment Richie just stood there unable to take his eyes off what he had done, and then a hand touched his shoulder. He looked round to see Methos' understanding face, and Richie knew he wasn't alone. With the back of one hand he reached up and wiped away the single tear running down his cheek. "Back to plan A," O'Neill said shortly. Richie turned to see Daniel holding the staff weapon, Teal'c carrying an unconscious Carter in his arms, and O'Neill looking very stern. "We have to get Sam back to Frasier as quickly as possible," Jack stated firmly, "and that means now." There was noise from the other side of the room, and all turned to see Sef't on his feet, staff in hand. Every SG-1 member who could raised a gun. "Wait," Richie said quickly. Grief would have to wait, for now there were other priorities. With a purpose he didn't think he had left Richie strode across the room towards the armed Jaffa. At he suspected Sef't did not fire, the man was unsure of what to do, and Richie stopped a few feet from him. "Your gods are dead," the Immortal stated coldly and looked the Jaffa directly in the eye. "You can serve the new order or you can die. It is your choice." It was an emotionless ultimatum and Richie drew on all his empathy with what was left of Shu to give it. Inside the Immortal was a bit of a mess, but as far as the world could see he was as cool as ice. Sef't looked shocked at the words, but slowly he brought his staff back to its vertical position. "Good," Richie said evenly, "now we're going to the Stargate." End of Part 9