Disclaimer: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" T.V. series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide. Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of MGM, Gekko, Double Secret Productions.
When Alex heard the banging on her door not long after she had returned home to her clinic, the doctor suspected immediately someone had been seriously injured awaiting her return while she had been indulging herself at Mary's. Even though she was slightly tipsy, she knew she was more than capable of handling any injury that a patient might have incurred with the exception of performing surgery. Whether or not her hands were steady enough to perform such a task if required, ingrained conditioning had taught her under no circumstances was such a thing permissible. As she grabbed her doctor's bag on the way to the kitchen door above the clinic itself, the usual route taken by visitors, she knew the action was meant to save time.
She thought for an instant that she might have been premature about this action because the reason for such a commotion at the door could be anyone of her friends bringing news about the seven's exploits out of town. With them facing Laurel Chase, anything was possible and Alex felt an involuntary shudder of fear for Vin until her common sense prevailed. Wallace County was a full day away and the men had only left this morning, they would not have chance to encounter the lady yet. Whoever was at her door was no harbinger of ill news about the seven, she told herself resolutely. It was most likely one of the townsfolk, in particular Mr Henderson, whose wife was heavily pregnant and was due to give birth within the next week.
"Who is it?" Casey who was lodging with her emerged from the guestroom dressed in her nightgown as she peered out the door.
"I don't know," Alex replied and continued her journey to the door.
However, when Alex pulled open the door, she found herself confronted by a stranger. No, that was wrong Alex told her, as she stared at the exotic beauty not too different like herself with clearly Native American blood in her veins although it was obvious she was a mixture of two worlds. She had swept into town two days ago and as far as she could tell, if the gossipmongers were at all accurate, she was the new singer at the hotel saloon. In fact, as she stood at Alex's door, she seemed very much like the chanteuse with her fashionable clothes, just a touch scandalous as was required for someone in her line of work. Her deep brown hair was piled on top of her head and while her features belied her indigenous origins, her smoky grey eyes spoke of a more continental background.
"Doctor Tanner?" The woman asked and Alex had to remember that it was her that she was addressing. It still took some getting used to being called Mrs Tanner when she had been Alexandra Styles all her life.
"Yes," Alex shook the momentary distraction out of her head when she noted the anxiety in the woman's voice. "What can I do for you?"
"You better come with me quickly," she responded. "I think Mrs Larabee is hurt."
"What?" Alex exclaimed in shock. They had only just left Mary!
"Oh no!" Casey gushed.
"Casey," Alex turned around and gave the younger woman a firm look. "Stay here. I don't need too many people getting under my feet if Mary's hurt. I want you go to Julia's and tell her something is wrong but I don't want anyone at the Larabee house until I know what's going on okay?"
"Alright Alex," Casey nodded, understanding the need to keep from underfoot of the doctor during an emergency. She had been around Aunt Nettie enough to know that Vin's love, like Nettie, had little patience with people hovering when she had something important to do and it did not get much more important than trying to save someone's life.
Alex was glad that Casey did not choose to debate the situation and immediately pulled the door close behind her as she stepped out the door. Seeing that she was more than ready to depart, her visitor quickly took the lead as she hurried down the steps with Alex following closely behind. Both women descended into the street and made a brisk pace towards the Larabee home. Actually Alex was almost running and her companion was soon doing the same to keep up.
"What happened?" Alex demanded as they hurried across town.
"I was on my way home from the hotel." The woman explained. "I have been lodging in Maggie Dryer's place and I heard a scream. It sounded like a child. There was no one in the street but I felt I ought to investigate anyway when I saw two men coming out of the front door of the Clarion News with a young boy and a baby. They had horses waiting for them and the little boy didn't look like he wanted to go but they didn't seem to care."
Billy! Alex thought frantically and found her fear escalating at the report of that grim news. Was Laurel behind this? Had she somehow launched a pre-emptive strike against Chris by this move to take his children? "And Mary?" She asked vehemently the woman once again, needing to know if Mary was all right. Inwardly, Alex thought the worse, knowing of nothing that could keep Mary from fighting with every ounce of her strength when it came to her children. That the two men this stranger had reported seeing had spirited Billy and Michael away, did not bode well for Mary.
The woman paused, her eyes unable to meet Alex's and that alone was more telling than any words she might have spoken. Alex felt her chest constrict with horror, refusing to believe it. Mary, dead? She thought about Chris Larabee instinctively and did not think that the gods were that unkind. Picking up her pace, Alex's boot pounded heavily against the wooden boardwalk as the front door of the Clarion News approached in the distance. She was hardly aware of her companion behind her but somewhere in the back of her mind, Alex guessed she must have been following. There was no time to pause and look because right now Alex needed to see even if it was waited her inside the Larabee household would undoubtedly bring grief.
Alex reached the open door and entered the darkened office, attracted by the flickering glow of the lamps that Mary had not extinguished when she had gone to bed. An amber glow filled the hallway and seemed to create an atmosphere of foreboding as Alex pierced through the front office and entered what was previously the happy heart of Chris and Mary's life together. Alex tried not to remember that it was only a short time ago that she, Mary and all the others had gathered together, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Alex shook such thoughts out of her head. Mary needed Doctor Styles...Doctor Tanner right now, not a friend.
However it was as a friend that Alex reacted when she saw Mary lying sprawled on the floor of the hallway, just before the stairs. Mary was not moving and her skin was pale which only raised the back of Alex's alarm a thousand fold. There were scratches against her skin as if she had taken to herself with her own fingers. The scratches confused Alex because other then that, there seemed no visible signs of injury. However, Alex did not bother with the details as she crossed the space between them in seconds and skidded next to Mary, dropping her doctor's bag on the wooden floor as she found herself next to Mary.
"Mary?" Alex called out as her hand immediately flew to the woman's throat. Mary's pallor was gray and her skin was cool but not cold. As Alex checked her eyes and saw the dilation of her pupils, she could well understand why her companion had thought the worst when she had first discovered Mary in this state. If it had been anyone else, they might have believed that Mary was dead. Her heart rate was certainly slow enough to lead a layman to that conclusion. However, Alex knew better. As a doctor, she knew just how to detect the signs of life even though it may not be immediately obvious.
"I found her like this," the woman appeared in the hallway and dropped to her knees next to Alex as the doctor pulled open her doctor's bag and began searching through its contents. "Is she dead?" The woman asked. "She felt dead."
"No," Alex shook her head, never more relieved to be able to say that to anyone in her entire life. "She's not dead. Her heart rate has slowed down to a crawl. She's had some kind of shock but if I don't get it up again, it will ebb off completely." Alex produced a bottle of clear fluid and proceeded to fill the syringe with its contents.
"What are you doing?" The woman asked her and Alex reminded herself to ask the lady's name when this was all over.
"I'm introducing a chemical stimulus into her bloodstream." Alex answered automatically and continued the procedure, filling Mary's blood stream with the adrenaline it needed to accelerate her heart rate back to remotely normal levels.
The woman did not understand but nonetheless chose not to bombard the doctor with too many questions while she attempted to revive the unconscious editor of the Clarion News. Alex kept her hand on Mary's wrist, listening carefully, waiting for her efforts to bear fruit and unable to imagine what course would be left to her if this did not work. She still had no understanding at how Mary had come to be in this state. There had been so little time to find those answers, not with what she had found upon entering into this room. If it had not been for this new arrival finding Mary when she had, to say nothing about sounding the alarm that allowed Alex to help while there was still time, Alex shuddered to think how tragically things might have transpired. Might still transpire because Alex was uncertain of whether or not the feat of medical trickery she had performed would be enough to bring Mary out of this coma like condition she now found herself in, trapped like a fly in amber.
"Will it work?" The woman asked.
"It might," Alex responded letting out a breathless sigh and then faced her again. There was nothing to do but wait until the drug did its work. "I want to thank you for everything you've done." She said genuinely grateful. Mary had a slim chance of life now but she would have had none at all if this stranger turned the other way and not answered Mary's silent cry of help. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name."
"I'm Diana." She said with a smile. "Diana Belladonna."
"Diana Belladonna?" Alex stared. "Do you know that Belladonna is..."
"A poison," Diana frowned. "I know, unfortunately but it's my family name. I can't do much about it besides it's a great stage name."
Any comment Alex was going to make evaporated from her thoughts when she felt Mary's hand tighten around her fingers. Alex reacted immediately, turning to face her patient as she felt Mary's pulse quicken and then settle into a steady rhythm. Mary was started to stir and Alex felt the life return to her body as muscles started to flex, movement rippling through her form as she raised her head slowly in an effort to bring herself completely back to consciousness. Alex looked over her shoulder at Diana and declared. "There are some pillows in the parlor, grab one." She ordered and Diana scrambled to her feet before hurrying off to complete that request.
"Mary," Alex turned to her patient, lifting her head off the wooden floor with her hands. "Can you hear me?" She hoped that she had not been too late that the state she had discovered Mary had not caused any permanent damage.
Mary did not answer but was growing stronger. Alex could feel the muscles of her neck beginning to support itself on its own as Mary tried to push herself onto her elbows in order to sit up.
"Mary, don't move." Alex said gently. "You've been hurt."
Suddenly Mary opened her eyes and met Alex's gaze. There was an instant when time seemed to freeze as Mary pivoted her head slightly to her side, as if in recognition and the moment contracted to singularity of one action which stopped Alex's heart dead in her chest.
Her eyes glowed.
Alex stumbled backwards, reacting so fast that she was surprised at her own speed. Scrambling back like a child, the doctor kept going until she met the obstruction of the wall against her back. Diana chose that moment to make her appearance down the hallway, emerging from the parlour with a silken pillow when Alex turned sharply to her. Mary was still on the floor but she was regaining strength quickly and Alex knew that soon she would be on her feet.
"Get out!" Alex shouted at Diana, startling the woman with her sharp voice.
"What?" Diana stumbled, not understanding.
Alex did not have time to answer. "Get out right this minute!" Alex fairly screamed and there was just enough urgency in the doctor's voice for it to register that there was danger and the warning was not made lightly. Diana dropped the pillow on the floor and hurried out, glancing anxiously at Alex as she made her departure. Once the sound of her footsteps had faded away, Alex turned back to Mary who had still yet to move from her place on the floor. Alex did not know how this was possible; she had dreamed this nightmare so many times but had never really believed it had come true.
Believe it, her inner voice responded coldly.
She had to do something. Alex searched the floor for her doctor's bag, knowing that in it were the only weapons she had to fight against what was she had seen reflecting in those glowing eyes. Her heart was pounding like there was no tomorrow and she had felt cold terror with each sound of movement made by Mary the more and more the woman came out of her disorientation. On her hands and knees, Alex sighted her medical bag and began crawling towards the worn case next to Mary. Alex did not wish to get that close but if she did not, if she did not neutralise the threat of Mary now, then she would not live long enough for it to matter.
Mary was well and truly awake now although she was still unfocussed and Alex reached for her medical bag, the way one might try to catch a flame from a raging inferno. Trembling as she stretched her hand towards the worn leather handle, Alex clenched her fist around it and prepared to pull back when suddenly Mary's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist in a strong grip.
"Let me go!" Alex shouted, swinging her arm to strike but Mary reacted with lighting fast reflexes and caught that her hand even before she had the chance to knuckle it into her fist.
"Be still yourself Isis." Mary looked at her with glowing eyes.
"Don't call me that!" Alex fairly screamed.
"Fine then," Mary pushed her away with just enough force to topple Alex over without causing any serious injury. "Will Alexandra do?"
Alex was confused and scampered away to the other side of the room, watching Mary in wide eyes terror as the wife of Chris Larabee rose to her feet and took a good look around her. The woman who stood up was not Mary Travis. Alex saw a different person wearing her friend's face. This was a creature of power, of supreme confidence, who wore her skin like a weapon, who allowed it to hug her sensuously and relished the pleasure of being like nothing else mattered. Her eyes danced with awareness, her lips curled into a smile and as she ran her fingers through her blond hair and shook her head in slow satisfaction, Alex knew exactly who was standing her in Mary's stead.
Sekhmet.
"You are dead!" Alex cried out, anguished and terrified that if Sekhmet could come back, then god, the very idea sent chill of horror down her soul so could Isis.
"The physical body passes yes," Sekhmet looked at Alex again. "That you knew as Sekhmet is gone but some of her remains inside your friend. We are together now."
Alex's stared at her in confusion. "You cannot exist!" She stuttered more out of denial than any sense of reason. "You're dead! Chris killed you!"
"My mate." Sekhmet nodded in recognition. "I forgot that we have one."
"You don't have anything! Chris is Mary's husband!"
"We are Mary and we are Sekhmet." Sekhmet regarded Alex. "Poor little host," she took a step closer to the doctor. "You are so afraid aren't you?"
"I will stop you!" Alex exclaimed but her fear was starting to get the better oof her and voice cracked even as she said it. God help her she wanted to help Mary but she did not know how.
"Then you will be stopping Mary." Sekhmet respond. "You see me and you see the creature that stole the host body and perhaps you are right. Sekhmet is here but only the memories of her remain and the knowledge that spans two millenia. When your kind still thought the world was a flat as a sheet of glass, Sekhmet lived and breathed. You cannot tear the bond of a mind that aged, away from a host and not expect there to be something left behind. This is what remains in Mary the host and now the complete creature you see bears her soul, all that is good and kind about your friend, lives in here." She pointed to her chest. "Her sense of friendship and love. Had it not been, Sekhmet would have killed you already."
"This can't be real..." Alex started to sob. She could not endure this again. She could not!
"She has them." Sekhmet took a step towards her and hunched down so that she could meet Alex's eyes.
"Them?" Alex looked up questioningly at Sekhmet with tear stained eyes.
"The one whose poison did this to us." Sekhmet answered. "The one who made brought Sekhmet forward. When they thought they had killed Mary I heard them. She had captured your consort, my mate and the those who ride at their side."
That got Alex's attention. "Laurel?" She gasped and wiped the moisture from her eyes. The possibility of Vin being in trouble shunted Alex's terror aside for the moment and though she was still having difficulty comprehending what was happening, the idea that Vin might be in Laurel Chase's hands was a sobering thought. Alex was perfectly aware of how much Laurel despised Vin and what she might do to the tracker if he was in her power. Neither was there any doubt that what Sekhmet was telling her was nothing but the absolute truth. It was not Sekhmet's way to deceive like this, inwardly the part of her that was once Isis knew of this and Alex recoiled in disgust, realising she had accessed those memories to make that determination.
"We have to help them." Alex stammered.
"I have to help them." Sekhmet corrected her and then added. "Alone."
"You," Alex looked at her incredulously. "You don't go anywhere near Vin or the others," Alex spat angrily. "We will take care of this ourselves!"
Sekhmet returned her hateful gaze and let out a laugh. "You will handle this?" She snorted in derision before her expression became as hard as granite and she stared at Mary and her eyes darkened until blue grey was nearly black. "Listen to me, those who violated my home tonight, who brought Sekhmet forth with their vile potion and stole my children out of their beds will account themselves to me before all is said and done. Believe what you will about me but know this, Sekhmet or Mary, no one comes into my home and takes my children."
Alex swallowed because a part of her wished to believe this creature wearing Mary's face. Although the abrasive manner and the supreme arrogance was undoubtedly Sekhmet's, the feeling for her children was all Mary's. When her children were threatened, Mary went from a mild mannered reporter into something that made a she wolf somewhat nervous. Ella Gaines had probably seen it before Mary had thrown her off that balcony where she met her at end. As much as Alex despised agreeing with Sekhmet, she had to concede something further. Sekhmet could get Vin and the others back. Alex could not.
"Alright," Alex finally forced herself speak, unable to believe she was reduced to believing this. "Say I believe you. That it is Mary in there as well as Sekhmet and that you want Billy and Michael back safely. You still can't go alone. Laurel is evil. Unconscionably evil. There is no pattern to what she does, just this need do as she wishes."
"I have in my time," Sekhmet said with a cool smile as she rose to her feet and started walking up the stairs to the upper floor of the house. "Been described that way. However, you are no good to me as you are Alexandra Styles. You would be more of an encumberance that you would be of assistance. The mate suffered greatly at the hands of this woman but he spoke clearly of men who are willing to die for their mistress. Your presence will not be required and certainly not effective. If you had one wit of Isis within you, you might be of use to me and your consort but as you are, you will only hinder my attempt to free them."
Alex saw a syringe on the floor as she followed Sekhmet up the stairs, realising that it was not the same as the one she had used to administer the adrenalin that Mary had needed to live earlier on. She bent over and scooped it up in her hand before examining the contents within it. Alex recognised the powdery substance within it almost immediately. Against her better judgement, Alex fingered the inside of the glass tube and took a taste of the residue within it. At that instant, Alex realised what Laurel had tried to do Mary and Alex soon came to the conclusion that she had grossly underestimated how cruel and callous Laurel was capable of being.
"This is Venom." Alex stated looking at Sekhmet.
The former warrior goddess halted in her step and turned around to face Alex again. "The substance she used to make my mate her creature."
"Yes," Alex nodded, remembering those nightmarish days when Chris Larabee had been slave to the Venom narcotic that had turned him against his friends and into a cold blooded killer. "She must have been trying to get Mary addicted the way Chris was. To use her against Chris."
"Instead, the poison brought me forth." Sekhmet responded.
"The nature of what it is makes the subject lose all inhibitions. Parts of the psyche that are hidden away are allowed free rein." Alex mused as they reached the top of the flight of steps. "When Mary was given the Venom it must have opened the door to her mind where the residual memories of you must have existed."
"That means I do not have much time." Sekhmet remarked, understanding the situation better and knew that to retrieve those important to the host, she had to act and soon. "I must leave immediately."
"Leave?" Alex exclaimed, unable to believe that she was trying to stop the woman. "Where are you going?"
"I heard them speak of a place called Forbes." Sekhmet responded as she entered the room where Chris and Mary shared their bed. "I must go there."
"Forbes is almost a day's ride from here." Alex exclaimed. "Without a fresh supply of Venom, not to mention the fact that without it you will have severe withdrawal symptoms, you will be as equally useless as I am when you get there." There was a hint of triumph in her face when she made that statement.
Sekhmet paused at the bureau next to the bed and sighed. "Then it is lost." She said softly. "The enemy have our children and the mate will die. The loss of all three will destroy the host."
"What do you care about the host?" Alex said spitefully. "We're just a warm body you can use until its ready to be discarded."
Sekhmet turned her gaze at Mary and replied. "Human, I am dead. I have no existence other than what is left of me inside this hosts mind. Where I have been is worse than hell for at least, in hell you suffer your own sorrows, not play voyeur to another. If it were a simple matter of my life being extinguished forever, I could welcome death but I do not even have that much. I live because she lives, I experience because she experiences and the agony of losing all three is more than even a Goa'uld warrior goddess is willing to endure. I will spare her that because I wish to spare myself that pain. Do you understand what I am saying? Her well being is my well being."
"Well you can't go after the boys alone," Alex remarked, confused because she saw sincerity in Sekhmet's eyes and inwardly, the part of her that was Isis, told her that the woman was speaking in earnest. "I have Venom." She confessed.
"You have it?" Sekhmet looked at her.
"When the boys went to Calumet with the army to catch Laurel, Nathan gathered some for me because I asked him to. I wanted to understand what Laurel had done to Chris and perhaps find an antidote that would not make the withdrawal symptoms so severe. He got enough for me to experiment with. I keep it in a safe in the clinic and there's still more than enough left for you to remain Sekhmet a little longer if that's what it takes to get Vin back."
Sekhmet had not spoken, still taking into consideration Alex's revelation about having a supply of Venom. The doctor was correct, what memories she had of Mary's that remembered Chris' telling of his time under Laurel's will, told her that being a skilled warrior that she was would not be enough to help her retrieve her mate or their children. What she needed was an ally, someone who had almost as much skill, even more she sometimes suspected. Sekhmet knew where to find such an ally although she was uncertain how the good doctor would take the request.
"If I am to reach them alive, I will need assistance." Sekhmet said slowly.
"You'll have it." Alex responded, not liking this bargain she was making with the devil but for Vin, she would trade her soul. "I'll do whatever I have to get them all back."
"I am glad of that," Sekhmet turned and faced her directly. "Because to get them back I will require Isis."
At first Alex did not understand what Sekhmet meant. After all Isis was dead and there was no way to revive unless... Her mind grasped the conclusion of the plan that Sekhmet had formed the moment Alex had told her about the Venom and its part in bringing her out of the limbo she had existed within Mary's mind.
"No." Alex exclaimed, almost unable to find the breath to let the word escape her. "Not again! Not ever!"
"I cannot bring them back without Isis." Sekhmet kept staring at her perhaps using the memories she had from the part of her that was Mary to know that convincing Alex would not be as hard as she imagined. "I need her strength and her mind."
"I will not let that...that...thing take control of my body ever again!" Alex fairly shouted as she staggered away from Sekhmet as if the very idea was poisoning her veins and capable of making that unthinkable suggestion reality. "You have no idea what its like! Mary didn't remember what happened but I do! I remember what you did and I remember what Isis did. I also remember that I had to watch while she killed Vin in front of me and there was not a thing I could do to stop it!"
"It would not be the same." Sekhmet responded. "Isis is dead. Sekhmet is dead. What you perceive as us is a phantom, an aftertaste of something left behind. The poison in my veins allows me to speak but briefly. When it is gone I will return to being dead, just as Isis will when the poison runs its course through your veins."
"It will never happen!" Alex said fiercely. "I won't let it happen!"
"Then you condemn your consort to die." Sekhmet retorted brutally. "I know what Mary knows and I am aware that the enemy hates Vin Tanner enough to make him scream for his death by the time she is through with him."
"Stop it!" Alex wailed, knowing inwardly that Sekhmet was right. Deep down in that place that was impervious to her fears, she knew that Vin was as good as dead if he was not already. Laurel hated him. She hated enough to single him out when the seven had gone to Calumet with the army. She hated him so much that she had ordered him crippled and it was only by a fraction that he had escaped that fate. Now, he was in her hands and there was nothing to keep Laurel from venting the full tide of her vengeance upon him. The idea that that the man she loved more than life itself was at the mercy of the same creature that would poison Mary in order to hurt Chris while stealing his children, terrified Alex even more than the possibility of allowing Isis to re-emerge.
"I know what's at stake but I can't!" She cried out, begging Sekhmet not to force into making this choice. Alex prided herself in fearing nothing but she openly terrified of this. She would do anything for Vin. Lord only knew for certain how much she was willing to risk for the man. Her love for him consumed her. When they were together, it felt like nothing else existed in their world and they breathed each other in like an elixir neither could be without. If he were gone, if she did not wake to the sight of him in her bed, feelings his arms around her, Alex knew she would not want to live.
"Then I go alone," Sekhmet responded and pushed herself to her feet. She returned to the front of the bureau once and pulled out a drawer. The warrior goddess did not have to look at the doctor to know that Alex was shaking.
It was strange, Sekhmet thought as she pulled out a drawer and started rifling through the contents. She should not feel sympathy for the woman. How many dead faces as she seen throughout her existence during the ages. How many had she sent to death herself? There was no remorse then, not an ounce of it. All there was, was the satisfaction of power and dominance. She was a hunter and those who could not defend themselves or allowed themselves to be mastered were the prey, those were the rules. Living by them made Sekhmet's immortality terribly simple but now she felt deeply the pain the human behind was experiencing and felt empathy towards her. Why? The answer of course was simple.
She was human now.
Not Goa'uld. Not even warrior goddess but human. The real Sekhmet had died somewhere and fortunately she who left behind in Mary's mind had not the memory of that but she knew without doubt that Sekhmet was dead. She knew it because Mary knew and Mary, whose voice though silenced by the drug inside her body, was still here and it was Mary's heart that felt things, who guided her conscience who provided the soul Sekhmet never had.
"Alexandra," Sekhmet found herself saying. "You will not lose yourself." She did not look at Alex as she spoke but could feel the doctor's eyes on her back as she searched through Chris' clothes for what she needed. "You will allow Isis to do some good in a life that was spending creating nothing but misery. Mary does not fight me because she knows that I am powerless to hurt her. I live as long as the Venom lives and even though I may make myself heard, my release is conditional. I am Sekhmet's memory and all the knowledge that is in her mind but the rest of me is Mary Larabee. I sit here and beseech your help because I need Isis, I need Isis to find my children and find my mate. I cannot live without him any easier than you would be able to survive your consort."
"You don't know what it is you ask." Alex found herself responding. "Mary does not remember what she did but I do. I remember killing Vin with my own two hands. I broke his neck, like someone pulling the head of an insect and then I forced Ezra to make love to me. He could not help how his body reacted but he hated it and he loathes himself enough without having to bear the burden of that betrayal on his conscience. I have seen Isis kill so many and now you're asking me to unleash her?"
"Yes," Sekhmet turned to Alex. "I ask you because there is no else to ask. Your beloved, my beloved, that of your friends will die unless you and I do something. Search yourself Alexandra Styles, you know that we can save them. We will probably need the others as well but between you and I and what we have inside us, we can them bring back and perhaps put an end to the enemy once and for all for I fear my mate is not up to the task."
"He sees as a woman." Alex shrugged, hearing nothing of surprise. "He's hates her and with adversary like Laurel Chase, you can't feel. You have to think."
Sekhmet. "Exactly, you have to hunt."
For a long moment, Alex stared at Sekhmet and tried to see Mary. The thing of it was, despite Sekhmet's words and her arrogance, Alex knew it was Mary talking. Somehow, it was Mary that was using Sekhmet to her own end and the irony of it was not lost on Alex. The question was, did she dare use Isis in the same way. Did she really want to unleash the Goddess of All into an unsuspecting time just to save a man? When it was Vin Tanner?
There was no question of her choice.
"What's going on?" Inez demanded when Alex walked through the door of the Pemberton home. Ever since Casey had pounded on their door less than an hour ago, reporting that Diana the new singer at the hotel had turned up claiming that Mary was hurt, the three women had not been able to sit still. Although they wanted to go running to Mary's to find out exactly what was the nature of the emergency. However, with Casey relating to them how determined Alex was that no one intrude for the moment, the others remained where they were, allowing the imaginations to get the better of them as they each held a silent prayer for their friend.
However, it was a prayer that seemed redundant when Mary walked through the front door with Alex.
Inez's demand as cut short by Mary's appearance. For a moment, none of the women could speak as they stared at Mary in a mixture of shock and fascination. Long blond hair hung loosely over her shoulders, she was wearing the same shirt she had when they left her except that it was now knotted at the waist. Instead of a long flowing skirt, equipped with layers of lace, denim clung to her skin and it took a few moments for them to realise that she was wearing a pair of Chris' dark jeans. Although they were a little loose around her hips, there was enough tension for them to see how figure hugging it was.
She looked like Mary but her eyes were cold and hard, with just enough hint of menace inside them to leave everyone in the room with the exception of Alex, open mouthed with shock because they had no idea what to make of this.
"This serves no purpose." Sekhmet said to Alex as she entered the kitchen where the others were congregated. "We need to begin our journey now. The prey has too much ground ahead of us."
"We're not going anywhere alone." Alex retorted coolly. "I said we were not doing this alone. They're coming with us."
"What in the hell is going on here!" Inez found her voice. "Mary, what are you wearing?"
"Is that Chris' clothes?" Julia just as shocked.
"They cannot be of help to us." Sekhmet responded, all but ignoring them.
"If you want Isis, then this is how it will be." Alex turned to her sharply.
"Oh my god!" Inez understood and took a step backwards. "Sekhmet!" She turned to Alex, praying that the horrific tale that Buck had once told her about the Goa'uld had not taken them both again.
"Hell!" Julia jumped out of her seat as Casey's curiosity deepened because she did not know the truth and while Mary seemed odd, had done little to warrant the fear she saw emerging in both Inez's eyes and Julia Pemberton's.
"It's alright!" Alex announced hastily. "It's the same person. It's Mary."
"What?" Inez looked at Alex, feeling her head swirl with everything that was being thrown at them at such heady pace. "That is Sekhmet isn't it? The thing that almost killed Billy and Mary too!"
"I am what's left of Sekhmet," Sekhmet answered before Alex could. "This will take too long to explain and we do not have time for me to do so. The enemy has taken my children as well as my mate and all of yours. If we do not begin the hunt soon, they will die probably not before the enemy makes them suffer so greatly that death will be a welcome release."
"The enemy?" Julia looked at Alex in question. While much of what Sekhmet/ Mary, she could not discern that little detail just yet, one thing had registered in Julia's mind upon hearing the lady's speech, the kidnapping of Mary's children and the capture of the seven.
"Laurel Chase." Alex said simply.
"Oh my god!" Inez's expression descended into fear. "That lunatic has got Buck?"
"She has all of them," the doctor continued to explain. "She sent two men after Mary who injected her with Venom and as you can see, the drug has had an interesting side effect. When I found Mary, it looked like she was dead. I think that's why they chose to leave her behind and take Billy and Michael instead."
"Oh no," Inez gasped in horror, tears welling in her eyes, understanding immediately what use two children would have to Laurel, if the witch had captured their father. "We have to do something."
"Yes we do," Alex nodded. "We don't have much time. Sekhmet said that they were going to Forbes. That's a full day's ride from here but it's the only lead we have."
"We should be getting help from the sheriff or somebody..." Julia stammered. "We can't do this on our own! Laurel has a small army of men who would die for her if I were not mistaken. We're no match for her."
"Not without Isis." Alex said quietly and both Inez and Julia looked sharply at her.
"No Alex," Inez said immediately. "You can't be thinking of taking it too."
"We don't have a choice." The doctor replied having heard more strenuous objections from herself to be swayed by anything that either Julia or Inez had to say about it. "Sekhmet is a hunter, she'll be able to track them and Isis, whatever she might have been, knows how to take care of herself. This is not permanent, the moment the Venom wears off, we will be ourselves again but right now, as we are, none of us is capable of rescuing the boys on our own. Isis and Sekhmet can."
"You don't know that." Julia countered. "Alex, Isis almost killed Ezra. Are you prepared to let her do it again?"
"She could not more hurt your lover than I could hurt any of you." Sekhmet responded quickly, wanting none of these women to interfere with Alex's decision, especially after all the debate it had taken to get to this point.
"Look," Alex met her friends' eyes. "I know better than anyone of you what I'm risking but I don't have a choice. You know as well as I do, local law enforcement is not smart to find Laurel and she doesn't expect us to show up in Forbes so we have a good chance of getting the men back if we play it smart. I would not allow Isis out unless I did not know for certain it was the only way I could see Vin again. Laurel hates him more than she hates all the others and if I don't do this and she kills him, then I don't care if Isis disappears after or not, I'd rather be dead anyway."
"I don't understand," Casey stammered, trying to comprehend why the mood was so deathly at the moment. Julia and Inez were almost ready to run when Inez had said the word Sekhmet and Mary, who looked nothing like the prim and proper editor of the Clarion News, looked more like a killer than she did a wife and mother. Casey could not explain it but Mary just felt dangerous. "Alex, tell me what's happening."
"The child can shoot and she can ride," Sekhmet suddenly declared. "We will take her with us."
"No," Alex protested. "I won't put her life in danger."
"Alex, if JD is in danger I want to help." Casey spoke out, even though she had heard enough about Laurel Chase to know that there was good reason for the doctor wishing to protect her. While that may be so, she also remembered that JD was in her hands and that overrode Casey's fears considerably. JD was her fiancé now and she was not about to let anything happen to him, not when she had dreamed of so long being his wife.
"The child is brave." Sekhmet looked at Casey with a smile. "She will be of use to us."
"Well you're not going without us." Inez declared firmly and glanced at Julia for confirmation of this fact. "Right?"
If Ezra was in trouble, there was no question of what she would do. Julia nodded in return. "I'll come with you."
"Then there is no time to waste." Sekhmet said hastily.
"Just hold it right there," Alex retorted sharply. "I want to get going too but let's not get ahead of ourselves. We can't simply ride in there without taking some provisions. We'll need weapons and horses, those take time to get."
"Time we do not have." Sekhmet stated firmly. "Every second we waste, they gain more ground."
"Perhaps you're right at that but we are still waiting." Alex returned. "I have to go to my clinic and do a few things. The rest of you do what you have to do but we ride out in an hour."
Inez knew precisely what for and crossed the floor to touch Alex's shoulder. "Alex, you don't have to do this." The lady looked at her friend, aware of how awful a decision this must be for Alex to make. To choose between keeping herself safe and that of her husband, Inez found herself thanking god that she was not maneuvered into making such a decision.
"Yes I do," Alex nodded, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. She did not wish to hear any more talk regarding this decision she had chosen to make because thinking about it any more deeply would only make her own resolve waver and she had not the energy to try and build up the strength to do what she had to. The only thing that was keeping her from running away and hiding like a frightened child at the moment was the possibility that Vin could die if she allowed herself to weaken. "If I don't she'll kill all of them. We know that. Chris she wants to torture but the others are expendable."
"We're wasting time talking about her!" Casey said anxiously, becoming for fearful the more and more she heard these women speaking of Laurel Chase. Alex was terrified and Casey was shocked because next to Mary and Nettie, Alex was one of the bravest people she knew. Inez and Julia were similarly tense and Mary, Casey did not know what to think about Mary but had no doubt someone would explain it to her soon enough.
"The child is right." Sekhmet turned to Alex. "If you are to do what is required it must be soon."
"I'm not a child." Casey retorted with a hint of annoyance when Sekhmet glanced her way and gave her a look that silenced in her tracks.
"Alex, think about this." Julia spoke up as she saw Alex nod. She did not know what was going on because explanations could wait until they were away but she did know one thing for certain; Sekhmet had been responsible for hurting Ezra. She had hurt him so badly that for months after their return from that other place, he had been plagued with nightmares about the brutality of what he suffered. No matter what the situation now, Julia did not know that she could trust Sekhmet and inwardly, she did not wish to. "We will find another way."
"There is no other way." Alex said softly and decided she would hear no more debate on this subject. "We do what we planned," she turned away and started to the door. "Meet me at the clinic when you're done. I'll be ready."
"Alex!" Julia cried out. "Don't do this." The Emporium owner tried one last time to convince her.
"Julia enough!" Alex said with more anger than she intended. Didn't they know how hard this was for her? She had to chose between her soul and Vin. In this risky gamble to get him back, she might lose him forever, Alex was completely aware of all the dangers and a few others than Inez and Julia had no idea about. "I've made up my mind."
"Let her go." Sekhmet glared at Julia. "She has made her choice."
"Its not a choice!" Julia turned sharply at the warrior goddess. "Its blackmail."
"Its the only way." Inez spoke up. "The only way we can get them back." Facing Alex, Inez continued speaking. "She won't get to stay Alex," the Mexican declared with steel in her voice. "We'll make sure that when its all said and done, we will get you back." Glancing at Sekhmet, Inez added. "Well get you both back."
Alex sat in front of her workbench and took a deep breath. Behind her, the small safe in the corner of the room remained open after she had returned to her clinic and extracted all samples of Venom she had safely secreted inside the metal chest for safe keeping. It did not take long for her to prepare the syringe in order to infuse herself with the dreaded substance, despite the fact that she had undertaken the task while her fingers were shaking so violently that for a moment, Alex though that she would unable to continue. She mixed the proper dosage, all the while hearing the sound of her heart pounding in her chest as she forced her fingers to move and work her will over the chemicals and instruments before her.
Each time she faltered, she forced herself to think of Vin, to think of her husband. He was out there, waiting for her to help him. She thought of what he could be enduring under Laurel's power and the cold fear that ran through her mind at that, served to strengthen her resolve. She knew once the Venom was inside her, there would be no fear, no hesitation. Isis had strength that Alex could never compete with. She had no doubt that as Isis, they would be able to find Vin and give Laurel Chase the biggest shock the woman had ever experienced in her life. All it would require from Alex was a few days where she had to give up her soul.
In the saying, the bargain did not sound so bad but when one came to the moment where the exchange was needed to be made, and then it sounded very terrible indeed. The only thing that kept Alex from fleeing the payment of such a price was Vin Tanner. Upon returning home, Alex found herself entering their bedroom. She took a moment to study herself in the mirror because it would be the last time in awhile that she could see her reflection and know that it was her, not some stranger staring back at her through her own eyes. Alex had scolded herself about wasting time and started to make her way towards her clinic when she noticed something that made her pause.
A red scarf draped across the bedpost. She approached it slowly and took the scrap of material in her hands and felt it in her palms. Holding it to her face, she took a deep breath and could smell him on the fabric. She scented him in her lungs and suddenly she was transported to a place where there was wide open spaces, a harmonica playing that had no song just tune and a husky voice spouting poetry from the heart. The fact that it was not written, that it never would be and had been spoken out loud for the one hearing only brought tears to Alex's eyes.
She was barely aware of it when she pulled the cupboard open and saw his clothes hanging next to hers and how much apart of him was left behind in this room, ever since they had become husband and wife in that little chapel in Coventry. She could not lose him! Not now! They had an entire lifetime ahead of them and she could not bear to have that stolen from them, not when she could stop it.
Not when Isis could stop it.
Wiping her tears, Alex resumed her journey to her clinic and began the preparations to help Isis emerge from the dark place in her mind. Now, she stared at the syringe, full of its concoction of enzymes and extracts from the pituitary gland of too many dead victims and ready for use. Alex thought how ironic it was that Laurel had meant to use it as an instrument of vengeance not realizing it was opening a door into a world of hurt. For herself.
Refusing to let any more reservations force her into reconsidering her decision, Alex rolled up her sleeve and tied a piece of chord around her arm in order to force the vein to show itself. She pulled the knot tight and saw the thin line of a blue vein forcing itself against the upper dermal layer of her skin. Alex tapped the pulse of tender flesh before picking up the syringe and holding the needle to it. She felt her resolve waver a little bit and for a few seconds, the sharp point of the needle remained where it was against the vein. Alex had to fight herself to keep from putting it down.
"You have to do this for Vin." Alex told herself, remembering that red scarf upstairs and the smell of him in her lungs. That alone forced her to push the needle into her skin. Alex felt the sting of skin being pierced before the length of metal slipped past the dermal layer into flesh and finally penetrating the wall of the vein that would carry Laurel's potion throughout her body. With practiced skill, she forced the entire contents of the syringe into her arm before pulling out the needle and dropping it on the workbench. For a moment, Alex felt nothing, just the lingering itch of the needle's entry in her skin and a warmth that spread out from her arm to the rest of her body. Alex wondered if it would work or not. Perhaps what had happened to Mary was just a fluke, something that could not be recreated. Perhaps Sekhmet's re-emergence had been a fluke and nothing more.
She was still thinking that when the pain hit her.
It hit her suddenly. The force of it came with such speed that Alex barely had time to register that it was happening until her body was jerking with violent spasms. She uttered a small cry as she felt it running through her veins, boiling the blood inside her skin as her mind started to lose coherence from the agony that racked her body mercilessly. She became aware of something smashing on the ground and thought it might have been the syringe she had knocked off the table.
Forcing herself to focus because there was one other thing that had to be done, she ground her teeth, starting to sob as the pain stabbed at her like knives when she picked up the second needle on the work bench. Enclosing it in her grip was an effort to bring the syringe to her arm. Her hands were starting to quake and Alex let out an angry cry as she forced herself to steady long enough to pierce her skin once more. Alex released a groan of thirumph when she felt the piercing pain anew and wasted no time in emptying the contents into her arm. Once it was completely empty, Alex let go of the syringe and let herself stop fighting to keep the control she had needed to complete that one last act. The second syringe contained the stimulus needed to ensure that her heart had not slowed to a crawl as Mary's had done when Alex had first found her.
She had been seated on a stool at the workbench when the Venom began to work but the spasm soon toppled her over and Alex became conscious of a new pain when she fell off the seat and hit the ground. Her head whacked the side of the hard wooden floor and there was a moment of throbbing agony before everything went dark.
"This is such an unbelievably bad idea," Julia Pemberton retorted when she, Inez and Casey followed Sekhmet down the street towards Alex's clinic. "We have no idea if anything she told Alex was true." Julia persisted. She knew that despite evidence to the contrary; this idea of allying themselves with Sekhmet seemed to be pure foolishness. Almost as foolish as believing that the former warrior goddess who had once been the most dangerous enemy the seven had faced was now telling them the truth about Laurel's capture of them.
"Alex believed it." Inez said simply, feeling her patience wearing thin with Julia's objections. Of course she understood the reason for Julia's apprehension because Inez felt it herself most prolifically at the moment. As she glanced at Sekhmet who was walking ahead of them, her movements though graceful, reminded Inez of Chris Larabee when the gunslinger was about to ride out and shoot someone full of holes. She kept referring to the quest to retrieve the men as a hunt and Inez could not deny that Sekhmet moved like a hunter.
"Maybe she tricked Alex into doing the same thing." Julia returned suspiciously. They had just stopped at Audrey's where Inez had explained the situation and left Elena Rose in the care of the school teacher who promised that no harm would come her little daughter. Just to be safe Rain had offered to stay with the lady for the time being and it was an offer that Audrey was more than happy to accept since as her connection to Josiah put her in danger as well.
"Maybe she concocted that entire story just to get Alex to become Isis." Julia concluded.
"I lied to no one." Sekhmet suddenly stopped walking and turned around to face Julia and her objections. She had heard the comments uttered by Julia and although she was hardly threatened by them, did wish to stop this debate because she tired of it and it was distracting them from the hunt. "I require her assistance to rescue my mate and my children. The girl," she glanced at Casey, "has some value in what we are about to embark. However, you two are too accustomed to being protect by your males to be able to defend yourself with any efficiency. I can protect you if need be but I cannot do so and be expected to rescue my mate and yours as well."
"Like you protected Ezra?" Julia demanded, unable to get past the grievous wounds that Ezra had suffered and the nightmares that he had been forced to endure after that brutal experience at this creature's hands.
Sekhmet showed no signs of remorse but rather impatience. "The Goa'uld Sekhmet did much wrong and to your lover, there will no apology that will ever remove the stain of the crime against him. However, the Sekhmet who committed that atrocity to your mate was insane. I am not. I am her but I am also Mary and I will protect even you in reacquiring my children and my chosen. Perhaps what ought to concern you is your mate's effect on Isis."
Julia blinked. "What?"
"It was not I who committed the greatest violation against your lover, it was Isis." Sekhmet returned with a hint of cruelty and just plain annoyance.
"Okay that's enough," Inez quickly spoke up, suddenly realizing that they were on the edge of a very volatile subject and at the moment this was not the time or the place to discuss it. "We have to go."
"No," Julia was not about to be deterred. "What did Isis do to him?" She demanded, glaring at Sekhmet and refusing to back down with a will almost as powerful as the warrior goddess's own.
"Isis required Jaffar and to do that she had to reproduce. She took him of course." Sekhmet said almost with a hint of pleasure before turning on her heels to leave Julia with that piece of information. Inez and Casey exchanged weary glances of how they ought to handle this situation while Julia reeled from the news.
"You mean Alex and Ezra..." Julia stammered.
"No," Sekhmet turned around once more. "Not Alexandra Styles, Isis. Isis took your lover. He had not choice in the matter, neither did Alex."
Well that explained it then, Julia thought to herself. She had suspected something like this for awhile now. She knew it had something to do with Alex's time as Isis but until now, it had not been confirmed as fact. She had noticed the awkward silences, their reluctance to be anywhere near each other when the others were not present. She felt jealous and angry but then she remembered what Sekhmet had said. Isis not Alex. Alex loved Vin Tanner, she was willing to become a slave to the creature who had used her body to kill her husband once and seduce a friend in order to get him back. Julia wanted to feel justified in her anger but had she had been in the same circumstances herself once with Alex and at least Alex could confess to some alien creature utilizing her body, what excuse did Julia have?
"You okay?" Inez asked, part sympathetic and part furious at both Julia for provoking Sekhmet and Sekhmet for telling her.
"Yes," Julia nodded, more surprised at her ability to take such news. "I am actually. If she loves Vin so much to let that thing inside her again to get him back, then she must know what she's doing. I've got to believe that now."
Inez nodded in understanding, having come to that conclusion long before this. Of course with Julia, it always required a little more effort. Inez would have preferred convincing Julia had taken a different route than the one Sekhmet had chosen but its effectiveness could not be denied. No doubt when this was all over there would be some discussion as to what had taken place between Ezra and Alex but for the moment, Inez was more interested in getting the seven back. The details could wait until everyone was safe and sound.
While Inez had been dropping Elena Rose at Audrey's and explaining the situation to Rain and the schoolteacher, Julia, Sekhmet and Casey had gone to the Emporium. The gun section of the establishment had more than a decent variety of weapons and though Sekhmet had snorted in disgust at the primitive implements she was forced to use, had none the less taken an ample supply. With horses saddle and waiting, there was only one thing left for them to do before they would embark upon the journey to Forbes and that was collect Alexandra Styles
"You think she went through with it?" Casey asked in an effort to change the subject, having been explained the situation by Julia while they had been preparing the horses to ride. The young girl had scarcely believed what was told to her but somehow, she could not believe that any of what she had been told was a lie. Something in their eyes and perhaps in the way JD himself had behaved following these events had given Casey a clue to the validity of the tale she had been told. She could see it in his eyes and had assumed it had something to do with the seven's private business which Casey had not been presumptuous enough to pry into.
The idea of allowing another mind to have control of your body was more than Casey could believe but at least she understood now why Alex had appeared so frightened. If she had to make a choice like that, Casey would be frightened herself. However, it only proved how brave Alex was and how much she loved Vin if she intended to make a sacrifice like that.
"I know she did." Inez replied, her voice sounding hollow as she remembered the terrible fear in Alex's eyes as well as the resignation that there was no escape from the choice she had to make.
"You fear over nothing." Sekhmet said confidently. "Your Alexandra will still exist just as I feel Mary inside me now. "The knowledge Isis has in her mind will be of the greatest use for us. She was in her time most exceptional."
"She was a murdering psychopath." Julia retorted.
"You would be hard to find a Goa'uld who is not that way." Sekhmet replied. "However, Isis was a System Lord, perhaps second only to Ra in power. Her intellect far exceeded his and for a time she was worshipped across your world by nearly culture in existence. She was the Goddess of All, the queen mother and a healer. She was also a great warrior and that is what we will need when we begin track the enemy."
"Her name is Laurel Chase," Inez responded.
Sekhmet turned a cold eye on Inez. "For taking my children, her name is all I leave intact when we meet."
They arrived at the front door of Alex's clinic in time to see it swing open. All four women paused as Alex emerged through the doorway. Like Mary, she had discarded the long skirt and petticoats she had been wearing and was now clad in a pair of comfortable pants that Inez recognised as belonging to Vin. Instead of a belt, she had used one of Vin's scarves to hold up the garment and was wearing a plain crisp white shirt that was tucked in. She had discarded her delicate slippers and put on a pair of work boots normally worn by women who worked on the land. Inez knew that Alex opted for this as her footwear whenever she was required to ride out to her patients on farms and homesteads.
"Alex," Inez asked gingerly as the woman stood before her them, saying nothing. "Are you alright?"
Alex met her gaze just as her eyes began glowing with eerie light that sent a shudder of fear through everyone except Sekhmet when the corner of Alex's lips curled into a smile.
"We are fine."