The L World Part 14
The L World
This is a crossover between the worlds of Highlander, Stargate SG-1, Buffy, Torchwood and Doctor Who. It’s technically an AU as I have resurrected Richie, and there are three pairings: Duncan/Richie, Methos/Jack Harkness & Xander/Spike.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the shows involved or any of the characters, and I’m not making any money out of them, I’m just doing this for the love of the shows and the love of Richie. All rights and ownership belong to whoever actually owns them, I’m just having a party in their flat and promise to clean up after myself.
Warning: This story contains non-graphic same sex relationships, so don’t read it if that sort of thing offends. There’s also the occasional bit of bad language, but I try to keep it to a minimum (except when Spike’s around).
Rating 15 for violence and language.
You can read the earlier parts starting here or:
For those late to the party…
Richie is back from the dead and he and Duncan have become lovers. Daniel Jackson, Jack Harkness and Xander Harris are all new Immortals and Jack O’Neill is a ROG named Angus McNeill. They have discovered that there are several Goa’ulds on Earth who have taken Immortals as hosts. Anyone who takes the head of one of these inherits the genetic memory of the Goa’uld along with the Quickening. Daniel, Methos and Xander have all recently taken the head of one and it was discovered that Richie and Duncan also did at some point in the past. They have found out that there are at least four more, and discovered that they all work for governments, two in the US. Daniel was captured but then rescued and the two Goa’uld caught. On interrogation it was discovered they served for the Emperor of the Daleks and had been waiting for his return to Earth. Worried that they couldn’t defeat him, Jack wanted to contact the Doctor and Methos provided a rather unusual method, which to both their surprise actually worked.
Phew! Got that? Then on with the show…
14. Late Arrivals
Jack ran around the side of the building, followed shortly by Methos, who was more sauntering than running. The familiar blue telephone box materialised at the side of the warehouse and a few seconds later, the door opened and a familiar head popped out.
“Did somebody whistle?” The Doctor grinned before stepping out fully. Jack practically barrelled into him and grabbed him in a bear hug that was enthusiastically returned. Methos casually ambled up and offered the Doctor his hand, which was shaken with equal enthusiasm. “Marvelous.” Grinned the Doctor.
“I’m afraid we’re rather in need of your assistance.” Methos said. “Could we?” he indicated inside the TARDIS.
“Of course, mi casa es su casa!” The Doctor replied, at which Methos raised an eyebrow before following him and Jack inside. This was his second time inside the TARDIS, but he was still astounded by just how big it was inside, though of course he covered his awe with a snarky comment.
“I see you haven’t redecorated then.” The Doctor grinned at him, refusing to rise to the bait. Methos scowled, The Doctor was no fun to tease.
Outside, Duncan had followed Methos and Jack, but had arrived too late to see them enter the TARDIS.
“Funny.” He said to nobody in particular, “Why is there an old police box standing next to an American warehouse?” Puzzled, he stared for a moment before returning to the others.
Inside that same police box, Jack and Methos were apprising the Doctor of the situation. With each new detail his grin drooped further and further and at the mention of the Daleks he positively glowered. Methos was surprised, he had only ever seen the Doctor in a mood that could be described as bouncy; he hadn’t thought him capable of such overwhelming anger and hatred. Now he knew that the Daleks meant trouble.
“Right then.” Said the Doctor, recovering some of his bounce and grabbing his coat from where it hung draped over a railing, “Let’s go see what these boys have to say about their master’s imminent return shall we?” With that he strode out of the TARDIS. Jack and Methos followed at a brisk trot.
“Er, where’s Martha?” Jack asked.
“Oh, she’s at home. Visiting her family. We just popped in for a cup of tea on our way to 1066 when you called. Didn’t see the sense in ripping her away from her loved ones, so I came alone. I’ll pop back to a few minutes after I left, she won’t even notice I was gone. If she does I’ll say I was in the loo.” He marched past the assembled group at the door of the warehouse and inside. The others looked bewildered at Jack and Methos, who simply said,
“That’s the Doctor,” before following him inside. The Doctor continued up to the two captive Goa’uld and barged Spike out of the way, who was about to begin ‘interrogating’ them again.
“Oi! Who the hell are you?” Spike growled. The Doctor barely spared them a glance,
“Hello, I’m the Doctor.”
“Doctor? Doctor who?”
“Oh do shut up Spike.” Giles muttered. The Doctor looked at him to smile his thanks, then did a double-take. Curious, he asked him,
“You aren’t Krillitane by any chance are you?” He took Gile’s puzzled expression to be a no and shook his head before turning back to the prisoners. “Now then matey, what can you tell me about the Daleks?” The Goa’uld looked at each other before Smith replied,
“We have told you, the Emperor shall return and he shall purify the universe. Nothing can stand in his way.”
“Is that so?” The Doctor grinned, “Did your Emperor mention anything about me? You see, the Daleks had a name for me.” The Goa’uld looked at each other once more, puzzled by this new arrival, “They called me the Oncoming Storm.” Smith showed he recognised the name with a flash of his eyes.
“And lo, even the Oncoming Storm shall not prevent the return of the Emperor, he shall sweep all impurity away and the universe shall be reborn to greatness.”
“Really?” The Doctor grinned again, “We’ll just have to see about that then. Now when and where exactly is the great and mighty grand poobar returning?” Smith glared at him.
“You dare mock the Emperor?”
“Well until he gets here, yes. Then I’ll kill him.” The cold intensity in his voice shocked the others in the room, even the ones who didn’t know him. Jack was scared, he had only seen this side of the Doctor a few times before, and Methos had new respect for the man he had previously thought of as bumbling. He was suddenly thankful he had never crossed him. But Smith just smiled at him, with typical Goa’uld arrogance.
“You shall not stop him. Everything that was prophesised has come to pass. And when the Oncoming Storm approaches the loyal ones, and the tear in the world is healed, the doorway shall be opened and he shall return.”
“Doorway, eh? A door between the beginning of time and now.” The Doctor began pacing back and forth, “Yes!....No…wait a minute…”The others watched the dialogue the Doctor was having with himself with fascination until he suddenly span to face them, literally bouncing on the spot, “That’s it! Oh that’s brilliant. I have to admit, it’s genius, oh clever old Emperor.”
“What’s genius?” Spike snapped. The Doctor regarded him for a second, as if only now noticing his presence, before explaining very slowly, as if to a child.
“The Emperor has been hiding out in the time before the universe was created. But he doesn’t have the power necessary to escape back into the time-stream. When the rift was opened fully, it left little residual echoes throughout earth’s history. With the right manipulation of particles, the Emperor will be able to slip through these echoes like a doorway, landing him right smack bang…where? Where will he come out?” At that the Doctor charged out of the warehouse and ran back to the TARDIS, hotly followed by Jack and Methos. The others looked at each other before giving pursuit, leaving a bemused Angel and Spike to watch over the prisoners.
“Did you have any idea what he was talking about?” Angel asked.
“Not a bloody one.” Spike replied. Smith began laughing, so Spike snapped both their necks again before he and Angel followed the others.
The Doctor burst into the TARDIS and began twiddling knobs and dials on the central console, indicating to Jack and Methos to do the same. The others weren’t far behind, it was Sam who reached them first and as she entered the TARDIS she stopped dead and stared slack-jawed in awe at her surroundings. The others came charging through the door and crashed into her, sending them all sprawling, and it would have been quite comical if not for the dire situation. As they picked themselves up, they one by one noticed the cavernous interior of the TARDIS and joined Sam in the staring.
“But…it’s…b.b.bigger…” Sam stuttered.
“Yes, yes, it’s bigger on the inside.” Methos snapped. The Doctor looked at them all with amusement before continuing his lever pulling and staring intently at a screen.
“Now…let me see..Yes…”The Doctor muttered with mounting excitement, “Yes, that’s it! Okay…Yes, if we can just…hmm…” O’Neill strode over to where Methos was standing and demanded,
“Why exactly should we trust him? Who is this child?”
“Oh, you humans…Oi! I’m 925 I’ll have you know, I’m hardly a child!” Amanda looked at him.
“Aw, you haven’t even finished your first millennium. Bless.” She said, flashing him her winning smile.
“Immortals.” sighed the Doctor.
“Hang on a minute.” O’Neill said, “What do you mean, you humans?” Methos sighed.
“The Doctor isn’t human. I thought being 925 and the police box that’s bigger on the inside would have given that one away.” Methos sniped, “He’s from a planet called Gallifrey, one of a race called the Time Lords.”
“Never heard of them.” O’Neill said.
“Oh, well, I’m so sorry.” The Doctor said, looking up briefly from his screens, “If the great and mighty Jack O’Neill hasn’t heard of me…”
“But you’ve heard of me.” O’Neill said. The Doctor stopped, slightly at a loss for words at that, before smiling and continuing with his button tweaking.
“Well perhaps you would like my abbreviated CV then? I have travelled through space and time, saving the universe and particularly the Earth on numerous occasions. You Earthlings have a wonderful habit of getting yourselves into trouble, it’s one of the reasons I love you so much.” The Doctor beamed at this, as though he had just said something terribly witty, “Anyway, I have dealt with the Daleks on several occasions, the most recent, as you perceive it, at Torchwood.”
“You beat them all single-handed?” Xander asked.
“Well, I had help.” A brief flicker of grief showed on the Doctor’s face, but was gone again in an instant. “But pretty much, yes.”
“Well then, they can’t be that terrifying, can they?” Spike asked.
“Oh but they are.” Jack Harkness said, his voice sombre, “The Daleks are like the Borg in Star Trek, single-minded and totally unstoppable. But they don’t assimilate, they exterminate. They exterminate all forms of life that don’t match the Dalek image of purity, which includes all human life. Just one of them could decimate this planet with its weapons.”
“And the Emperor has knowledge of how to manipulate human DNA to turn people into Daleks.” The Doctor continued, “He could have an army within weeks and the Earth would be doomed, closely followed by the rest of the universe.”
“How?” Sam asked, “I thought they were machines.”
“No. Their outer shells are mechanical, but inside, their brains, their hearts are very much organic. They were the inhabitants of a planet called Skaro, much like humans once, but a deranged maniac sought to purify them, stamp out all weaknesses through genetic modification. By the time he finished, all that was left was unfeeling lumps of flesh.”
“But if this Emperor is the last one, wouldn’t killing it be genocide?” Daniel asked. The Doctor looked at him, sympathy on his face, before it was replaced by cold determination.
“In their armour they became the ultimate army, unemotional, obeying totally their commander and bent on one thing only. The eradication of everything in the universe that isn’t Dalek. Under other circumstances I’d agree with you, but I’ve given the Daleks too many chances to change. They never will, and as long as a single one exists the whole universe is in danger.”
“Yes, but they’re aliens, right?” Amanda asked, “I mean, they use ray-guns or lasers or whatever. They can’t hurt us?” Jack shook his head.
“Their technology can vaporise their target, which I think counts as beheading, don’t you?” he said grimly. The Immortals all looked at each other and rubbed absently at their necks. Spike and Angel also looked nervously at each other, fairly certain that a Dalek weapon would effectively dust them too.
“So,” chipped in Methos, “I think it might be a good idea for all of us if we stop this Emperor. Any ideas yet Doctor?” The Doctor glanced up at him and grinned.
“There are two possible places that he might materialise, one is in Russia, near Saint Petersburg, the other is near the original rift.”
“In Cardiff.” Jack said
“In Cardiff.” The Doctor concurred. “So what I suggest is that we divide into two teams. Cardiff is the most likely site, so I’ll use the TARDIS to drop one team in Saint Petersburg a few hours before my calculations estimate the arrival and then the rest of us will pop to Cardiff.”
“That’s all well and good Doctor, but what will we use against him?” O’Neill asked, “Will zats do any good?” The Doctor looked at him quizzically, so O’Neill showed him the weapon.
“Ah. No, afraid not. Daleks have personal force-fields that defend against almost all projectile weapons, even energy-based ones.”
“Then how exactly can we beat him?” Spike asked. The Doctor looked thoughtful for a few minutes.
“I think I have something.” Sam suggested, “I’ve been working on a weapon that will penetrate Goa’uld personal shields. I’m not familiar with Dalek defences, so I’ll need your help Doctor, but if they work along similar principles then it shouldn’t take much to alter them for our needs.” The Doctor looked at her seriously for a second before beaming widely.
“I like that, nice thinking. What was your name?”
“Colonel Carter. Sam.” She answered, returning the smile.
“Right then, Sam and I will work on this weapon. Jack and…Adam?” The Doctor remembered Methos’ name, he was just confirming which alias he was currently using, and Methos nodded that confirmation to him, “Jack and Adam, you know everyone better than I so divide everyone into two teams.” Jack and Methos nodded and took that as a cue to leave, ushering the others outside. They turned as they heard the distinctive whorp whorp of the TARDIS and witnessed it vanish.
“Well there’s something you don’t see every day.” commented Spike.
“I don’t think we need our friends anymore.” Methos said, indicating inside the warehouse. Jack and O’Neill looked at him and nodded before heading into the building. As the only Immortals other than Amanda not to have taken the head of one of the Immortal Goa’uld, it had been decided that it was safest for them to challenge the prisoners. They were concerned that a double dose of Goa’uld memory might be too much for one person. They had also agreed that it would be a straight, by the rules challenge, not an execution, against Methos’ protests. None of the other Immortals could bear such a flagrant abuse of the rules, not even O’Neill with all his hatred of the Goa’uld.
The two Jacks entered the warehouse and walked over to the captives, their swords drawn.
“Ah, so it is over, you have no more use for us. Then do what you must, I have served my lord well.” Smith said, with uncharacteristic humility for a Goa’uld. Anker was less accepting of his fate.
“You would kill us like this? In cold blood, bound to chairs? Cowards!” he spat. Wordlessly the two Jacks cut the bonds, freeing the Goa’uld before tossing them their swords.
“There would be no honour in execution. We challenge you according to the Game.” O’Neill said, slipping out of that persona and becoming Angus MacNeill. He saluted Smith with his sword, who returned the courtesy and positioned himself ready. Anker turned to Jack Harkness, who was also positioned ready.
“Are you ready to die boy?” Jack just smiled at him and beckoned him with his free hand. With a snarl, Anker charged at him. Like a matador with a bull, Jack sidestepped the charge and span round to slash at Anker’s back. Anker roared with pain and turned to face his opponent once more. He lay into Jack, delivering blows with startling speed and ferocity. Jack was able to parry them, but he was being driven backwards toward the corner.
Angus could see from the corner of his eye that Jack was in trouble, but he himself was having a more difficult fight than he had anticipated. He had made the mistake of assuming that the Goa’uld had been lying low, staying out of the Game, but from Smith’s skill with a blade it was clear that he hadn’t been idle these last few millennia. It had been a long time since Angus last fought someone anywhere close to his own age and experience and he badly underestimated Smith. He didn’t know how the much younger Immortal would cope against Anker. But his momentary concern for Jack was pushed aside as he saw an opportunity and pressed home the advantage. Smith had raised his arm to deliver a blow and Angus swiftly thrust his blade forward, driving it in under his opponent’s arm into his chest. Smith gasped and dropped his blade. Kicking it away, Angus drew his own sword out of Smith and brought it around in a broad sweep, severing the Goa’uld’s head from his shoulders. Before the Quickening hit he was able to glance in the direction of Jack and was relieved to see that he seemed to be holding his own.
The other two combatants paused briefly as the Quickening began, but only for a split second before resuming their own duel. The violence of the Quickening provided a suitable backdrop, but it also provided obstacles as the two now had to evade occasional bolts of energy that shot in their direction.
Luckily for Jack, Anker had underestimated his opponent. He had assumed that as the older he was the more experienced, but he was mistaken. His early blitzkrieg of blows had backfired, tiring him before he’d managed to land a single one on Jack. Exhausted, he could now barely defend himself from Jack’s punishing blows, the heavy weight of his own sword combining with that of Jack’s broadsword to send jarring pain down his arm with every strike of Jack’s blade.
Eventually, Anker could no longer feel either of his arms and could not muster the strength to raise his blade. Jack saw his chance and struck, aiming for the sword but connecting with tissue and severing Anker’s arm, which fell to the ground, his sword clattering on the concrete floor. Jack raised his sword above his head with both hands, a grim determination on his face, and he swung.
In the moment of silence that followed, he looked over to Angus, who was kneeling on the floor, recovering from the Quickening. He wore a look of absolute disgust, which Jack presumed was from the Goa’uld memories that he must have been experiencing. Jack heard crackling and turned round to see blue lightning dance over the body on the floor. He had witnessed Methos take a Quickening, but he had yet to experience one himself. Unsure of what was to happen, but knowing it wouldn’t be pleasant, he steeled himself.
The Quickening hit him with a violence he hadn’t felt since the Dalek killed him on Satellite 5. His own thoughts and memories were temporarily obliterated as the personality of Anker and that of his host forced itself into every fibre of his being. He gasped in pain as he witnessed the life of the Immortal who had been Niankhkhnum before the Goa’uld had taken him as a host, and all the atrocities that he had committed since. The pain seemed to increase exponentially as the Quickening climaxed and Jack let out a scream before it ended suddenly and he blacked out.
Jack slowly opened his eyes to find Methos standing over him, wearing his usual smug grin. Jack groaned as he sat up and put his hand to his head.
“Here, drink this, I find it helps.” Methos said, handing Jack a beer. Jack had absolutely no idea where he had acquired it from, but he suspected that Methos kept a stash secreted in the same place as his sword. Jack downed the can in one. “Feeling better?” Jack nodded and smiled.
“Good.” Angus said. Jack noticed for the first time that Angus was stood behind Methos along with Duncan and Richie. They all looked quite relieved, and Jack had a feeling that they had been there to ensure that he was still Jack Harkness when he woke up. Just to make sure for himself, he turned to Methos and snogged him passionately, only stopping when he needed air. The others looked discreetly in the other direction. “If you’ve quite finished,” Angus continued, “we’ve got a Dalek that needs its ass kicking.” Jack grinned and got to his feet.
“Come on then,” he said as he headed for the door, “don’t just stand there gawking, let’s go!”
The L World will continue in Part 15: Lurking in Shadow