Dust In The Wind

By Stargatebabe

DISCLAIMER: "Stargate SG-1/Atlantis" and its characters are the property of Sony Pictures, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Film Corp., Showtime/Viacom and USA Networks, Inc. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations and story are the property of the author(s), and may not be republished or archived elsewhere without the author's permission.

Teal'c watched Apophis die. The host's body crumbled before his eyes. The old eyes formed the milky gaze of age.

The Team took turns with the ancient Goa'uld as he lay there, suffering his death throes. Although Teal'c took great satisfaction in the demise of his former "god," he did fleetingly realize the host was dying too. All in all, it was long past time for the host who had been Apophis' home for thousands of years. It was a mercy to be celebrated not mourned.

Apophis fought. He fought hard to hang on. He tried every trick in the book to get someone to release him into a new host. But all his power, all his glory, all his knowledge, all his wealth didn't buy him another minute. He was crumbling into dust before their very eyes.

Curious, thought Teal'c. All the armies that fought for millennia for this lump of clay could not reverse his fate. All the schemes, the plans, and the plots were for naught at the end. Apophis' dreams of conquest and empire fell around his ears -- as his shriveled and dried on the bone. Even so, the Goar'uld refused to sees -- well he was nearly blind to boot.

Down in the well of the Mountain without the sky above or the sweet earth below, Teal'c appreciated the irony. Millions through the ages thought a god could not die. It would be as if the suns would not rise in the morning and the moons set at dusk. Apophis thought he would last as long.

Fleetingly, Teal'c felt the emptiness of such an existence without a master to order his days and nights. A new purpose to fulfill in the days ahead seemed out of reach. Teal'c was thankful for the record of this moment for the doubters- the "sinners" - as they would be considered if not actual blasphemers. Such a recording could be considered a trick. But many would join the rising tide of rebellion. That was his true purpose. Yet, a certain sadness passed over him, not for the Goa'uld that lay restrained before him. No, he was sad that an end of an era, a way of life was about to cease.

In the few short years with the Tau'ri, Teal'c saw System Lord after System Lord fall at the hands of a small group of lowly humans. Initially, he went with them for lack of anything better. Apophis would kill him for his transgression at the castle. At least he would know life with some promise of order. The Tau'ri O'Neill was trained military. He was from an advanced world. Only such a warrior could understand the threat and offer any hope of salvation. Teal'c looked at his friend and commanding officer thinking it had been a fortuitous meeting.

But this was not about the Tau'ri aspirations. This was personal. Teal'c remembered all the times he wished for this very moment. His mind's eye turned to those thoughts he'd had for at least fifty years, when he had no hope. Looking at the events of the last few years, Teal'c felt a sense of vindication. He was revenging his father against one more false god. The sweetness of this moment was that the indignities, the atrocities, and the evil he had suffered and dispensed were all crumbling like dust in the wind before his very eyes.

As Apophis gave his death rattle, Teal'c leaned over and whispered, "I die free."

Lyrics

Dust In The Wind

by Kansas

      I close my eyes
      Only for a moment, then the moment's gone
      All my dreams
      Pass before my eyes, a curiosity
      Dust in the wind
      All they are is dust in the wind
      Same old song
      Just a drop of water in an endless sea
      All we do
      Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
      Dust in the wind
      All we are is dust in the wind,
      Now, don't hang on
      Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
      It slips away
      And all your money won't another minute buy
      Dust in the wind
      All we are is dust in the wind
      All we are is dust in the wind
      Dust in the wind
      Everything is dust in the wind 
      Everything is dust in the wind
      The wind