A/N: Sorry for the delay. Surprisingly, even during the pandemic, free time is hard to come by. But I'm still here. Just turtle-slow.

Chapter summary: In which SG-1 considers a report and the unknown while Seto deals with a phone call and a future involving a feline.

36: Well Deserved

Daniel rested his chin against his interlaced fingers and considered Walter's report. He knew about two different types of nish'ta from personal experience. Both resulted in forms of mind control but had different methods of delivery. Setesh's nish'ta was breathed in through the nose and resulted in a brief stint of unconsciousness before the victim became suggestible by anyone as long as it didn't go against Setesh.

But Hathor's nish'ta was more subtle in both delivery and in control. Her nish'ta could be absorbed by the victim by mouth, whether that was by breathing or by kiss. Daniel shook his head. He did not want to think about that. Bad memories.

But Walter had his head on straight and his information came directly from Kaiba. That meant it had at least a grain of truth in it. It did bring a few things to mind forcing him to look at them in a way he never had before.

Hypnosis was a form of mind control.

Hypnotists were stage magicians. They went to colleges, birthday parties, and had stage shows in Vegas. They were entertainers. They could make fully clothed people think they were butt naked, but they couldn't… Well… No, he couldn't say that because he didn't know for sure. Mind control.

He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair as his mind began to come up with scenarios he never imagined before. Hypnotism could be weaponized. Was that how Kaiba had been able to get into NORAD and down into the SGC? Did he just… make himself invisible?

No, couldn't be that because the sensors in the SGC would make him visible like they had when Nirrti made herself invisible after trying to assassinate Cronus. So… maybe… Maybe Kaiba made himself invisible to people only?

Or he made it so he wasn't noticed? Think Daniel. Who would pass unnoticed through both NORAD and the SGC without attracting too much attention?

"Daniel?"

Startled, Daniel sat up and stared at the door to his office where Sam stood. Sam. Sam was major in the Air Force. She was military. She belonged here. A higher rank, like a general or possibly even a colonel, would be noticed and receive salutes. But a major or a captain moving down the hallways with purpose would be just part of the background.

"I think I know how he did it."

Sam blinked in confusion and came into his office. "How who did what?" she asked, leaning against his desk and crossing her arms in interest.

"How Kaiba got in here without anyone noticing," he said.

Blue eyes sparkled in surprised interest. "How?" she demanded, pulling out a chair and taking a seat across from him.

"Did you read Walter's report?" he asked.

She nodded. "Well, yeah. It was…" She shook her head. "To be honest, I'm not sure what to make of it. I believe it I just don't know what to make of it."

That… yeah, Daniel could agree with that. "Walter said Kaiba told him he'd used hypnotism on him, not mind control," Daniel began."

"Right."

"That got me thinking," Daniel explain, placing his forearms on the desk and leaning forward excitedly. "Hypnotism is used to change the way a person thinks, in a way. Hypnotists can make someone wearing clothes think they're actually naked. What if Kaiba used hypnotism to make people…" He waved his hands vaguely as he tried to come up with a way to say this that didn't sound ridiculous. Oh, what the hell. "Think he was an Air Force officer," he finished lamely.

Caught off guard, Sam closed her mouth and leaned back in surprise. Her eyebrows dropped low over her eyes as her scientific mind raced to try an come up with a scientific explanation for this.

"Look, I know it sounds crazy," Daniel said quickly, "but it also makes sense. Whenever Kaiba's come here, he's walked right in without anyone questioning him or stopping him." Sam's eyebrows lifted as an admission of agreement and Daniel felt his confidence grow. "Which led me to wonder what would easily be overlooked in a place like this. Not because it's invisible, but because it was so normal, it belonged."

Daniel watched the gears in Sam's head turn. She frowned. Then her eyes widened and she looked down at her uniform in understanding. But a frown formed on her face and she looked back at her friend in thought.

"Whenever we retrace his steps through the base, he always looks like himself," she muttered. "Hypnotism would only affect the mind so it can't fool technology."

"Which would explain why we see him clearly on the cameras but not in person unless he wants us to," Daniel finished. He opened his hands and shrugged. "That's pretty clever if you ask me."

"Clever, yes," Sam agreed, "but also a serious security threat."

"The best way to know for sure if he's actually doing this or not is to keep a close eye out both literally and," he nodded to the security camera mounted on the corner of his office wall by the ceiling, "figuratively. Track down the people he walked past and ask if they saw or noticed anything out of the ordinary."

Sam opened her mouth to reply when a shadow fell over them from the open office door. She turned around and Daniel looked up to see Teal'c standing there.

"I hope I am not interrupting," the Jaffa said in what Daniel would almost think was apology.

"No, no, come on in," he said, waving his friend over to the only other free chair in his office. Well, mostly free. Daniel quickly stood and brushed the papers off the chair and gestured for Teal'c to take it.

With a polite bow, Teal'c sat down. "I believe you were speaking of Set," he said. "If I might pose a question."

"Sure, go ahead," Sam said, adjusting herself so she sat facing both of her friends with interest.

"I was under the impression Tau'ri technology was not capable of creating holograms that could cause physical effects," he said. "Is that still the case?"

Daniel blinked. "Ah, I didn't know holograms could cause any physical effects."

"Daniel's right," Sam said, giving Teal'c an odd look. "Holograms are just light and sometimes sound. Neither can affect a person like what Walter mentioned in his report. It's possible it was a weapons attack."

"I am inclined to agree," Teal'c said. "However, I have no reason to doubt Sergeant Harriman's word." He tilted his head. "And we already know Set is capable feats I have not seen amongst the other Goa'uld System Lords. Is it not possible that he adapted his technology in kind?"

Oh, now there was a scary thought.

"It is possible," Sam admitted, looking troubled by the question. "Especially when we still know so little about Set's abilities. "

"And considering our little Apophis back alive and in power again problem…" Daniel muttered just loud enough for them to hear.

It earned a wince from everyone present. That hadn't been the best day for their team or for anyone against the Goa'uld. It just wasn't fair. Apophis had been dead. Daniel watched the snake die. The host had finally had a few moments of freedom to speak for himself during those last few moments of life.

Daniel never did get the host's name, just his occupation as a scribe in the Temple of Amun. The man had had a wife and children. Thousands of years as a prisoner in his own body and the host still managed to maintain a semblance of sanity, no matter how shattered and riddled with despair it might have been. The story the host told had been brief and broken before death finally claimed him and gave him the rest he well deserved.

From his time on Abydos and years of archaeological and anthropological study, Daniel knew of an ancient Egyptian ritual where the host's soul could be preserved in a Shabti statue. Upon the ritual's completion, Daniel had sent the small statue back to Egypt where the unnamed host could finally rest in peace.

But now Apophis had returned, revived by Sokar and risen back into power. Years of work, struggle, and loss and the slithering bastard survived. It both infuriated Daniel and brought a gnawing feeling of defeat. The host was once again a prisoner in his own body as Apophis used him like a flesh puppet. It was disgusting and offensive.

Which brought Daniel back to the problem of Kaiba and the differences that set Kaiba apart from the other Goa'uld and even the Tok'ra to an extent. Granted, Kaiba predated the Tok'ra so that explained a bit. But it did not explain the problem of his… well, downright unusual and as-yet not fully understood abilities.

Daniel began wracking his mind for everything he knew about Kaiba and comparing it to everything he'd come across since working with the Stargate Program. Some things were close but none were close enough to vocalize. He ran a hand through his hair. This was going to take some serious brainstorming.

"If we're going to have a party," Jack's voice suddenly said, jolting the group out of their thoughts, "why didn't anyone but me bring coffee?"

Jack took a sip of his piping hot coffee and Daniel groaned.

"Have you used it yet?" she asked, concern edging the curiosity in her voice.

He grimaced. "Once," he admitted. "My opponent fainted."

She huffed a laugh. "You sound upset."

He glared at his phone. "The duel was declared a draw because of it," he grumbled. "I hate draws."

He could practically hear the smile. "I'm not surprised. You were always too competitive for your own good."

"In your opinion," he muttered, stepping into the elevator after the two people inside filed out. When the doors closed, he leaned back against the glass walls overlooking the hotel atrium and sighed. "I assume you're aware of the incident in the park."

"I am," she replied. "Something has begun fogging my vision. Whoever is near my brother has a Millennium Item. As long as their fates intertwine, it will be hard to get a clear view."

Seto pursed his lips in frustration. The news wasn't a surprise, but it certainly wasn't pleasant either. The Millennium Items were too prone to act out on their own to allow for a clear reading of a person's future. There were just too many possible scenarios to properly parse out. There was a reason the Items were called 'Millennium' Items after all.

"Have you told Mokuba yet?" Ishizu asked.

A pang of guilt tugged at his conscience, but he quickly dismissed it. "No, and I don't intend to."

"You should," she said gently. "His love for you in not to be taken lightly, as you well know."

"All the more reason to keep it quiet," Seto insisted.

Silence answered him for several seconds before he heard the priestess hum. "I see. You're afraid of losing him."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he snapped.

"Set," Ishizu said, "do not lie to me. Your brother deserves better."

Yes. Mokuba did deserve better.

"When are you due?" she asked, changing the subject to something just as uncomfortable but much less dangerous to Seto's emotional state.

"A while yet," he said after a brief hesitation. "I've put this off for almost a century. I'll start to feel the effects of the delay in about 6 months or so. But I can tolerate it. The breaking point will be a little over a year from now."

"I'm told going so long between breeding sessions is hard on the symbiote's body."

Seto refused to dignify that carefully worded unasked question with a response. Instead, he stepped out of the elevator and walked down the open hallway to the presidential suite where Mokuba was waiting for him.

Ishizu sighed. "You have experience with this. Have you decided on a place?" she asked. "Wherever it is, I'll find a way to be there."

"I have a place in Japan," he said. "It's old and out of the way, unreachable by idiots."

"And your brother?"

Seto hesitated in the hallway just short of the hotel room door. "What about him?" he asked.

"Will he be there?"

Annoyed, Seto hissed. "Don't press the issue, priestess," he warned, unlocking the door and stepping inside. "I gave you a job. I've told you all you're going to hear about me. Your turn. Have you learned anything from your snooping?"

"Have you learned anything about my brother?" she countered easily.

"The snake in his head knows I'm a queen and that this in my planet," Seto said fiercely in Goa'uld, glancing up to see Mokuba flopped on the bed typing away on a laptop. The young boy looked up with a bright smile Seto didn't deserve when he heard the door close. "Unless he chooses to meet me in person and not mind-to-mind," Seto continued in Goa'uld, mussing Mokuba's hair as he did so, "then he won't get anything new. I know his mind and can sense him if he's close enough. That plus the proximity to a Millennium Item should make this hunt fairly easy."

"Thank you," she said in relief. "I take it Mokuba is there with you."

"He is," Seto said, taking a seat on the bed next to his little brother.

"Then I will be brief," she said. "Your friends at the SGC will be receiving a message through the Stargate from a cat."

"…a cat," Seto repeated incredulously. Honestly, it wasn't the weirdest thing he'd heard before, but it was certainly up there.

"Yes. It involves matters of which you might find interesting," she said. "I would suggest you make yourself available. If you are present at the cat's arrival, you will be allowed through the Stargate."

Well now, wasn't that good news. "Will I see Heru'ur?" he asked.

If he was, then he would need to have a certain something on hand. He'd waited millennia for this. He wasn't going to let a little something like wrong place, wrong time keep him from seeing the look on Heru'ur's face. He deserved this, damn it.

"You will not," Ishizu replied and Seto sighed in disappointment. "Not yet. But I know you will. I regret it will be under less than pleasant circumstances."

Not the best news, but news nonetheless. Better to be warned ahead of time just in case. He'd make preparations and deal with the fallout when it happened. Besides, he'd get to see Heru'ur. That alone was reason to look forward to it, in a very twisted sort of way.

"You miss him."

Damn the priestess' intuition. "I want to give him back hi-"

"You miss him."

He fell silent because damn if she wasn't right. The Pharaoh was the ultimate competition, someone Seto could respect and trust without reservation. But the Pharaoh reborn, no matter how perfect a competition, honorable, and worthy of respect he was, it wasn't the same. The Shadows that bound Seto by his oath held him strongly and Seto wouldn't have it any other way. But he still missed the fiery exchanges, the brilliant warrior, and the conniving mind that was Heru'ur.

Even if the bastard had betrayed him in the end. The reasons for the trickery were…. Worthy of consideration. After Seto had time to lash out and sulk. Five millennia was enough time.

"It is unhealthy."

"I know."

"But, it might be useful. I will look into it further."

"When is the cat due to arrive?" Seto asked, hoping to divert Ishizu's train of thought. "I do have a tournament to run and I am not pleased with the interruptions I've had so far."

"Soon. After I face you on the field."

So after the semi-finals. So far Seto and Ishizu had qualified for the next round and were immune to any further qualifying duels. Seto had no doubt Yugi would qualify tomorrow. However much he wanted to deny it, Jounouchi's obvious gift of Shadowmancy stacked the odds in his favor in regards to qualifying for the finals as well. As for the other qualifying duelists, Seto would wait and see.

That gave Seto time to crush the ring of cheaters wreaking havoc on his tournament. Speaking of, he looked down at Mokuba's screen. Between the two Kaibas, they had managed to wrangle and take down at least five cheaters involved so far. Seto's computers were still running diagnostics on the fake Duel Monsters cards the cheaters had been using and coming up with a way for the Duel Disks to recognize and reject them.

"Then I'll be ready."

Tomorrow should be interesting. Seto still hadn't figured out who had the other two God cards. And now he had to worry about a cat, of all things, coming through the Stargate. Well, at least he had a few days. Right now, he was going to nap. He deserved it.