See Chapter One for disclaimer and details. Hey, everyone, welcome to the last chapter of the story! First off, we'd just like to say how we're extremely grateful to all of you who have stayed with us throughout these past few weeks. Thank you for reading and taking the time to review or send feedback, we really do want to thank each and every one of you for it; Bobboky, Quathis, Wonderbee31, RobC, gaul1, DanielHimura, Mike Yarwood, UnseenTraveler, cursedgirl and anyone else we've missed. And we'd also like to once again thank our beta readers Greywizard, Mr. Mysterious and Memory King for all their work on this fanfic; you guys went above and beyond, thank you! Okay, now, farewell and here it is – the final chapter of 'Time For Change'!

Chapter Ten: The Present And The Future

The planet eventually known as P3X-888, many thousands of light-years from Earth

February 22nd, 1998

Apophis cursed as he stared around at the original primitive homeworld of the Goa'uld after exiting the Stargate, a temporary way-station he had come to after barely escaping from his doomed Ha'tak vessel in time.

The System Lord knew that even though he had survived, the damage from the recent fiasco at the Tau'ri homeworld was almost incalculable. The balance of power had dramatically shifted now, Apophis felt certain that his enemies – such as Cronus, and the son of Ra named Heru'ur – would soon take advantage of his depleted forces to wage war against him. Even the Goa'uld known as Sokar and Ba'al might feel bold enough to challenge him.

Any or all of them might unite to enter into battle against his armies, and with his standing amongst the System Lords weakened by failing to exterminate the Tau'ri as promised – Apophis estimated that he might have as little as a year left to live.

Apophis also knew that he could not return to his throne world Chulak, at least not yet – the betrayal perpetrated by Bra'tac and his Jaffa was so heinous to the male Goa'uld that he could not trust any of his worshippers there any longer. The words of the shol'va Teal'c also refused to leave Apophis's mind:

"This will be a day long remembered on Chulak – the day that the false god Apophis learned that his son helped kill his own mother, and that he was also made to look like a fool by Klorel and Hathor."

Dampening down his rage Apophis looked around one more time, before deciding on where to go next. But as he entered the Gate co-ordinates for the planet PX9-757, one of the many worlds he ruled, Apophis had an idea.

( Teal'c has a son, as I recall. One who would have received his first prim'ta by now – yes, yes, his name is Rya'c. He will be the perfect instrument for his traitorous father to one day know the full wrath of his god. Not to mention, destroy the Tau'ri from within... )

Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado

February 23rd, 1998

"I WANT THAT LITTTLE RED-HAIRED WITCH LOCKED UP IMMEDIATELY!" Senator Kinsey's voice thundered inside General Hammond's private office.

"Really, Senator? What for?" the Air Force general asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"What for?! You know perfectly well what she did to me yesterday! She, she..." Kinsey suddenly trailed off, not wanting to finish off that sentence.

"She what, Senator? Were you going to say that Miss Rosenberg temporarily turned you into a cat?" Hammond asked mildly, as if they were just discussing the weather or something. "If I were you, I'd be careful saying things like that outside this office, sir. All sorts of consequences could result. Not the least of which could be irreparable harm to your chances for re-election this year."

"Is that a threat?" Kinsey straightened up and glared at the bald Texan.

"Not at all, Senator," Hammond said smoothly as he leaned forward. "However, I'm sure the President feels that it would be in this nation's best interests if you were to refrain from rocking the boat over this particular issue. Not only are your actions in attempting to shut down this command precisely when it was needed the most a matter of record, I'm afraid I have little to no influence over the activities of either Miss Rosenberg or the Watchers Council."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kinsey demanded arrogantly.

"Senator, despite her accomplishments Willow Danielle Rosenberg is only barely beyond what's classified as a novice in her craft. And from what I've heard from Mr. Giles, that particular organization in England has practitioners that can turn people into rats or flies just as easily as cats," Hammond said as Kinsey suddenly went pale. "I trust I don't have to explain the significance of these things to you?"

"I promise, you will only live to regret this!" Kinsey blustered, before slamming the door on his way back to Washington.

( Good riddance, ) Hammond thought to himself, leaning back. ( Even though I'm sure it'll only be temporary at best. )

The phone buzzed, and Hammond picked it up. "Yes?"

#It's time, General,# Walter Harriman's voice came over the line.

"I'll be right there," Hammond nodded and then he replaced the receiver, got up and made his way to the Gate room. There before the gathered crowd he welcomed Teal'c, Bra'tac and the other two Jaffa to the facility and thanked them for everything they had done, before their Death Gliders had been rescued by the space shuttle Endeavour.

"Master Bra'tac, words alone simply cannot express the depth of our gratitude. But on behalf of all the citizens of the planet Earth, I'd like to thank you and everyone else for saving our planet from the Goa'uld," Hammond said formally.

"You are Hammond of Texas?" Bra'tac asked, eyeing the two-star general.

"I am," George replied.

"Then I regret to inform you that the one called Daniel Jackson did not return along with the rest of us," Bra'tac said, leaving out any reference to Xander and Lantesh.

"Actually, I got back here from Abydos not long before you did," Daniel spoke up as he walked out from amongst the back of the crowd.

The free Jaffa were surprised to see Jackson as part of the welcoming committee, and launched into a series of questions before eventually departing to Chulak to keep on fighting the good fight. Teal'c decided to stay behind, however; for the moment his place was here, and he could tell that despite the brave front for public show Daniel was still shattered over the loss of Sha're. Carter and O'Neill could also tell that, the moment they arrived on the scene as well.

Eventually, Sam and Jack slipped away from their team-mates for a little privacy. O'Neill looked rather hesitant as he asked, "You okay after what that vampire did to you, Carter?"

"Yes, sir," Sam replied, flexing her jaw a little. "How about yourself?"

"Oh, I'm just peachy," Jack rotated his neck stiffly. "I swear, though, Janet's eyes sort of just lit right up after we got back from P3X-984. Must have had those extra-thick needles of hers out in record time, once we got to the infirmary for the mandatory once-over!"

"I really kinda doubt that, sir," Sam had a small grin on her face, making a mental note to remember to tell her friend how much the commander of SG-1 disliked getting jabbed by sharp, pointy things.

"Well, anyway, now that that other vampire on the base has been eliminated, hopefully we can get back to business as usual around here," Jack said, scratching the hair at the back of his neck.

"Meaning the official ceremony marking the start of the alliance between ourselves and the Tok'ra, Colonel?" Sam asked with a bit too much innocence.

"Yeah. Remind me to go fishing at my cabin in Minnesota afterwards," Jack briefly grimaced. "For that matter, Carter, you should come too. It'll be great, just the two of us!"

"Just the two of us, sir?" Sam suddenly had a strange feeling in her chest, as she was reminded of Daniel's story of how she and Jack had been engaged to be married in another universe; and the USAF captain also hadn't forgotten how she had literally thrown herself at O'Neill whilst under the influence of the Touched virus. ( Is he trying to give me a subtle hint here? )

"Sure, Carter! You and me sitting on the dock with our feet perched up, sipping a cold one and casting about for those ever-elusive fish in my pond. It'll be sweet!" Jack suddenly got a wide grin on his face. "We should invite Teal'c and Daniel as well, come to think of it. Maybe even Mr. Giles, Miss Summers, Miss Rosenberg, Miss Chase and Harris too, while we're at it. The more the merrier!"

"Yes, sir. The more the merrier, right. Uh, excuse me sir, I – need to talk to Janet about something," Sam felt her cheeks flush as she walked away, silently berating herself for ever thinking that her commanding officer might be willing to violate the Air Force's non-fraternization rules.

( Hmm. I hope Sam doesn't forget to pack that cute little green tank top number of hers for the trip, ) Jack thought to himself with an even bigger grin. He too remembered the Touched virus incident, and Jackson's description of that alternate reality, as he followed his second-in-command back to the Gate room.

After all, what was life without a healthy dose of sweet temptation in it?

Tok'ra Tel'tak vessel, in geosynchronous orbit over the United States

A few moments later

Whilst down below the men and the women of the SGC were still celebrating the big victory against the enemy, Xander/Lantesh and Cordelia/Jolinar were orbiting the Earth in their cloaked cargo ship. They were not alone, however; Willow, Buffy and Giles were also present.

"It's beautiful," Buffy said, examining the fragile-looking blue-white planet below. "Thanks for letting us see it, y'know, after bringing Dr. Jackson home."

"You're welcome, Buff," Xander nodded. He knew that the blonde Slayer was still an emotional wreck after killing Angelus, and he'd figured something like this might help cheer her up a bit. So far, it appeared to be working.

"Really gives you a sense of perspective up here, seeing what you're constantly fighting to save." Buffy turned to face her friend. "And you saved the world yesterday – Giles and Willow are saying you're a hero..."

"Lantesh and I just helped Dr. Jackson and the others stop the Goa'uld," Xander said modestly. "After the way you had to face down Dea – uh, Angel, you're still the real hero in my book."

Buffy instantly gave him a huge hug, her eyes wet and glistening.

"God, I've missed you," she said sincerely, before letting go and gesturing over to where her best friend was talking with Giles and Cordelia. "So has Willow!"

"I know, we managed to get a few things straightened out lately. I've missed you guys too," Xander told her. "But things are different now than how they were last year, Buffy. I don't belong in Sunnydale anymore. Neither does Cordelia."

"Yeah, I've heard about that part of it. I guess she really has become Queen C now, huh?" Miss Summers made a weak joke. "And you're what, the Tok'ra king?"

"Hardly," Lantesh answered her. "That's too close to what a Goa'uld would call himself for my liking, and Xander refuses to be considered any sort of royal consort, either."

"I'm just a guy who's planning to love, honour and cherish Cordelia from this point onwards, no matter what," Xander told Buffy. "And yeah, Slay-gal, I did choose those words for a reason."

( Thought as much. Well, I guess Willow's right, Cordelia's rough edges have been smoothed away a lot; maybe she actually does deserve him these days, ) the Slayer reflected.

"So, let me tell you about Oz..." Buffy started to talk about the short monosyllabic werewolf in order to distract herself about Angel, and the fact that she needed to put her lost love behind her from now on.

Not far away, Willow was saying to Cordelia, "Oh, I am so totally into the magic thing now! Watch this..." Miss Rosenberg slowly lifted herself off the floor.

"Willow, please come down from there at once!" Giles lectured her. "Telekinesis can be a, a very dangerous thing to play around with!"

"Myself, I gotta agree."

Willow crashed to the floor as everyone else whirled around to see Whistler standing there. "What the HELL are you doing here?!" Cordelia and Jolinar both shouted, immediately pissed off at the new arrival.

"I'm just here to deliver a message and give you some advice, that's all. So don't start PMS-ing on me like that, Queenie," Whistler told her in annoyance.

"Who is this guy?" Buffy demanded, the new arrival giving her Slayersense a weird vibe as Willow got up off the floor.

"His name is Whistler," Cordelia replied, still angry over how this person hadn't helped her boyfriend escape the Goa'uld when he could have. "And apparently, he's a demon of some sort!"

"Non-violent variety," Whistler said hastily, seeing Buffy automatically reach for the stake in the back of her pants. "Messenger boy, basically."

"So what's the message?" Xander asked him, giving the demon who'd so casually sacrificed him to Hathor a narrow-eyed glare.

"That buddy of yours, Dr. Jackson? His wife's gone now, so that book geek is planning to quit his current job – find the remotest dig he can, and just piss away the rest of his life. Y'know, looking at rocks and other worthless crap. But if Danny-boy does that, then eventually, the Earth is doomed," Whistler said gravely. "You gotta make him keep going as part of the team, bottom line."

"I'll talk to him," Giles promised straightaway.

"I am curious. Why choose us for that task, and not SG-1?" Lantesh wanted to know.

"Because you know exactly how much of a threat Apophis is. Not to mention that Anubis guy as well," Whistler shrugged.

"ANUBIS?!" Lantesh and Jolinar exclaimed in horror.

"Who's Anubis?" Buffy wanted to know.

"From what I've heard, a-a Goa'uld who committed crimes that were unspeakable even by their standards, before disappearing a thousand years ago," Giles told her, his hands shaking as he took off his glasses and started to polish them.

"Yeah, best guess? He isn't gonna be showing up for a few years yet. But when he does, the smart money's saying he's gonna go after the Tok'ra first and foremost, and exterminate you all. So here's the advice part; make good friends with those Stargate Command people, they're the only safe harbour you'll find," Whistler said to the two symbiotes.

He then turned to Willow and Buffy, "By the way, after you two graduate high school? Make sure you don't cut ties with the Air Force crowd. Trust me, their help will be needed."

"Against who?" Buffy wanted to know.

"Sorry, but you don't get all the answers up-front. Despite the big shake-up lately in the higher realms, that whole balance thing still applies, you know," Whistler shook his head. "So let's just say all of you are gonna be needed to help each other, especially once the kid sister shows up. Good luck!"

With that, Whistler just vanished.

"The kid sister?" Giles asked in confusion.

"I HATE it whenever people do the cryptic act," Buffy commented, unable to help recalling her first meeting with Angel and what that had led to.

Whilst everyone started talking amongst themselves, Xander walked over to the window to stare down at the Earth as his ship continued to fly around the world. Cordelia soon joined him, as the Tok'ra and their hosts gazed at the planet below.

The winds of fate continued to swirl around all four of them, but the storm clouds looming just over the horizon were not quite as threatening as they might have been under different circumstances.

The End...for now