Daniel's head was spinning. He was exhilarated from the sarcophagus, and from speaking so boldly to Ra and Jack. When he'd first seen Ra on Abydos, he'd been in awe, and now he was being given a second chance to learn about Ra AND teach him what he wanted to know! Jack had ruined that on Abydos, using force when none was necessary, and forever removing any chance Daniel had had to satisfy his curiosity. He wouldn't let that chance slip away again. He had to stay!
He was finally being given the chance to put all his knowledge to use. He could teach this Ra to be a benevolent ruler, to be like the God he used to be. Daniel also knew that great people in ancient Egypt were deified, so this was his chance at becoming a God himself! There was bound to be more technology here than the sarcophagus, and he'd be able to save Sha're for sure now. There was so much to think of, so much to do.
"Daniel!" Jack said again, getting Daniel's attention at last.
"Jack, don't you see? This is the perfect opportunity! Ra needs someone to teach him all about himself, and I'm the perfect candidate! I can save Sha're too, and Skaara. The people of this planet can live like the Egyptians did, in their Golden Age, when the Gods walked the earth! Jack, I owe it to myself, my wife, to everyone on this planet, and to all of Ra's old slaves to do this!" Daniel said vehemently.
"Slaves?" Ra asked. Daniel had forgotten that the God was still standing there.
"Well . . ." Daniel didn't know what to say.
"You enslaved millions of people for thousands of years. They didn't like you so they killed you. We killed you," Jack said flatly.
"Jack!" Daniel said, horrified. Ra looked puzzled.
"I am dead?" he asked. Daniel's face contorted as he tried to concentrate. Suddenly, he seemed to understand.
"In the legends, Ra would go to the underworld every night, and be re-born every morning! This must be the basis for that legend! You've been resurrected!" he exclaimed, turning to the God.
"How, Daniel?" asked Jack, not at all as enthusiastic as Daniel. He was standing next to a man he'd killed 2 years ago with a nuclear bomb! How had he survived? "Nothing can survive a nuclear bomb, Daniel!" Daniel shrugged.
"Cloning?" he guessed. "We've been cloned, so why not Ra? That could explain why he doesn't remember anything."
Just then, Teal'c stumbled into the room. He looked awful.
"They are coming," he said, and collapsed.
Behind Teal'c, covering the steps to the temple, and on down the hillside, hundreds of people were advancing. Leading the mass were Loni, Kiryani and Sam walking next to several of the surviving village elders of the People of Ra. The cannon blasts had terrified everyone, and brought the fighting to a standstill. Members of both tribes knew such power had to come from a god, and they believed it signaled the end of their world. All came to the temple now, moved by fear of more punishment, willing to do most anything to appease this god. Sam, for her part, was unable to explain to the frightened people that the blasts came from a gun fashioned by a quite mortal being. Her eyes searched up toward the temple, looking for signs of Teal'c or the Colonel.
Ra was beginning to understand just how powerful and important he truly was. Could it possibly be that he was also immortal? Had he in fact survived a deadly bombing? This Daniel Jackson had said he might have been "cloned",what is this "cloned"? There was so much he needed to know, and he had to be certain he had the complete devotion of the man who would teach him. How to prove this, he continued to think... ask him for a sacrifice...something important to him... This strong-willed one who refuses to believe in Ra, he called him Jack. "Your god demands proof of your devotion!" Ra announced.
Nokrah, now having regained his consciousness, understood and jumped up wildly, "Anything! Anything for my god! Just ask Nokrah!"
Ra walked slowly to his side as Daniel and Jack watched. Teal'c remained across the doorway, covering the entrance so the mob remained outside. "Would you perform a sacrifice for me, Nokrah?"
Nokrah grinned and bowed "My lord! Every day Nokrah makes sacrifices to you! Did you not see? Anything!"
"A person, Nokrah, a person close to you - would you sacrifice them to me?" Ra prodded, his voice icy and cold.
Nokrah began to sweat, he hesitated, what did his god want from him? "Yes!" he finally answered, certain his god knew what was best. "You only need to ask Nokrah, and it is so!"
Ra indicated his pleasure with Nokrah's response, and he turned to Jack. "You are an unbeliever?"
Jack didn't answer, he just returned the cold stare.
Next, Ra approached Daniel, and with a commanding voice asked "That one!" pointing to Jack "He is an unbeliever?"
Daniel softly answered "He does not believe as others might about you, my lord. He needs instruction. If you would permit me to teach him..."
"And you, Daniel Jackson, are you willing to prove your devotion to me? Are you willing to make a sacrifice?" Ra hissed the words at Daniel, enjoying the torment visible on the man's face. "I must be certain your words are not trickery, merely empty words when you call me your lord and god. Are you willing to do anything I ask?"
"If you would let my friends..." Daniel began, trembling a bit now at the tone in Ra's voice.
"I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU EXPECT OF ME! I WILL MAKE NO BARGAINS! The people of this world must know and see that even powerful strangers yield to their god, totally...and unbelievers are punished!" Ra shouted furiously.
Daniel knew what Ra was going to ask him next. He glanced at Jack, who had positioned himself defensively against a wall, still holding the spear he had brought with him. He craved a return to the sarcophagus, and immediately berated himself for thinking about his own needs when Jack was in such danger. C'mon, Teal'c - wake up - but, Teal'c remained dazed on the floor. "Ppplease...don't make me choose between serving you and the life of my friend!" Daniel stammered out.
"Your will answer now, as I asked Nokrah, will you make a sacrifice to me...a person...someone close to you?" Ra had asked, and it pleased him momentarily to see his subject so torn about his answer.
Daniel knew if he refused, Jack was dead anyway, and if he agreed - maybe he'd buy them some time, time desperately needed by the rest of the team to get away and go back home. Daniel made eye contact with Jack, hoping O'Neill would understand there was no betrayal in what he was about to say "Yes! I will do anything you ask of me!" Jack couldn't refrain from expressing his disbelief "WHAT? Have you gone completely nuts? He's asking you to kill someone! What the hell power does he have over you?"
Ra was jubilant and ready to face his people with Daniel Jackson at his side as a trusted advisor. First there was a minor problem of a public execution, then all would be well! "Nokrah!" Ra summoned. "You talked before about stoning an unbeliever. It would please me to have this unbeliever stoned to death. You will bring him to the temple steps and tie him there. Gather the necessary rocks, and assemble the people to watch. That is all you need to do. My trusted one will do the rest!"
Daniel felt nauseous at the intensely pleased and excited look Ra gave to him. He was further sickened that Jack didn't understand...Jack believed his friend and team mate had actually agreed to sacrifice him to a Goa'uld. Things seemed to be moving in slow motion now, as he watched Jack fighting bravely with Nokrah. He might have won too, if Nokrah had not called out to his fellow villagers, summoning their help. Several strong men entered the temple and assisted Nokrah in dragging Jack out the temple door. Daniel closed his eyes. He could hear Jack cursing as they tied him up. He thought he heard Sam's voice in the distance calling to the Colonel. The crowd was being whipped into frenzy. This sacrifice was to be the final act of bloodshed to bring a new and lasting peace to their world. Daniel tried to direct his thoughts toward the Others, hoping they could somehow intervene...but he received no thoughts in return.
He felt dizzy as he stepped into the brilliant sunshine on the temple steps. The crowd was cheering wildly. He and Jack had been here before, puppets in Ra's hands...it had all worked out then...now there seemed to be no escape. He saw Sam in the crowd, motioning to him... she had a gun at her side. He flashed back to Sha're and Skaara and all the others so willing to defend him against their god. His hands began to sweat as he bent over and picked up a rock. He paced by Jack, lying defenseless on the steps, and in the barest of whispers gave him a reassuring clue "Remember Abydos" and he walked on. He raised the rock up in the air, as Jack furiously tried to undo the ropes binding him. Daniel nodded to Sam as everyone's attention was drawn to the stoning. As he dropped the rock harmlessly to the ground, Sam opened fire with her sidearm, sending a spray of bullets over everyone's head. Daniel dove to help Jack with the last of his ropes, the crowd scattered in fright, and Ra stood to see who would dare defy his commands. Loni made his way up the steps and helped Jack to safety. As Sam turned to run, Ra extended his glove weapon and prepared to fire. Seeing this, Daniel charged at Ra, hitting his arm and deflecting the blast. Suddenly, everyone was gone, except for Daniel and Ra.
Daniel found himself sprawled defenseless at the feet of an angry and vengeful being. "You have me, that is what you really need. Let them go, unharmed. Show mercy!" Daniel begged as he closed his eyes and waited for Ra's response.
Ra open his palm, revealing the gem webbed into his hand. As it began to glow, Daniel swallowed, half anticipating the pain it would bring.
"I gave you my trust and you dare fling it back to my face?" Ra raged as he approached Daniel.
The buzzing that Daniel felt from the intoxicating high of the golden sarcophagus was beginning to fade and the awful crash of energy was eating away at his strength. Daniel couldn't bring himself to get away. He couldn't even move even if his life had depended on it.
And it did.
"Unbelievers.." Ra breathed, his eyes burned with hate, remembering what Jack had said about them killing him, "Murderers..."
"You must pay for your treachery!" Nokrah bursted back into the temple. The sounds of battle cries could be heard behind him. "My worship! He must be punished. Only Nokrah is loyal! I bring you great weapons! See?" Nokrah lifts Daniel's gun up in the air. "I bring you gifts to show my devotion!" He fiddles with the gun, unknowingly undoing the safety on it. Daniel froze at the telltale click.
"Don't!" Daniel cried out. "You can't-"
"Silence!" Ra thundered, stilling any words Daniel might have to say. He looked at Daniel once more. "Perhaps with your death, my power will not be questioned." The gem hovered over Daniel and all the fears Daniel had about the gun, began to fade into pain...
Jack felt himself being pulled away from the temple by Loni. He jerked his arm away, stumbling as he tried to regain balance. Loni was speaking in his confusing language, but Jack could tell by his tone that he was confused by his refusal of his aid. "Carter!" Jack bellowed, struggling to reach the temple. He had saw Nokrah enter the temple once more and he feared the worst. "Get inside. Get to Daniel!"
Carter, looked up and sought out Jack amidst the chaos. She nodded, a bit reluctant to leave the colonel, but like the colonel, equally worried about Daniel. She struggled past the crowding villagers who were still fighting, taking advantage of the confusion. Teal'c was beginning to get up. Carter paused long enough to help the Jaafa up.
"Captain Carter?" Teal'c asked shakily. Carter had never seen him so weak.
"Are you alright, Teal'c?" Carter asked anxiously. The Jaafa nodded slowly once, took a deep breath and nodded again.
"Yes." Teal'c focused on Carter a bit more. "Where is O'Neill and Daniel Jackson?"
"The colonel is over there." Carter pointed out the colonel struggling to reach them. "Daniel is still inside. We have to help h-"
A shot rang out so loud and so suddenly that it seemed like everyone froze at the sound.
Jack stopped in his tracks, like everyone else. The colonel was a soldier before anything else. So the sound of gunfire was no strange sound. But his worries for his teammates and the growing fear he had felt as he was bodily pulled away from the temple had turned him from soldier into a friend. Jack swallowed. The sound reminded him of another sound from long ago. A sound he knew that would follow with the horrible sight of a bloody body-
"Daniel!" Jack bellowed as he lurched forward. The crowd of confused villagers parted way at the sound of Jack's voice and the sight of his eyes. The colonel ignored them all as he surged through the crowds, past Lin-ya, past Carter and into the temple to where Jack feared would be a tragic scene before him....
Jack froze by the doorway, unable to believe, or perhaps truly comprehend what has happened before him. The temple was in utter chaos. The last of the villagers who were inside, had flee. In their haste to escape, they had shattered the decorative objects that lined the walls. Everywhere was shards of glass and pottery... and blood.
Jack swallowed, trying to look past the horrid colors of iron scented blood.
Daniel was on the floor, curled into a tight ball and unmoving. Nokrah, the damn gorilla who grabbed him from the Village of the River before, was standing there with what appeared to be Daniel's gun. It was still smoking from the bullet the hunter had inadvertantly fired. Despite Jack's initial urge to rush over to Daniel to see if it was the scientist who was shot, he looked past Daniel to see where was Ra. It was then he knew where the bullet had went.
It was Ra. The stray bullet had hit Ra.
Daniel was in a haze of pain from the ribbon device Ra had set upon him. He coughed up blood and felt himself instinctively curling up tighter. Any euphoric feeling he had felt from the sarcophagus was gone and it felt like the injuries he had suffered from the fall had returned with an angry announcement. He just wanted to stop feeling at this point. Anything to make the pain go away. Anything that would him forget that wonderful feeling of power he had felt from the sarcophagus before. Anything to make him forget how tempted he was to betray Jack and the others.
A sound, so familiar, seeped through his haze of pain. Daniel slowly realized that it was Ra.
"You hurt me?" Ra's voice held a tinge of disbelief. "I...I am bleeding?"
"My l-lord. M-my worship. I-I d-didn't know." Nokrah's voice was broken as the hunter was staring at the blood that was flowing out of Ra. He didn't know gods could bleed. The black stick of lightning had fired while he was trying to get it to work and its lightning tore through Ra. His god had just stared at his own blood with the same disbelief as Nokrah was feeling.
"YOU HURT ME!" Ra roared. He released his hold on Daniel with his ribbon device. Daniel groaned at the sudden stop of pain and tried to straighten out to roll away but couldn't. Ra's eyes looked furious. He thrust out his hand and the ribbon device glowed again.
"M-my worship!" Nokrah stammered. "I-i wanted to show-"
A bolt of energy shot out and struck the frightened hunter full in the chest. It hurled the man out of the temple into the fields outside. There were shouts outside as the warring villagers realized that it was Nokrah, Ra's most faithful follower who was struck down by Ra's wraith.
Jack found his legs moving again. The colonel tackled Ra, pushing him away from Daniel. Ra staggered back, but did not fall. Jack threw himself bodily over Daniel when Ra extended his hand once more and waited for the pain to come.
Just then, Carter and Teal'c burst in.
"Colonel!" Carter cried out when she saw Jack go in front of Ra to protect Daniel. Teal'c staggered, a bit woozy from the mind control, and tried to ready his staff weapon. Carter winced as she saw Ra's hand come out towards Jack, readying to come with pain.
It didn't come.
Jack looked up and saw Ra staggering away from the room, further into the temple. Not knowing why and not particularily caring at this point, Jack turned Daniel over gently while calling his name.
"J-jack?" Daniel whispered when he heard his name called. He didn't open his eyes though, but felt Jack half sit him up to lean against the colonel. Daniel cried out in pain as Jack tried to straighten him out more comfortable. Daniel felt the urge to curl up again.
"Easy, Daniel. Easy." Jack said softly. He could hear Carter and Teal'c come up.
"Should we follow him, sir?" Carter whispered as she worriedly touched Daniel's hair.
Jack paused, glancing back at the way Ra went. He nodded, motioning the two to go. He mouthed "Be careful.". The two nodded and left to track Ra.
"J'jack. Oh, god. I'm sorry." Daniel mumbled, still upset over his actions. "I-I couldn't get myself to stop...liking the power the sarco-"
"Don't talk." Jack said. He eyed the doorway. There was no noise right now and that worried him. He couldn't see where the hunter was thrown to and Jack felt a twinge of sympathy. The hunter was so surprised to see the one he had followed so loyally, attack him with the same cruelness as he would to a hated enemy.
"R-ra?"
"He was shot, Danny. The gorilla shot him."
"G-gorilla?" Daniel's eyes opened in surprise.
"I mean, that villager who was here with your weapon before."
"Oh god. That was Nokrah. Lin-ya's husband." Daniel tried to sit up but slumped back against Jack when his strength betrayed him.
"Don't Daniel." Jack warned. He stiffened as he realized that someone was coming in. "Who's Lin-ya?" Jack steadied his bow and arrow, wishing it was a gun. He kept talking to Daniel to distract him from the oncoming danger.
"T-the woman who t-took care of me after the...the f-fall." Daniel's face was so pale.
Jack realized it was the same woman who helped Jack come over to search for Daniel. The shadow neared the door and he tensed.
"J-jack?" Daniel realized something was wrong.
"Hang in there, buddy. We're going to get you to help." Jack murmured and readied to aim as the person stepped into the temple and into the revealing light...
"Dan-yer!" Lin-ya exclaimed as she saw Daniel on the floor when she stepped into the temple. She stiffened at the sight of Jack's weapon, but relaxed when he lowered it when he saw who it was. Lin-ya's eyes were red from crying. She had seen Nokrah's body flung out of the temple from Ra's wraith. Tried as she might, Lin-ya could not revive her husband with her potions. She held him, hearing his stunned whisper that his god had attacked him. The villagers had heard this and ceased their fighting. For the first time in her life, Lin-ya felt the need for blood in her hands.
Lin-ya wished for vengence.
"Lin-ya." Daniel whispered. "Your m-mate..."
"Betrayed by the one he had followed so loyally for so long. The one who had him stone my sister and his own father so long ago." Lin-ya said. Instead of the grief and acceptance she had for so long, Lin-ya felt anger now. "Ra...he can not be a god, Dan-yer!"
"He...he isn't." Daniel whispered.
"Daniel, don't talk." Jack said quietly. He looked at Lin-ya, remembering how she had cared for his leg. He figured her to be a healer. "Lin-ya..." Jack then remembered that she couldn't understand his words. Jack pointed to Daniel then to her. "Can you help him?"
Lin-ya seemed to have understood. She looked at Daniel's pale face and nodded reluctantly as if she was unsure herself. Lin-ya kneeled down and pulled out potions from her pouch. She looked up at the trail of blood Ra left, frowning and then reverted her attentions back to Daniel.
*******************************************
Carter glanced at Teal'c, a bit worried that Teal'c was not recovering fast enough. The Jaafa made no complaints though as he followed the small droplets of blood.
"Teal'c?" Carter whispered, her eyes carefully examining all the columns and corners for any possible threat.
"I had attacked Daniel Jackson." Teal'c said quietly, his eyes glued to the trail of droplets. "I had accused him of betrayal and had almost joined Ra as his follower."
"The key word is almost, Teal'c" Carter whispered. "You told me that the cave dwellers were controlling you."
"Yes, but the actions were done by my hands."
"It doesn't mean you are to-" Carter halted at the sound of humming in the room in front of them. The trail seemed to lead up to there. "Ra's in there, Teal'c."
"Yes." Teal'c said flatly, steadying hs weapon before the two walked in.
The sarcophagus stood there in the room, humming quickly as it healed the occupant inside.
"We could get the colonel and Daniel in there." Carter whispered, remembering Daniel's pale, pain-pinched face. Teal'c nodded and was about to say something when the sarcophagus stopped humming and its walls began to open...
Teal'c pulled Carter back as the golden box opened its panels. The two drew out their weapons warily, waiting for who would come out. A slender hand came out shakingly, grasping the sides. As the hand pulled the body up, Carter could see that the person was Ra. The features of the boy-king was pale, a stark contrast of the god who stood before them just before.
"Why are you here?" Ra asked, his eyes glaring at them and at the weapons.
"Step away from there."Teal'c said in his language. He had to refrain himself from saying "My lord." to Ra.
"Teal'c, what is he saying?" Carter whispered, her eyes glued to Ra. She noted that a pale scar on Ra's chest had not completely gone away yet. Ra must have heard them coming and came out of the sarcophagus befor the healing could be complete.
"You dare demand your god?" Ra's voice rose with anger. He stood up in the sarcophagus, fury spiriting his stance. "I am your sun, your god, your leader in this-"
"You are a false god!" Teal'c shouted as he tried to not let the words of Ra intimidated. His long upbringing in Chulak had shaped him into a believer and despite all that was done, Teal'c still couldn't bring himself out of the faith. Teal'c's words sounded false to even to himself.
"Would a god return from the dead?" Ra smiled as he swept a hand across the sarcophagus. Carter uneasily shifted. she couldn't understand a word they were saying, but could see the conversation was escalating to something dangerous. "Would a god return from a strike that outshone the suns and stand here before you."
"It is science, not magic." Teal'c answered.
"Teal'c-" Carter hissed.
"Carter, you must bring O'Neill and Daniel Jackson in here. Their wounds can be healed with this." Teal'c kept his eyes on Ra as he spoke.
"Are you crazy? I'm not leaving you here by yourself!" Carter answered back. "Ra still has his hand device with him."
"He is still weak. He can not fire." Teal'c answered back.
"Liar." Carter shot back, she could see the doubt in the Jaafa's eyes. She wondered what did the cave dwellers do to input such questioning in his mind. "Teal'c, whatever he is saying, don't listen to him. He's a Go'uald, a parasite, a-"
"Is he really?" Teal'c asked quietly as he lowered his staff weapon slightly.
Carter was stunned.
*******************************************
Lin-ya sighed and sat back on her heels as she finished. The potions were a stronger amount and she doubted it would last very long. Dan-yer wasn't asleep at all, his eyes just looked glazed as the potions began its numbing effect.
"Ja..ck?"
"Right here, Danny." Jack tried to ease Daniel down to the floor. The scientist suddenly grabbed Jack's arm with startling strength.
"Ra?"
"He went further into the temple. Get some rest, we're getting out of here once-"
"No!" Daniel's eyes went wide with fear. "The...the sarcophagus. Ra...he can heal himself in there. Ja...ck, we have to stop him!"
"Okay, Danny. Take it easy. Carter and Teal'c-"
"Teal'c might not stop him. The others...from the caves. They... they had tricked him into be...believing Ra was a god again. They just released him from their con...trol but it's still too soon, Ja...ck." Daniel struggled to sit up again.
"Dan-yer. You must rest." Lin-ya said as she pushed him down. Daniel looked up at her, finally realizing that she was near. He sucked in breath as he saw the red rimmed eyes. He remembered Jack saying Ra killed Nokrah. "Oh, Lin-ya, I'm so sorry."
"My husband was betrayed." Lin-ya said tightly. "As was my mother."
"Ra's escaped, Lin-ya." Daniel said softly. "He's going to heal himself and escape. I-I can't let that happened. I had hoped..." Daniel bit his lip as he continued, "I had hoped to educate him and change him. He...he could have been a good god, if only-"
"I will not let Ra escape." Lin-ya said. She placed her pouch down. Pausing, she stroked Daniel's hair under Jack's curious eye. "Rest, Dan-yer. In another life, you could have been my son." Daniel's eyes widened, his mouth opened but no words came out. "I will break free of my faith." With that, Lin-ya got up and left, heading straight for the inner rooms.
"Hey!" Jack shouted. "Don't go in there!" The colonel couldn't get up on his injured leg. "Daniel, what the hell did you say to her?"
"Nothing- I..." Daniel's face paled even further, if at all possible, when he realized what Lin-ya was intending. "Jack! We have to stop her!" Daniel tried to get up but sagged heavily against Jack with a moan. "Those potions aren't working real well..."
"You're just popping liquidifed asprin, Danny." Jack tried to get Daniel to lie back down. "What is this about stopping her? What are-"
Before Jack could finish, the sound of a staff weapon blast echoed throughout the temple.
There was a deep rumbling, and the temple began to shake to its very foundation. All the villagers who had remained inside, now fled. There was more panic and screaming. Jack was trying to drag Daniel to the exit, but he kept motioning to the throne room, "Daniel, I for one don't want to die here! We are leaving now!"
Daniel managed to pull from Jack's grasp just as the wall next to them collapsed, falling in pieces between them - cutting Daniel off from the outside. The air was thick with dust and debris - the rumbling intensified. "DANIEL! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, I HAVE TO LEAVE NOW." Jack backed out the temple entrance, looking for any sign of the rest of his team. There was none.
He collapsed on the ground next to the now silent villagers and watched the source of their security and faith crumble to the ground. It only took about 2 or 3 minutes and the temple was reduced to rubble. Jack lost all his energy and laid back to stare at the sky.
After a few minutes, he heard some people approaching. It was Teal'c and Sam, she was hurt visibly limping and covered with dust...but they were alive! "We made it out, Colonel, a woman came in to the throne room as Teal'c and Ra were struggling over the staff weapon. She knocked it away and it discharged directly at Ra's throne. It must have been the source of the power for the temple...everything just blew up from there. Somehow, the explosion punched a hole through the back wall of the throne room and we were able to get out. I couldn't find the woman though."
Teal'c added "I do not think Ra escaped either, when I looked back, he was trapped by falling wall."
Jack sat up at the mention of a falling wall, he looked his teammates in the eye, and swallowed hard "Daniel didn't make it either. Even if the wall didn't hit him, he was barely strong enough to stand up. A fitting burial place for him..." his voice trailed off - he didn't want to continue. "We'll do a perimeter search then head for the Stargate." He winced as he remembered the climb they had to look forward to, and how it all had started with a fall...
The Others now understood they had been wrong, so wrong about many things. They knew how to set this world right again, by uniting the tribespeople and eliminating belief in a false god. Bloodshed would stop and they would share their knowledge. They emerged from their hiding tunnels deep under the temple, calling for a peace among all the inhabitants of their world.
Jack watched them approach very apprehensively, as did Teal'c "It's those guys again!"
"Of these, I have also bad memories" Teal'c agreed.
The leader extended his hand to Jack, who reluctantly took it. The leader spoke "Those who have come here from worlds far apart from us have shown us the true way. We have seen the thoughts in their minds, they wish for us peace and freedom from false beliefs..."
Jack soon lost interest in whatever the little guy was saying. It all sounded fine...he only wished he could share it with Daniel.
****************************************************
Deep within the temple rubble a soft coughing could be heard. Daniel had survived the collapse, but knew he didn't have much longer to live. All was silent now. He could sense that Ra was gone. Why didn't he feel any pain? He couldn't see anything, move anything and could barely breathe...still there was no pain. 'Must be in shock' he figured.
As he squinted in the darkness, he came to see a small hole in the floor about two feet away from him. He guessed it lead down to the bowels of the temple. He tried to remember what Teal'c had said...something about another Stargate down there... He realized the floor around him was sticky and red...blood...his blood...still there was no pain. He tried to inch over to the hole, but as his body shifted and the pressure of stone began to slide off of him - the pressure holding back the blood flow was released and along with it came intense pain.
A small hand, alien in appearance reached up from the hole and began tugging him downward. One of the Others had remained behind, sensing his presence in the destroyed temple. She was determined to save him, after seeing the goodness of his thoughts. One last tug pulled the stranger over the edge and he plunged into the hole, landing on top of her with a loud, painful moan. She could send him home, if only she knew where home was...she tried searching his thoughts but could find no symbols there. She tried to wake him, but he was not responding...as a last hope, she tried to send thoughts to the rest of her people. She didn't know if she was strong enough to send thoughts so far...but she would try.
He was dying...there was no answer...she spoke to his mind... pleading for the symbols. Suddenly, she smiled and rose to dial the Chappa'Ai. First she sent a signal, a mind signal - Daniel called it the s..g..1..remote..code - and pulled him to the flickering light. Your world looks beautiful, she whispered to Daniel as she pushed his body through...the images in your mind...some day...I will come there!
A sad procession was leaving the temple and heading alongside the river. "We'll be home by tomorrow," Sam commented.
Jack didn't hear her, his thoughts were worlds apart...
The breeze lightly ruffled Jack's hair as he stood on the edge of the base camp. Carter came up behind him to offer her sympathy. Out of all of the team Jack and Daniel were the closest and the sad part about this whole thing was that this had happened so many times to Jack and he had never had the chance to say good-bye. Sam touched Jack's shoulder and he turned, startled out of his revelry.
"He's gone Sam." He said. His face as impassive as ever, but his eyes shone with unshed tears. "And I left him there to die. What kind of a friend am I?" Sam hugged him and they slowly watched the sun rise in the distance. Wishing for one thing only. Daniel, healthy, in mind, body and spirit.
The mad ride through the gate lasted for what seemed forever. Daniel was thrown out of the Stargate - still unconscious - with the steady blare of the incoming traveler's warning. He lay there still and unmoving. Doctor Janet Fraiser hurried out of the metal doors that separated the Gate room from the outside hallways. She ran up the gate ramp and literally threw herself beside Daniel's body. At first sight she knew that this was a life and death situation. Multiple abrasions, cuts and scratches covered his face and hands. His stomach was badly bruised and his ears and nose still trickling blood implying internal bleeding. His entire uniform was covered in blood and both his left arm and right leg seemed to be twisted out of proportion. She motioned two soldiers with a stretcher and tried her best to make sure he was stabilized long enough to get down the infirmary.
The next morning came without fanfare and feeling. Jack had seemed to have given up on ever finding his friend. Teal'c had heard him get out of his tent last night and head towards the ruins of the temple. Teal'c had silently watched Jack pull rock after rock from the large pile of stones. Then in the twilight beginnings of the morning her had sat down and started to cry. At that point Teal'c had walked up to the Colonel and placed a hand on his shoulder - just as Carter had - to show his sympathy and regret for loosing a friend once again. Teal'c and Jack had walked back to the tent before everybody else woke up and prepared breakfast like any other normal "camp out" on another planet. Jack had kept quiet and so had Teal'c both felt drained - more so in Jack emotionally - and felt that it was time to leave this place, to go back to SG-C like nothing really important had happened. All except for the life of one of there most valued team member, and friend. no one would even know about his death except the strangers in the Mountain complex and all who lived on this planet that witnessed the final destruction of the Temple. Jack stood up, shook his head at the glare of the morning sun and wondered where Daniel was now.
"Pulse, 180 bpm."
"We're going to loose him if we don't act fast!"
"Watch the blood pressure"
Janet Fraiser watched her well synchronized team jump into action as Daniel's battered almost unrecognizable body was transported from the now bloody stretcher to the operating table. Although the trip to the infirmary had lasted less than a couple of minutes Daniel's vitals were already dropping at an accelerated rate. The many cuts on his arms were bandages and the medical team had already started to stop the internal bleeding. Daniel was now a mass of white bandages and an array of multi-colored bruises. As soon as the team started they were finished. Janet looked at the clock. Three hours had seemed to last for three minutes. Now Daniel was lying on the standard issue military hospital bed with an array of needles poking into him though his casts, bandages and arms. Janet Fraiser wondered how this could have happened. In accompaniment of the needles, machines of all sorts monitored his every breath which were now forced into him by a respirator. Blood tests had revealed a foreign substance containing medical herbs which served as pain killers. Dr. Fraiser sighed. How many times had this happened? A fight for a persons life. Especially a civilian. She never understood the reason of letting Jackson stay on the project. He was, of course, a brilliant anthropologist, but his non-military connections and compassion ended him up in the same infirmary beds with the same array of medical devices sticking out of him. She sighed again and stood up. Her patient was once again out of danger and so drugged he wouldn't be able to tell the difference from O'Neill to Teal'c. O'Neill and Teal'c she thought grimly. What had happened to them. The general had recommended that another SG team go through and find them. Fraiser wondered how Daniel got back and why the rest didn't. It puzzled her and maybe when the second SG team came back she would find out. The rumble of the Stargate activating startled her out of her thoughts. The General hadn't debriefed the SG team to get the rest of the SG-1 team so it must be them returning. She rushed out of the room, picking up her medical kit and rushing to the gate room activation chamber.
Jack limped through the gate on his branch that he had found when he realized that walking was unbearable. He told himself he should suffer, he was the cause of Daniel's death.
'Why?' he told himself. 'Why didn't I go back. I should've at least died by his side.' His eyes once again burned with unshed tears. He tossed the branch back into the event horizon and watched impassively as the branch disintegrated, forever to be lost in the many Stargate destination wormhole's.
'Just like me ' Jack thought, 'a lost soul amongst thousands.' Dr. Fraiser ran up to them and immediately told the stubborn Colonel to sit down and get his ankle checked out.
"You really did a number on it didn't you?" Her question hung in the air, more of a statement than a question. Jack felt at a loss for words.
'Why bother' he thought. 'Why bother answering.'
"I suppose you want me to go to the infirmary now." He said abruptly. Fraiser looked up in surprise. Was that contempt she heard in his voice? Se turned back to her worked and motioned for Teal'c to help Jack the infirmary.
The walk was quiet, and Janet had the feeling that she was in a funeral march rather than a hallway. As soon as they got to the infirmary she motioned Jack onto one of the beds and Teal'c and Carter on another to be checked out. Janet wondered if this was the time to ask the Colonel what was wrong and decided to, because as soon as he left with a bill of clean health he retreated into his dark world of combat and thoughts. She looked at him squarely in the face.
"Do you know what happened to Daniel?"
"Daniel?" Jack asked as if he never knew him. "What about Daniel."
Janet thought if it would be best to check the Colonel for any signs of Brain damage or concussion. "Yes, you know the anthropologist that..." her words were cut off as Jack snarled.
"Daniel's dead. Do you see him anywhere around here. Don't you think he would've come back with us through the gate?"
Janet was horrified. This was what was bothering SG-1? "I have no idea what you are talking about. See for yourself. Daniel's not dead, he just isn't waking up for a while." She gestured to one of the private rooms for people in long term recovery.
"What?" said Jack unbelievingly. He hopped off the bed - grimacing at the pain it caused his ankle and opened the door to the smaller, well equipped room. He hobbled in and collapsed into a chair by Daniel's bedside.
"You're alive." he said unbelievingly. "You're alive."
Doctor Frasier explained to the stunned SG-1 team how Daniel was tossed through the Stargate. Even though she was witness to it, even the good doctor couldn't explain how Daniel, unconscious at the time, was able to activate a Stargate, send a code through and then drag himself through the wormhole.
"Damnest thing I had ever saw." General Hammond commented as he took another look inside the private room. The Colonel was still sitting by Daniel's bedside, his back slouched forward as Jack hesitantly touched Daniel's arm to see if he was real. The General wanted to know what exactly had happened. What was suppose to be a routine mission turned out to chaos, with the team split up and returning home separately.
This was one file the General was going to have to read very carefully.
But that was for later, the General thought as he watched Carter and Teal'c walk over to Jack to lend their support. After a long moment, the General with the doctor, quietly left the infirmary, leaving the team to their moment of peace.
**********************
Daniel was still falling. The archeologist could feel the wind blowing by him as he fell. The expected hard crash into the water's surface didn't come though. He just kept falling. His voice was stuck in his throat and the screams he wanted to yell out, were choking him instead. That was how Daniel fell, mouth opened in a silent scream, while plunging endlessly down a dark abyss.
Suddenly, strong hands plucked him out from mid-air, grabbing on to his shoulders and shaking him.
Daniel woke up.
"Daniel! For crying out loud, wake up." a tired voice said as the hands shook him again. The fall slowed into a dead stop as the archeologist felt the bed underneath him and realized that it was just a dream.
"Daniel?" Another soft voice joined in.
"Daniel Jackson."
Opening his eyes, Daniel realized that Jack, Carter and Teal'c were hovering over him. The hands that gripped his shoulders were of a very white faced Jack O'Neill.
He was home. Somehow, he got out.
"Daniel?" Carter leaned closer and touched the arm that didn't have an IV attached to it.
"S...sam? Teal'c?" the man choked out. "J...jack?"
"There's our boy." the colonel said, letting go of Daniel's shoulders. "You scared the shit out of us with that battle cry." Jack rubbed his bottom with a wince. He was leaning back on his chair, trying to catch a few minutes rest when Daniel's nightmarish screams startled him off the chair and onto the floor.
"Battle cry? We are to go into battle?"
"Never mind, Teal'c." Jack muttered, catching the weak smile from Daniel.
"H...how?" Daniel swallowed. "How did I get back here?"
"What do you remember?" Carter asked gently.
"Uh...the temple. It was...caving in....uh! Ah! Ra! He was..." Daniel nearly sat up in his excitement but dropped back down to bed again in a groan.
"Not a smart thing to do, Jackson." the Colonel said.
"Everything hurts." Daniel moaned.
"That about covers the extent of your injuries." Jack gave him a cup of ice chips. "Doc said no water yet. Probably thinks it'll come gushing out from all the holes you got in ya."
Daniel, as he took the cup, saw Teal'c looked like he was about to say something and said, with Jack at the same time.
"Never mind."
Carter grinned, glad for the light barter, feeling like everything was returning back to normal. She nudged the Colonel.
"Well, now that he's awake sir, you could go get some decent rest."
Jack glared at his Captain, silently telling her to be quiet, but it was too late.
"You look terrible, Jack." Daniel noted very solemnly. He did. Jack had dark circles underneath his eyes and the Colonel seemed to have aged ten years since he last saw him.
"You would look like shit too if you thought one of your team members was dea-" Jack stopped. A strange look went across his face.
"I'm sorry." Daniel whispered as the mission's details returned to him like a flood.
"What do you have to be sorry about?" Carter asked.
"I...if I had been stronger, I wouldn't have been under that sarcophagus'-"
Jack didn't let him finish. "That's not important."
"But..."
"It's...not...important." Jack repeated. "The main thing is that we all got back."
"Yes, I am quite elated that you have returned, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c agreed with Jack's sentiment.
Raising his eyebrow up in a perfect Teal'c imitation, Jack drawled. "You hear that? He's elated. Someone hold him back before he gives Daniel a hug."
Rolling her eyes, Carter smiled at Daniel. "Don't mind the Colonel, Daniel. I'll give you a hug." And she did just that, carefully though to not jar the IVs and other attachments. Daniel awkwardly patted her back before pulling away. He looked at Jack nervously.
"So you're...not...mad?"
"There is nothing to be mad about, Danny." Jack told him seriously. "It was a very bad mission and it's over and done with. Learn and move on." The Colonel looked at Teal'c, remembering what Teal'c had told him about him under the cave dwellers' control and struck Daniel. "Learn and move on. Right, Teal'c?"
Teal'c solemnly nodded and looked at Daniel. The man shyly nodded back at Teal'c, wordlessly telling him that all is forgiven.
After a few more words, Carter and Teal'c left, exhausted from the mission and their vigil. Jack, however, lingered for a moment.
Daniel laid in bed, staring at the ceiling as he listened to Jack go on about Kiryani and Loni and how he thought they were siblings or something. He wasn't really listening to the words though, more like the voice.
"Jack?"
The man stopped in his monologue. "Yeah, Daniel?"
"Ra."
Turning around to face Daniel, Jack nodded. "I know."
"There could still be a chance that he's-"
"No. We were searching that temple rubble. Nothing. No...bodies." Jack looked away, suddenly finding the tip of his fingers very fascinating. Daniel felt bad, trying to imagine how he would have felt if he had to leave one of his friends behind, believing him to be dead. He couldn't imagine such a horrible thing. But Jack didn't have to.
He knew.
"I know you must have been searching for a while, Jack. Then at the temple," Daniel said softly.
"You're alive."
"Yes...I am." Daniel swallowed. "And I am sorry."
"And I said learn and move on, Danny." Jack looked up at Daniel steadily. "I meant that."
Nodding, Daniel felt his eyes drooping, exhaustion and relief pulling him into sleep again. The Colonel, sensing this, pulled the covers up higher on Daniel. Daniel mumbled his thanks and started drifting off to sleep. As he faded away, he heard Jack as the man left.
"Next time I see a bridge, I'm gonna burn it, Danny boy."
Daniel laughed softly and dropped to sleep.
*****************************
The leader of the SG-8 team gave up. He looked at the smiling faces of the natives who called themselves Kiryani and Loni. He repeated once more what he was instructed to say.
"Doctor Jackson wants to tell Lin-ya that he's okay. Which one of you is she?"
The group milled about the Stargate. They had been waiting there since the newly posted guard there had saw a metal statue walked out from it. The cave dwellers, with the two villages, had wondered whether or not to recieve them. After a vote, they had sent Kiryani and Loni, two familiar faces to greet the travelers.
"Forget it. She's probably dead." the leader muttered as he told his team to get ready to leave.
A gray haired woman stepped forward, away from the group and pointed to herself.
"Lin-ya?" the man asked dubiously. She did match the description. The woman nodded. Sighing in relief, he handed her a box with the symbols of a man and woman on them.
"Doctor Jackson is still recovering but he wanted to tell you that he's alright. This is a transmission box that you can use to contact us safely if you need assistance." The leader sighed as he saw the blank look on her face.
"Dan-yer thuo jeka?" she asked.
"Dan-yer? Ah, yeah, Daniel Jackson." The leader nodded and smiled reassuringly at her. "Yeah, he's okay."
"O...kay?" Lin-ya repeated, her smile wider when the human nodded. She sighed in relief and bowed her head slightly. The villagers approached the soldiers once more, pulling at them, offering their hospitality.
Declining, the men just dialed up and returned home.
The villagers lingered about, witnessing the Stargate in action, marveling in the magic of the machines and then left the cliffs through the newly built bridge. People of the River and of Ra walking together. It was a day no one ever thought could exist.
Lin-ya remained where she was, fingering the strange box the human had given her. Then, as the last villager left the cliffs, she looked up and smiled differently.
And her eyes began to glow.
Whew! Sorry for the delay folks! This has been one heck of a ride. I really enjoyed this round robin. You guys deserve a hand. *clap, clap, clap. Man, writing's hard. you know how many times I was redoing this? Yeoch! David (falling facedown on the bed for some jet-lagged Zzzzzzzzzz...)
© 1998 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the authors.
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