The Immortal Spacemonkey 

Chapter 1

Klaxons sounded throughout the base, alerting everyone present that a wormhole was establishing itself through the Stargate. Special Forces troops were running through the corridor, racing to make it to the Gate room in time.

“Seventh chevron locked,” Sergeant Walter Harriman announced from the control room. “Receiving SG-1’s signal, Sir.”

“Open the iris,” Major-General Hammond ordered.

The iris opened to reveal a shimmering pool of ‘water.’ Next, flashes of orange-red energy came lancing through the pool, hitting the walls of the Gate room, leaving behind angry scorch marks. Just after that, the four figures of SG-1 stepped through the event horizon at a rapid clip, as if they were being chased by someone or something.

“Close the iris! Close the damn iris!” Colonel Jack O’Neill yelled. Behind them, the iris immediately slammed shut. A second later, several things loudly splattered against the gate’s cover.

General Hammond hurried into the gate room once the wormhole had disengaged. “What the hell was that? You weren’t supposed to be back for another two days.”

“Lizard-bird things, that spit fire, Sir,” Major Sam Carter gasped, looking wild-eyed about her, grateful to be back on her home planet.

“What?”

“These flying dragon things, General,” Daniel Jackson grimaced, holding his shoulder. “Did you ever see that horrible movie, Reign of Fire? Like that, only smaller and just as nasty.”

“Briefing room, two hours,” the general ordered. “And report to the infirmary.”

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

The other members of SG-1 had been seen by the medical staff and had left to get their selves cleaned up before the briefing with the general, leaving Daniel to the expert care of Dr. Janet Fraiser.

“Damn, Daniel,” she swore. “That must have hurt.”

“You think?” he said as he took off his ruined black t-shirt and tossed it into the garbage. “One of those freaky dragon things got too close to me with its fire breath.”

“Luckily you heal fast,” Janet replied, bandaging up the already healed shoulder wound, ignoring, to the best of her abilities, Daniel‘s nicely muscled chest.  Cold shower, cold shower, cold shower, she repeated to herself over and over.

“Yeah, well, I still have to act hurt and that is more annoying than anything,” Daniel grumbled.

“Get over it baby,” she said, slightly smacking him on his supposed injury.

“Hey, isn’t being mean to your patients a violation of the Hippocratic Oath or something,” he protested, laughing.

“Like you’re a real patient,” she shot back, laughing. “Go take a shower, you smell.”

“Yes Ma’am!” he said, flipping a jaunty half-salute.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

Daniel managed to take a shower while keeping his unnecessary bandage from getting wet. He quickly changed his clothes, shoving his old, smelly ones into the group’s laundry bag. Since they did not tend to leave the base in uniform, they had been doing their uniform laundry as a team since his return from Abydos and the creation of SG-1. He also made sure his holdout knife was concealed in its sheath that he kept at the small of his back. It was an old habit; he never went anywhere, even on the most secure base on the planet, without some sort of weapon.

He paused in the commissary to grab a much needed cup of life-giving elixir - also know as coffee, before he headed up to the briefing room. There he found Jack, Sam, and Teal’c explaining how SG-1 managed to stumble upon a massive nest in the cave they had determined to hold Naquada. When Jack managed to step on one of the sleeping forms, the creature’s scream had awakened the rest of the horde. After that, the team had been force to flee from the cave and back to the Stargate. The creatures had spit something that smelled like rotten meat and burned with the intensity of a small sun. Daniel, who had been the closest to a flame-bolt, could testify to that fact.

“Okay people. It looks like PX7-448 is an off limits world for now. In the mean time, you have a week before your next scheduled mission. I want you to take the next two days off, in addition to your regular two-day leave. You are not to be on base for that time. If I see or hear of any of you anywhere near the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, I’ll personally kick you out of here,” Hammond ordered. “Teal’c, that includes you. Get what you need and get out of here.”

“Yes Sir,” Jack gleefully said, happy to have the extra time off. He really needed to catch up on the Simpsons; the winter/spring season had started and he had missed several episodes already.

“Dismissed.”

Sam and Daniel were about to protest, but shut their mouths when they saw Jack glare at them. Instead, they nodded their thanks and quickly departed the briefing room.

General Hammond simply shook his head. SG-1, he was sure, was going to be the death of him. Their uncanny ability to have a mission go horribly wrong was amazing. He was incredibly grateful was Dr. Jackson’s shoulder wound was the only serious injury this time. Even that, he reflected, was not that serious. He would have bet money easily that the injury was already healed.

The general was, aside from Dr. Fraiser, the only person to know about Daniel Jackson’s unusual abilities. He felt that it was an honor that the man trusted him enough to confine such a monumental secret in him. He knew that Daniel was not very trusting of others with such powerful information and to reveal that he was an Immortal was a sign of absolute trust, one that he was not about to violate, even on the pain of death.

Oh well, he thought. It’s just another crazy day at the SGC.

Chapter 2

The entire team had quickly taken care of any necessary work that required immediate attention, dressed in their civvies, and met up on top. Teal’c had grabbed his belongings that he would need for the four day weekend at Jack’s house.

“Okay campers, where to?” Jack asked his team.

“I think its Daniel’s turn to decide, Sir,” Carter offered.

“Indeed it is DanielJackson’s turn,” Teal’c echoed.

“Um, well, we can’t go to O’Malley’s anymore. How about we try that bar-b-que place down the street from me. My neighbor said it was pretty good,” Daniel said.

The other’s agreed. Jack, with Teal’c riding shotgun, took off in his truck, while Sam drove herself and Daniel, whose car had broken down once again, at a more sedate and reasonable pace (she had gotten another speeding ticket the week before).  They met up again and decided to order their food to go when they saw the crowd in the dining area.

Since it was Daniel’s night to host, they went back to his home to eat their food and watch some movies. It was a typical stand-to night for the team. There were rules that had to be obeyed though. First, titles could not be used; everyone went by first name basis.  Second, under no circumstances was Jack allowed to indulge in a Simpsons’ marathon. The first and last time that had happened, the entire team had threatened to kill him and fix it so no one would ever find his body. 

Once secure at Daniel’s house and his beer was liberated by Jack (Teal’c drank only orange juice while Sam drank tea), Daniel popped in one of his favorite movies: Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark. They sat through that movie and the one after that, Terminator 3.

“You know,” Jack spoke up. “After dealing with the Replicators, I really don’t like the idea of killer robots.”

“What if the Replicators duplicate a humanoid that looks like Arnold?” Daniel wondered out loud, earning a groan from Sam and a pillow to the head from Jack.

“Hey Daniel, I got a stupid question,” Sam piped up suddenly.

“Coming from you Sam, I don’t think that is possible,” Jack said.

“Seriously. Why do you have so many weapons? I mean, look at your sword collection,” she said, waving at the five swords carefully displayed on his living room wall.

“Two were gifts,” Daniel said easily. “They’re kind of neat, I guess.”

“What about the knives on that shelf over there? Do you have some sort of fixation on sharp shiny things Danny?” Jack asked.

“Like your fixation with fat, yellow middle age cartoon characters?”

“Hey, you leave Homer out of this!”

Teal’c, silently appraising the collection, spoke up. “Do you know how to use such weapons DanielJackson?”

Daniel shrugged. “Somewhat,” he lied, knowing full well that he was a master swordsman. His long life helped to testify to that fact.

“Show us,” Jack taunted his teammate.

Daniel briefly debated the wisdom of this, but ignored the tiny voice in his head that was telling him not to do anything stupid. It was amazing how often in his life he ignored that wise voice.

He picked up the katana that rested lengthwise on two pegs and told everyone to follow him out into the back yard. Along the way, he grabbed an apple from the refrigerator.

Since his back yard was fenced in by a privacy fence and the neighboring houses were not tall enough to allow peering eyes to see over the barrier, he felt relatively comfortable in doing this demonstration.

He flipped on the lights and walked outside with the others following. He then handed the apple to Jack and told him to throw it up in the air in front of him (Daniel - not Jack) when told to.

Daniel walked about six feet from his friends and turned his back on them with his sword pointed towards the ground. With a deep, centering breath he raised the weapon and shouted for Jack to toss the fruit.

With lightening fast reflexes, Daniel spun and cleanly cleaved the apple in two while it was still in the air.

The two halves thumped on to the ground, impressing and amazing his friends.

“Satisfied?” he asked pleasantly.

“Uh yeah. Totally,” Jack said slightly dumbfounded. “When did you learn how to do that?”

Only a few thousand years ago, Daniel thought smartly to himself. “College. A friend got me interested in martial arts, swordsmanship really” he shrugged, trying to make it sound like it wasn’t a big deal.

“Cool. So if we get stranded on some god-forsaken ninja planet you can save us,” Jack said flippantly.

Daniel gave a feral grin. “Only if you don’t manage to piss me off between now and then Jack.”

“I am so doomed,” Jack said, his head hanging low.

“Okay, can we go back in now,” Sam complained. “Its early spring and it’s cold.” They dutifully trooped back inside for their next movie, Along the Waterfront.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

The next morning, Daniel woke early, determined to make a somewhat decent breakfast for everyone who stayed over the night before. Sam was the only one absent; she had managed to drive herself home while Jack passed out on Daniel’s couch. Teal’c also stayed over night and slept in Daniel’s guest bedroom.

“Morning Jack. Morning Teal’c,” Daniel said in a false, cheerful voice.

“Good morning DanielJackson,” Teal’c responded in his usual formal fashion.

“Eat shit and die Spacemonkey,” Jack snarled, hoping his venom would have an effect on the archeologist. He was feeling the extreme effects of a hangover and wanted everyone in the world at that moment to feel as bad as he did.

Daniel, who was not phased in the least, simply replied: “The aspirin is on top of the refrigerator and the coffee is brewing.”

“How in the hell can you be so damn happy? You drank as much as I did!” Jack exclaimed, wincing at the bright sunlight that filled the room. “Can’t you at least close the goddamn curtains?”

Silently, Daniel gave thanks for his Immortal tolerance for alcohol and quick healing abilities. It would have taken much more alcohol than what he had consumed the night before to get him really blasted. “Just blessed by the gods, I guess,” he said lightly.

Jack snarled something incomprehensible to Daniel’s ears and went in search of the aspirin. Teal’c, hearing what Jack had said, raised an eyebrow.

“O’Neill, I have seen DanielJackson completely without clothing before and I am sure that is physically impossible.”

Daniel, getting Teal’c meaning, spit out his coffee and turned bright red while Jack dropped the aspirin bottle, scattering the white pills everywhere.

“Shut up Jack. I don’t want to hear any jokes about size. Besides, I have never, I repeat never, in my entire life had any complaints in that department,” Daniel said, his eyes narrowed. “And Teal’c, promise me you will never say anything like that again.”

Teal’c merely quirked up his eyebrow and gave a sly smile (well, sly for a Jaffa). “As you wish, DanielJackson.”

“So, Jack, do you have any big plans for today?” Daniel asked, hoping he wouldn’t.

“No, not really,” Jack said slowly. “Why?”

Daniel took another sip from his coffee cup (the one with ‘Kiss the Archeologist’ on it) before replying. “Um, well. Could you take me to Wal-Mart? If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Sure, as long as we can stop by my house first. I need to change my clothes. These smell funny.” Jack took a quick whiff of himself

“That’s because you decided at one point to douse yourself with Lysol after coming out of the bathroom. You stunk up the place and figured the smell had stuck to you so you Lysoled yourself,” Daniel said, rolling his eyes. Teal’c concurred with a raised eyebrow.

“Please tell me that Sam was not here for that one,” Jack begged.

Daniel briefly considered giving his friend a hard time, but thought better of it. Jack might actually kill him. “No. You saved that special moment for Teal’c and me.”

“Anyway, breakfast is ready,” Daniel pointed to the scrambled eggs, toast, and juice he had laid out on the kitchen table. “Eat up while I take a shower.”

When Daniel left the room, Jack turned to his friend. “Tell me if I am wrong, but didn’t Daniel drink as much, if not more than I did last night? He rarely seriously drinks, but when he does he’s never hung over. What kind of cosmic cruelty is that?”

“You are right. While you were embarrassing yourself by quoting the Simpsons, DanielJackson remained completely in control. And before you ask, yes, SamanthaCarter was here for that.”

Jack sank down on a kitchen chair and buried his face in his hands. Thankfully there was a third rule of a team stand-to: Whatever happened during a stand-to, stayed there.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

Jack, Teal’c, and Daniel were walking up and down the aisles of Wal-Mart. Jack was randomly grabbing things off the shelves and tossing them into his cart, while Daniel consulted his list before adding anything to his cart.

They managed to make it out of the store in about an hour. As they were loading their bags into the truck, Daniel felt a familiar sensation wash over him.

Oh for crying out loud! Daniel thought to himself. This is Wal-Mart! And I’ve been hanging around Jack too much; I’m starting to sound like him! And I need to quit talking to myself!

Daniel froze and scanned the parking lot for the near-by Immortal. He spied a man walking towards him, wrapped in a thigh length coat, hands shoved in his pockets, and his eyes were darting everywhere before finally resting on Daniel.

Daniel stepped a little away from his friends. He looked at the stranger, quickly sizing the man up. Although he did not want a fight with the other Immortal, it never hurt to be wary and cautious. The other Immortal had dark hair and dark eyes. He was shorter than himself, but looked physically tough. His presence was erratic and wild. He did not seem overly old to Daniel, but he knew that a youngster could be more dangerous than an ancient like himself.  Overconfidence and arrogance killed more Immortals than an opponent’s skill. If he were to bet on it, he would have wagered that the Immortal was no more than a decade past his first death.

Daniel took his hands out of his pockets, letting the other see that he was not obviously armed.

“My name is Matthew Price. Who the fuck are you?” the stranger snarled.

“No one you need to concern yourself with,” Daniel said evenly. “Besides, we are in public, in a Wal-Mart parking lot. A fight between us is not appropriate at the moment.”

“Fuck that. We can go behind the store and get this over with. Or are you too new at this and scared to face me?” Price taunted.

Daniel sighed. Young ones could be so fucking annoying and sword-play crazy. Plus this one had no clue as to how old he really was. Moron, he thought tiredly.

“We’re at Wal-Mart you fucking idiot,” Daniel hissed. He would have said more, but at that moment, Jack and Teal’c came over to see if their friend needed help. Nobody messed with their teammate, except for them of course.

“Daniel. Is there a problem?” Jack asked in a voice low. Teal’c stood there, silent and menacing.

“No interference. You know the rule,” Price said in a quiet, grave voice.

“And I don’t accept your challenge. Get out of here while you can,” Daniel said, his voice deadly serious. A visage came over him, letting Price know that he was not a newbie like himself and it would be foolish to try and pressure him into a fight.

Price looked Daniel over, as if trying to figure out how to save face in front of others. “We’ll see,” he finally replied.

“Joy,” Daniel muttered and watched the guy leave.

“What in the hell was that about?” Jack asked, confusion written across his face.

Daniel shrugged, but would not directly answer any of his friend’s questions. Although he trusted Jack and Teal’c, thinking of them as not only as friends but as brothers, he was not willing to let them in on his secret. The General and Janet knew. Hammond knew because he had once befriended an Immortal when he was younger and that particular Immortal had been a friend of his. Janet knew because she was a doctor and noticed little things about him. It made more sense to tell her, rather than hide his Immortality from her. However, it made him nervous letting people know about the existence of Immortals and his place within the Game. A part of him said that they were not ready for that kind of information, even though they were his closest friends. He also feared their reaction, the loss of their friendship. It had happened before.

The three teammates of SG-1, eventually left the store’s parking lot and drove back to Daniel’s home. Jack and Teal’c dropped him off before they headed over to Jack’s place.

As they were driving, Jack and Teal’c discussed the odd incident at the store. Neither of them had ever seen Daniel act in that way before. He usually gave a person the impression of being lost in deep thought, a little distant, scattered sometimes, except in battle, Teal’c noted with pride. At the store, Daniel was focused and seemed almost dangerous. It was a new side to their friend that they had never seen, outside of life at the SGC.

Teal’c also mentioned Daniel’s abilities with a sword. That had made quiet an impression upon the Jaffa. While he preferred his staff weapon, he could easily see and admire the skill with which a sword would require to wield it effectively.

“Yeah, that was impressive,” Jack conceded. “I wonder what other secrets the Spacemonkey has been keeping from us?” he reflected, curiosity written across his face.

Chapter 3

One week later, SG-1 was preparing to leave for PF9-121. The planet appeared to be habitable, meaning there was breathable air, water, plenty of vegetation, possible presence of Naquada, and no apparent Go’uld presence.

“Once more into the blue puddle, breach, whatever,” Jack intoned, mangling Shakespeare’s Henry V.

Sam and Daniel rolled their eyes at Jack’s antics.

As a team they stepped through the blue shimmering pool and were thrown across the galaxy to a new planet.

They emerged on to the other side and they reflexively took a deep breath. They found themselves in the middle of a field, tall grasses all around them. In the distance they could see trees. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and all was silent. Also, the planet had a similar solar cycle to Earth’s. Best of all, no Goa’uld were there to greet them as they stepped through the Stargate.

“Well campers, this looks just lovely,” Jack said. “Carter, where did the UVA pick up the deposits of Naquada?”

“South of here, seven klicks maybe,” she replied, consulting her handheld. “There is a lake over the deposits.”

“Oh fun, a day at the lake,” Daniel said dryly. He was visibly disappointed that there was a lacking of archaeological evidence of a civilization.

“Let’s move out people. T, you have point. Danny, please do me a favor and stay with the group.”

“Only if you promise to not step on any mini-dragons Jack,” Daniel replied smartly.

“That reminds me. How’s the arm?” Jack asked, concerned for his friend.

“It’s healed nicely, full range of motion and everything.”

“No scars?” Jack asked.

“Nope, I never scar,” Daniel cheerfully said.

Jack looked at his friend, slightly amazed and jealous. With all of the injuries Daniel had accumulated over the years with SGC, he didn’t have any scars? That part amazed him, while at the same time he was jealous. His own body was a canvas of old scars. Sara, his ex-wife, had told him once that the scars added to his character. Personally, they made him feel uncomfortable, reminding him of some terrible times, especially the ones he received in that god-forsaken stink hole of an Iraqi prison.

“That’s not fair,” Jack complained.

Daniel shook his head. While he may not physically scar, he had enough emotional scarring to scare the hell out of any psychologist. He had lived through wars, deaths, plagues, and torture. He had death visit him over and over again; he had even been the harbinger of death for countless others (though not to the infamous extent that the legendary Four Horsemen had created).

“What about that scar above your left elbow?” Sam asked, entering into the conversation.   They all knew each other well, too well it seemed, to the point they knew about various scars and other identifying features.

“Don’t remember how I got that one,” Daniel honestly admitted. He figured that he received that particular injury before his first death. But, like so much of his early years, that bit of trivia was lost in a fog. His most distant, intact memories went back maybe four thousand years. However, he was fairly certain that he was actually older than that; with bits of fragmented memories and outside sources, he was fairly confident that he was as old as the legendary (and infamously snarky) Methos.

As he pondered his past, SG-1 continued onto the lake to find out if the deposits of Naquada were reachable.

As they got closer to their destination, they noticed a noxious, sulfuric stink in the air. They reached a rocky out cropping that gave them a good view of the lake. Sam’s face visibly fell. The lake was bubbling and churning. A hot gas, possibly with a sulfur or hydrochloric base was escaping into the atmosphere, causing their eyes to water and their lungs to burn.

“Fall back!” Jack choked out, coughing.

Nobody needed to be told twice and all beat a hasty retreat.

“Crap! That’s the second time we’ve lost a possible Naquada source,” Sam swore. “It wasn’t like that when the UVA flew over.” She had really been hoping that this mission would be more productive than the last.

“Well, don’t beat yourself up Carter. It’s not like it’s your fault that the lake makes Times Beach look like Club Med,” Jack said. “The days are shorter here on PF-whatever.  It’s going to be sundown soon, so let’s get head back to the trees, where the air is cleaner, set up camp, and head home early tomorrow.”

The others agreed readily and headed back to the trees. They set up camp quickly. Jack quickly got a campfire started while Teal’c stood watch and Sam and Daniel set up the half shelters. Dinner was, as always, filling; Daniel’s MRE tasted suspiciously like chicken, even though the package said it was vegetarian.

Afterwards, they sat around the fire, playing a favorite game, Six Degrees of Separation.

“Okay. Mary Steenburgen to Samuel L. Jackson. No Star Wars route or Back to the Future route either,” Jack challenged Daniel.

Daniel sat back and laughed. “That’s too easy, Jack. I thought this was supposed to be a challenge?”

“You’re just saying that because you don’t know,” Jack said smugly, sure that the archeologist would not be able to do it.

“Please,” he said dismissively. “Mary Steenburgen to Joaquin Phoenix in Parenthood. Joaquin Phoenix to Will Patton, who starred in Inventing the Abbotts with him. Will Patton to Fred Ward in Silkwood. Fred Ward to Graham Greene in Thunderheart. Graham Greene to Bruce Willis in Die Hard III. Bruce Willis to Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction. Suck on that Jack.”

“Shit.” He had forgotten about Pulp Fiction and Die Hard.

Daniel laughed. “With that, I’m hitting the sack. Kick me when it’s my turn to keep watch. Night everyone,” he said and went to his half-shelter to catch some sleep.

“I hate it when he wins,” Jack muttered to himself, much to Sam’s amusement and Teal’c constant amazement over Tau’ri behavior.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

Two hours later, he felt someone shaking him gently. He opened his eyes and found Sam crouched close. Before he could ask what she wanted, she placed a hand over his mouth. Understanding that now was not the time for an involved discussion, he eased out of his sleeping bag, slipped on his boots, checked to see that his holdout knife was in its sheath at the small of his back, picked up his P-90 and scuttled over to where Jack and Teal’c were hiding.

Jack quickly informed Daniel that they were currently surrounded by at least twenty men, armed with staffs, bows and arrows, and swords.

“Strangers, show yourselves,” a voice called out from the dark, in old, but understandable English.

“And why should we? What’s to say you won’t try to kill us in the process?” Jack replied.

“If you are not a demon, then you have nothing to worry about,” the voice said.

Daniel and Teal’c both flinched at this, unbeknownst to each other. Teal’c, while he found it distasteful, had long become used to having his larval Goa’uld referred to as being demon-like. For Daniel, although it had been centuries since he had been called a demon by others for his unusual abilities, the old wounds were still there.

Jack looked at Sam, who just shrugged. She was deeply glad sometimes that the burden of command was not hers to bear, especially in situations like this.

“Not a whole lot we can do. We could shoot our way out of here, but we don’t know how many there are and finding our way through these stupid trees at night may be impossible,” Jack said.

“It’s your decision, Sir,” Sam said.

“Fine. How about we go make nice with the locals, convince them that we aren’t demons, and get the hell out of here,” Jack decided. “Daniel, go make friends with the natives please.”

“Hello.  My name is Daniel Jackson,” Daniel started his patented meet and greet spiel, but was interrupted by an angry native with a long and pointy spear. 

“Silence!  You are trespassing on our lands.  Why have you come here?  Did one of the demons send you?” a nameless man barked. 

“Demons?  You mean the Goa’uld?  No, we come from a place called Earth, probably the same place your ancestors came from.  We’re peaceful explorers, seeking to trade information and goods with others like yourselves.” 

There was quiet discussion among the locals before someone mentioned that the members of SG-1 were seen coming through the Chappa’ai.  With that, the group shut up and the apparent leader declared that the strangers must be taken to the council in the village to determine whether or not they were wicked demons. 

At this, Jack groaned in annoyance, while Daniel and Sam rolled their eyes in frustration and Teal’c raised an eyebrow, conveying how displeased he was. 

They were forced to march along with the locals. Apparently they knew where they were going, for the members of SG-1 had no clue. When they asked where their destination was, they were told that they were being taken to the local village.

After they had walked for miles, Daniel noticed faint lights in the distance the closer it got to dawn.

They came to the village, looking like to Daniel’s trained and expert eye, a medieval northern English village, pre-Norman invasion. They passed under a rock arch with curious glyphs inscribed on it. He was able to only catch a bit of the writings before forced on deeper into the village. What he saw chilled him. Creatures, possessors of blue lightening, were mentioned.

They were taken to a dark, damp wood and straw building and forced inside. Behind them, the door was barred from the outside. It was lined with a few benches which SG-1 collapsed upon. Daniel sat there, his head held in his hands, muttering to himself in several languages.

“Any ideas people?” Jack asked wearily.

“Daniel, could you read what was written on that stone arch we passed through?” Sam asked.

Daniel said something that was incomprehensible; Jack was fairly certain it was a swear word in Ancient Egyptian.

“Hey Danny, no cussing in foreign languages that I can’t understand,” Jack said.

“Yeah, I caught a glimpse of what was written on it,” Daniel spoke up. He raised his head and the others could make out the worried, yet intense, look on his face. “It mentioned beings, demons really, that possess blue lightening.”

“Okay, that’s nice. But none of us here are demons, nor do we possess blue lightening. So what is the big deal? We prove to them that we aren’t demons, they let us go, and we go home,” Jack said reasonably.

“It depends on how they want to prove that we aren’t demons. What if they kill us, so as to prove that we aren’t demons? They would kill a woman during the Burning Times in Europe to prove if she was a witch. Even is she was or wasn’t a witch, she was still dead,” Daniel rambled.

“What if they just want to see if we bleed? We cut ourselves, showing that we are human, well, humanoid in Teal’c case, and we are in the clear,” Sam offered.

“Why are you so worried DanielJackson? It is not as if we have not been in more dire situations before,” Teal’c calmly stated.

“Because they are talking about Immortals. I have a bad feeling from this,” Daniel said, being cryptic, his eyes staring straight ahead, staring at nothing but seeing more than what is normally possible – a terrible future full of terrible possibilities.

“Immortals? You mean Goa’ulds right?” Jack asked, confused.

“No. Not Goa’ulds. Immortals are different, much different,” Daniel replied, feeling more and more miserable.

Just then the door to their makeshift prison was opened and several men entered the room. “We are here to take you to the village Council. There it will be decided if you are demons or not,” the largest man of the group pronounced, his voice, Jack decided, a perfect mimicry of Lon Cheney Jr.

“Jack, please try and don’t let them cut me. It won’t be good for any of us if they do,” Daniel said quietly.  The look on the younger man’s face was a mixture of desperation, fear, and hate.  It was an unusual mixture to be seen on the archeologist’s face; he had gone, literally, into battles, that had poorer odds of survival than their current situation, with a more optimistic visage than the one he currently possessed.

Jack looked at his friend oddly for it was an odd request, but nodded anyway. Daniel was one of his closest friends. While he would gladly kill for others, he would sell his soul to the devil for Daniel, Sam, and Teal’c. If Daniel asked him to do something, most likely he would if he could

They were herded towards the center of the village. They were taken into a large meeting house, constructed out of wood and stone. While many of the other buildings had thatched roofs, this one had a wooden roof, signifying it’s importance.

“What kind of purpose does this building have?” Daniel asked one of their escorts.

“It is our Great Meeting Place. Here we hold our ceremonies to thank God for his blessings and protection,” a young man answered.

Shit, he thought. Holy Ground.

As they entered through the front doors, a familiar, but out of place sensation washed over him. His eyes were immediately drawn to a dirty figure trapped in a wooden cage. The person, if one could call it that, immediately started howling like a banshee and holding its head.

Shit, shit, and double fucking shit.

“One of them is obviously a demon,” a woman sitting high on a dais, flanked by six others, pronounced.

“Oh for crying out loud,” Jack complained as they were forced up the isle.

Daniel felt sick at his stomach. They, especially him, were in such deep shit right now it was almost unbelievable. They were forced to their knees by a phalanx of young men, while Jack bitched about his bad knees. The desire to throw up increased for Daniel as his knees slammed into the hard dirt ground. Jack was on his left, the concealed knife close to him. Sam was to his right and Teal’c was at the end.

Daniel decided to try his diplomatic skills, in hopes they could avoid any bloodshed, especially his. “We are not demons. We are travelers from a place called Earth. We came through the Stargate, sometimes known as the Chappa’ai. We seek peaceful relations with you and your people.”

“Demons do not seek peace. They only seek to harm and kill others, to do the bidding of their demon master,” a balding, short, fat man that briefly reminded Daniel of a character of Friar Tuck. “Be wary Celeste, for the demons are tricky creatures.”

“We are not demons,” Teal’c said. “We represent the Tau’ri, seeking alliances and trade to help in our fight against the Goa’uld.”

“You may be telling the truth, however, that does not change the fact that at least one of you is a demon. We shall find out soon enough. Hold them,” the head woman, Celeste, commanded.

Everybody had at least two men holding them tightly in place; Teal’c had at least six men holding him down, for they had partially made the correct assumption that he was the strongest and most dangerous of the four. While Teal’c was the strongest, Daniel knew himself to actually be the most dangerous of SG-1, despite the scholarly, semi-nerd personae he had cultivated over the years. While he valued learning and knowledge, he was a trained warrior of old. There was the blood of countless others on his hands.

The Immortal held in the cage kept screaming incomprehensibly.

The head woman stepped off the platform, a knife in her hand. She came to Teal’c first. His captors held out his hand, palm up for her. Celeste made a quick slashing motion, slicing his hand open. It bled freely with no tell-tale blue lightning. She did the same to Sam, with the same results.

By now Daniel was in near full panic. He was next. He tried to break free from the people that held him down, but he could not get any leverage for several others came over to help keep him still.

“His hand,” Celeste commanded.

With some difficulty, the villagers wrestled his arm into an extended position and forced his hand open. With a quick motion, Celeste slashed open his palm which bled freely for a few seconds. Much to everyone’s amazement, and to Daniel’s dismay, blue lightning danced along the cut, healing it just as fast.

Daniel took the momentary distraction that his Quickening caused and slipped out of his captors’ grasp. He first pulled Jack’s knife out of his boot. He rolled and kicked out at the villager closest to him, hyper-extending the mortal’s knee. He sprung to his feet, pulled his hold out knife from its hidden sheath; he swung, catching another person across their middle. He danced in and out of the fray, hoping that this would be enough to help free them.

Unfortunately, it was not enough. One of their captors had Sam around the throat, with a knife pressed in close. “Stop,” the man commanded, “unless you want me to kill one of your friends now.”

Daniel spared a glance at Jack and Teal’c who had managed to free themselves. Jack, who was amazed at what had been revealed about his best friend, knew that any explanations would have to come later. Their survival was more important at the moment.

Daniel stopped and lowered his knives, which were roughly taken from him. The next thing he knew someone rammed a sword through his middle, effectively ending his life, at least temporarily.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

 Chapter 4 

When he came to, with a horrible gasp, he found himself back in the wooden and thatch prison they had been in originally. Jack, Sam, and Teal’c were sitting on the benches watching him reflexively check himself over for any injuries.

“Oh fuck, that hurt,” Danil moaned and rolled over.

“Daniel, do you want to do any explaining?” Jack said dryly. Sam looked shocked, while Teal’c communicated his amazement with a raised eyebrow.

“I did not think it was possible for the people of the Tau’ri to survive such a wound,” Teal’c stated.

“Well, shit. The long and short of it is I am an Immortal. We are a race of beings that can live for a long time, not age, and are very hard to kill. Also, as a side note, I am not a demon,” Danil, not Daniel, said, standing up and brushing the dirt off him. The calm, rational, and optimistic person that the others knew was replaced by a stranger that had the same features as their friend, but possessed a dangerous look in his eyes.

“How is this possible Daniel? I’ve seen you get hurt. You’ve even died before,” Sam said.

“I can get hurt and die. Most of the time I tend to heal quickly and, or, come back to life,” he explained, bitter and pissed that his secret had come out, especially like this.

Jack looked slightly pissed. “You know, you could have told us this along time ago. I thought we were friends,” he said accusingly.  

“Jack, it’s more complicated than that. What I am, who I am is so far beyond that which could be considered the norm, even in our crazy lives.  I am not always willing to share with others, even those closest to me. Big thing right now is for us to get out of here. We can have it out later. What is our situation?” Danil asked, postponing any further recriminations. His voice was hard and calculating.  His older, ruthless personality was showing itself.

“They have guards all around the building. Celeste, the head bitch, told us that their decision would be made soon and to expect it carried out at sundown. They were nice enough to give us some food and water,” Sam said and indicated a tray on a near-by bench. “We already ate.”

Danil walked over to the bread and water and sat down. He was hungry and thirsty, and neither situation allowed for clear thinking. He remembered the old adage learned on ancient battlefields and campaigns: never pass up an opportunity to eat, drink, and sleep for you could never be sure when your next opportunity would present itself.  As he munched, he contemplated the mess they were in.  Nothing came to mind that would help them escape with their lives. It really pissed him off.

“Jack, you got any ideas?” Danil asked, hoping his friend would be able to come up with some crazy plan, per usual. He was hoping that the mortals would be able to come up with something.

“Nope, none, well, maybe,” he said wearily. “Carter, you still got your PDA and GDO? Can you figure out where we are in relation to the Stargate?”

“Yeah, I managed to keep those.  These people aren’t overly bright,” she said, pulling the two objects out of a pocket. She quickly went over her PDA, checking the map of the area she downloaded from the MALP. “The locals really weren’t good at searching us, looking for weapons and ignoring everything else.  I think we are ten klicks to the east of the Gate, Sir. We’d be going through more trees and rough terrain, but it’s not impossible. Our big problem is getting away.”

“What ever the villagers have planned for us, especially me, that may be the key for you guys getting away,” Danil said coldly.

“We’re all going home Daniel,” Jack said. “We are not leaving you behind. That’s not our way, plus you don’t get out of explaining everything that easily.”

“How close to sundown is it?” Danil asked, ignoring what Jack had said. He could not afford to be weak here, too much depended upon him to save his friends (and his own head if at all possible).

“Approximately five hours from now,” Teal’c said.

Shit.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 5 

Five hours later, the villagers en masse came to get their prisoners. They were marched back into the worship-meeting hall. The other Immortal was still there, screaming. Celeste and her groupies were also present.

“Well, isn’t this just peachy,” Jack muttered as they were forced to kneel again, this time Daniel was in front of them.

“We have decided that you, the stranger from beyond God’s Gate, shall be our new sentinel, warning us of the presence of any more demons that dare to violate our lands. The one we have now is of no more use to us.  His mind has been taken by time,” the short, fat, bald man read from a sheet of paper.

At that, the imprisoned Immortal increased the volume and intensity of his shrieking, if that was actually possible.

“What about the others?” Danil asked haughtiness and contempt for these mortal alien humans in his voice.

“We have need for the woman. The other two will be dealt with,” Celeste said evenly.

With that, several other people opened the Immortal’s cage and drug him out. He was filthy, covered in dirt, and what looked like a full blown case of lice. His eyes were dull, his hair long and matted, and his skin sagged off his bones. He tried to fight off his captors, but to no avail; he was too weak from the years of imprisonment to successfully fight back.

A man came over, armed with a very sharp sword. Both Immortals knew what was coming.

“No, don’t do this!  Not on Holy Ground,” Danil spat angrily. He was not entirely sure if the rules still applied off Earth, but he did not want to risk it.  There were very few rules in an Immortal’s life and not fighting on Holy Ground was the biggest of them all.

“God will be pleased,” Celeste intoned.

The other Immortal screamed, but was ignored. The executioner shoved a sword through him, in order to subdue him. As he fell to his knees, the sword bearer swung the weapon through the air, cleanly severing the head from the body.

There was a moment of silence before all hell broke loose. Blue lightning erupted from the body, reaching out to find a receptive party. It found Danil, enveloping him, causing him to scream out in tremendous pain. There was also a sensation of exhilaration and triumph that accompanied the Quickening. It was almost erotic, the way it filled him, filling him with waves of energy that were agonizing and at the same time sexual in nature. Later Daniel would describe it as arousing, yet terrifying at the same time; as if he was experiencing sex for the first time, with a monster.

Then suddenly, the ground began to rumble, shaking the building, causing timbers and stones to come crashing to the ground.

“He calls to us,” Celeste could be heard screaming. “He is pleased with our new offering.” Her screams were thankfully cut off when a rock fell from the wall, striking her on the head. She dropped like a sack of flour, blood pouring from an open wound.

Windows were shot out by the electrical storm, furniture was split, and fires were started by the energy. People began to scream in fear and pain. They panicked, trampling over each other to get out of the hall.

Danil was still caught in the eye of the Quickening. Lightning raced into and through him. His scream sounded animalistic in nature, tortured and raw to the others’ ears. Every cell in his body felt as if it were on fire, from the hair on his head to his toenails. The energy, redoubled by being on Holy Ground, was able to pick him up off the floor and throw him against a wall, ending the agony.

Where the headless Immortal’s body laid, the ground split, creating a giant maw that threatened to swallow the entire building.

Jack, Sam, and Teal’c had dove for cover, once the lightening storm erupted, praying that they would survive this ordeal.

“T, grab Daniel. Out the window everyone,” Jack ordered.

Teal’c stumbled across the room to reach Daniel, whom now appeared to be dead. He picked up his form, hoisted it over his shoulder and made his way over to the floor length window that had been blasted out.

The ground continued to quake and crack, leveling the village.

Jack, Sam, and Teal’c, while still carrying Daniel, ran like the blazes of hell were on their heels, desperate to get away. Sam consulted her PDA and pointed the group in an easterly course, heading for the Stargate.

They ran for several miles, not willing to stop just yet. They could still hear roaring and crashing coming from the village. They could feel deep tremors beneath their feet.  Fear drove them on, pushing them past the point where exhaustion normally cut in.

Finally, when exhaustion did over take them, and they could no longer immediately detect the destruction they had left behind, did they stop and re-group.

Teal’c set the still form of Daniel on the ground and sat down next to him.

“Holy Hannah,” Sam gasped, sitting down next to Daniel‘s still form. “What the hell was that?”

“How’s Daniel, T?” Jack asked also tired. It had been a long day.

Teal’c checked Daniel’s pulse points for a sign of life. He found none. “I fear the worst O’Neill,” Teal’c replied gravely.

“Yeah, well, we thought he was dead before and he came back to life,” Jack said sarcastically.

At that, Danil decided to come back to the world of the living, lashing out at his teammates, confused and feeling vulnerable. He even managed to knock Jack and Teal’c on their asses.  

There was hate and confusion in his face.  He could not remember exactly where he was, or who the mortals surrounding him were, looking at him as if he was a freak or djinn of old. 

He took in his surroundings, noticing that he was weaponless.  He could not feel the familiar weight of his Jian, broadsword, or the several other swords he had used over the ages, across his back.   He didn’t even have his fucking knife!  He felt naked and vulnerable, making him angry and defensive.  He’d be damned if he was going to let these goddamn mortals hurt him, much less kill him.  It had happened before, the fucking bastards thinking they were in the right to kill him because he possessed abilities that set him apart from the rest of society. 

People feared what they could not understand and he could smell the fear on those before him. 

He also picked up on the idea that they were not willing to do what whatever it took to take him down, therefore exposing their weakness, their softness.  He was more than willing to do whatever it took to survive, unlike the mortals, including killing if necessary.  Fuck them all, he thought savagely. 

Growling lowly, he grabbed the female by her throat, but then recognized her face.  The physical contact with someone was important; the memory of her soft skin, her warm smile brought him out of his sickening past and back into the present.

“Oh gods, Sam. I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to,” Daniel gasped as he let go of her throat, reverting back to the personality of Dr. Daniel Jackson, archeologist, linguist, and peaceful explorer. Sam scooted back, massaging her neck.

Daniel also scooted back from the others, trying to gain a sense of where he was.  He mentally grabbed hold of ‘Danil’ and stuffed his colder, older personality back into a distant and darker corner of his mind.  He did not want to unleash that part of himself on those that he considered to be his friends.

“Okay people we can have it out later, now we need to get back home,” Jack ordered. He was not about to waste precious time. The explanations and recriminations could wait for later. He helped Carter to her feet, keeping himself protectively between her and Daniel. Teal’c also came up on her other side.

Daniel noticed this and tried not to take it personally. He had attacked them, hurting Sam. They had also had their world rocked, both figuratively and literally. And if he were to be completely honest, he didn’t trust himself either.

He still felt mixed up, agitated, angry, and a whole lot of other emotions. He knew that he would just have to ride it out and let the other’s Quickening settle, however long it took.  It had been a horrible and violent Quickening.  While he was able to surmise that the dead Immortal had lived a fairly long time, he had not taken many heads in that time.  What made it so powerful and brutal, was the fact that it had occurred on Holy Ground.   Currently, he was battling with rage, anger, fear, confusion, and an immense sadness in his head and heart. 

A part of that struggle came from the unusual Quickening that he had received, but also from the fear that he could possible loose the very best friends he had ever come to know.  He knew that they felt betrayed and were suspicious of him.  It was easy to tell through their body language and the way the kept on giving him suspicious and searching glances from time to time.  It weighed heavily on him that he could be forced from the life of Daniel Jackson and required to start a new life, somewhere far from the SGC, his new home and family.

It took them nearly until dawn to reach the Stargate. By then Daniel felt a bit more like himself, calmer and more in control. While he still felt jangled and out of sorts, he did not feel compelled to slit the throats of the near-by mortals. 

He quickly punched in the coordinates for home. Sam turned on the GDO. They allowed for enough time for SGC to receive their signal and open the iris.

When they stepped through the Gate, Daniel felt a huge wave of relief wash over him. It was so good to be home that he did not even worry about what was ahead, explaining himself to those whom he considered to be family.

“What in the blazes happened to you people? Why is Dr. Jackson covered in blood and looks like he stuck his finger in a light socket?” General Hammond yelled as he came into the Gate Room.

“It’s been a big two days sir,” Jack said wearily.

“Get your selves to the infirmary then up to the briefing room,” he barked.

“Yes, sir,” they said and headed off towards Janet and her giant needles.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 6

“For the love of all, what happened to you?” Janet asked as the members of SG-1 trooped in. The Colonel, Sam, and Teal’c were filthy while Daniel looked like he’d been through hell and back.

“Bad times Jan,” Daniel said. “You got a clean shirt here for me?”

“Yeah, just in my office,” she said looking at him oddly. “They know.”

“Not here, not now. After the briefing, off-base please,” he said, looking between her and the others. They all nodded in consent, slightly dumbfounded that Janet knew and they did not.

Janet gave them all clean bills of health and sent them off to explain things to the general. Daniel told her to meet them over at his house at seven p.m.

At the briefing, Jack only explained the part about the Naquada deposit being underneath the acidic lake. He knew that Daniel did not want to discuss what had happened in front of others.

When Jack had concluded, Hammond appraised SG-1 carefully. He noted how Daniel was separated from the team, sitting on one side while the others sat on the other. “I am sure it will make an exciting report Colonel O’Neill. Please get that report to me as soon as possible. Is there anything else you people wish to tell me?” he added, almost pleasantly.

O’Neill looked accusatory at Daniel.

“I see,” said Hammond. “I take it they know.”

“Yes. Sir, we are going to have a team meeting at my house tonight at seven. I would like to invite you to join us,” Daniel said, looking to his boss and old friend for some support.

“Nineteen hundred hours it is,” Hammond said business-like once more. “Dismissed.”

“Daniel,” Jack said warningly.

“Not now Jack. There are eyes and ears everywhere. This is not something to be spoken about in the open,” Danil said, temporarily losing his gentler persona, and replacing it with a harder edge to his voice. His eyes were no longer an inquisitive pool of innocence that he worked so hard to cultivate. In place were blue eyes that had clearly seen and done many things over a lifetime. There was a dangerous look that spoke of ages of violence and mistrust.   He couldn’t help it; there was a battle currently raging inside of him between the different sides of his personality.  The Quickening had loosened his grip on the fury and rage that had been a part of him once upon a time.  This older, more primal part of him was closer to the surface than it had been in years – centuries even.

Jack grunted in acknowledgement, but was clearly not happy with the way things were turning out. 

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

SG-1 showered in record time, each member going their separate ways, in order to take care of work that needed to be done.

Close to five o’clock, Daniel finally decided to call it a day. He had tried to concentrate on his work, but the newly absorbed Quickening was still bouncing around inside his head, flashes of a past that was not his own disrupting his thought process.  In the end, he just sat there, staring at a tablet from PX-where ever and got absolutely nothing done for the next few hours.  He changed into his civilian clothes and went up to the surface. He located his car, a silver Isuzu Rodeo; a new one since he finally had to give up the ghost of keeping his Jeep alive.

He went through the drive-through at the Golden Eggroll, picking up an order of combination fried rice. He did not feel he had enough energy to cook something. The day had been too long and he was too worried about explaining himself to his friends.

He made it home, leafed through his mail, and sat down to eat something before everyone came over.

Predictably, General Hammond and Janet arrived first.

“They’re not here yet,” Janet observed, taking her and the General’s coats and placing them in the hall closet. “How did they find out?”

Hammond and Janet sat down in the living room and Daniel proceeded to explain how they were captured, his theory on how the people, of probably Earth origin, and the presence of another Immortal. He theorized that the people must have been taken from an isolated village in medieval England, along with several Immortals. Part of his theory was based on conjecture and partially based on the memories of the dead Immortal. They were not pleasant memories. He was very careful to keep an even temper with the General and Janet, for they had done nothing to incur his wrath.  Daniel could only hope he could maintain that ideal when he had to deal with the others, especially Jack.

At seven o’clock, Jack, Sam, and Teal’c arrived. Jack looked pissed as hell, while Sam looked confused, and Teal’c was, well, Teal’c.

“Sir,” Jack greeted his commanding officer respectfully before launching into a tirade against his fellow SG-1 team member.

“Daniel, you had better explain yourself or I swear to God I will choke the living shit out of you!” Jack ordered, infuriated.

“Sit down Jack,” Daniel said calmly.  He was trying his best to keep a lid on his temper, but it was getting increasingly harder to do so.  It had been a very long past two days, and there was only so much that he could take, Immortal or not.

“I’ll sit down when I am goddamn good and ready,” Jack yelled back.

Before he knew what had happened, Jack found himself knocked down on to a chair by a pissed off Daniel. There was a fury in his eyes that Jack had never seen before. “Shut the fuck up now Jack or I swear to the gods you’ll be eating your meals through a straw,” an infuriated Danil lashed out.

Jack had the wisdom to keep quiet.

Daniel sat back down, shoving his more ruthless personae back into its stuffy closet. Here goes nothing, he though to himself, taking several deep breaths to calm himself.

“I am an Immortal. My kind has been around for a long time now. We live, we grow up, and eventually we die our first death. After that, we come back to life, stuck at the age in which we died. After that, we live until someone kills us by cutting off our heads, like you saw earlier. The lightening storm you witnessed was what we call a Quickening. It is essentially the life force of an Immortal, containing their strength, power, and knowledge. Now that Immortal’s life force is inside of me.”

“Was the earthquake a part of that?” Sam asked, fascinated.

“Yes and no. There are some rules to our lives. When Immortals fight, it is always one on one, no outside interference. Also, we never fight each other on Holy Ground. It doesn’t matter what religion, as long as someone considers it to be sacred, it is a safe haven for my kind. Generally, nobody ever breaks that rule.”

“But you did not fight the other,” Teal’c observed.

“A Quickening was released and another Immortal was present. I don’t think the powers that be really care about technicalities,” Daniel said.

“Has this ever happened here on Earth?” Janet asked.

Daniel nodded. “Pompeii, in 79 CE, and in Peru, back in the Sixties. Instead of a volcano exploding, Peru experienced the strongest ever recorded earthquake.”

“You said Immortals have been around for a long time. How old are you?” Sam asked.

Daniel smiled. “I can clearly remember back four thousand years. However, I know that I am older than that. My memory is kind of cloudy further back. I get bits and pieces of my past every now and then. When Nem and the Tok’ra screwed with my mind I ‘saw’ more flashes than I have in a long time. Also, when the Goa’uld did their mind probe-thing, some lost memories resurfaced. I am probably around five thousand years; however I do not remember the Goa’uld occupation.  I don’t think I was in Egypt at the time.”

“Where are you from?” Sam then asked.

“I remember clearly living along the Black Sea, a part of a nomadic tribe of Indo-Europeans, although we did not call ourselves that. Before that, I don’t know. I remember so little. When I was with the nomads, my name at the time was Danil. I somehow also associate myself with the name Tamal, meaning ‘dark tree.’ I know I have never, in my active memory, gone by that name. I would like to believe that that was my original name, that I came from somewhere where I belonged and was wanted,” Daniel said, a far away look in his eyes. It hurt, sometimes, not knowing for sure who he was. “I’ve gone by other names since then. I’ve used Daniel as sort of affection towards my original name.”

“Can you,” Jack said quietly, “explain to me why you felt you could tell the General and Janet, and neglect to tell your best friends? Were we not worthy of your secrets?” Sam and Teal’c also looked slightly hurt when Jack voiced what they were all feeling.

“It’s not that simple Jack. Whenever I wanted to tell you guys something, like oh, a planetary threat, got in the way. Plus, it’s a pretty big secret. What do you think the NID would do if they found out about Immortals? They’d hunt us down, experiment on us like lab rats, and kill us.”

“But you told Hammond and Janet,” Sam pointed out.

“General Hammond and I met back in 1974 at a funeral for a mutual friend. He was friends with another Immortal by the name of Mark Turner, who lost in a fight with another Immortal. Everyone at the funeral was military personnel. I was the only stranger to show up. George knew about Mark and he figured out that I was also an Immortal.”

“It was a little awkward at first because I remembered him from when you all had gone back in time to 1969, while he had no knowledge of what was to come,” Hammond interjected.

“What happened to your friend’s killer,” Sam asked. “Did the cops catch him?”

Daniel laughed, but it was not a friendly laugh. “Mortal laws don’t always apply to my kind. But the killer was caught. I found out who it was and killed him myself,” he said coldly.

“You killed someone in cold blood?” Sam was shocked.

“I’ve killed many people over the years Sam, Immortals and mortals alike,” he said coldly. “I haven’t always been the nice person you think you know. I’ve left bloody trails behind me over the ages. I’ve killed with armies and on my own. I have killed with my sword and with my bare hands. I’ve tasted my victims’ blood on my lips.” Once again, Daniel got a far away look in his eyes, but this time there was a dangerous gleam to them. They were catching glimpses of Danil, the man he had been and still was.  It was a scary visage.

The others sat there in silence. This was not the Daniel they though they knew. Even General Hammond and Janet were quiet.

“So, were you something like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?” Sam asked.

“No. Those were different people. But they too were Immortals, semi-friends even – well, at least we refrained from killing each other.  Except for one of the Horsemen, his name was Caspian and I couldn’t stand him.  He was beyond depraved.  Caspian was a cannibal and the only thing that kept me from killing him was his brothers. If I had touched him, drug him off my land and killed him, the other three would have killed me, or worse, I would have taken his place.  I don’t get how they put up with him. Gods, even Kronos at his worst was better than that monster.  However, from what I’ve heard, they’re dead now,” Daniel said, lying just a tad. He knew Methos, Death, was still around, but he was not the same person he had been back then.  “I wasn’t on their scale of destruction, but I was plenty bad enough.” 

“Come on Daniel.  Aren’t you being a tad bit dramatic here?” Sam asked.  She could not see her friend as a mass murderer. 

“I killed everyone that got in my way.  If I came to your village and you did survive, it was only through dumb luck on your part.  What I did was pure evil,” Daniel said, knowing that his words were failing to fully explain what his life had been like, once upon a time.  He has taught countless people that their safe, secure lives were more perilous than they could have ever imagined.

“How does Janet know?” Jack asked after taking a moment to digest this bit of information.

“I figured it was easier to tell her, rather than trying to hide my immortality. She was bound to pick up on the fact that I was not normal.  Thanks to her and some creative writing, I’ve been able to hide my Immortality from the government’s paper-pushers,” Daniel said. He finished and sat back, giving the other’s an opportunity to absorb and discuss what he had told them.

No one said anything.

Mentally rolling his eyes, he mumbled something about needing some fresh air. He grabbed a couple of bottles of beer out of the refrigerator and went out onto his deck. So what if it was early spring, cold, and the weather was still given to occasional episodes of snow. He brushed off the traces of snow on one of his patio chairs, sat down, and opened one of the beer bottles.

He had finished off the second bottle by the time the members of SG-1 and Janet came outside. Hammond had been called back to the base.

Sam had apparently been elected group spokesman.

“Daniel, it hurts to think that you could not tell us about you. We would have never betrayed you,” she said in a quiet voice.

“I know Sam, it’s just hard to trust people sometimes, especially those closest to me,” Daniel replied, tiredly.

“But, first, we’d like you to come back inside. It’s cold in case you hadn’t noticed or do you have some sort of power that keeps you from noticing the weather,” Jack said his sarcastic side present. That gave Daniel hope.  If Jack was being biting towards him, then he couldn’t be mad at him forever.

Daniel dutifully trooped back inside the house and into the living room. He sat down on his favorite chair, his legs stretched out in front of him. “So what now?” he asked.

“I want to know why you felt you could not trust us.” Jack asked, puzzled. “I mean, haven’t we been to Netu and back together?”

“Jack, in 1351 CE I decided to take a break from things. I spent two years in a monastery in France. Side note: the French were just as snotty back then as they are now. There I found peace, was able to read, teach, do stuff that I absolutely loved to do. Granted prayer time was a little awkward since I wasn’t a Catholic, let alone a Christian, but I was happy. I think at the time I was looking for some sort of forgiveness.  The Church is pretty big on the idea that even the worst of us can be forgiven for our sins.  It gave me hope for myself.  As a bonus, I also made some wonderful friends: Fathers Justinian and Cyril. They were simple men, happy to devote their lives to God. They were also brilliant scholars. It was thrilling to sit with them after nightly prayers and discuss things with them. We shared so much together and I thought we were friends. Eventually, I told them about me. They were shocked and told me they would have to think about what I had revealed.”

“Okay. Last time I looked, none of us are monks in old France,” Jack said, not seeing where this was going.

Daniel gave him an exasperated look. “That night, as I was tucked away in my cell, I was abruptly woken up by my ‘brothers’ and the monastery’s abbot. Justinian and Cyril had told Father Tomas about my little secret. He decided I was in league with the devil. He, Justinian, Cyril, and two others put a noose around my neck, literally dragging me from my bed. They hauled my ass into the courtyard and hung me from a post. As I was strangling to death, they decided to set me on fire,” he said bitterly, still able to remember the horrible sensation of his flesh burning.   “Apparently, forgiveness was not to be mine.”

“Danny, you have got to know that we would never have done that to you,” Jack said, horrified.

“I know that Jack. But it made me very wary of letting anyone in on my secret. You try being set on fire and see how happy that makes you. Besides, they were not the only ones who have betrayed or rejected me because of my Immortality.  What do you think would happen if the wrong people within our government found out about me, about Immortals?  They would hunt us down, experiment on us like rats, in hopes of creating a super-weapon of some sort.  I have to be careful,” Daniel said.

“But now you know. How much does this change things between us? All of us? Do you want me off the team? I am sure Hammond could transfer me to another team. I hear SG-12 wants me,” Daniel said.

“SG-12 wants you because you are the only one who understands them. They’re nuts,” Jack replied, causing Daniel to smile.

“They’re not that bad. Brennan, Francis, and Tracy are just eccentric,” Daniel defended them.

“Brennan smells like cheese, Francis needs to get laid, and Tracy is going to run out of room on his body he has so many tattoos,” Jack said. “No, we don’t want you off SG-1. It’s just going to take some getting used to everything.”

“So you don’t hate me?” Daniel asked a look of cultivated innocence on his face.

“No, we do not hate you DanielJackson,” Teal’c spoke up. “I for one wish to join with you in battle once again.”

“Thanks Teal’c, I think. But I want you guys to understand that I am not always going to be the one to take one for the team. If the Goa’uld find out about Immortals, that could present more obstacles for us than solutions. Plus, if I get killed in the process, short of getting my head whacked off, I’ll be out of commission for awhile.”

“We understand that. We won’t ask you to do something that we wouldn’t be willing to do ourselves,” Sam said.

“I have a question or two though,” Jack said from his spot on the couch, between Sam and Janet. “Have you had to fight another Immortal recently? What about that guy you ran into at Wal-Mart?”

“The last time I fought an Immortal was about a year ago. I like to stay off peoples’ radar. If others were to find out that I am one of the older Immortals around, I’d have people breaking down my door to try to take a shot at me. I’ve see what happens when Immortals make a noisy reputation for themselves,” Daniel said, remembering a certain annoying Scotsman. “And yes, the ass in the parking lot at Wal-Mart was an Immortal. The moron wanted to fight it out then and there.  He’s young and stupid.”

“So are you going to fight him? And why really? What’s the point of it all?” Sam asked.

“When an Immortal dies, with his or her head cut off, it releases the Immortal’s Quickening. The winning Immortal gets the loser’s power and knowledge. That will help him, the victor, in his next fight. Supposedly, in the end, when ever that is, there can be only one Immortal left. That Immortal will have the power to rule and dominate the world with his power. If that title goes to someone who is evil, he will make the Goa’uld look like a bunch of pushovers. Hopefully the prize will go to someone who will teach and heal the world,” Daniel finished.

“Could that someone be you?” Jack asked.

Daniel shrugged. “Who knows? I personally don’t care. I just want to live my life and be left alone. Honestly, I don’t know if I even believe in the idea of a Prize.  But, I will defend my life to the death if need be. If someone, someone weak, got a hold of my Quickening, the results would be devastating. I’ve lived a long time and have killed many Immortals. The other person would probably become corrupted and evil. When that happens, it’s called a Dark Quickening. It has happened on occasion and it is not something to be treated lightly.”

“Are you saying that you’re evil? The guy who got emotional over Monsters Inc.?” Jack asked, disbelievingly, temporarily forgetting the hints of Daniel’s experiences with mass murder.

Daniel crossed his arms, trying to keep the sheepish grin off his face. It had been a good movie.   “Jack, I’m not a saint. I’ve done some pretty terrible things in my life that I am not proud of. And more importantly, I’ve taken plenty of heads in my life. I’m one of the more powerful Immortals around. If the person, who somehow kills me, is not strong enough to weather my power, it will overwhelm them, changing their personality. I’ve had plenty of time to deal with everything. Because of that, technically I’m not crazy.”

“Technically?” Sam echoed.

Daniel rolled his eyes. “How sane does it sound when you really think about my life? Not only do I willingly travel across the galaxy in an undeclared war against a parasite race, but I spend part of my time here on Earth trying to not get my head cut off and while I try cut off the heads of my opponents with a sword.”

“No. I was referring to the part about you and Monsters Inc.,” Sam quipped. “I mean, Finding Nemo was much better.”

Daniel did not know how to appropriately respond to that.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 7

A week later at SGC, Daniel was sequestered in his office. There were at least six artifacts that needed translated, that he knew of. It was very possible that, buried underneath the mess on his desk, some other piece of Go’uld technology needed to be translated. At least, he consoled himself, his coffee pot was working. Mentally, he did a celebratory dance in honor of the coffee gods.

“Hey Daniel,” Jack said as he barged in. “The General wants us in the briefing room pronto.  Did you forget about the mission to P-whatever?”

“Crap,” Daniel muttered, removing a large tome from his lap and placing the photographs of some weird alien device on top of a pile of books on his desk. He knew that they were scheduled to go off-world tomorrow, but he had not realized that it was now time for the pre-mission briefing with Hammond.

Together they traveled through the labyrinth tunnels of the SGC to the conference room. Daniel felt glad that things between him and the team were eased now. It has worried him that they would no longer want to work with him, knowing that he had deliberately kept such a huge secret from them. Although it was clear that they were a little hurt by his lack of faith in them, they understood how hard it had been for him in telling them at all.  A big part of him felt incredibly light and unburdened with the knowledge that his friends, the best friends he had ever had, knew the truth about him.  It was a freeing sensation.  He also worried though about what their reaction would be if they ever found out about some of his darkest secrets.  He knew that Jack had a past that would make some shudder; however, his past had the potential to make the worst serial killer cry like a baby.

“Good morning people,” Hammond said as Sam began to hand out black and white photographs and standard briefing folders.  

“The computer came up with another address,” Sam announced beginning the meeting.  “PF1-814 is the fourth world in a solar system similar to ours, though the sun is slightly bigger, allowing life to develop further out from the center of the system.  The planet’s rotation seems to be similar to our own and the weather is currently a late spring.  According to the MALP, the planet is viable for human life, and according to aerial reconnaissance, there is a series of ruins about a mile from the Stargate. We did increase the search radius of the UAV and we have not been able to find any signs of current human or humanoid presence.”

“I am sending SG-1 to reconnoiter the place and let us know if there is anything of value, militarily or culturally,” Hammond added, once Major Carter had finished her spiel, for the benefit of Dr. Jackson. “If there is, then we’ll send more personnel to help excavate the place.”

“Sound fun,” Jack replied sarcastically while Daniel was about ready to jump out of his skin with excitement.

“Sir, when do we leave,” Daniel asked, fairly bouncing in his chair.

“Easy there grasshopper. Patience is a virtue,” Jack intoned.

Hammond rolled his eyes. “Be prepared to depart tomorrow at oh-eight hundred hours. You’ll be gone for approximately three days, so get what you need from the supply sergeant. If that is all, then you are dismissed.”

O’Neill and Carter both snapped to attention when the general rose to his feet.

Once Hammond was gone, Jack turned to his friend. “So Daniel, what has got your panties in a bunch?”

“This is Babylonian,” he said excitedly, waving one of the photos around.

“And?”

“Yay?” Daniel said, realizing that the others did not necessarily share in his excitement. “You all suck.”

“Before you soil yourself, why don’t we get our gear together? If we don’t get it now and wait until sixteen hundred like we did last time, Sergeant Rasmussen will kill us,” Jack said. There was a truism in the military: never unnecessarily piss off the supply sergeant.

The others agreed to his plan. They visited supply, loaded up on the basics, MREs, and weapons. They signed out for the stuff and Jack promised that their supplies would be returned this time. The sergeant just snorted; she was used to the SG teams checking out gear and not returning it due to unforeseen circumstances.

The team had dinner together, and then went their separate ways. They all had duties to attend to, on top of getting a good night’s sleep.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~

The next morning, at oh-too damn early, in Daniel’s opinion, SG-1 left Earth for PF1-814.

“Hey, guys. Look, trees,” Jack said smartly to the others after they had stepped through the event horizon.

Daniel automatically sneezed.

“How can you have allergies Danny? You’re Immortal. I thought that since you’re Immortal, you don’t get sick,” he asked, turning towards the team’s archeologist.

Daniel wiped at his nose with a handkerchief. “I don’t understand the allergy thing either. Maybe since every time it happens when I go to a new planet, I have to develop new immunities to whatever is on planet at the time. Plus, I can get sick. I just get better a lot quicker than most and I don’t catch the exact same thing again. I once died of the Plague you know.  You should have seen it when I got scurvy.  It was really gross.  You should have been there when I got leprosy, I went to pieces,” Daniel joked, earning him groans of disgust from Jack and Sam.  Teal’c, who did not get it, merely raised an eyebrow a fraction of an inch.

“For shame,” Jack said cutting off Daniel’s detailed explanation of disgusting diseases he had contracted over the ages, not to mention bad puns. “All right people. The ruins are just a mile away. Teal’c you got point. Let’s get there, get set up and then Daniel can go play with his rocks while Carter plays in the dirt. Let’s move out,” Jack ordered.

A mile later, the members of SG-1 found themselves confronted with an expanse of ruins butting up against the side of a huge hill. Daniel was fairly dancing with joy. While he did not delude himself into thinking that he would be able to explore all of the ruins, he hoped to get a good idea of the layout and find a good reason for Hammond to allow further excavations take place.

After setting up their camp, Daniel wandered off to begin his work on making sense out of the carvings.

Two hours later, Jack went in search of Daniel. Teal’c was keeping an eye on Carter as she was taking samples of the dirt. Carter had told Jack to go away, albeit nicely, when he started throwing rocks at a near-by wall.

“Daniel, found anything interesting? Secrets to the universe? A cure for cancer? A really good recipe for beer bread?” Jack called out, stepping over fallen rocks to join his friend.

Daniel looked up from the book he had balanced on lap. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground, his back to a huge wall with writing that looked similar to something Jack saw in a history book.

“It’s cuneiform Jack,” Daniel said, knowing what Jack was going to ask. “The section you’re looking at speaks about Tiamat, the goddess of sweet water, her marriage to Apsu, the god of salt water, the murder of Apsu, Tiamats’ revenge against Ea for killing Apsu, and how she got her revenge.”

“Goa’uld?”

“Looks like it. The people here recorded the family quarrels. They even record a story of her downfall on the next wall over. It’s nothing that we don’t already know about the gods of Babylonian culture and the other subsequent cultures that sprung up or resided in that region,” Daniel explained, slipping back into his lecture mode.

“So what happened to the people that built this place?” Jack asked, looking around at the ruins.

Daniel shrugged. “They could have been wiped out by a disease or the Go’uld, most likely. Maybe a real-life Gilgamesh really did refuse to sleep with Ishtar and she smote everyone in revenge.  The snake heads are good at smiting,” Daniel finished, laughing at his joke that went over Jack’s head.

Jack ignored Daniel’s obtuse, at least to him, humor. “Well, sucks to be them. I guess I’ll let you get back to work then.”

Daniel gave a slight grin. “Thanks,” he said then buried his head back in his book, though he glanced up occasionally at the rock face in front of him.

A half an hour later, Jack was bored. “I’m bored,” he announced to no one’s surprise.

Daniel mumbled something about what he though Jack could do to entertain himself. It was not repeatable in polite company.

“Hey. Did you hear me? I’m bored,” Jack repeated himself, this time, gently kicking his friend’s leg that was now outstretched.

“Yes Jack, I heard you. I was just hoping you’d take the hint and go away.”

Jack pretended to be hurt. “Look here old guy. I’m bored, I need entertainment, and all I have is you. So entertain me.”

Daniel looked up at his friend with half amusement, half annoyance. “Didn’t you bring your Gameboy or yo-yo or something?”

“No,” Jack responded. “I want a story.” He almost sounded like a petulant child.

Daniel sighed. For such a consummate professional, military man, Jack could act like such a baby at times. “How about a compromise? You take my camera, go record some of the ruins on the east side and I’ll tell you a really good bedtime story tonight? Deal?” he spoke as if addressing a three-year-old. “I promise you’ll enjoy it. It’ll have blood, battles, and tactics in it.”

Jack gave him a dirty look, but picked up the camera and moved off to the east of Daniel’s position to start recording.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 8

They had set up their camp not too far away from the ruins. Dinner had been served and they were now sitting around the fire, comfortable in each other’s presence.

“Where is my story Daniel?” Jack demanded. “And did anyone remember to bring the marshmallows this time?”

“I did, Sir,” Carter called out, tossing the bag of large marshmallows to her commanding officer.

“Cool. Now where is my story?” Jack repeated, frowning at the archeologist.

Daniel sighed. “Okay, Jack,” he began, scooting into a more comfortable position. “Once upon a time, there was a Greek king from Macedon. He had inherited his father’s kingdom at the age of twenty in 337 BCE when his father had been killed at the wedding of his daughter, Cleopatra, to King Alexander of Epirus. He had been killed by a disgruntled nobleman who had been raped by retainers of Attalus - one of the father’s senior generals.”

“Wait a minute!  I’ve seen this in a movie!” Sam exclaimed. “You’re talking about Alexander the Great! You knew him?”

Daniel gave her a disappointed look. “Who’s telling the story here, Sam?  And by the way, that movie was horrible.  You should be ashamed of yourself.”

“Sorry,” she said, smiling sheepishly.

“Continuing on,” Daniel said, rolling his eyes. “Philip the II was killed. There is and was some debate over who was behind the murder. Some said it was Alexander and his mother, Olympias, but it may have been instigated and financed by Darius III Codomannus - the Great King of Persia, who ascended to the Peacock Throne.

“Alexander the Great was everything the historians have said and more. Women and men - the stories of his homosexual relationships are true - were drawn to him. It was more than just the power that his title - Megas Alexandros - represented. He truly had a magnetic personality. He was also brilliant when it came to tactics and motivating people. Even if you weren’t an enemy, a woman or a gay man, you loved, respected, and, feared him. Despite what most modern generals’ hope, none, even the really good ones, were the next Alexander. It is an impossible ideal to try to live up to.”

“So were you one of his generals or one of his friends?” Jack hinted at, fascinated, yet found it hard to picture the quiet linguist in a toga and in direct command of thousands of soldiers.

Daniel shook his head. “Grow up Jack.  I was one of his captains in his army. I was in the infantry, one of many, but I got to see the decision making up close since I was one of the few that were literate and educated. And, no, I did not wear a toga Jack. You’ve been watching too many Charleston Heston movies.” 

“But were you, you know, a special friend?” Jack persisted. 

“What do you mean by special friend O’Neill?” Teal’c asked. 

“Jack wants to know if I had, um, sexual relations with another man Teal’c,” Daniel explained, annoyed at his friend’s pushiness. 

“What is your answer to his question Daniel Jackson?  Is it not now acceptable to be openly gay in Tau’ri society?” 

Daniel ground his teeth.  He knew Jack was just doing this to get to him.  “Yes, it is considered by many in America okay to be gay, but I am not, nor have I ever been gay.  I like women very much thank you,” he said, glaring at Jack.

“Anyway, at the Battle of Issus, south of the ancient town of Issus, which is close to the present day town of Iskineram, Turkey, we fought and defeated the numerically superior forces of Darius III Comdomannus. The battle took place on both sides of the near-by river and was a little further away from the coast, much to Darius’ misfortune.”

As Daniel spoke of the legendary battle, the others noticed how his blue eyes took on a far away look, as if he were no longer on PF1-814,but back in time, thousands of years ago, millions of miles (literally) away.

“The Persians had with them 30,000 in their cavalry, 60,000 Persian infantry troops, and 30,000 Greek mercenaries. We had 50,000 cavalry and 26,000 infantry. Statistically, the Persians should have defeated us on the battlefield. However, we had better tactics and used the lay of the land better than they did.”

“Why did other Greeks fight for Dirtiest?” Jack asked, mispronouncing the name, but fascinated by Daniel’s tale. Jack could tell that this was not something memorized from a text book, but something that came from first-hand knowledge. Usually, he tended to nod off when Daniel went on about stuff like this, but instead he paid close attention.

“Darius, Jack,” Daniel corrected his friend. “He paid better, plus some Greeks considered Macedonians to be the trailer trash of the Greek people. We sent part of our army through the Pass of Jonah. Alexander’s ‘companion’ took part of the cavalry and moved them on the right flank while the Greek allied cavalry moved on the left of the phalanx, with Parmenion, a general Alexander later killed, in command. Darius had 20,000 troops on the mountain slopes and had most of his cavalry close to the coast, too far away to be used in the battle.”

“Alexander joined us on the battlefield, led the infantry, and punched a hole in the Persian line. He was vicious and decisive. He wielded a sword as skillfully as anyone I’d ever met - he outclassed many Immortals in his ability with a sword. Sikandar was covered in blood and gore, the same as the rest of us. He did not spare himself from the horrors of a battle like so many generals were in the habit of doing. Darius was separate from the main part of the battle, watching from the rear, while Sikandar was in the middle of it. Alexander’s next direct assault against Darius succeeded, forcing him to flee from the battlefield, abandoning his mother, wife, and children, who were later captured by us. Once Darius fled, the Persians abandoned their positions. It was a slaughter for the ones unlucky enough to be left behind, though we did treat his family with dignity and honor.”

As Daniel described the events of the Battle of Issus, he could recall the past with clarity. He heard the clanging of metal on metal; the shouts and screams coming from the soldiers of both armies; some dying, some bringing death to others. He remembered the heat of the day, the sweat rolling down his back as he thrust and parried his way through the battle, slaughtering the enemy. What really stood out was the smell. The smell of blood, for it was everywhere, filled his nostrils. A horrible, meaty, coppery, rotten smell hung over the entire region. He had been covered in blood; he could taste it in his mouth. Then the sense of victory, of empowerment, of celebration, they had defeated Darius . . .

Next thing Daniel knew, Jack was gently shaking him, speaking to him.

“Come on Daniel, snap out of it,” Jack said, unmindful of how potentially dangerous it could be to yank him out of his introspection.

Daniel looked at Jack with cold, dead eyes. While it was only for a short moment, but Jack was able to see into Daniel’s soul. While it had been quick, what Jack saw was scary, and he was a hard man to scare. Daniel looked hard and dangerous. Jack knew immediately that Daniel had not always been a nice person, as he once stated, but at that time Jack had refused to believe it.  Jack also noticed how Daniel’s hand twitched, seeming as if it was reaching for a sword at his side that, luckily for them, was not present.

“I’m sorry, Jack,” Daniel, the one the other members of SG-1 knew, said. His eyes were once again pools of blue innocence. “I got caught up in the past.”

“For how long did you fight for this GreatAlexander?” Teal’c asked.

“Alexander the Great,” Daniel said automatically. “I was with him from 334 BCE until his death on 10 June 323 BCE at the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar I of Babylon. He was only 32 years old when he died, and with him so much died.”

“I take it, when telling your kids, you tone down the blood and gore part,” Jack said.

Immediately, Daniel got a haunted look in his eyes. There had been nothing more that he regretted, other than not being able to save Shar’ae from the Goa’uld, than not being able to give her children. “Immortals can’t have children Jack. The ability to have children, to pass along names and genetics gives mortals a taste of true Immortality. We don’t get that bonus in life.”

“Oh.” Jack said, unsure of what was the proper thing to say.

Daniel shrugged. “I’ve adopted and raised other people’s children, Jack. It’s not like I haven’t been a father before.”

Sam, picking up on the melancholy turn the conversation was taking, asked, “What other battles did you fight in with Alexander? What was it like?”

“Surprisingly enough, the actual battles did not last overly long, not by today’s standards. I was at the Battle of Gaugamela. I was there when Alexander captured Susa, one of the Achamenid capitals. I was there when we captured the Persian Gates, which was located in the Zagros Mountains. I personally helped set fire to the royal palace at Xerxes in revenge for the burning of the Acropolis during the second Persian war, though in reality it was just something to do and to make the defeat even more humiliating for Darius and the Persians.”

“You’re an arsonist?” Sam asked, incredulous. “What did you do to help capture the Persian Gates?”

“I was under orders, leave me alone,” Daniel said, blushing, knowing that there was tremendous irony that he, Dr. Daniel Jackson, archeologist, Egyptologist, and linguist, willingly burned priceless artifacts and treasures, especially since he was always bitching when something got ruined due to carelessness.

“In January of 330 BCE, we moved towards the ceremonial capital of Darius: Perseopolis. Alexander split the army in two. Parmenion took the supplies, allies, and mercenary troops and continued to follow along the traditional road to Perseopolis. Alexander took his elite forces on a more difficult, but faster, route across the Zagros Mountain Range.”

“The goal was to capture Perseopolis before Darius and his people could evacuate the city and take with them all of the treasures that the city held. There was a slight problem, of course,” Daniel said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“What prevented you from your goal DanielJackson?” Teal’c asked, intrigued by his friend’s tale. He had heard of this great leader before on The History Channel. It was fascinating to hear the tale told from a personal aspect.

“Well, Ariobarzanes prepared an ambush at the mountain gorge known as The Persian Gates. We went into the gorge and found out it was a trap. One end was walled off, cutting off our escape route. The Persians were at the top of the gorge. Stones and arrows rained down on us. We were forced to retreat, and left behind many casualties, including a good friend of mine, Dimetrious.” With that, Daniel stopped, his eyes narrowed in distant bitterness.

Eventually he shook himself from his reverie. “We had to get to Perseopolis for two reasons. Not only was the treasure in danger of disappearing, Parmenion’s column was in danger of being attacked by the Persians. Alexander was not about to let anything happen to Parmenion, if he could help it.

“A local shepherd told us about an obscure mountain path that went around the Gates. At night, Alexander and the surviving elite troops, led by the shepherd, went on the march. We encircled the Persians, and by dawn we were behind Ariobarzanes’ lines. It was a total slaughter. We killed almost every last Persian. Ariobarzanes and a few others managed to escape and returned to Perseopolis where they were refused admittance by the city’s commander. The commander then surrendered the city to Alexander to avoid any more danger to the people living there. Ariobarzanes was never heard from again and the shepherd received the equivalent of a quarter of a million U.S. dollars.”

Jack heard the bitterness in Daniel’s voice as he spoke. “What happened there that was so bad, other than the war itself?”

“Leaving Dimetrious behind was horrible. You should know that Jack,” Daniel said bitterly, knowing that one of the mantras that Jack firmly believed in was that no one should be left behind.  “I could hear him and others beg for us to save them, but I could not get to him. I was shot twice in the process but was forced away by another survivor. No one left behind was not the policy of the day.”

“I was also forced to execute some captured Persian soldiers. They were young, inexperienced, and unlucky enough to get captured,” Daniel said with loathing.

“You had orders,” Jack said reasonably. “It’s not like you wanted to do it.”

Daniel shook his head. “At the time, it meant nothing to me. I could have just as easily been telling someone the time of day. I also had to execute three others that same week for failing to follow orders and for insubordination. By the time Alexander had died, killing someone meant absolutely nothing to me.” His voice had turned cold and distant.

“After the war, I left Babylon and was a mercenary for a time. I took plenty of heads over the next hundred years and not once did I ever consider the morality of what I was doing. I wandered around, going where ever someone needed a soldier and had plenty of money, leaving a bloody trail behind.  I was not the nicest person to know.  It was so easy, the killing.  The taking of heads and lives, enjoying the rush of a Quickening or seeing my supposed enemy beg for mercy was such a kick.”  The others noticed a small, but twisted smile flit across his face, but almost immediately the mask of Daniel Jackson covered it.

The others sat there in shock. This was not the Daniel they thought they knew. The Daniel that they knew was a gentle person, who wanted to help others so desperately that it killed him, sometimes literally, when he could not.

“So what happened? Obviously you’re not the same person now that you were back then. Did you find religion or something?” Jack asked, not looking at his friend, but looking at the burning logs in the campfire.

“No, I never met Jesus, Jack. At that time period, I was elsewhere. No, there was no cataclysmic event that curbed my blood lust. No divine intervention, no chance encounters, no beautiful woman to woo me from my wicked ways. Nope. I woke up one day and the fuel that fed my anger was gone. You can only hate for so long, I guess. It all got old and there was no point anymore.”

“Did you become a pacifist?” Teal’c asked in a disdainful voice; his opinion of those not willing to fight was clear.

Daniel smiled. “No, but I stopped my headhunting ways. I didn’t go looking for fights anymore, but those that came my way, I handled. I also was a soldier a couple of other times, but I was turned off by war during the Second Crusade. I didn’t fight in it, but I was in Jerusalem at the time and got thrown in prison. Think about your experiences in an Iraqi prison, Jack, and you’ll understand what it was like.”

“You were there for the Crusades?” Sam asked, pressing for more.

Daniel smiled and shook his head. “Only for a part of it, but I will save that story for another time kids. It’s late and I have a long day ahead of me. So I’ll say good night for now. Wake me when it’s my turn for watch.” He did not want to relive that particular nightmare presently.  The tortures he experienced at the hands of his captors were something that he did not want to discuss with them, if ever.  He then got up and went to his tent to catch some sleep, leaving his captive audience begging for more.

“Damn that Spacemonkey! Just when it was getting good,” Jack muttered at the retreating form of Dr. Daniel Jackson, archeologist, linguist, and Immortal.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 9

The next day, Jack ended up hanging out with Daniel again. He had already managed to annoy Carter and Teal’c with his antics and he figured it was Daniel’s turn to endure his company.

“So, Daniel, what’s going on with you?” Jack asked as he came waltzing over. He sat down next to the man, who was busy, once again, translating another section of the stone walls.

“Busy,” Daniel mumbled, not looking up. He was seated on the ground, sitting Indian style with a pad of paper and a thick book in his lap. 

Jack glared at Daniel. No response. Next, he tried poking his friend in the ribs. 

Next thing he knew, Jack found himself lying on the ground, on his stomach, and his arm was in an uncomfortable immobilizing lock. 

“Sorry, Jack,” Daniel said, kneeling on the small of Jack’s back. He released his hold on Jack’s arm and got off the man. He tried to look apologetic, but could not help but smile at the surprised look the colonel had on his face.  

“Jerk,” Jack muttered, picking himself off from the ground. “I ought to kick your ass for that.”

“Like to see you try,” Daniel said, grinning. There was an evil part to him that desperately wanted to show Jack that he was not as helpless as everyone thought.  Luckily, he managed to squash that desire deep inside.  It got annoying, sometimes, when people (mortals) continuously underestimated him.  It was fine with him if Immortals thought otherwise; their false perception gave him an advantage, even if it was only for a few moments, when he was forced into a direct confrontation.

“I wanted to know, before you so rudely attacked me, if you had found anything useful by now?”

Daniel shrugged. “Mostly cultural stuff, but not anything that is ground-breaking or shocking. Most of this stuff covers the history of the people here. The stuff about the Goa’uld is not surprising or nor does it give new insight to them. Most of this stuff I could find in a book back home at Barnes and Noble.” Daniel sounded disappointed. He had been hoping for new cultural insights, and the possibility of finding new weapons to help in their fight against the Goa’uld.

“So, should we allocate resources to have the city explored more?” Jack asked.

“Maybe,” he hedged. “There’s more to this place than I can explore in just three days. There may be something here that a more in depth search can find.”

Jack nodded and sat back down next to his friend. “I’ve been thinking,” he began.

“That’s something new,” Daniel smarted off.

Jack gave him a dirty look.  “Were you serious about what you talked about last night?” Jack asked.

Daniel did not pretend to not know what Jack was talking about. “Yes. I was not a nice person. I’ve done some pretty terrible things in my past.  Some would have called me a monster if I had allowed them to live.”

Jack was silent for a moment, and then re-directed the conversation.  He was not sure that he was ready for that particular discussion. “You’ve obviously been in one form or another of the military over the years. Why were you not comfortable with guns when you first joined SGC?  Also, why have you played the geek so much, pretending to not know anything about hand-to-hand fighting?  Were you just stringing me along, letting me think I was teaching you anything?”  

Daniel saw the hurt look on Jack’s face, clearly showing that he felt that he had been played and taken for a fool.  “Dr. Daniel Jackson doesn’t know much about fighting and things like that.  I have to fit the personae that I take up.  People would wonder why the geek could suddenly fight like a seasoned professional, so I needed to let them think you were teaching me, training me to survive on a military first contact team.  It was never my intention for you to be played for a fool.  You’re not one, but you gave me the cover I needed in case someone noticed certain, unexpected skills.” 

“Why were you so uncomfortable when you first started with the SGC, after you came back from Abydos?”

“When I fought with Alexander, and other armies, we did not have guns then,” Daniel said sarcastically. “The tactics were different then when all you had was a sword, a shield if you were lucky, and a spear. I fought in World War II, but an M-1 is much different than a P-90. Plus, once the war was over, I went back to my old life. The only weapons I had picked up, besides my sword, were the 9 mil I carried with me at digs and my knife.”

“What did you do in World War II?” Jack pressed, curious.

“Translating, what else?” Daniel said. “I was in North Africa, making nice with the locals, sometimes fighting the Nazis on the front-line. I did not go ashore at Normandy on D-Day. I went in later, but was mostly an REMF, translating captured document, helping to interrogate POWs. It pretty much sucked, but there were times I was just amazed by people’s ability to overcome and persevere.”

“What name did you go by back then?”

Daniel had to think for a moment before replying. “Albert Scott.”

Jack eventually left the archeologist alone. They had a good talk about things that had been bothering Jack ever since he had found out about Daniel and the tales he had told the previous night. There was still plenty that he did not know about the man he considered to be one of his best friends. However, Jack had a feeling that there were some things that he probably did not want to know. As for the rest, the resulting stories would make for good tales to be told.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 10

The three remaining members of SG-1 stood there in the alley, with a headless body, staring at each other in wonder.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 11

The next day, under the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, the members of SG-1 were busy with their separate duties. Teal’c was teaching new trainees how to effectively use captured Goa’uld weapons. Carter was working on some new doohickey that was supposed to help boost the energy levels of a Naquada generator. O’Neill was finishing up some reports that were long overdue, much to the General’s annoyance. Daniel was holed up in his office, armed with coffee and the Internet. Currently he was researching an artifact with an obscure dialect that was based on a combination of Greek, Latin, and Basque. Since he was not current on his knowledge of Basque, he found a translation program on the ‘Net.

Even though he had been at the Complex for several hours, he had only seen his teammates briefly. Jack and Teal’c were still amazed by what they had seen the night before and were still trying to process it. Sam was still in shock over the same event. She did not know how to feel about seeing Daniel behead someone. Although she had killed people before, it has always been in the scope of the military, thus lending justification for her actions. Seeing her friend chop someone’s head off in an alley way was completely beyond her definition of rationality. Personally, she thought this idea of the “Game” as something barbaric.

In the meantime, Daniel gave the others space to deal with what they saw, and give himself a chance to work uninterrupted.

As he was sitting at his desk, immersed in the tricky translation, the base alarms went off. He dumped the object, no bigger than a juice glass, back on to his desk. Daniel jumped to his feet and took off through the halls at a run, his destination the control room of the Gate room.

When he arrived, he found Jack, Sam, and Teal’c already there. They nodded their greeting, but did not take it further. There was some unresolved tension in the group, but now was not the time, nor the place, to deal with it.

“It’s SG-6, sir, a nameless technician announced; Harriman had the day off.

“Open the iris,” General Hammond ordered.

The iris opened and a moment later, two battered and bloodied people stepped through to face a company of ready and armed airmen. The wormhole then disengaged, revealing the fact that the two other members of SG-6 were among the missing.

Hammond called for a medical team and gave the order that as soon as they were able, he wanted them in his briefing room. The members of SG-1 and SG-3 were also told, at that time, that their presence was expected.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

Within a half an hour, the members of SG-1, 3, and 6 filed into the briefing room. The members of SG-6, Harris and Abbott, had only superficial and minor wounds. However, they both looked as if their whole world had been demolished.

“Sit,” Hammond ordered as he walked in and sat down himself. “What happened on PT3-924?”

Harris and Abbot began to explain how they, after an hour of being on the planet designated at PT3-924, they had been ambushed by a bunch of locals dressed as if from Ancient Rome. Lieutenant Youngblood had been killed, while Sergeant Miller had been captured. Harris and Abbott then decided it was better to try to make it back home and bring back reinforcements to save Miller. Major Harris and Chief Warrant Officer Abbott both requested to join the rescue party, which Hammond agreed to.

“SG-1, you and SG-6 and SG-3 are going back to PT3-924. All of the other teams are either off world or out of commission,” Hammond said. “Get your gear together. You will determine if it is possible to rescue Sergeant Miller and bring her and yourselves back here alive. You’ll depart in two hours. Dismissed.”

SG-1, SG-3, and SG-6 equipped themselves and were ready on time to depart from Earth, in hopes of rescuing a lost member of the SGC.

A MALP was sent ahead to look for any possible ambushes as the Gate. Once the signal came in and the area appeared to be void of any hostile forces, they stepped through.

It was currently close to sundown on the planet. Colonel O’Neill had the members of SG-3 stay behind to secure the Gate. “Reynolds, hold the gate and don’t get captured.  If we are not back within twenty-four hours, or if you are ambushed, return to the SGC.  We’ll return through the Alpha Site once our codes get locked out.  People, let’s move,” Colonel O’Neill ordered.

SG-1 and 6 moved out, each individual following a well-rehearsed script for moving in hostile territory. Despite some lingering hurt feelings, confusion, and irritation over the events of the previous night, SG-1 pushed it aside and was their consummate best.

After moving from cover to cover, SG-1 and 6 found, beyond a rise in the land, a fairly large size city, modeled on Ancient Rome.

Two story buildings, constructed out of stone, with Romanesque decorations, dominated that particular section. Further in, large white-gray buildings made out of a limestone material with columns dominated the architecture. In the center of the city was a building that appeared to be a replica, albeit in better condition, of the Coliseum. Lights were sprinkled through out the city, their flickering and dancing along the walls of the buildings that lined wide streets.

The team also heard sounds of life. They heard laughter, shouting, crying, children, and animals all making a noisy symphony to add more texture to the life of the city.

“What now, Sir?” Carter asked.

Jack had no idea. The place was a lot bigger than he expected. This was not the small village that they had encountered back on PF1-814. They were looking at a city, with no idea of where to start.

“Jack,” whispered Daniel, “the forum is at the center of the city, surrounded by shops, temples and,” he then emphasized, “government buildings.”

“I suppose you know this from personal knowledge?” Jack shot back.

Daniel gave him a dirty look. “Yes, but still. Next time you go to Rome, take a look at the tourist maps of ancient Rome. Look at the area near the Forum. Hell, look it up on the Internet.”

Jack rolled his eyes. He hated it when the Spacemonkey was so damn logical about things. “Fine! We stick to the more deserted streets, avoid people as much as possible. Move out. Teal’c you have point,” Colonel O’Neill, the commanding officer of SG-1 ordered.

SG-1 and 6 moved across the open land between the hill and the edges of the field without encountering hostile forces. They stuck to side streets and alleyways. Luckily, most people were in their homes. Those few individuals that were outside, they were able to avoid. As the night wore on, they encountered fewer and fewer people.

It took them several hours to reach the center of the city. When they reached the open plaza that was before the main entrance to the Coliseum, they found a large detachment of soldiers before them, dressed as members of the Roman Legion. Jack signaled for everyone to retreat, that they would try to find another path. They turned around and found that a squad stood between them and an escape route.

Ah crap, all members of SG-1 and the two members of SG-6 thought.

The Immortal Spacemonkey 

Chapter 12 

SG-1 and 6 was surrounded, thoroughly searched for weapons (Daniel’s and Jack’s holdout weapons were found and confiscated – these were not simple, superstitious villagers), and quickly taken before the local magistrate, located in a near-by governmental building.

The magistrate, despite the late (or early - depending on how one looked at it) hour, was dressed resplendently, as befitting his office. A fine linen tunic bleached white as the snow, draped his tall, thin figure.  Over the tunic was a simple yet elegant royal purple robe. His thinning gray hair was cropped short. His dark, piercing eyes that stared out from his lined, weather beaten face, was set off by the gold seal of Janus on his forehead.

“Who are you and why have you come? Are you agents of the ones who defy our gods? We have been warned about strangers coming through the Chappa’ai, ones who seek to destroy our god,” he barked in a powerful, but low voice.

Jack, Teal’c and Daniel looked at each other, recognizing the language that the man spoke was Latin, with Goa’uld influence. Jack and Teal’c learned Latin when they had been caught in the time-loop fiasco. Daniel had learned the language God only knew when. Sam, Harris, and Abbott, having no knowledge of the language, stood there and looked pissed.

“We are peaceful travelers, seeking alliances and friendship with other cultures. We are also looking for a friend of ours who disappeared. We are worried about her and would like to know what has become of her,” Daniel said, assuming his role as the meet and greeter of the group.

“They and several others came through the Chappa’ai,” a guard spoke up. From what Daniel could see of the man, he assumed that he was a captain of the Legion and a follower of Janus due to the emblematic tattoo of a gate on is forehead. “We have the other human already in custody. The sensors sounded when they walked through the Great Pool.  We’ll capture the others shortly.”

“We have been told about you of the Tau’ri,” the robed man said. “Yes, we know who you are. They say they seek peaceful relations, but we know better. They deny their gods. This one,” he gestured towards Teal’c, “is the legendary Shol’vah. The great Janus will be pleased when he learns that we have captured the meddlesome Tau’ri, those that defied Apophis and Ra.”

“Apophis and Ra are no gods,” said Teal’c.  “You are a fool and a disgrace to the Jaffa people for helping the Goa’uld to enslave our brothers and sisters.’

“Oh yes, didn’t you get the memo? They’re dead.  We killed your so-called gods,” Jack laughed, being his usual witty self.

Daniel smiled sarcastically. “So sorry, wait, no I’m not.”  Despite their differences, Jack and Daniel easily fell into their familiar pattern of banter with each other and baiting the Goa’uld.

“Blasphemy! Throw them in with the entertainment. Let their lives end in some sort of meaningful way,” Janus’ First Prime spat.

“Why does that make me feel not good?” Jack asked, as they were hauled away.

“What just happened?” Carter asked, not understanding a word just spoke. However, she understood, by the tone the Goa’uld used, that they were in trouble.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Teal’c muttered, quoting a line from his favorite movie.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

“Daniel, what the hell?” Jack asked after they had been locked in a jail-like structure located not far from the Coliseum. He wasn’t too worried about SG-3 being caught.  They were in close proximity to the Gate and knew that if the situation got too tenuous, they were to return to the SGC.  They might be Marines, but they were far from being dumb. 

“This doesn’t look good Jack,” Daniel said, sitting down on a wooden bench.

“What about Miller?” Carter asked, concerned for the woman.

“I’m here,” she called from a dark corner. “Apparently we are going to be center stage tomorrow over in the Coliseum.”

Miller stood up and joined the members of SG-1 and SG-6. She looked okay, though she was worn out, sporting a black eye and a split lip. She had put up a good fight when she had been captured.

“Somebody speaks English here?” Carter asked.  

Miller shook her head. “No ma’am. I grew up in a traditional Catholic family and we went to a Latin Mass every Sunday. I never though that it would help me outside of church and in Latin class in high school.  Plus the basic Goa’uld class of Dr. Jackson helped some.”

“Are you talking gladiator type fights?” Daniel asked, paling slightly. He remembered seeing some of the fights while he was in Rome, centuries ago. He had not liked them then; he liked them even less now.

Miller nodded solemnly.

“Crap,” SG-1 said in unison.

“Danny? Anything else you’d like to tell us?” Jack asked as stood over the archeologist’s seated form.

“I hate spinach, I forgot to vote in the last election back home, and my feet hurt,” he quipped.

“No smart ass. I mean about this pseudo-Roman society that wants to feed us to the lions,” Jack snapped.

“Well, if they follow Roman tradition, we’ll be marched out into the arena in the afternoon. Our deaths will be the entertainment for the day. There should be tunnels that will take us from this prison to the Coliseum, they’ll arm us, and we’ll go out to the center, face the local ruler, salute and fight. And if we’re really lucky, Janus will make an appearance to witness our deaths.”

“Are they expecting us to fight each other?” Teal’c asked his face impassive.

Daniel shrugged. “Gladiators fought gladiators, but I can’t see them expecting us to fight each other. I am sure they understand how morale would be affected if they had compatriots fight one another. It’d probably affect ticket prices,” he said sarcastically.

“What about this January guy? Know anything useful about him? Either of you,” Jack asked Daniel and Teal’c.

“Very little O’Neill. From what I know, he was a peripheral figure among the System Lords,” Teal’c growled.

“It’s Janus, Jack. He’s the two faced god of doors, gates, beginnings, and doorways, thus explaining the gate symbol on the Jaffas’ foreheads. There was a special gate on Earth in the Forum called the gate of Janus Geminius. The gates always were open during times of war to welcome the army back and,” Daniel began but was cut off.

Jack hissed and began to rub his temples. “That’s too much info at once Danny! You’re making my brain hurt. Let’s get some sleep for now. Tomorrow, we’ll see what we’ll face in the arena tomorrow. Maybe they’ll give us something we can work with,” he said out loud. Inside he was screaming that they, possibly excluding Daniel, were truly and completely screwed.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 13

The next morning, the members of SG-1and 6 were hustled out of their cell. Luckily, or unluckily depending on how one viewed it, Carter and Miller were recognized as being female and were hustled away from the men. After seeing the lecherous looks that some of the other prisoners gave them, Jack was secretly glad that they were gone. The lanista (the manager of the gladiators) was in need of slaves, thus Carter’s and Miller’s lives would be spared from the ring, for now.

After a shitty breakfast, the men of SGC were taken into a courtyard where they would be taught the basics of gladiatorial combat. Teal’c, when given a spear, appeared to have little trouble in adapting his fighting style to the weapon. However, he and the other men, with the exception of Dr. Jackson, did not take to the sword easily. The trainer shook his head, spat on the ground, and muttered something about not needing to feed the animals that night.

Daniel, seeing that his friends truly sucked and were not going to survive, pushed aside the official teacher and took over himself.

At first, Harris balked at the idea of taking what Daniel was saying seriously, but after having his ass handed to him by the quiet, non-threatening archeologist, he shut up and paid attention. While, Daniel was not crazy enough to think that less than one day of teaching would be enough, it was better than letting them go out into the arena with nothing at all.

“Daniel?” Jack called out after they finished a noon-time meal.

“Yes?” Daniel replied, coming over to sit with Jack and Teal’c.

“So were you a gladiator at one point?” Jack asked.

“No. Gods no! Gladiators were usually POWs, slaves, and sentenced criminals. Occasionally, some volunteered for the job, but I was never crazy enough for that. I did serve in the Roman Legion for sometime, but that was nothing unusual. Most Roman male citizens served in the army at some point in their lives.”

“Why do you say gods DanielJackson?” Teal’c asked.

Shit, Daniel swore to himself. For some reason, an hour or so before they were to face lions, tigers, and bears - oh my! – and not to mention some really pissed off people, Jack and Teal’c wanted to turn the moment into a time to figure out more of his past.

“I vaguely remember praying to ancestral spirits and nature-based gods long ago. Habit, I guess. Can we now get back to what we’re about to face? How are Harris and Abbott holding up? Will they be ready?” Daniel asked, frustrated. “I promise, if we get off this god-damned planet, we’ll all go out, get shit-faced, stinking drunk, and I’ll tell you some more tales about my misspent life.”

Jack gave him a smile that said, ‘aren’t you just a ray of sunshine.’  

What a jerk!

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

An hour later, the men of SGC, were taken through a series of tunnels to the Coliseum. Underneath the structure, they were given real gladiator swords, the blades approximately thirty to thirty-five centimeters in length, shorter than the gladius swords soldiers of the Legion used which were approximately sixty centimeters in length. Teal’c was given a large rectangular shield, while the others were given smaller, circular shields, made from hide and wood. They were all given ridiculously plumed helmets which Jack derided, while Daniel worried about the possibility of lice (or the local equivalent).

They were marched though a gate into the center of the arena, in front of a crowd of at least several thousand, along with several others, all condemned men. Eight angry Jaffa herded them into place, forcing them to face the ruling Goa’uld, Janus.

Janus was wearing a white tunic, with gold and purple embroidery. On his head he wore a circlet of gilded leaves; letting others - the unobservant and stupid - know that he was above everyone else.

The ‘editor’ (the organizer of the show) stood in his official box and proclaimed what was about to take place. His description did not make any member of SGC happy. The other members of this entertainment farce saluted the Go’uld with the traditional gladiator salute of “Morituri te salutant” (We who are about to die, salute you). Jack and Teal’c said something particularly offensive, while Abbott and Harris flipped the Goa’uld off.  Daniel just sighed and rolled his eyes.

Once the Goa’uld proclaimed that the fight was on, five huge (emphasis on huge) warriors entered the arena. Although they were neither Jaffa nor Goa’uld, they appeared to formidable opponents. They were armed with gladiator swords, shields, and spears. They were also armored. However, to Daniel’s well-trained eye, the armor appeared to be made out of thick leather and metal adornments.

The other people lost their nerve and broke in a run, trying to escape. They were shot down with staff weapons by Jaffa strategically placed along the interior wall.

The members of SG-1 and 6 stood where they were, none of them were willing to try to make a break for it.

“All-right people, Teal’c, Jack, you two work together as a team, same for Harris and Abbott. One at a time for you guys,” he said indicating Abbott and Harris. “Teal’c, I need you to, if it is possible, to at least temporarily take out one guy, before you get swamped with another. That way, you two will just have to face one at a time. Do it fast and don’t waste too much time with it,” Daniel directed everyone. “Stay on your feet, be quick and light. They have better reach, but they probably won’t work as a team or know how to fight more than one at a time. Don’t hesitate. Go before they can.”

“What about you Dr. Jackson?” Harris asked, concerned for the archeologist.

Daniel spared a quick glance at the major. He gave a feral grin. “I’ll be fine.”

The professional gladiators were upon them. The mortal members of SGC, working together, were not bad. As Daniel predicted, the opposing gladiators did not know how to effectively deal with two at a time.

Daniel was left alone to face two huge men, both of them over six feet tall and at least 200 pounds. While he was not a small man, he was dwarfed by them. However, that did not daunt him in the least. He had fought bigger and meaner men in his life, sometimes more than one of them in fact. This was nothing more than that.

Their swords clanged and clashed. Daniel was able to make some use of his shield, more so than the others, which was good, because both gladiators were attacking from opposite sides. He parried and thrusted, thus forcing this opponents to be on the defense. He moved as fast as he could, was quick and light on his feet. Daniel did not wait for the others to move, but forced them to react to his actions.

It took time, but he was finally able to find a crack in one of the men’s defenses; he allowed Daniel to move too close as they were fighting, not understanding that his size would not help. Daniel moved in close, lightening fast and kneed the man in the crotch. He doubled over, instinctively wanting to protect his genitalia. Once he did that, Daniel kicked him in the chest and face with a double front kick, taking him out of the fight completely. The man went flying backwards knocked out cold.

Daniel then turned on his other opponent and unleashed a deadly frontal assault. His sword was nothing more than a blur. He pressed on, looking for one moment where he would be able to get past the defenses of his opponent. Daniel looked for a pattern to his opponents movements.

There! He found it and went in for the kill.

Daniel snaked inside his opponent’s defenses and slammed the pommel of his sword into the other’s face. That action, while disrupting his planned attack, did not take the gladiator out of the fight. He roared at the sudden shot of pain, angered at the idea of this weak, small man being able to harm him.

Daniel parried aside the rushing sword coming at him and stabbed the man in the stomach, and twisted. The mortal man stopped, horrified at what had happened, looked down at the sword, held by Daniel and started to collapse. Reacting on instinct, Daniel pulled his sword free and spun; using his momentum from the spin severed his opponent’s head from his body.

Daniel looked around to check on the others. Jack and Teal’c were doing okay, but Harris and Abbott were struggling with their opponent. Harris had been stabbed in the leg, not too serious from the looks of it, but it hampered his ability to fight back.

With a long forgotten war yell, Daniel launched himself into that fight, quickly taking out the man.

Then it was over, leaving the survivors, bruised, battered, and, in Daniel’s and Harris’ case, covered in blood.

Daniel stood there, breathing deeply, feeling the adrenaline coursing through his body. It was just like long ago, when he fought with Alexander and countless others. Yes, he experienced rushes of adrenaline when he was fighting with more conventional weapons in pitched battles, but nothing was like going into battle with only a sword and the hope of not loosing your head in the process.

His hearing slowly returned. The spectators were equally divided in between stunned silence and wild cheering. It had been a long time since they had witnessed a decent fight in the Coliseum.

Janus himself was applauding, but in a sick and sadistic way, clearly pleased with the carnage. His laugh was both gleeful and evil at the same time.

“People of the Tau’ri, it seems that you are worthy of your reputations. Your skills are impressive, but in the end, you will die. But perhaps not today. Maybe tomorrow. Return them to their cell,” he ordered, his eyes glowing.

They were immediately surrounded by Jaffa, armed with staff weapons. Briefly, Daniel considered fighting his way out, but surrendered his weapon with the rest. He knew that while he would survive being shot, the others would not.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

Back in the cell area, Abbott and Teal’c took care of Harris’ leg, cleaning and bandaging the wound. It was not a life threatening injury, but it limited the use of that leg.

Daniel had gone to the water cask, using the reservoir to wash the blood away from his face and hands. Now that it was over, the rush has subsided; Daniel was able to take stock of what had occurred. He had killed two mortal men with a sword. Yes, he had killed people before in battle, but this was different. He had sworn long ago, in the late16th century, that he would not kill people with the same instrument that he used in his fight against Immortals.

“Danny, you okay?” Jack asked, concerned for his friend.

Daniel remained where he was, bent over the wooden cask, his face, hands, and hair wet. He quickly debated whether or not he wanted to discuss any of this with Jack, but he knew that Jack would pester him until he talked.

“No, I’m not. I just broke a major oath of not killing mortals with a sword. And worse, at the time, it didn’t bother me,” he said, frowning.

“You did it in our defense. There’s nothing dishonorable in saving the lives of your friends,” Jack said.

Daniel nodded, intellectually knowing that Jack was right. It did not change the way he felt though. “It was like being back in the past, when I was going through my dark period. There was no thinking, just the fight. Look at me.  I’m covered in someone else’s blood, just like back then. I hate that, Jack. I hate the fact that I can lose myself like that.  I hate the fact that there is a really dark and twisted part of me that secretly gets off on it.”

“Daniel, you didn’t lose yourself. You took out one opponent, without killing him, and when you saw that Harris and Abbott were in trouble, you went in their defense. Yes, you killed two people today, but they would have gladly killed you and the rest of us. You helped save us today, not just in the ring, but by teaching us and coming up with tactics that would help us fight. You did nothing, and I mean nothing, dishonorable,” Jack said quietly.

The Immortal looked at his best friend and nodded. He heard the truth of Jack’s words and acknowledged that he was right; however, the ghost of who he had once been resurfaced, scaring him.

Jack, Teal’c, and Sam, while hearing just a bit about that period in his life, did not understand what an asshole he had been. He killed with little thought, men, women, and even children. Whether under orders or not, he left a bloody trail across the land. Today, psychologists would say that he had been suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome; in 260 BCE, the correct terminology would have been ‘cold, heartless bastard from hell.’

Jack had moved off, leaving Daniel to his thoughts. He went to check on Harris, checking to see how the captain was doing. Once that was done, he found a quiet corner to think, and then hopefully, sleep.

He was worried about Daniel. Jack knew that there were plenty of things that he did not know about his best friend, even before the revelation about his Immortality. There had been many times, when they were off world and sharing a tent, when he had been woken up in the middle of the night by Daniel. The dreams had been violent and ugly. When Daniel woke, he would often have a wild and frightened expression on his face. At first, Jack assumed that they were due to a childhood trauma or losing Shar’ae to the Goa’uld. Later on, Jack chalked the nightmares to what they had seen in their travels across the galaxy, not to mention the times Daniel had been hurt, tortured, or killed. Now, armed with knowledge concerning Daniel’s past, Jack was not even capable of guessing what horrors gave Daniel such terrors in his sleep.

Jack wondered, as he was drifting off to sleep, if there was someone out there that dealt with Immortals that had post-traumatic stress syndrome.

the Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 14

Over the next few days, the men were rounded up, with other prisoners, and forced to do battle in the Coliseum.  Each time, the members of the SGC came away victorious, or at least survived the ordeal.  However, each show they were forced to take part in grew more and more complex and more dangerous each time they entered the arena.  Also, each time they were forced to fight, Daniel felt more and more out of control, like he did when he went through his dark phase, centuries ago.  There was pressure building inside of him, he knew, and it scared him. 

Later in the night, on the seventh day they were held captive by Janus, when the torches had burned themselves out and the guards were elsewhere, a female figure, dressed in a loose tunic that draped suggestively across her body, called out from the shadows.

“Sir! Guys,” she whispered, not daring to raise her voice any louder. When that didn’t work, she resorted to throwing pebbles at the guys, through the iron bars of their cell.

“Huh?” a sleepy Jack O’Neill said, half rising from his thin mat.

“It’s Carter! Get up, I don’t have a lot of time,” she hissed.

Jack shook Daniel and Teal’c. They woke up and joined Jack at the gate to their cell.

“Miller is keeping watch, but I don’t want to stay here too long. There are guards everywhere. We are working on getting our gear back from the Goa’ulds. I have enough C-4 that would make a hefty distraction, allowing us to escape, but I need time.”

“Are you two safe?” Jack asked, worried about the women’s safety.

“For now. Gail and I are servants in the manager’s home. We mostly do laundry, but he let us come to the fight this afternoon. He’s not a bad person; he seems to treat his slaves decently.”

“That’s nice.  Can you get through to the gate, call for help?” Jack asked, hoping that the marines he had left behind would be capable of delivering some sort of rescue. 

“No.  The Jaffa destroyed our radios and we would not have enough time to reach the gate on foot before our absence would be discovered.  We were told that if we made any attempts of escape to the Stargate, the other slaves would be executed.  We can’t do that to innocent people,” Carter explained. 

“How soon can you expect to get the C-4? The fights are going to get worse. I don’t want to be fed to the lions,” Jack asked impatiently.

“Day or two, maybe. Luckily, Gail is a demolition expert. She really wants to blow something up. Just hang on and be patient,” Carter pleaded. “I have to go. If they find out that we’re gone,” she said, leaving the idea of consequences up in the air.

“One more thing, I over heard the manager talking to the organizer after today’s show and there won’t be another gladiator event for at least a day or two. They are having trouble finding opponents that are willing to take you guys on, especially Daniel.  He’s developed quite the reputation and following,” she explained and turned to leave.

“Hey Carter,” Jack whispered, causing her to turn back around. “Nice dress,” he smirked.

Luckily it was dark and he could not see the death glare she gave him.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

The next day, Daniel and the others spent the day practicing, using wooden swords. Another prisoner, Perrin, was coerced into helping train the men of SGC. Perrin, they found out, was a slave that had been caught trying to escape. Since it was not the first time he had tried to run away, he was sold over to the lanista to fight in the games. He had survived three matches before their arrival, but did not hold much hope for a lengthy life.

Eventually, Daniel and Perrin faced off, using the chance to spar. It was not often that Perrin received the opportunity to fight someone with Daniel’s skills. The Tau’ri and Teal’c stepped to the side, along with the other prisoners to watch the fight unfold.

Harris could not believe that Dr. Jackson was such a good fighter. Although he knew Daniel could not have been otherwise, due to his ability to survive (more or less) his time on SG-1, it was amazing to see him use a sword so skillfully.

Abbott, however, was not as surprised as his commanding officer was. He had seen Daniel fight other Immortals over the years and had read all that was available to him through the Watchers. The only thing that he was not sure of was Daniel’s exact age. The Chronicles had his documented first death in 55 BCE. Abbott was convinced that Dr. Daniel Jackson was much older than that.

As a Watcher he was bound by an oath to watch and record, but never interfere. He was also supposed to keep his affiliation with the Watchers a secret. Hell, Immortals were not supposed to know about the Watchers. However, Daniel, within a week after coming back from Abydos, recognized the tattoo on his wrist. They had a meeting, along with the other Immortal on base, and came to an agreement. He would be allowed to tell the Watchers that both Daniel and the other Immortal worked for the Air Force, and they would allow him to record any event that had nothing to do with SGC, which limited what could be told. Abbott was also bound by an oath he swore to the government and would not reveal anything about the SGC or other military secrets. Jackson and the other agreed to not tell anyone (with the exception of SG-1 members if need be) about his affiliation with the Watchers and they would occasionally tell him stories of their past.

Once the fight was over between Daniel and Perrin, Daniel mopped his brow and came over to where Abbott was sitting. “Bet you never expected anything like this,” he said.

“Jeez, the instructors at the academy never said anything about having to participate in sword fights,” Abbott laughed. “I take it O’Neill, Teal’c, and Carter knows about you?”

“Yeah, they found out on PF9-121.We encountered a settlement of people. Apparently when they had been snatched up by the Goa’uld, some Immortals also got kidnapped. The townsfolk considered the Immortals to be demons. They had captured one and used his ability to sense other Immortals as a warning system against other Immortals, whether or not there were any left on that planet I don‘t know. From what I can piece together, the Immortals that had been nabbed, were not the kindest people and spent their lives trying to kill the mortals. It was turned into a mixed up quasi-religious belief slash ritual that resulted in them decapitating the Immortal they had imprisoned on Holy Ground and were going to replace him with me. If the SGC ever comes out of the closet, let the other Watchers know that the rule against fighting on Holy Ground still applies off-world. A huge earthquake and fire resulted and we barely got away, I was told.”

“Wow. That’s bizarre,” Abbott said. “Do they know about,” he started to say the other Immortal’s name but Daniel cut him off.

“No. It’s not my secret to tell. And they don’t know about you unless you want them to know. I promised I would keep it a secret and I have,” Daniel said, his light blue eyes serious.

“Thanks,” Abbott said. “What about tomorrow? Do you or the Colonel have any plans to get us out of here?”

“Supposedly, he’s working on it. I’m more worried about keeping Harris out of the arena. He re-injured his leg and it could get him killed. Before it was more of an annoyance, now it’s dangerous for him to take a chance in the arena.  Hopefully, what ever Sam and Miller are concocting will get us out of here.”

“A lot of ifs,” he said.

Daniel laughed. “If you wanted certainties, you should have looked at the fine print concerning the Stargate program before you joined up.”

“To damn true,” Abbott also laughed. “Hell, if I wanted safe, I should have joined the Coast Guard.”

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 15

That afternoon, the members of the SGC found out about their next gladiator competition. It was to take place the next day, in the afternoon, just as before. However, there was a slight deviation to the previous day’s script.

The Goa’uld had decided, based on what had happened in the arena earlier, that Daniel would have his own show. The hope was that the skilled swordsman would get killed, leaving the others unprotected, thus giving Janus that reputation of being the one to finally have destroyed SG-1.

“Well, that was totally expected and anti-climatic,” Daniel observed, once they had received the news.

Harris and O’Neill were having kittens at this point. Harris was genuinely concerned for the archeologist’s safety, while O’Neill was worried about Daniel’s mental health. Daniel was obviously going through mental anguish over killing humans the way he had and that worried O’Neill, as both a commanding officer and as a friend. Daniel just shrugged, smiled, and said everything was ‘fine.’ Of course, knowing Daniel, ‘fine’ could mean that despite having an RPG imbedded in his chest, he was mildly uncomfortable and all he really needed was some coffee.

Daniel just smiled and retreated into himself.

Sam made another midnight visit. She reassured the colonel that they would be ready to go with their diversionary explosions by the next afternoon. She was also concerned for Daniel. Miller had overheard, due to covert lurking, that the opponents that Daniel would face were among the finest swordsmen the planet had to offer. O’Neill did not have much to reassure his second-in-command with, but told her to be careful and the explosions had better be something to catch everyone’s attention.

The next afternoon came too quickly for everyone, except for Daniel. He had spent part of the morning meditating, trying to clear his head. As far as anyone could tell, he had a distant, far away look in his eyes.

Long suppressed memories of past battles, involving both mortals and Immortals, invaded his thoughts. He remembered the carnage caused by wars fought for so long that nobody could remember why they were started in the first place. He remembered the blood and the sounds of screaming, dying men. He could even smell the blood, along with the stink of sweating, screaming, dying men. He remembered being the one that was the cause of the blood and the weak, fearful people. Their sweat was acidic, causing his nose to wrinkle in disgust. How could men be so weak and cowardly, he wondered?

While Daniel was in the middle of an acid trip, minus the acid, through the past, Jack went over to talk to him. Unmindful of the danger he was placing himself in, Jack lightly nudged his friend with the toe of his boot as he squatted down to Daniel’s level. Before he knew what was happening, Daniel was on top of him, hands around his throat. Daniel’s eyes reflected the violence that his mind was remembering. It took the combined efforts of Teal’c and Abbott to pull the normally gentle Daniel off the colonel (Daniel could be quite squirmy when he wanted to be).

“Oh jeez!” Abbott exclaimed, panting from the effort. “He’s in a full-blown flashback! Come on Daniel! Snap out of it!”

“DanielJackson, if you do not stop fighting, I will be forced to take extreme measures,” Teal’c ordered.

Like a light switch suddenly flipped, the struggling subsided. “Crap! Did I hurt anyone?” he asked concern for his friends evident in his blue eyes.

O’Neill was sitting on the ground, massaging his throat. “No, not at all,” he said sarcastically. “I happen to like having my windpipe crushed.”

“Jack, I am so sorry,” Daniel said, looking horrified.

“Yeah, I know. What the hell were you thinking?” Jack said, pissed.

“He was lost in the past,” Abbott explained. “It can be pretty dangerous to try to bring them out of a flashback like that, especially the older ones.”

O’Neill and Teal’c looked at Abbott quizzically, while Harris looked at the CWO as if he had suddenly grown another head.

Abbott made a quick explanation of how he knew about Daniel to the members of SG-1. O’Neill looked pissed, but Abbott could not quite figure out if the colonel was pissed off at him or at Daniel or at the whole situation. Instead of trying to find out, he did an about face and made a hasty retreat to his commanding officer to explain what had happened.

“Daniel, do you want to explain yourself?” Jack said crossly, sitting down across from him on the ground. Teal’c also joined them.

“I am so sorry Jack. I sometimes get lost in the past,” Daniel blushed.

“Well, no shit. That was more than getting lost in the past Danny. You weren’t home. Has being here brought all of this on? You weren’t like this before, even before PF9-whatsit,” Jack said.

“Yeah, being here hasn’t helped. And before PF9-121, there were times I would get lost in old memories, but generally they weren’t violent in nature. Things have gotten worse since then,” Daniel said, holding his head in his hands, between his knees. His voice sounded so lost and mournful at that moment. “Maybe taking that Quickening on Holy Ground messed me up more that I realized.”

“Daniel, we have all done things in the past that we are not proud of,” Teal’c said. “If you recall, I was the First Prime of Apophis. I am responsible for many peoples’ deaths.”

“What T is trying to say, I think, is that we understand what it’s like to have a past that is not all sunshine and happiness. But you weren’t all bad Daniel. I looked up your record under the name Albert Scott. It’s amazing what the Freedom of Information Act will allow you to access,” Jack explained.

“Great,” Daniel muttered, not bothering to look up. “What did you find?”

Jack looked pretty impressed. “You received the Silver Star for acts of bravery in battle.”

“How brave is it when you know that even if you get killed, you’ll still come back?” Daniel said cynically.  “It’s fucking bullshit, if you ask me.”

“I didn’t ask,” Jack said smartly.  “Your record said that you volunteered to be a part of a scout party in Algeria and it came under heavy fire by the Nazis. Several of your fellow soldiers were caught out in the open, pinned down under fire and several were seriously wounded. You crawled out there and pulled all three men back under cover. You treated their wounds and called in for fire support, thus saving everyone’s lives. You could have just left those people to die there, but you didn’t. If you were still the bastard that you’ve been alluding to, you would not have done what you did. You did risk getting shot and killed yourself, ending your life as Albert Scott. You would have been forced to leave and start over. It doesn’t matter if your Immortality would have saved you. What you did was still brave and the Army and Sergeants McMillan and Ramirez, who wrote up the report of the incident, definitely thought so. I even looked up McMillan and Ramirez and found out that both of them survived the war, married their high school sweethearts, had several children, and went on to have successful careers. What you did mattered and you are a good person Dr. Daniel Jackson,” Jack finally finished, surprising everyone, including himself, how long winded he had become.

“So what you are telling me is for me to get my head out of my ass and deal with it,” Daniel said, giving his friends a small smile.

“Yeah and you can explain how Abbott knows about you,” Jack said, frowning.

“He’s a Watcher. My Watcher actually,” Daniel explained.  “They watch Immortals, record our lives, and generally don’t interfere.”  At this point Daniel then muttered something about Darius and Horton being a fucking bastard, but did not elaborate.   Instead he went on with his story.  “They are supposed to be a secret organization, but I knew about them a long time ago. I saw Abbott’s tattoo and figured out what he was. Now don’t worry, he is not telling the Watcher Organization about the SGC. As far as they are concerned, they know what the public knows. They know that I work for the Air Force, translating and such. Abbott is a good man, loyal first to the country and would not risk giving this group classified material or knowledge about the SGC.”

Jack did not look happy at the thought of someone following Daniel around and reporting his activities. It bothered him for two reasons. One, National Security could be easily compromised, leaving the U.S., the SGC, and SG-1 vulnerable to a multitude of enemies. Two, it was creepy to think that there was someone always watching, recording every little thing you did, from the coffee you got in the morning to who you might be sleeping with at night. It was no less disturbing than the idea of Big Brother watching the people.

Jack sighed and shook his head. “Abbott and I will have to talk about this eventually, but right now, you need to get ready. They’ll be coming for you soon and hopefully Carter will be ready also with the C-4.”

“Jack, if I get killed in the ring, you are not to risk yourself in getting me out of there. Make your escape and I will make my escape once I’ve revived. Besides, if I do revive in front of them, maybe I can use that to my advantage,” Daniel said.

“Nobody gets left behind Danny. You know the rules,” Jack responded, shaking his head.

“Jack, do not sacrifice yourself or the others on my behalf. I know the gate address to the Alpha Site just as well as you do. Anyway, here come the overblown bad-guy guards. Have fun and please remember to get me the hell out of the arena if you can help it, but if not, leave me a bread crumb trail and I’ll find my own way home,” Daniel said, false cheer in his voice.

“Yeahsureyoubetcha,” Jack called after his friend, causing Daniel to smile. “Come on Carter, don’t fail me now.”

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

Daniel was marched out to the arena in pretty much the same fashion as before. He was equipped with a sword and shield, though this time he was not given a helmet. Daniel assumed that the gladiators would try to come down on top of him, trying to take him out with a blow to the head. Joy oh joy, he though as he was marched out into the center of the ring. I just love head wounds.

He looked around to assess the situation. The arena was packed. Apparently, everyone and their mother had come to see the fight. He looked into the boxes, where the important people sat and saw Janus make his grand entrance.

The Goa’uld was once again in his finest tunic and toga, made out of white linen, embroidered with gold and deep purple threads. On his head rested a tacky laurel of golden leaves. Janus’ eyes glowed with anger when he saw that Daniel dared to stare at him openly and defiantly. Daniel just smiled and rolled his eyes before turning his back on the false god.

Janus gestured for silence and with total obedience, the crowd hushed themselves. “Tau’ri,” he said the word as if it were a slur, “today you shall finally meet your maker. Your God wishes that you will have the grace to enter the Elysian Fields with your back straight and head held high. With that, let the games begin.” He finished with his lame ass speech and stepped back, gleefully ready to see Jackson die in the ring.

Daniel’s opponents enter the ring, coming out from a gated tunnel. The three men were huge, muscular, bald, tattooed, and a whole lot of other bad-guy clichés.

Oh shit, Daniel mentally screamed. Please let Sam and Miller start blowing stuff up now!

Instead, the three attackers triangulated him, trying to trap him. Luckily, Daniel was able to make good use of his feet, dodging out of the way of the heavy blows that were coming down from above. At one point though, a stray slice from a sword got though his defenses, opening up a lengthy gash across his sword bearing arm. He hissed in pain, dropped his shield, and quickly switched his sword to his left hand.

He backed up, forcing the others to chase him and come at him one at a time. Just as it looked as if he would back up again, Daniel charged the first gladiator. Take by surprise by the sudden move, the gladiator left himself open to Daniel’s attack. Daniel was able to slice diagonally, from shoulder to hip, killing the other person.

Daniel scooped up the fallen sword. His wound had healed, giving him full use of the limb. As he rearmed himself, he looked up at the other gladiators and realized that one of the men was the prisoner he had sparred with earlier: Perrin.

He felt absolutely sick over this. He desperately prayed to whatever true deity that was out there that Sam would get it in gear and get him the hell out of the damn place.

“No mercy,” Perrin rumbled. “You die and I go free,” he explained.

The second gladiator bulled his way into the fight, while Perrin hung back, confidant that the Tau’ri would defeat the man, but be too worn down to put up much more resistance.

Daniel grimaced, but went into the fight with his head held high, projecting confidence in his abilities. He easily defeated and dispatched the second gladiator, leaving him to face Perrin.

He did not want to do this. Perrin seemed to be a good man caught in a situation he had little control over. Apparently, the promise of freedom was enough to motivate him into fighting.

“Perrin, please don’t,” Daniel began, shaking his head.

“I want my freedom, your life is a small price to pay,” Perrin said coldly as he advanced towards Daniel.

Daniel took a deep breath, silently cursed Sam for not blowing things up before now, and expertly twirled both swords in his hands.

Daniel and Perrin battled back and forth. Perrin was able to make good use of his sword and shield, while Daniel fought expertly with both swords. Janus, looking on, enjoyed the sickening display of brutality.

Just as Daniel had gained the upper hand in his fight against the larger mortal man, Daniel felt a series of rumbling explosions. He spared a second to glance over at Janus. What he saw made him smile broadly.

The seating area where the Goa’uld and his entourage sat was being enveloped in a black cloud of smoke and the structure was starting to crumble. Spectators were screaming and trying to run away from the catastrophe, trampling each other in the process. Janus, he was happy to note had a momentary look of panic and outrage on his face before being obscured by the collapsing structure and the dust. Daniel guessed that Sam and Miller must have wired the support columns with the C-4, hoping to take out the snake-head. Coupled with the explosions that were now rippling across the arena, taking out key support columns was the staff weapon fire coming from the tunnel he had entered the arena through, targeting the Jaffa warriors.

Daniel pushed Perrin to the ground as he also dove for cover, hugging the ground. He heard Jack yell for him to move. Turning to Perrin, he saw the man had taken a staff blast to his chest, ending his life. Daniel groaned. He had really wanted the man to be able to taste freedom, not though his death, but by escaping with SG-1 and 6. One more reason to hate the Goa’uld, he thought bitterly.

He scrambled to his feet, tossed away the swords he held, and took off running, staying low and making his path too erratic to follow. Despite his efforts at evasion, a few of the blasts came too close for comfort.

By the time he reached the tunnel, the arena was covered in a smoke and debris cloud, obscuring his flight. Jack was yelling at him to move it and took off running down the hallway. Daniel followed his friend, confident that Jack knew where he was going.

They emerged from the tunnel system into the court yard, outside of the arena. Chaos reigned there also, causing few natives, Jaffa, and the like to notice the two Tau’ri emerging into the open. They were joined by Teal’c and Sam. Harris, Miller, and Abbott, Sam yelled in explanation, had already left for the Gate. Sam, he noticed, was wearing a flimsy dress, with her boots. Sam noticed his stare and returned it with a patented death glare that was as deadly as two shots from a Zat gun.

The members of SG-1 raced through the streets, knowing that any minute, Jaffa would start raining down on them.

They were not to be entirely disappointed. About a mile from the Stargate, they encountered a squad of angry Jaffa who began firing upon them. Jack tossed him a 9mm that Sam and Miller had been able to find among their lost gear. Taking careful aim from behind a series of small boulders, SG-1 opened fire, killing their pursuers.

“Move it people,” Jack yelled and nobody needed to be told twice.   

They all took off for the Gate.  Daniel raced towards the DHD and started punching in the coordinates for the Alpha Site as fast as he could.  Since they had missed their scheduled check-in time, their GDO codes had been locked out of the dialing computer, preventing their safe return to Earth.  As soon as the seventh emblem engaged and locked, a blue whoosh of “water” emerged from the large ring. All members of the SGC ran though the event horizon, grateful that they were finally able to be going home.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 16

“Welcome home SG-1 and 6,” General Hammond greeted the returning travelers a few hours later. They had gone to the Alpha Site since their IDC codes had been compromised by the Goa’uld. While there, Daniel, Jack, and Abbott had a heart-to-heart talk with Harris about things he had learned about Daniel.

Harris had responded with a slight grin and saying something like he had no idea what they were talking about. “Hey look Dr. Jackson,” he said. “Wherever you learned that sword thing, is none of my business. Besides, didn’t you say something about learning martial arts in college?”

Daniel also grinned. “Thanks,” he said warmly while Jack glowered, not fully convinced Harris was going to keep quiet.

“You helped save my life back there and we got Miller back. That counts for more than you know. You saved me from a big ass-chewing from my wife if I had ended up killed, not to mention what Miller’s husband would have done if she had died,” Harris joked, offering his hand to the archeologist.

Daniel shook his hand, glad that one bit was neatly handled. “If there is ever a time when you need help, please don’t hesitate to ask. I mean that,” he said seriously. He had always made it a point that if he pledged help or whatever to someone, he would hold himself to it to the best of his abilities.

Now that they were back on Earth, all members of the two teams grateful beyond words that they were no longer imprisoned on PT3-924. They went through the annoying ritual of medical examinations by Dr. Fraiser and her bunch of merry and sadistic nurses. Once that was done and they had received their share of shots (Daniel was certain Janet took way too much pleasure in stabbing him in the ass with her huge needles), they showered (several members of the medical team complained that the men smelled like a stable that had not been cleaned in months), then reported to General Hammond.

The debriefing went smoothly. They mentioned the fact that they were forced to fight for their lives for Janus’ amusement, but conveniently left out the parts concerning swords and Daniel’s hidden skills. While telling the General the truth was not dangerous in itself, there was always the possibility that the wrong person would hear the conversation.

Sam and Miller were more than happy though to tell how they blew the crap out of the arena with their C-4 and a few other trinkets they had found in a storeroom, making up for the men’s lack of through rehashing of the fine details of the mission. Pissed off women and explosives, the men silently contemplated, were a dangerous combination Once the formalities were taken care of, all parties made themselves scarce. SG-6 had to deal with the death of Lt. Youngblood. Family members needed to be informed and consoled and they wanted to be there when the casualty notification officer made his visit to Youngblood’s wife.

Jack reminded Daniel of a promise that he had made earlier, concerning Daniel telling some more stories and getting totally shit-faced drunk in the process. Daniel grinned and told Jack that he had better bring plenty of alcohol if he actually expected to get Daniel as wasted as he hoped to. Being an Immortal in itself gave him a high tolerance to alcohol, not to mention the many years that he had spent with Methos, the legendary Old Man of the Immortals and consumer of ridiculous amounts of beer. Plus, he reasoned, he no longer had to fake being drunk on only a couple of beers, at least with his friends.

“Bring it on,” he challenged Jack, laughing.

“Just wait and see,” Jack cackled evilly. “My house, two hours, all of you. Carter, go see if Fraiser is free also. She’ll kill us all if she’s not included,” he ordered the members of SG-1, who readily agreed to his plans.

The coming evening promised some interesting times for them all.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

They made it to Jack’s house in the allotted time frame he had given them. Sam brought Janet with her. Cassie was staying the night at a friend’s house, giving Janet a night out with her friends. Daniel and Teal’c stopped at the local KFC, picking up enough food to feed a small army, after stopping by Daniel’s home to pick up his mail and check his messages. After several days of crappy prison food, the members of SG-1 were extremely hungry. Jack had hit the grocery store, stocking up on beer and a couple bottles of decent tequila (there is no such thing as good tequila). Jack planned on challenging Daniel to a drinking game, one he was sure to win.

The four teammates, plus Janet, managed to put away the food in no time. After that, Jack attempted to challenge Daniel to a drinking competition. However, Daniel wisely declined Jack’s offer.

“Jack, my alcohol tolerance is well above yours. I could easily drink you under the table and end up with a mild queasy feeling for about an hour while you would be in danger of dying of alcohol poisoning,” Daniel said calmly as he took another shot of tequila, his fifth one of the night.

“So, where are the stories you promised back in prison?” Jack demanded eager to hear about his friend’s past, and then paused, considering his words.  “That’s not a phrase you hear too often.”

“Indeed DanielJackson. You promised that you would tell us about your life as an Immortal,” Teal’c stated calmly.

The women looked on eagerly, both of them dying to know about their friend.

Daniel shrugged. “What do you want to know?”

Jack looked at his friend with disbelief. “Danny, you’ve lived for thousands of years! There’s so much you could tell us,” he said as he handed his friend another shot of vile liquid. A part of him was extremely curious about Daniel’s first hand experience with history; he was more interested in finding out about the time when Daniel delved into the Dark Side. Daniel also did not notice, or at least he did not give the appearance of noticing that Jack was not truly drinking his share of alcohol. He would “down” the shot of tequila and chase it with beer. What was not apparent to the others was that Jack would spit the tequila into the empty beer bottle. A clever trick he had learned when he first joined the Air Force years ago when on leave with his buddies.

“Did you explore the world with people like Columbus or Vasco DeGama?” Sam asked, picturing Daniel sailing off into the blue yonder, helping to discover the Americas.

Daniel smiled. “No, I did not sail with Columbus, but I was able to crew with Magellan. That was something, seeing lands that no white man had ever laid eyes on. Even after he was killed in the Philippines, sailing with the remaining crew was fascinating.” He took another shot from Jack and easily swallowed it.

“How many of you survived?” Sam asked.

“I was one of eighteen men. We started out in 1519 with five ships and over two hundred men. When we reached Cadiz in September 1522, only the Victoria survived. It was a damn shame too. Some of the dead had been good friends. Stupid accidents, disease, angry natives, and malnutrition took so many. It was hard to watch them die when you survived. Granted I did not look overly healthy, sea life can do that to you, but I was never as bad as some,” Daniel said a trace of sadness in his voice.

Jack, realizing that they were delving into the negative too soon, tried to lighten the mood by getting Daniel to focus on a happier time period. “Where else did you go to? I would guess that spent some time in China from the sword you carry.”

Blink.  They all looked at him in surprise.

“I looked it up on the Internet,” Jack explained. “I was curious about what kind it was.”

Daniel grinned. “Very good. Yes, it’s of Chinese origins. “I received my Jian when I traveled deep into China in 1280 AD. Marco Polo had come and gone in China. I was not the first Westerner they had seen, but I was a bit of a curiosity. I had left Europe and the Holy Land far behind me. I had survived the Second Crusade and wanted to get the hell away from the area for awhile, so I went east. I saw some pretty incredible things along the way - the people, places, and the land. Some of the journey covered land I had seen before, but a majority of it was brand new for me.”

“How did you get your sword?” Jack asked, pressing another round of tequila onto Daniel.

Daniel rolled his eyes. “Okay, Jack. I know what you are up to. I know about the beer bottle trick. Just give me the damn bottle and I’ll drink it myself. Watching you waste it is driving me nuts.”

Jack glared at his friend. He wasn’t supposed to know about that.

“Going on,” Daniel said the bottle of tequila in hand. “I found someone who was more than willing to teach me this new style of sword fighting. Learning from Master Kai was hard. The man was an incredibly gifted teacher, but did not know what mercy meant. He’d run my ass around the court yard for hours it seemed, wanting to know if I’d break. For fun, he’s have me out in the fucking fields, pulling the crude plow to help till the rice paddies. I didn’t break and quit, like many thought I would. I was either too hardened by my past experiences to quit or just too stupid. We eventually became friends. When it was time for me to move on, he presented me with the sword. I’ve used others since then, but I’ve always gone back to the Jian since them. It became a part of me and it gave me a physical connection to Master Kai, even after he had long since died. I still miss him,” Daniel admitted feeling the loss, even after all the years.

After a moment of respectful silence, he was able to go on. “I eventually made my way back to Europe, spent my time in the monastery where my mother-fucking friends were kind enough to set me on fire. After that, I traveled, did my exploration of the world thing, and spent time in different parts of Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Mid-East - especially Egypt.  Fuck, I miss Egypt sometimes,” he said.  The alcohol was loosening his tongue and letting him tell more about himself than he normally would have, profanities included.

“What happened after you no longer fought with Alexander the Great?” Jack pressed, feeling that now was a better time to ask. He knew it was a sensitive subject and needed to be coaxed out of Daniel. Jack had spoken to the others earlier and told them of his plan to get Daniel to finally talk about this troublesome period of his life.

The Immortal sighed. He knew that Jack was going to ask about this. A part of him did not want to talk about it in front of the others, least they hate him for what he had done, but another part of him needed to talk about it. He took a long pull from the bottle, screw the shot glasses, gathering his courage and delved into the touchy subject.

“I left the Macedonian army and went back to Europe. I traveled to Athens, Rome, Gaul, where ever. It didn’t really matter to me. I went where ever the money was and if there was no money to be made, I moved on. It did not matter whom I killed and why, just as long as I was paid to do it. It didn’t bother me in the least.  I didn’t give a fuck about what I was doing.  There were times when I killed others for nothing, maybe because they looked at me in a way I did not like, their service was not pleasing to me, or just because. It disgusted me to see mortals begging in the dirt for their lives, crying and pleading. I just didn’t care about anything or anyone beyond myself.” As Daniel was telling his tale of horrific deeds, a tone of self-disgust permeated his words. He felt ashamed of what he had been like and of what he did.

“Also, I became a head hunter - an Immortal who goes out looking for a fight. I was good, really good, so I didn’t just content myself with taking the heads of young Immortals, but I killed a couple of the ancient Immortals along the way. I was an arrogant, stupid, bastard,” he verbally lashed himself. “I was so focused on being the One, winning the Prize that I didn’t care about how wrong I was.”

“You had said that one day you just up and quit. Why?” Sam asked, horrified at what Daniel was saying. What was even more horrifying was that there had to be more that he did than just kill, but was not willing to tell them about it. Her imagination was running wild.

“No Sam, I may have pillaged and plundered, but I was not a serial rapist,” Daniel said. “I did not get off on doing that to women. I got my share without forcing women into it. I still, even at my lowest moment, considered sex as something to be enjoyed while doing. It’s kind of hard to enjoy it while someone is screaming and crying.” He had once been thrown in a hellacious prison before that period in his life and had been on the receiving end of brutal treatment by a fellow prisoner; this was the only reason was that had kept him from visiting this crime up on others.  He knew first hand how terrible rape could be from first hand knowledge; death was much more merciful.

Sam and Janet each breathed a sigh of relief.  They both were relieved that Daniel, while obviously not a saint, was not guilty of that particularly heinous crime.

“I had been hired by a local ruler to help attack and raid a neighboring town. I went in, killed those who got in my way and went about my usual way. As I was riding away, coated in other people’s blood, I looked back, for once, and saw how I had helped to destroy the place. It was totally devastated. It made me absolutely sick and disgusted with myself. I couldn’t do it anymore so I quit.”

Things were very quiet for quite awhile.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 17

The next morning, Daniel woke to find himself on Jack’s couch, covered in an old, military-issue blanket. The inside of his mouth tasted like ashes and his vision swam as he sat up. He was, for an Immortal, hung over. His eyes felt dried out and his nose crinkled as he detected a whiff of vomit.

“Good morning sunshine,” a voice called out, disgustingly cheerful.

“Gahhh,” was all Daniel could manage as he searched for his glasses that were resting on the near-by coffee table.

“Here you go,” Jack said, shoving a mug full of steaming coffee in Daniel’s face.

Daniel grabbed at it greedily and took a healthy sip of his beloved nectar. After a few minutes of communing with his personal god, the nasty taste in his mouth disappeared and his vision quit playing horrible tricks on him.

“What the hell happened last night?” Daniel asked, unable to remember the details.

“Well Danny-boy, you managed to down an entire bottle and a half of tequila, not to mention nearly an entire case of Guinness last night in just a few hours. Damn, I swear, you should be on your knees thanking God that you are Immortal. That would have killed a normal person,” Jack said, shaking his head.

“Why do I smell vomit?” he asked, almost afraid of the answer he would receive.

Jack rolled his eyes. “That would be because you managed to wander out of the house at one point. Teal’c had to almost break your neck to get you back inside.”

“That doesn’t explain why I smell vomit,” Daniel said, sitting straighter and feeling a bit clearer.

“Well, in the process of trying to get you off my neighbor’s property and back inside, you threw up on Teal’c. Totally coated the poor guy in vomit, head to toe,” Jack said, laughing at the horrible memory.

“Bull shit. I did not. I’m Immortal, that kind of stuff doesn’t happen to us,” Daniel weakly protested.

“Did.”

“Not.”

“Did.”

“No,” Daniel said, horrified.

“You bet your ass you did. You should have seen the look on his face. It was priceless!” By this time, Jack was laughing so hard, he was holding his sides and gasping for air.

“It was not funny O’Neill,” Teal’c said, his voice rumbling.

Daniel paled. “Teal’c, I am so sorry. How can I make this up to you? Are you going to kill me?” he asked, slightly afraid of what the much larger and stronger man would do to him.

“Was there not a wise Tau’ri that once said: do not get mad, get even?”

“Crap,” Daniel said, covering his face with his hands. “Teal’c, I am sorry. Please don’t kill me.”

Teal’c just stood there, his face impassive, other than having raised one eyebrow.

Daniel, having seen the eyebrow, knew he was in trouble. The Jaffa was a master in exacting revenge on those that wrong him. He clearly remembered what Teal’c had done to a member of SG-5 that derided his customs when he first joined Stargate Command. Ever since Sgt. Cobayes had crossed Teal’c one too many times, the man could no longer sleep on his right side, the lingering effect of having his shoulder separated and dislocated. And that was a mild example of what Teal’c was capable of.

Daniel sighed and straightened up.  He might as well take it like a man.  He did have a few questions though that he was pretty sure that did not get answered last night. “Jack, tell me honestly.  How are you all, especially Sam, dealing with everything?  I couldn’t help but notice how disturbed everyone was when I beheaded that one guy in the alley.” 

Jack sighed and sat down across from his friend along with Teal‘c. Jack rubbed the sides of face while Teal’c looked on, a grave look across his face (graver than usual). “Danny, to be honest, it bothers me to think that you spend your life cutting other people’s heads off in the name of some promised Prize.  It’s pretty barbaric and I have a hard time believing that you, of all people, subscribe to such behavior,” Jack said, pretty eloquent for someone that prided himself in not being eloquent. 

“Teal’c, what about you?” Daniel asked.  There was a down cast look to his face.  He was horribly afraid that his friends, the best friends he had ever had, were rejecting him.  A horrible pain spread across his chest 

“I have seen many things in my time DanielJackson, but never anything like true Immortals and this battle you wage among yourselves.  I understand that it is your way, but I have a hard time equating you with this violence.” 

“I see,” Daniel said his voice low.  They were rejecting him; he knew that this would happen. 

“Daniel, we aren’t saying that we no longer want to be your friend,” Jack said trying to sooth his friend, understanding what was playing in Daniel’s mind.  “It’s something that we never would have expected from you.  Hearing you talk about it was one thing, but to actually see it was something else.  I am not saying that I am all for it, but we talked about it last night after you passed out, and we will try to understand.” 

Daniel looked up at that one and managed a half smile.  They weren’t rejecting him after all.  Being rejected by these people, his best friends and family, was one of his greatest fears, but luckily, they weren’t.  “Thank you guys.  It means a lot to hear it from you.”

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 18

After a few days of much needed leave, Daniel was raring to get back to work. He knew that he had a pile of translations that needed to be taken care of.

He changed into his uniform in the locker room, carefully tucking the ends of his pants into his boots before lacing them up. As he was finishing wrapping the laces around the top of his boots before tying them off, he felt the presence of another Immortal near-by.

The door to the locker room opened slowly, allowing the Immortal to get a good look around before actually entering into the room.

“Hey Siler,” Daniel called out, not bothering to look up.

“Hey,” the other Immortal said, now fully in the room. He grabbed his uniform from his locker and quickly changed from his civilian clothes into his comfortable and roomy jumpsuit. “What’s going on with you?”

“Oh, not much. Survived a Quickening on Holy Ground - off world no less, told SG-1 about me, managed to piss off Jack, survived gladiatorial games, hopefully killed Janus, and puked all over Teal’c. What about you?” Daniel said as easily as if he were describing how he bought a new pair of socks, like it was no big deal.

Blink.

“You threw up on Teal’c? And you still have your head?” he asked, incredulous.

“Yeah, not smart. Apparently drinking tequila and Guinness together is not a good thing to do. He has sworn revenge. I am sure that you’ll be reading my death notification in the base email newsletter, again, soon enough.”

“Does that mean I’ll get your stereo,” Siler quipped, laughing at his former teacher.
“I think Sam has dibs on it actually. She mentioned something about taking it apart and making an ultimate surround sound experience,” Daniel said. “What’s new with you?”

Siler looked slightly troubled. He ran a hand through his cropped-short sandy hair. “Someone, one of us, has been stalking me. I know he’s there, but I can’t seem to find him. Wherever I go, off-base, he’s there. I was at the grocery store last night and I could feel him. At first it was puzzling, now its just annoying.”

“You piss anyone off lately?” Daniel asked, concerned for his friend.

“No,” Siler said. “You piss anyone off? Besides the Goa’uld, Teal’c, and Colonel O’Neill, of course.”

“Not in a couple of hundred years. It could be a headhunter. I encountered one not too long ago. What made that experience just perfect was that Jack, Sam, and Teal’c were there to see me behead the guy. It couldn’t have been better,” Daniel said sarcastically.

“Didn’t you once tell me that secrecy is very important to our survival?”

“On PF9-121 we encountered an Immortal that had been captured by the Goa’uld centuries ago, then captured by the villagers and used as some sort of demon guard dog. The villagers, being so enlightened, decided their old one was broken and wanted a new one. They figured out that I was an Immortal, killed me in front of everyone and I revived. So I gave them the short version of what Immortals are. Then the villagers beheaded the captured Immortal on Holy Ground and it turned pretty ugly. We were lucky to escape with our lives. The village was totally destroyed, according to Jack. Afterwards, I had a sit-down with everyone and explained myself. I didn’t tell them about you, but they did find out about Abbott on PT3-924.”

“Your life is way too complicated,” Siler said after taking a moment to digest everything.

“Ya think?”

Siler just grinned and shook his head. “Anyway, I need to take care of this stalker guy before it goes on any longer. Do you think you’d be up to some practice time later tonight?”

Daniel grinned. It had been awhile since he had practiced against someone he did not have to worry about permanently killing. “You’re on. Say 2200 hours at the gym?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Siler agreed, clasping hands with his former teacher - now friend.

“I gotta get going. I hear SG-16 brought back some interesting artifacts that need looked at. Dr. Lange is convinced they hold some sort of galactic secret,” Daniel said, rising from his sitting position on the locker room bench.

“I’ll see you then,” Siler replied, finishing tying his own boots. “You got the swords?” he asked. Unlike Daniel, he could not keep a weapon in his work area, claiming it was just an artifact or relic. He had his beloved wrench, but it just wasn’t the same.  His sword remained in his car, hidden, but with easy access to, once off-base.

“I got you covered. You know we really need to work on finding some way to smuggle something in for you. You never know what may come through the gate,” Daniel said.

Siler shrugged, not overly concerned. “We’ll see,” he said.

“See you later then,” Daniel said and walked out of the room.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~

He spent the day trying to make some sort of head way with the amount of new pictures, videos, tablets, and discarded Goa’uld junk that filled his ‘in’ box. By dinner time he had sorted through less than half of the stuff, translating the objects in question or at least delegating the task to one of the archeologists or linguists on staff. Daniel wondered what it would take for Hammond to let him hire an assistant to help him with the daunting task of attempting to figure out what everything brought back to Earth said. Maybe if he went on strike or threatened to die in a violent and messy way (and actually go through with it in front of everyone), Hammond would listen to his pleas for an assistant.

Then again, if wishes were trees, I’d have a whole fucking forest, he thought tiredly.

Daniel rubbed his eyes, took a sip of coffee, and looked over at his clock. 2145 hours! Shit, he silently swore.

Quickly, he set aside his books and photographs of various artifacts and collected his belongings, along with the two swords he kept on a high shelf, out of the general public’s sight. He wrapped the weapons in a soft cloth bag. There was no sense in wandering around the base with the swords in obvious view of others.

Daniel ran down to the locker room and changed into an old, gray t-shirt that had the sleeves cut off, a pair of loose black nylon mesh shorts, and the new running shoes he had bought the other day.

Siler was already in the empty gym. He had arrived earlier and made sure that the live feed of the security cameras that were in the large room had been turned off. It helped being the go-to man when it came to fixing things concerning the SGC and the need for privacy.
“You ready?” Daniel called out, tossing one of the rapiers to Siler.

“You ready to get your ass kicked?” Siler taunted, neatly catching the sword, smiling to show that he was not completely serious. Siler, despite his relatively young age (for an Immortal), was a skilled swordsman.

Daniel liked to think that he was better though.

They moved on to the open exercise area and faced each other. They moved back and forth, balanced and sure-footed as they traveled the length of the blue mats. Daniel and Siler went at it with intensity and concentration. They blocked each other’s swipes and parries, the metal of their swords clashed together in an off-tune harmony.

Slowly their speed increased, as well as their use of personal tricks they each had picked up from one another and others that they both had encountered through out their lives. Soon they resorted to not just using their swords as their only weapon, but also their hand-to-hand combat skills. This resulted in Siler fracturing his left wrist and Daniel breaking his nose; both injuries healed swiftly.

Daniel and Siler were both in such deep states of concentration that neither of them heard or saw the gym doors open. Only when the intruders noisily made themselves known, did the Immortals loose concentration, which resulted in stabbing each other in the heart.

“What the hell are you two doing?” Jack called out, waving his arms around for emphasis.

“Shit!” Daniel said, just before dropping like a sack of flour.

“Fuck,” Siler quietly swore just before joining Daniel on the ground.

“Oh my God! Daniel just killed Siler!” Sam gasped.

“You bastard!” Jack said automatically.

“What would possess DanielJackson to do this to SergeantSiler?” Teal’c asked, concerned, though his voice remained neutral.

“You don’t think that they were fighting-fighting do you? Is Siler like Daniel?” Sam asked.

“How the hell would I know?” Jack replied, looking perplexed.

Suddenly both individuals revived, gasping for air, checking their bodies for injuries that had already healed.

“Danny? Siler? Do you want to explain things?” Jack said, blinking rapidly.

“Hey Jack. How are things going?” Daniel said, trying to sound cheerful as he picked himself up off the floor.

“Um, Colonel, I, um, there’s a good explanation for this,” Siler said, glancing over at Daniel.

“I am sure there is Sergeant,” Jack said with practiced calm, smiling that tight smile that served as a signal to others that their lives were in immediate danger. “However, I’d like the truth, not some lame cock and bull story.”

Siler looked over at Daniel, who shrugged. No help there.

Siler pasted a huge smile on his face. “Would you believe me if I told you that I was rehearsing a scene for Romeo and Juliet as part of a community theatre project and Dr. Jackson here offered to help me learn to stage a sword fight?”

“Lame.”

Crap.

“What about Hamlet?” Siler quipped. “Cock and bull,” was Jack’s reply Fuck. “Well, since you saw me die and revive and you know about Dr. Jackson, I guess it’s okay to tell you that, hey, I’m an Immortal too,” Siler said, putting false cheer in his voice.

“Are there anymore of your people here at SGC? So that way, when we walk in on a sword fight we know what’s going on?” Jack asked sarcastically.

Daniel shook his head. “Honest, Jack. We’re the only ones here at the Mountain.”

“I assume that neither of you were intent on doing each other serious harm?” Teal’c asked.

Daniel shook his head. “Siler and I were just practicing.”

“How old are you Siler? Are you as old as Daniel?” Sam asked, assuming that the tech Sergeant was as old as the archeologist.

Siler shook his head. “No. Daniel and I met after World War II. I had been killed in a small skirmish in the Battle of the Bulge. I had revived before anyone discovered my dead body, but I had no idea about the Game, its rules, or anything. I didn’t even know I had actually died. I thought I had just been knocked out.  It wasn’t until I returned to the United States, to New York City, that I encountered my first Immortal. He wanted to kill me, but I had no idea what was happening. Daniel found me before I got myself beheaded, took care of the guy, explained to me the rules, and taught me how to survive as an Immortal.”

“Couldn’t you have told us about Siler, Danny?” Jack asked.

“It wasn’t my place to say anything.  Jack, we’re not a very open people. We like secrecy, even from those we trust.” Daniel said.

“So why are you to doing this? You aren’t trying to actually kill each other,” Sam observed.

“Practice makes perfect Sam,” Daniel said patiently. “Having just a basic knowledge of how to wield a sword isn’t enough. There’s always someone out there that is more skilled, crafty, and just damn luckier.”

“So can we watch?” Jack asked, clearly curious to see what Daniel and Siler were capable of. Even though he had seen Daniel fight against another Immortal, and win, it had been obvious that it was an unfair fight for Daniel’s opponent from the beginning. Seeing Daniel go up against someone he had trained would be interesting, to say the least.

Daniel looked at Siler, who just shrugged. It didn’t bother him. The Colonel, Major Carter and Teal’c were trustworthy people. Daniel affirmed that it was okay if his mortal teammates stayed to watch.

Teal’c, Carter, and O’Neill moved off to the side to stay out of the Immortals’ way.

Daniel and Siler faced off again. Their focus remained on each other, ignoring their audience. They battled back and forth, neither of them willing to call it quits.

Jack observed both Immortals carefully, clearly analyzing each fighter’s style and abilities. Siler, it seemed to Jack, went for large movements and insisted on holding his ground, even when conceding space would be the wiser move. Despite this, Siler was very skilled at fighting with a sword.

Daniel, however, moved fluidly and swiftly. Each thrust, parry, or step was taken with efficiency in mind. He did not waste time with grand attempts to defeat his opponent. His overall form led to greater speed. Daniel was also a sneaky fighter. He did not just rely on his sword skills to help him along. He was more than willing to throw a punch or strike of some kind into his fight.

By the time both Immortals broke from their fight, both were dripping with sweat. They had gone at it for at least an hour before they were interrupted, and had continued on for at least forty-five minutes afterwards.

“Damage count,” Daniel said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

Both he and Siler removed their tee-shirts (Sam could not help but notice that Daniel was built - his abs were impressive) and checked them for tears and holes.

“Three,” Siler announced and looked over at Daniel.

“Two,” Daniel said and put his shirt back on (much to Sam’s disappointment - while Daniel may be her teammate, she wasn’t dead), covering up the trails of blood across his smooth skin.

Daniel noticed the other’s looks of confusion. “It goes back to when Siler and I first met. Siler went through a lot of shirts then. Who ever had the most holes, lost and had to buy the other dinner.” He and Siler thought it was funny and started to laugh. The others just looked at them with confused looks on their faces.

“You both are weird,” Jack finally said, shaking his head. Immortals, he thought, exasperated.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 19

Over the next two months, all at the SGC was pretty quiet. Granted, SG-1 had to go off and save the world from imminent destruction, courtesy of the Goa’uld, and SG-12 brought back an object that turned out was a bomb. Overall, things had been pretty quiet for everyone.

Siler had finally confronted his stalker and ended the other Immortal’s quest for his head, and was able to go back to his ‘normal’ life. Also, Daniel had gone back to his normal, quiet life, void of any Immortal business. This made him quite happy, for he liked staying off radar as much as possible.

It was by now early June and the weather in Colorado was unseasonably warm. It wasn’t hot enough to happily remind Daniel of his beloved Egypt, but warm enough to encourage round-the-clock outdoor activity.

Jack had acquired, possibly in a fit of insanity, the idea that SG-1 should do some team bonding. Daniel and Sam objected, each stating that they had lots to do back at the base. Jack naturally ignored their protests and kept up with his whining until they relented. Stupidly, no one bothered to ask what Jack’s plan was until it was too late.

Mud volleyball.

“No. Non. Nyet. Nada. Nin, Noc!” Daniel said as they pulled up to the park in Jack’s truck.  “Na noweia si taia!” he then implored Teal’c.

“Come on,” Jack said cheerfully and put the truck in park. “It’ll be fun. Besides, it’s for charity and you’re always yapping at me about doing stuff for charity.  And stop showing off and using Goa’uld Daniel.”  

“Rak'lo najaquna shel're hara kek,” he then muttered, glowering at the back of Jack’s head.

“Sir, you have got to be kidding me?” Sam said, aghast.

“What is this mud volleyball? Is it a chance to do battle like the women wrestlers we once viewed?” Teal’c asked.

Sam looked at each male member of SG-1 in disbelief. “You three went and watched women wrestle half naked in mud?”

Daniel looked away and started whistling a little tune, hoping Sam wouldn’t go off on him.

Jack grinned. “Jell-o, actually.  It was when Orlin paid you a visit that one time. You said that you were busy, so we had a guys’ night out.”

“That is so sexist and demeaning of you three,” Sam huffed, more for show than any real ire. After all, she reasoned, she and Janet, along with a few other female members of SGC had gone to that all male review show one night.

Jack laughed. “No Teal’c. This is not like the show we went to. No nakedness here. You hit the ball back and forth over the net and try to get the other team to let the ball hit the ground on their side. It’s fun. Isn’t that right Danny?”

“Jack, never in my life have I played volleyball,” Daniel said disdainfully, sniffing slightly. “Now I know why you told me to not wear my glasses and wear old clothes.”
“Daniel, do you even need your glasses?  I mean, really,” Sam asked, turning to look at her friend. 

“Surprisingly, yes,” Daniel replied.  “My eyes are slightly weaker with distance, but not too much.  It helps with me blending in, looking like the harmless archeologist I’m supposed to be.” 

“Harmless my ass,” Jack snorted.  “Come on kids! It’s for a good cause. The tournament is supporting the March of Dimes. How can you say no to helping babies? Only a Goa’uld would say no,” he wheedled, knowing that they would eventually give in. “Carter, just the other day you said that you wanted to do something different. This is different.”

“I was talking about going out on my bike, not wallowing in the mud,” she said, snippy.

“Well, too bad. We’re here. I’ve already entered us and paid our entrance fee, so deal with it,” Jack said and got out of the truck.

The others sighed, did a bunch of eye rolling, and shook their heads.

He then paused and turned around, going for the jugular: “I heard that SG-3 and Ferretti’s people have also entered the tournament. Jack grinned savagely.

That did it. Teal’c, Carter, and Daniel practically climbed over each other to get out of the truck. There was no way they were going to wimp out in front of Ferretti, SG-2, and SG-3; dignity be damned! 

They entered the tournament, naming their team ‘Snake Killers,’ while Ferretti’s group took on the name ‘Death to All Snakes.’  SG-3, the Marines, chose ‘Snake Eaters.’  Needless to say, the other teams looked upon the three military teams with trepidation and weariness. 

They did not have much to fear from the Marines.  They were defeated by a bunch of fraternity boys from Central Colorado State in the first round.  SG-1 and SG-2 were beside themselves with laughter.  Take that Jar Heads!  Hoo-rah! 

Both SG-1 and SG-2 advanced to the next round where they faced each other.  Both sides were pumped for the chance to trash the other.  Needless to say, it was a blood bath; they never stood a chance. 

The final score was 15 to 2 in Ferretti’s favor. 

The highlight of the game, besides seeing the former First Prime of Apophis face down in the mud, was when Daniel was hit up side the head with the ball, knocking him into the mud and landing on top of Jack in a very awkward position. 

“For crying out loud!” Jack yelled.  “Get your elbow out of my eye Danny!” 

“Yeah, well, you have your legs wrapped around my waist,” Daniel muttered, extracting himself from Jack’s bizarre embrace.   

“Get a room you two!” Jack heard Ferretti yell. Jack shot Ferretti a patented death glare that caused the man to pale momentarily. 

Daniel stood up and looked around, searching for his source of distraction.  He could feel the powerful Quickening of another Immortal near-by.  It was someone old and not afraid to let him know how old they were.  It also felt familiar. 

After some brief moments of intense searching, he spied a figure standing casually by the picnic tables, slightly aside from the cheering crowd. The other Immortal was tall and thin.  His brown hair was cropped short and his face was shaved clean.  His hawkish nose and angular face was not an unfamiliar sight to see, even though it had been several decades since their paths had crossed.  Daniel also noted that he was not wearing, or carrying a coat, so the chances were that he was not here for his head.  Hopefully he wasn’t still mad about that incident in the bar in Rio. 

“Danny!  Get back in the game!  We can still take them,” Jack yelled, rallying his troops. 

It did little good.  They still lost. 

Once the game was over and SG-1 grudgingly congratulated SG-2 in their victory, Daniel separated himself from the others and went over to where the other Immortal was standing. 

“Well, well,” Methos grinned.  “Look at you, wallowing in the mud.” 

“It was for charity,” Daniel said, crossing his arms across his chest in a defensive posture.  “How’d you find me?” 

Methos shrugged.  “Watcher database.” 

“No I mean, here.  How’d you know I’d be at this park on this date at this time?  You beat my Watcher into giving me up?  And if you did that, I’d have to kick your ass.  Abbott’s a good guy.” 

“You know your Watcher?” Methos asked, impressed.  “I thought you didn’t care for them that much.” 

“We work together at the same place,” Daniel said, shrugging. “How’d you find me?” 

“My amazing psychic abilities?” Methos said, trying to look innocent. 

Daniel looked at him skeptically.  “Try again.” 

“I got your address from the database.  I stopped by and your neighbor - who should be a Watcher by the way - a very informed woman, told me that your friend, a Colonel O’Neill, was taking you to the park.  Apparently, he told her and then she told me.” 

“Great,” Daniel muttered, slightly disconcerted over the idea that his movements were so easily tracked, silently cursing the gossipy Mrs. Klaussen and Jack’s loose lips. 

“So, did you have fun?” Methos said, smiling his enigmatic smile, the one where you weren’t totally sure if he was truly amused or about ready to rip you to pieces. 

“Tons,” Daniel said cheekily.  “Would you care to join in the fun?” 

Methos looked down at his brown t-shirt, worn, faded blue jeans, and tennis shoes.  “I don’t think so.” 

“Daniel?  Anything wrong?” Jack called out, suspicious of the strange man that Daniel was talking to. 

Daniel turned and found Jack and Teal’c standing a few yards behind him, staring at Methos, doing their collective bests at intimidation. 

Methos smile faded slightly when he saw the glacial glare coming from the older man and the naked menace emanating from the huge black man with a mud covered red bandana tied over his head and forehead.  It wasn’t that he was scared; it was just that Teal’c had that effect on people. 

“No.  No problems here,” Daniel said to his friends then turned to Methos.  “Am I right?” he asked, a slightly dark tone to his voice. 

“Me?  Never,” he replied, peppiness in his voice. 

“I hate it when you’re peppy.  Its never a good sign,” Daniel muttered, suddenly remembering several memorable moments in his past that were directly tied to the supposedly oldest Immortal alive and peppiness. 

“You love me and you know it,” Methos replied, his voice sunny.  “Are you going to introduce me to your friends?” 

“What’s your name these days?” Daniel asked quietly.  “And do the Watchers know about you?” 

Methos grinned.  “They think I’m a newly born Immortal and I’m going by the name of Adam Pierson.  Do your friends know about you?” 

“Oh yeah, they know.” 

“Super,” Methos said sarcastically.  “Well, get going.  Introduce me to them.” 

Daniel rolled his eyes.  “Jack, Murray, this Adam Pierson.  Adam, this is Colonel Jack O’Neill and T - Murray Tealk.”  The men exchanged a round of hand shakes, each sizing the other up, trying to determine what kind of man the other was. 

“Colonel?  Really?  I heard that you are working for the Air Force.  Doing what?” Methos asked Daniel, looking confused.  “I thought your area of specialty was in languages and archeology.” 

“Deep Space Telemetry,” Jack and Daniel said automatically. 

“Deep Space what?  Since when do you know anything about outer space Danil?” Methos asked disbelief in his voice.  He also let Daniel’s ancient name slip. Daniel glared at his friend. 

“I work on translations and such,” he said, being vague.  “Can’t say much more than that.” 

“Oh.  Sounds fascinating,” Methos replied, looking at his friend oddly, but knew that now was not the time to press.  Danil had the ability to clam up like no one else in the world when he did not want to discuss something. 

“Daniel, Ferretti and company are about to start,” Jack said, glaring at ‘Adam.’ It was obvious that he did not trust the man. 

“Jack, it’ll be okay.  Really.  I’ll be over in a second,” Daniel said, rolling his eyes at Jack’s insistence at trying to always protect him from others. Daniel waited for Jack and Teal’c to move off before starting up a conversation with Methos.  “What’s going on?  Why are you really here?  And I know it’s not because you enjoy the mountain air and my jovial spirit.” Daniel looked at Methos hard, his head slightly cocked to one side. 

“What? Can’t a friend just drop by to see how you are?” 

“Most friends, yes.  You, no.  I’m waiting for the other shoe.” 

“Seriously, I just wanted to see how you are doing, catch up on things, start over for me.  I got ousted within the Watchers.  Since they now think I’m a newbie, they’ll assume that I’m here in need of a teacher.  Also, I was thinking of relocating in the area.  Mountain State has offered me a position in their Ancient Studies department and I thought I would take them up on it,” Methos shrugged. 

Somehow, Daniel knew that while this was all probably true, there was something else going on with Methos.  There always was something else. Daniel shrugged.  “Fine, don’t tell me. See if I care.  Would you care to join us watching the game though?  Jack is giving me angry-annoyed looks.” 

Methos shrugged.  “Sure, why not?” 

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

Methos joined Daniel and the other members of SG-1 in watching the volleyball game.  He really did not care about the game, but it gave him the opportunity to meet a fabulously sexy blonde woman (despite the mud).  And, bonus, Daniel knew her. 

The male members of SG-1 noticed his interest in Major Carter.  They were not pleased, for various reasons.  Teal’c was not pleased due to the fact that he did not know or trust this man.  Daniel was not pleased, due to the fact that he knew Methos, and felt protective of Sam.  Jack was not happy because it was Carter that this stranger was interested in.  Despite all of his protests in the past, he felt a surge of jealously whenever any guy showed interest in his beloved second-in-command.  There was an almost over whelming urge to strangle the guy and bury the body in his neighbor’s back yard (never leave evidence on your property); he was fairly certain that Teal’c and Ferretti would help him. 

Luckily for everyone, Sam did not show any real interest in the new guy.  Methos would be allowed to live another day. 

Ferretti and the members of SG-2 lost to a team named ‘Hello Kitty,’ made up entirely of girls.  It was awesome seeing the look of utter defeat on Ferretti’s face. 

After the game, Jack offered to take Daniel and Sam home.  Teal’c was staying the weekend with him at his home, so he did not offer to take Teal’c to the base. 

Daniel declined, saying that Adam could take him home. 

“Daniel.” 

“Jack.” 

“Daniel!” 

“Jack!” Daniel replied.  “It’ll be okay.  I’ll see you on Monday at the mountain.” 

“I better,” Jack said, being menacing.  “We have a briefing at 0800 hours with Hammond.” 

“I’ll be fine Jack.  Go home.  The Simpsons are calling you.” 

Jack grunted, gave Adam a death glare, and then finally left with Teal’c and Carter. 

“Interesting friends you have there,” Methos commented. 

“Best kind you could ever hope to have,” Daniel retorted. 

“So is Major Carter seeing anyone?” Methos asked, as they walked across the grass to the parking lot where he had left his car. 

“Don’t even think about it buddy.  Even if Jack wouldn’t skin you alive, I think she’s seeing someone right now.  A cop I think,” Daniel advised, smiling.  “I don’t think it’ll work out though.  All of her boyfriends have a tendency of dying.” 

“Lovely,” Methos muttered, frowning.  A regular black widow, he thought. 

“So, do you want to tell me why you are really here or shall I just beat the info out of you?” Daniel asked, looking off into the distance. 

“I did receive an offer to teach at Mountain State and I need to play up the idea that I am a new Immortal,” Methos protested. 

Daniel sighed.  “Yes, I am sure you did.  But there is something more that made you want to come to Colorado Springs.  What’s going on?” 

Methos’ smirk faded.  “I heard a rumor that Eban ben Ranen has resurfaced and is currently looking for you.  I though I should warn you, just in case.” 

“Fuck!” 

The other shoe hit the floor in a most noisy way.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 20

Years, centuries ago, Daniel (his name had been Alejandro Nuncio) had met an Immortal by the name of Eban ben Ranen in Madrid, Spain in the 15th century.  Daniel was passing through the area and decided to start a new life there.  At that time, neither man felt the need to try to take the other’s head and had developed a friendship. 

While Daniel whiled away the time with teaching and studying, Eban (a relatively young Immortal) was a rabbi at one of the city’s synagogue.  Daniel was also known to the court of Isabel and Ferdinand.  They made an odd friendship: A pagan and an orthodox rabbi of the Beth Shalom Synagogue. 

Unfortunately, Isabel and Ferdinand decided to remove all non-converted Jews from Spain.  The official reason for this action was their desire to return Spain to a fully Christian country.  The real reason was, typical of many politicians, money.  The Jews that left were forced to leave behind all wealth and land which would be turned over to the crown. 

On the second of August, 1492, an edict was issued, forcing the Jews to leave, with the force of the Spanish Inquisition as a lethal threat.  Many left for Portugal, but eventually they faced the same edict there:  Convert or die.  Many went to Turkey or other parts of Europe.  Some even made it to Brazil eventually.           

Daniel, at the time, was serving as a tutor to the son of a minor member of the Spanish court.  He had very little influence, despite his position.  There was nothing Daniel could have done to prevent any of this.  Unfortunately, Eban thought otherwise.  He blamed Daniel for failing him, and the Jews of Spain.  The Jews were expelled, along with Eban, his wife, and her children that he adopted. 

Eban and his small congregation traveled to Turkey.  His wife and children never made it.  They died of fever shortly after leaving Spain.  In his rage and grief, Eban placed all blame on Daniel.  It was not a logical anger; but when is anger born out of intense grief, anger is never logical. 

He returned to Spain to find Daniel and take his head.  They fought and Daniel defeated Eban.  However, moved by a sense of compassion, Daniel let Eban live.  This only angered Eban further.  He swore vengeance.   

His first move was to expose Daniel as a pagan, though a courtier that he managed to bribe.  After that, Daniel was forced to disappear, least the Spanish Inquisition decide to practice their torture skills upon the Immortal.  He did not leave Spain all together, but ran far enough to establish a new identity.  Eventually, after a few years had passed, he was able to enter into mainstream Spanish society and join Magellan on his voyage around the world. 

Over the years, Daniel had run into Eban, but was able to avoid any direct confrontation, mostly by luck and his ability to slip away before anyone could stop him.  Despite the years that had past and how society had changed, Eban had never forgiven Daniel for this supposed betrayal.  He had heard, through the Immortal grapevine that Eban was still looking to kill him. 

Daniel, while saddened by what had happened to Eban, his family, and countless others like them, did not believe that it was his fault.  He had done what he could.  He had helped others out of the country, forged some documents, smuggled things and people out of the area or country so they would not have to face the full wrath of Torquemada and his like.  The only difference with Eban was that they had been friends and Eban had rejected some sound advice about leaving the country sooner.  He also refused to accept the reality of the situation. 

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

He was leaning against Methos’ gray Land Rover, back in the present.  “How the hell does he know where I am?” Daniel said tiredly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 

“You’re not going to be happy,” Methos said matter-of-factly. 

“When ever am I happy?” 

“Your former friend apparently found out about the Watchers at some point.  Awhile ago, he hacked into the database and found your information.  He knows your name, where you live, who your friends are, everything,” Methos said apologetically. 

“Those fucking bastards!  How in the hell did they let someone hack their system?” Daniel spit, angry beyond words. 

“I don’t know, but from what I gathered from a friend, the Watchers are saying that it was a really good hack.  They upgraded their system a few years ago, but someone was still able to get in and root around the files.  Eban probably got someone to do it for him.  No one has ever reported that he has computer skills, beyond clicking and pointing.” 

“Well, that’s just great!  Any idea when Eban is going to show up?” Methos shook his head. 

“Don’t know.  He managed to lose his Watcher just after the hack.  That was a week ago.  You should have taken his head back in the 15th century.” 

“Thanks,” Daniel said sarcastically. “It’s not like I haven’t thought of that already.  He was in pain.  His family had died.  I didn’t want his head like that.” 

“It’s been over five hundred years since they died.  He needs to move on,” Methos said, rolling his eyes. 

“From your lips to a true god’s ears,” Daniel mumbled.  Quietly he was hoping that Thor needed him for whatever reason and would beam him off planet.  Therefore he would not have to deal with this mess from his past. 

After swearing in several languages, including one that was not from Earth, he returned his attention to his friend.  “So, are you definitely moving to the area?  Do you have a place yet or are you going to stay at mine and mooch off me for awhile?”  He knew Methos very well. 

Methos grinned.  “I appreciate your hospitality so much.  And maybe in the process, your friend, the Major, will want to get to know me better.”

Daniel laughed.  “Dream on Old Man.  She’d kick your ass three ways to Sunday.”

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 21

Over the next two weeks, Methos hung out at Daniel’s place.  Daniel was gone part of the time, due to being off-world (which Methos did not know). 

SG-1 went to P9T-729 for a standard recon mission.  They met the natives, made nice, and negotiated a treaty that would allow the people from Earth to mine their small source of Naquada (the locals had no use for the stuff).  It was a nice and normal mission.  No one was trying to kill them, or sacrifice them.   

Unfortunately, just as they were getting ready to leave, Jaffa, belonging to Nerti, showed up.  There was a firefight that resulted in Jack, Sam, and Daniel being shot.  Luckily, Sam’s and Jack’s wounds were minor, while Daniel’s wound was more serious looking, it healed quickly.  They managed to escape, but not before they witnessed Nerti leveling the planet’s inhabitants’ city with an aerial bombardment as punishment for helping the Tau’ri. 

It was not a good day for anyone. 

Daniel came home, after a long debrief by Hammond and a visit to the infirmary to see how Jack and Sam were doing.  They were relatively fine.  Janet had bandaged their wounds and sent them home. 

He slammed the front door shut and stormed through the house, muttering several curse words in several languages.  Methos looked up from the book he was reading, sitting on the living room couch. 

“Hard day at work?” he called out, in a jesting tone. He was wondering where Daniel had been.  The man had been gone for three days and now was suddenly back home.  Not that he particularly cared or felt that he was owed an explanation, but it made him curious as to where Daniel had been. 

Daniel glared at his friend, briefly wishing he had a Zat with him so he could shoot Methos with it.  “Yes.  It has been a damn hard day thank you.” 

“What’s so hard about Deep Space Telemetry?  You sit there and stare at a computer all day.” 

Daniel rolled his eyes.  Methos was extremely curious about what Daniel was doing over at Cheyenne.  He did not fully believe that Daniel was working on something about looking into the vast reaches of space.  However, Daniel was not very forth coming with information.  He had even checked the Watcher’s database to see if there was something that he had missed.  All it said was that he worked as a civilian consult for the U.S. Air Force. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to tell me what is going on?” Methos grinned. 

“No.  I told you before, I can’t.  I work out of Cheyenne Mountain and it’s classified.  I made a promise and I intend to keep it,” Daniel said a serious look on his face. 

Methos held up his hands in surrender.  “Fine.  I’ll just keep with my idea that you are secretly fighting little green aliens for the government.” 

Daniel, who had been drinking a glass of water suddenly choked and sprayed Methos with a mist of water and spit. 

Methos glared at his friend.  “Thanks a lot,” he said sarcastically. 

“Um, sorry,” Daniel said, handing his friend a tissue. 

“So, got any big plans for the night?” Methos asked, wiping his face off. 

“No.  You got something in mind?” Daniel said, shrugging.  He did not really want to go out, but he knew that if he stayed at home, he would only just sit there getting madder and madder at the day’s events. 

“Nothing big,” Methos shrugged.  “How about going to that bar, O’Malley’s, for some liquid refreshment and some darts?” 

Daniel turned slightly red.  “Uh, not O’Malley’s, I can’t go there anymore,” he muttered. 

“And why not?  You start a fight or something?” 

“It wasn’t my fault.” 

Methos started laughing.  “You?  You started a fight?  You haven’t picked a fight in God knows how long!  Why?” 

“Jack, Sam, and I went out, against orders to remain on base.  Sam was playing pool and these guys started giving us a hard time.  One of them called me a geek and I took exception to that.  We kicked their asses, got arrested, were banned for life from O’Malley’s, and got in trouble with our boss.  Hammond was not at all pleased with us,” Daniel said, leaving out the part about how they were under the influence of an alien device. 

Methos looked at his longtime friend with an appraising look.  “Why were you ordered to stay on base?  You’re a civilian looking at pictures from outer space.” 

How to dig himself out of this one, he briefly wondered.  Methos was nothing if now shrewd and observant.  He could also spot a lie a mile away.  “I have to follow certain orders and regulations,” he explained, “but I am not governed by the UCMJ.”  

Luckily, before he had a chance to say anything further, his cell phone rang.  He checked the display screen to see who it was.  Jack’s number appeared on the tiny LED screen. 

“Hey Jack,” he said. 

Pause. 

“No, I’m not busy.” 

Pause. 

“No, I don’t want to go fishing with you.” 

Longer pause. 

“Adam and I were talking about going out later.” 

“Uh-huh,” Daniel said then turned to Methos. 

“Jack wants to know if you would like to join us for an evening out.  Apparently he, Sam, and Teal’c want to go out,” Daniel said, letting Teal’c slip out. 

Methos noted the difference, but chose not to say anything.  “As long as I can get a drink somewhere,” he shrugged. 

“No problem.  Jack said that we’re getting together at Coach’s.  It’s a sports bar and they’re showing the Stanley Cup final on the big screen.  It’s not a bad place to go,” Daniel said, shrugging his shoulders. 

Methos said that it sounded like a plan and turned back to his book.  He was secretly glad that Daniel’s friends were going to be there.  Not only would he get to see the lovely Major Carter, but it gave him a chance to try to figure out what Daniel was up to these days. 

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~ 

At seven o’clock the two Immortals walked into the bar and spotted Daniel’s co-workers at a table near the big screen television. 

Jack and Sam, Methos noted, were moving stiffly.  Jack, he also noted, had his left arm wrapped in gauze.  Everybody had a matching, pissed off look on their face that mirrored the one Daniel had when he came home. 

The one other thing he noticed was the man called Murray.  He had a Colorado Avalanche ball cap on.  While that was not out of the normal, for several other bar patrons also had matching hats, what was unusual was a gold symbol on his forehead peaking out from underneath his cap.  It reminded him of something he had seen countless lifetimes ago. 

When Jack noticed Methos’ starring at Teal’c, he also looked over at his friend and noticed the exposed seal.  He nudged the solemn looking man, muttered something in his ear and the hat was quickly adjusted, concealing the strange emblem. 

Methos sat down at their table (across from Major Carter) while Daniel announced that he was buying the first round, leaving Methos alone with his friends. The Colonel’s stare was making him uncomfortable, but he’d be damned it he’d let anyone know. 

“So,” Methos said, blandly smiling. 

“So,” Jack growled.  “How long have you known Daniel?” 

Methos shrugged.  “For awhile.  How long have you known Daniel?”  Two could play this game, he thought. 

“For awhile.  You know, he’s family to us,” Jack said, refusing to be a part of any game.  “If anything should happen to him, we would be quite unhappy.” 

Teal’c and Carter were backing Jack up with piercing gazes, though the look on the giant of a man’s face was far more intimidating. 

Methos figured that they assumed that he was an Immortal like Daniel.  He continued to smile his patented bland smile, but did his best to dispatch any fears the three people may have had about his intentions.  “I am not here to harm Danil in any way.  He needed some information to be brought to his attention and I needed to start over.  I haven’t seen him in a long time but I consider him to be a good friend.” 

Sam then decided to speak up.  “Daniel is a good friend to us also and we’re just worried.” 

“I understand,” Methos said, staring straight back at Jack. 

“I take it that you’re, um, like Daniel?” Sam asked, noting Adam’s use of Daniel’s old name. 

Methos smiled. 

At that moment, Daniel returned with a pitcher of beer for Methos and a mixed drink for himself.  Jack and Sam were under strict orders to not consume any alcohol.  Teal’c, of course, had a glass of juice in front of him.

“Did I miss anything?” Daniel asked dropping down into a chair between Methos and Jack. 

“Not really,” Jack said, “we were just asking your friend about himself.” 

Daniel glanced over at Methos who just shrugged and smiled. 

“They wanted to know if my life span is a lengthy one,” he said. 

“Well?” Jack pressed. 

“I’ve been around for awhile,” Methos admitted. 

Immediately, the others started to scrutinize him, searching for any signs of a concealed sword. Daniel and Methos both smiled broadly.  Both were carrying their swords, carefully concealed in the folds of their jackets that hung on the back of their chairs. 

“So what happened to your arm?” Methos asked Jack, pointing to the gauze wrapped appendage. 

“Accident,” Jack mumbled. 

“And why do you,” he said, turning to Teal’c, “Have a gold tattoo in the symbol of Apophis on your forehead?” 

Teal’c, and the others, stiffened slightly.

“It is a reminder of false gods and the slavery of my people.” 

“And what people would that be?” Methos pressed.  There was something definitely odd about these people, even Danil. 

Before Teal’c could say anything, Daniel and Jack butted in.  “Adam, have a beer,” they both said at the same time, then laughed at each other. 

Methos just shook his head in confusion.  He knew somehow that he would not get much more information out of Danil and his friends. The night passed swiftly.  The Avalanche won, 5 to 2 over the Flyers, leaving the bar patrons in a celebratory mood.  Even Jack and Daniel’s mood seemed to lighten up with the victory. 

Close to midnight, the members of SG-1 and Methos decided to call it a night.  They had to be at work the next day and Methos had to see his real estate agent about a house. 

As they were walking out of the bar, Daniel and Methos felt a familiar sensation wash over them.  They halted in their stride, looking around for the source of their disturbance.  Finally, they noticed a figure standing across the street, watching them. 

“Shit,” Daniel muttered. 

Jack noticed that Daniel and Adam were not following him, turned to see both people glaring at someone one across the street.  It officially confirmed his belief that Adam, or whatever his real name was, was also an Immortal.  “Daniel?” he called. 

“Coming,” Daniel replied, and resumed his trek back to his car. 

Methos shrugged and also followed. 

Once they were in Daniel’s vehicle, Daniel leaned his head back against the head rest.  “Well, Eban has arrived.” he said, a dark tone to his voice. 

“You could always leave,” Methos said easily. Daniel glared at his friend. 

“It’s not that easy.  I have responsibilities, work,” he said. 

“Big deal.  It’s just a job.  It’s not like the fate of the world depends upon it," Methos said.  “You sit at a desk all day.  What’s so important about that?” 

Daniel sighed.  “What I do is very important and so are the people I work with.  We’re a team.  I can’t explain it further than that.” 

Methos just looked at him, convinced that Daniel was off his rocker. 

Daniel shook his head and started the car.  He wished he could tell his friend about what he did, but it just wasn’t possible.  He had sworn an oath that his work would remain a secret and he did not like breaking his word. 

“What can you tell me about him?” Daniel said, meaning Eban.  He wanted as much information about his former friend as possible.  He felt fairly confidant that he could find out the information on his own by hacking into the Watchers’ database, but this was easier and less likely to get him caught in the process. 

Methos sighed.  “Eban ben Ranen has drifted around Europe for quite a long time, and moved to Israel in the Sixties.  He has worked for Mosad in the past.  He moved back to the United States in the late Seventies and then back to Israel in the Nineties.   The whole time he’s been wandering, he been searching for you.  He’s nothing if not obsessive,” Methos observed dryly. 

“He’s good.  He had a couple of excellent teachers and has managed to defeat several powerful Immortals.  He’s not above fighting dirty and will go after his opponent’s family to get to the Immortal in question.” 

“Well, that’s good to hear,” Daniel sarcastically said.  It was a good thing that he didn’t have any family to worry about, he thought absently. 

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 21

Over the next few weeks, Daniel would sense Eban near-by.  It was getting annoying.  Every time he was out, outside of the Mountain, he knew that Eban was around, watching him.  A part of him wished that Eban would quit the stalker routine and just challenge him, just to get it over.  However, the other Immortal seemed content with the idea of rattling his cage.

Also, Methos had finally found himself a place of his own and had moved out of Daniel’s house.  While Daniel did not mind the company, it was difficult to not let Methos know what he really did for the Air Force.

One day, early in the morning, Daniel ran into Jack and Teal’c on base outside of Sam‘s lab.  What was odd was that Sam was not in her lab.  She was always in her lab at this time in the morning.

Jack rattled the door handle then knocked, wondering if Sam had holed up in there overnight and had fallen asleep.  He ran his id through the electronic door lock and was allowed access to the room.

The lights were off and no one was home.

Jack, feeling in his gut that something was immediately wrong, picked up the phone and punched in the numbers to the final check point at the real entrance to Stargate Command.

“This is Colonel O’Neill,” he growled.  “Has Major Carter checked in this morning?”

Pause.

“Thank you Airman,” he snarled and slammed the phone down in its cradle.

“No, huh?” Daniel said his blue eyes filled with worry.

“No,” he said then started barking orders at his team.  “Daniel, go find Frasier see if she knows anything about Sam.  T, go see her staff and see what they know.  Both of you meet me at Hammond’s office in ten minutes.”

Both me nodded their understanding and followed O’Neill’s orders without question.

They met up again within the ten minute time limit.  Neither Teal’c nor Daniel had any thing good to report.  Nobody had seen or heard from Sam since the night before.  Janet had told Daniel that Sam had told her that she had planned on spending a quiet night at home with a good book.

“Sir, Carter is missing,” O’Neill reported to his commanding officer.

Hammond nodded concern for the major written across his face.  “Go to her home and check it out.  Take what gear you need, but remember to use caution.  Report back in when you have something.  Dismissed,” Hammond said crisply.

“Yes Sir,” O’Neill said and herded the Jaffa and Immortal out of the base commander’s office.

“Get changed and meet me at the armory,” O’Neill said.  “Black on black.”

Again, Daniel and Teal’c followed their commanding officer’s directions.  Black on black was the SGC’s code for combat gear without any patches or outward acknowledgement of the SGC.

Teal’c, Daniel, and Jack got their gear together.  All were dressed in identical black fatigue pants, black t-shirts, flack jackets (really they were vests), and boots.  Expecting the worst (Goa’uld, NID, Hell’s Angels, or some other unnamed evil cabal) they armed themselves with side arms and Zats.

They signed themselves out of the base and drove over to Sam’s home in Jack’s truck.

Luckily, it was mid morning and most of Sam’s neighbors were at work or school.  Jack parked several houses away.  He sent Teal’c and Daniel to come in through the side entrance and back door.  He stole through the yard and cautiously approached the front door, which was slightly ajar. 

“I’m going in,” he quietly informed his team, via radio. 

All three entered from their various points to find the house in utter chaos.  Furniture was overturned, books and magazines scattered everywhere.  Several of Sam’s beloved plants were lying broken on the floor, the dirt ground into the carpet. 

They quickly checked the other rooms to the house, not finding any sign of Sam.  Finally they came back into the living room, frustrated. 

“Maybe I can try to ring Thor up.  Maybe he can help us find Carter,” Jack said, an angry look on his face that mirrored the looks on Teal’c and Daniel’s faces. 

At that moment, a cell phone rang.  It was coming from the dining room just off the living room.  They approached the room cautiously.  It continued to ring, so with a look of trepidation, Jack picked it up. 

“Yes?  Uh-huh,” he said into the phone then turned to Daniel.  “It’s for you.” 

“Hello,” Daniel said, ignoring Jack mouthing the name Alejandro at him. 

Long pause. 

“I see.  Let me talk to her.” 

Pause. 

“Sam, you okay?” 

Pause. 

“Eban, you hurt her in any way, I swear to the gods,” Daniel said, angrier than either Teal’c or Jack had ever seen him.  “Fuck you.  Where?  Fine.  Two hours from now.”  With that, Daniel snapped the phone shut and hurled it at the wall.  It shattered into hundreds of tiny fragments 

“That mother fucker!” he raged.  “He took Sam to get to me.” 

“Who?  Where?” Jack said ice in his voice. 

Daniel gave the others a condensed version of what had occurred five hundred years in the past between him and Eban.  “I’m supposed to meet him in two hours over in the warehouse district,” Daniel snarled.  “He took Sam.” 

“I was so stupid!” Daniel berated himself.  “I knew that Eban had a tendency to go after a person’s family, but it never occurred to me that he’s go after one of you guys.  I was only thinking of family in the normal sense. That fuck went after my family after all.  This is my goddamn fault.” 

“DanielJackson, this is not your fault.  You are a man of many skills and abilities, but you do not have the ability to control the actions of others.  You are not responsible for the actions of another.  We are here and we will find MajorCarter, of this I am sure,” Teal’c said in his familiar and reasonable way. 

“Okay, so we go get her, kill this Eban, and we go home,” Jack said, “as a family.” 

“No,” Daniel said.  “”Eban wants a fight.  More accurately, he wants my head.” 

“Aw, for crying out loud!  You’re not going to let him kill you, are you?” Jack yelled. 

“No.  I’m going to get Sam and have it out with Eban,” Daniel said patiently. 

“Not without us,” Jack said. 

“Jack, my fights are one on one.  No interference.” 

“I am not talking about interfering with your fight with Eban.  You are going to need our help.  More than one person took Carter.  You can tell by the different boot treads tracked in the dirt.” 

“O’Neill is correct DanielJackson.  MajorCarter’s attackers were many.  It would be foolish to take all of them on at once,” Teal’c said, being the voice of reason. 

It would seem likely that Eban had gotten outside help to take Sam and would have them as a distraction, serving as a means to take him out with little effort.             

“Fine, but I have two conditions Jack,” Daniel said. 

“Let’s hear them.” 

“First, I deal with Eban alone.  You are not to get in my way,” Daniel ordered. 

Jack glared, but did not challenge his friend over this issue.  “What’s your second condition?” 

“I call my friend Adam and see if he’ll go with us.” At that, Jack started to protest, but Daniel silenced him with a look.  “If, on the outside chance I lose, I do not want Eban to be the one to get my Quickening in the end.  I am extremely old and someone as young, relatively speaking, as Eban was to be on the receiving end of my Power, it could someday result in him winning the Game. Or, it could result in a Dark Quickening and then no one would be safe from him.  Plus, I do not want Eban surviving past today.  If I can’t kill him, Adam can.” 

“Can Adam handle this power that you speak of DanielJackson?” Teal’c asked. 

“Adam is one of the most capable Immortals that I know of.  He could handle it,” Daniel said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt at that moment.  Yes, he knew that he was an excellent fighter, his long life span attested to it, but something unexpected could easily happen.  Plus, with Adam there, he could protect his mortal friends better than anyone else. 

Jack gave a deep sigh and ran a hand through his already messy hair.  “Fine, but he follows my lead when we go in to deal with this guy’s helpers.” 

Daniel said nothing, praying that Methos was available and willing.  The man owed him from way back for saving his ass from an irritated royal father (who had a very talented daughter) back in the day.  He also hoped that he and Jack would not start butting heads. 

“Good.  We need to stop at my place first.” 

“Why?” Daniel rolled his eyes.  “Why do you think Jack?  You think I’m going to talk him to death?” 

He then turned on his cell and phoned Methos, who picked it up on the first ring. “Hey Old Man., I’m calling in a favor,” Daniel began as the three members of SG-1 left Sam’s home.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 23

Methos looked from Daniel to O’Neill to the man called Murray with some disbelief.  They were all dressed like commandos from some war movie.  He also noted the strange devices that hung at their sides and the guns they carried.  Evidently, things had changed with Danil since they had last seen each other.

Danil had filled him in on why his presence was necessary on this raid.  Danil had even called in a marker from centuries ago.  Granted, he could have just hung up the phone and ignored his old friend, but he must have grown soft in Seacouver and agreed to this insanity.

“So what is the plan, Hamm,” Methos muttered, speaking to O’Neill.

Jack, getting the reference, rolled his eyes.  “Ha!  I’m too tall to be Ham.  The plan is for you to stick with Danny.  We take out any unknown hostiles, and then he does his thing.  You keep your head down and haul ass.”

“Great.  And do I get to defend myself or am I regulated to throwing rocks and waving my sword around?” Methos asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Jack rolled his eyes again.  He really needed to not do that while driving.  “Here,” he said, reaching over to the glove box and taking out a 9mm hand gun.  He then handed it over to ‘Adam.’  “Try not to shoot one of us or yourself please.”

“Oh, I’ll try my best,” Methos said, even more sarcastic than before, checking the slide and  magazine like an expert.

“DanielJackson, what about your ability to sense other Immortals?  Will you not alert this EbanbenRanen of your presence?” Teal’c asked.

Daniel and Methos shared a grin.

“What was that about?” Jack demanded, noticing Daniel’s shit-eating grin.

“Should I tell them or what?” Daniel asked Methos.

Methos shrugged, smiling.

“No, Eban will not sense either of us.  Many of us really old guys have the ability to hide our Quickening signature from other Immortals.  We can sense them, but they can’t sense us.  It’s a survival skill that given enough time, an Immortal will develop, among others.  Generally though, you’d have to be at least three to four thousand years old to do it,” Daniel explained.

“Oh.  That’s useful,” Jack said, shaking his head at the utter madness that was his life and those around him.

Jack brought the truck to a halt about half a mile away from their objective.  The area was pretty much deserted.  Many of the buildings were dilapidated and empty.

They got out of the truck and briefly checked their weapons and gear.  The Immortals slung their swords over their shoulders, across their backs.  There they were easily accessible, but out of their way for the time being.

Jack directed Teal’c to take the left flank and for Daniel and Adam to take his right.  They moved out, running from cover to cover in order to remain unseen by their enemy.

About a hundred yards from the building that Eban had directed Daniel to, they spotted people, mortals, approximately ten in number, stationed around the periphery of the building.  They were dressed similar to the members of SG-1.

Jack signaled to the others.  They circled around and approached their targets from behind.  SG-1 and Methos were able to surprise four of the commandos, but the others were alerted to their presence.  As a result, a fierce firefight broke out.

The commandos were good, but SG-1 was better.

“Daniel, go,” O’Neill, called over his radio.  “And get back here alive,” he added as an after thought.

Daniel, taking his cue from the commanding officer of SG-1, took off for the open warehouse.  He could feel Eban’s presence inside.  He just wished he had a better idea of how Sam was faring.  He swore that if one hair was out of place, he’d make sure Eban paid for it, possibly in some horrible and gruesome manner.  He may not be the same person that existed over two thousand years ago, but he could easily remember how to exact revenge through torture.

“Eban!” Daniel yelled, looking all around the vacant building.  With a moment of concentration, he pinpointed Eban’s exact location.  The other Immortal was on the second floor, in the north section of the building.

Cautiously he stole up the stairs, his sword and gun ready for a possible attack.

The second level had an open floor plan, broken up by the occasional crumbling support column.  Sam, Daniel saw, was at the far end, facing him.  She looked relatively okay, despite the nasty bruise across her left cheek and a split lip.  She was gesturing wildly, indicating that some one was approaching him from behind.

Daniel, already aware that Eban was coming from behind, spun and met his attack with his own sword.  He then lashed out, catching Eban with a nasty side kick that caused him to stagger, breaking off the attack.  He also released his control over his Quickening signature, letting the power flow from him.

That moment gave Daniel the opportunity to toggle his radio, informing the others that Sam had been found.

“No interference!” Eban snarled, though he was momentarily taken back by the sudden surge of Quickening that he felt; he had felt nothing while Daniel approached the building just moments before.

Daniel said nothing to him as he holstered the gun that he carried in his other hand.

Jack, Teal’c, and Methos rushed up the stairs and quickly took in the image of Daniel slowly circling the other Immortal.

“Get Sam and get out of here Jack,” Daniel ordered and suddenly attacked Eban.

Jack and Teal’c rushed over to Sam, quickly untied her, then hustling her out of the building, away from the fight between the Immortals, while Methos covered their retreat. When Jack saw Sam’s injuries, he swore that if Daniel couldn’t finish the job, he’d take the guy’s head himself, rules be damned.

The two Immortals clashed, their swords sparking.  The sound of metal on metal was grating and jarring.  This was not a novice’s fight, but between two skilled and seasoned warriors.

They slashed at each other, neither gaining an advantage.  When Daniel pressed his attack, Eban retreated then countered the move with his own that Daniel countered.

The fight took them across the floor.  The entire area was their battle ground.  They used the columns and scattered debris in their fight.

Daniel moved with grace and speed, not letting his opponent force him into any desperate moves.  When called for, he would retreat a few feet, setting himself up in a better position.  He also not above resorting to the occasional jab or cross to help throw off his opponent, coupling with several brutal kicks.

Daniel, able to breath now, threw a roundhouse kick at Eban, knocking him to the floor, on his knees, and without his sword.

“It ends here,” Daniel snarled and let his sword fly, severing Eban’s head from his body.

A blue-gray mist poured out of the dead Immortal’s body and rolled across the floor.  Next tongues of lightning shot out of the body, searching for a new vessel.

It found Daniel, the energy coursed through him, as violent as ever.  For the first time in several centuries, he actually enjoyed the experience of receiving another Immortal’s Quickening.  For him it announced survival, that he was indeed the victor that day.  The energies filled him, wrapping around his soul, stroking his mind and senses, before punching a hole through his very being.  He screamed, in both pleasure and pain.  It filled him, setting every cell and nerve ending on fire.  Through his mind, came flashes of Eban’s life that covered over five hundred years.  He saw the twisted mess that had become Eban’s mind after the death of his family in Spain.  The warped outlook, that lead to his never ending quest for revenge became known to Daniel.  In the brief time, though it seemed like eternity to Daniel, Daniel knew Eban ben Ranen like no one had ever known him before.

The lightening touched everything around Daniel, causing beams and support columns to dangerously crack, no longer able to support the weight of the structure.  The floor beneath Daniel’s body momentarily sagged before it gave out completely.  It crashed down onto the ground level; Daniel rode the debris down with the twisted metal and concrete.  To make matters worse, part of the roof and a good chunk of rest of the structure decided to collapse on top of him.

Jack, Teal’c, Sam, and Methos were outside of the building, when it crashed down, sparing them the horror that Daniel was now trapped in.

“Daniel!” Sam screamed.

“Danny!” Jack yelled, hoping against hope that his friend was okay.

The four of them, once the Quickening storm had ceased, picked their way through the mess, Methos guiding them.  He could sense the Immortal underneath the rubble.

Working together, Sam, Jack, and Methos cleared off the metal and the smaller chunks of concrete, leaving the larger pieces for Teal’c to take care of.  Methos could not help but notice how strong the man was.

They found Daniel’s body, impaled by rebar and his left leg broken in several places by a slab of concrete laying on it.  His head, they were happy to note, was still attached to his body.  The mangled (due to the building collapsing), headless body of Eban ben Ranen lay not too far away from Daniel, along with Daniel’s favorite sword.

“Oh shit,” Jack swore, assessing the damage.  He could hear Sam retching not too far away.

“Get the concrete off him, and then we’ll worry about the rest,” Methos said.  “He’ll be okay.”

Using broken pieces of wood, the men managed to leverage the hunk of rock off Daniel, while Sam pulled him free.  She did her best to ignore the mess that was his chest and stomach.  The rebar tore further into his flesh.

Methos looked Daniel over critically and made a quick decision.  “Pick him up and get him on solid ground.  Sam, get his sword,” he directed the others.

Daniel’s lifeless body was brought out of the rubble and placed on the ground by Jack and Teal’c.  They watched the other Immortal quickly straighten the leg, aligning the bones so the leg would heal properly.  He figured Daniel would heal quicker if everything was in its right place.

“Jack, I need you to hold him down, so we can get some leverage, while Murray and I pull out the remaining rods.  Once we’re done, get clear.  He took a powerful Quickening.  He’ll heal quickly but he may be not entirely in control of himself when he wakes up,” Methos ordered.

The others nodded and made quick work of the gruesome task.  Once the rods were out of his body, Jack jumped clear and watched in fascination as Daniel’s Quickening healed his broken body.

Daniel gave a gasping breath and his body arched in a spasm as he came back among the living.

“Holy fucking hell!” Daniel half yelled, lashing out.  He tended to have a bad reaction coming back to life.

“Danny?” Jack called concern in his eyes.

Daniel looked over at Jack, for a moment, unclear who the man was.  He wondered if the human, the weak mortal was a friend or an enemy.  I don’t have friends, he reminded himself.  I don’t need anyone.  Friends make you weak.  His old personality, the bloodthirsty one, was rearing its ugly head once again.

He could smell the meaty, coppery tang of blood.  Everything around him had been destroyed.  Just like the old days, he remembered, grinning savagely.

Springing suddenly, he went for Jack, the one that happened to be the closest.  Unfortunately for him, fortunately for Jack, Methos stepped between the friends and brutally shoved his own knife, a Soviet-made NR-40, into Daniel’s chest, piercing his heart, killing his instantly.

“Told you,” Adam shrugged.  “You,” he said, looking at Teal’c.  “Grab him and leave the knife in him.  We need to get going and the last thing any of us need is a royally pissed off Immortal right now.  We get him somewhere else and let him calm down there.”

Adam then looked at the dead bodies of Eban and his accomplices.  “What are we going to do with them?” he asked.

Jack’s solution was a pretty good one.  They quickly gathered up the bodies and dumped them in a pile, with Eban’s on top.  They could not afford, as either members of SGC or Immortals (in Methos’ and Daniel’s cases), to have attention drawn to what had happened.

“You never saw this,” Jack told Methos, who just looked at the mortal with confusion.  Jack took out his Zat and fired upon the bodies three times, disintegrating them.

“Why do I have a feeling that you four don’t work in Deep Space Telemetry,” Methos said.

The members of SG-1 just looked at each other and grinned.

In the distance they heard sirens approaching fast.  Obviously someone had detected the building’s collapse and light show.  The four of them with Teal’c carrying the lifeless form of Daniel, beat a hasty retreat, piling into Jack’s truck and taking off, placing as much distance between themselves and the warehouse.  Teal’c had tossed Daniel’s body into the back of the truck while Jack hastily covered him up with an old tarp.  The last thing they needed was for someone to see his dead body and call the cops on them.

They made their way back to Daniel’s home.  Adam had hoped that by finding himself in a more familiar and peaceful place, Daniel would be more reasonable and less violent.

Jack tossed Sam his copy of the keys to Daniel’s house with orders to go open up the garage.  He did not want to risk having one of Daniel’s nosy neighbors see the details of their activities.

Once the truck was inside the garage and the door was down, they brought his body inside the main part of the house and dumped him on the couch.

Adam ordered them all back a pace or ten before he pulled the knife out of Daniel’s chest.

A few tense moments passed as the familiar blue lightening raced along the wound, healing it.

Suddenly Daniel let out a gasp, announcing his arrival back to the world of the living. Luckily his memories snapped back into their proper places, allowing him to recognize his best friends.

“Sam okay?” Daniel asked, flopping back down onto the couch.  He was exhausted from his ordeal, yet energized at the same time.

“Yeah, thanks to you,” Sam said, stepping closer to her friend.

“That’s good,” Daniel said, closing his eyes briefly to give thanks to whatever god was out there.

After that, Methos took his leave, but not before taking a hard look at his old friend.  He saw signs in the Immortal that he did not like.  However, he didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to mention his suspicions before he was able to find out more and get all of the facts.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~

Two days later, all of SG-1 was back on base.  They had spent time at Sam’s place helping her to clean it up and make necessary repairs.  Daniel and Sam also had a long talk, discussing what had all transpired from the time they had discovered Daniel’s Immortality to Sam’s kidnapping.  They did not tell the others what had occurred, but they did reassure Jack and Teal’c that things were okay.

Jack also had a little talk with Adam.  He tried to be intimidating, to bully the Immortal into silence.  The only problem with that plan was that Death could not be easily intimidated.  They had come to an understanding though.  Adam agreed to ‘forget’ seeing several bodies dematerialize due to some alien-like ray gun.  In return, Jack agreed to take care of his bar tab for the next three months; idiot.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 24

By the end of July, SG-1 had managed to procure two weeks of leave time.  They had been ordered to take their vacation time, least it disappear forever.  They had also been ordered to stay away from SGC.  No lab time, no studying artifacts, no annoying the General.

As a team, they decided to take a trip together for the first week.  After that, they would go their own ways and spend the remaining week as they saw fit.

Their plan was to go up to South Dakota and Wyoming for a few days or so.  None of them had been there before and figured it would be something to see.  They had made reservations at Custer State Park campgrounds, where they would stay for the majority of the time.

Since none of them had any desire to sleep on the ground, Daniel had borrowed his neighbor’s pop-up camper (Daniel had helped the man’s son through a torturous year of high school Spanish).  It was small, lightweight, and had enough room for the four of them; it would be easy to pull behind his Rodeo.

The campground that they would be staying at held something for everyone.  There was a stream and lake near-by so Jack could get some fishing in.  It was also centrally located to a majority of the sites in the area.

Well before dawn, Daniel drove over to Jack’s place to collect Jack and Teal’c.  They loaded their gear into the back of the vehicle and left fairly quickly.  Sam, the last one to be picked up was waiting for them on her front porch, surrounded by two suitcases and a smaller overnight bag, not to mention her pillow, purse, and sleeping bag.

“Oh, for crying out loud!” Jack exclaimed when he saw Sam’s stuff.  Daniel and Teal’c both nodded numbly at Jack’s sentiment.

“You never know what you’ll need,” Sam said, dragging one of the bags down to the driveway.

“You don’t take this much stuff when we go off world Sam,” Daniel said, picking up her other suitcase, surprised at how heavy it was.  “What the hell do you have in this thing, rocks?”

“It’s my industrial strength hairdryer, and I can’t live without it!” Sam yelled.

Jack, who got her Spaceballs reference, laughed and pitched into help load the Major’s belongings.

Soon enough they were on the road.

The plan was to drive north through Denver to Cheyenne on I-25 and on up to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming.  The trip would last approximately seven hours and they would arrive, hopefully, by noon at their destination.

Daniel quit driving by the time they reached Cheyenne and turned the wheel over to Jack.  The others were asleep in the back, oblivious to the world around them.  Daniel could not understand that.  This land was beautiful, if in a desolate, empty sort of way.

Jack, tired of watching the empty scenery, decided that Daniel would have to entertain him for the remainder of the drive.

“So Danny, what’s new with you?” Jack began, grinning at this friend.

Daniel smiled.  “Not much.  Saw this show from the eighties the other day, must have totally missed it, because I had never seen it before.  It was about this guy who didn’t like guns and could fix anything.  In the episode I saw, this guy stopped a nuclear power plant from melting down with a Swiss Army Knife and duct tape.  And you know, he looked sort of like,” Daniel rambled, but was cut off by Jack before he could complete his thought.

“Don’t say it!” Jack said, shaking a raised finger in Daniel’s direction, scowling.

Daniel laughed out loud.  Apparently Jack had heard this one before.  “Really, not much is going on with me,” he said easily, sitting back in his seat.

“What about on the Immortal front?” Jack asked, unsure on how to approach the subject.  Once the mess with Eban had been taken care of, Daniel had been pretty close-mouthed about it.  Jack had figured out awhile ago that Daniel was dealing with some feelings of guilt of involving everyone in his problems, especially Sam.  He felt that it would be for the best if Daniel talked about it, but he couldn’t think of a way to actually get the closed-mouthed archeologist to open up.

“Things are quiet.  Quiet is okay,” Daniel replied.

“Did you, um, bring your sword?” Jack asked, eyeing his friend.

“Eyes on the road Jack!” Daniel ordered, seeing that they were now drifting into the other lane.

“Sorry,” Jack grumbled and reverted back into his lane.

“And to answer your question, yes, I brought my sword.  It’s in the back.  Is that okay Dad?” Daniel said in false sing-song voice.

"I was just wondering,” Jack said.  “Can’t a person be concerned about his friend?”

“Jack, do you really think that after over five thousand years, I would forget something as important as my sword?”

“Daniel, you’d forget your head if it weren’t attached,” Jack replied.

“Only when I’m studying something,” Daniel protested.

“You’re nuts!  You know that?” Jack said, waving his hands around for emphasis.

“Probably,” Daniel admitted.

“You need help,” Jack shook his head, smiling at his friend.

“You wouldn’t be the first person to think so.”

“So, I was wondering, when did you first come to America?” Jack asked fishing for further stories about his best friend’s past.

Daniel sighed.  He had a feeling that a good part of this trip would result in his friends looking for stories from his past.  There were some things that he wanted to keep private.  Also, he preferred to live in the present, not in the past, unlike some Immortals he had run across in his life.

“If I tell you a story, will you promise to not ask me anything about my past for the rest of the week?  I want to be on vacation, in the here and now.  I don’t want to relive the past the whole time,” Daniel said, feeling slightly grumpy.  It had been awhile since he’d had a cup of coffee.

“Cross my heart,” Jack said, crossing the right side of his chest.

“Your heart is on the left side of your body Jack,” Daniel said sarcastically.

“Oops,” Jack said and crossed the other side of his chest with his index finger.

“Better,” Daniel said, snippy.  “I came to the American Colonies in the end of the seventeenth century.  It was still a wild and fascinating place back then.  Towns of European settlers were far and few in between.  So much of the land was still a part of the wilderness.  The settlements did not hold much in interest for me.  The New England area was still caught up in the Witch trials.  Needless to say, I did not want to hang around there.”

“Why not?” Jack asked.  He also noted that Sam and Teal’c had woken up and were listening to Daniel.

“Well, let’s see Jack,” Daniel said sarcastically.  “I’m an Immortal and an unrepentant pagan.  Which of those descriptions would land me in trouble with some ignorant village Elder?”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.  I left the Boston area as quickly as possible and went south into what is now upstate New York.  Apparently, I trespassed on the lands of the Onondaga tribe, one of the five Iroquois nations.  I was captured for they thought I was a colonist out to destroy their way of life.  After a long and painful time, they believed me when I said that I meant no harm.”

“What did it take for you to convince them of that?” Sam asked from the back seat.

Daniel smiled.  “Well, after getting the crap knocked out of me several times by several people all at once and a sit down with the tribal chiefs, I was able to convince them that I wasn’t a typical white person of the day.  I also explained that I had left the white settlements to escape the Trials that were going on.”

“They beat you?” Jack asked in disbelief.

“No.  I got the shit kicked out of me while running a traditional gauntlet they devised for tribal enemies.  The word beating is too gentle of a word.”

“But you know how to fight.  You’re trained,” Jack said, perplexed.  He knew that Daniel could fight and was very good at it.

“Sure, I could have gone on a rampage, killing everyone that got in my way, but what would that have served.  Plus I knew that I would survive.  I did put up a pretty good token defense, so that way they wouldn’t think I was a weakling.”

“What occurred next DanielJackson?” Teal’c asked.

“After some understandable mistrust, they allowed me to stay.  It was a great period in my life.  I was an outsider, but I was allowed to be a part of the community.  I learned the language and customs.  I also served as a go-between for the Onondagaona people, the Haudenosaunee (the leaders of the League), the colonists, and the British.”

“So you were like something out of a James Fennimore Cooper novel,” Sam said.

“Yes, but not really.  I always was aware that I was not an Onondaga and was still an outsider, no matter what.  I did take on a wife, her name was Orenda.  She was a widow with two sons from her first husband.  I raised the boys as if they were my own.  Orenda was beautiful, smart, resourceful, and a whole lot of other things,” Daniel smiled, thing back to his wife of long ago.

“Did she and the others find out about you?” Jack asked.

Daniel nodded.  “I told her and the tribal chief.  The others saw that I was different, that I wasn’t aging.  They accepted my differences, with the help of the chief, and I stayed with the tribe until my wife died in the early 1720’s.”

“What became of your sons?” Teal’c inquired.

“One son died in when he was nineteen.  The other grew up tall and strong, a warrior and a peacemaker,” Daniel said, his voice full of pride.  “He took a wife, had many children, and eventually was nominated by the matriarchs as a chief.”

“What did you do while you were with the Onondaga people?” Sam asked.  “Wasn’t the French and Indian War around that time?”

“Not the French and Indian War.  That was the last war in a series of four wars that were collectively known in America as the French and Indian Wars.  The wars had different names in Europe as they were extensions of Continental wars.  I fought, with the Iroquois, in King William’s War and Queen Anne’s War.  I also aided in a few attacks on the colonists.”

“You attacked colonists?” Jack said, incredulous.

“They attacked us,” Daniel said, as if that explained everything.  “Plus, a few of those attacks were tests to see if I was loyal to the tribe and League.”

“But,” Jack began but Daniel cut him off.

“Jack, the colonists were not always the helpless, innocent people that you read about in grade school textbooks.  You know this.  They stole the land, ruined crops, killed Indians, and deliberately infected people with sickness, such as smallpox.  The Indians had no resistance against European diseases.”

“Where did you go after you left the Iroquois?” Jack asked after mulling over what Daniel had said.

“Traveled around the colonies, met a few interesting people, taught Greek and Latin studies for a little bit at William and Mary College.  Eventually I left, just before the Revolution.  I went back to Egypt and visited a few other places.  I came back to the United States just before the Civil War, fought with the Union Army, for I could not stand slavery.  I’d been a slave before, myself, and I hated to see others stuck like that.  I’ve been bouncing back and forth between the U.S. and the Mid-east, among other things, ever since.”

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~

Soon, much to Daniel’s relief, Devil’s Tower could be seen looming on the horizon.  It was a stark contrast to the clear-blue sky.  Its yellowish form was the largest thing in the vicinity.

They got closer and they could see that it was not a lump of rock, but a series of columns of rock fused together by time, heat, and pressure.  They could also see that the landmark’s color changed depended upon the angle that it was observed from and how the sun’s rays light it up; the colors ranged from yellow, to orange, to gray.  They also noticed how huge the thing was.

They came through the national park’s main entrance.  Jack paid the fee and drove on through.  They passed prairie dog towns, which Sam pretty much gushed over how cute the creatures were.  Jack calmly read out loud the warning from the posted signs that warned visitors to not attempt to pet the rodents.  The last thing he wanted was one of his teammates getting some god awful disease from cute rodents.  Once past the prairie dogs, Jack wound his way through the park, always going up, following the line of other tourists.

They finally came to a halt in a large parking lot filled with cars from all over the continental U.S. and Canada.  They climbed out of the car, stretching their muscles.  Daniel went around to the back, popped open the rear and pulled four water bottles out of the cooler.  It was noon and they could easily feel the intense heat.

The team followed the signs that pointed to a trail that ran around the entire base of the monument. The minute that they stepped past the sign that warned visitors to not disturb the ribbons that were tied to surrounding bushes, Daniel felt a sublet change in the land.

Jack, who noticed Daniel suddenly relax for no apparent reason, asked his friend what had just happened.

“We’re on Holy Ground,” he quietly explained.

“Huh?” Jack said.

Daniel sighed.  “You read the damn sign about not feeding the over-grown rats, but you didn’t you read the sign back there?” he asked, and then noticed a piece of cloth in Jack’s hand.  “Obviously not.  Go back to where you found that and retie it.  Now!”

“Why?”

“Devil’s Tower is considered sacred by many Native American people.  You just stole a prayer flag.  Go return it before bad karma catches up to us.  Please,” Daniel said, shaking his head.

Jack took off and headed back to where he picked up the scrap of cloth.  Bad karma indeed.

Sam and Teal’c, who had a bandana wrapped around his head to hide the gold symbol of Apophis on his forehead, asked what had happened.  Daniel quickly explained Jack’s totally un-PC move.  Both of them shook their heads.

Once Jack came bounding back, they set off on the hike around the base of the former volcano.  They paused near the beginning of the trail to climb over the massive boulders and smaller rocks to climb higher upon the monument.

They walked on the trail, pausing to look straight up to the top of Devil’s Tower, spying potential nut cases climbing up the sides of the rock face, over eight hundred feet up.  Also, with the aid of Jack’s binoculars, they were also able to identify portions of the ladder that helped take the first people to the top of the monument and bald eagles that nested at the top.  Daniel, who had never liked heights, felt slightly dizzy at the mere thought of trying to go to the top.

They continued their trek around the monument.  They looked out, away from the Tower at the river valley below them.  It was truly beautiful.  They even spied a small herd of deer grazing in an old, partially burnt forest.

They did not talk much; nobody felt much need to converse.  It was pretty hot, easily over one hundred degrees, robbing them of much desire to chat.  Instead they absorbed the beauty of their surroundings.  They did pause at one point and had a group picture taken with their back to the base of the Tower.

Once they had completed the trek, they tried to cool off in the small museum/gift shop that was run by park volunteers.  Unfortunately, the air conditioner was on the fritz and it was overly crowded; they were forced to retreat back outside and sit underneath a tree, praying for a cool breeze to come their way.

As they were sitting in the shade, relaxing, a tour group was sitting near-by listening to a Park Ranger explain the geography and geology history of the area.  They sat quietly, listening in onto the lecture.  It was actually fascinating; even Jack was held captive by the man’s explanation of Devil’s Tower.

As the group was getting up to leave, a teen, caught Daniel’s attention.  He was tall, blond with brilliant green eyes, and a charming smile.  He was with his parents and several siblings, with whom he did not share any similar features.

While this was not striking or unusual, the faint buzz that originated from the boy was.  A pre-Immortal, Daniel observed with a slightly sad smile.  There was always something sad, to Daniel, when he encountered a young one.  They were so innocent of what was to come and he was powerless to do anything about it, not even able to warn the person, for that was against ‘tradition.’

The kid, somehow noticing Daniel, gave him a small, half-hearted smile, conveying that he would rather be anywhere than here, before being prodded on by his mother.  Daniel wondered if he would ever see him again.  Probably not, he decided.  Young ones these days don’t make it very far after their first death.

“Hey,” Jack nudged his friend.  “You’re getting that far away look again.  Stop it,” Jack ordered.  The last thing he wanted to deal with, especially now, here in public, was a spaced out, potentially violent Daniel.

Daniel shook himself and grinned.  “Sorry Jack.  I won’t freak out on you, I promise.”

“That’s so reassuring,” Jack muttered.  “What’s next on our agenda?”

Sam looked up from the map she was consulting.  “We need to be heading east on I-90, then head south through Rapid City.  It should take us just over an hour to reach the campground.”

Jack consulted his watch.  “Okay people, let’s head out,” he ordered.  You could take the man out of the military, but you could not take the military out of the man.

They stood up and took one last look at the ancient core of a volcano.  It was truly a beautiful sight.  Even though they knew that they would see it again, on their way back to Colorado, they wanted to drink in the sight once more.

Eventually, they were pulled out of their revere and piled back into Daniel’s vehicle, grateful for the air conditioning that came to life once the car was started.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 25

They drove east, past nothing.  There was a lot of emptiness.  The highlight of their drive out of Wyoming, into South Dakota, was seeing a herd of antelope grazing.  This spawned a god-awful rendition of Home on the Range, sung by Jack, much to everyone’s horror and misery.

It was close to dinner time when they pulled into Custer State Park campground.  Already they could smell the smoke from several campfires.  They checked in, paid their fees, and quickly found their site.

Jack divided up their tasks.  He and Daniel would get the pop-up set up while Sam and Teal’c would be in charge of getting the logs for their campfire. It was seven dollars at the main gate for an armful of firewood.  He figured, smugly, that Teal’c would be more than able to carry enough for several days.

He was right.  When Sam and Teal’c walked up to the entrance, the manager paled slightly.  Sam smiled brightly and proceeded to help load Teal’c’s arms with logs.  Once they were done, they had made a nice dent in the pile.  It was always nice to have a nice strong Jaffa with you.

They came back to their site and found Jack and Daniel struggling with the camper.  They had raised the roof, but were now struggling to pull out the sides.  Neither of them were having much luck.  Eventually, Sam and Teal’c took pity on their friends and helped them finish setting up their home away from home, but not before they took a picture of their antics.

Dinner was good.  Between Daniel and Jack, with Daniel doing most of the work, a delicious dinner was cooked.  Grilled chicken, baked potatoes, corn, and rolls (store bought) was a nice change from the MREs that they normally ate when off-world.

After dinner, they sat around the fire, enjoying the night air and the fact that there was no need for establishing a watch or a perimeter around their camp site.  They heard and saw others walking around, families enjoying the evening.  No one was out to kill them (hopefully), sacrifice them to false gods, or whatever else some galactic nut case wanted to do to them.

Eventually, they all turned in, ready to for some sight-seeing (or fishing) the next day.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~

The next day, Jack got up very early and hit the small river, which promised to hold an abundance of fish, just asking to be caught.  Two hours later, Jack had not caught a thing.  This prompted the others to silently wonder whether or not Jack was the world’s worst fisherman.

While Daniel was waiting for the others to finish up in the shower house, he sat outside at one of the near-by picnic tables.  As he was sitting there, he felt a faint, yet unmistakable, buzzing sensation at the base of his skull.  He looked around and saw it was the same kid that he had noticed the previous day at Devil’s Tower.

Daniel dropped his head onto the table and proceeded to hit his head repeatedly on the flat, wooden surface.

“Danny-boy!  What in the hell is wrong with you?” Jack asked as he and Teal’c came out of the shower house.

Daniel straightened up and looked over at his friends.  “Oh nothing,” he lied so not convincingly.  “Everything is just fu-freaking dandy,” he added, adjusting his vocabulary, knowing that there were younger children following behind the young pre-Immortal.

Jack and Teal’c followed Daniel’s gaze.  All they saw was the herd of children following the blond teenager.

“I don’t get it,” Jack said finally, squinting in the bright morning light.  All he saw were kids.

“The teenager, Jack,” Daniel muttered silently cursing the coincidence that the pre-Immortal was once again near-by.

“What about the youth troubles you DanielJackson?” Teal’c inquired.

“The kid,” Daniel said, as if that explained everything.  Suddenly, realizing that his friends had no idea what he was talking about, elaborated for their benefit.  “The teen.  He’s a pre-Immortal.”

“How can you tell?  Does he know?” Jack asked.

“Pre-Immortals give off a faint buzzing sensation.  It’s just like the feeling I get when I sense another Immortal near me, but only fainter.  And no, he does not know.  I hope its not getting close to his time.  He can only be what, seventeen, at the most.  That’s way too young.”

“Why is seventeen not a desirable age for an Immortal?” Teal’c asked.

“Imagine the difficulties a person would face if they were stuck looking like a kid.  Even when they did turn twenty-one, they couldn’t buy beer, get a decent job, or rent an apartment.  They would be a perpetual high school senior,” Daniel said.

“No beer?  That’s a fate worse than death,” Jack proclaimed, then got serious.  “Why would you think that it would be his time to, um, die for the first time?”

“Many times, before they die, a pre-Immortal unconsciously seeks out the person that will be their teacher.  It did not happen like that for Siler, our meeting was a chance occurrence.  He probably would have found someone else to be his protector and teacher.  However, some of the new Immortals I have had as students have come to me the traditional way.  I’ve now run into the kid twice.  I hope it’s not the case for this kid.  I can’t handle a student right now.  Adam is supposed to be my student and I don’t want to blow his cover by taking on another.”

“Why would his cover be blown?  It’s just another student,” Jack asked.

Traditionally, a teacher only takes on one student at a time.  I could do it, but it would draw more attention than I would like and I don’t want to lie to Abbott in the process.  If he were to find out, it would probably ruin the agreement we have about him being my Watcher.”

“Well, snap out of it.  It’s probably just a weird, freaky coincidence that you two have run into each other.  Let it go.  Here comes Sam and we have a long day of sight seeing ahead of us,” Jack advised.

Daniel sighed and pulled himself to his feet.

Sam came out of the women’s shower house, wearing a blue tank top, which matched her eyes perfectly, khaki shorts, and flip flops.

Daniel could not help but notice Jack noticing how good she looked right then.  Yeah, he had noticed a long time ago that Sam was hot, but it did not evoke the same reaction in him as it did with Jack.  Daniel wondered if the two would ever be able to move beyond the regulations and protocols and get together.  It made sense for them to be together, natural even, but things always got in the way.

“Hey guys, ready to go?” she called out.

“Yeah, load ’em up people.  We’ve got Crazy Horse, Mount Rushmore, and Jewel Cave on the list for today,” Jack called out to his friends and teammates.

They went back to their site, grabbed what they needed and quickly departed.

Approximately an hour later, Daniel felt the urge to slam his head into the steering wheel, repeatedly.  “Can you please tell me, Jack, where in the hell are we?  And don’t give me any of that this is the scenic route crap,” Daniel ground out, trying to maintain a civil tongue.

“You think I don’t know where we are.  Do ya?” Jack demanded.  “I got the map, I know where we are.”

Sam leaned forward and looked over Jack’s shoulder, hoping to get a glimpse at the map he held in his hand.  She grimaced.  “Sir.  Jack,” she said ever so politely.

“Yes Sam?”

“Please do me a favor and take a good look at the top of the page.  What is the name of the state we are supposed to be in?”

"South Dakota,” Jack said scornfully.  “What?  You think I would do something as stupid as look at the wrong state?”

Daniel spared a glance at the map book, while Teal’c also leaned forward to see what Sam saw.

Daniel swerved to the road side, grateful that no other cars were near by and slammed on the breaks.  “Jack, for some unknown, stupid reason, you’ve been looking at North Dakota.  How in the hell can you confuse North Dakota for South Dakota?  You're an officer in the Air Force for Pete's sake!  Does your black ops skills not include the ability to read a map?” Daniel’s voice was taking on a shrieking tone, civility out the window.

“D’oh!” was Jack’s eloquent response.

Sam reached over her commanding officer’s shoulder and snagged Rand McNally’s road atlas from him and promptly took over the job as navigator.

Teal’c shook his head and sat back, reassured now that they would eventually reach their destination.

With the crisis adverted (namely Daniel killing Jack), they reached Mount Rushmore within an hour’s time.

They wound around a tree covered mountain, never able to catch a glimpse of the world-famous monument until the reached the top.  The drive itself was pretty.  The lush trees framed the road on either side, with occasional breaks due to rock spires or a beautiful lake.

Once they had reached the top, they were able to see the one quarter profile of Washington.  That in itself was breath taking.  His image was frozen in white stone, huge and majestic.  The details were spectacular and bold.

After the last turn, they were able to see all four presidents.  It was amazing, simply amazing.  Despite having traveled across the galaxy and back, this visage on planet Earth was one of the most gorgeous sites they had ever seen.

They paid their entrance fee and drove into the underground parking lot.  Soon they joined the throng of people that had traveled from all over the northern two-thirds of North America.  They walked down the avenue of state flags, past the gift shop, and on to the trail that winded around the base of the monument.

“Truly, the Tau’ri is most impressive in their creativity,” Teal’c said.  “Who are these people that have been carved into stone?”

While they walked, Daniel gave a condensed (well, condensed for him) history of presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt.

Jack and Sam, taking advantage of Daniel’s and Teal’c insular conversation, strolled ahead of them.

“So,” Jack began, unsure of what he really wanted to say out loud.

“So,” Sam agreed, also unsure of what she wanted to actually verbalize.

“Yeah.  So,” Jack agreed.  “How do you like the scenery so far?  Lots of trees.”  Scenery was a safe topic.

“This is gorgeous.  Tons of trees,” she agreed, enthusiastic.

“So, you’re glad you came?  Not regretting not going out to see your brother?” Jack pressed.

“Nah.  They’re coming out to Colorado next month, before the kids have to go back to school.  I’ll see them then,” she responded.

They walked along in silence.

“Awkward.  Huh?” Jack commented when the silence finally got to him.

“Yeah.”

Jack stopped and turned around on the raided path they were traveling on.  “Daniel! Murray!” he called out.  “Come on!”

They trooped around the monument, checked out the time for the night lighting show and eventually departed.  The pamphlet they were given at the park entrance promised that the night show was something that they did not want to miss.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~

Their next stop was Crazy Horse Monument.

They arrived at the park and paid their entrance fee.  They could easily see the face and partial arm of Crazy Horse from the road; the monument was huge!  At the visitor’s center, which was some distance from the mountain, the details were easily discernable.

They admired the black and gold front gate and the statue of fighting stallions out front.  They walked through the exhibits dedicated to American Indians and the family that was carving Crazy Horse.  They each took a piece of blasted rock from Crazy Horse out of the box of rocks set aside for the tourists.  Teal’c found the stories of Crazy Horse and other Sioux warriors fascinating.  Jack and Sam wandered off to look at some of the art that was for sale, while Teal’c immersed himself in the personal histories of fallen warriors from the past.  Daniel, true to form, was drawn to the artifacts.

Daniel carefully studied each figure, drawing, and objects that was a part of the displayed collection.  One artifact, a small piece of sandstone, probably no larger than 8” x 10”, with curious marking carved into its flat face, caught his attention.

“I see that you’re interested in item 391A,” a smooth voice said from behind him; the accent somewhat reminded Daniel of Jack’s slight Minnesotan accent.

Daniel turned and found himself staring into pale green eyes that were set off by a healthy-looking golden summer tan and wide, open, friendly facial features.  The person, a woman, probably in her mid to late twenties, with light brown hair, highlighted naturally by the sun’s rays, smiled at him.

“Uh, yeah.  This is a really interesting piece.  It doesn’t seem to really belong here.  The carvings seem off, like they’re really not Native American, at least not from North America.”  Mostly because they’re a derivative of an obscure Goa’uld dialect, he finished to himself.

“You’re right.  It was donated to the Crazy Horse Memorial by a Sioux family that claimed it had been in their family for many generations.  They didn’t know what it was and we don’t know either, but the tests we’ve been able to do on the fading paint indicate that it is pretty old.  The curator stuck it out here because it is pretty interesting.  Do you know anything about it?” she asked her tone friendly.

“What would make you think I know anything about it?” Daniel asked, also smiling at the petite woman.

“You were staring at it pretty hard and your head was slightly cocked to the side.  Like you were studying it,” she explained.

“Well,” Daniel said, searching for the right words.  “Like you said, it’s pretty interesting.  It looks more Mayan than Sioux or Ute,” he supplied.

“How do you know?  Are you in the field?” she asked, implying archeology.

Daniel shrugged.  “I was, but got out.  Grants are so hard to come by these days,” he said.

“Don’t I know it! God, I swear I filled out over a dozen applications.  I’m lucky I got this paying job this summer,” she said, smiling at Daniel.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” he asked, curious about her.

“Amy Price.  I’m finishing up my doctorate at Boston.  All is left is my thesis and hopefully by December I’ll be Dr. Amy Price.  And you?” she inquired.

“Daniel.  It’s nice to meet you Amy,” he said, offering her is hand, deliberately neglecting to give his last name.  Since she was in the field of archeology, it was possible that he had heard of him and he did not want to deal with the repercussions.  Plus, she was cute and he did not want to scare her off by her thinking he was crazy.

“Well, Daniel,” she said, noticing that he did not offer his last name.

“Hey Danny!” Jack called out, wandering over to his friend.  “You ready to go?  Murray and Sam are getting antsy.  Hello,” he said, smiling blandly at Amy.

“Amy, Jack.  Jack, Amy,” Daniel said, smiling tightly at his friend.

“Whatcha doing?” Jack asked, returning Daniel’s strained smile.

“Daniel here was looking at artifact 391A.  I noticed his interest and stopped to chat.  He’s the first visitor to notice how different this piece is from all of our collection.”

“That’s our Danny,” Jack said flippantly and also leaned in for a closer look at the ‘rock’ in question.

“Oh,” was all Jack had to say.  He immediately recognized, though not understanding, the writing.

“Yeah,” Daniel agreed.

“Daniel,” Jack said, his voice laced with meaning.

“Jack,” Daniel replied in kind.

“Daniel.”

“Jack.”

Amy looked between the men with fascination and confusion; the typical look most people gave them when they did this sort of thing.  “I have to get going, lots to do.  It was nice to meet you both,” she said, giving them both a winning smile and walked away.

“Nice gal Danny-boy,” Jack observed.  “You got her name and everything. You dog!”

“She’s getting her doctorate in Archeology.  Boston University, no less,” he said, his arms crossed, hugging his body.

“Recruit potential,” Jack said, raising his eyebrows, implying a whole lot of things that Daniel would rather not think about at that moment.

Daniel shrugged and turned back to the tablet that had drawn Amy to him.  “Weird that this would be here.”

“What does it say?  Anything important?”

“I’d need a couple of reference books out of my office to tell you that,” Daniel said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Did you get a picture of it, since we can’t obviously take it from its case?” Jack asked.

Daniel grinned and held up a digital camera.  “Yep. I‘m going to email the picture to Robert Grayson when we get back to the camp site,” he said.  Camp sites had changed a lot over the years.  The one they were staying at had cable and internet hook-ups, along with the normal water and electricity hook-ups.  “I know, I’m on vacation, but I don’t want to put it off.  After this, no more work.”

“Good,” Jack said, glad to see his friend be able to take a break from work.  “Let’s get going.  Sam wants to see Jewel Cave.  She and Teal’c are also talking about going to see Mt. Rushmore tonight, so we’ll need plenty of time to get dinner and make it there to see the full ceremony.”

Daniel smiled and followed his best friend, to join up with the other people he considered to be his family.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 26

They had lunch at the restaurant at Crazy Horse, sat and relaxed for a short time before heading back to the car.  The next place on their itinerary for the day was Jewel Cave.           

They spent the next couple of hours as part of a tour, exploring the tunnels and chasms of Jewel Cave.  According to their guide, Jewel Cave is the fourth largest cave system in the world and was discovered in 1900.  At the cave, they were able to see jewel toned formations of calcite crystals, flowstones, stalactites, stalagmites, columns, needles, and popcorn formations.

It was interesting to everyone, but Teal'c despite all of his stoicism, did not feel comfortable in such a confined area.  The passageways were not tight or low, but he did not like the idea of possibly being trapped underground under tons of earth if a cave-in would occur, as their tour guide joked about.  Being a Jaffa, however, he remained a visage of calm.  His only out ward sign of distress was a slightly cocked eyebrow, showing his displeasure with this adventure.

"I do not understand why the Tau'ri feels it necessary to crawl around in holes in the ground," Teal'c grumbled as they left the visitor's center.

"T, you work and live under a mountain," Jack said.  "What is the difference here?"

"Cheyenne Mountain is a large modern facility and I do not worry about a possible fault shift causing the ceiling to collapse."

"I suppose I shouldn't tell him that there is a minor fault line that runs underneath the mountain," Sam muttered to Daniel, causing him to laugh but forced to cover it with a cough.

"Teal'c, you worry about the strangest things," Jack muttered.

They finished the tour and wandered out of the visitor's center, blinking in the late afternoon light.  Daniel looked at his watch and saw that it was 1652.  Crap!  When did I start thinking in military time, he wondered to himself.

"So are we going back to Mt. Rushmore tonight?" Sam was asking

The guys looked at each other and shrugged.  It seemed like a good plan at the time.  They went back to the campsite where Teal'c and Jack made dinner, while Sam and Daniel emailed the SGC his photo of the tablet from the Crazy Horse museum, using her laptop which she had smuggled past Jack.

Dinner was relaxing; each member of SG-1 was quiet, lost in their own private thoughts.  They were content in the silence, each person processing what they had seen that day.

After dinner, once the table had been cleared and all utensils had been washed, Jack brought out a football and cajoled the others into a game.  It was Jack and Daniel vs. Sam and Teal'c.  The boundaries were vaguely defined and Jack vaguely explained the rules, leaving much open for debate and question.

Jack and Daniel won the coin toss, gaining first possession.  Jack, taking on the roll of quarterback, tossed the ball to Daniel, who caught it perfectly, but was abruptly tackled by Sam.  She grabbed him around the waist and managed to bring him down.  This went on for two more attempts to make it down the clearing.  On the third attempt, Teal'c intercepted the ball, snatching it from the air before Daniel was able to catch it.  The Jaffa laughed and took off down the field.  Jack and Daniel looked at each other and then took off after the giant man.  They were able to catch him (due to the fact that Teal'c was not even trying to evade them).  Both men decided, the hell with it, and threw themselves on Teal'c's back.  Teal'c, not in the least bit phased by the added weight, tossed the ball laterally to Sam, who then took off down the field, scoring a touchdown for her team.

Teal'c was able to shake off the Tau'ri.  Jack was able to land softly, avoiding any serious injuries.  Daniel, however, landed awkwardly on his right arm, snapping the bones in half.

"Shit," Daniel yelped, holding his arm carefully close to his body.  He could see the bones poking through the skin.  He quickly pushed the bones back into place, helping the healing process along.

"Danny?"  Jack called, hurrying over to his friend.

"Daniel?" Sam called out, while Teal'c echoed his concern.

"Its no big deal guys," he replied, staring down at the offending limb.

Jack reached his friend and also looked down at the arm, in time to see the limb mend itself with the help of the blue lightning.  "Holy crap," Jack breathed.  He had almost forgotten about Daniel's inhuman healing abilities.

"Did you forget or something?' Daniel asked a hint of bitterness to his voice, as he was pulled to his feet by Jack.

Jack looked kind of disturbed for a moment before his expression smoothed over and he replied.  "Yeah.  Kind of, sort of.  I mean I know that you're different, but it's still weird to see your body mend itself like that.  Shit, you really don't scar do you?"

"Nope," Daniel said smugly.  "If I did, after everything we've been though, I'd be a mass of scars.  How many times have I been shot, stabbed, broken a limb, or tortured?" 

There was a tone in his voice, a look in Daniel's eyes that made the others a bit uneasy.  It wasn't anything specific, but there was something there that screamed danger.

"That's depressing," Jack noted with a forced laugh.

"Yeah, okay then," Daniel said and walked away, his arms wrapped across his torso.  He needed some quiet time.  He didn't feel right.  It felt as something was trying to escape him, creating mental pressure.  Daniel was afraid, but was too scared to let the others know that something was not right.  All he knew right then, was that he needed a moment of space to collect his self and shove the more hateful side of his personality back into its deep, black hole where it belonged.

~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~

The group reassembled in time for them to return to Mount Rushmore for the nighttime lighting ceremony.

They arrived in time to find seats at the outdoor amphitheater.  They sat on the upper tier where they had a spectacular view of the monument and the surrounding area.  They quietly watched the crowds of people milling about, waiting for the show to start.

A park official came out onto the stage and started his speech about freedom and those that have sacrificed everything in order to preserve that freedom.  At one point the invited all military, active, reserve, and retired to join him on the stage. 

Jack and Sam looked at each other and both shook their heads minutely.  Next, they both turned and looked at Daniel, who was giving them both annoyed looks.

"He said all retired military personnel," Jack whispered, smiling at his friend.  "I'm sure that there's room up there for another WWII vet up there."

"Daniel Jackson is not military and never will be military," Daniel hissed back.

"But you're a vet, no matter what your name is," Sam offered.

"Yes, a vet of how many different wars?  How about I go down there and tell them of my times in uniform?  I can tell them about my time with Alexander and then they can lock me up.  Or better yet, why don't you two go down there?  Hello, you both served in the Gulf War and take Teal'c down there with you.  I am sure that his time in service with Apophis and with the Tau'ri count," Daniel said brightly.

"You're an ass," Jack said.

"You're a pain in the ass," Daniel replied.

"Shhh," an over-weight, middle-aged woman behind them attempted to shush them.  Jack turned around and glared at the person, who next looked visibly cowed.  While Jack's glare had no effect on Daniel, it still worked wonders on others.

Instead, the group sat there, applauding with the others in appreciation for what the vets on stage had given for the country.

Once that little bit had passed, they sat back and enjoyed the show.  Despite the fact that they traveled across the galaxy and back, had seen wonders that would stagger the mind, seeing Mount Rushmore light up was breath taking.  Sam had already mentioned that she wanted to come back again to see it again (the Ranger had mentioned that there was a different theme for each day of the week).

At the end of the presentation, they joined the crowd and exited the amphitheater, although they did not partake in the pushing and shoving.  For some reason people thought that they should be the first ones out of the parking garage.  SG-1 did not feel compelled to rush about as if their lives depended on it.  They experienced too much of that with the SGC, and they wanted a break from that insanity.

"So campers, good time had by all?" Jack asked as the foursome wound in and out of the milling vacationers.

"Indeed O'Neill.  I was most inspired," Teal'c calmly said.

"I hope we can come back for another presentation," Carter said, fairly bouncing with enthusiasm.

Jack stopped walking and stared at his second-in-command.  "Carter, no bouncing or we'll have to sedate you," he deadpanned.

Just then, Daniel's cell phone rang, earning him a dirty look from Jack.  Waving the man off, Daniel answered the infernal device.  "Hello?"

"Hey Bob, what's up?  Yeah, vacation is going good.  No massive tragedies or disasters knock on wood.  What can I do for you?  Uh huh.  Okay.  We'll see what we can do, but I can't make any promises.  It is a museum after all.  Okay, take care and I will call you tomorrow."  Daniel finished the call and hung up.

"That was Grayson.  He wants to know if we can get anymore pictures of the tablet I found yesterday, preferably the other side," he explained, ignoring Jack glaring at him.

"That shouldn't be a big deal.  We can stop by tomorrow and get what you need then email it to the SGC.  It shouldn't take more than a few minutes out of our schedule," Sam said, trying to ease Jack's irked self.

"We are on vacation people.  Need I say more?" Jack grumbled as they made their way back to the car.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 27

The next day they stopped off at the Crazy Horse Monument. They had to pay the entrance fee again, even though they were not there to look around like the other tourists. Daniel quickly took care of the fee and was then allowed to enter the park.

"Daniel, you didn't have to pay for us," Sam protested when Daniel told her to put her money away. "Come on! You're not made out of money."

Daniel smiled and shook his head. "No, Daniel Jackson is not, but Danil the Immortal has more than a few bank accounts available to him. Plus, the government pays me a very decent salary these days. It's really not a big deal."

"You mean to say that when Catherine Langford found you, you were living that way on purpose?" Jack asked, incredulously.

"What do you mean, Sir?" Sam asked.

Jack glared at her for the use of a more formal title. "Daniel, when he first joined the Stargate program had just been kicked out of his apartment and was living out of his suitcase. He couldn't even afford a decent meal."

"At the time, it fit the personae of Daniel Jackson," Daniel said, shrugging. "If Catherine hadn't found me and brought me into the program, Daniel Jackson would have probably died and I would have established a new life. Being able to blend in and not attract attention is one of the many things that help an Immortal to survive, especially in this modern era. Hell, I probably would have gone back to Egypt. If Adam had been in my situation, he would have gone down to the Caribbean or somewhere and hid out there for a decade or two. You learn to disappear. I'm glad I didn't have to," Daniel quietly said, a faint smile on his lips. He would have missed out on an opportunity of a lifetime if he had gone with his back up plan. Not only would he have missed the chance at falling in complete and absolute love with Shar'ae, but he would not have had the opportunity to become friends with the other members of SG-1.

They pulled into the parking lot of the museum and found that a police car was parked outside. The members of SG-1 looked at each other, silently communicating their surprise at the coincidence of such an occurrence.

Jack shrugged and exited the vehicle as soon as Daniel put it into park. The rest of SG-1 soon followed, unconsciously falling into their pattern of behavior when they were off world, exploring a new, and potentially hostile, land: Jack had point, while Sam and Daniel took the right and left, respectively, flanks, and Teal'c watched their six.

They entered the building to find Amy, the doctoral student Daniel had met the other day, talking to a cop. She spied them from out of the corner of her eye, surprise on her face, and said something to the cop, who turned to look at the group. Amy stood there and glared at them.

The cop ambled over to them, stopping in front of Jack. He was of average height, middle age (mid-forties was Daniel's guess), balding, in pretty decent shape for someone his age, and a sharp eye for noticing details. He did not entirely fit the stereotype for a small-town cop.

"Hi there folks," he said, friendly enough, smiling. "I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions." It was not a question, but a politely phrased demand.

Jack, however was not about to be intimidated or ordered around by anyone, other than Hammond or the President himself. "It depends. What's going on?"

"There was a break-in here last night and it some stuff was taken," Officer Richards (according to his name tag) said.

"What would give you the idea that we would have anything to do with that? We're here on vacation," Jack said, glaring at the cop.

The cop went on, ignoring the icy tone in Jack's voice. "It seems that among the items taken, a tablet was taken that Miss Price said that your friend here mightily interested in. Pretty suspicious, if you ask me."

Jack bit back a retort that would have not been overly helpful at the moment. Luckily, Daniel chose that moment to step in, least Jack piss off the cop and get them in a whole lot of trouble that they did not need.

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about a tablet, made out of sandstone with odd carvings on it, about the size of a piece of paper?" Daniel asked.

"Actually yes. Someone broke into the museum last night as stole it along with a few other odds and ends. And now here you are. Would you care to tell me where you were last night and your name?" Richards asked a hard look in his eyes.

"My name is Dr. Daniel Jackson and my friends and I went to the Mount Rushmore show last night and afterwards we went back to our campsite at Custer State Park," Daniel said calmly.

"Medical?"

"No. I have PhDs in Archeology, Anthropology, and Philology. That would explain my interest in some of the artifacts displayed here in the museum, wouldn't it," he explained with a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

"So why are you back today? You've been here once. Why come back?" the cop persisted.

Daniel smiled, internally debating whether or not it would be a good idea to ask Jack and Teal'c to throttle the man, thus ending the questioning. "I came back to ask the staff here if I could get a closer look at the stolen item. I took a picture of it and emailed it to a colleague at work. My friend asked me if I could see if I could fully photograph the entire object," Daniel said, feeling that honesty would not be harmful.

"And who would that colleague be Dr. Jackson?" the cop asked.

At that point Jack stepped in, not wanting the situation to get out of hand. They hadn't stolen anything and the less the locals knew about them the better. "That would be classified Officer."

"And who would you be?"

"My name is Colonel Jack O'Neill, USAF, and I am Dr. Jackson's immediate supervisor. We did not steal anything. Now, since the reason for us coming here is no longer here, we'll be going," Jack said coldly, the tone in his voice letting all know that he was not one to be messed with. If that hadn't been enough, Teal'c stood there with his arms crossed, doing his Jaffa best at being intimidating.

It did work and they were ‘told' that they could go now. Daniel thanked the officer. He glanced over at Amy, his expression neutral and appraising. Amy, who had been unabashedly eavesdropping, appeared to be suspicious but quickly looked away.

Sam also turned away, silently, and followed Jack and Daniel out of the building. Teal'c gave a slight bow and also followed his friends out the door.

Once they were back in the car, they all turned to each other.

"What the hell?" Jack and Daniel said together. While Sam shook her head and Teal'c's eyebrow raised, posing a silent question of its own.

"Someone must have intercepted the email you sent to the SGC," Sam said, pulling out her cell phone. "Our email system must have somehow been compromised. We have to tell Hammond about this." She quickly punched 4 to speed dial the SGC (Jack, Teal'c, and Daniel were all on speed dial 1, 2, and 3 respectively).

It turned out that Hammond was unavailable at the moment, but Walter took her message and promised her that the general would call her as soon as he could.

"So kids, where to now? Do we keep with our original plans?" Jack asked as Daniel started the vehicle.

The others shrugged and agreed that it would be pointless to waste anymore of their vacation time on the missing tablet. They had planned on going to the mammoth fossil site, then on to the wild mustang sanctuary later that day and saw no reason to alter their plans.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 28

"If we were on Chulak O'Neill, I would be well with in my rights to commit Mal'sho'lak'ma upon you and all members of your family," Teal'c ground out, displeasure evident on his face.

Daniel, astride his horse turned around to look at Teal'c. The intimidating black man had a scowl on his face that seemed to deepen with each and every jostle from the horse that he was being carried by. Wisely, Daniel chose to not say anything, least Teal'c decides to perform ritualistic disembowelment upon him.

"Come on T - it's not that bad," Jack said as he brought his horse up along side of his friend. "You just need to relax a bit and let your hair down."

"I am relaxed O'Neill and I have no hair to let down. As you know I ritually shave my head everyday," Teal'c said in his calm and scary way.

"It's just an expression Teal'c. Seriously, you need to let yourself move naturally with the horse," Jack advised.

Despite the coaching, Teal'c could not be convinced that horseback riding was something to be enjoyed. Although the views were spectacular and the weather was most enjoyable, Teal'c occupied himself with thoughts on how best to lay out his Tau'ri friends in preparation for the ceremonial Mal'sho'lak'ma. He could not decide if it would be better to wrap their own entrails around their throats or to use each others in this manner.

Once they were done with their guided horseback adventure, they headed back to their camp site. Jack went off to do some fishing; Sam buried her nose in some trashy novel Janet had loaned to her a while back; Teal'c retreated to a more isolated area of the campground in order to perform Kel'no'reem; Daniel was left to prepare the night's meal.

He started the fire in the pit and let it burn down before tossing the steaks they had brought along with them on to the grill. For the rest of the dinner were salad (already made and stored in the bag it was bought in), potatoes, and the fruit cocktail that Teal'c enjoyed.

As he stood there, watching to make sure that the meat did not burn, he felt a faint, yet familiar buzzing sensation at the base of his skull. He looked up to see a streak, resembling a small, dark brown haired child zipping through SG-1's camp site, chased by the young pre-Immortal he had noticed earlier.

"Billy! Dang it! Would it kill you to slow down for a second?" the blond boy called out.

As the small child raced past Daniel, he stuck out an arm and snagged the kid, keeping him from running any further.

"I'm really sorry Sir. I didn't mean to let him bother you like this," the older kid said when he caught up to Daniel and the squirming Billy.

"It's no big deal," Daniel said easily, handing off the young boy to his older brother. "And please don't call me sir. It makes me feel old. I'm Daniel." Daniel offered his hand to the pre-Immortal.

The kid shook it, with a decent grip, neither too tight nor weak. "I'm Scott Waters and this is Billy, my obnoxious little brother."

"Let me go," Billy protested.

"Only if you go back to Mom and Dad," Scott said to his brother. "Promise?"

"I promise," little Billy said, and true to his word, Scott set his brother free. Together, he and Daniel watched the kid streak off into the direction he came from.

"So where are you and your family from?" Daniel asked, curious about the kid in front of him.

"We're from Indianapolis. What about you and your group? Where are you from?"

"We live in Colorado Springs," Daniel said.

"Really? So you live near the Air Force Academy," he said excitedly.

"Yeah. Why?" Daniel asked.

"After we're done here, we're headed down to Aurora, Colorado to visit our grandparents and Dad promised me that we'd head down to Colorado Springs for me to see the Academy. I've already started the application process and I am just waiting for my nomination to come through."

"Well, what a coincidence. I have just the person you need to talk to," he said calmly then turned towards the camper. "Sam," he yelled. "Get out here! I have someone you need to meet!"

From inside the camper, they could hear a heavy thud, as if someone had just fallen off a bench or bed.

Immediately after that, Samantha Carter flung open the door, a wild and annoyed look on her face. "What? Are we under attack or," she broke off as it clicked in that, no, they were not under attack and that they were in mixed company.

"Yes?" she said calmly.

Daniel smiled at her. "Sam, I want you to meet Scott Waters. Apparently he has an interest in the Air Force Academy." He then turned to face Scott. "Sam here graduated from the Academy. Another friend of ours, who is out fishing," Daniel made quote marks in the air with the word fishing, "enlisted, and then took the ROTC route later."

Daniel, once Sam and Scott started talking, stepped back from the conversation. Not only did he need to keep an eye on their dinner, he wanted to observe the young man, not in a perverted way, he absently explained to himself.

He had only faint memories of his childhood, nothing elaborate or concrete though. He remembered living in tents, helping to herd the tribe's livestock, and the occasional meeting of other tribes for celebrations and trade. He remembered the sitting around a fire and listening to the old people. He did not remember specifically what had been said, but knew that he had been fascinated by their tales of the past. It was hard sometimes knowing that he did not have complete access to those memories, that he could not recall what had happened on his tenth birthday or who had been his childhood best friend.

A part of him, he noted as he turned the steaks over and applied the marinade to the recently cooked side, was slightly jealous of young ones like Scott who knew outright what had happened in their past. They did not have to play guessing games as to what it had been like growing up. Hell, even Jack, Sam, and Teal'c knew where they had come from, he thought with a tinge of jealousy.

"Danny, dinner any time soon? I'm hungry enough to eat Thor's Lego food," Jack called out, carrying his fishing rod and tackle box in his hands, minus any fish.

"Yeah, just about ready actually. Jack, meet Scott Waters," Daniel said, alerting Jack to an outsider's presence.

"Oh, well, um, hey, how you doing Scott?" Jack said a friendly smile on his face. Mentally, he was hitting himself in the head for mentioning Thor.

"Hi, sir. I'm Scott," Scott said offering his hand.

"It's nice to meet you Scott. Daniel, where is Murray?"

"Murray is off doing his meditation thing. I would check that clearing that's beyond the shower house. There's a path that leads from the men's side all the way to the clearing," Daniel explained.

"I'll go get him," Sam said. "Scott it was nice to meet you. I hope we'll get a chance to talk again soon." She really liked the kid; he seemed smart and very inquisitive. Also, as she found out, he was really interested in the areas of chemistry and physics.

"Well, Sir, I need to get going. Mom probably has dinner ready by now. It was nice to meet all of you," Scott said nervously. He noticed Colonel O'Neill's intense scrutiny of him and it made him slightly uncomfortable. If he had been more observant, he would have noticed Daniel's even more intense gaze, though it was circumspect than Jack's obvious threat assessment look.

"Stop by again Scott," Jack said.

"Take care of your self Scott," Daniel added, smiling at the kid. "Don't let the rug rats run you down."

Scott scurried off, leaving Daniel and Jack to their own devices.

"Grab the plate would you Jack?" Daniel asked as he started to remove the steaks from the grill.

Jack held the plate while Daniel loaded the meat on to it. "So, you finally met the kid. What's your impression?"

Daniel shrugged. "Nice kid. Wants to join the Air Force and be a pilot, your kind of person actually."

"What about his status as an Immortal?"

"I don't know. It doesn't work that way. I know he has the potential to become an immortal, but I do not know for sure that he will. He could end up living to old age and just die as any other person would, but then again, he may not. I wasn't given the powers of clairvoyance and prediction, you know."

"Does Sam know about what you know?" Jack asked as they entered the camper

"I haven't told her. No reason to really," Daniel supplied.

What he did not say was that there was a voice in the back of his head urging him to kill the boy and then take his Quickening, thus eliminating one more opponent in the Game, making him closer to being the one. Daniel told the voice to shut up, but it did not go away entirely.

Shaking his head, pushing away the dark thoughts, Daniel took the salad and fruit out of the mini fridge and set the bowls on the table. He then took bottles of beer (and a bottle of apple juice for Teal'c) out of the cooler and set them around the table. Everything looked ready for the evening meal.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 29

That night, after everyone had fallen asleep, Daniel and the others were abruptly woken up by the sound of someone shuffling around their camp site.  Even though they were not in hostile territory, with the threat of Jaffa and Goa'uld raining down upon them, they were not able to shake their habitual light sleeping patterns.

Sam rolled soundlessly off her makeshift bed (the table and benches converted into a bed) allowing Daniel and Jack to slide off their bed.  Teal'c, having immediately come out of Kel'no'reem, joined his teammates crouched on the floor.

"What now?" Daniel asked.

"One of us needs to go out there, like we have to use the bathroom.  The rest of us will use that as a distraction and slip out of the camper and maybe able to catch who ever is messing with our site," Jack explained.

"Oh that's a great plan," Daniel said sarcastically.  "While we're at it, let's get out our decoder rings and synchronize our watches."

"You got a better plan Spacemonkey?" Jack threw back.  Jack took Daniel's silence to mean no.  "Since you got snippy with me Danny, you get to be the first one out."

Daniel swore in Farsi, questioning Jack's parentage and sexual habits.

"Stop your bitching Daniel and get going," Jack ordered.

Glaring in the dark, Daniel opened the door, stumbling slightly, making it look as if he was barely awake and in need of the bathroom.  He crossed the scrubby grass that was between him and the road, heading off to the camp's restrooms.

As he left the camper, Jack caught the door, not letting it slam shut.  He counted to ten and slowly eased the door open.  He held it open wide enough for him, Carter, and Teal'c to slip out.  They split up, Teal'c and Carter took the most direct route to the car (that was where the determined they heard the trespassers), while Jack circled around the camper, attempting to take the strangers by surprise if the others failed.

Within seconds, a struggle was heard with several yelps of surprise and pain.  Teal'c and Carter each had a hold of a struggling person as Jack came silently up behind a third figure.  He wrapped an arm around the person's throat in a LV&R hold.  With properly applied pressure by the upper and forearms on either side of the person's neck, the trespasser passed out.  Jack lowered her to the ground gently, checked her for any weapons, and then hit her on the back, causing a reflexive response that brought her out of the harmless slumber she had enjoyed.

He looked up to see that Carter and Teal'c had control of their prisoners as he heard another yelp and scuffle.  He shifted his gaze to the road side where he saw Daniel pushing another figure in front of him, herding him or her back to the camp site.

"Everything okay?" O'Neill asked his voice firm and gruff, least anyone mistakenly believed that he was going to be nice.  "Let's move into the camper and see what we got."

The four people, three males and a female, were roughly shoved into the camper and onto the floor below Teal'c bed.  It was crowded and uncomfortable, but none of SG-1's members were overly concerned about their prisoners' comfort.

"I will stand guard while you interrogate the prisoners O'Neill," Teal'c said and remained outside.

Carter busied herself by zipping up the middle windows and turning on the camper's air conditioning unit, giving the psychological effect of isolating their captives.

"Hello Amy.  Did you want something?" Daniel asked a cold tone in his voice.

"He held a knife to my throat!" one of the men gasped, shock clearly written on his face.

"You are lucky that's all I did," Daniel said, glaring at the guy.  "You're lucky I didn't slit it." There was a scary edge to his voice and words, as if madness wasn't too far away.

"So Amy, are you going to tell us what is going on or are we going have to get nasty?" Jack asked his voice also cold.  He barely held back a shiver when he saw the cold, calculating look on Daniel's face.  It reminded him that Daniel was not always a nice person, that there was an extremely scary side to his personality.

"Hey dude, we were just along for the ride, you know.  Amy said you guys took something and that she needed our help," one of the other men said, a boy really, barely out of his teens it seemed.

"Yeah, what he said," the other guys said, nodding and pointing accusingly at Amy.  Amy continued to scowl at the others for giving it up so quickly.  Jack mentally rolled his eyes at how easily these kids were to intimidate.  If they had been a part of the SGC, they would have died on their first mission, they were so weak.

Jack looked at Carter, his face devoid of all emotion.  "Take them outside and watch them with Murray.  Jackson and I need to have a conversation with Ms. Price."

Carter nodded and herded the others outside.  She had them sit at the picnic table, while Teal'c stood there, doing his Jaffa best at being intimidating; Apophis hadn't chosen him as his First Prime for his wittiness after all.  She really hoped the Colonel and Daniel would only resort to intimidating Amy and would avoid anything physical.

She knew only bits and pieces of Colonel O'Neill's past when he was in Special Ops and she knew that he could be a scary bastard when he wanted to be one. 

The unknown factor was Daniel.  He had been the voice of reason over the years she had known him, with only glimpses of being pissed off every so often, always the calm and understanding one.  This time, he looked cold and dangerous.  She hoped it was just an act, a front done for the sake of appearances.

Back inside of the camper, Jack and Daniel stood there, staring at Amy Price.  She did her best, looking equally pissed and defiant.  It took several long and drawn out minutes before she looked away slightly, unable to meet their gazes fully.  It wasn't much, but it did show a chink in her armor.

"We didn't take the tablet Amy.  This was really stupid on your part to try something like this," Daniel said, sounding like a disappointed teacher or parent instead of a homicidal maniac.

Jack looked at her coldly.  "Not to mention inept.  We heard you guys the minute you stepped on to our camp site.  So, do you want to explain yourself or should we just call the cops?  I'm sure that it wouldn't look good on your resume to have attempted burglary, harassment, and several other charges that we could convince the local prosecutor to throw in there," Jack said.

Amy snorted and looked away.  She mumbled something under her breath that neither Jack nor Daniel caught.

"Care to repeat yourself?" Jack said, narrowing his eyes.

"Like they'd do anything once they hear about Dr. Daniel Jackson's reputation. Everyone would know that you're a nut and the DA would never touch me," she said smugly.  "By the way Dr. Jackson, seen any aliens lately?"

Jack looked ready to explode at that point, so before Jack could go off, Daniel stepped in.

"What ever you may have read, or think you know, about my theories does not get you out of the fact that you and your friends have attempted to commit several crimes that could potentially lead to jail time, not to mention that I do know and am still on good terms with Professor Camilla Hughes in the archeology department at Boston University.  All it would take is one phone call and you're out of the program, forever.  I guarantee it will happen.  Now, I am sure that you would love to keep out of prison and finish your degree, so let's cut the crap.  Why would you think that we had anything to do with the theft at the museum?" Daniel's voice was strong, anger and venom lacing his words.  It was obvious to everyone that now was not the time to fuck with him.

Evidently his words broke through Amy's pride.  She started babbling about how it had made perfect sense to her at the time, thinking that he was the one behind the theft.  The thieves had taken the tablet, along with a couple of other pieces from the collection.  However, the other missing pieces were soon found in a corner in one of the other buildings within the museum complex.  The only item that was still missing was the odd tablet.  Amy had put two and two together and decided that it equaled five; it made sense to her, at the time, that Daniel had taken the tablet and had only come back to the museum to cover his tracks.  Overall, the reasoning and plot to her story, Jack decided, was something out of a Scooby Doo cartoon.

"Was there any security footage?" Jack asked, sounding tired, staring down at the foolish girl.

Amy nodded.  "Yes, but there was a power surge and the picture was whited out by a weird, bright light.  Soon after that, it was dark again and figures could be made out moving around.  Soon after that, the bright light appeared again and the burglars were gone."

Jack and Daniel shared a sour look.  It sounded like Asgard technology, but they seriously doubted that Thor or any of his pals would stoop low enough to steal from a museum.  It sounded more like the NID were up to something, rather than the Asgard.

Fan-freaking-tastic!

They spent a few more minutes questioning Amy, but she had little more to offer.  Finally, with a stern warning to quit playing Nancy Drew, least she bring the law down onto herself and ruin her dreams to earn her doctorate, she and her friends were released.  They made a hasty retreat, desperate to put as much distance between themselves and the scary foursome that occupied camp site N12.

"Jack," Daniel began, but was cut off by Jack.

"Save it Daniel.  We'll talk about it in the morning after we call this into Hammond.  There's not a whole lot we can do now," Jack responded, sounding tired.

Daniel, seeing the way Jack's jaw was set and how Sam was yawning wide enough to split her head in two, decided to drop it and try to get some sleep before the sun rose.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 30

The next day, Jack made a phone call to General Hammond, telling him about the sudden theft of the artifact and their suspicion that the NID was somehow involved.  Needless to say, the General was pissed and swore that he would try to find out what he could from his sources in Washington and at the Pentagon.  He also told Jack that SG-1 would not have to return to the mountain and could continue with their vacation.  In fact, he heartily recommended it, hoping that on the off chance, the NID would show their hand, leading to the return of the artifact and the downfall of the rogue government agency.

Jack snapped Daniel's phone shut and tossed it back at the archeologist.  He related what Hammond had told them.  While nobody looked disappointed at the idea of their vacation being allowed to continue, they all shared a look that said that they needed to be on a higher level of alert, weary of any further attempts to disrupt their plans, via kidnapping, torture, or general mayhem.

When they finally were able to rise, shower, and have some breakfast, it was close to ten o'clock.  As they sat down to eat they discussed what they wanted to do for the day.  After much debating and arguing, they finally agreed to drive over to Deadwood and check out what was going on over there.

They drove through the Black Hills, marveling at how beautiful the country-side was.  They were also surprised to note that several areas looked as if they had been torched.  The tall trees that covered the hills were blackened and charred.  When Daniel commented on it, Sam said that fires had swept through the area back when he had been on Abydos.

They drove into the town, noting several signs proclaiming Deadwood as the final resting place of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, along with several notable casinos and museums.

After a moment of debate, they decided to first go up to Mount Moriah cemetery to see the graves of some of Deadwood's more notorious citizens.

This did not take long for the group, especially Jack, found it to be depressing.  After they had viewed the graves of Calamity Jane and Wild Bill, Jack had passed a grave that held a young child that would have been about Charlie's age when he died.  Jack stopped became very silent and had a blank look on his face that to outsiders, it would have seemed as if nothing was wrong.  However, his team knew that the colonel was about to blow his top.   In order to avoid such an occurrence, they hastily retreated from the cemetery.

Once back in the car, Daniel checked to see how Jack was doing.  Jack glared at the Immortal, daring him to say anything.  Daniel, understanding that Jack was not in the mood to discuss his feelings, turned the topic to what they wanted to see next.

They then decided to visit Old Style Saloon #10, the site where Wild Bill Hickok died, while playing poker, holding in his hand aces and eights.  They took in the short, but cheesy show depicting Hickok's last minutes, then moved on to the casino that was attached to the salon.

None of them were seriously into gambling, but they all pulled up to a five dollar limit blackjack table.  They spent the next half hour sitting at the table, watching the cards and money come and go with rapid ease.  After their allotted thirty minutes that they had agreed to, they called it quits.  Much to their surprise all of SG-1 came away with more than they started out with.  Granted it was not a fortune, only a hundred to two hundred dollars each (Teal'c winning the most with his champion poker face), but it was more than they started out with.  They thanked the dealer and soon left the casino.

They then went to the restaurant: The Deadwood Social Club.  They each tried something different and opted to try a bite from each other's plates.  The highlight of the meal was Teal'c asking if the Roasted Hippie Chicken was indeed made from real hippies, clearly remembering the duo they encountered when they went back to 1969.  The waitress did not find it as funny as the human members of SG-1 did for some reason.

After lunch they agreed to go over to the Adams Museum, despite Jack's loud objections to being stuck in another museum.

"Danny!  Come on!  Do you not remember what happened the last time we went to a museum?" Jack complained loudly as they entered the smallish building that had once been a home of some affluent member of Deadwood society.

The museum was actually interesting.  It gave a glimpse into the lives of the settlers and miners that came to the region to make a fortune or escape their old lives back in the east.

Jack and Teal'c enjoyed the second floor display of weapons used in the Old West.  Teal'c was amazed that the Tau'ri was able to survive, despite the primitiveness of the weapons available.

Sam enjoyed the sections that were devoted to the women that lived in the area in the 1800's.  She was especially surprised to learn that Calamity Jane was not the pure soul of the west that many had thought she was.  Calamity Jane was a hard-drinking, brawling, woman and a sometime prostitute, among her many other occupations.

Daniel enjoyed looking at the photographs of past and present Deadwood.  He examined the pictures and stories of the fires that ran through the area when he was on Abydos.  It was odd to think that while he was off living his life on another planet, enjoying his life with Shar'ae, life was still going on as normal for everyone else on Earth.

However, there was one picture that caught his attention.  It was tucked in with a collection of photographs of miners that had descended upon the Black Hills, looking for gold.  Despite the graininess of the photograph and its obvious poor condition, there was no mistaking who the person was in the picture: Duncan Macleod of the clan Macleod.

"Did you find something else of galactic importance Danny-boy?" Jack asked, with Sam and Teal'c in tow.

"Nope," Daniel replied cheerfully.  "Just a really interesting picture," he said and tapped on the glass, indicating which photo he was referring to.

Jack leaned in for a closer look and only saw an image of three dirty, hardened men staring back out at him.  He did not get it.  "What's your point?"

"I know the middle guy," Daniel said.

"Is this person someone from your past DanielJackson?" Teal'c inquired, his voice lowered so as to not let others overhear their conversation.

"An old friend perhaps," Jack pressed, having a curious look on his face.

Daniel sighed and considered his options.  He then jerked his head in the direction of the front door.  He did not want any curious eavesdroppers to listen in on to his conversation.

Since they had already seen everything on all three levels, the foursome left the museum with little protest.  They went across the street to the small park that had picnic tables.

Sitting down at one of the tables, Daniel began his tale of how he had met the (younger) Highlander.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 31 

After they had finished with Deadwood, they had driven out to Sturgis, so Sam could go to the Broken Spoke Saloon and look at all of the bikes displayed on the walls of the establishment. While it was not time for the annual rally held there every year, there were a few bikers there and Sam spent time admiring their rides. Basically it had been her version of a Toys-R-Us for adults that were into motorcycles. They bought their t-shirts that proclaimed that they had visited Sturgis, loved motorcycles (even though Daniel did not, but was happy to fake the happiness for Sam’s sake) and were proud of that fact.

Later that night, they returned to Mt. Rushmore to see that night’s show, which was different from the previous’ night, was just as impressive.

The next day, SG-1 decided to break camp and drive out to the Badlands for a change of scenery. They felt that they had seen enough of the Black Hills.

They had taken I-90 straight out of the Black Hills, until Teal’c had seen a sign that mentioned Pine Ridge. The Wounded Knee Massacre had been mentioned prominently in the Crazy Horse museum and he wished to see the sight were this unfortunate event had occurred.

With the others agreeing, Daniel turned off I-90 and onto a back stretch of pavement that quickly turned into a dirt road that took them through the far west then south edge of the Pine Ridge Reservation and the back side of the South Dakota Badlands.

What they saw surprised everyone. While the land and scenery was beautiful (they even saw a gigantic herd of free roaming buffalo), they were amazed at how poor the area was. It was as if they had suddenly been thrust into a third-world nation. Large families were living in cramped, sometimes broken down mobile homes with little sign of electricity or normal modern conveniences.

“I was not aware that people of the Tau’ri were allowed to live without the basic convinces of your world,” Teal’c said.

Sam, Jack, and Daniel all exchanged uncomfortable glances.

“Pine Ridge is one of the poorest areas in the United States Teal’c,” Sam explained.

“But why hasn’t the government stepped in to help these people?” Teal’c persisted.

“They have Teal’c, but many times it isn’t the right kind of help or it isn’t enough. There’s a high level of unemployment, poor education, and a high rate of alcoholism,” Jack said, his voice troubled. He struggled as many Americans did, with the guilt of the plight of the American Indians. While he knew that he did not cause the troubles of them, nor was he responsible for the past atrocities, he still felt a measure of guilt for what had happened to the descendants of the original people of North America.

“It differs from reservation to reservation Teal’c. Not all are like Pine Ridge and not everything is bad about being here. There is a lot of pride among the Sioux and they are working to build a productive and responsive community. It’s not perfect, but there are good things here,” Daniel said, focusing on the road, trying to avoid the crater-sized potholes and trying to avoid flashing back to the past, when America had been drastically different; when Monroe’s Doctrine of the Manifest Destiny hadn’t existed.

They stopped in a couple of places to look at the scenery. At one point, they had unknowingly encountered a swarm of flying ants, until they re-entered the vehicle. Sam had looked down when she felt a crawling sensation on her arms and neck. What she saw on her and on the other members of SG-1, made her gasp out loud.

Everybody was covered in tiny, crawling, flying ants. Not only were they coated in the pests, but they filled the SUV.

“Jesus!” Jack yelled and started brushing the offending bugs off him and out the window.

Daniel, while not happy with what he saw, shook off his t-shirt and tried to shoo them out the window.

Teal’c however, did not react well. Cursing loudly, he slapped at the bugs. The Jaffa clearly remembered when he had been bitten by the strange bugs from PT3-591 and had almost been turned into one of them. He hated bugs because of that, and this situation was not helping him to move beyond that unfortunate event.

Daniel pulled off the road and everyone piled out of the car, brushing themselves and each other off.

Once they were convinced that they had gotten rid of their attackers and cleared the car of the bugs, they resumed their trek to Wounded Knee.

At the site, they pulled into a gravel parking lot near a rough looking, grey, round concrete building, with a flat, tar roof. Leading from the parking lot was a gravel road that went straight up a small hill and into a cemetery.

Stepping inside, they were confronted by a few display cases, clippings from newspapers and magazines, and examples of jewelry created by local artisans. While the stuff displayed was not overly remarkable, beyond the information discussed in the clippings, the walls were attention grabbing. Hand-pained pictures and slogans displayed many political and social messages, accusing the government of mistreatment, flagrant violations of human rights and treaties, and the destruction of the Sioux culture. Names like Dennis Banks and Russell Means jumped out, reminding people of what had happened when the plight of others and the concept of justice were criminally ignored.

Jack, Sam, and Teal’c all looked at Daniel, who shrugged and jerked his head towards the door, not wanting to say too much in front of the woman behind the desk, least he offend her.

“This building,” Daniel gestured towards the concrete structure, “is probably tied to AIM.”

“What’s AIM Daniel?” Sam asked a puzzled look on her face.

“American Indian Movement, Carter,” Jack explained, surprising everyone, except maybe Daniel who had never fully bought the dumb routine. “AIM was formed in response to the government’s continuing breaking of treaties and the mistreatment of the American Indians. They’re most remembered for the taking of Alcatraz in 1969, the FBI stand off here in 1973, and have helped to rebuild the cultural and spiritual pride within the nations.”

“Also, Leonard Peltier is another big name associated with AIM. He was present at the shootout at Jumping Bull Ranch where two FBI agents were shot to death. Because he was a high-placed leader of AIM at the sight, he was accused, along with two others, for their murder. The two co-defendants were tried but acquitted due to the lack of any real, credible evidence, beyond their presence at the ranch. Peltier fled to Canada because he knew that he would not get a fair trial. He was extradited and found guilty, despite the lack of evidence, false testimony, no witnesses. He’s been in jail for twenty-seven years now when he should have been released long ago, let alone not convicted,” Daniel also chimed in, slipping into his professor-lecture mode.

“You are very well informed,” a voice said from behind the group.

The foursome, while did not exactly jump, they were somewhat startled to have their conversation overheard. Also, they did hear the unvoiced continuation of the sentence: for a white person.

“Uh, yeah,” Daniel fumbled. “I read a lot.” He did not want to tell the woman that he was a doctor in archeology, given the recent tensions between the Parks System and the Ogallala Nation over the excavation of dinosaur bones near-by. He quietly prayed to whatever real god was out there, that the other members of his team would not say anything about it.

“Dr. Jackson here used to teach arch…,” Sam started to say, obviously not hearing Daniel’s silent prayer, but was cut off before she could say anything more.

“I used to teach history back in Chicago,” he lied, giving the others looks that clearly said ‘shut the hell up.’

The woman gave them all a silent appraising look. “It’s nice to know, I guess, that others know our history. Have you been up to the cemetery?”

Sam shook her head no.

“When you do, at the top, you’ll be able to get a good look of where and how Wounded Knee occurred. Just please don’t take any pictures of the cemetery itself.” With that, the woman, while neither hostile nor overly friendly, went back into the relatively cool building.

With that, the four trekked up the hill and went to see the graveyard. Surprising, it held the nearly three hundred that died in the 1890 massacre in such a small area that was probably smaller than General Hammond’s office, but also the more recently departed. There were flowers, tokens of affection and remembrance, and flags of all kinds that decorated the individual graves that surrounded the mass grave that was marked by a simple stone monument. Nobody spoke, no comments were made. It seemed unnecessary and inappropriate at the same time.

Maybe a half an hour later, they were back in their car and headed north to the Badlands National Park and campsite, leaving the Pine Ridge Reservation behind them.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

Later that night, after a hearty meal, the members of SG-1 sat around the fire pit.

"Bruce Lee to Grace Kelly," Sam said, confident that the Colonel would not be able to do it. It was easy to see the smug look upon her face in the fight given off by the fire.

"Please, that has a value of three," Jack said dismissively. "It's way too easy."

"You're just saying that because you don't know," Sam shot back, grinning madly.

Jack snorted derisively. "Grace Kelly, the goddess of the silver screen, was in Bridges at Toko-Ri with Mickey Rooney. Mickey Rooney was in Maximum Force with John Saxon. John Saxon was in Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee. Really Sam, I would have expected something harder from you."

Sam sat there for a minute and fumed slightly, but without malice. "Fine sir, I mean Jack," she quickly amended seeing the look on his face. "It's your turn."

"Fine, Old Man, you've got this," Jack announced. "You get Jim Varney to Grace Kelly."

"Who the hell is Jim Varney?" Daniel asked a perplexed look on his face.

"Am I allowed to give him a small hint?" Jack asked Sam and Teal'c.

"If you want," Sam said. "I personally wouldn't, but it is up to you."

"I agree, for I do not know who this Jim Varney person is," Teal'c added.

Jack sighed. "You truly lack a sense of culture, the both of you," he said, looking at both Daniel and Teal'c. "Jim Varney is Ernest, like in Ernest Goes to Camp."

"Oh gods, I remember seeing those movies at the rental place, but I never looked at them. They looked so stupid," Daniel muttered. He took a deep breath and tried his best. "Grace Kelly was in Rear Window with James Stewart. James Stewart was in Night Passage with Audie Murphy. Audie Murphy was in War is Hell with, oh crap, I don't know," Daniel finally admitted, knowing that he was lost.

Jack immediately crowed in joy. He had finally stumped the old man. "You started out good with Rear Window, but you should have linked Grace Kelly with Frank Cady. Frank was then in Hearts of the West with Andy Griffith. Andy Griffith was then in Daddy and Them with Jim Varney. It only had a value of three. I would have thought you would have done better than that. Night Passage was a good move though."

"Crap," Daniel muttered. He knew that he had lost.

"So what are you going to do with yourselves next week?" Sam asked, laughing lightly at the look of defeat on her friend's face and the look of triumph on the Colonel's. "Brush up on your movie knowledge?"

"That's funny," Daniel said, smiling at Sam. "I promised Adam that I would help him with his cover as a new, well you know."

"And how will you do that? How does one pretend that they are, you know," Jack asked, careful to not say the word, ‘immortal,' out loud, least the wrong person overheard their conversation. The camp sites were awfully close together and the place was filled nearly to the maximum.

Daniel grinned. "By being obvious to the Watchers," he replied, but continued when he saw the blank looks on his friends' faces. "We'll continue to meet for me to supposedly teach him how to fight, when we'll actually be drinking beer and watching the History Channel. It's amazing how you can turn History's Mysteries into a drinking game."

"What about now, since you're out of town, and when we're off on a job," Sam asked, using a careful euphemism for when they were off world.

"Will not the Watchers be suspicious that you've left your student alone?" Teal'c inquired.

"Yeah, but Siler is covering for me in that department. I think Abbott suspects that we're all full of shit, but I doubt he'll say anything," he explained.

"This whole double life thing that you guys have going for yourselves astounds me. I don't see how you can keep your lives coherently separate. You know who you are, but then add that to who you are supposed to be and who you are pretending to be, and somehow you have a life that is beyond maddening," Jack expounded, gesturing wildly with his hands to emphasize what he was saying.

"Yeah, I agree. But then you have to add in, at least to mine and Siler's and even Abbott's lives, what we do for a living. Obviously Adam doesn't believe that I stare at a computer screen all day. I am sure that someone, somewhere, is confused as to why an archeologist and linguist like me, works for the Air Force. Despite that, I have to keep up the façade that I'm just a regular civilian consultant for the military. It's another complication to an already complicated life," Daniel said.

"Do you ever feel like it's too much sometimes?" Sam asked, sitting forward, her elbows resting on her knees and her hands cradling her face.

"Lately, yeah, just a bit," Daniel conceded. "In the past, there were times it wasn't good to be around me, which you guys know about one of those periods. Every so often, according to the records and from those concerned, maybe every five hundred to a thousand years, we have some sort of break down. For a few, it can be pretty traumatic, some it just requires some down time from the Game, maybe some needed rest on Holy Ground will work."

"What about you DanielJackson?" Teal'c asked, unafraid to ask the question that was clearly preying on Jack's and Sam's minds.

Daniel took a deep breath. "I don't know. The last time things got loopy," he used finger quote marks to emphasize the word loopy, "was about eight hundred years in the past. All I needed then was some down time at the monastery. Of course my friends decided to hang me and then set me on fire, so it didn't end too pleasantly, but it was enough to give me some rest from things."

"Could things get loopy again?" Jack asked.

"Probably," Daniel said, trying to sound like it wasn't that big of a deal, that whatever would happen, would happen in the far and distant future.

However, he was being dishonest with everyone. Deep down, he knew that something was on the horizon. While he was not psychic, nor did he possess a special empathic ability, he felt that things could get easily loopy for him and everyone around him. The feeling had been building ever since he had taken that Quickening on Holy Ground. He could not describe it as being a concrete sensation; all he could say was that something was not right within him. While he knew that whatever was going on inside his head was not a Dark Quickening, for he had seen that happen before (though, thankfully not to him), it was something just as bad. And it scared him.

The Immortal Spacemonkey

Chapter 32

Once the fire had died down, they all turned in for bed. Around three in the morning, Daniel's bladder decided that he needed to take a piss. He did his best to not step on Jack, as he was sleeping on the folded out bed below his, but unfortunately kicked him in the ribs.

"Goddamn it!" Jack swore, grabbing onto the offending leg.

"Sorry! My bad," an apologetic Daniel whispered.

"Great," Jack grumbled and Daniel continued to step over him. "Now I gotta pee. Wait up Danny."

Daniel muttered something about how he didn't need an escort to the bathroom and that he was a grown man after-all, all of which was ignored by Jack.

Together they walked down the dusty road to the shower house. It was dark, with very little light and what little light that was available was insufficient. All in all, it was a perfect place for an ambush.

Once they were finished with their business, they headed back to the camper. Jack noted the darkness, the RVs lining the road, and the stillness that was all around them. There was something that bothered him, something that made him on edge. The experience of countless combat situations had honed his skill at detecting unexpected threats.

Daniel also felt uneasy. His long life had taught him to be wary and cautious. Something, he knew, was not right.

Their feelings of uneasy were soon confirmed by dual popping sounds and sudden burning feelings in their necks. Jack instinctively reached up and felt the injured area and came away with a small dart in his hand. He saw, in the dark, that Daniel had a similar shaped object sticking out of his neck.

"Crap," Jack said just before he collapsed on the ground, soon followed by Daniel. Just before blackness took him over, he glimpsed several figures dressed in dark combat gear, wearing what looked like night-vision goggles.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

When Jack came back to the world of the conscious and living, he found himself tied to a hard, steel, government slatted chair, with a gag in his mouth. He was facing Daniel, who was hanging, by rope hand cuffs, from an exposed pipe in the ceiling. The room was empty except them, three cliché-driven bad guys, and a small table that held several interesting and alarming devices.

Jack had no idea where they were, nor did he know what time of day it was. The windows had the shades drawn and the curtains pulled shut. There were no identifiable stickers or labels to tell him where they were. The place looked like cheap government construction from the 1940s or 50s, but he wasn't one hundred percent for sure. Unfortunately he had been securely tied and could not do anything to remedy his situation or help his friend.

Daniel, fully awake and aware of what was going, struggled against the ropes that held his hands above his head. His feet had also been securely together and were barely grazing the floor, causing his arms and wrists to support much of his weight. His arms were also immobilized by a pair of standard-issue hand cuffs, the metal edges biting into his wrists.

The one thing about Daniel that worried Jack was the cold and calculating look in his friend's eyes. They were hard and angry looking, reminding Jack of the times when Daniel had temporarily reverted back to his older persona.

The three guys, with their faces covered, wearing all black to remove any identifiable markers, said nothing, but stood there watching Jack and Daniel struggle against their bonds. Finally one, obviously the leader, grew tired of watching the two men attempt to free themselves, nodded at one man who picked up a familiar looking device from the table while another picked up a matching object. The leader stood back and let the others begin their work.

After two rounds of the pain sticks, causing Daniel's mouth and eyes to glow an eerie golden yellow, the leader spoke up. "Translate the tablet and we'll stop with the pain sticks." He picked up the stolen tablet off the near by tablet and held it to Daniel.

Daniel spit, clearing his throat which felt raw and damaged after having the sticks used on him. He knew that whatever damage had been done would heal, but a deeper fear would be that the men, most likely NID agents, would find out about him, about Immortals.

"I don't know what it says," he ground out.

"Bull shit," the other man spat, trying to be menacing, obviously not understanding that this was Daniel Jackson, one of the two people in the room that loved to piss off the Goa'uld more than anything. The NID man would have to work on his technique if he wanted to intimidate someone that had been tortured by false gods on several occasions. Also, if Daniel wanted to honest, he had faced scarier people throughout his long life.

"I can't tell you what it says, because I don't know," Daniel shot back.

"You know. You'll tell us eventually. It must be pretty important if you emailed a picture of it back to the SGC," was the man's rationality.

Daniel had to endure several more rounds of the pain sticks. After that, he received several more beatings, all the while, Jack watched, unable to help his friend.

Eventually, the thugs realized that Daniel was not going to break. They had not seen such resistance before from someone. They foolishly assumed that Dr. Jackson was some geek pressed upon the SGC, definitely not a real soldier, just someone who pretended he was one.

Their next move was to turn the pain sticks on Jack. While they knew that they would not get any useful information from the colonel, they felt that by torturing O'Neill, Jackson would break.

They were right (or so they believed). After two rounds of the pain stick, Daniel yelled at the men to stop, that he would translate the tablet for him. Jack yelled at Daniel to not do it, but received a vicious backhand for his protests.

"Don't do it Daniel. Please," Jack ground out, spitting blood. Truthfully, he didn't give a damn about the tablet or the translation. For all he cared, the NID could have the thing with a translation wrapped in paper with a big fluffy ribbon on it. What worried him more than anything was the homicidal look in Daniel's eyes. A stranger wouldn't notice the change in the archeologist's blue eyes; Jack could clearly see that Daniel Jackson was not in charge anymore. Danil, the ancient, blood-thirsty immortal was the one in charge.

"Let me down and give me something to write with," Danil said, sounding defeated. He held his head low, letting everyone think that that he knew he was beaten. "You've won. I'll translate it for you," he promised.

Thugs one and two looked at their boss who nodded in consent. The thugs worked it so that Danil remained cuffed, but off the pipe that held him upright for so long. They also released his feet, untying them so he could stand on his own. Danil rolled his aching shoulders, trying to work some of the kinks out. He was then marched over to a chair and given a pencil and paper.

"Get started," the agent in charge roughly said.

Danil looked at the pencil in his hand and smiled. The fucking idiots did not know about him and foolishly gave him a weapon.

Danil, moving faster than expected, drove the pencil into the hand of one of the agents. The man screamed and clutched at the injured limb. He then delivered a vicious elbow to the guy's throat, cutting off the screams.

For the next few minutes, Danil was nothing but a blur, putting centuries of fight training, coupled with the training he had received while with the SGC, to good use. He didn't say a word, didn't bother to waste the effort on the pathetic humans, but let, as the cliché went, his actions speak for him.

By the time he had finished, there were two dead bodies on the floor. Danil soon dumped another body next to the others, having just snapped the neck of the last NID agent. He wasn't even breathing hard.

Daniel quickly rifled through the pockets of the dead guys, locating the key to the cuffs and made quick haste of them. Once free of the metal bracelets, he then picked up a knife that had been in one of the agent's possession before his untimely death and turned towards Jack, who could not help but flinch. It was a scary sight to behold: Daniel Jackson, formerly peaceful archeologist and explorer coming at him with a slightly crazed look on his face while holding a knife.

Danil, grinning, made quick work of Jack's bonds. Once Jack was free, and there was feeling in his limbs, he searched the dead men for a cell phone. Much to his delight, he found one. He punched in Carter's number and was rewarded with a chirping ring, indicating that he wasn't out of coverage.

Carter, she said into the phone after the first ring.

"It's me," Jack replied. He then proceeded to tell Sam that they were fine, but had no clue as to where they were. He avoided mentioning anything about the three dead guys on the floor and the homicidal look in Daniel's eyes.

He went outside of the building to take a look around and saw that they were on a military post; most-likely Ellsworth, located just outside of Rapid City. The place they were in seemed to be a more deserted area where the buildings looked old and should be on a demolition list.

Jack then relayed that information to Sam and Teal'c who promised to find them and for him and Daniel to hold on until they got there.

Jack snapped the cell phone shut and turned to his friend. "Daniel? Jack called, being cautious. He didn't want to make any sudden moves or startle the immortal, least he go off on him.

"Yes Jack," was Danil's easy reply. There was a predatory look in his eyes.

"Carter and Teal'c will be here soon. Are you okay?"

Danil smiled. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be, despite being tortured for information that I don't have and having to watch you experience it too?"

"Well, there's that," Jack conceded. "What about killing those guys? Was that wise?"

Danil laughed hollowly and shrugged. Daniel was definitely not at home. "Does it matter? If I had let them live there would have been a chance that they would have come back for me or one of you guys. I couldn't let that happen."

With that he turned his back on his friend and went back into the abandoned house.

Jack, curious as to what he was about, followed him back inside.

Danil was standing by the desk with the tablet in his hands. He was going over it carefully, a long finger delicately tracing the carvings.

"Do you know what it says?" Jack asked who was busying himself by going through the dead men's belongings, hoping to find out who they were. There was a conspicuous lack of evidence and identification, marking them as NID.

Danil shrugged and tossed the tablet towards him. "Something about treasure, but I really don't care. When is Sam going to get here? I need a shower bad. Do you want to go out tonight? I really could use a hot meal that I haven't cooked."

"Um, what about," Jack asked, gesturing at the deceased.

"So? They're not going anywhere," was his callous reply.

"You just killed three men. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Danil waved his hands in some sort of vague gesture. "I've killed plenty of times before this Jack. How many people did we kill when we blew up Ra's ships? How many have we killed since then? Gods, how many people have I killed before that?" he laughed. "Christ, for all intents and purposes, I'm a fucking professional killer."

"Come on Danny. You don't really believe that do you?" Jack asked.

"Of course I do. I've been around for 5,000 years Jack. Let's say on the average I've killed maybe two Immortals a year. That would average out to at least 10,000 heads I've taken. Let's also take into account the number of people I've killed in war and then when I was a mercenary. I'm a killer. I was in the past, I am one now, and in the future, after you're long gone Jack, I'll keep on killing. And do you know what the best part of it is, the part that I like?"

Jack shrugged, not sure where this was going, but he knew that he didn't like the journey.

Danil grinned and whispered, "I really like doing it. Its fun and I can get away with it. You should talk to Adam sometime. He can tell you how easy it is, how fun it can be to have that kind of power over people." Danil closed his eyes and smiled, remembering the past and its horrible glory. "Just when they think they are safe, free, you take it from them. They always get this lost puppy look right before you kill them."

"That's not you Daniel. You aren't like that. Maybe once, but not now," Jack protested, backing up slightly. He couldn't help but want to get away from him. Jack felt like he was talking to Hannibal Lector and he really felt dirty because of it. "You took that bad Quickening, then the problems with ben Ranen, and that January guy. Those things probably mixed some things up there in your head. Maybe you just need some down time to get things sorted out." He had a horrible flash back to when Daniel had told them about how every five hundred to a thousand years things got loopy for him. He had probably been over due for a loopy period and now here it was. Fucking great, Jack grumbled to himself.

"No, I don't need down time Jack. What I need is for you to mind your fucking business," he snarled.

Jack was going to retort with some sort of witty, smart-ass comment, but instead chose to remain silent for now, least he provoke Daniel further.

It took about an hour, giving Jack time to watch the sun rise through the front windows of the crappy government housing. He purposefully ignored the dead bodies, least he start getting royally spooked out. He had seen, and been the cause of many deaths, but he couldn't recall a time where he had spent a long period of time near them afterwards. He also kept an eye on Daniel. He was fairly certain that he was safe from any attack coming from the Immortal, but it didn't hurt to be careful just the same.

Danil kept himself quiet and busy, wiping down any surfaces they might have touched, thus eliminating their finger prints from the crime scene. He also went outside and wiped down the black SUV that had been parked along side the building. He moved quickly and efficiently, almost as if he had done this before. Jack didn't want to even contemplate that one.

Finally a familiar silver SUV pulled up in front of the house they were in. Sam and Teal'c piled out of the vehicle and stormed up the short front walk.

Jack met them outside, not wanting Carter to see the dead men. "It took you long enough!"

"It's a big base, Sir," Carter replied. "Where's Daniel?"

"I'm here Sam," he said, smiling cheerfully, as he too walked out of the house.

"What has transpired here O'Neill?" Teal'c asked sharply, looking in through the windows, seeing the bodies.

"Just another day for SG-1 Teal'c," was Danil's disturbing response. He was too chipper. He then snagged the car keys from Sam's hand and went over to his vehicle. "Let's go people. I want that shower and I could use some breakfast."

Sam looked at Jack in concern. He simply shrugged, shook his head, and mentally told her and Teal'c that he would tell them later. He did have to admit that the idea of a shower and even a nap sounded like heaven. The pain sticks had taken a lot out of him.

"Fine," Jack said, making a command decision. "We need to go back and pack up our campsite. Then we'll go into Rapid City and find a hotel. We'll call Hammond and let him know what happened here. He can arrange to have things cleaned up here."

"Whatever Jack, I don't really care. I want out of here now," Danil said as he climbed into his car and started up the engine, leaving the others with no choice to follow him, least they get left behind.

When they had reached the main gates to the base, the mortals heard an explosion, but could not see its source.

Jack spared a look at the archeologist who had a bemused smile on his face.

"It didn't make sense to leave any evidence behind. The place had a gas stove that was still working," he shrugged. "Come on, if you hadn't been so freaked out about me killing them, you would have done it too. They're lucky I didn't burn the whole fucking base down."

Sam's eyes went wide with that one.

They went back to their campsite where Jack and Daniel took a long, refreshing shower. They then packed up their belongings fairly quickly. Jack spent a good majority of the time watching Daniel, looking for the blatant signs of madness that he had seen earlier.

Danil, in the guise of Daniel, helped to pack up everything and helped to take down the pop-up camper. All the time he had a strange smile on his face and his bright blue eyes held a harder look. The soft, gentle visage of sweet, harmless Dr. Jackson was gone. Instead they held the look of someone that had seen too much, had experienced too much, hovering on the brink of madness or homicide, or both.

Once again they were ready to depart from their camp site. Even though Daniel had effectively and brutally taken care of the immediate threat, there could still be more rogue agents out there. It made sense to leave post-haste from the site of the latest kidnapping attempt/success. However, nobody was really up for the long drive back to Colorado Springs; therefore Jack did not press that issue. Also, he figured for the Daniel’s sake (once he returned to a more sane state) it would not do to have him around a government installation like Cheyenne Mountain, nor expose the other Immortals to his insanity.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

By the time they had arrived back in Rapid City, it was in the early afternoon. They found a hotel, the Quality Inn. They chose it because it was centrally located to several dining places, entertainment centers, and tourist attractions, thus giving them a chance to blend in and not stand out so much.

After they were settled and a long nap, Danil announced that he was hungry and if the others wanted to come with him, then they were welcome to tag along.

Jack looked at Sam and Teal’c (who had figured out for themselves that something was not right with Daniel) with a look of apprehension in his face. He was imagining a world of chaos if Daniel was allowed to go out among people, but knew that if he refused to let him go, Daniel would do what ever he damn well felt like. If he was agreeable, things might be a bit calmer and give Daniel time to come back to the present, not his homicidal past.

“Where do you wish to have dinner DanielJackson?” Teal’c asked with his hands folded behind his back, the look of parade rest, which was pretty casual for him. He was careful to keep his tone even more even than normal, least something set the fuming Immortal off

Danil shrugged. “There’s an Italian restaurant down the street that sounds good. I’m ready if you are.” His words were friendly enough but there was a hard, uncaring edge to his tone that took everyone aback. Also, the predatory look in his eyes was a shocking contrast to their usual gentleness.

They left the hotel and walked down to street to the restaurant where they were seated after a fifteen minute wait since it was the dinner rush hour.

Dinner was going fine until their waiter had an unfortunate accident, stumbling slightly, and sloshed a bit of Daniel’s coffee on to him, hitting his arm. It was truly an accident, but Danil, not Daniel, acted as if the poor kid had deliberately dumped acid on him.

“Daniel! Calm down, please!” Jack begged his friend. “It’s not worth it,” he said, seeing the murderous look in his eyes.

“Who the fuck are you to tell me that?” he growled, never turning his eyes away from the waiter, scaring the crap out of the kid whose eyes were as wide as saucers. He had angered customers occasionally before, but not like this. This customer was beyond scary.

“I’m telling you as your friend Daniel,” Jack retorted. “Calm down. It was an accident.”

“I’ll do as I damn well please,” he snarled, now turning fully towards Jack. He missed Sam covertly motioning to the kid to go, now. “I’ve survived for years on my own. I don’t need a kid like you telling me what to do.”

“DanielJackson, this is not you. You are not behaving like yourself,” Teal’c stated.

Danil laughed at that. “Like any of you actually know me,” he said his voice full of contempt. “You like to think that I am nice, sweet Daniel, the harmless archeologist that everyone loves to love. Are you so sure that isn’t a cover? I never thought of you as being naïve Jack, but come on. I’ve told you about my past, but are you sure that is everything? Do you think I told you every little juicy detail? How can you be sure that isn’t the real me? Maybe I’m tired of pretending to be someone I’m most definitely not. Maybe it’s time the real me shows up instead of hiding behind the façade of being a helpless geek.”

“Please don’t be like this,” Sam implored, worry filling her blue eyes. She could see the madness that was in his eyes. “You’re better than that.”

“Don’t be like what Sam? Like myself? But I am being myself. You just don’t like it. You only want what you want to see. Fuck this,” he fumed and tossed his napkin down on the table. With that, he violently shoved his chair back and stood up with an eerie grace that reminded the others of a tiger ready to spring upon its prey.

He pulled out his wallet, extracted several bills and slammed them on to the table. “Don’t wait up for me kids,” he smirked. “I’m going to go have me some fun.” With that he was gone.

Jack tossed Sam his wallet for her to take care of the rest of the bill as he and Teal’c took off after Daniel, hoping to be able to catch up to him. When they got to the door of the restaurant, Daniel was nowhere to be seen. There were tourists everywhere, milling about, some window shopping and some waiting to get into the restaurant.

“Crap!” Jack said, exasperated. He knew that Daniel was suffering from some sort of break with reality due to the torture he had received from the NID agents and the events that had happened in the last six months. All of these together had caused an older personality and memories to supplant who he really was.

He did not buy for a second that this more violent and hostile personality was the real Daniel. He knew that it was a product of the times Daniel had lived through and a way for him to deal with the horrors around him.

Jack had once sat down with Daniel’s friend Adam and had asked him about the old Daniel over several pitchers of beer. Adam had told him that Daniel had been through hell and back several times and that there had been moments where retreating to this older personality was a survival and compensatory tactic, allowing the Daniel that they all knew to not have to deal with events. But, Adam had pointed out that these “episodes,” complete with air quotes were quick and not as violent as he had been recently, especially thinking about how Daniel had acted after he had killed ben Rabin. Adam had even wondered out loud as to what was the root cause of this behavior. All Jack could say that there had been an incident with their work that had not settled well with Daniel. A part of him wanted to tell the Immortal what had happened to Daniel, but he had sworn an oath of silence about the classified nature of the SGC. Unless something seriously bad was happening, rather than just him worrying about his friend, he couldn’t justify telling Adam about the Quickening Daniel had received off world.

Jack had a horrible feeling that he would end up telling Adam plenty by the time the problems with Daniel was resolved.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

Their first stop had been to go back to the car, to see if Daniel had taken it with him. Luck was on their side and the vehicle was still where they had parked. That meant he had to be somewhere within a reasonable area. Granted there were lots of bars, restaurants, and other tourist traps near-by, but Jack had a feeling that Daniel wasn’t playing tourist. Somehow he doubted that Danil of old would be too interested in anything tourist-y; the man had helped burn the palace at Xerxes after all, something that the Daniel of today would never have done.

Jack also stopped in his room to get something that he feared he might need.

He hoped that Daniel wouldn’t run into the pre-Immortal they had encountered earlier. Granted the Black Hills covered a large area and the likelihood that they would run into the teen and his family would be remote. However, long experience had taught him to no discount coincidences.

They split up to look for their lost Immortal archeologist. Jack had Teal’c go with Sam. He knew that she could easily handle herself as well as, if not better, than a man, but he did not want someone to start something with Sam and have her obligated to kick the offender’s ass, thus drawing any further attention to themselves. Teal’c was big enough and scary enough to keep anyone away.

They promised that whoever found Daniel, they would call the others. Facing a pissed off Daniel would require the strength of all three, both physically and mentally.

Jack wandered the streets looking for Daniel for at least two hours. He stopped in every bar he encountered and at least three strip clubs, each one sleazier than the one before.

The last club he had just left was plain depressing. It cost him twenty dollars to get in, plus the cost of two over-priced beers. The dirty floor had been cracked poured concrete, the tables were rickety, and the mini stages were barely a foot above the floor and one had a shaky pole that looked absolutely filthy which caused a horrible flashback for Jack to that nasty Elizabeth Berkeley movie. Shuddering at that, Jack checked out the patrons and couldn’t help but notice the strippers, females and males, were shaking it for a few lousy dollars.

He rolled his eyes in disgust, promising himself that when it was all over, Daniel was going to pay for this.

Jack quickly checked out all of the patrons and could not find Daniel anywhere. He looked everywhere, seeing a few things that he never wanted to see again. Ever!

Exiting and breathing a sigh of relief to be out of that place, he felt his cell vibrate then heard it ring.

“T! Tell me you found him!” Jack said into the phone, seeing Teal’c id pop up on the LCD screen.

We have indeed found DanielJackson, O’Neill. He is not himself.

“Where are you guys?” Jack almost yelled into the phone. He was worried about Daniel which was in turn making him short tempered.

We are at a bar called Black Hills Gold. It is several blocks south of our hotel, at the corner of Omaha and Lacrosse. I would suggest you hurry O’Neill,” Teal’c said and promptly turned off his phone.

O’Neill made his way towards the bar Teal’c had indicated over the phone. He arrived there to find Teal’c and Sam leaving the bar and hurrying over to an adjacent parking lot. They both had identical worried looks on their faces.

Altering his trajectory, Jack headed over to the parking lot to join the other members of SG-1. He briefly wondered where Daniel was, but had a nagging suspicion that he would soon find out.

“Carter, go get the car,” he ordered, knowing that in case they needed to make a fast escape, a vehicle would serve better than their own feet.

In the parking lot he found Danil beating the shit out of some guy. The man had at least fifty pounds on Daniel. Jack couldn’t make out how tall he was since he was on the ground in a fetal position, his arms trying, in vain, to protect his face and head. Blood was everywhere, flowing freely down Daniel’s victim’s face.

A figure on the ground shakily rose to his feet and attempted to rush Daniel from behind, coming to assist his buddy.

Jack was torn; should he warn Daniel or not? It’s not like Daniel would be permanently hurt if the guys managed to get the upper hand, he reasoned. However, he thought to himself, Daniel was his friend, his brother even and to not warn him of potential danger would be a betrayal, not to mention a lousy thing to do.

Luck was on Jack’s side and he did not have to make up his mind as to what would be the best course of action, for Daniel saw the guy coming.

Danil kicked the guy in the head with his toe of his hiking boot, knocking him unconscious, probably further damaging his brain and body.

He then turned on his new opponent.

This man wasn’t stupid. He wandered an arced path in front of Danil, with each arc getting smaller and closer to him. His hands were down by his sides and relaxed, counting on deception to help him. To anyone that wasn’t versed in fighting tactics, it would appear that this guy was throwing caution to the wind and was going to rely on his sheer size to help him win.

He was huge. He wasn’t just tall, but his girth was immense too. His hair, wild and wiry, was grey and pulled back into a disheveled ponytail that trailed down to the middle of his back. He was wearing a leather jacket that proudly proclaimed that he would “work for head.” It was a statement that would make any mother proud.

He looked like any other biker in town, but this one had a particularly vicious and homicidal look in his eyes.

Unfortunately, Danil was out-doing him in the vicious and homicidal categories.

The only good thing that Jack could see was that none of the bar patrons had come outside to watch the fight. He was betting that bar fights were way too common, judging by the seediness of the place to warrant much interest.

Danil, blood splattered on his light colored shirt, grinned malevolently at the approaching brawler. This, he knew, would be an interesting fight. Hopefully this guy would put up more of a fight than the last one, and the one before that. The last one had wound up with a broken arm before the bar’s bouncers had tossed him and the two lovelies out of the place.

Danil mirrored his opponent’s movement, slowly working his way to a more optimal range for fighting.

Before the mortal could react, Danil lunged at him, heavily dropping his palms on the other’s shoulders. The immediate shock, stunned the man for just a split second, but that split second was all that Danil needed.

There was no style involved, only brutal violence. Bone hit bone, causing sickening cracks and crunches to be heard.

Jabs, crosses, and hooks were thrown along with several elbow, each more brutal than the one before.

While Danil’s busted knuckles may have healed instantly due to the blue lightening, his victim was less fortunate. His nose was obviously broken, his right eye bruised and swollen shut, several contusions and cuts were evident on his face. While the other man was also getting in several shots that peppered Danil’s face and torso, they were not having the same lasting effect on him. His healing factor and higher stamina helped to keep him upright and still fighting.

Finally, sick of exchanging punches with the man, Danil went for a dirty shot and kneed him in the nuts. While it didn’t end the fight, it slowed his opponent down considerably. Danil let loose a haymaker, rocking the man on his feet, causing him to drop to his knees. He then grabbed him by the hair and began to slam the man’s head into the side of a rusty Capri Classic.

Smash, bang, grunt, slam. Each noise was accompanied by a sickening squish.

“Danil, stop it!” Jack finally yelled, fearing that Danil, not Daniel, would kill the man.

Danil looked over at Jack and Teal’c and snarled something incoherent at them, clearly beyond reason.

“God Danny, I hope you’ll forgive me for this,” Jack muttered as he pulled his personal sidearm, an H&K USP (compact). Without blinking an eye, he pulled gently and smoothly on the trigger, shooting one of his best friends directly in the heart.

Teal’c didn’t say anything, but raised one eyebrow, conveying his shock that he would do such a thing to Daniel.

“T, grab him. We need to get out of here now,” Jack said, hurrying over to the man that Danil had been attempting to kill. It didn’t look good for him, in Jack’s quick assessment. However, he was sure that people would soon come and see where the gun shot had come from.

Just then, Sam pulled up, slamming on the breaks.

Teal’c picked up Daniel’s lifeless body and threw him into the back seat and climbed in after him. Jack jumped in to the passenger side seat.

“Go!” Jack ordered as he started to rifle through the glove box. There, he said to himself and pulled out an old K-bar knife he had seen earlier. It amazed him, and found it kind of disturbing at the same time, that Daniel had more weapons about him than the average commando.

Jack turned around with the knife in hand and looked at Daniel. The bullet wound had just about healed itself. Soon a royally pissed off Immortal would be awake and none of them wanted to have to deal with him in such a close, confined space.

Sighing heavily, Jack flipped the knife around and swiftly stabbed Daniel in the heart, leaving the blade buried deep in his body, insuring that Daniel would remain dead until they could get him some help.

“Holy crap, sir!” Sam exclaimed. “Did you have to do that?”

“Do you want to deal with Danil when he wakes up?” Jack said smartly. “I didn’t think so. Besides, he’ll heal eventually.”

“What now, O’Neill?” Teal’c asked, watching his friend’s lifeless form.

Jack sighed. He could feel a massive headache forming behind his eyes. “Let’s take him back to the hotel, but we’ll come in through the backdoor. The less people see the better off we’ll all be.”

“What then? What do we do with him?” Sam asked. These past twenty-four hours had been a nightmare. First, Daniel and the Colonel had been kidnapped and tortured. Then Daniel had snapped, killed his captors, and had nearly beaten three other people to death. She knew that there obviously something wrong with her friend, but she had no idea how to fix him, to make him go back to being the Daniel they all knew and loved. What scared her was the thought of what if they couldn’t get their old Daniel back.

“We’ll call Siler or maybe even Adam to see if they know what can be done,” Jack pronounced, rubbing his face with his hand.

“What about Abbott, his Watcher?” Teal’c asked.

“Abbott’s a good guy, but knowing Daniel, he probably wouldn’t want the Watchers to know that he’s flipped his lid,” he replied.

“Indeed,” Teal’c agreed.

Inside though, all three of them were wondering if their friend was still there or if they would be stuck with the crazed and homicidal Danil until someone took pity on him and take his head, ending his long life.

They got Daniel’s lifeless body up to their hotel room by way of a rear door and back staircase. They were lucky in that the hotel hadn’t up-graded it’s security measures. They didn’t have to worry about alarms or security cameras.

Teal’c placed his friend’s body gently on one of the queen beds. He examined Daniel carefully, making sure that the knife was still securely imbedded in his chest. Teal’c felt extreme remorse at having to make sure that his friend remained in a death-like state, but he agreed with O’Neill’s assessment that if the Immortal were to regain consciousness, he would be a threat to not only them and the general population, but also to the young man that they had encountered briefly. The Colonel had told them all that Scott, the blond-headed teenager was a pre-Immortal and that he worried that Daniel, in his incapacitated state would harm the boy.

Instead, they left their friend in his current state; despite how abnormal and weird it made them all feel they knew that for right now, this was the best option available to them.

Currently, Jack was busying himself by going through Daniel’s cell phone, looking for the phone numbers of either Siler or Adam. He hated to have to do it, but he hoped they would know how to fix Daniel.

He first called Siler, hoping Daniel’s former student would know what to do.

"He’s gone nuts?" Siler asked, dismayed to hear the news.

“Yeah, big time,” Jack replied. “The Ancient Bastard went linear and I had to shoot him to keep him from killing a guy in a parking lot.”

"Ancient Bastard," Siler echoed.

“Hey, I figure if you’ve been around for 5,000 years and you’re acting like an asshole, then you’ve earned the title of Ancient Bastard.”

Siler was silent for a minute. "I didn’t know he was that old," he said, his voice quiet with shock.

“Oh shit! I thought you knew being his former student,” Jack groused. “Forget I said anything. Do you have any idea how to help him?”

"No, I’ve never dealt with anything like that. Maybe that Quickening he took on Holy Ground has something to do with this. Have you called Adam? He and Daniel are really good friends and now knowing what I know about his age, I’m beginning to suspect that Adam isn’t the two hundred year-old that he told me. Adam might be an Ancient Immortal and he might have seen this before. Also, even if I did, I couldn’t help you. The base is currently on lock-down because SG-7 brought back an alien flu from PX5-429. People are puking right and left here," Siler explained, extremely worried for his friend and teacher. Daniel was a good guy, in his opinion; he didn’t deserve to snap and become some sort of monster.

“Fine, I’ll call Adam. Good luck with the puking thing,” Jack responded.

"Call me if you can and let me know about Daniel."

“Will do Siler. Watch yourself,” Jack said and hung up the phone.

He went back to looking through Daniel’s phone and found a curious entry labeled ‘Old Pain in the Ass.’ Knowing Daniel, and seeing his own phone number logged as ‘Grouchy Ass,’ he assumed that it was Adam’s phone number.

Hitting the send button, he dialed the number.

"Hello," a familiar voice came, with a slight, upper crust English accent.

“Adam, this is Jack O’Neill,” he said.

“Colonel!" he said surprised to be hearing from the man, especially on Danil’s phone as indicated by the LED display on his own.

“Yeah,” Jack said, dispensing with any formalities or pleasantries. “We need your help. Danny’s gone off on the deep end and we don’t know what to do with him. Can you fix him?”

"Aren’t you all on vacation?"

“Yes and it went south. Daniel is not exactly Daniel, but something nastier. He’s exhibiting some more violent tendencies right now. Well, not right now because he’s been temporarily incapacitated. Can you help him or are we going to have to call his Watcher and see if they can help him?”

"What happened to him,” Adam asked, all flippancy abandoned. He could tell by O’Neill’s tone that jokes would not be welcome.

“Daniel and I got kidnapped last night. Our kidnappers wanted some information from Daniel and when he refused, they tortured him. Unfortunately for them, Daniel fooled them into freeing him. He killed the three kidnappers. Also, tonight, Daniel went out by him self, busted up a bar and might have put two other guys in a coma, if he didn’t end up killing them. His old persona was the one in charge. Daniel Jackson wasn’t home.”

"God!" Adam exclaimed. "I know he’s been a bit off lately, but this is bizarre. Did something happen lately? He didn’t take a bad Quickening did he?"

“Y-y-yeah. He did back in March. It was on Holy Ground.”

"Bullshit! Danil, of all people, knows better than to do that!"

“He did but it wasn’t his fault. I’ll explain later,” he promised. “Can you help him or not?” Jack demanded, feeling like his head was about to explode. The stress was getting to him no doubt.

"Where are you?" Adam asked.

Jack relayed their information to the Immortal.

Adam, in turn, warned Jack to make sure that Danil remained dead until he could get there which would probably be in about ten to twelve hours.

They hung up, each going about whatever business they had.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

Methos snapped his phone shut and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t understand what had happened. There hadn’t been a massive catastrophe lately to signify someone fighting on Holy Ground. He knew that the mortals would have to do some explaining when he got there, but for now, he had some things to find and prepare that would hopefully help his get his old friend back to the realm of sanity.

They had taken turns watching Daniel’s unresponsive body. It was creepy and bothersome to sit there with what was for all intents and purposes, a corpse. It wasn’t rotting or stinky, but it felt wrong. Sam, who had taken the first shift, couldn’t stand to look at the knife sticking out of him had taken a sheet from the other bed and draped it gently over his body, covering up everything below his neck. That way, as she told Teal’c who had relieved her, he only looked as if he were sleeping.

They all had taken turns watching their friend or trying to get some sleep. Jack was obvioulsly tired. Within twenty-four hours he had been kidnapped, tortured, and had to find his lost friend in an unfamiliar city, he was ready to drop.

The others, while they didn’t have a quite so adventurous day, the day had been draining for them as well. They didn’t have to suffer by means of Goa’uld pain sticks (obviously stolen from Area-51), they didn’t get beaten, nor did they have to watch Daniel kill the three supposed NID agents like Jack had too, but they were exhausted with worry and their own personal fears that their Daniel would be lost to them forever.

SG1SG1SG1SG1

Twelve long, stressful hours later, there came a knock on Jack’s hotel room door.

Rolling off the bed, Jack picked up his personal weapon that he had placed on the bedside table and silently padded his way over to the door, sparing a glance at his lifeless friend.

Ready for anything, from house cleaning (despite the ‘Do not disturb’ sign on the door handle), to the police, to the NID, Jack cautiously peaked through the peep hole.

He breathed a sigh of relief and opened up the door.

“Well, it’s about time!” Jack exclaimed, glaring at Adam.

“Charming,” Adam smirked and pushed his way into the room. “How’s our boy?”

Jack closed the door behind the Immortal. “Still dead,” he said and picked up the phone to call Sam and Teal’c.

They arrived post-haste, both visibly relieved to see Adam there.

Adam was looking at Daniel closely, pulling down the sheet, examining the knife that was sticking out of his chest. “You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to be the one to stab Danil. Lucky bastard,” he muttered.

Straightening up, he continued, “What the hell happened to him? You said you’d explain when I got here. Here I am,” he barked and then threw himself into a near-by recliner. “And don’t give me some ‘its classified bullshit.’”

“It’s a long story,” Jack started, knowing that Adam had to know the entire truth. He only feared that Hammond would kill him once they got back to Colorado for breaking the silence. “Many years ago a device was found in Egypt called the Stargate. The US government put it into storage and it was almost forgotten until someone with influence managed to convince someone that the device was important. Flash forward to a few years ago when the government conceived Operation Bluebook. They knew that the ring did something but they couldn’t make it work. Daniel was hired right after his failed presentation about how old the pyramids might actually be. He never said that the pyramids were built by aliens, but many people, who out of jealousy and spite, labeled him as an alien nutcase. It’s also possible that the government planted that idea to force him to work for us. As a result, he got laughed out of academia and right into the government’s open arms. They needed someone who could translate the cover stone and the markings on the ring itself. Daniel managed to do what countless people and two super computers had failed in two weeks. He figured out what the symbols were and managed to open the Stargate.”

“And,” Adam pressed, caught between skepticism and fascination. He knew that Danil had left academia because of some scandal, but hadn’t known the details. He figured that he’d ask Danil eventually, but never got around to it. Besides, he himself had been busy with Watcher things and the chaos caused by the Highlander. “What was this Stargate?”

Jack smiled humorlessly. “It was an alien transportation device that formed a wormhole between here and another planet,” he gave the condensed version, the version that he understood. “If you want the technicalities, you’ll have to ask Carter.”

Adam started laughing. “You’re putting me on!”

“No,” Jack replied, dead-serious. “I’m not. They formed a team to go through the Stargate, see what was on the other side, and eliminate any possible threat to our planet. I was brought out of retirement to lead this team. Daniel, being the wormy schmuck that he is, talked himself onto the team. It was a good thing he did because he ended up saving us.” He avoided mentioning that at the time he had been suicidal and more messed up than ever. He didn’t want to have to discuss his son’s death with Adam or in front of the others or at all. The only one he had ever felt even close to discussing it had been Daniel.

“Go on,” Adam whispered, fascinated by the tale. It was out there, he admitted, and they were all possibly delusional, but as far as he could tell they were telling the truth. There were no obvious tell-tale signs of lying; they could all be a bunch of screwballs themselves however.

“We went to the planet, met some aliens and humans whose ancestors had come from ancient Egypt, and killed a false god. You might have heard of him: Ra,” Jack said nonchalantly, secretly loving the dumbfounded look on Adam’s face. “Daniel decided to stay behind and married a human. A year later I was sent back to bring Dr. Jackson back to Earth. We had been attacked by aliens through our Stargate that were like the ones we had fought on Abydos. Unfortunately, in the meantime, Daniel’s wife and brother-in-law were kidnapped by an alien named Apophis. Have you heard of him?” Jack asked, as smarmy and sarcastic as ever, secretly loving the dumbfounded look on Adam’s face. “Teal’c here was Apophis’ First Prime. We met him when we went to retrieve our friends. Teal’c turned on Apophis and helped us escape. Unfortunately we couldn’t save Shar’ae, Danny’s wife. His brother-in-law we were able to free a couple of years later. Shar’ae had been taken as a host for a member of a parasitical race called the Goa’uld. Specifically, she carried Ammonet, the wife of Apophis until she was killed three years after she had been kidnapped. Ever since we opened the Gate, we’ve been fighting the Goa’uld and a few other nasty types that are out there,” he finished then added as an after-thought, “When we get back to the Springs, we’re going to need you to sign some non-disclosure papers.”

“I hate paperwork,” he said absently, trying to process everything that O’Neill had told him. “Seriously though, how does this explain Danil going nuts?” Adam asked, shaking his head in amazement. He still wasn’t sure as to believe O’Neill’s tale, but it certainly was a fascinating one.

Before Jack could begin to explain why their friend went nutty and was currently lying dead on the next bed, Adam yelled. “Wait a minute! Did you say that Murray here, whose real name is apparently Teal’c, is an alien?” Adam fairly hollered, having that little tidbit finally dawn on him.

“Indeed,” Teal’c’s deep voice resonated. “I am a Jaffa from Chulak. I have pledged myself to aiding the Tau’ri in their fight against the Goa’uld which has enslaved my people for countless ages.”

“Wow, this is beyond weird. I’ve seen some strange shit in my life, but this is out there,” shaking himself, he returned to the matter at hand. “Getting back, what about Danil? You told me on the phone that he had taken a bad Quickening. What happened there?”

Jack sighed once again. “Back in March, we went to PF-whatever which is a planet in another part of the galaxy. We were captured by a group of medieval paranoid psychos, whose ancestors apparently hailed from Jolly-old England from long ago. They took us to their village and there Daniel encountered another Immortal. Apparently this other guy and maybe a few others had also been swept up by some aliens along with the humans. The villagers had captured an Immortal and were holding him prisoner. They decided to get an up-grade and make Daniel their new watch dog against any other Immortals on the planet, if they were actually still alive that is. The idiot villagers cut off the other Immortal’s head and his Quickening went into Daniel right smack-dab in the middle of their church. There was a huge earthquake and tons of damage. We barely got away. Since then, Daniel hasn’t always been him self and now we have Mr. Insanity on our hands right now.”

“My God,” Adam breathed.

“Yeah,” Jack snorted.

“So what set him off this time?”

“Daniel and I were kidnapped and tortured by a group of men that we think were a part of a rogue element in a government agency with the initials of NID. You know, no one has ever told me what that stands for,” Jack mussed then snapped back into the present conversation. “Daniel got the worst of it. From what I could tell, it looked like something kind of snapped in him. He reverted back to how he was in the old days.”

“You guys lead very interesting lives you know?”

All three smiled tightly (though Teal’c’s smile was a little more than scary).

“Can you help Daniel?” Sam asked. “This isn’t how he normally is. Oh God,” she said as if something just dawned on her. “This isn’t how he really is, is it? He hasn’t been lying to us all these years?”

Adam smiled gently at the blonde Major. “I’ve known Danil since, well, since when I was going though my own troubled times. Most people hated me and my friends, but Danil was the only one tolerated us and didn’t judge us. He let us stay on his land from time to time, unharmed and safe from his sword, as long as we didn’t hurt any of his people. Even when I left that way of life, he never threw it in my face, never pointed a finger at me, accusing me of all the horrible shit I did. Danil has always been a decent person, tolerant and understanding, with the exception of the times when things got bad for him. Otherwise, he is genuinely an honorable person. The man you’ve known for these few years had been the real Danil, not this aberration. It’s a product of a violent period and an over-loaded psyche.”

Sam caught on to something he had said. “Daniel once told us of a friend who had three companions that were supposed to be the basis for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the Bible. Was that you?” she gulped, suddenly afraid. She had faced down plenty of Goa’uld, loyal Jaffa, Replicators, and countless other enemies, but to suddenly come face to face with someone like a Horseman, that caused her blood to instantly chill.

Adam closed his eyes and shook his head. His damnable past was once again rearing its ugly head. “It was a long time ago and I’m no longer the same person I had been back then.”

“Since I have come to live among the Tau’ri, I have read the Bible and I remember the Book of Revelations. These people laid waste to the land, bringing destruction to everyone in their path. Which of these Equine Men were you?” Teal’c asked his look cool and appraising.

“I was Death. Happy?” Adam snapped. “It was a long time ago, okay. I swear I am going to kill Danil when I get a chance,” he groused more for show than actually being pissed.

“So the whole: Behold a pale horse, and its rider was Death, was actually you?” Jack asked, remembering the passage from a long-ago religion class.

Adam smiled tightly, gripping the arms of the blue chair tightly. He really hated having to explain what he had done thousands of years in the past. “Thank you so much for bringing up such a painful subject. While you're at it, why don't you give me a nice paper cut, and pour lemon juice on it?

“It actually reads: And I saw, and behold a pale horse: and its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed with him; and they were given power over a fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with famine, and with pestilence and by the beasts of the earth. The very least you could do is get it right. My friends were described in verses one through six. However I didn’t come here to rehash the shit I did three thousand plus years ago.”

“So can you help Daniel?” Jack asked. “Liked the Princess Bride quote by the way.”

“It was on when you called. Well, I could always just take his head and end it all. Just kidding,” he hastily said, seeing the evil looks he was getting from the two humans and the alien. Holy shit! He was actually talking to an alien!

“Actually I can’t promise anything, but I think I know of a way to help him,” Adam announced.

“Yes? So do it,” Jack pushed.

Adam glared at the impatient man. “It takes time to set it up. You rush a Miracle Man, you get rotten miracles.”

Adam explained to the others that he did not think that this was a Dark Quickening since if it had been, the personality change would have happened much quicker and the darkness would have been evident to him a long time ago. Instead, he postulated that the Quickening that he had taken on Holy Ground had not settled properly and was affecting the other two Quickenings he had taken since then, causing them to not settle also. Because of this, the disruption combined with the torture had affected his psyche. The electrical imbalance caused an overload, shorting out the part of his brain that guided personality, restraint, and so forth, causing him to return to a more primitive and primal period in his life. It had been only a matter of time before he blew, he explained to them.

“So how do we get Daniel back out of this primate state?” Jack asked, glaring at the Immortal.

“Its primitive Jack,” Adam said, sighing. “Don’t play dumb with me. Daniel told me that you’re not as dumb as you like to pretend to be.”

Jack then glared at the inert form of Daniel. The little bastard has a big mouth at times, he internally groused.

“Okay then,” he spoke to Adam, “what is our plan to get him back? We can’t leave him like this. Beyond being our friend, he is a potential security risk to the SGC and could end up exposing you guys to groups like the NID. Someone like Maybourne would love to get his hands on an Immortal and see what he could do to make the perfect soldier.”

“Normally, for a Dark Quickening, you would have to take a dip in a sacred spring or well and go on a personal vision quest and re-align yourself or die in the process. Unfortunately, the last place I knew like that no longer works. Its power got used up when a friend of mine took a Dark Quickening.”

“So can’t we just find another one? Surely they can’t be all that rare,” Sam reflected. “The planet is seventy percent water after all.”

Methos smiled at the woman’s misplaced logic. “It takes more than just being a hole in the ground that is filled with water. Certain conditions have to be fulfilled. However, such a thing is not necessary for what needs to be done. What we need first of all is to be on Holy Ground that hasn’t been violated by whole-sale slaughter of innocents and isn’t in view of the public. The floor of a mid-priced hotel, while more private, isn’t exactly sacred territory,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“What about Wounded Knee?” That’s considered to be pretty sacred,” Sam offered.

“Many innocent people died there Major Carter,” Teal’c’s voice came across as a rumble. “Plus, I do not think that the residents of the area would appreciate outsiders trespassing on such a place.”

“It was just an idea,” she said, looking dejected. She really wasn’t sure of what else in the area would fit Adam’s needs. “It would figure that when we need to know something culturally like this, the one person we always turn to, is unable to help because he has a case of insanity.”

Suddenly Jack had a weird moment of insight. “Remember when Daniel yelled at me for untying that prayer string thing at Devil’s Tower? He told me then that we were on Holy Ground.”

Methos looked suitably impressed, with the insight not with the removal of the prayer flag. “That might work. I remember driving past it on my way here. Would we be able to get some privacy there though?” he asked. “Doing this at night would be preferable.”

Jack smiled. “I am sure that a crusty Air Force Colonel that is providing entertainment for a foreign dignitary would be able to get access. Teal’c, are you up to posing as a diplomat from Mozambique again?”

“Indeed O’Neill if it will help us bring DanielJackson to a normal level of sanity,” Teal’c dipped his head, his manner formal and reserved to outsiders, but to Jack and Sam, he was all about the enthusiasm for this attempt to help their friend.

“What else will you need?” Jack then asked.

“I have the supplies that we’ll need, but as his friends, I’ll need your help with the ritual. It won’t be fun and I am sure you won’t like it. Danil will say some things that are pretty horrible, but don’t take it too personally and don’t think for a second that he really means what he says. He is excellent with screwing with other people’s minds and has quite the mouth on him, as I am sure you have noticed in the past. Just ignore it and use it against him when you need to put a new roof on your house. Guilt works wonders with him. Remind me sometime to tell you how I got him to finally write the Odyssey.”

“Daniel is Homer?” Jack asked his eyes wide.

Pause.

“No. I’m just screwing with you,” Methos laughed, knowing that the group needed a little bit of lightheartedness in such a dark and heavy time.

“You really are an ass you know that?” Jack shot back, looking at the Immortal with perplexity and humor.

“People tell me that all the time, but somehow I always manage to win them over,” Methos smiled in return. “It must be my winning personality.”

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

Towards the evening, after Jack had called Hammond and requested that the General “arrange” for a private tour for their visiting dignitary and his friends at Devil’s Tower. Jack had then promised the General that there would be a full report and a case of Guinness at his house within the next week as a form of payment for his continued understanding and latitude.

Working together, they smuggled Daniel out of the hotel, by-passing the front desk and the other guests that were lounging out at the pool who would see them hauling a dead body out the door that was located near the pool area. With Jack’s incredible acting skills, they made it look like Daniel was just passed out drunk and Jack, the noisy, boisterous drunk was clearly on his way to joining his friend in the land of oblivion and future hangovers. Jack figured that if he made enough of a ruckus, people would remember him, rather than the lifeless and quiet form of Daniel.

“Hey Sam! You wanna run off, get married, and have lots of babies?” he yelled at the bright red major. He was holding a half empty bottle of beer in one hand as he kind of bounced off the walls and out the side door, slurring his words. The tail of his shirt was half tucked in and his hair was a bit wilder than normal, giving him the look of someone who had been boozing for quite awhile.

Sam, who was given the role as herder of Jack, was trying to shoo him through the door, couldn’t help but laugh at her commanding officer’s antics. “Of course Jack,” she said sweetly. “As long as they all grow up to be astrophysicists, love blue Jell-o, and hate the Simpsons.”

“Woman,” Jack slurred, “your words break my heart. You’ll come around some day, mark my words!” The desired effect was taking place; everyone that was hanging out at the pool had their eyes on him.

Sam just laughed and “helped” her boss to the car, making sure that they made as much of a scene as possible, keeping the attention on themselves, rather than the figures of Teal’c and Adam who were carrying their “dead drunk” friend to Adam’s Humvee.

Jack had tossed the bottle into the grass before he closed the door.

“Why do we have to take your vehicle?” Jack, completely sober, asked.

“Because,” Methos sighed, “I have all of the necessary supplies loaded up already and Daniel’s screaming death metal machine isn’t big enough for all of us.”

“Oh, okay then. Carry on,” Jack said and looked back at his friends. “How’s Daniel doing?”

“He is still dead O’Neill,” Teal’c responded solemnly.

Carter, he noted, looked freaked out as all hell. “Carter! What’s wrong?”

She looked at him with her big, baby-blue eyes, causing something inside to immediately melt, making him go into protective mode.

“I’m touching a dead body Sir,” she said between clenched teeth.

“Okay,” he said, not sure where she was going with this. He noticed that she was sitting as far as possible from Daniel, who was plunked down between her and Teal’c. Sam was pressed up against the door of the vehicle, but Daniel’s lanky arm was flopped out onto the seat next to her, brushing up against her side. “You’ve touched plenty of dead bodies before Sam. What’s different here?”

“It’s Daniel and he’s been dead for a long time. When we’re out in the field, I don’t lug the casualties around and keep their corpses near me. It’s always been check for life and move on,” she explained, looking slightly pale.

“Sam, he’s not dead really,” Methos tried to find words that would comfort her. “Well, he is but it’s different with us. Try to think of him being in a coma, not dead. Besides, it just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all-dead.”

"What is the difference Adam Pierson?" Teal'c asked.

"If he's only mostly dead, then he's slightly alive.  If he's all dead, then there's only one thing that you can do."

"Which is?" Teal'c asked.

"Go through his pockets and look for loose change."

“Oh that really helps,” she muttered. Finally sick of being touched by his mostly-dead, non-alive arm, she pushed the appendage away and accidentally dislodged the knife that had been keeping him dead for almost twenty-four hours.

Immediately blue lightening raced along the wound, healing it swiftly. The wound that had been held open by the metal of the knife was sealed and mended in no time. After that, Danil, the blood thirsty immortal came roaring back to life, pissed as all hell.

“You mother fucking asshole!” he bellowed, enraged, remembering his supposed friend shooting him in the heart. The rage he felt, the pure hate he held was bubbling forth, screaming in his mind, demanding retribution. An eye for an eye, if one wanted to go biblical about it. “I’ll fucking kill you for this!”

“Oh Christ!” Jack cursed from his relatively safe position in the front seat.

Danil grabbed Sam and slammed her head into the glass window, leaving her dazed from the blow.

Teal’c tried vainly to grab a hold of Danil, immobilizing him in a strong hold. Instead, Danil managed to twist and turn, not allowing the Jaffa to seize him in a secure grip. He even managed to punch the former First Prime in the face. While it did not truly hurt him, it stunned him a bit, more out of shock than any real impairment. Daniel had never actually hit him before.

Methos was able to keep a clear head, despite the chaos around him. They were on the interstate, headed towards the South Dakota-Wyoming border. The second Danil came back to life, the powerful Buzz registered at the base of his skull, feeling as if a troll was hitting him repeatedly with its club.

Glancing in the rear-view mirror, he checked for other cars in the lane next and behind him. Seeing none, he jerked the steering wheel to the right and veered the Humvee to the side of the highway. The breaks locked and gravel went flying as he brought the machine to, literally, a screeching halt.

Reaching down beside him, he turned around and brought to bear a pistol.

“Ears,” he warned everyone, giving them a split second to cover their ears before he smoothly pulled the trigger, twice, stopping Danil and temporarily deafening the passengers.

Danil, caught in mid-lunge, collapsed. Apparently his goal had been to leave the vehicle, regardless of the danger in such a move. Instead, he fell back, with two bullets lodged in his chest.

“Stab him,” Methos ordered his voice cold. He couldn’t afford to be nice and concerned about the mortals’ feelings. They only had a few seconds before Danil healed once again.

Teal’c grabbed the knife and swiftly stabbed his friend in the heart, once again making sure the Immortal stayed dead until circumstances proved more favorable.

“Well, that was fun, wasn’t it?” Adam asked his voice a bit too loud. “I just hope I didn’t put any holes in the upholstery.” He checked for traffic before pulling back on to the sparsely traveled highway and tucked the gun back into the seat by him.

“You’re idea of fun and my idea of fun is two completely different things. Now, no more fun incidents, I mean it!”

“Anybody want a peanut?” Methos crowed.

“Okay, stop with the quotes will you?” Jack yelled.

Methos/Adam just laughed.

They made it to Devil’s Tower without further incident. Daniel remained dead, much to everyone’s relief. However, as they drew closer to the natural monument they realized that it would be difficult to explain the dead body in the back seat to the park rangers, no matter how high up their personal request had come from. Dead bodies always tended to attract attention.

Adam pulled off to the side of the road and let Jack and Sam exchange seats. While Sam was a warrior in her own right, competent and smart, she didn’t have it in her to kill Daniel, even temporarily, despite the knowledge that he would survive and that it would be for the best. She was ruthless enough on the battlefield, but not ruthless enough to deliberately kill a friend out of her own violation. Luckily, Jack and Teal’c were ruthless enough to do it, knowing that in the long run, Daniel would understand and forgive them.

They tied Daniel’s hands securely in front of him and then covered the bindings with an old blanket. Jack and Teal’c then sat firmly on either side of the immortal, ready for anything that their favorite nutcase could throw at them.

As an added precaution, Adam had his gun ready.

“Remove the knife Sam and sit back,” the Immortal told her, turning around to face his old friend.

She pulled the knife out of Daniel’s chest and sat back, watching the familiar light show heal the injury.

Soon, Danil was back, sucking in a lung-full of air. As soon as he was able, he growled in frustration, feeling the bindings at his wrists and the unbreakable holds Jack and Teal’c had on his arms. Despite being unable to move, he squirmed around, hoping that one of them would slip up and let him go.

“Danil,” Methos began, his voice even and tempered. “Stop trying to get away. If you try, I will shoot you again. You need help, but if you do anything to threaten your friends or myself, I will kill you.”

Danil smiled a nasty smile. “Methos, how good to see you – you fucking traitor. This is how you repay me? After all the times I took in you and your brothers when you were tired from all of your raping, pillaging, and plundering, you rise up against me? I never said anything against any of you, hell, I let that fucking animal Caspian live when I should have killed him fifty times over, and now you side with these ignorant mortals, declaring that I need help.” Danil spat the words at his long-time friend.

“There was a time when you and the other Horsemen had raided a caravan, killing everyone in it, after raping the women in front of their men and beating the children to death. Little did you know that half of the men were away on a hunting party and were returning just as you slit the throat of your last victim? They chased you for days across the wilderness, shot you all full of arrows, killing you several times over in the process. By the time you arrived at my home, your horses were nearly dead, you had no place to go, with little hope of surviving. The people in the caravan would have torn all four of you to bloody pieces, ending your lives in a most permanent way. But in the end, I gave you shelter and protection, helping you hold off your pursuers, while putting my own people’s lives at risk, when it would have been so much easier to feed you to the wolves.” At this he smirked, seeing the looks of horror on the others’ faces.

“What, you didn’t tell your new, best friends about your time as Death? I’m surprised Methos. After all, you were so proud of yourselves back then. But look at you now, all clothed and decked out in civility. Tell me, what did your brothers say when you turned on them and helped kill them? I bet they never saw that coming – Death betraying War, Famine, and Pestilence. You fucking coward!”

Methos looked at him with cold, grey eyes, with little more than contempt. “Nice Danil, ever so nice. You really are a charmer aren’t you? They know about my time as Death. It was a long time ago and I’ve moved on. You need to too; we want Daniel back. As I said, if you do anything against any of us or try to escape, I will kill you and take your head if necessary. You’ve known me long enough to know I don’t make idle threats. Keep quiet or else.”

Danil, instinctively understanding that now wasn’t the time to try to escape, sat back, his blue eyes frosty with hate, waiting for the right moment. He sat back, watching everyone, especially Methos, trying to find a chink in their armor, one that would allow him to make a run for it. It didn’t matter that he was in the middle of nowhere. He had had that happen to him before and he had survived. At his core, he knew, he was a survivor and this too would soon pass. But not before he took out his wrath on his betrayers.

He secretly wondered what it would feel like to kill O’Neill and to take the Jaffa’s larval Goa’uld and crush it as the alien laid there dying from the lack of an immunity system. He wondered what Sam would taste like. Would she scream or cry, or would she put up a fight?

Most of all, he wondered what Methos’ Quickening would be like. Would it be as powerful as his or more so? Would it fill him with enough power to be the One, the last Immortal destined to rule the world for all eternity? How ever it would be, he knew that he would enjoy every second while taking the Old Man’s head.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

They made their way to the park’s main entrance. Even though it was well after hours, they were met there by a park ranger. Upon seeing their ids, he left them pass through the main gate and on to the monument itself, unescorted.

Methos carefully drove along the winding road, silently cursing the raccoons and possums that kept darting out into the road. He parked in the lot, close to the main trail’s path. He turned to Danil in the back seat, appraising the mad as a shit-house rat Immortal.

“We’re on Holy Ground now. Don’t even think about trying any of your shit. While I may not be able to kill you, Jack and Teal’c are free to do so.”

Danil smirked at him. “You can’t stay on Holy Ground forever old man.” He didn’t doubt for a second who would win in a fight between him and Methos; his ego was out of control, making him think he was ten-feet tall and bulletproof.

“Shut the fuck up Danil. I’m not impressed,” Methos said in a bored tone, like he had heard all of this before. Considering his lengthy time on planet Earth, it was likely he had. “Besides, you don’t even have your sword. What are you going to do, talk my head off?” Sarcasm was such a wonderful weapon to have at one’s disposal.

Moving carefully, they brought Danil out of the car, never taking their eyes off the man.

He struggled against the tight grip his teammates had on him, but couldn’t break free. It was pointless to fight them as they marched him up the path. He let his shoulders sag and his feet started to drag, showing to all that he wasn’t going to fight them any longer, that he knew he was defeated.

By relaxing his muscles, Jack and Teal’c for a split second did not have as tight of a grip on him as they had when he was tense. All it took was that second for Danil to make an escape from his kidnappers. He kicked Jack in the knee, knowing that was the mortal’s weak spot. He elbowed Teal’c in the chest, disrupting the Jaffa’s attempt to reel him back in.

Danil took off, moving off the path and on to rocky and uneven ground. While running across this patch of ground would not have been all that hard in the daytime, attempting to do so in the middle of the night by only the light of the moon, with one’s hands tied, made it slow going. He stumbled and nearly fell several times as he picked his way among the bothersome rocks and loose soil.

Jack, cursing up a blue streak, calling Daniel every name he could think of, hobbled around a bit on his one remaining good leg. He reached into the waistband of his jeans and pulled out the knife they had used to stab Daniel with earlier. Grimacing, he straightened up and squinting in the darkness, he made out the fleeing figure.

Throwing the knife, end over end, it embedded itself in his back. It didn’t kill him, but was enough to stop his futile flight for freedom.

Teal’c strode across the rocky field to the fallen form on the ground. He picked Daniel up and hit him squarely in the face, breaking the Immortal’s nose and knocking him unconscious. Teal’c hated doing such a dishonorable thing to his friend, but he didn’t want to lose, physically and psychologically, his friend. Personal feelings and any qualms about hurting Daniel had to be put aside.

“Stab the bastard in the heart before he heals and wakes up,” Methos advised.

Teal’c took the knife out of Daniel’s back and swiftly knifed him in the heart, abhorrence for the act clearly on his face.

He then picked the lifeless form up and carried him in his arms back to the group. Once they were together, they continued to follow Methos down the path.

They followed Methos down and along the main trail that wound around the base of the ancient volcano. He took them off the well-traveled path and on to a secondary trail, one that was a bit rougher and led them among the trees, concealing their presence. Eventually they came to a clearing in the woods. A stream ran through it, bubbling and gurgling as it wound its way around the rocks. Also, there was a nice drop off; creating a waterfall that ended maybe six to seven feet lower that where it started.

“Perfect,” Methos announced and dropped the plastic storage container that he was carrying. The place was still on Holy Ground, plenty of privacy to be had, and best yet, a waterfall. The gods must be smiling on me right now, or at least they want Danil back to normal, he thought to himself.

“Where do you want DanielJackson?” Teal’c asked, his gold tattoo glinting in the pale moonlight.

“Put him over here,” Methos directed, pointing to a grassy area to the right of the path. “Just make sure his head is pointing north.”

“What can we do?” Sam asked, looking around her.

“I need you to clear a spot about five feet or so from Danil’s feet. We need a fire going so I can see what I am doing,” he said and tossed her a pack of matches and a small camp spade.

Jack made a motion as if he was going to help her in the task, but she waved him off. “Try to stay off your knee Sir. I might not be able to cook, but I can build a fire.”

“What can I do?” Jack asked, favoring the one leg. Walking had been painful experience after Daniel had kicked him. The bastard so owes me after this.

Methos looked over at the injured mortal. “Cut his shirt off, but make sure you leave the knife in him. We don’t need another incident like the last one.” He then handed over another knife for Jack to use.

Jack busied himself with removing Daniel’s shirt, careful to not disturb the knife in his chest. Teal’c stood over Daniel’s inert form, ready to strike to prevent him from hurting Jack.

Methos also busied himself by taking out various supplies from the plastic tote and arranging them in some sort of logical order.

“Done,” Jack announced.

Next, working together, Jack, Teal’c, and Methos untied Daniel’s hands and retied his hands and then his legs so that he was staked out, unable to get any leverage that would allow him to move. They tied him so he looked like he was trying to make snow angels in the grass.

By then, Sam had managed to get a small bonfire going. It crackled and popped as dry timber and leaves caught fire. Shadows were cast all around, dancing in time with the tongues of flames that spewed forth from the inferno. While it wasn’t large, it was enough that everyone could clearly see each other and the immediate vicinity.

“What now?” Jack asked, perplexed as to what Adam, Methos, whatever his name was, was going to do.

Methos sighed. Why did people always demand an explanation for everything? “Like I said earlier, the Quickening he took on Holy Ground did not settle properly and caused the other two Quickenings to not settle also. What I, we, am going to do is release the damaged Quickening and re-align him, which will hopefully bring him back to us normal.”

“Huh?” was all Jack said.

“Have you heard of Chakras before?” he asked.

Jack nodded kind of vaguely.

“This is kind of related to New Age people claiming to re-align and cleanse someone’s chakras, but this isn’t New Age, it’s not a con or a scam. What we are going to do is re-align Danil and hopefully bring our friend back from insanity.”

“Have you done this before and what if it doesn’t work?” Jack pressed.

“I’ve assisted with this before, I’ve never done it by myself. Another Immortal by the name of Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez, or at least that was the name he had when he died. I knew him as Anok Sabe. Many things can be said about Ramirez, but the main thing was that he was always full of shit. He never told anyone the truth about his age. When he died, he was telling people that he was only two thousand, four hundred and thirty-seven years old. He didn’t want others to know that he was ancient. When I met him four thousand plus years ago, he was already at least five thousand years old. He didn’t want head hunters coming after him, wanting his Quickening. It was a lesson that stuck with me and eventually passed it along to Danil. Young ones will sometimes crave power so much they’ll deliberately challenge older, more powerful Immortals in hope that the older one will be stupid and screw up.”

Jack shook his head, trying to clear it of all that had just been thrown at him. It was like listening to another Daniel. “That’s fascinating, but it doesn’t really answer my question, now does it?”

Methos grinned; the shadows playing on his face making him look a bit sinister. “A friend of Ramirez went through something like what Danil is going through, though of course minus the whole off-world thing. I assisted Ramirez in the process and he taught it to me so if it were necessary, someone else would be around to help the Immortal and prevent another senseless beheading.”

“What if it doesn’t work? What then?” Jack asked, fearing the worst. “Is there something else that can be done?”

At this Methos looked very grave. “Not that I am aware of. Our options would be to dump him on some sort of Holy Ground, or maybe in your guys’ case to another planet, and pray that time will heal him. Otherwise, I kill him and take his head. Right now he is a threat to any other Immortal that he would come across, not to mention he’s a security risk for your program.”

“You can’t kill him! He’s your friend!” Sam protested, horrified that Adam could be so cold about the matter.

“It’s because he’s my friend that I would take his head. Daniel, the one we all know and love would rather die than live his life as a homicidal monster. Would you rather have him start killing others, starting with Danil’s former student, Siler is it?”

“No, it’s just we’ve been a team for so long. I can’t imagine doing what we do without him,” Sam said, clearly imagining a life without her friend.

“I understand Sam, but believe me; he would rather be dead than go on another rampage like he did over two thousand years ago. You would have hated him back then. Take it from me, Danil was a monster. I know it’s like the pot calling the kettle black hearing this come from me, but he was truly out of his mind.”

“Okay, so what do we need to do?” Jack asked, putting an arm around Sam’s shoulders, offering what little comfort he could to his friend.

Teal’c also came over and placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder, offering his strength and support. “What do you require of us Adam Pierson?”

Methos looked at the three of them, then down at Danil. “You really are a lucky son of a bitch to have such good friends Danil,” he muttered, jealous and admiring at the same time.

Methos busied himself by drawing symbols on Daniel’s chest with a permanent marker.

“Maybe I am wrong here, but I don’t think the ancient Egyptians had a Sharpie at their disposal,” Jack remarked, sarcasm lacing his words.

The Immortal looked up from his work as he crouched over the still form and gave the colonel a dirty look. “The medium doesn’t really matter according to Ramirez, though originally the ritual required the use of mud and crocodile blood. Now, I don’t know about you, but crocodile blood is pretty hard to come by, not to mention dangerous. Unless you feel like wrestling one and risk getting your hand bitten off, we will have to make due with my red Sharpie.”

“I believe that DanielJackson will not be pleased when he discovers that you have drawn the symbols of Osiris and Heru-ur on his person,” Teal’c observed.

Sam chuckled slightly. “Is that ever an understatement; he’s going to be royally pissed when he sees this.”

“At least you didn’t use Hathor. He really hates her with a passion,” Jack added.

Methos looked at him this time, puzzled. “Why? There’s a real Hathor out there? She’s not just a story told long ago around the campfires?”

Jack grimaced. “It’s a long story. Hathor, the false goddess of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll, was found here on Earth. She was brought to the SGC and managed to seduce all of the men on the base.” At this, Teal’c cleared his throat. “Okay, except for T here because of Junior. Anyway, Daniel was found especially attractive to Hathor and wanted to use his DNA to create baby Goa’ulds. They looked like prawns. She basically drugged him and got him to have sex with her. What really pisses him off about her isn’t so much the sex, it’s that he was still married to Shar’ae at the time. He still feels like he betrayed her, even though he couldn’t help himself or stop it from happening.”

“He had kids?” Methos asked confusion on his face. “Immortals can’t have kids. We’re sterile.”

“I’ve been thinking about it. It really wasn’t him having kids, it was more of Hathor using his DNA and combining it with hers. They weren’t human and but his DNA was necessary for the larvae to be able to be implanted in human hosts. You guys do have DNA. God! I wonder if that bitch knew that Daniel was Immortal and chose him because of that. What if those baby-Goa’ulds hadn’t been killed? Could they have been implanted in other Immortals, creating the perfect host?” Sam wondered, finally seeing the full implications of Hathor’s actions.

“Oh for crying out loud, why can’t anything with Daniel be simple?” Jack groused. “Going on, why do you have to draw symbols of patently false gods? Heru-ur is actually dead and isn’t going to help you in this. Also, Osiris is now taking residence in one of Daniel’s ex-girlfriends and he sure as all hell isn’t going to be worrying his pretty little head over one of the four most wanted people in the galaxy.”

“Osiris is a woman? Wait, never mind, tell me later about that little nugget of information. Ramirez never said anything about the symbols. He only said that the medium for writing them wasn’t specific, nor was the perfumed oil that has to be used. Osiris is supposed to represent balance and judgment while the Eye of Horus, also known as Heru-ur, represents the source of all generative power. Oh fuck, I can’t find it!” Methos at this point started cussing up a storm, using several languages to describe his organizational skills.

“If it does not actually matter, may this be of assistance to you?” Teal’c asked while holding out a small vial of some sort of liquid.

Methos looked at him and the vial with skepticism. “What is it?”

“I purchased this at a truck stop. It promised that one would feel the strength of a hundred men while wearing it. I feel that this was an example of false advertising. The oil caused a rash and made my larval Goa’uld ill-at-ease.

Methos took the offering and examined it closely and took a tentative sniff. “Bathroom Polo? You have got to be shitting me. Its no wonder your thing was upset. This stuff smells like a urinal in a garbage dump!”

“Which is another reason I am most displeased with this product,” Teal’c gravely replied. "And I do not see why you would think I would involve fecal material in this matter."

“I swear, being around you people is interesting, but it definitely gives one a headache,” he muttered as he took the crap and used it to anoint the crown of Daniel’s head, his forehead, and throat, almost like a priest would do at a child’s baptism.

Next, he drew a large rectangle with broken areas that were supposed to be doors to the larger circle that Methos had drawn in the dirt. He then light four candles and placed one at each corner.

“Now for the easy part,” Methos said and sighed. This would be far from easy in all reality.

Methos stood at Daniel’s head and gestured towards the others to take spots at East, West, and South, each person stepping through their “doorway.” Jack was at his right, on the west side of him, with Teal’c on his left, and Sam was at Daniel’s feet. He then instructed the others to draw a line in the dirt, closing their “doorways.”

Reaching down to the supplies on the ground, he picked up several items and tossed one to each person, along with a book of matches.

Jack, who thought the Old Man had tossed him a bundle of pot, looked doubtfully at him. “You know I don’t believe in magic and I don’t like messing around with plants I have no idea about. I don’t want to be in some drug induced hallucination and then fail my next drug test.”

Methos looked at him with exasperation. “I’m not Harry Potter Jack. This isn’t magic, but something real that can’t be explained by science or rational thought, just like Immortals. If you want to save Daniel, then open your mind. Do it for him,” he said, annoyed. “Also, I didn’t give you anything exotic. It’s just lavender, sage, and sweet grass, nothing wild and illicit. The last thing I want is a bunch of people tripping while we’re doing this. I save that kind of stuff for the summer solstice. Now I need the three of you to light your bundle and wave it over Daniel. Have a seat so we can begin.”

They all sat down and Methos picked up a large book from beside his feet and opened it to somewhere in the middle. “If I ask you to do something, I expect it done. You won’t be in any danger. Daniel and I will be the only ones vulnerable. It could be somewhat scary, but if even half of what you guys have told me is true, I don’t think what you see will disturb you too much. Also, once it starts, you can’t put a halt to it. You have to let things happen and take their course,” he advised.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. “Fine, whatever you need we’ll do it for Daniel,” he said, speaking for the others.

“Good,” Methos sighed. “First, Jack I need you to remove the knife. He’ll be pissed, but he won’t be able to move.”

Jack pulled the knife that was sticking out of his friend’s chest. Lightening raced over the wound, healing it completely.

Danil gasped, announcing his arrival back to land of the living. He tried to move his arms and legs, but found them pinned down, unable to gain any leverage.

“What the fuck are you doing Methos? Untie me you bastard,” he screamed, pissed that there was nothing that he could do to improve his situation. He continued to yell at his friends, hurling epitaphs and insults at four of them. Unfortunately, all he got in response was an eye roll from Jack.

Realizing that screaming at his friends wasn’t going to work, he went in the opposite direction. “Teal’c you can’t let them do this to me. He’s going to steal my Quickening for himself, killing me. He’s always wanted more power and he figures this is how he can get it.”

Teal’c looked at his friend dispassionately, giving no indication that he believed the tale.

Next, he tried Sam, using his big baby-blue eyes that had so many times got her to do stuff she normally wouldn’t have. He was a master manipulator after all. “Sam! Come on and help me here. Please! I don’t know what he’s told you, but he’s only going to kill me not save me. I’m fine now. I was upset, but I’m better now.”

Sam also looked at him with no sign that she believed him. On the inside however, she was crying. She hated it when he looked at her with those blue eyes and long eyelashes. He would get this sad, puppy-dog look that always made her cave into what ever he had planned. She wanted to believe him, but she could see for herself that this was not her Daniel, her friend and brother. The person before her was a stranger and could not be trusted. However, she trusted the Colonel and he apparently trusted Adam, so she stuck to her resolve and ignored Daniel.

Daniel seeing this, he turned his head to look at Jack. “Jack, how many times have I stood by you, believing you when no one else did? You know me Jack. We’ve been to hell and back, literally, together. You know I wouldn’t lie to you and get you to do something that would be wrong or misguided.”

Jack looked down at his friend. “Daniel has been there for me countless times. We have been thick as thieves, but not with you. You aren’t my friend. You’re Danil, a relic from his past that needs to go. That chestnut is pretty old by now and needs to be tossed out with the garbage and the used bathwater.”

“Nice mixing of the metaphors,” Methos said sarcastically.

“I try,” Jack said with false modesty.

Danil then stretched his neck, tilting his head back to look at Methos. “You son of a bitch, I’ll fucking kill you for this the first chance I get. I swear it,” he hissed, his voice full of venom.

Taking a deep breath and silently praying to gods he no longer believed in Methos began, hoping against hope that this would work. He wanted his friend back. “Supreme Lord! Khnum, molder of the gods and creator of mankind, a source of life, I call to you. Lead this soul from the unreal to the Real. Lead this man from the darkness to the Light. Lead this tortured being from the temporary to the Eternal. You who have granted this man immortality, possession of the blue fire that fills his being, bring him back from the edge, bring his soul beck into alignment,” he shouted the words, speaking in ancient Egyptian, not understanding the words, but recognizing the language from all of the countless times Daniel had used it. They were reminded that the man in front of them had lived in a time where that was the language in common use in and around the upper Nile region.

At first there was nothing to be heard once Methos’ voice died (other than Daniel’s heavy breathing, not screaming thankfully, but he far from being relaxed). They could hear the sounds of the trees, the light wind rustling the leaves, the occasional crunch of underbrush being stepped on by wild animals, and the gurgling coming from the near-by waterfall.

Methos was about to repeat the prayer, fearing that he had somehow said it wrong, but was stilled by a roaring sound that seemed to come from all around out of no where. The wind immediately picked up and blew leaves and dirt all around, but never touching them, the candles, or the bonfire. Everything that was encased by the large outer circle was safe from the hurricane-force wind.

A rumbling came next from beneath them. The earth broke apart in places, ancient igneous rocks jutted upwards, exposing themselves for the first time in thousands of years.

Water from the creek splashed and crashed even more noisily, changing from a quiet bubbling to a frothy and swirling mess.

Sam, Teal’c and Jack looked around wildly at everything; the area had been clearly light up by the fire that had doubled in size and power. They weren’t frightened, but clearly unsettled by the upheaval that was taking place all over.

Jack looked at Methos, who was sitting there calmly, shadows created by the leaping light of the fire dancing across his face, reminding Jack briefly of the time they spent in the pits at Netu.

Danil, however, was far from calm. He wasn’t screaming his head off and cussing up a storm as he had been doing. Instead he was in clear panic mode. His breathing was heavy and ragged. He was clearly sweating; his eyes were wide, staring all around him. Danil pulled on the ropes that bound him to the ground, but the way he was tied did not allow him to have any sort of leverage.

He wanted to get away, he needed to get away. He could feel pressure building up inside his body, from the base of his throat to his solar plexus. It scared him. In all of the years he had been alive, he had rarely ever been scared, preferring to push such a weak and pitiful emotion away and focus on the task at hand, the battles and fights, the blood and gore that came from conquering weak and servile mortals. Even when he had been wrapped up under the many layers that Daniel Jackson had shellacked over his truer self Daniel hadn’t been scared for his own personal safety. Now he was truly frightened, knowing instinctively that something bad was going to happen to him.

Methos looked around him and smiled with a bit of satisfaction. It was working – so far. Now came the trickier parts and unfortunately he knew that he wouldn’t be the one to help find Daniel.

Taking his knife, he arced downwards, slitting Danil’s chest, down the length of his sternum. At the spot just below the xyphoid process, he stabbed down, jamming the blade into his body. Then to make it even more of a gruesome thing to do, Methos twisted the knife clockwise, making the hole larger.

He left the knife in Danil’s body, ignoring the screams that were now coming forth from the other Immortal’s mouth.

From the jagged hole, a blue light short forth, shining up several feet from his body, but did not dance or do a lightening storm imitation as a normal display of an Immortal’s Quickening would do. Instead it blazed upwards like a flashlight’s light would.

“What now?” Jack yelled over the wild displays of nature and Danil’s screaming.

Methos looked at Jack. “You have to touch the light Jack. You’re the only one who can do the rest of this. You have to convince Daniel to want to come back.”

“What? Are you crazy? You have more experience with this stuff than me,” he barked at the Immortal who had apparently lost his mind. “You said that you had helped that Egyptian guy with this. It’s your show, so go for it.”

“I can set things into motion, but it takes a person’s friend, the one person he trusts implicitly, to convince him to push the damaged quickening out of his body. He has to cleanse his spirit of his own free will, but it is hard to do and takes a lot of encouraging.”

“Why don’t you do it? You’ve known him longer,” Jack challenged Methos, looking at him squarely in the face.

“I am his friend, but not the one person he trusts most. Daniel and I will always be friends, but there is always a bit of mistrust between all Immortals. We are always wondering if the person sitting next to us will someday take up a sword against him. You have to do this Jack or we will lose him forever,” Methos implored the colonel.

“I’m not an Immortal,” Jack stated the obvious to everyone.

“No shit. You don’t have to be one of us to do it; you just have to have a deep level of trust between you and the Immortal. Jack, he trusts you more than anyone – ever. Touch the light and find him. Convince him that he needs to come back. Once you do that, he’ll be able to reject the Quickening that is causing all of the havoc and the other Quickenings that he’s taken since then will settle naturally.”

Jack looked at Sam and Teal’c who nodded encouragingly. “Are you sure this is going to work?”

Methos smiled crookedly. “It did the last time. It’s really up to Daniel. Give me the weeds and you do your thing. Just stick your hand in the light,” he said and took the smoking bundle from Jack’s hand.

Jack looked at Methos, worried that this would get him or worse yet, everyone else killed. Sighing, knowing that despite any sort of misgivings or doubts that this hocus pocus stuff would actually work, he knew that he would do what ever it took to get his friend, his best friend back.

Reaching tentatively, his fingers, then his whole hand entered the blue light emanating from Daniel’s body.

Suddenly he seized and pitched forward, collapsing across Daniel’s suddenly silenced form. Blackness enveloped him, blocking out the sight of Sam, Teal’c, Methos, and all of the wild nature going on around the five of them.

Jack landed on top of the light, on top of the ragged hole being held open by a ceremonial dagger. The light was not diminished, but instead changed into tendrils, stretching out from underneath Jack and wrapping around his body and re-joined above his back, like a deep sea monster of old wrapping its arms around a hapless ship full of sailors.

“Holy Hannah,” Sam exclaimed. “What now?”

Methos looked troubled. “It’s up to Jack and Daniel now.”

Things were quiet all of the sudden. It was also pitch black, leaving him effectively blind. He didn’t know where he was or what his surrounding was like. He felt alone and vulnerable, two feelings he abhorred.

Trying to figure out where he was, Jack called out to the blackness, hoping someone would hear him. “Hello! Anyone? Daniel?”

As he spoke a tiny pinprick of a light appeared, looking far away, to far too actually reach. However, he didn’t have anything better to do, so Jack began walking (at least he thought he was walking), as the cliché goes, towards the light.

While he was heading for the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, the light began to grow. It went from a microscopic point far in the distance to something that was powerful and rushing towards him at an incredible rate.

Jack prayed that he was doing the right thing and let the light come and wash over him, cascading all around, bringing his being into the visible spectrum. He looked down and saw his hands, his watch, and the jeans he had been wearing back at Devil’s Tower. He had on his boots, his plain black t-shirt, everything that screamed normalcy. He was missing one thing though.

“Daniel! Where in the blazes are you?” he yelled, looking all around the white emptiness that surrounded him.

“Here Jack,” came the reply from somewhere behind him.

Jack twisted around and saw Daniel sitting on what looked like to be a floor, with his back pressed against a white wall. The Immortal was wearing a pair of khaki cargos, with a light blue shirt that was open, revealing a white t-shirt. His feet were encased in old hiking boots that looked as if they had been in his possession for the better part of a decade.

He looked more relaxed than he had in a long time. He didn’t look as if he had the weight of the world and the fate of the galaxy resting on his shoulders. Daniel did not look like the old soul that was occasionally a bit scattered like he normally did. He even looked happy.

Jack was torn with the desire to see that his friend could sense a bit of happiness, but at the same time, he wanted the absent-minded, lost in thought professor. He wanted his friend whole, healthy, and back with them where he belonged.

“Well, this is pretty plain. Maybe with a couple of throw pillows and some curtains you might be able to spruce this place up a bit,” Jack observed, his hands in his pockets.

“Sorry,” Daniel said tiredly. Immediately a new scene sprung up out of nowhere, replacing the stark whiteness.

“Where are we?”

“Apparently somewhere in my psyche,” Daniel replied, but when he noticed Jack’s frown he continued on. “More specifically, it’s the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. I’ve always loved it there and I guess this is what my mind thought would be comforting. I do like it.”

Jack looked around at the displays. There were mummies, statuary, masks, and other things looked like several items in Daniel’s office back home.

He sank down onto the floor, pleasantly surprised that his knees weren’t screaming at him. Oh yeah, asteroid plain, he remembered.

“It’s nice here, but you can’t stay here forever Danny. Your other self is annoying and homicidal. We need you back with us,” Jack said, sitting by Daniel’s side.

“I could always change it. How about this,” Daniel said and a lake magically appeared from nowhere.

“Are there fish?”

“Are fish really necessary? I thought it was more about the act of fishing than actually catching anything,” Daniel replied, a ghost of a smile flickered on his face before disappearing all together.

“How are you doing this?” Jack asked, looking out at the blue expanse in front of him, realizing that he was sitting in a boat, complete with fishing tackle.

“It’s my mind. I can do what I want,” he retorted as the scene returned to the museum scene.

“What’s going on Daniel?” Jack asked, once he had mentally returned to a state of equilibrium. Seeing scenes change like that was a bit unbalancing.

“I’m tired Jack. I’m just so damn tired of it all,” Daniel said, sounding so sad and lost at the same time.

“Tired of what Daniel?” Jack asked, looking for clarification. There were so many things that the man could be tired of.

Daniel sucked in a deep breath and shakily released it. He could have clammed up and ignored Jack’s inquiry. However, he knew he had to talk to someone. He had to release his burden. “I’m tired of the fighting with the Goa’uld, the Replicators, and my own kind. I’ve been around for a long time Jack. I’ve seen and done some amazing things in my life, but I am tired now. We’re constantly at war with someone, fighting for the survival of our planet. We have enemies everywhere, out there in space and here on our own planet, even in our own government. On top of that, I am forced to fight against other Immortals to the death over some stupid idea that in the end there can be only one. For five thousand years I’ve played this game, always abiding by the rules, always careful not to cross any lines, and look what it’s gotten me. It’s too much for me to bear. I can’t handle it now.” By now Daniel was sobbing, tears leaving tracks down his face.

Jack also felt his eyes fill with tears. He, tough as all nails, Colonel was starting to cry. However, only a sociopath would have remained dry listening to the sound of Daniel’s voice. It was so lost and lonely.

“Daniel, I am so sorry that you’ve had to go through all of this, from that stupid village filled with stupid people, to that Ramen Noodle guy, to those NID assholes,” he said, pulling the deceptively younger-looking man into a side hug.

“And you know what’s worse?” he paused to see Jack shake his head. “What’s worse is that no matter what happens to us, you guys will one day leave me, alone, and I’ll be forced to move on. I’ll loose you guys like I’ve lost everyone I have ever known. Just like I lost Shar’ae, just like I lost Caelia, Orinda, and countless other people that I’ve loved. I get to go on, passing away the time by killing others, taking their power, and hoping that it gets me one step closer to being the One. I am so sick of it all.”

“I know,” Jack said, “but you can’t stay here Daniel. Your outer self is too dangerous.”

“Then let Methos kill me. Maybe it will be enough for him to be the last one,” he said tiredly.

Jack barked out bitter laughter. “Oh yeah, that would be just swell, having Death be the one to rule the planet. I think I would rather have Ra come back from the dead and rule over us.”

“You don’t mean that, besides Methos hasn’t been Death for a long time.”

“Daniel, we are not going to let you give up like that. We need you to come back,” Jack insisted.

“Why? There are plenty of people that could do my job, probably even better. Get someone more military. You are always complaining about me wanting to make everyone into a friend, ignoring any sense of danger. I’m sure the Pentagon would love to see me gone. My stupid insistence has cost us resources and access to weapons plenty of times,” Daniel acknowledged.

Jack could not believe what he was hearing. “Look here Daniel. You’re stupid insistence has kept us from going down paths that are best stayed away from. We would have been taking it in the rear eventually from a bunch of Hitler look-a-likes. Some how I don’t think that qualifies your insistence to look deeper into things and the people we have to deal with as being stupid. You’ve helped to keep us from becoming like the Goa’uld. That’s never wrong.

“You’re job is next to impossible. Not only would someone have to learn countless language, have diplomatic skills, and learn to fight. You can do all three and there is not anyone, I repeat: anyone, who can do all of that, plus put up with me. So you get your head out of the proverbial sand and realize that you are a part of this team and are a necessary asset to not only to Earth, the United States, the SGC, but also to SG-1. We are not a team without you.”

“It’s too hard Jack. I don’t want to go back.”

Jack pissed at hearing that looked the Immortal squarely in the face, switching tactics smoothly. “Look here Daniel. Things are rough for everywhere. Your problems might be a bit odder than most people’s but just because it’s difficult, that doesn’t mean you have the right to give up. Didn’t you tell us when telling us the story about how you got your sword that the old Chinese man ran you around and worked you like an animal to see if you’d break? You didn’t and that was pretty damn difficult work you had to do. Where’s the difference between then and now?”

Daniel, averting his eyes, not willing to look Jack in the eye, spoke quietly. “I’m tired and I don’t see an end to any of this. The more we fight, the more the bad guys throw at us. There’s always someone new out there that hates us and is more than willing to try to destroy us. They’re always finding new weapons to use against us or kill innocents as we stumble our way on to a new planet. The more we try the worse things get.”

“Daniel, things always get worse before they get better. You’ve been around long enough to know this. You’ve lived through some of Earth’s most difficult time periods. You’ve seen countless times when it sucked to be alive, but things always turned around in the end.”

“To turn around and get another ass kicking from a new direction, you mean,” Daniel said bitterly.

“That’s the way life goes so you have to appreciate and celebrate the positives,” Jack said sagely.

Daniel looked over at him wryly. “Been reading Hallmark cards again?”

“Nope, not lately. Last time I was laid up in the infirmary, the only book available was Janet’s The Purpose Driven Life. It’s very much a chick-type book, but surprisingly it had some usable quotes for times like this,” Jack grinned, embarrassed to admit that he had been reading a woman’s self-help book. “Can you find it in yourself to come back to us? I really don’t think Sam or Teal’c want to put up with your nastier side any longer and I really don’t think Methos wants to actually kill you. There is also the paperwork involved in declaring you dead and you know how much I hate paperwork.”

“I don’t know,” Daniel hedged, looking uncertain.

“Danny, I can’t promise you that it will be easy. I can’t say that we won’t have problems and worst-case scenarios in the future, but no matter what, we will be there for you. Please come back. I don’t want to loose my best friend.”

“I’m your best friend?” he asked incredulously.

“Come on! Who else besides you, Carter, and Teal’c can I call my best friends? You and the other two are the only ones who continuously put up with me no matter how much of an ass I’m being,” he admitted much to his embarrassment.

“Well, there is that,” Daniel smiled.

“So what do you say? How about we blow this Popsicle stand and you come back to land of the sane,” Jack asked, hoping that Daniel would make the right choice.

“I’m going to pay for this, aren’t I?” Daniel blushed.

“Oh hell yeah! But don’t worry; we won’t hold it against you for forever. Just long enough to get some slave work out of you.”

“Thanks Jack. That sounds so lovely,” Daniel replied sarcastically, sounding more and more like him-self.

“It’s what friends are for,” Jack snarked back, grinning at his friend.

Knowing that his work there was done, Jack stood up. “Methos said that you’d know what to. He said something about pushing out the damaged Quickening. There is a gaping hole in your chest the last time I looked.”

“There’s a hole in my chest?” Daniel looked horrified.

“Oh yeah. Methos had to stab you and tore open your chest. This cool light came out, I touched it, and now I am here. It was odd,” he said and offered his hand to help Daniel up. “Let’s go Daniel. We have over a week left of our vacation and I need you to be around to enjoy it properly.”

“Jack?” Daniel called, standing up now.

“Daniel?” Jack replied, his brown eyes snapping with amusement.

“How much of an ass have I been? I haven’t exactly been paying attention to stuff on the outside you know,” he asked, gesturing to the scene surrounding him.

“Well,” Jack hedged.

“Tell me, please,” Daniel asked, looking a bit disturbed, thinking of some of the worst things possibly.

“You’ve been a pretty big asshole lately. You probably given Sam a mild concussion, you hit Teal’c, and kicked me in my bad knee, among other things. Oh, and at the very least you might have put two guys in the hospital,” Jack reported.

Upon seeing the horrified look on Daniel’s face, Jack hurried on. “Other than the NID guys, you haven’t killed anyone. Also, you’ve been shot at least three times and stabbed maybe four or five times by Teal’c, Methos, or myself. It all balances out in the end. But don’t worry about it. If there are any consequences, we’ll deal with as a team.”

Daniel looked a bit spooked and wrapped his arms around his torso in his familiar way. “Thanks Jack for being my friend.”

“Any time Daniel.”

At that Jack’s view faded to pure white, then black, then nothingness. Slowly he was being released from Daniel’s mental prison. Next thing he knew he was sitting up, back in the circle that Methos had created for the ceremony at the base of Devil’s Tower.

“Sir!” Sam cried as Methos and Teal’c both reached to assist the Colonel. “Did it work?” she asked.

“I think so,” Jack said. “I guess we wait and see.”

Daniel stood there and watched Jack fade from sight, or whatever was the proper term for where he was. Now he was alone, but motivated to do something about it.

He let the false world he had created also fall away, returning his “room” to its original barren white state. Standing there in the middle of nothing, he scrunched up his forehead, trying to think of how he could stop the madness.

Jack had said that there was a gaping hole in his chest and light was coming out of it. Maybe that was the pathway for him to use. But use for what? Could he use the hole to help him push the damaged part of his Quickening out, expelling it? Immortals like him and Methos have an incredible amount of control over their Quickening, allowing them to dampen its effects and not alert others of their presence. Could he do something similar? Could he grab a hold of the source of his Immortality, push out the damaged part as Jack had said, and force it to repair itself?

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes (whether or not that was actually necessary he didn’t know), he imagined he could see the part of his Quickening that wasn’t right, that had been harmed by the one he had taken on Holy Ground. He could see it as a ball of energy resting in him that was not a normal blue-white color, but darker and almost grey, with angry tendrils of white hot lightening lashing out at the rest of his Quickening.

Knowing instinctively that it had to go before it infected the rest of him, destroying the life he had built for himself, Daniel focused on the wounded part of his Quickening. He imagined there was a giant hand in front of him, grabbing the damaged part of his Quickening and ripping it away from the rest of his source of life and power.

The giant hand crushed the Quickening, ignoring the bolts leaping from underneath its fingers, trying to free itself. It crackled and sizzled as the hand continued to compress and squeeze the energy.

When he figured that the mental hand had a tight enough grip on it, he “forced” the wrongness upwards, visualizing it being forced up and out a hole in the sky he was “seeing.”

Immediately, he felt lighter, freer than he had in months. It was like a weight had literally been lifted off him. He could see his Quickening literally re-aligning itself, repairing the damage done.

Slowly, he felt himself start to fade away. He was losing his grip on his personal astral plain. It wasn’t scary, but comforting, as if he were going home after being away for a long time.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

Back in the real world, Teal’c, Sam, Methos, and Jack sat there watching Daniel for any sign that he was coming back to them. They could see that his eyes were moving behind closed lids and his body was twitching slightly, as if he were fighting to return to consciousness.

Suddenly, Daniel started convulsing, like he was in a full-blown, grande mal seizure. He shook uncontrollably and started drooling. His eyelids popped open, but his eyes were unfocused and glazed. Daniel ground his teeth and thrashed about wildly. Sweat poured off of him like a fountain. The ropes that held him down cut into his wrists, leaving angry red marks that refused to heal since there was a knife in his chest that was holding the glowing wound open.

It was evident that something tremendous and immensely difficult was going on inside him. Unfortunately nobody knew if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Unexpectedly, a sound that they more felt than heard exploded and with it, a stream of energy erupted from Daniel’s chest. The four of them watched in amazement as a torrent of Quickening energy was released from his body. It didn’t look like a normal Quickening. It was a grey color and angry white tendrils of lightning lashed out from it.

The flood of energy shot straight up into the sky, ignoring everyone and everything, something that Methos was more than happy to note. It seemed as if all it wanted to do was to escape from its vessel. It rose higher and higher in the sky, disappearing from their view.

It did not take long for the lightshow to end, but from their perspective it seemed to take forever. Once it was over and they could no longer track the errant Quickening, their eyes snapped down to look at Daniel.

The blue light was gone and all that was coming out of the wound was bright, arterial blood.

Methos pulled the knife out of Daniel’s body and let his unnatural (from a mortal’s perspective), rapid healing take care of the wound, sealing it shut. He then used the knife to cut the bonds that held Daniel down, confident that with the damaged Quickening gone, Danil was vanquished and no longer an immediate threat to everyone and everything.

He quickly broke the circles, bidding the elements farewell and giving thanks to Khnum for his protection, as proscribed by Ramirez once upon a time, in a land ever so far away.

“Get him to the waterfall,” Methos ordered.

Teal’c picked up his unconscious friend and working with Methos and Jack, they got him down the small cliff face (it was only about five to six feet high) and shoved him under the water, uncaring whether or not they got wet themselves.

As the ice cold water splashed over Daniel, he came to, spitting and spluttering. “What the hell?” he yelled, feeling the frigid water on his bare skin.

“Let him out,” Methos directed the three members of SG-1. “Daniel, is this the real you we’re talking to now?” he then asked his old friend, looking at him carefully, looking for any signs of deception.

“Of course it’s me! Who the hell else would it be?” he shouted, confused as to why he was half naked and drenched.

“It’s him,” Methos announced and watched the friends fall in to a group hug, crushing their once lost friend.

The next day, all of them, including Methos, were sitting by the hotel’s pool, relaxing and trying to regroup mentally after everything that had happened to them. The sun was shining, with nary a cloud in the sky. Normally the pool would have been filled with screaming kids and vacationers, but one look from Teal’c was all it took to drive them off, leaving the members of SG1 and Methos alone. They had plenty of food and drink to keep them satisfied all day if need be.

“Everything seems so distant. It’s like I was watching events unfold from far away, like I wasn’t even there, but watching it on tv. I remember feeling anger and a sense of fury, but it doesn’t seem real,” Daniel said, sitting on one of the lounge chairs, absently scratching at the paint on the arm of the chair with his fingernail.

“It wasn’t pretty Daniel. You were out of control, full of rage. Honestly, it was like you were after fighting with Alexander, only nastier and you were a mean bastard back then,” Methos said, watching is friend.

“I know Jack said I killed those NID guys, but what about anyone else? I didn’t take anyone’s head did I? I remember stuff, but some of the details are kind of foggy and vague. Also, why did you guys throw me in the water like you did? Was there a point to that?”

“No, it was just our three captors that you killed. The guys at the bar had to go to the hospital. One inside the bar had a broken arm, the one you kicked in the head has a skull fracture among other injuries, and the third guy has multiple injuries,” Jack reported. He hated to tell Daniel about it, but the man had to know what had happened. However, he didn’t want to see Daniel become over loaded with guilt. He was responsible for what he had done, but it wasn’t something that his rational mind had chosen.

“The nice thing is all three will make a recovery and I told the hospital that the bills will be covered by you. Don’t worry, I didn’t mention you by name, but told them to send any and all bills to your P.O. Box and they would be taken care of as long as the hospital didn’t ask too many questions. You told us that Daniel the Immortal has plenty of money, so I figure that he could take care of these guys,” Jack said.

“It’s the very least I can do for them after what I did. I’ll call my accountant and have him take care of it,” Daniel said tiredly.

“You have an accountant?” Jack asked incredulously.

“Yep,” Daniel said looking at him wryly. “What you think I can keep track of my finances from over the ages by a checkbook alone or keep everything hidden in a mattress somewhere?”

“Well, with you, you never know,” Jack shrugged and took another pull from his beer bottle.

Methos then picked up the question about the waterfall and the icy bath Daniel had received. “The person, once they rejected the bad Quickening and the wound had healed itself, was supposed to be cleansed, physically as a refection of the cleansing that the spirit and had undergone. I don’t make the rules here. I was told that it was important. Also, it helped bring you around didn’t it?”

“Oh, okay. I know that standing under a waterfall is a way of cleansing and aligning a person’s chakras. Maybe that has something to do with it,” Daniel said, thinking about the implications of such a symbolic act from an academic point of view.

Methos just shrugged and gave his friend one of his grins that could have a thousand meanings or actually mean nothing at all. He was sometimes unreadable like that.

Daniel abruptly came back to the real world.“Guys, I am so sorry that I did this and put you through everything. Adam thank you for coming up here and doing what you did.”

Methos shook his head. “All I did was the ritual; Jack is the one that pulled you back from the brink.”

“Still, you didn’t have to do what you did. I know you were looking forward to some peace and quiet and I am sorry I dumped my problems and issues on you,” he apologized.

Methos waved it away. “It’s the least I could do. You were there for me when many people were too afraid of me and the others to have anything to do with us. Even after I left the Horsemen, you never threw it in my face or forced me to confess or feel guilty about it. This small moment of insanity is nothing compared against that,” he declared.

Daniel smiled at that, remembering times when Methos and his less than savory friends had hid out with him, allowing them to live when they surely deserved a punishment worse than death for what they had been doing. “Thanks anyway. It is appreciated.”

“Also, I finally got to find out what you’ve been up to. It has to be the greatest adventure ever. You are damn lucky Daniel,” Adam went on. “My God, you travel to other planets on a daily basis, being able to see another world is amazing.”

“It’s one of the cooler jobs I’ve had in a long, long time,” Daniel admitted, a slight smile on his face, and then he sobered up, know he had more apologizing to do.

“Sam, I am so sorry for hurting you like I did. I am so terribly sorry,” he said contritely.

Sam smiled at her friend. The brushing on the side of her face from having her head rammed into the car window contrasted with her sunny smile. “It’s just a bruise Daniel. I’ll heal.”

“Teal’c, I’m sorry you had to see me at my worst and I am sorry that I hit you,” Daniel said.

"I have caused you much pain in the past DanielJackson, this was nothing in comparison to that. Your behavior and actions are of no consequence to me. You do not need to apologize to me,” Teal’c rumbled. “All that matters is that you are once again yourself.” He nodded his head in his formal matter, indicating that the matter was closed.

Daniel swallowed, knowing that the next apology would be even harder. “Jack,” he began. “I am so sorry for everything. How is your knee?”

Jack looked down at the slightly swollen joint. “Once you fell asleep back here at the hotel Adam drove me to the hospital to have it looked at. Luck was on my side. Nothing was torn or out of place; it’s just a bad sprain.”

“Still, I am so sorry for all of my crap. I’ve ruined your vacation, hurt all of you physically, and said some pretty horrible things, not to mention going on a rampage. I am so, so sorry Jack,” Daniel said, feeling pretty miserable about everything.

“Pshaw, Danny, you’ve had a rough couple of months. If anyone deserved to take a break from mental stability it would be you. You got screwed from the beginning and did not deserve to have any of this happen. Yeah, it sucks, but everyone will get over it eventually. Also, all of this will now give me tons of ammo to use against me. My living room does need to be painted again and I am sure my basement needs cleaning.”

“I’m going to be doing a lot of slave work, aren’t I?” Daniel asked, wincing slightly.

All four of them had identical, yet wicked looks on their faces.

“Oh yeah,” Jack said and finished off his beer, grinning evilly.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

The next day they all packed up and drove back to Colorado. Their first stop was their homes to drop off all of their gear.

Jack made a call to General Hammond and asked him if they could meet with him, off base at his home. While he felt that it was important that the General know about what had happened, they, especially Daniel and Adam, did not want all of the details being spilled out on the base, least the wrong person over hear the conversation.

To say the General was pissed was putting it mildly.

Teal’c, whom was one of the most unflappable people in the entire galaxy, was flapped. His eyebrows rose to unbelievable heights never attained before when he heard the language being used by Hammond. Luckily, most of the language was directed at O’Neill and Dr. Jackson.

“Does the word security mean anything to the two of you?” Hammond yelled. “I can’t believe you told him,” he continued to yell, pointing at Adam, “about the SGC and what we do!”

“Technically Sir, I didn’t tell him. I was dead when Jack told Adam,” Daniel offered, not being helpful in the least.

“Technically Dr. Jackson, your actions required a lot of maneuvering on my part to free up Devil’s Tower while your friend here performed his personal brand of voodoo, not to mention covering up the bar fight you started which put three people in the hospital! I ought to bust the two of you, plus you two, for going along with Jack telling this man who in no way has been given any sort of clearance about our program, down to scrubbing the SGC toilets for at least two months!” Hammond looked at everyone, including Carter and Teal’c, with no small amount of venom. “And don’t give me any of that I’m not in the military bull crap Dr. Jackson!”

“If it helps Sir, we got you a case of beer. It’s Guinness,” Jack offered, pointing to the box on the couch. “Oh, and we are sorry.”

“That I will accept,” Hammond softened his tone just a bit. “I will also be assigning SG1, once your vacation is over to training duty. You will find an eager bunch of recruits awaiting you when you return.” That last bit he delivered with a vicious and wickedly smug smile.

“Thank you Sir,” Jack and Daniel muttered in unison then looked at each other accusingly.

“Now, what are we going to do about Dr. Pierson? You do understand the meaning of the words Top Secret right?” Hammond asked, looking at the man closely.

Adam, ever the polite person, nodded. “Perfectly General, I very much know how important it is to keep certain things from the public eye. I will sign whatever papers you wish me to. However, I do have one request.”

“And that would be?” Hammond virtually growled.

“I would love to someday get a look at this Gate thing of yours. It sounds absolutely fascinating.”

“That depends,” Hammond replied.

“On me keeping quiet, Sir? I would even without receiving a chance to see this alien device,” Adam replied with the utmost sincerity.

“Whether or not you would be willing to come and work for us in our Languages and Archeology department? Assuming that you would pass the background check, you would work under Dr. Jackson. Also if you pass the training program, you would then be assigned to a team and be allowed to go off world,” the General announced, ignoring the dumbfounded looks on the members of SG1.

“What about my position at Mountain State? Is that a problem or can something be done about it?” Adam asked, wowed at the prospect of going off world.

“I’m sure something can be worked out son,” Hammond said as he stood up. “Welcome to the SGC. I am sure that Jack and Daniel will be more than happy to fill you in on some of the details about what goes on underneath the Mountain. We’ll be in touch.”

With that, Hammond and the case of beer left the house, leaving SG1 and Adam to themselves.

“Training duty?” Jack whined once the General was out of earshot.

(Six months later)

Dr. Adam Pierson has just returned from spending a week off-world with SG-12. They had spent the time going through the ruins of a long-dead society, scouting the territory, and discovering a whole boat load of accessible Naquadah. The only things alive on the planet were peaceful and gentle animals and birds. The biggest threat was the animals that looked like a cross between a rabbit and a koala; once seen a person was in danger of gushing like a fool over how cute they were.

Francis, Brennan, Tracey, and him-self were perfectly fine, except for the fact that they all stunk. They all had very satisfied smiles on their faces, having found a source of the precious metal that was easy to get to and did not have anyone else lay claim to it. And best of all, there was no evidence of Goa’uld occupation, past or present.

Feeling pretty pleased with him-self, Methos strode down the ramp from the Gate, grinning. It was all still a rush to him, going off-world.

He had plans for that night. Daniel and he had planned on going out to eat at the new Indian restaurant that had opened not to far from his apartment and then catch a movie. Daniel had mentioned something about wanting to see DayWatch.

As he was leaving the Gate Room, he was met by a somber Colonel O’Neill.

The man looked like he had gone through hell and back, which knowing the reputation that SG-1 had, that scenario was very likely.

“Colonel,” Methos, under the guise of Dr. Adam Pierson greeted the man. “Where’s Daniel?”

Jack cleared his throat, his eyes looking hollow and dead. “I need to speak to you in my office now.”

Adam immediately felt a cold shiver run up and down his spine. “Daniel didn’t lose did he?” he asked, fearful of the answer.

“No,” Jack said, “not exactly. Follow me please.” With that, the Colonel clammed up, turned on his heal and strode down the hall to the elevator. Together they took the lift up to the twenty–second floor where Jack’s little used office was located.

They entered the room and Jack made sure that the door was securely locked behind them so that no one could enter and surprise them.

Jack removed a pile of papers from the guest chair and he sat down behind the desk that was overflowing with files, forms, and reports that desperately needed attention. Jack pulled out a bottle of scotch that he kept hidden in the back of his desk, along with two glasses. It was highly against regulations, he knew, but as far as he was concerned, the regulators could go fuck themselves.

He poured two glasses, one for him and one for Methos and handed one to the Immortal that was sitting in front of him, stinking like a pig farm in dirty BDUs.

“What the hell is going on Jack?” Methos asked, leaning forward in his chair. He had noticed the somber look on everyone’s faces as they made their way to the office. “What happened to Daniel?”

Jack took a deep breath (through his mouth since the aroma coming from the man across from him was pretty bad), forcing himself to remain calm and collected even though he was crying on the inside like a small child. He did not want to burden anyone with his emotions, plus coldness was the best way to keep others away and let him deal with his grief alone.

“We went to a planet that was fairly advanced in some ways, but in others they were about 1940’s or 50’s technology-wise. There was a lab accident and a naquadria bomb was about to detonate. Daniel, being the brave, stupid fool he always is, dismantled it but received a lethal does of radiation. He saved all of us from dying, including a planet full of ungrateful sons-of-bitches.”

“Okay, but he’s an Immortal. It could kill him or his healing ability would kick in stopping the radiation poisoning, but he would eventually come back,” Methos stated, not seeing where this was going. “He might have to start a new life somewhere else, but he’ll be fine.”

“Daniel’s Immortality could not keep up with what the radiation did and he died, sort of,” Jack answered.

“What do you mean sort of? Either you are dead or you aren’t,” Methos pressed confusion clearly on his face.

“Daniel was given a choice by a being called Oma Desala. We had met her back when we went to Kheb a couple of years ago. She came back and gave Daniel the chance to ascend, to join a group of higher beings and do what ever it is that they do. Daniel died and his body dissolved into this glowing octopus-like light show. You can watch the security tape yourself if you want. Daniel came to me in some sort of dream or trance or something and asked me to let him go. He said that he wanted this and that he wasn’t sure that there would be enough left of him after the radiation destroyed his body to hold his Quickening and let him Regenerate. Sam’s dad was trying to heal him using a Goa’uld device and Daniel asked me to make him stop so he could start on his new journey,” at this Jack grew even quieter. “I told Jacob to stop. After that, Daniel died and then Ascended.”

“I – I don’t know what to say,” Methos said in a hushed voice.

Jack smiled, but it was not a happy smile. It was the smile of a man missing his best friend, grieving silently and not wanting others to know how alone he really felt. “Daniel told me to give you a message. He said for you to not worry and that maybe this way he could find out the real meaning behind the Game. He also said to thank you for being his friend and helping to save his soul and that he’d always be there if we needed him.”

Methos, the hard-nosed Immortal – the legendary survivor over time, felt his eyes grow wet with tears that he refused to let fall. “Trust that bastard to go out with style.”

“He’ll be back. Once he finds out that Ascended life ain’t all it’s cracked up to be, he’ll come home,” Jack said, sitting back in his chair, missing his friend.

Methos also sat back in his chair. “Yeah, and I bet you anything his return will be as spectacular as his exit.”

“Yeah, knowing Daniel, he’ll show up on a planet somewhere, naked as a jay bird, and tons of stories to tell. To Daniel,” Jack said as he raised his glass.

“To Daniel,” Methos echoed, clinking his glass with Jack’s and then drank the scotch, remembering his friend. He only hoped that Daniel would come back soon, for he knew that the SGC would be a darker place without his presence.

The End (for now).