Author notes: Big, big story... hope you like it!

DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions.  This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment purposes and no money was made from it.  Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended.  Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.  Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.  Not to be archived without permission of the author(s).

The sun was up in the blue sky, it's warmth embracing the all world.

The small patrol of five golden hair men walked from the forest edge and started snooping around, looking for possible signs of their enemies.

"Everything is clear, First One", one of the fair hair men said to the one who seemed to be in command. The commander nodded and prepared his men to move forward.

He stopped on his tracks when he heard the strange sound of large stone plaques sliding over itch other. It couldn't be! It had been years since it...

"Hide yourselves... fast!", he barked to his men, making them scatter to the forest, weapons ready, all eyes glued to the object in front of them.

The large ring that they had knew all their lives was moving! It seemed unbelievable... stories told to the young ones, to scared them... legends... but there it was!

Suddenly, the ring exploded with life, a large amount of water bursting out of it, coming from no were, almost reaching them, only to, as fast as it came out, go back in, and settle in a magnificent pool of bright blue water.

The phenomena got even stranger when, from out of that shimmering pool, four humanoid creature emerged, all dressed in strange green costumes and with even stranger objects that covered their heads.

Finally, ripped apart from the astonishment that had taken over the fair hair group, they all saw one of their greatest enemies between them, and by his side...

-"The Ruler must see these strangers", their leader whispered to one of his men.

With no need for a spoken order, the group of men silently surrounded the ones that had arrived from the Sacred Ring, preparing themselves for the attack.

When all were in place, the leader toss in the air a small round object, above the heads of the strangers. They immediately reacted, grabbing in their hands some black objects, that by the way they hold them, could be weapons of some sort.

Then, with a shot of the commander crossbow, an arrow flow in the air, hitting the round object, braking it and releasing a red dust in the air.

Knowingly, all of the fair hair men had hold their breath, waiting for the wind to take the red dust away.

When it had settle down, all of the four strangers laid in the ground, unconscious.

P4S990... that was the name of the damn place! Nice vacation spot... green... plenty of sunshine... good temperature... fresh air... really nice... until something comes on top of your head, making all your world red, and knocks you out!

Jack was already mad as hell before he even woke up. It really pissed him off when he was taken by surprised like that.

When Teal'c tried to waken him up, he was rewarded by some of O'Neill's best words to describe what he was felling about that planet.

Waiting a little for his commander to calm down, the big Jaffa took a step back and slid back to his previous sitting position.

After wearing off his long swear list, the Colonel finally started to talk in normal... almost normal english.

"What the hell happened? ", he asked Teal'c, realising that only him and Jaffa were occupying the dim cell.

"I believe that we were taken prisoners by the people inhabiting this planet, O'Neill... when I woke up, Captain Carter and Daniel Jackson were no longer with us", he flatly stated.

The initial anger that Jack was felling was rapidly subdue by a worry feeling about his missing teammates.

"This is not good... I thought the probe hadn't pick up any signs of intelligent life in this place!", he said, trying to make some sense out of that situation.

"It appears that the probe was wrong", Teal'c said.

"Ya think!", Jack shot back, sarcastically, "I knew I shouldn't've got out of bed today!"

The commander of the fair haired men was in a large, richly decorated room, bowed in front of his leader. Next to him, in the black floor, laid the motionless bodies of the two strangers with golden hair.

The leader, an ancient man, with pure white hair, had his face framed by two long braids. His blue eyes, like steel, piercing through the ones soul, were now focused in his second in command, carefully hearing what he had been telling him.

"... and so, My Lord, when I saw this two beings accompanied by the Mhoyin look a like, I thought it best to bring them in to your presence, so that you could wisely, as always, decide upon their fate, My Lord."     

The older man looked from him to the strangers on the floor.

"You say they came through the Sacred Ring?", he asked.

The man before him nodded yes.

"Must I assume by this, that you think that these two", he said, despising waving his hand in the direction of the motionless bodies, "are the ones that the legend foretells?", he asked.

The commander looked in to the face of his Ruler for the first time since the meting had started.

"They fit in the description, My Lord,... and as I said before, they arrived through the Sacred Ring!", he said, clearly stating his believes.

Jackson came back from the blackness that had clamed him for so long, startled by the voices that he could hear. They were speaking in english. Was he back at SGC? He sure didn't remembered coming back through the 'Gate!

He shifted slightly, rolling from his back stand to his right side. He slowly started opening his eyes, trying to remember what had happened and most of all, were he was!

After his blurred vision refocused, well, at least as far as his glassless eyes aloud, the first thing he registered was Sam's figure, unconscious, next to him.

"... and as I said before, they arrived through the Sacred Ring!", he heard the voice clearly state. The conversation ended abruptly when, who ever it was, saw him moving.

Slowly, Daniel pulled himself up in to a sitting position, trying his very best to stay calm, as he sensed the eyes of his captures on him. Turning around, he saw the owner of the voice he had been hearing.

He was a man, about his age, with long bright hair, framed by two long braids, decorated with fur ornaments. He, as the rest of the man and woman that filled the room, was dressed in cheerfully clothes, with odd looking patterns, covered by long dark woolen mantles, pinned by a golden jewel. I front of this man stood another, older, sitting on a large throne.

There was something wrong with those people appearance, Daniel just knew it, but what it was, he couldn't put his finger on it.

Driving away from his inner thoughts, the young anthropologist realized that all eyes were on him.

"Hi ! ", he finally said, getting up. Turning himself to the one who seemed to rule around there, Daniel slightly tilted his head, in respect.

"I am Daniel Jackson...", he started, waiting for them to say something, "... and you are?", he asked.

Both men closer to him didn't answer. They just kept gazing him, like they had been doing so far, analysing him, deeply studding his features. Doe they didn't seemed frightening to Daniel, so far, he felt uncomfortable under their intense observation.

He looked around, trying to find Jack and Teal'c, but they seemed to be no were near. He looked back at Sam. She was still out, but seemed okay, only asleep.

His eyes trailed off in the direction of the men and women that were filling the room, all in silence, almost as if they waiting for something. Daniel started to analyse them, trying to place them in some of the many cultures that he knew.

He started examining their coloured clothes, the crossbows and arrows that many carried, their long golden hairs, adorned by equally long braids, thin in the men and larger on the women. Some of them had blue paintings on their faces, making them look like Indian worriers.

"Celts!...", Daniel thought to himself, "... that's why I thought I had awoken in a Swedish convention!"

Sam begin to stirrer as well. She opened her eyes, slowly catching the unfamiliar surroundings. Seeing the many pair of eyes that were placed on her, she immediately hoped to her feet, her military self taking the lead of the situation.

With a bump forming on her stomach, she realised that her weapons were gone. " Not good!", she thought. Only them she saw Daniel, standing next to her.

"Were are we?", she whispered to him, not really knowing if those strange people could understand her or not.

The young anthropologist just shrugged his shoulders and, turning to the older man in the throne, tried once more.

"We are explorers... we came from a place far away from here... we mean you no harm!"" he said, noticing that the piercing eyes were now divided between him and Carter.

"Are you the chosen ones?", the older man finally said, his voice as cold as ice, deployed of any emotion.

"What?!", Daniel asked, turning one eye to Carter, checking if she had got the idea, "What are you talking about? Chosen ones? Chosen for what?". The questions were pouring out of his mouth without he even notice.

"Maybe he is testing us, My Lord?", the younger man said, addressing to the leader.

The older man thought a minute about that and finally made his mind up.

"I am Lord Forzzyn, the Leader of the Arians. This here,", he said pointing to the other man, " is my first in command, Hugger... I must apologizes for the way in which you were brought here, but it was our only way, and I hope you understand that, because you two are most welcome in Attica, our world, for as long as you desire!", he said, as politely as he could, but still no warmth reaching his voice.

"Well, thank you...", Sam started, jumping in to the conversation, ", but we had two other with us... friends..", she tried, eyeing them for any kind of reaction. None came. "... maybe you have seen them?", she asked.

"Yes... the older one and the filthy Mhoyin!", Hugger said, not hiding the anger and hatred for the last name, "They are not important. Only you are!"

"Mhoyin?!", Daniel said, desperately trying to make some kind of sense out of all that conversation. They were obvious referring to Teal'c, but... was Mhoyin their name for the Goa'uld?

"What do you mean they're not important? Where are they?", Sam asked again, straining not to show the building anger in her voice.

"Only you two forfill the prophesy.. only the two of you were awaited", the older man said, "but first we will see that you are refreshed, fed and maybe showed to... some more suitable clothes", the man said, looking disdainfully to their green fatigues.

Jackson tried in vain to get some questions answered, but by the time the Ruler had finish his last sentence, they were both being showed outside by two big guards.    

They were taken through a series of corridors, until they finally arrived their destination, two, side by side, doors. Each was taken to one.

Daniel took one last look in Sam's direction, reassuring himself that she was perfectly able to defend herself, and entered his door.

They had seemed not very threatening so far,... except for that chosen bit... Daniel could remember very well the last time some had call him the chosen one "Hathor, brrr...", he thought, feeling a chill coming up his spine.

Inside, the small room was dim lighted. In front of the door from were he had came in, stood another one, hot steam pouring from underneath it.

The first door opened once more, and two servant girls entered, bringing what seemed like some white clothing and a towel in their hands. As everyone around there, they too seemed snatch out of some Miss blond contest.

Seeing the towel in their hands, it finally hit the young anthropologist why he was in there.

"Humm... look, I appreciate this... but I REALLY don't feel like taking a bath right now... Hey! Hey! Wait! What are you doing?"

Before he could even protest, the two girls had swiftly taken off his jacket and shirt and were proceeding to his pants, when the man backed away.

"Ok! Ok!... I got the picture!... I think I can manage from here!", Daniel said, brushing the girls hands away and blushing to his ears. He tried to show the two girls to the door they had came from, but they refused to leave.

"We have orders from our Lord to show you to your bath", one of them said.

"Oh!... I see", Daniel said, realizing they weren't going anywhere until he had taken off his clothes. "Well... could you at least turn around?", he asked, still red faced, stumbling on the words, controlled by his embarrassment.

The two girls stared at each other, confused by such a request, but seeing no harm in it, they did as the stranger asked.

"Thank you...", Daniel breathed out, swiftly taken off his pants and boxers, putting the towel around his waist... tightly!

"Ok... now what?", he said, keeping a strong hold on that towel.

"Enter", they said, pointing to the door with the steam underneath it.

He took one look in their resolute faces and nodded, opening the second door, thinking that maybe a bath wasn't such a bad idea.

The door gave access to a much larger room. Steam filled it from top to bottom, giving it a foggy look, that combined with the dim lights, resulted in a very relaxing set.

Daniel could hear the water bubbling from the pool in front of him. The air was sweet, making his head feel light as a feather. He could feel his muscles, sore from everything that had happen that day, beginning to relax.

Removing the towel, he entered the hot water, forgetting everything else. 

Sam was as mad as she could be. Who the hell did they think they were to make her take a bath when she didn't wanted to?

Finally giving up, she had taken off her clothes, wrapped herself in the towel that the two girls had given her, and entered the second door.

Beyond it laid a bigger room, filled with white, hot, sweet steam. The minute she got in, every thoughts of the things she was planing to do to that Forzzyn and Hugger guys when she saw them again, were instantly gone, replaced by a warmth feeling of security. She couldn't help herself but to relax . Striping off the towel, she got in the pool of hot water that was before her.

Stretching  her legs inside the water, her foot touched something. Something soft and warmth... and it wasn't water!

Someone else was inside the pool!

Sam, as fast as she could, got to a standing position, trying to see who the hell was in there, preparing herself to beat the crap out of who ever it was. She got a little closer...

Her hormones jumped out, when she saw the naked figure of Narim in front of her... it couldn't be... could it?

Her brain was clouted and her thoughts refused to work with her. The only thing she could think of right now was of how much she wanted that man.

With a smile on her face, she got a little closer. He was smiling too, his arms open, inviting her in.

Daniel leaned against one of the borders of the pool and drooped his head back... boy, did that feel good!

Suddenly, he heard the sound of a door opening. Jumping on the spot, thousands of ideas crossing his mind, none of them very nice, he forced himself to stay alert. Looking around, Daniel tried desperately to find something to defend himself with, but when he saw who had came in, he gave up on that thought. His eyes widen and his mouth drooped to his chin.

There, in front of him, dressed only in a towel, stood his beloved wife... Sha're!

She took off the towel and entered the pool. This couldn't be happening... could it?

He didn't care.

"If this is just a dream, don't anyone dare to wake me up!"

She was coming closer to him, a smile playing in her beautiful face. He opened his arms to receive her, longing to feel his love with him again.

Sam embraced herself in Narim's strong arms.

"It's been so long", she whispered in his ear.

"Far to long, my love!", he whispered back, grabbing her by the waist inside

the water and planting a deep kiss in her lips. She tasted even sweeter then he remembered!

His hands started their way up, feeling wet her bare back, grabbing hold of her small shoulders, embracing his fingers in her soft short hair... short hair?!

Daniel grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her back, gazing her face. He tried to focused on his love, staring at Sha're's deep brown eyes... no wait... they weren't brown... they were blue...

"Sam?!" 

Narim's hands were on her waist, and she could feel all of his passion through his fingertips. Their kiss was lasting forever, and she was in heaven.

She felt his hands starting to find their way up, sending shills  all over her body. Her hands went up as well, mapping his chest, caressing his soft long hair... long hair!?

She felt herself being pushed away, and stare in to Narim's face... he wasn't smiling anymore... he looked confused... she blinked and tried to focused on the voice calling her name... it wasn't Narim's voice...

"Daniel !?"

Sam stumbled on her feet when she saw where she stood, and HOW she stood.

"Daniel !?"

She couldn't believe her eyes, but there it was, in front of them, in the place she had seen Narim only seconds before, a not very dressed Daniel, with the worst case of red face she had ever seen!

"S... Sam!? Is it really you?", he started mumbling.

Sam took a deep breath to calm herself. She didn't knew why, but even after she had recognized Daniel, who was like a brother to her, she couldn't help to notice how handsome he was, how she would like to...

"I think we better get out of here... Fast!", she said, realizing were her mind had started drifting out.

Daniel, who had find himself walking the same path, agreed with her.

There was definitely something wrong with that room... and whatever it was, it sure was having a strange effect on their hormones!

"Hum... you go first...", Daniel said to Sam, rapidly putting his hands in front of his eyes.

Sam couldn't fight the smile in her lips, looking at her teammate, standing inside the water like a college boy.

"You can look now!", she said, giggling, before living the room.

Ten minutes latter, Daniel and Sam were outside, in the corridor.

Apparently, they had been left unguarded.

They looked at each other, and almost started laughing out loud.

The white clothes that the girls had left for them were very similar, with large tunic-like tops, pants for Daniel and a long shirt for Sam, made out of something that felt like soft cotton, all together very different from what they had seen the natives wear, and, boy, did they looked ridiculous in those, but as they had figure out by themselves, it was either that or nothing... and that part they did not wanted to repeat, even if that meant walking around like some dark cult priests!

"Hum...", Daniel started, embarrassed. How the hell was he gonna tell, in a decent way, that he wasn't himself back there and, most important... that he thought that she was someone else?!

Sam beat him to it.

"I'm really sorry, Daniel! It wasn't myself back there, and I thought that you were... well, that you were someone else!... No hard feelings?", Sam said, talking really fast, hopping to say everything she needed to say, before he could open his mouth.

"Err.... right!...", Now... that was easy! "I have to apologize myself, ...I too was a little out of end, back there, but I guess the blame isn't really ours... maybe our "hosts" had something to do with this...hum... misunderstanding...", he said, blushing only at the memory.

" I don't know,... but there was definitely something wrong with that room!", she said, her face matching the red on Daniel's, at the thought of what had almost happened.

"Yeah, definitely!"

"What do you say about we get the hell out of here, and try find the Colonel and Teal'c?", Sam asked, turning the subject around.

"Lead the way!"

Jack paced in the small cell like a caged animal.

They had been in there for hours, when the door finally opened, letting a guard in.

"Now... that was just about time! Is this anyway to treat a guess?", Jack splat out without even noticing.

The blond guard remained silence, ignoring him. He placed a bowl with food and another with water near Jack, and started for the door.

"Hey, hey!... Wait a minute! War'about him?", Jack said pointing to Teal'c, hoping that the guard could understand a word of what he was saying.

The guard pierced through him with his cold blue eyes, as if he was nothing, and made a face as he had just heard the dumbest question in the all world.

" He is Mhoyin scum!", he said, as if that would explain everything, turned on his heels and left, slamming the door shut.

"Is it me, or does that guy dislikes you?", Jack asked Teal'c, making a face.

"It appears so, O'Neill, doe I do not know why. I have no recollection of ever being in this world!", the big Jaffa stated.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I just about have it with this place!", Jack said, kicking the dirty floor "I say... let's blow this joint!", he said, walking to the door with a menacing look on his face.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow to him.

"To blow... with what?", he asked.

Jack looked back to him, trying to see if the big guy was really talking

serious... of course he was!

"See any way out?", he  instead asked Teal'c.

The trained alien soldier looked around, carefully. Finally, he raised from his sitting position and walk to a small vent shaft, just big enough for a grown man to pass, and gave it a dry tug, to test it's structure. O'Neill joined him really fast, when he realised what the big guy had in mind.

Half an hour later, the shaft had been defeated by the two men, and the two of them started their crawl towards freedom.

With Teal'c leading the way, sensing his path through the slightest change in the air, they eventually found their way out, a small distance from a big palace, that they figured was their holding place, with a forest right in front of them.

The sun was up in the sky, and figuring that the longer they stayed in the open, the sooner they were gonna get caught, they fled in to the woods, knowing that their best chance on freeing their teammates was in the protection of the night.  

They had been walking for just about ten minutes, when they started hearing the sound of water running, maybe a waterfall. Since water was in the top five things to be sure to have when you are in the wilderness, they moved in that direction.

"We must move faster, O'Neill!", the tall alien said suddenly.

"And why's that?"

"I believe someone is screaming for help! It is coming from the water direction!"

Just then, Jack heard it too, and the two of them started running, until they arrived to the river side.

Straight ahead they could more clearly hear the deafening sound of a water fall.

Right in the middle of the furious stream, they discovered the source of the screams. A dark skin boy, no older then Teal'c son, stood in the middle of the river, precariously holding to a rock, screaming from the top of his lungs for help.

On the opposite side of the river, they could seen a woman, yelling even more desperately then the boy. When she saw the two of them, her panic rise even more, although Jack couldn't figure out why.

Looking around, trying to find a way to help the boy, O'Neill's eyes catch hold of a tree brunch, hanging about eight feet above the water, just a little ahead from where the boy was.

He look at Teal'c, that had followed his gaze and nodded in approval. That might just work!

Rushing to the tree, both men swiftly climbed and carefully approach the tree brunch, gratefully finding that it was much more stronger than it had looked.

With his legs strongly secured by Teal'c, Jack swung himself head down, his arms stretched out and his fingers almost touching the cold water.

"Hey, boy!", he yelled, hopping against all hope that the boy would understand him "where the hell is Jackson when you need him?", he thought. He tried again "Hey kid... let yourself go... I'll catch you!", he yelled, from the top of his lungs, trying to put his voice above the sound of the water fall behind him.

The kid looked at him, his eyes big and round, and stopped yelling. He looked back at the river side, where the woman still stood in despair, now accompanied by two other men.

Locking his eyes with the stranger ones, the boy let himself go.

The river's current caught him immediately, tossing and turning him violently around.

He fought to keep his head on the surface, his tiny arms stretched out in the direction of the strange man. Slowly, he began loosing the battle. His all world was water, and he could feel himself going under, fading away.

Then, all of a sudden, he felt a hard pull in his arms, so strong that made his shoulders hurt, and the next thing he knew, he was flying in the air!

No, wait... he wasn't flying... the strange man... he had caught him!

Jack catch the boy in the last possible minute. He had seen the kid go under, just before getting to were he was, but some how, he had manage to stretch out and literally 'fish' the boy out!

His eyes wore closed tight, and he was shivering from the cold water.

As carefully as they could, they took the boy down, and placed him in  grass floor.

Taking his jacket off, Teal'c placed it on top of the cold kid, his eyes getting a sad look in them. Memories of his own son floated back without his control and without obeying his command to go back to his subconscious.

He return to reality when he felt his CO hand in his shoulder. Jack look said that he understood how Teal'c missed being with his family.

The Jaffa quickly pushed his feelings down and his face returned to the usual stone look. Only his close friends, namely SG1, knew how that face really wasn't nothing more than his defense against his own feelings, and he was glad that it was that way.

Meanwhile, Jack was rapidly checking the boy out.

"He's still breathing!", he said, releasing a visible sigh, softly shaking the kid's shoulders, trying to bring him back to the land of the living.

Slowly, the boy's eyes started fluttering, until he finally opened them. They seemed foggy at the beginning, but when they finally focused on Jack, the boy backed away, scared like hell.

"Hey... don't be afraid... we not gonna hurt you", O'Neill spoke softly to the boy, smiling, remembering something that Daniel had said, something about existing many different languages, but feelings being  universal.

The big brown eyes of the boy where open wide, probably trying to figure out what had happened to him. This strange men had save his life?... An Arian and a Mhoyin... together?!  

"You... you are not going to hurt me?", he trembling asked, gathering the strange peace of clotting, that was around his shoulders, closer to his body.

A bigger smile found his way to Jack's lips.

"Oh, wa'ra you know! The boy speaks english!", he said to Teal'c. Then, turning to the kid he added, "Of course we are not gonna hurt you... why would we?", he said, softly patting the boy's shoulder.

The boys eyes got even bigger, somehow surprised by his answer. He took his time, carefully eyeing both O'Neill and Teal'c, maybe trying to take pick in to their souls. Jack realized that.

"Trust me!", he said, smiling to the boy.

The kid smiled back and relaxed a bit.

"Who are you?", the boy asked, starting already to feel a little bit warmer.

"I'm Jack... and this here", he said pointing to the big Jaffa "is Teal'c... How are feeling?", Jack asked.

"Shack... Tealek", the boy repeated, getting accustomed to the strange names.

Jack smiled. "The kid as my ability to languages!", he thought to himself, smiling.

"Yeah... close enough!"

Just then, the boy remembered the others in the river's shore. Shakily, he rise to his feet, and look beyond his two newfound friends, to the other side, were his family was still screaming something that he couldn't understand.

Jack and Teal'c followed the boy's look, and saw the people gathered there.

Doe the kid was now safe and 'dry', they still looked really, really upset about the kid. Something smelly was going on in here, that much Jack was sure of... he just couldn't figure out what!

"I am Borum... I thank you both, for saving my life", the boy said, in a very solemn way. Then turning to the other shore, he added " we must go to them... they are not understanding... come, we must explain to them that you are friends!", he said, grabbing their hands and pulling them to go with him.

They run, following Borum, on this side of the river, while on the other side, the woman and the two men carefully followed them, until they arrived to a wooden, small bridge.

"Come", the boy said.

Being a soldier for more years than he would confess, Jack was not very please by the site of the bows and arrows in the hands of both men that were now waiting for them to cross the bridge, especially when neither he or Teal'c had any sort of weapon.

Borum sensed his hesitation and looked up to O'Neill.

"Trust me!", he said, repeating what the strange had said to him.

O'Neill decided to do just that.

The minute they crossed the bridge, the woman grabbed the boy, checking every inch of him, in a way that only mothers do. Only them her heart found peace.

Almost at the same time, both men that where accompanying her, after a brief smile for the boy's welfare, armed their weapons and aimed them to the two strangers, the smile quickly replaced by hard soldiers faces.

"Hey...Hey!...Hold it there!", O'Neill said, raising his hands. Beside him, he could 'hear' the big Jaffa muscles tense up. His eyes trailed off to the boy, the question in his look.

Borum finally menage to break free from his mother caring grasp.

"Father...stop, please!... He and the other saved my life! He is a good Arian!", the boy rapidly said to the tallest of the man, realizing what was happening.

The eyebrows of the men holding the weapons went high up. A good Arian?! Who ever heard of such a thing?

"Father... he saved my life! I would have died in the river if it was not for them!", the pleaded again.

The eyes of his father finally left O'Neill's face and looked at his son.

"He... he saved you?", he asked, still finding it very hard to believe.

"Yes, father", Borum said, raising his small hands and gently putting his weapon down.

The other man swiftly followed the lead.

O'Neill let his breath finally out.

"Ok, mister daddy guy...", Jack started, finally getting tired of being the guy that catches the movie in the middle, "I am very glad that you figured out that we ARE the good guys, but I really would appreciate if someone PLEASE explain to me WHAT is happening in this place... you see, we are not exactly from around here! I, for once, would like to understand why you keep calling me an Arian, and why the hell is Teal'c a mhioian, or wa'r'ever!", he said, finally saying everything that was stuck in his throat for awhile.

The men in front of him, and that's including Teal'c, were stunned by his burst of speech.

Borum's father was the first to menage a reaction.

"You are not from here?", he asked.

"No, we came from...", Teal'c started, looking to the Colonel, " from a village that is far, far away from yours... and we are in need of assistance and guidance", he said, in that solemn way of his, reveling himself an excellence Daniel substitute, much to O'Neill surprise.

The two men and the woman, who obvious to Jack, felt more comfortable with Teal'c then with him, motion them to follow, to their village.

Sort after, they arrived in to a set of wooden huts, cleverly stealth within the trees. Smoke was coming out of the roof tops, giving the place the warm felling of habitation.

Borum's father yelled something in a language that Jack didn't understand squat, and from the houses started appearing the heads of women, children and other men, all and each one of them as dark skinned like the family that had encountered by the river.

Walking behind Borum's father and mother, and flanked by the other man and Teal'c, they entered the village.

O'Neill didn't knew exactly why, but he could see that he wasn't really welcomed in there.

It could be the fact that everyone was looking at him with a mist of fear and hatred, or it could be the fact that the little children hide behind their mothers as he passed by, or it could be just the site of every men he passed by tighten their hold on their weapons. And then again, he could just be imagining things... not likely,...but it could happened!

The group came to stop in front of one of the bigger huts. Outside it, a very old man was seated in an old chair. He was dressed, like the rest of the people around there, in very simple robes, his hair, the little he had left, was completely white, and the beard he wore was almost as long as him.

By the referent way in which Borum's father tilted his head in front of the man, the two soldiers from Earth realised that he must be their leader.

"Old One", Borum's father started " we came to you with respect and honor in our hearts, seeking your wisdom!", he said.

The old man motioned for him to proceed, and Borum's father started telling him about how his son had gone fishing and had fallen in to the river. He told him how the two strangers, the Mhoyin and the Arian, had rescued his boy, with risk for their own lives. Then, speaking again in the same language as before, he added something that sounded like "Mhish habonish confimat hish!" , almost whispering the words, looking strait in to the old man's eyes.

The silence that followed the end of the story did little to calm Jack down. The old man was thinking, and the Colonel felt like he was on trial, a situation that, by the way, he did not appreciate.

Taking a deep breath, the old man raised up, supported by two of the kids that were by his side.

"Came closer, strangers", he said, in a tone of voice that was, at the same time, kind and to leave no space to disobedience. It was the tone of voice of someone that knew how to earn respect without having to force it. It was the kind a voice Jack liked 'couse not once had he heard it coming from someone without honor in its actions.

He look at Teal'c, standing next to him, mentally shrugging his shoulders, and both of them walked closer to the man.

As tall as Jack,  the old man's deep brown eyes locked with his for a moment, both men unflinching, like they were at some crazy stare contest. When the old man finally saw whatever he was looking for, he turned his gaze in to Teal'c direction. He, like O'Neill met the old man stare, unflinching, like a soldier on parade.

The old man seemed pleased.

Turning his back to them, he returned to his seat. Apparently, his judgement was made, but he took his time to gave out his conclusions. When he did, he addressed Borum's father.

"My son, you heart his truly to you, but your eyes are deceiving!", he said, calmly, lining back on his seat and smiling for the first time since they saw him.

"My eyes deceive me? How, Old One?", he asked, taking a second look to the strangers.

"Look well, my son, and you will to see that they are nor Mhoyin, nor Arian... One looks Arian, but it passes not beyond his appearance, while the other, although bearing the sign of the demons is not one of them... both have pure hearts... You can not see them according to this place rules, for they are not from this place,... are you not?", he asked, addressing to the strangers for the first time.

Jack took a side look at Teal.

"Yeah... we're from far, far away", O'Neill said, gesturing with his hand, "look, I hate to admit this, but we're kind of lost in here... we have no idea on what is going on, and I'm getting the felling that we've landed right in the middle of this big neighbourhood war between you and those Barbie guys, and on..."

"Barbie?!", Borum's father and Teal'c said at the same time, looking Jack in a funny way.

"Yeah, Barbie... the blondie guys, you know, Barbie?...", by the look on their faces they hadn't a clue, "Oh... never mind...explain latter... the point is...", Jack stopped himself, frowning.

What was the point? Why was he trusting so deeply in those strangers, he of all people, trusting in their hands his and his team lives?

He look around for a while, realizing that the all group of people gathered there were waiting, actually hanging, on his next words, the initial fear of the strangers already replaced by healthy curiosity. Among them, sitting on the floor, next to the other kids, was Borum, big child eyes grabbing everything he could from what was going on. Those big orbs were now focused on O'Neill. There wasn't any fear in them, not anymore. The boy had learned to trust the stranger.

It was time O'Neill to do the same.

"We lost two friends that were with us when we arrived... we think that they mite be prisoners of the Arians... we're complete strangers in here, and we don't stand big chances of rescuing them ourselves. We can't either go back to our... ah... village, to get some help, 'cause they mite not have that much time", he said, almost in one single breath.

Then, pausing just for a second, he said, looking in the older man eyes, " The butt end is... if your people could help us getting them back, their chances of going home in one piece would be much higher!"

Jack O'Neill was not someone very accustomed to ask for things, specially help, specially to strangers. Nope, that just wasn't him!

The old man sense that.

"These two friends you speak of... they are very dear to you, are they not?", the old man asked.

Jack looked at the floor, embarrassed. Now there was a unique moment!

"Yeah...". he finally mumble, under his teeth, "we do care a lot about them... they are our family!", he said, realising only now that that was the purest truth.

Judging by the solemn nod coming from Teal'c, Jack could seen that the Jaffa felt the same.

The old man didn't need to hear anything else.

"Family is very important for every one... my people will help you two reunite with yours!"

Sam and Daniel were starting to feel a little bit more than just tired.

They had been cruising around corridors for hours now, but still hadn't found anything that could lead them to their lost teammates. By now they had already came across thousands of rooms, none of them resembling much a holding cell!

Still trying to find some kind of secret passage to underground levels, that according to Daniel, would be the best place to find a dungeon or something like that, in that sort of construction, they came across a big room, its two wooden doors opened wide.

Seeing what laid inside it, Daniel didn't spare a second think, and went right in.

The hall seemed like some sort of museum, more like an exhibition actually.

Displayed along the walls, inside glass boxes, were several opened books, all of then looking very ancient.

On the bottom wall, a huge panting was displayed, showing what look like a scene from a big battle, were people very much like their hosts were fighting some dark skinned ones. Although the panting showed the great violence of the battle, their was one little detail that made the two intruders dislike it even further... the dark skinned people's eyes... were painted in white, like they glowed!

"Goa'uld!... They are fighting the Goa'uld in this picture!", Sam whispered, almost as if she was in presence of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

"I just hope that our hosts won that battle!", Daniel said.

Finally diverting his attention from the panting, he started drifting out for the many books.

"What are you doing?", she asked, her voice just a little above the desperate tone.

"Maybe we can find some answers in here... we need to find some sort of sense for this all mess!", he answered her, whispering too.

Ok... granted! When Daniel was right, he was right!

Sam placed herself at the door, standing watch, second by second sending him urging looks that clearly said "Hurry the hell up!"

The soldier in her hated that kind of situations. Disarmed, in a strange place, no idea on the whereabouts of the rest of her team, no idea on what those people wanted from them and above all, playing the sitting duck in this room!

Half expecting that the books would be written in plain, good, old english, the young anthropologist was more then a little surprised when he found a total different language covering the books pages.

"What the hell!", he let out.

"What?", Sam asked, eyes glued to the corridors.

"Tha... the writing in the books... it's not the same as their speaking language... it's, it's some kind of mixture between Slavic and North African languages..."

"Egyptian?"

"No... Arabic, maybe, or just some minor dialect... it's really confusing...", he said, mumbling something more just to himself, distractedly scratching his head, like some little kid that doesn't know the answer to the teacher's question.

Finally, he came back from the labyrinth of his mind.

"Hum... I think that this pages here talk about some sort of miscellaneous between two different cultures, two very different cultures, from the little that I can figure out from here...", he said, momentarily piling his eyes from the ancient pages.

He looked around the room, trying to figure which book to look next. The time was short, and the books were more than he could possible handle... in ten years!

One book caught his eyes. Well, not the book, per si, but more specifically, the picture that laid on the page displayed.

His mouth dropped to the floor.

"What?", Sam asked, seeing his face.

Taking one last look to corridor, making sure it was empty, she moved next to him. She was starting to find a little weird that a place as big as that one, could be so devoid of people, but that was something she could worry about latter.

When she reached Daniel, her mouth joined his in the floor.

It was a picture of two people, a man  and a woman, dressed in Adam and Eve fashion, stepping out from the Stargate... but what made it really weird was the clear resemblance between them and the couple in the picture!

"What does it say?", she asked, seeing his eyes moving rapidly between the picture and the inscription below it.

"Just one minute...", he said, already absent mind again, raising one finger in the air, his eyes never living the text.

"Oh, boy!... You are not gonna like this!", he said, a couple of minutes later.

"What, what is it?"

"I can't make it all out, but,... remember what Forzzyn said to us... hum, about being the chosen ones?", he asked, not quite knowing how to explain this to Sam.

"Yes..."

"Well... you are not gonna believe just for what we are chosen for!", he said, a nervous smile playing in his lips.

"Spit it out, Daniel!", Sam barked, remembering how she hated when he started circling the bush instead of giving things straight!

"Hum... right! They have this legend, story... I don't know,... about this two gods", he said, pointing to the picture "Kernunnos and Kerridwin, or at least, that was the name that the Celt people on Earth gave them.

On Earth, Kernunnos was known as the god of the animals and represented the masculine energy, while she, Kerridwin, represented the feminine side of things.

She was the goddess of fertility, prosperity and rebirth.

Anyway, in here they have this story that tells how the Arians were brought here, kind of reward-like, a long time ago... when Kernunnos and Kerridwin left, they promise them that they would return, if the Arians ever were in need of their assistance..."

"Do you think that they might be Asgard?", Sam asked.

"Could be... after all, they do seem to have a certain tendency for northern gods, but by the way this people was brought here and then left abandon, I'm putting my money on the Goa'uld... anyway, this picture here is kind of a reminding of their promise, asking for their help to defeat the Mhoyin. And this little part over here," he said, pointing to the end of the inscription, as if expecting for Sam to understand what was written "describes how they would help them, and why we are in such a deep mess!"

"So... what does it say?", Sam asked.

"It tells that when they return, they would present the Arians with a child, a child that would lead them against their enemies, and would help them to defeat every obstacle, a 'new king' to guide them... a king born of the two gods!", he finished, giving Sam time to take her own conclusions.

She didn't took long.

"So if they mistook us for this two gods, then they are expecting us to... that you and I... that... Oooh!", She said, getting redder and redder by the minute.

"Yeah... something like that!", he confirmed her suspicions, trying to get redder then her.

"Ok... now, this could be a problem!", Sam said, taking a second look at the picture.

"At least now we can guess what was that bath thing all about... it must've been their way of providing us the adequate environment to... to... hum...", Daniel babbled, a nervous tongue quickly passing over dry lips, "...anyway, they must've had put something in there, some kind of hallucinogen substance, I don't know... but they were definitely trying to get their king!"

"Well... nothing personal Daniel, but... bad luck for them!", Sam said, starting for the entrance again "I think that the best we can do is to get the hell out of here, find the Colonel and Teal'c and make sure that they don't find us again!".

Daniel couldn't agree more. Not that he had any problem with sex. On the contraire.

His problem was with the fact of  be forced in to do it, specially with someone that he looked up as a sister.

Nodding, he followed Sam through the door.

The corridor out side the room was, as before, empty of any people, giving the place a ghostly look.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything, but... don't you find this place a little bit to empty?", the young scientist whispered to Sam.

"Yeah, I've being noticing the same... I wonder were everyone is?"

Almost as an  answer to Sam's question, an hair raising scream cut through the air.

A human scream.

"It came from over there!", Sam said, running in that direction, immediately followed by Daniel.

The sound of the continuous screams guided them through a series of long corridors, until they arrived at a large backyard, one store below them.

In there, what seemed like the entire population, was gathered in front of a wooden post.

Attached to it, there was an young dark skinned woman, her hands tied behind her back.

The villagers were throwing stones in to her direction, causing her to scream each time one succeed in hitting her.

Blood was already trickling down her head, coming from a nasty cut above her right eyebrow, her clothes starting to get thorn and red stained.

"We have to do something!", Daniel urgently whispered to Sam, both hidden in the shadows of the top floor.

"We don't know what she is guilty of!", Sam said, memories about Linea coming back, remembering her not to make the same mistake twice.

"This is NOT a way to punish anyone!", Daniel almost yelled.

"Ah, come on... you should know better than that! Who is the anthropologist around here? Since when can we interfere with other cultures costumes?", Sam asked him, ignoring what her own heart was telling and letting the soldier command, trying to call him back to his senses through science.

Daniel's eyes fall to the floor in front of him

"Look, I know how you fell! I want to help her to... but for all I know, she could even be a Goa'uld... her people might had never came clean from their contact with the Goa'uld!", she said, putting a gentle hand on his shoulders.

He turned his big blue eyes in to hers.

"And if she isn't guilty of anything at all?... What if her people did came clean from the Goa'uld?... look at her", he pleaded " what if she is only there because they assumed she was evil, just because she looks like the people in the paintings?... I mean, we've already seen how good they are in doing that!", he said, hi soft tone of voice breaking through all the barriers that Sam might had up.

She thought about that, although time wasn't something they have to waste, but by the way she trembled every time the young girl screamed, Daniel knew that there was no need for much more persuasion.

"What can we do?", Sam finally asked.

Daniel thought for a while.

His face lighted up when an idea began forming in his mind

"What?", Sam asked, seeing the change in his features. 

"I think I have a idea!", he said, smiling, "Bear with me, ok?"

"Ok", Sam gave back, curious about his plane.

Taking a deep breath, Daniel grabbed Sam's hand in his and took a step forward, so that the crowd could see them.

"Stop this at once!", he said, loud enough to be heard, without screaming.

Slowly, the crowd below started to acknowledge their presence above, moving their heads in that direction.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing!", Sam whispered in his ear.

"So do I", he thought to himself, them to speak out loud

"Arian people!... Kneel before your gods!", he said, trying hard to sound as despicable and superior as he had heard the Goa'uld do so many times.

Sam was taken by surprised for a spilt of a second, fighting to suppress the reflex of searching his eyes for any signs of unwanted glows, so real had been Daniel's impression of a Goa'uld, until she realised what he was doing.

Focusing herself on making an impression as good as his, she put on her most 'goddish' facial expression, matching Daniel's.

The white gowns provided by the Arian servants, and the rays of sun that were falling directly on the earth pair, making their hair shine, made the scene just about perfect, completing the theatrical image that they were trying to sell .

The crowd, completely forgetting about the woman, still tied to post, started to kneel in their direction, completely buying their act, already having heard the rumours about the strangers that had arrived, suspected to be the gods for so long awaited.

Daniel squeezed Sam hand a little tighter, part given, part taking strength from that touch.

The crowd below facing the ground, not daring to look at them, patiently awaited for the gods next words.

"Time to move on with the show!", Daniel thought.

"Arian people, hear us, for we have return to answer your prayers", he started, silently motioning for Sam to go down there and get the girl, hoping that with the distraction of his babbling and their heads bowed, no one would notice her actions.

Quickly she made her way down, all the way smiling, listening to Daniel's blá blá blá, knowing from her own bitter experience that he could do that for hours.

"We will keep the promise that was made to the Arian so many years ago... and your enemies will be no more!", Daniel said, entertaining the crowd, telling them exactly what they wanted to hear. It kind of reminded him of something he had once heard, about treating people like mushrooms... you know, keep them in the dark and feed them shit!

Continuing with his endless speech, he caught, from the corner of his eye, a woman raising her head, trying to take a look at the speaker.

"Oh no, you don't", Daniel quickly thought.

"How dare you to raise your head in the presence of your gods!?", he said quickly, raising his voice and trying his best to sound menacing, being rewarded by the even quicker motion from the woman, lowering her head almost to the ground.

Daniel continued to talk, all the while keeping track of Sam's progress. She had already made all the way to the post, having being able to go around the kneeled crowd, unseen.

The dark skinned woman tied to the post was looking from Sam to Daniel, fear and surprise in her eyes.

Sam kept whispering in her ear that everything was fine, for her not to be afraid, but the woman was to scared and hurt to understand anything of what was going on.

However, the smooth, ushed tone in which the strange woman/goddess was talking, so different from the other Arian women, made her relax a little, enough for her to kept her fear at check and start registering what the woman was saying to her.

"I need you to trust me and come with me, ok? Can you walk?", Sam asked her again, finishing undoing the last strap that bounded the woman to the post.

The younger woman just kept looking at her, her big brown eyes darting from one side to another, scared.

Sam was starting to questioning herself if this woman even talked the same language that the Arians did, when the girl give her a shy nod, in response to her questions.

Sam's face lit up with a smile.

"Ok! Let's go!", She said, offering her support to the wounded woman.

Such an action only made the younger woman open her eyes even further, in amazement, but after the initial surprise, she took the strangers offer. Slowly, they made their way back to Daniel's side.

Daniel had moved from talking about the ancient promises, to new ones, still keeping the crowd very busy, no one daring to raise their heads after what had happened with the woman.

After a brief smile had crossed her lips, seeing Daniel's magnificent act, Sam resumed her part in the play, beside Daniel, keeping the woman hide behind them.

Unknown to them, Forzzyn watch, from above, like a hawk, every move they made. He had heard the stranger, the man, announce that they were gods, that they had returned, but he, unlike the rest of his people, did not believe in such a nonsense, he did not wanted to believe. Then, he saw the stranger, the woman, make her way, on the cover of shadows, over to the prisoner, and to his surprise, release the vile one.

He smiled to himself. Such a gesture only came to confirm his suspicions.

Hugger was a fool.

Only he knew that this strangers were impostors, allies of the Mhoyin, traitors that had came to take away his power, his right to be himself a god!

All of his life he had been the all mighty ruler around there, the only with power to rule as a true king.

With the arrival of this strangers, with the possibility of them being the gods, his power and high place were in danger.

But now he knew what needed to be done.

An evil smile crawled in to his face as he realised what he had to do to assure the strangers dawn fall.

Daniel, seeing that the two women were already safe and sound, was quickly wrapping up his very long speech, when Forzzyn approach them.

"Ayle, oh mighty lords!", Forzzyn solemnly said, addressing Sam and Daniel, his deep voice making the young woman behind them tremble with fear.

"Oh, oh... busted!", Sam thought.

Keeping their act, the two SG1 teammates, slowly turned to face the leader of the Arian.

"Lord Forzzyn... do you recognize us now?", Daniel said, dead serious.

"Of course... I recognized you the first time we met, my heart filled with joy for your return. Finally our priers have been heard!", Forzzyn said, raising his hands towards the sky.

"We see... but never the less, we are very displeased by your actions towards us... and towards those who came with us", Daniel said, wondering how far could he push Forzzyn without breaking.

"I am most sorry about what happened... I will make sure that Hugger and his men are properly punished for their actions, but you must understand that it was a strange site to see our gods accompanied by one of the Mhoyin people!"  

Daniel decided not to make any comments. If he was posing as a god, them he most certainly did not need to give any kind of explanations.

"As for the ones you speak of,  I am afraid that the news are not the best!", Forzzyn said, looking almost sad.

Sam look at Daniel, the concern for their friends clear on her face. Thousand of unpleasant fates for their friends crossed their minds, each worst them the previous.

Even so, however, they were able to keep their expressions unreadable... well, almost unreadable!

"What has come to them?", Daniel asked, trying to keep the concern well hidden in his voice.

Forzzyn took his time to answer that question, carefully studding the man/god in front of him, seeing the way he kept his hands behind his back, preventing the Arian leader from seeing the tremors in there, the fine line of sweat above his upper lip, the eyes that would not fix on his, all clear signs of his nervousness, all clear signs of his weakness.

The woman/goddess was not very good at hidden her concern too, although, if one was not searching for the right signs, they would pass unnoticed.      

He decide to play a little more with them, make them thing they had the upper hand!

It would be much more fun that way!

He finally given them an answer.

"We were keeping them in a...  safe place, but now we do not know were they are... They have seemed to disappear in thin air!", he said, completing his act with a bow of his head, as if apologising.

Daniel look at his teammate. What was that supposed to mean?

Had they escaped? Were they dead, and Forzzyn was just afraid of telling them the truth?

"Have you searched for them in the outside?", Daniel had to ask, trying to sound like the man that lost his keys in the garden.

"Yes, but the guards found nothing... maybe they were taken by our enemies!", Forzzyn said, his tone clearly saying that that was not a good thing.

Despite the tone of Forzzyn voice, a flick of hope crossed the two earthlings minds. Jack and Teal'c were somewhere out there, hopefully free, and most certainly already trying to get them out, someway!

Forzzyn's deep voice cut through their thoughts like a sharp knife.

"Forgive me for my curiosity, my Lords, but... you must understand that the people will start asking... as the king been conceived already?... are we soon to be rid of the Mhoyin scum?", he asked, deliberately eyeing the young girl, still hidden behind the two strangers, his evil eyes piercing her through the soul.

"The king...". Daniel started, cursing his body for betraying him, the full flush of red reaching his face, "hum, no... the king is not yet conceived... the... my goddess had an... an headache!", he said, speaking really fast, so that no one could notice his really lamy excuse, cursing himself again when his brain delivered him the news that gods did not had such problems.

Too late.

However, Forzzyn seemed satisfied with his answer.

"I see... and this girl?", he asked, finally reaching his gold.

Daniel opened his mouth to say something, but Sam, knowing that this would come, sooner or latter, already had an answer ready for delivery.

Grasping the young woman's arm in a strong hold, she gave Forzzyn the answer he wanted.

"As your gods, it is our duty to give her proper punishment... we will see to that, not the Arian people!", she said, genuinely coping the tone of voice that Daniel had used.

The young woman trembled under the stranger's words, thinking that she had been fooled and was now in deeper troubles then before. Desperately, she tried to escape the woman's hold, but the stranger was much more strong than her.

Again, Forzzyn seemed pleased by the answer.

"Tell us... of what is she accused of?", Sam asked, carefully in to using the royal 'us'.

Since she had been 'invaded' by Jolinar, a Tok'ra, Sam had been able to sense if anyone was infested by a Goa'uld parasite, and she had already realised that the young girl had none within her, so, her crime must've been another.

Forzzyn looked at her like she had asked the stupidest question of all times.

"She is the enemy... She is a Mhoyin, and that is enough!", he answered, getting a slightly lunatic look in to his eyes.

Sam realised that. "So, in direct translation, her crime is to exist!", she thought. By the way the cold look in Daniel's eyes was getting much more real, Sam knew that he was thinking just about the same thing.

"Do you which for some place quiet to execute your sentence?", Forzzyn asked, apparently not realizing the disgust in the two 'gods' eyes.

Sam and Daniel looked at each other.

A private place were they could speak with the girl and make some sense out of all this mess?

Yes, please!

"Yes, we would like that", Daniel said, taking point and following the servant that was appointed by Forzzyn to guide them.

He took them trough a long series of corridors, all looking much like the next, until they arrived at a room, similar to all others, but bigger.

"This are our best quarters... we hope that they please you!", the servant said, afraid of the 'gods' reaction if they were not pleased.

The room was huge, richly decorated with small, golden statues, the large bed on the center, covered from top to bottom with fine silks, a enormous tapestry filling the wall behind it.

The place was made to serve kings!

"I guess this will have to do.", Daniel said, trying to sound bored, his hand going to his mouth, as if to suppress a yawn. "Leave us now!", he said to the servant, that after a quick bow of head, was more than happy to leave their presence.

Sam fought hard not to laugh out loud at Daniel's performance, loosing the battle when the servant had left, giving room for a small smile to reach her lips. Laugh, under their situation was asking for to much!

Some actor Daniel was turning out to be! And on top of that... he was really enjoying it!

Daniel looked at her, puzzled, but only for a while, soon joining her in her smile, shrugging his shoulders.

If the situation was not so serious, they would've laugh out real loud, but reality came crashing in as their eyes met the girl ones.

As soon as Sam had released her hold on her arm, she had run scared, hiding behind one of the large armchairs.

Slowly, Sam tried to reach her.

"Please do not harm me!", the girl pleaded in a trembling voice.

"No, no! You don't need to be afraid of us. We mean you no harm... actually, we're trying to help!", Daniel said to her.

"Look...", Sam started, getting a little bit closer to the girl, which result in a deeper curling of arms and legs from the young woman. Sam backed away, giving her room for trust.

"I'm really sorry for what I said back there to Forzzyn, but I only said those things to get him off our case...I mean, out of here!", Sam said.

The young woman remained crouched down, but her big brown eyes finally looked up to look at the strange woman.

"Please... believe us! We are friends!", Daniel said, positioning himself near Sam, his hand stretched out with the palm up, in a, hopeful universal, sign of peace.

"I'm Daniel Jackson, and she's Samantha Carter", he said pointing to his teammate.

"Sam", corrected Sam, smiling to the girl.

"We came from a world far, far away from yours", Daniel explained.

"They... they called you gods... how can Arian gods be of help to me?", the young girl finally found courage enough to ask.

"No, no, no... we're definitely NOT gods! There was a little, hum... misunderstanding, and we've kind of took advantage of it, to get you out of that post and, hopefully, out ourselves!", Daniel explained to her, noting how her body flinched at the mention of the post.

"Don't worry... we're gonna find a way to get you out of here!", he said, finally reaching out and touching her trembling shoulder.

This time, doe, she didn't flinched away.

"You... you are here against your will too?", she asked, her eyes darting from Daniel to Sam.

"Yes... Forzzyn's men took us and our friends prisoners the minute we arrived, thinking that we were gods, but believe me, the second he  puts two and two together, he's not gonna be very happy about the result!", Sam said, then to had, with an extended hand, "Can you trust us now?"

The young woman started to relax a little bit. She still wasn't very sure whether to believe or not the strangers words, but of one thing she was sure of... they really did not act like all the Arian she had encounter in her life!

Maybe they spoke the truth, maybe they really were from another place!

Could there exist some place were there lived people so resembling with the Arians, only nice?

Anyway, for someone that was about to face death just a couple of minutes before, her chances of living another day were much more inviting with them than without them.

Stepping out of her precarious hiding place, she decided to trust them.

"I believe in you...  I am Nimbh, of the Mhoyin", she said, placing her hand on top of her chest, "I thank you both for saving my life!", she said, finally allowing a shy smile to reach her lips, a small smile that just lightened up her entire face, in a childish kind of way.

To her delight, twin smiles were placed on the faces of the two strangers.

What had them called themselves? Oh, yes... Danieljackson and Samanthacartersam!

"Ok... so ,now all we have to do is find a way to get out of here!", Sam sigh.

"Can you tell us what is going on in here? Why do the Arians hate the Mhoyin so much?...I mean I know why... but obvious not all of your people is still possessed by the demons, right? I mean, you're not, right?", Daniel asked, speaking really fast, trying to voice all the thoughts and questions that were coming to his mind. The last question, doe, was directed to Sam, the creepy thought that the girl could be a Goa'uld, crawling to his mind.

A nod from Sam reassured him on that.

"Right, so... how many of you're people are possessed by the demons?"

Nimbh was confused with all his questions. She did not knew that the human voice could be delivered so fast.

She decided that the last one was the most important, for now.

"None", she stated.

"None?!... How?", Daniel asked, mirroring the surprised of Sam's face. 

"I will tell you all!", she said.

Stepping inside the old man's hut, Jack and Teal'c sat in front of him and patiently awaited for him to speak.

Fortunately, for Jack's short patience, he didn't took long.

"Allow me to present myself... I am Okhim, leader of the Mhoyin people, and you need not to fear for your safety among my people, for it will not be menaced!", he said, in a gentle, old, voice.

"Well, that's very nice!", O'Neill started, "I'm Jack, hum... leader of SG1, and this here is one of my people... Teal'c!", Jack said, making introductions.

Okhim nodded to both.

"Jakk, Tielque, you must understand that it is very difficult for my people to understand the existence of you and your friend. For many, many seasons, they have grown accustomed to fear and flight people with your physic characteristics", he said, pointing to O'Neill, " , the Arians, our long time enemies", the ancient man explained.

'Yeah, sure... that would explain a couple of things!', Jack though, choosing not to say a word about the different ways each of the Mhoyin that they met 'murdered' their names.

"What's wrong between you and them?", he asked.

"How it started, no one knows for sure... it was something that took place many, many years ago, a  story that as only lived from the memories of father to son, of mother to daughter. The story my father as told me speaks about the way our ancestors were brought to this place, against their will, having been taken from the land of freedom were they lived, and forced to walk trough the Sacred Ring. When they arrived at this place, they met the Arian people, that had also been brought here.

At the beginning, both people lived in harmony, the Mhoyin charring their gift for written language and science, and the Arian contributing with their skills for hunting and produce food.

Theirs was always a people of great worriers, the Arian, and so, when one day the demons of the golden eyes came, the Arian people was able to escape them, to fight... my people, however, had no such luck...", the old man paused, seeing that the last part of his story had made O'Neill's eyes jump from their orbs.

"Golden eyes demons?", Jack asked, making sure that he had heard it right.

"Yes... at least that it how they were always described... I have never seen one", Okhim said, closely studding the stranger face, "Have you heard of them before? Have you already seen one ?" , the old man asked, curious.

"Ooooh, yeah!", O'Neill said, getting up, "Their called Goa'uld... and yeah, you could say we've met a few!", he said, disgustingly remembering some of those acquaintances.

"What happened to your people?", Teal'c asked.

"Ah... those were dark times for my people... many were taken by the demons, becoming demons themselves.", the old man said, dropping his eyes to the floor. "Horrible things were done in those days, things that I dare not describe, things done to the Arian by the ones that had once been Mhoyin..", he added in a whisper, "...It was a great deed of the Arian people to have survived at all!"

Teal'c nodded his head in agreement at Okhim last words. Capturing O'Neill's look with that action, he thought best to explain.

"It is common action among the Goa'uld to destroy what they can not take!", the Jaffa said.

"Oh, ok... must be one of those bad guys thing", Jack said sarcastically, "So... how came you guys aren't 'possessed' anymore...", he asked.

Just then, a really creepy thought came to his mind.

"You ARE free from them, right?", he asked, unconsciously looking for unhealthy glows in the old man's eyes, his muscles tensing up with out he even notice.

The old man reassured him.

"Be not afraid, Jakk... my people has achieved freedom from the demons years ago... although the Arian have never believed in such fact!", the old man sadly explain.

"Is that why they're your enemies?", O'Neill asked.

"Yes... many from my people have tried to make them realized that there are no more demons, to show them that they were no more among us... but the only thing that they achieved was their death... the Arian would not listen, and every time one did tried to listen, every time one was able to control the fear that they have of my people, enough to see past the stories that had been told... Forzzyn, the Arian self appointed leader, would do something terrible with that person, in such a way that it always appeared to be my people to be blamed!

He has the Arian blinded in such a way, that is very difficult for my people to one day be able to demonstrate that they are trust worthy again.", the Mhoyin leader finish, sadly.

"So, this Forzzyn guy... not a good camper, is he?", Jack asked.

The old man looked at him inquisitively.

"I am not familiar with that concept 'camper', but, however, good is not a word that can be easily associate with a man like Forzzyn.

Since I was younger than Borum, I have heard stories about the cruelties that this person has performed, in the name of his so called protection of the Arian people, stories that had made bold men curled up in fear. Have you notice Borum's uncle hands?", the old man asked.

"Borum's uncle?"

"Yes... he was the man that was with Borum's father, his brother, when you arrived", Okhim explained.

"Oh, yeah... the big guy!", Jack remembered. "Wha'ra about his hands?"

"Four seasons ago he was gathering food with his family, his wife and four kids, in the woods when they were surprised by Forzzyn and his men.

He had no way to escape, so Forzzyn made a deal with him. He promised to spear the life of each one of them, if the man offered a peace of his own flesh in return.

A fair trade, Forzzyn had called it, his flesh and blood for his flesh and blood.

When, by luck, a group of Mhoyin worriers attack their group, Borum's uncle had already cut himself three fingers of his left hand!"

O'Neill felt sick... talk about psychopath tendencies! Who was this guy? Freddie Crugger's brother?

Jack was still trying not to imagine himself in that pour guy shoes, being corned out in a dead end, with no other visible way of saving the life of the ones you love then to mutilate yourself, when he heard Teal'c asked something that he had been wondering, before Okhim had graced them with that lovely story.

" How did your people managed to free themselves of the Goa'uld grasp?", the big Jaffa asked, knowing that if such an action had involved weapons that his earth friends did not knew about, it would be of great help.

By the way that his question had brought his commanding officer and friend eyes back to the present, he knew that this issue was also of his interest.

"At the time, without the knowledge of the majority of both the Arian and the Mhoyin, a group of worriers, from both parts, was formed, a group of forecast people that fought the evil ones in secrecy... this story only came to my knowledge because one of them was my grangrangrangrandfather.

Even so, no one knows for sure what was come of them, because they disappeared, along with any trace of  the demons, for ever", the leader of the Mhoyin answered.

"Does anyone on the Arian side knows of this story?", O'Neill asked, felling a bit disappointed with the 'no nice weapons' factor.

"No, I believe not... to this day, among many other things that were not our making, the Arian blame the Mhoyin for the disappearance of those people.

This is something that as simply been for more time than anyone can remember, and because of the Arian stubbornness and Forzzyn influence on them, every day, every one with my people knows what is like to lose a love one!" 

By the shiny eyes that everyone around them showed, Jack could see just how true that was.

His eyes fell upon the young boy that he and Teal'c had saved.

Borum's eyes were filled with tears, his round cheeks stained by the salty water.

The old man followed his gaze.

"Nimbh, Borum's sister, was our latest lost... she was collecting wild fruits when she was captured by the Arians and taken to the fortress, Forzzyn's palace", Okhim explained, "Do you believe that the Arian have your friends prisoners?", he asked.

"We believe so... we were all taken as soon as we crossed the Stargate, and then separated.

We managed to escape, but I believe the Arian still have Doctor Jackson and Captain Carter!", Teal'c said.

"Stargate?", the old man asked.

"Yeah, you know... big round thing in the middle of the forest!", O'Neill explained.

"You arrived through the Sacred Ring?", he asked.

"Yes", Teal'c flatly stated.

"And these friends of yours, do they look Arian like you?", the man asked O'Neill.

"Yes"

"A man and a woman?", he asked, remembering the names that the bigger stranger had called them.

"Yes... is this questioning going somewhere?", Jack asked, sensing that the old man knew something that he didn't.

"Aury bora!", the man exclaimed, looking a bit worried by their answers.

His face clearly told that whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"What?", O'Neill asked, getting even more worried.

"Please... describe me your friends, exactly!", Okhim insisted, his face dead serious.

"Why? Do you know something about them?", Jack asked.

For someone that was never afraid of the dark, he sure hated to be kept in there!

"I can only be sure if you answer my question... please, tell me, how do they look like?"

"Ok... so, let me see... their both sorter then me, younger then me" 'smarter then me', Jack thought, "...hum, they both have blue eyes, sandy hair, the man wears glasses, and, hum, let me see... oh, yeah, and they both talk too much!",

O'Neill finished, felling a bit like he felt on Abidos, trying to describe Jackson to those kids.

Ok, so was it him, or did the old guy just did a Michael Jackson thing, and went two shades whiter, when he had finish describing his two teammates?

"I'm not gonna like this, am I?", Jack asked.

The old man shook his head, sadly.

"Your friends... they are in great trouble!"

"Holly Anna!", Carter let out, "wha'ra story!"

The young girl had just finished telling them the story on how the two people, the Arian and Mhoyin, once friends, had become enemies.

"And until today, they still don't believe in your people?", Daniel asked, not quite believing how an entire people could be so stubborn.

The young girl shook her head.

"No", she said sadly, "and every day my people suffer for that!"

Sam looked at the girl, for the first time realizing how young she really was. However, her eyes looked old, probably aged by all the bad things that she had already witness in her young life.

"We have to get you out of here!", she said, more then ever resolute to help the girl.

"Right!", Daniel agreed, getting off of his seat on the couch, "And how do we do that?", he asked, scrubbing his head.

"I think I have a idea", Sam said, her eyes shinning in anticipation, her brain working full speed ahead now, "How do you honor your deads in here? What are your customs?", she asked Nimbh.

The girl looked at her, surprised by the question.

"We... we purify their souls by burning their bodies. When all that is left are ashes, we release them in the wind, so that they may again join the circle of the living things", she explained, "Why?"

"Do the Arian share this custom?"

"Yes... I believe that they too perform the ceremony of the releasing"

Daniel and the young girl looked at Sam, not knowing the cause of the big grin that had spread across her face.

"What?", Daniel asked.

"I know how to get her out of here!", Sam said.

Same time later, Daniel opened the door and motion for the guards posted out side to enter.

They  bowed their heads and hurried to obeyed him.

"What can we do for you My Lord?", one asked.

'Well, you could begin by getting off our backs and letting us go home!', Daniel thought, while he was picking up a body, shrouded by a white sheet, and passed it to the guards.

"This woman was already punished in her life. We now wish for her to be punished in her death as well... We wish for you to take her body to the out side of the palace and leave it in the forest, so that it may be eaten by the wild animals, or left to rot... she is, from now on, forever banished for the circle of life!", Daniel said, in his best 'god' voice, "Do not dare to touch her body, or you too will be contaminated by her evil soul!", he said, in a menacing tone.

"Now go... your gods have spoken!", Sam said, being reward by the image of the two guards making a rapid retreat through the open door.

Once the door was closed, she sunk in the couch.

"Hope everything works ok for her!", she said, remembering the frightened look of the young girl when she had explained to her that the plan included her playing dead until the guards dumped her body somewhere and left.

"We just have to  hope that it will!", Daniel said, tiredly rubbing his eyes.

It had been a REALLY big day!

"So now, what about us? Have any more bright ideas up there?", he asked, pointing to Sam's head.

"No... how'bout you?", she asked, with a half-smile.

"Not really!", he said, sinking in the couch near her, "So, what do we do now?", he asked.

"I guess we just wait for a opportunity to make a run for it!"

Daniel let out a sigh and leaned his head back on the soft back of the couch, thinking.

"There's just one thing that I can't figure out", he finally said.

"What?"

"I can see why they took me and you, I can see why they imprisoned Teal'c, but why Jack? It doesn't make much sense!"

The military woman thought about that. Actually, it made every sense for her, this is, if you think like a Arian.

"Well, I think that they kind of decide who his friend and who his foe by the way they look!", Sam explained him.

Daniel  made a face. It didn't made any sense to him. Judge someone just by the way they looked? Who would do that?

Ok, don't answer that!

But he though... Ok, he hoped, that it was something Earth bound, not Universe wide!

"I think that they just took  the Colonel because he didn't look entirely Arian, nor did he had the same physic characteristics of the Mhoyin. They probably just took him to be sure!"

"Hum... Ok, that could explain it!", he said, getting off the couch again.

Times was passing really slowly for the two SG1 members.

Daniel started pacing in the big room, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth....

"Stop that, please!", Sam pleaded, getting sick just from watching him.

"I'm sorry", he said, childish like, "I'm just getting nervous of being lock up in here, with nothing to keep my mind on, just waiting for something to happen... ", he said, not finish his sentence when he heard the door being open, letting  Forzzyn, Hugger and two other guards in.

Damn... he and his big mouth!

Sam jumped from the couch, standing next to Daniel.

"What is this all about?", Daniel asked, trying to sound as close as possible to offended and as far as possible from scared like hell.

"My Lord...", Forzzyn started, bowing his head, his voice sounding like the shaking of a snake's butt, ready to attack, "surely, you must remember the small test that all proclaiming to be gods must pass ... a formality, you understand!", he said.

"T..test? What kind of test?", Daniel asked, desperately trying to keep his act together, glad that the room was dim lighted, or else Forzzyn would notice the ashen in his face.

"The test of life!", he answer triumphal, "One of your servants is to be killed, so that you can, after, bring him back with your great powers!", he said, motion for the guards to bring Hugger forward.

"Hugger as offered himself to this, as a prove of his devotion for his gods", Forzzyn said, trusting a sword in Daniel's hands, "You must kill him!", he said, his tone dangerously close to an order.

Hugger, clearly believing in such a nonsense, clearly believing that they were the real gods that they were waiting for, positioned himself, kneeled in front of Daniel, patiently waiting for him to trespass him with the sharp weapon. 

The sword felt heavy in Daniel hands , heavy like the eyes that he felt on himself.

He decide to buy some time.

"Who do you do think you are, Forzzyn, how dare you to test us?", he said, sounding angry.

"You do not understand, My Lord... it is not me that wants to test you... it is the way of our people, the only law we have to prevent impostors... if you refuse to perform the test, the people might think that you are not for real...", Forzzyn said, leaving the menace in the air.

Daniel chose to ignore it, eyeing the leader of the Arian straight in the eyes.

"We are your gods! And we will are not going to perform such a test!", he said, more boldly than he really felt.

Daniel knew that he was walking over some very thin ice in here, and knew even better that the wrong move in this situation would probably result in a bad case of cold feet for him and Sam!

Apparently, his last sentence was not one of his best moves, Daniel realized, when he saw Forzzyn face grow dangerously close to bright red.

"You... will... perform... the test... NOW!", he said, more calmly than he looked like.

There was no other way out.

Daniel looked at Hugger. The man was really up to die for his believes. He respected that.

Grabbing the sword with his two hands, Daniel looked over to were Sam was, speechless on that turn of events, her body tense, ready to anything that might came in the next seconds.

Their eyes locked, blue on blue, and the silent plan was approved.

Raising the sword high above his head, Daniel threw one quick look at Forzzyn, seeing the noxious satisfaction in the old man's face, realizing that this was just a game for him. He just hoped it was game he could win!

The next second, Hugger was on the floor, his head gashed by the butt of the sword on Daniel hands, the stroke quick and effective enough to rend the man unconscious, without killing him.

It took another second for the guards to realize what Daniel had done, lapse that gave him time enough to take a swing in the guards direction, cutting one of them in his left arm.

Almost immediately, Sam had followed his lead and was now sparring on top of the second guard, getting the man to go limp on her hands soon after.

After making sure that each of their guards were in lullaby land, Sam and Daniel looked for Forzzyn, just in time to see him make a dead run for the door of the room, calling for the rest of the guards that had been, obviously, waiting for the out coming of that little 'test', out side.

Forzzyn stopped on his tracks when he felt his path suddenly cut off by a rather sharp sword, very, very near his throat.

Instantly freezing in his motion, Forzzyn followed the sword's blade with his eyes, passing the hands that were holding the weapon and meeting Daniel's cold stare on the end.

"Don't... move!", he said, his voice sharp as the blade in his hands, his eyes never leaving the other man's face, "Let's go... we can use him a shield", he said to Sam.

When the lack of response from Sam became to obvious, Daniel had to look in the last direction that he had seen her, on top of the guard.

Although she still was in the same spot, her position had became a little more precarious, her neck now adorn with the guard's hands around it.

"It seems that the odds are on my side now", the old man said, the hint of fear that had reach his eyes now replaced by a mischievous smile, "Now... you will drop the sword, or else...", Forzzyn said while his hand raised to the guard, silently telling him to show the stranger just what would happen if he didn't obey.

The grip on Sam's neck tighten.

Although she said nothing, Daniel could see that air was something that wasn't abundant for her anymore, by the way her lips were fading from pink to blue, her hands pressed tight in to fists.

"Sam!", he whispered, the despair finally reaching his voice.

His look locked again with Sam's, her expression calm and clearly saying ' Get out of here and to hell with them!'

Sorry, Sam, no can do!

Taking one last look at Forzzyn, this time the clear smile of full victory spread across his lips, Daniel lowered the sword, dropping it on the floor at his feet.

The second after, Sam was slammed against him and the guards outside were in the room and around them both.

Forzzyn and a very angry Hugger, still holding his bleeding head, stood in front of their new prisoners, the leader of the Arian calmly composing his muffled clothes.

Looking up, the old man smiled at them, the simple action sending a chill down the two SG1 members backs, a gesture usually so warm, completely turned in to ice in Forzzyn lips. 

"Now... since we have prove that you are not gods... you will know the fate of all impostors!", Forzzyn announced, his voice deep with menace.

Sam and Daniel, both with phD's on their backs, didn't took long to realized how deep in trouble they were.

Somewhere, at a distance, the alarm sound cut through the silence of the palace, summoning the people to the central squad, the alarm they all knew to well. It was the sound that brooked through their homes every time someone was going to die.

After the old man had told O'Neill and Teal'c about the Arian legend and had explained to them that they might mistake their friends by these to gods, Jack had simply... burst out laughing!

The idea was, for him, absolutely ridiculous! Come on... Daniel and Sam... gods?! Baby production from them?!... Talk about big joke!

After his humour had settled down a little, Jack saw the serious look both on the old man and Teal'c features.

Apparently, they hadn't catch the humour of the idea.

Remembering what Okhim had told them about the leader the Arian, Jack finally began to realise what might happen to his friends if they refused to... hum... to... cooperate!

His face became as grim as the others... this was not good!

They had to get them out there... fast!

The two soldiers from SG1 spent the rest of the day with the leader of the Mhoyin worriers, trying to find something resembled with a plan, to get in Forzzyn's fortress, without making to much of a fuss around it, take their friends out, be out of there before anyone realized that they had came in and, possibly, who knows, IF they stumble over that Forzzyn character, maybe give him something to worry about... perhaps a ticket to  the stone plaques farm!

Now... that wasn't asking for much, was it?

So far, it seemed that yes.

The palace was, in the opinion of the troops leader, impenetrable, and, if you, eventually, did manage to get in, the place was so big that there were at least a thousand places were Sam and Daniel could be, and that's assuming that they were together!

"Great! Who said that bad things couldn't get worse?", O'Neill thought, rubbing his tired eyes.

Anyway, after much discussion, they all agreed that the best plan of action was to take twenty Mhoyin soldiers with them, somehow infiltrate inside the palace, even if they had to go in by the same way that Jack and Teal'c had came out!

After that, they would just play it by hunch, dividing the men in two groups and searching the area for the missing people.

Okay, so it wasn't much of a plan, militarily speaking, but anyone with a better one, feel free to call SGC and leave other ideas!

The attack was settle for daybreak, when, hopefully, the palace would be more vulnerable, and what gave them about eight hours to sleep a little and get ready.

A woman, about O'Neill's age, came inside the hut were they where discussing the attack plans, and said something to them in the strange language that Jack had heard them talk before.

Jack didn't understood a single word, and by the curling of Teal'c's brow, neither did he.

'Were is a good translator when you need one?' O'Neill asked himself, bitterly remembering were his translator was... in trouble, again!

Fortunately, one of the Mhoyin soldiers translated for them.

"The evening meal is ready... you two are most welcome to join us!", the large man said cheerfully, motion them outside the hut.

Jack did a silent questioning of his stomach. He should really be starving. After all, his last meal, if you can call it that, had been breakfast, two billions light-years away!

But he really didn't feel up to eat anything right now.

'Of course, being worried sick about your friends did do much of a job on your appetite!', Jack thought.

Ok, so besides the grey in his hair, the two kids were also getting him stomach problems!

'Mental note: If... correction... when we all together again, Daniel and Sam have one hell of a dinner to buy me and Teal'c!'  

O'Neill was taken out of his inner thoughts when he heard the screams coming from the outside... wait, that weren't screams... those were laughter screams... what the hell?!

Joining Teal'c, Jack run out side, only to discover that half of the village had already done the same that they, and were all gathered around someone.

Catching hold of one of the men that had been gathered with them, Jack pulled at his sleeve, like a small kid.

"What's all this fuzz about?", he asked.

The large man turned around, a big smile spread across his very white teeth.

"Borum's sister,... she's back!"

" The one that was captured by the Arian?", O'Neill asked, already knowing the answer.

The nod from the other man confirmed that.

'If she's been in the Arian fortress, maybe she saw Daniel and Sam there!', the Colonel thought, fighting over his usual pessimism and trying the optimist side for a change.

One thing was sure... he had to talk with that girl!

Taking a look on the top of his toes, Jack could see a young girl, looking like the losing end of a cats and dogs battle, dismissing the hands of the other women, trying to take care of her wounds, all the way saying something, repeatedly, on her own language.

The Older One came to her. Silently, everyone automatically made a path so that he might pass, and gathering the young girl in his embrace, he took her inside his hut.

Not two minutes had passed, when one of the old man's little helpers came, calling for the two strangers to join them.

Apparently, the young girl was as eager as O'Neill to speak with them.

She was very nervous, speaking very fast, sometimes in their language, sometimes in english, explaining to Okhim how she had come to be free.

Jack and Teal'c entered when she was in the middle of her story.

Seeing them, she stopped abruptly, rapidly getting and hiding behind the older man.

Okhim tranquillised her, explaining that they were friends, that in fact, they had saved her brother's life.

On hearing that, her big brown eyes widen in to even grater proportions.

Ok, now Jack could see the resemblance between her and Borum.

"I am most confused, Old One! All of my life I have lived in fear of the Arian, and today, in so little time, I have come to now three that most honorable people, to whom I and my brother own our lives! He is like the strangers that I was telling you about!", she said, pointing to Jack.

Oh, this is why the old man called for us! The girl had really seen Daniel and Sam!

"Please, child, tell us the rest of your story!", Okhim said, realizing that his two new guest had understood the importance of what the young girl was telling, and already seeing the thousand questions forming in the older of the strangers mind.  

The girl shyly left her hiding place behind the old man's chair, and again sat in front of them.

"It was as I told Old One... when I thought that my time had came and had already put my existence in the hands of the gods, this two strangers came, a man and a woman, saying that they were the lost gods of the Arian.

Then, the woman came to my side and set me free, taking me to the man. They said that were going to take me away to... to punish me further, and... oh, Old One... I was so afraid!", the young said in a trembling voice, all the emotion and despair of the last days coming to her mind, unrestrained to her will.

The sound of the old man's voice, calm and warm, broke through her fear.

"You are safe now, my child, do not worry... please, tell me... did this strange gods hurt you?", he asked, thinking that maybe he was wrong, maybe this strangers were not good like the ones he and his people had met.

The girl looked at him in a funny way. Of course...

" No!...  they were very good to me... they explained me that they were not gods, that they were not Arian at all... although one could be easily fooled by the way they looked... they helped me escape, they told the guards that I was no more, that they had killed me, and that they, the guards, should leave my dead body on the forest... and the guards obeyed them!

I stood very still all the way to the forest, in the guard arms, afraid of even let my breath go.

When the guards left, I run for here, as fast as my legs aloud me... to ask for your help, Old One... we must go to them and help them!", the girl finished, her big childish eyes focused on the old man, silently begging for him to do what she asked of him.

Jack had listened to the all story, without making a single sound, controlling his urge to speak up and ask for all the questions that he needed a urgent answer for. Now, he couldn't help himself.

"Were they ok?", he asked.

The young girl looked strangely to him.

"You know Danieljackson and Samanthacartersam?", she asked, not understanding why the stranger had almost laugh when she had spoke their names.

Jack got himself together.

"Yes, we all came here together!", he said, pointing to him and to Teal'c. "And we plan to leave together too!", he thought to himself, "Were they all right?", he asked again.

"Yes, everyone believed that they were really the gods!", she said.

The sharp ear of the big Jaffa easily caught the part of that sentence that did not sounded good.

"Believed?", he asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Yes, that is why I said that we must help them!".

Seeing their clueless faces, Nimbh explained.

"When the guards left me in the forest, they left in a hurry because they heard the palace alarm... the alarm that they always sound when new traitors or Mhoyin are captured!"

There was no more need for any explanations.

Only one idea was very clear in O'Neill's brain.

"We've got to hurry!"

Ok, so let's face it... things did not looked good!

The, unnecessary numerous, crowd of guards took Sam and Daniel, not to gently, through the palace corridors, dragging both back to the same place were they had discovered Nimbh.

The wooden post was still in its place, now accompanied by another, the two menacing structures painting claw-like shadows over the assembled audience of the Arian.

Their hands bound tight behind their backs, secured by the guards, the two SG1 members entered the yard, causing the crowd to go silent, watching the ones that, only a few hours before, were their gods, now bound and treated like dangerous prisoners.

Oblivious to all of this, Sam and Daniel only had eyes for the scene in front of them, their torture chamber displayed for all to see.

Behind the two posts, they could see a table, a dark cloth covering whatever laid on top of it. The light of the fire, in the center of the yard, becoming supreme over the light of the dying sun, gave all around a medieval look, which didn't helped fight the sense of uneasy and the cold chill on the stomach of the two scientists.   

With a big guard on each side of them, Daniel and Sam were dragged towards the posts, one for each of them.

Forcing them to their knees, the guards proceed in securing hands behind their backs, the thick rope cutting in to their wrists, after what they stood back, leaving the two prisoners facing each other, their sides turned to the crowd.

Only then , Forzzyn addressed the people assembled in the square.

"Arian people, hear me!", he started, raising his hands, as if to steady an already silent crowd, "These two strangers", he said, pointing to the kneeled prisoners, "have fooled us, they have played with the most sacred of our believes! They... are not our gods!", he said, waiting until his words had their full impact on the audience.

Only when Forzzyn saw the people start to whisper with menacing looks on their faces, did he proceed.

"They came to us claiming to be our gods, but I, Forzzyn, your protector, was able to see that they were lying... that they were  nothing more then imposters... spies of the damned... allies of the Mhoyin scum!".

"That's not true! You are the one who brought us here!", Sam exploded from her corner, only to be silenced with a heavy back hand from the guard next to her.

"Allies yes... do you deny helping to escape the Mhoyin prisoner?", Forzzyn asked her, knowing that it was a dead end question for the woman. If she denied, he would asked them for proves on the dead of the young woman that they had took with them, and if she said nothing, well...

"See... they confirm their alliance with the vile ones... their part in the conspiracy against the Arian!", Forzzyn said, reinforcing his stand.

Once again, knowing his people, the old man waited for his poisoned words to sunk in. When he started to see hate in the faces of the Arians, he knew that they were in his hands... as always.

"But fear not, my people, for now, that their true faces have been uncovered, I will properly punish them... I will show them how to respect our ways, our gods!", he said, the smile on his face having nothing to do with devotion.

"You all know the price to pay for treason... death! In the first light of day, their throats will be cut open and their dead bodies will be sliced in to pieces and scattered trough the wilderness, so that they never be one again!", he said, not quite been able to hide the madness in his voice, his hands sweaty in anticipation for what his power over the Arians allowed him to do to the strangers.

Although this was the most dreadful punishment of all Arian law, feared by all Arian, the strangers did not seemed very impressed. Actually, the woman gave out a laugh.

"Well... it could be worst!", Sam said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. O'Neill was a good teacher!

"Yeah... they could make us watch Oprah non stop!", Daniel said, following Sam's lead. O'Neill was really a good teacher!

Forzzyn could try as hard as he could, but he would never get the pleasure of seeing how scared they were. 

But, apparently, the Arian leader was not impressed by their boldness display. If that punishment was not enough to make them squirm, he had something better in store for them.

"However, considering their crime, I shall give them the all night to repent... or to kill themselves!", Forzzyn said, finally looking back to his prisoners, the look of triumph spreading all over his weasel face, as he saw the faces of the strangers go paler by the implications on his last words.

"Oh, oh... that didn't sound so good!", Daniel thought, seeing Forzzyn coming in his direction.

The old man came to stand in front of Daniel, his figure looking menacing over the kneeled man. Grabbing an hand full of the stranger's hair, Forzzyn snatched the young man's head up, so that he could meet his eyes.

Daniel looked up at him, all of the stubbornness and defiant spirit that marked every earthling, present in his eyes.

Forzzyn realized that, as he tightened his grip, making the other man's eyes water.

"Are you ready to admit your crime now and beg for the Arian people forgiveness?", Forzzyn asked him.

"I will apologize only for impersonating a god... that is... if you ask for the forgiveness of all innocent men and women that you've killed to guarantee your place in power!  I will admit to have used the Arian believes, if you admit that you have been doing the same thing all this time... all the time that you have been imposing you will like you were a god!", Daniel said, no longer talking to him alone, but trying to make his voice reach all around them.

They had to know what this man was doing.

They had to know the atrocities that they had found out about him.

The Arian could not be that blind!

Not anymore!

The old man was red with fury.

"Arrogant scum!", Forzzyn hissed, completing his action by pulling Daniel's head down, to violently meet his raising knee, hitting the young man in the chin, the sound of his teeth strike against each other ending the motion.

Living the man's side, Forzzyn made his way over to the woman, happy to discover the weak spot on the two strangers as he saw the look on her eyes.

They cared for over each other.

"Tell me... what is your plan with the Mhoyin? What have you conspired with the vile ones against us?", Forzzyn asked her, causing her to divert her look from her teammate in to his direction.

Sam raised her head to meet the old man's eyes, but said nothing.

In her eyes, Forzzyn could see the same stubbornness and unbreakable bone that he had seen in the man.

"We are no allies of the Mhoyin. The only alliance that I know of, is the one that once existed between your people and the Mhoyin!", Daniel said from the other side.

Forzzyn turned on his heels, quickly, so quickly that he almost lost his balance.

He look at Daniel, a small look of panic passing through his eyes, as he realized that the young man might knew too much, and probably had a mouth to big for his own good.

He was right. 

"Why don't you tell your people, Forzzyn? Tell them  how the Arian and Mhoyin formed an alliance against the demons that attacked your planet... why don't you tell them that it was thanks to both people that those demons are no more... not even in the Mhoyin people?", Daniel said.

Forzzyn stormed towards the young prisoner like a mad man.

"You will stop this lies now!", he said, all the red that he was seeing in front of his eyes, controlling his actions, as he pulled his left hand back, giving his blow the extra strength needed to send the prisoner's head smashing hard against the post, with the resulting thud been heard by everyone.

An hushed moan was the only sound that made trough the young man's lips, as he head lolled down.

"Daniel!" Sam shout, the concern for her friend threatening to drawn her voice.

"I'... it's o...k", he whispered, his head still facing down, fighting the dizziness that was making his all world go round.

"Good thing that I'm such a hard case of bull-head, like Jake always says!", Daniel thought to himself, although, by the tickle of something wet coming down from his back head, he was starting to have his doubts.

After a few seconds, Daniel lifted his head and opened his eyes, only to find the ugly, blurred image of Forzzyn still in front of him.

Giving up on trying to focus his vision, he decided to focus on what the old man was saying.

"Do not believe his lies... he only speaks this way to save his miserable life! All of you know what happened to our people, all the harm that as come to us, caused by the filthy Mhoyin.

All of you know that they are evil ones... they envy us, because they know that we are the pure ones, the ones made at the image of our gods and they are nothing more than casual abnormalities!

We all know about this so call alliance that he speaks of, I have read the texts left by our ancestors to all of you, so you all know how our people was betrayed by the evil ones and killed!", Forzzyn said, content to see the looks of confusion disappear from the faces of his people.

There was no way that this two damned strangers were going to make him lose his control over the Arian.

"You are the only liar in here, Forzzyn... you think that you have power over this people, and that's the only thing that you're interested in, the only thing that you don't wonna lose!", Sam yelled from her spot, getting tired of playing the nice girl.

"Oh.. if only my hands were untied...", she thought to her self, her mind smiling at the pictures of the 'nice' things that she would do that no good, lame excuse, son of a lousy piece of rotten shit!

"Enough!", the old man barked, the red in his face matching his clothes.

Raising his hand, Forzzyn motion for the guards to bring something from the table contents.

They handed him a small jar, as the Arian leader made his way to Sam's side.

Facing him with her head raised up, Sam was pressing her hands hard against each other, behind the post, trying to conceal her nervous for not knowing what was about to happened.

"Drink!", the old man said, pressing the jar against her closed lips.

Defiantly, she turned her face away. What did he thought she was?... Stupid?

Without making a sound, Forzzyn took away the jar, at same time he was sending a signal to the guard posted next to Daniel.

He had already seen how both prisoners cared for each other. He had already taken advantage of that weakness once, and he could do it as many times as he needed, with out having to waste any more of precious speech or having to listen to more of the nonsense's that the prisoners had been trying to feed his people!

Sam's determination froze in place when she saw what the old sleaze was up to. The guard, on Forzzyn's command, had placed himself behind Daniel, pulling his head back, exposing the young man's throat to his sharp knife, the blade getting too intimate with Daniel's skin.

"Drink!", Forzzyn repeated, taking the jar next to Sam's lips once more.

She look to her friend, trying to decide what to do next. What were her chances of doing something that didn't end in her, Daniel or both getting killed?

Time to coldly analyze were she stood.

Jack and Teal'c were, for all she could knew, MIA; she was tied to a wooden post in the middle of a public square, with no idea on what was on that jar, her chances of escaping were somewhere between none and zero and the man she looked up as a brother was in front of her, seconds away from having his throat remodeled.

Though decision!

Daniel could see the lack of doubts on Sam's face, and if he knew her well, which he did, he knew that she would end up doing something really stupid. Not really being able to move that much, he tried to lock his eyes with hers.

When he did, he mouthed a silence "Don't do it", but the only thing that was achieved by that a first hand taste of the blade on his throat, the touch gentle, but enough for the cold of the blade to get mix with the hot of his blood.

 If there ever were any doubts on Sam's mind on what to do, the site on that little string of red coming from the slash on Daniel's neck, made all the decisions for her.

Despite the alarm looks that Daniel was sending her, Sam parted her lips enough to Forzzyn spill the jar contents down her throat.

The blade backed away from Daniel's neck.     

Sam tried to spit out part of the bitter hot liquid that had gone down her throat. But, unfortunately, some of it was already to far down for her to prevent any damage , the faces she was pulling of clearing stating that.

Ignoring all of her motions, satisfied that, once again, he had won over the weak strangers, Forzzyn motion for the guard to bring him the rest of the table contents.

Daniel examined the strange object in the guards hands, in a morbid kind of curiosity.

The long object look somewhat like a double crossbow, only that, instead of a arrow it had a long stick, about two fingers large and with two very, very sharp edges.

"Aloud me to introduce you one of my inventions... the trust pole!", Forzzyn started, obvious very proud of his handy work.

The guards proceeded on putting the weird object between the two prisoners, the stick being as big as the distance between them, carefully aimed to their hearts.

Next, they placed some sort of leather leach on each of their necks, a second strap being attached to the bottom of their post. Both leach and strap were them connected to the crossbow look-a-like that stood in the middle of them, by elastic cords, the strings between each structure tense, just like a crossbows arch before the arrow is released. The precariously balancing sharp stick that stood in between them was, obviously, the arrow, an arrow that moved dangerly close to their chest at the smallest movement of neck from the other.

The idea of Forzzyn's 'trust pole' was, for all means, pretty obvious.

Even so, he explained.

Not that he had to.

But that was something that just gave him too much pleasure to do.

"Let me explain to you how this device works", he started, eagerly looking for a reaction in the prisoners features, getting rather frustrated when he got none. So, he went on, "As you have probably already figure, my trust pole works similar to a crossbow... one stretches the rope and when it reaches its maximum, the arrow is released... in this case, you are the ones that are stretching the rope, holding the arrow from release, but... the moment one of you slightly drops the head, the other will instantly die!" , he finished, almost rubbing his hands from content.

Although Daniel and Sam had already figured out by themselves the working part of the mechanism of the arrow, still both felt the cold shiver that raced down their backs. Their heads, unconsciously, straightening up sharp.

The smile that crossed the old man's lips was worth to puke at. 

"In any case, if both of you succeed in preventing the arrow from entering the other until damn, then both of you will die... it is just matter of when, really! Until then, enjoy the night and take it to thing about your crimes, towards our gods and our people!", Forzzyn said, preparing himself to leave.

As much as he would like to stay and watch how the pitiful strangers fate would roll, he knew that it would not look good to him if he did so... his people might realized just how much pleasure he was taking from this, and that might lead then to believe the stranger male's words.

Speaking of which...

"Wait!", Daniel called out, carefully about what he moved, besides his mouth, "that thing that you forced her to drink... what was it?", he asked, not really expecting the Arian leader to answer, but the creepy thought that was coming to his mind getting to demanding for him to just stay silent.

Forzzyn looked at him, smiling again. Boy, was he happy lately!

The old man thought to himself... what would be more painful for the strangers... to know now what was coming and that there was no way of them to win in a game were he, Forzzyn, held all the pieces, or tell them nothing and let them arrive to their own conclusions as the result of his little game became clear.

Remembering that he would not be there to see the look on their faces as they realized what was happening, he thought it was best just to tell them right now.

"It was a herbs mixture, very common among our people... when eaten, it is know for it's relaxing effects,..."

"...And when you drink it?", Daniel insisted, the creepy, nagging feeling getting bigger and bigger by the minute.

The look on Sam's face told that she knew the answer even before Forzzyn could spit it out.

"When you drink it, it becomes a rather effective sleep inducer!... It will make your night much more... interesting!" , the old man said, living the two prisoners open mouthed.

After Forzzyn left, slowly, one by one, the people started to leave the square too, everyone returning to their homes, in silent respect.

If the time had been another, many would've staid, would've loved to watch the fate of the two strangers, would've wanted to remain and celebrate their deaths... but now... something had made this the one to many of Forzzyn's games.

Something in this prisoners words, something in their attitude had made them loose that will to remain, something felt out of place for the first time in many years.

Something had change.    

Without they even realize it, soon, Daniel and Sam where all alone, the only sound in the square being the crackle of burned wood, coming from the center fire, the only source of light in the dark of the night that had set in.

They stood in silence for a long time, each absorbed by its own mind.

Sam's look had become haunted, ever since Forzzyn's departing sentence, the only thing that had made it through her lips at the time, been a soft 'oh'.

Daniel had been spending his time dividing his thoughts between trying to find a way of getting out of this new mess and trying to read Sam's facial expression.

Unfortunately, the latest was proving to be as difficult as the first, in the dark and without his glasses, but he really didn't needed to see her, or be a genius, to imagine her frown eyebrows, her mask of defeat and worry.

"It's ok, Sam... everything is gonna be fine!", he finally said, breaking through her silent anger.

The young Captain's gaze slowly returned from the dark alley of her mind were it had been for a while, and rested on her teammate's eyes.

"We're gonna find a way out of this, you'll see Sam!", Daniel reinforced the idea, trying to convince himself at the same time that he tried to cheer her up.   

"Some how, I'm not so sure about that!", was her soft, whispered, rough response, the sarcasm dripping out of her mouth like venom.

"Sam..."

"Don't Sam me! You and I both know what is gonna happen, and I don't know if I'm going to be able to stop it from happening!... Damn it!... I'm already feeling sleepy as we speak!", she outbursted.

Ok... so no one said it was going to be easy!

"Sam... we ARE gonna make it... both of us... come on... we've been up against worst, and still we made it home!", he said, trying to put in his voice all the hope and faith that his soul was made of.

It didn't do the trick.

"Is that with or without the times you died?", Sam replied bitterly, letting all the anger that she was felling against at Forzzyn and his goons show it's ugly little head.

Daniel flinched at that. So ok, granted... he did died a lot!

"Look, all we have to do is keep hope... if we admit defeat right now, we are for sure defeated! Jack and Teal'c are some were out there, and I'm very sure that they haven't given up on us.. all we have to do is hold our ends up until they arrive!... All you have to do is set that stubborn head of yours to stay alert and fight the drug that Forzzyn forced you to take!", he said, putting special strength in the word 'forced', so that she could understand that what ever happened, it wasn't her fault.

"Yeah... all we have to do is keep me from killing you!", Sam though, deep inside her, the rough rage subsiding, allowing the small part of her brain, that was already giving reason to Daniel's words, take command.

"You're right...", she whispered.

Dropping the ball before the end of the game wasn't Sam's usual MO, and she sure wasn't gonna start now, but she had to admit that messing with the rules of the game, like that old slime ball had did, really pissed her off!

So, what to do to keep awake?

Play cards?

No... out of the question...

Drink industrial amounts of coffee?

Hum... that would be nice...

Small talk?

Might as well...

Even that, could prove to be an interesting experience. Imagine yourself trying to talk casually, without moving your head a inch, with something constantly pulling your head forward, tensing up your all body. Ad to that a pointing stick aimed at you and your best friend, and you'll start to have an idea!

All things given, it was understandable that two people, usually so verbal, like the Colonel loved to say ( not in so gentle words ), could be lost of words and subject to start a conversation.

"So... tell me, were did you learned to use a sword like that?", Sam asked, remembering the way Daniel had seemed so at ease with the unusual weapon, seeing that it had taken a while to convince the young scientist to even carry a gun, and that one being the smallest and the easiest to handle that they could find.    

What for Sam was an innocent question, apparently for Daniel was something of a secret, an embarrassing one, by the way he manage to change color in the chill of the night.

If the situation wasn't so damn horrible, Sam would've laugh out loud. Daniel could really find his way to red face even in the worst of times!

"Hum... beginner's luck?", he tried, looking sheepishly.

"Yeah, right... come on Daniel, don't pull my leg... not when I'm in this position, anyway!", Sam tried to joke, "I know if he had given that thing to me, I would've easily cut off my leg before I actually hit one of them, or if I did hit one of them, I would've taken his head off, not harmlessly disarmed them like you did... so give!"

Being by nature, a very body language expressive person, and given that there wasn't much of his body that he could use right now, Daniel just rolled his eyes up, and gave in.

"Ok... hum, I had this history teacher in college, Dr. James. He was always saying that it was important to fell history, in order to better understand it. So, what he did was teach us to do something that people did in the period of history that we were studding at the time.

He taught us how to start up a fire like the Primitive Man did, how to guide ourselves by the stars... it was really a great class ! Everyone loved that teacher! Anyway, when we started to study Europe history, the centuries of revolutions, discoveries royal plots and treason, he thought that it would be nice to show us how to use a sword, and so he did... I like it so much that he asked me if I wanted to take some private lessons with a friend of his, and since I didn't had much to do in those days, except for school...", Daniel said, sadly remembering all the loneness that he had experience during his life, "so... I took his offer... it wasn't for long, and I haven't touched one of those for a long time, but..."

"So you know how to fight with a sword? That's great!"

"Well, I just learned the basics, you know..."

"You sure are full of surprises!... Wait 'til the Colonel knows about having D'Artagnan on his team!", Sam teased him.

"Actually, the musketeers didn't use a swo... Hey! You're not gonna tell Jack about this!", he pleaded.

Sam raised her left eyebrow and planted a wicked smile on her face. It kind of felt relieving to assume that things were really gonna be fine and that she would really have the chance to give the Colonel another way to torment Daniel.

If only...

"Ah... come on! I have enough trouble with the space monkey thing!", Daniel moaned, seeing the look on Sam's face and remembering how every one on SGC had seemed to pick that one up, having lost track one the how many times that someone had come to him, offering bananas! And he still hadn't get it... what was space monkey suppose to mean?

The talk moved in to the night, succeeding in getting Sam awake until the cavalry arrived. All they had to do was keep their minds off the big stick between them.

Their bodies were starting to get numb from waist down, both from the position that they were forced to be, as from the cold of the night, that was starting to find it's way trough their thins gowns.

Their moral, that was never much from starters, was getting down really fast.

They had already talked about every thing, about themselves, about the others, about planets that they had seen, peoples that had meet, people they had love, people they still loved...

When the conversation topics started to be to serious, they started on SGC gossip, and boy, was there a lot of it! Things like... were Janet and Ferretti really caught in the looker room in a intense mouth-to-mouth exercise... was there really a bet between Susy, from the canteen and Ruth, from laundry, about the existence or not of a tiny black mark in the butt of a certain linguist/archeologist/space explorer  in SGC... was Mayborne really the son of Darth Vader...  

When half of those questions were answered, semi-answered and Daniel's face color had returned to normal, Daniel started to tell some 'really' interesting jokes. He was in the middle of one, something about the Nasca civilization, aliens and snails, when he felt a slight increase of pressure on his chest.

"Sam!", he almost yelled, in sudden panic.

"Hum... wha... coming dad... ", she mumbled, her eyes already half closed and her head dangerly tilting front.

"Sam!... Wake up!... Now!", he said, felling the stick getting really intimate with his shirt, the fear making his voice more sharp.

"Sir, Yes Sir!", Sam said, jerking her head up, still a little lost to the where and how. However, instantly coming to full awareness and realizing that she had been dozing off, the young Captain looked to her team mate, her clear blue eyes round with worry, her mind racing ahead to the what to do if she had, unconsciously, made arrangements for new holes in Daniel's chest.

"OhMyGod!... Daniel, are you ok? Not hurt, are you? I'msosorryDaniel! Are you sure you're ok?", she said, her mouth running away from her control.

"It's ok Sam... I'm ok... just don't do that again, ok?", Daniel said, a shy smile on his lips insufficient to hide the shake in his voice.

"Ok...", she said again, opening really hard her tired eyes, looking like a five year little girl, stubbornly refusing to go to bed.

It was becoming harder and harder to keep Sam awake, and even Daniel was starting to feel the weight of the previous day on his eye lids.

The effort of preventing eyes from closing and head from dropping that Sam was imposing on her self was beyond anything that Daniel had ever seen. It had been now over six hours since Forzzyn had made her drink the potion, and she was still fighting it.

Sam's strength reminded him of another strong woman that he knew... his wife... Sha're...

The first signs of dawn were starting to make their appearance above the distant mountains.

The soft tones of red, blue and purple transported Daniel to others sunrises that he had seen... Abydos... that first time, right after his marriage with Sha're had been accepted by all of Abydonian, the first day that he felt officially married, they had seen the sunrise together, right above the distant dunes...

...His mind came sharply to the present, violently pulled away from Abydos, back to reality and... pain!

Hot, sharp, breath taking pain!

Instinctively turning his watered eyes towards the central focus of the pain, the only thing that Daniel saw there was what his fogged brain had already told him... the stick had finally found a target!

Slowly turning his pounding head up, Daniel looked at his teammate.

Sam had finally succumbed to the potion.

After the all night struggle, Sam had lost the battle that they knew, was impossible to win, and now, her head rested serenely on her chest.

Oh God... It hurt... so much!      

Daniel tried to swallow the panic that was making his throat a tight space for air to pass,  focus his thoughts, so that his mind could think beyond the red liquid pouring down him, fast.

Nothing in his body would obey him.

He tried to make his mouth work, so that he could at least scream out some of the pain that was consuming him, but nothing would come out, just a weak groan, a pathetic sound, and even that small thing proved to be a new source of torture, as the small vibrations in his throat reached the chest wound.

His eyes conspired with the rest of him, as the only thing the they allow him to see was bright white flashes, when ever he closed his eyelids tight, or a smudged, blurred world, dark around the edges as it danced all around his head when they were open, making him feel dizzy and his body swing around the sharp stick, renewing the already unbearable pain.

Every second that passed was like an eternity, over and over again his mind telling him that there was no way out of this for him.

The only thing that he could feel in his numb body was the sickening soaking of his shirt, soaking on his blood.

He could feel the large claws of panic making their appearance again, grabbing his shaking body and stealing his shallow breathing again.

Why did time passed so slow?

Why didn't unconsciousness came?

Daniel fought the fear and panic down. They weren't taking him anywhere, they were only making the pounding in his ears faster and faster, and since it hurt so much to breath, he couldn't do it so fast as  he was now.

He had to get what ever he could under control, he must, if he was expecting any chance of not dyin... of  staying aliv...

Oh God...

The pounding in his hears was getting much more quiet now.

He could smell the sweet iron smell of blood that was all around him.

The low singing of some alien bird, greeting the birth of a new day.

The sound of liquid bubbling that was coming from his chest, each time that he tried to breath.

The sound of Sam's soft snoring.

The sound of some one's teeth shattering against each other. His?

Cold.

He was really cold.

Why was he so cold?

'Must be shock', Daniel thought, discovering that, although at a very low speed, his brain could filter thoughts again.

He was starting to feel strangely detached from himself.

He knew that the pain was still there, but he could feel the all of it no more, like someone that's seeing half of a picture, knowing how the all looked like.

Like some one that loses a member, but can still feel it", he thought, remembering from Janet's endless First Aid sessions, that this was probably not a good sign.

"Shock?...Yeah, probably... What to do in a shock situation?", he thought to himself, discovering that distracting his mind was succeeding in keeping him alert and was preventing that small part of his brain that was still functioning, from shutting down.   

At least it kept him from thinking in the numb pain in his all body, that was becoming more demanding that the previous active one.

'So... what do you do... cause, you have to find the cause of shock... and tend to it...", he thought, refusing to turn his useless eyes towards the source of his sock situation, 'let's skip that one... next... put the victim, and that would be me,... in a comfortable position, legs up and warm... that would be really nice,... but no can do...', he thought, trying to keep his eyelids from closing, realizing that the only thing that he could do was keep himself from loosing consciousness, dreading that he might never regain it again.

Daniel tried to picture himself in Janet's infirmary, in a warm, soft white bed, safe.

'Who would thought that I would came to whish being in that place!", he thought, remembering all the times that he had given Janet a hard case about staying in the infirmary.

And now, he would give his front teeth just to be in there... the white sheets, the soft pillow beneath his head, the constant bips of the mysterious gizmos that filled that room feeling like music to his ears right now...

Why haven't Jack and Teal'c come?

Sam had lost her battle, and he knew he was losing his too.

The first beams of warm light bathed his damp face, giving color to his ashen features.

Daniel didn't had in him no more strength to keep up.

Slowly, he let his head rest against his left shoulder, allowing his knees to sink a little further, causing the stick to twist in his wound, sending brand new waves of pain up and down his way to battered body.

'Not... a ... nice... move', he thought, closing his eyes tightly and realizing that he no longer had the will to get them reopen. Fighting for his own life was proving to be more than he could handle.

Funny things come to your mind when your dying.

You can actually feel life slipping through you, fading away, escaping from your control, as if being called back by an ancient owner, claming his property back.

It wasn't like he never had died before.... he had... countless times...

But in every single one of them, death had come swiftly, with out even giving him enough time to realize that he was gonna die...

Now... now he was actually waiting for death, completely helpless...

This time he had time to realize all that he was losing along with his life...

Every thing he would miss...

His wife.... his friends... the rush of going trough the Stargate... the excitement of finding something new... the trill of solving an ancient mystery... coffee...

He would never she the smile on Sha're face again, that one that rivaled with the brightest of the suns... he would never hear a child calling him daddy... he would never find out what was coming the next day...

Why was life so unfair?

Why keep on fighting?

It didn't matter any more.

'Goodbye my friends... Jack, Teal'c, Sam... Sam, please don't blame yourself... I don't... Goodbye Sha're... we'll be together some day...' , he thought, before loosing all senses, the last thing registering in his tired brain being the unreal sound of bells and a desperate feeling of defeat.

Several of the Mhoyin warriors were ready to leave, covered by the moonless night, planing on arriving at the Arian palace at first signs of dawn.

Hiding themselves in the low bushes and trees that surrounded the palace, the small group of fighters was already gathered around the palace's gates when the first beams of light came.

The heavy front doors, the only way in to the place that didn't involved crawling, were still closed, as it was all nights, only to be open in the mourning, when the first traders started to arrive.

"We must arrange for a way to get inside", the commander of the warriors said in a low whisper, addressing the older of the two strangers that he had come to know since the previous day.

O'Neill shrunk his shoulders. Trust the friendly alien to point out the obvious.

"We could try the good'ol open Sesame!", he said sarcastically, knowing perfectly well that none of them ,and that's probably including Teal'c, had ever heard of Ali Baba and his misshapen with those forty  bad guys. Neither was he in the mood to explain that to them.

However, the minute that sentence had left his mouth, the sound of heavy wooden doors started to be heard, as the gates flew open, revealing a large inner yard.

"Well I'll be damned!", Jack murmured, "It actually work's!"

The aliens around him didn't had the slightest clue on what he was talking about, getting the feeling that this was in deed a very strange person. However, one thing they were sure of...

"This is most unusual... the doors never open until the sun is up in the horizon...", the commander thought out loud, "... unless..."

"Unless what?", O'Neill asked, his voice getting more sharp then he intended, but this all situation was wearing his nerves very thin.

"... Unless Forzzyn as some execution set for this early hour... if that is the case, then the doors would be open sooner, so that the ones that live out side the palace may assist too..."

Yeah, that made sense... the only thing that made that an ugly picture was the fact that Jack had a pretty good idea on who the executes-to-be were!

"Let's get inside... now!", O'Neill said, felling a chill work its way up is spine, as the sound of a big bell shook the dawn' cold air.

The large central bell riverbed in the palace's walls, calling everyone back to the square.

The hour for the strangers execution had arrived.

Forzzyn was ready for hours now, restlessly awaiting for the time to came when he could make his way, for him to kill... execute the traitors.

He was eager to know which of them had died during the night, to find out if the man, betrayed by the sleeping woman, or the woman, killed by him, to save his own life.

Dressed in his finer robes, the leader of the Arian made his way to the yard.

Forced by Forzzyn's laws to be present, the people had already gathered in place, looking anything but pleased by the show displayed in front of them.

The woman, asleep or dead, they couldn't tell, her clothes damp by the mourning dew and clinging to her body, was slumbered against the post, the ropes in her hands the only thing preventing her from falling forward, strait in to a very sharp stick, and the man...

... the floor around him was covered in blood, the source of the red liquid obvious for all, as the large wooden arrow stood in the middle of chest, just below his rib cage.

His head was lolled down and his body, as the woman, was slumbered forward, like a rag doll.

Unmoving.

Lifeless.

Many times before Forzzyn had taken attitudes that were not very fond by the rest of the Arians, but everyone was afraid of speaking against him.

They had already seen and heard what happened to those who had chose to oppose their leader, so they had a long time taken the decision of 'agree' with Forzzyn's decisions, for their own sake.

But now...

Forzzyn had ruled their lives for more time then even the elders could remember... it had been that way for so long that it seamed more easy to just don't ask questions.

But now...

What had the strangers done to deserve such a treatment?

They had impersonated their most sacred gods!

But had they really meant any harm to their people... or had they just done it to save the young woman, yet another victim of Forzzyn madness?

Victim of Forzzyn's madness... where had that though came from?

Was that possible?

Among the people that were arriving at the square to see the 'show', there was a particularly strange group, some hooded, some in rags, all of them looking like something that the cat had dragged out side.

Placing themselves in unsuspicious strategic places, the group silently waited, taking in the scene before them.

The Mhoyin bunch had been really surprised to see how efficiently the older stranger, O'Neill, had arranged for new clothes, for them to conceal their real features, but when they asked him how he had done it, he just smile and said that had found someone who was much needed of wardrobe change.

After he had busied himself misleading some sweet old lady's clothesline, and getting to his position in the, some sort of, really bad excuse for a plan, that they had dig up, between dressing a rag and other, Jack finally had the time to take a look at his teammates.

His heart missed a couple of beats.

O'Neill only realized that he had started a dead motion towards his stricken friends, when a big, dark hand on his shoulder made him get down again.

"That would not be a advisable course of action, O'Neill", Teal'c said, his grave voice resounding in Jack's ears.

All those years of hard military training were, as Jack was finding out now, not enough to keep his emotions at check, to make him think coolly while looking at his closest friends like that... like they were dea... no, he was not gonna think that... they were alive... they just had to!

The hand that he was keeping on the shoulder of his commanding officer and friend, O'Neill, was not only to keep him from running forward, but to keep himself from doing the same thing.

Teal'c knew that, just like him, O'Neill was a soldier, and soldiers leave their emotions home, they did not took them to the battle field. They were a weakness that had no room in their hearts... or at least, that was the theory... in reality, to see his friends treated in such a poor way, with nothing that he had done to prevent this suffering to fell upon them, it was... very difficult to stand by, it was in did, very close to unbearable.

However, the Jaffa warrior knew, as well as O'Neill, that a foolish course of action now would put to risk all of their plans to defeat Forzzyn, and if they succeeded they could at least provide the honorable passage ceremonies for they earth warriors friends, if nothing more. 

Although the rescue of the two prisoners had become a lot more difficult by the presence of all the Arians in the central square, and although the presence of any spark of life in the prisoners was now questionable, the Mhoyin warriors were more then ever determined to help their new friends.    

At least, now they wouldn't have to look for the strangers.

They were right in front of them, for all to see what had been done to them, the cruelty of Forzzyn law showed one more time, like they had saw to many times, applied to their relatives and friends, with nothing that they could do to stop that insanity.

But now, although still outnumbered, something about the arrival of the strangers was given them strength to go against all odds, to fight against reason, and to do it until the last men dropped.

Positioned themselves behind Forzzyn's guards, blend in the crowd, the warriors silently awaited for the signal from their leader to start the attack.

Forzzyn made his entrance, the silence falling upon everyone, driven by his presence.

"The dawn has come... it is time to fulfill the sentence and banish for all times this traitors!", he said to the Arians, making his way towards them.

It didn't took him long to see that his little game of wills had produced it's victim, and seeing the size of the pool of blood near the man, he realized that there was no more for him to do, so he made his way to the woman, cutting the leach from her neck.

Grabbing a hand full of her soft hair, the old man jerked her head back in one swift action, and in that action, pilling the stick out from the young man's body, the wooden peace falling to the floor with a dried tug.

From no sound was expected, the most dreadful sound came, as the blood freezing groan escaped the young man's lips, the one everyone thought dead protesting over the pain of having his wound refreshed with new blood.

Forzzyn was caught of guard by the other prisoner, scared by that small sign of life coming from the stranger that stubbornly refused to die.

Still having hold of the woman's head, and making sure that nothing more came from the man, Forzzyn realized that she was still asleep, obvious taken by his strong potion.

"Wake up, scum!", he said, letting go of her hair and slapping her hard on the face.

Sam's all world was a slow motion scene. Her brain was functioning in slow motion, her body was obeying her orders in slow motion and that some one that was yelling with her was also doing it in slow motion. Why was that?

Slowly, she opened her eyes, felling the worst hang over of her life whelming behind her eyelids.

It was only when she tried to get her cramped legs and arms moving and found out that she couldn't, that she remembered where she was and what was happening.

Seeing the red floor in front of her eyes, Sam felt her heart sink to the floor and go splat, as she put two and two together and realized what that site meant.

She had killed Daniel!

"Daniel!", she yelled out loud, raising her head and ignoring the tall figure by her side, that by now she had recognized has the main rat around there, Forzzyn.

Right there, in front of her, was the only thing that she could see, the prove of her crime.

Head down, body slumbered and blood soaked clothes, kneeled on his own blood, there laid Daniel, the man that she was suppose to keep alive!

The stick was gone, but the hole that it made was all to visible for Sam not to notice.

"Ohmygod.... Daniel, please, don't...", she whispered, felling the tears already rolling free down her face.

All the emotions that she had been trying to keep under raps, all of her feelings about everything that had been happening ever since that had set foot on that damn planet, just burst out, like a giant tide wave, a enormous flow of sickness, nausea, anger, weakness, frustration, dirtiness...

... the greatest will of just go to Daniel side and make him open his eyes...

Forzzyn hauled her back once again, with the gentleness of a herd of wild bulls, remembering her of just how achy her entire body was.

"Now, traitor, you too die!", he said, nothing that the red in the woman's eyes was not only from the loss of her friend, but also from a deep a very raw hatred, for him.

Trying very hard to ignore the murderous look that the strange woman had nailed on him, the leader of the Arian took his free hand, and, going to his waist, produced a long dagger, adorned in gold, showing it to the crowed.

If Forzzyn wasn't so absorbed in his task of killing the woman, if his eyes were not  so filled with the lust of having the power over another's life, maybe, just maybe, Forzzyn would've seen the small changes in the air, in the faces of those watching the scene displayed on stage.

He would've seen the look of hatred in the strange woman's face  starting to be shared by the men and women in the crowd.

As if awaken by the pained fill scream of the man, of a dead man, for all they knew, the Arian people open their eyes, really open them, and saw for the first time in many, many time.

As newborns, the Arians looked around and saw what they had being accomplices for, that dying scream bringing back the memories of so many other screams, way too many screams, that they had listened before and done... nothing.

If, just if, Forzzyn had seen those signs., then maybe he would be able to do something in time... but he didn't.

The first stone flew in the air, sharp and fast, hitting the old man square in the head, sending him butt first to the floor, all of a sudden the air raining with other sharp rocks, all with the same target in plane, Forzzyn and his loyal guards.

If the Mhoyin warriors were awaiting for some kind of divine sign to start the battle, then they couldn't had asked for a better one.

After seeing the first stone fall from the sky, delivered by the hands of  a Arian, the Mhoyin swiftly removed the hoods from their heads, reveling themselves.

Some of the Arian near them where a bit surprised by their presence, but that feeling was rapidly overcome, as both people realized that the enemy was not the other, but Forzzyn, the true demon through all their history, the demon of greed, the demon of power, the demon that had no respect for any kind of life.

And the demon needed to be defeated, now, for all times, in the memory of all times.

Forgetting all that had come between Arian and Mhoyin through centuries of misunderstandings, in one single moment of pure magic, both people fought, side by side, women and men, dark and fair skins bleeding the same color, against Forzzyn and his men, quickly overcoming them.

Although stones and other sharp objects still flew near her, although bodies fell everywhere she looked, good guys and bad guys screaming as their lives ended, filling the air with a sense of death, Sam neither saw, or hear or felt anything.

Her entire world consisted only of a single image, a single feeling... Daniel was dead, killed by her, 'cause she could not keep herself awake!

Could life be a little more of a bitch?

Sam didn't even took notice when the dagger slipped Forzzyn's hand and fell to the floor, followed by the old man, momentarily out balanced by the blow of the rock, as she didn't notice him rising again and make a quick escape through the back, as far away from the fight as he could, living the knife near her knees.

Nothing of that mattered to her, meanness things in a meanness world.

How could things come to such a sucked end?

After all they had been through, after all the promises not to give up, she had failed.

She had failed has a human being, she had failed has a soldier, she had failed as a friend...

She had failed...

... and he was dead...

She was taken back from her down, circling, dark thoughts, by a strong hand in her shoulder, a warm, deep voice speaking near her ear.

"Captain Carter... Captain Carter... are you well?", Teal'c asked, trying to gently bring his friend back to reality, away from the place that was making her clear eyes look dark and devoid of life, even before taking her out of that wooden post.

"T ... Teal'c?", Sam asked, her mind still fuzzy from the drug and pain.

Satisfied that, at least, the young Captain was already talking, the big Jaffa grabbed the dagger from near her and rapidly worked to free her from the ropes, moving swiftly to grab her, has she tilted front, her tired body no longer supported by the post to keep upright.

"Where are you harmed, Captain Carter?", he asked again.

Sam turned to him, as if trying to focus on his face, or just decide if he was real or no, lining on his support to stay seated on the floor.

Looking over his shoulder, she spotted Jack, on Daniel's side, taking him off the post too.

"It is ok, Captain Carter... do not worry yourself", he said, knowing all to well, by all the atrocities that he had seen done by the Goa'uld and other evil beings, what kind of games his two young friends must had pass through... and he had been no where around to prevent this harm to come to them!

When Jack had heard the sound that came from Daniel's limp body, he really didn't knew if he should be happy, for finding that his friend was still alive, or should be worried sick, because of the state that both of them where, with the Stargate and Janet God knows how far...

Then, two things happened almost immediately, one being the realization that Sam was alive too, and looking much better then Daniel, and the second being that the attack had started, surprisingly enough, by the hand of the ones they had come to attack.

The battle was one of the shortest that he had ever seen in his military career, but it look like forever for O'Neill, until he was able to reach his stricken friends.

Motion for Teal'c to go to Carter, he moved quickly to Daniel, desperately planting two fingers in his jaw, searching answer for one of the worst question ever.

Forcing his fingertips to feel something, anything, Jack pressed them against his young friends neck, until he was sure it hurt. Where the hell was that pulse?

"Come on... come on", he whispered only to himself, trying to fight the panic that was starting to rise in his gut, menacing to burst out and choke him.

Taking a deep breath and putting all those training's in Special Op.'s in to work, Jack calmed himself  and did a second check.

There!

Wait... was that Daniel's pulse, or just him feeling his own heart betting in the tip of his toes?

Nope... that's was definitely Daniel's.... no way his heart was betting that slow...

And weak..

And unsteady...

Oh, crap!

"Hold on buddy... I didn't came all this long just for you to die on my lap!", Jack whispered in the other man ear, quickly tearing a piece from Daniel's clothes and applying it to the wound.

With out him even notice it, one of his hands went automatically to the younger man's forehead, gently placing the locks of damp hair where they belonged, away from closed eyes.

Jack tried to hold the chill that was coming up his body, all the way from his feet.

How many other young man had he hold like that before?

How many times had he watched kids looking like old man, from pain, and fear, and... death?

Damn!

Damn it all to hell!...

The signs where all there... the clammy, wax, cold skin... the lack of reactions... the occasional, short, labored breath... the dead weight of the body...

Dying...

His best friend was dying...

And there wasn't a damn thing that he could do about it!

"Well Danny, you've really done it this time!", O'Neill said, his voice raw with the all the anger that he was starting to feel inside.

Anger against Forzzyn, anger against this planet, anger against the universe in general, anger at who ever invented the stargates...  anger against Daniel, for not asking his permission to die!  

Sensing more then seeing the movement on his left, Jack turned fast, ready to seriously kill anyone who dared to came between him and his job.

Instead of the enemy, the Colonel found himself staring at Teal'c's brown eyes, Carter right behind him, taking his support to keep her shaking body on a vertical position.

She had finally been able to summon all of her soldiers instincts and training's, and had got some sort of grip on her emotions, coming to the decision that later was a good time to deal with all that she was feeling, and decently crack up.

"How are you holding up, Carter?", Jack asked her, his hands still on the bleeding wound of the man lying down, but his eyes doing a quick and expert check on his second in command, just to be sure that, like Daniel, she didn't had any new holes in her.   

"I'll be fine, Sir", she answer, not being able to meet his eyes.

If she did, he would know.

"H... how's Da..niel?", Sam asked, the site of all that blood, something that never before had bothered her, was making her lose the little control that she had come up with.

Get a grip, cry baby!

You're a god damn captain of the Unite States Air Force... act like one!

Take a deep breath... easy out... ok!

O'Neill read the changes in Sam's face like a book. She was getting herself back on control. Amazing woman!

"He's...", for a second, he thought about giving the sugar sweet version, but since he really wasn't talking neither with children, neither with two blind people, he gave it out strait, direct ".. he's dying...", he finally said, lowering his eyes back to the person in question.

Sam sunk to the bloody floor, the truth blasting through her with all it's mighty blow.

Somehow, the battle chose that moment to stop, the deadly silent that followed disrupted only by the prisoners taken by the winning Arian and Mhoyin warriors.

It looked like a glorious day was beginning, as the sun, or it's equivalent in this world, shined bright in the mourning sky, blue, free of any clouds.

The gentle breeze that passed by the Arian palace was not ready for the mood that was rising from there towards the sky.

It passed, and took with it the smell of blood that came from the earth.

The smell of death.

The smell of birth.

"This is all my fault, Sir", Sam whispered, braking the silent noise that filling the place, her voice shaky and hoarse.

Jack took his eyes out of the form on his front and slowly level them with hers.

Could she be really believing that?

The pained gaze, the eyes full of regret and guilt, told him yes.

"Oh...For crying out loud! Are you talking serious there, Carter?", O'Neill exploded, not giving her anytime to answer that, " Come on... where's that brain of yours? The only one with the blame carriage in here is that no good, sonofabitch, white haired, slime ball of Forzzyn, that, by the way, was about to kill you, when we arrived!", he almost barked at her, knowing that what might seem like a harsh speech to give anyone that had been trough what she had, was exactly what his Captain needed to return herself to reality.

It did the trick.  

She was about to reply, in what seemed to be a not to polite speech too, when she saw a dark man that she hadn't seen before came near them.

"How is your friend?", he asked her two teammates, eyeing the young man on the damp floor.

Sam turned to Jack and Teal'c, who obvious knew this man, the question in her eyes. Jack just turned his 'it's a really big story, I'll tell you later' look on her, before answering the man.

"Not so good... did you guys get the leader of this show?", O'Neill answered, quick images of him ripping the old man apart flashing before his eyes.

" Forzzyn was caught in his room... he was hidden in secret compartment there, behind one of the walls. It is room filled from top to bottom with books and writings that no one can really understand. He was trying to get inside a strange golden box... none of the people here have ever seen something like that!.... but you have?", the alien asked, seeing the look on the three strangers face, as soon as he had mentioned a golden box.

Jack, Sam and Teal'c were astonished. Could all three pares of ears have misunderstood what the man had just said?

A golden box?

Like in a sarcophagus golden box type?

No way!

" How was that box, exactly?", O'Neill asked, really slowly, not wanting to give any room to any sort of misunderstanding. This was way to important to be any mistakes.

The alien man looked at him, a little taken aback with the strangers priorities. His friend was dying, and he was curious about a box? Strange people indeed.

Even so, he answered the best he knew.

"It is as big as a tall man, covered with strange symbols and as the a light inside as strong as the brighter stars.", he described, from the little he had seen.

"A sarcophagus!", Sam let out in a whisper, the light of hope shining once more on her bright eyes.

"It must have been left behind by the Goa'uld that ruled here", Teal'c said, his sentence stating that he couldn't agree more with what Sam had just said.

Jack look at his young friend again, once more taking the pulse that was almost gone.

There was only one thing to be done.

Carefully gathering Daniel up, with Teal'c's help, O'Neill turned to the alien friend.

"Show us where you found the box!"

The old Arian leader's room couldn't be more far away then it was. By the time that the group carrying Daniel turned the last corner to get there, Jack was covered in sweat and even Teal'c was showing some of the stress of carrying a grown man's limp body all that way.

The room was crowded with the rebellion party, Arian and Mhoyin searching parts of the palace that no one had seen before. Recognizing who was coming, they all stood aside, in a respecting kind of way, allowing the group to easy get to the sarcophagus, place at the deep back of a second compartment of the room.

Fortunately, for his sake, Forzzyn was no where in site, must to Jack's frustration.

Carefully gathering all of Daniel's weight on his arms, O'Neill gently placed his burden inside the glowing box, shuddering when he felt, literally, Daniel's last breath, the final sign that his friend had given up on the fight that he was having with his body for the last hours, his muscles sagging in peace.

As Jack step aside, telling no one what had just happen, the golden panels slide close.

"Just hope the damn thing works!", he thought to himself, the thought of having a life that didn't included Daniel, frightening him more then he would ever admit.

He had already attend to the guy's funeral once... he did not, he would not attend a second one!

Sliding to the floor, Jack joined the rest of SG1, waiting.

Around them, the hushed activity continued, every flick of a book, every turn of a drawer reveling more of Forzzyn's dark secrets, both peoples more and more discovering the many ways in which the evil man had used to control and fooled them.

Apart from all the excitement going on, three people where quiet, apparently with a more important task at hands.

They where waiting.

For as long as it took.

Just waiting.

They waited beyond patience, they waited beyond reason, each second passing and feeling like an eternity, just because their friend had to be alright.

Finally, the panels slide open.

No more pain!

That's kind of weird... their should be pain... don't ask me why, but I know it should!

Where did the pain go?... Not that I miss it or something, but... and where the hell had it come from?

That's the last thing that he really remembered...

Hot, deep, numbing, nauseous pain.

That was the last thing that his brain had registered.

Now... it was no more... what had happened in the meantime?

Was he dead?

Was this how death felt?

But if you're dead, you don't feel, right?

Not making any sense!

Let's try breathing... one small, not to deep, slow breath... good... that had

hurt like hell before, hadn't it?

Not any more!... he could breath again!

His senses where returning, one by one, slowly.

Smell... it smelled like the ancient tombs that he had visited... old, still air...

Taste... what the hell had crawled in to his mouth and died?

Sound... was that voices he was hearing? Kind of muffled... english? What were they saying?

Daniel carefully tried to pry open his eye lids... they looked like they were sealed with glue.

The place he was in was dim lighted, so it didn't hurt to much to open his eyes all the way.

Turning his head around, Daniel tried to make some sense from where he was.

Frowning his glassless eyes on the golden edges of the bright, opened box he realized he was in, Daniel's mind quickly connected that picture to a memories of another planet, a really nice sick princess and very bad case of sarcophagus addition a the worst hangover of his life!

Completely forgetting about everything else, his panic over the Goa'uld healing instrument took over, and Daniel jumped out of the sarcophagus faster then a bullet, his brain only registering what the body was doing when he landed hard on the ground, tilting back and ending with his butt on the floor, his legs give out from underneath him.

Jack saw the panels slide open with the same expectation that he had felt when his wife was having their baby. Afraid to go forward, only to find out that something had gone wrong, and Daniel was still dead, Jack raised from the floor at the same time that Teal'c and Sam did.

Before any of them had any time to look inside the sarcophagus, a slim figure flew out of it, lending in front of them,  swinging and landing in the floor, at Jack's feet.

O'Neill mentally kicked his head out. He should've had know that this was bound to happen.

After what Daniel had been through because of that little piece of Goa'uld shit, after he was himself again, and after they had returned the second time from Shyla's planet, Daniel had called Jack aside and made him promise that he would not let him put a foot inside that thing ever again, no matter what. At the time, Jack had said yes, but that's was one promise that he really didn't thing that he could keep.

The guy was so accident prone, that this was bound to happen.

Not that the fact that it had saved Daniel's life again prevented the young scientist from being made as hell with Jack... he might even get violent!

But Jack rather have a mad Daniel, then a dead Daniel.

"Well, it's lousy, but he'll live!", Jack thought, before covering the short distance that separated him from the confused archeologist on the floor, getting to his knees beside him.

"Hey, space monkey... how's it doing?", O'Neill said, his hand resting on the other man's shoulder, allowing a big smile to reach his lips for the first time on that planet.

"Jack?", the younger man said, the unspoken question behind the name.

"It had to be... we didn't had any other choice...", Jack explained, "What do you remember?", he asked.

Daniel shut his eyes, and forced his brain to work again at the usual speed. The memories of the past day didn't took long to make their way to the front.

"Where's Sam?", Daniel asked, opening his eyes in terror.

"Right here Daniel", Sam said, the smile that was tearing her face in two only shadowed by the guilt in her eyes.

Trying not to look in to his eyes, knowing that he would realize what was going on, Sam averted her eyes to every where but his face, her gaze being strangely attracted by the bloody hole in his shirt. With her even notice, her hands moved on their on steam towards his chest, to touch to healed skin beneath it. 

Daniel grabbed her hand and squeezed, urging his friend to meet his eyes.

Sam looked up.

"It wasn't your fault, Sam", he said, in the most gentle voice that anyone had ever heard him speak, wanting more then anything in the world that the guilt and sorrow that he was seeing in his friend eyes went away.

Sam gazed at his eyes, letting the calm blue release the gates of her feelings, letting the salty water will up in her eyes.

Jumping froward, towards Daniel's arms, Sam burred deep in his embrace, her head sinking in his shoulders.

"I'm sorry... so sorry...", she said over and over, her voice muffled by the soft fabric of his shirt.

Daniel held her tight, gently rocking back and forth, whispering in her ear that everything was fine now, that she was guilt of nothing, that she had nothing to be sorry for.

All easy words to be said, but hard to take in, and he knew that better then most.

He had been there too. With out he even realize it, his gaze shift from Sam and fell upon the golden box from where he had just jumped out.

Oh yeah, he knew what was like to feel deep guilt against all reason, no matter how many times they tell you that it wasn't your fault that your best friends, your family, almost died.

To close your eyes and see, over and over, their battered bodies forced to work in some godforsaken mine, on some godforsaken planet, just because you, you...

...were weak!

He had swear not to ever put a foot in a sarcophagus again in his life, even if that meant dying for good... and he always keep his promises!

Only, he had been in one of those things again... not that he had must saying in the matter, but it still pissed him... but he understood his friends, especially Jack, who, by the look he had catch on his face, had made the decision ... he would probably do the same.

Daniel almost jumped when he felt the hand on his shoulder, the electricity of the unexpected touch sending a chill all over his damp body.

Looking back and up, he found Jack face hovering over the two of them, a big grin in his tired face.

"Enough of this guilty trips, ok?" Jack said, knowing Daniel too good not know where his mind was going, and Sam... well, she had stopped crying rivers on the man's shoulder. "Guilt is a nasty stuff... gives you grays, see?", he said, grabbing hold of his graying locks.

That got a smile from his kids. A lousy one, but a smile.

They would be fine.

"Look, I not even gonna ask what happened in here, 'cause I get this felling that is gonna be one of those really big stories, but I really go'ta ask a thing...", O'Neill said, his face gaining a wicked child look.

Daniel and Sam rose to their feet, looking to their commander, waiting for the wicked question that they knew would come, as always, after that look.

Jack didn't disappointed them.

"What in hell are those skippy excuses for clothes that you guys are wearing?"

The two members of SG1 looked at each other, remembering the really thin fatigues that the Arians had made them wear.

"Don't ask!", they both said in a chorus, gaining themselves two raising eyebrows from the rest of SG1.

"You have no idea what I wouldn't give right now for a good old USAF issue jacket", Sam whispered, wishing to a invisible genie.

Before she knew it, the jacket was around her shoulders.

"What?!"

The invisible genie spoke.

"I do not require it, Captain Carter. It is best that you make use of it", he said flatly.

"Thanks Teal'c... you're a real gentleman!", Sam said, smiling.

Teal'c looked at her, his face dead serious.

"You are mistaken Captain Carter... I am a Jaffa", he said.

All three earthlings looked at him.

That was a joke, wasn't it?

The small curve in the big man's lips could be a smile...

Ok... a joke!

Getting Teal'c lead, Jack tossed his jacked to Daniel.

The young man smiled wickedly... this was one he was not gonna miss.

"Oh, thanks Jack... you're a real gentleman!", he said, making his voice thinner and getting a pretty good impression of Sam, while taking off his blood soaked shirt.

Jack looked at him like the cat that was caught in the cold water... before everyone bursted out laughing. 

"Ok kids... very funny... but now that we'll dressed up, what'd you say we go home?", O'Neill said, knowing that the idea was more then welcome to everybody... well, maybe one person would protest, under normal circumstances, but now...

"But Jack..."

There he goes!

"No buts Daniel! The only butts in question here are ours, and those are moving towards the gate, got that?", Jack said, finding it really hard to understand how could a guy that had come recently from the dead zone was all forward to stay even one more bit on the place were he had been killed. But that was Daniel, for all you know, the 3rd mystery of the universe, right behind women and pink elephants.

"Come on, Jack... take a look around you... there is so much around here, things that could be useful for us!" , he said, wildly gesturing with is hands all around, trying to embrace all the books that he had seen as soon as he had stood, giving Jack a trade of his puppy look.

Jack already knew this scene, this were old news for him, and he was already immune to Daniel puppy look's.

"Not gonna happen, ok? You can ask to come back later, after Doc has a good look on both you and Carter" O'Neill said, putting a end in the discussion, and wanting to be reassured by good old Doc that everything was fine with them, that being as soon as possible!

"But..."Daniel started, only to have the Colonel place a finger over his mouth, silencing all further pleas, giving him a look that promised dire consequences to innumerous body parts if he didn't shut up.

Being the smart guy that he was, that was exactly what Daniel did.  

Not that he was pleased.

Turning around in a swift movement, to get another look in the place contents, Daniel realized that Jack was right, when he stopped moving but the room did two more laps, leaving him swinging on his feet.

The loops stopped in time for the archeologist to realize the hand on his arm, steadying him, and the frown on O'Neill's eyes, in a 'told you so' expression.

Daniel sagged his shoulders in defeat and proceeded for the door of the room, nothing the slightly amused look on Teal'c and Sam faces. They always had fun over Jack/Daniel's discussions, pun very intended.

They were all half way out of Forzzyn's quarters, when they heard all the commotion from the outside.

"Look out!", one of the Mhoyin warriors shouted from the end of the corridor, pointing to the figure of an old man running in there direction, staff weapon in hand.

O'Neill had only saw the man once, from a distance, but that was a face he wasn't going to forget easily, the face of the man that had almost succeeded in killing two of his best friends.

Forzzyn.

He was running towards them, in a kamikaze-like attack, all of his masks dropped to the ground, his real murderous and lunatic self at large, for all to see, displaced in his face, framed by the stained red white hair.

Like in slow motion movie, Jack felt his body move by it's own means, and place itself in front of the recently retrieved teammates, still too shocked up to do anything to defend themselves, kicking himself for not having a weapon on his hands.

He felt Teal's body tense up, heard his muscles react, and saw him pull something from behind his back and throw it towards the old man, all in the same swift movement, almost at the same time that the other man pointed the weapon in their direction, fingers pressed around the trigger.

O'Neill, in an instinct reaction, older then time it self, closed his eyes tightly and braced himself for the fatal hot blow.

It didn't come.

The Colonel open his eyes.

The old man that only seconds ago, was in a dead run towards then, with a even deadlier purpose on his mind, was now lying deadly still on the floor, blood pouring out of the blade in his chest, the staff weapon discarded near him.

Forzzyn had manage to escape his captors. They had underestimated him, and paid the price with their lives.

Fools!

They were all fools!

He was a god! He deserved to be a god!

He just had to prove that to all of them...

But first of all, he needed to rid himself of those pesky strangers... they were the reason that all of this had happen...

Grabbing hold of one of the weapons left behind by the demons, he made his way towards the strangers.

They would die!

He would live for ever!

Forzzyn saw, more then felt, the long blade, piercing through his chest, through his heart. In a pathetic attempt to elude death, the old man grabbed the dagger's blade, and his eyes went round from recognition.

It was his dagger!

Looking up, the dying man locked his gaze with the one from the man that had killed him.

A Mhoyin!

He had died by the hands of a Mhoyin with a golden tattoo!

It could not be!

He was god... he could not die!

Still with eyes imprisoned on the steady stare of his killer, the former leader of the Arian people slide to the floor, losing his weapon and his last breath before he hit the ground.

This time, he realize, although to late, there would be no magic golden box to heal him, to keep him healthy, has it had been so far.

This time there would not be a after.

This time he had lost.

O'Neill shook his head, trying to persuade his brains to their usual speed, inwardly congratulating himself for not having new holes on his body.

He turned to the man responsible for this condition, see the ex-Jaffa's body relax only when the other man was beyond the land of the living.

"Nice throwing, big guy!", Jack said, enthusiastically patting the other man's shoulder.

Teal'c acknowledged his compliment with a slight bow of his shaved head.

"I am truly sorry, Jackoneill!", said, out of breath, the young Mhoyin that had warned them of the approaching murderer, "we were deceived by his old appearance. He manage to fool the guards and escape!", he added, very embarrassed.

"It's ok... I don't he's going any where now", Jack said, looking to the man lying in the floor in front of them, his dead gaze looking at some point that no one alive could see.

It was over now.

The Colonel took a minute to look at his team, and see how everyone was doing.

Teal'c had resumed his guarding position behind the two younger members of SG1, probably feeling a little less guilty now, that he had killed their tormentor, not that it was his fault in the first place, but that was his way, and no shrink in the universe could change that.

Good thing that both Daniel and Sam where so out of it, due to the recent events, or both of them would be really pissed by the protective posture from Teal'c!

Speaking of which...

The two other members of the team where staring at the old man, their eyes hazed, their minds clearly not in the present.

That haze was broken when Daniel took a unsteady step towards the dead.

Everyone was already thinking that he was going there to take his final revenge, and kick the dead guy's head or something, when the young man reached down, and with a shaky hand, closed the old man's eyes, forever sealing the cruel blue orbs.

"All demons are now truly gone", he whispered to himself, but in the silence that had filled the corridor, everyone heard him and knew what he mean.

The journey to the Stargate was shorter then O'Neill had initially figured, taking them only about half an hour to get there.

Looking down a hill, they all saw the majestic round stone, standing against the blue horizon.

Around it, the group from Earth was greeted by the familiar site of another group of greens uniforms.

 "Makepeace!", O'Neill shouted to the SG3 leader, when they were already half way down the hill.

"Hey! Everyone's in one piece?", the big marine asked, doing a quick head count.

"Yeah, were all peachy!", came the usual reply from O'Neill, not even bothering to hide the tiredness from his voice. It had been a loooong couple of days!

"Wha'ra you guys doing here?", Jack asked.

"Well, since you guys missed you're deadline, the General send us, in case you asses needed some major saving to do!", came the reply from the soldier, while his trained eyes took in the crowed following SG1.

"Made some friends?", he asked, motioning to them.

"Sort of", O'Neill said, scrubbing his short hair.

Large part of the Mhoyin and Arian, knowing that the strangers were going to use the sacred ring, had come, some to say goodbye to them, others just in curiosity to see the now quiet stone, at work.

From the middle of the crowed, some familiar faces made their way to front.

The leader of the Mhoyin and Borum's father stood in front of SG1, the old man speaking first.

"Both people whish to thank you all, for what you have done!", he said, with a slight bow of the head, "Now, after all this time, we can be one again, like our ancestors!", he said, his old eyes young again, lighten by the recent events.

O'Neill smiled.

"No... we are the ones that should thank you... today your people conquered their freedom", he said out loud, adding in a whisper, only to the older man's ears "and in the process I got my family back!"

The old man nodded, smiling too.

Borum's father cleared his throat to speak too.

-"I do not know words beautiful enough to express the joy and the gratitude that I feel towards your people! First, you save my son from certain death", he said, his voice trembling with emotion, his strong hand on his son shoulder, "then, your friends" he said looking to Sam and Daniel, "help my lost daughter to safely return home, and by the end of the same day, our people is no longer outcast... a lifetime will not be time enough for me and my people to thank you for what you have done!", he said, like the old man, bowing his head in respect and honoring their visitors.

By the time Borum's father speech was half way done, O'Neill was starting to get embarrassed by all that 'thank you' session. He did had a reputation to protect, that been the one that said that Colonel JJ O'Neill never turned red, no matter what... and with Makepeace watching, not understanding a word of what was happening, but still watching.... he would never hear the end of that!

Time to pull the plug.

"Ok...", he started, only to see himself with an arm full of little kid hug, when Borum had decided to show him how thanked he was, with the biggest hug that he could manage.

"You are a good man, Shack!", the boy said.

O'Neill blushed.

One reputation blown to hell... 'To bad', Jack thought, returning the hug.

Regaining some of his composure back, O'Neill turned to the kid's father.

"No need to thank us nothing... it's all in the day's work", he said, grinning, "Just tell me one little thing that I'm really curious about... when we were all talking with Okhim", he said, gesturing towards the old man that was now talking with the rest of his team, "you said something to him about us that sounded very important at the time... how was that...?" Jack said, tapping his nose, trying to remember the exact words, "... Missly bablish.... something", he said giving up.

"Mhish habonish confimat hish", the other man helped, remembering exactly that particular moment that had changed so much.

"Yeah... something like that", Jack said, not having the slightest idea how Daniel could manage to remember so many languages that always sounded the same to him... not english!

"What does it means?"

"It means to trust someone's heart and soul... I said I trust yours!", Borum's father said.

"Oh...", was all that O'Neill could give back.

He was thinking that it would be something bad about them, not something so, so... embarrassing!

Two of the Arian men approached the group shyly, caring all the equipment that had been taken from SG1 when they had been taken prisoners, the strange devices discovered after the battle.

"We whish to thank you too", one of them started, speaking with his eyes nailed to the grassy ground, " and say that it would be of great honor for us" , he said, looking to the Arians and the Mhoyin, " for all of us, if you would some day return to visit our world again... this is, if you", the blond man said, diverting his blue gaze towards the two members of SG1 still in white dressings, " if you find in your heart the will to forgive us for what was made to you... for that, for us not stopping Forzzyn's actions sooner... you ask for you forgiveness, as we ask the forgiveness of the Mhoyin people!", he finished, too embarrassed to keep his look up.

The Arian man almost jumped in thin air, when he felt the hand clasped around his shoulder, Daniel's hand.

"Today is a great day for your people... not a day to apologize for things that were not your fault! Remember only your victory, and celebrate this day as the day you became free, men and women... the day that you took your fate in your hands and succeeded!", he said, his eyes sparkling with emotion.

He knew from heart a hand full of stories where different people, from different places, on different times, had fought identical battles, against merciless rulers, murderous, power greedy seekers that always shielded themselves behind the masks of the seats they took, many times by force.

Man that brought shame to mankind... demons.

Common point in most of this stories was the will of people to be free, to make their own decisions, people that fought against all odds, armed many times only with their faith and their knowing that they were doing what was right... people that didn't won all the battles, but certainly always won the war!

Those battles had always given Daniel all the proves he needed to reassure his believes in mankind's goodness and sense of doing the right thing when it really mattered, the prove that, in the gran scheme of things, good won over evil.

During all those long classes were he had listen, time after time, teachers explaining about revolutions, up risings against dictators, crimes against humanity and rotten people all over the world, all over the centuries, he would never imagined himself actually being in the middle of one of them.

But then, there had been Abydos and the rebellion of the Abydonian against the false gods, against Ra, against slavery and illusions centuries old, and people had won their freedom too, and he had, not only been there to see, but actually taken part of it!

To be a part of something like that once in your life time is something of unbelievable, but twice was... beyond words!

Sam joined them, sensing that Daniel, as usual, had lost himself in his own mind.

"And be sure, you and all of your people, that there is nothing to forgive for, only to thank!", she said, gaining herself a weird look from the rest of the crowed near them.

She explained.

"If it weren't for you, for your decision to stood up against Forzzyn, Daniel would've been, would've..." she said, not quite knowing how to finish the sentence.

O'Neill finished for her.

"Daniel would've ended up spending another of his nine lives!", he said, the joke lost for everyone, except SG1.      

The burst of the opening Stargate, it's watery matter causing several of the locals to jump off their shoes, frightened by the light show, told SG1 it was time to go home.

The four members of the team looked back at the shimmering blue pool.

SG3, already ready to go through, was waiting for them at the dials.

"Ok kids, there's our ride home!", Jack said, trilled by the thought that, once again, against all odds, SG1 was coming back together, in one, significantly large, piece.

The small delights of life!

Waving their good-byes to the rest of the people, with the promise that another team was to come back and give them a hand on fixing up things, O'Neill started for the gate, smiling when he heard Sam saying something to Daniel about getting some dark hair dyer as soon as she got home.

Taking one last look at the wonderful forest that surrounded them, they entered the gate.

"Off-world activation! Incoming travelers!", the young airwoman said over the intercom, giving the intervention team their cue to enter the gate room and assume their defending positions.

The heavy iris closed itself over the round gate, and by the time the sixth chevron was locked, everything was already ready to welcome what ever came, friend or foe.

"Do we have a signal?", General Hammond asked, his presence in the control room always a certain thing when one of the teams was late.

"Yes Sir, SG3... and SG1!", the woman said, a smile on her lips.

"Open the iris!", the commanding officer said, that weight that always gathered in his shoulders at times like this, lifting up.

The initial bubble of water-like energy of the Stargate settled in a quiet front, allowing the first travel to step the planet Earth, coming from, God (and the technicians) knows how far away.

The first to arrive was Colonel Makepeace, followed by the troubled team, a.k.a. SG1 and the rest of the marines group, all of them, to great joy of the SGC crew, walking by their own means.

"Welcome home, lady and gentlemen! Debrief will be held as soon as both teams have medical clearance!", the General said from his upper position.

Several head nods and thumbs up could be seen in the gate room, as both teams made their way to the infirmary.

As the General suspected, by the time that SG3 had spent off world, the debrief with that team was one of the shortest of his military career.

It was, as the leader of the team had said, "a quick going, a faster coming".

Dismissing the marine team, until another team got in to trouble, or, as Colonel Makepeace liked to put it "someone needed some butt saving", the General left his office and made his way to the infirmary, where SG1 still was.

It was about time that he knew what had happen on that planet!

Janet Frasier dread every time SG1 put foot on her infirmary, because on every three time that they did, two meant that, at least one of them, was severely injured, infect with something stranger then Michael Jackson, nearly dead or dying.... not counting with the times they had came after actually being dead!

After taking a good look at her would-be patients, the doctor let out a mental sigh of relief, realizing that this one of the rare third occasions... the cuts and bruises, only!

She was already getting the test results back, when the General came in.

"How are my boys and girl doing?", Hammond asked, looking over to the two beds were SG1 was sitting down, waiting for the clear bill of health from Frasier.

"Well Sir, I would say that, for once, apart from the usual scratches and light hematoma, they'e...", the short doctor said, her eyes doing a quick check on the blood results, "Colonel's results are fine, Teal'c's too...", she said, almost to herself, while reading the rest of the papers in her hands, "Captain Carter's results are good too, but... it shows something similar to Midazolam, but I know she not on that...", she muttered to herself.

Looking up, she saw that, by the look on Hammond's face, he was lost.

"Sorry Sir... Midazolan, that's a sedative, a mild one, although, by the numbers in her blood, I would say that she took quite some!", the doctor explained, looking over to where the blond Captain was trying again to suppress a giggle, that soon turned it self in a big yawn.

"Did they told you anything of what happen in that planet?", the General asked the doctor.

"No Sir... haven't had the time yet to ask them.", she said, grabbing Daniel's results.

"Now... this is stranger...", she said, before they could reach the team and asked anything.

"Something wrong?", the General asked.

"Not sure, Sir", the doctor said, still looking at the paper, "Daniel's blood... his red cells count and hemoglobin levels are way low... that's something normal, if you have some major blood lost going on, but I've checked him myself, and hasn't got even a scratch on him, on the outside as well as in the inside", she said, facing the General.

"Hum... I think I can explain that", Daniel said, the rest of the team having head the discussion between the doctor and the General.   

"And that too" Sam said, motioning to her results.

"Sir... I thing it's better for you to take a seat... this is long story!", O'Neill said.

One week latter

The big table in the briefing room was filled with SG1 and SG8, doctor Frasier and the General.

After the returned of SG1, and after Colonel O'Neill had assure him that Attica was now a safe place, the General had agreed to send another team over, SG8, to help in the birth of a new civilization.

Now, they were back to give their report

According to the leader of SG8, both Mhoyin an Arian were taking big steps towards mutual understanding, having agreed to join both cultures in one, a new people, called the Mhoarian.

But it was only when Okhim had a chance of translating some of the text found in Forzzyn's room, being apparently the only one able to do that, that the big surprises came.

There, they had all found out that the old Arian leader was, after all, the real responsible for the disappearance of the ancient group of rebels from both peoples, having betrayed them and helped the Goa'uld to killed them, in exchange for a sarcophagus, so that he could rule over the Arian forever.

"... and so, when most of the misunderstandings that Forzzyn had created where solved, the ex-Arian and the ex-Mhoyin got together and decided that they wonted Okhim to be their new leader, at least until the high council that they formed or the people decided that the leader should be replaced. When we left, they where all very enthusiastic about the project of building a new town, for everyone", the leader of SG8 finished his report, adding to SG1 in particular, " Borum's family send their regards and asked when where you guys going to pay them a visit", he said, smiling.

"Is that all, gentlemen?", the General asked, a shadow a smile playing around his lips too.

The four members of SG8 nodded yes.

"Very well... congratulations on both teams for a job well done! Dismissed!", the General said, knowing that they all wanted to go home.

Taking the lead from the rising General, the two teams and the chief medic headed out too, small groups of conversation already formed.

Jack joined Sam, Daniel and Teal'c by the door.

"So gang, wa'ra you say we go my place and hit a good hockey game and a pizza on pepperoni?", he asked, throwing one arm over Daniel and the other over Teal'c.

"Oh, I don't know, Jack... got this big translation that I really need...", Daniel started with the best excuse he could come up with at the time, having already had the 'thrilling' experience of dinner over Jack's... besides, he hatted hockey... not to mention pepperoni!

O'Neill, on the other hand, could see the excuse forming on Daniel's mind a mile before it hit his mouth, so he decided it was time to play low, and teach the little slime not to escape his invitations.

"So, what are you going to do... play swords with the three musketeers?", he asked mischievously, given Daniel a soft jam in his arm.

The young man got red immediately.

'She wouldn't tell him... would she?"

"How'bout you show us some moves, hum, mister Duncan MacLoud?", Jack teased him.

"She did!"

"Saaaaaammmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

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