Summary: AU version of "Abyss". Jack isn't alone in Ba'al's torture chamber.
Author's Notes: Written for the Stargate Last Author Standing prompt, "Pick a scene from any episode and re-write that scene to have it happen differently from the show."
Memories and reality blended into each other these days, more so now as the poison worked its way through his system. He was dying once again, and Jack wished this would just end all ready.
Still, the woman stood in front of him, a mere shadow of a reality that was important to him somehow. She came in close, staring deep into his eyes, looking for her salvation.
"Is it you?" she asked.
She was brave, he had to give her that. "You shouldn't be here," he told her.
"You look so different. How can you be Kanan?"
"I'm not."
"If I leave with you, he will know."
Yeah, Jack thought sadly. He finally remembered the real reason the Tok'ra brought him to this planet. No one gets left behind.
"He used both of us," he said, weary to the bone of this whole mess.
"He did use both of us," Ba'al said, causing the memory of the woman to fade away like a whisper on the wind. Fading away to leave him with the monster standing in front of him, gloating over the pain he inflicted on his victim. "How long were you host to this Kanan before he convinced you to come here? Days? Or merely hours?"
"I don't remember," Jack lied. Everything had come to him clearly and he wondered how long he could keep the secret. Ba'al turned to the table to choose another weapon, and Jack knew it wouldn't be long before he spilled his guts and told the guy everything he knew. He was just so tired of this. He waited for yet another round of torture, but then something else seemed to be stirring within him. Something that scared him more than Ba'al's torture chamber.
"What did this Kanan share about his previous mission here?" Ba'al said as he turned to face Jack, who watched as the determined look in the eyes of his enemy turn into something else. Triumph. Ba'al had won. Kanan was back from wherever he was hiding to protect what was his to protect.
"Tok'ra," Ba'al said with satisfaction. "You finally surfaced, as I knew you would."
"The Tau'ri is weakening," Kanan said through Jack's voice. "I am here to make sure that you do not gain the information you seek."
Ba'al just smiled, not the least bit affected by Kanan's bravado. As much as it galled him to do so, Jack had to agree with Ba'al. They were prisoners of the sadistic bastard. There was nowhere to run from the torture, and the sarcophagus guaranteed a very long visit. Kanan, however, didn't see things that way.
"You will never learn the secrets of the Tok'ra."
"Oh, I've only just begun," Ba'al said, his tone and smugness promising dire retribution. The poison churning in Jack's body made it hard for either of them to respond to that, another death was imminent. But Kanan was determined to get in the last word despite the weakness.
"As have I," the Tok'ra announced, just before the knife splintered Jack's shoulder, causing yet another wave of agony to course through his body. Death came a few moments after that, as did his final thoughts this time around.
Help me, Kanan. Help me end this for all of us.