A/N: Here's the ninth chapter. This one is a little shorter, but hopefully it will satisfy you guys for a while. I actually have a...somewhat...sad announcement to make. I'm leaving, starting tomorrow, for the next 18 months, in which time I will be unable to update on any of my stories. I'll try to post everything I have up today, so I can at least go out, with a (hopeful) bang. Once I return in January of 2010, I should begin updating again. So enjoy this last chapter for a while. And a big thank you to all those who've faithfully reviewed. It kept me going, and will help me to update as soon as I get back...so, keep reading. I'll be back!

Chapter 9

Jack opened his eyes and sat up to find the concerned faces of both Teal'c and Rya'c looking at him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You do not remember, O'Neill," Teal'c asked, looking worried.

Jack's look became unfocused for an instant, and then he said, "We went to the planet and an alien ate my head." Then he looked up and touched his forehead and said, "So...why is it still attached?"

Rya'c giggled a little, and Teal'c looked relieved as he said "It would seem that your memory is still intact as well. Are you feeling any decrease in health or vitality?"

"I dunno," Jack said, reaching up, "help me up." Teal'c nodded and grasped his arm, easily pulling the younger man to his feet. Jack swayed slightly, but quickly gained his balance.

"I am glad that you are well, Colonel O'Neill," Rya'c said. "I was very concerned." Rya'c and Jack had gotten along great since they had met. Teal'c had noticed that O'Neill seemed to connect naturally with all children. He had assumed it was because at times O'Neill seemed very child-like himself.

"It is unfortunate that we do not have the skills of Dr. Frasier at our disposal," Teal'c remarked as he watched the shaky way O'Neill was standing.

"Yeah," Jack said, "what were we thinking? Why didn't we kidnap her on our way out? She'd come in handy in loads of situations."

Teal'c felt confused for a moment, and then he understood that O'Neill was in jest. "Perhaps we should place her on our list for the next opportunity that we visit Earth," he said with a completely straight face. O'Neill gazed at him suspiciously for a moment, and then he grinned in understanding.

"That was a joke?" O'Neill's face lit up, and he smiled broadly. "You made a joke! Way to be, T!" Jack beamed at Teal'c and then swayed slightly. Teal'c reached out a hand to steady him.

"Maybe I should go easy there for a bit," Jack finally admitted.

"Indeed," Teal'c said.

The next couple of days passed quickly. After their failed attempt at the first planet, Jack wasn't as eager to try again. He also seemed to have developed a massive migraine. It felt like pressure was building up, and he seemed to have flashes of strange memories. Each time it happened, he ignored it until finally Bra'tac seemed to notice.

"Are you not well, O'Neill," Bra'tac asked, worried.

"Oh, I'm fine," Jack said. However, as Bra'tac continued to stare at him, Jack admitted, "Well, maybe there's a killer migraine in my fron, but other than that..." Jack trailed off as Bra'tac's expression grew even more concerned.

"I am unfamiliar with that word," Bra'tac said.

"What word?" Jack asked confused.

"I believe the word you spoke was 'fron.'"

"I am unfamiliar with that word as well," Jack said, looking concerned.

"Perhaps we should convene with Teal'c and discuss this issue more thoroughly," Bra'tac suggested.

Jack sighed and rubbed his head. "Sure," he said and followed Bra'tac into Teal'c's cave.

Teal'c looked concerned as Bra'tac explained what had happened. "Look," Jack said, when he had finished, "obviously whatever is happening has to do with the grabby-thing back on that glovalo we visited. It did something to my mind, and we've got to fix it somehow."

"What are you considering, O'Neill," Teal'c asked.

"I don't know, T. I haven't really been considering anything. I'm having a hard enough time concentrating as it is, with the band that playing in my fron."

"Fron is obviously in reference to your head," Bra'tac said, "and it is a language I am unfamiliar with. Perhaps the device you encountered on the planet simply gave you knowledge?"

Jack shrugged. "Don't know." Then Jack looked around and seemed to come to a decision. He looked at his two friends, opened his mouth and said, "I'm hungry." Then he wandered off.

"Is he always like this?" Bra'tac asked, looking concerned.

"Quite frequently," Teal'c responded, but he also looked worried.

Jack meant to walk to the main cave and grab some of his refrigerated meat, but instead he found himself walking back to his own living space. As usual, Klorel was chained and gagged in the corner, but as Jack appeared the guard exchanged looks with him, and then left him and his hated enemy alone. Jack found himself reaching into his duffle bag and pulling out a tablet of paper. In an uncontrollable way, he began to write in the notebook. Klorel was silent and watched with intense interest.

However, it wasn't until Jack was five pages in that he realized he was making a Rosetta Stone of sorts. He couldn't seem to stop, but he almost seemed to understand for an instant. For several hours he sat on his floor and wrote, and once he had finished the letters he began to write numbers. Equation and numbers flowed from his pen unstoppably and perfectly. He didn't understand a single thing he was writing, and yet it all seemed to make sense. It wasn't until he stopped writing, pulled out his laptop and began to take it apart that Teal'c walked in. Klorel watched with undisguised curiosity.

"I have been seeking your presence, O'Neill," Teal'c said, but stopped as he came up behind Jack and seemed to see what he was really doing. "O'Neill," Teal'c said uncertainly, "do we not need that machine in order to continue our fight against the Goa'uld?"

Jack continued to remove and undo parts as he said, "Yep, I'm pretty sure we do."

"Will you be repairing it once you have removed all of the components?" Teal'c asked, sounding a bit worried.

"Well, I sure hope so," Jack said.

"Are you not certain?" Teal'c asked, staring at Jack's hands. They were working deftly and efficiently, and then abruptly, Jack stood up and walked out of his cave.

"O'Neill?" Teal'c said, following.

"I need a zat gun, and the hand-device we took from Skaara," Jack mumbled. "I also need a staff weapon."

Teal'c was confused, but he brought the hand-device from where it had been stored and handed it to O'Neill as Jack pulled a zat, a couple of guns, and a staff weapon out of storage. He gathered a few other weapons that Teal'c did not recognize and walked quickly back to his room. Then he began to dissemble the devices. Teal'c sat and watched in fascination as Jack began to combine various components from the many weapons and reassemble them within the laptop. Several hours later, he finally finished, and screwed the laptop together. Then he turned it on.

Instantly it loaded, and then Jack began to type like a maniac. Teal'c watched fascinated as line after line filled with undecipherable information. "What is the meaning of these words, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, curious.

"I don't know," Jack said, and for the first time, Teal'c realized just how frustrated Jack looked and sounded.

"Are you alleging that you are doing this against your will?" Teal'c asked, instantly concerned.

"Don't stop me," Jack said, and so Teal'c remained as his side as he continued to type. He wrote for about an hour, and then rebooted the computer. As it began to restart, running much faster than Teal'c had ever seen it run before, Jack took the remaining parts on the floor, began to construct something else. Many, many 'something else's. Their interior components were very small and seemed very complicated. They were all identical, and after a while Jack looked up at Teal'c and said, "Can you get me some more weapons?"

Teal'c nodded and asked, "What is the purpose of these devices, O'Neill?"

To his surprise, Jack stopped for a moment and said, "I think they are like mini-MALPs. I think they will allow us to simtro them through and then they will relay images to us. I was thinking about needing something like a MALP and suddenly I knew how to make these."

"Perhaps the device that seized your head has given you much knowledge to help us in our battles," Teal'c said.

"Seems that way," Jack agreed, and Teal'c got up to fetch more weapons. Over the next couple of days, Jack didn't sleep at all. Everyone also forgot about Klorel in the corner except to bring him food. Klorel watched the whole proceedings with great interest. Everytime Jack would say a new word, Klorel's eyes would light up with an undecipherable emotion, but then he remained eerily silent and seemed as though he didn't want to disturb Jack as he worked.

Teal'c brought Jack food, but he would barely eat or drink before he would begin on another project. The Jaffa around them were beginning to worry. Jack had depleted their weapon supply greatly, and the collection of items he had made were beginning to fill his room. Worse, he had lost the 'falatis' to speak to any of them. He seemed to have forgotten English all together, and slowly he was losing the ability to write as well. He now would write down the instructions for each new item that he created in whatever language he was speaking and then go onto the next item, each moment looking more haggard and drawn. Teal'c, who had not left his side in four days, decided it was time to put a stop to it.

"O'Neill," Teal'c finally said, "you must stop. You will not survive much longer at this pace."

Jack looked at him and seemed to understand. Then, wearily he finished the final item and turned it on. A light came on and it hummed faintly, and Teal'c looked confused. "What is the purpose of this object, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked. Jack looked at him and shrugged, and then stood up.

Jack began to move toward the gate, bringing his laptop with him. Teal'c followed. As they walked through the caves, many of the Jaffa began to follow as well until almost all of the free Jaffa were tagging along. Jack opened the DHD and began to hook the laptop to it with various cords. After he finished, he hooked up his newest invention. Then the laptop began to dial.

As the seventh symbol came and passed and the eighth one was entered, the Jaffa looked shocked. Jack stood impassively watching as the Stargate opened. As he began to walk toward it, Teal'c reached out to stop him.

"I will accompany you, O'Neill," Teal'c said, his voice brooking no arguments. However, as Jack turned and looked at him, Teal'c saw his friend's answer in his eyes. Teal'c stared back, unwilling to accept Jack's answer, but finally he slightly cocked his head in reluctant agreement.

"Very well," Teal'c said, and stepped back. Bra'tac laid a supporting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"He will be fine," the old Jaffa said firmly. Teal'c nodded, but did not take his gaze off of O'Neill's back as he stepped through the wormhole.