NEW AUTHORS NOTE: 16/06/2014
Ah, now beings a long arc. I remember writing this arc. This was a fun arc – based on one of the best episodes of Stargate SG1 ever. ^_^
I haven't fiddled with much, just tried to tweak mistakes I could see when I read over it. So it's still riddled with awful spelling and grammar – however – if you can endure that – enjoy!
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You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough.
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Episode Eleven: Forever In a Day
Daniel gazed at the photos lined upon the shelf within the living room of Yugi's small apartment. He loved the homey feeling Yugi had managed to bring into his tiny space, a place the young man had stamped as his own. A touch of the Pharaoh lingered within it also, it was rather obvious two men inhabited the space, and not just one, for scattered over the coffee tables where two sets of cups, two kinds of magazines, and most importantly, two kind of lounge chairs.
It wasn't hard to figure which one belonged to the Pharaoh. Did he have an ego or what?
Daniel chuckled to himself, finding it amusing to have been so suddenly shoved into Yugi's personal space by the Colonel who had invited the team over to the young man's place for a belated house warming.
The photo's where interesting, displaying another life entirely, one Yugi didn't make a habit of speaking about. He saw friends, as teenagers, gathered in places he'd seen during his stay in Domino City. The Turtle Game Shop featured in a few, and others were of stints in Egypt with Ryou and the young man he'd only briefly met named Malik, the mysterious brother of Ishizu. They all looked happy.
There was one picture that spoke of sadness, one he imagined must of held special importance for Yugi, for he stood beside a strange door, a looming eye holding the great stone slabs together, it was threatening. The young man, a teenager then, held what Daniel had to guess where the Millennium Items.
"The Ceremonial Duel." The Pharaoh's baritone voice startled Daniel and he jerked around, finding himself confronted by the lord a few steps back. Though he was taller than Yami, he was always so surprised to find himself feeling small before the ancient ruler who carried himself in such a strange manner not seen in modern day society.
It was unusual to see him dressed in natural, normal clothing, a woollen cardigan of deep blue, ruffled and crunched up over the top of a pair of simple, light blue slacks that curled around slippers. Pink slippers, of all the colours the Pharaoh could pull off, pink just happened to be one of them.
Then again, Daniel smirked, he could imagine the Pharaoh would have been enabled to pull of pretty much any piece of clothing he was given.
His hair was ruffled, as though he'd just spun his hands through it, giving it a static buzz, and there was a strange colour to his lips, being redder than usual.
In fact, if he had to say anything, the Pharaoh was looking very alive for someone who was very dead.
Yami raised his eyebrows, sipping on the hot coco in his hands, "that photo was taken by Seto Kaiba at the beginning of the Ceremonial Duel when Yugi and I had to duel each other. We all thought it was going to be the final battle, if Yugi won I would go to the after-life, if I won I would remain."
"So...you won?"
"No," Yami shook his head, "Yugi did."
"But you're...still here?"
"Indeed," the Pharaoh chuckled, tilting his head as he listened to the sound of clutter in the kitchen, Yugi busily putting together a small meal for the team, "it was a test of courage, Daniel, Yugi's courage and my courage. Could I actually lose? Could he actually win? Could two people who are basically the same person, play against each other with the stakes of losing each other on the table?" Yami shook his head, giving a heavy sigh.
"In the end, the god's intervened...I was given the task of protecting this earth, along with my court. There are something's...Daniel," Yami pointed to the Puzzle Yugi held in the photograph, "that cannot be undone. The curse of the Items is one of them. I cannot die, Yugi cannot die, neither of us can pass into the after-life...ever..."
"As long as Yugi isn't mortally wounded right?"
"That'd be hard to do, with me being around."
"Yes..." Daniel chuckled, "yes it would be. Hey, what about this one..." The archaeologist pointed to a picture that looked out of place amongst all others. It was older, from a different time period all-together if the clothing was anything to go by. Standing outside of a museum, one Daniel knew to be in Washington D.C, two short men where embracing as though they where brothers. Their hair wildly familiar, obviously related to the Motou's.
"That one," Daniel pointed to the smaller figure in the photo, "looks just like Yugi but I thought he had no pictures of his Father?"
"He doesn't," Yami commented, sipping on his coco once more, "I believe it is a picture of Yugi's Grandfather, the one in the hat, and his Grandfather's brother. Notice, Grandfather is holding that strange box," Yami plucked the photo off the shelf, "that is what holds the Millennium Puzzle. I believe this is taken recently after Solomon found the Millennium Puzzle within my Tomb."
"Wow."
Yami placed the photo back into its allocated spot.
"So, fate had a hand in your reunion, being the same half of a single soul, right?"
"That'd be one way to put it..." Yami chuckled, giving a shrug of his shoulders.
"Still," Daniel furrowed his brow, gazing at the photo one last time, at the younger man that held the other, "it looks so much like Yugi."
There was a sudden, very un-Yugi like word shouted from the kitchen.
"Shit!"
Yami blinked, his mouth slightly ajar in surprise, his eyes glazed over in seeking for the answer as to why the usually polite young man was needing such a useless word, "Okay...he only says that when he's done something and can't control the inward desire to swear." The lord placed down his mug and dashed around into the kitchen. Daniel quickly followed, gasping to a stop as he spotted Yugi clutching his hand, blood pooling onto the kitchen bench as he stood, dumb founded and in shock.
"Aibou?"
"Yami...I cut myself." Yugi gasped out and the Pharaoh rushed over, grabbing a tea-towel and covering Yugi's hand with it.
"I noticed." Carefully dabbing at the wound Yami's nose wrinkled as the blood continued to pool.
"It's a deep cut," Daniel commented, reaching for the phone on the wall, "you're going to need stitches. I'll call Janet."
"But...but...what about tonight?" Tears were growing in Yugi's eyes and Yami smiled tenderly, touching his partners cheek and rubbing away the salty water, "I'll shadow portal you over to her place, I'm sure it won't take long and then we can come back and order food."
"I was going to make something."
"Well, now you're not." Daniel summed it up with a small laugh, "lucky you didn't slice off your finger Yugi."
Pouting as his friend dialled Yugi winced, sensing Yami's shadow magic drawing around the wound, trying to stop the flow of blood. Though shadow magic itself couldn't heal wounds, it could ease the pain with careful tenderness.
"Alright," Daniel gave them a nod, "Janet's expecting you, I'll stand guard here. Don't worry Yugi, we'll still have a night."
"Yeah, yeah," sighing heavily in despair as Yami hooked an arm around him Yugi added an after-thought, "tell the Colonel the beer is in the second draw in the fridge. Since I kinda owe him after that bet."
They vanished in a swell of shadows, leaving Daniel in the centre of the kitchen.
"Well, that sure is handy." He shook his head, picking up a wet sponge to clear the blood. "Jack's right, that kid's a magnet for danger."
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Thankfully the rest of the belated apartment warming party had gone on without any more small disasters. Yugi frowned darkly at the cut on his hand, it was painful, and had needed stitches but it wouldn't make him miss work, and that was a good thing. He hated missing off-world missions for totally not-work related injuries.
Stalking around the living room, gathering up lost plates, glasses and a couple of Jack's discarded beer bottles Yugi wandered around into the kitchen, stopping and taking a moment to watch an amazing sight.
He would always find himself blown away by the sheer sight of Yami doing a normal, human thing; like washing dishes.
Every living person on the planet earth knew what washing dishes involved, he was sure even some rich stuck up aristocratic celebrity still understood the act, it was universal, washing.
It meant sticking your hands into dirty water, scrubbing at dirty plates and getting dirty.
Watching a Pharaoh, a dead pharaoh, wash dishes was simply far too interesting to pass up and Yugi placed down his pile of new dishes and rubbish, giving a smile as he took up a towel to start drying. They continued the task in silence, only the humming of cars outside the apartment in the darkness of the night echoing in the distance.
Yami stacked up a plate, it slipped. The Pharaoh reacted with a sudden smooth movement, catching the plate as it tumbled towards the floor. Shadows swelled around it, carefully passing it into Yugi's waiting hands.
The young man made no movement to indicate the magical show and they continued on as if nothing had transpired.
"Daniel asked about that odd photo aibou."
"Photo?" Yugi looked up from where he squatted, placing the plate away into a cubed.
"Yes, that one with your Grandfather as a younger man in it."
"Oh, that one." Yugi stood, dusting off his hands upon his jeans. "The one with his long lost brother. I love it! It's got the Millennium Puzzle in it while it was still a Puzzle. Makes me think about how much the god's pulled strings to put our soul back together."
"Little green people, yes...with such devious little minds." Yami pulled the plug in the sink, watching as the dirty water swelled around and around.
He loved modern day wonders, though, no one else seemed to consider the simple idea of a sink as a wonder.
It was brilliant, in his mind anyway.
"Losing faith in your god's Yami." Yugi reached for the lords hands, drying them with his towel. Yami perked up an eyebrow as Yugi rubbed at his illusionary skin. He pulled away the towel, taking the larger hands in his own and gazing at them.
The young one seemed to be in contemplative mood and Yami chuckled, letting him play with his fingers as they stood within the dimly lit kitchen, still smelling of take away pizza.
"As Bakura would say," Yami gave into the contemplative mood, falling back of the thief's strangly wise words, "faith isn't faith until it's all you're holding onto. Yet," the Pharaoh paused to muse, "it is strange how the word faith has changed over the centuries. Bakura dislikes how much the word has been abused."
"Ouch," Yugi muttered, "seriously, Bakura needs to find something to think about other than all the answers of the universe."
"At least he not thinking of plundering, murdering, stealing the Puzzle, ruling the world..."
"Okay, okay," giving a laugh Yugi glanced up from his studying of the lords hands, "where did you get this one...?" He asked suddenly, running the smooth surface of his finger tip over a visible scar lining the spirits hand.
Yami furrowed his brow for a moment, gazing at it, and noticing the other scars that littered his well worn hands. The countless battle's he'd been in even as a young Pharaoh flicked over in his mind, and he pouted for a moment, a very un-pharaoh like look he only ever gave in the presence of his other half.
"I have utterly no idea aibou, though it must have been during a fight, maybe practise...I would never have allowed myself to be so injured in a true battle. Such a dishonour would have been very humiliating. Why do you ask little one?"
"Well," Yugi smiled, stepping around Yami and holding out his own arm, revealing the hand he'd cut that evening, "take a good look and tell me that isn't creepy."
The Pharaoh raised both his eyebrows at the sight, amazed to find the wound his light had dealt himself with a sharp knife was identical in place and shape to the scar that was on his own skin.
"Okay...that is slightly creepy." He agreed, than shrugged. "If yours scars then I'm going to be disappointed."
"Why?"
"Your hand will be ruined..."
"Yami," flat-lining his voice Yugi rolled his eyes, "my hands are already scarred from when I put the Puzzle back together in that ware-house fire, remember...I'm just going to be annoyed that every time I look at it I'll be reminded of my own clumsiness. Seriously, the Colonel is not going to shut-up about this for a month!"
"Well," slinking an arm around his partners shoulder Yami pecked his forehead, tugging him out of the kitchen, "you are rather clumsy aibou, maybe this will teach you not to weld sharp objects." The lord paused, switching off the kitchen and living room lights, leaving them in pitch darkness. Nether seemed to mind, with Yugi trusting the Pharaoh to guide him through the nothingness with ease and grace towards the bedroom.
"Thanks, Yami, your confidence in me makes my day." Muttering drily as he stood in the bedroom, waiting for Yami to switch on the bed-lamp Yugi blinked at the flare of light, noticing the pharaoh had reverted into spirit form as he usually did during the evenings, reserving energy for the on-coming day.
He hoped, inwardly, that there would come a time in their long, forever lives, were the king would manage to keep his physical form longer. At the moment, it was enough to know the dark half of his soul resided over him as he slept, ever watchful, ever present, ever protecting, ever trapped in the confines of the gleaming Puzzle around his neck.
Their curse, a curse that had split them, made them into two sentient beings and forced them to live forever apart, while forever together.
"Come, come aibou..." Yami cheerfully grinned, showing a full set of white teeth, causing Yugi's chest to tighten at the sight of the usually dark and moody lord smiling in such a whimsical, natural way. "We have a sixty-thirty wakeup call tomorrow morning for that wonderful off-world mission the Major was telling us about this evening."
"Grand," Yugi groaned, "something about..." he waved his wounded hand, "something...actually, I really wasn't listening."
"No, nether was I..."
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"Ah, Janet," Hammond paused from rising from his desk as the doctor quickly strolled into his office unannounced, "I was about to brief SG1 on their next mission, is this important?"
"Yes sir, sorry." Janet smiled, "but I recall you asking me awhile back when Yugi first joined, to warn you when he got himself hurt, you wanted to know about a cut on his hand, his right hand, and to tell you only if it had stitches and ran between his thumb and finger."
She held out her own hand, indicating the cut.
"Yes," the General nodded slowly, his knees feeling slightly weaker, he dared a glance out the window of his office into the briefing room where SG1 was beginning to settle down for their usual briefing before off-world missions. "Yes, I did ask you that."
"Well, sir," Janet shrugged, "the wound you described has happened. Though it wasn't here on base, he did it while cutting up food actually, had three stitches too. Is that what you wished to know?"
"Thank you Janet, you've helped a great deal."
"You're welcome sir." By the look in her eyes she wanted to know more, she wanted to know why he'd described a wound the young man had never had before so precisely, but it was better for her to be ignorant of the details. At least for now.
"You are dismissed."
"Yes sir." She nodded and shifted out of the office, closing the door behind her.
Hammond settled back into his large chair, rubbing a hand over his brow as the ease of a headache began to grow. After a moment of pondering he reached for his phone, dialling a number he'd memorised.
It rung for some time until it was picked up and a weary voice rasped out in his ear.
"Hello, Solomon, yes, sorry to wake you," Hammond smiled briefly, a sad gleam in his eyes as he watched Yugi within the briefing room, the young man happily swinging his legs from where he sat upon the table, ignoring the Colonels battering at him as Daniel tried to interrupt the two by handing out mission files.
"I'm calling because today's the day; I've got my note ready...the photo you gave me, are you sure that'll be enough of a prompt? No I've been very cryptic, alright; I understand yes, we'll just have to trust them. All right, thank you Solomon, good night." Placing the phone back onto its hook Hammond rested back for a moment in his chair, giving a heavy sigh before opening up a draw in the desk and shuffling around in the papers. He pulled out an envelope, yellow with age, and crinkled from abuse. He'd never forgotten to take it with him, no matter what job he found himself in, and now finally, it was his task to hand it on.
His chest tightened.
He'd been waiting this day ever since Yugi Motou had entered into their lives at the SGC. The face of the bubbly young man, wrapped in the protective embrace of his darker half had haunted him since he could remember.
That day, in the trunk, those blood red eyes so enraged with pain.
Hammond shook his head, rising from his seat and walking out of his office towards the waiting SG team. The Colonel glanced towards him and Hammond smiled in welcoming as the team calmed, and Yugi jumped off his position upon the briefing room table, the young man giving the impression that if he wanted too he could have easily hovered in weightlessness. In fact, while they were unable to see the Pharaoh while he retained a spirit form, it was rather obvious when the lord carried his smaller half, Yugi didn't float on his own.
"SG1 you have a go for this mission, Carter, I believe you must do some calculations before you leave."
"Yes sir," Sam nodded, launching into a long brief about the current aliment of planets and something about sun and solar flares. Hammond nodded his head at the right moments, giving the impression he was listening.
She finished and he gave her a dismissive wave.
"Then get to it Major."
"Thank you sir." She dashed off down the stairs into the control room.
The Colonel sniffed, clapping Teal'c over the shoulder, "so, anyway, buddy...oh, yeah, bye General," the two wandered down the stairs with Daniel quickly in tow.
Yugi dashed to join the leaving team, pausing only as the General gently called his name.
"Sir?" The young man paused in his usual, beautiful manor, his large purple eyes searching for hidden messages. Hammond spread his lips thin as he approached the young man, so beautifully tender and childlike, yet hidden under his skin was a demon lord of such frightening power.
"How's the hand, Yugi?" Hammond took the slim fingers in his own, gazing at the wound.
"Oh?" Yugi's eyes blinked, and he grinned, "it's nothing sir! Just a slip of the fingers with a knife that's all. Clumsiness. Yami says he's never going to trust me with a sword..."
Chuckling Hammond reached into the pocket of his pants, pulling out a slim post-it note. With Yugi's face pulled in a confused expression he slid the piece of paper into top pocket of the young man's vest.
"Keep that there, until you reach the other side, alright...and this," he pulled out the yellow, weary envelope, "tuck this into that special little pouch you kept under your shirt."
Yugi gaped, "how did you know...I...have a..." He touched his chest, "General, do you watch me dress or something?"
"No, however the Colonel has noticed you put that pouch on, he's curious as to what it is you put in it, it being so slim and unnoticeable under your tight shirts."
Blushing as he took the envelope, and despite the confusion, the young man scratched his forehead.
"Yeah, well, it's just...secret stuff."
"Well, whatever you keep in it, add that envelop, right now..."
"Er...yes sir...why sir?"
"No reason. Now, hurry along or the Colonel will start snipping at you."
"Yes sir." Yugi grinned, "bye sir, have a good day sir."
Watching as Yugi dashed down the stairs the General shook his head, amazed at the amount of sirs the young man could say when in the mood. Yugi Motou was a joy to Stargate Command, he and his Pharaoh added such a new flavour to such a strange job of protecting humanity.
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\I wonder what that was all about?\ Humming to Yami's presence within his body Yugi skipped past the Major as she bent over the control desk, he bounded down a ramp and weaved his way through the air-personell until he reached the open blast doors into the gate-room. He did his usual check on his twin pistols, before he bounded up to the Colonel who gave him a small glare of impatience.
He ignored it as Yami's reply slipped through his mind like a sleek slide of water.
\No idea aibou, but you'd better add that envelop right now...\
\Oh, yeah...his eyes were serious about that. You coming out?\
\Only to spin the coin to decide.\
The Millenuim Puzzle flared to life and the Pharaoh appeared, he glanced around, watching as Yugi unstrapped his vest, pulled off his jacket and stripped off his tight black shirt.
The Colonel gapped openly, glancing around the gate-room as all eyes remained stuck on the young man.
"Okay, Yugi, why are you stripping?"
"Be...cause..." muttering through the envelop stuck in his mouth Yugi pulled around the slim, special compartment strapped over his chest, lying flat across his back, "the...General...said so."
Zipping open the black pouch he folded up the envelope, adding it to the collection of god-cards that where safely hidden within.
With a sniff he replaced his shirt, jacket and vest, pulling everything down into place once more before turning around and grinning towards Yami.
"So, what'd the coin say?"
No one had noticed the lord had even spun the coin in the usual departure bet.
"Depends, who's betting what?"
Teal'c held up a hand, "heads, you remain out, Lord Pharaoh."
"Ah," Daniel offered his own hand, "tails I buy drinks."
"Head is me this time." Jack muttered.
Yugi blinked, thinking for a moment, "um, okay, I say tails, cause I am so not buying drinks again."
"So, you believe its head's aibou?" Yami smirked dangerously and Yugi gasped.
"Oh my gosh, it's not?"
"Nope," Yami revealed the coin on his palm.
"Oh! Bother!" Daniel sighed, glancing to Yugi, "looks like we lose and we have to pay."
Yami chuckled, pocketing the coin before giving Yugi a small, tender smile. "I shall leave you then, physically speaking." The ancient king vanished from the gate-room and Yugi laughed, spinning on his heels.
"He's in a good mood, that's a nice change."
Daniel gave a laugh, "I had no idea he even had moods. I thought there was one Pharaoh mode and that was it."
"Oh," Yugi whistled, "trust me Daniel, you live with an ancient spirit in your head, you learn moods very well."
The air in the gate-room grew slowly into one of impatience, with even the air-personnel waiting for their departure growing tired of the standing around.
Jack huffed up slightly, leaning towards Daniel.
"Okay," Jack whispered softly, "what is she doing?"
"Ah," Daniel raised an eyebrow, glancing to Yugi then back to the Colonel, "I think she said something about having to time the calculations exactly right this time of year."
"This time of year?" Jack pulled a face, "what difference does it make what time of year it is?"
"Um," shifting on his feet Daniel hesitantly replied, "she said something about solar," he paused. Yugi joined him.
"To be honest," the young man shrugged, "we weren't really paying attention to her in the briefing room just before, were we Daniel."
"No..." The archaeologist shook his head. "No...can't say I was."
"Really," not sounding surprised at they'd admitted to not listening, considering he'd tuned out the Major's blurb of information, Jack sighed. He glanced around towards the control room, giving a loud shout.
"Carter?"
She looked up, seemingly startled out of some deep train of thought. Carefully she leaned forward, reaching for a microphone.
"Almost there, sir." She gave the Colonel one of her trademark smiles that usually convinced their team leader that everything was quite alright. It appeared to work its magic once more.
"At this time of year, the direct line between P2X-555 and the Earth takes us within seventy-thousand miles of the sun. I have to update the computer's drift calculations to include gravitational space-time warping."
The four men stood blinking at her as they waited by the ramp.
"Okay, we know that! Of cause we do, right guys, come on, let's just go already!" Jack swung his arms, pointing a finger at Yugi, "look at the kids face, Carter, can you deny that face. Yugi, give her that face you give me all the freaking time."
"Major?" Yugi turned, "please can we go? The Colonel's threatening to do terrible things to me!"
She gave a roll of her eyes, "coming." After few more moments of tapping at a keyboard, the Stargate began to whirl to life and the Major disappeared from the control room, joining them through the blast door. She collected her P90 from an air-personnel, strapping it to her vest as she aligned herself with the team.
Over the microphone the technician called out.
"Chevron four, encoded."
Yugi turned slightly, ingoring the baiting going on between the Colonel and Major. He flicked his eyes upwards to the Control room, noticing the General was now standing where the Major had been only moments before.
"Chevron six, encoded."
Somehow, the General's eyes seemed to burrow into him like pin-holes, and he could have sworn the leader of the base was trying to tell him something mentally.
\Yami? I think the General's worried about us...what did he give that note to us for?\
\There is only one way to find out aibou,\ the Pharaoh's reply came as the Stargate activated before them. Blue light erupted around the gate-room. Yugi shifted his booted feet upon the ramp, following the Colonel up. He cast one last fleeting glance towards the General, furrowing his brow as he caught a mouthed sentence on the old man's lips. Even as he passed through the event-horizon the thought stayed with him when he reached the other side.
"Come...what the?" Yugi staggered, hitting the Colonel's back. Daniel bumped into him and they tumbled slightly. He felt himself caught by Teal'c, pulling towards the silent Jaffa as if the warrior was suddenly offering him protection.
"Um..." Jack's confused splutter came out as they wandered down the ramp from the Stargate, surrounded by the very room they'd just left.
Flicking his confused gaze backwards towards the Stargate Yugi gave a high-pitched squeak, alerting the others to the sudden phenomena of the Stargate shutting off, and as it did so, the world around them changed, the Stargate vanished, leaving a darkened section where it had once stood.
"Did you just see that?" The Colonel seemed to ask the air.
Like a ripple effect, the other walls around them died away, leaving them standing in an underground launch pad.
"Ah, Jack...do you see this?" Daniel's spluttered words echoed out, the archaeologist having titled his head up slightly.
The Colonel's voiced was tested as he glanced to the Major beside him.
"Major Carter, where are we?"
"I don't know sir," she consulted the pad in her hand, "for a minute there, we were back in the Gateroom."
"Well, we're not anymore!" Yugi offered his two-cents worth.
Wandering past the young man Jack peered around, looking skyward.
"You know," he mused, "this looks suspiciously like the butt end of a Titan missile."
"A freaking what?" Yugi threw his arms open, "did you just say missile-." The young man was cut off as a crackling voice spoke over the intercom.
"Standing by for test burn in T-minus twenty seconds."
Every head looked upwards as the whine of generators echoed throughout the underground room.
Teal'c gave a perplexed raise of a single eyebrow, "what is a 'test burn?'" He inquired.
"Just what it sounds like! Ideas anyone!?" Jack dashed off the launch pad, followed by the Major and Daniel. Yugi stood dumb founded, clasping his hands to his chest as he buried himself into a small ball.
"Colonel, this isn't happening, this is not happening!"
"Kid! Get a hold of yourself." Calling back Jack pounded his fists on the nearest doors.
"Abort!" He bellowed, "Abort, abort!"
Joining the Colonel the Major and Daniel rushed in a desperate attempt to alert anyone of their presence.
Over the intercom the voice broke their frantic rush.
"Fifteen seconds."
Jack snagged Yugi, sensing for a moment that it wasn't the young man he was grabbing but the Pharaoh. Pulling the smaller body towards him he covered his body with his own.
"Stand by for ignition."
"Colonel, are we going to die?" Yugi whispered, burying his head into the man's chest.
"Hope not kid, cause this is not the way I wanted to go.
"Ten, nine, eight..." the intercom's voice became hauntingly slow as the seconds passed. Yugi dared to peek around the Colonel's protective embrace, noticing Teal'c was still standing upon the launch pad, holding out his zatnicatel and aiming it at the smoking missile looming above him.
"Seven, six, five, four three..."
The Jaffa Warrior fired, tinticles of blue energy swelled over the missile.
"two, one. Ignition."
From his cowering position Yugi blinked, feeling Yami's surprise within him as the Pharaoh released the shadowed shields he'd momentarily raised.
"What the...?" Jack turned, letting Yugi peel away from him as they stood, gaping at Teal'c as he stood, his zatnicatel still raised.
Daniel and Sam uncovered their heads, staring up blankly at the missile as it let off hisses of steam.
"I'm still alive, right..." Yugi touched his chest, "not dead."
"Yes, kid, otherwise I'd be pretty annoyed at this being heaven." Jack ruffled his hair before turning to Teal'c.
"How'd you know that'd work?"
"I did not O'Neill." The Jaffa Warrior shrugged.
Suddenly Yugi tensed, his hands slapping to his twin pistols and pulling both free as he spun towards the door. A buzzer sounded, and the blast door opened, revealing three armed soldiers rushing into the room, aiming their guns directly at the young man as he pointed his own.
"Hands on your heads! Get on your knees?"
"Heck, like I will." Yugi snapped, "you almost toasted me."
"Yugi!" Jack grabbed his shoulders, carefully pulling him down as they knelt, "put your toys away alright..."
Thinning his eyes as his heightened senses flared Yugi slowly knelt, placing his pistols upon the floor and lifting his hands behind his head.
Of the three soldiers present, the Sergeant stepped forward, training his rifle upon them. He growled out.
"Who are you and how did you get into this facility?"
"What...facility?" Jack tilted his head.
"Just answer the question." The Sergeant snapped.
"Sir, don't say anything." Sam whispered, leaning towards the Colonel, "this is the Gate Room."
"Shut up!" The Sergeant bellowed.
Ignoring him Sam continued, "Sir, we're still in Cheyenne Mountain."
"Listen!" Pointing his weapon directly towards the Major the Sergeant snarled, "the next person who shoots his mouth off, gets this...is that clear?"
"But you said you wanted us to answer your question..." Yugi blinked, "how can we answer if you're telling us to shut up?"
The man jerked towards him and Yugi thinned his eyes, allowing a glimmer of red to shine as Yami's presence darkened within him, the lord forcing himself to calm.
Over the intercom a new voice echoed throughout the giant room.
"Take them to the holding room."
The Sergeant glanced up as if addressing someone. "Yes sir."
"No," Jack shuffled slightly, "take me to your C.O."
Without hesitation, the soldier swung his rifle around, smashing the butt of the weapon into the Colonel's face. Yugi squeaked in horrified fright as their team leader hit the floor with a heavy thump.
"Colonel!" It was the Major's voice that rung out.
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"Let go!" Wrenching at his arms as they were held firmly by two soldiers Yugi kicked his legs, smashing them into the Sergeants waist and causing the man to stagger backwards.
"Get off me! Get off!" Shouting in his accented voice Yugi twisted, panting heavily as he tore himself free from the grasp of one soldier, startled that his commanding officer had been so brutally shoved away by the tiny boy.
Fighting off Yami's urge to lung free of the confines of the Puzzle, Yugi struggled against the grasping of the final solider, sensing the other recovering to snag his throat, holding him firmly like a disobedient child. The choker around his neck was torn off, the diamonds that littered it scattering across the floor of the holding cell.
Yugi choked on his tears as the Millennium Puzzle was grabbed, and for a brief moment he almost allowed Yami free, he almost gave him permission to take over his limbs and control his body.
"Don't touch it! I said let me go! You sick! You sick idiots, don't touch me!" He screeched, madly grabbing his Puzzle back and holding it as though it was his second heart.
Suddenly Jack's voice called out, "stop it, he's just a kid! Please."
The Colonel said had actually said please.
Still panting, his chest tight from the pain of forcing his darker half into submission Yugi stilled, going limp in the two soldiers arms as the Sergeant slowly turned towards the Colonel.
"A kid?' The Sergeant snorted, "with guns..."
"Yes, he's just a kid...do whatever you want to the rest of us, but leave the kid alone." The older man's eyes shined with sincerity, "He's got nothing to do with this."
"We'll be the judge of that. We're confiscating all of your gear, that gold item included." The Sergeant pointed to the offending object, but paused suddenly as in the light of the holding cell he noticed the faint scar running across the young man's neck from one side to the other.
The haunting, large purple eyes turned up to face him, their sorrowful deepness wrenching at his chest as though tugging on strings.
Yugi felt himself go, finding no will to hold back the tears he sobbed, collapsing even as both his arms where held, his body went limp and he heard the sound of the Major's cry and Daniel's muffled squeak, a soft begging for it to end. He couldn't care less, he had to reserve his energy for keeping a raging Pharaoh locked up inside and it was almost impossible now that he had no spirits to aid him to confine the dark lord to the Puzzle.
"Listen, just hand it over-."
"Touch it again." Yugi hissed suddenly, "and I swear...I will not be responsible for what will happen to you. Just leave me the hell alone!"
He ran to the strongest figure available, grabbing Teal'c around the middle and hiding himself in the Jaffa's chest. A tender, protective arm was gently placed around him and he heard the warrior's voice rumble.
"He has suffered enough, let him be."
For a moment the team waited in baited breath, watching as the Sergeant seemed to debate within his own mind. Carefully the solider turned, giving a wave to the other two that waited him. They left the holding cell and the door slammed shut, leaving the confused members alone in the dim light of a hauntingly familiar room.
The base they'd been lead through had looked almost identical to the one they'd just left. Even as they'd been stripped of all their gear, the feeling had been growing.
Something had gone dreadfully wrong with the Stargate.
"Is the kid alright?" Jack stood from his seat at a table, wandering towards Teal'c.
"He appears to be physically unharmed, however I believe the force of keeping the Lord under submission is what has distressed him so." The Jaffa eased Yugi around, and the young man sniffled, glancing towards the Colonel, revealing a face smudged with eye-liner.
Jack smiled faintly and ruffled their youngest member's hair fondly.
"Come on, sit down kiddo." He slipped him into a chair, "Carter? Any ideas?"
The Major bit her lips, glancing to where Daniel stood leaning against a bunk bed in the holding cell. He gave a shrug.
"I'm..." She paused for a moment, "Sir," and addressed the Colonel, "I'm fairly certain that we've travelled back in time, roughly, about forty-years."
Jack stared.
She dared to continue despite his eyes gouging into her skull.
"For a second or two, I think we were in both time-frames simultaneously, which is why the Stargate seemed to be there one minute and was gone the next."
"So," the Pharaoh's deep baritone voice broke free of Yugi's lips, "this appears to be a bump in your calculations then Major?" Blood-red eyes flickered dangerously and the shadows of the dim cell crept in sleek movements around them as their lord and master dangerously played a hand over the surface of the Puzzle around his host's body.
"I'm sorry, Pharaoh," Sam shrugged, "I don't know what to say."
"Well," Jack slapped his hands upon his thighs, trying to lighten the mood, "I'll tell you what, Major. Get us back home and we'll say it never happened."
"Or," Daniel looked up from his position, "get us back before we left and it won't happen."
Every neck craned around to look directly at the archaeologist who blinked in surprise at their sudden three-sixty turn his way.
"Well, think about it guys," he spread his hands form their folded position over his chest, "we're the first people in human history to go back in time, well, for all we know. If we could figure out how to do this again, just think of what we could do. We could actually visit Babylon, we could...we could see the Great Wall of China being built."
"Typical," Jack muttered, "leave you to ruin the thought of it with ancient history."
"Colonel O'Neill, could we not prevent regrettable events in your history from ever occurring."
"No!" Yugi gasped, jumping up as though a spring had launched him off his chair, "No! No! No! We are not doing that, we are so not going there." He waved his hands, "Right Sam, we're not going there."
"Um, why not?" Jack offered.
The Major sighed, licking her lips as she pondered for a moment, thinking of the best way to explain, "because of the grandfather paradox, sir."
"The what?" The Colonel's look came up blank.
"Sir," Yugi joined in, "let's say, if you went back fifty years and murdered your own grandfather, your own father would never have been born right...you would have changed your own past."
Daniel cottoned on, giving a pointing motion with his finger. "So you're saying if we change earth's history-."
"We could change our world in ways that we can't possibly imagine. We might even cease to exist, along with everything and everyone we know." Sam breathed out deeply.
"I am not part of the history of this world." Teal'c inclined his head slightly.
"Yeah," Yugi swivelled on his feet towards the Jaffa, "but when these guys," he waved a hand at the door that blocked them into the room, "find out about the Goa'uld threat, they might have second thoughts about opening the Stargate Program. In which case, we never meet...and your back to being First Prime of Apophis."
"I see." Teal'c whispered softly.
"Yami and I came across the same problem awhile back," easing himself back down into his seat Yugi rubbed his brow, "I've had experience with time-travel before but it was on a different level. It was done by shadow magic, and it was more like a shadow game...a massive role playing game that reflected past events. I have no idea how much of it was real and how much was just a fabricated story created for the realising of a dangerous dark god named Zorc. Anyway, the point is, it was all about getting back Yami's memories. We travelled back into Ancient Egypt and relived the events...we changed things in this game and in this game, Yami never had to seal himself inside the Millennium Puzzle to defeat Zorc, that's where the paradox came in. The grandfather effect. You see, when we returned from the game, having won it, like we win everything...Yami realised nothing had changed. He was still the spirit of the Puzzle and I was still his lighter half. If he had never sealed himself inside the Puzzle, affectively cutting himself in two, then I would never have been reincarnated into the stream of life. I would not have existed if we'd actually changed history. So, even if we don't tell them about the Goa'uld, the fact that Teal'c has a Goa'uld larval in his gut changes things. This is no shadow game, we're actually living this and we're changing history by just sitting here and discussing this."
Sam nodded, "we have to concentrate on damage control," she looked away from Yugi to address the Colonel, "at the very least, destroy our advanced weapons and technology."
"That's gonna be a little tough." Jack muttered.
"We also cannot tell anyone anything about who we are of where we're from."
"This is a top secret facility," Jack spread his hands, "anonymity does not go over big here. Heck, Yugi's half Japanese. This is the Cold War and we've brought a half-Jap right into the middle of it." He massaged his head. "
"Sir, we don't have a choice." The Major looked into her clasped hands. "Even if it means giving up our lives, we can't let them know anything."
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Solomon gazed at the Stargate.
From above it looked less daunting, like a simple arch, yet it held such boundless wounders. A true gate-way to the stars.
A gateway through time too, apparently.
"Oh Yugi...be safe, my boy, be safe."
"Don't worry Grandpa," a slim hand rested upon his shoulder and Solomon glanced around, smiling weakly at Ryou, the young English Professor a comforting sight. Behind him the gentleman's dark spirit was silently gazing at the Stargate, also lost in deep thought. They were waiting on the General in his office as he spoke to a gate technician. Their conversation was drawing to a close and finally the General moved out of his seat and strolled into the briefing room.
He dared a smile at the sight of the three standing by the large windows opening into the gate-room below.
It was his first chance at meeting the albino Professor and the darkness that protected him. Ryou was a sleek, tender young man with eyes that spoke of too much age for one so young. Looking at him dressed in a long, white sleeved shirt that matched his long locks of silken hair, paled into an almost silver glow, it was nearly impossible to see him as a human. He was far more an angel than anything.
This was the Healer of the Pharaohs court, and according to Yugi, the dark spirit that haunted the Professor's Ring, was the General that ruled the armies of the dead.
Bakura was dangerous. It oozed off him in a silent calmness that ate at the air. He wore a heavy blue coat that dribbled around his knees and a ridiculously long, multi-coloured scarf that looked as though it had been picked up at a thrift shop or at least stolen from some knick-knack rack. Like the Pharaoh, his eyes where a pure blood red, surrounded by demonic black.
"Thank you," the General offered them a small bow of his head, "for bringing Solomon here."
"A pleasure, General sir, to meet you." Ryou held out his hand, "I am sorry it is not under better circumstances. As for getting Grandfather here, it is not a problem."
"Has there been any news?" Solomon stepped forward, the short man shuffling on his feet.
The General shook his head sadly, wishing he had better news. "Well, SG1 never made it to P2X-555."
"So..." Bakura's dark voice growled out, "They're out there somewhere." He motioned with a hand to the universe at large.
"Yes," Hammond nodded, keeping his eyes firmly upon Solomon as the hold man held his hands tightly to his chest, biting back tears, "hopefully they'll find their way back."
"They will," Solomon muttered, turning to look darkly out the window once again, watching as an SG team was getting prepped to leave, "Yugi will come home. He always comes home. He's my boy, and he comes home."
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He'd never felt more like a criminal in his entire life. Shoved into a blue van, shackled around his wrists with a blind fold over his eyes, that was only taken off when he was rudely plonked down on a cold bench. He was glad to find that the others had received the same treatment and it wasn't just because he'd kicked up a fight that he was being so painfully abused.
The walls of the van where blocked up, giving them no view of where they were they were heading, but they'd been going for at least an hour according to his inward time clock. Enough time for Yami to get edgy and he could sense the Pharaoh inside his body like a second glove.
He'd never felt so uncomfortable sharing his body, even when they'd first begun merging, it hadn't been so creepy but with his darker halves current fury he could feel the lord like a fire in the blood of his veins. Shuffling on his seat Yugi breathed out softly, the air to cool for his liking.
"Hey, kid," Jack's voice startled him and Yugi glanced around, peering through his ruffled bangs of blond fringe, "you alright there?"
The concern in his tone was welcoming and Yugi blinked back a tear. He bobbed his head, "I'm alright sir. They at least let me keep the Puzzle...I...I don't know what Yami would have done if they'd taken it."
"Yugi, he has to understand-." Sam started but caught herself as Yugi's large eyes turned in her direction where she sat beside him.
"Sam, I know," he used her name, not her rank, "but what you have to understand is that Yami doesn't care about the future, present, or past...you separate us and his only goal will be to get back to me. Maybe he would have been alright, maybe he would have waited for the right moment and maybe he could have controlled his rage but I don't want to test that just yet, not yet...just not yet." He whispered.
Sam nodded slowly in understanding, "Sorry Yugi." She touched his thigh with her bound hands, giving him a small smile. "Just me being a typical human again."
His laugh was a weak once, but still a laugh. "Wish I was one."
Silence reigned again, until Jack's firm voice caught them all, his leadership taking over.
"Listen. I don't know where we're headed, but they'll probably try to split us up. So we're not going to have much time to-."
"Escape and hopefully live out the rest of our lives without affecting history." Sam butted in.
Jack blinked at her.
"Or?"
Sam sighed, "I'm sorry sir, I can't think of an 'or' at the moment."
"What?" Daniel pulled a face, "no 'or' Sam you always have an 'or.'"
"Not today Daniel." She shrugged,
"No, there is an 'or'." Jack insisted, pointing to Yugi, "Yugi...give us an 'or'."
The young man opened his mouth to answer but Sam caught him.
"Sir," she addressed the Colonel with a firm tone, "you can't just will something to happen because you want it to be a certain way."
"No Major, where there's a will, there is an 'or'...er...way..."
"If I remain on this planet, I will eventually be taken over by my mature symbiote." Teal'c smoke out finally and Yugi jutted out his bound hands.
"See, that's a good reason for an or...and I have one too, I'm immortal! If I remain here in the past, there is going to be two of Yami and I and I'm not sure if that's illegal or something in the whole scheme of the universe."
"Two Pharaohs...bad..." Jack whispered, "One's hard enough."
"Hey."
"Speak of the devil." The Colonel raised an eyebrow as the blood red eyes of the spirit peered out of Yugi's face. "Pharaoh, cut the kid off for a minute, gotta ask you something, without him."
There was a moment's pause before Yami looked up once more. "Go on Colonel, Yugi's retreated."
"Alright," Jack shifted forward, "can you use your shadow magic? We, at the moment, have nothing to defend ourselves with and these guys are trained in keeping spies under-wrap and that's what we're being called."
Yami licked the dry lips of Yugi's body, rolling the shoulders and leaning back on the side of the van, he shifted his legs, slinking one over the other in his usual dignified manner.
"I could, yes, I could get us out of here right now...I need only blow that door open." He motioned to the van's doors beside him. "But if we are indeed forty years in the past, then..." He furrowed his brow, "then I am still stuck inside the Millennium Puzzle, shadow magic has not yet come into play. If I use shadow magic in any other way other than creating a body, which doesn't take much, then I'm concerned I'll be alerting Shaadi to my presence."
"Shaadi?" Jack inquired. "Who's that?"
"The Keeper of the Millennium Items. He can detect shadow magic...from anywhere...he's a meddler and I do not want him sticking his nose into anything right now. So, in answer to your question Colonel, yes, I can get us out, but it's going to have to require very little shadow magic-."
The van suddenly lurched to one side, causing them all to tip as they swerved. The van drew to a stop, and they sat in silence, hearing muffled voices from outside. Foot-steps approached the outside of the door and it was opened, letting in a stream of sunlight. A young man climbed into the back, closing the door behind him and he held out his gun, gazing at the group.
"Flat tire?" Jack offered.
"I'm the one who arranged it." The young man regarded them silently, watching the surprise in their eyes.
"Before I can even think of doing what's asked in the note, I need to know who you are and who gave it to you."
Yugi blinked, sensing Yami retreating, and he reclaimed control of the body. His swivelled his eyes towards the lieutenant's uniform, his lips opening slightly at the sight of the nameplate upon the shirt. He mouthed the name.
"Hammond. General...oh my gosh." He backed up, squeaking as he almost tipped off the bench he sat upon. Every eye looked towards him as he blinked, shaking in sudden realisation.
"My name...my name is Yugi Motou, sir...and you gave me the note!"
"What note?" Jack spluttered out. Yugi quickly glanced his way.
"Sir," before we left General Hammond gave me a note and put it in my vest pocket until we got to the other side. He gave me something else too but I can't get at it yet with my hands tied...anyway, he must have known...look, that's him." Jutting out his bound hands to the young lieutenant Yugi motioned at the young man.
"It's addressed to me. In my handwriting." Lt. Hammond raised an eyebrow.
"What's it say?" Jack offered.
"Help me." Lt. Hammond sneered sarcastically. "And seeing as helping you will undoubtedly lead to court-martial, I'd like to know why I would do that."
"Because it's your idea." Sam smiled, the pieces clicking together.
"Albeit one you won't have for forty-years." Jack grinned.
"Ah," Lt. Hammond shook his head, "what?"
"I know this is kind of hard to understand," Yugi shifted towards him, "but that's roughly how far back in time we've travelled."
Snorting sceptically Lt. Hammond turned away, "I'm sorry, I can't help you-."
"Wait, wait!" Daniel held out his bound hands, "we can prove it!"
"The date," Jack added, "what's the date?"
The young man turned to stare at them, "August the fourth," he frowned as Daniel and Jack continued to stare, hanging on his every word, "of nineteen-sixty-nine."
"Sixty-nine," Jack muttered, glancing to Daniel, "what happened in sixty-nine."
"The...the moon-landing." Daniel gasped out, grinning, "that was just a couple of weeks ago, right?"
"The entire world knows that." The young Hammond snorted.
"Yes," Jack shuffled forward, "but not many people know you watched it from your father's bedside in his hospital room...just two days after his first heart attack."
A stunned silence reigned in the back of the van. Hammond's eyes widened slightly, he stutted the words, "how...did you...know?"
Yugi reached for the young man's hands, touching them with his bound ones, causing Hammond to shift his gaze, "because," Yugi whispered, "because we know you. We 'will' know you, sir. And you decided to help us...otherwise, you wouldn't be standing there with a note. Now please, are you going to listen to yourself...or not?"
For several long seconds Hammond stood, then slowly his hand moved, shifting the gun he held back into its holster. He fished keys from his pocket, bending to unlock Jack's handcuffs, speaking as he did so.
"There are two other men, including the driver."
"Thank you, thank you." Jack rubbed at his wrists, grinning.
Hammond turned towards Yugi, carefully releasing the handcuffs. Yugi winced as the lieutenant's palm brushed over his injured hand.
"Ouch." He hissed.
Hammond glanced down, his brow deepening in concern as he spied the snitched cut, purple from bruising.
"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"
Yugi blushed faintly, "Um...no...it's alright thanks, sir...um..." He gulped, wondering why the lieutenant's eyes keep staring into his face, "can I...see the note?"
Hammond nodded, taking out the note from a pocket and carefully sitting beside Yugi, passing him the note as the young man offered the keys to the handcuffs to the Major. Yugi gazed at the paper for a moment, before pocketing carefully away.
Jack was un-cuffing Daniel; he turned as the archaeologist was freed. "Look, we don't want to hurt anybody, but we're going to have to knock those guys out somehow."
Lt. Hammond dug around for a moment, and held out a zatnicatel, the alien weapon in perfect order.
"Will this do?"
"Yep!" Jack took it, fingering it in his hands, "alright...call for help."
Hammond blinked, frowning as he hesitated.
Yugi giggled, "Sir, the ah...dangerous, foreign agents you've been guarding have...er..."
Teal'c interjected, "inexplicably freed themselves."
"Oh," the young Hammond gave a small smile, cottoning onto the plan. He climbed free of the van, pulling out his gun and pointing into the dark confines.
"Help!" He bellowed.
Jack swung around out of the van as he heard the foot-steps of the two startled soldiers. The zatnicatel fired, erupting out blue energy, knocking the soldiers flat. The driver rushed around, however his chance of escape was cut short as Yami suddenly appeared, holding out his hand, and the man crumbled onto the ground in a dead faint.
"Sweet Pharaoh." Jack twirled the zatnicatel in the air. "But careful with your shadowy powers."
Yami snorted, brushing off his physical body as he approached the small gathering.
Hammond was gaping at him as he strolled up, grabbing Yugi and hoisting the young man up and out of the van, carefully placing him down, doing a routine check.
"Are you harmed aibou?"
"No."
"Did they hold you to tight?"
"No."
"Are your wrists hurt?"
"No."
"Can you lick your nose?"
"No...what? Yami!" Hitting the Pharaoh firmly on the shoulder Yugi glared into the lords smirking features. The king gently curled his finger through the young man's fringe, "Good, you're still yourself aibou."
"Oh do shut it, Yami." Sniffing Yugi shook his head, unable to hide the smile on his cheeks as he sensed the Pharaoh's mental humming, the lord seemingly content now that they were out of the deeper waters. The young man relaxed slightly, inwardly glad he would no longer have to hold back the rage of the dark king.
Suddenly Yugi blinked, realising the young Hammond was gaping.
"Where did he...come from?"
Giving an abashed gob of his mouth, Yugi looked to the Colonel, who gave a shrug, indicating he wasn't about to step in and tell.
"Oh," Yugi took Yami's hand, holding it firmly, "this is Yami, the dark half of my soul."
"Greetings General, thank you for your aid." Yami tilted his head in a small incline, "it shall be repaid."
The young lieutenant stared, "he...wasn't there in the...van...?"
"Yes...and no." Yugi pulled Yami towards the side of the road, "he lives inside the Puzzle around my neck, but also takes up residence inside my body. Don't worry, you'll learn all about it one day, sir."
"So," Jack clapped, "where's the rest of our gear?"
Hammond gave a distracted shuffle, holstering his gun again, gazing at his fallen comrades in bewilderment. "Ah, the Major, he ordered it shipped in a separate truck for security reasons. They should be right behind."
Jack nodded, "Alright, good, get down on the ground." The Colonel motioned, "Go."
Hammond quickly obeyed, lying upon the asphalt beside the two fallen men. The team retreated into the trees along the road, watching as a military truck rumbled around the corner.
It eased to a halt.
Yugi watched as a solider climbed out, rushing to aid those lying upon the road. Jack was slowly creeping around and Yugi bit his lips, watching as the Colonel caught the driver unaware as he climbed out of the truck. The flash of the zatnicatel ignited the air and the driver collapsed.
The first officer jolted around, only to be hit with a stun blast. He folded onto the ground.
The team scrambled out of the shade of the forest, following Jack as he moved to the back of the truck.
Hammond shuffled to his feet, joining them as he watched in amazement the Colonel leap up, unfold the trucks canopy and gaze at the two iron chests sitting alone in the compartment. Jack held out the zatnicatel, firing upon the box, the lock welding the iron together snapping open. He kicked it, throwing the lid open to reveal their confiscated gear.
Yugi climbed into the truck, shuffling over and diving into the gear.
"My guns." He whispered in relief, "my deck!" He pulled out the belts, strapping them back around his hips. Jack watched him.
"Kid, I don't know about your guns?"
"Sir? I can't have you destroy them, they're one of a kind...they're shadow magic...you know that!"
"Alright, alright, but just...hide them or something, alright. Kids your age with guns is just...yeah, anyone." He pulled out a G.D.O and tossed it to the Major, before picking up another zatnicatel. He waved Yugi back as he closed the lid again and turned to Lt. Hammond.
"Everything you confiscated from us is in these two boxes?"
"Yes," the young solider nodded. "except for your ray gun."
"Right." Jack grabbed the first box, dragging it to the back of the truck he propped it over top of the other, sitting beside the two boxes he aimed the zatnicatel.
"What yourself." He glanced back at the team before firing at the boxes in succession, three times, making the metal boxes crackling with blue energy, and slowly they faded away, disintegrating into the air.
Jack spun around, climbing out of the truck, and standing before a baffled Hammond.
"Alright, your Major What's-His-Name had videotapes of this thing in action?" He waved the zatnicatel in the air.
"Ah, yes, it was in those boxes along with everything else."
"Good." Jack grinned, "Any cash?"
"Um," Hammond reached into his pocket, pulling out a pile of bills, "I m might have some."
Jack snatched the pile, pocketing it into his pants, "Thats good, I'll pay you back, with interest." He turned, moving towards the front of the trunk, the team following him silently.
Yugi shifted, stopping and taking the younger version of their base leaders hand in his own and squeezing it tightly. "One more thing, sir. You have to keep everything you've seen, and everything we've told you a secret, and I mean for the rest of your life."
Lt. Hammond nodded, "General Hammond. I like the sound of that."
Yugi beamed.
"Thank you."
"So," Hammond turned to look at Jack, the Colonel's back facing him. The soft sound of the zatnicatel opening alerted only the team to its activation. Yugi forced himself not to wince as Jack's tone flat-lined.
"Well, you're better off not know. But I do want you to know that what I'm about to do keeps you from getting court-martialled." The Colonel spun on his heels, firing at Hammond. The solider collapsed, unconscious beside Yugi. They all took a moment to stare down, their faces blank.
"Okay," Jack twirled on his feet, "We should get off this road. Find the interstate." He waved, turning off into the trees. The team slowly followed him, Yugi taking one last moment to hesitate, glancing back at Hammond, he whispered, even as Yami took his hand to pull him away.
"Sorry, sir...see you...again, I hope."
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The forest was thick as they forced their way through it, going at a swift pace to put enough mileage between them and the escape they'd just made. An hour into their walk, the pace slowed down slightly as the weariness of not resting in more than twenty-four hours slowly settling in.
"So," Daniel finally managed to break the silence between the team, "what's the plan."
"Find the Stargate." Jack muttered.
"Somehow," Yugi snapped out angrily, "that's your answer to everything Colonel. It's a bad plan."
"No, kid, its not. It's elegantly simple."
"Okay, what if we don't find the Stargate." The young man bit out as he stomped through the undergrowth, not caring for the vegetation in his current mood of being hot and bothered and stuck in the past.
"There is one in Antarctica."
"Brilliant." Yugi rolled his eyes.
Teal'c carefully interjected in his usual peace-keeping manner, "assuming we locate the Stargate, how then do we get back to the future?"
"Well, now," Jack spread his hands, "that's all in the note." He paused, looking towards Yugi as the young man jerked into a pause from his stomping.
"Right, kid?"
"Um..." Yugi reached into a pocket, pulling out the yellow note, he handed it to the Major. She slowly opened it, her brow furrowing.
"Well sir," she looked to the Colonel. "It doesn't explain how to get back, at least...not...explicitly." She summed up, handing the Colonel the note.
Jack peered at it in distain, "Help Them. October tenth, nineteen-seventy, nine-fifteen A.M, October eleventh, nineteen-seventy, six-three P.M. Wow, that's real helpful." He snarled out sarcastically, passing Daniel the note as the archaeologist muttered something.
"Well," Sam spread her hands, "I suppose he had to be intentionally cryptic so as not to risk changing his own history."
"October the tenth...that's cryptic." Jack rolled his eyes.
"Well, wait a second," Daniel offered, "it just means that on those two days, something is going to happen. We just have to figure out what that something is going to be."
"Guys," Yugi suddenly looked up, and they jerked around, realising the young man hadn't entered into the conversation and was now stripping himself of his jacket and shirt. Under his usual tight black shirt a small, slim pouch was tightly strapped across his shoulder, lying flat upon his chest. He unzipped it, pulling out the secret contents. Three cards and a folded envelop, he replaced the cards, re-zipping the pouch and replacing his shirt and jacket.
"The General gave this to me as well." Yugi tore open the envelope and carefully pulled out what lay within.
"Another note?" Jack offered as Yugi stared in awe at the contents he was unfolding. His face paled and his breath hitched in his throat.
"Oh my gosh." He gasped aloud.
"Yugi," Sam gripped his shoulders, "what is it?"
"Major...I think...I think my grandpa...I think," he held out the worn photograph, shoving it into her hands. The others crowded around and Daniel gave a small gasp.
"Yugi, that's that photograph you have in your apartment. Of your Grandpa and his brother...right..."
"Yeah," Yugi nodded, "but that's not what's weird, look at the back...look at the note."
Sam turned it over and read aloud.
"Yugi. Save me. Twelve thirty-eight, Fifteenth, September, nineteen-seventy, Washington D.C, Washington Museum. Front Porch, Two cars. I am your grandfather, don't get me killed."
The Major's eyes widened and she looked towards Yugi, turning the photograph over once more she stared at it, then slowly passed it back into his trembling hands.
"I don't think that's your great-uncle Yugi...I think that's you."
"Um," Jack held up a hand, "anyone else notice that the described dates are...kind of...a whole year away."