The people milling around them ignored the team in their cage. Their attention was riveted on the walls. Every move made by Daniel and Michaels was displayed there for them to see – life-sized, complete with color and sound. All they needed was popcorn.

It was too surreal for Jack O'Neill. He needed to be doing something, anything, to help his friend. It went against his every instinct to sit and watch while Daniel struggled for his life, but that's exactly what he was forced to do. While Carter worked feverishly to find a way out of their benevolent prison, all he could do was sit and watch.

Jack couldn't believe how proud he was of Daniel. He knew the younger man had learned a lot in his time with the SGC. Even so he never would have believed that Daniel could handle himself alone in the wilderness while being hunted by a mad man. And yet that's just what he was doing.

It was a good idea to climb the tree to get his bearings, it was exactly what Jack himself would have done. He held his breath as Daniel descended the tree. They all knew Daniel's fear of heights. There had been a bad moment when Daniel, leaning out too far, had gotten a glimpse of the ground below and saw just how high he was. Clinging to the branch he was on, it had taken him thirty minutes to convince his trembling limbs to move again.

"Breathe, Daniel, just breathe," Jack muttered under his breath as he watched his friend struggle to regain his composure.

Jack's whole body was taut as Daniel finally began to inch his way back to a more secure position. Sweat had sprung up on the colonel's brow just watching. Slowly, carefully, Daniel began his descent again. At long lost he had made it. He was on the ground again and moving fast.

Jack nodded approvingly when Daniel headed for the stream. He needed to find a good source of water if he was going to keep moving. At the moment thirst and exhaustion would be more Daniel's enemy than Michaels. If he allowed himself to become dehydrated, it would be easier for him to make mistakes, deadly mistakes that might cost him his life.

Daniel took the time to cover his tracks. He laid several false trails to confuse anyone who might be following him. Teal'c nodded in admiration at the thoroughness of Daniel's efforts. The day wore on as Jack O'Neill sat and watched his best friend in the fight of his life.

At last he could stand it no longer. He had to get out, he had to do something. Carter was having no luck in figuring a way out of their benevolent cage. It was time to try something new.

"Carter, you think these people ever watched Star Trek?"

"Sir?" she asked blankly.

"You pretend to be sick," he outlined his plan for them quickly. "Hopefully they'll drop the field to check you out. When they do, Teal'c and I can grab the head lady. Maybe we can use her to convince the rest of them to let Daniel and Michaels go."

She shook her head doubtfully, "Sir, that's a pretty old trick."

"Carter, I've got to do something. I just can't sit here any longer. If you have any better ideas, I'm all ears."

Teal'c gave him an odd look, but wisely chose to say nothing.

He stared at Carter, challenging her to come up with a better plan. In the end she just shrugged. "Fine," she whispered.

"Fine, everyone take your places. Carter, whenever you're ready."

They all moved away, trying to look casual. O'Neill felt the adrenaline beginning to pump through his body. It was a good thing, it gave him an edge. Scanning the crowd, he picked out the head lady, Serafina. She was standing near them, watching the walls raptly. He snuck a glance at Teal'c out of the corner of his eye. The Jaffa gave a small, nearly imperceptible nod. Good, he'd seen her.

Carter gave a moan that sounded overdramatic to Jack's ears. The people didn't even look around. She grimaced and clutched her stomach with another moan, louder and more real this time. She dropped to her knees, bent double.

The people noticed this time. Serafina frowned and moved toward their cage. "Is she well?" Her voice was tinged with concern.

"I don't know," O'Neill knelt next to his teammate. "Carter, talk to me. What's wrong?"

Carter didn't answer, she just moaned again.

Standing, the Colonel entreated, "Please you've got to help her."

Carter moaned one more time and fell to the floor, curled into a ball around her stomach. "Please, sir…"

"She's hurt. Help her." Would the woman do anything? Would she just leave them? O'Neill's heart slammed in his chest.

"What is wrong with her?" Serafina asked. The people around them began turning to watch the drama in their midst.

Jack clenched his fists. Come on. "I don't know. Can't you see she's in pain? Please you need to help her," he pleaded with the woman.

Serafina seemed to come to a decision. She clapped her hands and the blue haze that defined their cell was gone. As she turned to speak to someone, O'Neill grabbed her.

For a moment everything froze. The people gaped as if they couldn't believe what he had done. Teal'c extended a hand to Carter to help her up and they moved to his side.

Serafina didn't seem overly alarmed. "What do you think you are doing?" she demanded.

"We're trying to help our friend. Now, bring him back, bring both of my people back now." He held the woman tightly though she made no move to struggle. The rest of the people in the temple just stood staring at them, there was not a sound. "I'm serious. This has gone on long enough."

One moment O'Neill had his arms around the woman, he could feel her warm and solid. The next, he was clutching nothing but air. For a fraction of an instant all the people vanished leaving SG-1 alone. The cage reformed around them and the people rippled back into existence.

Serafina stood outside the cage regarding him with compassion. "We know you are worried for your friend, and we are sorry. But nothing must be allowed to interfere with the Test."

With finality the people turned back to the wall displays. Disgusted Jack threw himself to the floor.

Daniel moved stealthily through the forest. He concentrated on moving quietly, staying low.

"Become one with your environment, Daniel Jackson," he could hear Teal'c say. "Do not disturb the grass as you walk on it, become the wind that passes through the trees but leaves no trace of its passing."

'Huh, easier said than done, T,' he thought wryly.

Daniel wondered what was happening to his friends. Were they back in the temple, held prisoner by the Children of Enoch to ensure he would play their game? Had the people hurt them? Or would they just release the rest of SG-1 since it was Daniel and Michaels who was the subject of their 'test?' Daniel knew that even if they were released, his friends would never leave without him. He was cheered by the thought that maybe they had escaped and they were out now searching for him.

'Can you guys just hurry up and get here already?'

Spying a wrapper thrown carelessly down, Daniel bent to retrieve it. It was obvious Michaels didn't care about covering his tracks or conserving his supplies. He noted the signs of Michaels' passing, heavy footsteps in the muddy earth next to the stream, bent branches in his path. He wished he had Teal'c's knack of knowing just how long it had been since the tracks were made. He studied the indention, he couldn't tell if it had been five minutes or five hours since the other man had stood there.

The sight of the empty MRE wrapper made Daniel's stomach rumble. The power bar he'd had for breakfast wasn't really working as lunch too. At the moment, he wouldn't even have minded the dreaded macaroni and cheese. But he knew he had to ration his food supplies, he had no idea how long they would have to last. His stomach grumbled in protest. He moved on, doing his best to ignore it.

While he had found a good source of water in the stream, his food was only going to last for two or three days, and that only if he was careful and rationed it. He eyed the vegetation he was passing. If this went on too long, he might have to find out if any of it was edible. The stream might also be able to provide fish if he could just figure out how to catch it.

How long was the test supposed to last? Did it have a time frame? Would it just go on until either he or Michaels was dead? Daniel shuddered at the thought.

"It won't come to that, Danny," Jack assured him, "you'll figure some other way out."

As Daniel traveled, he covered his trail as Teal'c had taught him. He might have been alone physically, but his friends were his constant companions, whispering their advice to him.

"Stay hidden," Jack would whisper.

"You must cover your trail, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c advised.

Sam offered words of encouragement, "You can do this, Daniel," she said. "You have to come back to us."

That was exactly what he intended to do. They had been there for him while he had lain injured and broken. They had pulled him back from the edge of death. He had no intention of leaving them now.

He paused to drink. The day was hot. He was grimy and covered in sweat, his clothes sticking to him. He looked at the stream longingly. It burbled cheerfully, wet and cool. He would like nothing more than to just wade in and lay down in the clear, cool water, let it wash over him. He knew he couldn't do that. It would make too much noise for one thing and he couldn't afford to waste precious time. He hadn't seen any signs of Michaels lately except for the wrapper. The man could be anywhere.

What had happened to the young boy to turn him into the bitter angry man that he was now? While it was true that his father had been demanding and exacting, his mother had been kind and caring. Daniel had meant to keep in touch after he left for school, he really had. Life had made other plans for him though. He wished he could just sit and talk to the other man; find out what had happened to him.

He paused then, considering, crouching in the shelter of a tree. Why couldn't he do just that? Why couldn't he just talk to the other man, try to make some sense of the situation?

Maybe if he could bring the other man to see reason, they could nullify the whole situation. Would the People bring them back to the temple if it became evident that neither man was going to play their game?

Swiftly making his decision, Daniel turned back. He had to find the last signs he'd found of Michaels' passage.

"What in the hell is he doing?" Jack muttered, watching events unfold.

Daniel had just reversed his course. He'd gone back to the last trail he'd found for Michaels. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Daniel was now tracking the other man.

"You don't think…?" Carter asked with a startled intake of breath.

"No, I don't," Jack answered her flatly. "He's not going to track Michaels down and kill him, Daniel wouldn't do that."

"Indeed, it does seem most out of character for Daniel Jackson to be hunting his enemy in this manner," Teal'c observed.

"He's not going to kill him," Jack knew what Daniel was doing. He just didn't want to believe it.

"Sir?" Carter asked.

"He's going to try and talk to him, Carter. Daniel is going to try and track him down and talk to him. Damn! Hell! Shit!" They had to figure a way out. Daniel was going to need them, and soon.