A/N: this chapter was very hard to write, so please, if you hate it keep it to yourself just this once.
Chapter 13 -- Torture
Buffy stared at the scene before her; she noticed the way the blood flowed across the floor in various patterns; the grinning face of her 'god' as he listened to the screaming as if it were a symphony; the beautiful glow of Tobis as the air rippled before it and the red from the stone floated across the waves. She noticed all these things, but the scene still didn't make sense. Her mind wouldn't let her understand that she was watching her father being tortured in front of her eyes.
But her mind could only protect her for so long, and as she processed what she was seeing Buffy knew she should be screaming, or crying, or fighting.
Something.
Anything.
Instead the Slayer stood and watched in silence until Jack could no longer scream and fell gasping to the floor. Having momentarily lost interest in his new toy, Balor noticed Buffy standing just inside the doorway.
"Ah, Buffy, I have a new toy for you," Balor said, gesturing for his First Prime to stand by his side. The other members of SG-1 gasped, and seeing his daughter stand beside the Goa'uld as his First Prime sent Jack over the chasm into unconsciousness. Buffy carefully kept her face neutral; part of her safety lied in the fact that Balor had no one to threaten her with – no family, friends, or allies. If Balor knew that Jack was her father…
Buffy looked at Balor and resisted the urge to break his neck – mostly because Erias was chanting please, don't repeatedly in her mind. She kept her eyes on Balor as much as possible, knowing she wouldn't be able to go through the charade if she looked at her father lying hurt on the floor.
"Jeez, an old, broken one. How neat," Buffy drawled sarcastically. On the back of her neck, the Slayer could feel the heated gazes of SG-1.
Balor chuckled.
"No, my dear. This one," he said, pointing to Jacob, "is a Tok'ra. I want you to learn to be able to sense the difference between it and a Goa'uld."
Not sensing any difference between it and Balor, Buffy leaned in for a closer look. Buffy started as she recognized him from Earth.
This is the one who sent my Slayer senses into overdrive, which ended up landing me here! What the hell was a Snakehead doing on Earth, and at the SGC?
He is a Tok'ra; they're a group that separated from the Goa'uld and pride themselves on sharing with their hosts instead of controlling them. Can you sense any difference? Erias asked.
No, but that doesn't make a difference. I'll give you one guess as to what Balor expects my answer to be.
"Of course, my lord." The Slayer hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "May I take him to the training compound, as well as the Jaffa?"
Balor, who had returned to sit on his thrown, frowned and asked, "For the Tok'ra, yes – but why do you want the Jaffa?"
"People who are ready to be martyrs are often unwilling to watch others be sacrifices or tortured because of them. And a Jaffa will be able to stand longer and more torture than these others," Buffy said casually, knowing it was true in her case. An impressed smile graced the Goa'uld's face and he ordered several Jaffa to escort the two away.
Turning his attention back to his other prisoners immediately, he failed to notice the hesitation from his Jaffa as they looked to the First Prime for confirmation. Discreetly, the Slayer nodded and held up two fingers – indicating she wanted her second-in-command to be notified. The Jaffa bowed deeply and carried the Tok'ra and Jaffa away. The exchange was done so subtly that it went unnoticed by everyone – except one.
Daniel groaned as the Jaffa tossed him unceremoniously to the floor of his cage. At that moment, he envied Jack for being unconscious – though the older man was probably going to be waking to a massive headache. Luckily, Balor seemed uninterested in torturing him or Sam if Jack wasn't awake to watch so the three were sent back to their cages.
The archaeologist watched as Sam checked Jack for any other injuries, and wondered how Jack was going to react to Buffy being Balor's First Prime. He frowned at the thought. Why make a teenage human female First Prime? The only reason the man could think of was that Teal'c's claim that Buffy was able to sense Goa'uld was true. But that didn't make any sense, since it was something all Goa'uld's could do, or anyone who has had a Goa'uld within them, unless…
"Sam, you said that these Goa'uld are like the ones we found on PX-888, right?"
Finishing making Jack as comfortable as possible, Sam sat back and looked at Daniel.
"Right. With the exception of Balor, I wasn't able to sense any Goa'uld presence. Why?"
"If Buffy can really sense a Goa'uld without having any naquuada in her system, it stands to reason she'll be able to sense Goa'ulds that don't have naquuada. That could be why Balor made her his First Prime."
Thinking a moment before speaking, Sam answered, "It's possible. But why make her his First Prime? Even if she agreed willingly, why not just have her as a spy?"
"Do you think she's doing this willingly?" Daniel asked; casting a side-glance at Jack to make sure the Colonel was still unconscious. Sam also did a quick Colonel-check before answering.
"I don't know. She didn't seem to be bothered by watching Balor torture the Colonel – but she also didn't mention that she knew us. She might even be Goa'uld and there would be no way for us to know without an examination."
The conversation and its implications were momentarily forgotten as they heard a groaning sound and turned to see the Colonel blinking his eyes, and holding his head.
"You know, someday I would like to go on a mission that doesn't involve me being stabbed, tortured, or kicked in the knees."
"Welcome back, Jack, how you feeling?" Daniel asked, as the Colonel slowly sat up.
"Oh, never better Danny. Now, this could be the concussion talking, but did I see Buffy in the throne room with the resident top Snakehead?"
Sam and Daniel exchanged worried glances, but before either of them could answer the doors opened revealing several Jaffa. As the Jaffa stopped in front of the cage, Jack groaned as he saw a knife in one of their hands.
"Oh, for crying out loud!"
Buffy walked amongst the various Jaffa as they practiced their drills. On the outside she appeared calm, but inside she was seething and using several words she had learned from Faith. She just wasn't sure who she was the most mad at; the PTB for sending her here; the Blood of the Universe for deciding when she was the Slayer they would get off their lazy butts and call for help; Balor for torturing her own father before her eyes; or her father for being stupid enough to follow her in the first place.
Slayer, you're not planning on doing something monumentally stupid, are you? Erias asked nervously, as it listened to the cursing Slayer.
No, of course, not -- what makes you think that? It's not like I have a history of doing stupid things, like, oh, I don't know…agreeing to come halfway across the universe to help a bunch of stones stage a revolution.
Erias wisely decided that it would be best if it kept quiet.
Buffy entered the training compound, and was glad to see her second-in-command, Gawain, already waiting for her. She gestured for him to follow and they entered the guarded room. The room was spacious, despite the many weapons. It was Buffy's personal training area where she worked one-on-one with the various Jaffa. Jacob and Teal'c were both bound to chairs, slightly facing each other.
Slowly, the First Prime examined first Teal, and then Jacob – trying to differentiate between the symbiotes.
Nothing.
Already she suspected that it wouldn't be possible; it's like trying to tell the difference between a good demon and a bad demon by sight alone. Often, it was actions that determined who the 'good guys' and 'bad guys' were. But it didn't matter what the reality was if Balor wanted something different.
Grabbing a chair for herself, Buffy sat down backwards, looking over the back of the chair at the two captives. She rested her chin on the chair and began to think.
If you got any bright ideas, now would be the time to start, Buffy told Erias.
I'm not sure I can be of help to you, Slayer.
Great, NOW you don't have any advice, or nagging, she replied sarcastically. You can at least tell me about these Tokie-whatevers.
Erias glowed slightly in amusement. For the first time the captives noticed that Buffy was wearing the Ribbon device. Teal'c raised his eyebrow and turned a questioning glance to Jacob. The Tok'ra concentrated on the girl, but couldn't feel any Goa'uld presence – and it was impossible to operate the Ribbon device without naquuada in your system. Jacob turned back to Teal'c and shook his head almost imperceptibly.
Almost.
Buffy noticed the exchange and turned to Gawain. The Jaffa was standing waiting for her orders, having grown used to her long periods of silence – though he didn't know about Erias.
"Gawain, let's see how different a Jaffa and Tok'ra can take a little pain," she said, looking Gawain in the eye. 'A little pain' had become a codeword between them; inflict just enough pain to satisfy Balor but not enough to permanently injure. What Buffy didn't know was that the other Jaffa had figured it out, and her mercy and defiance to Balor were being added to her legend.
What were talking about again?
The Tok'ra. They are a Goa'uld who have decided to exist in balance with their hosts – rather than dominate them. They are a rather small group, since most Goa'uld would rather rule than share. Despite ethical differences, the Tok'ra ARE Goa'uld.
But they're the good guys, right? What with the whole 'I don't plan on ruling the universe'.
Erias was silent for a moment.
I'm sensing some bad history here, Buffy guessed, wincing silently as the knife sliced through Teal's skin.
The Goa'uld weren't always as they are now; they were our partners in protecting the universe. As were the other great races – the Furlings, the Asguard, the Ancients, and the Nox.
So what happened?
Many things…but mostly arrogance; the Ancients ascended in hopes that they would be able to better protect the universe; the Nox embraced the path of pacifism and would no longer fight; the Goa'uld tried to gain power to protect, and it corrupted them; and the Asguard have doomed themselves trying to replace the others.
Another cry broke through their conversation, and Buffy waited a moment before replying.
So how did you go from being partners to slaves?
When the Ancients ascended, they chose to no longer affect the physical realm directly. The Nox saw us as 'devices' of destruction, and we broke contact, and over time they forgot about us. We cut ties with the Goa'uld long before they had achieved success with the sarcophagus, so all we are to them are Ribbon devices. The naquuda that has built up in their systems is used to create a reaction within us that causes a great deal of pain, and prevents us from resisting.
What about the Asguard, couldn't they have helped?
After having our allies betray or abandon us, we were reluctant to trust those that were left. By the time we were willing, the Goa'uld had accumulated enough naquuada in their systems to control us. Like the rest, we were forgotten…until we made contact with your predecessor and made the pact.
So you think the Tok'ra will follow the same path of the Goa'uld?
Perhaps.
Buffy refocused on her surroundings and grimaced as she saw the blood-soaked figures before her. Gawain casually drove a knife through Jacob's shoulder and the Tok'ra screamed out in pain. Buffy frowned and sat up slowly.
"Gawain, stab him again."
The Jaffa looked at his First Prime curiously, but dutifully stabbed the Tok'ra again. Again, the man screamed and Buffy listened carefully. A grin split across her face, and she quickly strode out of the room and grabbed the first Goa'uld she found. Dragging the protesting alien into the room, she grabbed a nearby sword and drove it into his shoulder.
The Goa'uld roared in pain.
Patting the injured alien on his uninjured shoulder, she shoved him out the door and turned back inside with a triumphant smirk. She strolled up to Jacob and leaned in an inch from his face.
"Say something."
Jacob looked at the girl and smiled.
"Go to hell."
The Slayer tilted her head to the side and thought about it for a moment.
"Yeah, probably."
TBC