** See Title Chapter for full story notes and disclaimers.

PART TWENTY-FIVE NOTES: And here's to a Sunday posting! Yay me! Oh, uh, I mean, thanks for coming back to read this week's offering. Your comments and encouragement this past week were much appreciated. Happy reading!

To Lynette, beta of awesome, thank you for the continual support. You've never let me down. To Annie, beta mistress of the back-up, thank you for the quick assist. You both made this story a far better product. Any remaining mistakes are all on me.

As always, any and all feedback is appreciated.

Part Twenty-Five

PREVIOUSLY ON STARGATE: SG-1...

"As it was written," Nefrayu said, eyes not leaving the symbols. "'One of my blood will come through the platform. You will know him by this act alone. He will have great need. I ask you to help him.'"

The words echoed through the room, bouncing off the arched ceiling to land square on his shoulders. Or maybe it just felt that way to Jack. He saw Lya's mouth move, saw the concern on her face when he didn't answer. But he couldn't hear her over the ringing in his ears, couldn't move from his position across the room. The world flashed white for an agonizing instant and when he could see again he was somewhere else.

AND NOW, PART TWENTY-FIVE...

Every cell in his body hurt. Joints, muscles, organs, they ached with a tenacity he was hard-pressed to push aside. Mere minutes, that was all he needed.

And then he could rest.

Setting the scanner on the rock ledge, he turned back to the platform ten feet away. At the moment it looked like a light year, an impossible distance that would kill him before he made it even halfway. Gathering his will and his strength, he shifted one foot forward and nearly went straight to the hard ground as a cramp twisted his insides into a hard knot. Tears leaked from his closed lids at the sensation. It was too far. He simply could not continue.

"You cannot give up, brother. You are stronger than this."

He knew there was no one in the small space with him, but the beloved and terribly missed voice sounded as clear and real as the scanner he'd laid on the ledge seconds ago. His brother was long dead. He knew the truth of it, but the fact did not stop him from replying to the voice. "It hurts like nothing I have ever felt. Please just let me die."

"Only a few moments more and you will find peace. We will be together once more, dear brother. But you must finish this task first or all is lost."

Staring across the distance to the platform, one hand clenched over his abdomen, he wrapped the voice's confidence tight around his failing body. All he needed was five steps. Then he could rest. Four more and his brother's faith would not be in vain. Three and his own death would have meaning. Two, the future would have a chance to save itself. One. And he would alter a descendant's life as one being should never do to another.

He fell into the chair, fresh bruises forming instantly at the contact. Shaking hands covered the control orbs, the tips of his fingers digging into the contact points desperately. Swallowing back the scream tearing at his throat, he sent his mind into the platform. He needed two specific directions, pieces of information hidden deep inside the controls. Ignoring the bile that filled his throat at the thought of destroying knowledge of any kind, he sent the instruction out. The infection spread eagerly, eating all references to the coordinates and then moving on. Before he'd managed to call up the program that would be his final act, the infection had destroyed every reference in his platform and had already spread to the ten closest in the chain. Although he hadn't doubted its virulence or its ability, something in his chest loosened as he watched it work. It was as beautiful in its destruction as it was heartbreaking.

His friends would be safe for all time now.

Satisfied the infection would work its way through the entire system, he left it to its brief life. No trace of its existence would be left to find after it had run its course. There was still one more thing he had to do.

The program's instructions flashed into view at a thought. He read each line carefully, though he had seen them so many times he could rewrite them in his sleep. There was nothing else to add. Sorrow filled him as he hesitated over the activation sequence. The descendant was an innocent. Whoever it would be did not deserve the burden of carrying his life, his mistakes within. Yet there was no more time and he was out of options.

"He will understand, brother."

I can only hope you are right. He wanted to say it aloud, struggled to set the words free, but the pain defied him at every corner. His heart stuttered once, twice, then resumed its slightly quickened beat. It was time.

Please forgive me.

With a thought, he activated the program. It followed in the wake of the infection, erasing any tiny lingering evidence and placing new instructions hidden deep within the crystals of the technology. There it would lie dormant until needed.

"Come, brother. You can rest now."

He deactivated the platform, the lights dimming around him as a numb coolness flowed up from his toes. The pain sank, easing away with each shallow breath. Darkness filled the small chamber and yet suddenly his brother was before him, one arm held out in invitation. He returned the calm smile, reached out and clasped his brother's hand.

Jack barely felt the jolt as his knees slammed into the floor. His heart slapped against his ribs, each racing beat an echoing thud in his ears. The air was chilly against his cheeks, wet with tears he hadn't given permission to escape yet couldn't hold back. What little anger he'd harbored vanished as Methral's sorrow and regret continued to flood his body. The Ancient had known exactly what he was doing to Jack, but he hadn't liked it one bit.

"Colonel O'Neill."

The raised voice finally penetrated the haze clouding his mind. He looked up into Lya's concerned face and found her slim hand gripping his shoulder with a surprising strength. "I'm okay. I think." He drew in a deep breath and struggled back to his feet. His knees ached with a sudden, fierce sharpness he normally would have cursed. For once he welcomed the painful reminder he was alive and not moldering on a chair doomed to an eternity alone.

Never had one of the visions taken over his conscious mind. While in the others he'd felt Methral's fear and despair over his brother's impending death, he hadn't actually become the Ancient. He'd kept his own awareness and known the difference between the two. He'd had no option with this last one. Methral had swept in and taken over before he had a chance to realize something was happening. He'd felt what Methral felt, every excruciating step, each agony filled breath. Hell, the slight chill of the chair was still leeching the warmth from his back.

Another breath steadied him, eased the shaking from his hands. Jack had wondered how Methral had come to die in the chair instead of the pallet obviously laid out for the purpose of resting. And now he knew, although he could have done without the special joy of the ride along.

"Colonel?" Lya asked softly from beside him, her hand a gentle warmth on his arm. "What happened?"

"A vision from Methral. Sort of." He winced at the too simple explanation, absurdly pleased when she simply nodded and moved on. For all he knew she'd pulled the whole thing directly from his brain while he'd been getting himself together. Then again, he doubted Lya would have thought to do anything so declassé.

"This may not be the appropriate moment, however, I am unsure another opportunity will present itself." Jack frowned but held his questions as she turned to Nefrayu and the tome. Together they lifted pages carefully until they reached the rear of the book and the first blank page he'd seen. "Nothing has been added to this since the time of Methral's generation. After our scientists developed the cure for the plague there was no more to add. Once you have saved your people, will you return and help us lay Methral's final deeds down for all time?"

Stunned by the unexpected request, all Jack could do was nod stupidly. His mind whirled as her words sank in-they had a cure. All the searching, all the bread crumbs had actually led him to the right place.

Lya apparently understood what was going on inside him when she smiled broadly and held up one hand. "Yes, Colonel, the plague can be stopped. But we will need to scan your physical makeup. While similar in most aspects, you are different from the Ancients and therefore the formula will require some alteration."

Every once in a great while Jack was content to let a doctor at him. This was one of them.

The Nox's medical area was similar enough in design to give him a slight chill when he entered. He'd spent far too many hours locked within the SGC's own torture chambers to feel anything different. While he'd only had to be physically restrained a couple of times, Janet Fraiser had kept him bound with only her glare more than enough to count. Lya had accompanied him, leaving Nefrayu behind at their house. After introducing Jack to the quiet, painfully shy Nox who was going to perform the scans, she'd left as gracefully as she'd arrived. He almost wished she'd stayed. Raheer had taken one look at Jack and promptly shuddered to a standstill, nearly dropping the delicate looking plant he was holding. Jack assumed the poor man didn't get many outsiders in his demense.

Despite the rough start however, Raheer regained enough equilibrium to stutter out what he needed Jack to do. Jack would even go as far to say he gathered a little confidence as they'd progressed. So far he'd stood under a lamp-like device that had beeped disconcertingly at him and had a wand waved from toes to scalp. He'd bitten back a sarcastic comment about lead protective vests and let the other man do his job. It had been disturbingly difficult. Maybe his time flying a desk had honed his wit a little too far.

"So what's the damage, Raheer? Anything I need to worry about?"

The Nox jumped slightly at the question, turning to Jack with a confused frown. Colloquialisms apparently didn't translate well either. "You need have no fear, Colonel O'Neill. According to my information, which is admittedly limited regarding your species, you are in fine health. There is no evidence of the plague in your system."

"That's actually a relief to hear. We'd wondered if I was a carrier or if my previous exposure had given me enough antibodies to ward off the virus." Teal'c and Carter would be fine as well, he realized with an internal sigh. At least that was two worries he could leave behind.

"I cannot speak to any prior exposure, but I can confirm you are not a carrier. Please sit here."

The abrupt change paused his brain for a short second before the synapses pieced it together. Here was another one of those living chairs, taller than in Lya's home. He sat carefully, once again testing the strength of the Nox-standard chair against his more heavily muscled frame. It creaked sullenly before easing into silence. Assured it wouldn't collapse in protest underneath him, Jack looked expectantly at Raheer. "What's next?"

He swallowed sharply, face slightly pale underneath the wild shock of twig-like hair. "It is very distressing, but I will need a small quantity of your blood. I wish there was some other way to modify the formula, however there is not."

Jack stopped him before he tied his tongue into a knot. The way the words were spilling over each other he was surprised he'd understood any of it. "It's okay, Raheer. We do it all the time back home. How much do you need and how do you want to get it?" He was willing to donate more than a little hemoglobin to stop the climbing deaths.

"A mere three drops will suffice," Raheer said, relief blatant on his face. "Unfortunately, we have no painless way to draw it from you. Our healers have long since moved past the stage where it has been necessary to deal with blood directly."

"Don't worry about it. As long as you don't chop off an arm I think I can handle it." The relief vanished from the Nox's face, blanching into a ghostly, unhealthy grey and Jack knew the joke had backfired horrendously. Yep, he seriously needed to curb his sarcasm until he got back to Earth. "That was a joke. I meant let's just get it done."

Raheer sent him a weak smile and motioned for Jack to lay his arm along the table. Expecting the Nox to pull a knife or some such to get the blood, he almost laughed when Raheer picked up a small device much like a sticker used to check blood sugar levels. He held it back with a supreme effort. The poor guy was freaking out enough as it was. The prick hurt less than one of Fraiser's needles back in the day. He was pretty sure Raheer flinched enough for the both of them. Watching as the Nox carefully squeezed exactly three drops from his index finger into a small cylinder, Jack wondered what he was going to do with it. He knew little about the different methods of devising a vaccine, but he was pretty sure it had to be a universal kind of process. A virus was a virus, no matter what species it worked on.

"See?" he said, adding a smile he didn't really feel for Raheer's benefit. "No problems at all. Anything I can do to help from here?"

"No, Col. O'Neill, but I thank you for the offer. I do not have the time to train you in the use of the equipment. Lya has impressed on me the importance of speed." The Nox seemed even more crushed about that than he'd been when drawing Jack's blood.

"No worries then, Raheer. I'll just wait over here. Quietly."

"Thank you for the consideration."

Waiting and quiet were easier said than done, he realized shortly as he sat on yet another of the amazing living stools. Raheer worked in utter silence, leaving Jack to his thoughts. He had no idea what the scientist was doing once he'd stuck the small vial with his blood into a crevice in one wall. It blinked and blipped at Raheer for a little over a minute-yes, he'd timed it-then spat out some kind of results that had brought a broad smile to his face. Jack had barely restrained himself from asking what it meant. Half an hour later, he was still waiting but with far less patience than when he'd started.

"And there it is."

The sudden noise nearly had him stumbling off of the stool. Quickly righting himself, Jack's eyes locked onto the container sitting on the table before Raheer. It looked like black marble with veins of gold and silver chasing each other around the surface in dizzying designs. Squat, round and about the size of his clenched fist, Jack wondered briefly how it could possibly hold enough liquid to cure them all. He shook the thought away with a harsh slap. The Nox knew what they were doing. They'd been dealing with upstart races when humans were still clawing their way out of the mud. Jack had little interest in offending the hand feeding him. "Is there anything specific I need to tell my doctor before she begins treating my people?"

Raheer handed him the container with a reverence bordering on worship. "I understand your race has differences in your blood that make it life threatening if not matched correctly. With only yours as a sample, I could not complete a universal treatment. Give your doctor this." He reached for a small datapad, much like the ones Meyers and his crew had used when taking readings from Jack in Atlantis, and gave him that as well. "It outlines what she will need to test for and how to adjust the treatment accordingly."

"Thank you, Raheer. It's not enough, I know, but it's all I have."

"Your thanks are not necessary." His smile lit his face, the pale features practically luminescent. "Knowing we were finally able to help our friends from so long ago is enough. Now please, return to your people and stop their senseless deaths."

He held out one hand, the other carefully cradling the jar and datapad. After a short pause, Raheer clasped his forearm, hand gripping warmly. "I'll come back. Let you know how it all turns out."

"I would like that, Col. O'Neill." He released Jack's arm and glanced toward the door. "Lya will be here momentarily. She will be happy to know you were not damaged though I was forced to take your blood."

"I'm fine, Raheer. Think nothing of it." The marble was vaguely warm in his hand, heating it with a pleasant warmth. He wanted to believe it was just his imagination, but when it traveled up his wrist and settled into his arm he shucked that thought and gave himself over to the improbable. Hell, he was standing in the middle of a floating city on a planet who knew how far away from the one he'd been born on and he was arguing with himself about a little warming pot? Seriously messed up priorities, Jack, he told himself. Who cared about tiny details like that when he carried the hope of his people in one hand.

"Col. O'Neill." Lya's voice was as warm and soft as it had ever been. "Come. I will take you back to the room in which you arrived and return you to your people."

And that was one order he didn't mind following in the least.

cont. in Part 26...