Child of the Mind

By Ldynwaitin

Chapter Eight

A History Lesson

Daniel got up and stumbled to stand in front of Yong. He said in Chinese, "Yong do not fight them, they are my friends. I promise you, they will not hurt you or Zi."

Yong was shocked, he saw something in Daniel's eyes he had only seen two times before, intelligence. He slowly moved back to join Zi.

Turning, Daniel panted, "Guys, what took you so long?"

"Daniel!" Sam cried. She pulled him in and hugged him tight. "You remember us."

Daniel hugged her back. "Sam," he sighed. "How could I forget that smile." He was back, his memory was back. Breaking off the hug, he told her, "It's good to see you all."

Cameron patted Daniel on the back. "Jackson, you had us scared."

"I am glad that you know us now, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c noticed a familiar look on Daniel's face. "Are you well? You appear to have had a Kara Kesh used on you."

Daniel took in a deep breath. "Teal'c, I'm beginning to think the thing has my name on it."

Teal'c bowed his head. "I am sorry, Daniel Jackson. It is my fault that you were taken and held captive by these people. I am sorry for the danger you were in, because I fell asleep when I was supposed to have been guarding you."

"Teal'c," Daniel said. "I don't blame you. I was not myself. And I was never in any danger, I was well taken care of."

Daniel was so happy to see his friends, that he had forgotten about Yong and Zi. He turned around. He saw frightened looks on both of their faces.

He slowly walked up to them. "Yong, Zi these are my friends. This is Cameron Mitchell, Samantha Carter and the tall one is Teal'c."

Yong and Zi didn't know what to make of Daniel's friends. One of them was taller than him and as dark as the night. They saw someone with hair the color of the sun, he looked like a man but had the face of a woman. The other man looked very similar to Daniel. Two of them had Daniel's blue eyes, but different.

"Guys," Daniel said. "This is Yong and Zi." Looking at them he proudly said, "They saved my life."

He stepped closer to them. "Yong, Zi. You took me in, a half-crazy human, and saved my life. I do not have enough words to thank you for protecting me and taking care of me while I was ill. I do not know if I can ever repay you. I do not know how I can…"

Daniel held out his arms, he hugged them both. "…thank you," he whispered.

Yong and Zi hugged him back. Moving back, Zi sadly smiled. She wiped a tear on Daniel's face. "Daniel, it is you that we thank. You came into our lives at a time you were needed. You helped to heal a hole that was in our hearts."

Daniel cheerfully smiled. "I want to let you know that I remember everything that happened to me." He touched his head, his brows furrowed as he said, "Zi, it still hurts."

Zi smiled and gently touched his head.

Looking into his eyes, Yong saw that somewhere in there was the Daniel he saw back in the forest.

"Daniel, I am glad that your memories have returned." He sadly frowned. "But I will miss the Daniel that held my hand when he was frightened."

"Yong, that Daniel is still here," he pouted his bottom lip. Yong laughed.

Daniel noticed Zi staring at his friends with fright. "Your friends, Daniel. The tall one, he is as dark as the night."

Daniel held Zi's hand. "They are different, but not bad."

Cameron, Sam and Teal'c could see how close the two villagers had become to Daniel in such a short time. But then, he always had that way with people. "I guess you're able understand them, Jackson," Cameron asked. "What did you tell them?"

"I thanked them for helping me, Cam. If it wasn't for Yong and Zi taking me in, I would have probably been eaten by a shiz-ong."

"Shiz-ong?" Cameron said. "Do they look like a cross between a lion and a bear?"

Daniel had to think. "Shizi is their word for a lion, and Xiong is a bear. That would fit, Shiz-ong."

"Met them, dealt with them," Cameron said, with a haughty sniff.

"Really?" Daniel said.

"Carter even did an Annie Oakley on one and shot the thing in the eye."

"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said. "I imagine you are most anxious to leave this place."

Daniel looked at Yong and Zi. "Anxious is not a word I would use," Daniel softly replied. "But I think it would be to their benefit if we did go. I don't want to see Yong and Zi getting into any trouble if they find out that you're here."

"We can leave when it gets dark," Sam said.

"I agree," Daniel said. "I'll tell Yong and Zi."

"Yong, I do not want my friends putting you and Zi in danger. We will leave here when it gets dark."

Yong immediately lookedtroubled. "No, Daniel, they cannot leave. The jungle is unsafe to travel in the dark. There are many dangerous animals that hunt at night. Animals more vicious than the shiz-ong. If you do not have a proper guide, you and your friends will be killed. With Lord Qi here, there will also be extra guards patrolling the walls. You must wait until Lord Qi leaves. He should be gone tomorrow, after the festival."

"We can't go at night," Daniel said. "Yong said it's too dangerous. Apparently, there are things out there worse than the Shiz-ong. He say's we'll have to wait until Lord Qi leaves tomorrow."

Cameron looked around. "Sounds good to me. I'm hungry, they got anything to eat?"

As soon as Daniel told Zi that his friends were hungry, she told Yong to light her stove.

When Zi began cooking, Teal'c moved to the front window. He kept watch for anyone coming to the house.

"Please, Daniel," Yong said. "Tell them they may sit and rest until Zi is finished cooking a meal."

"Yong wants everyone to sit, and relax," Daniel said.

Smiling, Yong sat on the floor. The others followed him.

"Daniel," Sam said. "I was so frightened for you. You really didn't know who we were."

Daniel shook his head, "I remember falling down the hill. The next memory was Yong finding me near a lake. If it was not for him, I don't know what would have happened to me."

"Well, your memory is back now." She looked at Yong and Zi. "Did they take good care of you?"

Daniel gratefully smiled. "The best, as if I was their child." Daniel sadly looked at the carved figure of Junjie. "They lost their own child to a shiz-ong three months ago, Sam. I think it was their love for their child that helped them accept me into their home, and their hearts."

Daniel noticed Yong staring at Teal'c. "Daniel, I have never seen a man so dark before."

Daniel grinned widely. "Teal'c is a very close friend, Yong. He is a Jaffa. They are born warriors for the Goa'uld."

"Goa'uld?" Yong asked him.

"Glowing eyes," Daniel said. "Lord Yu was a Goa'uld. The Jaffa are their guards. They come in all sizes and colors."

"Lord Yu called them, the oppressors. We are told to keep watch for any glowing eyes."

"Daniel," Sam said. There was so much she wanted to ask him. "When did your memory come back?"

"It started to come back when I saw the amulet the man at the gate wore. The one called Tai Kang."

"Tai Kang!" Yong angrily hissed. "Daniel, why do you say his name?"

Daniel told him what he saw at the stargate. Yong jumped up, he began to anxiously pace.

"Yong, what is wrong?" Daniel asked him. He could see he was upset about something he said.

"Daniel, you said you saw a scar of two lines covered by the amulet he wears?" Yong used his fingers to paint the two lines on his face.

"Yes, the amulet triggered my memory. That and Zhong digging into my brain. I wondered why the carved dragon had the scar on his face."

"What's wrong with Yong?" Cameron asked. "He looks upset."

"He is, Cameron. It has to do with Tai Kang."

"Daniel, that amulet is always worn by Lord Zhong. It was given to him by his mother. Tai would know this. Lord Zhong and Tai Kang are twins. When they were born, the second born was cut with two lines on his cheek by the nurse maid. So that Lord Qi would know who was first. It is the first born that will rule this land. Tai Kang grew up with the knowledge that as long as his brother is alive, he would never rule this world. As he grew up, he became cruel and vicious. My Father fought for Tai. Tai trained them to be killers. My Father said they would invade villages and wipe them out so that no one was left alive.

I thank the gods that he left just before Tai destroyed a town loyal to his brother Zhong. The people there, they did not die easy. Lord Qi always looked away when he heard of Tai's raids. But this time he could not. He had all the soldiers from the raid executed. He then exiled Tai from our world. My father said that Tai swore if he came back, he would burn half our world to the ground and enslave the other half. I believe we are all in great danger."

Hearing Tai's history, what Daniel heard Zhong say in Goa'uld now made sense. "Yong, Tai told Zhan Shi at the gate that there was much work to do. After Zhong used the Kara Kesh on me, Zhan Shi told him to spare me, he said that is what his brother would do."

If it was possible, Daniel saw Yong become more upset. "Daniel, I fear that Lord Zhong is no longer alive. Tai may have taken his place."

"I saw the amulet hide his scar," Daniel said. "You were surprised that Zhan was so close to Zhong. I am sorry, but I believe that Lord Zhong is dead."

"Yes, Daniel, and Lord Qi will be joining him soon."

Daniel told his friends everything that Yong said.

Cameron nervously chewed his lip. "Damn it, Jackson. Looks like we're stuck in the middle of a royal rat battle."

"Daniel, what can we do?" Sam asked him. "This is too big for us to get involved. There's nothing we can do to help them win. Even if they did help you."

"Sam," Daniel said. "It's not going to be a war, it's going to be a slaughter. If Yong is right, Tai is going to burn half this world and probably enslave what's left. If he's been in exile, who knows what he's been up to all that time. Zhan said he wanted to be his prime. With all the system lord's dead, that leaves a lot of room for a new group to kick start them. We know enough about the goa'ulds to know they just won't stay down."

Daniel noticed how quiet Teal'c was. When discussing Gould's Teal'c always had something to say. Looking up he saw Teal'c leaning on the wall. He was covered in sweat. "Teal'c, are you all right?"

Teal'c slid down to sit on the floor. Daniel rushed to his side. Touching him, he could feel that he was burning with fever. He saw Teal'c clutching his left arm. Lifting his arm, he saw a bandage wrapped around it.

"It is a wound I suffered in a great battle," Teal'c softly said.

"Mitchell," Daniel said. "That fight you had with the shiz-ong. Was Teal'c bit?"

"Yeah, but Carter cleaned out the wound."

"Zi," Daniel cried out. "My friend was bit by a shiz-ong."

Zi was cooking, hearing Daniel cry out, she immediately dropped her spoon. "Daniel, I need to look at the bite." She ran to fetch something from her cupboard.

"Daniel," Sam said. "What's wrong?"

Daniel held Teal'c's arm. "Yong told me the bite from a shiz-ong, if not treated can kill you."

"We didn't know," Sam said. "I thought cleaning it out with our antiseptics would have been good enough."

"Don't worry, Sam," Daniel assured her. "Zi can take care of Teal'c. She's a healer."

"I am not worried, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c weakly replied. "They took good care of you, I know they will do the same for me."

Zi held a bowl of warm water. She lay down clean bandages. Sitting next to Teal'c, she looked at Daniel. "Daniel Jackson? You have two names?"

"Yes, I also have a title, Doctor. But I like to be called just Daniel."

Zi gently unwrapped the bandage on Teal'c's arm. She carefully examined the wound. It was angry red in color. She pressed on the wound, a green pus oozed out. "This is not good, Daniel. When was he bit?"

"Mitchell," Daniel said. "When was Teal'c bit?"

"A little over a day," he said. Cameron was getting concerned. He could see the weakness in Teal'c's eyes.

Zi shook her head when Daniel told her how long his friend was attacked. "This is bad, Daniel. The longer you wait the more the infection will grow inside."

"Zi, Teal'c is strong, he is a fighter. Can you help him?"

Zi could hear the fear Daniel had for his friend. "Do not worry, Daniel. If he is strong, I can save him. Yong," she said. "I will need special herbs to cure Daniel's friend. But I do not have all of them here. I can start preparing the ones I have, but you will have to go to the market to fetch the rest." She quickly told him what she needed.

Daniel stood up, "I will go with him. I want to talk to Guotin. He needs to know about Tai."

"Daniel, no!" Zi said. "Lord Zhong is still here. What if something happens while you are in the market?"

"Zi," Daniel said. He squatted in front of her. She saw in his eyes great concern. "Your world may be in great danger. Guotin needs to know what has happened. You do not have to worry about me." He looked at Yong, "I will have the best warrior in the land looking out for me."

Zi stared into Daniel's eyes. He was risking his life for them. She grabbed her amulet and pulled it off. "Daniel, I want you to have this."

"No, Zi, I cannot," Daniel said. "It was Junjie's."

Zi joyfully smiled, "Daniel, you are family now. Our Junjie protects us, please let him protect you too."

Daniel knew this was a great honor she was giving him. Bowing his head, she hung the necklace around his neck. She gently tucked it inside his shirt. "Wear it always."

Daniel touched the amulet under his shirt. "I'll never take it off."

Yong placed his hand on her shoulder. "No worries, my wife. We will be back soon. I will have someone bring the herbs to the house."

"Daniel, can she help, Teal'c?" Sam asked him.

Daniel stood up. "She can, but she's going to need special herbs. We have to go to the market to get them."

"Jackson," Cameron said. "We can't speak their language. Why do you have to go?"

"Several reasons, Cam. First, it's something they expect. I've been practically glued to Yong since I walked through the gates. If I'm not with him, they may suspect something is wrong. You don't need me to translate. Zi is going to be busy preparing what herbs she has here and taking care of Teal'c. You'll be fine. I have to talk to Guotin. He's the village leader, he needs to know that Zhong is dead and Tai has taken his place. Don't worry about me, I have the best fighter in the land looking after me."

Yong took a cloth bag and hung it on his shoulder. "Come, Daniel. We have much to do."

Zi stood up, "You be careful, Yong. If you see Zhan, please do not let him push you into fighting him."

"Zi, I am always careful." He kissed her on the cheek. "We will be back soon."

"Thank you for helping my friend, Zi," Daniel told her. "And do not worry," he whispered. "I will make sure he behaves."

Zi rolled her eyes, "Now I have two to worry about." Grinning, she said, "Go, but if you come back dead, Yong, I am going to kill you."

"If I do, then you can, my wife."

Daniel followed Yong as he opened the door, he told Cameron, "Stay out of sight, someone will deliver the herbs Zi needs. We're going to see the village leader, I'll tell him everything I know. We'll be back soon."

"You be careful, Jackson," Cameron said.

"When am I never?" Daniel said, with a grin.

"Oh, let me count the ways," Cameron said.

Yong and Daniel rushed through the door. Standing on the porch, they searched around, no one was looking at the house. Yong looked up at Daniel.

"Can you be the Daniel I first brought here?"

Daniel brightly smiled, he brought out his hand. "I want to go to the market again. Can you take me, Yong?"

Happily grinning, Yong took his hand. "Yes, I can, let us go."