And here we are. The last chapter in Part 1 of this story.

Now you guys finally get the backstory of what exactly happened to our beloved Daniel. Forewarning: there will be mentions of torture, murder, and intentions of suicide.

So in the last chapter we had our gang realize that Daniel had an invisible companion at Stargate Command- a red-haired woman named Rhea. They confronted him, and managed to shake the old Daniel loose. Now, Daniel has to come to terms with and explain what happened...

Chapter 7

Daniel could feel it instantly- suddenly, all the buried rage that fueled his other aspect was gone. He felt- whole, like he hadn't in years.

But with that loss of anger came a surge of other emotions: grief, guilt, regret. He had done awful things under the other's control. Despite knowing that it was not Daniel Jackson who had done that, the blood of the people he had killed was still on his hands.

He faintly felt himself sinking to his knees, with Sam's hands still gripping his shoulders. The grief was threatening to overwhelm him, and he fought back against it, trying to retain some semblance of composure so he could tell his team the truth.

After a few minutes, Daniel had pushed his grief far down enough that he could look up. Janet had appeared at some point, and now stood at Hammond's shoulder. Jack and Sam knelt on either side of Daniel, and Teal'c in front of him.

Unsteadily, Daniel stood. Sam and Jack gripped his arms and helped him sit on the bed.

Jack was the first to speak. "Daniel… I think you should explain some things."

Daniel nodded. "Yeah." He hesitated, then began to tell them what had happened, starting with the Battle of Dakara.

As soon as he started speaking, his own words threw him into his memories- memories that, for years, he had fought to erase from his mind forever.

Flashback

When the Asgard ship released the small object from a hangar bay, he instantly knew it wasn't a good thing. Moving fast, he snatched an armband from a nearby enemy Jaffa body and hit the key that would automatically beam him onto Anubis's ship.

He pressed the button at almost the exact moment the bomb exploded. A wave of heat and flame struck him, but suddenly he was lying on the floor of a glider bay.

Daniel got to his feet painfully, still holding the armband. What do I do now? he wondered. I could steal a glider and fly back down to the planet, but I don't know if I know how to fly one of these things. I guess it's worth a shot.

He found an empty glider and tried to remember what Sam had said about how to fly them. Following her instructions as well as he could, he activated the glider.

The drop took his breath away. The glider's controls seemed to take on a life of their own, steering him away from the dusty shape of Dakara and out into space. He realized there must have been an autopilot, but had no idea how to reset it.

How long he hurtled through empty nothingness, he never knew. It seemed like forever, although later he guessed it was about two days. Finally, a small planet appeared. It appeared similar to Earth, but with a band of desert around its equator and less ocean.

Exhausted, starving, and dehydrated, Daniel was only able to brace for impact as the gravitational field of the planet caught the glider. He was glad for the shields, because without them he likely would have been killed by the heat and pressure of the friction of entering an atmosphere at high speeds.

To his surprise, he was not knocked unconscious by the crash. He shook his head to clear it and wriggled out of the wrecked glider, scanning his surroundings. He had landed in a forest, creatures and plants he knew nowhere to be seen.

Daniel let out a curse. Of course the glider had malfunctioned. Wasn't that his luck? Maybe the planet was inhabited, considering its abundant plant and animal life and breathable atmosphere. I should try to find a village, or something, he thought. Maybe they have a ship I could borrow to get back home.

He picked a direction and set off, fairly certain he could spot a faint column of smoke on the horizon. After what he guessed was an hour or so, he found himself in a clearing. The small lamp in the center, the hastily smothered cooking fire, and the bedrolls strewn carelessly around them said that someone had been there recently, and left quickly.

A chill went up his spine, and he realized they had left because he was coming. They could be lying in wait…

And that was his last conscious thought before the world went dark.

-*/*-

He floated between awake and unconscious for a long time. He wasn't sure where dreams ended and reality began. He later learned he had been captured by slavers, who had then sold him to a mysterious group, the identity of whom he never did really figure out.

He was imprisoned deep within a dark fortress, his dungeon completely devoid of light. Even when they came, they did not bring light with them. It seemed the whole place was in darkness, at all times.

They used something on him, something that made his mind burn but did nothing to his body. Every time he went to sleep- fell unconscious might have been more accurate- afterwards, memories floated up from his subconscious: flashes of knowledge, experience, and faces that he somehow knew were from his time as an Ascended.

The time that passed felt like an eternity. At intermittent periods, they forced him to battle another person for their amusement, and he quickly learned that showing mercy to that person would only bring down agony upon them. He could only do them the favor of killing them quickly.

The constant fighting- the realization that he could never, would never, see the faces of the people he killed- tore at what he thought he believed in. He tried to escape- tried to flee from this place, but every time he was caught and forced to kill another. He then turned to thoughts of suicide- perhaps to save himself, perhaps to save others from himself- but it was soon made apparent that they would not let him accomplish that either. So he endured.

Beginning one day- he never really knew when- his heart tore itself in two. His awful grief and rage at being forced to do murder manifested itself into another soul, a second person who shared his body. That persona was everything he had once hated- a cruel, heartless murderer- but its presence preserved the person he had once been, deep in a protected and concealed part of his heart. Every time he was forced into battle, he let that other side of his soul take over, allowed it to vent its rage upon the person they had sent against him, to release the burden and place it on the other. Deep inside, he knew that they were winning. That he had given way like they wanted him to. But he could do nothing to stop it- his other aspect was growing stronger by the day, and the person he really was, deep down, was weakening.

Then, something changed. Other people were added to his prison- a certain man, woman, and girl among them. It was toward those three he gravitated, for what reason he did not know. Their presence helped balance him. They were the only things that were stopping him from losing his mind completely or giving up and succumbing to the darkness that was consuming him.

The girl was only seventeen, far too young to be facing what he knew she would eventually endure in that place. He felt something protective rise within, in that deep part of himself that was still Daniel Jackson, every time a guard struck her or another prisoner insulted her- something that he realized was parental protection.

The man became a reminder of who he used to be, a reminder that not all people of the galaxy were cruel and evil. They connected through their remembrance of freedom, their desires to see the stars again, and their belief that there was light and good in the galaxy, no matter how dark some places may be.

The woman took the role of the steadying counterforce, the unseen pole sunk deep into the ground that prevented the statue from falling over. She made him think of Sha're- her kindness, her unconditional love that could not be dulled no matter what their captors made him do- and he began to realize he loved her back.

With the support of Hala, Derin, and Rhea, Daniel recovered a sense of himself. He knew he could never return to who he had once been- his soul had been far too torn for that- but he could try to balance his two personalities, for the sake of his friends.

They, along with a large group of their fellow prisoners, worked together to form a plan of escape. Daniel, allowing his other persona to take over, slaughtered dozens of guards and created a distraction before joining up with the rest of the group. It was then that Ralon betrayed them- injuring Daniel and helping the guards slay many of the escapees. Derin, Rhea, Hala, and six others escaped with Daniel, but two of those others died of their injuries soon after.

They fled the planet, moving from world to world, constantly trying to stay ahead of their pursuers. For another two years, they traveled, their numbers steadily winnowed by hunger, injury, and attacks by their former captors.

Eventually, only five were left: Daniel, Derin, Rhea, Hala, and a young man named Garion who idolized Daniel and was head-over-heels for Hala. They escaped yet another planet and arrived on the next, just in time to save a village from a bandit attack. Some of the villagers- the ones who had lost their families in the attack- chose to go with them when they left, and refused to do otherwise, knowing that the escapees were running from something and could use as much help as they could get.

After a few months, Daniel realized that if their pursuers had tracked them to this world, they would have been found already. He made the decision to stay on that planet, called Shaleron, moving around like nomads, often near the Stargate for easy escape. He could not return to Earth, for fear that his enemies would follow him there.

Then, one day, about a year after arriving on Shaleron, and five years after the Battle of Dakara, Derin's scouts captured a group coming through the Stargate. Daniel made sure to stay well away, not daring to go close, not wanting to risk it if they were spies. Derin described the trio, and Daniel realized who the three who had arrived very well might be- Jack, Sam, and Teal'c.

Daniel retreated into his tent. After all this time… he wanted to see them again so badly, but his other side tugged at him, warning him they would shun him if they saw what he had become. After a time of inner debate, he asked Rhea to tell Derin that they were moving into the Dark Forests.

"The Dark Forests?" Rhea asked, her face dubious. "Daniel, are you sure?"

He nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. I want to get farther from the Stargate for now. We'll head to the Dark Forests and circle back toward the Stargate over the next few weeks."

She smiled slightly and kissed him, pulling her hood over her face. "Alright, I'll go tell him. But I guarantee his reaction will be the same as mine."

"That's fine. Blame me if you want."

"I just might do that. It'll be more believable, anyway."

She left, and he gave the order to pack the tents and move. He donned his cloak, both to hide his identity and to protect his eyes from the brightening sunlight, slipped out of his tent and into the trees, where his horse had been tethered. He saw Jack, Sam, and Teal'c being given horses by Hala, with Derin hovering nearby.

Again, the sight of his friends tore at both sides of his soul. The part of him that was the old Daniel Jackson wanted to move out into the sunlight and run to them, but the part of him that was the monster wanted him to flee into the darkness, never to see the light again.

Rhea appeared next to him. "We're ready."

Daniel nodded and mounted his horse, a chestnut stallion that had taken a liking to him back at the village. The stallion reared, and Daniel led the company into the trees.

Daniel and Rhea stayed at the head of the group. Hala floated around, sometimes talking to Rhea, sometimes moving back and talking to Derin, and Garion followed wherever she went, always staying within ten meters of her. Daniel was reminded of ducklings on Earth, and the faintest smile flickered across his lips. It was difficult to tell if the boy intended to protect Hala or simply wanted to stay near her, but either way it had the same endearing effect.

They stopped for lunch, and continued on. By sunset, they had gotten- he judged- deep enough into the Dark Forests, so they made camp again. Derin came to Daniel and informed him that the trio from Earth had been asking about him.

"Did you tell them anything?" Daniel asked quietly.

Derin shook his head. "No. I was pretty sure you wouldn't want me spilling your secrets."

"Thank you, Derin." Daniel took a deep breath. "I'd like to talk to them. Could you bring them to me?"

The other man met his friend's eyes briefly. "Okay. I'll be right back." He left, and Rhea entered. Her usual black mask and hood hung around her neck, letting her long red-gold hair, tied up in a simple braid wrapped around her head, glow in the faint strains of sunlight like a crown. He had always thought she would make a good queen.

"Daniel, are you alright?" she asked. "You've been tense all day." He opened his mouth to deny it, but she spoke before he could. "Don't try to say you're fine. I know you too well."

He sighed. She did know him too well. "I asked Derin to bring them to me."

"You're going to do it?"

He nodded. She smiled. "You know, sometimes facing the past isn't a bad thing. I'll go out and wait for them."

She pulled her mask and hood into place and went outside. Less than a minute later, she returned, saying quietly, "They're here."

He exhaled shakily. "Rhea… I don't know if I can do this."

"I know you can." Her golden eyes reflected the light of the lamps. "They're your friends. Just relax."

He reached out, and she took his hand, clasping tightly, before letting go. She left, and Jack, Sam and Teal'c came in, accompanied by Derin and three villagers.

End Flashback

Daniel surfaced from the memory. "I had some trouble holding my other aspect back, especially when it reacted to your mention of the Ancients. Your arrival had made it harder for me to control it, because I was torn over whether I wanted to go with you or send you back without me. That's why I left so abruptly- I couldn't control it, and I was scared I'd hurt you."

He was still seated on the bed, with Jack and Sam on either side. Teal'c, Hammond, and Janet stood in a semicircle around them, and the comforting presence that brushed his senses told him that Rhea was nearby, likely in the room. Sam was rubbing his back gently, and Jack's hand rested on Daniel's shoulder. Their physical contact helped him stay grounded, helped him not give in to the crushing grief and regret that gnawed at him.

"My god," Sam whispered. "Daniel, I…"

"We're really sorry," Jack finished.

Janet placed her small hand over Jack's. She didn't say anything, but Daniel understood what she was thinking- there really were no good words for this. Hammond and Teal'c seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

The six stood or sat together in silence for a long moment. They were back together- and now there was hope that things could go back to the way they had once been.

-*/*-

After his friends left, Daniel buried his face in the pillow and let himself cry. He had never allowed himself to show weakness like that during his captivity, and that habit had stuck afterwards. But now, there was no one watching him. He released all his anger, all his fear and grief and guilt, in a torrent of tears.

Gentle hands took his shoulders. He looked up to see Rhea sitting next to him, golden eyes filled with compassion. The sight of her steadied him, and he sat up.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

He hesitated. "I think I will be."

-*/*-

Daniel formally introduced Rhea the next day. She apologized for sneaking around their base, but Hammond forgave her, explaining that he knew she wanted to make sure Daniel was safe. She began to openly spend time with Daniel and connect with the rest of the team. It became a common sight to see her in the company of at least one member of SG-1, and Sam found her to be a likeable woman and a good friend.

Over the next few days, Sam saw a noticeable change in Daniel. He wasn't the same Daniel Jackson he used to be, but he also wasn't caught between light and darkness anymore. He was a bit quieter, but now he knew and understood things that even Sam, with her knowledge of the technology of the Asgard, didn't know.

With Janet and Daniel's help, Sam devised a pair of sunglasses that would help Daniel tolerate lights. Daniel compared it to waking up in the middle of the night and turning on the light, so Sam wanted to give him a way to walk through the SGC without being blinded. After that, she rarely ever saw him without them.

To her relief, Sam did not see any appearances of the other aspect. There were moments where Daniel's eyes flashed and for a second she felt that persona surface, but Daniel was able to keep it under control. Janet guessed that their confrontation and his subsequent release of the anger that had driven him for much of the past five years, as well as his friends proving that they cared about him no matter what, had shocked his brain and allowed Daniel's natural persona to take the dominant position. Sam couldn't put into words how much it relieved her.

-*/*-

But the peaceful time was not meant to last forever. Word came from the Tok'ra that the mysterious fleet on the other side of the galaxy had sent out emissaries to many of the surrounding worlds that proclaimed that any that believed in their gods would receive enlightenment and salvation.

These emissaries called their gods the Ori.

Dun dun dun! Yes, Part 2 will tie back into the original series a bit, and I will base a few chapters off a couple real season 10 Stargate episode, but I promise the ending will be original(mostly).

I only have a few more chapters written out(and the remaining ones bullet pointed), so I'm going to take a break here so I can write out the rest of this story. I'll try to get the next chapter out sometime in January- I know I originally said November, but school has been being very evil lately.

Thank you all so much for reading this, and have a good week!