Maadi: An Immortal Spacemonkey Story
A/N: This story takes place after Nightmare: An Immortal Spacemonkey story. Daniel is taking a break and going on a well-deserved vacation. His destination: Egypt. The usual characters will make an appearance, along with a few original ones. I hope you enjoy this one. Also, there is a plethora of cussing and some disturbing imagery. You have been warned.
Disclaimer: I don't own SG1. I wish I did, but I don't. I promise to return the characters to their original owner in one piece, once I am through with them. I am just borrowing them for a bit.
Chapter 8
"My son," Kasuf spoke, concern clearly showing on his face. "Why are you doing this?"
"Anyone else seeing this," Mitchell asked the others, looking for clarification that he wasn't hallucinating.
"Yep," Jack replied, blinking a few times. "You're seeing a glowing Ascended being trying to reason with a psychotic Daniel, who is holding the decapitated head of Ba'al."
"That sonofabitch asked for this. He tortured me, wanting to get the secrets of Ascension out of me. Ba'al needed to be stopped and I did," Danil scoffed, waving the head slightly to emphasize who 'he' was, looking back at the carnage behind him. Bodies were literally stacked up behind him, the few survivors were moaning in pain.
"Well, that's disgusting," Vala commented dryly, earning her an "indeed" from Teal'c.
"Dan'yer, you need to stop. This isn't you," Kasuf implored his once son-in-law. "Come back from this."
"But this is me. I did this. I will probably do this again," Danil snorted, swinging the head about, making Sam gag slightly. "I think this might be who I am, Good Father. My past is what made me into who I am. I'm a killer. I've slaughtered countless people. I can't escape the truth."
"That is not all who you are," Kasuf said kindly. "You are a killer, but you are also kind, generous, a healer. You protect those who cannot protect themselves. That is who you are. You are all of that and more. I would never have given my daughter to you if you were anything but that."
"You didn't know me. You didn't know my past. I never told you, even later, the truth about myself," Danil said. "I lied to you. I have slaughtered so many people for the smallest reasons. I have willingly participated in mass murder. Look what I did to Ba'al's clone and his people." A smirk played across his features, an arrogance that was not normally present.
"Dan'yer, I have seen much more since Oma helped us to Ascend. I've seen the truth, the good and the bad. You are a good person at heart, please trust me in this. I know O'Neill has said this to you before," Kasuf implored his son-in-law to believe his words, his dark eyes searching Daniel's face, hoping that the Immortal had stopped his rampage.
"Maybe I am tired of hiding who I am. Any of you ever think about how exhausting it is to play by modern rules, to think of others, to care about the well-being of complete strangers? Do any of you know what it is like to die slowly of radiation poisoning because you stupidly chose the lives of an ungrateful planet over your own? The lives of people who then blamed you for the accident? I do. I've lived through it twice and it sucked. And now, I got tortured to death by the biggest asshole in the universe who wants secrets that in no way can I, or anyone else, access. I am sick of being the whipping boy of the galaxy. At least as Danil, I don't have to worry about playing weak and helpless. I'm strong and no one will ever think about taking advantage of me again."
Kasuf sighed. "You speak as if you are split into two beings. You're not. You are a sum of all that you have experienced. That includes the good, with the bad. Let me help you," Kasuf repeated himself, laying a glowing hand on Daniel's face, cupping it gently like a loving father would.
"Won't you get in trouble with the others? Don't they still have a non-interference policy?" Danil asked, rolling his eyes. "They haven't given a shit about people down here in ages; they aren't going to allow you to do a damn thing now."
Kasuf smiled. "I asked the council and they agreed. You still have friends among the Ascended. Will you let me help you Dan'yer?"
Danil snorted. "No. I'm fine, Good Father. I don't need any help now. I've taken care of the problem." He then smiled at Methos, a calculating smile that sent shivers up everyone's spines.
"Methos, buddy. You up for some fun?"
Methos didn't smile. "Get a grip Danil."
Danil smirked. "Who would have thought that Death would become such a pussy in his old age?"
Methos snorted. "Nice," he started to reply, but was cut off by Jack.
"Look, eventually, someone is going to call someone and we are going to get company. Can we please have this conversation elsewhere?" Jack asked, looking impatient. "Without a severed head, please?" he then added.
Danil looked at the general with clear scorn written across his face. "You guys can go. It's not like I need you to rescue me."
Jack looked irritated at this point. "I wasn't talking to you, jackass," he said as he raised his sidearm smoothly and pulled the trigger, shooting his best friend at center-mass.
Danil hit the floor, dead as a doornail, Teal'c kicked the severed head further away from Daniel and the group with more than a bit of enthusiasm and more gusto than what was expected.
"Kasuf, it is great to see you, but can we have this conversation aboard the Apollo? We can't afford to get caught here with all of this. And if you can help Daniel in any way, can we do it not here?" Jack asked.
"Ah, O'Neill. You are right. I will see you there," the native of Abydos said, and then disappeared in a bright flash.
He gripped his radio, calling for the Apollo, as he crossed the room to grab ahold of the already healing Immortal, and swiftly wrapped a set of plastic zip ties on his wrists.
"This is O'Neill. We have Daniel. Can you send us directly to the med bay?"
"Is Dr. Jackson, okay?" Colonel Ellis asked, from the bridge of the Apollo.
"Yeah. He's in rough shape, but okay. It's Daniel after all." O'Neill said, rolling his eyes.
"Fine," Ellis said and nodded at the lieutenant who beamed the entire rescue party to Med Bay 1.
Medics immediately started to spring to action, ready to assess Dr. Jackson for any injuries he may have sustained.
Cameron and Teal'c stepped forward, blocking the medical personnel from attending to Daniel, knowing that they would see blue lightning and his rapid healing.
"We need to see him, please move out of our way," Dr. Tremotti said, trying to push his way past the Lieutenant Colonel and the Jaffa.
"DanielJackson is physically unharmed. He does not need your medical services," Teal'c said, looking like he was ready to play bouncer and throw the medics out like a sloppy drunk in Road House.
General O'Neill decided to throw the weight of his rank around before Teal'c showed everyone his Jack Dalton impression and forcibly removed the medical staff from the room.
"Daniel is physically fine, he needs to wake up among his friends, not with doctors and nurses staring down at him. Back off, let him breathe and then later you can check him over," O'Neill barked, glaring at everyone that wasn't Methos and SG-1. "And send Mr. and Mrs. Abdullah in please. Now," the General growled, expecting his orders to be carried out immediately; they were.
Once all of the medical personnel were out of the bay, Kasuf appeared, wearing his old robes, looking like he had just left the planet of Abydos.
Paki and Alima hurried in as Kasuf appeared, visibly shocked that someone would materialize like from an episode of Star Trek.
"Oh my!" Alima said, pulling up short in surprise.
"Kasuf, meet Paki and Alima. They are the caretakers of Danny's home here in Egypt and his Watchers.
"Paki and Alima, meet Kasuf, Danny's father-in-law and currently an Ascended being," Jack hurriedly made his introductions. "I'll explain everything later."
Danil glared at everyone but wisely shut his mouth. He was currently surrounded and a very powerful being was in the room. There was no place for him to go and yelling at everyone would just be a waste of breath at this point. He would bide his time. He waited five thousand years to rejoin the Stargate program, he could wait to ditch the program and its mortals.
"Kasuf," Jack then turned towards his friend from Abydos, "can you please help Daniel get a grip on his bad side? This isn't him and everything that he has gone through had brought out his temper. We need him whole and healthy for our fight and Daniel deserves some peace."
Kasuf smiled, ignoring Danil rolling his eyes. "As you wish O'Neill."
He then turned to his son-in-law. "Dan'yer, my son, you've struggled for years, longer than I can fathom, even as one of the Ascended, let me help you." With that, Kasuf laid his hands on Daniel's head. All of Kasuf began to glow and the glow transferred to Daniel, enveloping his body. The light was bright enough that the others had to turn away.
~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~
"Wha?" Daniel muttered, looking thoroughly confused. "Kasuf?"
"Dan'yer," his father-in-law spoke soothingly to the confused man, wanting to ease any worries that he may have.
"Is this truly you or is Ba'al somehow screwing with my mind?" he asked, hoping against hope that he was actually seeing Shar'ae's father again. He could see that he was in a white-nothingness, standing in front of his father-in-law, wearing the robes that he had once wore when he was living among the people of Abydos. It felt comforting and familiar, but it worried him that this could just be another trick devise by Ba'al to send him over the edge.
Kasuf smiled gently, his very being radiating a peace and warmth that had nothing to do with being Ascended. "I am here Dan'yer. Let me help you. I hate seeing you suffer."
Daniel smiled sadly. "I don't think there is much you can do to help me. I get pushed too far and Danil, my horrible, monstrous side comes out. It is who I am. Because of my past choices, I created this mess that is me and I have to live with it. I can stuff it back into the dark corners of my mind, but it is still there, just waiting to be unleashed."
The Ascending Being nodded, understanding where Daniel was coming from, but still disagreeing with him. "That is not all of who you are. You are a being of old, who has lived through terrible times, who has done some terrible things, but you are more than that. You are a good friend, a wonderful son, a brother to Skaara, and husband to Shar'ae. Your teammates are your family and you love them and they love you. You are a warrior who fights for what he believes in, what he believes to be right. You are a teacher and a peacemaker. Yes, you are flawed, but all people, Immortal or not, Ascended or not, are flawed. You have just had more time to acquire your flaws and merits than most. Please, let me help you."
Daniel sighed and shrugged. "You think you can help me? How? Why?"
Kasuf sighed. "I want to help you Daniel because you deserve help. You've helped so many people and now it is time you receive help in return. All of the other times in your life, where you have experienced great emotional distress, you only put a bandage on it, you don't actually heal it. Let me help you," he said, repeating himself, his tone and words gentle.
"Will it change me? Take away my fighting skills? As much as I would love to know some sort of peace, not being able to survive as an Immortal would suck. Or will this take away my Immortality?" Daniel asked, rapidly thinking about all of the possible permutations of what Kasuf's help might result in.
The Abydonian smiled. "No, nothing will take way your Immortality. Your presence in what your people call The Game is necessary. If you were to not be a part of it, the balance could fail and darkness might easily win out, dooming your planet. The Immortals were created by the Ancients to be defenders against a distant enemy that they knew would someday arrive. The final chosen warriors, good ones, not just one, will be there to defend against the coming nightmare. You are one of those warriors, but you need to be tested and tried, preparing you for the final battle. So, no, your skills will not be diminished. What I can do is help block the madness from taking you over. It won't prevent you from being angry, of feeling hurt, but Danil, your other side, will be locked away. It is not much, for you deserve much more, but it is what I am allowed by the others to do for you."
Daniel smiled, looking around him, seeing nothing put him and Kasuf in an empty white room, but at the same time he felt love surrounding him. The same type of love he had felt when he once lived on Abydos.
"Thank you, good Father. I accept your help," Daniel said, reveling in the feeling of being surrounded by love and comfort.
Kasuf smiled, glad that Daniel had chosen to accept his help. He then laid his hands on Daniel's head and let his energy flow, healing and locking away the mess that was Danil, preventing the monster from ever emerging again. If Daniel were to ever go down a dark path, it would be his own choices that led him there, no longer would his other side – his damaged psyche/mental illness/broken spirit – be in control of his actions. It was a freeing that Daniel had been long overdue.
"Wait! What?" Daniel shouted, realizing what Kasuf had dropped on him.
A/N: Once again, I want to give a big shout-out to Lorilei for her help with this chapter. You are a great sounding board, have great ideas, and you keep me from going too far/making things too weird/not making things weird enough.
What did you think? Good, bad, indifferent. Feel free to leave me a review and let me know what you think. I can take criticism, as long as it is constructive. Flames will be ignored.