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No cash either.

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Do your nightmares tear you apart? Do you wake up screaming, Shouting in the dark? Do the demons keep you awake? Does the clock tick more slowly With every breath you take.

The Fear - Levellers

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Jacob hugged his daughter tenderly wanting to hang on to her for as long as was possible. Jack was growing a little impatient waiting for Jonas to join them by the Tok'ra stargate. He looked down at his watch then over to Cassie, "go and see what's taking his lordship so long."

Cassie rolled her eyes at the Colonel just as Jonas and Bra'tac started to walk across the compound toward them. The Kelownan was still arranging the items in his pack, "at last," Jack cried with relief.

Daniel smiled, glad that, for once, it was not he holding up their departure and getting Jack's hard stare.

"Sorry," Jonas said giving them an impish smile, "I..."

He then stopped and looked up at the sky, Cassie followed suit.

"Oh no, not again!" Jack groaned just as a brilliant light hit the ground before them. Teal'c and Bra'tac were steadying their weapons as a small grey being emerge from its centre.

"Thor, old buddy, how goes it?" Jack said with a mock salute.

"Not well, O'Neill, one of our planets has been attacked and we have lost many good people."

"Urdar?" Jack replied.

"Yes, O'Neill," Thor said with a bow of his head.

Jonas moved closer to the alien his eyes reading something that was hidden in Thor, "they've offered you some sort of deal, haven't they?"

Jack looked to Jonas and then to Thor for his refusal, "yes," the grey being said sadly.

"What?" O'Neill yelled, "but your not taking it seriously, are you?"

"O'Neill my people are dying, Anubis has offered us advance cloning technology if we sign a non aggression packed with him. This technology would help save my people."

"And you are considering this?" Said a very exasperated Jack.

"You must understand, we have little choice, he is destroying most of our allies and with Olmec gone."

"But we have a new and improved Olmec right here," O'Neill said rubbing Jonas's shoulders.

"He is young and untested. My people are unwilling to risk their future on such a being."

The Kelownan narrowed his eyes sensing something, "this is not the view of you all. Anubis has split you just as he has done on a higher level with the ascended, it would be far easier for him if brother destroyed brother."

"This is true, not all of us feel that we can trust the Goa'uld but we are not as strong as we once were."

Jonas began to breathe deeply closing his eyes, when he opened them to look at Thor they were covered in stars.

"Aligning yourselves with Anubis is a false hope. He cannot help you prevent the inevitable. Our time seems short, when we are upon the horizon of life, and to want to extent our journey, for one more sunset, is only natural. I can only tell you this; if you give away your torch when the sun is gone and only the darkness remains you will have no light to guide you: and the night will seem an eternity."

Jack made a soft groaning noise and went to say something but Daniel stopped him.

"My people only wish to survive," Thor answered intrigued.

"There are many different levels of existence, as you well know. Your decision will affect many worlds, some of which are only just beginning to walk. These people here know their own mortality yet they would rather die free men than spend a lifetime upon their knees. You think that Anubis has weakened you? Then you do not know your own strength for one man fighting for freedom is worth a dozen bonded Jaffa."

Jonas smiled and held his palm out to Thor, "let me give you what I feel if my words are not enough to sway you."

Thor held up a thin, grey hand and coupled it with the Kelownan's. A soft blue light emanated through Jonas turning him almost translucent with the exception of the universe surging in his eyes. Thor seemed transfixed, by the movement of stars, as the glow encircled his form like a comet of enlightenment. He nodded his large grey head, and Jonas removed his palm taking the light with him.

Thor bowed his head for a moment and spoke to Jack, "until we meet again O'Neill," and he transported back to his ship.

"Yeah, bye," Jack said watching the light disappear.

Jonas turned to the small crowd that had gathered and winked a Cassie. He then released the ball of his fist that had been curled by his side. A dozen colourful butterflies, as fragile as snowflakes flew from his grasp, much to the delight of the children who danced after them in the dusty ground

Show off, Cassie beamed.

Yeah, well, Jonas told her with a face of non-melting butter.
He then turned to a slightly astonished SG1, "I can pull rabbits out of hats too," he said with a playful, half-cocked smile.

Jack shook his head and nodded across to Daniel who started to dial home.

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Daniel massaged the bandage covering his arm and tried to focus on translating the ornately inscribed scroll in front of him. Malek had handed it to him on the planet telling him that a Tok'ra infiltrator had stolen it from a Goa'uld strong base. The reason for the theft was the name given to the artefact, "The City Of The Lost." The yellowing parchment was inscribed with a mismatch of detached runic letters entwined with elaborate period drawings depicting mythical creatures.

Daniel stared at the letters willing an understanding to surface from their disorder but all he could decipher were the pictures from the text.

"Need a hand, Dr Jackson?" Jonas's question skipped across the room.

Daniel looked up and smiled, "hey, settled back in?"

"Yeah, got my old room back," the Kelownan put his hands in his pockets as he walked over to the desk and began to fiddle with a bronzed statue that was holding one of the corners of the scroll in place.

Daniel understood, rolling up the scroll he offered the younger man a seat. Jonas sat down slowly turning the seat so he was in profile to the desk and stared intently at 'The Mummy' poster on the wall, a present from Colonel O'Neill a couple of years back. He tapped his index finger on his lips and asked, "Dr Jackson what was it like being ascended?"

Daniel leaned back on his chair clasping his fingers together on his lap, "to be honest, Jonas, it's a question I've asked myself."

"Did you feel fulfilled?"

He thought on the question for a moment searching through memories that were as transparent as ghosts and found they whispered, "no, no I didn't."

"Why?" The Kelownan asked, needing to feed on the answer.

Daniel found it hard to stem his response as if the memories of that time were breathing for him, "they didn't seem to want to interfere and I guess I was just too close, I couldn't be objective, I needed to 'meddle'."

"But Oma's the same, she intervenes?"

"I guess she's more subtle," he then had the same question on his lips, "what about you, Jonas? I mean, was Olmec impartial? Did he have the power to stop the Goa'uld?"

Jonas turned to look at Daniel his face devoid of emotion, "there are far more things darker on our own doorsteps than the Goa'uld. They're just surviving as they have done for centuries."

Daniel narrowed his eyes, "but they use unwilling hosts, they make slaves out of the inhabitants on countless planets which they rule with fear!"

Jonas held up his hand, "If the Roman's had been capable of space travel would they have not done the same? Did not the Roman Caesars set themselves up as Gods? Did they not invade many lands making slaves of its peoples?" Jonas rubbed his fingertips on his forehead, "Do not get me wrong, Dr Jackson, I don't agree with what the Goa'uld do I, I just 'understand'."

"Well don't let Jack hear that you 'understand.'"

They both smiled and Jonas went back to analysing the poster, "Ragnarok, Anubis," Daniel asked, "they're different aren't they?"

The response was blunt, "yes, they are." He then said, very quietly, "I cannot 'feel' the Ascended any more."

Daniel felt a coldness creep over him as Jonas continued, "it's like they're lost or have lost their link to, to."

"The universe?"

The Kelownan nodded his words fraying around the edges, "Olmec said that Oma would transfer his wisdom on, it's not meant to be held here," Jonas tapped his chest lightly, "in this type of 'vessel', it's, it's like trying to keep the ocean in a jar."

"Does it hurt?" Came the concerned voice back, remembering the events of last night.

"Physically?" He shrugged, "mentally, when darkness strikes the variety of emotions that surge through are to, to, 'loud' to understand. It's like a sea of tears washing the senses from your soul until you are left with nothing but empty sand."

Daniel also stared at the old Boris Karloff film poster until it burnt the back of his eyes. He felt frustrated and angry at the whole ascended thing, there was no peace in the turmoil of his mind, they had left that there, the 'ancients', to punish him. He had so many unanswered questions, fragments of hazy knowledge just out of his reach. Now he looked at Jonas and saw a frailness creep into the younger man's eyes, a frailness mixed with the light of wonderment that reminded Daniel of who he once was.

"It's not always like that," Jonas smiled reassuringly, "just sometimes. There's a lot of joy out there too, it's just sometimes we cannot see it for the sadness."

Daniel needed to say more, wanting to help, "maybe when we find the lost city we'll both find the answers we're searching for."

"Yeah maybe," the Kelownan said getting to his feet, "thank you Dr."

"Jonas, it's Daniel."

"Thank you, Daniel," he smiled, then, "this picture what's it for?"

"It's a film poster for an old earth horror movie, Jack bought it for me as a sort'a joke."

Jonas looked puzzled, "oh."

It was Daniel's turn to smile, "I've got the tape here, somewhere, remind me to lend it to you."

Jonas looked at the poster once more before nodding.

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