Chapter 2: It's Raining Frogs
Summary: Jack's missing. Sam's confused. Can Daniel figure it out?
"Teal'c, this is fascinating. These inscriptions speak of a way to transform a person into the image of the Goddess, so that they might experience the creation of life." Daniel bent to peer closer at the markings he was studying.
"Was not the image of the Goddess Heqet a frog Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c raised an inquiring eyebrow.
Daniel's reply was vaguely distracted, as he jotted down more notes, pinching the bridge of his nose as he took another look at the inscriptions. "Oh, yeah. The whole frog, water, creation of life thing." Daniel turned back to the wall and dusted at another section. "Thing is, I'm not sure why anyone would want to do it, unless it was reversible."
Teal'c nodded, and was about to reply when he noticed something out of the ordinary far in the distance. He grabbed the younger man's sleeve to catch his attention.
"What is it Teal'c?" But Daniel didn't need any explanation as soon as he looked up he could see it easily enough, it looked like a tornado of light. "Oh god."
Teal'c had already grabbed his radio. "O'Neill. Major Carter. Please respond." There was no reply.
Rising, Daniel tried his. "Jack, Sam. Come in." Again, there was no reply. Wasting no further time, Teal'c grabbed Daniel's arm and the two began to run towards the shrine, abandoning their gear in their haste. They'd only gone a few steps when the phenomenon abruptly dissipated and they could barely make out small dark objects raining down for several moments before those too disappeared. Running as fast as they could, it still took both of them well over thirty minutes to reach the shrine.
The place was a mess, Carter's papers and equipment were scattered everywhere or destroyed, there was pond water and debris all over the floor and it took them a moment to locate the woman lying on the stone floor near a column where she'd obviously been thrown. She was dazed and barely conscious, moving sluggishly when Teal'c knelt beside her, Daniel a moment later by her other side, both quickly checking her over for signs of injury. Other than the obvious concussion and messy cut on the back of her head, she seemed ok. Teal'c quickly applied some gauze to the cut on the back of Sam's head, and started to clean it while Daniel tried to get some information out of her since Jack was no where to be seen. That, and the fact both of them knew that with Sam hurt, if there was any way possible, Jack would have been there if he could have, and since he wasn't, his absence spoke volumes.
"Sam, where's Jack?" Daniel caught Sam's shoulders forcing the dazed woman to look at him. Confused blue eyes locked with his.
"J-Jack?" She struggled to sit up, and Teal'c gently supported her rather then fighting her, holding her upright, then continued tending to the wound. She didn't even seem to be fully aware of his ministrations which Daniel knew had to be painful, but she wasn't even flinching even when he used the antiseptic wipe. She blinked several times as if taking in her surroundings, than seemed to notice him for the first time. "Daniel?"
"Yeah, Sam. Jack's missing, Can you help us find him?" Daniel tried to hide the urgency in his voice, doing his best to sound calm so as not to panic her unduly.
Sam was having trouble focusing. She frowned again, squinting at him. "J-Jack's gone. Daniel, it was raining frogs."
Teal'c shifted her slightly and she winced as if noticing her injury for the first time. "Daniel Jackson, perhaps we should take Major Carter back to the SGC and obtain medical assistance. We can return and search for O'Neill."
Daniel sighed. Teal'c was probably right, he hated to leave Jack, but Sam needed help. Daniel shifted, studied the obvious destruction of the room, looking for some clue, some idea as to what had happened here that might help them find Jack. Just then, Sam reached out an unsteady hand and grabbed a fistful of Daniel's green shirt. "No. You don't understand. It was the light. He fell. The light took him, I saw it happen."
Taking her hand in his, Daniel studied her face. She was becoming more alert by the moment. "Where Sam, what happened? What light?"
She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep steadying breath before trying again. "There was a frog. It was in the way. Ja- the Colonel tried to catch it. It jumped onto the device. He went after it and stumbled, landing across the machine. Somehow it activated some sort of blast wave. I'm not really sure what happened after that Daniel, I'm sorry. All I remember was a bright light, and what seemed like a whirlwind came from nowhere and picked up everything. The equipment, the water, the frogs, everything. That's when I must of hit my head. I don't remember anything else, I'm sorry." After apologizing for the second time, Sam looked down at her lap, squeezing her hands together and biting her lip. Daniel reached down and gently placed his hand over them until she looked up and met his eyes. He gave her an encouraging smile.
"Major Carter, you must now rest, Daniel Jackson and I will look for O'Neill." Teal'c helped Sam to lean back against the column and handed her a canteen and a few tablets from his vest pouch where he'd gotten the medical supplies. She looked like she wanted to protest, but after a moment took both items without complaint, and leaned back against the column, closing her eyes.
Daniel stood and walked over to the device, crouching near it but being careful not to touch it, he looked at the inscriptions and frowned. Teal'c moved to join him.
"Daniel Jackson, do you believe this to be the device spoken of in the temple?"
Daniel bit his lip. "If it is Teal'c, we have a big problem on our hands."
"Do you believe there is a way to reverse the transformation once it has occurred?"
"I really can't think that anyone would willingly do the transformation unless it was reversible. The inscriptions at the temple seemed to indicate that it was, but they didn't say how it was done. Perhaps the way can be found here."
"Then you must find the way Daniel Jackson, and watch over Major Carter. I will search for O'Neill." Teal'c started to stride away.
"Teal'c, wait," Teal'c turned, regarding him patiently. "I'm not sure how far the transformation goes, if he'll be aware of himself or not. We may not have any way of knowing him, or he us."
"Let us hope that is not the case Daniel Jackson." With that, Teal'c strode out of the shrine, and Daniel turned to the inscriptions.
Half an hour later Daniel had his answer. And it wasn't all good news. Quickly he called Teal'c back to the shrine, and roused Sam, pleased to see her brief nap had made a world of difference, for she now was bright eyed and alert, if a bit stiff and sore. All traces of her earlier confusion were gone, although she still could not recall the events of what happened to Jack very well, but Daniel suspected it was a result of the initial injury and nothing to do with any lasting concerns.
Daniel cleared his throat, and instantly, Teal'c and Sam focused on him expectantly. "The device was the one mentioned in the temple." At Sam's blank look, Daniel explained. "The temple described a machine that would transform a human into an image of the Goddess, which we all know the Goddess Heqet is represented by a frog, which could only mean that this device would transform a person into a frog." Sensing their next question, he held up a finger. "It can be reversed, apparently, its really simple."
"Oh?" Sam raised an eyebrow and waited.
Pushing his glasses up on his nose, Daniel crossed his arms and shifted. "All that's needed is a kiss from someone close to the person in question, and the transformation will reverse itself."
"Ah. So that's all huh. Instant prince." Sam contemplated this. And then she noticed that Teal'c and Daniel were both staring at her. "Uh, why are you both staring at me?"
"Um, uh." Daniel coughed, deciding to change to a slightly less dangerous subject. "Actually the kiss is the easy part. The difficult part is going to be finding Jack before the sun goes down completely."
"Or?"
"Or the transformation becomes permanent." Daniel shifted uncomfortably, as the others looked over their shoulders at the pond which was filled with hundreds, maybe even thousands of frogs, and the enormity of their task set in.
A/N: Sooo… Do tell me what's on your mind heeheehee. Because I know what's going to happen in the next chapter, even if you don't! So do tell me what you are thinking, and maybe I'll post the next one faster! (And I will tell you that I personally think the third and final chapter is the best, its also the longest and in my opinion the funniest, this one was just a short transitory, so tell me what's on your mind cos I'm curious to what this story has you thinking…)
