Jack watched the door swing shut and lock in place behind Swush and his flowing robes. Knowing it would be useless; Jack jumped up and shouted at the unknown outside in the hall. "You can't do this! I'll never give you what you want so you might as well let my friends and I out of this place."
There, of course, was no answer.
He kicked the door in frustration, only to come out of it with an aching foot.
His head hurt, his foot hurt, and most of all his brain hurt. Jack didn't like trying to convince people who were so firmly set in their ways as Swush seemed to be in his.
Jack made his way slowly and deliberately towards the table that had the food and drink on it. His stomach was growling, and even if the food was drugged it wouldn't matter Jack couldn't give Swush what he wanted anyway. He looked at the bowl of fruit and studied it closely, carefully trying to decide which one to take. It was obvious to him at this point that Swush was telling the truth, he couldn't think of any reason why an alien would make up such an insane story only for the sake of telling it. And now, Jack also knew that he had to eat something if he wanted to get himself and the rest of his team out of here.
He tried to remember how this whole mess had started, a vacation, just a simple trip to the cabin. Jack couldn't conceive how an honestly innocent act had turned into a complete nightmare. Suddenly he thought about Sam, his 2IC, maybe this was the universe's way of telling him that he and she could never be together. But then, why the kiss? Oh, it had been wonderful, granted, just the way Jack had imagined it in his dreams. Yet there was one difference. In his mind, he had always seen himself being the one to initiate such an action. It only further proved that Carter was not herself. Sam hadn't kissed him because she thought she was going to die and she wanted him to know how she felt, she had done it because something was messing with her brain. At this realization, Jack felt a pain that surpassed all his other hurts. He had taken a blow to the heart.
Turning his attention back to the multicolor fruit, Jack decided it would be easier to let fate decide. He closed his eyes and reached out a hand, he grabbed the first thing he felt. Opening his eyes again he saw that it had been the purple fruit Swush had taken, whatever he had called it. "How's that for irony," he said aloud to himself just before he took his first taste of the mind-numbing substance.
The taste was... well, it was indescribable. Jack felt certain he had tasted nothing as delicious his entire life. Eagerly taking another bite, he let the purple colored juice run down his chin. As he chewed he could feel the energy from the nourishment seeping back into his body, he felt like he could take on a hundred Jaffa and win. The headache had disappeared and even the burn on his upper arm had lost its sting.
By the time he was on his third, the tart taste had his tongue aching for some water. Jack reached for the pitcher nearest him and sniffed it. Smelled like nothing, just as water should, he tasted it with a finger, definitely water to him. He took the pitcher with two hands and gulped down the cool, crispness that the liquid offered so freely.
When he had finished, he began to realize just how tired he really was. He didn't want to sleep, but his body didn't always do what he wanted. Stumbling over to the divan he sank down on the cushy surface, before his head hit the cushion he was asleep.
Thwump! Thwump! Swoosh-swoosh. Thwump!
Jack rolled; trying to cover his head with the blankets only to find there weren't any to block out the annoying sounds. The realization of where he was hit him hard.
Sitting up, Jack saw Swish swoosh through the door. He was on his feet immediately and poised for action.
"I see that you have slept, follow me. And please do not try to escape."
Jack did as he was told and was only a few steps behind Swish as he walked out the door. "Where are we going?"
"To see your friends," was all Swish answered.
As it was, it didn't take very long to get where they were going and as soon as Jack turned into the room, he recognized it. He was back in the congregation room, only this time the three stone chairs were not empty.
Jack stared at his teammates. None were looking at him, not even acknowledging his presence. Their eyes were normal, yet unfocused. Nearest to him sat Daniel, his face twisted into a sardonic grin. On the other end was Teal'c, rigid and stoic as ever. And in the middle was Carter… Sam. Jack had a strong urge to run to her and hold her and tell her everything was going to be all right. But the look on her face held him in his place. Her lips were turned up, but not in a grin. Her expression was on that Jack could only describe as clueless, and she seemed to be relishing her naivete.
In the back of the room, lurking in the shadows was Swush. He was eyeing the colonel with the interest that a biologist may give his lab rat.
"You!" Jack shouted accusingly. "What did you do to them?"
"Nothing, they are as they have always been."
"Now, why don't I believe that?"
Ignoring the snide remark, Swush continued. "Colonel, I have brought you here to get what you have so blatantly refused to give me." Sweeping his hand toward the rest of SG-1, "choose one."
"Excuse me?"
Swush blinked, apparently he thought his statement did not need an explanation. "I asked you to choose one of your friends for me to kill."
Kill? Kill? Jack's head reeled. He thought back to the last conversation he had had with Swush, "…tomorrow I shall have what I want." Swush wanted the one thing that he couldn't give, the bond that Jack shared with those closest to him, and to do that he was going to kill, kill one of his friends.
"Swush, haven't we already been through this? I can't give you what you want, not in the physical sense. Something like that must be earned, you must show me I can trust you!"
"Lies!" The alien yelled, finally losing his temper. "Why do you maintain this transparent falsehood? Now choose!"
Overwhelmed with confusion and despair, O'Neill stood still. He didn't have an answer for this creature.
"So be it!" Swush stormed out from the shadows, "Samantha Carter will step forward. Swish please take up your position."
Swish, who had not moved since entering the room walked over toward the now standing Major. He stopped about a meter from her and withdrew a short hollow rod from his swooshing cloak.
"Now, I will give you one last chance." Swush warned Jack.
Jack's mind raced, 'Even if he could bodily overtake one of these aliens the other would no doubt be a problem. And even if he were to get the better of them, what to do with his team? Likely whatever they had been drugged with would wear off eventually, however it was doubtful he would have time enough to wait. And what if it didn't wear off? How would he find a way to get out of this planet by himself. The thing, whatever it was, that brought them here must be around but of course -.'.
"Swish, ready your weapon-"
"Wait!" Jack rushed forward, unfastening his watch in the process. He gave it to Swush. "This is what you're after." He pointed to Carter's wrist. "See, she has one too."
He studied the watch for a moment then glared back up at Jack. "Do you take me for a fool? I know that this contraption is not a bond, it is simply a communication device." Swush stopped and looked confused. "Or perhaps you eat it?"
Jack gave him a funny look.
"I am right, am I not?" Swush whipped around with his cloak swoosh-swooshing. And with that very abnormal comment, Swush took a rather large bit of Jack's watchband, tearing the fabric with his razor-edged teeth.
At that moment, Colonel O'Neill looked back towards his stoic teammates and was surprised to see that despite their blank stares they all, excepting Teal'c, looked slightly taken aback by Swush's action. Though that may have been a figment of O'Neill's imagination because the moment he looked away and back again they were staring off into space.
Despite how strange it might be for someone to eat a watch, Swush seemed to be enjoying himself and when Jack turned back around to face him, no part of the band was to be seen.
"Yes! I have decided that this was meant only for consumption. Though it does seem to be full of carbohydrates, therefore I must avoid eating Kafluges today."
With that statement, O'Neill's face did a rather Daniel thing in it's expression where upon opening his mouth he only set closed again and furrowed his eyebrows so badly it was surprising to him that they did not stay that way.
"Ohfercryinoutloud!" I am sure that I could arrange for many more of those to be delivered to you if you would only let us go." Jack's statement was only half-hearted.
Swush sneered at him, " I do not think -"
"Ha ha har!"
Startled by the strange noise Jack and Swush turned heel in unison.
The noise had been issued by Swish, who had until then been behaving and standing in the corner. Steeping out of the shadows Swish spoke, "I have learned to like you earthman! It is unfortunate that your life has come down to this!"
"Silence underling!" Swush berated him. "Now, I am tired of all this delay, I have made the decision for you. The female I choose because you will probably have the strongest bond with your mate."
Jack hardly had time to comprehend the word 'mate' before Swish had stepped forward with his weapon yet again.
For the second time that day, Jack earnestly yelled, "Wait!" Running over to Swush and Swish he began babbling without consciously choosing his words. It was as if everything he knew about earth relationships and trust was spouting out of his mouth.
"I don't know what happened to your people. Why they can not learn to love and trust others is completely beyond me. Bonds you say you want? Then bonds you will have to form. Obviously the concept does not completely elude you. Even now you Swush, you share a bond with Swish. It is a bond of loyalty. Swush commands and Swish does. Though this is a rather primitive form of symbiosis it shows promise! Sam and I, we have a bond of trust and love and that bond can't be broken not even through one of our deaths. For even if she was no longer with me in this world I will continue to cherish her memory. No, bonds can not be broken, not unless someone who is immediately connected with it does something to jeopardize its stability. You want a bond that will unite your people, well that sort of thing takes much more time than just killing off an alien who you don't even know. You must work at it, be willing to make sacrifices, for until you are able to do that, a true bond you will never have."
Jack glared from one alien to the next. The expression on both of their faces would have been almost comical under different circumstances. Both had their mouths slightly agape in what Jack noticed as a very human expression.
"I am still not inclined to agree with you." Swush spoke very slowly.
Jack felt his heart sink back down into the pit of his stomach.
"…However, I can not disregard what you have spoken quite plainly. Understand Colonel, that despite our brutish appearance our race was never a very violent one. It is only after the great calamity on the surface happened that we were so lost and confused that we no longer knew how to trust anyone else. Show me of what you speak and maybe I will consider letting you go."
A growl was rising in Jack's throat out of utter frustration yet for the first time in days he did see a light at the end of the tunnel. "I can not show you how to trust someone. But I can give you an example…" With that he related to them about how he and Teal'c had come to trust one another and how by Teal'c taking and a chance in believing in O'Neill that things had come out alright in the end."
"You mean that by just throwing you that staff weapon, you trusted Teal'c?" Swish seemed to be coming around to this notion faster than Swush.
"Well yeah, but believe me if I hadn't thought that I had another option I wouldn't have risked that. But Teal'c went against everything he was taught to believe in to rescue me and my team, and that is very hard."
"Yes, but I nearly understand now Colonel. I will teach Swush and the others on my planet what you have finally made me see. Thank you Colonel."
This last remark of Swish's astonished Jack so much that he was immediately humbled by the enormous impact he had just made on an individual who, ten minutes ago would have just as soon shot him as spoken to him.
"I think it is time you went home Colonel." Swush finally spoke. He obviously did not understand all that had happened here but was convinced that whatever it was no longer required this earthman and his edible accoutrements.
"What about my team?" Jack went back over to his 2IC, there she was just standing not moving an eyelash.
Swush spoke again, "They shall be returned to their former state." Swish practically ran off down the corridor. "It will not take long, Swish is now getting the remedy to the drug."
He was not lying. Soon after Swish disappeared he came back into the room clutching a vial of purple liquid. Walking over to the motionless team members he placed to drops of each of their respective noses. "They shall be once again themselves when they reach your home planet."
"And when is that going to be?" Jack was growing antsy to go back and report this bizarre phenomenon to the General and to once again see his team the way he prefers them, animated.
At this Swush smiled, "Right now."
"Hold on, how are we gonna contact you and find out how it's going?"
"We shall contact you."
Jack was about to reply when a sudden blinding flash of light blocked his vision and he knew no more.