Spoilers:Abyss, Cold Lazarus
Warning: This chapter has a fair bit of death and violence in it. Specifically at the end. I wouldn't write it unless it was necessary for the story. It's nothing you haven't already seen on TV these days. If things seem to be wrong... just keep reading ;)
againjustjane- Thank you very much!
shiny silver grl- He he, I just love Jack in general! I love some characters who aren't in the show often (Dixon, siler, etc) so I thought it would be fun to have them in an alternate reality! ;)
feb04- Very true! Lol
getcarter- lol, well at the end of this one you'll know which Jack you feel sorry for!
Starr484- I know! I got half way through the story and realized that Pete was still around! And yes, a not evil AU Teal'c for once!
StargateFan- thank you!
SG1-Fanfic- Thanks! Lol
Punctie- Thank you very much!
janissima- thanks and you're welcome! I think it would be great to see two Teal'cs together! Btw, I saw you got nominated in the fic awards! Congrats!
LVB- Jack never can get along with himself, can he?
LiMiYa- I think I'm even confused with what Sam's feeling! ;) lol I'd hate to be in her position, but then again, I just say screw everything, and be with Jack!
Ilovesg1- yes, I'd hate to be in AU Hammond's shoes, losing everyone, and feeling like you failed them.
Sci Fi Fan Gillian- Thanks!
airam4u- thank you!
A/N: Ok, I forgot to say this last time, thanks to anyone who nominated me in the stargate fan awards! I'm so excited! And congrats to those who got nominated! Umm... this chapter means a lot to me, something happened while I was writing this, and I was hoping I could sort of channel my feelings through to the story, but I don't think it worked very well. Well... enjoy!
"Realities Apart"
-Chapter 7-
No one knew anything was amiss until Johnson was lying dead on the ground by Dixon's feet.
"Take cover!" Dixon yelled to the rest of the group before he swung around and let out a round of fire at the approaching Jaffa.
Luckily, the group had come across a 't' in the hallway, and they split up, taking cover around the corners of the adjacent hallways.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Reynolds get shot in the side as he ran for cover. Airman Davis and Siler quickly pulled him into the safety of the hallway. That put Jack, Hammond, Daniel, and the Teal'cs on one side of the hallway, with Sam, AU Jack, the injured Colonel Dixon, Davis and Siler on the other.
As soon as they were all in the safety of the hallways, they took up positions by the corners, and began a counterattack on the Jaffa.
Four Jaffa had been taken down by the time Jack had to reload, but the Jaffa just seemed to keep coming.
"Sir!"
Jack looked across the hall at Sam's plea. More Jaffa were coming down their hallway! One of the Teal'cs, he wasn't sure which one, was lying motionless on the floor, and as he looked he saw Dixon get hit straight in the chest.
Peering back down the hallway they'd come, at least 10 more Jaffa were still closing in on them. It seemed that every Jaffa they shot, two more appeared in their place.
"Jack!" Jack yelled across the hallway to his alternate self, and then let out a quick burst of fire at the approaching Jaffa.
"What!" AU Jack screamed over the deafening noise of gun shots and staff blasts.
"Go! Get out of here! You can still make it before they come up behind us!"
"I can't just leave!"
"Like hell you can't! We didn't come here to watch you die! Now go!" Jack paused from his attack on the Jaffa to look across at AU Jack.
After a moment, AU Jack nodded.
"We'll cover you, now go!"
Without another thought, AU Jack sprinted into motion, and into the main hallway. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him. A staff blast flew right by his head, a little too close for comfort, but after what felt like an eternity, he reached the end of the hallway, and bounded around the corner.
He didn't stop until he reached the escape hatch. AU Jack quickly unscrewed the wing nuts, and pulled the door open. The hatch was pitch-black when he pulled the door shut behind him.
Suddenly feeling chillingly alone, AU Jack began the long climb to the surface.
"Jack, I'm out of ammo!"
Jack threw a helpless look at Daniel; he was on his last mag himself. A quick glance around the corner told him what he already knew; there were just too many Jaffa. The Jaffa coming down the side hallway had been taken down, but it was just a matter of time before more appeared. He knew he only had one option.
"Cease fire!" He screamed. "Stop!"
All earth weapons stopped firing, and a few seconds later the Jaffa stopped as well.
"We surrender!" Jack called to the Jaffa, and looked over at what was left of the group: Sam, Daniel, Sgt Siler, Hammond, and one of the Teal'cs.
Jack threw his weapon to the ground, and the others followed him.
Several minutes later they were being escorted to undoubtedly Ba'al. There were 12 Jaffa escorting them, escape was pretty much unthinkable.
The Jaffa formed a tight circle around their new prisoners. Jack was at the back of the group. Sam and Daniel were standing side by side in front of him, then Hammond and Siler, with Teal'c up the front.
"Teal'c... are you... I mean, which one are you?" Jack asked curiously as they continued their march down the hall.
"I am of this reality, O'Neill."
Jack felt his heart sink, and saw Sam and Daniel's shoulders sink in front of him. "Oh."
"I am sorry."
"Don't be sorry that you're not dead in his place." Jack told the Jaffa.
"Silence!" The Jaffa behind Jack gave him a small shove.
"Yeah sure you betcha," Jack mumbled in a whisper.
Minutes later they were escorted into the 'Gate Room. The Stargate itself was inactive, and the iris was firmly in place. Up in the Control Room several Jaffa were looking curiously at the computer screens, jabbing randomly at the keyboards.
Standing at the base of the ramp, was none other than Ba'al himself. He was looking mightily pleased with himself as the group walked into the room and assembled in a line in front of him.
"Still haven't figured out how to use our dialing system, huh?" Jack smirked before he was hit in the back of the knee, and forced to kneel. He grimaced as a sharp pain shot up his leg.
Ignoring Jack's question, Ba'al looked down the line at every single one of them, and landed on Jack with a grin spread across his face; one that Jack wished he could wipe off with a nice fist in the face.
"Colonel O'Neill, it is a pleasure to see you again."
"Actually, it's General now, and I wish the feeling was mutual."
"It is unfortunate that you escaped my fortress. I took great pleasure in killing you a hundred times over. But now you're here, and I'll get to kill you one, last, final time. After, of course, you witness the death of all your friends."
Jack remembered being tortured by Ba'al, and dieing over and over again. Jack shook his head, clearing the images from his mind. "See now, that's not going to happen, because then I'd have to kill you."
Ba'al threw his head back and let out a deep laugh. "Is that so? I'd like to see you try." He nodded to a Jaffa, who then grabbed Slier and brought him forward.
General Hammond protested, but another Jaffa stepped forward to hold him firmly in place. "You can't do this!"
"I am a god; I can do whatever I please." Ba'al lifted his hand to reveal a Goa'uld hand device. Siler struggled to get free, but he was too late. Ba'al activated the device, emitting a gold glow.
Daniel flinched. There were too many times that the device had been used on him.
Moments later, Siler slumped dead onto the floor.
"My Lord!" Two Jaffa came into the room dragging the body of Teal'c with them.
Jack felt a lump rise in his throat at the sight of his friend's dead body.
Ba'al looked from the body to AU Jack who was kneeling next to Jack. "What is this?"
"You mean you haven't met Teal'cs twin brother Murray?" Jack asked in mock innocence.
Within the blink of an eye, Ba'al seized a staff weapon from the Jaffa by him, and shot AU Teal'c in the chest.
Jack jumped. "Jesus!" He looked down at AU Teal'c lying on his left, and looked up at Ba'al who wore a malicious grin.
"Are you going to kill me yet, O'Neill?" Ba'al chuckled.
"I'm thinking that sounds pretty good." Jack lunged at Ba'al. His hands were merely centimetres from the Goa'uld's throat when two strong hands grabbed both of his shoulders, and forced him back to his knees. The hands belonged to two Jaffa who kept their hands firmly in place, holding him to the ground.
Jack glared at Ba'al with murder written in his eyes. The Goa'uld laughed again before walking down the other end of the line of prisoners. At the far end kneeled General Hammond, and Ba'al turned to look at him.
"I do not know this one."
"General Hammond, commander of this facility. You'll regret coming here."
Ba'al smirked, "Is that right?" He lifted his hand, activating the hand device.
"No!" Daniel, who was on Hammond's left, lunged at Ba'al. Ba'al was too quick, though, and he turned the device on Daniel, sending him flying across the floor, and into the wall.
Sam winced as a Jaffa dragged him back into place on her right, but sighed in relief when she saw that he was conscious, only a little sore.
"Fool!" Ba'al sneered before turning the device back on General Hammond, until all the life had been drained out of him.
Jack, Sam, and Daniel looked sadly at Hammond.
"The infamous SG-1," Ba'al drawled. "Nothing can save you this time."
Sam shook her head, speaking for the first time. "You have no idea what you've got coming."
"Yep, any minute now, you and every one of your Jaffa will be dead." Jack spoke. "And that's a promise."
Ba'al laughed: something he'd been doing too much in Jack's opinion. He was trying to stall. All Jack needed to do was give AU Jack enough time to make it to Antarctica. Providing he'd made it out of the mountain.
Ba'al turned to Daniel and raised his hand.
"So what? You're just going to kill us?" Jack yelled, growing desperate.
"What other use do I have for you?"
Jack fell silent, unable to supply a good answer.
Daniel looked up into the eyes of Ba'al as he once again raised his hand. A searing pain ripped throughout his entire body. He fought the urge to close his eyes and scream in pain. Instead, he gritted his teeth, and kept his eyes focused on Ba'al's, wishing the Goa'uld a thousand painful deaths.
Time seemed to slow as Daniel felt himself getting weaker, slowly fading. He was barely aware of Jack and Sam on his left, struggling with all their strength to reach him.
No memories flashed through his mind in those few moments, no hopes or wishes, not even any thoughts of revenge. Just one wish that he'd done something; that he should've tried harder.
Daniel's body slipped to the floor, and Sam instantly stopped struggling. She turned her head away from him, squeezing her eyes shut tightly.
"You'll regret this!" Jack spat vehemently as Ba'al.
Ba'al just grinned his ever present smile at him in pure glee, and stepped up to Sam.
Jack's heart caught in his throat. They were the only two left. They were going to die.
He watched as Ba'al's hand seemed to rise in slow motion.
Sam's eyes opened, and looked right at Jack. She spoke volumes with her blue eyes. He saw everything they'd been through together, and everything they could've been.
"You can't do this!" Jack yelled in desperation.
"Try and stop me."
Jack struggled to get free from the Jaffa's unbreakable grip as the hand device hummed into life. His hands balled into fists. Ba'al was slowly killing Sam right in front of him, and there was nothing he could do. He was completely numb to the fact that his nails had pierced the skin of his palms, and blood was being drawn out. He simply squeezed harder as if he could squeeze away the pain that was over taking him.
A cold hand was wrapping itself around his heart, and he felt a dark void opening deep within himself, one that he couldn't escape, no matter how hard he tried.
Sam fell silently to the ground. The only sound Jack heard was the blood pounding excruciatingly loud in his ears.
He looked around himself at the bodies that lay before him; the bodies of people who'd become his family in the last eight years. One had become even more.
He felt himself slip deeper into the void which seemed to be consuming him, and he no longer fought against it. It was something Jack hadn't felt since he'd lost his son all those years ago.
Jack fell down onto his legs, dipping his head in defeat. His hands enclosed around a small object hidden in his sock as he felt the hands loosen on his shoulders.
"You shouldn't have done that," Jack whispered. He looked up at Ba'al, his brown eyes empty of any emotion. There was nothing but a dark opening within them.
Suddenly, Jack stood and lunged forward, plunging the small knife, gripped tightly in his hand, into Ba'al's throat.
Ba'al blinked in surprise, the smug smile wiped from his face.
Jack only felt a small prick in his back as a staff blast hit him.
The last thing he saw was the Goa'uld's eyes flash for the last time, and then the world fell from around him.
-TBC-
A/N: There's still more to come! I promise! ;) Let me know what you think!