Title: Road of Wisdom
Summary: Sam Carter has always tried to protect her younger brother Daniel from her work at the SGC, but when he's exposed to the jars of Osiris and Isis she has no choice but to involve him with the Stargate, or risk losing him.
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Mainly Jack/Daniel, even if it's fairly mild. Sub pairings of Jack/Sam, Pete/Sam and Daniel/Sarah do show up randomly.
Author's Notes: This story begins in Stargate's fourth season, in the episode The Curse, however I reserve the right to change anything to suit my plot. Also, because I'm using a primitive form of Word, scene changes aren't showing up and will therefore be indicated by (Stargate SG-1) which isn't especially imaginative or original, but it suits the purpose.
Author's warnings: Not beta'd
Disclaimer: I'd sell my soul for those rights
Additional Important Notes: I've had a bug infest my laptop, which totally destroyed most of my saved files including this chapter and others from different stories. That said, I was forced to rewrite this in less than 24 hours while the material was still fresh in my mind. I apologize for the rushed feel this chapter may portray. I also lost a version of the first chapter someone was kind enough to go over and give me constructive criticism on. I'd like to thank that person, even thought their name and the copy was lost to me.
Chapter Five: The Villain and the Knight
Daniel wasn't exactly sure if the snag in Osiris' plans happened to be good or bad, but it was certainly buying him time. He had several bruised and possibly broken ribs to show for it, but they hadn't left Earth, as the psychopath had hinted to. Osiris had felt Daniel was an easy and near target to express anger upon, murmuring about repairing the body later on, which of course had Daniel worried. Now, as the hours passed and they sat in Osiris' formal temple of worship, Daniel knew they both were growing closer to either being found, or his own death. Osiris seemed most likely to kill him if capture or death was imminent.
He leaned his head back against a sandy and surely unstable wall as Osiris paced in front of him, speaking in a language Daniel had yet to recognize. The shape of Sarah's body had since become blurry, his glasses lost an hour previous when Osiris had tossed him against an adjacent wall. He couldn't risk feeling around for them with the tension level at its current state, nor could he risk making any sort of attack without them.
What was the problem, Daniel actually wondered. Osiris had demanded from him only once earlier to know if the temple had been damaged in any way. Apparently something was malfunctioning, grounding them, but Daniel hadn't known what to say. He had never been before, had never had the chance to read anything on the temple. He had suggested it was a possibility one of the excavation teams had tripped something, but that hadn't satisfied Osiris.
Osiris took a dangerous step towards him and Daniel pressed backwards, cradling his injured wrist to his chest. Eyes flashed at him, causing his stomach to drop. Could it be Osiris had finally gone weary of him?
Daniel's head snapped towards the entrance of the temple as the sound of a motorized car drifted in. Osiris also caught the sound and stepped cautiously to the side, just out of sight.
The footsteps approaching them were quick, certainly belonging to someone running.
Daniel's eyes widened as Steven slid to stop in the doorway. The dust settled around his feet as he gawked.
"Daniel?" He questioned, surprise quickly shifting to anger. "How did you beat me here?"
"Never mind!" Daniel snapped, waving wildly. "Steven, run! Go get help!"
Daniel's longtime rival pressed a hand to his stomach and laughed. "You want me to go bring the authorities so you can take credit for finding this place first?" Never mind, Steven thought, that he had followed Daniel and Sarah out here after the explosion in the labs. "Where is Sarah?" He wondered aloud.
With Steven's back to Osiris, the wayward Archeologist had yet to see the real threat, and most certainly he was oblivious to the predatorily eyes glaring into his back.
"Steven, you can have the credit, but you need to leave now. Leave if you value your life."
"You're threatening me, Daniel?"
Steven and Daniel had never really been friends, content equally with the title of partner or colleague, but Daniel couldn't help but feel sympathy when Steven's body took a sudden dive forward, via Osiris. The intruding Archeologist fell hard, sliding roughly on the ground towards Daniel, stopping mere feet from him with a loud grunt.
"I'm not what you have to worry about," Daniel told him, reaching forward to help Steven up.
"Sarah?" Steven's eyes were far from focused, Daniel noted, assessing the probability of a concussion. "Sarah, is that you?"
Daniel cocked his head. "Not quite," He said, vaguely unsure himself. Something was inside Sarah's body, but she was still standing in front of them. Did that count?
"Useless slaves," Osiris barked towards them, turning his attention to the far side of the temple.
Daniel's eyes lit up. Osiris had never moved so far from him, and even with Steven's confusion, they were stronger as two.
"Stay put," Daniel said, patting Steven on the arm. He could see the blurry shape of this glasses. They were far closer to Osiris then Daniel liked, but he'd have to chance it while he could. "Shuffle your feet a bit." Daniel hoped Steven would for once follow his direction.
Thankfully Steven provided him with sufficient cover as he began to cough loudly, probably working through any damage to his lungs the fall had provided him with. Osiris paid no attention to them as the coughing started, and Daniel leaned forward through the aching of his ribs. Crawling on his hands and knees he made his way clumsily towards the item he desperately needed.
He let out a sigh of relief as his fingers curled around the glasses and he leaned back onto his knees to set them on his nose. He blinked at Osiris' close proximity.
"What are you doing?" Osiris asked in a clearly amused voice. He knelt in front of Daniel, elbows resting on his knees.
Daniel had no answer.
"Don't be naughty," Osiris warned, hand coming forward to pet him gently.
Daniel had easily been around enough Osiris long enough to expect the blow that sent time reeling backwards. This time he managed to hold onto his glasses, which he deemed a miracle in itself. He counted being able to breathe as a good sign and scooted back to his previous spot, having won a small victory in his own opinion.
"Daniel, what in God's name is going on?" Steven asked him, much more lucid than before. He was strong enough to grip Daniel's shoulder tightly. "What happened to Sarah?"
"She is far from our Sarah, or haven't you noticed? Sarah is there is there in body, as far as I can tell. However there seems to be something in her, controlling her in every way possible. It's able to access her personal feelings and all of her knowledge." Daniel gave Steven a desperate look. "You should have ran when I told you to. Osiris didn't think of you as a threat then."
Steven shook his head in denial. "Something is in her, like a spirit, or ghost? She's possessed?" Steven tightened his hold on Daniel, feeling icy fear wash over him. Certainly Sarah herself couldn't have managed to toss him so hard he was currently finding it hard to breathe.
"I think," and Daniel stressed the think, "That there was something in the Osiris jar, and it's now inside Sarah's body. You were working on it with her, what happened?"
Steven's eyes were frantic, and Daniel could sense the man wasn't taking their predicament well.
"Steven!" Daniel shook him. "Steven, what happened with the Osiris jar?"
"I, I left, Daniel," Steven stuttered, "I left her to finish up the jar. I left her alone with it." Furthermore, he tried to defend, "I wanted to try and identify the symbols against a greater database."
"Sarah must have broken the seal."
"What about you?" Steven questioned. "You were working on the Isis jar. Is there something in it, too? Do you have it?"
Daniel shrugged. "I had the jar, but Osiris took it. He's been saying weird things about making me Isis' host, just like Sarah is his. I think he wants to put whatever is in that jar into me."
"And what about me?"
Daniel settled his hand over Steven's. "You should have ran when you had the chance. I'm going to make a move on Osiris soon, before he decides to either kill us or make me a host, and most certainly before he manages to get us off Earth. If we tackle him together and catch him off guard we'll have a chance to get away." Daniel ventured a look to Osiris and when he found the false God distracted by a panel on the far wall, he turned his body towards Steven and took the man's face in his hands. "But if I'm caught, I want you to run. Osiris had plans for me, and if I can distract him you'll have an opportunity to get away. You have to run, take the car or whatever, but get away from here and get some help."
At Steven's agreeing nod, Daniel felt content to settle back against the wall and wait for his opportunity.
"Hey, Daniel," Steven whispered, fearing Osiris' position. His hand traveled slowly down his leg while his eyes remained locked on Sarah's body. With a quick lift of his pant's leg he reveled a sand-crusted sock, but more importantly the budge of a rather good sized pocket knife. "I have no idea how much help it's going to be, but it's better than nothing, right?"
Daniel's nod was caught as Osiris turned, the wall behind him sliding open to reveal a hidden space, and technology Daniel knew couldn't have been a conceivable thought when the temple was erected.
"It is time," Osiris announced.
"Get ready," Daniel warned, making no attempt to quiet his voice. "I don't know about you, but I'm not going without a fight."
(Stargate SG-1)
The temple was in sight.
Sam felt a rush of relief coupled with trepidation wash over her. Egyptian authorities had confirmed it had been Sarah and Daniel who had exited the plane, and then rented a jeep hours ahead of the private jet Hammond had convinced the pentagon to provide. Now she, Colonel O'Neill, Lou and Teal'c were heading towards the direction the locals had pointed them towards.
"Get ready to move on my order," Jack order over the roar of the engine and the force of the wind whipping about. He loaded a cartridge of ammo into the gun he had picked up from the plane, securing a handgun in the belt of his pants and taking his P-90 into his hands.
The ATV jumped over the sandy hills without any trouble, jostling the riders with quick and sudden jerks.
"Worry not, Carter, " Jack assured, resettling his sun-goggles over his eyes. "We'll get your kid brother back before he can poke his nose in anything dangerous."
Sam appreciated the concern, but it was unfounded. "Sorry, Sir," She countered, "But you don't know Daniel."
"The sooner we get there," Lou added over his shoulder, jerking the keep to a stop a mere hundred feet from the entrance of the temple, just behind another two other jeeps.
Jack jumped out of the jeep, bringing his gun to the ready. "Hold fire." Then he gave the command and they moved forward.
A piercing scream caught SG-1 by surprise and Jack gestured for them to move faster.
They paused for a moment in the entrance before entering the temple with swift efficiency.
"Daniel!"
Sam simply couldn't contain her voice as she watched Sarah, who sat atop her brother with her hands wrapped around Daniel's throat, choke him. She noted another collapsed body across the way, moving slowly and obviously hurt.
"Get off the man," Jack ordered, aiming his gun at Sarah's head in a kill shot. "Off him now!"
Jack gave a cry of surprise and disgust as Sarah's eyes flashed, indicating what she carried inside of her.
For Daniel the surprise was enough to stall Osiris. With every ounce of strength he had he managed to bring his knee up hard enough to flip Osiris upward and over him. He lunged forward into a seated position, gasping for air.
"Up you go," Lou said, grabbing Daniel by the arm and hoisting him upward, keeping his gun trained on Sarah's body.
"It's a Goa'uld, sir," Sam said. She wanted nothing more to look back to her brother. She wanted to make sure was okay more than anything else, but she was next to her CO, well in front of Daniel and she couldn't risk taking her attention from the enemy.
Jack leveled his feet, ready to move in either direction. "I got that, Carter." He listened to Lou steady Carter's younger brother.
"Foolish mortals." Osiris made his move.
Jack just managed to lock his finger around the trigger before Osiris had him flying backwards with a wave of power he had felt before. His bullets connected with Osiris' personal shield and dissolved harmlessly. He slammed backwards against the wall along with Sam.
In response Teal'c settled to a defensive position and fired his Staff weapon, finding that Osiris was aware of his attack as well. Teal'c dove to the right as Osiris launched an attack at him that would have surely incapacitated.
Meanwhile Lou had settled a pale Daniel against the wall and was in the process of sneaking behind Osiris. Teal'c was keeping him blissfully unaware as Lou set up his first and possibly only chance at attack.
Unfortunately his feet made too much of a shuffle as he launched himself forward. Osiris caught him half to the side, taking his arm and twisting it painfully. Lou screamed aloud as he was forced down to the ground, Osiris' knee pressing into his back and his hands taking Lou's head into his grasp.
"Put down your weapon," Osiris ordered to Teal'c, "Or I will break his neck."
"Don't!" Lou hissed as Teal'c set his weapon on the floor silently. He rose and stepped back, taking in the collapsed forms of Jack and Sam. He believed they would recover as they were already showing signs of attempting to stand, but he didn't think it would be in time.
"No!"
Daniel braced himself against the wall, breathing raggedly. He raised his voice and attempted to steady himself. "You stop right there." His forehead creased as Osiris laughed.
"How do you intend to stop me from breaking his neck? How will the great Daniel stop me?"
"If you break his neck, I'll kill your queen."
Daniel took a step away from the wall, holding the jar of Isis up to Osiris' eyes. Earlier when Lou had set him down, he had realized just how close he was to the panel on the wall that Osiris had opened, and indeed the place Osiris had placed the jar for safe keeping. It had been his one golden opportunity.
"You wouldn't," Osiris said.
Daniel gave him an impossible glare. "You attempted to kill me, a man I've worked with for years, my sister and her colleagues. You caused an explosion in Doctor Jordan's lab and you took Sarah's body. Now you're threatening to kill a man with a smile on your face, and you think I won't smash this jar to the ground and kill whatever is in it." He raised the jar high for effect then repeated, "Let him go, or I will kill your Queen."
Osiris leaned forward, causing Lou to groan louder. "Kill my Queen. If you do so, be prepared for my revenge."
Daniel stepped closer, well aware of his venerable position. "I doubt you want to play a game of dare with your Queen's life, as I certainly don't want to play it with the life of the man in your hands. Let him go and I will give you your Queen, I promise you this." He leveled his gaze on Osiris, praying he was going to take the bait.
The moment Osiris lessened his grip on Lou, Daniel tossed the jar forward, catching Osiris off guard. Lou rolled immediately to the side as Osiris jumped back in order to catch the jar. At such point Daniel threw caution to the win and plowed into Sarah's body. Both he and Osiris toppled backwards and smashed into the ground, Daniel feeling the wind knocked out of him. Dazed he remained completely still as sounds of a battle reigned above his head.
He didn't know how long he lay perfectly still, praying nothing from the above battle crashed into him. He had done his part and now he wanted to just be still and nurse his aching ribs.
No such luck Daniel realized as a crushing grip settled onto his shoulder, nearly wrenching it out of the socket as he was flipped over onto his back. Again Osiris settled on top of him, however instead of a crude attempt to choke him to death, he merely raised his hand. Daniel recognized the golden hand and wrist band as a duplicate of one that had been found with the Expedition, but he noted several differences in the gems. Then he ceased to care as light bore out of it, slamming into his head with such force he wondered if his brain would melt. Whatever Osiris was doing to him was more painful than anything he had ever experienced before, and he was certain his death was soon to follow.
When Daniel was eight and came to live with the Carter family, he entertained the idea of a knight in shinning armor for nearly a year. He'd go to bed picturing when he woke in the morning there would be a dashing man waiting to whisk him away to Egypt where his parents were waiting for him. He never told anyone of his secret wish and after his ninth birthday he realized that was just what it was. At nine he realized the knight would never appear and he had to be his own hero.
At ten he had recurring dreams of his parent's death and once against conjured the thought of a handsome knight. Then at eleven and twelve, followed be thirteen the dreams faded and so did the image of the knight.
The last time it was resurrected had been in college of all places. He thought it somewhat humorous but overall embarrassing that he was still clinging to an imaginary man. If he had wanted a real knight there were plenty of boys willing to date him, but the image of a tall, distinguished knight never left his mind. Maybe that was why he dated Sarah, and before her Hannah, Rebecca and Tiffany. When he dated women it was harder to picture the knight.
Now Osiris was taking his memories. Actually, he wasn't sure what he was doing, but he could feel him in his mind, sifting through everything he knew. Maybe he was looking for something, or more likely extending his suffering as he stole his life. Damnit, his childhood dreams of a knight in shinning armor where his own, and no one else except for the man that would be his knight was supposed to know. Osiris had no right to take such things from him.
The pain ended with a sudden burst and he was flat on the ground again, curling in on himself with the pain.
What had happened?
Daniel opened his eyes to see a man, neither the man that Osiris had threatened nor the tall black man, standing shakily behind Osiris.
When Osiris whirled around Daniel could clearly see some sort of tranquilizer imbedded in the soft flesh of Sarah's back.
The man gave a whoop of victory before his knees buckled and he came down hard, a goofy smile on his face. "Take that, snake," The man laughed.
Daniel wanted to be happy as well, but he could tell the dart wasn't having the intended effect on Osiris, and the other man was observing the same fact. His smile had faded as Osiris stalked away from them to stand across the room. Daniel listened halfway as Osiris spoke of returning, and of Earth's rivers running red with blood. Then a swooping sound was heard and Daniel blinked against the sight of large rings enveloping Sarah's body, taking her way. The temple shook so violently Daniel wondered if it would collapse. Instead the sand and dust settled, leaving a dangerous calm.
"Kids?" Jack called, hoisting himself up on his elbows. "Everyone alright?" Being closest to Daniel, Jack reached him first on his knees, wrapping an arm around the slightly shorter man. "You okay?"
Daniel nodded against his pounding headache, thankful for the support the man was offering him. "Yes," He managed, looking up at his rescuer. He drew in a shaky breath at the man's infectious smile. Daniel smiled back feeling for the first time since his abduction that he would be okay. This man, whoever he was, would take care of him, his eyes said so. This man was a good man.
"Where did Osiris go?" Daniel asked, hating the need to pull away from strong arms.
"Osiris?" Sam asked him, climbing to her feet. "The Goa'uld was Osiris?"
Daniel blinked at her. "What's a Goa'uld?"
"Tiny snake," Jack supplied, "Big ego."
"Snake?"
Jack rolled his eyes and waved a hand. "Explain later."
"O'Neill," A voice carried through the temple. "I believe this man to be seriously injured."
Daniel spun, remembering Steven suddenly and the harsh hit he had taken in an attempt to escape. He stumbled past his sister and the man who had been supporting him to collapse next to Steven's head. "How bad is he?" Daniel asked.
The black man was telling him when Daniel's eyes caught something quite disconcerting. His attention shifted from Steven to a corner of the temple. He stepped carefully over his colleague and swooped down to pick the jar of Isis up. He turned back to the group and held the jar up, broken seal obvious. "Guys?"
In the blink of an eye Daniel found weapons trained on him.
"Whoa," He countered the action, "What's going on." He noted the tall black man who answered to Teal'c and his sister had not only turn on him, but also the other two men standing and Steven who was barely lucid on the ground.
"Just a precaution, Daniel," Sam tried to assure him, detecting the fresh batch of fear. "We're certain there was a Goa'uld in that jar, and if it's open now that means the thing is out. There is a good possibility it is in someone here. If you've been compromised we can't take the risk of letting you get out."
"What about you?" Daniel blurted. "And him?" He gestured to Teal'c, the only other member of their group without a gun pointed at him.
"For crying out loud!" O'Neill, Daniel had heard him referred to as O'Neill. "Teal'c, Carter, do your little scratch and sniff thing and figure out if anyone has been snaked."
Daniel managed to hide a small smile at the brash words, but not by much.
"O'Neill, I do not believe we are in the presence of a Goa'uld."
Jack O'Neill raised an eyebrow. "Believe?"
"Sir," Carter added, "I'm fairly sure we're all clean."
"Fairly sure?"
"Now, sir," Lou Ferretti said, "I am absolutely sure we're all clean."
"By all means, prove it to me, Ferretti."
The wisecracking Major looked bashful for a second. "I was trying to think of a gentle way to say it," He prolonged. "I'm sure Doc Fraser would have wanted to study it or something. It was a mistake, honestly."
"What?" Sam asked.
"Back when we had that little get together with Osiris--it is Osiris, right?" Lou looked to Daniel for conformation, and continued when the Archeologist nodded. "Yeah, back with Osiris, the snake dropped the jar and I kinda rolled onto it. The seal popped and when I stood up, well--"
"Well?" Jack prompted.
Lou lifted his foot to show his team the bottom of his heavy boot. "I stepped on it."
Daniel and Sam gawked at each other with mirror expressions while Lou shrugged apologetically. Teal'c showed just a hint of amusement while Jack relaxed his grip on his weapon an laughed loudly. Jack slapped Lou on the back roughly and congratulated him.
With the guns pointed away Daniel knelt next to Steven. He settled a hand on the man's forehead. "Can we take him to a hospital?" Daniel asked. "And can someone please explain to me what just happened."
Jack's warm hand settled on Daniel's shoulder, encompassing the younger man in a feeling of warmth.
"Sure, kid."
"Kid?" Daniel questioned him indifferently.