Author's Note: Well, here we go, chapter 12. A huge thanks to my patient beta readers, Sealrescuer, and Dimac99. Plus a big thank you and mucho appreciation to the readers sticking with me through this monster. Happy to say I think we're actually half way. There's still a lot to get out of my head and on screen, but you'll also be happy to know you get a bit of explanation with this chapter. :) Unfortunately, I don't foresee myself finishing chapter 13 for you before the end of the week. RL walloped me a good one. *blah! Evil RL!* *In the immortal words of my ex-roommate, 'I set you on fire!'*

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MacGyver was cold, numb, tired, and having a hard time keeping himself from just collapsing. Unfortunately, his leg probably wouldn't bend that way if he did, nor did he think Major Carter would appreciate him falling on her. Why on Earth did he have to get buried at an angle, MacGyver silently demanded to any entity listening. Then quickly he added, No pun intended.

They had uncovered most of him now. There was just one leg left that was deeply rooted into the wall of Earth. The structure around him, now several pieces of wood, each of which were holding each other up, kept the tumbling masses of dirt at bay, but one knock and the whole thing would come apart. Then they'd both end up buried. MacGyver tried not to think about that.

He pushed at the stack of wood Sam had brought him to lean on, trying to give her that little bit more room. MacGyver couldn't see more than legs as she, in his opinion, courageously risked being in his little cubbyhole with him to get the remaining leg unstuck.

Considerable time had passed to get them this far. Nearly four hours of constant digging, and other than the occasional break Mac could talk the Major into taking, she'd done pretty much all the work. MacGyver felt helpless, but he hadn't been able to reach much, and she'd insisted he'd only hurt himself worse if he tried, so she'd taken on the task herself.

Am I hurt? Mac wondered. There were no shooting pains running through him as far as he could tell, he was just cold. Incredibly cold. So much so that he didn't even feel Sam's hands around his ankle until she gave it a hard yank.

Bending around as much as possible he asked, hopeful, "Want me to try wiggling it?"

"Hold on. Let me get out first," Sam stated, and then slid out, sitting on the ground and brushing her hands off before nodding to him to proceed. "Okay. Go ahead."

He pulled, wiggled, pulled some more, and at last the errant limb came free. He half-fell, half-crawled out of his earth-made prison, feeling a wash of relief sweep over him as he did. Grinning dopily at Sam, Mac said brightly, "Thank you, Major, this feels much better!"

She returned his smile, but one good look at her told him she was ready to collapse. Just then one of the boards shifted, and with ominous sounds of wood breaking the entire area they had just excavated collapsed.

Mac and Sam backed up as quickly as they could until their backs hit the wall. In shock they sat staring at the devastation. Except for the broken pieces of wood sticking out of the dirt, a person wouldn't even be able to tell that they'd worked on that spot at all.

"I'm glad that happened now and not before," Sam shakily murmured.

"Ya, me, too," Mac replied grimly, but he couldn't stop himself from looking at his watch. Four hours since he and Jack had been separated, but how far did they have to go to really be separate?

"Where are you hurt?"

"What?" Mac asked, startled, looking at Sam's questioning gaze momentarily confused. Then he looked down at his body. He almost couldn't see it in the dim light, not with all the mud plastered on him. Feeling around carefully, Mac found a few cuts and several areas that seemed tender although they didn't hurt, yet. Finger and toe check came out positive. For having been buried under a mountain of dirt he was amazingly uninjured. The only way that was possible would be if every single one of the falling stones that had made up the roof of the room had missed him.

He would be that lucky, but would anyone else? Finally turning to Sam, Mac grinned, telling her, "Other than a mild case of hypothermia I think I'm all right." Then pointedly looking down at the Major's arm added, "Better than you, I bet."

Sam followed his gaze down and grimaced. "I'm trying not to think about it."

"Well you can now. So let's get topside and call in the professionals."

Sam looked up and MacGyver could hear the sudden panic in her voice, "What about finding the back way in? You said we'd find an alternate way into the ruins."

"We will, but we can't do this on our own, Sam," Mac stated, needing to convince himself of it as well. Calling in a rescue team would in turn betray Jack's and his particular relationship, but he'd been thinking from the beginning that somehow it would all come out in the end anyway. Now was as good a time as any. "Come on."

They helped each other get to their feet and slowly made their way up the short tunnel to the surface. The sun was high in the bright clear sky. The warmth felt good on Mac's chilled face and for the first time he allowed himself to shiver.

"I've got a first aid kit in my jeep," Mac stated, blinking to let his eyes adjust. The Major merely nodded. Now that they were in the light Mac could see she looked as mud coated as he did, but there was a large gash across her arm, adding dried blood to the dark splotches that covered them.

They were halfway across the site when Mac suddenly tripped. It was like his feet had just decided to stop working. It took him completely by surprise and in automatic reaction he'd grabbed out at the closest thing to him. Major Carter. Inevitably they both fell heavily to the ground, but even as they did Mac heard the very distinct sounds of gun fire, the bullets traveling right where their heads used to be.

"What the…!" Sam began, but both of them, not exactly foreigners to being shot at, were quickly scrambling to their feet to get behind the bulldozer parked close by them. The Major immediately pulled out her gun, and rising up on her knees looked over the edge of their cover, carefully scanning the site. "I don't see anyone," she stated a moment later.

This wasn't a good place to stay; there were just too many places for shooters to hide, what with the abandoned equipment, materials, and temporary structures everywhere. "We can't stay here," Mac stated, also looking around, checking behind them while Carter continued to scan for the source of the gunfire.

Then a voice called out to them. "MacGyver! Where is the Key?!"

Sam immediately pointed her gun in the direction of the voice, but she held off from opening fire. Furling her brows, she glanced at Mac, asking, "Who are these guys?"

Mac sighed. "They're the ones who killed James, my friend." He had hoped he'd seen the last of them in Colorado but he really should have figured they'd be watching for his return, considering how fanatical they were about the Key. Now that he knew what he did, he wondered strongly if they knew about the Stargate as well.

"Do they know what the Key really is?" Sam asked, apparently thinking the same thing Mac was.

He shook his head. "I'm not sure, but they didn't seem to when I talked with them before. In fact, they weren't really to clear on why they wanted it at all. By the way, where are the Keys?"

"In my backpack," the Major told him making a wry expression. "Back in the ruins."

"Oh. Buried?"

"No."

"Okay, good." He didn't really want to have to dig them out. Then he spotted movement between two tall stacks of lumber. Grabbing Sam's shoulder he pulled her to the ground just as bullets peppered the bulldozer's side. The Major returned fire immediately, forcing the shooter to quickly retreat.

"We can't stay here," Mac stated again. Looking around and spying a portable generator with the propane tank still attached, he quickly suggested, "If we rig this bulldozer to run on its own-"

"And we put the propane tank on the seat, I can shoot it from a distance creating a distraction," Sam cut in, easily picking up on his plan.

"Hopefully it'll give us enough time to get to my jeep."

Sam frowned. "We can't leave the others here."

"We can't help them right now, either. They're safer where they are anyway," Mac argued. "Who knows, maybe we'll be able to draw them away with us."

It only took them a couple minutes to detach the propane tank from the generator and strap it onto the bulldozer's seat. The weight of the tank would keep the dead man's switch on and a simple piece of wood stuck between the seat and the pedal would keep the construction vehicle moving. MacGyver pulled out his Swiss Army knife, and fitting it into the keyhole started the engine.

"Aren't you afraid of breaking the blade?" Sam asked, giving him a curious look.

"Haven't yet."

They put the machine into the correct gear and jammed the stick in place. Bulldozers by nature are not fast machines, but it obediently trudged along ahead of them at a speedy 5 miles an hour.

Almost immediately bullets started ricocheting off the machine as their anonymous shooters opened fire. If they kept that up they wouldn't need the Major to shoot the tank, these guys would do it for them. Mac just hoped it wasn't while they were still standing next to it.

Seeing an opening as they passed one of the site tents, MacGyver tugged at the Major's arm to get her attention. All it took was a glance from her and they were running, low to the ground and as fast as their stiff and sore limbs would carry them. Taking shelter some distance away, they could still hear the guns going off. Most of the shots had seemed poorly aimed and Mac had the impression the shooters weren't exactly trained gunmen. Then Carter was pulling him down and whispering frantically, "I just thought of something. What if the explosion causes another cave in?"

But it was too late to change their plans as the explosive noise of the tank erupting filled the clearing, quickly followed by a moment of pure silence. That always seemed to happen after an explosion of any magnitude, Mac reflected, knowing it wouldn't last. "Come on."

They made a beeline for MacGvyer's jeep which was still tucked away in the trees. Unfortunately, neither of them ever got that far.

Mac felt his foot catch on something, and helpless to stop it, he hit the ground for a second time that day. Only, this time the ground wasn't quite where his trip would end.

It was as if the Earth had literally opened up and swallowed him whole. Mac grabbed at anything and everything trying to stop his decent down the rough walled and very unnatural well. When he finally did stop it was because he'd hit rock bottom, so to speak. It had to be the ceiling to one of the ruin's chambers, but which one he wasn't sure. They were clear on the other side of the site now, and last he checked there were only two.

Looking up he saw the Major's head appear over the newly discovered hole. He waved at her frantically, trying to tell her go without yelling it. That would surely give her position away and it would take them too long to get him out of this predicament.

Thankfully, a second later she disappeared. MacGyver waited with baited breath, straining to hear any sounds that might indicate their pursuers had succeeded in capturing Sam, but only the occasional muffled noise carried down to him.

Sighing, Mac felt around at the stone and the mud hardened walls. There was about a foot of water at the bottom of this tunnel, but that didn't make much difference to his already cold feet. Well, at any rate, it looked like he'd probably found their alternate way in. Now if only he could figure out how to open the back door.

*****

"So, tell me, Dexter, where do you come from?"

Jack wanted to groan, and not just from the pain in his side. "Daniel, try not to talk. It'll use up more air." Jack shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position. He'd swear that bullet had hit the exact same spot as the last one.

"I thought you wanted the air to run out?" Daniel asked, his voice practically dripping with sarcasm.

Momentarily closing his eyes, Jack sighed. It was getting harder and harder to resist just telling Daniel, especially with these kinds of questions. Why on Earth did Mac have to choose a name like Dexter?! "I don't want it to run out, Daniel. Then we would die," Jack pointedly stated.

"Well it's probably a moot point now anyway," Daniel grumbled sullenly.

Jack couldn't see anything in the blackness that engulfed them, but he turned to the anthropologist anyway. "What do you mean?"

"Jack, this box isn't exactly all that big. The air should have run out long ago," Daniel told him, and then asked again, "So where are you from?"

"You know where I'm from," Jack grumbled, but he was trying to twist around to check the door that had sealed behind them. It wasn't easy, and if he wasn't careful he'd open his wound again. Yet there it was, right where Akh had been hitting it, a bend deep enough to have pulled the metal door away from its panel on one side. It still wouldn't open, but it was enough to allow some air in.

"Looks like Hairball out there actually managed to put a dent in this thing," Jack commented, straightening again.

"I'm not sure what would be better, dying at the hands of a goa'uld, or starving to death," Daniel remarked.

Jack made a face. "We're not going to starve to death, Daniel."

"It's not really so inconceivable, Jack. Even after we don't make our check in tomorrow it'll still take time for the General to get anyone over here, and then they'll still have to excavate the site again. They can't just dig a hole or the whole structure might collapse, and really, it's not like they have any idea where we are."

"Well aren't we the pessimist today," Jack remarked, and if things were normal he'd probably agree, but nothing was ever normal anymore. "We're going to get out of here, Daniel, trust me."

"And how do you know we'll get out of here?" Daniel demanded.

"Because," Jack fudged, looking for a plausible answer. "I'm a Colonel, and us Colonels know things like that."

Daniel snorted. "Ya right." Then after a minute Daniel dropped the sarcasm and asked seriously. "Come on Jack. Who are you? Really?"

"Daniel, you know who I am," Jack told him. He was starting to get a headache. From the thin air or loss of blood he wasn't sure but it was putting a real strain on his usual stubbornness.

"You're not Dexter Fillmore, are you?"

Jack sighed. He was too tired for this. "No."

"So who is MacGyver?"

Putting a hand to his forehead Jack tried to push the headache away, but it wasn't working so well. "He's me." Jack finally answered. He couldn't believe he actually admitted to it, but he just couldn't handle lying to his team anymore. Maybe if they knew part of the truth they'd be willing to leave it at that.

Several minutes passed in complete silence. Daniel was no doubt trying to figure out what Jack meant. Then, finally, Daniel probed, asking slowly, "He's a clone or copy of you?"

"Nope. We're the same guy."

"He's you from a different reality?"

"Wrong again." Jack grinned bleakly into the blackness. This was starting to feel like Twenty Questions. "Like I said, we're the same guy."

"Like two halves of the same coin?" Daniel asked, clearly disbelieving.

"Ah, but that would indicate we're different. And we're not. Not genetically anyway."

Again there was just silence, but Jack could feel Daniel squirming in frustrated confusion. Taking pity on the man, Jack took a deep breath and explained, "Mac's parents and my parents both went to a fertility clinic where this guy, Ralph Gents, was conducting his own experiments on unsuspecting parents. The wacko wanted to create two exactly identical people." The reason why still gave Jack nightmares.

"So you're a test tube baby?"

Jack threw a glare in Daniel's general direction and caustically quipped, "It sounds so glamorous when you put it like that."

"Sorry," Daniel murmured, but the curiosity was still there.

"Mac and I weren't the only unsuspecting products of this experiment; we were just the only ones who actually lived past the age of five. You know," Jack said with frustration, "we don't even know who the real donors were?" This conversation was really starting to dredge up thoughts long since buried.

"Jack, I'm sorry," Daniel quietly said. Then after a minute of silence the anthropologist asked almost hesitantly, "Did Gents work at FamilyView?" Jack glowered even while he internally chuckled. "Been doing some research, huh?"

"Can you really blame us? It was obvious you and Mac have been hiding something."

Jack could easily hear the anger in Daniel's voice, and in all honesty, he couldn't blame them, he'd probably have done the same thing, but there were some secrets better left uncovered. "So what else did you find out?" Jack asked, keeping his voice carefully steady.

"Not much," Daniel admitted reluctantly. "Just that when you and Mac were nine you both went missing and that during that time this FamilyView place blew up."

Sighing, Jack knew Daniel was waiting for an answer, but the Colonel didn't know how much he should say.

"Jack?"

Guess he was taking too long to think about it. "It was the first time Mac and I ever met," Jack finally said. "Before that we had no idea what was going on. Daniel, we were just kids, Mac was just trying to get us out. He didn't mean to blow up the whole building." Or my house, Jack internally grumbled.

Daniel didn't say anything so Jack just continued on. "Anyway, after that, well, we didn't really want anyone else to start poking us with needles so we went home and pretended like none of it ever happened."

Again his words were followed by silence. Jack was sure the anthropologist would continue hounding him with questions. After a few minutes Jack asked, somewhat worried now, "Daniel?"

"This is why you hate scientists, isn't it?" Daniel asked quietly, sounding more subdued than Jack would have expected.

Before the Colonel had a chance to reply their box suddenly vibrated. It was gone a second later, but it had each of them immediately worried. "What was that?" Daniel asked alarmed.

"The rescue team, one would hope." But Jack wasn't so sure. He'd been in the middle of combat enough times to know what things felt like when something exploded. And he didn't think a rescue team would risk such a thing.