Author's Note: Oh my goodness, it's been so long since I posted the last chapter! O.O I have an excuse…thinks…and it's a good excuse, too…thinks some more Aww man, I can't mess with reality, although there are times I really wish I could. I just got back online this last week from a month of being completely without. weeps I'm still recovering, but here it is, the next chapter. I'm not totally satisfied with it, and the second scene had just way too many people to keep track of, but enough with the waiting, I can always rewrite it later, right? One day yet I'll finish this story:)

Author's Note2: A huge thanks to my betas, Dimac and SealRescuer, who've been so patient with me. And a big huzzah to my reviewers! Over 200! I've never written a fanfic with that many reviews before, that's just really cool. I hope you can all hang in there as I worm my way through RL to find the time to finish this beaut. Unfortunately, the next chapter won't be out for a couple weeks cause one of my betas is traveling a lot this month, including a trip jealous to Vancouver jealous for Gatecon! very jealous But I wish her a good time full of no sleep and much fun!

Author's Note3: Oh! Jack Dalton guest stars in this chapter. I wasn't going to write him in for fear it would get too confusing, but it just wouldn't be a MacGyver crossover without him, eh? ;)

Author's Note4: Katchi's finally out of the box! And he's very much happy for it, although he has a kink in his neck now. whoops

Author's Note5: I reedited this chapter and reposted. Took care of the whole eye twitching issue and few other minor things. . Whee!

When MacGyver was sure the planet wasn't actually going to chew him up and eat him for dinner, he pushed at the rocks that had been so intent on burying him alive. He wasn't entirely confident that wasn't the case already, but the genius liked to think on the positive side.

"Jack?"

"Still ticking," Jack's voice grudgingly replied from out of the blackness. "I guess this is what we get for spelunking without flashlights."

Grinning, Mac told him, "I'll remember that for next time."

"There isn't going to be a next time!" Jack immediately exclaimed. "Promise me, there won't be any next time."

MacGyver wished he could, but he'd stopped making promises like that a long time ago. "Where are you?"

With a few echoing grunts the two men located each other. "So, which way were we going?" Mac asked with a frown of uncertainty. He tried to look around for a clue, but the earthquake had messed up whatever sense of direction the pitch black hadn't.

"That way," Jack confidently stated. Mac assumed Jack was pointing, but even at less than a foot away it was impossible to see anything.

"Uh uh."

"Oh, come on." Jack grabbed his arm and tugged him in the chosen direction. For a moment Mac actually wondered if Jack could see…but then, why couldn't he? Then Mac realized Jack's keen sense of direction or even just his ability to move about in the darkness had nothing to do with any visual acuity. Mac wasn't even sure it had anything to do with their peculiar luck.

They moved slowly, and not just because they were walking blind over uneven ground. Every step up or over a rock pulled at Mac's side, threatening to reopen his wound. For a while Mac was afraid it had actually started bleeding again, but every time he checked his side he found the wound was still closed, as if invisible stitches were holding it together. The strain still severely taxed his energy reserves, and, as Mac listened to the both of them breathing, he knew Jack was having the same problem.

"Hey, let's stop for a bit," Mac finally suggested, concern coloring his voice. It wouldn't be good if they both passed out before they even reached the surface.

Another quake shook the earth, but unlike the last one where Mac felt like a bean inside a maraca, this one rolled like a wave, gently rocking the earth to sleep.

"Sure," Jack tiredly responded as soon as the quake passed. "Why not, it's not like we've got anywhere to be right now."

Mac couldn't quite figure out if Jack was being sarcastic or not. Feeling the need to add a bit of hope to their lightless situation, he cheerfully stated, "We'll find the surface, we just need to-" but he stopped short as a peculiar scent struck his nose. "Jack? Do you smell that?"

"Ya, smells like smoke. Guess the fire's been following along above us."

By mutual agreement their break was over. The smoke only got thicker as they went, but a small point of light appeared ahead of them and Mac headed for it like a moth to a flame. Upon later reflection, that hadn't been so inaccurate an analogy.

The speck of light increased, but so did the smoke, causing their eyes to tear up, making it near impossible to see anything anyway. Then all at once Mac wasn't gripping rocks, but a handful of roots.

Dirt fell about them, and the handhold Mac had slipped as the roots gave way. In the next instant a cloud of smoke surrounded them, and the two men pushed their way through it to find the surface. Coughing, Mac climbed out of the uneven hole. Instinctively he turned, unable to see, but reached with a sure grip to help Jack out. Together the two men looked at the surrounding inferno, the sharp crackle of burning wood filling their ears.

MacGyver could see Jack was trying to say something to him, but he couldn't make out what it was. After the silence of being underground for so long, the roar of the fire was deafening. He looked around for a possible path to follow but everything except the ground they stood on was aflame. And it wasn't long before that, too, would change. He could already feel the heat burning at his clothes.

Then he saw Jack pointing skyward, and looking up Mac was surprised to see a plane burst through the smoke. The doors on its belly opened and gallons of orange fire retardant were dumped out on the protesting fire, plus the two wayward travelers.

It wasn't quite the same as being rained on. Certainly not an experience he'd like to go through again, especially considering they now looked like human peaches, or in Jack's case, a very angry human peach. Blinking back tears and spitting the hideous tasting chemical from his mouth, Mac grabbed Jack's hand and they followed after the plane where the trail of orange had forced the fire to retreat.

Several helicopters followed, carrying loads of water, but they had to be more precise in dropping their loads and from a slightly higher elevation to keep the smoke from clogging their exhaust. While Mac would have been grateful for the shower, he was just as glad none of the water loads were near enough to hit them. The weight of that much water from that height could be rather painful.

They saw the plane again as it made another pass, tackling a rather high patch of fire. Mac and Jack had climbed away from the main body of the fire, taking the opportunity to escapes death's clutches yet again, when they saw one of the plane's engines catch fire. It buzzed past them and over the edge of the hill, clipping burnt trees as it crashed.

Mac immediately headed towards the downed plane. If there was even the smallest chance the pilot had survived they needed to find out. Jack must have had similar thoughts because he moved ahead of Mac, reaching the smoldering plane before him.

The Colonel climbed over the barricading logs and yanked open the cockpit door just as someone came stumbling from the plane, coughing deeply as a billow of smoke followed the man out.

"Hey, you okay?" Jack demanded, grabbing the guy's arm to steady him.

There was too much smoke to see the man's face clearly, but a perfectly recognizable voice choked out in surprise, "Mac? What are you doing here?"

A grin blossomed on MacGyver's face. "Jack?"

"What?" Both men answered but with two completely different tone of voices.

Mac happily clasped his longest standing friend, Jack Dalton, on the arm. "Jack! What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like? They needed help, I'm helping out," Dalton replied, and then with a look at the crashed plane amended, "Well I was. Ah, but you know what they say, any landing you can walk away from…"

"Is a good one," Mac finished, having said that far too many times in his past for comfort.

Then Dalton looked at him, and then at Jack, and after a moment remarked, "Man. I must really have hit my head hard, Mac. There're two of you and you both look like something that was growing in my fridge."

Jack scowled at the man, but Mac laughed. When Dalton looked at him in confusion Mac took pity upon his friend, and replied, "You're okay, Jack. I want you to meet my brother, Jack O'Neill."

"Hey, nice to meet…your brother! Mac, you don't have a brother, and I should know, I grew up with you!"

"Well that explains a lot," Jack remarked.

Mac gave the Colonel a good natured glare then said to Dalton, "It's complicated."

Dalton agreed. "With you, everything's complicated. But what are you doing out here? I didn't see your name on the volunteer list, not to mention you sure don't look like firemen at the moment."

Mac hesitated. If he said they had crashed a plane and fallen into a cave network that opened up a couple miles away from here, he wasn't sure even Dalton would believe him. Then with a sarcastic smirk Jack replied, "We were hiking."

"Whatever you say, Mac."

"Jack."

"What?" "No." Jack glowered at the man. "I'm Jack, he's Mac."

"Okay okay, don't get your pants into knots," Dalton defensively exclaimed.

"Ah, Jack?" Mac slid an arm around Dalton's shoulders and pulled him away from the Colonel. "You don't by chance know which way the nearest people would be, do you?"

"Oh sure. There's a staging area for the firemen not far from here, and with my baby down I'll have to head there myself. It was the weirdest thing, Mac," Dalton commented as they began walking. "Everything was going fine until suddenly it was like someone flipped a switch and the power just shut off. Just like that! Next thing I know I'm going down. Too bad I didn't know you were around or I'd have asked you to be my copilot."

MacGyver didn't think he'd have been much help, at least, not this time round.

Teal'c sat strapped into the back seat of one of Earth's fighter helicopters. It still amazed the jaffa that the machines could even fly. Unlike a deathglider, or other fighter aircraft, they did not seem to need to stay in motion to remain aloft, and, so he was told, they did not possess gravity inhibitors as one might expect. He shifted to relieve some of his worry then put his mind to other matters.

SG4 had accompanied them to the warehouse where they had discovered a deceased member of the Redfield family. MajorCarter had worried that Akh might have gotten to the device first, but Teal'c knew at once that the body must have been there for some time, and told her so. He suspected the warehouse was the same one previously mentioned by O'Neill and that the trail of blood leading away from the body was his.

It didn't take them long to locate the Hereta device. It had been left undisturbed and forgotten inside its packing crate, a fact that only confirmed the jaffa's belief that the goa'uld had not been involved in the events that must have transpired there.

Automatically, Teal'c checked his pocket where the Hereta device now resided. It was much smaller than he had expected, it hardly seemed like an item that could alter the very being of a person, but he trusted MajorCarter's assessment that it could.

They were currently flying towards the origin of the last Earthquake in the hopes of locating ColonelO'Neill and MacGyver. JacobCarter accompanied them, having determined 'He wouldn't miss it for the world,' while SG4 followed in another helicopter close behind.

Looking out the window, Teal'c could see a growing smudge of black on the horizon. As unreasonable as it might be on Earth, his eyes automatically scanned the skies looking for any attacking ships that might cause such smoke, but while he spotted a distant blur, he knew it wasn't of goa'uld origins.

Within the pouch all jaffa contain, Teal'c's symbiote suddenly began to move around in agitation and the hairs on the back of the jaffa's neck stood up with unexplainable alarm. "MajorCarter," Teal'c called over the headset, "I believe it would be wise for us to land."

She looked at him with a questioning expression, but after a moment leaned forward and ordered the pilot, "Land in the first available clearing you can find. And tell the other pilot to do the same."

The pilot looked startled by the order, but with one look at her perfectly serious expression quickly complied. "Yes, ma'am."

Teal'c was unsure what had caused his instincts to respond with warning, but the first place they found to set down was swarming with firefighters, and even before they set down Teal'c was sure he'd spotted O'Neill among them. MajorCarter must have as well because they had barely touched the ground before she threw the door open and jumped out.

"What the hell! You can't land here!" A man yelled, racing up as close as was safely possible.

Teal'c prepared to put himself between MajorCarter and the irate fireman, but JacobCarter filled that spot before he had the chance. "This is a matter of national security."

"Do you think I care? We're trying to stop a forest fire from getting out of control! We need these spots to refuel the 'copters! So get yours out of here!"

Following the direction the fireman was pointing, Teal'c spotted the blurred aircraft he'd seen from the window. There were three others with it, one heading towards them, while the other three seemed to be dropping. He looked down to see the glimmer of water contained in a cement lake. The helicopters, much smaller than their own, were dropping containers that dangled from their bellies into that water and lifting off again, water dripping in their wake as they turned back towards the clouds of black smoke.

But instead of moving their aircraft, the second helicopter containing SG4 landed in the neighboring field. The fireman opened his mouth to begin again, but MajorCarter suddenly pushed past him, while JacobCarter, following his daughter with his eyes, quickly told him, "Ten minutes, just give us ten minutes!" Then, he, too, left, leaving the fireman fuming on the spot. Teal'c politely nodded to the fireman and then followed after MajorCarter as well.

Behind him he could hear the fireman turn his anger on the pilot. "You can't stay here. Move your helicopter now!"

"Sorry, sir, can't do it without orders."

Teal'c quickly turned his attention to what had caught MajorCarter's attention. It was O'Neill, being tended by a medic while talking to a man the jaffa didn't recognize. "Sir!" MajorCarter called out as soon as they reached him. Her face broke out into a huge smile.

But it wasn't O'Neill. "Hey Sam. It's good to see you guys," MacGyver greeted with a tired grin. The medical technician finished wrapping MacGyver's injured torso and with a quick word moved on to his next patient. In the pavilion tent behind them, Teal'c could see several men sitting on portable beds, chairs, and whatever else was available, all with their right legs propped up or in casts.

MacGyver looked much worse than the men under the tent, but other than the injury to the torso, which Teal'c suspected would be much like O'Neill's, the man did not seem to have any other major injuries. The jaffa almost sighed with relief, but settled for a faint smile instead.

"Where's Colonel O'Neill? Is Nathan…?" MajorCarter immediately asked, her voice thick with worry.

"Nathan's dead," MacGyver answered first as he struggled to get a clean shirt on. It didn't do much to improve his appearance, especially since his skin and hair had taken on a strange orange hue. Teal'c's eyebrow rose of its own volition. Then MacGyver told them, "Jack's talking to the Chief."

"Holy Hannah," JacobCarter softly exclaimed, looking at MacGyver with wide eyes. "You're really not Jack?"

MacGyver looked at MajorCarter with a questioning expression. "MacGyver, this is my father, General Jacob Carter," MajorCarter quickly answered, then giving her father a glare, stated, "I told you that they were identical."

"I know you told me, but it is a little…"

As JacobCarter paused to search for a word to explain the peculiar nature of the situation, MacGyver's companion filled in with an all too cheerful expression, "Unbelievable, unlikely, surreal, unexpected, impossible? Believe me, Buddy, I know. And I grew up with this guy!"

"And you are?"

The man held out a soot-covered hand that JacobCarter was hesitant to shake. "Jack Dalton, entrepreneur adventurer, and pilot extraordinaire!"

With a smirk MacGyver added, "You forgot conniving manipulator."

"Mac," JackDalton complained, "I'm hurt that you would think of me that way!" But both men were grinning, which confused the jaffa. This was the JackDalton of which O'Neill had warned them against? From his appearance he seemed harmless, but Teal'c had learned long ago not to underestimate the peculiar eccentricities of the Tau'ri.

Just then SG4 caught up with them and MajorWilder immediately stated, "Colonel O'Neill. It's good see you're all right."

"Oh, ah…" Mac looked up at the man, blinking as if he were trying to think of an appropriate excuse, but in the end he simply settled on replying, "I'm not Jack."

"Is this a joke, sir?"

"No, I'm really not Jack. And I'm way too tired to joke."

Teal'c decided to help, adding his voice with some authority, "MacGyver is correct."

"That I'm too tired or that I'm not Jack?" MacGyver drowsily questioned

"Indeed."

Except for MajorWilder, whose face was scrunched up in concern, the rest of SG4 was standing with dropped jaws and shocked expressions on their faces. "Y-you're MacGyver?" LieutenantVonGnechten stammered out before his eyes took on an excited light Teal'c had come to recognize on most people meeting O'Neill's brother for the first time. "It's a real honor, sir. I've heard so many things…" He faded off as realization set in and LieutenantVonGnechten suddenly blurted out, "You look just like Colonel O'Neill!"

"We get that a lot," a new voice dryly remarked. They looked over to see O'Neill casually sauntering over to them. Unlike MacGyver, who'd apparently cleaned up a little bit, although it was hard to tell, O'Neill was still completely covered in dirt, soot, grime, and the same strange orange substance, but Teal'c could see no substantial new injuries and once again smiled briefly with relief.

SG4's jaws dropped for a second time. O'Neill grinned at them, then waving a hand towards the helicopters told them, "I thought I heard the sweet sound of home. I was trying to convince the Fire Chief to give us a lift outta here, but this is much better. Let's go."

"Sir," MajorWilder stopped O'Neill midstep. The Colonel reluctantly pivoted back towards them. "What about the…snake problem?"

"That's been taken care of. Let's go," O'Neill told them, impatiently turning towards the helicopters again as he added, "before all of Arizona burns down to the ground."

"Sir," MajorCarter quickly called. O'Neill stopped, raising a hand, warning her to be quiet, but she just ignored him and continued, "I'm afraid it's not going to be that simple."

"Now, how did I know you were going to say that!" the Colonel griped.

MacGyver frowned, but softly questioned, "Sedet?"

Carter nodded, and with a sigh that was almost a groan, O'Neill asked, "How long?"

"Best guess, early tomorrow," JacobCarter replied. "One of our guys spotted the ship-" He stopped short and everyone suddenly looked at JackDalton.

"What?" JackDalton innocently questioned, but Teal'c noticed that JackDalton's eyes had gained a unique gleam.

"Ah, Jack," MacGyver said to his friend, "Maybe you could go…see…" but O'Neill interrupted him.

"No. Dalton has to stay. We're going to need him."

JackDalton was as shocked as everyone else. Teal'c looked questioningly at O'Neill but said nothing. It was JackDalton who was the first to break the silence. "You need me?"

"Jack, are you sure?" MacGyver asked O'Neill with concern. The look the two brothers exchanged would suggest an entirely unspoken conversation was passing between them, although the jaffa was fairly positive neither man possessed any telepathic abilities. O'Neill just turned to LieutenantVonGnechten and ordered, "Give me your map, Lieutenant."

"Jack, what are you planning?" JacobCarter demanded.

JackDalton immediately protested, "I'm not planning anything!"

Giving the man a glare, O'Neill took LieutenantVonGnechten's map and spread it out on the ground in the center of the group. "Ready?" he asked MacGyver, who somberly nodded in return.

"Sir, what are you doing?" MajorCarter curiously questioned.

"Akh hid a ship way back when. We're going to find it!"

Teal'c watched as MacGyver and O'Neill closed their eyes and simultaneously pointed to the exact same spot on the map. Looking critically at the location, MacGyver commented, "That's not going to be easy to get to."

"Exactly." O'Neill looked up at SG4 and ordered, "Major Wilder, I want you and your team to get back to the SGC and make sure General Hammond activates the Alpha List. But first, get Dalton here to a plane. I don't care what it is, if it can fly, it'll work." Then he turned to JackDalton, pointing at the spot on the map and telling him, "In one hour I want you to fly to this spot, okay?"

"Sure Mac."

"Jack," O'Neill corrected.

"Yes?"

Taking a deep breath, O'Neill briefly closed his eyes and ground out, "I'd swear you do that on purpose."

"Jack," JacobCarter asked with a frown, "What are you planning?"

"We're going to go get the ship, then Mac and I are going to go meet Sedet, and Dalton here is going to come pick you up."

"We can come get anyone, sir," MajorWilder offered.

Simultaneously, JacobCarter pointed out, "We can just fly ourselves back, Jack."

And even Teal'c had felt the need to tell him, "You need not go alone, O'Neill."

O'Neill took in all three statements, blinked as he sorted out who said what, and with a pointed finger responded, "Major, we haven't rubbed off on you enough for you and your team to survive the trip." Then he pointed at Jacob. "And we'll be lucky to survive our own trip there, let alone keep the helicopter in working condition." Then at last he looked at Teal'c, his eyes showing understanding, but his voice was still firm as he told the jaffa, "You're lucky I'm even letting you guys come with us to the ship."

"Jack," JacobCarter began, clearly objecting O'Neill assessment of the situation, but MacGyver spoke up, his soft voice easily stopping JacobCarter before he could say anything else.

"Jack and I are about to go nuclear. If it's going to happen lets see if we can do it on Sedet's turf instead of our own."

Only half the group understood the full impact of what MacGyver had just said, and it was enough to somber even Teal'c. Among the rest, JackDalton and SG4 exchanged confused looks. "Ship?" JackDalton inquired, the peculiar gleam once again returning to his eyes.

"Sir? How are we going to unbury the ship once we get there?" MajorCarter asked, ignoring JackDalton but giving him a nervous glance.

As if in answer to her question, the ground began to shake as a violent earthquake knocked them all off their feet. The pavilion tent toppled over, along with any piece of equipment in the area. To make things worse, the fueling truck for the helicopter caught fire. It didn't explode like in the movies Teal'c generally enjoyed watching, but it did cause a lot of alarm, especially so close to the helicopters.

"Need I say more?" O'Neill grumbled as soon as the earthquake passed.

With a grimace, MacGyver got back to his feet. "We might want to think about leaving now, before anything else can go wrong."

With that, the fuel truck exploded, debris shooting out in all directions as it shattered the windows and pocketed both waiting helicopters with holes. MacGyver cringed, first from the explosion, then again as O'Neill hit the man on the arm, exclaiming, "What is wrong with you!"

"I'm sorry, okay?"

"Come on. Let's go see if we can still get these birds in the air."

Thankfully they could, but not before a few rather peculiar improvisations were needed.