Sam awoke to the jostling and vibrating of a moving vehicle.

"What the hell?" she muttered, sitting up. She was curled on the back bench of an unfamiliar military issue van, entangled in a sloppily placed seat belt and what appeared to be seven months worth of mysterious alien child. Trying to wake up her cramped body Sam stretched her legs, only to run into the other occupant of the bench. At first she thought it was a stranger, but as the blurriness in her waking eyes cleared, Sam realized the figure was Jonas.

Whoa.

What the hell had happened to the guy? He'd never been red before. Streaks of bright cherry ran through Jonas' hair, down onto the scalp and spread out onto his face, highlighting the cheekbones and neck, then continuing down under his collar. Sam could just see the end of one stripe peeking out from Jonas' sleeve, invading the hand supporting his chin like scales. To add to the creepiness, the man's eyes had turned the same vivid colour, and they now turned to stare at her coldly.

No. She'd made a mistake. This wasn't Jonas.

"She's awake," it said. The driver didn't respond, but Major Carter sure had something to say.

"Who the hell are you," she asked boldly, "and what do you want with me?"

"Should we tell her?" asked Jonas, turning to the front.

"I do not see any reason not to," replied the driver, who was now identified as Teal'c. Jonas sighed and turned his sights out the window to the mountain range whirring by.

"My name is Ba'ril," he said, "my companion is Horeb, and the captured one is Tannik. Our brother growing inside you is Orith. He was lucky enough to have at least part of his corporeal form left after all these years. We are of the race you know as the Ancients."

Ancients?

"Bu.." mumbled Sam, "but you're supposed to be the good guys. You build technology that kills Goulds and-" Ba'ril snorted in laughter.

"On the majority, yes. But you know the Goa'uld. Where do you think they stole their titles as gods?" Sam frowned.

"So you posed as gods too?"

"No woman, we are the gods!" Ba'ril hissed, "The True Gods. And we have come to take back what is rightfully ours!"

Ooh, this didn't sound good.

"So," said Sam, turning to look out the window. Seeing only cliffs she asked, "Where are we headed?"

"To the City of Angels," replied Horeb, "where the temple of our sister Illyria is located."

"We're going to Los Angeles? How could there be one of you in Los Angeles?"

"Major Carter, it is actually quite strange that you found us on another planet, when we were buried here on Earth."

"Buried here on Earth?" Sam frowned, "are there...more of you?"

Ba'ril's expression did not change as she replied, "Thousands."

Lying in the infirmary Jack O'Neill opened his eyes, then snapped them shut almost immediately. Headache, headache, headache...

"Oowww..."

"Oh good, you're awake," said Dr. Fraiser matter of factly, "how are you feeling?"

"Oowww..."

"Everything's working, that's good to hear," Janet marked something on her clipboard.

"What the hell happened?" Jack moaned, "Did I get a snake in my head, 'cause that's sure what it felt like."

"If you mean you had no control over your body, then that would be a fair assessment," replied the doctor, "but it wasn't a Goa'uld. Whatever was inside you was mostly energy and whatever the virus had mutated."

"My team?" asked Jack. Janet shook her head.

"The other two escaped, and they took Major Carter as a hostage. We're trying to track them now, but it's proving difficult. If you tell us anything, about their motives perhaps, it would be a great help." Jack almost shook his head, but something happened at the mention of motives. Several pictures flashed through Jack's mind, an underground temple, a woman, a beautiful woman, power, explosions, her cry, a cry of rage, a hole, a hole in the Earth... and suddenly he knew.

"They're going to bring her back," he mumbled, "they're going to bring her back!"

"Bring who back who?" asked Dr. Fraiser, "Colonel O'Neill ho-"

"Los Angeles!" he shouted, jumping off the bed, "and I'm coming with you!"

"Colonel O'Neill!" snapped Janet, "you will sit down this instant! You just woke up, there is no way I'm letting you on a mission!"

"Look Doc," said the Colonel, "that thing's outta' me, I'm fine. If the other two fulfill their mission, all hell will break loose. And if they've started before we get there, I'm the only one who knows how to stop it. Plus..." at this moment Jack faltered, and looked down, a worried look crossing his face.

"What is it?" asked Janet, her tone softened. Jack looked back up at her.

"If it works it'll kill Sam."