Chapter Two: Where Once Was Light

"Carter, are you sure you know what you are doing?"

Sam rolled her eyes as she pulled the stopper from the bottle that held the potion Alana gave them. At the moment, they were in one of the quarantine rooms with Doctor Fraiser and a team of nurses. Daniel quietly lay on the other side of the room, unaware of what was going on around him. Carefully she poured the contents evenly into three beakers, the liquid giving off a putrid stench. Jack wrinkled his nose, staring at the dark liquid.

"I'm going to have to drink that?"

"If you want to help Daniel, then you would endeavor to do so." Teal'c replied, watching as Janet removed a vial of blood from her pocket coat. Using an eye dropper, she placed a single drop of Daniel's blood into the beakers. They watched as the dark color changed from an ugly brown color to a bright green blue. The potion no longer smelled surprisingly of rotting fruit but rather of a dozen roses. Jack filed that away for latter usage once Daniel got back.

"Hmm, now it seems a little better." Jack commented, lifting a beaker from the lab top and carefully sniffing it. Yup, it definitely smelled of roses.

"SG-1, are you sure you all want to do this?" General Hammond asked from the observation window. Next to him, watching the Daniel's vitals was Sergeant Walter, glasses perched on his head.

"We're sure, general. This is Daniel we're talking about. Would go to hell and back for him." Jack said without hesitation, the others quickly agreeing. Sam and Teal'c grabbed theirs and walked over to where Janet had set up medical beds near Daniel. Several nurses were standing by, waiting for any thing to go wrong.

Jack swirled the contents around, watching as it shifted from bright blue to green blue and back again. "I hope this works. Bottoms up, Carter." Jack swallowed it all in one huge gulp. "Hmm, that tasted better than what I thought it would be." The other two members followed.

"It tastes sweet." Sam raised an eyebrow, licking her lips.

"It has an un-definable taste to it." Teal'c added.

"Oh, it's strong though." Jack could feel the room tilting, the bright lights over head swirling with the greyness of the wall. The colonel didn't feel any thing as he hit the bed, head lolling to the right.

Where are we? Jack asked. He was now in a dark forest, the sky overhead booming with the thundering of the storm overhead. Winds whistled down from the dark mountains, moaning through the dry trees like forgotten ghosts. Carter? Teal'c?

Yes, sir? Sam and Teal'c appeared at his side, dressed in their SG uniforms.

I repeat my earlier question. Where are we?

I'm guessing we are in Daniel's mind.

And the storms?

Sam looked at her commanding officer. Sir, I have a master's in theoretical astrophysics, not psychology. I do not pick people's brains apart for a living.

Sorry. I just want to know where we are.

Perhaps we should head toward the tower over to our right, O'Neill. Teal'c pointed toward a looming shadow in the distance that Jack didn't see before.

That's probably our best bet then.

SG-1 walked toward the tower, wary of the lightning arcing above them, the clouds churning angrily. The trees on either side of them rose like drowning figures in the dark, forlorn hands reaching for salvation that would never come. The desolate feeling that wove around the tree, in the ground, grinded deeply into Jack, grating on his nerves. If this was Daniel's mind, how the hell did he make it through the past five years?

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they came to the entrance to the dark tower. Withering vines wrapped themselves like dried arms hanging to an anchor, reaching upward between the cracks in the marble. Age and weather had begun to erode away at the one pristine white tower, changing its coloring to a dank grey, not unlike that of the halls of the SGC.

This place creeps me out. Jack quietly muttered, the words borne away on the wind.

I too do not like the feeling of this location. But I believe what we seek may be inside.

I would rather stay out here.

Sir, it's not the time for you to chicken out.

Who said I was chickening out? Have you seen the state of that big rock? It could fall at any minute.

Are you giving up on me so easily Jack?

Spyridon- See? I'm still alive. I'm just focusing on graduating high school at the moment. I'm writing two other stories at the moment. I'm getting there so stick with me. Here's a little teaser I guess. I'll try to update as much as I can before I go to college. Reviews are greatly appreciated! :D