The group went in a Puddle Jumper, cramming into the small ship. The journey took a fair amount of time and, hit by a sudden wave of drowsiness, Vala sat down with a sigh. Her exhale breaking the tense silence, Daniel glanced over to her, concerned. Not noticing his eyes on her, Vala looked down to the budge on her stomach, eyes dark and lips curved downward. She rested a hand there, rubbing gently. Daniel walked to her side and sat down.

"You okay?" he asked. Vala nodded, completely silent. Daniel frowned.

"The kid okay?" he asked, his voice turning to a whisper. Vala smiled, letting out a huff of breath in an attempt to laugh.

"As far as I can tell," she replied. "He's just…not very active. Shy, I guess."

"Well he sure doesn't get that from you," Daniel teased. Vala's lips quirked again and she turned her gaze finally to Daniel.

"Must be your gene."

Daniel smiled back, placing his hand on the back of her neck and resting his forehead against hers. "Must be."

"Okay, that doesn't make sense," John commented darkly from the pilot's seat. Daniel and Vala looked up.

"What?" Sam asked as the entire group herded to the front of the ship.

"That," Rodney answered for the colonel, pointing.

Atlantis sat in the water, no sign of trouble or damage visible. It was as if nothing had happened. But, to six members of the party's memories, that wasn't true.

"I thought you said it sank," Cameron stated bluntly.

"It did," Ronon replied, dark eyes focused on the city.

"Then how-?" Vala asked.

"We're about to find out," Rodney interrupted. "Someone from the city's hailing us."

"Bring 'em up on the screen," John ordered. Rodney did and a stern woman appeared before the group. Her hair was brunette and tied up in a tight bun. Her eyes were disapproving and a dark grey as she assessed the group. Her lips were pressed into a thin line that curved down on both sides before they opened to speak.

"State your name and busi—" Suddenly she broke off, her stormy eyes fixed on the back of the group, where Vala and Daniel stood. "Orionus?"

Vala looked surprised. "Uh…I'm Vala."

The woman shook her head, annoyed. "No. Not you…you."

Daniel pointed at himself. "Me?" After the woman nodded curtly, Daniel continued. "My name's Daniel."

The woman's eyebrows creased. "No… Wait there." She ran off. Daniel stared at the screen, confused, feeling everyone's questioning stare on him.

"What?" he demanded.

"'Orionus'?" Jack echoed. Daniel shrugged, expression incredulous.

"I don't know!"

Teyla opened her mouth but was cut off by the return of the stern woman, her eyes softer than before. She smiled.

"You may land."

XxXxX

"But it makes sense, doesn't it?" Daniel asked as the group walked out of the Puddle Jumper. Cameron scoffed.

"That we're millions of years in the past and that chick was an Ancient? No!"

"Oh, come on," Daniel pushed, an excited gleam in his eyes. "What other explanation is there?"

"I don't know!" Cam argued. He shut up, however, when the stern woman walked towards them, a welcoming smile on her face.

"Greetings," she said, focusing on Daniel as if he were in charge. "My name is Arwynia. Please follow me."

Daniel glanced to Cam for confirmation. The colonel sighed and nodded. Pursing his lips, Daniel hurried to follow Arwynia. She led them to a circular room, ten older men and women waiting in large, decorate throne-like chairs occupying the room. Arwynia bowed.

"The council of the Altera," she announced, backing out of the room. Daniel gave a sharp intake of breath, eyes widening with excitement.

"Greetings," the elderly man in the center said, years of wisdom frosting his voice. "The head of the council is unavailable currently; therefore I am standing in his place." The man stopped, light blue eyes assessing Daniel scruntinizingly.

"Your arrival has caused a great amount of contention among the council, Orionus," he informed the linguist. Daniel bristled.

"Look, I don't know who this 'Orionus' is but—"

"Daniel Jackson is the name you go by, I presume?" the man interrupted. Daniel froze, shocked.

"Yeah…"

The old man sighed. "Your true name is Orionus. You are one of the Altera, or the Ancients is what I believe you call us."

"I—" Daniel chocked, confusion swirling over him. "I'm an Ancient? Wha-…how…?"

"You did not follow many of our laws, you did not believe them…moral, I believe. Therefore, the council eventually came to the decision to banish you. You lost all your memories and were born to a pair of Tauri in the far future. We believed this would be the safest course of action, preventing you to ever run into us again. However, that doesn't seem to be the case."

Daniel blinked blankly, mouth gaping like a fish. "I…how…how long ago was this?"

"About a year ago."

"I knew there was something strange about you," Jack muttered under his breath. Daniel threw a glare back to the retired general.

"Oh, shut up, Jack."

"Orionus?"

Daniel turned around fully to the door where Arwynia had left from to see a familiar curly-haired woman standing there, an overjoyed smile on her face.

"Oma?"

At that single word, Oma raced towards Daniel, enveloping him in a hug.

"Oh, Orionus, I've missed you so!"

Completely taken off guard by Oma's uncommon display of emotion, Daniel pushed away from her embrace, giving her an incredulous look.

"You knew me before…." He trailed off, a musing glint in his eyes.

"Of course I know you!" Oma exclaimed, not understanding. "You're my…my…ooh…." Her eyes widened in sudden realization. "You don't remember, do you?"

Daniel shook his head. "No. I'm your what?"

"Wait…then how do you remember my name?"

"You helped me ascend," Daniel explained dismissively. "I'm your what?" Did he really want to know? After all, Vala was standing right beside him…

"Ascend?" Oma repeated with a quick glance to the council. "How-?"

"I'm your what, Oma?" Daniel interrupted testily.

"Brother!" Oma replied quickly, shocked at Daniel's annoyance. "You're my brother. Orionus Desalo. That's your full name."

"Desalo?" Vala echoed under her breath.

"Desala is feminine," Oma explained.

"Brother?" Jack asked. "Oh…I was thinking—"

Daniel whirled around. "Jack! Shut up!"

"What?" Jack demanded. "Everyone's thinkin' it, I'm just sayin' it! I thought she was gonna say you were her husband or somethin'…"

"Jack!" Daniel bellowed.

"How do you know of ascension, Orionus?" the elderly man from before asked.

"Look, my name's not Orionus—"

"However, that is what every Altera will call you," the man interrupted. "You might as well get used to it. Now. How do you know of ascension?"

"Almost ten years ago, I died," Daniel explained. "But Oma, who had ascended, helped me to ascend. I was there for a year before the council finally got tired of me bending and breaking half the rules, so I descended with no memories of the past year."

Beside him, Oma laughed. "Even though you don't remember your time here, you still act the same."

The elderly man frowned thoughtfully, exchanging a few words with the woman to his left.

"How have you, along with your friends, come to return?" he asked after a pause.

"Uh…we're a band of explorers and we have, er, had an expedition out here in Atlantis," Daniel started. "By our time, Atlantis had long since been abandoned. But just recently an enemy of ours attacked the city. We barely managed to get some of the people out before the city sunk. We," he said, gesturing o the group, "were coming to check out the remains. Obviously, though, something happened when we passed through the Stargate."

It was eerily silent before the man finally reacted.

"The council will discuss what is to be done," he said. "For now, I believe we can trust you and your friends as you explore the city?"

Daniel looked mildly surprised, however honored, by that offer, and nodded quickly. "Of course," he assured them. "And thank you."

A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!