Chapter Two:

Oh, how the plotlessness thickens

Teal'c, with an unusual mixed expression of sadness and rage on his normally passive face, looked over at Jack and Sam. "Daniel Jackson will be back."

"How?!?" Colonel O'Neill yelled, "He's dead!"

"Indeed. But the Goa'uld have sarcophagi. They will use it to bring Daniel Jackson back to life."

O'Neill looked relieved for a moment, then concerned again. "How do you know for sure?"

"That is what Anubis told his Jaffa to do."

Jack lightened up a little at this, but immediately went back to being glum. "Yeah, they'll just bring him back for more torture so they can kill him again."

The three remaining members of SG-1 sat on the floor of the prison. They began to talk to one another about Daniel. They shared their favorite Daniel stories, like the 'Spacemonkey" incident. They talked and came to realize how much Daniel had changed in the past 7 years. When he and Colonel O'Neill went on the first mission to Abydos, he had been a wide-eyed scientist with no skill at all in military training. He did surprisingly well when it came to using guns, but was no where near the expertise of the Air Force. When they got him from Abydos for a second time, he was still the puny archaeologist who had no idea what to do when it came to fighting. You did have to give him credit, though, when he had to fight, he was one of the bravest guys in the field. Unfortunately, being brave doesn't always work when you don't know how to shoot a gun properly. Later, about the time the team finally managed to defeat Apophis, Daniel became much more skilled and brave. He was better than half of the people the colonel had trained with. He was a very fast learner. But one thing Daniel never had to learn was how to be kind and caring for everyone, even the bad guys occasionally. He was always able to turn around and see the problem from other people's perspective. Except for the Goa'uld, of course. They were the ones responsible for his wife's death, and he hated them for it.

Unfortunately for Daniel, being kind and brave was his downfall on Kelowna. He was nice enough to risk his own life to save millions of people he didn't even know. The stupid, ungrateful Kelownans, however, saw his act in destroying a nuclear bomb that was going to blow up their whole planet as sabotage. For three days, Daniel lay in pain in the infirmary from radiation. Only one Kelownan had the sense to come forward and say that Daniel was a hero for doing what he did. They were all afraid that Daniel was going to die that day, but he decided to ascend to a higher plane of existence to avoid dying permanently. He was ascended for about a year before the Ancients kicked him out for breaking the rules and trying to help his friends and Abydos. Now, he was smart and strong. He was no longer the puny, innocent archaeologist that first went through the Stargate. He was now an intelligent warrior who could speak well over 25 languages and had the courage, and the skill, to beat the Goa'uld.

The members of the team sat in silence for a while, each thinking of their own personal experiences that Daniel was responsible for helping them with. Then, the silence was broken by the opening of the cell door. In came Anubis, his Jaffa, and Daniel, all alive.

"Daniel!" Colonel O'Neill said with joy.

Daniel looked over at him with a weak smile, showing that he understood why he and Carter did what they did. But his smile was soon swept away in an expression of pain as he held his side. When O'Neill looked close enough, he could see that Daniel had been stabbed with something.

"Hey," he barked at Anubis, "What did you do to him?"

"You must tell me the coordinates of Earth, or the same will happen to your Jaffa friend. It is obvious that you do not care about this one. You let me kill him. All you need to do is give me the coordinates of Earth."

At the mentioning of the fact that he was dead, Daniel shuddered a bit, trying to push away the unpleasant thought. Then, it was he rather than Carter and O'Neill who answered the evil Goa'uld's question. "No matter what you do to us, they aren't going to tell you anything." He said and looked up nervously at the Goa'uld as if expecting him to hurt or kill him once more.

Anubis looked down at Daniel who moved around on his chains uneasily. He was frightened, yes, but he knew that the safety of their entire world lay in the hands of SG-1. He was prepared to take a chance in order to save the billions of lives on their planet.

Finally, Anubis spoke up, "I believe that they will tell me eventually." He said slyly.

"Well..." Daniel started. He knew what he wanted to say, but it was always a lot harder to risk your life than he made it look. "If you're going to torture anyone, torture me. Don't hurt Teal'c, please." He said desperately.

Anubis appeared surprised at Daniel's sacrifice. Probably because no Goa'uld would ever risk his life for another. His expression soon changed to one of delight as he looked at the young man. "Then you will go through some of the worst pain and torture one could ever endure." he said. "I not only want the coordinates of Earth, but I find it amusing to watch my victims go through much torture. You will suffer, and just when you think it is all over for you, and you will finally die and be rid of your pain and suffering, I will bring you back in the sarcophagus. Not only because you are of the horrid Tau'ri, but because you ascended, as I attempted to do, but you succeeded because the Ancients thought you worthy enough. You have no idea how painful my life is right at this moment because of my failure to ascend. I want you to feel worse than even that pain," he said with glee.

Daniel felt sick. He really didn't want to do this, but it was either him, or Teal'c. He had no other choice.

Then, O'Neill, who had been staring dumbfounded at Daniel and Anubis, snapped out of it and said, "Daniel, are you CRAZY?!?"

Daniel looked over at him with sad blue eyes and said, "Jack, I'm sorry, but there's no other option."

Jack kept staring at him. He knew this was true, for Daniel at least. Daniel couldn't handle watching others be tortured, especially when they were his friends. And although he was sure Daniel would never crack under pressure and give up to Anubis, Jack also knew that Daniel would rather have it be him, rather than Teal'c, Jack...or even Sam, be the one to suffer. He was just too kind.

Teal'c was also not happy with this proposal. At least, as far as Jack could tell. Teal'c still hadn't mastered the fact that he was able to express his emotions more clearly now that he was out of league with the Goa'uld, but he had gotten better and Jack was pretty sure he saw some anger and sadness in his expression...maybe.

Carter, however, was still daydreaming and apparently hadn't really noticed that Daniel was back in the room after he died. The ever so brilliant astrophysicist was not so good at handling capture.

After a long moment of awkward silence, Anubis signaled to a Jaffa. The Jaffa was obviously his first prime, due to the golden emblem on his forehead. He unlocked Teal'c from the chains on the wall. They were apparently on very tight because his wrists were bleeding where the chains used to be. Teal'c put up a good fight, for he did not want to be any further away from his friend than he already was on the one wall. He did not want to be next to O'Neill on the opposite wall this time because Daniel Jackson needed his help and protection. But in his injured state, he managed to be restrained once again. He still struggled trying to break free and get to Daniel Jackson, the man had just given up his own life in exchange for Teal'c's. But it was hopeless.

Anubis noticed that all of the members of the team were struggling against their chains to protect their friend. This angered him and he commanded, "Stop! You will do nothing more than injure yourselves further if you attempt escape. And although that would please me rather greatly, what do you think your poor little friend would think if he just risked his life for the likes of idiots like yourselves?" he said mockingly. He looked over at Daniel and said to him, "Look at them. These are the ones you gave up your freedom for. The ones who let me kill you a little while ago. The ones whom, as I have heard, have left you to die many times. Why do you do so?" He asked, more out of willingness to tease than desire to know.

Daniel looked at Anubis. The fury and rage inside of him could be seen through his deep blue eyes. Finally, he said with hatred in his voice, "Because, they have also saved my life more times than I can count. Without them, I wouldn't be here today to tell you that I think your a..." The next few things Daniel said are not appropriate to print on paper.

Sam, Teal'c, and even Jack, were surprised at Daniel's language. Jack smiled. He had taught him well.

Although Daniel's teammates were surprised, it took Anubis a while to digest the fact that he had just allowed this worthless human to make fun of him. Daniel smiled triumphantly. He had SOOO won that battle.

But Anubis' shock did not last long, and he immediately began Daniel's endless torture with a staff weapon. He carefully aimed at Daniel's stomach, but as soon as Daniel realized this, he moved around so that the blast hit his right leg instead. He cried out in pain as his legs gave way beneath him. He was about to fall forward, but the chains binding his hands were up high on the wall. They left him hanging painfully by his wrists as he hung in midair, not able to fall any closer to the ground. His breathing started to slow down after the shocking ordeal. His breath was coming out in short, raspy gasps, but it was better than not breathing at all. He managed to pull his head up and glare harshly at Anubis, who was obviously enjoying himself at the moment.

"You impress me, Doctor Jackson. I did not expect for you to be so clever to move out of the way," he said. He was so busy gloating to Daniel that he didn't notice Teal'c's leg was about to kick him very hard in the back until it was too late. He fell forward, almost on top of Daniel and crashed to the ground. Daniel looked up at Teal'c and smiled. Anubis was going to have a harder time torturing him than he thought.

Anubis' first prime, Herak was his name, rushed over to his master to help him rise. Anubis pushed him away, signaling that a god such as himself did not need help to get to his feet. He glared viciously at Teal'c and prepared to Zat him again, but then his expression became much more calm as he turned away from Teal'c to Daniel. He smiled evilly and Daniel gulped. He was glad Teal'c had gotten revenge for him, but now Daniel was going to pay for Teal'c's act. Daniel managed to stand up, leaning mostly, but not entirely, on his left leg. He would show Anubis that if he wanted to kill him, Daniel wasn't about to give up anytime soon. Anubis seemed surprised that Daniel was even able to sustain any weight on his feet. He decided to use this point to weaken Danny further.

"Ah, you impress me, Doctor Jackson, once again. I did not think you would be able to stand after the shot to your leg."

"Yeah, well, it just shows how little you know about me," Daniel replied coldly.

"If one blast is not enough to stop you, let's see what two do."

He once again aimed the weapon at Daniel, only this time at his left knee. Daniel's face went white as he awaited another painful blast to collide with his leg. He heard a loud "No!" coming from one of his teammates, but his brain didn't have enough time to register which one it was before another burning blast emerged from the staff weapon to hit him squarely in the knee. He yelped at the harsh impact, but somehow managed to keep himself standing. 'Oh, wonderful,' he thought 'I can keep standing after two staff weapon blasts hit me on both legs, but I can't manage to keep myself alive after three the first time. I really need to get my priorities in order.'

The staff weapon wounds were not a very comfortable thing to put all his weight on, but somehow Daniel had managed. This took a while for Anubis to take in. In the meantime, his team smiled proudly at him, acknowledging his strength and courage. He weakly smiled back at them. By this time, he had almost forgotten about the place he had been stabbed on his side. But now, his whole body was screaming at him to sit down and was making him remember all of his injuries to coax him into it. But Daniel refused to sit down and look like a coward in front of any Goa'uld.

After Anubis had finally assessed the situation, he looked at Daniel in horrific displeasure. "You, Doctor Jackson, are stronger than you appear. But make no mistake, I will come back to make you live in even more excruciating pain." And with one final look that showed his superiority and control, he walked out of the cell once more.

Daniel saw him turn the corner and immediately forced himself to try and sit down. Unfortunately, the chains on his wrist were too high up to get his body all the way down on the floor. He decided to settle with the next-best thing and leaned against the wall behind him.

"Daniel Jackson..." Teal'c started.

Daniel cut him off in mid-sentence, "Teal'c, it's not your fault, so don't try and apologize. I couldn't handle it if it had been you instead of me getting tortured..." His last sentence was stopped by a pain in his left side where he had been stabbed. It was a pretty deep cut and it hurt like h well, you get the idea.

O'Neill noticed this and asked softly, "Daniel, are you going to be okay?"

Daniel looked up at him, his pain-filled blue eyes glossed over as he started to tear up. He couldn't do this. How would he ever be able to survive any of this torture? It would be bad for his friends, too. They had seen him die more times than they needed to. And it seemed every time, it just got more painful to watch. But Daniel would try to be strong for his friends if nothing else.

"I'm...fine...Jack," He said between gasps for breath.

The colonel obviously thought otherwise as his expression turned to one of deep concern for his friend.

Daniel attempted a smile to reassure him, but it didn't last long, as he fell into unconsciousness.

For a moment the colonel became very worried, fearing the worst. But then he heard Daniel's ragged breathing and started to settle down.

"Teal'c, we have got to find a way out of here. For Daniel."

"Indeed, O'Neill. But what would the way out be?"

Jack thought for a moment, then said, "When Anubis brought you and Daniel in here for the first time, how did he open the cell?"

"He appeared to merely move his hand over the entrance and it opened."

"So...maybe some kind of code?"

"It is possible. He might also have a secret word he states that only he knows that could open the door."

"Like a password?"

"Indeed, O'Neill."

Jack thought. What would Anubis' "password" be? Probably something in Goa'uld. But the only two on the team who knew Goa'uld were Teal'c and Daniel. If this was the case, then they would only need Teal'c to help translate the language. However, Jack also knew, thanks to Daniel, that Anubis could probably speak ancient Egyptian since he was one of the Egyptian gods. If that was the case, they would need Daniel to translate the word, and he certainly wasn't in any shape to be devising a plan to get the rest of his team out, as it was he who needed their help.

"O'Neill, I do not believe that the password would work from the inside of the cell. It would be very uncharacteristic of the Goa'uld," said Teal'c.

This was followed by an awkward silence, in which all that could be heard was Daniel's breathing and Carter's quiet humming.

'Wonderful' thought O'Neill 'not one plan so far to escape this place would have any possibility of working. The only person who hasn't given an idea yet is Daniel. His plans are usually the ones we go with. But I don't think he's really in any position to be giving us a daring plan to escape.'

Suddenly, there was a low groan from Daniel's position as he struggled out of his unconscious state. He lifted his head to look right at the colonel.

"Jack?" He said softly.

"Hey, Spacemonkey! How you doing?" Jack said trying to maintain the same tone of voice as Daniel.

"Anubis back yet?" He asked.

"No, not yet, Danny-Boy."

"Good. Sam and Teal'c okay?

"Yeah Daniel they're fine." Jack said. 'Gosh Daniel, your in great pain, yet you ask if the people not being tortured are okay. Do you ever stop being nice?'

"That's good, too, Jack."

Jack nodded his head. He didn't know what else to say.

"Figure out a plan yet?"

Jack thought, 'Oh, yeah. That thing. Well Daniel, it's probably going to be up to you to get us all out of here before you die and we all are tortured for eternity by watching you get killed.'

"No," Jack said, "not quite yet."

"'Okay"

All of a sudden, the door once again swung open. Jack cursed under his breath. He sure hoped they weren't coming back for another round of torture so soon. Herak walked into the cell and placed in front of the three members of SG-1 on the one wall what appeared to be a bucket of water and 3 plates of...food. Nasty food that the colonel was afraid to even touch. There was, of course, already somewhat of a toilet in one corner. All the men had promised Carter not to look while she...went.

What Herak did next surprised the colonel very much. He unhooked the three members' hands from the chains. He turned and told them, "You must have your hands free to eat and drink. My lord said it would be best if I just left you unhooked for the rest of your stay here. I must only chain you up when the torture is in session." He said with glee.

"What about him?" Jack said acknowledging Daniel's position with a tilt of his head.

"My lord says not to allow the victim to consume nourishment, as it will make him weaker and more vulnerable to even small injuries." He said with sickening joy.

Jack was disgusted. But he figured he would wait for

Herarak or whatever his name was, to leave and he would go over and give some of his water and food to Daniel.

"Oh, and if you are thinking of giving away your supplies to him, think again," He said. He smiled as he walked over to Daniel. He reached his hand out to him, but it was stopped short by an energy field that was only around Daniel. Nothing could go in to or out from Daniel except noise.

Daniel, who had been conscious the whole time the conversation had been going on, was surprised to see that he was trapped in his own energy field. It must have come up when he was unconscious.

"Only my master has the key to disposing of the energy field around the victim. It can only be opened for torture sessions or for small amounts of nourishment every three days...if he survives that long." Herak got in one triumphant smirk just before leaving the cell.

Jack stared dumbfounded. He was so hungry, but he refused to eat or drink anything in front of Daniel when he couldn't. Teal'c and even Carter made the same decision in their minds too.

However, Daniel spoke up in his quiet voice. "C'mon guys. You've got to eat something or you'll die, too." He took a gasp for breath and went on, "I don't want to be responsible for you guys dying."

The rest of the team looked worriedly at Daniel, but he just gave a small smile and said, "I wouldn't want to eat that nasty looking stuff anyway," he said. Although his empty stomach and dry throat were telling him otherwise.

The rest of the team smiled. Even in the worst of situations, Daniel could give his best sense of humor. Reluctantly, the team settled down to eat without Daniel. Jack couldn't help but feel a little awkward having Daniel stare at them while they ate, so he said, "Daniel could you, like, uh, go to sleep or something while we, uh, eat?"

"I'm way ahead of you Jack," Daniel said as he slowly dozed off into sleep.