The chamber seemed to shrink around them as the dragon came to their level. It's breath alone could've killed.
"What have you been eatin'!" Mitchell cried out in an O'Neill-esque manner. Though it drew chuckles from his team members, the dragon didn't seem amused. Fire rushed toward them but something stopped it.
"Morgan don't you dare abandon us now!" Sam screamed at the air. She and Jack had instinctively raised their arms to protect their faces and, in doing so, had triggered another of their stimuli. An invisible wall was keeping the fire away from the small group of humans on the dias.
"I'm glad I'm on your side..." Ba'al mumbled, getting a glare from Teal'c.
How is this happening? Sam thought, madly searching for an answer within.
I have no idea...
Sir?
Sam!
What's going on?
I'd hoped you would know...
I don't know everything.
Well, let's not think about it and maybe it'll keep happening!
Sounds good. The pair of them rose to their feet, keeping their hands out to keep the fire away.
"Guys?" Daniel asked. "Are you doing this?"
"Think so," Sam mumbled. They had both begun to sweat as the stream of fire continued to bombard them.
The fire finally stopped and the pair of them took a step backwards, wiping the sweat off their faces. When they looked up again the dragon had settled itself on the walkway between the dias they stood on, and the stone-filled exit.
Jack began searching the chamber for anything that could help them get rid of this very large, very annoyed, beast. Then it caught his eye; there was a small crevice about four meters over and a meter up on the wall. Something from inside the crack in the wall, just out of sight, gave off a slight red glow. He wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't been in the military for so long.
Do you see that or are my eyes playing tricks? He glanced at Sam for confirmation.
There's definitely something in there.
How do we get it without that damned dragon killing us first?
Your guess is as good as mine.
Yeah, but I trust your guess a lot better than I trust mine. Sam sighed with exasperation, glancing from Jack to the crevice, to the dragon, and back.
"Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he 'live, or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread!" The dragon said, it's voice grating and deep, worse than any Goa'uld they'd ever heard speak. Sam was taken aback, she hadn't thought she'd be able to communicate with the beast.
"What'd he say?" Daniel asked, all attention focused on Jack and Sam.
"I wish you could tell..." Sam mumbled, trying to think of a response.
"This is kind of your thing," Jack finished for her.
"Umm... Bell horses, bell horses, what time of day? One o'clock, two o'clock, time to away," Sam told the dragon. Hoping he'd just go away. The dragon did no such thing In fact, he chuckled. The rumbling filled the vaulted cavern, shaking the dias.
"Sam?" Daniel asked, crouching closer to the pedestal for support.
Why don't you keep him busy while I go for that crack?
Why me?
Because I'm closer to the crack.
Fine.
"Bat, bat, come under my hat, and I'll give you a slice of bacon; and when I bake, I'll give you a cake, if I am not mistaken," the dragon muttered menacingly. Sam took a step backwards, glancing at Jack as he edged closer to the crack. It would be a jump and he'd only have one chance to grab hold of the thing before he fell into the abyss.
Are you sure about this?
What other choice have we got?
We could send Ba'al...
Yeah, then we'd never get it back.
Oh yeah...
Keep him talking, I'm going to jump.
"Birds of a feather flock together, and so will pigs and swine; rats and mce will have their choice, and so will I have mine," Sam said nervously.
"Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean, and so betwixt the two of them they licked the platter clean," the constant references to eating on the dragon's part were making the rest of the team nervous.
"Is he going to eat us, Sam?" Vala asked bluntly. Sam shrugged.
"He will if we don't figure this out soon..." then turning back to the dragon she added, "If all the world were paper, and all the sea were ink, if all the trees were bread and cheese, what should we have to drink?"
The dragon didn't get a chance to respond, however, as Jack lunged off of the dias, aiming for the crack in the wall. The dragon twitched, as Sam sprang into action behind him, rushing over to the far edge of the dias to make sure Jack was all right. Teal'c and Daniel had both called out when their friend had launched himself off the platform and were now staring as he struggled to pull himself closer to the wall. His feet had found a small ledge which he was using to balance himself as he tried to find the source of the glowing with the hand that wasn't keeping him against the wall..
Be careful, Jack...
What else am I going to do, be completely idiotic?
Well, you did just jump out over the abyss...
For a good reason. The dragon was standing again, preparing to breath fire at them all.
"Got it!" Jack yelled, pulling the little red stone out of the hole in the wall. Now how to I get back...
"Teal'c! Get him back over here!" Sam ordered, holding her hands up to ward off the flames that the dragon was aiming in their direction once again.
"Hey Ba'al, now's the time for that name!" Mitchell said, rounding on Ba'al. Ba'al glared at him, and didn't say anything so Mitchell brought up his gun.
"If you kill me you will lose any chance of learning the name."
"I'm not gonna kill you, I'm just gonna shoot you," Mitchell said, pointing the gun at the goa'uld's foot. Ba'al didn't seem to believe him.
Teal'c and Jack interrupted this argument by landing hard on the dias beside them.
You okay? Sam inquired.
Fine, how're you holding up?
I'll probably loose about twenty pounds of sweat today... Jack smiled, getting to his feet and raising his hands to help her.
"Jack, the grail! Did you get it?" Daniel asked, panic crossing his features. Jack was too focused to respond, he stood sweating next to Sam. "Jack!"
Would you shutup!
He can't hear you in here.
Well, I'm to tired to open my mouth.
Did you get it?
Yes, it's in my vest pocket.
Good.
Agreed.
The dragon paused to breath and the pair of them collapsed backwards again, trying to sort themselves out.
"When does this stop?" Daniel addressed the dragon.
"A cat came fiddling out of a barn, with a pair of bagpipes under her arm. She could sing nothing but fiddle dee dee, the mouse has married the bumblebee. Pipe, cat; dance, mouse; we'll have a wedding at our good house," the dragon growled menacingly.
"Cold and raw the north wind doth blow bleak in the morning early, all the hills are covered with snow, and winters now come fairly," Jack countered with equal menace. The dragon glared at him.
"Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe. Get it done by half past two. Half past two is much too late! Get it done by half past eight."
"Cut thistles in May, they'll grow in a day, cut them in June, that is too soon; cut them in July, then they will die," Sam said, glancing at Jack.
"Enough with the nonsense!" Ba'al cried out; though the other members of SG-1 would never have said anything out loud, they were just as tired of the rhymes as the former system lord. They were saved more nonsense when Jack and Sam brought thier P90s to attention and opened fire.
"Finally!" Mitchell said, bringing his own gun up. Ba'al backed up, allowing Daniel and Vala the room to fire their weapons. The dragon roared, spitting fire at them once again; Sam and Jack immediately ceased fire, holding their hands up to supply a shield. They were tiring though, the shield still didn't let the flames through, but the heat had started leaking through. This time everybody being sheltered began sweating buckets, instead of just Jack and Sam.
I can't keep going like this, Jack... Sam informed him, stumbling back a little.
We have to.
Are the bullets even working?
We need that name.
"Ba'al! The name!" Sam called back at him before returning her concentration to the shield.
After a moment's hesitation, Ba'al yelled something into the noise. None of them could hear it properly over the dragon's roar and the clatter of the weapons-fire.
Whatever he said worked, the dragon stopped spitting fire at them, and sat back on its haunches. However, they didn't cease fire until Jack held up a hand.
"The cock doth crow to let you know, if you be wise, tis time to rise," the dragon said simply. Jack and Sam looked around the cavern, looking for a way out. Their eyes followed the same path, tracing from the small grotto where they'd found the Sangraal to a shadowed ledge that could hide anything.
Is that deep enough to hide a staircase?
Possibly.
We should try it.
Do we have another choice?
Good point.
Wordlessly, the pair of them turned their backs on the dragon and made their way to the edge of the dias. "Guys?" Daniel's voice broke their concentration.
"We have to climb out," Jack responded simply.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Mitchell cried, adding "sir," belatedly.
"Unfortunately not."
Jack went first, throwing himself past the edge of the dias and sticking his hand into the crevice where he'd pulled the Sangraal from. He pulled himself up slowly and made his way carefully up to the shadowy ledge; his breath caught in his throat at the same time Sam's did.
They shared his view: a wide ledge with marble steps set into the bedrock. Beyond the staircase was a wall of the purest white marble either had ever seen, carved into it was the entire text of the Code. Jack clawed his way onto the ledge, disappearing over the rim and running his hands over the cool stone. "Amazing," the pair of them muttered. Sam was jarred out of her CO's eyes when Teal'c gave her a small shake. She had fallen back against his chest when she'd started using Jack's eyes and the jaffa was ready to leave.
"Sorry," she muttered, following Jack's path.
Soon she was hidden from view as well, and the others hastily followed, not trusting the dragon to hold his fire.
"In marble walls as white as milk, line with skin as soft as silk; within a fountain crystal clear, a golden apple doth appear. No doors there are to this stronghold– yet thieves break in and steal the gold..." Sam muttered, her hands following the path Jack's had taken moments previously.
"Hickory, dickory, dock, the mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one, the mouse ran down! Hickory, dickory, dock," Mitchell said irritably.
"What?" Sam asked, taking her hands off the wall to look at him.
"Let's get out of here," he said just as irritably, poking at his watch as Ba'al climbed over the ledge, the last to do so.
I suppose they'd all be tired of this.
I'm tired of this.
I'm tired.
Me too.
Let's go. Jack rolled his eyes at Mitchell, feigning annoyance. "Fine, Mitchell, we can leave."
"Where do these stairs come out?" Daniel asked after looking at the text for a moment and realizing that it was more Code, something he was definitely sick of. He stopped long enough to get a few shots of their surroundings with his ever-present camera, but didn't want to stick around any longer.
Now he knows how I felt every single time he felt the need to translate some ruin. Sam chuckled.
"Is it back?" Daniel asked, noticing the chuckle. Sam nodded in response.
"What?" Ba'al asked, receiving a glare from Jack.
"None of your business," Ba'al fel to the back of the group as they climbed up the stairs and began searching for a door.