After her reassurances to Skaara and a few other Abydonians, Sam rushed to Earth as fast as her noncorporeal body could move. This was one of the times she wished energy could just appear in one area from another, more distant area, but her "precious laws of science", as Orlin called them, proved otherwise. Despite the delay, as energy she could still move quite quickly throughout the galaxy.

Normally, on something like this Sam wouldn't be allowed to even warn Earth but Anubis was more or less a part acended being and the acended always made amends--without interfering, of course. Since Anubis was part acended, Oma had allowed Sam to interfer on the one occasion. Not including when she had broken a few minor rules and entered Teal'c's dream reality, or when she had stayed with the colonel when Ba'al captured him. She was somewhat angry with the others for not going to Daniel's aid when Niirti performed her experiments on him, but they must have known he would get out alive, otherwise she was sure she could have helped him in some way.

She had finally made it to the SGC. It was just as she remembered. The halls had airmen, SG team members, doctors, and scientists going through the halls, lounging in the commisary, working in their offices, or working out in the gym. It took her a moment to locate the person she was looking for. Seeing him get into an elevator, she would have smirked, if she could, at the simplicity of finding him alone.

She entered the elevator and waited for the doors to close and it to start moving. The doors closed, but Sam realized that every second was time wasted for the Abydonians. She stopped the elevator. Unexpectedly, the lights flickered. Though, mused Sam, they also weren't made to withstand an ascended person stopping them either. Using the lights to her advantage, she reappeared in the Abydonian robes she had "worn" back on Abydos.

The colonel picked up the phone. "Hello?" he said. "This is Col...Hello?"

"Colonel," Sam said, her voice cracking for some reason.

Whatever it was, it went away when he put his ear to the phone again. "Sir," she said, using her this-is-very-important-so-please-don't-be-an-ass tone. "Look, sir. Abydos is in a lot of trouble. Anubis is going there to find the Eye of Ra. From the little investigating I ever tried to do on the planet, I think it's located in a secret chamber somewhere in the pyramid. You'd have to ask Daniel for information on the six Eyes, but I do know that whatever they are, if Anubis were to collect all of them, the power of each individual Eye would be increased ten fold. Only recently has he managed to find five of the Eyes. He's looked everywhere Ra used to be except Abydos."

"I'm sure that was an asprin I took this morning." was the answer.

Sam wanted to smack herself--or the colonel, but at the moment she couldn't touch him--in frustration. Either he really did think he was hallucinating, which she highly doubted, or he was just being his usual smartass self. If so, why was he acting this was with her? "Colonel, it's me. Sir, you and SG-1 have to help. You need to find the Eye of Ra before Anubis. I don't care what you do with it once you find it, just keep it away from Anubis. There isn't much time."

He turned to face her. "Hey Carter!" he said in a falsely surprised and cheery voice. "Long time no see. How's being ascended workin' for ya?"

"It's fine, sir," Sam sighed. "Sir, at the risk of repeating myself, we don't have much time."

"Ya know," he continued, ignoring Sam's insistence of there being little time. "I would think, with you being ascended and all, that you'd finally drop the 'sir' and just call me 'colonel' like General Hammond does."

"Colonel," Sam groaned in exasperation. She dropped her head into her hands.

"Like that," he admonished with a half-hearted, joking edge to his tone. He became more serious. "Ya know, a pretty funny thing happened to me today."

"Really, sir," Sam responded, not looking up. She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Yep. So I get on this elevator. I try to go up, when a long lost friend appears. She just comes outta nowhere. About a year ago she left us and never calls and never writes, but then she just shows up and tells me about this very important and appartently urgent mission that needs my attention."

Sam blinked. What was wrong with the colonel? He had never spoken to her like this when she was alive. The only time she could ever really recall was when he was speaking to Jolinar. "Sir, people's lives are at stake. Are--"

"Whoa, whoa, wait a second, let me finish. This long lost friend, she ascended to a higher level of existence. You see the irony here? She's asking for my help when she's the great and powerful being," he snapped.

"Colonel," Sam said sharply. He didn't seem to be phased by her change in tone. "I tried to tell you when you were Ba'al's captive. You know I can't interfere."

"I'm still not clear on why," he said.

"Right now, I'm low on the ascended food chain, sir," she snapped. "There are still rules I have to follow. They were iffy about me even coming to talk to you now. We can't interfere with anything that changes human existence. Orlin discreetly communicated with the people of and was forced to live on that planet alone."

"What about Oma," he asked sounding mildly skeptic.

"Oma and all of us that follow her are walking a very fine line. She believes in helping people. While the other Others sit by and only interfere when something might affect them."

"So why don't they stop her--make her more like them, or even do to her what they did to Orlin?"

"I don't know, sir."

"Oh?"

"Being an ascended being won't make someone all-knowing and all-powerful. I do know that any attempt on my part to her you would be stopped by Oma herself, to avoid angering the Others. If they wanted to, they could prevent Oma from doing what she has been trying to do for a very long time." Sam was beginning to feel wary of staying for much longer. One, because the technitians would eventually figure out that one elevator wasn't working; two, because she didn't like being around the colonel when he was in this mood; and three, because she didn't know how fine a line she was walking in staying. She let the elevator start moving again and the lights flickered. "I will not risk her plans."

Using the lights again, she vanished from the colonel's sight.

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Sam had confidence that the colonel would tell the other members of SG-1. Even in his mood, she knew he would not risk the lives of anyone on Abydos.

The planet, to her relief, was just as she had left it. Anubis's ship had yet to approach orbit. Even so, she merely hung around Skaara, never letting herself be seen.

Skaara knew that SG-1 would be coming through the gate, so Sam felt no need to tell him. She was still not pleased that she would have to wait for Hammond to decide to send SG-1 to Abydos.

After so long, she got bored and stayed in the gateroom. Skaara was in another room confering with the elders. Suddenly, the gate whirred to life.

Finally, she thought.

Skaara, who must have heard the gate as well, walked in and greeted the colonel. Daniel received a fiercer hug than the colonel. "It is good to see you," Skaara said.

Teal'c inclined his head. Jonas stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Jonas Quinn."

Another Abydonian walked in as Skaara replied, "It is good to meet you."

"We are prepared to do as you ask," the Abydonian said.

"And we appreciate that," the colonel replied. "Teal'c, set up a perimeter; I want to know as soon as we have company. Any idea where this Eye thing is?"

"I will show you," replied Skaara. He exchanged a quick glance with Daniel, who motioned that Skaara lead. SG-1, with the exception of Teal'c, followed Skaara into a chaber deeper within the pyramid. Sam, too, followed. She didn't need any light but the others took torches with them.

"This is as far as the catacombs go. Daniel and I spent much time here." Skaara waved his torch around in a wide arch.

"No Eyes?" the colonel asked.

"No Jack," Daniel said. "But the Eye of Ra mentioned many times in the writings on the walls."

He seemed upset, observed Sam. If she hadn't known him better, she wouldn't have seen it, but Daniel was a little off.

"Just so we're clear, it's not a real eye? It's a kind of jewel or something,"

"Jack, a real eye probably couldn't focus energy like a jewel can," Daniel said impatiently.

The colonel shrugged in response. "We have never been able to find it," Skaara said.

Sam froze. She "felt" something just outside the planet. It had to be Anubis's ship. Finding the Eye suddenly became even more urgent but she dared not reveal herself.

In her moment of distraction, the colonel and Skaara had begun a casual conversation while Daniel double-checked the writings on the wall. Apparently Skaara was betrothed and both the colonel and Daniel were invited.

The colonel and Jonas went out to check on Teal'c.

Bored once more, Sam took human form while still staying invisible. She walked over to where Daniel was reading. The writings were all foreign to her but she was amused to see Daniel easily reading. She leaned against the wall. She didn't anticpate him finishing with that section and, in order to go to the next, he passed through her. He paused and glanced suspiciously around. "Hello?" he called.

If I wasn't restrictied from it, I'd answer and let you all know I was here, Sam thought. Her eyes widened. Could that be why Daniel was off? He had probably found out about her small visits to Teal'c and the colonel, but she hadn't come to him when he needed it. If--when--she got the chance to, she would have to tell him why she couldn't be there for him. She shivered when she "felt" ships pass over their location.

Deciding it was his imagination, Daniel went back to reading.

"Hey Daniel!" came the colonel's jovial voice from behind. Both Sam and Daniel jumped. Jack, Skaara, and Jonas were standing in the entrance. "How ya doin' there? Ya know we don't have all day."

"I know but there isn't much to go on. I was just rereading everything to see if there was something I missed," Daniel said distantly, his eyes sliding over the wall. "So far, there's been no mention of a secret chamber where Ra kept his most valuable possessions. Still, I know there has to be one here somewhere."

"Uh huh."

The radio crackled. "O'Neill, we are under attack! Ground forces have landed. We will not be able to hold them off for long."

"Roger that," the colonel answered. "Okay camper, you heard the man."

"Jack, there is nothing here," Daniel growled.

"Maybe Carter knows something."

"She's not here. I mean, she can't be, can she?"

"Oh she's here. She is definitely here. Carter, come out! We're only here because you had to tell me about Abydos."

Reluctantly, Sam had to agree. Since she was behind them, there was no point in a really dramatic entrance. That and there was no time. "Yes, sir," she said.

The other three whirled around, two of which looked like they were seeing a ghost.

"Sam!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Hey Daniel. Jonas," Sam acknowledged.

"Major Carter," Jonas whispered.

The roof suddenly shook. Tendrils of dust fell from the ceiling.

"You hear that?" Jack demanded.

"Sir, remember the fine line?" Sam knew what he would say and she knew what the consequences would be if she obeyed. Oma had once told her, just after Teal'c's duel-realities, that she must decide who she was going to obey: the needs of her friends, which in doing so who have dire consequences; or obeying the path Oma has chosen and just be careful not to cross the line.

Predictably, Jack said, "Cross it."

Sam hesitated. If she listened to Colonel O'Neill, possibly millions could be saved with her life as one of the hopefully few casualties. If she listened to Oma, everyone on the planet, including her friends, would die. The worst the Others could do was kill her, which was obviously impossible. "Fine, sir," she said resignedly. "Daniel, what was it you said about a secret chamber?"

Before Daniel could answer, the colonel's radio crackled again. "O'Neill, we cannot hold our position!"

Into the radio, the colonel ordered, "Fall back to the pyramid." To the three scientists, he said, "You guys do your stuff. I'll help Teal'c."

He went to leave. "I will come with you," Skaara said, and went out as well.

Daniel looked at the wall. Out of instinct, Sam was a couple of milliseconds behind in following his gaze. Jonas, seeing them, mimicked their stare. Daniel walked over to the wall. He rubbed his hand along it and hissed in frustration. "I've always thought there might be a hidden chamber on the other side of this wall. Sam, can't you just...make yourself glow and go through this wall to see if I'm right?"

Sam flinched. She would have to interfere without interfering. If she were to hold to that, she couldn't help like that. "Sorry."

"S'okay. I don't want you to break any more rules than you have to." He looked at a patch of heiroglyphs. "The rays of the sun will reveal all. There's no sun, so what can it mean?"

"Sunlight," said Jonas. "Maybe any kind of light would do?"

Sam shrugged. "It's possible," said Daniel.

Jonas took the light of his P-90 and shined it on a jewel in the wall.

"Try focusing it," suggested Sam. She winced. Falling into old habits is exactly what would probably invoke the Others' wrath.

Jonas took out a magnifying glass.

"Isn't that mine?" Daniel asked, doing a pretty good impression of Teal'c's eyebrow raise.

"I needed it for an experiment," Jonas muttered.

Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Daniel," cackled Daniel's radio.

"We're trying Jack," Daniel snapped in response.

"Well then work faster."

After a few minutes, the three had to admit defeat. It was apparent the not just any light would open the chamber.

"I thought we were on to something," Jonas sighed.

"You are." Daniel's eyes lit up. Sam waited for him to elaborate.

"It's not working," Jonas pointed out.

"It's red," Daniel said.

"What is?"

"The rays of the sun on the fresco(?) are red." He paused, waiting for someone to finish the thought.

Sam smacked herself on the head. "Of course! Jonas, focus the laser of your P-90 on the jewel."

Jonas lifted his gun and did so. The door opened. "Sweet," he said. They walked in and began investigating. Sam stopped.

Daniel turned to look at her. "They're in the pyramid," she replied to his questioning gaze. "We have to hurry." She briskly walked over to a table and began looking over it. A slab of stone caught her eye. Her brow furrowed in confusion when she saw that it was in Latin. Her brow furrowed further and she bit her lip when she realized she could understand it. Languages were supposed to be Daniel's thing; she knew some Spanish but not enough to recognize Latin in any of the dialects. Unless, because the ascended and the Ancients were the same, she could now understand the language; which meant that...

"I'm an Ancient," she said in awe.

"What?" asked Daniel, who was not expecting her to speak, let alone announce she was an Ancient.

"Well, technically not me, but the Others like me. They're Ancients."

Daniel came over and picked the tablet up. "It's in one of the oldest Ancient dialects," he said. "Can you read all of it? I can translate the majority of it; enough to grasp the concept since I'm not entirely familiar with this particular dialect."

"Uh, yeah," she shifted closer to get a better angle. "It talks about how the Ancient evolved from a race of people that are a lot older than us. A plague swept across their galaxy and wiped them out. A large amount learned how to ascend..." she faltered. There was a prickly feeling in the back of her neck. There wasn't enough time to finish the translation but there was enough time to finish the sentence. She was sure Daniel could translate from there. "But the rest died out." She backed up a couple steps. "I need to go." Anubis was here. She thought she may be able to buy time if not stop Anubis entirely. "Don't let anything happen to that tablet. There's something about a lost city. Anubis can't get it; it's too valuable."

"Sam?" said Daniel warily as she glowed.

I'll be back, she tried to communicate. Quickly, she made her way to Anubis's ship.

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Please don't be too harsh. This chapter was especially difficult to write. There should be about four or five more chapters to go. It depends on Thalia.

R&R