Note: Thanks to those of you that have reviewed. I hope there's still others out there reading this story, besides the reviewers. This chapter should answer some questions that have been asked, and maybe even offer a few explanations. :) But anyways, here's the next chapter.

NINE

Daniel never, ever wanted to do something like that again. Setting and splinting his best friend's arm had been something he wouldn't soon forget. Not because of the trauma done to his friend, but because he had to be the one inflicting the pain, and Jack didn't even yell, scream, or complain. Not once. The experience left Daniel a bit unsettled, and he'd even half-expected Jack to pass out while he fixed his arm. He didn't though. Daniel should have known that Jack O'Neill was made of more stubborn stuff than that. But still, his arm was pretty bad, and the archaeologist didn't really have much of an idea what he was doing. He just prayed he didn't make things worse.

Jack hadn't passed out yet, but looked about ready to now. As Daniel watched his friend in the darkness of the room, he noticed the heavily fluttering lids, his struggle to stay awake and alert. With a new strategy to make sure Jack rested, the archaeologist suppressed a grin at his own cleverness before speaking. "Hey," Daniel called out softly, almost wincing as his friend's head jerked up sharply in acknowledgment. "I'm sure we both didn't get any sleep last night, so I'll take first watch. Get some rest Jack, I'll wake you in a few hours and then we'll switch."

Squinting, Jack saw through Daniel's little ploy, but didn't call him on it. He knew he could use some sleep and that he probably looked like hell. That, and his head was throbbing in tune with the pain in his arm. With a short nod, he agreed. "Wake me sooner if we get any visitors," he murmured, eyes already closing as he tried to relax back against the grubby wall. Jack still protectively cradled his left arm, though it was splinted decently and wrapped up good enough to make the limb feel slightly better, though it continued to throb. What he could really use was a couple packs of ice and some of Janet's pain meds shooting straight into his veins.

Giving a nod in return, Daniel smiled triumphantly when Jack closed his eyes and began to doze off.

-

Leynus talked quietly about his brief imprisonment while leading the team through the humid, swamp-like forest, down a rarely-used path that was crossed liberally with twisting vines, rocks, and other plant-life that had grown in the way over time.

Teal'c took point with Leynus up ahead of the small group, with Jacob in the middle, and Sam watching their six.

Sam continued trudging at the back of the group for what seemed like forever before they came to a halt. Leaning sideways and peering past her father, Sam spotted Leynus crouch down in front of a big boulder and begin brushing away large sticks and other debris. Teal'c was standing beside him in a cautious stance. She felt a little relief when Leynus finally uncovered what appeared to be a rusty old hatch, as rarely used as the path they'd traveled to get there.

-

"Jack," Daniel called out to try and gain his friend's attention, still appearing to be sleeping very heavily. The archaeologist knew Jack to be a light sleeper while on missions, and when he wasn't, it had him a little concerned. If his sleep was disturbed by the slightest sound, Jack normally sprung to full alertness, ready to lash out at everything and anything within range.

Edging closer across the few feet of dirty floor between them, Daniel reached out a hand and tentatively nudged Jack's foot. "Hey, Jack," Getting no response, Daniel grasped Jack's foot and shook it hard, startled that his friend hadn't woken yet. "Jack!" He hissed, more urgently now. "Wake up!"

Jerking his knee up to move his foot from Daniel's insistant jarring, Jack groaned as his eyes opened and he snapped, "What?"

Relaxing slightly and sighing softly with relief, Daniel leaned back against the wall and drew back his hand. "Your turn," he said quietly as O'Neill's unfocused brown eyes raked over him with confusion before realization sparked in the dark orbs.

"Oh," Jack murmured, blinking a few times as he tried to clear his head. "Sorry."

"Jack," Daniel scrutinized his friend carefully. "You sure you're okay?"

"Daniel," the man replied a bit sternly. "I'm fine."

The archaeologist eyed his friend somewhat skeptically. "Last time you said that you passed out on the infirmary floor and had to be rushed into surgery," Daniel's eyes narrowed at Jack, daring him to say otherwise.

Sighing with exasperation, Jack sent his friend a wry smirk and gave in. "Alright."

"Is it just your arm then? Or is there something else?" Daniel was still studying him carefully. He didn't seem as pale as before, but otherwise still looked like he'd been through the ringer.

"I got knocked on the head too, same as you." Jack answered truthfully. "That's how they got me here. But that's it."

"Oh." Daniel didn't know what else to say. This pretty much explained the Colonel's other symptoms though, everything reminiscent of a good concussion. Not saying anything further on the subject, Daniel just gave a slow nod of acceptance and left it at that. He then realized that he probably shouldn't have let Jack go to sleep if his head was that bad, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He hadn't known. Luckily enough, Daniel had managed to wake him.

"Now go to sleep Daniel, I'll keep watch." Jack said in full command mode.

Nodding silently, Daniel curled up on his side by the wall, head resting somewhat awkwardly against his arm. His own head was pounding miserably, but since he hadn't felt too drowsy before, he figured his head injury couldn't have been that bad. Jack had been hard enough to wake though, and that scared him a little. Daniel only hoped he would wake up at all in a few.

-

Making their way through the dank tunnel, Sam tried hard to get past the musty smell and focus again on Leynus. The old passageway was thankfully not entirely cramped, leaving enough head room for even Teal'c to be able to stand completely upright, and was atleast an arms length wide. It was dark, but Leynus had broken off some thick branches, wrapping them in a moss-like substance from the rocks and trees to use as torches once Teal'c lit them with the energy charge from his staff weapon.

Teal'c was close behind Sam after she moved up front with Leynus, while Jacob took up the rear as they tracked down the seemingly endless tunnels.

"Your friends have probably been taken to the more primitive prisons, rather than the fortress which is much further away," Leynus said absently as they traveled.

"How can you be sure?" Jacob spoke up from the back, his voice echoing a bit in the hollow passage.

"Because they were taken with our people and most likely weren't noticed as being different. Only strange-worlders are brought to the fortress," he answered matter-of-factly.

Sam shared a brief look with Teal'c, then nodded to herself, mumbling her thoughts out loud. "That explains why we were in the nicer, more advanced prison to begin with."

Curious, Jacob voiced the question that had been on his mind. "What happens to those that are taken to these prisons, Leynus?"

The younger man ducked his head slightly as they continued walking, hesitant with his answer. "Some are changed... Those they believe are worthy. Others are tested upon.." his breath shuddered. "And some are tortured for fun and killed."

Sam felt an enormous lump in her throat, her heart clenching in fear for her two friends, one of them being the man she loved. The way Leynus had a hard time answering her father's question led her to believe that someone close to him had been unfortunate enough to suffer in one way or another at the hands of the manimals.

-

Daniel woke with surprise, finding himself even more surprised at the fact that Jack wasn't the one who'd woken him. He lifted his glasses to rub at his eyes, trying to to focus with what little light there was in the cell. The noise that had woken him sounded again, giving Daniel a start. His eyes shifted quickly, landing on Jack who was sitting up at attention, eyeing him in a way that clearly said 'Don't talk, be still'.

It made Daniel very aware that someone was coming. He swallowed nervously, slowly sitting up a little straighter. His eyes widened in shock as the bars slid open and he recognized the figure stepping into the cell. Daniel's blue eyes shifted over to Jack, who was narrowing his eyes at the manimal, sizing him up cautiously. "Ruksha!" the archaeologist blurted out with surprise.

The big, sabretooth-tiger man sent a quick nod Daniel's way. This time he wasn't wearing the Roman-esque armor, but was instead clad in a plain brown tunic and a pair of similarly dark threadbare trousers. "I was able to speak with my wife, Ibsha, briefly while the others were preparing to leave. I tried to warn them of the attack, but was unable to get away in time," he lowered his large, feline head in shame.

Daniel's brows furrowed and he nodded mutely. He remembered Ibsha saying that her husband was able to speak both English and the language of the other manimals, but it was strange not hearing growls and grunts from the large sabre-man.

Jack managed to get to his feet, using the wall for support. It was the first time he'd bothered standing since their capture and he found himself swaying dizzily. His head jerked up in surprise and he instinctively pulled away as the manimal grasped his right shoulder to steady him.

"It's okay Jack, he's on our side," Daniel rose to his feet, following Jack's lead, albeit a bit more slowly. His head swam for a second, but he was much steadier on his feet than Jack appeared to be.

"I came to help you escape," Ruksha announced lowly, his keen cat ears twitching, showing he was alert for any other manimals in the cell area. He waved a large paw-like hand over at Jack. "Your friend is wanted by the others because he carries the mark of the Ancients," he explained quietly.

Jack looked indifferent, while Daniel's brows furrowed and he said softly with clarification. "Oh my God, that's right. His Ancient gene."

Ruksha nodded. "They have detected it on your previous capture with a special device. They were testing him to see if he possessed the Ancient's healing power. That is why he was treated so roughly before; tested upon with drugs to make him ill. When your friend escaped, only to return in perfect health, this only gave the others more reason to believe that he did indeed have the power and had healed himself."

Daniel glanced over at Jack, who looked a bit uncomfortable to suddenly be the focus of attention. He'd never mentioned any kinds of tests from their last imprisonment, but then again, Daniel remembered that Jack hadn't wanted to recall much about that. He also realized, that drug Jack had been injected with during their last capture explained why he hadn't really gotten better after the surgery to fix his internal injuries. The drug must have been undetectable, he thought to himself, remembering how advanced the manimals actually were. If it weren't for Jacob using the healing device on him, the alien drug would have caused Jack's health to deteriorate further and he would've died.

With a frown, Daniel shook his head and sighed. "Jack doesn't have the Ancient's power; his injuries were tended to using a Goa'uld healing device back on our planet. I mean, look at him now, his arm's broken. Don't you think he would have healed it by now if he could? And besides that, I don't really think their abilities quite worked that way. The Ancient's could heal others, I'm certain, but I'm not sure if they were able to heal themselves."

Ruksha's frown matched Daniel's and he appeared to grimace. "They will never believe that to be the case now. We must get you two out of here before the others realize they've got your friend as prisoner once more. I've already freed the other prisoners. That should occupy the guards and we should make do to escape during the chaos."

"Let's move out," Jack nodded sharply, the commanding tone back in his voice as he recognized that it was time to take charge. He waved a hand at Daniel's vest. "Contact Carter, Teal'c, and Jake; tell them we're gettin' outta here."

It appeared to Daniel as though Jack had gotten his strength back, or was just very good at masking the pain and hiding his symptoms from the head injury. With a sigh, the archaeologist realized it was more likely the latter. The two SG-1 team members followed the rather large and intimidating-looking sabretooth tiger along the grungy, musty-smelling corridors, the damp floor making wet, slapping noises as they jogged along, preparing to go through the chaotic scene that lay twenty meters ahead in the next hall.

-

The prison had very feeble security compared to the one SG-1 had been brought to during their first capture, and it wasn't long before Daniel, Jack, and Ruksha made it to the surface of the facility that lay mostly underground. It reminded Daniel of the barracks where Ruksha's people lived, hiding from the manimals, and it made him wonder if that had once been a prison as well.

"Got any weapons?" Jack asked Ruksha once they paused outside the building, taking cover behind some kind of storage tank.

The massive manimal gave a slight nod of his feline head. He reached into the worn old tunic he wore and drew out two pistols. Very primitive-looking compared to the weapons they'd seen during their first capture. Ruksha then gave the pistols to Jack and Daniel, along with two things that appeared to be clips with bright, greenish-yellow bullets. "I am sorry I could not give you better weapons. Those of the others in this facility are not shared the advanced technology procured from the Goa'uld until much later."

"Hand-me-down weapons eh?" Jack awkwardly held both the gun and the clip in his right hand, his broken left arm tucked close to his stomach.

Daniel clicked his magazine into the butt of the gun, then wordlessly took Jack's and did the same before handing it back to him. The archaeologist smiled a little. "These are almost just like our M9s."

"Yep," Jack grinned, adjusting his grip on the weapon. "This'll do just fine."

Ruksha peeked around the corner of the storage tank. "It's clear for the moment," He pointed out toward the tree-line. "Head in that direction. A few miles out you will reach an old path which will bring you to a cave. That cave connects to the underground tunnels that stretch across the forest toward the facility where your friends are."

"You're not coming with us?" Daniel asked with a bit of hesitance. Jack didn't seem to mind, as he wasn't saying anything. The archaeologist had a feeling his friend was still wary of the manimal.

"No, I've got to go back for a bit and act as though I was pursuing your escape. I will mislead them and then return to my wife when I am able." He grinned, a wide cat-like grin at them. "We must relocate all the others to a safe location. And I will be staying with them this time."

"Good luck," Jack said roughly, watching the sabre-man duck down and race back toward the prison. With his left arm still tucked protectively against his stomach, Jack jerked his head toward the treeline and kept a suspicious eye out for any of the guards. "C'mon Danny-boy, let's get moving." He still had a throbbing headache, but it was much more bearable now, and he felt it somehow had to do with being outside and the fresh air, instead of the stale air inside the cells.

Jack and Daniel weaved a careful path toward the tree-line, ducking and pausing at large rocks or anything they could hide behind on their way, just to make sure they were still alone. They'd just reached the trees when shots were fired. Jack spun mid-run to get a good look at where the onslaught was coming from, felt something punch into his right side and stumbled as Daniel ducked behind a boulder and returned fire. He dropped to his knees and took in fast gulps of air before climbing back to his feet and composing himself as he heard his friend call out to him.

"Jack!" Daniel yelled, uncertain why his friend had just been on the ground. He watched him climb to his feet and dash to the side, getting cover behind a tree and returning fire with him.

Signaling that he was okay, Jack continued firing, spotting the measely two guards that had caught their escape. They apparently didn't have radios and couldn't signal any others for help, or the others were too busy with the rest of the escaped prisoners to come to their aid. Signaling Daniel to cease fire, Jack made a motion toward his clip when the archaeologist threw him a confused look.

Daniel caught on quick. They stopped shooting so the guards would think they were pausing to reload, or had run out of ammo. Hopefully they'd get too cocky and step out from cover. Peeking out from the side of the boulder, Daniel waited with bated breath as they stopped shooting. His blue eyes widened behind his slightly-fogged glasses and he grinned as he watched them emerge from hiding. He shot a look over to Jack, who motioned for him to wait.

Jack could tell that Daniel was getting nervous and antsy as the guards made their slow approach. They were a wolf and an ape-looking manimal, and they were grinning like Cheshire cats, thinking that they've won. They were a mere ten feet away, no cover nearby, when Jack finally signaled Daniel and started shooting. He caught the ape between the eyes and he went down instantly. Daniel was having a little more trouble with the wolf, having gotten in torso shots that seemed to just barely slow the beast down. Coming out from cover as the manimal got much too close to his friend for comfort, Jack began rapidly firing the alien gun, repeatedly hitting the beast in the chest before he dropped like a ton of bricks.

Sighing with relief, Daniel slumped slightly against the boulder before taking a deep breath and rising to his feet. "Thanks." He shared a look with Jack and they both jogged into the cover of the trees.

Trying hard to ignore the pain in his side, Jack was thankful for Daniel's sudden need for a rest when they realized no one was searching for them. He leaned his back up against a tree, using his broken left arm pressed against his stomach to hide the hole in his right side. Putting pressure on the wound really hurt his arm, but he was willing to deal with the pain if it meant he wouldn't bleed to death. Jack was pretty sure the round had gone all the way through, and he hoped that with the sudden lack of lighting, and his back to the tree, Daniel wouldn't notice. He had to deal with it so they could meet up with Carter, Teal'c, and Jacob, and get their asses back to the gate.

-

Note: How's that for an early Christmas present:) Happy Holidays everyone!