Max woke up and immediately cursed her stupidity. She was somewhere very dark and very cold, her body ached and throbbed. A terrible thirst burned in her throat. Her clothing felt stiff and tacky she grimaced imagining what a second beating had done to it. She carefully sat up and felt a wave of nausea wash over her. She was half lying on rough cold stone. Somewhere she heard liquid dripping. Hopefully it was water. She closed her eyes and dozed regaining strength. When she felt a little stronger she searched for the liquid. She found it running down a corner of the room and dripping off a carved ledge. It was water, tepid tasting of iron but cold.

She pressed her hands to it and greedily licked her fingers dry. Getting frustrated by the small amounts of moisture she felt around for a puddle finding it she managed to get a meager handful of liquid and slurped it. Finally she put a pebble in her cheek and pressed her hands to the wall waiting for a puddle to form. Sucking on the pebble at least moistened her mouth. After an hour of harvesting the moisture she felt the fiery thirst begin to fade. She leaned back against the cold rough wall and closed her eyes to the darkness.

Max moved and opened her eyes when she heard what sounded like children's voices. She opened her eyes and peered into the void around her. Above her head somewhere the feral children were communicating with each other. There were what seemed to be words as well as grunts and animalistic noises. Finally the voices ceased and there were soft shuffles and scrapes. A chain rattled and a crack of light appeared to her right. The light was dim but it lanced through her dark accustomed eyes.

Max's eyelids snapped shut and she involuntarily looked away from the light. Fighting to open her eyes she peered over her shoulder. The silhouette of a child blocked the light an arm reached down toward her and something scraped on the stone and then the arm and the silhouette were gone, the chain rattled and the light vanished. Max waited for a moment and then investigated what had been left.

There was a container of some kind that felt like roughly carved wood. Inside was something warm and moist. She poked at it and brought it to her face. It smelled surprisingly like roasted meat. Her stomach rumbled. She pondered trying to save some of the meat and then considered how much damage she had taken and healed over the last few hours. She sighed and ate the meat. It tasted strange, greasy, and undercooked but it was filling. She reached to put the container down and her hand struck something. It was a tankard brimming with water. She sucked it down greedily.

She scrambled back to the water dripping and wedged the tankard to catch it. Satisfied that water wouldn't be a dire problem again and feeling stronger with a bellyful of food she began exploring her cell. It was enormous, at least the size of the building she'd been captured in, which she decided likely made it the basement. She wandered around blind, stumbling and bruising herself until she made it back to the tankard and the precious water it contained. She drank what had been collected and drifted off to sleep.

When she woke the tankard was almost full. She used the contents to carefully clean her face and hands and the rinse her mouth. She made it to the far corner and relieved herself and then returned and sat waiting for the hatch to open. She felt a great deal stronger but still weak. She was hoping she could rush the hatch and over power whoever was opening it and make a break for the circle and beat feet for home. Assuming of course that whatever had gone wrong and sent them to this planet had been fixed or wouldn't affect anyone going back to earth . . .

She shook her head. There was no point in thinking about defeat now. She had to know she would get out of there. She had absolutely no doubt she would survive here but she couldn't imagine living here, sure there weren't any other immortals, but there wasn't anyone else either.

She waited patiently as she had for prey before. Finally after an undetermined amount of time she heard the chain rattle. She braced herself below the hatch ready to leap up and crawl out. She waited with eyes squinted against the light as the hatch began to move. She tensed her thighs and jumped as soon as she was certain she could get a grip on the ledge. She jumped as high as she could, her shoulders clearing the hatch. She slammed both hands on the wooden planking surrounding the hatch and hauled herself out. The light was blinding. She stood and backed up until she felt something solid against her back.

There were shouts and sounds of movement around her. As her eyes adjusted she moved to defend herself. There were only a handful of children in the room, all younger than ten but wiry and vicious looking. The little girl Carter had given chocolate was there as well. She alone was unarmed. She stood next to the hatch and shouted at the others.

Slowly order replaced chaos. The children still regarded Max with hostile beady eyes. But they seemed to be listening to the girl. She shouted and spoke loudly in their bizarre language gesturing at Max and making wild gestures. She seemed to be talking about Max reviving from death. Then to Max's horror the little girl knelt before her and then the other children followed suit.

"Ah crap." Max groaned as the wild children began to worship her.

Max knelt and raised the children to their feet. When they moved to kneel again she shouted no and looked angry. They quickly regained their feet but continued to stare at her in a disturbingly worshipful manner.

"I'm not a god guys." Max groaned.

She shook her head and ignored the children for a moment. She need out. Spotting a door that looked like it might lead outside she tried it. It was either locked or firmly stuck. She hauled on it until the frame groaned ominously. She thumped the door with a fist and leaned her forehead against it for a moment. The girl pulled at her hand. Frowning Max allowed the diminutive waif to lead her through the house to the same door the team had used. Their footprints were still evident.

The girl hauled the door open and stood waiting. Max strode forward and paused at the threshold. She studied the girl who stared back with calm knowing eyes. Max extended a hand to the girl, the girl looked over her shoulder at the mass of young children. Slowly she took Max's hand and allowed the immortal to lead her from the house. The other children watched, eyes wide and weapons lowered.

Max wasted no time. She didn't know where the other older children were but it was a fair bet they would be pissed that she'd gotten out. So she scooped up the little girl and cradled her to her chest and broke into a run. She sprinted to the DHD and slapped the seven chevrons for earth. She balanced the girl on her hip as she waited for the chevrons to engage. There was a shout behind her. She looked back and spotted a crowd of older children, mostly boys.

Swearing Max urged the circle on, willing it to spin faster and engage. She looked back again, the children were charging, wielding their too effective knives and clubs. The circle engaged and the spout of water leapt forth and solidified into the familiar sheet of water. Max held the girl close and sprinted, praying that she would find the familiar concrete of her new home on the other side of the water, if not she was screwed. A knife winged past her ear as she ran.

She ducked lower and tried to run faster, insuring the child she held was secure and out of the line of fire. A club struck her lower back staggering her and slowing her pace. She took a flying leap at the circle just as a thought occurred to her, she no longer had the transponder that would send the SGC her safe passage code, what if the metal wall was up? But it was too late to go back. She closed her eyes as she entered the water and hoped.

She crashed to the ground still holding the little girl. The child was wailing in fear. Max murmured comforting things in a soft voice and opened her eyes. They weren't dead, so the wall must have been down. It was the SGC all right the heavily armed Marines staring at her with dead eyes proved that. Max raised her hands.

"Guys its okay, its just me." She said and smiled tentatively.

"Identify yourself!" One guard shouted as another approached and forced her onto her face, arms out the guard searched her and cuffed her.

"Whoa hey guys, come on I'm Max Holloway, I went through the gate like I don't know 12 hours a day ago with SG-1? We got separated, it took me awhile to get back." She grumbled as the guard finished cuffing her and hauled her to her feet.

"This kid is one of the feral children we encountered." She said regaining her feet. The guards looked unpersuaded.

"Come on! I know I look like hammered hell but, where's O'Neill and SG-1? They'll vouch for me!"

"Take them to the infirmary." The lead Marine ordered.

"This is crazy! Come on guys throw me a bone here!"

"Shut your mouth." The ranking Marine grunted and pushed her through the door into the infirmary.

Dr Frasier was waiting, she looked harried and rumpled.

"Hey doc, what's up?" Max asked, twisting her arms to show the handcuffs she smiled and added, "Care to cut me loose?"

"And you are?" Frasier asked.

"Max, Max Holloway, hello? Come on this is lame fellas."

"Max, Max went through the gate months ago. SG-1 has been looking for her, er you, since then."

"There was a problem with the . . . gate?- when we went through we ended up on the wrong planet, I guess they couldn't figure out what happened huh?"

"You're serious? You're Max?" Max sighed and twisted her shoulders she popped one out of the socket and managed to worm the cuffs so she had her arms in front of her. Straightening she used the doorjamb to force her shoulder back into the socket.

"May I?" She asked gesturing to a sterilized tray of tools. Frasier nodded and eyed the guards. Max pulled back a sheet of sterile paper and revealed the tools; she picked up a scalpel in one hand and forced it through the palm of her free hand. There were cries and gasps, she pulled the scalpel free and tossed it onto the tray. She held up the wounded hand and revealed the blue energy of her quickening healing the wound.

"Okay, I'm convinced." Frasier said. Max was given a cursory check and then allowed to clean up and change. When she returned to the infirmary the feral girl was clean and sleeping. The General was waiting.

"Sir, never thought I'd say this, but good to see you." Max said with a smile. The General shared Janet's harried appearance.

"Status?"

"I'm fine sir, hungry, a little sleepy but I'm good. I don't know how long I was there, not too long conscious anyway, they held me in the basement of the building they were living in. I was only awake and active for maybe 48 hours it was hard to tell in the dark."

"How'd you get out?"

"I jumped them when they came to feed me, and then apparently they wanted to worship me, that kid was like my priestess I don't know sir it was weird and I didn't like it. I managed to get her to show me out and come with me. The older kids spotted us though and tried to kill me . . .again. So here I am. Uh, how is Major Carter?"

"Thanks to your actions she's made a full recovery."

"So soon?"

"Soon? Miss Holloway you've been missing for nearly a month."

"Okay uhm, sir I don't see how that's really possible."

"Like it or not it's a fact." Max was stunned.

"Seriously you aren't like playing a really bad joke or-"

"Max!" Adam cried and shook his head at her in disbelief.

"Hi, missed you too." She said and grinned at her friend. She gripped his forearm in a warrior's embrace and felt an unconscious tension ease from her shoulders. Like it or not she had missed him on some level and worried.

"Have these guys filled you in at all?"

"Yes actually they have. See you being all heroic helped convince them that if we couldn't be let loose we may as well be fully briefed on what's going on here." Max gave the General a questioning look. He nodded.

"Okay, so spill."

"This facility is call the Stargate Command."

"SGC." Max agreed.

"The stargate is obviously that circle you leap into whenever you go to another planet now, there's a system of stargates through out our galaxy and probably a few others. These guys are explorers, unfortunately they've also made a few enemies along the way, hence the guns. There's more but it can wait until you've rested and the General has recalled SG-1." Adam said. Max nodded, things were beginning to begin to make sense. She smiled at the thought. Max opted for a cot in the infirmary she didn't want the wild girl to wake up and be afraid if Max were there the child might be less afraid. Besides she was too weary to bother walking to her quarters.

She woke in the night to see Frasier checking on the girl.

"How is she?"

"Malnourished, undersized, suffering from lice and exhaustion but otherwise fine." Max nodded.

"How about you?"

Max smiled softly.

"I'll live, has SG-1 returned yet?"

"No, they're in the middle of a trade dispute but they should be back by morning." Janet assured Max. For some reason Max had a nagging doubt as to the safety of the team. She wouldn't believe Carter was alive and well until she saw her. Max pulled her blanket close and drifted back to sleep.

Jack bounded in like an overfed sheep dog and poked Max awake. Max sat up confused and then grinned at the Colonel.

"Hi, how's it hanging?" The other three members of the team arrived. They all looked weary and dirty.

"Tough trade agreement?" Max asked.

"Surprisingly yes."

"So what happened? I mean one minute those kids are swarming me, the next I'm in a dungeon and then whammo here, but these guys are trying to tell me it's been weeks?"

"Carter?" Jack grunted. The blonde stood forward and smiled at Max.

"First off, thank you. I'd be dead without you." Max actually blushed and waved the gratitude away.

"No worries Major, life is precious."

"We think that the wormhole that led to the planet we lost you on hit a, well bump in the road. Something forced the wormhole to change destination gates during our transit. It also made it almost impossible to figure out where you were once we got back to earth. As for the time I'm not sure, could it have taken you that long to heal?" Max frowned.

"I don't know. I know the more severe the injury the more it takes to heal but I can't imagine those kids causing the kind of injuries that would take more than a few days to heal. Adam?"

"Well, it's possible it was just a severe injury, or it could have been a slow poison, something designed to retard the regeneration or something that just happened to act that way."

"Weird." Max grunted.

"Agreed, but weird is what we're all about. These guys brief you on what this joints about?"

"Basically, exploring and not getting our teeth kicked in by alien pains in the ass?"

"Yep you betcha." Daniel said.

"Sweet, I imagine there will be things I can read to get caught up on this stuff or will someone have to like spend hours filling me in verbally?"

"We have a system." Daniel said smiling. He seemed relieved to see her; in spite of herself Max was touched.

"Uses magnets." Jack muttered. Carter shook her head and ushered the men out. She stopped to chat for awhile with Janet. Max drifted away half listening to their girl talk. She opened her eyes hours later and sat up feeling stiff.

Max checked for the girl but she was gone the cot was empty and neatly made. Max ran the rough wool material of the blankets on the girl's cot through her fingers, relishing the sensation. She sat up and felt the air crawl over her skin and through each hair on her head, she breathed deeply and felt her lungs stretch, expand, and absorb the rich oxygen. Her eyes rolled in their wet-wet sockets and saw . . . everything, every shade of every color, every nuance of every shadow, the faintest cracks in the paint on the far wall, the broken light reflecting off Janet's computer monitor. Every detail every minor shade it was overwhelming her head swam, her eyelids snapped down and she felt blood rush from her head.

She sat up. It was a dream. The girl slept deep and undisturbed, the soft beep of her monitors lulling the room. Janet's unattended computer glowed in the corner. Max sat up and scrubbed her face. A cold sweat clung to her spine. The dream disturbed her, but as was her way she shook it off and got back to business. She tried to log onto Janet's computer and was immediately rebuked by the security system. She shrugged and kicked back, stretching and loosening the kinks in her back. She straightened up and stood. She walked to the infirmary door and opened it. A sleepy tech was sitting at a desk doing paperwork of some kind. Max sighed and closed the door.

She was suffering, she decided, from a weird sort of jet lag gate travel, losing weeks of time, being repeatedly murdered by rejects from the lord of the flies . . . and being held prisoner, and worshipped, which was weird. The worship had stirred some of Akna's essence deep inside her, some sense of appropriate acceptance. It had scared Max more than she was willing to admit. More than she would ever reveal to the SGC. She bared her teeth at the computer screen and picked at them morosely. She wondered what it would be like to have fangs and started laughing.

The wild child woke up with a scream. Max's mouth snapped shut and she rushed over to the girl. The girl's eyes were wide and blank with fear; Max made shushing noises and reached for her. The little one panicked and lashed out scratching deep furrows down Max's arm. Max winced as fire flared up to her shoulder but didn't move the girl fought and squirmed until she saw the blue lightning of Max's quickening healing the damage. Then the girl went freakishly calm and looked up at Max with loving eyes. Max's guts roiled, fear, exultation, horror and a terrible joy fought in her chest. She reeled away from the girl dropped to her hands and knees, snagged a waste paper basket and vomited violently into it.

Max fell to her side and wiped at her wet lips. She looked up at the girl. The child was perched on her cot looking down at Max with a beatific smile. A tech and several guards burst into the room.

"Miss Holloway are you all right?" The med tech asked, he was kneeling next to her, one hand taking her pulse, the other bracing her. Max shivered violently and closed her eyes breaking the connection with the girl. She turned her face into her outstretched arm, hiding from the tiny girl. She remained there, lying on the cold concrete, locked in a battle with her own twisting and writhing urges, at odds with her own soul and the trapped souls of conquered immortals.

She faced her enemies again. Each and every one a fair challenge and a fair kill. Yet, each and everyone mad as hell to have lost. Each battled to enforce a claim on her soul to carve out a niche but in spite of the clamoring throng the greater threat was one potent soul. Akna, Mayan goddess and mother a brutal power in her own right wanted it all. Max's consciousness and Akna's battled like titans. But where Akna was brutal and powerful, Max was crazed and vicious. They were evenly matched but Max had home town advantage.

Janet arrived looking newly woken and disheveled, she and the tech got Max onto the cot where she began to have what seemed like a seizure. They held her down and bound her, pumped her with antiseizure meds to no avail, finally settling for weathering the storm they held her as still as they could and waited for the seizure to end. Only it didn't it grew more violent and harried and then she went rigid. Her eyes rolled back and mouth opened, a low wail crawled out of her mouth and grew in volume until it was ear piercing. Then her jaw snapped shot and her body went rag doll limp. The pale blue of her quickening crawled over her skin lighting it up and tracing her veins in cold fire. Finally the light faded.

"Doctor?" The tech asked nervously.

"Make sure she's secure and take her to Iso room one." Janet said and pushed hair out of her face. Whatever was wrong with Max had started with the feral girl. Janet left orders for the girl to be taken to the second isolation room. She then contacted the general and had the security tapes for the infirmary brought to her.

She reviewed the tapes with her staff while waiting for the general. Adam arrived in a huff just as the first tape was spinning up.

"Where is she?" He demanded.

"She's safe, she's in an isolation room." Adams eyes flickered to the screen.

The camera was set high in a corner and managed to catch most of the room. They watched Max wander the room bored and then the girl wake at Max's laughter. Tense silence filled the room as they witnessed Max's collapse and seizure. Finally the tape ended.

"I've never seen anything like this." Janet said staring at Adam pointedly.

"I . . . I'm not sure what happened. Its possible . . ." He trailed off and frowned.

"Dr. Pierson-"

"I think its Akna." He finally volunteered reluctantly.

"How?"

"When we defeat another immortal we, absorb their power but pieces of their personality, their consciousness come along for the ride. Max said those children tried to worship her."

"She did?"

Adam nodded.

"Its possible that they inadvertently stirred up the fragments of Akna's consciousness in Max, and the girl caught Max off guard, woke Akna up, I think that seizure is a manifestation of a much more serious battle, inside Max's mind. Doctor I'd recommend armed guards on the door to that iso room."

"Why?"

"Until we know for sure it might not be Max who wakes up in there."

"Great. Don't you two ever have a normal day?"

"No, not really." Adam grunted. Janet sighed and picked up the phone she reported the situation to the General.

"We're on standby until she wakes up."

"What about the girl?"

"We're running some tests, but so far she seems healthy and human." Janet said. Adam nodded. He left the room and entered the isolation room. The guards hadn't been posted yet. He pulled up a stool and sat holding Max's hand. She was clammy and cool, her face blank, pale, and stippled with fever sweat. Adam sighed and shook his head.

"You find the damndest ways to screw up my day." He grumbled. After a few hours she began to twitch and stir. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared around.

"Adam?" She asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Hey, feeling better?" He asked relief filling his voice.

"Feel like I swallowed razor blades. Akna was one tough bitch."

"So it was her?" Max nodded and tried to sit up. Adam put a hand on her shoulder and forced her to be still.

"For once idiot stay in bed and heal. The world and the galaxy will survive without you."

"Whatever you say mom." Max whispered with a faint smile. Adam pushed her disheveled hair out of her face and waited until she slept again.

"It's Max." He said confident the viewing room could hear him.

"How sure are you?" O'Neill asked over the microphone. Adam thought about it for a very long moment.

"As sure as I can be." He said finally.

"Not good enough Pierson."

"Jack she saved your team, she saved Carter's life." Adam snapped peeved.

"Understood and we're grateful for that but that doesn't matter if that bitch Akna has her now." Adam closed his eyes and furrowed his brow.

"I really dislike you lot at times." He growled. Max steadily improved and was ready to leave the isolation room within twenty-four hours. In spite of her insistence on being allowed back to duty or at least allowed to study SGC files both requests were firmly denied. So Max wallowed in boredom and frustration. She showed no sign of Akna or becoming a goddess.

"If you don't let me out of here I'm going to go crazy, again." Max said and folded her arms obstinately. She glared at General Hammond.

"Miss Holloway the fact is that you cannot be trusted at this time."

"Yeah so you say but you'll never know whether or not you can if you keep me here forever, look either you can trust me or you can't either way I can be useful." Hammond looked dubious.

"Look how about that girl? Is Daniel making any progress learning her language?" Hammond gave her a neutral look.

"She thinks I'm a god I imagine she'll probably respond pretty well if I try to teach her our language, don't you?" Hammond sighed.

"Very well, you will work with Dr Jackson to teach the girl English, however, you will remain in this room."

"General-" Max protested but Hammond was all ready out the door. Max groaned and slid deeper into her chair.

"You know, losing your temper isn't going to convince anyone you're safe." Daniel's voice broke the silence, piped in by the microphone from the observation room. Max glared up at him, he held his hands up in a defensive move and smiled sympathetically at her.

"Hey, I'm your biggest fan." Daniel said. Max nodded wearily and got up, she walked over to the cross training machine that had been brought in for her use and turned it on. She began programming her workout and continued talking to Jackson.

"I know I'm sorry, I appreciate what you've been doing for me. Its just, they want me to prove the impossible to prove, I don't know how I can make them believe that I really truly am me. Adam believes me but he can't prove it either . . ." She finished hitting the touch sensitive keys and hopped on. She began the warm up with a scowl, forcing the machine out of optimum speed; a little warning light came on.

"I know it's not fair. Major Carter and I have been trying to come up with a definitive test but the parameters are . . . tricky."

"Sure how do you tell what's normal for an immortal? Once you do how do you isolate one quickening from all the others, and how do you tell if that's the real immortal or one who's quickening was strong enough to control the real one." She said beginning to sweat and breathe faster. She shook her head and wiped her right cheek on her sleeve.

"So I'm either crazy, lying and plotting against the SGC, or innocent. How do you prove any of that?"

"Or disprove it." Jackson agreed. He sighed and watched her work herself into a frenzy for a few minutes. Disheartened he finally left her to her business. There was very little he could do for her once she was in a mood. He headed for Carter's lab hoping she had made some kind of progress in their quest. He paused briefly outside the wild child's room, they had taken to calling her Sara in honor of Max's given name.

The girl was a mystery. She seemed perfectly intelligent, but at the same time refused to attempt to learn English. She insisted on communicating through sign language and the primitive noises and cries of the animals of her planet and the angry sounds of fighting children. He could make no sense of her ramblings. She was hell bent on seeing Max again and obstinately refused to cooperate with Daniel any longer in any manner. Daniel was very much relieved that Hammond had agreed to allow Max to help. Daniel considered entering Sara's room and checking on her but decided against it. He had scheduled another encounter for a few hours hence and didn't see the point in waking her for no reason.

He kept walking, keyed an elevator and then headed down. Sam was waiting as the elevator opened. She smiled at him.

"Hi, I was just coming up for you."

"Any progress?"

"Actually, yes. I think I may have figured out how to create a polygraph for immortals."

"Really? How? I mean normal polygraphs are notoriously unreliable; they aren't even admissible in court."

"True but all we have to do is figure out what Max is likely lying about. At least then we'll have a starting point."

"Okay, how does the polygraph work?"

"It's modeled on the Tok'ra technology they used on the Colonel and I when they thought one of us may have been an assassin. Basically it scans for irregular emotional reactions."

"What will you use as a base?"

"Adam has volunteered to help us with that, also we'll all need to undergo the same questioning as Max."

"Because?"

"We need to get a read on appropriate reactions to the events on that planet, while

Adam can act as a base for Max we still need a base for the emotional scale."

"Okay, I think." Daniel said.

"So, I'm going to need you to find Adam while I set up the lab.

"Did you try paging him?" Daniel asked with a pained stiff necked expression. She grinned at him, he hung his head in defeat.

"He didn't answer." She said, Daniel was all ready hitting the up button on the elevator control pad. He held a hand up in acknowledgement and ignored Carter's expression as the doors closed.

Adam had become . . . prickly. Denied his freedom, watching Max being imprisoned, being denied information necessary to complete the translations he'd been assigned . . . it had taken a toll. His normally dry, snarky, personality had turned vicious and cruel. He sharpened his tongue and his temper on any SGC personnel who wandered into range. Including the pacifistic at heart Egyptologist.

Daniel knocked lightly on Adam's door. A stream of vicious diatribe tore the air in reply. Daniel sighed in resignation and waited patiently. Finally after a deliberately lengthy pause the door was flung open. Adam glared out and spotted Daniel. The immortal's jaw was set his intelligent eyes were narrowed in a hostile glare.

"What?" He asked acidly. Daniel swallowed hard. He had bandied insults with Goa'uld, fought in dozens of life and limb conflicts, and defeated gods but Adam gave him pause. He licked his lips and spoke.

"Carter said you were willing to help her in the lab." He kept his tone steady and struggled to maintain eye contact. Adam's face went frighteningly blank and then a smile creased his lips.

"Yes, I did." Adam said stepping into the hall and closing his door. He let Jackson lead the way back to Carter's lab. The immortal remained silent and dour during the journey. Finally they arrived; Jackson choked back a sigh of relief as Carter greeted Adam.

"You've made progress?"

"Possibly." Carter cautioned and then launched into an explanation of her idea. As she wound down Adam nodded agreeably.