Sudden changes chapter 13
The SGC
Daniel sipped at his coffee while looking at the translations, so far he hadn't had much luck; he was beginning to think he'd never find out what the tablet was about. On any other occasion it would cause him to become rather frustrated but this time he couldn't bring himself to give a monkey's ass.
He placed his coffee back down on the table and went on reading it…or at least trying to.
He was pretty sure it was a dead language that even he hadn't ever come across before; Daniel sighed in exasperation and felt absolutely exhausted mentally and physically, he put his head in his hands after taking his glasses off and rubbed his face to stop his eyes aching; it didn't work.
It was just a stupid translation, why did it have to be harder than any other he'd finished before this?
The archaeologist's left hand slowly fell away from its place from under his chin and landed softly on his desk, his thoughts started drifting around his head as he lost control of them while starting to drift of to sleep.
Maybe it didn't mean anything; maybe it was just a huge intergalactic waste of time.
Daniel yawned freely and his eyes started watering immediately as his chin started sliding from his palm and further down his wrist until it was resting on the fingers of his left hand; the right one slowly lowered to the desk's surface and moved under the other arm as he unconsciously crossed his arms for his head to rest on.
The exhaustion resulting from no sleep for the last twenty-three hours overcame the bespectacled man as he lost consciousness.
Airport Terminal- several hours later
When the person over the PA announced that their plane was ready Buffy leapt up from the bench that she and her friends were sitting on, "It's about damn time!" she growled irritably.
Dawn and Xander manhandled their backpacks on to their shoulders quickly before making their way to the plane; they dodged a couple of idiotic people who, if the demon fighters hadn't moved quickly out of their way, would have collided with them.
Dawn looked over her shoulder to glare at the offending people's backs only to stop suddenly in shock when she caught sight of a familiar, if flabby, face. "Clem!?"
Buffy span around as her sister had shouted and saw Clem running up to them; she walked over to stand next to the former-Key as the benevolent demon stopped in front of them. "Clem, what're you doing here?"
Clem's ears flapped a little, "What do you think? Chrissy and Willow aren't at home anymore, I think that something's happened to them. Then my kitten-poker friends said something about a group of soldier taking them from the house early in the morn-
Buffy interrupted, "Yeah, that's what happened."
"And why we're going to Colorado Springs," Dawn pitched in. "That's where the kidnappers have taken them."
Clem shook his head, ears flapping again, "Why would they do that?" he asked in disbelief.
The Slayer shrugged looking a little impatient, "We know why but I'll explain later when we bring them back."
The demon nodded, "I wish I could help."
Dawn patted him on the shoulder comfortingly, though slightly distracted, "You'll be the first to know when we get them back, okay?"
The demon smiled, "Thanks. Good luck, and uh…kick the kidnappers' butts in!"
Buffy grinned maliciously, "Don't worry, I'm planning on that and more."
The Scoobies silently agreed, well all except Anya who said, "If I were still a vengeance demon I'd infect their penises with-
"Ahn!" Xander exclaimed looking a little embarrassed. Even Buffy was looking a little pink in the face as some of the people around them stared in shock and amusement.
"What?" Anya shrugged looking slightly confused. "I thought we were baying for blood here."
Xander nodded, "We are."
"So then what's the problem?" she asked.
Xander sighed and said, "Never mind."
Clem nodded dubiously, and said, "Well, I should go."
"We should too, want to get our seats asap," said Dawn noncommittally.
Clem and the Scooby gang parted ways after that, wanting to get their friends back as soon as they could.
Daniel's Dream
Daniel looked around at the suddenly-new scenery that surrounded him and raised his eyebrows questioningly, "Uh…oookkaay."
His blue eyes darted around the room, which was obviously a rather small library, and saw a pair of double-doors. He walked over to them and looked through the vertical, rectangular glass windows curiously. He frowned, "This is a school?"
What was he doing in a school library?
He turned around to look at the stacks on the second floor and walked towards the wooden stairs while passing the huge wooden tables on the way there; suddenly he stopped in confusion and looked over his shoulder to see that a crossbow was lying almost innocently on the surface of the table.
Why would a crossbow be in a school library? He also noted that there was a large cage for some odd reason.
The archaeologist shook his head in bemusement, "Weird."
"No kidding!" piped up an enthusiastic voice behind him. Daniel jumped in shock and spun around to face a teenage boy wearing a slightly goofy grin.
"Uh," stuttered Daniel hesitantly. "Hi?"
"Howdy," the boy gave him the once over and smirked. "You are so lucky you're you."
The older man blinked looking confused, "Uh…huh?"
The boy shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets, "Well, if the Slayer does get to know you then she shouldn't be too pissed off."
He still didn't get it.
The boy's brown eyes rolled upwards in mock exasperation, "You knocked up the Slayers' best bud; you gotta be a saint to stop her from lynching you…then there's the rest of their little group."
Daniel interest jumped up several notches, "You're talking about Willow?"
The boy just smiled and scratched his scalp; messing up his light brown hair slightly, "You wanna find the answers? Find the warriors of the Powers and you'll get all the answers you want and need."
"Ookay, Tara did this dream-thingy a while ago…who're you?" asked the archaeologist.
The brunette just looked at him, "You'd better watch your backs, the warriors…they think they know but they don't, you need to set them straight before it's too late."
Daniel sighed, "What is it with you higher beings and being cryptic?"
The boy chuckled, "Hey, I wasn't like this when I was alive, believe me!"
"Daniel?"
"What?" the boy's voice sounded different but familiar.
"Daniel, wake up!"
The boy looked up exasperatedly then looked at Daniel, "The last thing you were trying to find the answers to…. the warriors will work it out, it wasn't written by YOUR enemy."
The boy's wide eyes were locked on his looking meaningful, like he was trying to tell him something but couldn't say.
"Danny, wakey wakey!" there was that voice again.
Something was gripping his right shoulder and was shaking him slightly.
End Daniel's Dream
"Daniel!"
Daniel blinked his sleepy eyes rapidly to clear his vision, it cleared partially, "Glasses?" he sat up in his chair wincing as his neck started aching.
Jack handed him his specs and said, "Sorry Danny, Willow's friends haven't called us back; they obviously don't trust us and don't want our help."
Daniel scowled, "I don't care if they don't want us to help, we're helping." No way was he not going to be there when Chris and Willow were found.
Jack nodded and said, "Yup, that's what I said to Hammond."
He looked questioningly at the silver-haired man, "And?"
"And…he's a little wary of interfering with the group for the obvious reason," replied Jack stuffing his hands in his pockets.
Much in the way that that boy had…
Daniel stood up abruptly, "Jack! I…" he swayed slightly. "Whoa, head-rush."
Jack grasped his best friend's shoulders to steady him as he shook the 'head-rush' off quickly and impatiently.
"I had another dream," he explained.
Jack gave him a blank look, "A dream?"
The archaeologist nodded, "Only it wasn't Tara this time, it was a teenage boy and I was in a school library."
Jack nodded slowly, "And you were there, and you, and there's no place like-
Daniel sighed exasperated, "Jack, I'm serious."
"So was I…what's with the dreams?" Jack asked. Weird…but then again this whole current situation was about a Hellmouth, the supernatural and two witches.
The archaeologist was zoning out, What did that boy say? The last thing I was trying to find the answers to.
"I take you had no luck with figuring out that…uh, rock?" muttered Jack noncommittally.
"The rock?" Daniel blinked then remembered as the last of his tiredness fell away. "The translations."
The warriors for the Powers…PTB? Probably, But what did the Scoobies know about the translations that he didn't? They didn't know Goa'uld language, they probably knew how to translate others but so would he…
Unless it wasn't an alien language, "Jack?" Daniel asked seriously. "I-I need to see the General."
What if the language found on the alien planet was demonic?