Rising from the Ashes of Ascension
Chapter 3
Disclaimer: As much as I might wish, I do not own Stargate: SG1, Highlander: the Series, or any recognizable characters from either show. If I did, I wouldn't be working in the public schools system. However, any characters that are not from either show are mine and I will use and abuse them as I see fit. Everyone else will be returned eventually, for I am only borrowing for awhile, but they might end up a bit scuffed.
Warnings: Potty language, violence, and occasional sexual references
Daniel had spent a restless night in his quarters. His dreams were filled with terrifying visions of things he couldn't begin to understand how they fit into a normal person's life. He had had these dreams back on the planet he had been found on, but they had never been this intense.
He could hear people shouting and crying in his dreams. There were horses, blood, and battles between giant, warring armies. The languages were mixed. He could understand them with ease and recognized them as being members of different language families.
What really freaked him out, what caused him to wake up several times drenched in sweat were the swords. He saw images of people, though he couldn't always see their faces distinctly, coming at him (at least he assumed it was him) with swords. He felt the clash of swords run up his arms, as if he were actually there. Blood would sometimes be everywhere, coating him, the ground, and his opponent. He could even taste the salty, coppery tang of blood in his mouth. Daniel wasn't sure if it was his own or someone else's.
At the end of every scene involving swords, a beheading would occur and blue lightening would appear. The head would roll away from the body as the body crumpled onto the ground. Mist would rise from the ground and the fallen opponent then lightening would lash out from the headless body, touching everything with its vicinity. Explosions would occur as the lightening finally reached him, enveloping him, filling his being. Power, pure, raw power would fill him, causing him to scream in pain and ecstasy. It burned like fire and like ice. It was soothing and violent. It signaled defeat and death, but at the same time victory and continued life.
The last dream was filled with images of fighting someone in a warehouse. Someone, the blonde woman, Sam maybe, had been captured, made into a pawn to lure him into a supposed trap. He remembered people by his side, assisting him in rescuing the woman. Daniel also recalled slicing through his opponent's neck, severing his head and ending his life. The blue lightening came, destroying everything around him, filling him with the loser's strength and knowledge, giving him the power of his Quickening.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
Daniel woke up in a start, gasping for breath.
He squinted as he looked over at the clock, he remembered what it was, and saw the digital read out as being 07:16 am. Deciding that going back to sleep at this point would be less than desirable, he got up and stumbled through the dark over to the small bathroom that was attached to the bedroom.
He took care of his bladder then turned on the shower. Quickly stripping, he stepped into the stall, letting the spray wash away the sweat from the restless night. Once he had lathered up and rinsed, he turned off the spray and stepped out of the stall. Wrapping an overly large, fluffy towel – definitely not one of the standard issued towels the SG teams were issued, he moved over to the sink and began the ritual of shaving, using the items he found in the small medicine cabinet. It frustrated him that he could remember such mundane tasks, but not his life. Hell, even his name, Daniel Jackson sounded wrong to him.
As he was shaving, he nicked himself along the jaw line. Tilting his head up to look at the damage, he gasped in shock as he saw a thin tendril of blue lightening race along the cut, healing it instantly.
"Oh gods," he breathed. "What was that?" he stumbled backwards, hitting the wall, stunned that something from his bizarre nightmares would make it out of his mind and into the waking world.
There was knocking at his door but he ignored it, too stunned to answer.
Jack opened the door and stuck his head inside. "Daniel?" he called out and saw through a reflection that Daniel was in the bathroom, standing there with his back to the wall, a terrified expression on his face.
"Daniel!" Jack said sharply, hoping to catch his attention, as he walked further into the room. "What's going on?"
Daniel was breathing heavily. "I had a dream last night about lightening and then I was shaving and I cut myself."
"Oh," Jack said, understanding immediately what Daniel was talking about. "You cut yourself and the lightening healed it," he stated.
Daniel, with a towel wrapped around his middle, came out of the bathroom to face Jack. "Is that normal? I never saw anything like that on the planet you found me on? Is this an effect of being here?"
Jack smiled grimly. "It's normal for you. Actually that's part of the reason why I am here. Why don't you finish getting dressed and I'll be back in about five minutes?"
Daniel nodded numbly, and turned towards the wardrobe and chest to find clothes provided for him as Jack quietly backed out the door.
Once the door was closed, Jack walked down the hall, out of the hearing range of the guard on duty. He pulled out his cell phone and called Adam. He spoke briefly into the phone, telling him that Daniel had cut himself and had seen the results. Jack then asked Adam to come down in about another five minutes, giving him time to prepare Daniel for his arrival.
Once the five minutes were up, Jack re-entered Daniel's quarters, finding his friend sitting on the bed wearing another ill-fitting jumpsuit, examining his wedding cup and the picture of Shar'ae.
"Hey," Jack said and closed the door behind him.
"There's so much that I know I know, but I can't remember. This woman in the picture, this cup, I know they are important, but I can't remember why. Why did this happen?" Daniel asked without looking up.
"You apparently broke some rules Danny and I guess maybe losing your memories is part of the punishment. But hey, obviously things are coming back. You remembered what a DHD was yesterday."
"I've also been getting flashed of things, violent things," Daniel said. "What kind of fucked up life did I have where my life is filled with battles, swords, and people losing their heads?"
"You're also remembering your potty mouth," Jack observed. "Anyhow, your odd memories are what I am here to talk to you about. First, Adam is going to be here in about a minute or so. When he gets close, you'll feel something like a really bad headache at the base of your skull. It's normal, according to Adam. He said that when he enters the room, make eye contact and the pounding will pass."
"That's the guy from yesterday," Daniel remembered the unfortunate encounter.
"Yeah, that's him. Just remember that you two are friends and have been friends for a long time. He doesn't mean you any harm, so just relax," Jack advised.
Daniel of course did the exact opposite and when Adam approached, coming close enough to trigger his Immortal early warning system, Daniel grabbed his head and squeezed his eyes shut against the pain.
Adam came in and shut the door firmly behind him, causing Daniel to look up. He made eye contact with the man and magically the pain faded away.
"Danil," Methos greeted his old friend and extended his arm.
Daniel automatically grabbed it, grasping the forearm in a warrior handshake from a time long ago.
"Why do you call me Danil when everyone else calls me Daniel?" Daniel asked, sitting back down on the bed as Jack and Methos pulled up a pair of chairs for them to sit in.
"Danil was then name you were going by when we first met a long time ago. Daniel Jackson is the name that you started using about fifteen or so years ago," the Immortal said.
"What? Why would I have two different names?"
Jack looked at Methos and shrugged, letting the Old Man take the lead on this one.
"We met over four thousand years ago. You've changed the name others call you many times over the years, just as I have. People here know me as Adam Pierson while you, and a few select others, know me as Methos," he explained.
"Four thousand years? What kind of crap is this? Do you think I'm stupid? I have amnesia, not a case of mental retardation, thank you," Daniel snapped, not liking having someone screw with him.
Adam, sitting there, doing his best to keep his expression neutral, rubbed his hands absently against his blue BDUs. "You are an Immortal Daniel same as me. We are not completely human like Jack here. We are a race of people that live, grow up, and eventually die. If our first death is a violent and an unnatural one, we come back, stuck in the age that we died at. That headache that you felt when I came in is a warning system that we all have to let us know that another is near. I will warn you that besides us, there is another Immortal on base. Roy Siler was a student of yours at one point. He died in World War II and you became his teacher shortly after the war ended. So when you run into him, you'll get that same sensation, though it probably won't be as intense as it is when I come near you – he's young."
Daniel shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't," he stopped himself, tripping over his own thoughts. ""Four thousand years is ridiculous! Humans don't live that long."
"Humans don't, but we do," Methos replied, looking serious. "You are somewhere around five thousand years old, the same as me. Most other immortals out there are younger than us, much younger, but we have no need to discuss our true age with anyone, though Jack, Carter, and Teal'c are probably the only mortals that know how old you really are. If other Immortals, especially the young, the greedy, and the psychotic were to learn about how old you really are, they will hunt you down, non-stop."
"I'm not saying that I believe you, because you sound pretty psychotic yourself," Daniel said, "but why would younger Immortals come after me? What's so special about me?"
"What's special is that you've survived for five thousand years. In the time you've been alive, you've amassed a significant amount of power that many would love to take from you."
Daniel shook his head, not understanding in the least. "What power are you talking about? I'm just a normal person, except for the weird blue lightening," he protested, shaking his head in disbelief.
"You are a normal person to a certain extent; however, you are an Immortal. Our kind has been around since the dawn of human existence, if the stories are correct. The longer you live, generally, the more powerful you become," Adam built the story up, for Daniel's sake and for his own. Telling his old friend about the Game was not going to be a pleasant one.
"Why would I want to become more powerful? Is there a point to this?"
Adam smiled grimly. "Supposedly, in the end, there can be only one of us left."
"Huh?"
"As far back as I can remember Immortals have fought one another in battles to the death. The victor, in the end, absorbs the power, strength, and knowledge of the loser," the Old Man said, carefully watching Danil for a violent, but understandable, reaction.
"Battles to the death," he said slowly as the meaning of the words fell home. "We fight with swords, right?"
"Generally yes, that's right. Our battles, when we choose them, are always one on one, out of the sight of the general population, and never on Holy Ground. We do not break that last rule. Sometimes the other two are a little flexible, but never the last one," Adam lectured his friend.
Daniel had been examining the bedspread, tracing the pattern with his thumb, but suddenly looked up at the other Immortal with fear. "Are you here to kill me?"
Adam let out a small sigh. "No. We do not have to fight each other. There is nothing that says that two Immortals have to fight each other. We've been friends for a long time and there have been plenty of times when taking my head would have been the smart thing for you to do, but you didn't."
"Daniel," Jack spoke up, looking sadly at his friend, regretting that they had to tell Daniel about the Game. "Adam here is your friend, along with Siler. Remember that you were Siler's teacher at one point."
"Teach him what?" Daniel asked confused once again. "Wait, I remember something about coming back to the U.S. after a war and finding someone – a guy that was about to be killed and he didn't know why."
"Traditionally, we will from time to time take on a new Immortal and teach them how to fight with a sword. Siler was one of your more recent students. You are very good with a sword and an even better teacher."
"I don't know if I can," Daniel said, looking down at his hands as if he couldn't fathom the idea of them holding a weapon in them.
"Yes you can," Jack said, a determined look on his face. "If you don't, eventually someone will come along and challenge you. If you don't learn to defend yourself again, you'll lose your head and someone will get your power. You told me once that you were pretty powerful and that if the wrong person got a hold of your Quickening, it would be really bad, not to mention that I would lose a really good friend, this time forever. There'd be no Oma, no Ascension, no joining of the glow-club. You would be gone for good."
"Why? What's the point of all of this?"
"Supposedly in the end, the final victor, with all of the Quickening of the Immortals in him or her will have the power to rule the world or condemn it," Adam replied. "If it's the latter, then they will make the Goa'uld look like Gandhi."
"Who's Gandhi?" Daniel asked his voice full of curiosity.
"He was a leader in India that believed in non-violent resistance to British," Adam replied. "You should know - you met the guy once."
Daniel scrunched his forehead, thinking hard. "Short guy, bald, glasses, wore robes, not an overly successful lawyer," he recalled. "His teachings influenced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Aung San Suu Kyi. He was one of the gentlest souls I had ever met, but he had a will made out of steel." It wasn't much, but it proved to the others that Daniel's memories were still there, just repressed.
The more he thought about the person, moving his eyes from side to side, searching the depths of his mind for the missing information.
"I disagreed with him about his message to the British when the invasion of England by the Axis Powers looked eminent. I told him that by lying down before one's enemies, no matter how noble the idea was, was selfish for you were sacrificing other people's lives. I argued that violence was acceptable when defending your life and the lives of others. We never saw eye to eye and then he was assassinated. We never got a chance to continue to argue," Daniel said quietly, looking far off into the distance, as if he weren't really there, but somewhere in the past.
"You've met a lot of interesting people in your time Danil. Some were pretty famous, some weren't so notorious but they affected you probably more so, especially your wives," Adam grinned.
"I'm married?" Daniel asked, surprised.
"You have been in the past. You aren't now," Jack hedged.
"So who's this?" Daniel inquired, picking up the framed photograph of Shar'ae. "I must have loved her.'
"You tell me," Jack said, his smile fading just a bit. "Why don't you come to breakfast with us and then afterwards, go through our mission reports? They might help you remember what we've done here."
"Fine," Daniel said slowly, pretty positive that Jack was holding something back, as if Jack was unsure of what his reaction would be. "Can you first tell me why I freaked out in the infirmary when you came near me?" he suddenly asked, looking at Adam
Adam stiffened slightly. "I am guessing you saw an image of me on horseback, with my face painted blue or with a skull mask on. It was pretty violent, wasn't it?"
Daniel nodded; there was a worried look on his face.
"I don't think you need the full details just yet. What you saw was a period in my life where I rode with three other companions, laying waste to the land. We were a nightmare and a half and were pretty famous. We were known as the Four Horsemen and eventually we even got a mention in the Bible as being the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Granted that the Book of Revelations is full of conjecture, symbolism, and code, but it was partially based on a long ago story of four people that were known as War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. I was Death," the former Horseman said, looking grim.
"I didn't, I mean, I wasn't a part of your group, was I?" Daniel asked, his eyes wide, though in his mind's eye, he was seeing scenes of long ago.
"No. You weren't one of us technically, but you were our friend for some stupid reason. Well," Adam amended himself, "you weren't friends with Caspian. Caspian was a cannibal and you were pretty disgusted with him. Hell, nobody liked Caspian, even us. However, the other members of the Horsemen are long dead. Kronos, Silas, and Caspian were killed by a friend of mine and me a couple of years back."
"You miss them, don't you?" Daniel observed, watching the other Immortal closely.
Adam gave him a small smile. "Sometimes I do. I don't miss the mass murdering and the destruction that we were responsible for, but I miss the friendship."
"Well, on that cheery note," Jack rolled his eyes, "I'm going to go and take this opportunity to plunge q-tips deep into my ears so I will never have to hear about cannibalism again before breakfast. Anyone care to join me?" he said and stood up, his knees popping.
Daniel also stood up. "Sure, but I think I will hold off on the q-tip thing. One last question," he said, and then amended when Jack and Adam gave him wry looks. "Make it the last question at least for the next thirty seconds. In general, people on this base don't know about Immortals, do they?"
Adam shook his head. "No. Other than me and Siler, only Jack, Sam, Teal'c, the General, Dr. Fraiser, and Chief Warrant Officer Abbott know about us. We don't want the government at large to find out about us, least they start experimenting on us like guinea pigs."
"Oh, well that's comforting," was all Daniel could say, with more than just a trace of sarcasm, as he calmly followed the two men out of his quarters and towards the cafeteria. However, his mind continued to race around like a meth addict on a three-day drug binge. Images of what he assumed were his past was interspersed with memories of his time among the people on the base. While many things were pretty scary, what stuck out was the feeling of friendship and brotherhood he had between several of the people, especially the three that found him on that planet.
A/N: Well, what do you think? Crap or not? Be a pal and hit the shiny review button and let me know what you think.
The bit about Gandhi came from Wikipedia and a book I read a long time ago about his life. Supposedly Gandhi wasn't an overly successful lawyer, but he learned how to organize and speak to people during the times he practiced law. Also, Gandhi did suggest to the Allies an extreme solution to ending WWII, by laying down arms and giving into the Nazis. It wasn't because he thought that the Nazis were right, but to continue to fight and cause more bloodshed was less a desirable way to act. I do not agree with this opinion in this and I don't think the character of Daniel Jackson would either. Also, look up Aung San Suu Kyi if you get the chance, not to be Bono-like (I'm not a Cause-Head or a Media Whore like him). It will do you some good.
Oh yeah…ladies, don't deny that you were enjoying the imagery of Daniel Jackson in nothing but a towel or in the shower. Wipe the drool up before someone slips in it.