Daniel Jackson frowned as he took readings from the area while studying the symbols before him. He'd noticed a pattern, similar to some of the ancient texts he'd helped decipher, but there was still a long way to go. He tapped several of the symbols and looked at the encoded messages before checking his watch. They were already overdue for their check in with the SGC, and he knew it was time to head for the gate.
"Sam, are you there?"
*"I'm here, Daniel, where are you?"*
"I'm still in the building. Look, I'm going to head for the Stargate and update them on what's happening. Are you and Teal'c any closer to getting out of there?"
*"Not yet. I was hoping we could find a key to the locking mechanism, but I haven't been able to figure it out. There's a window and we just might have to resort to using force."*
"We're already late for our check in, and it will take me at least an hour to reach the Stargate. You're a lot closer than I am so give it a try," Jackson said.
*"Teal'c heard you and he's..."*
Jackson squinted his eyes at the sound of gunfire that effectively drowned out whatever Carter was saying. He wasn't sure how man rounds the big man fired, but he was pretty sure he heard the sound of shattering glass. "Sam, did it work?"
*"You could say that. It seems the window was an illusion."*
"What kind of illusion?"
*"That's going to be hard to explain."*
"Are you able to get out?"
*"Maybe, but we're not sure where out is?"*
"Say again?"
*"There's nothing there. At least not what we thought we saw. Teal'c and I are going to see if we can find out where it goes."*
"Where what goes, Sam?"
*"The window..."*
"Was an illusion. I got that, but what are you seeing now and what makes you think that's not the illusion?"
*"Daniel, when the window shattered it opened up a pathway of some kind. There's...hold on Daniel, someone's coming."*
"Sam, are you there?" Jackson asked, but got no answer. He looked at the data, torn between it, the gate, and whatever was happening where Carter and Teal'c were.
SG1SG1SG1SG1
Carter moved toward the dark pathway, ignoring Jackson's worried voice as she held her P90 in front of her. The sound of approaching footsteps reached her ears and she felt Teal'c standing beside her as whoever it was came closer to their position.
"It could be Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c offered.
"I don't think so," Carter said, surprised when she spotted more than a dozen figures moving toward them. She recognized several, but they seemed unaware of their presence as they stepped out of the tunnel.
"They do not seem to see us, Colonel Carter," Teal'c Observed.
"I know," Carter said, lowering her gun slightly as she spoke to the woman nearest her. "Janolia, where have you been? Where are the others? Have you seen Colonel Mitchell?"
The Talosian gave no sign that she heard anything Carter said, staring straight ahead with eyes that were hooded and vacant. The others had the same blank look on their faces and stood staring, as if they were unaware of their surroundings. They took shallow breaths, as if the very air they breathed might be toxic to them. What seemed prevalent was the fact that they all looked as if they'd lost weight and their clothing seemed to be threadbare and musty smelling.
"Janolia, where have you been? Where is Colonel Mitchell?" Carter repeated, but received no answer.
*"Sam, are you there? What's going on? I'm going to try and blast my way through..."*
"Daniel, we've found about two dozen Talosians, but they seem to be in a trance of some kind. "
*"Is Mitchell with them?"*
"No," Carter answered. "Look, Daniel, Teal'c and I are okay for now so go back to the gate and let the SGC know what's happening."
*"Are you sure?"*
"I'm sure. Just tell General Landry not to send any more teams through," Carter warned.
*"It may already be too late for that."*
"I know, but tell him right now we're okay," Carter ordered.
*"All right. I'm leaving now, but if you need me before then just contact me, and Sam, be careful."*
"We will," Carter told him and returned her attention to the people standing in the room. "You heard?"
"I did. We should try to get out of here," Teal'c said.
"I agree. Maybe once they are out of this room they'll snap out of it," Carter said and moved back to the console. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the symbols, unaware that Teal'c was watching her closely. She let her hands move across the keys until she felt the change in the air and opened her eyes just as the room shimmered and disappeared.
"Colonel Carter, are you all right?"
Carter swallowed several times before opening her eyes. She blinked until her vision cleared and looked at Teal'c as he helped her to her feet. "What happened?"
"I am not sure, but whatever you did worked. We are outside."
"I see that," Carter said. She recognized the clearing and was slightly surprised to see the Talosians had also escaped the structure. Most still seemed to be in a trance, but a couple were showing signs of coming out of whatever had held them spellbound. Sam moved to the dark haired woman she'd spoken to earlier and touched her shoulder. "Janolia, can you hear me?"
"I...who...what's happened? How did I get here?"
"You came through the tunnel in there," Carter answered and saw fear on the woman's face.
"No, we're not allowed in there. That's only for the chosen ones...we could be..."
"Could be what, Janolia?" Carter asked and turned to see a young male drop to his knees as a screaming wail escaped from deep in his throat. She hurried to him in time to see his body convulse in a grotesque display as if the bones would break through the skin. "Janolia, what is this?"
"He was there too long...the change...once it takes control it is too late," the woman answered, rocking back and forth on her heels.
"We were here last week, Janolia. How long after we left did this happen?"
"I don't know. We...we were having the morning meal when Layonna came to us and said it was time for the chosen to follow her over to her realm. She...she said we would not be harmed, but that it was our destiny to become what our past dictates."
"Do you know what she meant?" Carter asked.
"Sam!"
Carter turned to see Daniel hurrying toward them from the trail that led back from the gate, and wondered exactly how much time had passed between the arrival of the Talosians and waking up outside the structure. She glanced at her watch, but it seemed to have stopped. "Daniel, what time is it?"
"It's nearly eight," Jackson answered.
"What? Teal'c did you lose consciousness?" Carter asked, surprise evident in her voice.
"I believe I did," Teal'c answered and tipped his head to the right.
"Daniel, did you contact the SGC?" Carter asked.
"General Landry is giving us 12 hours to find Mitchell before he sends reinforcements, unless we miss another check in. If that happens he'll send reinforcements," Jackson told her.
"We need to find out what happened to these people," Carter said and returned her attention to the Talosian woman while Jackson examined the man who'd collapsed at her feet. "Janolia, do you know what Layonna meant when she told you it was your destiny?"
"There were stories," the woman answered and looked into Carter's eyes. "That's all they were...stories. They couldn't be real."
"Tell me about the stories," Carter said and led the woman away from Jackson when he told her the man was dead.
"When we were children we were told there would come a time when our people would emerge stronger than ever, but not before we opened negotiations with the others. When your people came through the Stargate we thought it was a sign that the prophecy was coming true."
"What prophecy?" Jackson asked.
"That we are to rejoin our ancestors and take their form."
"What form?" Carter asked.
"We would be able to take flight," Janolia answered.
"Take flight?" Jackson asked.
"Yes, our bodies would change so that we no longer...but that was just a story," Janolia sobbed as she looked at the dead man. "He should have told me what was happening."
"Do you know what happened to him?" Teal'c asked softly.
"Not really, but he was there longer than I was and should have stayed, but I didn't want to," the woman cried and sank to her knees. "I didn't want to become one of them."
"One of who?" Carter asked.
"One of them...the creatures we saw in our visions. He saw them before he disappeared and then I started seeing them. They were like something out of a nightmare," Janolia explained between sobs as Carter held her. "Please, don't make us...don't make me go back there."
"We won't, but we need you to show us how to get to the other realm..."
"She cannot do that, Colonel Carter."
Sam, Teal'c, and Daniel turned as one to see the woman step from behind the statue and glide across the ground toward them. She'd changed since they'd last seen her and Carter wondered if traveling between the realms was taking a toll on her body.
"What are you doing to these people, Layonna?" Jackson asked.
"I am helping them meet their destiny," the woman answered.
"So they end up like him," Carter said.
"He should not have attempted to return. He would have lived a long life, but because he came back through his body could not withstand the changes."
"Where is Colonel Mitchell?" Teal'c asked.
"He is with the others and has already begun to change. Like the others he would die," Layonna explained.
"There has to be a way," Carter said.
"There is not," Layonna said.
"They came back," Jackson said and motioned to the people who seemed to be confused, but looked like they were coming out of a trance.
"It will end for them as it did for him," Layonna said and shook her head. "You are not of Talosian decent and do not understand the way of our world."
"I thought you said this was not your world," Carter observed.
"No, I said this is not my realm, but the worlds exist parallel to one one another. You cannot begin to understand what happens if the balance between them is not kept."
"Try us," Carter said.
"This world has always been divided. Its people were at war from the beginning, long before they emerged from the depths of the ocean. Then one day a rift opened allowing the two reals to meet at 100 year intervals. It changed the very structure of what you call DNA and allowed us to see that we did not need to hunger any longer."
"Hunger for what?" Jackson asked.
"Life. In our realm there are many creatures that exist and feed of each other in a symbiotic relationship much like the creature Teal'c carries inside him. Like all living things the strong survive and take what they need from the weak. We are simply proving that we are powerful enough to take what we deserve."
"By forcing these people to change?" Carter asked, disgusted at what the woman was saying.
"We have a right to survive, Colonel Carter. Would you not kill all the Goa'uld if they continued to pose a threat to your kind?"
"Only because they do pose a threat," Jackson answered.
"Take heed, Daniel Jackson, leave now and do not try to find Colonel Mitchell. He is beyond your reach and can never return," Layonna warned and simply disappeared before they could move on her.
Carter turned her attention to the woman whose eyes were wide with fear and shook her until she focused on her. "Janolia, we need your help."
"I can't help you...none of us can."
"Yes, you can. How do we get back inside?"
"I don't know. We were never to enter the building and were never told how to get inside."
"But you were inside and that means there had to be a way in there. Where were you before you were taken?" Jackson asked her.
"I don't remember," Janolia told them fearfully.
"What about the other? Do they remember where they were?" Carter asked as Teal'c moved around the clearing.
"I don't know."
"Janolia, do you want the rest of your people back?" Jackson asked.
"Of course I do. My children are still missing," the woman answered.
"Then we need to find a way to get back inside," Jackson told her.
"Daniel, maybe we can find the console back in the building," Carter observed. "I found it once, but maybe it'll be easier now that we have the Talosians to help us."
"Maybe we should have Landry send reinforcements," Jackson observed.
"Does Cam have that much time?" Carter asked and turned to Janolia who was speaking softly to an older couple. "Janolia, do you have any idea how long you were gone?"
"Not really. There was no way to measure time there. It was dark and smelled of death and decay. There were always people screaming, but I don't remember why."
"Sam, we know this happened some time after our last visit so that gives us a place to start," Jackson said.
"So we know it was anywhere from a day to over a month ago," Carter observed. "Cam was taken yesterday, but we have no idea whether the time flow over there is the same as it is here. We need to move on this, Daniel."
"I know, but we also need help," Jackson said.
"I will go back to the gate while you search for a way inside," Teal'c told them.
"I have a feeling the best chance we have of finding a way inside is back in the city," Carter said.
"I will meet you there," Teal'c aid and headed toward the gate.
"What about these people?"
"We can't just leave them here, Daniel," Carter said and with Janolia's help they gathered up the Talosians and headed toward the city.
SG1SG1SG1SG1
Cameron Mitchell knew he wasn't alone and opened his eyes to find himself laying on the ground. He could feel obsidian eyes watching him from the darkness and tried to sit up. A scratching sound reached him, followed by a sharp hiss that was quickly masked by another sound that reminded him of a number of large birds taking flight as one.
"Easy, I just need to sit up," Mitchell tried and cried out when it felt as if his bones were fused. He swallowed several times and tried to see into the darkness, shocked that he could actually make out the shapes. He recognized them as the creatures that had plagued his dreams and kept him from sleeping during the weeks since his team had last visited Talosia.
Cam knew something was happening to him, and wondered whether the changes were permanent. God, help him, he wished he knew why his body was changing, or what he was becoming, but something told him he might not like the answers. He managed to sit up, but when he tried to lean back against the wall it felt like something was tearing him apart from the inside.
"God," he cried and soon felt something touch his cheek. He looked up into a face that seemed oddly familiar, yet the changes were undeniable.
"The change is coming, Colonel Mitchell."
"Callisia," he whispered as clawed fingers stroked his cheeks and darkness beckoned for him once more.
TBC
