Chapter Three
Daniel couldn't bring himself to look down. His three companions didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that they were hundreds of feet above the surface of the water, but he isn't too fond of heights. Jack seemed amused with Daniel's discomfort.
When they arrived at their destination they were greeted by a young, tan girl with long brown hair and another, light skinned girl with short black hair. "This is my earth bending teacher, Toph," Said Aang, gesturing to the girl with the short hair. She was dressed in green Chinese style robes And wearing a green headband. Her eyes were glassy and white, which made it obvious that she was blind. "And this is my fiance, Katara." Katara was dressed in blue clothing which seemed to have Inuit influences.
Jack and Samantha found it difficult to mask their surprise at the news that these kids were engaged to be married. Daniel was, however, familiar with the idea that people would sometimes be married at very young ages in other cultures. The only thing that seemed strange about the girls to him was that Toph seemed to know where everyone and everything was despite her being apparently blind. "I'm sorry if this seems rude," Daniel said, hesitantly, "but aren't you blind, Toph?"
"I don't care about manners!" Toph smiled from ear to ear. She seemed to welcome the question. "I use my feet to sense vibrations in the ground. That's how I see."
Before Major Carter could start spouting her theories about how this was possible, a young man with a burn scar over his right eye approached the group. "Aang, who are these people? I have never seen clothes like these before." He turned to Jack, who was closest to him "Which nation are you from?"
"Jack O'neill, U.S. Air Force," said Jack, with a sarcastic smile. "And who might you be?"
Jack's tone seemed to irritate the newcomer. "I am Fire Lord Zuko, perhaps you have heard of me."
"No, I haven't. In fact, I don't even know what a 'fire lord' is." Jack knew that he must have been some type of king, but he just likes messing with people.
"Zuko, these people need our help." Aang knew that Zuko's temper could get the best of him sometimes, even after all of the progress he has made.
The ride back to the mirror with their new companions was uneventful. Carter was babbling about the possible scientific explanations for the flying bison and Daniel was babbling about the architecture that they had encountered thus far. Teal'c sat silently as he always does.
Jack didn't feel right about letting these kids help them; even if they had magic (or whatever it was), kids are still kids. This aside, he knew that they were desperate. He swallowed his shame and his pride and shook the thoughts from his mind. He would not let anything happen to them.
When they arrived at the mirror, Daniel pulled the controller out of his bag. Aang and the other kids gathered around him and stared in awe. They had never seen anything like it. Toph put her hand on the device. "This reminds me of that strange metal that Sokka's sword is made from."
Daniel wondered what she meant. Do they have this type of material in this world? If so, this world is far less advanced than it could be, but that may have something to do with the fantastic abilities that they possess. He shook the thoughts from his mind. After all, it was not important right now, but he would have to remember to come back here and study this world once the attack on the SGC was thwarted.
Daniel turned the mirror on and a version of the SGC stood before him. Before he came through the mirror, he drew some runes on the wall across from it so that he would know where to return to. As he flicked from reality to reality, he saw the worlds on the other side becoming more and more similar to his own. He even ran across a world with runes drawn on the wall that were slightly different than the ones he had drawn.
Finally, he found the correct "channel" and he turned to his group. "This is ours."
Aang's group looked at the mirror in confusion. All but Toph were lost in their fascination at what they were seeing. "I have never seen a mirror that does not reflect." said Aang.
Daniel looked at him, "I will explain how it works later. Right now we have to get through. Stay behind Jack once we are through."
While Daniel was talking to the kids, Jack put his hand on the mirror and flicked through to the other side. Toph took a combat stance, "Where did he go? Is Jack okay?"
Major Carter looked confused "How did you know that he isn't here anymore?"
"I just know, but you don't seem worried so i guess that was supposed to happen." Toph responded, annoyed. Daniel assumed that missing details due to blindness could get old after a while.
Daniel took Toph's hand and touched the mirror. When they arrived on the other side, Toph instantly knew what had happened. "We are in a different place, aren't we? We must be on a ship now because everything is made of metal." After a short pause she continued, "No, this can't be right. Are we underground?"
"Yes, Toph, we are undergr-." Daniel was interrupted by Jack making a shushing sound.
Jack whispered, "We don't know if any of them are just outside the door."
Toph perked up, "There are three men wearing armor right outside. Also, they have the same snake things in their stomachs as he does."
She says this while pointing at Teal'c. Jack looked surprised "How do you know that? There is no way you could know that!"
Toph sighed. She was growing tired of explaining this to everyone she met. "I see by feeling vibrations with my feet. That's why I don't wear shoes. It would be impossible to do without my earthbending."
Jack is used to not understanding things they encounter while on missions, but this was beyond anything he had experienced to date. He reached for the door handle, but Toph stopped him. "Wait. Don't open it yet," Toph said, grabbing his hand. As he drew his hand back, she took a stance. She stomped her foot on the floor and drew her hands toward her body. The sound of twisting metal came from the other side of the door. "Okay, it's safe now," she said with a smug grin.