This will be a short story filling in a gap from Spirit and Legend, in which the Ascended Ancient, Janus, named for the god Janus, hints that the Ancients were also responsible for the Goa'uld.
Dr. Nate Rigby had been a scientist with the SGC for ten years now. Being transferred over to their sister program, Demon Command, hadn't gone over well. Demons didn't exist, right? Finding out something that could actually be called demons did exist was actually exciting for the little scientist. Whole new vistas of research opportunities spread before him. Then he was assigned to an off world team to help close the dimensional rifts or Hellmouths as they were casually known as. He wanted to study the rifts, not close them. But given that most of what came out of them wanted to eat people, he could understand closing as many of them as possible. Still, he hoped eventually he'd be assigned to a team that was studying one. Who knew what discoveries they'd make.
He'd never have the chance to find out. He died on his very first off world trip. As he stared into the eyes of his killer, all he could say was. "Why?."
"Because it's fun." His killer answered as she tortured him to death.
Dr. Daniel Jackson knocked on the door of the house belonging to his friends Xander and Cordelia Harris-Chase. He'd flown from Colorado at the request of their mutual friend, Jack O'Neill, to request their help with solving a mystery.
Xander opened the door and was surprised to see Dr. Daniel Jackson standing there. Usually if the SGC needed help, they'd just call.
"What's up, Daniel?" He said, gesturing his friend into the house.
"Jack asked me to come. We need your help with some research. I'm hoping your Research Team can help us solve a mystery. Plus, we need your help to get into a newly discovered Ancient facility we haven't been able to get into."
"No problem. Let me call the group together." Xander answered, grabbing his walky. "All call. Assemble. Repeat. All call. Assemble. My place."
Within twenty minutes, everyone had arrived. It was a good thing it was the weekend. Cordelia and Rhonda both sat with their feet up. At six months pregnant, they were both experiencing swollen feet.
"Abigail, take Morgan and Allie out back, honey. Keep an eye on them."
"Okay daddy."
"Are they safe out there?" Daniel asked.
"Besides a high security fence, we have the whole area Warded." Xander answered. "We've always been protected from vampires and demons. But we've got human security as well. They're safe out there."
"Oh good. Alright, as you know, we've been working to verify and close the Hellmouths from the map Willow found in Atlantis' database. Recently, we discovered one on a planet one solar system away from the planet where the Goa'uld evolved. It was uninhabited, so we sent a team to shut it down. They didn't report back. So we sent another team to investigate. They found the team. They'd all been tortured to death. One team member, Dr. Sally Grayson, is missing. We found something else. When they blew the Hellmouth to seal it, the cliff face it was next to, collapsed. The Ancients had a facility behind it. They must of hollowed out the mountain like we did Cheyenne Mountain. We need to get into the facility. But we also need to find whatever killed that team and what happened to the missing team member. We have no idea what the Ancients may have been researching in there. The only clue is an inscription over the door, that translates as 'The Wellspring of Knowledge Runs Deep.' Which could mean anything really, so, you up for a trip?"
"The Wellspring of Knowledge Runs Deep?" Giles said. "I wonder..."
"Giles, you don't think?" Willow asked.
"Given how many of our legends and myths can be traced to the Ancients, it's a possibility."
"What's a possibility?" Daniel asked.
"There's a legend, of a place known as the Deeper Well. Were the most powerful Old Ones, the first demons to walk the Earth, are imprisoned."
"You think this might be a prison for demons?" Daniel asked.
"If so, we should destroy it. As for your missing team member, very likely something from that Hellmouth killed her. You may never know, precisely what killed her."
"Doesn't mean we can't take care of whatever is on that planet." Xander said. "I'm willing to help you get into the facility and if there are demons in there, then we'll destroy them."
It was quickly agreed and Xander, Tor, Heidi, Kyle, Faith, Jesse and Willow departed for Cheyenne Mountain with Daniel, wondering what the Ancients had been up to this time.
"So why did you fly out to California is ask us for help, when you could have just called?" Xander asked.
"Because I thought it would take longer to get an answer. I came prepared with pictures of the facility. I didn't think they'd come up with a possibility that fast. Besides, I've been wanting an excuse to see Giles' library since I first found out about all this."
"You don't need an excuse, just call him up and asked him. I'm sure he'd be happy to let you see his library. Just remember, they're his precious children and must be treated with extreme care. No drinks, food, bending of pages or slamming of books allowed." Xander joked.
"Something I've been trying to teach Jack for years. I swear he messes with my stuff on purpose."
"Of course he does. Teasing you is fun, you're like his little brother. It's his job to keep you from getting too stuffy."
"Gods, I should have figured that out. It's just like him, too."
