"We got her!" O'Neill announced, the first to emerge from the wormhole. He blinked in surprise to see the 'gate room cleared of the standard security team. The only person waiting anxiously at the bottom of the ramp was Casey. His glance moved upward to see Hammond at the control desk. The rest of the personnel were conspicuously missing.

"The way's cleared to the isolation room." Hammond forestalled the inevitable question from his 2IC for the break in protocol. Curiosity flickered across his face when the stranger strode down the ramp beside Teal'c.

The iciness of the dematerialization process had roused Annika from her stupor. As soon as she realized where she was, she began to struggle. "No! I can't be here! You have to let me go!" She fought against her husband's hold.

"Crap. Here we go again," O'Neill sighed, grabbing at Annika's legs to stop her from bucking free.

Casey could see the panic in the redhead's violet eyes, knew she was trying desperately to find a way to break free, to make another attempt at escaping. What she still couldn't figure out, wouldn't know until she'd had a chance to speak to the psychic, was why she felt such an overpowering need to run.

O'Neill's hand closed around Annika's ankle.

"Child killer," Annika snarled. "You have Charlie's blood on your hands. You may as well have pulled the trigger yourself! You destroyed your family, now you'll be responsible for our deaths too!"

O'Neill visibly blanched at the cruel accusation, but his grip only tightened around her leg. He gestured with his head for them to start moving to the corridor.

"Which is nothing for you, is it, Teal'c?" she spat at the Jaffa trying to hold her other leg steady. "How many people did you torture, maim, and kill to keep your little shol'va secret?"

Gaining no response from Teal'c either, her eyes frantically searched for a new victim. Her gaze landed on Casey, and a new terror crawled through her. "You stupid slut, your meddling has screwed up everything!"

"...stupid slut...screwed up...stupid slut..." The words were like ice water down her spine, cut her to the very core. Every action, everything she had done had been with the intent to help. Casey took a physical step backwards in response, that dark guilt writhing inside her, twisting...squeezing her heart until she thought she'd scream from the pain. Annika was a psychic...she could 'see' aura's. If the redhead thought she was a slut...Another thought pushed past the old pain that continued to burn in her heart. Had she inadvertently made a bad situation worse? What if Annika did have a legitimate reason for running?

Casey's glance darted to her Husband's counterpart. She couldn't imagine him being cruel. But...Sam had said that there could be subtle differences in realities that seemed to be identical. What if...what if the Daniel Jackson of this particular reality wasn't like her gentle archaeologist? What if he abused Annika...beat her, demeaned her? What if Annika's flight from the SGC had been in self-defense? Goddess, what had she done? "...stupid slut...!"

Daniel took one look at his Wife's face and moaned mentally. She was taking every word that Annika had screeched to heart. Damn it...how much damage would this do to her fragile psyche? He'd done what he could to help...Annika was home. His first concern was his Wife. He hurried down the ramp, reached out to pull Casey into the protection of his arms.

Annika watched Daniel, the hatred she felt glowing in her eyes. "You screwed up in your reality so you've come to ruin ours? Why don't you take your useless, kinky little whore home and leave our reality the fuck alone?"

Daniel flinched. If he'd just killed those damned daemons...all of them, this wouldn't be happening. His counterpart wouldn't look like a man teetering on the edge. The alternate Sam and Jack and Teal'c wouldn't look as if they needed a few good nights' sleep. Annika wouldn't be possessed. His own Wife wouldn't be standing here, listening to the verbal abuse, her green eyes wide and full of tears...and guilt. He wrapped Casey in his embrace, doing his best to push down his own guilt...trying to protect her from the words that seemed to echo in the silo.

Casey's shoulders shuddered beneath his arm. He clamped his jaw tightly in an attempt to remain as silent as the counterparts of his own team were doing. He would trust them...for now...and assume that this wasn't normal for the redhead. A glance at his double's face confirmed his assumption. Daniel didn't think Jackson's cheeks could get much paler.

"Carter, get the elevator down here," O'Neill said through gritted teeth.

The blonde bolted ahead, though she wasn't quick enough to avoid Annika's screech at her.

"Sam, you Black Widow! Every lover you've had has died. It's a miracle Jack has survived this long."

Oakey, who had been flittering overhead, could sense the anger and hurt building in her saplings. They didn't fully grasp the control the daemon had of Annika's thoughts. Though the Seventh Level being knew that the team didn't believe that Annika truly meant the cruel words she was firing at them, they did believe that she was independently saying them in an attempt to gain her freedom. She had to step in before they fueled the daemon's power by reacting to the accusations.

Carter slapped at the elevator call button, the psychic's words ringing in her ears. A gentle caress to her mind, and Sam distinctly heard Oakey telling her to 'look'. She turned back to watch her team as they carried the still struggling woman.

What she saw was like a transparent curtain descending over her vision, and an image danced over Annika’s head as she continued to scream at them. The image showed a black shadow sitting at a computer screen. The shadow opened a file labeled Annika’s mind and began running the cursor over the thousands of ‘documents’ highlighting what Carter identified as memories. The shadow searched the documents and when it found one it liked it opened it, changed the font and rewrote it, twisting the memory’s perspective, and then Annika let loose with another hurtful snarl, her words the twisted ones the shadow had created. Sam activated the radio, whispering into the mouth piece. "Is everybody seeing this?"

Slowly they nodded, though they were unaware that they were seeing their own interpretation of what Oakey was showing them. O'Neill saw a shadow fishing in the middle of a school of baitfish, plucking one fish at a time, tossing the small ones back. When it came across a larger fish it swallowed it whole then belched back out a deformed monster to swim in the ocean once again. Jackson was shown a temple wall, the shadow spraying graffiti all over the beautiful glyphs and pictographs, changing them into grotesque, warped translations of what the true meaning was. Teal’c saw the manipulation of Annika’s mind simply as a puppet, the black shadow pulling the strings, making her hurl the insults, fooling her into believing that her mind was coming up with them.

Understanding that the visitors were just as vulnerable to the daemon's words, Oakey gently caressed the minds of the Guide Sapling and The One. Daniel gasped as he watched a beautiful scroll, perfect in every way, ruined by huge blobs and streaks of black ink...a quill moving over the parchment, changing a symbol here, adding a symbol there, until the meaning of the text had been twisted to mean something entirely different.

Casey was shaking as she watched a dark cloud, in the shape of a man, who seemed to hover above Annika. The black form wrapped around the distraught woman, seemed to control her body as it yanked and jerked her legs. It leaned forward, breathed into her mouth, and immediately filth flowed from between her lips; even as she seemed to fight against the stream of hateful words that filled the air.

Oblivious to what her team...and Daniel and Casey...had been shown, Annika continued to hurl abuse, this time focusing on the one person whom she had avoided speaking to until now. "You think you're so smart for deciphering the Stargate? How much death and destruction has happened because you just had to solve the puzzle?"

It was obvious that Jackson was damned near biting his tongue to keep his mouth shut. Instinct told him not to give the daemon the satisfaction of responding, but his anger was growing. His rage wasn't directed at Annika, but at the daemon. He already knew that once his wife realized that she had been manipulated into running away, she would be mortified. But to add this abuse on top of that could be crippling for her. He was barely aware that they had entered the elevator and were quickly traveling up to level twenty-one. What he did notice was that Annika's struggles had lessened to a minor degree.

Jackson glanced at his teammates. Carter had crammed into the elevator with them; Daniel, Casey, and Veta would remain behind due to lack of space; because of the way the men had to manhandle Annika. Four faces remained blank, jaws set stonily. Each of the team doing their best to tune out the hurtful tirade spewing from Annika's mouth.

Teal'c managed to snag her around the waist before she was able to reach the stunned archaeologist...but her hands continued to stretch out as if she wanted to scratch out his eyes. Something clicked in the Jaffa's head; Annika Jackson's struggles had lessened whenever the visitors from the alternate reality were not near. "Your presence is exacerbating the situation." His comment was drowned out by a cry of agony from the psychic in his arms, one of her hands going to her head.

O'Neill's heart wasn't the only one that started pounding when a trickle of blood dripped from Annika's nose. Teal'c was right. For whatever reason, Daniel and Casey were making the situation worse. "Everyone with a hocus pocus connection take a wander right now," he ordered. Keeping his back to Annika, but more specifically to the daemon using her, he raised his eyes to the surrounding air, hoping like hell Oakey would take the hint that he meant Her too.

Daniel grabbed Casey's arm, yanked her out of the room. He was breathing hard, but it had nothing to do with his sprint up seven flights of stairs. He didn't stop moving until they were standing in front of the elevator.

"It recognized you," Casey whispered, her eyes wide, her heart pounding with fear.

"Yeah, I noticed," he replied. It hadn't taken a but a moment for that realization to set in. The daemon had taken complete control of the psychic, as it had in the 'gate room. There was more than just anger...he had felt the absolute desperation of the being. The fact that Casey was shaking so hard that it was visible drew his attention to her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close.

"I'm so sorry...this is all my fault," she whispered.

"No, it's not," Daniel said softly, pressing his lips against the side of her head. "I'm The One, remember?"

"I'm your Guide, Daniel. I screwed up."

This wasn't the time, or the place, to have this conversation. Again. Not that he'd have any more luck getting through to her this time than he'd had in the past. At the moment, there was a daemon in control of his counterpart's wife. And it was up to him to deal with the damned thing.

He pulled up all of his memories of the events of their time on the astral plane, as prisoners of the daemons. Had the rush of emotion that always accompanied thoughts of that battle...wondered again what would have happened had the team failed to break free of the mental blocks the daemons had placed in their minds. Unconsciously tightened his arms around his Wife. Only one daemon had escaped. One daemon. In doing so, he had managed to remain alive. It seemed, however, that coming to a different reality had forced the daemon to come up with a new plan or two. That entity had done a hell of a bang-up job doing that, hadn't he? There was no doubt about it. The daemon was-

"Daniel, it's-"

"Mibi." He looked down into green eyes. "He's the one who escaped, right?"

She nodded. "He hates you...because you stopped him. A mere mortal, and you prevented him from becoming the god he believed...believes...he is."

"He won't get away this time," Daniel said firmly.

"No, he won't," Casey replied. "We can't let that happen."

"Together, Case. We'll do it...together."

For just that moment, she allowed herself to relax into the safety of his embrace. She needed the comfort only Daniel's arms could offer. To prepare herself for what was yet to come.

"Let's go see what's going on," Daniel said quietly, nodding to where Carter, O'Neill, Teal'c, and Janet, followed by Ferretti and Veta, were moving toward the observation room. "And tell them just who we're dealing with."

The look on O'Neill's face let Daniel know that he had immediately picked up that something was wrong. The general wasted no time with idle chitchat. "What's up?"

"Um...we don't know if this makes a difference," the archaeologist said. "But we know who the daemon is."

Carter raised an eyebrow. "You've actually encountered this particular daemon before?"

Casey nodded. "He calls himself Mibi. He was the ringleader of the group of daemons our team fought."

"Is there anything you can tell us of how to remove its influence over Annika Jackson?" Teal'c asked.

Daniel shrugged. "His method of attack is different here. I can only assume that's because it's a different reality; his abilities may be affected here, he might not be as...strong...here as he was in our reality." He paused. "Or he might have changed tactics because his plan didn't work in our reality. He and his minions captured us...took us to the astral plane with the intention to either destroy us, or imprison us there for eternity. We were physically unconscious the whole time...Casey had 'seen' enough that our bodies were returned to the SGC almost as soon as we were knocked out. Once on the astral plane, we were manipulated into believing that we were different people, but all of us had some inkling that something wasn't right."

"Once we began to question the 'world' we were in, the illusion fell apart," Casey added quietly. "We knew we were going to have to face the daemons. Realized what was happening to us. But Annika's totally oblivious to the daemon's presence."

"Okay, so I guess the key is to convince Casper that the daemon is messing with her." O'Neill looked to everyone for a 'yea' or 'nay' to his conclusion. He received nods from all, including Jackson, in the isolation room below, who was hearing the conversation through the ear piece of his radio. A gentle pat on the top of his head told him that Oakey also agreed.

Daniel gave a silent sigh. Until Annika was awake, there was no way to deal with Mibi. He led Casey to the last two empty chairs in the room. He glanced down into the room, where his counterpart lay next to his wife. The fact that they both seemed to be sleeping suggested that either Jackson had gotten through to his wife, or she'd given up the fight. He frowned slightly at the sight of the handcuffs that linked the two together. Contemplating what he knew about the situation, he was fairly certain he'd have done the same thing, if Casey was as determined to run from him as Annika seemed to be to run from her Daniel.

"Right, so, Veta, you were saying?" Jack said, turning his attention to the large man.

"Doctor Fraiser, do you know the whereabouts of Keelah?" Teal'c asked. He had found it puzzling that she had not made an appearance since they had returned.

Janet briefly explained about Casey's premonition that Keelah remain out of sight when Annika returned, leaving out that she had also been included in the warning. "She's talking with the Nox." Her lips twitched. "Apparently Oakey would like to get to know the new sapling who has entwined with your heart."

The Jaffa gave nod, and he spoke to the entity who was both everywhere and nowhere at once. "Great One, when you have finished your discussion, could you please let Keelah know I am thinking of her." He took the gentle breeze against his cheek as a yes.

Casey leaned against her Husband. She'd listened as Veta told how sad Annika had been, how desperate to protect the people she cared so much about...to protect her soul mate. She rubbed the bridge of her nose absently. She was tired...so much had happened in such a short amount of time that her mind was spinning. And there was still the problem 'at home' that needed to be dealt with as well. "I wonder how Jack is doing," she said softly.

"I don't know, Angel," Daniel replied. "Hopefully he's okay."

Eager for a distraction from waiting, O'Neill' perked up at the mention of his name. Guessed it wasn't him they were talking about. "What's wrong with me...him...your Jack?"

Casey sighed. "He has a bad case of Mini-Jack syndrome."

Daniel couldn't help but grin. It was an amusing description, and fit the situation perfectly. "From what evidence we have, he was abducted, and regressed to about fifteen years old. We don't think the regression was intentional, but whatever the cause, it's killing him."

"Oy," Jack scowled. "Been there, done that. So don't want the Loki t-shirt."

Casey's eyes lit up. "Really? How did you..." She frowned, realized she was asking the wrong person, and turned to look at Carter. "How did you fix him?"

At that moment, the speaker overhead came to life; Janet was being paged to Hammond's office. The doctor rose to her feet. "I'm guessing he wants an update."

Every eye in the observation room looked down at the couple who was sleeping in the isolation room below. The 'update', they all knew, wouldn't be much. Mibi was still very much in control of Annika. She was in danger...and they all sensed that time was running short.

Veta had only been listening with half an ear to the conversation. He would admit that when Myst...Annika, he mentally corrected himself...had drunkenly told of her team's accomplishments, he had taken it with a grain of salt. In the short time he'd been here, he had begun to realize that Annika had actually downplayed them. He studied the sleeping couple below. Daemon or no daemon, he was convinced that his plan to reunite them was the right thing to do. There was a serenity to Annika's face that he had never seen before; that he knew in his heart was brought on by the simple fact that she was in her husband's arms. And despite the threat of the daemon still hanging over his head, Jackson also had that same look of peace. His gaze shifted from the sleeping couple to the other Daniel and his wife. Now those two were something he had never even considered possible. When he'd demanded to come with SG-1, he'd had no idea that his whole concept of the universe would be turned on its head. Daemons and alternate realities...it all seemed so commonplace for the people sitting around him, who were now chatting about abductions, and people being 'regressed' in age, of all things.

He hadn't meant to stare at the blonde seer, but the casual movement of her husband, sliding his arm around her shoulders possessively, brought his thoughts back to the observation room. Veta recognized the male action of 'claiming' his mate. He couldn't resist having a bit of fun...inadvertently interrupting any continuation of the previous conversation. "Your wife is safe from me...you on the other hand..." he paused, his gaze moving over Daniel's frame as if it were a caress. "You are just sex on legs, aren't you?"

Casey nearly gaped at the man. Then couldn't fight the smile that spread over her face. Yep, that was a very apt description of her Stud Muffin!

Daniel felt as if he'd been sucker punched. 'Sex on legs'? Was this guy joking? And why did it seem that he was the recipient of so damned much gay male attention? Did he put off vibes or something that said 'Fuck with me'? Without realizing it, he had shifted slightly, putting Casey more firmly between him and the alien, using her as a shield from Veta's 'predatory' gleam.

It took monumental effort to keep a straight face at the archaeologist's reaction. "Don't suppose there's a third Daniel Jackson around here who bats for gay pride?" Veta asked innocently.

"Um...no," Daniel's voice was slightly strangled.

"Pity," Veta shrugged. "Just thought I'd check." He tossed a cheeky grin at Casey.

Casey found the man's mischievousness contagious. "You could try a different reality. But if your counterpart is alive there you'd only have a couple of day's...bliss...before you had to come back."

Veta raised an eyebrow. Now there was a concept he'd hadn't thought of. Wondered if the other...'hims'...were as straight as he was gay.

"But between you and me, a little taste would be better than none at all," Casey whispered conspiratorially. She frowned slightly. Thought about the agony of making love to Daniel, knowing that she'd never be allowed to do so again. "On the other hand...it could leave you with such a bad case of want you'd never be satisfied again."

Daniel had to fight to keep his jaw from dropping open. It was one thing to speculate that there might be, somewhere out there, a Daniel Jackson who was gay. It was totally different to hear that...discussion...being carried on between his Wife and a gay man. Who kept looking at him like he was an item on the daily menu. And while he was secretly delighted to know that he pleased her when they made love, having his...skills...discussed in the manner in which they were left him more than a little disconcerted.

Veta could see that Daniel was both aghast at his wife's suggestion, and embarrassed by her praise. "You're one lucky lady."

"And I'm well aware of that fact." Casey said softly. "I thank the Goddess every day for bringing Daniel into my life."

Veta's gaze, which was filled with merriment, flicked to the others in the room. Carter was biting her lower lip to stop from grinning. Interestingly, Teal'c seemed just as amused as the women. Ferretti was trying to make himself as small as possible in the corner. O'Neill wasn't quite as subtle in his reaction as Daniel had been. He grabbed Carter's hand, lifting it to clearly show the diamond ring on her finger. Having seen the matching rings on Annika and Daniel's fingers, Veta could only assume the adornment was a sign of commitment.

The general felt like a deer in the headlights; he much preferred the Mini-Me distraction to this new turn of conversation. "Hey, I'm so straight you could use me for a ruler."

Carter decided to rescue the three men who were doing an obvious job of freaking out. "As you might have guessed, homosexuality isn't really accepted in the military here." Decided to add a friendly warning, for she didn't want Annika's friend to be unnecessarily targeted while he was on base. "Those who are 'outed'...let's just say that they're subjected to prejudice."

Veta smiled. Touched that she had felt the need to give the warning. "Do I look like someone who gets teased because I like ass instead of tit?"

Casey couldn't hold back her giggle. "I just can't see anyone teasing you. Can't see too many men turning you down, either!"

"Well, aren't you a sweet little boost to the ego," Veta grinned. He was gay, but he could flirt with the opposite sex with the best of them.

The banter was too much for O'Neill, who was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Veta, who looked as tough as they come, was gay. "I didn't think you liked girls!"

Veta's ingrained sense of humor wouldn't be denied, even as he had the thought that in his line of business, the distinction between 'girls' and 'women' was important. "I have been known to swing both ways when the right person comes along. And Casey's not a girl. She looks like a woman to me."

"A happily married woman," Daniel said, his voice almost a growl at the unspoken implication that Casey just might be 'the right person'.

"Girls, women...semantics. You know what I mean," O'Neill replied, edging closer to the door.

Casey ducked her head. She could sense that Veta was simply teasing. He was thoroughly enjoying the fact that O'Neill and Daniel were damned near panicked, both searching desperately for a way to excuse themselves from the alien's company. "You're pretty good at boosting egos yourself, Mr. Veta."

From his seat, Veta gave a short bow to Casey. It was becoming all but impossible not to laugh out loud. "Why thank you, gorgeous. If anyone could turn me completely straight, I have no doubt it would be you." He grabbed Casey's hand, placed a playful kiss on her knuckles.

Casey smiled. "What a sweet thing to say, Mr. Veta! Thank you!"

"And it's just 'Veta'. We're pretty casual on the Empyrean Loft."

"Of course...Veta. You can call me Casey."

"With pleasure," he replied, deliberately adding a sultry hint to his voice.

Daniel narrowed his eyes. Just what the hell was Casey up to? Did she actually believe the line of crap this guy...this gay guy...was laying on her? His glance went back to Veta. Who was smirking at him. Don't think so, asshole. Make one move toward my Wife, and I don't give a damn who you are, I'll take you down!

"Jacksons, how about I get the Mini-Me report for you?" O'Neill by this time had successfully skulked to the door.

"Yeah, good idea," Daniel replied, on his feet in an instant. He dragged Casey along with him...for protection, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

Ferretti watched the 'mighty warriors' of SG-1 hotfoot it out of the room. He was pretty sure Veta was messing with them, at least as far as the man's 'attraction' to the SG-1 members went. But it was always good to let a guy know where he stood. "You just keep your eyes away from the Doc and we're good."

Veta chuckled. "Relax. I was just pulling their leg. I don't pursue happily married 'anybodies'...and I'm a hundred percent homosexual. Are you married per chance?"

"Nope, but it's a possibility in the cards." Ferretti got to his feet. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to do something manly, like cleaning my gun."

Veta fought back the automatic quip of innuendo that comment conjured up. The major's retreating figure signaled the opportunity to finally let loose with the laughter that was bubbling inside him. He really did love homophobes. They were such easy marks.

Carter's chuckle joined his. Her sapphire eyes met his and he could read the silent 'thank you' for giving a bit of levity to what had been, so far, a very stressful day.

His returning smile was warm, then he raised an eyebrow at the warrior who had remained silent all this time. "You're not worried?"

Teal'c kept his expression neutral. "Should I be?"

"Depends," Veta shrugged. "Would you attempt to brain me if I said your ass is cute?"

"It would just be a statement of fact," Teal'c replied, his cheek twitching. "I have it on good authority from Keelah that my ass is indeed cute."

Veta blinked, then another laugh of genuine amusement escaped. "Damn, is everyone partnered off in this place?"

Carter, still chuckling, replied. "Annika's made it her mission to find a love match for everyone."

Laughter tapered off, the comment inadvertently snapping them back to the current situation. All eyes turned back to the window, and to the couple who slept fitfully in the room below.

Something had changed in the archaeologist since Mibi had seen the seed of hatred take root on the planet of the assassination attempt. Rather than fester and grow as it should have, it had withered. Perhaps if he had tried to check on the progress of Jackson's emotional state he would understand how the man's love had increased and not waned. But he had been having way too much fun reveling in the misery of Annika and he had assumed it was not necessary.

Hindsight was a cruel mistress. For if he had tried at any time over the past two weeks to leave the psychic, he would have discovered the problem he was now faced with. He could have worked out a solution before finding himself trapped in a room with his mortal enemy outside. It never occurred to the daemon that while he had been compelling Annika to run, he was being subjected to an even subtler compulsion than he was exerting; one that was fed into the pleasure center of his mind that made him hungry to not miss even a moment of the torment his victim was going through. A compulsion that was unwittingly being sent by the subconscious mind of Mibi's victim herself; the process of which ironically she had learned from Mibi's manipulation of her.

When he had felt the ripple of rage of the Beings he had befuddled on the Nox planet, Mibi had cringed in terror, and self-preservation had kicked in. He wasn't fool enough to think that he could survive a direct confrontation with the Beings, even a daemon knew his limits, and he had intended to revert to his contingency plan. He had gathered the necessary force of will to open a portal to another reality; however, when he had tried to fly through it, he had literally been snapped back. Knowing it would only be a matter of time before the Beings, now free of his influence, would locate him, he had tried to rouse Annika, screaming through her mind to wake up and leave; his panicked intent to find a portal that the psychic could use to take herself, and thus him, to another reality. The universe was dotted with many such devices, thanks to the Ancients having left their experiments and technology intact; one of which he had sensed nearby when SG-1 had dragged Annika back kicking and screaming.

Abject terror had filled him when he had sensed the Being on the ship, which had turned to stunned disbelief to be confronted with SG-1, and now he was trapped and annoyingly deaf to anything that was happening beyond the walls he was enclosed in. He could only assume that The One and The Guide had somehow devised some sort of shield after their previous experience with him and his kind, and had passed that technology onto this reality's SG-1. He had also sensed the Being on base, though he was unsure if the mortals were aware of its presence. None of them had mentioned it that he had heard. He was also pretty sure that the Being was no longer near. There was only residual 'dust' within the room, but that was no more than what was littered around the rest of the universe. He presumed that since The One was here, the Being had withdrawn for him to deal with the situation. The higher beings of Mibi's home reality were known to palm off certain tasks to The One, and Mibi had no reason to think that this wasn't true in all realities. He had escaped The One before, he was confident he could do so again.

His one obstacle was how to rid himself of the seer. And he had to do it before she regained her strength. Even now, after just a few minutes of being back with her team, back with Jackson, he could feel the walls of deception he had so carefully built being weakened by the vines of love, determination, and support from the humans. Shoving aside the panic gnawing at him, Mibi began scheming.

"Would we joke about an Asgard science drop out not putting the pieces of me together properly?" Jack quipped.

"Crap, something's happening with Casper," O'Neill muttered. He turned and ran from the room.

"What was that about?" Young Jack asked watching his double race through the door.

"Annika has been...possessed...by Mibi," Daniel said. "We can't come back until it's resolved, one way or another."

Jack wondered if he should raise the alarm, especially given the intel about Mibi. If that damned daemon decided to make a mad dash for home, chances were he'd head straight for Radar...especially if he'd taken up residing in seers married to Daniel Jackson. "You gonna use cool blue fireballs on it?"

"Actually, I don't think that will be necessary."

Before the archaeologist could explain about his counterpart in this reality, Casey interrupted. She'd been staring at the doorway for the few seconds since Jack had bolted through it, trying to figure out the reason for the annoying poking in the back of her mind. "Daniel, I don't know why, but we have to be with them." She pointed to the floors above.

Daniel saw the worry reflected in her green eyes, and reached for her hand. He glanced through the mirror at his teammates, who were still reeling from the revelation that Jack was a clone. Hated to leave them right now, but he didn't have a choice. They had to see the battle of the daemon through to the end. "We'll be back." He dashed through the door, tugging Casey after him. "Any more details?"

Casey was about to reply in the negative when they both heard Oakey's voice reverberate in their minds.

"Guide sapling, you are needed." Oakey had been puzzling over the incident in the alternate reality that she had gently taken from their minds. Just as the daemon had attacked her sapling, she had realized what the anomaly had been. "The daemon is connected to you as well."

"What?" A shiver ran through the blonde at the mere idea.

"I can only assume it was an inadvertent mistake from your previous experience with him. In his haste to escape he left a...hook...in your mind. It must be removed before I can smite him."

"How do we get rid of it?" Daniel asked, hitting the elevator button for the second time in the vain attempt to get it to arrive quicker. His assumption was that the hook was similar to the 'wall' that Dartal had erected in Casey's mind. She'd had no problems ridding herself of that mental block.

"I can do that without harm to your mate, Chosen sapling," Oakey assured. "But not until after Mibi's influence has been removed from my sapling."

"Okay," Casey said slowly, heaving a sigh of relief when the doors finally opened. Practically leapt into the car with Daniel a hair's breadth behind. "I take it that I need to be near the daemon to remove this hook?"

"Yes. I need you as close as possible to ensure every trace of the daemon's essence is removed. However you must time your entry precisely. If the daemon sees you too soon, I fear it will react badly."

"Just let us know when to go in," Daniel replied.

"We?" Casey balked at the suggestion of Daniel putting himself at risk needlessly. "Daniel, you don't have to be there...right, Oakey?"

Daniel cut in, not giving the Seventh Level Being a chance to answer. "You think I'd let you go into a room with a daemon...alone?"

Despite the urgency of the situation, Oakey couldn't help but smile at the protective flare-up of emotions from the couple. "Your strength will be of assistance, Chosen sapling."

Before he could question the use of the word 'strength', the elevator doors were opening on level twenty-two; and the sound of raised, desperate voices echoed down the hall. Giving Casey's hand a squeeze, they silently crept toward the isolation room.