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In Your Own Backyard

He adjusted his stance as he waited patiently. His god would arrive momentarily to examine the women he had chosen. Apophis preferred women with certain…attributes. But he had dared to choose one who was different. A warrior of her own people. As easily as their defenses had been breached, their compound infiltrated, they were not formidable. He was certain that his god would choose to return there soon. To…enslave…those who dwelt there. Just as he was enslaved…He shook his head to rid it of the thought. One that was familiar to him. It would not do to become…distracted. He knew that his…god…was not as powerful, was not as…omnipotent…as he appeared. But he was still a god, and it would be impossible to defeat him. The best that he could do was to continue to obey his orders, and try to let a lucky few slip back to their homes, away from the horrors of being a prisoner in the palace of Apophis.

Apophis arrived. The Jaffa who carried Amaunet in her pouch moved into the room from where she had waited. Several women were stripped, and both the Goa'uld and Apophis inspected each one. They examined the woman taken from the forgotten place…the First World. The home of the Tau'ri. Her hair was the color of the sun, and her eyes were the same deep blue as the flowers that covered the hillside near his home in the spring. She was slender, and she continued to struggle and fight. He could not understand her words, but he was certain that she was demanding to know what was happening. She didn't lower her eyes in deference to her god when he approached her.

Amaunet did not like the golden-haired beauty. Instead she chose a woman with dark hair and dark eyes. She had been taken from Abydos. Once the possession of Ra. Who had simply - vanished - from existence. He watched as the Goa'uld took possession of the body. Why did this bother him so? Had he not witnessed the same thing many times in his life? There was something about the woman…he knew her, of this he was certain…

He moved silently through the corridors. He had heard several of the scientists whispering about the device that his men had discovered on one of the planets they had raided. They said that with practice, the user could quickly learn the language of a stranger. After making certain that he had not been discovered, he slipped inside the room, and searched for the tiny gold device. When he had located it, he did as he had observed the scientists doing. He put it in his right ear. Then he hurried from the room. Not one of the scientists would ever admit that the device was missing. Instead, they would report that it had been useless. He had seen those who were dressed in the same manner as those in the room from which they had taken the now dead blonde woman. They were in the prison cells with the rest of the people who had been taken during raids in the past week. Each would be carefully examined as a potential host. But those strangers…

He stood outside of the cell. He could barely hear their whispered words. At first, they made no sense to him. A slight buzzing sound, a sharp pain, and suddenly he could understand what they were saying. He pulled the device from his ear. It was still hot. The pain was fading however, and he could still understand those warriors. He dropped the device to the floor, crushed it beneath his heel.

When the time of the choosing arrived, he accompanied the guard into the cell. He watched the strangers, the Tau'ri. When the man with gray hair began to plead with him, telling him that he could save the people who cowered behind him, Teal'c hesitated. No. Apophis would surely find out. He raised his staff weapon, and killed the man, and the man and woman who were dressed in the same type of clothing. Then staggered at the pain that suddenly filled his heart.

He wandered the halls of the palace, the pain in his chest nearly unbearable. Somehow he knew that he had destroyed any chance of the Jaffa every breaking free of Goa'uld enslavement…

A  A  A  A  A  A

He opened his eyes. O'Neill and Captain Carter were sitting in front of him. Daniel Jackson was beside him. This was the fifth time they had ventured through the Chappa'ai and it had not been good. Taken prisoner almost immediately, wary of firing their weapons because of the presence of children, they had all been locked inside this…cage.

Four large men approached. The expressions on their faces foretold of what was to come. Daniel Jackson was the closest to the opening, and one of the men reached for him.

"No, take me!" Teal'c said, crawling forward in an attempt to put his body between his captors and the man who had become his friend. In spite of the fact that he had also been the one to choose Sha're, Daniel's wife, to become the new host for Amaunet. That friendship still amazed him, humbled him…honored him. Daniel had argued fiercely on his behalf in a successful attempt to save him from certain death at the hands of villagers who had been terrorized by Apophis for decades. He had sworn to help the young man find his wife, knowing that the Tok'ra had a means for removing the Goa'uld within her.

With cruel grins, the men yanked both the archaeologist and the Jaffa from the cage. Teal'c took note of each turn as they were led through a maze of tunnels and into a large, subterranean room. He was immediately lashed into a chair, the ropes cutting into his chest and wrists. Daniel was taken and tied between to pillars, his arms stretched painfully above his head.

"Now, you will tell us why you have come here. Who do you work for?" The man was tall, thin, gaunt looking.

"We have come here seeking information. One of our own came here several days ago. We have not heard from him, and wish to know of his fate," Teal'c replied calmly.

"Lies!" With a wave of his hand, one of the guards standing near Daniel applied a pain stick to the young man's chest. Daniel tried valiantly to bite back the scream of pain.

"I have no reason to deceive you," Teal'c said. "Torturing that man will not change what I know, nor that which I seek to know."

The tall man hit the Jaffa, then picked up a short wooden stick. He brought it down on the dark shoulder with as much force as possible. Teal'c winced in pain. "Tell me why you have come here!"

"We seek to know the fate of one of our own," Teal'c said again.

Daniel's scream of pain echoed around them.

O'Neill and Captain Carter were dragged into the room. They were tied up between posts as well, and soon all of his friends were being tortured.

"I cannot tell you that which I do not know!" he shouted, wincing as Carter was hit again with the pain stick. He could feel the prickle of tears in his eyes as he was forced to watch his friends tortured in front of him. More than friends…family. He was Jaffa! He had to save them! Protect them! They were his family…he frowned slightly. Family. Blonde hair and green eyes flashed in his mind. Casey! Where was she? He could see her smiling at him…she was whispering something…what was she saying?

A  A  A  A  A  A

The hum of machinery filled his ears. He opened his eyes slowly. He did not recognize this place. The heat was oppressive, and within minutes the sweat was pouring off of his body. He tried to move, found that he was chained to a wall. There seemed to be no one else in the room in which he found himself. He pulled against the bonds that held him tightly. They did not give.

Daniel Jackson was dragged into the room. He had been beaten, and appeared unconscious. He was chained to the wall beside the Jaffa. He moaned quietly.

"Wake up, Daniel," Teal'c said softly. "What is happening?"

"You have to save her, Teal'c," Daniel said, his voice raspy. He began to cough, blood covered his lower lip. "Please, save my Wife. You took Sha're from me. Don't let them take Casey."

Teal'c jerked…frowned. The words did not sound like something his young friend would say. They seemed…odd. Daniel Jackson had forgiven him for taking his first wife when he had been in the service of Apophis. After the young man's return from Ascension, they had meditated together at least twice a week. They had also talked. Daniel had told him that he understood that at the time, Teal'c had had no other options. And that what was meant to be, had to be. "I will do my best to protect her, Daniel Jackson," he replied. 

The door opened again, and Casey was pulled into the room. She was fighting her captors, even as they stripped her and tossed her onto a table, then strapped her down. A tall thin man watched from the doorway, a sadistic smile on his face.

"You will tell me all that I wish to know," the man said, stepping into the room. "Or we will take her until she breaks completely."

Teal'c cringed. Casey had told him of her nightmare, and how it had released the darkness that hid in her mind. Of how Daniel had very nearly been unable to save her. He also knew that rape was the one thing she feared the most.

"Tell me about this place known as Hope."

"I will tell you nothing," Teal'c replied.

There were five men, all of them tall and thin, their skin pale. The man who had made demands of him began to laugh. He stepped in front of Daniel, grabbed a handful of dark blonde hair and pulled his head up. "You will watch us take her, human," he growled.

Daniel winced. "No! Leave her alone!"

Teal'c was yanking against his restraints, frantic to free himself. If anything happened to Casey, Daniel would be lost to them as well. He knew this for fact.

The men dropped the black robes that had covered their bodies. Casey was taken off of the table, one of the men climbed on top of it. She was shoved brutally onto his erection, at the same time a second man entered her from behind, her scream of pain filling the air as her ass was penetrated. A third man stood on a wooden stool, grabbed her by the hair, forced her mouth open, shoved his throbbing cock into her mouth.

"No! Oh, god, no! Teal'c, oh, god you have to do something!" Daniel screamed.

His wrists were bleeding, but he could not loosen the manacles that held him prisoner. He watched as the men began to change positions, those who had not yet entered the body of the young Tau'ri doing so. He cried out in anguish when he saw the light flicker and fade from her eyes. She had stopped fighting. Now, she simply lay wherever the men put her. Her body was still breathing. But Casey was gone.

"No! No!" Daniel screamed beside him. "I hate you! I hate you, you goddamned Jaffa freak!"

He winced, the words more painful than any physical torture could ever be.

The leader of the men looked at him, and smirked.

A  A  A  A  A  A

He opened his eyes. He was lying on his back, staring up at metal bars. His mind quickly assessed his condition. He had been beaten; there was pain and stiffness. But nothing that he couldn't bear. The bars were too low to allow him to sit up. But he was able to shift to his side. O'Neill was on one side of him, Daniel Jackson on the other. Both men appeared to be unconscious. When he looked at the young archaeologist, his heart nearly broke. He had hurt the man, terribly. He couldn't remember how, but he was certain that he had. He shook his head mentally. Concentration was needed to survive. He would examine his…emotions…later.

A tall, thin man entered the room where the coffin-like cages were. He walked around them, smirked at the men who lay within. "You are indeed interesting specimens. You will offer our scientists many…weeks…of discovery. Although you appear to be like us, we know that you are not. We shall determine just exactly how different from you are. We will start with this one."

Teal'c could see them take Daniel Jackson from his cage. The young man fought with them, was hit repeatedly until his struggles ceased. He held his head up as far as he could, watched as Daniel was strapped onto a table that looked identical to those of the medical labs at the SGC. He recognized the scalpels. Closed his eyes when Daniel began to scream. He wrapped his hands around the bars above him, only to feel the effects of being electrocuted.

"Jesus! What are they doing to him?" Jack asked hoarsely.

"I do not know, O'Neill," he replied. He watched as something was placed inside a small metal bowl. His heart lurched in his chest. "I believe he is being…dissected."

"Oh, god," the man beside him moaned. "We have got to get out of here! If we can find a sarcophagus, maybe-"

The screams came to an abrupt stop. Teal'c closed his eyes. Daniel Jackson was dead.

He heard the thin man as he approached the cage. "Tell me why you are here. Tell me about that place from which you come."

"I will tell you nothing," Teal'c replied, staring into the odd yellow eyes of his captor.

Jack was taken next. "Teal'c, oh god don't let them kill me! You didn't save Casey! You didn't save Daniel! Please, you have to save me! Don't let them do this to me!"

He blanched from the desperate cries. No, his mind told him. This is not right. O'Neill would never cry out in that manner. Nor would any of his teammates hold him responsible for anything that happened to them while they were being held prisoner.

Daniel was tossed toward one side of the room. The soft thud of his body hitting the wall echoed in the silence. Soon it was the screams of O'Neill that split the air around him.

He closed eyes once again. Green eyes danced behind his eyelids. Casey Jackson. He fought down the grief when he realized that he would be the one to tell her that her husband was dead. She was talking…trying to tell him something…

"Test, Teal'c, remember, it's only a test, not real," Casey's soft voice echoed in his head.

Teal'c looked up at the man who remained standing beside the cage. "You are not real. I will not speak with you again." He closed his eyes defiantly, turned his face away.

The Jaffa landed in the sand beside Jack and Sam.

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