Magical Cage 12
Rated TEEN
"Hey, honey, I'm home," Jack called as the guards escorted him back to the cell. The door had reappeared since the last time he'd been there, so the noise of the door opening was accompanied by an actual visible door opening. Jack walked into the cell, still not entirely sure what the plan was, but hopefully the others could figure it out.
"Sir," Carter said, her hair still just as pink as ever.
"I brought presents," he announced as he started pulling various items from his pockets. Stealing food hardly seemed worthy of celebrating, but the way this mission was going, Jack would take any victory he could.
"Spike said you'd like this," Jack said to Willow as he pulled out a thick white root with lacy, green tops.
"Fennel?" Willow asked as she caught the thing Jack tossed her way. "Um… thank you?"
"And don't forget this," Jack said as he tossed her an orange. "I assume you can do something with those."
"Uh, I make a really good orange-fennel tuna, only that usually requires tuna."
Jack looked at Willow with the cold, choiceless feeling in the pit of his stomach. Willow gave him a weak, placating smile that did nothing to placate him.
"Are Spike and Xander okay?" Willow asked softly, staring down at the things in her hands, and Jack's frustration evaporated at that expression. They might have fought evil in their universe, but these were still children emotionally in more ways than Jack cared to think about.
"Spike's having the time of his life, and Xander is playing worshipper," Jack offered.
"Goddess. Spike must be enjoying that, and I really hope he's not enjoying it too much or else Xander is going to accidentally shoot him again." Willow gave a strained laugh that didn't sound amused as much as near-hysterical.
"Are you implying that Xander actually meant to shoot Spike the first time?" Daniel asked, and Jack could see the horror on the archeologist's face, which Jack found a little ironic given the number of times Daniel had threatened to accidentally shoot him. Of course, Jack trusted that Daniel wouldn't actually do it. Now, when Daniel threatened to slip laxative powder into the rations, then Jack worried.
"He didn't *mean* to do it, it's just that Xander is a little clumsy with the weapons, and sometimes he just sort of forgets what he's doing, especially when he's frustrated, and Spike really knows how to push his buttons, but he didn't mean to shoot Spike, he was just frustrated with Spike. And he apologized after that and even helped Spike put in a bathtub downstairs in his crypt as an apology, and Xander doesn't usually apologize unless he really means it. When he acts like a big doofus and thinks he has a right to be a big doofus, you couldn't drag an apology out of him with a team of wild horses. Like when Buffy started dating—"
"Got it," Jack stopped her.
"Xander Harris has the instincts of a warrior, but he hides them around you," Teal'c interjected into the conversation from his post near the door.
"Xander isn't exactly the warrior type, now Buffy, she's—"
"You are incorrect," Teal'c interrupted her, something Jack had never actually heard Teal'c do before. He turned and faced Willow with that blank Jaffa stare that revealed no emotion. "He handles his weapons competently until you take note of them. Your view of Xander Harris is clouded by faulty assumptions, and his incompetence results from his attempts to act within your expectations."
Willow's mouth stayed open, but she didn't say anything as Teal'c watched her impassively. Funny how the guy could look awfully intimidating without even lifting an eyebrow. Jack traded looks with Daniel; from Teal'c that was downright wordy--wordy and cranky.
"I wouldn't—" Willow started, but Jack decided to put an end to the debate.
"Does this help?" he asked as he pulled out a candle.
"Oh goddess. Yes. With a focus, I can do lots more spells. I could fix your hair," Willow said to Carter hopefully. Willow stepped back, away from Teal'c who simply turned to once again watch the corridor. He'd had his say.
"Ah, no. We need to focus on the Wraith," Jack interrupted before Carter could answer. "Spike also sent a message: 'bound'."
"That's not much of a message," Daniel mused.
"It's the only message he sent, so I'm hoping you can make something out of that." Jack watched as Willow's face scrunched up.
"Bound? Um, like… bound? I'm going to assume he doesn't mean us, since we're pretty trapped right now. So, bind the Wraith?" Willow smiled widely, her face looking like a ten-year-old who had just gotten a pony for Christmas. "Bind their magic. I could bind their magic. Medieval people used fennel to keep ghosts and evil spirits out, but it doesn't actually keep magic away as much as warn magic-users off because magic users associate the smell of fennel with binding spells, and most magic-types, dead or alive, are not okay with binding spells. Really not okay."
"Whoa. I'm still denial over magic, please do not bring ghosts into this," Jack insisted. "And the first priority is the door. Can any of this make the door open?"
"But I thought Spike said to do a binding spell?" Willow asked, confused.
"I don't really care what message Spike sent. Priority one is the door and weapons. Once we have a defensible position, then we can set you on the binding spell."
"Shouldn't we try to get back to the planet?" Sam asked, clearly confused by the priorities.
"According to Spike, the Wraith are using the magic for the typical world-domination and enslavement of the human race," Jack shrugged. "Not very original, but we have a little twist. Apparently, they can rip through dimensions. They'll go after other dimensions, including ours."
"But if they can do that, why haven't they done it before?" Carter asked.
"If I get another invitation to dinner, I'll make sure to ask," Jack said with more than a little sarcasm. He sighed. Sam didn't deserve that, but then none of them deserved this whole FUBAR mission. "I don't know what's changed, but if we're assuming that Spike is on our side, we have to believe that the Wraith are a danger to our dimension. Of course, Spike could be lying, but I don't really see his advantage in sending… weapons if he's lying." Jack looked at the limp vegetable in Willow's hand, and realizing that it was their biggest weapon did not make him feel any better about this mission.
"Which means we have to stop them here, no matter what the cost," Daniel said quietly. Jack looked over and hated the quiet resignation on Daniel's face. However, he couldn't deny the truth of the words. Assuming that Spike was telling they truth, they had to put binding the Wraith's magic ahead of their plans for getting home. Protecting Earth was the first priority, always.
"So, if any of that makes it possible, get the door open," Jack said as he waved toward the pile of random crap in her arms. Willow looked at him with wide eyes and nodded as she bit her lip.
"Door, I can do the door now," she promised as she sat. A quick incantation, and the candle lit. Willow held it in both hands, chanting as she let her eyes close. Jack felt a breeze slide past him as the doors opened.
"Open sesame," Daniel quipped as Teal'c took point out into the corridor.
"Last time, the weapons were to the left," Jack said. Teal'c hesitated in the hall, possibly listening, before he turned left and moved silently away. Carter held out her hand, and Willow blew out the candle and gathered up the other ingredients before taking the hand and getting up. Even now, Jack could see the lines at the edges of her eyes and the pale complexion.
"Can you do this?" he asked.
"We have to, don't we?" she said with a shrug. "I wasn't totally sure we'd come back from stopping Glorificus, but we still had to go. Xander and I don't love our world less than you love yours," she said without making eye contact with him. Then she headed out the hall after Daniel. Jack shook his head, hating that someone so young had learned that type of loyalty so young. A person should be at least thirty before getting that fatalistic.
"Carter, take the six," he said as he passed the girls in the hall and caught up with Teal'c. Again, the halls were eerily silent, as if the ship were abandoned except for the few guards they had seen. But from the number of planes in the ship's hanger, there had to be thousands of aliens somewhere. Jack didn't like mysteries.
"Here," Jack said as they reached the right door. "Willow, can you get this one to open?" Jack asked as he gestured toward the door.
"Is this the panel that had the Ancient writing?" Daniel asked as he stepped forward, running a finger over the panel.
"Daniel, how many times do I have to tell you to not touch alien technology," Jack said as he knocked the man's hand away.
"You already said that Spike activated it. I don't think I'm going to set the self-destruct just by touching it," Daniel argued.
"You might," Jack countered as Willow lit the candle with a word and started chanting.
"How close was the language to Ancient? How much could you read?" Daniel asked, reaching up to touch the panel again despite Jack's warning. Jack rolled his eyes.
"Let's worry about that after we stop this thing from using whatever magic it's storing up." Jack sighed with relief as the door slip open. Willow sat on the ground in front of the door, her back slumped as she blew out the candle and just continued to sit there, obviously fatigued.
"Okay, gather weapons and we'll move to the hanger where we have a quick escape if things go bad." Jack paused a second, "go worse," he amended himself. Things had already gone pretty damn bad.
"Willow, would it take a lot of magic to convince the ship that Daniel was a vampire?" he asked. Willow looked up, bracing herself on one hand as she shook her head.
"That's an easy spell, just a glamour," she said. She didn't even re-light the candle before chanting as tiny white lights gathered around her. They circled her like tiny moons before they broke orbit and sped toward Daniel, sinking into his skin and making him glow for a second before the light faded.
"Daniel, are you okay?" Jack asked.
"I don't know. Is my hair pink?" he asked after blinking for a second.
"Nope. Too bad, pink would be a good color on you," Jack offered. Daniel glared at him, but the temptation of a whole new language was too much. He turned to the panel and touched the screen. Words scrolled across the screen, and Daniel got that tiny smile he got whenever he found a new puzzle.
"We have found weapons," Teal'c offered as he came back out of the room with their packs. He handed Jack his P90 and sidearm. Jack slipped his handgun into its place at his waist, but he could only sling the P90 over one arm. He had no illusions about being able to fire it with his hand swollen to nearly twice normal size. "Daniel Jackson," Teal'c called, holding out a bag. Daniel paused for a second, grabbing the pack and digging through the outer pocket for a journal that he quickly flipped open and started studying. After a second, he went back to the screen, his eyes darting between the open journal and the flashing symbols on the wall.
"Okay, sweeper planes are that way," Jack said. We'll need to establish some sort of perimeter. How sturdy are the boxes in the storeroom?" Jack asked. Teal'c glanced back into the room, and Jack could see Carter efficiently sorting alien toys, pulling a few smaller examples with a practiced eye while leaving others strewn about the floor. If they did get home, Area 51 was going to have a whole new division.
"I am not familiar with Wraith weaponry."
"It seemed like a zat, meant to stun. I haven't seen them with any other weapons."
Teal'c pulled out his own zat, aiming at one of the boxes at the far side of the room before triggering the weapon. The energy field crackled along the surface and quickly dissipated, leaving the wall behind the crate untouched.
"They appear sufficient," Teal'c said.
"Daniel, Sam, grab a couple of crates," Jack said as he grabbed one that Sam had already emptied. It wasn't heavy, but it still dragged across the floor awkwardly as Jack used his good hand. Teal'c went to grab the other end, but Jack waved him off.
"Teal'c, you have point. Sam, grab a crate and take the six," Jack ordered. "Daniel, get your ass in gear and grab a crate."
"Just a second," Daniel answered in the tone of voice that said that he hadn't even heard what Jack said. He'd just registered an attempt to interrupt him from his new toy.
"Daniel," Jack called.
"Hmmmm."
"Daniel!" Jack called sharply. Daniel finally looked up from the panel.
"It's a derivative of Ancient. They appear to be an enemy of the Ancients, but the similarity in language suggests—"
"Not now, Daniel. Grab a crate. We're going to make a defensible position in the hanger bay, and then you can play with the shiny toy all you want."
"Oh." Daniel looked around. Carter had pulled a crate out into the hallway, and Willow had grabbed one end while Carter kept her free hand on her P90. Teal'c stood with his staff weapon ready, and Jack had dragged his crate to the door. "Crate, right," he agreed as he shifted his pack, getting both arms into the straps.
As soon as Daniel got moving, Jack yanked the large, bulky form through the door and followed Teal'c. Despite Jack's fears that the passageway would fill with Wraith the moment they burdened themselves with the crates, the corridor remains clear as they dragged their booty into the hanger.
"Teal'c, check for other entrances. Daniel, the screen is right there," he pointed to the wall where Spike had given him the tutorial on flying the Wraith planes. "Carter, cover the door. Willow, get yourself set up to do the binding spell."
"Okay, I can do this," Willow muttered to herself as she opened the crate and pulled out the supplies she'd stashed in there. "Nothing to be nervous about. Just a little binding spell. Size really doesn't matter, and I've bound magic before, and sure, it was a wizard-type and not a whole ship full of aliens, along with the alien ship, but I can do this."
Jack pointed to a spot near one of the planes, and she settled down with her fennel and orange and candle as Jack dragged the bulky crates into position.
"There is only one entrance," Teal'c announced as he returned from his recon.
"Great, so we just need to worry about someone opening the doors to space," Jack joked.
"We do? Oh goddess, what would we do if they did that… they wouldn't do that, would they?" Willow asked desperately.
"The colonel was joking," Carter promised as she stood near the door.
"Just joking," Jack agreed.
"It's not actually funny," she complained weakly as she lit the candle with a word and dripped wax on the ground before sticking the bottom of the candle into the soft wax in order to keep it stable.
"Jack never is funny, we just laugh at his jokes to keep him happy," Daniel offered from his spot. "Guys, the Wraith seem to think they chased the Ancients out of his part of the universe. The most recent records talk about an awakening—"
"Oh and isn't that just dandy? I don't think they're talking about spiritual awakenings, so is there any way to stop that?"
"Um, it has to do with how much prey they have available, but Jack, they aren't from this galaxy."
"Okay, and this helps us, how?"
"You mean they have Ancient drive technology? That would put them centuries ahead of the Goa'uld," Carter interrupted from the door.
"That's the weird thing; they don't. There are references here that I can't even hope to read because the words have no equivalent in Ancient, but they were definitely surprised at being able to get here. They're calling this galaxy a 'new hunting ground' but then they're making reference to knowing about this galaxy and having been denied access to it by the craven enemy, and I'm assuming those would be the Ancients."
"So, is there anything in there that isn't useless?" Jack asked. History lessons might interest Daniel, but Jack would rather have the codes to lock out all the doors.
Daniel glared, but Jack just crossed his arms and glared right back.
"Sir," Carter interrupted. "I hear something."
"Okay, fall back behind the crates. Willow, now would be a good time to get started," Jack said as he moved into position, kneeling behind the center crate. He awkwardly rested the P90 on the crate and moved his left hand to the trigger. He wouldn't be as accurate, but right now, the only goal was to hold the line until Willow did the spell and then run like hell.
"Daniel, cover the rear," Jack ordered just in case the Wraith could someone teleport someone in. They really didn't need that surprise right now.
Willow started chanting, and this time the lights that gathered around her glowed yellow as she slowly pulled off small chunks of fennel and dropped it into the flame, making a sick licorice smell curl into the air. Curls of orange peel surrounded the candle.
"I really need to have MacKenzie do a little shinking on my head for trusting this plan," he softly muttered to himself. If they got through this in one piece, Jack was so retiring to the smallest, quietest planet he could find. Of course, with his luck he'd get some plague… again… or the Asgard would kidnap him… again… or the natives would try to kill him… again. And in keeping with his luck, the door slowly slid open as two Wraith guards appeared in the doorway.