Chapter Text
Thunder rumbling in the clouds. The crack of bone, as Goku's bo staff flattened yet another foe. A howl of summoned tornadoes, swooping toward the four of them as their more sane opponents scrambled for cover. The tang of cordite as Sanzo's bullet took the summoning youkai in the forehead in a spray of blood. Without dispelling the tornadoes, worse luck. All in all, a pretty typical day on the road.
…If you didn't count the Tok'ra shuttlecraft taking off, dodging tornadoes and one lightning strike near the Stargate with contemptuous technological ease.
Get what you want, and to hell with the native help, Genjyo Sanzo thought darkly, firing twice more before howling winds made it more a risk to his allies than his enemies. Again. Why am I not surprised?
"No offense, Hakkai," Sha Gojyo yelled over the tumult, shakajou snapping out to shred the closest foes, "but your relatives suck!"
Even through the bloodlust, :amusement: sparkled in Sanzo's senses as Cho Hakkai laughed. "None taken!"
Thready and tired, Hakkai's blast of energy still put down a few of the more stubborn idiots, winning the four of them a minute to regroup and breathe. Right hand up and ready, if shaking, the healer plucked an odd black wristband out of his sash. "Is this what you wanted, Gojyo? I hope they haven't missed it yet… what is it, anyway? It's not Goa'uld technology-"
Sanzo missed the rest in a rib-jarring thump, as a downdraft tossed Hakuryuu at him and the little dragon dug claws into his robes and rakusu for dear life. "Idiot dragon," he cursed without heat. "Whole forest over there and you pick me to land on?"
Granted, there was a lot less forest now, what with the winds ripping through here. But it had to be better cover than him.
:Cordite-scent/curled warm-safe dragon. Wind-scent - wings broken/fear!:
Damn it, do that to Hakkai, not me!
"Ten left!" Goku exulted, Nyoi-bo shortening back to a simple staff as he touched down beside the priest. "This is gonna be easy."
"Twelve," Sanzo corrected, counting auras, crouching so the wind had less to grab at. The DHD broke the gale a little, and ammo made his robes less of a parachute than most monks, but this was not good. Why'd the damn Goa'uld have to plant 'Gates where there's no cover?
Because a ha'tak cared about tornadoes the way a boulder cared about gnats, probably. And it wasn't like this Stargate would have seen much use in the last decade. Definitely not by the Tok'ra. No DHD on the planet would work without a key; either Kanzeon's, or Gyokumen Koushu's. And not all the Tok'ra scientists' efforts, while their sneakier comrades grabbed youkai zatarc samples, would have cut through that nasty little knot. Might as well try to get the SGC to open the iris on pure good faith….
Focus on now, Sanzo swore at himself. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has to get past the latest bunch of assassins. And tornadoes.
Impressive as the twisting funnels were, he was more worried about the youkai. The wind was still lousy for shooting, but they were starting to get brave again, as whatever energy-twist the dead youkai had given to the atmosphere started to die-
Something dark whipped through the wind, and Nyoi-bo smacked him aside.
…So that's where the trees went.
Half a dozen splintered trunks rained down around them, one shattering right on the 'Gate. And it wasn't right for Goku to be so still, even in his sleep the monkey was never still-
He's breathing, Sanzo told himself harshly, checking Goku's diadem for cracks near the swelling lump. Hakuryuu scrabbled into his long white sleeve as he scooped up the light body; odds were they'd have to move, and fast. You know how hard his head is. He'll be fine.
We might not be.
The gun in his left hand was a heavy, deadly promise. Someone needed to pay for hurting his monkey. Just let the wind weaken a little more….
"Concussion," Hakkai said breathlessly, green glowing weakly around one hand as he brushed Goku's forehead. "I can handle it, if we can get clear of them."
If you don't keel over first, Sanzo thought grimly. Between Tok'ra machinations and the fighting, they'd been up for days. Hell, Gojyo hadn't made an innuendo for hours - and if that wasn't a reliable indicator of how close his party was to dropping in their tracks, nothing was.
Twelve more. We can handle them. We have to.
Gojyo made a huh noise, and plucked the odd black wristcuff out of Hakkai's sash. "I say we blow this pop stand."
For a long moment, Sanzo stared as blankly as Hakkai. The words weren't Koryo - Shangri-La's odd, evolved mix of archaic Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. They weren't even Goa'uld.
English. He spoke English. And that's-
"GDO," Gojyo grinned at the impossible object, radiating smugness. "Figured if the alliance with Earth was still in one piece, they might have one. And, lo and behold."
I can't breathe.
"Didn't want to get your hopes up," Gojyo elaborated at Sanzo's look. "For all I knew, the fiasco that landed us here made the SGC write 'em off like a bad debt. And they'd never have let a 'local fomenter of baseless superstition' anywhere near their head guy, you know that. Hakkai, though - he's fast, polite, and sneaky. Figure he had the best shot of any of us at lifting it from them."
I can't think.
Lucky Hakkai could react while he was still frozen. "You mean, this is-" the brunet started.
"The key to our side of the 'Gate," Gojyo nodded. And eyed the sutra lying across Sanzo's shoulders. "And guess who's got the key to this side?"
He's right, Sanzo thought numbly. It unlocks the transport rings in the temples, Chang'an and otherwise. And Koushu's traps. It should unlock the 'Gate. I've just never tried it before, because - because….
:Killing intent: flared in his senses, and his head snapped up. "They're coming!"
"So get moving!" Gojyo smirked. "We'll cover you."
Cover me? I'm the one who should be shooting, you idiot!
But even through the haze of their foes' bloodlust, Gojyo's homesickness bit at him like old scars. The redheaded halfbreed had followed him out of Ni's hell of a laboratory through blood and death and treachery, and never asked for anything. Not like this.
I have to try.
Drawing himself up by the DHD, Goku's unconscious body close enough to touch, Sanzo started to chant. Say this for the endless months of their travels; by now he could cast his mind into trance asleep, drugged, underwater, or dying of blood loss. And had, at one time or another-
"Open to me!"
The Maten Sutra flared on his shoulders, lashing out lengths of itself to rouse the DHD from its locked slumbers. Eyes still half-closed, Sanzo watched his hands touch symbols memorized a lifetime ago, then brush the center crystal….
With a whoosh to rival the vanished tornadoes, a silvery hole opened in the universe.
"Whoa," Goku groaned, gold eyes blinking at the water-shimmer of energy in the 'Gate. "What is that?"
"Gojyo's next date," Sanzo said dryly. "Do you even know how to work that thing?" he called to the redhead. "Because in case you've forgotten, I was a temp!"
"Have a little-" Gojyo grunted, shakajou shredding limbs as he pulled back. "Faith! Military likes to stick to what works, so-" His fingers danced across the GDO's buttons, there was a breathless silence-
Which Sanzo promptly shattered with bullets as the last idiots charged them, holding onto Goku with his right hand when the kid would have charged right back. One down, now two… and three wasn't dropping, even with the rest of the rounds emptied into him.
Damn. That's one of the Goa'uld.
Most Goa'uld didn't like youkai hosts, even if they were less fragile than humans. Something to do with snake aesthetics… or maybe they just didn't like how youkai instincts gave the host more of a chance to fight back, if it wasn't zatarc-programmed. But Gyokumen Koushu could be persuasive.
Dump spent brass, let the idiot monkey go to fight even if the kid was seeing double, reload-
Gojyo's shakajou sliced through the bastard before Nyoi-bo could touch it; Goku almost fell over his own feet pulling up short. Sanzo yanked him the rest of the way up, sensing :rage: as the symbiote prepared to abandon the body….
:Surprise/fear/determination to follow!:
Hakkai might as well have clamped a manacle on his wrist. Sanzo took blind steps backward, Goku dizzy beside him, toward that sudden absence of kappa and healer, and….
Cold. Starry cold, that went on forever.
Cold that ended in a painful thump onto metal grating, air that tasted of concrete and plastic, and an echoing, amplified voice.
Whatever it said, Sanzo couldn't spare the time to translate. At least four of their youkai buddies had tumbled through with them, and the damn snake. Which, no accounting for taste, jumped straight for Goku.
Ordinarily, Sanzo wouldn't have worried about that. Ordinarily, Goku's reflexes let him snatch, strangle, and shred any Goa'uld that got that close. But with the :dizzy, sick: radiating off the kid-
Goku grabbed, all right. And yelped, and tossed it away, not thinking beyond the fact that sharp teeth had bitten him.
:Hate-rage-lust for body-:
Sanzo fired.
Blue blood splattered to the ground, the squelch almost covered by a whispered, "Shit…."
Dim electric lights. The coppery reek of blood. Green-uniformed people holding guns aimed their way. No serious intent to kill, but that many nervous trigger fingers twitching toward his people-
Don't shoot, Sanzo told himself, deliberately taking his finger off the trigger. These guys aren't the enemy.
Yet, hissed the dark, paranoid part of him. Remembering betrayal, and rain.
"Whoa," Goku breathed, craning his head back to peer all the way up to the massive missile doors overhead. And almost falling over. "Are we in a fortress? How'd we get underground? Was it some kind of youkai illusion?"
"Eyes on the enemy, monkey," Sanzo said sharply, steadying him. "Hakkai! Any hitchhikers?" He didn't feel any that weren't :fading, dying: but better to be sure.
The spade end of Gojyo's shakajou scythed down.
Crunch.
"Not anymore," the brunet said cheerfully.
"I said, identify yourselves!"
"Oh great. We got the kiddies on nightshift," Gojyo grumbled. "Okay, Doc. You're up."
Doc. How long had it been since he'd owned that title, instead of Sanzo?
English. Remember English.
He cleared his throat. "I'm… Dr. Kouryuu Genjyo, provisionally attached to SG-6," he said slowly, making his gun disappear up the sleeve without a dragon in it. "This is Captain-" Gojyo "-Joseph Sha, SG-10; Cho Hakkai, a local from Shangri-La; and Goku, my ward." Keep talking. As long as we're talking, they're not shooting, and I really… don't want to shoot them. I think. "We lost our calendars a while back, so I'm not sure of the date. But I think we're at least… a year and a half overdue." Gods. Had it only been that long?
A lifetime.
:Disbelief.: But a lot less hostility. He could work with that-
"Cheep?"
"And this is Hakuryuu," Sanzo said dryly, arching an eyebrow at the blond crewcut in charge. Of course I keep dragons up my sleeve. You got a problem with that, moron?
"What's everybody saying?" Goku complained in Koryo. "Are those guns? Don't they know you don't point something at us, 'less you intend to use it?"
Three hands landed on Goku before he could summon Nyoi-bo. "We could really use a medic," Gojyo said with a tight smile. "Goku took a pretty good crack on the head, and we're all… tired."
Crewcut looked at them. Looked at the splattered Goa'uld. Looked at the five youkai bodies scattered across the floor in various degrees of dismemberment. Looked back at them.
Three idiots tried to radiate innocence. Sanzo… tried to tone down his usual "going to kill you now" to armed truce.
"…Somebody wake up the general."
Dr. Janet Fraiser covered her mouth as she yawned, blinking to clear the fog of a too-brief nap. SG-8's latest diplomatic efforts in an offworld sauna had landed half of them in the infirmary with what looked like a massive case of poison ivy, so Cassie was with a sitter while the SGC's head doctor checked them out hourly to make sure it wasn't inhaled poison ivy. Or worse. And now there'd been an unscheduled 'Gate activation - someone had mentioned Tok'ra - so who knew what kind of medical emergency was about to land in her lap-
Nervous security opened the doors, and a tall redhead in a brown leather jacket, what looked like denims, and a wide blue headband grinned at her. "Doc! Tell me my dreams are true, and you're still a single woman!"
Smack.
"Ow…." The stranger rubbed the back of his head, as his grim blond companion made a folded paper fan disappear up one white sleeve. "Damn. Celibacy turns a guy mean."
"Die, kappa," the white-robed blond gritted out, as a few of the guards sputtered. "Just die."
Janet blinked. Resisted the urge to rub her eyes, and mentally checked which SG teams were offworld. They didn't look like anyone she knew. But - four, and weird outfits, and the way they'd all walked in; in sync, and all but ignoring the heavily-armed guards….
Blond's in charge, she noted, taking in the red spot on his forehead, half-hidden by golden bangs. Not blood; some kind of decoration? Hmm… leaf-spattered white robes, long black belt, elaborate bamboo chestpiece, and a sort of green-edged stole over his shoulders, marked with an odd, twisting script that looked vaguely familiar. Ritual garb, or she'd eat one of Daniel's Egyptology texts. Add that to the walk, best categorized as "move or I walk through you". Somebody's been impersonating a Goa'uld high priest. Whoa. That takes guts.
Which fit with the two of them who could have been passing for priestly servants, kind of. The bright-eyed teenager, definitely; between the golden diadem in spiky brown hair and the bone-spiked shoulder armor under his short orange cloak, "junior warrior-priest acolyte" seemed like a good call. The older, dark-haired man in a vaguely Chinese green silk shirt, white sash, and tan pants looked a little less plausible, but he still might have been some temple functionary. Especially considering the- Janet's eyes bugged.
"Kyuu?" Red eyes blinked at her, as the little white dragon shifted on silk and sash.
"Trying to sweet-talk you already," the redhead grinned. "Doc, Hakuryuu." His smile slipped a little. "Been a while. Don't suppose you remember. We're probably MIA, am I right?"
MIA. Something in the casual stance suddenly clicked. Hair and eyes had been brown and brown, not scarlet and crimson, and those scars on his left cheek were nothing she recalled. But she'd seen teams in weirder states, and almost two years ago…. "Sha?" Janet said uncertainly. "Captain Joseph Sha?"
The way the man lit up, all hints of flirting washed away in pure relief, was all the answer she needed. "Can you help us out?" Sha asked. "Hakkai says he's fine, but he'd say that if he were bleeding to death, and I know Goku's not fine, and neither of 'em speak much English, and Sanzo's about asleep on his feet, which means we're gonna be out our guy who can translate the tricky stuff-"
"I'm. Not. Asleep."
But you need to be, Janet thought, seeing the circles under violet eyes. Up two or three days straight, if she knew exhausted teams. As soon as their injuries were treated, she was shoving them all into bed, reports be damned. Sha had been MIA, presumed KIA, for almost two years. Another eight hours shouldn't make a difference.
"Sure," Sha said wryly. "And that white robe means you're Mother Teresa."
"Don't think Mother Teresa carries a gun," one of the guards snorted.
"Take care of it while you have it," Sanzo said coldly. "I don't want to break in a new one."
"Sanzo!" The teenager almost bolted past the guards to point at her computer, chattering away in a language she didn't know at warp speed.
"And this would be your first patient," Sha said without skipping a beat, as Sanzo unceremoniously hauled the boy up onto one of her examining tables. "Doc, Son Goku. There were tornadoes, he got hit by a tree…."
"Yesterday?" Janet asked, taking out her penlight without any of the tirades most Earth-based doctors would have given about seeking medical attention immediately. SG teams knew that. They got back as fast as they could.
"Um. More like an hour ago," Sha admitted as she looked over the lump. "Goku's youkai. They heal faster."
"Alien?" Mentally, Janet girded herself for the worst. She could treat a stomped Goa'uld symbiote, she could at least try to handle what they'd brought in.
"Variant human," Sanzo said tiredly, holding Goku mostly still as she checked pupils and reflexes. "There are people on Shangri-La who like playing with DNA."
And that was more than enough to explain the nightmares lurking in their eyes. The doctor in her winced in sympathy. The captain in charge of SGC medicine took mental notes of the tests she'd have to run once triage was over-
Two hands grabbed her wrist before she could touch the diadem; Goku's, gold eyes wide and startled, and Sanzo's, immovable as rock. "Don't," the blond warned. "It's not jewelry."
"Then what is it?" Add alien artifact contact to the checklist.
"It's a…" Sanzo trailed off into that other language as he let go, hissing something that had to be a swear. "Limiter," he managed, fighting his way back to English. "That's - close, anyway. Youkai need them. Run your checks, but it stays on."
"Hakkai has 'em, too," Sha offered. "The ear cuffs. Long story, we'll fill you in later. For now, just leave them alone, and everything will be fine."
Ear cuffs? Janet glanced at the bits of silver on the brunet's left ear, and found herself caught by the shy curiosity in green eyes. That's a monocle. Shangri-La has lenses? That would make it fairly high-tech, as Goa'uld worlds went. He must be half blind in that eye. What happened?
Ducking his head, Hakkai bowed to her, and spoke softly.
"Cho Hakkai, I'm very pleased to meet you, and how is Goku?" Sha translated.
"Goku should be fine," Janet determined, bowing back. "I'd like to keep him under observation for a day or so, but he seems to have a very hard head."
"You have no idea," Sanzo snorted. Rested a hand on the boy's shoulder, and said something in a low tone.
The resulting teenage whine was all too familiar, alien or not. Janet had to grin. "Let me guess. All the excitement's over, and he's starving."
Three pairs of eyes stared at her; Sanzo looked slightly nonplussed. "How did you know?"
"I have a teenager," Janet said dryly. "Tell him if he behaves, I'll get someone to bring something down from the cafeteria."
Shaking his head, Sanzo muttered something; Goku cheered, and pounced, quick as a cat. His hug made Janet glad her ribs were in one piece. "Erk. Goku. Air." As Sha pried him off with an air of big-brotherly threat, she had to laugh. "I like him. Where did you find him? Is he a refugee?" Another orphan?
"He doesn't remember anything before Ni Jianyi's lab," Sha said matter-of-factly. "Sanzo broke him out with me and Hakkai, and the four of us have pretty much stuck together since."
"What was I thinking?" Sanzo grumbled.
"Aww. Go ahead and admit it," Sha teased. "Underneath that cold, homicidal exterior beats a heart of true, merciful, priestly compassion."
"Obviously, you haven't had enough people trying to kill you today." That quick, Sanzo whirled on one of the guards, smacking away the muzzle that had started to point at Hakkai. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"He's Goa'uld!"
Glowing hand resting over Goku's head, Hakkai stood still. Hakuryuu bristled on his shoulder, wings spread.
"He's Tok'ra. I'd trust him with my life. He's just making sure Goku's not banged up somewhere the doc doesn't know to check for, yet," Sha said seriously. "Sheesh. Relax."
"No. They have a right." Cold as ice, Sanzo stepped back. "The misunderstanding is our fault. Shangri-La… isn't like here." He eyed Janet. "Most doctors are human, or youkai. But desperate cases go to see one of Kanzeon's favored healers."
"Hosts?" Janet said warily. What kind of planet were they on? "That's not a usual healing device." More like the lethal ring the Ashrak after Jolinar had used. Only Hakkai had six, three on each hand; bands that looked like mottled platinum and white gold. "And I thought all Tok'ra knew English."
"Hakkai was locked up longer than I was," Sha shrugged. "Last he'd heard, Ra was still lording it over the galaxy. So-" he motioned at Goku. "You mind?"
"No. Please do," Janet said firmly. Looked straight at Hakkai, and nodded. "Thank you, Hakkai. It'll let me spend more time on the rest of your friends."
"Ooo," Sha grinned. "I like the sound of that."
Janet rolled her eyes, but waved the guards back, as the redhead hopped up onto another table and stripped his blood-specked jacket and shirt off. "Are you hurt anywhere you know about?"
"Maybe a few cuts. Nothing serious. They weren't exactly Gyokumen Koushu's top of the line assassins."
"Who?" Janet asked, checking for anything the captain might have missed in the adrenaline of a fight. Lots of scars, all healed clean… damn, that must have just missed his heart. Everything seems in good shape, though; probably helped that he's young. Twenty-five, maybe? Need to check his file.
"The other Goa'uld Queen on Shangri-La," Sanzo said levelly.
Two Queens on the same planet? That couldn't be good. And you really don't want to talk about it, Janet realized. Put that together with Sha's mention of celibacy - the doctor tried not to wince. If I've got another Goa'uld rape victim here, I want in on the next team that goes out to blow the bitch up.
But she kept her cool, and finished her exam, cursory as it was. As he'd said, Sha only had a few cuts and bruises. Most of which were already healing.
Like Teal'c heals. But he's not a Jaffa. Huh. Janet lightly shoved him off the table. "Can one of you translate for me with Hakkai?"
"I've got it," Sha said magnanimously, as a bewildered airman arrived with a tray full of late-night snacks. "You feed the monkey."
"You're enjoying this," Sanzo accused, grabbing Goku by the collar before he could snatch everything with both hands.
"Like you wouldn't believe," Sha smirked. "Eat something, would you? Goku's right; you don't eat enough to glue a kite together." He paused. "And man, that sounds so weird in English."
"Bite me."
Bad temper, celibate, avoiding physical contact, potentially self-abusing, Janet tallied on her mental list. Houston, we have major trauma here. There was, after all, a reason she was leaving Sanzo for last. Beyond the fact that his attitude reminded her all too well of a certain colonel with a bleeding archaeologist, and trying to treat any of that man's injuries before his team was safe and sound was an exercise in hair-pulling frustration.
"Cheep?" Red eyes blinked at her like a kitten; the dragon curved its head down, looking winsome.
Asking to be petted, Janet thought, and glanced at Hakkai. "May I?"
"Please do; you'll make her feel a lot better," Sha said frankly. And lowered his voice. "Hakuryuu's usually got a good sense for who wants to fillet us. And Hakkai's shy about his scars."
Scars? Janet thought, stroking a wonderfully soft dragon; the mane was silky after all, the neck's scaly appearance due to fur fused like pangolin scales. Tok'ra usually don't have- oh. Ow.
She couldn't blame Captain Sha for standing to block the guards' vision. From the look of ropy white keloid tissue, someone had tried to disembowel Hakkai with a long, sharp knife. And almost succeeded.
"He says you've probably seen worse," Sha said quietly.
Janet took in that carefully neutral tone, and Hakkai's self-effacing smile, and revised upward the number of people in this room who needed serious emotional TLC. "I have," she said matter-of-factly. "But not often. You must have wanted to live very much."
Sha winced, but translated. Hakkai looked at her. For a moment, Janet saw honest, rueful surprise.
Oh. You didn't. Oh, boy….
But Hakkai laughed, gently, and shifted his shoulders in a modest shrug, delivering a few quiet sentences.
"Thanks for worrying, but he's okay now," Sha told her. "After all, he's got the rest of us to look after, and the trouble we find is way too interesting to let himself do anything as boring as dying." The redhead looked at her directly. "He's too polite for his own good, a lot of the time, but he really is better. Once we broke him out, hauled him around in daylight for a few months, and killed a few of his nightmares, he figured out he wanted to live after all."
Janet arched her own red brow. "I take it you mean that literally."
"You better believe it." Sha didn't look doubtful, or even vaguely apologetic. Just - tired.
Trying not to be obvious, Janet glanced toward the other half of the team. The blond was fielding Goku's barrage of questions with curt replies, slowly working his way through a makeshift sandwich as his ward downed almost everything else on the tray.
I hear every word you're saying, but I am Ignoring You, so in the morning we can pretend this never happened, Janet translated that stiff set of robed shoulders. But if Hakkai were really upset, she'd bet her last Oreos that Sanzo would be right over here to glare her off. Or try to. Years of exposure to Colonel O'Neill had given her a fair level of death-glare tolerance. "I need to take a blood sample. From each of you."
"Damn. Forgot that little treat," Sha said lightly. "Give us a minute to explain, okay? Youkai smell blood a lot better than humans do, and if Goku scents Hakkai's, he'd probably smack you first and remember how fragile humans are later. Sanzo-"
"Aa," the blond nodded, setting his crumbs down to fold his hands and speak in an even, calm tone.
Wow. Janet leaned back and listened, letting foreign words flow over her like a rippling stream. Maybe I can get him to read me a myth later. When he's not trying to insult someone… I like that voice. It's so clear.
And then it was needles, vials, and labels, one after another. The blood looked human enough. But then, that was what the cellular reader was for.
At least we got that much out of the Tok'ra. Their so-called allies had had to come up with something for Earth in the wake of the utter disaster that had wiped out SG-10 and 6, putting Sha and nine other Tau'ri on the KIA list. The reader was relatively "primitive and innocuous".
I'll take what I can get. Among its other uses, it could read and decipher DNA faster and with more depth than any current Earth-based techniques. Given the number of germs, bugs, and viruses SG teams ended up bringing home, native and Goa'uld-made, it'd been a lifesaver.
Three down, and the hard case to go. "Would you mind stepping over here, Major-?"
Sanzo stared at her, incredulous. The guards looked suddenly nervous.
"Doctor," Sha corrected them all with a grin. "Ph.D., not MD. Dr. Kouryuu Genjyo, linguistics. Specialty in ancient Korean, with Chinese and Japanese for kicks. Not a usual combo. Which is why SG-6 got to drag him along on his very first trip through the 'Gate, being as Shangri-La speaks Koryo instead of Goa'uld, and the Tok'ra said the mission just couldn't wait a few damn weeks. Right?"
"Doctor?" Janet tried not to let her disbelief show on her face. The man radiated being in charge. He was holding together a foursome as unruly as any SG team. A captain was following him. And he's a linguist?
"Think I'm out of the habit of writing papers." Regal as a cat, Dr. Genjyo sat on her table. Carefully folded scribed silk, took off his chest ornament, and put both down together. Barely hesitated, before shrugging the top of his robes off to pool like cream around his waist.
Janet regarded the sleeveless black leather top and matching arm-guards, and held back an appreciative whistle. Oh yes. Someone definitely has some issues.
Barely trembling, he removed the ring securing the right arm-guard, and bared an elbow for her.
Make this quick, Janet told herself, locating the vein with steady hands. Right now, the man feels naked. God, she wished she'd known that five minutes earlier. She could have-
Done absolutely nothing, she reminded herself honestly. The man might have been SGC once, but he was almost two years overdue. They had to treat him as a potential security risk. Security wouldn't step out even if she asked them to. Dr. Genjyo was likely smart enough to know that.
"I'm sorry," Janet murmured, bending near as the vial filled. "One we've got you cleared, I'll arrange for exams with more privacy. And a male physician, if you'd feel more comfortable with one."
"I've been stripped naked and drained dry by experts, lady," he murmured back, eyes violet ice. "Do you really think your little pinprick is going to bother me?"
Obviously it does. But that would be the exact wrong thing to say to someone who'd evidently picked up O'Neill-style coping strategies. As in, hunt down the stupid bastard that'd hurt him, shoot it, shoot it some more, incinerate the corpse, and never, ever talk about it again.
And in the next twenty-four hours, the colonel's going to want to talk to these people. I should sell tickets, Janet thought with dark humor. "You're set."
The arm-guard went back on with the easy speed of a soldier pulling on familiar boots. Why was she not surprised?
"So… beds?" Sha prompted. "And maybe a toothbrush? All of ours are stuck in our packs. Which kind of got confiscated, and I hope no one's dropped them, given all of us carry some of Sanzo's ammo… what?"
Janet eyed Dr. Genjyo. "If you don't mind my asking, why is Captain Sha carrying your ammo? I'd think he has enough of his own-"
"I don't carry a gun," Sha broke in, obviously uncomfortable. "Not anymore."
"Why not?" Janet frowned.
"Too loud," Dr. Genjyo said evenly.
Information by way of pulling teeth. Great. "Then why do you still carry one?" Janet challenged.
"I'm the only one who needs one." The thin smile sent chills down her spine. "I'm human."
"Given the results of my analysis, I have a few doubts about that," Janet said candidly in the general's meeting room, lights playing across red hair in a pale imitation of the morning sunlight outside the Mountain. "He's not nearly as off standard human results as the other three, but there's definitely something there that wasn't in his DNA two years ago."
Jack O'Neill took the report she handed over, and skimmed annoying medical-ese before handing it over to his much prettier and far more scientifically enthusiastic 2IC. "For some reason, Doc, I get the feeling you don't want us to mention it."
"Not if you can avoid it. At least for a while," Janet admitted. "Goku seems to be taking this as just another big adventure, but the rest of them are wound pretty tight. They need Dr. Genjyo. And in my professional opinion, he needs about four weeks in Bermuda. Or better yet, a deserted island. Somewhere no one hostile can touch him." She shook her head. "Whatever momentary lapse in judgment made him break Goku out in the first place, I think it's saved his sanity. If it weren't for the kid, who's obviously not trying to hurt you when he grabs on, I'm not sure he'd be able to touch anybody."
Major Carter was studying chemical breakdowns with a frown. "This protein profile…."
"Has a lot of similarities to you, your father, and other Tok'ra I've been able to examine," Janet nodded. "The telomere results are really striking. I don't think he'll notice for at least a few more years, but if nobody kills him, he'll probably outlive all of us." The doctor looked over SG-1. "I wouldn't mention that, either. I still don't know what the rest of the alterations might mean for his health, and I'd guess he's already suffering culture shock on top of the trauma of having been abandoned on an alien world."
Daniel winced. "We didn't-"
"Yeah, we did," Jack admitted. "We didn't have much choice in the matter, but we did. We can't dial any of Kanzeon's planets without her nifty little temporary talismans, and the Tok'ra were fresh out. Or so said Jacob and Selmak." He tapped the GDO, where it sat on the table among other interesting items. "This kind of implies otherwise, doesn't it?"
From the general's grimace, Hammond was thinking the same thing. "Let's not jump to any hasty conclusions, people. The Tok'ra have provided a great deal of useful intelligence as our allies."
Yeah. Some. The current ratio was about three good leads on Goa'uld forces to one massive screw-up. Not the kind of odds Jack liked.
"I find the revolver intriguing," Teal'c noted. "It is not of Tau'ri manufacture." At the general's raised brow, he elaborated, "O'Neill has loaned me volumes of Jane's."
"So… Kanzeon let one of her worlds get to the point of making gunpowder?" Carter's face threatened hypotheses at warp speed. "Wow. That's weird."
"Or it could have come by trade from some other world the Goa'uld ignore, like Orban." Daniel pushed his glasses up thoughtfully. "Which still implies there's a way to get onto the planet that the Tok'ra haven't told us about. We really need to talk to these people."
"I believe you should see the security footage, first." Hammond hit the projector.
Jack leaned back as the silver splash of a wormhole established shimmered on the screen, followed by a sealed iris, a received GDO code, and the iris retracting-
Sha jumped through first, looking like the winning end of a bar-fight. Grinned, turned - and got tangled up with a pair of pointy-eared, orange-skinned, clawed uglies that leaped through after him. The guards were yelling, and none of the brawlers seemed to care… but at least base security was holding their fire until they got answers. Good for them.
Cho Hakkai fell through next - and wasn't that a weird thing to see happen to a Tok'ra? His very own ugly dance partner came through a split second later, but that seemed to be just fine, because apparently sometime the Tok'ra and Kwai-Chang Caine had sat down together for tea, and Hakkai owned that alien's ass, kung fu-style, in about two seconds.
Which was just enough time for Captain Sha to toss one bad guy over his shoulder, pull some kind of staff with a bladed chain out of thin air - say what? - and proceed to start hacking.
Of which might best be said, eww.
Two more uglies, Dr. Genjyo, Goku, and a snake fell through-
"Close the iris!" Sha yelled, slicing uglies Four and Five. Hakkai's head whipped around, face paling as he saw the snake and knew he wouldn't get to it in time….
The kid snatched it.
"Could have told him they bite," Jack grumbled. And felt his jaw drop, at the utter perfection of Genjyo's shot. "Leftie, huh?"
"Mixed-handed, mostly left. I'd say he's been shooting with both hands," Janet agreed, watching the remaining meet-and-greet. "I've had all the bodies x-rayed to make sure our lost sheep found all the Goa'uld; Dr. Warner's going to start autopsies later today. I can already tell you that their DNA profiles are altered human, and have a great deal in common with Goku, Hakkai, and the additions to Captain Sha's DNA. Only the deceased have claws, and our people apparently don't."
"Apparently?" Carter asked, as Daniel frowned and froze the image.
"I haven't gotten as good a look at their hands as I'd like. They were exhausted," Janet said plainly. "And Captain Sha specifically warned me, after Sanzo keeled over into bed, not to let anyone try to wake him. 'Let me or Hakkai do it.'" She winced. "It seems so many people have tried to kill Dr. Genjyo, he's been known to wake up holding someone at gunpoint."
"He doesn't have a gun," Carter pointed out.
"Which is why Sha's worried he'll fall back on Plan B," Janet said dryly.
"What is Plan B?" Teal'c inquired.
"The captain wouldn't say," the doctor replied. "But he looked a little green around the gills thinking about it."
That from the guy who'd made like a Cuisinart on four living people. Okay. "Daniel?"
"He's wearing a rakusu," the archaeologist said, distracted. "At least, I think it's one. Though they're usually made out of cloth, not bamboo."
"And a rakusu is?" Jack asked, before Carter could beat him to the punch.
"Oh. I'm… not exactly an expert on Zen Buddhism. It's worn by somebody who follows the precepts. Affirm life, be giving, honor the body… I think there are sixteen, I'd have to look it up. But it's supposed to be a symbol of Buddha's garments, not armor. Then again, who knows if that's what it is, or what the Goa'uld did to the faith over the centuries, and given he's also wearing a kind of kote - armor sleeves - I'm guessing it's not really pacifistic anymore."
"Gun was kind of a dead giveaway," Jack pointed out.
"I carry a gun, Jack. He was on SG-6. Even if it was just for a few days."
"So he's armed," Carter noted. "Does it really matter why?"
"It might." Daniel pointed at the screen. "Red dot on the forehead?"
"I thought it might be makeup, but he washed his face and it didn't come off," Janet nodded.
"And this means?" Jack asked.
"I don't know. I read the file we have on Shangri-La from the Tok'ra information, and the little SG-6 and 10 were able to send back before the mission… went silent. I've started prehistoric digs with more data." The archaeologist grimaced. "Kanzeon's founding population seems to have come from across Southeast Asia; I've been able to pick out elements of Ancient Korea, Japan, China, and what might be a bit of India mixed in. On modern earth, that's called a bindi, and it's worn by Hindu women, usually married. Go back ten or twelve centuries, though, and you find all kinds of people wearing it in ancient China; for beauty, and to protect against demons and evil fortune. And you say they called the variant humans youkai, which is a Japanese word for supernatural creatures…. It's probably worn by a certain sect, or by someone considered an ascetic master. It could even be a caste mark; he's wearing white robes, the color of purity and death, and if that gun is local then he has the right to be armed. Fits right in with the warrior or priest-king castes that turn up in a lot of groups with any Indo-European background."
"So, important guy," Jack summed up.
"Important, probably adopted guy," Daniel corrected. "He can't just go missing. Someone's going to be looking for him. Maybe a lot of someones."
Great. Just what they needed; another Tok'ra diplomatic disaster.
"But that's not what really worries me." Daniel pointed at the kind-of stole draped across Genjyo's shoulders. "What do those letters look like to you?"
Like scribbles. What did Daniel think they looked like? But Jack rolled his eyes, and humored the man, peering closer-
Oh. Damn. "Ancient," Jack breathed. "Way different from what they carved on rocks, but that's Ancient." He glanced at Hammond. "Sir, Daniel's right. We need to talk to these people."
The general nodded, and glanced at Janet. "Dr. Fraiser. I'll leave it to your discretion how hard we can safely push; two of them are our people, one is a minor, and a Tok'ra should be an ally. But we need information." His hands tightened on the edge of the table. "We need to know if there are any other survivors, and if a rescue mission might now be possible."
And we really need to know, Jack thought grimly, just how a Tok'ra who didn't know Ra went ka-boom ended up with a GDO.
"So this is where you come from." Hakkai leaned back in the chair by Sanzo's bed, studying the hard, straight lines of lights and ceiling as he sipped what the locals called tea. It wasn't bad, just… not quite right. Like the cloth of his borrowed shirt and jeans, faded blue that pulled at skin and muscle in unfamiliar ways. Like the faint scent of smoke that wafted around some of their guards; a bitter, nose-numbing scent that wasn't at all like chi-soothing mononoke-ha. "Or is it? Not that you mind walls, especially when it's raining. But somehow, this place doesn't seem like you."
:Gold hair in sunlight,: Hakuryuu imaged at him, curled under the fringe of it on the side of the pillow Sanzo's protective curl left empty. :Blue sky. Silver hair, and gentle hands, folding orange paper into airplanes.:
Not again. Though he should have expected it, Hakkai supposed. Under the stress of strangers, Sanzo's mind still sought Koumyou Sanzo - even though the man was over a year dead. The absence dredged up memories instead, and though this one wasn't bad, it'd inevitably lead into nightmares… or worse, the all too real memory of Koumyou's death.
:Wing under wing, soaring with an injured dragon to safe landing.:
"You know he hates meddling," Hakkai murmured.
:Bleeding flockmate, delusional with spider venom, held down by claws and wings until the fever burns out,: Hakuryuu sniffed. :Worry, preening - forgiven.:
"Sometimes I wish he had claws to preen," Hakkai chuckled. "Dragons are much more practical."
But Hakuryuu had a point. When it came to soothing the rough edges of Sanzo's soul, forgiveness was much easier to get than permission.
And it's not just his rest at stake, Hakkai knew. What we did, to escape Hyakugan Maoh's castle… what Sanzo did, to enter it, and then keep us all free…. I don't know this planet, these people. But if they're allies of the Tok'ra, I doubt they'd approve.
Something he doubted Gojyo had quite thought through, before leading them here. The man just wanted so badly to go home.
I can't blame him. If I could go home to Kanan tomorrow - if I could make it so the past five years never happened….
"Kyuu?" White fur and horns rubbed against his hand, imaging :warm sun, sweet ice water, skilled fingers on itchy spots.:
Hakkai smiled, and scratched as bid. If Sanzo wanted to suffer alone, well… but he's not alone. We're here, and we need him.
And for that, he knew, Sanzo would forgive anything.
Resting fingertips under gold bangs, carefully avoiding the crimson chakra, Hakkai closed his eyes and let Hakuryuu and Sanzo's own empathy draw him in….
:Rain. Blood. Gaping emptiness where a mentor's mind should be, swallowing the world.:
:Sunlight,: Hakkai insisted with Hakuryuu. :Blue sky, streaked with high clouds. Sanzo's hands folding paper, to throw for an astonished Goku.:
:Sunlight…?:
Emboldened by the fading rain, Hakkai built more details, conjuring memory. :Citrus-chewy taste of mochi, a bite blending with green tea. Mouth-watering scent of meat buns on a picnic plate, lying forgotten on cloth as Gojyo glared at the healer over a hand of cards-:
:Hakkai. Paper fan. Whack!:
The healer blinked. Even in his mind, Sanzo made that sting.
:"You're trying to make me feel safe.": A faint whisper; images of words and emotion. :"Are we in Chang'an?":
:"No,": Hakkai admitted. And was it a blessing or a curse, that they couldn't lie like this?
:"Then we're not safe.":
:Rest. Sleep. Healing,: Hakkai insisted. :"I'm here. Nothing will harm you unless it comes through me.":
:"…I know.": A breath, and :hands clasping his, bare: as Sanzo almost never let his hands be bare, skin-to-skin carried emotion so fiercely-
:Trust,: Hakkai returned that image. :Wingtip to wingtip, dancing in the wind.:
A gentle shove from Hakuryuu, a light touch of healing energy… and Sanzo sank back into deep sleep, dreaming of dragons.
Someone cleared his throat. "Mind telling us what you're up to?"
Abydonian, Gonou's memories labeled that language; not Goa'uld, but used on many of their planets. Uh-oh.
Graying older man, dark eyes, clad in one of the ubiquitous green field uniforms but carrying it with an aura of leadership. A younger blond wearing glasses, peering at them like they were finger-puzzles to solve. A nervous blonde who felt of naquadah, and carried the rare scent of a dead symbiote. And a stern Jaffa, whose brow bore a golden symbol of the System Lords.
They match Gojyo's description of SG-1. Hakkai eyed Hakuryuu. You couldn't have warned me?
:Strange flock, no feeling of predator,: the dragon imaged back serenely. :Hakkai holding shield to negotiate, flattening idiots if hostilities threaten.:
Sometimes I wish I had that much faith in me. "Please don't wake him," Hakkai said quietly in the same language. "I've stilled the nightmares for now."
"He has many bad dreams?" Dr. Fraiser asked, stepping out from behind them.
So we do speak a language in common, Hakkai thought, relieved. Well, a little; she's not fluent. "We all do." He gestured toward the far end of the infirmary. "May we?"
"Why not." O'Neill's smile was about as friendly as Prince Kougaiji's stumbling on them without warning. Likely, for many of the same reasons.
We've never hurt these people. But from what Gojyo tells me about the Tok'ra…. "Are you Major Carter?" Hakkai asked the blonde.
"I am," she said warily, as they gathered in the doctor's office. "Did your symbiote know Jolinar?"
Hakkai listened, but there was nothing more than the usual dark rumble, echoing sorrow and madness. "Probably. It felt like he recognized her name, when Gojyo first mentioned you."
"Felt like?" Dr. Jackson pounced. "You don't know?"
"We don't… talk much. Not that we ever did, even before-" Hakkai winced, trying not to recall Ni Jianyi's empty, triumphant smile, before the horrors began. Horrors he'd felt he deserved, after what his hands had done….
"You're Cho Hakkai!" Gojyo's voice rang in his memory. "Not Gonou. Never him. You're Hakkai. And don't you forget that!"
"Who's Gojyo?" O'Neill asked warily. "And how does he know about Carter?"
Hakkai blinked, and shook his head. "Sha Gojyo. You call him - Joseph Sha?" He had to look at Samantha Carter again, even if it might be rude. He had to see. "You're real. I hoped you were. And… that's a terrible thing to hope, isn't it? That someone else understands your nightmares, because they've been there."
She blanched. Translating for Dr. Fraiser, Dr. Jackson put a hand on his teammate's shoulder. Teal'c and O'Neill regarded Hakkai narrowly. "Do you claim the Tok'ra took you as a host against your will?" Teal'c rumbled.
"If he'd asked… I would have done anything to get Kanan back, anything. But-" Hakkai swallowed, and closed trembling hands. "I know you need answers. And the others still need rest, so it might as well be me. After all, five years ago, I was a teacher…."