Daniel Jackson Library
Stories by other authors

E-Mail Moon Mistress

About Moon Mistress

Site Home Page

The Cradle Will Fall: Back Into Hell
Daniel Jackson
Stargate SG-1
Adult FanFiction
by
Moon Mistress
a/k/a
Lisa Beth Darling

Chapter Twelve

Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river
That is runnin' to the promised land
River of Dreams
Billy Joel

The remainder of the trip back to the River Styx was less eventful, in fact, until they arrived at the riverbank—other than the heat and driving thirst Daniel and David were suffering from-- they didn’t run into a single bump. Finally David fished the candy bars out of his pocket, they were melted beyond reorganization but the wrappers held up and he didn’t see any holes or tears which might have let the liquid in the gunk seep through the chocolate. “You wanna risk it?” He asked Daniel, who had begun salivating the second David took the candy bar out of his pocket. Looking at it now, all brown and melty with the scent of peanut butter rising in the air. Their stomachs let out rumbles louder than thunder. There weren’t any white spots on the glistening melting chocolate which would indicate water touched it.

Quickly the little girl reached up and pulled David’s arm down to her level where she looked at and sniffed the candy. “Go on it’s all right for you to eat.”

“You go ahead,” Daniel said, “I ate mine.”

David gripped both end of the bar and chocolate oozed through his fingers while he broke the bar in half. “Here,” he held it out to Daniel and they gobbled up the small pieces of candy. “I don’t suppose you know any quicker ways out of here?” Daniel asked his teeth covered in chocolate and peanut butter the sight of which made her titter.

“No, we must go back across Styx.” She said shaking her head. “Haven’t you any water? Surely she did not send you down here unprepared.”

“Ut-ah,” David said as he forced the gooey glob down his parched throat. “She sure didn’t.” He reached for the canteen at his waist but Daniel held out his own.

“We know this is safe.” He handed it to David and told Callestah of how the food items David was carrying may have been infected by the muck he’d gotten stuck in.

She sniffed the water in David’s canteen and shook her head indicating she would not risk it. “I think it’s gotten in through the threads.” She poured the contents onto the ground. “Not to worry it isn’t very far. Though I imagine you’re both very tired.”

Daniel crouched down on one knee to be at the same level with her. “You’re not a little girl at all, are you?”

“Don’t I look like a little girl?” She asked shyly.

“Yes, in fact you look younger than you should, but you’re not a little girl…..exactly…..are you? What are you?”

“I am the Consort of Lord Ares.”

“No, that’s what you’re going to be.” The smile on her face told him that she was looking very forward to this and he had no need to worry. “What are you now?”

“Lost in limbo. Mother did this to me to keep me from my Lord Ares. A last act of defiance if you will.” Callestah clarified. “A last desperate effort to keep us apart. She was very angry with him.”

“You want to go ta him?” David asked looking around for any unwanted company.

“Yes.” She smiled brightly. “I let Hades take me from the body because she was so broken.” The bright smile faltered as her eyes locked to David’s. “Battered and torn.” The little girl won the staring contest, David dropped his eyes first. “I thought it best.” She looked at her Danny again. “Did you really marry her?” Callestah asked grabbing Daniel’s hands. “Do you really have children? Lots and lots and lots of children?” Her eyes lit up and she rushed on. “And are you deliriously content? Do you make love to her every night for hours and hours? Tell me, Danny. Tell me.”

No, not a little girl at all. “I really married her and we really have two children.”

“Are you deliriously happy?”

“Most of the time.” He said with a grin.

“And your nights?” She asked with spry hope.

“Hours and hours.” Daniel whispered. This was no little girl, no; whatever she was she was not what she appeared.

“Then I am filled with joy.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and covered his cheek with small pecks. “You make her happy; I knew you would and that you would love her.” The little girl looked over at David. “And you? Hades released you from here to piss of Ares, have you done so? Or have a found to atone for your own mistakes?”

“Now, he makes her happy too.” Daniel whispered and felt her gasp.

Callestah pulled away from him, her face flushed with color and her eyes sparkling. “Does he? Oh my, what a lucky woman she is.”

The girl was hurting David’s head. “We should git goin’.”

“Yeah.” Rest time was over they started walking again, Callestah between the two of them, one of her hands clinging to theirs.

What seemed like an hour later but who knew for sure, they passed the Cross Roads with no problems. The Three Judges only stared at them as they went on their way toward the river. Another hour or more later they came to that Sleeping Willow tree only to find it filled with rich ripe fruit. Apples, oranges, mangos, cherries, lemons, limes, and anything else you could want hung from its branches as the milkweed-like pollen hung in the air floating thick and giving the grove a surreal feel. A Faery Circle or an Oasis just waiting for a starving man.

“I’m so hungry, Danny.” David rubbed his stomach.

“Don’t you dare? Eat your other candy bar.”

Fuck that. The fruit looked juicy it would fill his stomach and slake his parched throat. Afterward he would lay down in the shade of the tree, out of the bright glaring ‘sun’ light and take a long lazy nap. David’s legs began wandering toward the tree and then running toward it.

“Stop!” Daniel shouted letting go of the little girl’s hand. “Davy, don’t!” He knew just how his brother felt. Looking at the fruit was almost enough to drive him mad with hunger. “We’re almost outta here.” Daniel said hurriedly as he flew through the air tackling David to the ground just as he reached out for a red ripe apple. “It’s a trick; Hades is trying to keep us here.”

“Why wudd he do that?” David groused tossing Daniel off. “Yew heard her; he ain’t got no love loss for Ares.”

“No, but he’s still an Olympian and they love to play their games. Eat your candy bar; I’ve still got a few swallows of water you can wash it down with.”

“Come out from there, please.” Callestah called from outside the floating white fluffy pollen. “Hurry, before you fall asleep.”

“Tricks.” Daniel said again and hauled David to his feet, they dashed out from beneath the Sleeping Willow before its effects could settle in completely.

Bone tired and feeling as though they could devour absolutely everything in O’Malley’s kitchen the small party came to the bank of the River Styx. “Just on the other side. It’s almost over.”

“Ares waits for me?” Callestah asked. “Does he miss me?”

Daniel cleared his throat. “Yea…yes to both.” Looking over at the rock wall and the ledge they’d used to get in here he wondered which of them was least tired. Whichever one that was would be the one who had to piggyback her across. Glancing at David he saw the same thought going through his head.

“Danny!” There was a sharp tug on his shirt. “Danny!” Callestah’s voice rose. “Look!”

There on the far bank where a line of newly arrived souls were waiting to board the rickety boat the air waved as though a great heat were moving through. The waves became a shape.

“Calla.”

Standing alone far away from the line of other souls stood Calla, one hand clasped to her throat and the other held out in front of her as though she were warding some one off, her pretty green eyes were wide with fear as they bulged in their sockets.

“Calla!”

All around the stench of death and decay was replaced by the crisp clean scent of autumn and……

“You smell dem apples, Danny?” David asked not being able to believe what he was seeing. They didn’t go through all of this so that Callie could replace the little girl.

“Go back!” Daniel shouted across the River Styx. He waved his hands in the air high over his head to get her attention as she stood there alone and confused her hand to her throat. “Go back! Calla go back!” Were those tears in her eyes? Why didn’t she lower her hand? Either the one at her throat or the one in front of her. Where the hell was Nick? Why didn’t he help her?

Between them Callestah looked from one worried man to the other and knew there was nothing she could do but hope the woman temporarily trapped between the worlds found her way out. “Shush, Danny. Be quiet.” She commanded. It was too late. Charon who was halfway across heard the shouts and alerted those who guarded the Underworld.

“Great!” David bitched. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s git fuck outta here!” He shouted as the ground at their feet rumbled and the snarling howling bark of a certain three headed dog sounded as though it were coming closer at a very alarming pace.

“Go back,” he whispered with tears in his eyes. “Go back.”

On the opposite shore her eyes found him the panic she felt subsided at the sight of the twins with the little girl. A little longer, just a little longer, she could hold on that long. For him she could. As silently as she appeared she vanished from the riverbank.

Daniel grabbed Callestah, swung her up on to his back and they ran for the rock wall just as Cerberus charged out of the gate. “GO!”

In the River Styx the black oily water turned and churned up great slick waves as it teemed with life and the snapping jaws of a hundred hungry Leviathans breaking the surface and leaping high into the air to catch whatever happened to be unfortunate enough to land between their powerful jaws and rancid teeth. The fires burning on the surface breathed in the dirty air and jumped higher into the air.

David and Daniel didn’t stop when they hit the rock wall, suddenly they were eight again and walls were only a problem if you let them. Not breaking momentum they ran straight up the heavily textured rock eight feet or more before they had to find purchase with their hands as well. The rabid three-headed hound snapped at their feet. Callestah looked down at the mighty beast. “Go ‘way,” she uttered to its snarling face. “Go lay down.” Letting go of her hold on Danny with one hand she extended it to the fearsome creature and just before David could let out a high pitched scream as he readied himself for the sight of said extended hand being severed by a set of snapping jaws, the hound got a sniff of and was stayed. “I’ll tell Ares you miss him.” The hound licked her palm with a slobbery tongue and then whimpered its agreement as it slunk down the rock wall watching them go.

“Neat trick.” David mumbled to her. “Hurry up!” He bitched at Daniel.

Up, up, up and over the canyon wall they went with the Leviathans jumping below. Hades’ archers reached the riverbank as they neared the end of the first third of their treacherous journey. Suddenly arrows were whizzing past them. “Don’t stop, keep going!” Little Callestah shouted out. “Keep moving!”

Hand over hand keeping their eyes focused not behind them on the archers nor below them on the sea monsters but to the far bank which was coming ever closer with each movement they made. Hand over hand out in the open with no cover from the sharp arrows they hurried along the small ledge. Leviathan jump quite high, certainly much higher than Daniel or David would have thought from looking at their fat round bodies, the dark water below splashed upward covering them with its oily grip. David was looking down, Daniel risked letting go with one hand for half a second to turn his head toward the wall. All his and Callestah’s weight rested on five fingers. “Don’t get it in your mouth or your eyes or you’re fucked, look at the wall.” He let of David’s head and reached up with a sore arm to grab the shelf for the last time.

From the dead side of the river the sound of men crying out in pain filled the air. Pressing their faces to the wall they looked over to see Cerberus making a quick snack out of Hades’ guards.

“Keep goin’,” David mumbled against the cold dusty stone. “Want me take her for a bit? You wanna jump on my back, Sunshine?”

That was a nice thought. She wasn’t heavy by any means but his muscles were strained to the limit already and the idea of getting rid of some weight greatly appealed to Daniel. Her little legs were wrapped around his waist while her arms clutched one over his shoulder and the other under so she didn’t cut off his air supply when she laced her hands together for a better grip. Smart girl. “No, we can’t stop.” He kept looking toward the shore where the crag waited for them. Ares better be there when he arrived and Calla better be in the pink of health just like he left her or there was going to be hell to pay.

No more arrows and no more screaming. It was just the sea creatures below their feet now. The riverbank was less than twenty yards away. “Almost there.” Daniel encouraged all of them as the strength in his arms began to fade. The next time he reached out he slipped. The girls legs dangled free in the air with his own as they fell away from his hips and her weight rested on ten interlaced fingers over his chest. “Don’t let go, honey, hold on.” His shoulders were so tired and weak; he reached out for the ledge and missed. David pulled his arm up and rested it where he needed it to be.

“Jus’ a little bit more. Keep goin’.” He said with determination. “Go, Danny.”

Hand over hand. His palms sweating and his biceps bulging while the dry air hitched in his parched throat. Ten yards no more, just ten yards. The water below was shallow and the Leviathans below were too fat to float there, the danger was fading away but that didn’t mean they could relax just yet. “Get your feet up.” He mumbled to the girl hanging from him and continued on.

Hand over hand, hand over hand, hand…over…hand…..his grip slipped for the last time. Daniel Jackson and the little girl riding on his back slid two hundred feet or more down the surface of the sharp rock wall to land mere inches from the Waters of the River Styx….on the living side.

“Drop.” He said breathlessly and rolled the two of them away from the spot where David would land in a few seconds. “You ok?” He asked first Callestah and then David. The mumbled in the affirmative. Just up the hill stood the crag, sunlight was streaming through it. Not that fake shit either it was real sunlight. It seemed like heaven but was so very far away, almost out of reach. The muscles in their arms and indeed throughout their bodies shook and twitched uncontrollably from being so abused over such a long period of time. Charon was pointing an accusing bony finger at them from the place where his boat sat filling up the souls of the newly dead who could afford the price of passage to the Underworld. On the opposite bank Lord Hades stood before the gates of his realm watching them. He said nothing and made no move to stop them or bring them back.

Callestah walked but David and Daniel were down on hands and knees because their wobbly legs wouldn’t hold their weight they dragged their tired filthy bodies to the top of the hill and the opening. She pressed her face between the rocks.

“Father? Father?” She called out strongly. “Ares? Come to me.” The sunlight was suddenly blocked out by something roughly the size of a redwood tree. The little girl let out the most delightful squeal they’d ever heard. “Ares!” She cried.

“Stand back.” He said from the other side and pushed the rocks apart but only slightly. “Come to me.” Ares reached inside.

The girl was taken aback by his movement and jumped away from him. This man was no stranger to her. “You must open it wider to allow Danny and David to exit first.”

“Come here and I will open it further.”

As much as she wanted to run to his open arms and bury her face in the thick curls of his long black hair she stood her ground. “No, open it wider.” They had been very brave, they faced many obstacles and dangers, they worked together and they won. They had every right to leave this place and Calla would be most furious if they did not. “Right this second!”

“Such impudence from a tiny thing. Remind me, why did I want you with me again?” He teased and then forced the rocks further apart.

Daniel and David stumbled through the opening and found just enough strength left to collapse in Calla’s waiting arms. They tumbled to the sand at their feet while the woman between the identical men held them and began to cry her relief at their return. Gazing down upon the scene from the crag, the little girl who was not a little girl at all felt a wave of love and passion so strong that she had never known its like before and was certain she never would again. Here waiting for her was Ares, the man she’d waited so long to join and been kept from unjustly. Along with him was the warrior Achilles and a much younger man who looked exactly like Ares, he had to be the Son of Calla and one of the Jacksons. Staying half in the entrance to the crag and half out she continued looking around.

“Here.” Ares called. “Walk-in to her.”

The little girl was presented with the breathing body of the woman holding her men in the sand. But this one simply stood behind Ares her eyes blank and lifeless. Her auburn hair piled high upon the top of her head and cascading down in a thick braid which crossed over her left breast. On her feet were jeweled sandals and embracing her slender body a deep green toga embroidered with the finest gold threads. “How did you do this?”

“She is for you. You will live in this body now.” Ares said holding his large hand out her to. “Come to me. Our wait is over.”

Stepping from the shadows and safety of the crag all around witnessed the incredible even which happened when the little red haired girl reached out and took the hand of the clone.

The little red haired girl vanished.

The woman’s eyes came alive with true Life for the first time she was conscious. “Remarkable.” She uttered holding her hands up to her eyes. “I am alive.”

“You are home.” Ares said taking her up in his arms. “Never to leave me again.”

“Look what you’ve done to them.” Calla cried from her place on the warm sand holding each man tight to her small breasts. Both of them exhausted and spent harder than if they’d been in her bed for an entire weekend. “I hope it was worth it, Father. I hope she is worth it!”

“They will recover.” Ares told her. “Soon this will be over and you will see its true worth.”

“Calla?” Callestah bent down and reached out her hand…..

“Don’t you touch them!” Calla screamed and batted the woman’s hand away.

“I can help them now. Let me restore them for you.”

“You got what you want…both of you! I will tend them, you stay away, far far away from them.” Calla looked behind her for her Son. “Help me get them home.” Nicholas made no move to do as she asked. “You can do this much for me, can’t you?” She hissed. Still Nicholas just stared at them and offered no assistance. “Fine.” She looked up at her Father and his new Consort. “Take him and your high-toned bitch and get out of my life, Father. I never want to see you again. I want to forget you ever existed.”

“You will have to suffer our presence at least once more when your Grandfather conducts the Ritual. We will be there.”

“Perhaps I will not.” It took every last ounce of energy she had but Calla managed to disappear from Ares’ beach along with her Husband and her Sa’Tan. They reappeared in the master bedroom of the home she shared with Daniel. With her strength soaking away, she relieved the men of the filthy clothing they wore and wrangled them into the bed. “It’s all right now, it’s over, you’re safe and home. You were very brave. I am most proud of you.” She told them as the night took over from day. Calla washed the dirt away from their bodies, dried their skin and kept watch over them in their sleep.

End Of
Back Into Hell
by
Moon Mistress

Continue to Sister, Sister

This story and all stories are copyrighted to Lisa Beth Darling these stories may not be transferred outside of this URL in any fashion.