Chapter Text
A low groan escapes your mouth as consciousness tugs you back. A pounding ache pulses through your head, and a dull soreness lingers in your body. Cold, rough stone presses against your back. You blink, trying to piece together the dark world around you, but everything is vague shadows and jagged shapes of rocks, as if the darkness itself wants to close in.
Your stomach drops and a surge of panic overwhelms you. Where are you? Why is it so dark? Your hands scrape the rough stone floor as you try to move, and a sharp, searing pain shoots up your right wrist. You freeze, gasping at the sensation. Your surroundings feel like they’re caving in. It feels like it's getting closer and closer.
A shadow shifts nearby, and you instinctively shuffle back, pressing into the hard stone wall. All you can hear is the ‘ thump, thump, thump’ of your pulse banging in your ears, drowning out all but one thought: Who is this?
Fear wells up within you, almost overflowing as you try to search your memory. But there’s nothing—no images, no names, and no sense of who you are. Just an unbearable, hollow absence where memories should be, a blankness that stretches wider the more you reach.
Every attempt to remember feels like stumbling further and further into emptiness, leaving you with a growing ache in your chest, a strange, gnawing dread that spreads the longer you search. There’s nothing to hold onto, no sense of familiarity, only the aching realization that you do not know who you are, and the person you once were was lost somewhere beyond your reach.
Hollowness.
The figure steps forward, his words cutting through the silence. “Y/N.” It’s a soft sound, familiar somehow, and his voice feels like a lifeline. He steps closer, and in the dimness, you catch the gentle curve of his mouth, the warmth in his gaze, like a beacon. His presence does indeed light up the cave.
That name… is it yours? He says it as though it holds weight, as though it’s an anchor, tugging at something in you—a faint, intangible thread.
You want to trust him.
You need to trust him.
But your head throbs again, muddying any clarity, and the world feels so... so uncertain.
‘Damnit’
You press your head further into the cool wall behind you.
The man crouches beside you, a reassuring presence, almost fighting against the emptiness. “My name’s Daniel,” he says quietly, the words brushing over you with a comforting gentleness, like a dream you can almost hold onto. “We, uh... had a bit of an accident.” He glances over his shoulder at the darkness surrounding you both. “But I’m sure we’ll be okay soon.”
You almost breathe a laugh at that. ‘An accident?’
Though there’s something in his tone, something steady, that feels oddly comforting. Your heart rate begins to slow, your mind more quiet than before. The thumping reduces to only the feeling of your heart in your chest.
The way he speaks, even if his words don’t quite fit together, makes you want to believe him.
You feel like you can think again, so you say the first thing that comes to mind.
“I can’t remember... anything,” you admit, hating the tinge of fear that laces your voice.
He shifts closer, settling beside you so your shoulders almost touch, his presence grounding. A small, sympathetic smile crosses his face. “Yeah, well... that’s a bit of a long story. Maybe we’ll save the details for when you’re feeling better.”
You frown, not ready to let it drop. “That’s... not exactly helpful.”
A sigh escapes him, as if he’s weighing what to say. “Alright... let’s see. Sam—a friend of ours—was working with this ancient device the locals worshiped.” He says it like you’d know what that means, but the words feel slippery—foreign. You don’t recognize most of them. You try your hardest to remember something—anything familiar, only to remember dark.
But he still feels safe, so you shift a little closer, the warmth of his shoulder against yours.
“Who’s Sam?” you ask, searching his face. You honestly don’t know what for? Deceit? Truth? Home?
You stifle a shiver.
The concept of home was familiar, but you didn’t know where it was. Did you have a home? Where did Daniel fit?
“She’s part of our team. SG-1. We’re... a group. Colonel Jack O’Neill, Major Sam Carter, Teal’c, and us.” His gaze shifts, searching for words. “We, uh... fight aliens who pretend to be gods. It’s…” He pauses, his hands gesturing vaguely. “Complicated.”
You don’t entirely understand, but his careful effort to explain brings a slight smile to your face. “Okaaay…”
He laughs softly. “Yeah, I know. Sorry.” Then he sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Anyway, during this ritual, you accidentally got in the way. You passed out, and the village elder insisted we bring you to their... ‘healer.’” He makes air quotes around the word, and you can’t help but raise an eyebrow. “They said your memory would return in time. But on our way back, well... we slipped into this cave system.” His voice softens, carrying a hint of disappointment. “The others went back to the gate to grab supplies. They’ll be back soon.”
Gate?
A small, reassuring nudge from his shoulder draws you back from your thoughts. “We’ll be home soon.”
‘I know,’ You almost want to say, but decide on a simple nod instead.
You both sit there, the silence stretching out, settling over you like a thick blanket. Despite Daniel’s calmness beside you, questions spin endlessly in your mind, each one adding a new layer of confusion. SG-1. The name itself feels… foreign. The more you try to piece it together, the more it slips from your grasp.
Could home belong with the people he mentioned? SG-1, he’d called them, but the name is just a sound, hollow and detached, like an echo from someone else’s life. Jack, Sam, Teal’c, and Daniel. Their names seem tethered to a history you can’t grasp.
The thought of home seems unreachable.
The team. Daniel had said you were part of it, but it felt abstract. Just words floating between you, without any ground to the person you actually are. Or were?
What version of yourself did he know, and why did that thought make your heart ache?
You glance at him, noticing how his eyes are focused somewhere distant as he stares ahead, seemingly lost in thought. There’s an unspoken comfort in his silence, like he’s giving you space to gather yourself.
But could you trust him? You wanted to, yet a lingering unease clawed at the edges of your mind. How much did he know about you? Did he know the version of you that you could not remember? The one that had done enough to become part of this “team” he mentioned. Did he know everything about you that even you didn’t? The idea was unsettling.
Who is he?
Your thoughts drift to the others again—this Colonel, Major, and Teal'c. The names feel like empty labels without any faces to attach them to. They, too, sound like pieces to a puzzle you’re supposed to know. A puzzle where you were meant to fit, somehow, somewhere.
Do you even want to fit? If you were truly part of this… team, shouldn’t you feel… something more? A connection, a sense of duty, maybe even a longing to return to them? Yet here you are, just confused. A swirl of unanswered questions and doubt filling your mind instead.
Daniel sits quietly beside you, his gaze fixed ahead. Even if you can’t remember why, you feel an instinctual pull toward him. His kindness, his patience with your questions—it all seems so genuine. Yet, the lingering question remains: Can you truly trust him? As much as you want to, your fragmented mind holds you back, and you’re left wondering if he’s seeing you for who you are now—or someone you were before.
“Are we... friends?” The question slips out before you even know you’re asking it, your voice barely a whisper.
A flicker of something—regret, perhaps—crosses his eyes, but it’s gone before you can question its purpose. "Yeah, we're friends." He answers with a small smile.
“Good... that’s good.”
Daniel clears his throat. “Are—are you hurt?” His gaze flickers over you, concern hiding that smile he had on his face earlier.
Instinctively, you try to move your hand again, only to send a sharp pain up your arm, worse than before. “My wrist.” You wince, and he notices.
Daniel carefully lifts your hand, his warm, calloused fingers pressing gently. "Does this hurt?"
It really doesn’t.
Not when he’s here anyway.
“No.”
He carefully releases your hand, and the warmth of his touch fades. You look at each other for a moment before he turns away, looking at the faint light that cracks through the darkness. He scratches the back of his neck, his eyes scanning the room.
Awkward.
The silence stretches, thick and uncomfortable, and you can practically feel it crawling up your spine.
“So... Sam,” you finally say, desperate to fill the room with sound. “She’s a doctor?”
“No— well yes.” He shakes his head, eyebrows raised. “Theoretical astrophysicist.”
“Oh.” What did that mean?
He tilts his head, his tone suddenly a shade sarcastic. “Glad you asked?”
“No.” You press your lips together, resisting the urge to say something snippy back. ‘ Where did that come from?’ Instead, you look him over, noticing the way his clothes are dusted with dirt, smudged brown over what might have once been green. His hair is a mess, sticking up oddly, and there’s a tiredness around his eyes.
“Are you hurt?” you ask, genuinely a bit concerned for him.
He groans, and it’s hard to tell if he’s more frustrated or just exhausted. “No.” He pushes himself up to stand, shaking out his shoulders. With that, the comfort from where your shoulders were touching fades away. “I guess I was luckier than you.” He tries for a reassuring smile, but it falls flat, and he glances around the cave with an uncomfortable shift of his weight.
You watch as Daniel bends down, returning back up with a device. He fiddles with a small black box in his hands, his fingers tracing over the buttons like it’s second nature.
Curiosity gets the better of you. “What’s that?” You lean a little closer, trying to get a better look.
“Radio.” He holds it up, giving it a small shake as if to make his point. “Just, uh, waiting for the others to—”
Suddenly, a woman’s voice crackles through the speaker. “Daniel, come in.”
You jump, the unexpected sound from the small device fills the room.
Daniel, on the other hand, perks up, bringing the radio closer. “We’re here. Not too hurt. Are you guys on your way—’cause it’s, uh, getting a little boring in here.” He chuckles nervously, scratching his neck. “I mean, there’s… there’s no writings or markings down here, no artifacts to—well, it’s just an old cave system that was—”
A gruff voice cuts him off mid-ramble. “Ack! Daniel, save it for later. Later later.” The voice is commanding, a little exasperated. “ETA is five minutes. Sit tight. O’Neill out.”
The radio clicks off, leaving you in silence once more. The name O’Neill rings a faint bell from Daniel’s earlier explanation, and you wonder if he’s always that… commanding .
Daniel clears his throat, awkwardly placing the radio down beside him. “Yeah… that’s, uh, Jack for you.”
You press your uninjured hand to the cold, uneven floor and slowly push yourself upright, grimacing as a dull ache radiates from your limbs. As you rise, the shadows seem to shift, deepening and taking shape, revealing jagged walls that surround you on all sides. The cave feels larger now, more ominous, its rough stone surfaces stretching and twisting in ways that make the air feel close, almost suffocating.
With each passing second, your eyes adjust further, catching glimpses of the cave's structure–a place carved by time and untouched by light.
The cave is dark, its walls rough and uneven, made of jagged stone that stretches up into a vaulted ceiling just barely visible in the low light. Shadows cling to every crevice, giving the place a haunted, ancient feel, like a place forgotten by time. Stalactites hang overhead, dripping occasionally, the water echoing in the silence like a pulse. The air is thick, cool, carrying a faint metallic scent mixed with the earthy dampness of soil and stone.
As your eyes continue to adjust, you can make out small patches of moss clinging to the walls here and there, adding a surprising touch of green to the otherwise colorless space. The floor is uneven, strewn with rocks of various sizes, and slick in some spots where water has pooled, forming shallow puddles that reflect glints of light from Daniel’s flashlight. It feels like the kind of place that’s rarely seen by human eyes, isolated and unsettling, and somehow... endless.
You pause, thoughts screeching to a halt.
The strange familiarity of the cave textures catches you off guard. How did you know what all of this was? The moss, the stalactites, the faint metallic smell—each detail seems to slide into place with a strange familiarity, but you can’t understand why. There’s a strange hollowness in your thoughts, like reaching into a void and finding only shadows.
It’s as if your own mind is a dark, endless cavern, with fragments of memories slipping through your fingers like—like something you can’t remember. You can associate warmth with the feeling, but have no idea what it actually is!
You strain to grab onto something solid. Something— anything that can anchor you. But trying to search for a fragment of yourself only pulls you away.
There’s no familiar touchstone, no sense of who you were.
Just an unsettling emptiness of where you should be.
A sickening wave crashes over you as you reach out, grabbing a rock to steady yourself. The cold, jagged surface pressed into your palm, grounding you just enough to stay upright, but it does nothing to ease the growing nausea.
“Y/N?” Daniel’s voice sounds far away. He steps closer, but you can barely focus on him as a sudden, searing pain flares through your body.
It feels as though your nerve endings are on fire, each one igniting and pulsing in waves that leave you gasping, but you can only hear your pulse thumping.
The agony consumes you, burning more with every breath. Your vision blurs, dimming at the edges as the pain surges again.
Strong arms wrap around you, trying to steady you, but the world is already slipping away. You’re falling into the abyss as consciousness fades, the last sound you can make out is Daniel calling your name.