Hammond watched SG-1 walk from the 'gate room, was sure that it was only sheer mule-headedness that kept them from showing any of the worry and fears for their missing teammates to the rest of the personnel. He turned to the great stone ring that for the first time in the last three and a half hours was silently still, and sent up a heartfelt prayer. Please let the next activation reveal some good news, for all their sakes. He made his way back to his office to give the President the latest update. He'd just replaced the receiver of the red phone when there was a knock on his door. "Come in."

Skaara stepped inside with a determined look. "General Hammond, I want to be speaking with you."

Hammond stifled a sigh. "Skaara, unless it's an emergency I don't have time just now."

"I should be out there fighting the Goa'uld."

"We've been over this." The general tried to keep his impatience from his tone. "I thought I made myself pretty clear."

"I'm not a tribal hick with a pitchfork," Skaara pressed. "I can fight. I know how to use your weapons..."

"Son, there's more to combat than just knowing which way to point a gun."

"I helped defeat Ra."

"Yes, I read your debrief, and that incident in your original universe played out pretty much the same as it did here."

"Then you know that I can fight..."

"And the key reason that mission wasn't a total disaster was because we had the element of surprise. Ra had never come across our weapons and technology and that gave the original team the only advantage. That is not the case this time, and it hasn't been for eight years." He paused, seeing beyond the stubborn set to the young man's shoulders to the sense of frustration at needing to fight his enemy but being denied; saw a spark of the genuine desire to help that had been so predominant in the Skaara of this universe. "If you're serious about wanting to join the SGC in a combat capacity, then you will go through all of the training just like any new recruit."

"But Dan’yel did not have training..."

"And need I remind you that he died on that first mission." Hammond had to banish the voice in his head that was telling him that Doctor Jackson had today repeated that history. "It was only through a sarcophagus that he was revived, which is a luxury we do not have." He fixed the Abydonian with a hard stare. "You will not be stepping through the Stargate under combat conditions until you have been properly trained. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," he replied sullenly.

Hammond gave a slight shake of his head at the disrespectful tone. "You have a lot to learn, son, the least of which is how to treat people with respect. You think because you have survived a Goa'uld attack and skipped through multiple universes that you are above the men and women on this base? Let me tell you something, you're not. At the moment I see nothing but a street punk who got lucky and who is now wasting my time while my people are out there dying."

There was a hesitant knock on the door.

"Enter," Hammond barked.

"Sir," Sergeant Harriman poked his head around the door. "We're receiving a message from Master Bra'tac."

"Thank you, Sergeant, I'm on my way." Hammond gave a curt nod then returned his attention to Skaara. "Now, I suggest you go check on your sister and father."

Skaara hesitated only a moment. "Yes...sir." He drew his shoulders back, spun on his heel and walked stiffly away.

Her eyelids fluttered open. Too bright! She shut them again. Tried again a few seconds later and found it bearable. Slowly, hoping the movement wouldn't make the hammering in her head worse, she looked around the room. All she saw was gold. Lots and lots of gold; gold walls, gold ceiling, gold floor. The owner of this place must be really rich. Her head lolled to the side, making her aware that she was laying on something soft. Her gaze drifted to the pillow and blanket. More gold, but they were silky smooth and very comfy.

There was a loud ringing in her ears, like she'd been at a rock concert. Gingerly she sat up and swung her legs off the side of the bed. Her head seemed awfully heavy and it dropped forward, her chin resting on her chest. Since her head refused to cooperate and lift up, she took the opportunity to study her clothes. Was mildly surprised that she didn't match the rest of the room's color scheme. Black boots and t-shirt, murky green pants and button shirt. Not very pretty. She fingered the patch on her sleeve. But that is. Pretty blue and white ball with a grey symbol embossed on the top. Oh, look, I've got two more! These were black. The smaller one had white wings and the larger read 'SG-1'. Sounds important. I think I should know what that means. Maybe there's a grownup who can tell me what it is, and maybe they'd know how to stop the ringing. It's damned annoying...oops, shouldn't swear, I'll get in trouble.

She took a deep breath, willing her neck to support her head. This time her muscles obeyed. Pleased with the achievement she stood up. And promptly her butt discovered that the floor was as hard as it looked. Gave an irritated huff. Oh, that just wasn't right! Legs, you're supposed to support me, not pretend to be jell-o. Oooh, a bowl of jell-o would be nice. Is there any food around here? Using her hand to brace herself, she managed to get her feet under her and wobbly stood. Took a tentative step. Then was totally distracted by the way her heel and toe refused to touch the floor at the same time. After a half a dozen attempts her leg finally clued in to what her brain wanted and she moved forward a few inches. Grinning in triumph she took another step and was delighted that her second leg wasn't being as difficult. Now where am I going again?

Before her mind could focus, movement out of the corner of her eye distracted her again. Her head twisted around and her sight came to rest on a man dressed in a dull silver suit. That must weigh a ton, she thought absently. He was standing at attention in the hall. Huh, odd that there's no door to this room. Maybe this tin man can help me find what I'm looking for. She smiled at him. At least she hoped it was a smile. Given how uncooperative her body was at the moment she wouldn't count on it. "Hello, mister. Can you help me?"

The man didn't move, except to gaze at her quizzically. She tried again, this time speaking a little louder and giving him a little wave. He didn't appear to understand. After a moment's pause he spoke to someone off to the side whom she couldn't see.

"Inform Our Lord the seer has awoken, however she is acting strangely."

Hearing a series of metal clunks as the mystery person walked away, a frown puckered her brow. I can understand him. Why can't he understand me? For a third time she repeated her question.

The tin soldier hesitated then addressed her. "I do not understand your tongue."

My tongue? She blinked blankly at him. How is my tongue any different from his? She stuck out the muscle in question, her eyes looking down, to see if she could identify the difference. Gave it up as a pointless exercise when she went cross-eyed. It wasn't long enough and even if it was, her nose got in the way. Instead she poked her tongue with her finger trying to feel anything odd. While this examination was going on, she literally felt a click in her head and a sharp shooting pain blinded her for a second. When her vision cleared she attempted again to communicate and her words sounded strange to her ears. "Is my tongue the same as yours now?"

He nodded warily.

"Oh goody!" She clapped her hands happily. "So can you help me? I need to find something..." That didn't sound right any more. "I mean find someone."

"Who?"

A name whispered in her ear. "Danielle." A giggle popped out. "No, that's not it. Daniel. Can you please take me to Daniel?"

"I cannot."

"Bring him to me?" she asked hopefully.

He shook his head.

"But I asked nicely. Said 'please' and everything."

Another negative head shake.

"You're a meany." She poked her tongue out at him, then her face turned pleading. "Please, I really need to see him." She trotted forward a couple of steps.

He watched her, puzzled. Surely the seer did not think she could simply walk out to roam the ship. "You cannot leave that room."

"Why not?" Her eyes wide in confusion, she continued to approach. "There's no door."

"Can you not see the..." The Jaffa cut off as the redhead took another step, seemingly oblivious to the energy field blocking the exit. Could only watch as she collided with the field. The result was instantaneous. The current hissed and sparked, the shock wave throwing her body back. She was unconscious before she hit the floor.

The Jaffa still had a stunned, perplexed expression when His Lord emerged from the elevator.

The Goa'uld frowned at Annika's still body. "You sent word she was awake."

"She was, My Lord." The Jaffa bowed low to his god. "The seer was acting strangely the entire time."

"Elaborate."

He quickly described what he had observed. "And she spoke in the tongue of Anubis, My Lord."

"You are sure?"

He nodded. "I do not understand the words of the Ancient language, My Lord, but I recognize it when it is spoken. When I responded to her using her native tongue, she grimaced like she was experiencing great pain and then reverted to her own language." He continued on, describing in more detail her childlike behavior, her plea to see the archaeologist and her incomprehension of the force field.

Ba'al contemplated his warrior for signs of lying and found none. "The moment she shows signs of waking send for me again. If she regains consciousness before I arrive, inform her of the cell's protective barrier. Do not assume she will remember."

"Yes, My Lord."

The Goa'uld strode away, brow creased in thought. The news of His Beloved's condition did not bode well. If the Tau'ri were to be incorporated into his plans, they would need an irresistible lure to ensure their cooperation. Having the seer mentally defunct was a problem. The shielded cell, though he had not designed it originally for this task, would protect her mind from further assault. But was there anything left of her mind worth protecting? Had his Jaffa absconded with her too late? He decided to keep the seer's condition to himself while he 'negotiated' the terms of his demands to the Tau'ri, for he did not want to weaken his position. Briefly he considered waiting to make contact until he had observed His Beloved himself, then dismissed the idea. He'd already delayed too long. Anubis's Kulls were decimating his Jaffa. Anubis had to be stopped and it was an unfortunate turn of events that the Tau'ri had the only known means with which to dispose of that particular Goa'uld abomination.

Ba'al ringed down to the technical laboratories where his equipment was set up in readiness. As he waited impatiently for the system to energize, he wondered why the Tau'ri had not yet used the weapon they had stolen from him. He did not know himself how the weapon worked, the only thing he was sure of was that His Beloved was instrumental to it. For why else would Anubis have waited fifteen days, with his troops at full readiness, timing his galaxy wide assault with a specific trap for one woman?

The light on the control panel blinked on, indicating the long-range communication device was ready to project his image. With his customary condescending smirk in place, Ba'al activated the device.

"Anyone else recognize the cluster of planets not under attack?" Sam stood back from the galaxy chart they'd clipped to the whiteboard. Each known planet was marked as either friendly or Goa'uld occupied, with a second mark in red for those they knew to be currently under Anubis's attack.

Teal'c, standing at ease with his hands clasped behind his back, nodded. "Discounting the Nox planet, they are all part of the Protected Planets Treaty."

"He's not taking the chance on the Asgard swooping in to the rescue." Not that there's much chance of that, Jack thought, leaning against the table. The Asgard were playing the biggest bluff in history.

"If Anubis's attacks are successful, the Protected Planets Treaty would be rendered useless." Teal'c was already thinking through the consequences. "The Treaty is tenuous at best, the Asgard relying on the System Lords to monitor the others. If Anubis destroys those Goa'uld or depletes their warriors and resources, Anubis will have free reign."

"And even if the Asgard had spare ships," Sam added, "There's no way they'd be able to defend all of the protected planets at once."

"I'll contact the President. He's already prepared to mobilize the troops on Earth, has been since Anubis dropped off the radar. So have the FREC countries."

"Sir, since this is all speculation, I recommend calling it a drill. No point in revealing the Stargate unless it's absol-" Jack cut off at a sharp elbow nudge from Sam. Frowned when he saw both Sam and Teal'c had tensed at something behind him. He looked over his shoulder and for a split second he thought Casper was paying them a visit, then he recognized the holographic image. Masking his surprise and ignoring the general's query at the interrupted speech in his ear, he gave the Goa'uld a smirk. "Balls, we're kinda busy right now to play catch the hologram." Casually he hit the speaker button on the phone while replacing the receiver in its cradle, leaving it slightly crooked so Hammond wasn't cut off.

"I demand your assistance."

"You really need to work on your negotiation skills."

"Anubis is attacking one of my holdings."

"A common occurrence today," Jack replied conversationally. "I'm confused why you'd think we care about your problems."

"The planet in question is Dakara."

Out of the corner of his eye Jack saw Teal'c stiffen even more at the name. Still addressing the hologram he quipped, "Is that supposed to mean something to us?"

"Why don't you ask the shol'va?" Ba'al smirked.

Teal'c replied without prompting. "To the Jaffa, Dakara is the most sacred of places. It is where the first prim'ta implantation ceremony was performed. It is also rumored to house a device of such power that no one has dared use it."

"Rumored?" Jack didn't like that word. It was his experience that rumors led to wild goose chases, and since the SGC had been operational those geese had nasty tricks under their feathers.

"No one has ever located it despite numerous attempts," Teal'c further explained. "It is said to be able to reseed life in the galaxy, but by the same token could wipe it out."

"Simple solution," Jack shrugged. "Blow up the planet."

"Uh...sir," Sam spoke up. "If this device does exist, unless it's dismantled properly the results of blowing it up could be as bad as using the device itself."

"Wipe out all life, huh?" Jack raised an eyebrow at Teal'c, who gave a grim nod. "Now why would Anubis do that? He'd be wiping out all of his so called worshippers."

"Anubis doesn't physically exist in our world, he'd more than likely survive," Sam speculated. "And he could start all over again with him as the only 'god'."

"Ambitious," Jack muttered, then turned back to Ba'al. "What do you want from us?"

"It is only a matter of time before my Jaffa fall to the Kull warriors."

"You want reinforcements?"

Ba'al gave a derisive snort. "I cannot be openly seen to be allying with mere Tau'ri. Besides, for every Kull warrior you kill there are ten more to take its place. The neural link those atrocities have to Anubis must be rendered useless."

"They have a neural link?" Sam asked. "How do you know?"

"My alliance with Anubis was not just to fortify my strongholds. I learned what I could to defeat him when the time was right. He created the link so that he could be assured of their allegiance to him. Destroy the link and they are nothing more than automatons...machines without a purpose."

"Nice idea," Jack drawled. "What's the catch?"

"The only way to do that is to kill Anubis himself."

"Oh, sure, why didn't you say so?" the colonel smacked a mocking palm to his forehead. "We'll get right on that."

Ba'al eyes flashed in irritation. "Can we dispense with the sarcasm?"

Sam cut off Jack's retort with another elbow jab. "We've tried to kill him. We don't now how to kill an Ascended being, or rather a partly Ascended being."

Ba'al rolled his eyes. "Primitive humans. You've have the means sitting in your SGC right now."

Jack's eyes slid to Sam and Teal'c who seemed equally surprised by the declaration. "I must have missed that memo."

The Goa'uld gave an exasperated sigh and spoke as if he were addressing children. "The weapon that you stole from me."

"As I recall you tossed it away," Jack smirked

"Semantics aside, that weapon can destroy Anubis."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Does that really matter?"

The three members of SG-1 simply raised an eyebrow and waited.

Ba'al took a moment, considering how he could answer without admitting to the Tau'ri that his revelation had come only in hindsight after he had been manipulated by Anubis. Decided to skip over the back-story. "When Anubis found out the weapon was in your possession, his display of irritation was impressive. He ranted for some time in Ancient, unaware that I understand the dialect. He was talking about destroying the weapon, not retaking it." This time it was Ba'al who wore the look of expectation.

"Why destroy a weapon rather than use it?" Sam murmured.

"Anubis fears the weapon." Teal'c reached the same conclusion as Ba'al. "He would only fear that which could destroy him."

"Okay, genius," Jack found the logic a little thin, but if Teal'c was agreeing with a snakehead then it had to have some merit. "So how does it work?"

Ba'al's eyes widened slightly. "You don't know? But you've had all the components for a month."

"We've been kinda busy foiling your plans lately." Jack tilted his head in mock innocence. "Help me figure something out. If we have this weapon and all its little bits and pieces, why would we need you?"

"Because I am the only one capable of protecting your little seer from Anubis's mind attack."

None of them visibly reacted to that surprising snippet.

Though Jack's heart was thumping at the news, he kept his tone nonchalant. "You've got Annika and Daniel?"

Ba'al paused for a fraction of a second. "I do."

"Prove it," Sam butted in. "Let us talk to them."

"Impossible. My Beloved is currently unconscious."

"Then let us speak to Daniel Jackson."

Ba'al dismissed the Jaffa's request with a wave of his hand. "He is also incapable of speech." He saw their usual distrust of him grow and he continued smoothly. "Doctor Jackson's injuries were extensive. He is still within the sarcophagus."

Jack ignored his gut instinct that somewhere in those comments was a lie because he wanted to believe it. "Yeah, I'm still not seeing how one is connected to the other."

"It is too much of a coincidence that Anubis chose to attack My Beloved individually at the same time as the launch of his other attacks. He considers her a threat. Since he wants her dead, I want her alive."

"So you can use her yourself."

"Well, of course, Colonel, isn't that the way the game is played?"

"If Anubis is attacking Annika's mind, how is she any safer on your ship?" Sam asked.

"I have developed a shielded room that is specially calibrated to repel any spiritual resonance."

"And why would you have such a room?" Teal'c demanded before either of his teammates could. He immediately picked up on the reverse implications of Ba'al's comment. If it repelled the power of the mind, then it would also contain it.

"Do I really need to elaborate? I have never hidden my intent for My Beloved."

Jack fought down a rush of anger. "If you've laid one finger on Annika you will regret it."

"I have done nothing except protect her, something you, O'Neill, and your team were unable to do." Ba'al couldn't help but rub it in. Took satisfaction in the way all the Tau'ri stiffened, then he gave a blasé shrug. "You can come see for yourself. In fact I insist upon it."

"You'd let us just waltz onto your ship?" Sam didn't even try to hide her incredulity.

"My Beloved cannot be brought to you. Should she leave my protection she'd be vulnerable to Anubis. Thus you must come to her...under armed escort, of course. Bring the weapon, and together we will determine its usage and destroy a common enemy."

"And once Anubis is dead?" Teal'c's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Ba'al saw no point in lying. "Our relationship shall continue on as normal."

"In other words, we'll be your prisoners."

"I prefer 'enjoying the hospitality of your god'." His dark eyes rested on each of them. "Surely it is a small price to pay to save not only your planet but the entire galaxy? You have made greater sacrifices for less in the past."

See, that was the problem with having an enemy who knew them so well, Jack silently groused. Balls knew what their response would be. Hell, Jack didn't even need to know all the particulars, his decision had basically been determined by the possibility that what the snakehead said was true. Clearly Sam had made the same choice by her next question.

"What makes you think you'll be any help deciphering the weapon?"

Arrogance oozed from the transparent image. "I have thousands of years of godly experience."

"Your years of deception and cruelty are of no use to us," Teal'c rebutted coldly.

Ba'al met the Jaffa's gaze and held it like a challenge. "My databanks have more knowledge of those you call the Ancients than you primitives could ever hope to acquire. Plus the knowledge of the significant number of worlds who bow down to my glory."

Jack stepped in before Teal'c had an aneurism. "Well, we'll talk to our people and they'll talk to their people. Leave a number and we'll get back to you."

"I will return in one hour for your affirmative answer." The hologram flickered out.

Jack picked up the receiver. "Did you catch all that, sir?"

"I did. I'm on way down now." Hammond hung up the phone.

The three members of SG-1 barely had the chance to sit before the general was there.

"This puts an interesting kink in things," he said, sliding into his customary chair at the head of the table. Wondered precisely where to start. "Teal'c, do you have anymore details about this weapon on Dakara?"

Jack let out a low whistle. That was quite the statement coming from Teal'c. "Why haven't we heard of this Mecca before?"

"It has been under Goa'uld occupation for thousands of years. The only opponent strong enough to challenge the ruler has been another Goa'uld. The planet has kept its secret of the weapon all this time, there was no reason to think that would change."

"Until now," Sam said quietly. "Anubis has the knowledge of the Ancients. If he takes Dakara he won't need to search for the weapon."

"Indeed," Teal'c nodded, then continued on with what he knew of the weapon. "There have been fragments of text found documenting the weapon's usage. I have not witnessed those texts to verify their authenticity. However during my second year of training to be First Prime, Apophis enslaved a planet in a neighboring system. In the temple of records, Bra'tac and I found a partial schematic. It was much degraded and once the parchment had been exposed to the air it quickly disintegrated, but we saw enough to convince us the weapon was real. It was nothing more than a rough draft of the plans with notes in the margins mentioning Dakara and a problem with the machine calibration." The Jaffa was unaware of how his eyes hardened as he recalled Apophis's punishment for 'allowing' the parchment to be destroyed. He pulled himself from his memory and turned a grimly determined gaze to the general. "We cannot let Anubis take Dakara. If need be I will fight alongside Ba'al's men to stop him. And I have no doubt that Bra'tac and the free Jaffa will do the same."

That firm declaration was all Hammond needed to be convinced the weapon was real and not just some myth. He moved the discussion on. "Does anyone think Ba'al is bluffing? Using Anubis's attack to his advantage?"

"Oh, he's hiding something, sir." Jack was sure of it. "Snakes always do. But the fact that he's contacted us and told us he's got Casper, makes me think he's desperate."

Teal'c nodded in agreement. "The logical assumption was that Anubis had abducted the Jacksons as the battle was launched by Anubis. We would have been none the wiser."

The colonel carried on, glad but not surprised that Teal'c was on the same wavelength. "Balls has wanted Casper for a long time. He didn't take the time to..." he winced slightly, "...'play' with her. Didn't even really gloat about it."

"Maybe he's saving his gloating until he has all five of you." Hammond played devil's advocate.

Jack shrugged. "At least this time we'd have an advantage."

"How so, Colonel?" At first glance to the General, it seemed like Ba'al held all the aces.

"Balls knows we're gonna wind up agreeing. He knows us. The lure of playing hero and saving the galaxy is something we've been known to follow a time or six."

"Keeping count, Colonel?"

"Only of the hairy scary ones, sir."

"Ba'al knowing our response is an advantage how?"

"It works both ways, sir. Balls knows us, but in turn, we know Balls...and we know the layout of his ship."

"We have escaped Ba'al's captivity before," Teal'c added.

"There's a difference between being captured on a mission and handing you over with a weapon of mass destruction." The general turned to Sam. "Major, what are the chances of you being able to decipher the weapon within the hour?"

Sam hated to say it, but knew the general needed confirmation before an official decision could be made. "No chance, sir. Each time we think we're getting close, a new chapter or component is revealed. The manual has increased from a hundred pages to over five hundred in the last few days. Most of the time we don't even know what we've done to make it jump to the next 'phase'. We're flying blind, sir." She sighed. "One thing in our favor is that Ba'al doesn't know how to use it either. We'd be relatively safe until we've figured it out...well, as safe as we can be on a Goa'uld ship. Plus, even if Ba'al did know how, he wouldn't be able to use it."

"Why is that?"

"It won't work for just anyone. I don't begin to know how, but the Ancients have programmed it so that it will only respond to a certain group of people. That is made very clear in the manual and I'm almost positive that it can't be overridden. It's like a more sophisticated version of the Ancient depository that won't work if it senses the presence of a symbiote...much more sophisticated," she emphasized.

"Then why are you only almost positive?" Hammond frowned.

Teal'c answered, for he had also been present when Daniel Jackson had mentioned his wife's concern. "Ba'al managed to acquire the weapon base despite the Ancients' safety protocols."

"Are you any closer to working out who is supposed to use the weapon?"

Sam shook her head. "As you know, we thought it was us, since we were able to pass the Ancients' tests to get the components...but when we tried to activate it last week, it didn't even cause a spark of energy. What it did was create more chapters and references in the manual. It now seems that there are two distinct groups, one who was supposed to find it, the other to use it. Daniel found vague references that perhaps the two groups are the same people, just at a later stage of evolution."

"Evolution?" Hammond raised an eyebrow.

The scientist knew what the general was thinking because she'd had the same immediate thought when Daniel had first read out the passage. "Not the kind of pronounced time evolution like humans evolving from apes. We as a people are evolving all the time with every new thing we learn and experience. We think it means enhancing our knowledge and understanding."

Hammond gave a nod of comprehension.

"See, sir, you're evolving right now," Jack quipped.

Hammond's lips twitched, but he kept his attention on Sam who was continuing on.

"So we currently have two theories. Either, we're not the ones to use the weapon and we need to find out whoever they are. Or we are, but given the potential power of the weapon, the Ancients have installed 'tests', something like what the Asgard did on Cimmeria, and it won't activate until we have a proper understanding of what the weapon is and does. Either way, we need more information than what we have now. If there is even the possibility of Ba'al having that intel, I think we have no choice but to do what Ba'al wants."

The general looked at each of them. Knew that despite the risks that they were already in the mindset to go. However this kind of matter couldn't be left to them or himself. "This isn't a decision up to me."

Jack smirked. "We know that, sir...why do you think we gave you all the tactical reasons why we have to do this and kept our personal reasons out of it?"

Hammond had noticed that in their argument for going ahead, they had omitted one factor that was as important, if not more so, to them. Two of their team were being held captive by a Goa'uld. They needed no other reason. "I'll speak to the President, who will undoubtedly inform the IOA and the FREC..." he barely caught himself from finishing the acronym the colonel had created for the international leaders of France, Russia, England and China, who knew of the Stargate program. "...of Ba'al's proposition."

"Oh, General, do we have to involve them?" Jack groaned. "Having both the FREC boys and the IOA make a decision in less than an hour is about as likely as Daniel giving a one minute lecture on his rocks."

The general didn't let his agreement show as he rose, ending the meeting. "I'll be sure to be clear about the urgency." As he walked away he hoped that he'd be able to convince the President that doing what Ba'al asked was the only course of action. He knew SG-1, they'd be going regardless of whatever official decision was made, and he'd prefer to have official backing. He'd hate to have to court martial his primary team when...if, they returned.