Bog - section 3
By NotTasha
Newest addition, Chapter 13:

PART 10: ILLUSIONS

“Okay,” said Sheppard, kicking at one the detestable bugs that seemed to crowd them.  “Let’s get to the control room so we can get the rest of the team out of a tree.”

“On it,” Rodney responded.  He seemed to look around.  “This way will be quickest.”  And he started down the hallway.  He paused after a step and said, “Ah, you’d better hang onto me.  Those illusions might fire up again.”

“They’re still here, Rodney,” Sheppard grumbled, quelling the urge to smash another non-existent nemesis.  It scuttled toward him again on its awful legs, and Sheppard moved out of the way.

“Oh well.  Ignore it.  It won’t hurt you.”  And Rodney put out his elbow, like a father inviting a child to go for a walk.

Sheppard reluctantly grasped the offered arm.  Rodney smiled, seeming quite pleased with himself. But Sheppard couldn’t help but feel disturbed by Rodney’s eyes that never focused him.

“Ready?” McKay asked.

“Move it,” Sheppard told him.

And so they started moving again.  Sheppard did his best not to lurch backward when McKay seemed determined to slam them into walls, and into shut doors.  He tried to ignore the horrible bugs that clambered everywhere, that seemed about to jump out at him like cats that were always leaping out of closets in bad horror flicks.

They turned a corner and entered another corridor.  Almost instantly, John's gaze was drawn to the ceiling.  Something was wrong.

He stared, trying to figure it out, when suddenly, the ceiling shifted.  It wobbled.

He paused, trying to get a grip on what was happening when it started to peel away from the far side of the corridor. The whole thing was coming down.

“Crap!”

With a shout of anger, colonel threw himself at Rodney as it came down, forcing the scientist to the ground.  Rodney cried out in surprise as wreckage rained and dust rose.  Sheppard covered his head and crouched over Rodney, coughing at the expected irritation.

“Why’d you do that?” Rodney cried as he tried to shake off Sheppard’s weight.

Sheppard blinked and frowned at the debris-strewn corridor.  It was real.  There were chunks of construction materials everywhere.  Dust filtered through the air.  Big slabs of material were scattered -- pieces large enough to have split open either of their heads.  Above them, a hole gaped.  It looked damn real.  The fact that he wasn’t bruised and bleeding seemed impossible.

But, the collapse had made no sound.  

Damn.  

It had been like watching a silent movie.  Silent movies always disturbed Sheppard a little.

He stopped coughing.

“What happened?” Rodney quizzed, trying to untangle himself from Sheppard and his pack.

“Ceiling fell,” Sheppard admitted.

Rodney tipped back his head.  “No,” he said.  “See?  The lines are still there.”

“I know it didn’t actually fall,” Sheppard groused.  “Damn it, but it looked real!  It looked like the whole thing was caving in on us.”

“How can you believe something when it’s completely silent?” Rodney posed as he finally managed to get out from under the colonel. He looked thoroughly put out.

Sheppard shrugged.  “A guy just reacts,” he said as he sat up with his back against the wall.  He made an attempt to kick some of the debris out of the way, but connected with nothing.  Stupid illusion!

At least the damn bugs were gone.  He shuddered, hoping that they didn’t return.

“And now I’m bruised because of you,” Rodney muttered, pulling at the material of his jacket sleeve.  “Does this look swollen?” he asked, exposing his arm.

“It’s fine, Rodney,” Sheppard sighed.

Rodney felt the area with one hand, his expression intense.  “It doesn’t look red or anything?  I bruise very easily.  It kinda hurts.  Maybe I should get an ice pack out of the first aid kit.”

Sheppard didn’t look.  “It’s fine.  Let’s go.  We need to get moving and get the others out of their tree.”

Rodney nodded as he jerked his sleeve back in place.  “Yeah, give me a second.  I just need a drink of water.”

“Why are the illusions silent?” Sheppard asked, gesturing to the rubble.  “It seems that every hallucination machine we encounter manages to have sound.”

Rodney shrugged.  “Hallucinations are more like dreams.  You get to have all your senses. These are illusions – moving pictures.  The technology was probably still in its infancy when the Ancients were working here.”  He sat back, too, almost in the same position as Sheppard on the opposite wall of the corridor.  “Think of it this way.  If you had a film projector, you could place an image on any wall in a room, right?  But the sound would always come from the projector.  They hadn’t mastered the art of projecting the sound.”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

“Of course it makes sense.”  Rodney sighed and pulled his pack into his lap.  “You know, if you’re going to knock me down every time you see a shadow, you should be blindfolded for the remainder of this little jaunt.  I’m just sayin’.   I can lead you.”

The colonel stiffed at the suggestion.  “I’m not being blindfolded,” he said coldly.

Rodney lifted his head, his eyes blinking in Sheppard’s direction, and his expression seemed surprised, and maybe a little hurt.  “Oh,” he said, and then went back to fiddling with his pack.  He felt around for a moment before he brought out a water bottle, upside-down.  He felt for the top, and up-righted it.

“I know I’m not helping much at the moment, but one of us should be able to see,” Sheppard said as he watched more of the horrible bugs skitter around the hallway.  Damn, they were back.  “Most of this is illusion, but maybe some of it is real.  Can you totally trust those neon lines?  You ever think that maybe they’ll give you false information, too?”

Rodney took a swig from the bottle.  “I can trust the lines.  They’re obviously much more reliable than you are at this moment.”

Sheppard couldn’t deny that.

“You know, maybe I’ve been thinking about this all wrong.” McKay paused.  “Maybe this is more of a gift than a curse. And I’m doing pretty well with this Tron-vision now,” he stated.  “And I know for damn sure that you couldn’t handle this,” He attempted to replace the water bottle, only to frown when he couldn’t fit it back inside the pack. Something had shifted into its place.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Sheppard said, unconvinced.  “I could manage after a while.”

“Are you kidding? You’re a pilot!  It’d drive you mad to be unable to see,” McKay responded.  He felt around in the pack to see what was causing the trouble, and gave a curious expression.  He pulled on something, and then let out a defeated sigh as he removed the rubber chicken from the pack again.  “How many of these do you have?” he questioned as he threw it at Sheppard.

“Just the one.”  John easily caught the lobbed plastic poultry.  Rodney had gotten it relatively near the target.  “And it’s yours.  I gave it to you for your birthday.  You shouldn’t keep throwing it out.”  He bobbed the chicken head at McKay.  “That’s not nice.”

“Stop putting it in with my stuff!” Rodney griped.  “I’m having a hard enough time as it is.  I can hardly manage finding my water bottle, so I don’t need any extra distractions.  Can’t you figure out a better use of your time than to mess with me?”

“Not really.  Here, let me give you a hand.  We’ve got to get moving.”

When Rodney stretched out a hand, Sheppard couldn’t help himself, and he put out the chicken.  When Rodney clasped the wattle and comb, a dark look came over him and he growled. “I hate you.”

“I hate you, too.” Sheppard returned with a smirk as he helped Rodney to his feet.  “Now, let’s get this finished  And he glanced about, trying to ignore the iratus bugs that crawled over everything, and managed to slip the chicken into another pocket of Rodney’s pack as the man got it settled.

Sheppard took a step, closing his eyes as he brought down one foot so that he could ignore the huge chunk of ceiling that blocked his path.  His foot went right through it -- freaking weird.

888888888888888888

Teyla watched Ronon carefully.  His hand stayed tightly clasped to the branch above his head, but his head was dipping.  He had managed to partially bandage his wounds, but he needed better attention.

Ronon watched the circling cubbocks with a detached expression as he kept his weapon ready.  He watched everything. 

She hurt.  Her whole side ached and throbbed.  The slashed wounds still still seeped red onto her bandages, and most certainly needed to be treated.   The cuts ached and itched and pulled painfully when she moved.  She imagined Ronon felt just as bad, if not worse.

He had to be in pain, but she wondered if he even truly realized the fact.  He was firmly set in his spot, and dedicated to his task.  He never seemed to stop scanning the bog, even though the hand that gripped the blaster seemed to dip, and his shoulders sagged.

She wished again that she could find a way to get closer to him, but the trees were not close enough to make a jump from one to the other.  She could attempt to get down and sprint to Ronon’s tree.  She usually trusted his aim well enough to know he’d cover her, but his latest shots at the chubbocks had missed their marks, and she wondered if she’d make it in time.

She moved her hand to her radio as she considered contacting the others, and she let her hand stray.  Rodney and John would be here as quickly as they could.  She had no doubts.  But what could either of them do once they arrived?  With the jumper sinking, could they do anything to help?

Ronon turned toward her, realizing she was watching him, and grinned toothily as if this was all for fun.  And then went back to watching the bog.

And she continued her vigil, watching him.

888888888888888888

They moved, and Sheppard tried to ignore what was happening around them.  Wraith attacked.  A wall fell in.  Some sort of bat-like things flew at them.  Another Wraith appeared from around a corner. They passed over a section of the hallway that had no floor.  Sheppard had to grit his teeth and ignore it, letting McKay lead him blithely on, through walls, under low hanging bulkheads, and over the black abyss, and past another pair of Wraiths.

“Would you stop that?” McKay shouted at him.

“Better safe than sorry,” Sheppard responded, holstering his gun.

“Do you have any idea how terrifying it is to have a weapon suddenly fired near your HEAD?”

“Wraith,” Sheppard explained.

“But they don’t exist!  It’s all an illusion.  Teyla would have told us if any Wraith were here.”

“Sometimes her Wraith senses aren’t as sharp as other times.”

“They couldn’t even get in here if they wanted to. The place is locked up, remember?  Only someone with the ATA gene can get in.”

“Maybe there’s a back door.”

“There’s no back door.”

“Maybe they’re just lulling us into a sense of false security. You ever think of that?”

“What?  Who?  That makes no sense.  Why would the Ancients do that?  You’re seeing illusionary Wraith and you shoot at them every time!”

“Eh, you never know.  Next time there might be something really there.”

“You’re putting holes in the walls.  That’s not a good thing.  Look!” He pointed to one of the walls and accurately found a hole.  “The lines had been perfect, and now they’re all messed up for no good reason.”

“Might have been a Wraith.”

Rodney sighed out of exasperation, and Sheppard kept ready.  They made their way down the endless crazy world corridors, and turned another corner.

“Ah…Great!  Just great!” Sheppard hissed as he caught sight of their next piece of heaven.

“What?  What now?”

“Remember that energy creature?”

Rodney stiffened at the mention.  “You’re kidding me?”

“Yeah, there’s a big blobby sitting at the end of the hall.  Just an illusion, right?”

“Is it sitting there?”

“Well, hovering, or floating or whatever a big cloud of angry would do.  I’m getting seriously tired of this.”

“Does it really look angry?”

“It’s a big black cloud that’s moving toward us.  Of course it looks…”

“It’s moving now?” Rodney asked, his voice getting high.

“It’s just an illusion, right?”

“Well, yes, probably.  SHHH!  Do you hear it?”

“I don’t think it makes a sound, Rodney,” Sheppard said, drawing them both back a few steps as the big black cloud inched toward them.

“God, I hate energy creatures.”   Rodney shuddered.  “Just an illusion.”  And he stalled Sheppard’s steps, to move them forward again, ducking his head and grimacing as if he expected to be struck at any moment.  He clutched at his chest as if the personal shield was still in place.

Sheppard went with him, keeping a tight grasp of Rodney’s arm. He tried not to react as they approached the cloud, but he tensed, which caused Rodney to tense and ask in a tight voice, “We’re there now, aren’t we?”

“It’s not real, Rodney,” Sheppard reminded.

“Right.”  Rodney seemed to steel himself, and then said, “Here we go.”

Sheppard took a deep breath, and together they passed into the cloud.  Rodney paused for only a moment, and then continued to guide them through the thing.  Sheppard looked about inside the thing and wondered if the illusion was anything like the reality that Rodney had experienced.  It was a weird sensation, and Sheppard tried not to think too deeply about it.

The scientist kept his head down as he kept asking quietly, “Are we through it yet?  Are we through it yet?”

“Just about,” Sheppard replied glancing at the strange things that seemed to float within the creature.  Electrical bursts flared, and he cringed involuntarily, which made Rodney flinch as well.

Finally, Rodney brought them around a turn and they stepped free of the creepy thing. 

“We’re out,” Sheppard announced.

“Thank God,” Rodney muttered.

Sheppard glanced behind them.  The thing still hovered just outside their hallway, looking entirely unfriendly.

“Okay, good.”  Rodney rubbed his hands as he turned his head about, seeming to examine their latest corridor.  He smiled as he turned to Sheppard.  “Well?” he said.

“Well, what?” Sheppard responded.

“I told you we’d make it to the Control Room,” McKay said, grinning widely, he spread his arms as if showing something off.

Sheppard regarded him skeptically.  “Rodney,” he said.  “It’s just another hallway – in an outpost full of empty hallways.”

“Au contraire,” Rodney chuckled as he stepped forward, dropping his hands to waist-level as if to being keying in commands at a console.  “We’re here.  Can’t you see it?”

Sheppard shook his head.  There was nothing to see. He moved forward to stand beside Rodney and let out a pain-filled OOF as he ran into something.

“Careful!” McKay responded.  “There’s sensitive equipment here.”  He gestured.  “Step back.”

Sheppard frowned, seeing nothing.  But when he reached out a hand, there was definitely something there – a console, smooth and cool and real.    He ran his hand along the invisible surface, marveling that he could feel buttons and some sort of toggle.

“Hey!” McKay snapped at him.  “Are you touching things?  If you’re touching things, stop it right now.” And Rodney swung out an arm to sweep him back, clobbering him in the chest.

Annoyed, Sheppard stepped back, while McKay gave him a chagrinned expression that was quickly replaced.  “See what happens to people who start poking at things they don’t understand?” he stated.

Sheppard grimaced as he moved carefully away, putting out his hands in case another console made itself apparent.  “Just get on with it,” he grumbled.

Rodney kept turning his head, seeing things that Sheppard could not.  “Good idea.”  He cracked his knuckles and said with a smile, “Now is when the real works begins."

888888888888888888

“Ronon, Teyla, report,” Sheppard’s voice came over the radio, making Teyla jerk her head up.

“Colonel,” she replied sharply.  “We are still… hanging in there.”

“Good. Glad to hear it.  We just reached the control hallway and Rodney’s starting to tap into this system.  Soon as we figure this thing out, we’ll shut down the shield.   What’s the current situation?”

“Still in trees,” Ronon grumbled.  His voice sounded deeper than usual as his head dipped.

“We are still surrounded by the creatures,” Teyla filled in.  “There are many around us.  It is difficult to keep an accurate count because they remain mostly beneath the surface.”

“Gotcha,” Sheppard replied.  “You guys have any idea of how we’re going to get you out of there?” he asked, almost sheepishly.

Teyla sighed.  “Not as of yet,” she told him.

“We’ll blast ‘em,” Ronon explained.  “Don’t worry.  We’ll get ‘em.”  But his voice was thick and his head didn’t quite lift.

Teyla watched him with concern, keeping an eye on the arm that gripped the branch above.  The hand remained firm in its position as if it had been adhered permanently to the tree.

“We’re going to get out of here as soon as we can,” Sheppard said.

“Have you found the device that would restore Rodney’s vision?” Teyla asked hopefully.

Sheppard let out a discouraged sound.  “I couldn’t tell you if it was right in front of my face. We’re in a blank hallway.  But, right now, it looks like Rodney’s playing ‘air keyboard’.  I can’t see anything and I keep running into things.”

“Don’t worry about that right now,” Rodney stated.  “I know exactly where the device is.  We’ll shut down the shield, turn off the illusions, and then we can put our hands on the device.  Once I've gotten control of this place, we’ll all have a safe place to hang out until Atlantis chimes in.”

“We still have to get them out of the trees, Rodney," Sheppard reminded.

“Oh, yeah,” Rodney responded.  “What about C4?  Can we use that to blow up some opossums?”

“You’d still have to get out onto the bog,” Ronon said.  “It won’t be easy.”

Sheppard responded.  “We’re getting out of here soon as we can.  Once Rodney gets the system shut down, it will be a lot easier to move around in here,” Sheppard went on, sounding irritated.  “If it’s not a gaping hole in the floor, it’s a Wraith, a swarm of iratus bugs or… great… now it’s a leopard.”

“A leopard?” Teyla repeated.

“Big spotted feline,” Sheppard said with a sigh.  “And it appears to be stalking me.”

“There’s a cat?” Rodney asked, sounding pleased.  “What’s it look like?”

Sheppard described, “A big, gray and white, spotty cat with huge feet and a puffed up tail.”

“It may be a tambire.  They are native to this planet,” Teyla told them.

“Another fine illusion from our friend at Ancient-Mart,” Sheppard grumbled.   “I’m getting sick of these things, Rodney.”

“Illusions can’t hurt you,” Rodney told him.  “Now, just sit there nice and quiet, enjoy the kitty and let me work.”

And then Teyla heard a low feline growl come over the radio, a second of silence, and then a beleaguered, “Oh crap,” from Rodney.

“John?”  Teyla called.  “Rodney?”

But before she could get a response from either, Ronon fell out of the tree.

PART 11: KING OF MONSTERS

Sheppard drew his weapon and fired, but the leopard sprang away.  It spun and darted back the way it had come.

“Stay here!” Sheppard shouted over his shoulder as he took off after the thing.

Rodney was left to shout a helpless, “Where is it?  Where is it?”

Sheppard grimaced when he realized that the tambire had disappeared through the energy creature illusion.  “Great,” Sheppard sighed as he stepped forward, carefully sticking his head into what should have been a fatal shock.

He looked one way, and then the other, but the leopard-thing was gone.  So, he stood in the cloud-filled hallway, listening intently.

“Sheppard?” Rodney called.  “Did you get it?  Did it get away?  What’s happening?”

“Shut up, Rodney!” Sheppard bit back.  “I’m trying to listen!”

“Oh, sorry.  I couldn’t tell.”

John walked a few steps in one direction, continuing his search.

“Do you know which way it went?” McKay whispered from the adjoining hallway.

“No!” Sheppard responded.  “If I did, I’d be following it, wouldn’t I?”  Damn it! Damn it!  If the illusions weren’t bad enough now they had to deal with a real live big cat.

“Because, if it went to the left, it could circle around and come around the backside of this room,” Rodney stated.  “I’m just sayin’ because that might be something to worry about, right?”

Crap.  Sheppard turned around and stepped through the doorway to their ‘hallway’.

Rodney was looking toward him, his hands raised over an invisible console.  His face was drawn with worry.  “Sheppard?” he asked.  “Are you there?”

And Sheppard’s gaze shifted toward the movement on the other side of the room.  The cat was creeping in, its yellow gaze fixed on Rodney’s’ back.  It had huge eyes and its long whiskers gave it a wise expression as it hunted its quarry.  It would have its target in a moment.

Sheppard aimed, but Rodney was in the way of his shot.

“Duck,” Sheppard ordered.

Rodney instantly went down as the big cat leapt at him.  John aimed, and fired, but something ricocheted and the cat kept coming.

Sheppard continued firing as the bullets scattered, never meeting their mark – and the leaping tambire stopped dead in the air, as if it had slammed into an unseen wall.

Almost comically, it let out a snort of surprise and tumbled to the ground, landing not far from where McKay stood.

Rodney had spun about, still crouched and covering his head, whimpering a quiet, “Don’t eat me.  Don’t eat me!”

“It’s okay, Rodney.  I got it.  Or it got itself, or something,” Sheppard told him as he edged forward, feeling his way.  He found the panel that had blocked his shot, that had stopped the cat. It was a big, solid partition of some sort.

Rodney lifted his head and asked anxiously, “Is it dead?”

Carefully, Sheppard made his way around the invisible panel, groping his way until he reached the tambire.  It lay on its side.  Its head twisted and its mouth gaping.  Its yellow eyes were open.

“Is it dead?”  Rodney asked again.

“Yeah,” Sheppard responded.  “I think so.”  He touched it, finding the fur soft, and the body still warm.  But the chest was still, and the eyes glazed.

He sighed as he sat back on his haunches.  “Everything’s an illusion, huh?”

Rodney shook his head.  “Everything should be an illusion.”  He pointed vaguely in the direction of John and the creature.  “I wasn’t expecting that.”  His finger wavered around as he hoped to eventually point at the target.

“So, how did it get in here?  There’s a shield protecting the door,” Sheppard reminded.  He ran his hand over the cat’s body.  It wasn’t emaciated.  The thing wasn’t starving.  He picked up one of its feet and examined the pads.  They were muddy.  It had been outside recently.  “Maybe there’s a kitty door to this place.”

“That’s ridiculous,” McKay went on as returned to the console.  “This place is secure.”

“It’s not secure, McKay,” Sheppard said.  “We have proof.”

McKay frowned, and went back to poking at air as he manipulated the invisible console.  Suddenly, he stopped and uttered an astonished, “I’m in!  I’m in the system.  Wow.”  He lifted his head, looking around as if he were surrounded by fairies or something equally amazing, yet Sheppard saw nothing.  “This is fascinating!”

“Great, can you shut down the shield so we can get Ronon and Teyla out of their tree?”

“Yeah, yeah. Let me work.”

Sheppard keyed his radio, and called, “Ronon, Teyla, what’s your status?”

The radio crackled, and Teyla’s distressed voice was heard, “John, please respond.  We are in danger.  We are no longer in the trees and I don’t believe Ronon will be able to climb again.”  There was blaster fire, and the sound of the P90 going off.  “There are many of the chubbocks surrounding us. We require immediate assistance.”

Rodney froze, his mouth open as he heard those words.  “We have to help them,” he muttered.  “We have to go,” and he turned toward one end of the hallway, holding out his hand.  “Come on!” he said as he flipped the hand at Sheppard.  “Let’s go!  I don’t know how long it’ll take us to get back out and I have no idea about what we’ll do to help them, but we’d better hurry.”

Sheppard stared at the leopard-thing and then reached out.  He could feel the solid object that had killed the creature, even though he could not see it, even though the tambire never saw it either.

Animals could see the illusions, too.

“Can you create your own illusion with that control console?” Sheppard asked, nodding to the invisible device.

“Well, yeah, probably,” Rodney said, inching his way down the hallway, his hand still outstretched for Sheppard to grab.  “It’ll probably require a mental connection.”

“Can you project the illusions outside this complex?”

“Yes, of course.  That was the whole point of the experiment,” Rodney returned.  “What good would the illusions be if they were contained within a hidden lab?”

Sheppard stood, grinning and found his way around the partition.  “Rodney, have I got a job for you.”

888888888888888888

“Teyla, hang tight,” Sheppard's voice came over the radio as she fired at another chubbock.  It flinched and dove away.

“We are hanging on as best we can,” Teyla replied.

Beside her, Ronon leaned against the tree, holding his torn shoulder with one hand, as he fired his blaster with the wounded arm.   They were on the ground, and Teyla knew that in spite of their firepower, they wouldn’t last long– not when the creatures kept coming.

“We’ve got some reinforcements.  You’re just going to have to help drive.”

Teyla frowned.  “What do you mean?”

“You ever hear of a scarecrow?” Sheppard asked.

She couldn’t help rolling her eyes.  “Yes, we have such things in this galaxy.”

“Here comes our newfangled version,” Sheppard told her.  “We won’t be able to hurt the things, but maybe we can scare your bog beasts away.  Okay, Rodney, do it.”

And then, out of nothing, a horrible lizard materialized near the cliff, floating just over the bog.  It stood upright and flailed its forelegs.  Huge, jagged dorsal plates ran down its back.  Its skin was bumpy and the color of charcoal.  Its eyes seemed to glow in a head that was strangely disproportionate with the rest of its body.   It moved in a jerky motion that seemed altogether wrong.

It looked familiar, and Teyla was fairly sure she’d caught a glimpse of the thing on a DVD during monster movie night.

Ronon let out a soft laugh and said, “Godzilla.”

Teyla narrowed her gaze at the strange lizard that silently moved its arms like a man in a rubber suit.

“You’re kidding me,” Sheppard said over the radio, the words obviously meant for McKay. “Godzilla?”

“You said ‘big and scary’.  What’s bigger and scarier than Godzilla?”

“I don’t know, you could have made a giant tambire leopard, or an even bigger possum.  I might have made more sense, considering the planet’s normal inhabitants.”

“I have no idea what those things look like!” McKay snapped back.  

“Yeah, sorry.  Forgot about that.”

“I could try to imagine a giant lizard-controlled killer robot named ‘Stan’, but I have a pretty good picture of Godzilla in my head, so that’s what you get!  Next time, maybe you'll get Jaws.”

The big lizard stopped in place, and gestured emphatically with its arms when Rodney spoke.  One of the chubbocks saw the thing.  It froze and let out a high-pitched squeal. The others, alerted, froze as well, to stare up at the strange menace that loomed over them.

“They have seen it,” Teyla announced.  “It seems to be working.”

“You got ‘em scared,” Ronon said happily.

“Okay, good.  Ah, which way do I go?  Come on, I need some help here,” McKay whined over the radio as the monster started to thrash.

“Forward, move it forward,” Ronon told him.

And Godzilla staggered forward, floating about three feet over the top of the bog.

“Down,” Ronon said, blinking heavily. “It’s too high.”

And they watched as the big lizard descended slightly and moved forward, slashing its tail and waving its arms menacingly.  It opened its mouth and fatal-looking fire shot out.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters, strode forward and the bog beasts cowered.

“How am I doing?” Rodney asked over the radio, his voice sounding strained.  “Does it look okay?  “Are they leaving, ‘cause… God!”

“Hang in there, Rodney.  Ronon!  Teyla! Is it working?”

"It is working," Teyla responded.  The chubbocks were falling back, moving away from the bizarre creature that lurched through their bog.  They hissed and gave way.

“Looks good, McKay,” Ronon pronounced.  “Move it a little left.  Do more fire.”

The chubbocks cringed as the thing continued to march about in their bog.  Godzilla, unleashed in the swamp, put up a show.  It clawed and threw back its head.  Its tail slashed as it stomped.  More fireworks shot out of its mouth.

Ronon sat back against the tree and laughed, watching the creatures scurry from the mutant dinosaur.

“Continue forward,” Teyla told Rodney as the creature stomped.  “Turn slightly to the left.”

“Okay,” McKay said, his voice even quieter, and the image of Godzilla did as was requested, with more flames flying from its mouth.

The chubbocks ducked and ran and splashed and disappeared.  Within a matter of minutes, the bog seemed to have cleared itself of the creatures.  Neither frog nor bird dared to appear either.  They were gone.

Ronon fired his blaster after them, giving them further reason to run. He grinned when Teyla looked toward him and he uttered a satisfied, “That was fun.”

888888888888888888

“Are the bog possums gone?” Sheppard asked urgently over the radio as he kept his eyes on Rodney.

“Yeah. Don’t think they’ll stop running for a while,” Ronon told him.  “You scared them good.”

Thank God, Sheppard thought, and not a moment too soon.  “You guys all right out there?” Sheppard asked.

“We are fine for now,” Teyla told him.  “But we need to return to Atlantis.”

“Yeah, gotcha,” Sheppard responded.  He turned to Rodney, and ordered, “Shut it down!”

Rodney leaned heavily on the concealed control panel.  His eyes were closed and his face drawn up in a pain-filled grimace that had grown with every passing moment.  Sweat ran down his face at the strain of keeping the thing running.  He trembled.

“Rodney!  Shut it down!” Sheppard insisted, grasping Rodney’s arm and giving him a shake for good measure.  “Now!”

The contact seemed to wake Rodney and he lifted his head.  His face was pale as he turned toward Sheppard.

“Now!” Sheppard said again.

“Okay,” Rodney replied quietly.  And he blinked rapidly for a moment.  “It’s off.  I shut it off.”  And some of the exertion seemed to leave his face, but he shuddered.  “That was harder than I thought it’d be,” he whispered and fell sidewise onto Sheppard.

John caught him, and quickly lowered him to the ground.  McKay’s eyes were closed and his expression remained taut.  Sheppard pulled the pain meds out of Rodney’s pocket.  “Hold out your hand,” he ordered as he grasped hold of Rodney’s wrist and turned the hand into position.  He dropped a pair of pills into his palm, and then unzipped Rodney’s pack to find his water bottle.  He paused a moment when he saw the rubber chicken again, but decided to give McKay a break.

Wordlessly, Rodney took the meds and washed them down with a grimace.  That done, he lifted a hand to his head and grumbled, “Why does everything have to hurt my head?”

“It’ll go away,” Sheppard promised as he replaced the bottle.  He just hoped he was right.

They had to get out, and how would they do it?  Rodney seemed unable to even stand at the moment and Sheppard doubted that he could find the way out without Rodney’s help.

He didn’t completely understand how Rodney had formed the illusion of the Japanese superstar, but it was obvious that the mental connection came with a cost.  He hated the Ancients a little more.

What the hell were the Ancients thinking?  No wonder they abandoned this pile of crap.  What good was it to blind a man and then nearly kill him by using the machine for five minutes?

They had to get home.  They had to find the device to fix Rodney's eyes before they could use the Gate.  And then there was Ronon and Teyla, injured and still in the bog.  They had to get back to them immediately.

“Can you shut down this machine?”

“I already turned off Godzilla.”

“Shut down the whole thing.”

Rodney needed Sheppard’s help to stand, and John tried not to be concerned about how weak Rodney seemed to be.  They moved carefully, aware that an unseen console was above them.  Sheppard had no intention of ramming either of their heads into the underside of the thing, especially after what’d happened to the leopard.

Once standing, Rodney reached out and seemed to touch something, and the room started to shimmer.  Sheppard looked in disbelief as the bare walls melted away, revealing a vaulted ceilings and ornate walls, and the console that McKay had used.  Everything transformed.  The colors changed from dull gray to warm browns.  The narrow hallway expanded into a room with several large consoles and partitions, all of it in the elegant Frank Lloyd Wright style of Atlantis.

Hallways led from the room in all directions, and gentle light glowed from fixtures above.  The floors were tiled in graceful patterns and panels glowed warmly all around them.

It was pretty, which made the now-gone illusions even more annoying.

“I think it’s off,” Rodney said as he leaned on the console.

“Yeah, you got it,” Sheppard told him.

“Good,” Rodney sighed and tried to slide to the floor.

“No, you don’t!” Sheppard caught him, and wrapped one of Rodney’s arms over his shoulder.  “Not now, Rodney.  We’re getting out of here.”  He paused and looked about the room.  “Rodney, where’s the fix-it machine.”

“What?” the scientist responded softly.

“The device that’s going to fix your eyes.  Where is it?” John asked firmly.  Now that he could actually ‘see’ the room, he scanned it, trying to find a device that looked like it could fix blindness.  Should there be a picture of eyes staring out from it?

“It’s by the entrance,” Rodney responded, his voice drifting.  “Saw it when we came in.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Sheppard asked, exasperated.

“You were whining rather loudly about the bright lights at the moment.  I was trying to get you out of there.  We’re going to use it on the way out.”  His voice became softer as he said, “God, my head hurts.”  And he slid down a little further.

“You’re not going to sleep on the job!” Sheppard told him.  He touched his radio, and said, “Teyla, Ronon, can you make it to the entrance of this place?”

“Yes,” Teyla responded.  “Now that the chubbocks are gone, we should be able return to that site.”

"The shield is down.  You should be able to get inside.  We’ll regroup at the entrance. Sheppard out.”  

And now, he just had to get Rodney out of the place, but he frowned as he looked at the series of hallways.  The complex seemed entirely different with the illusion machine shut down.  He was fairly sure which doorway had been their entrance to the room, but he wasn’t certain.

“Which way?” he asked Rodney, but McKay made a soft whimpering sound and his head came to rest against John’s shoulder.

“Give me a couple minutes, okay?” Rodney said.  “That thing really did a number on my head.”

Damn it, Sheppard thought.

And then his eyes fell on the dead tambire, just barely visible behind a partition.  It was the only real thing he’d seen during their journey. How did the leopard get in here?  A kitty door?  And he saw the tracks it had left on the pretty tile floor.

PART 12:  SUNLIGHT

Sheppard kept moving, hauling Rodney along with him as he followed the tracks.  He could make out older tracks, dried on dirt amid the newer muddy prints.  The cat had been here before.  The cat knew the layout.  The cat knew the way in – the footprints were fresh.  It had been outside recently.  It would get him out faster than he could on his own.

“How you holding up?” Sheppard asked, just because he hated the silence.

“Oh, I feel marvelous,” Rodney hissed.  "Can't you tell from the singing and dancing?"

“I thought you turned everything off.  Didn’t that help?”  Sheppard asked.

“Lingering affects, I guess.”  Rodney’s free hand seemed permanently plastered to his forehead as he kept the other draped over a John’s shoulder.  "Using that illusion machine was like driving a tent stake into my skull."

They kept moving.

The tambire had probably learned its way through the funhouse the same way any cat found its way through blackness, by using its whiskers.  It must have been too excited by the sight of an ‘easy kill’ and forgot about the illusions when it ran into that wall.  Sheppard felt a little sorry for the creature.

But then he remembered what the ‘easy kill’ had been, and he didn’t feel sorry at all.

The path was relatively straight, compared to their twisting entrance, and Sheppard hoped that they weren’t making their way deeper into the complex.  He hoped they didn’t end up in some horrible leopard’s lair, facing down a whole family of the creatures.

The tracks were fresh. They had to lead to the outside.

They kept walking.  Rodney seemed to be getting better, letting Sheppard tug him along.  They needed to find the others and get home – now.  When Rodney slowed, Sheppard reminded him that they didn’t know what shape Teyla and Ronon were in, and they moved faster.

And the quality of light seemed to change in the hallways.  Sheppard quickened his step, taking Rodney with him.  Yes, there was sunlight!  Definitely sunlight!

He kept them moving into the next room, beneath the next ceiling, and he looked up.  Above them, daylight streamed in.  Some time ago, part of the wall must have caved in and part of the cliff broke away, exposing the hole big enough for a leopard, and big enough for a man to climb through.

“We’re almost out of here,” Sheppard promised as stepped beneath the hole, so that daylight streamed down on them, and reached for his radio.  “Ronon, Teyla?” he called. “Change of plans.  We’re going to need some rope.”

888888888888888888

When Sheppard dropped the rope and finally scrambled through the hole out of the underground complex, he had to admit that it was good to be back at the bog.

He’d had enough of underground Ancient crazyhouses and was pretty damn happy to see the ‘real world’ again.

Ronon sat down with a groan beside Teyla.  Rodney lay on his back with his faced turned toward the sun.  From the looks of things, they were on the same path they’d used earlier, a little further along and just above where the jumper remained swamped.

Ronon was bandaged from his knee to his ankle and across his shoulder, but the wrappings were already spotting with red.  Teyla looked equally injured at her hip and along one arm.  They’d probably used every last dressing in Ronon’s pack.  They looked bad, and had apparently patched themselves up enough to be mobile.

But they needed the infirmary.

Rodney was still pale and weak from using the machine.

As much as he hated leaving his team at that moment, Sheppard knew there was little choice.  “I guess this means I’m walking.”  He stared over the bog, calculating how far he’d have to go through the soupy, monster-infested swamp to reach the Gate.  It would take a while.

“Chubbocks are still out there,” Ronon reminded.  “Probably not a good idea to go unless you have Godzilla with you.”

“Did you bring the technology?” Teyla asked.

“We’re going to have to come back to check that out that later,” Sheppard said.  “And nobody’s going to using that piece of crap again if I have any say in the matter.  Rodney, how’re you feeling?”

“Like I want to die,” Rodney groaned.

“This might make him feel better,” Ronon said, and he pointed to a device beside the trail -- a breadbox sized monitor.

Sheppard wasn’t sure what to make of it.  Rodney turned toward it and uttered a quiet, “Oh!”

Sheppard glanced a question to Teyla.

“It is a match to the one that changed his vision,” Teyla explained.  “We found it just inside the entrance to the complex.”

“It was portable, so we brought it with us,” Ronon continued.

“Portable?” Rodney voiced.  “Why would they make it portable?”

“We kinda made it portable,” Ronon returned gruffly.  “Broke off easily enough.”

Rodney winced at the description.

“Didn’t hurt it,” Ronon promised, but he looked toward Sheppard and shrugged.

Sheppard frowned as he looked at the device.  “It better not be broken.”

“It’s not,” Rodney told him, turning his head again to take in the sunlight.

“See,” Ronon responded.

“This will fix your eyes?” Sheppard asked, pointing at the thing.

“Should,” Rodney responded.

“Then, let’s go!” Sheppard stated.  “Fire it up!”

“We should think about it first,” Rodney said.  He sat up slowly, his forehead wrinkled.  “Until we know how we’re getting out of this place, we’d better hold off.  This vision might come in handy again.  It’s been pretty handy so far.” He smiled and said, “My head feels a lot better.”

“Right,” Sheppard replied.  “But we’re zapping you before we try to use the Gate.”

They had to get out of here and to the infirmary.  Sheppard wasn’t sure if he could make it to the Gate if he walked, what with the angry bog beasts out there.  The only decent means of escape was half-sunken in the mud.

Sheppard stared at the jumper, annoyed at himself for allowing this to happen.  He should have found a better place to set it down.  He could have even turned on the shield when they landed -- that would have kept them from ruining the engines in the mud.

John sat up slightly.

The shields might have saved them.

“McKay,” he called.  “Rodney!  What would happen if I turned on the jumper’s shields?  Can I use it to free the drive pods?”

“The engines are fouled,” Rodney grumbled.  “They’re not going to work when they’re jammed full of mud.  But…”   And Rodney’s expression changed as he thought.  Then a grin spread.

“But ‘what?’” Sheppard asked feeling that old excitement that grew every time he saw that smile.

“There’s a self cleaning system,” Rodney stated.  “It’s designed to clean out debris.  You know, dust and what-not.  It should work on the mud.  Might have to crank it up a few notches and turn off safety protocols.  If we fire it up when the shield is on it might… well, we might fry everything, but…” and he seemed to get stronger as he sat up and his mind wheeled.  “…I think I can make it work.”

88888888888888888

The return to the jumper included a trek through the bog, but the chubbocks failed to show themselves, perhaps still wary of the mutant lizard.  Luckily, the jumper hadn’t sunk any further.  It was still jammed butt-down in the mud with the rear hatch partially open.

Once they were able to open the hatch again, they found that at least a foot of mud covered the rear portion of the vehicle, but the angle of the descent had kept the intrusion to a minimum.  The cockpit was virtually mud free.

The four moved carefully, aware that their added weight might shift the craft’s position, and send it deeper into the bog, but the jumper had apparently dipped as deeply as it could at the moment, and it remained in place.

A short, loud conversation took place as to whether or not the ‘eye fixing’ device should be used immediately.  It ended with Rodney’s reminder that he could see the jumper with greater clarity than ever before and the last time he’d been exposed to the ‘eye changer’, he’d been rather useless for anything for some time afterward.

They needed him to do the tricky work of getting the drive pods working again --  end of argument.

So, with Rodney still blind and in the copilot seat, they fired up the shield.

It was a strange sensation as the jumper rose out of the mud, a drifting, rising experience as the shield pushed them upward until the jumper was fully lifted about the surface.

They sat on the surface of the mud like a bubble in a bath.

Sheppard kept the jumper at a tilt until the majority of the accumulated mud had run out the back, and then once that was clear, he sealed the rear hatch, and managed to level off the jumper.

“You know, this place still reeks,” Rodney muttered.

“Yeah, I’ll put a crew on that,” Sheppard responded.  “What do we do now?”

“Checking,” Rodney said, his eyes darting as if taking in information all around him.  “Okay,” he said.  “Good.  I can do this.”

Then he leaned forward and keyed in a rapid series of commands.

The shield shook, vibrating the whole ship.

“What’s going on?” Sheppard asked, his hands hovering over the controls, ready to take over.

“Just… just hang on a second,” Rodney told him, grinning as the vibration continued and the shield around the ship shimmered.  “Okay, okay.  That’s better.”  And the shield returned to its normal behavior.

“What did you do?” Sheppard asked.

“Oh, I was just shaking out the mud that had accumulated inside the shield,” Rodney told them.  “Osculated the frequency a little.”  He continued to smile.  “We had a lot of mud stuck in here with us and I just let it run out.”

“And the drive pods?” Teyla asked from behind him.

“Still mucked up.” Rodney blew out a breath.  He worked a few more controls and the HUD came up, showing the ship and the shield.  “I’m going to have to expand the shield a bit,” he said.  “The more room we have within the shield, the better chance we have of not blowing up when we run the cleaning system.  Seriously, this is probably not the best idea, but what other choice to we have, huh?  I mean, the jumpers aren’t even supposed to have shields, so I doubt the Ancients ever figured that someone would try to use the cleaning system like this.”

“Maybe we need to rethink this,” Sheppard stated.  “We can set down and shut down the shield.  I can try firing up the cleaning system before we start sinking again before we have to re-engage the shield.”

“We’ll sink immediately,” McKay told them.  “The bog has already been churned up beneath us and the pods will always be in the mud.  We can’t move the ship to firmer ground without the pods operational.”

“Okay,” Sheppard bargained.  “We’ll land.  You three will get out and I will try firing the system with the shields up.  Or maybe the three of you could push the shield jumper over a few feet while the shield is on.  It'll float on the surface, right?”

Rodney made a face.  “It won’t work that way!  And I kinda doubt that either of them want to get up again.” He jerked a thumb in Ronon and Teyla’s direction.  “We need to get them home.”

Sheppard looked to the others.  Ronon gave him a glance that seemed to say he was fine, but Teyla shot the Satedan a concerned look.  They had to get out of here.

“I can do this,” Rodney stated emphatically.  “I mean, normally it would be tricky trying to judge the threshold of the shield against the energy output of the cleaning system, but I’m tapped in.  I can see it all.”  He smiled openly at Sheppard.  “It’ll be a piece of cake.”

Sheppard sighed, and sat back.  “Fine,” he declared.

McKay’s smile increased as his hands flew over the controls again.

They rose further and the HUD showed the expansion of the shield.  The drive pods extended, but the HUD showed them as ‘dark’ – un-operational.

“Here we go,” McKay declared.  He glanced toward the others, smiling still, but a little less confidently.  “This should work.”  And he continued working at the console.

Then the image of drive pods on the HUD started to glow yellow, then red.  And the alarms started to go off.

“Rodney,” Sheppard called.

Ronon sat forward in his chair, ready to pounce on something, in spite of his wounds.

“What’s happening, McKay?” Sheppard growled.

“I’m expelling the mud from the drive pods!  It’s like a self-cleaning system on an oven. You ever use one of those? The idea of it freaks me out a bit.  I always think that the house is going to burn down if the oven starts smoking.”

Sheppard’s eyes were on the HUD, watching as the drive pods flashed, as the image of the shield seemed to throb.  Around them, the usually transparent shield took on orange glow.  “McKay, this isn’t looking good,” Sheppard said.  “The alarms are...”

“I am fully aware of the alarms,” McKay replied as his hands flew over the controls.  “I can hear, can’t I?”

The HUD image took on more reds, more yellows.  Different parts of the jumper depiction were flashing in a way that spelled nothing-but-trouble. The jumper started to shimmy.  The shield wavered.   Sheppard gripped the arms of his seat, splitting his attention between Rodney and the HUD.  Behind him, Ronon and Teyla sat up, tense and ready for anything.

“Almost there,” Rodney muttered.  “Almost…”

There was a loud POP and a crackle and one of the crystal panels in the rear of the jumper burst open.  The HUD burst into a rainbow of color, smoke billowed outside and the shield around them glowed red, then dropped.  The jumper lurched.

They plummeted nose-first toward the bog.

Instinctively, John reached forward, grabbed the controls and pulled the jumper upright until it soared above the bog as he let out a shout of surprise.

“Ha!” McKay exclaimed, looking pleased.  “Did it!”  He turned his smirk on those in the back.  “Told you.”

“I had no doubts,” Teyla responded, settling back in her seat.

Rodney frowned and turned toward Sheppard.  “Is she serious, because I can’t tell.”

“She’s serious,” Sheppard responded as he experimented with the controls of the jumper.  It seemed a little sluggish, but it was reacting.  Thank God.  They were going home.  Just one thing to do first.

Sheppard brought the jumper up, climbing to the top of the cliffs.  Then he turned in his seat to regard his companions.  Teyla and Ronon were cut and mangled. Their bandages were in definite need of replacement and both would need bed rest, antibiotics and a dozen or so stitches before the day was done.  Rodney was sitting forward in his seat, looking so content he might be about to burst into song.

Sheppard gave the ground a careful examination before he brought the jumper down on the solid rock, and shut down the systems.

“Hey!” Rodney responded.  “Why are we landing?”

“We’re going home,” Sheppard said.  “And there’s something we need to do first.”  He nodded to Ronon.  Ronon one-handedly picked up the device that would repair Rodney’s vision.  It was high time they used the thing.

“Oh,” Rodney said, apparently seeing what Ronon had retrieved.  “You know, it may be a good idea to leave me like this for now,” he said quickly.  “We need to do more research on the illusion machine and it would probably be best if someone was able to utilize the machine fully and the only way one can manage the equipment is to have their vision changed and since I am already set up and used to it, it would be a shame to…”

“Rodney,” Sheppard said sharply, cutting him off. “We’re going home.  Ronon and Teyla need to get to the infirmary, now.  We’re going through the Gate.”

“Yeah, the Gate,” Rodney said with a grimace.  "Maybe we can figure something out.  Look, maybe I don’t have to go through.  I could camp out here for a while, right?”

“We are not leaving you behind,” Teyla said as she sat forward in her seat.

Ronon shoved the device at Rodney, giving Sheppard a glare that told him that he wanted the colonel nowhere near the thing.

If an ATA gene activated it, Sheppard had no business touching it.

“You know, I shut down the entire illusion device,” Rodney said.  “It was jamming the Wraith’s ability to project images. They’ll be able to do it again.  I need to figure out how to turn that particular aspect back on before we do anything.” And he waved a hand at his eyes.

“I’ve lived with their illusions before,” Ronon said.  “Can do it again.”  He sagged back into his seat, waiting.  “Just do it, McKay,” Ronon said.

“Rodney, they don’t have time,” Sheppard said. “I know you can’t see them, but Ronon and Teyla are pretty cut up.  We need to get them home.”

Rodney turned toward where Teyla and Ronon were sitting.  “Yes, yes.  I’ll do it.”  He pulled the thing into his lap.  “You know, maybe this thing give me back my regular vision but I’ll get to keep this other stuff.”  And he grinned hopefully at them.

“Might happen,” Sheppard said.

Rodney looked toward Sheppard and said, “Sheppard, it’d probably be best if you left the jumper when this thing goes off.  No sense in ruining your vision temporarily again.”

“I’m not leaving, Rodney,” Sheppard said.  “I’m thinking Ronon and Teyla are staying put, but I’ll move to the back of the jumper.”  And then he added with a snide tone, “If that will make you happy.”

“Ecstatic,” Rodney said sarcastically.  “I don’t hear you moving.  Come on, chop chop!”

Sheppard stood and made his way past the others and into the rear of the jumper.

“We should probably lower the bulkhead door,” Rodney stated offhand.

“Just leave it, Rodney,” Sheppard told him as he moved into position.  “We can’t wait any longer.  I’ll look away. That worked just fine last time.”

“Seriously, Sheppard, get out of the cockpit,” Rodney cried.  “I can tell you’re looking in here!”

“I’m out!”  Sheppard responded and he turned away, hating that he couldn’t see what was happening.  “Jeez!”

“Ronon and Teyla, you have to look away, too.  I can’t see if you’re doing it, so… you know.  Just keep your eyes shut and don’t look over here.”

“We are doing so,” Teyla said, reassuringly.

“Go for it,” Ronon added.

“Now, Rodney,” Sheppard stated as he stared into a corner of the jumper.

Rodney said, “Okay,” again – his voice very low – and then the jumper filled with white light.

PART 13:  SEEING

He was aware of voices, talking softly near him, the smell of antiseptics, and the sensation that he was laying on sheets of inferior thread count.   It was itchy stuff and he wondered why nobody ever did anything to fix the situation.

Seriously, they deserved better.

There was the quiet beep of a monitor near him.  His mouth was dry and tasted like old socks.  There was a tugging at his skin – tape against his arm, an IV.

He smelled what might have been breakfast – pancakes, syrup, bacon. The clink of flatware against a plate.

Ronon was laughing.  Teyla said something smug, which quieted the Satedan and made Sheppard laugh instead.

Blackness. It was weird to see total blackness again.  He was used to seeing the long glowing tubes of light that outlined everything Ancient.  He should be able to see something, for certainly he was in the infirmary, in Atlantis.

He tried.  He tried to find the lines again, the neon glow that had showed him so many details and outlined the secrets of Atlantis.  He tried to push his vision out, as he’d done before, to fill his mind with the blueprint of his city.

But everything remained black – black and bleak and empty.  He felt his breath catch slightly at this realization – it was gone.

The voices around him silenced.

Ronon said, “He’s waking up.”

Sheppard said, “It’s about time.”  And Teyla softly called his name.

He kept trying to ‘see’, but there was nothing left.  Come on, he thought.  Come on, show me something!

Something touched his nose.  He tried to ignore it as he concentrated, trying to force his vision to work.  The thing came back.  He considered swiping it away, but his hands felt heavy. It touched his nose a third time, and he opened his eyes.

The world around him was blurry, but filled with color, with light.  There was shadow and hue and movement.  He blinked to clear his vision and to focus at the thing that hovered just in front of his face.

It was beige and red and …rubbery looking.

And Rodney frowned when he finally focused on the rubber chicken, and then stared beyond it to Sheppard.  “Get that thing out of my face!” he spat.

When his gaze met Sheppard’s, John broke into an open grin.  Relief seemed to spread over the colonel's face and he said something ridiculous about the chicken, but Rodney wasn’t really listening as he changed his gaze, turning his head to see Teyla in a bed on one side of him.

Her arm was bandaged and she smiled at him with that same expression of relief and happiness.  “How are you feeling, Rodney?” she asked softly.

Rodney took a moment to consider the question and answered.  “Okay.  I’m okay.”  He squinted, seeing the extent of her injuries for the first time.  "You..." he started, "You okay?"

She continued to smile.  "Yes, I am fine."

“How’s the head?” Ronon asked.

Rodney needed to turn his head the other way to see Dex, catching a glance of Sheppard who continued to hold the stupid chicken on him.  Ronon was on his other side, in another bed.  The Satedan was bandaged as well, but looking as if he was tired of the infirmary.  His half finished breakfast still sat in front of him.  

When McKay didn't answer him, Ronon poked at his own head.  "Headache?" he repeated.

“Oh, yeah.  Uh, not so bad,” Rodney answered honestly.  “In fact, I’m feeling pretty good.”  He smiled a little.  "I feel as if I can just get up and go back to work.  I'm sure Zelenka has a thing or two that requires my attention."

“He was by to see you earlier,” Teyla said.

“He took himself off night shift,” Sheppard told him.  “Since you were out of commission and everything, he figured he could make that command decision."  John smirked, and then asked, “How many chickens am I holding up?”  He waved the stupid thing back and forth.

Rodney finally found the strength to move and snatched the thing out of Sheppard’s hand.  The colonel seemed strangely content with that.  “I am so sick of seeing this thing!” Rodney snapped at him, shaking the rubber chicken at him.  “Give it a rest!”

And Sheppard sat back in his chair, his smile not dipping yet.  “So, I take it you can see again.”

Rodney let out a sigh as he looked around the room.  The infirmary was as it had always been.  “Yeah,” he said.  He looked toward the others, not sure what he expected to see from them.

Teyla smiled warmly.  “Rodney,” she said happily.  “It must be wondrous to be able to see again.  Are you suffering any difficulties?  Dr. Keller was unsure if your vision would be entirely restored.”

“It’s good,” Rodney said, glancing around the room.  “Everything seems fine.  I can see.”  He focused on one item, and then another, and then tried to see ‘beyond’ again, but his vision remained frustratingly limited to only what was directly in front of him.

“Something’s wrong?” Teyla asked.

Rodney shook his head.  “I can ‘see’ fine, but I lost the other vision.  It’s gone.”

Sheppard shrugged.  Teyla didn’t look bothered by this fact.  Ronon went back to eating.

Annoyed by their reaction, Rodney snapped, “This is important!  I have lost a vital ability.  It was very useful.”

“Useful?” Sheppard responded.  “You’re going to have to do better than that.”

Rodney furrowed his brow. “You don’t understand.  You aren’t the one who lost it.”  He sighed dramatically.  “It’s like they always say, ‘you don’t appreciate a good thing until it’s gone’.”

Now Sheppard seemed to get upset.  “You can’t honestly tell me that you’d rather be stuck in the dark with those neon lines?”

“There was so much I could have accomplished,” McKay went on.  “So much I could have discovered!  To have it taken from me is… well… We still have that device, don’t we?”  He looked at them hopefully.  “With any luck I can reengage the ability and make full use of it this time.  No more moping around!   It just took a little while for me to get used to and then I was fine with it.  I would have been just fine.”  And he crossed his arms over his chest as he watched his friends.

Teyla looked confused and maybe even sympathetic.  Ronon shook his head and continued eating.  Sheppard’s expression was blank for a moment.

“That’s about enough,” Sheppard said.

“Enough?” Rodney responded.  “I haven’t even started.  Look, someone should get the device and fire me up again before I change my mind.  I’m already used to the affects of it, so let’s get crackin’.”

Sheppard stood.  “You’re feeling better?”

“Much,” Rodney said.  “I’m feeling perfect.”

“Fine then,” Sheppard said.  “Let’s take a walk.”

888888888888888888

Keller brought a wheelchair to the bed in case it was needed, but once Rodney was on his feet, he felt amazingly stable.  The headache that has plagued him had disappeared.

And Rodney had forgotten about how pretty Keller looked.  He watched her expressions change as she gave him a quick examination.

She seemed pleased.  She seemed happy at the results of her tests.  “His vision is back to normal,” she proclaimed.  “Welcome back, Rodney.”  And smiled so that her nose crinkled, then she cleared Rodney to take a walk.  Rodney had to promise to return for further testing when Sheppard was done with him.  And, if Rodney showed any sign of fatigue or pain, John promised to come back immediately.

Teyla wished them well. Ronon looked annoyed that they were able to go while he had to stay.

Sheppard and Rodney stalked down the hallways of Atlantis.  They moved side by side as Rodney glanced about, seeing the city as if for the first time again.

It was beautiful.

He’d never been that interested in the aesthetically pleasing aspects of anything, but as they roamed down the hallways, he couldn’t help notice how much thought had gone into the ‘look’ of the place.   The details were astonishing.

They passed people on their way, and Rodney actually paid attention to their faces, surprised that he remembered so many of their names.  He was always so bad at picturing faces and putting names to them.  Most people even smiled at him.

They kept moving, not talking, just walking along the familiar hallways of Atlantis.  The path seemed unplanned, and yet McKay felt compelled to make a turn, and then another, until they emerged on one of the tower’s balconies.

It was a lovely day.  The sun was shining.  The breeze was easy.

Rodney moved forward, first taking in the freshness of the air as he leaned on the rail.  He lifted his gaze and looked out at the panoramic view of the city.  He took in the tall, graceful spires, the towers, the arches and high walkways.  He deliberated the pretty geometry, the handsome structure.  The composition looked random to an untrained eye, but to Rodney, it was perfection.

He tipped his head down and watched as waves crashed far below.  The white spray seemed to form shapes like lace against the lower levels. He couldn't look away for several moments, watching the waves break and dance.

Slowly, he lifted his gaze.  He knew every inch of the city.  He could look across to the next tower and could rattle off every room, every lab that was situated there, but now he just looked at it, appreciating the architecture, the beautiful symmetry.

Someone was moving along a gangway far across the city, too distant to recognize.  She had red hair.

There was a jumper on the East Pier and a team of marines cleaned it, and Rodney realized it was the one they’d brought to the bog planet.  It was filthy, and he smiled a little, watching the poor team that was assigned the responsibility.  Strangely, they seemed to be enjoying the activity as they washed the jumper down on a sunny day.  One large man doused a woman with a bucket.

Another group was playing some sort of game on an open space between towers.  Rodney watched them scatter and come together, not understanding what they were doing, but it involved a ball and lots of movement.  Rugby?  Football?  He couldn’t be sure.   Maybe it was a game they'd made up themselves here in Atlantis.

A woman on a balcony was practicing yoga.  A botanist was watering plants at an outside lab.  A man was just sitting on a chair on one of the open decks, just looking out at the ocean.

He blinked and noticed a bird.  It soared on the ocean breezes, hanging in the air between the towers as if suspended on a wire.  It rose and fell and rose again without seeming to move its wings.

And then a cloud moved, and the light changed, throwing new shadows and making everything different.

He silently watched everything, taking it all in, aware that Sheppard was just standing beside him, watching as well.  And he kept on watching.

THE END

Hope you enjoyed the story. comments and suggestions
Return to my Atlantis Main Page