A/N: This oneshot in two parts came about purely as an excuse for Shep-whump and John Sheppard hero worship. Gets a little melancholy, but in the end, it's all about the love ;-)
"Woah."
It was rare for all of John Sheppard's instincts to start screaming 'oh crap' all at the same time so he froze only three steps after exiting the Stargate. Not for the first time, he wished he could just turn around and go back home. The feeling of unease was so intense he was reaching for his radio when Ronon bumped his shoulder on his way out of the event horizon. The large man shot John a puzzled look then wandered further into the strange landscape spreading out before them. Teyla and Rodney emerged an instant later and the gate shut down.
John held onto a deep breath then let it out slowly.
"This place is creepy," Rodney announced at last, breaking the spell of silence that had fallen over the group. They'd been laughing and joking on the platform as they prepared to debark. Even Woolsey had seemed in a pleasant mood when he approved the mission. It seemed easy enough – investigate an Ancient planet that had been abandoned, presumably destroyed early in the war with the Wraith. They were to look around and see if there was anything cool left behind. No one expected there to be.
John swept his gaze across what might have once been a garden, except without flowers. John couldn't see a single bright color among the hundreds of shades of green. The sun was high, but the garden still seemed dim somehow. Deep shadows under the overgrown and unkempt vegetation made the place seem depressingly gloomy in the weak light. It also didn't help that the formations of lumpy, chalk-grey stones poking through the ground in random clumps looked a whole lot like tombstones.
"I've got a bad feeling," John admitted at last. Teyla shot him a close look and he could only shrug at the implied question. "Can't explain it. It's just too…quiet."
Teyla cocked her head, listened, then began to nod in rather aggressive agreement.
"You're right! The plant life seems lush, but I hear no animal activity at all. No bird or insect calls."
"Rodney, you got any life signs around here?" John shifted his P-90 into a more comfortable ready position and realized that he still hadn't moved away from the gate.
"None at all. I'm not getting any life. Not even bacteria. This place is…awesome."
John snorted with unease. "How do you figure that?"
"Think about it. No bacteria. No insects. Nothing with teeth or claws or a tendency to trigger allergic reactions. You'd never get sick. Food wouldn't spoil."
"I remember something in biology class about decomposers being useful critters," John muttered, then more loudly, "but why? Why isn't there any animal life when the plants seem to like it so well?"
"Beats me." Rodney wandered closer to one of the stones and idly touched the surface. John restrained an irrational urge to shout a warning, or to shove him out of its way. He clutched his weapon tight in sweaty hands, but nothing happened. Rodney waved his scanner over the thing for a moment, then twisted to walk towards another stone close by. Teyla and Ronon were slowly walking away from the stargate, exploring. Teyla tapped a stone/sculpture/thing that looked like a human dipped in wax, thickened and rounded but eerily familiar.
With a jolt as sharp as an electric shock, John's unease flared into bonafide panic.
"Let's get out of here," he grunted and flung himself at the DHD. The device was wrapped in vines and moss but its shape, like the human sculpture, was recognizable. The others had only turned to throw him puzzled looks by the time he reached the front and slammed his hand into the first symbol that would send them home.
"Ow!" His hand jerked away from the panel of its own accord, tingling. That shock had hurt! The symbol remained lit, but John was, predictably, hesitant to touch the device again.
"Rodney! Get the hell over here and make the DHD work," he bellowed. There was no answer and John spun, annoyed. "Hey! I asked you to…Oh…crap."
Rodney stood frozen in mid step, mid gesture, surrounded by a swirling, liquid golden glow. John felt a shudder ripple across his shoulders. The rounded field of energy encased Rodney in a shape exactly like the creepy stone sculpture. A voice tickled John's ear and he could have sworn he heard words whispering on the dead air.
"Rodney!" Teyla exclaimed, catching on as John hesitated. She leaned to rush to Rodney's side only to jerk to a halt an instant later. A pale version of the same golden glow around Rodney surrounded her and grew brighter with shocking speed.
John yelled her name. Ronon was caught an instant later. Forgetting the DHD, John raced to the glow around Teyla and shoved his hand into the light. The shock his touch ignited threw him to the ground; he felt the hair on his head lift in response to the charge. His heart beat uncomfortably fast for a moment from the jolt, then continued in fear.
"What the hell is going on?" he yelled in pure frustration. His voice was hoarse and there was no one to hear. He scrambled to stand up. He would dial the DHD and call for help, shock be damned. He took one step and then felt every muscle seize. He growled with effort and made it only one more step before the pale glow engulfed him and he could push himself no further.
The glow grew brighter and more opaque. The garden was fading from his vision when a voice whispered in his ear. It was so soft and insistent that he couldn't tell if someone was standing at his shoulder or if the voice was coming from inside his head. There was no time to think...
"So be it," whispered the voice.
The field let him go.
John hustled. The instant the glow released him, he cajoled aching muscles until they began to move again. He lurched back towards Rodney in an ungraceful lumber, digging clumsily in his pockets as he went. When he found the rubber gloves he'd been looking for, he tugged them over sweat-slicked palms. Latex was no real protection against the charge he was expecting, but the gloves might protect the skin on his hands…a little.
The field around Rodney was already so opaque that the shape was starting to look as solid as the stones nearby. John tapped the glow gingerly and jerked when the charge again jolted through him, this time flashing with a bright blue spark. He spun on his heel scanning the ground for something, anything that could help him break Rodney free. His P-90 banged against his chest and he paused.
"Why the hell not," he muttered to himself, unclipping the weapon. He just hoped the metal casing of the compact weapon was conductive enough for what he needed. He dropped to one knee and set the butt of the gun on the ground a few inches away from the ankles of the Rodney-shaped field and then leaned the muzzle towards the glow. John thought he knew what he had to do, and how. He just didn't know if he'd be able to do it.
"Here goes, Rodney," he said, unable to squash the dread that was building in his chest. "Hopefully this won't hurt either of us …too much."
John let go of the muzzle and it fell to lean against the energy field surrounding Rodney. There was a great flash of light and crackle of sound as the connection to ground interrupted the field's continuity. The field flickered then began to swirl again, degenerating from a smooth, solid glow, to arcs and sparks of blue-white current. John shielded his eyes from the glare and flashes until he could see Rodney again within the maelstrom and then he lunged.
Light skittered down his arms and over his vest, crawling towards the ground in threads of blue. John ignored the extremely uncomfortable feeling of his arms tingling into numbness and closed his fists around Rodney's vest. With a mighty heave, he yanked Rodney out of the field. Fingers of energy stretched and clung to them until, with another massive effort, John managed to lift Rodney's feet off the ground for an instant. The field collapsed completely.
John fell backwards at the sudden release, Rodney on top of him. For a moment he lay still, panting hard. His hands were buzzing and his heart was thumping against his ribs. Whatever the charge was, it wasn't normal electricity. It didn't burn, exactly. It just felt like it was crawling through him like worms.
"Get off, Rodney," John groaned at last. He received only a groan in return, but the sluggish protest brought a smile to John's lips. John shoved, felt for Rodney's pulse just to make sure then left him there to wake up on his own. He'd gotten one out, barely. He had to do it twice more. The P-90 was a smoking, melted chunk of metal, so John left it alone and swiped Rodney's.
Teyla was easier. She was small and light and John was able to grab, yank, and lift her in one smooth motion. She too fell to the ground, alive, but unconscious. John pushed himself to his feet one more time, and took Teyla's P-90 to stagger towards Ronon. The unpleasant buzzing in John's hands had crept up to his shoulders. His legs shook with each step. He was lightheaded and his pulse still felt too fast.
John paused in front of the glowing mound that was Ronon. Ronon was a lot taller than John. And heavier. John sighed, resigned. He'd need to get his shoulder into Ronon's chest to lift him for the split second it took to break the connection. When he propped the P-90 into place to disrupt the field, he waited a bit longer for the current to run into the ground. The field degenerated into a chaotic shell of lightening and Ronon started to twitch with the random touches of energy. Fearing he'd waited too long John dove into the sparks.
Tendrils of unnatural electricity licked over John in warm tickles. He felt his hair stand on end and gritted his teeth when his shoulder connected with Ronon's chest. A sharp crack announced the touch, and John bit back a cry at the sudden pain that flared over the shoulder. His shaking knees almost collapsed and he braced harder against Ronon's rigid frame. With a massive effort, he heaved and flung Ronon up and backwards.
The field snapped out of existence, leaving behind a sharp scent of ozone in the air. Ronon crumpled in a heap and John sank to his hands and knees. The smell of burned flesh and singed fabric mingled with ozone. John coughed then buried his face in the springy cool grass. He was shaking all over. His heart was thrashing in his chest like a caged animal and his shoulder throbbed.
"I'm really glad that worked," he panted to himself. "We're out of P-90s." He remained grass for a moment longer, working up his courage. The dread had returned, mingled with regret and sorrow. When he got to his feet it was with a sudden, frantic scramble. He stood long enough to make sure his legs were going to work for him, and he set his feet towards the DHD. He wasn't finished yet.
"Sheppard?" Rodney was sitting up in the grass and pressing his palms into his temples.
John almost turned aside to help Rodney get up, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to finish what he had to do if he stopped now. If he stopped now, he'd…be afraid.
"McKay. Help Teyla and Ronon. When the gate opens, get everyone through."
"What?" Rodney was still confused and bleary, but he pushed himself to his knees and tried to stand.
"I'm dialing the DHD."
"Oh. OK."
John smiled to himself in satisfaction as Rodney got himself to his feet then lumbered over to Teyla. She was already sitting up herself, looking just as confused. John stopped in front of the DHD and flexed his hands within the latex gloves. The symbol he'd touched first was still lit, an uncomfortable reminder.
John took a deep breath. He lifted his hand to hover over the second symbol and realized it was clenched into a shaking fist.
"Hell," he growled softly, his courage wavering. He touched the device.
The expected jolt was spread out a bit by the glove, but his arm still jerked away in autonomic response. Annoyed, he slammed his hand into the next three keys in rapid succession before the shock was so intense, he fell to his knees cradling the arm the arc had traveled through. They were getting stronger with each touch. His heart was thrashing again, but with a strange feeling of lopsidedness.
John pushed himself to his feet. He gritted his teeth and pushed the 6th symbol. When the jolt threw him to the ground again, a small whimper escaped his throat. His hand was stinging like his shoulder and he struggled to sit up long enough to peel the glove off. The fingertips had melted and were threatening to do more harm than good. He hesitated a moment more, then flung himself to his feet, to slap at the 7th symbol.
"John!"
Teyla's cry followed his own scream of pain and defiance. He lifted his head from where he'd been flung to see his team huddled together, holding each other upright and moving slowly towards him.
"Go…to the gate…" he yelled.
He had to activate the address. He had to touch the DHD one last time and they would be free. They would be safe.
John struggled to his knees, then pushed against his thighs to stand. He looked at his friends one last time. They were walking, they would make it.
He lifted his hand over the glowing center bulb…and hesitated. He was afraid. He didn't want to touch it.
"John?"
Teyla again. She needed to go home. She needed to go to her son. He trusted his team.
John slammed his hand into the ball. His body seized with the charge and he could almost feel the line of fire as the jolt raced from the hand to his foot against the ground. He couldn't pull away. He saw his hand blacken. He heard screaming, but the roar of pain was too loud to make out words. He was afraid it might be him.
The charge finally released him and he crumpled to the ground in a heap. He couldn't move. His chest felt strangely quiet, although he could feel the barest butterfly flutters of motion in the eerie quiet. It was another moment before he realized he couldn't breathe. A brief moment of panic was all he was allowed before his vision began to dim, and he willed himself deeper into it.
He heard his name spoken close by, and he closed his eyes.
"So be it," the voice whispered one last time.