Phantoms tag.
How Phantoms should have ended. I just didn't buy the whole bit at the end with Sheppard so here goes…………
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Teyla groaned as she lay on the floor. White hot pain was splicing through her leg.
Sheppard was crouched beside her, talking into the radio, still immersed in his hallucination. "This is round house zero six, do you read? Arklight, this is round house zero six do you read?"
Teyla tried to meet his eyes but they were glassy and staring at a point beyond her. She felt a tug on her leg and looked down to where Mckay was lying, his hand curled around his stomach in a feeble attempt to staunch the blood that was flowing freely and slowly relinquishing him of his consciousness.
"I already told you how to fix it," he rasped, "Cut the power."
Teyla turned back to Sheppard. "Arklight, respond, we need to get the hell out of here." His voice was laced with frustration, the hands holding the radio shaking as he spoke.
Teyla managed to get up onto her elbows and grunting through the pain she spoke in a calm and even voice, "The interference is coming from in there." She gripped Sheppard by his vest and roughly jerked him to wake him from his reverie.
Sheppard looked straight through her, scanning the area with his eyes and then looking at her with a confused expression, "Nothing there but sand."
Teyla briefly closed her eyes as her vision swam, "There is an entrance to a cave."
Sheppard looked up and informed her,"There's nothing there."
Teyla got up onto her knees, her leg stiff and throbbing from the pain. She gripped his arm and gave it a squeeze, "John you have to trust me," she said in a voice filled with desperation, "now the enemy is jamming our radio signal, you have to disconnect the power, I can show you how, but you have to disconnect the power."
Sheppard looked at her and then returned to his radio, "Arklight, this is round house Zero six. Can you hear me?"
"I can't make it," Mckay whispered as the colour continued to drain from his face. "You'll have to do it."
Teyla looked between the two men and then prepared herself to move. She would have to do this alone. She got onto her hands and knees, her injured leg buckled, just as a burst from weapons fire made bark explode in front of her. She turned back, could see Ronon in the trees, and made a desperate attempt to drag herself towards the cave.
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Teyla was swallowed by the mouth of the cave and Mckay fought to stave of unconsciousness. His head was swimming, the trees above him spinning dizzily, as his stomach churned with fear.
Sheppard was still talking into his radio, summoning Arklight, when another explosion of fire erupted past his head.
Mckay watched as Sheppard stuffed his radio into his pocket and then he grabbed Mckay by his shoulders and started to drag him behind a large tree stump.
"Sheppard?" Mckay forced out through his teeth.
"Stay here Holland," Sheppard said as he unclipped his P90.
Sheppard crouched down by the tree, keeping his eyes locked forward as the Afghan walked towards him.
Mckay managed to gain purchase and lift his head enough to see Ronon coming out of the darkness and advancing on their position.
"It's Ronon," he said weakly.
"Keep quiet," Sheppard whispered and fired off a shot.
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Ronon dove out of the way of the Wraith's stun blast and found cover behind a tree. He kept his back rigid and chanced a look around the tree just as more bark exploded near his position.
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Teyla was sweating, feeling increasingly woozy, and her heart was hammering in her chest. The spikes of pain in her leg left her feeling exhausted, but she had to keep moving.
She passed the dead bodies lying old and decayed on the floor, crawled over cables and organic circuitry as quickly as she could, her left leg dragging on the floor.
She could see the main unit and heaved a deep breath before using all of her strength to reach it.
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Sheppard moved out from his cover to see that the Afghan had disappeared. He moved in a tight circle, keeping the gun aimed forward, and scanning the desertscape for any signs of movement.
He licked his lips, pricked his ears to listen for any sounds that indicated a presence.
The attack took him off guard. He hadn't seen anyone approaching and was surprised when something connected with his stomach and sent him sprawling down to the sand.
His gun clattered to the mud ineffectually and he kicked out with his leg.
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"Sheppard! Ronon!" Mckay forced the words out and held up a blood slicked hand.
They were lost in their own world, fighting respective enemies, and unseeing to the truth that they were each fighting a friend.
Mckay had watched as Ronon had emerged stealthily from behind one of the trees, launching his entire weight at Sheppard and sending him to the ground with a sickening crunch.
Sheppard had been slow to realise that he had been attacked but quick to react. He pushed his leg out, planting it into Ronon's chest and making him lose his balance.
Sheppard scrambled across the mud to reach for his weapon, but Ronon kicked him in the ribs.
Mckay winced. It sounded as though a twig had snapped but realised it was Sheppard's rib.
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Teyla reached the main console and even though her energy felt completely drained, she managed to get up onto her good leg. She balanced on the main structure as she reached for Mckay's datapad, "Rodney you were almost done, why did you stop?" she voiced in emotionally.
She moved repositioned herself, just about maintaining balance and reached in to find the largest chord. Her fingers met slick strings of organic material and she grimaced. She followed it down to the base and started to pull as hard as she could
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Mckay watched as Sheppard punched Ronon in the stomach, bringing his hand back and shaking it rapidly when it obviously hurt. He winced.
"You're going to die," Ronon spat.
Sheppard reached down for his sidearm but Ronon grabbed his wrist and twisted it violently until he released it. It clattered to the floor to join its friend.
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Teyla felt the chord give and she finally pulled it free. The power cut, she watched as the light in the optics of the chord, faded and turned dull.
She breathed a sigh of relief and sank down to her knees.
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Ronon punched Sheppard in the face and he staggered backwards, hand flying up to his nose where blood was beginning to spill down and over his lip.
In moves and reactions barely perceptible, both men stilled, and met each others gaze.
Sheppard looked down at his fingers and tentatively prodded his nose.
"Ow!" he said as he punched his thigh with a fist, "Why did you hit me?"
Ronon looked down at his grazed knuckles and then back at Sheppard, "I don't know."
They stared at one another, confused expressions gracing their faces.
"What the hell happened?" Sheppard asked. He looked down at his clothes to see that he was wearing his all black uniform. The desert had morphed back into the forest. Holland was…"Mckay?" he ran over to him and pressed a hand over his wound.
"You're back?" Mckay asked as he fought to breathe.
Sheppard licked the blood off his lips and spoke in a voice that was more nasal than before, "Who shot you?"
"You did," Mckay provided.
Sheppard pressed harder, "What?" he looked up at Ronon, "What happened?"
"Teyla," Mckay rasped out, "She's in the cave and injured."
"I'm on it," said Ronon as he raced off to find her.
"Do you remember what happened?" Mckay asked as he panted through the pain.
Sheppard who was beginning to become aware of his own aches and pains merely met his eyes, "I remember what I saw." Sheppard sat back on his heels and grimaced.
His chest hurt, some of his ribs were defiantly broken and his back hurt with untold intensity. His vision swam and he closed his eyes to steady himself.
The tap, tap of his blood in his pants made him reopen them, "I'll go get Beckett." He reached out for Mckay's shoulder and gave it a brief squeeze, "I really did this?"
Mckay nodded, "You didn't know it was me."
"I shot you," said Sheppard as he stood up. He shook his head and reached a hand up to massage his neck, "I shot you."
"I know," said Mckay, "We can play the blame game later, can you get Beckett?"
Sheppard looked straight through him, blinked, and then met his eyes, "I'll be right back."
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Ronon raced into the cave and found Teyla sitting by the main console and gripping her leg. He knelt beside her, "Are you okay?"
She bit her lip and nodded.
"I'll get you out of here," he said as he hooked an arm around her waist and hoisted her up to her feet.
"I thought you would kill us," Teyla said as her eyes teared up.
Ronon pulled her up into her arms and started to carry her out of the cave, as she placed her head against his chest and embraced the darkness.
THE END
And then the last bit of the ep could have continued from here. :D
