A/N: This shapter has been betaed by Lymbis as well. My many thanks, hugs and cakes (I would give her a pet Wraith, if it wasn't for the troubles she would get when she'd go to the pet store looking for food…) Go read her work ;)
Aherm. I talk too much.
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2. Brotherhood
"What do you mean by that?" Sheppard's voice had broken the silence that had almost strangled all of them. Teyla took a deep breath.
"There must be a wraith around," she said calmly and the group froze.
"Well, I'm sorry I that can't tell those things before we get through the Stargate!" she snarled. She was sick of this… gift. John clutched his fingers tighter around his gun.
"You could have at least told us before they closed the connection." he murmured. Teyla glared at him. Ford seemed to be unable to say something to make the situation better. John and Teyla's friendship was growing more and more aggressive for every day. Not entirely sure why they were so mad with each other, Ford didn't want them to continue like this.
"Should we dial home?" he asked. Teyla and John glared at him, hissing their answer with one tongue. The answer was no. Ford hastily raised his hands, "Sorry, sorry…!" Oh God, he thought silently, I really wish that flu had gotten me as well. He was stuck on a planet with two humans who would most likely start fighting and they had a wraith to worry about. Great. Just splendid. At least Ford's life wasn't boring. Teyla looked around, up at the sky, to the left and nodded. In front of them there was a desert, at the left and behind them there was a forest. Her gaze stopped promptly when it reached a ladder which leaned against one of the thicker trees. After looking more carefully she noticed the tree hut. John followed her gaze and took a deep breath.
"Now, where is that village? In the trees?" he muttered to himself, receiving one more of the death-glares.
"Let me please take care of this" Teyla said, walking towards the tree with both Sheppard and Ford escorting her. Ford took a good look around and made a mental note about being ill more often.
"What about the possible wraith?" Sheppard suddenly spoke, making Ford jump. Teyla shook her head.
"Actually that unpleasant feeling is pretty faint" she said blankly. Sheppard felt safer holding his P-90 firmly. Ford didn't really know what to do, so he continued to look around. Teyla stopped directly underneath the tree.
"Somebody there?" she shouted, but got no answer. Sheppard went to the base of the ladder and put his foot on the bottom rung.
"We could always go up-" he began, and Teyla sent him a dark look.
"I said let me, take care of this!" she hissed. Ford almost giggled at the way his C.O. reacted, but the look Sheppard sent him cut the giggles short. John took a step back from the ladder.
"Geez, I was just thinking-"he began, Teyla snorted.
"You think with your ass" she said firmly. Sheppard pouted. Ford really wanted to know what had happened between them, but didn't dare ask. An angry Teyla was worse than a hungry wraith. Teyla looked up, "If you go up there Sheppard and wave your gun around, you will only make it hostile towards you or us." John looked as if he had swallowed a cactus. Ford, who was slightly disturbed by the situation, walked around to the other side of the tree. Holy crap he thought to himself, those two! He took some steps backwards and stared up the tree. The tree house was every child's dream, it even had a window!
Arachnidus was in pain, though it was fading. The drug was wearing off and his senses were returning from past to present. A bit groggy he sat up, still concerned with the fact that the world was slightly turning around itself. The needle was still stuck deep into his left arm, with a growling sound he ripped it out and held it between his fingers for a second.
"Brilliant" he murmured as he began putting the injection syringe back into his pocket. The effect of the drug was no good without human blood in it, he had less control. The stargate activated suddenly. He looked out the window to see who would visit this worthless planet. Snarling he sank back onto the floor. Wonderful he thought. Either they would be wraith and kill him, or they would be human and kill him. Arachnidus let out a strained sigh. Then he heard human voices. He was more afraid of unknown humans than he was of fellow wraith. Especially since… Hopefully they'd just leave without noticing him. He stared at his feet; they were naked because Diego ran away with his boots. Well, the boots were in the dart, so it wasn't on purpose but yes, it was annoying. Being bootless was painful, at least when you had to wade through tons of pine cones just to get a fucking rabbit to dine on.
The voices came closer, by the time the reached the tree, Arachnidus had stopped listening to what they were saying. They sounded and it scared him. He was trapped like a bird in a cage. Claustrophobia set in with a vengeance. He still had the ladder, but was too afraid to move. He gazed out the window for a short moment, some of his silvery white hairs flowing over his face. His heart nearly leapt out of his chest when he heard the steel ladder moved against the threshold. Someone was coming up! The pain in his chest and the cold that radiated through his body coupled with the shear panic made him jump up. There was no time for thinking. He jumped right out the window, not caring if they saw him. At least he wouldn't be trapped in that tree house anymore.
The first bullet hit him in the chest. The next one went for the throat. Paralysed by fear and pain he stepped backwards and slammed into the tree trunk. Oh fuck was all he could think. Oh, remarkable fuck, he was shot. All he could see was blood which spurted from his neck and ran over his fingers. Then the pain came. Pain was unworthy of a Wraith. He snarled and turned to catch the eye of the man who had shot him. The man dared not do anything except stare. Arachnidus looked away. Soon Teyla and John came running around the tree to stand with Ford.
"The wraith" Teyla deduced. Sheppard raised his gun out of reflex. The creature in front of them was making rasping noises trying to breath through the holes in his chest and throat. Then they heard a familiar yet terrible sound. All eyes turned skyward.
"Fuck." The swearing came from Arachnidus who, almost instantly, could feel the presence of his brother. "Holy insolent sinister fuck" he thought. This was not the right situation for a… reunion. The humans backed away as the dart opened and Cazsche stepped out. The slightly taller wraith nodded at his brother.
"Got some more human friends?" he asked in wraith tongue. Arachnidus glared at him, "Oh, but you're shot. Maybe you need a hand?" The raw, sarcastic humour cut an exacting path straight to Arachnidus' heart. Exactly Cazsche's style, Arachnidus growled angrily and took some unbalanced steps towards his brother.
"Go back to hell" he spat. Knowing that nothing he said could make his brother give up the hunt. It was too precious to Cazsche, keeping the family clean. When his little brother turned out to be a sympathetic, weak little bugger, to not mention homosexual, he had sworn to if not kill, then torment him. Make his life not worth living. Cazsche smiled gently.
"You dear brother are my hell" he said with his most simple voice and then lifted the stunner. The team of humans in the background was aiming at both wraith, but they couldn't be bothered with them. They were not important. Cazsche stopped when he was about a meter away from his younger sibling, a smirk lingering upon his lips.
"Fuck off" Arachnidus said in the human language, knowing how much Cazsche hated him for speaking it. The pain was horrible. Cazsche's nails sliced into his throat using the bullet hole as a starting point, and then Arachnidus was kicked away as if he were less than a piece of refuse. He was bleeding, not only from his throat, but from his mouth. Arachnidus fell down to the ground, gasping for air. He felt the gaze of spite wandering over his body.
"I didn't come to kill you this time, so listen carefully" Cazsche suddenly said with something close to malice glowing in his cold eyes. "I have something for you." Then he put one of his hands in a pocket and pulled out a shiny object and letting his fingers play with the necklace for a while before he threw it in front of his brother. "Have fun" he remarked.
The pendant! Diego! Suddenly Arachnidus was on his feet. Diego couldn't be gone! Diego was only seventeen!
"YOU BLOODY MOTHERFUCKER!" he shouted in pure English. He threw himself forward onto his brother, his right arm extended and going for the chest. The humans heard the crunch as Arachnidus plunged his hand through his brother's ribcage and ripped out his still beating heart. Cazsche was too surprised to move. His face was a mask of shock and though Arachnidus could not see it, his eyes were filled with tears. Cazsche fell silently to the ground. The thud of the body was hardly noticeable. Then he fell too. Down to his knees, with the heart still clutched between his fingers:
"Diego" he whispered grabbing the dying muscle harder, getting the dark blood all over him, "I'm so sorry…"
And he passed out while stretching his free hand towards the pendant.