Forcing his eyes to blink open, a deep ruddy brown was all McKay could comprehend. The wash of red and brown were incapacitating and he thrashed around to see something, anything, else. Finally, his head came to a rest on his shoulder. Slick sticky residue was seeping into his woven shirt. He squirmed away.

Outside, whitecap waves crashed again and again into the City's shields with a constant thud. McKay's ear canal – overloaded - throbbed with the constant wailing of the alarm and thudding. Trying to bring his hands to his ears, McKay soon realized his hands were bound in front him and he was on his back. Unable to cover his ears, his thought drifted to a fluffy haired Zelenka and he narrowed his eyes.

Why hasn't he turned the damn alarms off yet!

Still distancing himself from the chamber he found solace against the other side of the console. Pitches and tones came from the other side of the console. Closer then, McKay realized Mary was standing only two feet from the other side. Leaning, he peered around the console. Mary's long dark hair drenched down the back of her grey uniformed and blocked McKay's view of the man who was speaking.

Pulling himself back up right, McKay realized Mary had indeed always been Pandora. A flood of memories hit him, the way Mary referred to Ancients as Lanteans or her misunderstanding of common gestures. The signs were there – even her looks – but McKay missed them all.

Three taps, three taps was all it would take for McKay to finish programing the transmitter array and activating the frequency. One problem, Mary stood less than a foot away from the console McKay needed to access. Letting his head rest against the cold console, he paused a moment to listen to Mary's conversation.

"I think I'm ready, do you believe this will work?" Mary asked.

"My dear, of course it will. All you have to do is ascend and you will not be bound by any physical laws as you currently know them."

McKay looked down at his standard issue uniform. The same uniform his suffering friends would be wearing. He knew if Mary ascended Jen would have no real chance at synthesizing a cure from Mary's blood. It's always up to me to save the day, hmm.

Hands pressed against the floor, all four limbs moved in synchronicity to reach the other side of the console. Mid infancy crawl, the wailing stop and the lab went quiet. He shook his head and thought of the fluffy haired man again. McKay cursed Zelenka for having the worst timing in the world.

Squishing himself into the floor he hoped he would go unnoticed. A second passed and Mary continued her conversation giving McKay the opportunity to manage his way back to all fours.

"I hope this works."

"You need to focus now. Try to reach a meditative state like I showed you."

Shooting up, McKay reached the console and tapped in the last sequence to active the transmitter array. As his finger hit the last button, McKay turned his head to look at the conversing pair. Mary was bending down and McKay could see the figure of a slender man dressed in a white almost robe looking garb. The slender man focused in on McKay. "I think your friend is awake."

The length of the slender man's pointer finger pointed out toward McKay and Mary whirled around. The man glowed – like the console display - behind Mary. McKay's mouth popped open.

"Janus?"

Janus turned his head sideways. "Do I know you?" Mary lifted her arms and flung them out towards McKay. McKay jerked, squinted, and expected to be thrown backwards. Nothing happened. McKay opened his eyes. Mary looked down at her hands then to Janus. "What happened? Why did my powers not work?"

Janus stood there looking but not moving. "I suspect whatever he just punched into the console has something to do with it." Mary darted to her feet and rushed past McKay, knocking him down. Hands moved rapidly across the screen of the console but Mary had no luck. "Undo it Rodney!"

"No, I won't let you ascend."

Mary whirled around to Janus. "Can you fix or interact with the console somehow?"

Janus shook his head, "No Mary, my program does not work that way."

Janus's figure flickered. "Program? You're a hologram?" McKay struggled to sit up right.

"Very good, I was created in the event Ellips was ever released."

Mary slumped into the chair beside the console head down and began to weep. A pang ran through McKay but he was determined not to feel sorry for her. Her blue eyes looked up again at McKay and he forced himself to look away.

"Ellips?"

"It's her name," answered Janus.

"I thought her name was Pandora, the vessel of evil?" Mary flung her head upward. Her red blotchy face was reddening every second. "I am not evil."

Her intensity made McKay shrivel but he remained steadfast. "You caused a plague that almost wiped out your people, Mary, Pandora, Ellips – Whatever."

Slumping again, Mary began shaking her head. "I didn't know, Rodney. I didn't know."

Janus spoke up then, "Perhaps I can explain."

"Ohh, I already know. She told me."

"I didn't tell you everything Rodney," sniffled Mary.

"Well please do tell me, I am sure all the people who are about to die have the time to wait." McKay tried to cross his arms but with bound hands he just wriggled his hands up to his chest.

Mary looked down at her hands. "No one knew, not even myself, that I caused the plague. You see it transferred to my mother through my blood when I was born. It was only after we left the planet they figure out it was me."

"How?"

"I cut myself playing with a friend and my blood infected her. They others realized then it had always been me. They quickly quarantined my friend and place me in stasis to prevent further out break."

Janus piped in then, "She remained in stasis for millennia but it appeared even in stasis she still had some control of her powers, specifically to control her growth patterns."

"That is why you created the chamber, to prevent her from aging?"

"Yes. When the others realized she might age to be old enough to ascend they became worried, panicked even. They commissioned me to find a way to humanely end her life."

"But you, being you, didn't do what you were supposed to and now my people are screwed because you programmed the default deactivation setting to choose life instead of death." Mary turned her head to look at Janus with a questioning look and Janus responded with a knowing nod.

"She didn't know you programmed it to choose life?" McKay asked Janus but Mary responded.

"No, Rodney. Even though Janus was the only person to ever care for me, I knew he needed to ensure the safety of the people. I assumed that meant I would one day die inside the chamber, if no cure could be found."

The Janus hologram still looking at Mary responded, "I did it because I did not believe she was evil and one day I might find a cure. I am sorry for the unfortunate events that lead your people to open her chamber."

"Well, that's nice but your ego will be the downfall of my people," huffed McKay.

Mary opened her mouth to respond but McKay's headset started vibrating on a top the console. The faintest sounds were coming through the ear piece. McKay glanced at the headset but did not move. Mary closed her mouth and waived her hand toward the headset.

"What, I'm allowed to answer it?"

"There is not much point in me trying to stop you now." McKay looked at Mary sideways but got to his feet and hobbled along the floor. Grabbing his earpiece with bound hands he popped it into his ear. An immediate shock and Jen's voice came through the speaker. "McKay, answer me."

"I'm here Jen."

"Oh Thank God, I have been trying to reach you but it only just connected." McKay glanced sideways at Mary. She must have always been shielding communications until the emitter was activated.

"I'm ok Jen, what is going on."

"So many people are falling ill and I needed to know you were ok. I thought you passed out somewhere when I could not get a hold of you."

"Really, I'm ok." McKay turned to Mary then. "Hold on a second Jen."

Remembering his fainting episode from a few hours ago he turned to Mary and asked, "Why aren't I sick?"

"I healed you while you were unconscious."

McKay remembered Mary's hands running over his body. Immediately, he stepped forward. "Then you can heal everyone else."

"No, I can't. It weakened me to heal you and I am sure I would die if I tried to heal everyone."

Jen began screaming then and McKay ripped out the headset from his ear. Holding it at some distance he could hear Jen yelling, "Ronon is convulsing. I need Diazepam stat." The line went silent and McKay once more turned to Mary.

"You need to help my friends Mary! We can figure the rest out later." McKay began hobbling over to the lab doors focused on the door panel.

"I'd have the power to heal everyone, if I ascend." Mary stood up.

Still hobbling McKay shook his head. "The other ascended beings wouldn't let you heal us."

Mary stamped her foot. "I don't care what the others want. They never treated me as one of them and I will not be as callous as they were with me. If it is the first and last thing I do as ascended being I will heal you all."

McKay stopped to look at Mary and knew his friend was close to death. Many others would soon succumb to the illness, as well. McKay shuffled back along the floor to the console. Mary regarded his movements and stepped forward. McKay put his bound hands up and Mary wavered. Reaching the console McKay tapped the code to deactivate the array.

McKay let his head droop and Mary closed the distance between them. Her hand came to rest on his shoulder and warmth lingered. From his peripheral, he could see a bright glow.

He turned. A wisp of white energy lingered before McKay and it reminded him of Mary's smile. A brilliant light shot out in every direction, encompassing McKay. Momentarily stunned by the light, he shut his eyes. The light produced a bright red behind McKay's closed eyes. As the light vanished, so too did the red. He looked down to find himself no longer bound. Grabbing his ear pieced and jamming it into his ear he radioed Jennifer, "Jen, come in."

"Rodney, it's a miracle. Ronon's fever broke and others are beginning to wake up."

"Thank God."

"What happened?"

"It's a long story – but I love you Jen."

There was a pause, "I love you too, Rodney."

The radio clicked silent. He turned to Janus. "Ellips, it means hope doesn't it?"

Janus smiled then flickered out of existence. McKay stood there a moment. Of all the questions that could have lingered in his mind, only one did.

If Mary was Pandora, why then would Doctor Fox lie to get John alone?