A/N: October 8, 2013. Thank you for sticking with me and I'm sorry it has taken THIS long to finally update this fanfiction. PTSD does wonders on your life. I'm still healing but somehow I think the experiences will provide me with a greater influence on my writing in a positive way.

… .LV. …

Cemel Dosce

"Tybalt"

He who sees

By Lady Valmar

Song: The Nameless City by Nox Arcana, Coming Undone by Korn, Clear the Area by Imogen Heap

I.

Sheppard held himself still as he looked at Rodney. Something was different but he didn't know what yet. "Rodney, if you have to, tell Ronon to stun me okay?"

Perplexed, Rodney cocked his head to the side confused. "What? Why?" Then he added in a quiet whisper, "John...what is going on?"

Sheppard rubbed his head with his left hand. "I don't know Rodney. I don't have all the answers yet. I just don't know what is going to happen. Rodney...I just don't have time to explain but please just hear me out okay."

Rodney blinked. "Okay..."

He watched as Rodney approached Ronon and he held his head in his hands. There had to be an explanation for what was going on. From everything he knew this device that he'd first encountered when he'd switched bodies with Rose was unclear on who had made it. And then the orb...how could Rose in his body grabbing it and smashing it on that strange Wraith alter his D.N.A?

It just didn't make sense to him. As he thought about it his brain began to feel fuzzy and he started feeling disconnected from his body. It was the strangest feeling like being on auto pilot on a flight simulator game but not really in control of your plane.

Slowly, he looked around them and couldn't gather what was going to happen but he didn't hear noise in his head anymore and while the hunger continued he knew he was going to be okay. Somehow the adrenaline pumping in his veins was keeping the pain at bay for the moment and the blood loss did make him feel a little dizzy but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been earlier.

I.

I.

"Rose?"

She couldn't talk…her mouth was sore, all she could do was stare. Everything was vivid and clear. Funny, she wasn't wearing her glasses either. She reached up to stroke the bridge of her nose and found her fingers faltering as she rubbed them together.

The ridges on her fingertips were so rough but softer still then sandpaper. She marveled at the sensation as she rubbed them together. A slight breeze went through the cave and she shuddered not at the coldness but she could feel the breeze against her skin and each goosebump rise. She felt the hairs stand on the back of her neck and it stung slightly making her wince.

With her eyes nearly closed she began to feel warmth but not from anything the wind had to offer. No, this warmth surrounded her but seemed to come both from within her body and from some distant points outside...still never touching her skin.

It was the strangest sensation she'd ever felt. It was rather like the sensation of being watched but with a less unpleasant feeling attached. More like a warmth of knowing someone who cared about you was watching over you.

"Rose...?"

She felt someone's touch on her shoulder and cringed. The touch felt hard and pulled at her skin, making it taunt and sting. Her nostrils flared as she took in the smell of dove soap and nivea lotion? She paused and thought for a moment.

"Amelia..."

"Hey my god...I thought...we thought..."

Rose shook her head slowly and said carefully. "I am...fine..."

Well that wasn't exactly true. Her head was throbbing like she'd cried too much. Her eyes were aching and right near her upper lip on either side of her inner cheek she felt sore. Almost like she'd exercised a muscle there and strained it.

She looked around the cave familiarizing herself with her surroundings once more. Yes this was the cave they'd run to, to escape those creatures. She looked up, no the bats were gone. She could see clearly if she focused that the roof of the cave was devoid of any movement. A loud echo akin to water made her focus on the corner of the roof. There was a small crack and the rain was dripping through it.

Gazing at it a moment she turned back to Amelia. Her eyes moved slowly over her eyebrows and then on to the mouth. She watched the lips move to form the word hey. When she glanced up she realized that the feeling of warmth had turned cold from a certain angle. She wasn't certain why but it reminded her of being in the pool and feeling a current of colder water brush her leg.

She turned her head slowly away from Amelia to focus on this colder current. When her eyes fell on the Colonel she froze, his eyes had narrowed slightly and that easy smile that she'd come to enjoy was set in a grim line. Feeling self-conscious she let her gaze wander away from him. Whatever the reason she felt uncomfortable looking at him. What was this strange sensation plaguing her?

Rose wasn't even sure what it was she was sensing but she knew it was coming from the people around her in the cave. She raked her eyes over each person trying to figure out if she was imagining the sensation or if it was really happening. When she returned her gaze to the Colonel she frowned inwardly; he felt different then everybody else. A cooler current but not freezing exactly.

She blinked as Amelia stared at her. "Rose...space case. You don't look fine. You didn't have a pulse for about maybe a minute but I didn't say anything because I was praying I was wrong. I don't know how but your alive and standing up. Whatever this is...I'm grateful but it makes me worry."

She stared blankly at Amelia. "Worry? I'm confused maybe...but fine...everything...is...just different..."

Amelia frowned. "Yes I worry that something more is going on here. I don't know how this is possible..."

"I know... " She said, hearing herself from afar. Her mouth felt suddenly pasty and dry. "He was a vampire..."

I.

I.

John felt his eyes slide closed and his breathing slow. His head began to expand making him feel lightheaded and like he was floating until his chest felt tight and his body full of energy. He felt oddly like there was nothing stopping him from doing something crazy...something...dangerous. It was almost like he was watching himself from the sidelines but not. He wasn't totally in charge but he also wasn't helpless like a victim of the Gou'ld.

He watched as he moved forward and gave Amelia a pointed stare. "What is going on?"

Amelia turned to face him. "I don't know...she's alive and standing even. She was saying something about..."

Rose shook her head slightly and Amelia closed her mouth. "Never mind."

Sheppard looked over at Rose. There was no doubt she was a Lamirn. She was probably in the early stages because she wasn't eating any of the humans yet. She was in essence slowly changing. The first step was to survive the fatal wound. The only question was what should he do now with her?

Shrugging slightly he said, "Is she okay to walk?"

Rose cocked her head slightly. "Yes."

He felt tired now like he was straining just to think. The persistent feeling that he could do anything dominated his thought process and it unnerved him.

Sheppard nodded his eyes trained on Rose. "Good...we're moving out."

"But Colonel?" Amelia said even as he picked up his clip and checked his gun.

"What are we going to do stay here the entire time debating?" He said. "Ronon, you and me will take lead. I want you two," he said pointing at the two Marines, "To take the rear. Rose..." Where could he put her? She was a ticking time bomb. He was probably better off leaving her there in the cave but he'd rather know where she was then have her join the enemy.

"Yes?" Rose asked.

Her stare was unnerving so he looked away, "Take center along with everyone else. Just stick together and keep your heads down."

Ronon raised an eyebrow in response. "So we're leaving?"

Sheppard gave a pointed stare. "Yes, we're getting the hell out of here."

He knew this feeling of superiority and strength was not entirely his own. But he felt more in control of his body then he had since this whole Lamirn business started. He didn't hear the voice anymore but he also felt urges now strongly. He needed…blood as crazy as it sounded but he also needed them to get off this planet first.

He gave an experimental sniff in Rose's direction that was what he needed...blood. Yes, it would be so easy...he would just have to wait to find the time. She knew...somehow she knew what was going on with him. Well it made no difference to him. He would deal with her later. Hopefully later wasn't when she started eating people.

Once the rest of the team had packed up what little gear they had and bandaged who they could, it was time to go. Ronon and Sheppard took point, first checking the immediate area around the cave before returning and beckoning to the rest of the team.

It had been only a few moments but it had felt like he'd been transformed in those few moments from someone who had insecurities about what to do and where to go...to a man who knew exactly what he was dealing with and not concerned about it even a little.

The fog had begun to dissipate with the rain interrupting its effect quite a bit. This was a good thing. He sniffed slightly; he couldn't pick up anything in the damp weather except mud and wet grass and leaves.

I.

I.

Rose sniffed the air and narrowed her eyes. Why hadn't he said anything to any of them about her? And why now was he choosing to ignore the obvious? There was no just no doubt in her mind she was different and somehow he knew. She also had a very good idea why Sheppard was acting weird as well. She had to force herself to pay attention and remember what they were doing. It was getting hard to remember things.

She'd always had trouble remembering names but when she'd turned to ask Amelia a question and couldn't remember her name it became obvious that this was more than her usual forgetfulness. Rose tried not to dwell on the fact that she suspected what changes were coming for her.

Sheppard signaled to the team and they all formed up into the group he'd suggested. They moved out of the cave slowly, Ronon and Sheppard's guns up, eyes alert and stance loose. Rose sniffed again but only got a faint hint of something musky.

The sounds of birds and snapping twigs and rustling leaves intensified the raucous in Rose's ears so she covered them ignoring the expression on Amelia's face. It was almost painful the way the sounds exploded in her ears. She looked up and winced as a raindrop splattered on her nose.

A muttered 'perfect' issued from Liander.

They moved forward quickly, the sounds of the forest stilled and echoed against the brown trunks. Faint glowing eyes of a bird tensed all of them before it squawked and flew away. Something had spooked them and Rose knew what. It was those things.

She ran her finger over her side and felt her stomach rumble. She was hungry now at a time like this? Rose shook her head. Now was not the time to think about food. Her stomach rumbled again in response and she just crossed her arms over it.

She crouched along with everyone else when Sheppard put his hand up. Rose wrinkled her nose, something was off. There was a faint dampness in the air and something else...it reminded her of the corpse flower she'd once seen at Huntington Library so many years ago. The flower had been rancid and foul just like the odor she was catching.

A low growling in the trees behind them brought one of the marines to turn and aim his gun behind them. "Sir."

Sheppard slowed and turned briefly. "Unless something is attacking us keep moving."

Rose narrowed her eyes and glanced over into the trees on the right. Yea they were there. She was certain of it. A loud rustle of leaves and breaking branches issued from the right. And them not attacking meant something wanted them alive.

Rose swallowed and rubbed her throat, she was so thirsty now.

I.

I.

Sheppard crouched beside Ronon and held his hand up. He wasn't sure what he was hearing but he was pretty sure it wasn't anything good. When he focused he could pick out a faint scraping sound like something clawing bark.

It could be just a forest animal or it could be those things. He wasn't willing to risk the safety of all of them on just the possibility that it was nothing to worry about. His whole body felt rigid and his heart had begun to pound in his chest.

Sheppard shifted his P-90 to his other side; it was rubbing against his arm in an awkward position due to all the crouching. Ronon moved next to Sheppard as they stopped again when another hissing sound erupted from the trees.

"Sheppard, I could lead the creatures away," Ronon said with a sideways gaze.

Sheppard narrowed his eyes. "No."

The man's face crinkled as he absorbed that news. "We should have listened to you."

Sheppard checked his gun looking around the area again. "And you did what you thought was best. I don't blame you. Even I was skeptical."

Rodney coughed, raising his voice slightly. "Can we get going again...I feel exposed...here..."

Sheppard nodded at Ronon. "Let's keep moving."

Moving forward again, the air began to clear slowly at first and then it was rapid like the area surrounding them was the only portion to clear. The unnatural behavior of the fog was surely not of their doing.

It reminded Sheppard of the time when he was stationed in Afganistan and all around them they saw only sand and the sound of gunshots in the distance. There wasn't any fog but that day he'd remembered how tense he'd felt and worried that they wouldn't make it out alive. He'd felt this way about many missions he'd been on since being stationed in Atlantis. He just never thought he'd face this again.

He'd never told anyone but he'd had nightmares since he was little about creatures in the dark and you add in the fog and it just made his hairs stand on end. It was funny this whole time he hadn't remembered it because he'd been too focused on what was happening with his team and himself physically but he hadn't had time to really gain perspective on how he was actually feeling.

Why now of all times did he feel connected to his emotions on this level? He didn't have answers for it but the gap between them and the fog was only a few feet and those creatures were probably at least 10 feet beyond that.

This was clearly someone corralling them and he guessed it was Marcus and his sire. Sheppard still couldn't believe that this was happening. What was that Wraith? Honestly, he wished that the ship hadn't exploded so that they could have interrogated the creature. This whole vampire thing wasn't possible but all the evidence pointed at what he was seeing and he couldn't deny how he knew in his head.

They continued moving forward as fast as possible. The ground was moist and impacted with squish sounds as they stepped. All around the forest rustled with the rain that had begun to fall. The dirt smelled fresh and clean and it left him feeling suddenly back at home. Back on Earth going through training exercises when he'd first joined the Air Force.

Why now of all times was he going down memory lane? John didn't know but he forced himself to refocus again on the very frightening situation him and his team were in. He needed to stay focused on getting them safely to the gate.

He thought he heard Ronon say, "We could try to go back to the ruins. McKay thinks there is some kind of tools there he could use to disrupt the machine."

"Too late," he mouthed behind him.

They moved swiftly until the clearing and then he had everyone hunker down low next to a branch and signaled for them to be quiet. "Everyone stay still and keep quiet," He said looking at Liander and Rodney.

Sheppard turned to Ronon. "Stay here I'm going to check the clearing. Sergeant come with me."

Ronon nodded and kept his gun aimed towards the gate.

Rodney shuffled forward. "Nothing on the life signs detector. Nothing at all."

Sheppard checked his gun for reassurance and reached out to pat Rodney's arm. "Stay close and Rodney..."

"Yes?" He quirked an eyebrow.

"Watch out for Rose...both of you...she survived the bite...I don't know what that means but I have a feeling."

Ronon nodded. "I'll stun her if I have to."

Sheppard moved out of the trees and looked around the area. It was dead quiet and the fog was clearing completely. He didn't feel anything was lurking near them but then he didn't stop to really check with his spidey senses so he wasn't sure.

He approached the device and heard cackling behind him. As he turned he felt his gun go flying and he was face to face with a white, long haired man with blue violet eyes. "At last we meet Vakna."

Sheppard threw a punch at him only to find his fist caught in the man's hand and suddenly his hand was being crushed. Sheppard shouted as he felt himself pushed backward and he hit the Dial home device with his back sliding to the muddy ground.

When he looked up, grimacing and wiggling his hand he saw his entire team being lead out of the clearing by Marcus who still had Lorne and the creatures surrounding them. Rodney looked panicked and Ronon's gun appeared to be in Marcus's possession.

"What are you!" Sheppard shouted at the long haired man.

The man grinned viciously. "Funny the same could be asked of you. Rose come to me."

Sheppard looked over his eyes wide as Rose suddenly began to walk from in between the group. Her eyes seemed lowered like she was sleep walking. She stopped just inches from the man before she looked at him. He watched as her eyes began to turn blue violet just like the mans'.

I.

A/N: Edited March 18, 2016