Forever End

Chapter Ten

And stories end so sadly But this is not the end

It was time, Ladon supposed, and he was simply waiting for Kolya to come for them.

He looked around the room, paused at the little figure hunched behind the box-like device and then let his gaze swivel to the door. His death would come through that door, a gun needing only a single bullet. Ladon sighed and closed his eyes, sinking back into the wall. He listened to the beating of his heart, his pulse fluttering and the blood rushing in his ears.

The door opened and he flinched, he noticed that Rodney did not turn, instead his small hands seemed to tremble as he quickly replaced a panel of the box and screwed it back into place. A look of consternation flitted across his young face.

Two men came through the door, neither was Kolya. The taller of the two was an elderly man, Ladon recognized him as the doctor who had 'treated' Rodney. The other was Stian, the young scientist who had wiped the memory of the DHD. He looked vaguely angry and sauntered quickly across the room to Rodney, sparing no glance for Ladon.

"What do you want?" Ladon gritted out, forcing himself to stand.

"Kolya had ordered us to see to your wounds before he tests the device. Here, sit down, I see your arm is out of place." The Doctor said and Ladon complied, albeit hesitantly.

He looked to Rodney and Stian as the Doctor prodded and poked his shoulder, it hurt, but he did not want to show any weakness. Despite his best efforts, he let out a sharp shout as his arm was yanked out and back into place. He swayed on his seat, sweating profusely.

"What were you doing?" Stian was saying across the room. "You do realize that if you've sabotaged this Ancient Device, Kolya will kill you?"

Rodney gulped visibly. He began tapping his pudgy fingers on the table top and Ladon could not help but begin to feel nervous, clearly Rodney had been caught doing something. Something he had wished to keep under wraps. He watched uneasily, wishing above all that they were not in this situation.

"N-Nothing. I was j-just finishing it. It's done." Rodney sputtered.

"What did you do to it? Did you split the connections? Mess with the wiring? Tell me now, and I'll not tell Kolya of your deception." Stian threatened. When Rodney said nothing he began prying off the panel and peered with narrowed eyes at the innards of the device. With a silent snarl at Rodney, Stian pulled a small, cable wrapped parcel that had been partially hidden inside. He held it close to his face, inspecting it before shoving it into his front coat pocket.

"What," he asked. "Is this?"

"Hmmphslask." Rodney mumbled, chin dipping to rest on his chest.

"What?"

"Its…its not anything, just a, ah, an energy calculator. Nothing to get angry about." He added, flinching back when Stian advanced.

"Then it will do no damage to remove it, will it?" Stian said and patted the pocket over his heart.

Ladon watched on impassively, he wondered what the small object had been and why Rodney looked so thoroughly horrified that it had been removed. Perhaps it had been an energy calculator, but he suspected not.

"I…I suppose not." Rodney agreed reluctantly. He met Ladon's gaze and tried to tell him something without words, but Ladon was in no condition and his eyes quickly slid away.

"I'll take both of you to the testing room, Kolya is waiting." Rodney frowned, he hopped off his stool and darted over to where Ladon stood, who closed his eyes against the rising tide of nausea.

"Wait, wait, wait! Why do you need us? Why do we have to be there?" Rodney screeched, Ladon felt a small hand clutch his own. "Shouldn't we be allowed to leave? I want to go home!"

"Kolya's orders, you will both be coming. If something is wrong with this device, if you have somehow sabotaged it or it doesn't work, then you will have to deal with the repercussions."

"But-"

"There is no point arguing with me, Doctor McKay, it is not up to me." Stian said quickly. Ladon heard footsteps and then the harsh sound of the door being pulled open. Rodney's hand trembled in his own and he grasped it tightly.

He opened his eyes to look at him.

"What happens, happens. If you get the chance, run." He told the boy and heaved himself to stand on unsteady feet.

They were led from their temporary prison and prodded down the long corridor. Stain took the lead, with the Doctor and several guards behind. Ladon glanced behind them, caught a glimpse of the doorway that led to the ladder, before he was unceremoniously pushed forward, he stumbled and righted himself only a sheer moment before one of the guards was about to strike him. He glared before hurrying along with the boy.

Rodney held the Ancient box under one arm, he looked blank, his face sheet white and his lips pressed into a firm line. Ladon decided that he had never seen anyone look so bleak. Hopeless. Lost.

Guilt welled up, a never ending fountain that left his already weakened body gasping for air. He gripped Rodney's hand with renewed determination and stood a little straighter. The least he could do was try.

~OO~

"You do realize, Doctor McKay, that if you have for some reason chosen to sabotage this technology, I would feel obligated to kill you?" Kolya asked when they entered the room.

His voice reverberated around them and the cold, meaningful silence that followed was enough to send a shudder running through him. He wanted so badly to step back from the tall, imposing man threatening them.

"I realize." Rodney grumbled at his side, a small, pale shadow of his former self. There could be no one in the room that did not notice this, the usually abrasive man was silent and withdrawn. They expected more.

"Then you do not mind if we turn it on? Test it?" Kolya asked with a guarded expression, he was testing Rodney.

"No." Rodney replied softly, looking at his feet. Ladon could feel his hand shaking, a fine tremor that rolled up his arm and choked the breath in his throat before cascading over his tongue and past his cracked lips.

Kolya nodded to Stian and the young man stepped forward, grasped the box and carried it over to the center of the room where he sat it on the ground. There were several computers littering the ground, data danced across their screens. Sparing a wary glance at Kolya, Stian stayed close to the man, as if he would be sheltered from anything or anyone. Ladon was curious as to why the young man chose to stay loyal to such a dangerous man, but then, he had to admit that he himself had once been in that same position.

There was a tense pause in the room, the dozens of people, guards and scientists alike, were frozen in building anticipation. Ladon knew they had been waiting a long time for this, they would use this device, send it through the Stargate to Atlantis where they would then move onto the next phase, a complete take over.

But Ladon saw a flaw, having the means to scramble all technology did not protect them from a physical assault from the Atlantean soldiers. There would of course be a fight, Ladon knew how protective the Atlantean's were of their home, and he really didn't blame them.

He hoped that this one mistake would not be noticed by Kolya, that the man was blind to that particular problem. Unfortunately, he sorely doubted it. Kolya was smart. Cold, ruthless, volatile. Intelligent.

"Turn it on, Doctor McKay. Unless you would rather Ladon do it?"

"No." Rodney walked over to the box, Ladon watched with apprehension. Would it do something disastrous? Would they all be burned alive? Suffocated? What had Rodney done to the device that had everyone on edge?

The bodies waited, silent, faceless. Ladon leaned back with the rest of them, eyes intent on the small figure moving awkwardly toward the device they had been waiting for. This was their opportunity.

Rodney's finger hovered over the box, palm down, fingers splayed. He drew in a breath and lowered that hand. The anticipation, the high expectations were lost as the room breathed as one, the box began to glow and thrum. Emitting a pale blue light.

No one spoke. They still waited, but eyes began to roll toward Kolya, a man who killed without qualms. Stian frowned.

"Give it a moment." Rodney murmured as he back away. Ladon took a hold of the hand that wormed its way back into his, the little hand was clammy.

The hum of the box turned into the whirr, the light pulsed quicker, and suddenly the computers surrounding it began to flicker, little zaps filled the space between them, as if they were trying to touch each other. Kolya's usually impassive face twitched and suddenly he was smiling. It was not a nice smile.

The little zaps turned into a steady stream of electric bolts, blue and yellow and white, writhing from one computer to the next until, with a massive, almost human scream, the computers were blown apart.

Ladon felt a little tug on his hand and looked to Rodney, the boy was motioning carefully toward the unexpectedly unguarded door. He took the hint. But while they were edging toward the door, Ladon chanced a glance back, seeking out the still smiling form of Kolya, beside him was Stian. He blinked and then everything slowed and, in one crystalline moment the stillness was destroyed and chaos reigned.

"Ladon!" Rodney shouted, his voice high, frantic.

But Ladon was caught. He watched with transfixed horror as Stian, standing unobtrusively across the room, exploded.

It was the clear to Ladon that the blast was produced from the small device he had pocketed from Rodney, the little, wire wrapped device that he had slipped into the pocket over his heart. One moment he was there and the next the entire occupants of the room were covered in a fine, and not so fine, spatter of red. Kolya was thrown off his feet, others were stumbling against the wall and some were frozen in shock. Confusion.

Ladon's ears were filled with a strange emptiness, he could hear only a high pitched whine and a far off, strangely muffled shout. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand but recoiled when he smeared more red across his face.

Squinting, he turned away from the scene and let Rodney, who he was shocked to see what also covered in red and gore, lead them from the room. His hearing was slowly growing clearer, now he could hear raised voices, panicked shouts and angry retorts. But it was too unreal and cloudy for Ladon to pay much attention.

The door closed behind them and they were tossed into a thick silence. They began to run, heedless of their earlier injuries now that they had hope. Freedom was close, they ran and ran until soon they could hear their footsteps scuffing the ground and their harsh breathing in their ears. It cracked the silence and made it easier to think. They weren't alone, they could watch each others back, pull each other along.

Ladon tripped and stumbled but regained his footing. He had paid little attention to where they were headed, but now he realized, as Rodney looked from one door to the next, that he really had no idea which way to go. Because, of course, Rodney had been barely conscious during their arrival. And so it was up to Ladon.

He took the lead then, and Rodney followed close behind, constantly checking behind them to make sure the coast was clear. It was, Ladon wondered at that, but vaguely. Surely Kolya wasn't about to let them escape. Unless he hadn't noticed their disappearance yet.

The semi-familiar door rushed up to greet them with an awkward silence. They stared at it for a moment, chests rising and falling rapidly, eyes wide. They had come this far, they only hoped they could make it to the end. Where ever that was.

Ladon pushed with his fingertips, slowly, making sure there were no soldiers on the other side. He needn't have bothered, however, because beyond that doorway there was darkness. It was so complete that, when they crept inside and closed the door behind them, they were smothered by it.

Ladon could hear Rodney nearby and reached out blindly until he smacked into his arm, without another moment wasted, he dragged the boy forward and flailed about for the ladder he knew would be far ahead, but was sorely hoping was closer. They walked in the pitch black for what felt like hours, but Ladon knew could only have been minutes. Their feet pounded the damp smelling earth beneath them, Ladon could feel the draft of cold air pressing upon them and pressed on. He knew they should be getting closer.

At last his hand hit something hard. There was a resounding thunk of metal and pain wracked his hand. He grasped it greedily, the hope emerging from the darkness of his mind was overwhelming. Almost sickly.

"Hurry." He wheezed, he could feel his broken and cracked ribs shifting, crackling as he moved. "Climb up as quickly as you can." He pulled Rodney's hand over to his own so that he could feel the rung, even slicked with grime and who knew what else, the boy managed to get a hold and begin the climb.

Ladon followed suit, casting one last, useless look behind him and giving a little grunt of triumph as he too began to climb. There was no one following them.

It was a hard climb, the constant fear of the unknown, how far up were they? How long would it take? Would they fall to their death? Hung over them like a dark cloud. Without the aid of sight they were practically insubstantial. Two nothings moving through a sea of nothing. They'd be swept away for sure, Ladon was thinking, kept on thinking, right up until he heard the dull thunk of a skull hitting something hard and a little groan of pain floated back to him.

"Rodney? Rodney, can you feel the opening? Hurry, we need to get out of here before they notice we're gone!" He called up to the boy.

~OO~

"Yeah, yes." Rodney sniffled, he wiped his wet cheeks and tried to focus.

He was so scared. So tired. He could smell the blood, a metallic, sickening scent that flooded his senses every time he drew in a breath. And he was crying. Had been crying since they'd managed to sneak out from under Kolya's nose.

He'd just killed someone.

He'd killed him.

His fingers scrambled numbly above him, he could feel the cool metal and the bumps and crevices that could only be the hinges. He ran his palm over them, but his concentration was quickly lagging. His nose was blocked and his head ached. He wanted so badly to just let go and simply…fall…

But Ladon is telling him what to do. Feel for the handle, there should be a handle. Large, near the center. It was round and, when he stretched out his small fingers to wrap around it, it gave a little, twisting to one side.

He continued that movement and there was a deep groan. But even with the latch open, he had no way of pushing it open. It was too heavy and he was too small. Too small and pointless and useless.

He sniffled weakly and hung his head.

After a moment of regaining his composure, Rodney looked down to where he could not see Ladon and coughed to clear his throat.

"I-I cant open it. It's too heavy."

He heard a little shuffle, and then he was being pressed against the bars as Ladon drew level with him. He could feel each huff of the man's breath through his chest, he turned so his ear was resting near Ladon's heart, so he could hear the beat. And in that moment, so painfully, heartbreakingly much, he wanted Carson.

Carson.

With thoughts of Carson came the barrage of memories, the feeling of family, a father, a friend, a protector. Carson was unbreakable. He was consistent. He was everything.

The sobs tore his throat, the tears burned his eyes. He knew then was not the time to break down, but he was out of control, he could no more stop the flood than he could stop Kolya. Even if he'd wanted to.

Ladon said nothing, Rodney could feel his muscles straining, the fine tremor running through his body as he heaved. There was an almost deafening groan from above and then they were being showered in a cloud of white. It was bitterly cold and Ladon pushed the breath from Rodney's lungs as he huddled over him, pressing him tighter to the ladder.

After a moment, when the torrent of snow had somewhat abated, Ladon shuffled a little. Rodney, who had closed his eyes and buried his face in his arms, blinked in surprise and looked up.

He could see the moon.

It was shrouded in clouds as dark as hell. But it was still there, peeking out, watching them with a silent, misty glow. Rodney drew in a breath and pulled himself up the next rung. He couldn't believe it. They were going to escape. They could go home and he could be safe. Warm. Safe.

Safe.

The air was frigid but he pushed forward, he grabbed the top of the open latch and desperately, almost blindly, dragged himself over the edge. He landed with a grunt, face first in the snow with his head swimming unpleasantly. But he was out, and he could feel the moon caressing his bare skin.

There was the sound of feet crunching in the snow and Ladon was crouching beside him, one arm tucked protectively against his stomach while the other he rested on Rodney's shoulder. It was in that moment, a pure, crystalline moment, when a thought struck Rodney so hard that he collapsed back into the snow.

"I lost Sheppard's jumper." His voice was muffled by the snow, but he didn't need to hear it, the fact was that he had nothing of home left with him. Only the dull throb of wanting that brought with it memories of being held in warm, solid arms. "I've lost them."

Ladon was dragging him to his feet, Rodney did not struggle, but neither did he make any effort. They begun the slow trek toward the Stargate. Rodney had no idea how long it would take. He barely remembered their arrival, it was but a distant, foggy memory. He pushed one foot in front of the other. One after the other. One after the other. Moving. Moving. Moving.

The hollow, gnawing feeling inside him was widening. Rodney pondered, it could have been the cold, it was numbing his extremities, but it could just as easily have been the guilt and hopelessness. The wounds were still fresh.

"What's the plan?" He asked numbly and without looking up.

Ladon huffed, breath frosting in the air.

"We'll get to the 'gate. But, knowing Kolya, it'll be surrounded by soldiers. Our only hope is to somehow draw them away."

"And then what?"

"We can either take them out, or we can run, hide, backtrack and make a run for the 'gate."

"How are we supposed to take them out, exactly? I'm the size of small dog and you're full of broken bones. No offense, Ladon, but I'm sorely doubting our chances of sur-survial." Rodney sniffed disdainfully. He had to force himself not to cry. He wanted to, oh, how he wanted to. But he couldn't. And he wouldn't.

~OO~

They walked for most of the night, stumping along together with their strength waning. Rodney glanced often at the moon, with his little chest wracked with a painful cough and his fingers stinging and itching. He kept clenching and unclenching them. He didn't want to be this cold, how could he survive.

It was when he closed his eyes, vaguely felt his head droop onto his chest, and the soft, neither warm, neither cold crunchy whiteness hit his cheek did he realize that he was exhausted.

He tried to move but his limbs were sluggish, betraying him until he lay there, still, silent. He didn't even have the energy to cry. Something pushed against his back a moment before he felt himself being rolled over onto something tinged with warmth.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry Rodney. I didn't realize." What didn't he realize? What was happening?

Rodney frowned. But his eyes were glued shut and he couldn't ask Ladon what was wrong, he wanted to, though. He felt guilty that Ladon was carrying him, but he was so tired, so damn tired.

He drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

~OO~

Ladon drops him. An he looks up in surprise, did Kolya find them? Is something wrong?

But there were no answers visible to him, they were still in the white, tree lined landscape. The moon hovered above, but this time she was vacant, sightless. Rodney opened his mouth to protest, but he caught side of Ladon's expression.

"I need to get out of here, you understand, your team will never let me live, not after I gave Kolya the means to get through to Atlantis." Ladon said, he wrung his hands nervously.

Rodney gaped. "No, Laden, I'll tell them, I'll tell them you helped me!"

He scrambled through the snow but his feet did not want to seem to work. Ladon was backing away, looking through the trees fearfully, as if Kolya was about to sneak up behind him. And then he was gone and Rodney was alone.

All alone. He began to cry, but his tears turned to ice before they could leave his lashes.

~OO~

"Rodney? Rodney? Can you hear me? Wake up."

Tapping his cheek, constant, annoying. Rodney frowned, puzzled. Hadn't Ladon left him? He shivered violently, opening his eyes slowly.

The face hovering over him was blurred, and he panicked. Crying out against the pain wracking his body, he writhed on the cold ground. His whole body was covered in pins and needles.

"Rodney! Calm down, you need to calm down."

It took him a moment to gain his bearings, he blinked blearily up at the strangely bright, white sky above. When had the sun risen? Ladon had backed away a little, giving him some space now that he'd calmed down, although his chest was still heaving and the shivering was growing in intensity.

"Where are we-we?" He asked through chattering teeth.

"Far enough away from Kolya that hopefully he won't find us. But close enough to the 'gate that we can get there and back in no time." Ladon said.

"Oh. So-so do we…" Rodney tried to ask, but the shivering grew too violent. He danced in little circles over the ground, the shudders would run first up his legs and curl his fingers, they moved to his thighs and clenched his gut, seizing his arms as well as his shoulders. And when they reached his chest he began to cough and hack, his head spinning as he tried to draw in a breath.

Ladon rolled him onto his side and he gagged, but nothing came up and in the end he settled for wheezing awkwardly through his constricted throat.

Ladon rubbed his hand over his back in circles. Again and again. It was when he began to drift off to sleep that Ladon finally stopped. He wrapped his shirt tighter around the boy and pulled him up into his lap. Rodney sniffed, he didn't feel good.

It was warmer in Ladon's arms, but he was cold to the bone and nothing would ever warm him again. He sank into sleep without another word.

~OO~

Ladon watched the boy drift off to sleep uneasily. He supposed he shouldn't let him sleep, the cold was notorious in that way, one you closed your eyes, you might never open them again. But it would be easier for him if he rested, the cold was unknown while you were unconscious.

He clutched the boy to his chest and tried to share his body heat, it was the least he could do, knowing he couldn't stay long.

He had a plan, but he would have to leave Rodney while he went, the idea left him feeling uneasy, but he knew it would have to be done if they were to get out of there. He sighed.

Rodney's face was flushed, cheeks and forehead dripping with sweat and his breathing was ragged and rattled deep in his chest. He wrapped his jumper even tighter around the little form and stood. They were sheltered by an overhanging rock jutting out between the trees. They were protected from the wind and the little snowflakes drifting down from the white sky.

Feeling guilty and worried, Ladon laid his little bundle between two rocks and backed away. He pulled the collar of his shirt up around his neck and set out, heading for the Stargate. He wished he had a weapon, he could take down the soldiers who were no doubt protecting the 'gate and they'd be free to go where they pleased.

He didn't hear the little, lonely cry as Rodney woke alone. Nor the wretched sobs that wracked his frail body as he stared up at the pale sky.