A/N – Okay, so here's the OTT Rodney!whump, gore and violence version… It diverges after they leave the bar.

The Twelfth Day – 5th January (The Nasty One)

"Woah, woah! What're you doing?" Rodney asked in alarm as all of the male villagers in the bar surrounded him.

Ronon, Teyla and John raised their guns, but there were too many men in the room.

Rodney held out his hands. They had only just entered the small tavern to scope it out for potential trading partners and allies. The room had descended into silence when they walked in; like an old saloon. They all walked over to the barman and that was when the trouble had started.

Rodney glared at the approaching men with wide eyes, "Um, Sheppard? Think we could maybe, get out of here?"

John had been pushed back to the far wall along with Teyla and Ronon and could not see a clear path to retrieve McKay from the slightly malevolent movements of the locals towards the scientist.

Teyla called above the heads of the natives, "We are here to discuss trade and would be obliged if you would leave our teammate alone."

The men ignored her and one of them surged forwards quickly and grabbed Rodney's shoulders. McKay squeaked and backed up into another man behind him, who took hold of his waist in a firm grip so that he could not move. Two more pinned Rodney's arms behind his back.

Ronon lifted his blaster and mumbled, "Stun only," to Sheppard.

John nodded, "I know. If one of them has a knife… Do it!"

Ronon growled at the men in the bar and shouted, "Leave him alone!"

There was no response. The men were all audibly sniffing and pressed up as close as they could get to Rodney. The one holding his shoulders leered down at him wickedly.

Red bolts of energy started hitting the men and one by one they crumpled onto the floor. The man holding Rodney leant forwards and McKay turned his head to the side to try and get away from the bad breath coming from the man's mouth as it hung open and he grinned. Rodney saw black and strangely sharp teeth that did not look very human. The man suddenly licked a wide patch of saliva up Rodney's cheek with his tongue.

McKay cried out in disgust, shook his arms from the grasp of the men and planted a two handed shove on the man's chest to push him away. The man raised his eyebrows and closed his eyes slightly as he tilted his head back a little to sniff the air deeply. He then lifted his hand up towards Rodney.

McKay rubbed the dampness on the side of his face and grimaced, "Ugh, gross!" He saw long and dirty fingernails on the hand reaching out for him just before a red blast hit the man in the back and he fell down. Rodney felt the grip on his waist loosen and then release as one of Ronon's blaster shots found the man behind him and took him down.

The team looked around the room at the stunned men all lying on the floor. Teyla looked horrified, Rodney had found a tissue and was scrubbing the side of his face, Ronon holstered his blaster and shrugged.

John's mouth was open and he looked angry, "Not such a great way to open negotiations. We should head back to the Gate. Maybe we could try something else next time."

Rodney paused in his rubbing and lowered his hand a little. The tissue was now in pieces where it had been shredded against his stubble. His face was red almost to the point of being raw. He said, "Why were they all after me anyway?"

John smirked, "Maybe they 'liked' you."

Rodney's face dropped into a shocked expression as he was herded out of the bar behind Ronon and with John and Teyla behind him.

As soon as they left the bar, all of the men quickly got up as if nothing had happened and brushed themselves down. The man who had licked Rodney's face snarled and the others responded to him with growls of agreement.

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The sun was setting as the team picked their way back to the Gate through the woodland surrounding the village. They walked for a couple of miles and Rodney huffed and rubbed his face again. Small spots of blood were starting to leak through his assaulted and thinning skin. John went up to him and grabbed Rodney's wrist and pulled it down. "Leave it alone. I know it's not nice, but if you keep rubbing it you might get it infected."

Rodney clenched his teeth and yanked his hand out of Sheppard's grasp. "It's just so disgusting. When we get back I'm going to have to ask Keller to give me some acid or something to get rid of all the traces."

Teyla rolled her eyes at Rodney's back and tilted her head up to look into the now darkened sky. She narrowed her eyes as she saw the moons above them.

John also noticed the sky and patted Rodney on the shoulder, "Hey check it out. Five full moons, how romantic."

Rodney scowled but could not help looking up with the others to take in the celestial orbs above. Ronon waited for them to catch up and mumbled, "I've seen more."

McKay folded his arms across his chest and lifted his chin indignantly. "I'm sure you have."

Ronon chuckled and shook his head. He did not see the eyes glowing in the dark nearby or hear the rustle of a faint breeze against bristling fur.

Rodney shivered and spun around to look behind Teyla and John who were still guarding at the rear of the group. He frowned in confusion and shrugged, "Are we nearly there yet? This forest is really creeping me out and my face is sore."

Teyla shook her head and said, "Perhaps you should not have rubbed it earlier?"

Rodney narrowed his eyes at her just before he turned back to the front again.

They walked onwards under the glow of the moons, which illuminated the surrounding trees in twilight.

Suddenly without warning, a large creature leapt out of the trees and hit Rodney. He cried out as he was bowled over and landed with the creature on top of him. Many more creatures surrounded the team as the others fired at them to try and stop them.

They saw the creatures were more monstrous than the usual offworld Pegasus Galaxy fauna. They were large and wolf-like, but their eyes shone red and they were slightly larger than a man. Their sharp teeth dripped with saliva and they growled and roared as bullets and blaster shots tore into their thick fur.

Rodney screamed as the monster on him started ripping at him with its long claws. He lifted up his one still working and bloody hand in desperation and held onto the creature's throat as it dipped it's massive jaws down towards him.

Several of the creatures had fallen and the others were beginning to back away. The rest of the team focused their fire on the creature that was on the verge of winning its fight to get a dinner of human scientist.

The monster tipped its horrid mouth down as Rodney's strength failed him. He curled up onto his side and covered his head as best he could to protect it. The creature jolted under the impacts of the weapons but they did not seem to be affecting it as it snarled and embedded its claws deeply into Rodney's skin to hold him steady as it opened its mouth wider. It clamped its jaw over his side and bit down hard.

Rodney flinched and screamed again as his ribs were pressed and crushed in between the monster's powerful jaws.

John ran over and shot point blank into the creature's head as its teeth sunk further into Rodney's flesh.

The monster finally closed its eyes and released its grip on the scientist. Its jaws swung open and it rolled over, raking its claws across Rodney as it fell.

McKay was unconscious and Ronon and Teyla looked warily around the woodland as John crouched down and felt for a pulse underneath all the blood. "He's still alive, but barely!"

The wolves seemed to have gone and Teyla also knelt down next to Rodney's prone form. John had a flashlight out and was trying to locate the worst injury, but it was difficult as there were so many. Rodney's breath was shallow and gargled slightly in his throat as blood came from his mouth.

John unzipped the remnants of McKay's torn tac vest and peeled away his bloodsoaked and frayed shirt. He winced at the huge puncture wounds from the teeth, the slashes from the claws and the clearly broken ribs all down one side of Rodney's chest. He used a pressure bandage on the deepest of the bleeding cuts, but there were just too many.

Rodney's breathing became laboured and even shallower. Teyla furrowed her brow as she too pressed a bandage on Rodney's side, "John, we need to get him back to Atlantis! He is too badly hurt."

John set his face in a steely expression and shook his head. "We can't move him."

Ronon kept looking into the surrounding trees with his blaster ready and spoke gruffly, "We can't leave him either. I'll run back to the gate and get help."

Teyla shook her head sadly, "We cannot split up. It took all three of us to kill one of the animals. If they catch you, they will kill you."

Ronon frowned and waved his blaster, "Not if I can help it."

John grimaced as he mulled over his decision. He was still torn when Rodney's eyes snapped open and he drew in a deep breath. He muttered quietly, "What happened?"

Teyla looked confused and said, "You were attacked. I did not think you would wake again."

Rodney rolled over onto his back and pushed himself upright. He looked down at himself and asked, "Uh, where's my shirt?"

Ronon watched the scientist warily and John shone his flashlight onto Rodney's chest and abdomen. Signs of the fatal injuries he had had were fading. The skin knitting together as they watched.

John stepped back a little a said, "Rodney? Look," he pointed with his free hand at McKay's torso.

Rodney looked down at himself and watched in horrified fascination as the last of the cuts vanished and left behind only blood in their stead. He wiped a hand over his skin and held it out in front of his face. "Wh-what's happening to me?"

The others were too intent on watching his miraculous recovery and did not see the wolf which had been shot many times, as it got up and shook itself.

Rodney sniffed and turned towards the creature. He snarled and released a feral growl as the wolf ran at him. He swatted it away with a fist as it pounced on him and the wolf whimpered and rolled over. Rodney looked down in confusion at his hand.

Ronon ran over to the wolf and drew his sword. He flashed the blade down and quickly decapitated the monster. He grunted and said, "Let's see it survive that."

Rodney was still studying his hand and held it out flat under the moonlight. "Uh, I think there's something wrong with me."

The others turned to him and watched as Rodney's nails lengthened into sharp claws. John shouted, "Stun him!"

Ronon obliged and a red wave of energy spread over Rodney's bare chest and he screwed his face up and stiffened before he fell down.

Teyla helped Ronon shoulder the unconscious scientist and John picked up the wolf's head. Teyla raised her eyebrows and John said sheepishly, "Must be some kind of poison or infection. Keller should be able to get an antidote from a tissue sample."

Teyla rolled her eyes and shook her head as they made their way back to Atlantis as fast as possible.

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Rodney was in one of the infirmary beds, absently examining his long and sharp fingernails as John and Jennifer stood next to him. He was growling quietly under his breath in impatience as he listened to them speaking.

Jennifer said, "It was a photosensitive toxin which only responds and becomes dangerous under a certain type of light. We managed to flush it out of Rodney's bloodstream, but any longer and he would've become dependent on for survival."

Rodney bristled a little, "All the moons are only visible at the same time once every hundred years."

Jennifer nodded at him and continued, "The stun blast slowed the transformation, but several of Rodney's internal organs showed signs of disruption. Some grew while others shrunk. Had you not returned him when you did, his system would've been overwhelmed and the changes would've become irreversible."

John stayed by Rodney as Jennifer walked back into her lab. He asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Great!" Rodney yapped. "Better than great! In fact, I ran three laps around the city earlier and didn't even break a sweat or get out of breath before I was caught and forced to come back here."

"Really? That's good news."

"No it isn't. Keller says it's only temporary until my heart and lungs are back to normal.

"Hmm, want to spar with me?

Rodney barked a short incredulous laugh and said, "What? Keller'll have my head if I leave again.

"She doesn't have to know. After all, you did say it was only temporary.

Rodney shrugged and his voice rumbled deeply in his chest as he growled, "Okay then." He then stood up and took a deep breath and raised his eyebrows at John as he woofed, "Bet you can't beat me though!"

"We'll see…"

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On the twelfth day of Christmas, Atlantis gave to me…
Twelve wolves a-whumping
Eleven bugs a-biting
Ten Wraith a-running
Nine marines moaning
Eight shields a-sparking
Seven damsels dancing
Six wormholes whooshing
Five McKay snarks
Four Ronon blasts
Three Teyla pouts
Two Sheppard drawls
And a Jumper crashed into a tree!

A/N – The End! Thanks for reading!