Hi guys! Is it just me or did this week speed by? I can't believe it's the end of the week already! Anyway, all of your reviews from last chapter made me laugh as you were all so happy about Mia going through the portal. This chapter is a bit more lengthy then the other because while it does span a long time I do wrap up the entire episode in this chapter. I hope it doesn't seem to rushed in places but I really didn't want to have to do another chapter with this episode so I did cram it all into one. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it still! Thank you everyone!
Breaking Ranks - Emergence
John opened the door to his small hut, the knapsack he had found at the entrance site grasped in his hand as he faltered at the door, surprised to see Teer sitting there, waiting for him. John smiled at her nervously as he shut the door behind him.
"You don't have to wait up for me," he said to her. Teer didn't react to his words.
"You've been gone over a day," she stated as John looked away guiltily.
"Yeah well, after I found my weapons, I decided to take a run all the way back to the portal and look what I found," John said as he showed her the bag full of supplies. "I don't know what took them so long, but my friends finally sent some supplies through."
"There are people here who care for you." Teer said sadly. John met her blue gaze, her eyes were similar color to Mia's, and it was painful for him to make that connection. He hadn't seen her in five months; he wondered why she hadn't come for him everyday, why no one had come for him. Had they abandoned him? John sighed as he remembered Teer's question.
"Sorry, I should've told somebody."
"I knew," Teer said, causing John to look over at her and frown in confusion. "I was following your journey in my mind. I was with you since you left the cloister."
"Is that some special power of yours you haven't told me about?" John asked with a clever smirk.
"Yes." Teer stated.
"Oh," John scoffed.
"I've been with you each time you've searched for a means to leave us. As Hedda has the power to heal, I am able to see images in my mind. It is not uncommon for those on the path to ascension to gain such abilities." Teer explained to him.
"I wish you would've told me, I could've used you out there. It took me forever to find this stuff!" John exclaimed. John looked back at Teer when she didn't respond to see her staring at the ground with a dream-like face. "Teer, what's wrong?" He asked her as he knelt down next to her.
"I did not foresee this."
"Foresee what?" John asked her, he placed his hand on her shoulder as he tried to reassure her.
"There's a woman. She's here, calling out for you." John felt his heart beginning to race.
"Who is she?" John asked. Teer was silent as she continued to watch the vision she was seeing.
"She's scared, the beast is chasing her! It's the woman you described to me, it's Mia." Teer met John's gaze for a second before he tore out of the room. Teer called after him but John was already running out of the cloister.
I stood in the dark cave as I turned the light on my p-90 on. I shone it around my surroundings as I took in the firepit and the pebbled arrow. I noticed the knapsack was no longer here, the pebbles in the dirt had sunken in and it looked like some moss had started to grow on them, which confused the hell out of me knowing that somehow time was moving at a much faster pace here. I looked around the cave, trying to see if I could use anything to my advantage but I guessed the best thing for me would to follow the arrow that John had made and see where it would take me. I could tell it was night as there was a hole above me that I could see the stars through, I cursed in my head, it was going to be a lot harder to find anything at this time of night, I really needed the daylight to see but I didn't want to waste any time.
The cave was long and dark, there were small pockets where moonlight would filter in but other then that the light on my p-90 was the only thing I had. I was scared that something was going to jump out at me from the shadows, I had to tell myself that at least it wouldn't be the Wraith, it didn't really make me feel any better.
I reached the end of the cave as I emerged into a dense forest, the trees were tall and dead leaves covered the ground. I scanned my light around me, trying to see any buildings or animals but there was nothing. All I could see from the light was this damn forest; it seemed to stretch on for miles, I sighed and then took a deep breath in.
"Come on, Mia. It's just a forest, you can do this." I whispered to myself as I wondered deeper into the forest.
My nerves were sky high as I continued walking through the forest, I was scared. Scared for the fact that I might be walking in the complete opposite direction I should be going in, and the fact that it was dark and eerie and I had no idea if I was going to find John. What if I got lost here and was never found again? I swallowed the large lump in my throat.
"John!" I called out into the dark. I knew it was stupid, there might be some not friendly people around, but I'd take not friendly people over this endless dark any day. People I can deal with, wondering around by myself, I can't handle.
"John! John where are you?" I shouted once more. I squinted in the darkness as I sighed and continued walking straight. I was hoping that this might've been the way that John had walked. I was doing a lot of hoping and wishing right now, but really that's all I had.
I must've walked for nearly twenty minutes when something roared in the silence of the night. My whole body shook from the sheer rage and sound of the monsters roar as I swung around, aiming my gun into the darkness. I waited on baited breath as I tried to see whatever it was that had made that horrible sound. My fingers shook from the cold and fear as I tried to keep my focus, but I was terrified. The monster roared again, this time it could only be around twenty meters away from me and yet I still couldn't see it. I could hear the thumping footsteps as something shimmered just beyond a fern as I freaked and fired bullets into it. I watched as they hit something solid but it didn't seem to deter the beast, in fact it only seemed to make it madder. The monster roared once more as I flinched from the ringing in my ears, when I looked back I couldn't see any shimmering as I spun around, trying to find it.
"John!" I screamed desperately, hoping that by some twist of fate he would hear me.
Suddenly I was stuck in the stomach as I screamed and went flying through the air, my stomach erupted into pain as I hit the ground; the air left my lungs as I gasped and tried to control the spinning of my eyes. The monster roared right above me as I managed to roll away and push myself onto my legs. Without a glance back I took off at a run, leaving my gun behind. From what I had just seen before, my guns wouldn't do much damage to it anyway.
There was a horrible pain in my side and I had a suspicion that I might've had a broken rib but I wasn't slowing down to check, my adrenaline was the only thing keeping me going as I pushed through the dense foliage and emerged into a large open field. The moonlight gave me something to see as I surveyed the area quickly, I couldn't see any buildings or civilization nearby so I cursed loudly.
I spun around when I heard the monster roar once more as I saw the shimmer emerge into the field that I was in. I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat as I took out my knife and held it up defensively in front of me.
"You want a piece of me? Come and get me then!" I screamed at it as suddenly the monster disappeared and then reappeared a few feet in front of me. I didn't even have a chance to defend myself as I felt another hit to my chest as I was flung back. What I did feel was an almighty pain to the back of my head as I felt all my limbs go numb, my vision suddenly went back as I could feel something warm trickle down the back of my neck. I couldn't move anything to see what was happening, all I could hear was the monster roaring again and then I heard another noise, it sounded like someone calling my name but I was lost before I had a chance to figure out who it was.
I woke up to simple sounds, like the chirping of birds and I could hear the sound of people chattering in the distance. I could hear the sound of running water. I was still too weak to open my eyes so I used my other senses, I could feel the soft mattress under my back and the cotton blanket that was tucked up to my chest. A cool breeze blew over my face and I smelled scented flowers and food being cooked nearby. I heard something nearby as I felt my body freeze; there was someone in the room with me. They placed something on the table as I tried to remember how I got here. I remembered arriving back at Atlantis and surprising John, and he had told me about how we were going to go on a mission of some sort…and then nothing. Was I kidnapped by the Wraith? By Wraith worshippers? There was a dull ache in the back of my head as I tilted my head to the side; it ached when I moved it and my stomach felt tight. Like I had been hit by something. Had someone knocked me out?
I opened my eyes slowly; as to not alert whoever was in the room with me that I had woken up. Bright light shone into my eyes as I squeezed them shut in reaction and tried again. This time they adjusted as I managed to look around the small room. It looked like a one-bedroom hut equipped with a dining table and chairs, a bench pushed by the window and a door leading out. I spotted the man who was in the room with me, he had long dark hair that touched his shoulders and wore simple peasant clothes. His back was too me so I couldn't see his face, I saw that he was putting food onto a plate as I looked down at myself. Someone had changed me out of my uniform and into similar clothes; a plain cotton white shirt and loose brown shorts. I threw the covers off me as I dove for the plate. I could see a knife of some sort as I grasped it tightly in my hand and held it up defensively. The man jumped and gasped in shock as he stumbled away, holding his hands up.
"Who are you? Where am I? What am I doing here?" I demanded off him as I stood back with the knife. The man looked petrified of me as he looked around the room for something. "Answer me!" I shouted. Suddenly the door opened as a young woman walked in. Her hair was dark and curly, she wore a simple red dress and looked at the man in fear. The woman then looked at me.
"It's ok, Mia. We're not here to harm you." She said calmly.
"Tell me where I am!"
"You don't remember?" The woman asked me. I shook my head. "The beast attacked you, we barely managed to save you. You had a severe head wound and broken bones. You lost a lot of blood."
"How did you heal me? What's the beast? I don't remember anything about that, for all I know you could be lying!" I threatened them. I saw the man lean into the woman as they whispered something I couldn't hear.
The woman replied, "He went to fetch her weapons." She said. While they were distracted I made a run for it. I shoved them both out of the way as I dashed out of the hut.
I ran out into a small village, a dozen people were walking around and talking, some preparing food, others gathering water as I looked around quickly. People stopped and stared at me and began whispering, others looked at me in fear as I remembered that I was still holding the knife. None were particularly hostile towards me so I dropped the knife. There had to be a reason why I was here, I just couldn't remember. What had they said? I had banged my head; maybe it had done more then make me loose blood.
"Who are you?" I asked the woman and man when I spotted them leaving the house. The woman seemed to be the more reasonable of the two.
"I am Teer. And this is my brother Avrid, we are the descendant's of the one's you call Ancients."
"What is this place?" I asked Teer.
"The cloister, it is where we meditate. Please, we mean you no harm, John will be back soon—"
"John's here?" I asked them, surprised. Teer nodded.
"We will explain everything to you, I promise." She said calmly. I still didn't know if I could trust these people, for all I knew they could've been the one's who bashed my head in and made me loose my memory. I heard a child's laughter from behind me, it caused me to look over my shoulder. I saw a young girl who looked similar to Teer; and she was walking with John. I recognized him immediately; he wore similar clothes to me. A white shirt and brown pants with fur boots, his beard had grown out since I had last seen him, which made me reaslise that I probably hadn't seen him in a while. In his hand I saw him holding a p-90 but he dropped it when he saw me standing here. He jogged over to me, I could see the relief in his eyes as he reached me, he went to say something but I beat him to it.
"What's happened? Where are we? Who are these people?" I asked him as John grasped my arms in his and met my gaze. I saw the relief fade into confusion as Teer appeared by our side.
"It seems she has lost some of her memory from the blow." Teer explained as John looked back at me with guilt in his eyes.
"How do you feel, are you ok?" He asked me. I shrugged my shoulders.
"My head hurts and I'm freaking out a lot. Can some please explain to me what's going on?" I asked desperately as John nodded to Teer. She gave me a reassuring smile as she turned and left with Avrid and the young girl. John took my hand as he pulled me into the house that I had awoken in. He shut the door behind him and pulled me over to the bed. I sat down hesitantly as he sat next to me and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
"What's the last thing you remember?" He asked me. I sighed and rubbed my head.
"I—I don't know. I guess coming back to Atlantis after going home, and you telling me about some mission…and then it just goes blank." I explained as John looked away nervously. "What is it?" I asked him.
"Mia, that was five months ago…"
"What?" I screeched. "Five months? I've lost five months of my life?" I stood up and started pacing. John tried to stop and pull me to him but I kept wriggling out of his grip.
"Just stop, this isn't going to help you. Just sit down and calm down." John said as I rounded on him.
"How can I calm down? I have no idea how I got here, what we're doing here for the past five months. There are people telling me that I got attacked by some beast that I can't remember about and you're telling me to calm down?"
"Technically I've been here for five months, you got here three days ago." John said as I stalled. I faced him.
"What? What are you saying?" I asked him. John sighed as he approached me again; he rubbed his hands down my arms.
"I've been stuck here for five months, I thought you had all abandoned me. It was three days ago when Teer sensed your presence here, I went to find you and found you being attacked by the beast. I tried to stop it but it disappeared and I saw how injured you were. I brought you back here and Hedda healed you, though you didn't wake up until now." I frowned at him, I couldn't remember anything, it was all just a big blank.
"What happened before that? How did you get here?" I asked him.
"We came to this planet, all of us. Rodney found an energy spike at the portal and we went to investigate. You interpreted some of the text and it said that this place is a sanctuary from the Wraith. I decided to enter it and that was the last thing I heard from you. My radio didn't work but every couple months I had supplies sent through. I just assumed that you all couldn't figure out how to get me out. Do you remember any of this?" He asked hesitantly. I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair.
"No, I don't." I paced away form him. "This is crazy, how can I just not remember five months of my life? Why did I take so long to get here?"
"I don't know." John said. I had finally calmed down enough for him to get close to me, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders as I rested my head on his chest.
"How could I leave you for five months, John?" I asked him, whispering. John sighed as he ran his fingers through my hair.
"You didn't. You all probably thought I was dead, or that it wasn't safe to come get me seeing as I hadn't come back out. But I knew that you wouldn't give up on me, just like I hadn't for you."
"I must've been going mad for all that time," I said with a smile. John chuckled
"Probably a right pain in the ass as usual."
"Cute," I said with a smirk. I tilted my head my head back to stare into his hazel eyes. It didn't feel like I had been away for five months, it felt like yesterday; well to me it was. For John it had been five months. I could see in his eyes that he had missed me, and the way that he was holding me; it was how he had held me after finding me at Ford's compound. John bent his head as he pressed his lips against mine gently; my eyes slowly slid shut as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body against his. I lost myself in the kiss as I felt his hands roam over my back, his fingers tracing circles over the thin fabric of my shirt. A thought flittered through my mind as I pulled away from John and held him at arms length.
"The woman out there, Teer—"
"Mia, really?" John asked with a chuckle as I shrugged my shoulders.
"I've got to ask, did you and her ever…you know?" I waggled my brows as John sent me a pointed look.
"What kind of man do you take me for?" He asked me. He wasn't hurt by my question, but I could tell that he thought I was being an idiot.
"Well you have been stuck here for five months, and I know what Ancient women are like around you, they have a tendency to throw themselves at you."
"That's not true."
"Chaya," I said with a stern look. John laughed.
"Chaya didn't throw herself at me, and anyway, why are we talking about them when I could be focusing more on you?" He said with a seductive grin as he quickly swooped me up into his arms. I pressed my lips into a firm line as I tried not to smile at him. John walked over to the bed I had been residing in before and set me down gently.
"So for five months you had no sexual urges to her out there whatsoever?" I asked him, I didn't know why I was pressing this so much, I guess it was just my insecurities rearing its ugly head. John sighed and rolled his eyes.
"It's called a right hand, sweetheart." He said simply. I chuckled.
"I don't know whether to be creeped out or complemented."
"Mia?" John said in exasperation. I met his hazel gaze.
"Yeah?"
"Stop talking," he said as he caught my lips in a searing kiss.
The feeling of someone running their fingers up and down my arm woke me the next morning. My eyes opened slowly, blinking away the sleep as I used a clenched fist and rubbed at my eye. I rolled over onto my back, seeing John half leaning over me with a sleepy smile on his face. He was propped up on his elbow as his other hand continued to trace doodles on my exposed skin.
"Mornin'," he said.
I stretched my body out under him, feeling the tightness in my stomach, the back of my head still ached; but it was slowly getting better. "Morning," I yawned, covering my mouth.
"There's someone I want you to meet today," John said to me as I smirked at him.
"I knew it, you did find an Ancient woman!" I said mockingly as John rolled his eyes at me at my stupidity.
"It's not like that," he said as he flicked my forehead gently with his index finger. "You'll like her."
"Will I now?" I muttered with an eyebrow raised as John chuckled. In the spot he had just flicked me, he pressed his lips against it, kissing me tenderly as he slipped out of the bed and covered up his torso in his white cotton shirt and pulled on his brown trousers. Feeling especially mischievous this morning I sat up and wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my naked body against his clothed back.
"Mia..." He sighed breathlessly as I grinned, knowing that I was teasing him. I leaned down and pressed a wet kiss to the base of his neck, his weak spot as I felt his body shudder under my touch.
"You know, and I know, that you really don't want to get dressed right now," I whispered seductively into his ear. It only took those words before he was peeling off his shirt and trousers once more and pinning me down on the bed.
After we had finally made it outside, our previous activities hadn't taken long but were nonetheless satisfying, John took me over to another hut. While he spoke to the man I recognised as Avrid from the previous day that I had held at knife point (I had apologized profusely for that) I turned my attention to the little village that we were residing in. There were only about half a dozen houses in the cloister, all were medium sized, bigger then the one John and I had stayed in last night and I could see people entering and leaving them. The people in this village all had an aura of peace and serenity around them, I felt at peace here, even though I had been attacked, knocked unconscious and lost five months of my memory.
"Mia," John speaking to me made me jump in surprise, I had been so focused on the village, and taking in my surrounding that I had totally forgotten that he had wanted me to meet someone. My eyes cut over to him, he was smirking down at a young girl who I recognized. It was the small girl that had been walking with him yesterday when I had woken up. "This is Hedda," he said to me as I watched the girl bound down the stairs and hurry over to me.
"Hi!" She said cheerfully as I returned her smile.
"Hi," I replied.
"Hedda is the one who healed you," John stated as I glanced up at him, meeting his gaze. He had brought me here to meet this wonderful little girl, she had saved my life. Last night he had told me that some of the Ancients who resided here had unusual abilities, he said that the older woman, Teer had the ability of foresight and was the reason why he had been able to find me so quickly. Teer had seen me come under attack from the beast.
Looking back down at Hedda, a grateful smile came over my face as I knelt down on the ground, coming eye level with her. "I owe you my life, Hedda. Thank you for healing me," I said to her as Hedda grinned once more.
"You're welcome! John's told me a lot about you."
"He has?" I asked, looking over at him as he glanced away, becoming interested in a splinter of wood sticking out of the wooden post.
"Well you know," I said to her, lowering my voice, "Between me and you. All he could talk about was you last night."
"Really?" Hedda asked with a faint blush coming over her cheeks.
"Mmhmm, he was saying he thinks you're wonderful. We both owe you and Teer everything," I said sincerely to her.
"My sister and I have the most pronounced gifts at the moment, we thank our ancestors for them. Do you have a sister?" Hedda asked as I was caught off guard by the question. My knee jerk reaction was to always say, 'no, I'm an only child.' But that wasn't the case anymore, I had Emily.
"I have a little sister," I said.
"What's her name?"
I smirked at her eager questions, "Emily."
"Maybe I'll be able to meet her one day," Hedda said with a hopeful smile. I felt a painful feeling in my chest thinking about my family back home, and not just Emily. My Grandfather, Teyla, Rodney, Ronon, Elizabeth, Lorne and Carson.
"Maybe," I said with a wistful smile. Hedda grinned over her shoulder at John and Avrid. "Speaking of sisters, where is Teer, I'd also like to give her my thanks."
"She's meditating," Hedda stated as my brows furrowed.
"Meditating?"
There was a chuckle from John as he strolled down the stairs, "You're going to love this." He said with a grin as I looked between Hedda, Avrid and John.
"What's going on?"
A couple weeks later John took me for our daily walk, we were just out of he cloister, he didn't want us going too far in case the beast came back. He had given me a fair description of what the creature was like. He had fought it twice already and there seemed to be no way to kill it. John held onto my hand as he bent down and picked a wildflower from the ground, it was a pretty yellow flower as he reached over and tucked it into my hair, behind my ear as I felt my cheeks flush.
"Thank you," I said to him as I gazed up at the sky. It was a beautiful cornflower blue today with a few puffy white clouds dotted in the sky. "It's so lovely here." I said to him as I heard him hum in agreement.
"It's not like home though." He muttered as I glanced over at him. His brow was furrowed as he stared at the ground, deep in thought.
"Oh yeah, nothing beats the constant running from the Wraith, the hiding our relationship and having to deal with rabid friends and a Satedan that only has two words in his vocabulary." I said sarcastically as I saw the smirk grow on John's face.
"Ok, maybe it's not all that bad. It's a hell of a lot better now that you're here," John said casually as he slung his arm around my shoulder as we walked down the dirt path.
"I could stay here forever," I muttered, watching a bird fly through the sky. "It's peaceful. We don't have to hide here, everyone is so friendly and there's no fear of having our life sucked out by the Wraith." I said to him. John nodded as he kissed me on my temple.
We came back to the village and saw that the evening feast had been laid out on the table. The other Ancients were seated around the table as John and I saw the two empty seats on either side of Hedda. I had formed a close bond with the child; she was so happy, funny and bright every day that I always had a smile on my face when I was around her. She adored John and followed him around every chance she got, John didn't mind seeing as Hedda had healed us both when we had been attacked by the beast. If she hadn't, I'd be dead right now. Teer and her brother Avrid were sat opposite us as we all began eating together and sharing stories.
Half way through eating I struck up a conversation. "Is it always sunny like this here?" I asked them. Teer nodded to me.
"Yes, the sanctuary blesses us with warm weather and constant sunshine."
"You ever get any thunderstorms?" John asked as he continued eating. Teer and Avrid looked to each other in confusion as the other villagers murmured. "Haven't any of you seen thunderstorms?" John asked.
"The sanctuary provides rain for the orchids," Avrid replied to him. John shook his head with a smile.
"I'm talking about thunder and lightning. Giant bolts of electricity shooting down from the sky," John explained to them but the villagers still looked dazed, they obviously didn't have storms here to disrupt their peaceful lives.
"Sounds scary." Hedda remarked next to me.
"Well, it is scary," John told her, "but it's also very cool. It's ok to be scared, it's part of life. You know, when I was a kid we used to have storms that shook the house. Scared me half to death." John said to Hedda as she smiled up at him.
"When we are ascended, we will experience such things," Teer stated.
"Hell, if you're ascended, you can make thunderstorms. I'm talking about actually experiencing life!"
John had been trying to entire time I had been here to try and convince these people that there is more to life then just meditation and ascension. He wanted them to explore their sanctuary and not hide away from the beast, but like always, he was turned down.
"We contemplate on the experience that is life each day," Avrid said. I rolled my eyes at his words. Don't get me wrong these people are probably the nicest people I will ever meet in my life but there is only so much Zen that I can take before I go absolutely nuts.
"I'm talking about living it," John continued, "Haven't any of you got things you want to do as flesh and blood human beings first? I mean, you talk about moving on to a plane of existence beyond your own mortality, but you haven't even really lived."
"Our lives are full." Teer uttered.
John sighed, "Well, I've spent a long time with you folks, and I don't think 'full' means what you think it means."
"To ascend, one must meditate." Avrid spoke candidly.
"You're not meditating, you're hiding." John snapped at him. I wanted to warm him to back down but I could tell that John felt passionately about this.
"From what?" Avrid asked, confused.
"You know the answer to that," John grumbled as Avrid still looked perplexed.
"He means the beast," Teer answered for him. I could see the revelation in her eyes as she looked down sadly.
"Yes, I do. Now I don't know how any of you expect me to feel like I belong here, but every time that thing comes around, I'm out there alone." I watched all of the villagers ponder over John's words. I felt bad for them; they were just trying to follow in their ancestors' footsteps.
"You're not alone," Teer said quietly, but John and I heard her. John gave her a reassuring smile.
"I know, you were there too."
"No I mean your friends have come," Teer said as I felt my jaw drop. John glanced over at me as we shared a look as he turned back to Teer.
"They have? Are you sure?" John jumps to his feet. "That's the best news I've—"
"No, John," Teer cut him off as I saw her gaze turn dark. "I sense something more. The beast is nearly upon them."
With that I jumped out of my seat as John and I exchanged looks as we both ran out of the cloister together.
"What about my weapons?" I called out to him as we ran through the forest.
"It wont do any good remember?" John said back as he jumped over a fallen log as I did the same a second later.
"No, I don't!" I yelled back. I heard him make a surprised noise as he had obviously forgotten about my memory loss. From this distance I could hear the beasts roar as I suddenly jogged my memory. I didn't have a flashback or was able to see what I remembered, but I remember the feeling of being scared and the pain of being thrown around. I didn't let it control me as John and I ducked under low branches. The beasts roaring increased, as we got closer, I took it as a good sign that we were close as John sped up. I was out of shape so he was a few feet ahead of me and could run longer than me know, something I would have to change when we got back home.
He charged out of the trees and a few seconds later I followed, I felt elated when I saw my friends and then fear when John threw himself onto the beasts back. The beast disappeared as John went crashing to the ground. I saw Elizabeth run over to him as Carson went to Ronon and Rodney went to Teyla who had been knocked away by the beast.
"What the hell took you guys so long?" John growled at them as Elizabeth helped him stand. I came jogging over, out of breath, surprisingly; the others didn't seem that concerned about me. I would've thought I'd be getting either a reprimand or a glance for being away for three weeks.
"Believe it or not, you've only been gone over five hours," Elizabeth said hesitantly as I froze. Uh, what?
"Try six months!" John exclaimed as Rodney walked over to us.
"You don't understand, you've been trapped in a time dilation field." Rodney explained. I felt my eyes bug out, a time dilation field…was he serious? "Surely you would've told him that?" Rodney pointed his question at me as I looked at him incredulously.
"What are you talking about?" I asked Rodney, he stared at me like I had sprouted another head.
"What do you mean 'what'? That's why you jumped through didn't you like half an hour ago."
"I've been here for three weeks." I stated. Now it was everyone else except John's turn to stare at me like I was crazy, had I said something strange?
"What was that bloody thing?" Carson cried out in panic.
"I don't know," John replied to him but then turned to Rodney, "what's a time dilation field?"
"Can we talk about this somewhere else?" Elizabeth asks us, I can hear the fear in her voice.
"No, it is still close." Teyla senses as she gazes around the area. Suddenly the beast roars as I scan the area trying to spot the shimmer as it forms in front of us. I crane my neck back as the beast has somehow grown another sixty feet. It roars once more loudly as John and Ronon move towards it slowly. I stand back with Carson and Elizabeth.
Ronon and John said something to each other but I was too far away to hear it. I heard a branch snap behind me as I jumped, expecting to see another one of those beasts but I was shocked to see the villagers walking out of the forest. Hedda reached me as she grasped my hand tightly and smiled up at me.
"John?" Elizabeth called out to him as John turned, his eyebrows rising when he saw the villagers. "Friends of yours?"
I smiled down at Hedda as she left me and joined up with Avrid and Teer as they faced the beast.
"We've come to stand with you," Avrid said determinedly.
"No, we've come to fight," Teer stated firmly. "And we are not afraid of you," Teer said as she glared up at the beast. "The beast is of our own creation, and it is long past time we sent it away."
Teer, Avrid and Hedda join the circle as all the villagers stare up at it. The beast writhes and screeches until it finally disappears from sight, it's screeching fading away. Once the beast was gone Teer turned around to face us.
"That's it? That's all it took?" John cried out.
"You were right, John. We were afraid. The beast was the final burden we had to shed, manifest from our own fears. You gave us the courage to face it," Teer held out her hands as I frowned slightly. "Come with us," she offered him. I heard Elizabeth gasp softly from beside me as we watched the villagers start to glow and turn to white energy.
"I'm not ready for that yet. I'm not sure I'll ever be," John said to her as I felt my fear subside.
"One day, perhaps?" She asked him.
"Yeah, one day," John agreed but not convincingly. Teer smiled at him.
"I'll look forward to it," she turns her gaze onto Rodney. "There'll be no need to destroy the sanctuary, Doctor McKay."
Rodney looked like he had been caught red handed. "What? No no no no no, I wasn't thinking that, I was…" he trailed off, knowing that he had been caught out as I smirked.
"We will keep the portal open for you until you are gone," Teer explained to us.
"At which point the ZedPM which undoubtedly powers this beautiful place will be—"
"The sanctuary was left by those who came before us, for those who may seek it out and follow the path. And it will continue to remain after you are gone." Teer cut him off firmly.
"Yeah but…" Rodney argued as he glanced over at Elizabeth whom he hoped would help him out of the mess but she shrugs and looks at Teer. "Absolutely," he sighs in defeat.
I crane my head back as I watch all of the villagers start to ascend skywards as Teer vanishes also. I smile gently as I remember the times I shared with them as Rodney walks over to John. "What is it with you and ascended women?" He asked him as John shoots him a pointed look. The rest of us gather around John as Elizabeth smirks at John.
"Well, the beard is interesting." She comments as John rolls his eyes at her.
"First thing to go when we get home," John says as he pockets his tactical knife. "Never thought I'd see any of you again. Kind of even…missed you a little." John said as Teyla came and stood next to me, I sent her a smile as she returned it.
"Yeah, well it was only a couple of hours for us so—"
"Ronon!" Teyla scolds him as Ronon laughs silently. "We were all quite worried about you."
"Of course we were," Carson agreed.
"We're just sorry we didn't get here sooner." Elizabeth said as John looks round at each of us. I can tell that he is touched by their sentiments but he shrugs it off and chuckles.
"Let's get out of here." He says and leads us towards the portal.
Rodney came over to me. "And what the hell is wrong with you? Not telling him about the field, what, did you loose your memory or something?" Rodney snapped at me as I crossed my arms and nodded.
"Actually, yes, yes I did." It was comical to watch Rodney's face change from spiteful to concerned in a second.
"Wait what?" He asked. I laughed at him as I continued after the others while Rodney stood frozen to the ground for a few seconds before hurrying after us.
Whew! As much as I love that episode, it was a bloody bitch to write about! I know the whole loosing her memory thing was completely out of the blue but I felt like it fit, and you guys know I'm a sucker for plot devices and twists xD what can I say, it's been like 52 chapters already, you should know me by now that i love throwing curveballs at you guys!
Anyway i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thank you to everyone for reviewing and reading and I'll see yoou all next week!
REPLIES
Julka212 - MALP on a stick is probably one of my favourite scenes ever, just everything about that scene has me cracking up each time xD If Rodney did take her then we wouldn't have had this chapter filled with just about everything that I could ever throw at you guys! Besides, it was a given that our stupid Mia would throw herself into the face of danger for the one she loves. Man John with a beard...maybe i'll have to write that in more often now xD
Adela - Thank you! And yes I'm glad you understood why she ran through to be with him!
GoldenGod48 - Hahaha I knew people would've sussed that she would run through to be with him. Well hopefully she's not seeing as she just got beaten to a pulp by that beast...
jumbielove - Sorry for leaving on a cliffhanger (not really I love them) but hopefully it was worth the wait. Thank you so much!
Guest 64 - Yeah I'm glad i did it this way too. It was straying so much from the season that I had to somehow come back on track without loosing information on what her time was like back home with her family. Thank you!
Sheppardlover928 - Thank you! Yeah I wonder that too when i rewatch it. Like how hard is it to send a piece of paper saying 'dude, you're fucked but we're coming' xD I'm not sorry about Teer but she did miss out on a gorgeous man! xD
