— Thor's Slayers —

Chapter Two

Have Stakes Will Travel

Author's Notes: Alright folks, this is the last chapter until after Christmas. Hope you enjoy and have a happy festivus!

#

Faith and Buffy stumbled into the railing when the building, or was it city?, shook beneath their feet. It ended quickly but they shared an "oh shit" look that was being mirrored by Doctor McKay and Doctor Weir 30 feet away in the C&C.

"I think that nice shield of ours is about to be not so shieldy," Buffy muttered. "I do not want to drown, Faith. Been there, done that. Can't somebody flip a switch somewhere and boost the power by 100% or whatever?"

Faith snickered and opened her mouth to reply but paused when the Stargate began dialing in. "Yo B, Gate's activating, game face."

The soldiers stationed in the Gate room took up defensive positions with a diverse mix of firearms held ready, using whatever was available for cover. On the upper level of the Gate room, across from the DHD room, Buffy and Faith crouched and held their P90s between the railing. They each checked their safeties and held their PDWs to eye level, aimed at the Stargate that had been sealed off by the energy shield that acted as Atlantis's version of the SGC's iris.

"I feel like one of the archers on the wall at Helm's Deep," Buffy blurted, eyes still fixed on the Stargate, her P90 steady and posture relaxed.

Faith turned incredulous eyes to her lover. "Who made you watch Lord of the Rings, Dawn or Xander?"

Buffy went very still and very quiet all of a sudden. Too quiet.

Faith narrowed her eyes. "Andrew?"

Buffy looked down in shame. "It was at one of our meetings in Scotland. He was watching it and there was all this fighting and Andrew wouldn't stop talking about Orlando Bloom and he is so pretty," she said defensively.

Faith shook her head in disappointment. "How did that geek not know he was gay for so many years?" she wondered aloud.

Buffy didn't answer because at that moment the city began shaking again, even more violently this time and .was still shaking when the shield that sealed the gate deactivated. Moments later and Major Sheppard, the other soldiers, and a whole lot of people she'd never seen before stepped through. They were human, or at least human looking, which was good. That they were there at all however, when the city looked like it was about to collapse, was not good. What was even more not good was the fact that there were several people missing from the party that had departed Atlantis. Colonel Sumner, at least one or two other soldiers, and of course, Illyria.

"Fuck," Faith cursed and then steadied herself as the shaking settled

"We need to know what happened, Faith, we need to find Illy—Fred," Buffy stated as she stalked towards Dr. Weir and Maj. Sheppard.

"No arguments here," Faith agreed but stumbled into Buffy when the city shook even more violently. This time it was powerful enough to send them both to the tumbling to the ground. This time the shaking wasn't over quickly, instead it grew in intensity, causing people and supplies to tumble to the ground. The newcomers, who had looked so relieved upon their entry, were now calling out in panic and fear. Faith frowned at the shaking, before gradually realizing she was able to feel a subtle smooth movement of the floor beneath her feet. She glanced at Buffy whose own brow was furrowed, no doubt feeling the same thing.

Glancing across the room, Faith realized that Dr. Weir must have noticed something too because both the doctor, Peter, and McKay all began moving quickly around the various control panels, less panicked and more excited than before. As seconds passed in what felt like hours, the shaking began to gradually lessen and eventually ceased altogether. Almost immediately upon the city's newfound stability, the lights which had been dimmed to conserve power began to turn back on, fully illuminating the Gate room.

Seeing other expedition members looking out of nearby windows now letting in the light of the sun, Faith walked with Buffy at her side to do likewise. Given that the nearest windows were directly opposite the Stargate on the upper level not 20 feet from them, the two Slayers were some of the first individuals to truly see what had happened. There, she and Buffy looked over the cityscape, the cityscape no longer buried beneath the waves, the cityscape that now gleamed in the sunlight.

"Oh my god," Buffy whispered.

Faith couldn't agree more. Earlier they had been able to see Atlantis underneath the water, but now, without any obstruction or distortion, it was... "Beautiful," Faith murmured. The cities of Earth bore little resemblance to Atlantis beyond the height and number of towers and skyscrapers erected in the major cities. But Atlantis...

It was built like a snowflake, a single large center island with a mostly symmetrical array of extended pads. She'd known this ahead of time just from the displays around the city, but to see it in front of her like this was breathtaking. The central area, where they and the Stargate stood, was the largest area by far, full of gleaming metal towers and spires that were all graceful curves and angles. The extended pads, though smaller and not quite so grandiose, also held their fair share of impressive looking structures.

When fully revealed, the city was massive, sleek, and in Faith's eyes, perfect. While it didn't sprawl outwards like Earth cities did, the Alterans appeared to have been well adept at the growing vertically bit. Even more appealing was the absence of the overwhelming usage of ugly concrete that was typial of Earth's urban jungles. Faith tried to imagine the sheer scale of the technology and knowledge needed to construct such a city, a city that could fly, and couldn't even being to grasp it. It certainly put her collapsible sword in perspective, that was for sure.

Faith felt Buffy nudge her and turned to follow her gaze. Outside, Sheppard and Weir appeared to be arguing about something. Either the strangers or the missing people, Faith was willing to bet.

"We'll talk to her when they're done," Faith said. Buffy nodded in agreement and they both turned back around to gaze at the newly revealed expanse of their new home.

Illyria watched as Teyla awoke from her induced sleep, assisted by the men known as Toran and Halling. Col. Sumner and the three soldiers that had been taken with him were already standing, discussing their options, looking ready for a fight or to make their escape.

She had feigned sleep while the others had been rendered unconscious and was forced to wait until they arrived at their eventual destination. She'd used this time to study what little she could of the ship that had captured them and tried to determine the method used to stun her companions; a gas of some sort she'd surmised. Upon their arrival at their new environs, she had been disappointed when no Wraith came except for those who had removed their weapons. Their unmarked armor, masked faces, the matching, heavy tread of their march, and practiced movements in dealing with the captured humans made Illyria judge them to be near the bottom of their warrior caste.

Hopefully now that all the muck had awakened, a Wraith of more significance would come to them. She had been tempted to break the device meant to cage them, but such action would have been precipitous without any additional information she could use to plan. As it turned out, it wasn't long until her wish was granted as a trio of pale bipedal beings marched toward them through the hallway that seemed excessively misty.

The being at the forefront, clearly their leader, looked much like the muck did, to her disappointment. In shape and size they were nearly identical, the leader being fairly slim and tall by human standards. A slightly different coloring, a few different physical characteristics, but human-like nonetheless. How had it come to be that this form had become dominant over not just Earth, but two separate galaxies? She almost wished her brethren would waken just to correct such a flagrant offense.

The two behind him were quite different and had been the ones she'd been able to observe unobtrusively earlier. All three shared the same white hair, but the two guards had extremely muscular, bulky builds. Able to observe them more openly now, she realized the masks that covered their faces appeared to be a bone growth or device that should have obscured their vision entirely. Without removing the masks, she had no way to be sure but the two soldiers were practically identical. Illyria felt sure that her earlier estimation of their importance had been correct; they were soldiers and guards, nothing of consequence.

Col. Sumner immediately approached them, stating his name and position, indicating that he was the leader of all those who had been caged. She realized that by doing so, he sought to protect not only those he commanded but the Athosians as well, a people to whom he owed no loyalty. She had learned time and time again that humans were sentimental to the point of stupidity; she shouldn't have been surprised when their warriors would behave similarly.

The Wrath responded to Sumner's babble by backhanding him, sending him crashing into the wall perhaps ten feet away where he then struggled to get back to his feet. For the minimal amount of effort the Wraith had appeared to expend in striking the colonel, Illyria estimated the Wraith as strong as a vampire or a minor demon, perhaps stronger. The Slayers might struggle perhaps, but Illyria had little doubt that they would be able to overcome such a being in a contest of strength alone. She considered that perhaps learning such information was worth the potential risk in being forced to reveal herself, especially if it meant that her guide would be able to survive when she might otherwise not have.

Illyria remained silent, watching the Wraith through narrowed eyes as it studied the humans. She debated whether or not she should insist on accompanying the creature, but unless one of the expedition members was taken, decided it would be prudent to determine the fate of the one it did take instead. He eventually selected the one called Toran, dragging him away as he began to cry out in panic and fear. If there had been a human she would have encouraged the Wraith to take, it would have been that one.

She noticed one of the soldiers glancing at her and realized she'd been too watchful, too motionless, and too quiet. "Colonel, you don't think the others will abandon us, do you?" she asked with the shell's voice.

The older man, still rubbing his shoulder from his impact with the wall, gave her a strained smile. "Miss Burkle, I can't imagine that they will. We just have to wait and they'll come for us."

Illyria gave the man a grateful smile and turned back to watch the door and the corridor beyond. She hadn't missed the look exchanged between Sumner and the others. Good, if they thought her one of the sheep, it shouldn't be too hard to have a conversation with the wolves. She wondered if the Slayers would come on time, or whether they'd let her enjoy the bloodshed all on her own.

Illyria smiled slightly and waited, prepared for either eventuality.

"Dr. Weir?"

Elizabeth turned to see Miss Summers and Miss Lehane, fully geared and looking anxious.

"Ladies, it looks like...Fred was one of those captured by the Wraith on Athos, that's the name of the planet the team was sent to. I'm sorry, but Maj. Sheppard is currently assembling a team to rescue them."

"Oh, okay," Faith said, and paused before asking, "so can we go?"

Weir opened her mouth to say no, but paused. They didn't look afraid, or even all that worried. In fact if she had to name the emotion on their faces, she'd say they were excited, especially Faith. The advice she'd received to allow them to take care of her rang in her mind and she inwardly sighed in resignation.

"I have no objection, but you'll have to take it up with Maj. Sheppard in the hanger. But even if he says no, you can be sure that if it's possible, they'll get your friend back."

"Great, I'm sure she'll be fine, we'll go find John now," Faith said and both girls quickly left her in the C&C to find Maj. Sheppard.

"Huh," Rodney remarked at their abruptness, but quickly went back to his work on...some extremely complicated city function that Weir really didn't understand. There was so much for her to get caught up on and now that some of her people had been kidnapped, everything had been put on hold. Despite her argument with Sheppard about the pros and cons of mounting a rescue mission, she couldn't help but be relieved that he was taking responsibility for it; she just had to hope the man could really pull it off.

Weir remembered what Whistler had said about Miss Burkle being captured and his amusement at the possibility. Given Faith and Buffy's minimal display of concern for the safety of their friend, she was willing to wager that it probably stemmed from whatever knowledge was being withheld from her. She had to suppress an inward growl; she was unwilling to stay in the dark forever and promised herself that she'd ask Faith and Buffy some very direct questions in the near future. A conversation that would hopefully be less uncomfortable than the one they'd had this morning regarding the girls' 'bruises'.

Faith and Buffy ran in the direction of the hanger, having finally figured out the layout of the city well enough to navigate it accurately. Given the way Weir had phrased it, Faith figured that the assembling team would be less assembling and more assembled, and she had no doubt that they wouldn't waste any time before heading out.

When they ran into the hanger, they saw maybe half a dozen men, all of whom were very well armed, boarding one of the Gateships.

"Maj. Sheppard!" Faith yelled. "Sheppard!"

A moment later and the major came out of the ship, looking confused but not unhappy to see them. "Faith, Buffy, what do you need? I'm getting ready to leave Atlantis to go pick up our people from the coordinates McKay came up with."

"We know, we know," Faith said, "we want to go with."

Sheppard drew back in surprise. "Huh?"

"We. Want. To. Go. With. You," Buffy said, with a heavy emphasis placed on each word.

Sheppard scratched the side of his head. "Look, I've heard you're both good shots, but we're about to head into what's likely to be enemy territory full of unfamiliar hostiles. I understand you guys want to help, but this isn't—" he stopped abruptly when Faith stepped into his personal space.

"Sheppard, both B and I, we know how to fight, ya dig? We know how to fight real well, fight dirty, brawl or even duel, get us there Sheppard, and we'll make your job a little easier," Faith promised, looking the man in the eye.

"Also, if you don't, we'll hurt you," Buffy promised, glaring at Sheppard.

"Wow," Sheppard said, rocking back on his heels at the threat.

Faith winced, "wasn't quite willing to go that far that fast, B."

"We're wasting time, we have our people to go rescue," Buffy maintained firmly.

Sheppard looked between them for a moment before he growled out, "get in with the others, and don't make me regret this."

They followed the man into the Gateship where they an encountered a squad of surprised looking men.

"Hello, my name's Faith Lehane and beside me is our very own lovely Buffy Summers. We'll be your teammates for the mission so please check your safeties and make yourself comfortable for the very first flight of Atlantis Airlines," Faith announced in an officious voice as they sat down.

"I like this airline," Sergeant Stackhouse said, smiling at her.

A chorus of agreements echoed his statement.

Buffy shot a raised eyebrow at Faith who just shrugged. "They're men, B. Attractive women with guns and who know how to use them? Please, like they'd hesitate to give us a seat."

"Hear, hear," muttered a nearby soldier, in the process of putting a grenade in one of his vest pockets.

A young dark-skinned man entered the Gateship, closing the door behind him. "Alright boys..." he trailed off at the audible sigh from the Slayers and then shrugged, "and girls, get ready to go."

He then entered the cockpit which was subsequently sealed off by a wall.

"Fuckin' a, let's do this," one of the other soldiers barked out.

Faith and Buffy looked at each other and grinned.

Illyria straightened as the footsteps of the Wraith drew near once again. The insipid Toran was not with them, good.

And once again, despite the result of his last attempt to protect the others, Col. Sumner stalked forward to meet the trio of Wraith. The unmasked Wraith stared at the man with narrowed eyes, judging him by some unknown criteria. Illyria saw in the creature's eyes that it had made the decision to take Sumner and made a snap decision.

Illyria strode forward and grabbed Sumner's shoulder in a light but firm grasp. "It's okay Colonel, it's me they want, you don't have to protect me any longer. You just make sure everyone else is safe, okay?"

When the human began to question her sanity, she applied a little more pressure and began to slowly draw him backwards until he was behind her, her eyes never leaving the Wraith's. "I'm the leader you want, he just wanted to protect me, I'm sure you understand."

The Wraith looked at her and then cocked his head. She let a small smile play upon her lips.

"Miss Burkle, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Sumner hissed.

"You need to keep the people safe, you hear Colonel? You're needed here so much more than I; I'm just a physicist and we already got plenty of those but we only have one Colonel Sumner." Illyria murmured quietly, careful to apply the slightest tremor to her soft tone, even as her face remained bland for the Wraith.

Finally the Wraith growled and jerked his head, indicating for her to follow. Satisfied, she did so, but not before glancing back at the colonel whose worry was written clearly upon his face.

Humans. So emotional.

Illyria stepped forward and followed the Wraith while being trailed by the two masked soldiers, both holding weapons that had an unusually long blade on the rear. She began humming a tune the shell had always enjoyed once they were out of the humans' hearing range.

Faith looked up as the wall separating the cockpit slid back and a dark-skinned man, who she now knew to be Lieutenant Ford, came through with a quiet, "lock and load."

With that, the rear hatch of the newly rechristened Puddle Jumper slip open, and Faith and Buffy trailed the last of the men off the ship and followed their example in taking defense positions with their P90s at the ready.

"Alright teams of two, learn what you can, lay down the defenses as you see fit, I want to be able light this place up if we have to. Two clicks you're clear to talk. Do not engage the enemy," Maj. Sheppard ordered as he walked towards the Wraith ship.

"You're with me," he said to Lt. Ford.

Buffy and Faith exchanged glances and quickly caught up to him.

"Our team of two is coming with your team," Buffy said cheerfully. When Sheppard opened his mouth to object, and Buffy spoke with narrowed eyes, "Us. Give. Pain. You."

Ford's eyes widened while Sheppard just rolled his eyes. "If you get us killed, I will come back and haunt you both, now let's move."

The four began the short trek towards the massive grounded ship, moving at a quick pace. Time was a critical element in any kind of hostage or prisoner extraction so neither of the soldiers spared a glance behind them, trusting the two girls to watch their backs. If they had looked, they would have seen the Slayers' movements becoming more graceful, more predatory, as they closed in on their objective.

#

Illyria was led into a room that was occupied by a large primitive wooden table that was laden with drink and various food dishes. Two chairs were present, one at each head of the table. The chair closest to her was occupied by a body, a human that had been deceased for many years. Yet upon a closer examination of the withered corpse, she recognized the clothing as that which had been worn by Toran. Interesting.

The unmasked Wraith had departed, allowing the two Wraith soldiers to take positions perpendicular to the two chairs within the chamber, where they took no further action. With nothing else to do, she tilted the chair to the side to deposit the corpse onto the fog covered ground. She then righted it, sat down, and waited.

After a minute or two, a Wraith dropped into the room from above, a movement clearly meant to induce fear in one of the muck. Illyria merely smiled. It was the first female Wraith she'd seen and was somehow even less appealing to the eye than female humans. She had scarlet hair, pale like the skin of maggots, and accompanied by a flimsy dress that was an unblemished white that seemed positively garish in contrast to their surroundings.

"You must feel hunger by now," the Wraith crooned, her smile revealing a mouth full of sharp, jagged teeth.

Illyria cocked her head at the question. "Not in a very long time," she answered truthfully.

#

Faith and Buffy followed Ford and Sheppard through the ship, having had the good fortune of not encountering any Wraith or of being detected. Of course, it was only seconds later that they were all forced to duck against a wall as the heavy tread of footsteps became audible. They didn't see much, just a glimpse of a large pale form, but Faith and Buffy both felt that instinctive knowledge that what they saw was something other.

Ahead of them, Ford and Sheppard were testing out the life signs detector, the latter having picked it up from the Puddle Jumper. Faith had a moment of worry about whether Illyria would even show up on the scanner but resolved that, one way or another, she'd just have to trust they'd be able to find one another when the noise inevitably started. As they explored the ship, using the life signs detector as a guide, they managed to locate a room sealed off by thin metallic bars in a pattern reminiscent of a spiderweb. Inside were a group of Athosians and the missing Atlantis personnel. All but one of those personnel.

Faith rolled her eyes. Of course, it'd be her.

"Where's Miss Burkle?" Sheppard asked, also noticing the absent member.

"She was taken by the Wraith," Sergeant Bates replied.

"We don't know where," a woman said, her voice steady and strong.

Sumner had a dour expression. "Miss Burkle decided to play hero and pretended to be the leader to save me. Damn fool of a girl."

Sheppard and Ford seemed to agree with the thought, but Buffy and Faith shared a quick smirk. Yeah, there would be some noise soon, Faith thought, almost eager to get it over with. Yeah, it'd been way too long since her last decent brawl if she was looking forward to fighting hostile aliens onboard a spaceship. On second thought, that idea seemed appealing no matter how long it'd been.

Sheppard decided to go after Illyria, while Ford was to stay and get the others out with the blocks of C-4 they'd brought.

"I'll get Blue," she whispered to Buffy, "I'm her guide and shit, you help Ford."

Buffy opened her mouth to argue, but stopped. "Go, and stay safe."

Faith looked around and gestured to their surroundings before smiling sardonically. "Couldn't be safer."

With a nod promising to do her best to be safe anyways, Faith followed Sheppard, quiet and P90 at the ready.

#

"What do you call yourself?" the Wraith asked, still smiling.

"I am Illyria. And yourself?"

"I am the Keeper of this Hive," the pale creature purred as she began to circle around her, voice and movements appearing almost lackadaisical. "So little fear, is it valor or ignorance?"

The question seemed rhetorical, but it was one Illyria nevertheless decided to answer. "I have no need to fear that which is beneath me."

The scarlet-haired creature snarled at her but otherwise ignored her comment and continued her meaningless prattle. "You must eat, yet you resist your hunger, why?"

Illyria ignored her and asked, "why did you capture my companions?"

"You trespassed upon our feeding ground."

"Feeding ground?" Illyria asked, curious.

"All living things must eat, in this I am sure we are similar. You feel hunger even now, I can sense it. Yet, you resist, why?" The Wraith continued to slowly circle the table as she spoke, the sort of movement predators made to draw the fear out of their prey.

Like so much else about the Wraith, it wasn't anything new or impressive. How was it possible that the Alterans were brought to their ruin by such creatures? Illyria tilted her head slightly at the Wraith's question. "It is a different hunger you feel, and I resist because I intend to learn more about you."

The Wraith narrowed her eyes before she sighed in disappointment. "Hunger is distasteful."

Illyria nodded in agreement before gesturing towards the corpse on the floor beside her. "It would appear he ingested something foul to satisfy his hunger."

"There we are quite dissimilar, Illyria, we don't require our food to be in the same state as yours." The Wraith bent low to stroke the face of the desiccated corpse Illyria had deposited onto the floor to make her meaning clear.

"You feed upon life, then?" Illyria asked.

The Wraith smiled widely, sharp teeth evident, and nodded.

"Two of my companions will be pleased to know and understand this," Illyria stated matter-of-factly.

The Wraith's eyes narrowed again. "What is the name of your world?"

"Earth," Illyria answered agreeably.

"I have not heard of this Earth, it is not among our stars?"

"No."

"Tell me of Earth, how many more are there of your kind?"

"There are billions of humans, they breed like insects," Illyria said with the disgusted tone she often reserved for the muck. Illyria could feel the atmosphere of the room changing and slowly stood to look the Wraith in the eye from a short distance away.

"Our feeding ground has not been so rich in almost 100,000 years!" the Wraith practically moaned, managing to completely ignore Illyria's implied statement that she didn't identify as human.

Illyria's lip curled at the wanton display of the leech. Newly fledged vampires would often behave this way, possessed by that singular focus to satisfy their new and incessant hunger for blood. That she was comparing these Wraith to newly fledged vampires was not promising, not at all.

"Your will is strong. This one," she said, gesturing to the dried husk of a corpse on the floor, "begged for his life."

"The muck often do. Is this the state all your prey are left in?"

"As I have said, all living things must eat," the Wraith said, smiling with her razor-sharp teeth on display.

"I see, I believe our conversation has concluded. I will indulge in my own hunger now," Illyria stated, stalking forward to close the distance between them.

"I think not," the Wraith sneered. "Kneel."

Illyria cocked her head. "You would order me, leech?"

The Wraith snarled and raised her hand, a hand equipped with claw-like fingernails. Illyria watched as the hand descended upon her, moving to rake across her chest. Yes, this would be most satisfying, she thought, especially given how tedious this leech is.

The claws that would have slashed across her chest were instead ripped off themselves as they met not cloth, but the hardened shell of her body. Illyria changed her form to the one most reminiscent of the days of old; if she were able to fight in the absence of those she'd traveled with, she would do so in a manner befitting to an Old One. The Wraith's eyes widened and her mouth opened to scream, but no sound emerged. No sound emerged because Illyria had ran her armor-covered hand through the leech's neck, taking hold of her spine and jerking it towards her.

There was a series of brutal cracks and the wet sound of flesh and sinew ripping apart as Illyria slowly withdrew the length of the Wraith's fragile spine through her neck. Blood sprayed across her face and the rest of the surrounding area as the Wraith's body practically exploded at the force of her attack. Oh yes, this would be so satisfying.

The two guards were still reacting when Illyria was upon them. She stepped toward the Wraith closest to her and swung the length of spine as if it were a chain, knocking his weapon from his hand. The Keeper's spine had fragmented and broken into pieces upon its impact with the weapon, but it was no matter. She took another step closer and lashed out at his kneecap with a kick and was rewarded by the sound of bone splintering. As the Wraith began to collapse, she grabbed his right arm and pulled hard enough to sever it completely from his body. She adjusted her hold on the separated arm and threw it like a javelin, the claws on the hand extended outwards, at the other guard across the room. It was not as effective as she'd hoped, but the Wraith still grunted at the impact and struggled to remove the hand of the Wraith's arm that was now partially embedded in his thigh.

She turned back to the guard who was groaning in pain as he knelt at her feet. She smiled in satisfaction even as she swung her hand in a sweeping motion at the Wraith's skull. The skull caved in and was ripped from the Wraith's neck at the impact of her openhanded slap. The direction of her swing meant that the newly separated skull was flung once again in the direction of the other guard, who had just recovered and had managed to raise his weapon and was forced to sidestep in order to readjust his aim. But the delay was all she needed to step into his space. She yanked the weapon from his grasp and placed her hands around the leech''s skull and began to squeeze.

It could have been over in less than a heartbeat, but after listening to the red-haired worm's pathetic diatribe, she felt the need for a more satisfying ending. She squeezed, slowly increasing the pressure until blood began leaking out from underneath her fingers. The Wraith was writhing as it moaned or possibly screamed in pain, she wasn't sure. She paid it little notice, instead focusing on steadily increasing the pressure she exerted until she felt bones begin to crack. Illyria smiled at the faceless thing and finally squeezed hard enough to shatter the skull and make blood, brain matter, and bone splinters splatter across her and her surroundings.

Perhaps it wasn't ruling her own kingdom or bathing in the blood of one's enemies, but it would have to do for now.

She reluctantly turned to leave the room that was now lightly painted with an appealing shade of crimson and had just reached the door when it opened to reveal one of the unmasked males. The male took one look inside the chamber and hissed at her with eyes full of hatred and the promise of retribution. He might have raised his weapon or even attempted to strike her physically, but the hand that had reached into his chest to squeeze his heart into a pulp made such an action impossible. Illyria allowed the corpse to slide onto the floor from her arm and began humming to herself as she heard the heavy tread of two more of the Wraith soldiers that took such a delightfully long time to die.

She idly wondered if the humming was a sign of the infection of humanity within her and pondered the question as she moved. Plunging her fingers through the mask and into the face of the first Wraith soldier she encountered, Illyria decided it didn't matter at this moment. Her fingers withdrew sharply, ripping his mask and most of the soft flesh that it protected from the Wraith's skull. She had always loved battle, the feel of the kill, the screams, and the sensation of bloodlust igniting her essence.

Perhaps humming the sickening melody about sunshine that the shell had once enjoyed merely added a new facet to her own natural pleasure; she nodded to herself in decision. Illyria finished the Wraith by taking the weapon his comrade carried and spearing him in the heart with the rear-mounted blade. Just to be sure, she crushed his skull with a idle kick as she began her work with the other large soldier. Hearing no other Wraith in the vicinity, Illyria decided to take her time on this one.

#

"Did you hear that?"

Faith stopped at Maj. Sheppard's question and crouched to one side of the hallway, listening. Sheppard took out his scanner and studied it intently, frowning.

"What's that?" Faith asked, nodding to the gadget.

"It's a..." he grimaced, "life signs detector, but we haven't settled on a name, hopefully we can use this to find Miss Burkle and avoid any Wraith."

"Looks like the scanner thing they used in Aliens," she muttered. Suddenly she heard a moaning sound, a keening that was swiftly becoming a scream of agony that echoed through the hallways.

"I really wish you hadn't said that, Faith," the man murmured.

The scream was abruptly cut off, but the respite was brief as just moments later, another one began. Like the first scream they'd heard, it started low and ended as a howl that came from no human throat.

Well, thanks for letting us know you're alright, Blue One, in a new and disturbing way.

"Come on, let's go," John said in a rush, and began moving at a brisk but cautious gait toward the direction of the screaming.

Faith was careful to check the corners and their rear routinely, just as she'd been taught by Roger Watts and Jessica McLeod, but she almost walked into John when he came to an abrupt stop in front of her. Faith darted across the hall to take position opposite the major, giving herself a better field of fire and a chance to see what had caught John's attention. The man was studying his device intently, frowning as 'Winifred Burkle' quickly jogged to their position.

"Hey y'all, you come to rescue me? Thanks, that's awful sweet of you, but I already took care of that part. These guys might talk a mean game but they ain't the sharpest tools in the shed, ya know what I mean?"

Faith glanced behind the Old One to the passageway and was just able to make out an outstretched bloody hand that was all but obscured by the mist and the angle of the corridor. She raised an eyebrow at Illyria and offered the tiniest of smirks.

"Oh, well, great," Sheppard said, somewhat at a loss, still looking over the scanner. "Well, let's get back to the others."

"You got it, Ripley," Faith acknowledged.

"Stop making Aliens references, Faith, it's fucking creepy here," the major hissed at her, "now get Newt—fuck, I mean get Miss Burkle out of here."

Faith winked back at him and walked with Illyria back towards Buffy, Ford, and the occupants of the cell containing their compatriots.

It took her a moment to realize Sheppard wasn't with them, and she looked back to discover that Sheppard had actually moved farther down the hallway and was looking down at something visible through the gaps in wall.

"Sheppard, move your ass!" Faith hissed.

Sheppard finally broke free of his trance and came jogging after them, looking pale and shaken.

"What's up?" Faith asked worriedly, "what did you see?" Shit, Blue wasn't too clean about her fun. Guy looks like he's ready to blow chunks.

"Don't worry about it," Sheppard said, but was staring at Illyria, who accepted his regard with a bland smile and empty eyes. Sheppard glanced back at the scanner and then back up at the Old One, shaking his head in confusion.

Double shit, fucking life signs detector. Guess neither breathing nor having a heartbeat is a problem for the oversized tricorder. Ugh, not good.

"There might be another teeny, tiny, issue," Illyria said after a moment of incredibly awkward silence, holding her thumb and forefinger close together. "Apparently when the Keeper, that's the Wraith in charge of this here 'hive', died, the rest of the hive woke up, too. We're gonna have us a lotta company soon, Maj. Sheppard, we better skedaddle."

Sheppard was still looking at her but finally nodded and spoke into his radio, relaying the information.

Ahead of them, there was the telltale boom of an explosion and they ran towards the sound to see the cell open and emptying of occupants. Col. Sumner stood there with Buffy, Sgt. Bates, and the others, waiting for them even as the smoke from the door charge continued to dissipate.

#

"Major, I'm damned glad to see you," the colonel admitted, checking the pistol Ford had given him.

"I told you you'd warm up to me," Sheppard said genially, though he still looked shaky.

The colonel shook his head, but he smiled as he did so. "You found Miss Burkle then? Good, now let's get the hell out of here."

Sheppard nodded and led the party out, Sumner at his side. He waited a few moments before he spoke quietly, "actually Colonel, it was Miss Burkle who found me. She had already managed to escape."

"What? How?" Col. Sumner asked, disbelief written upon his face.

Sheppard shook his head. "I'll tell you later, but it was..." Sheppard blinked and felt nauseous remembering what he'd seen.

Sumner nodded and left it at that.

They were walking down the corridor that would lead them out of the ship when there was a sudden shout behind them, followed by the familiar sound of a P90 spitting out rounds in short, rapid bursts. Glancing behind him, Sheppard discovered several Wraith soldiers were advancing on their rear, firing their weapons into their party. All three Wraith soldiers were brought down when Miss Summers and Ford returned fire with their P90s, but their positions indicated they expected more unfriendly company.

"Ford, Summers, keeping watching our six until we're in the clear. And good shooting," Col. Sumner ordered, giving the blonde an approving nod. Thankfully, none of his people had actually been hit by the Wraith's energy blasts, so Sheppard continued onward, Sumner at his side.

Sumner glanced at Sheppard a moment later. "I apologize, Major. This is your op, you have the intel and the evac, you make the calls," Sumner said quietly.

Sheppard nodded. A concession like that was no easy thing for a man like Sumner and he wasn't so callous as to ignore it. "Thank you sir, and for what it's worth, I'm very glad you're—"

His statement was cut off abruptly as a heavy body slammed into him from an unseen passage, making him stagger into Sumner and causing both men to fall to the ground. Sheppard managed to avoid landing on top of the colonel and rolled over just in time to see the Wraith soldier who'd blindsided him raise his weapon and fire a blast into Sumner. The colonel jerked harshly and then stilled completely.

Sheppard reached for his P90 only to realize far too late that the impact with the Wraith had torn the weapon from his grasp. He fumbled at his waist for his sidearm even as the Wraith turned in his direction.

"Colonel!" Bates rushed forward to help his superior, firing his own borrowed pistol at the Wraith.

Sheppard watched as the Wraith was hit several times, jerking at each impact, but the Wraith was still standing and able to raise his own weapon to return fire. Sgt. Bates, too, fell at the hands of the Wraith collapsing onto the ground close to Sumner's body. Sheppard had just managed to unsnap the button to his pistol's holster when the Wraith once again turned his weapon towards him. He tried to jerk his pistol from the holster but the angle of his body made it too awkward to remove easily and was utterly helpless as the Wraith raised his weapon.

Before the Wraith fired, there was a feminine shout and Faith was just suddenly there, in front of the others who were using the curve of the hallway to take cover from the firefights taking place in the party's rear and forward positions. She had raised her P90 to fire at the Wraith but jerked away as a blast fired at the spot she'd just been standing in. He heard her curse, and felt his eyebrows raise at the language that came from that pretty, delicate looking face. Despite the gravity of the situation, a slight smile teased his lips as Faith said some very creative things about the Wraith's mother. The slight smile disappeared as another blast came inches from her position crouched on the side of a wall, trying to line up her shot.

What happened next was something he'd never forget and would always be one of the more awe-inspiring moments of his life, even in comparison to his entering the Stargate or seeing the city of Atlantis rise from the sea. The sight he'd seen in that room, the barely recognizable pieces of Wrath that had been so viciously torn apart would also be something he'd never forget, Faith's next movements helped him do so, even if just for a little while.

"Fuck it!" the brunette cursed and threw her P90 at the Wraith.

Sheppard blinked at the...unusual strategy.

The Wrath batted away the thrown object with his own weapon before readjusting his aim. However, Faith had been moving the moment she'd thrown her P90, using the time the Wraith had given her by his knee-jerk reaction to her attack to close the distance between them.

Faith was running full speed with a single arm extended. John was once again confounded by this strategy of her's until a length of metal suddenly shot out from the sleeve of her shirt. Another length of metal then folded upwards, all of which resulted in what looked like a sword attached to the girl's wrist somehow. The Wraith seemed to have the same 'what the fuck?' reaction he did, because the Wraith stumbled back to give himself more room to fire at her.

But Faith was moving far too quickly and with such grace that his next shot struck only empty air. He never got another shot, because the diminutive girl was already on him. She moved low to the ground and to the side to avoid his weapon, slicing upwards with her sword as she did so. Two hands still grasping the Wraith weapon dropped to the floor, independent of the Wraith that remained standing.

Faith's movement was fluid and her swing gave her the upwards momentum needed to rise even as she circled around the Wraith. Her follow-through had her blade slicing through the air in a backswing until blade met flesh once again. Faith's movement ended with her sword at the ready, prepared to launch another attack as she stood over Sheppard in a protective stance.

No further attack was needed, however, because the newly decapitated Wraith fell to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been severed.

"I think I'm in love," one of his solders said. "And where the hell can I get a sword like that?"

Sheppard ignored him, staring at the brunette who stood staring at the corpse of her foe. He might have expected disgust, sorrow, or resolve to be the dominant expression on her face, instead it was excitement and satisfaction. He shuddered as she she cleaned the blood from her blade using the body of the Wraith before collecting her P90.

"He's alive," another soldier said. "Pulse is strong and steady, I think he's just stunned."

Sheppard looked away from Faith to the soldier crouched a short distance from him. It was one of the other soldiers who'd been captured, one who was holding two fingers against the colonel's pulse and giving him a thumbs up. The process was repeated with Bates with a similar conclusion. Stunned, not killed, thank god for that.

When John looked back towards Faith whose sword had vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He cursed himself for wasting his time staring and assigned Ford to carry Sumner, and the Athosian named Halling to carry Sgt. Bates.

"Come on, let's move out and get the hell off this rock."

Author's Notes: The chapter title is derived from the business cards used by the main character in Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series. Go read it, it's good. It felt apt for this part of the story even if it was Illyria who doing most of the badassery.

PDW = personal defense weapon, a category in which the P90 is included.
Writing Illyria is fun as hell. I'm going for creepy/borderline evil/self-interested with a side dish of 'oh I'm just a good ol' girl'. It's fun.

Telepathy and Illyria: While writing this chapter, I struggled at fitting Illyria into a situation that contained telepaths and/or empaths. While it was known that Fred's vital organs were dissolved when she was transitioning into Illyria, I wasn't entirely certain that her brain was as well. Even then, it's not like she's the run of the mill prey for the Wraith. Could the Wraith read her mind or sense her emotions? I decided to opt for an in between, where they couldn't read her mind (and thus her not being affected by their ability to project shadows) but could sense her emotions. I like allowing at least for her emotions to be felt because I thought the idea that Illyria was still somehow tied into the universe beyond the matter of her physical manifestation was important.

Would Illyria still be covered in blood even if she changed her appearance? I'm not sure if there was ever anything written or shown that would indicate it's either possible or impossible, but she's an Old One and I figured she could handle it. Although, if I remember correctly, Illyria did touch Wesley's wound when he was dying, but her hand was clean when she turned into Fred. Anyone know for sure?

Interesting fact: The Digital and Visual Effects guru who worked on SG:A said that the dimensions of Atlantis were approximately: 1.25 km in diameter, 680 m top to bottom, 320 m from top to surface. (meaning more than half of the city is still actually underwater) The main tower is close to twice the height of the St. Louis arch, damn.