Going Under

The puddle-jumper flew through the other side of the wormhole into a sunny day on the Genii home world, but he did not noticed. His mind was set on just one thing, something that had to be done now or it would haunt him forever.

Finding Kolya's house wasn't all that difficult. It felt so familiar to him that it felt as if he had always known where it was. He slowly landed the cloaked jumper near the house, which looked nothing different from any other Genii house.

He took the remote but didn't turn off the cloak when he walked out, Elizabeth securely in his arms and a gun stuck in his trousers, the cold metal poking in his bare back. He didn't knock; he just burst straight through the door, hoping for a surprising effect.

-0-0-0-0-0-

If Atlantis had been buzzing with activity before, it now felt like a constant humming. Military teams were getting ready, with people walking back and forth. Ford was in charge now, and he had called an emergency meeting in the briefing room. Sgt. Bates, Teyla, Dr. McKay and as many soldiers they could get inside the room, were present to listen and help wherever possible.

Ford glanced around, "So what are our options? Are we sure Dr. Weir is with him?"

McKay sighed and replied, "As of yet that isn't confirmed, meaning that the sensors haven't picked up her life sign. So either she's ... dead or with him. Both those options are bad, but death is worse in my opinion."

At that Teyla put in her two cents, "We should go to the Genii and get them back."

Bates eyed Teyla while he replied, "But before we even consider that, we need to make sure no one is waiting for us at the gate. And at this point, any sort of rescue plan is to get Dr. Weir back, preferably alive and in one piece. We should make clear that as of now Major Sheppard is no longer our first priority and should be treated as such."

Soft muttering rose in the crowd, everyone having his or her own opinion on Bates' though concerning the Major. Ford was the first to speak out loud, "Major Sheppard is as important as Dr. Weir."

But McKay cut him short, "Bates is right, we have to assume that by his actions Sheppard is putting the Genii before anything else. If we can get them both back that would be nice, but we don't know what happened at the brig and therefore no idea what made him snap like he did. We can only assume he has chosen a side, and it isn't ours."

Every single person in the room remained quiet, not knowing how to answer or what to say to McKay's statement, since they all knew he was probably right.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Acastus Kolya was having a drink with one of his comrades, when the door was kicked open with a loud bang. The Genii Commander was momentarily startled when he saw the man that walked in. He looked at his partner, who had a gun at the ready but ordered him to stand down.

Kolya smiled, stood up and carefully spoke up, "Ignatius, I thought you were dead."

Ignatius remained standing at the door while he replied in an ice-cold tone, "Now you see I am not. She, however, is ... dead." He finally walked into the room and gently placed Elizabeth on a nearby sofa.

Kolya frowned, and he carefully moved around, glancing suspiciously at Ignatius. Then he turned his attention to Elizabeth and walked towards her. Kolya eyed Ignatius again; he clearly had questions, but decided to play it cool for now. Kolya touched Elizabeth's face and looked her over.

John was giving Kolya a stare which, if stares could kill, would have send him off to the eternal hunting grounds by now. His face was cleared of all emotion, not giving anything away. Not yet anyway since he wanted to hear the words out of Kolya's mouth. And Kolya talked, but it was a revelation John hadn't expected to hear.

"She is not dead."

-0-0-0-0-0-0

The MALP was already set up in the gate room. Peter Grodin dialed the address while the rest of the people gathered around the control area, waiting for some results. The Stargate opened with the usual swoosh and the MALP was sent on its way. An image appeared on the screens not much later, showing approximately 10 people gathered around the gate. One of them shot the MALP, effectively deactivating it.

The gate shut down, while they all glanced at one another, sighing as they knew they had to come up with a really good plan if they were ever going to want to get Dr. Weir and preferably also the Major back alive and in one piece as Bates had requested.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"You were supposed to kill the team that night!" Kolya fumed, "Those were your orders but instead you disappear and come back with a half-dead woman. Yet I specifically asked that Dr. Weir should be brought to me alive!" Kolya looked like he was ready to kill John.

John didn't show a single emotion as he replied, "I was captured and she wasn't on the planet that night. I guess you should have checked your Intel before sending someone on a mission like that."

Kolya eyed him suspiciously, "How did you manage to get here?"

"Every single person who stood in my way has suffered the consequences." John returned the stare the Genii was giving him, equally as deadly.

Kolya moved in closer to John, "I imagine you came here by ship. Where is it?"

John shifted, risking a quick glance outside, "Hidden."

"Why?"

"For protection."

Kolya stayed silent for a moment, and then he looked at the other man in the house, "Leave us!"

The man put his gun away and walked out of the house, closing the door behind him. Once alone Kolya walked towards his table and poured himself another drink. "I am surprised that they actually weren't able to keep you there."

John relaxed a little and approached the table tentatively, "They tried, believe me, they tried. They tried other things as well."

Kolya took a swig of his drink and sat back down in his chair, "They did?"

"Yes... they tried to make me believe I was a man called John Sheppard."

At that statement, Kolya looked up, "And did you believe them?"

"No! I didn't believe anything they said. And they really tried to make me believe it."

Kolya looked down, stood up and walked to one of the cabinets, "Sorry to hear that." He turned his back to John, fumbling with the doors of the cabinet.

John moved in a little closer towards Kolya, "But the thing is that the moment I started remembering, everything changed."

Kolya froze, "Did it?"

"Yes, because the moment I remembered you ambushing me by the Stargate, it clarified the one thing I needed to know and was looking for the whole time they had me jailed."

Kolya now appeared to be speaking through clenched teeth as he said, "And what was that?" He turned around at once, only to find John pointing a gun at him and to his own fear firing it.

John didn't show any sort of emotion, "I AM John Sheppard."

-0-0-0-0-0

Breathe … in … out, her body was making that her primary conscious command. Her brain was all fuzzy, though she was aware of people talking. She recognized the voices and a wave of momentary fear rushed through her mind, Kolya and John. She felt someone touch her face and Elizabeth couldn't help but shiver a little.

She struggled hard to stay conscious but couldn't really prevent from drifting in and out of semi-consciousness. Her breathing was ragged and very slow, but she did manage to open her eyes, if only a little bit. The sight that met her was tense and frightening, Kolya and Ignatius were talking. Then the Genii soldier turned and walked towards a cabinet. Their conversation was unclear, but Elizabeth saw Kolya taking out a gun.

But when Kolya turned around she got a better look at what Ignatius was holding, a gun pointed straight at Kolya. He raised the gun and the shot rang in her ears. All through the ringing she could hear him yell something at Kolya, who was looking at Ignatius wide-eyed, surprise written all over his face. 'I am John Sheppard.'

Elizabeth willed her mind to register the words and their meaning. That it was indeed John Sheppard who was yelling them and not some figment of her imagination or an unexpected hallucination from being oxygen deprived.

Kolya stumbled backwards; he hit the cabinet and sank to the floor. All the while looking up at Sheppard and feeling his warm blood seep through his fingers of the hand covering the bullet wound.

The man that had been kicked out earlier suddenly stood in the doorway, clearly alarmed at the gun firing. Not that he knew who had shot who, as he knew Kolya didn't like betrayal, and certainly not from Ignatius.

Sheppard turned around at once, as he caught sight of the man and immediately put a bullet in between the man's eyes, effectively killing him. That thread gone he turned back to Kolya.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

John noticed Kolya was still holding onto his last bit of strength, trying fiercely to keep himself from dying. Sheppard kneeled down beside him and without a moment's thought he put the gun to Kolya's temple. "Tell me what you did to me and I will end it quickly!"

Kolya's breath was ragged, "There is no point … you are already free ... free from it. I guess I under...estimated you after a-all."

But that wasn't the answer John was looking for and he forcefully grabbed Kolya's shirt, pulling him closer while screaming with all his might, "What the fuck did you do to me?"

Kolya stared up at John, more and more blood dripping onto the floor underneath him, "The usual techniques for mind ... control weren't working. So we used a m-machine that rearranges the subject's personality. But none of it matters n-now, you didn't do what I told you ... to do and I don't think my people will allow you to leave with her ... especially after what you have done... to me."

John risked a glance behind him and was surprised to find that Elizabeth eyes were opened and who was willing herself to keep looking at him. He then knew his life wasn't the only one at stake anymore. A loud sound filled the room and he felt something fast and hot on his chest. John didn't flinch; instead he hit Kolya square in the face and took the gun away from his hands. Kolya fought for it, but at that point John was beyond rage and he fired his gun, sending a bullet straight through Kolya's heart. His cold eyes glazed over and his body went completely limp while the blood spattered all over John.

For just one tiny moment there was complete silence, before all hell seemed to break loose at once. John quickly made his way over to Elizabeth, picked her up and walked out the door. Once the door was opened Sheppard noticed he could easily make it to the jumper, killing a few people on the way.

He ran for it dodging bullets as he went, hoping none would hit target, uncloaked the jumper and sprinted inside. As soon as the hatch closed he placed Elizabeth against it, knowing she would at least be somewhat comfortable. He ran to the front, turning the jumper on. Through the window, he could see the Genii soldiers running towards the ship, but they were fashionably late as the jumper took off and John flew it straight towards the Stargate.