A/N: And without further ado, the final chapter of Inner Demons. This chapter is long and very action packed, so I once again destroy my own genre selection. And once again, it's been Beta'd by both Andw and Trickster's Queen of War.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Angw, my first Beta reader. She's been with me through this whole project and her continued support is much appreciated. On top of that she puts up with my antics about school and how long it's taken me to get this chapter up. Bah, enough of my rambling.

They met at the jumper. John carefully made sure they had everything. They had extra ammunition, extra guns, and enough C4 to blow up several hive ships. Major Lauren, Cadman, and Aiden had all taken the gene therapy hours earlier and were now holding life signs detectors.

Ronon looked grim, but ready. He'd taken a SPAS-15 semi-automatic shotgun from the armory in addition to his normal pistol and sword. Teyla was sitting in the front of the jumper alone. John walked up to her.

"You alright?" He asked.

She nodded, a worried look on her face. "He is getting stronger."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know you can hold him back Teyla. We need you." He paused. "I need you." He squeezed her hand then turned back to the rest of the team. "Everyone ready?"

They all nodded.

"Then let's go." He motioned for them to enter the jumper. John sat back down in the pilot's seat. Teyla was across from him. Ronon was behind her. Aiden sat behind John. Major Lauren and Cadman were both in the back. John raised the boarding ramp, then tapped his radio ear piece. "Elizabeth, we're ready to go."

"Good luck and god speed." Elizabeth replied. "We're all counting on you."

"See you when we've finished." John lifted the jumper up through the roof hatch and then shot into the sky. He cloaked the instant they left the atmosphere. The wraith fleet was just visible from high orbit.

The senor display screen came up. Teyla started the scan the fleet. John flew the ship swiftly closer. Before he knew it, they were right on top of the wraith fleet. He was shocked simply by the size of it. The forty hive ships hid the innumerable cruisers that escorted them. So far, they had appeared undetected.

He passed through the leading line of twelve hive ships and dived into the center of the formation. The ships in the center looked older, more worn. The ships on the outside seemed newer. He glanced at the sensor display just as it started to beep and highlighted one hive ship in red.

Teyla pointed to it. "That is the ship."

John angled the jumper towards its fighter bay.

"That ship's familiar." Ronon said. "It's from the planet with the super wraith."

"Means we don't have much time." John said, accelerating into the fighter bay.

On first glance, the fighter bay seemed small. It was anything but small. It stretched deep into the hive ship. Wraith darts were arranged in launch racks, sandwiched in like sardines. John hovered just above the deck as he searched for a landing spot.

He found a small alcove with no discernible purpose. He set the jumper down and powered down most of its systems. He grabbed the puddle jumpers remote as he led his team out.

They fanned out quickly. John, Teyla, and Ronon covered the left side of the jumper. Aiden, Cadman, and Major Lauren covered the right. They waited several minutes before moving from cover.

John pulled out his life signs detector and scanned the area. The display was lit up with red dots on the outer edges. He knew they had a tough fight ahead of them.

He led the team across the bay and into the corridor. The access panel to the side passage didn't respond to their presence. "Any ideas?" John asked.

"Looks sealed." Aiden replied. "My guess is we're going to have to find another way around."

"Do you know a way?" Ronon asked.

"I think so. There's a maintenance passage that should connect with that tunnel. Follow me."

John followed directly behind Aiden as the group headed down the main hallway. They had only reached the first intersection when John called for them to hold. He glanced at his life signs detector. At least thirty wraith were coming from either direction.

"Hide or fight?" He quickly asked.

"There is no place to hide." Teyla said. "We have no choice."
Teyla crouched down in front of John, aiming towards the right passageway. Ronon aimed over John's shoulder. Cadman crouched down in front of Aiden and Major Lauren, who stood side by side aiming at the left passageway. They all held their breath.

The sound of footsteps gave them warning. John grabbed a grenade from his belt and got ready to throw it. As soon as he saw the first wraith he threw it. "Fire in the hole!" He then immediately joined Teyla and Ronon in laying down a wall of fire.

The grenade exploded, sending wraith bodies flying in all directions. For several seconds, all that could be heard was the sound of gunfire. John allowed himself to breath when the wraith stopped coming. He stepped out from behind Teyla and surveyed the damage.

The hallway was trashed. The grenade had broken what few lights had already been there. On top of that, they had to step over all the wraith bodies. He motioned for Aiden to take the lead again.

Aiden headed down the left passageway at a full run. Aiden stopped at a corner and glanced around. "It's supposed to be here." He said, feeling along the wall.

"What are you looking for?" John asked.

"There's a..." Aiden grabbed something and pulled. "... a release valve that allows us to head up into the maintenance tunnel."

The wall seemed to shimmer and disappear, revealing a passageway that hadn't been there before. It was without lights of any kind. John motioned forward. "Anyone got a bad feeling about this?" His question was rhetorical. No one responded.

Aiden led them down the dark passageway, stopping occasionally to think and remember. "My memories are hazy of this place." He said at the third intersection. "I was only here once."

John glanced at his life signs detector. "Just take it easy Ford. We're okay." His detector began to show lots of red dots coming down the passageway they were in. "Heads up!" He said.

John ducked around the corner into the intersection and leaned around the corner. Teyla crouched down in front of him, using her short size to her advantage. Ronon once again, assumed a position over John's shoulder. Aiden, Cadman, and Major Lauren took a similar position.

Major Lauren tossed a grenade as the first wraith came into view. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" He yelled just before the grenade exploded.

John closed his eyes for only a brief second, shielding himself from the blast. He then immediately opened fire, catching two wraith who were getting up from the explosion. There was another few seconds of constant fire, before silence prevailed again.

John turned to Aiden. "We can't keep doing this."

Aiden nodded. "I think I remember." Aiden motioned towards his side of the intersection. "This way."

XXX

Eli stood on the bridge. He could feel the telepathic signal from all his fellow wraith. He watched the display screen as it showed John Sheppard's team moving quickly through the maintenance tunnels. He hissed and turned.

I will deal with Sheppard. He sent a thought to his fellow wraith. Take care of the rest of them.

Throughout the ship, the wraith began to move out. He opened his mind and sought out the one person he could feel on that team. As he walked, he sent jolts of pain.

XXX

John turned and caught Teyla as she staggered, clutching her head. John knew they couldn't stop. "Teyla, come on Teyla." He said, shifting her so she could lean against his shoulder. "We can't stop."

"It is the wraith." Teyla said, determination written across her brow. "He is trying to hurt me."

John glanced at his life signs detector. There were several wraith waiting for them ahead. He held up two fingers and pointed down the corridor.

Ronon and Aiden advanced side by side. Aiden opened the hatch into the side tunnel and ducked left. Ronon ducked right at the same time. There was a brief burst of gunfire then Aiden yelled. "Clear."

"Can you walk?" John asked Teyla.

She nodded. "I can."

He let her stand of her own accord and took the lead again. He led them down the long but deserted hallway until they reached the shaft. He glanced down it. The only visible path was a narrow sloping staircase that wrapped around the outside of the shaft. "Let's take this slow and easy." He said, glancing back at his team. "Ronon, bring up the rear."

Ronon nodded.

John carefully stepped out on the staircase and pressed his back against the wall. He then began to slowly walk down it. It was agonizingly slow. Fortunately, the wraith hadn't caught up with them yet.

It took them at least ten minutes to reach the bottom. John heard hissing from further down the hall towards the room that would have the device in it. He pressed his back to the wall and inched closer towards the room.

The room had changed. It didn't look anything like it had. It was now a large domed room. The main power core had been moved somewhere else. The device sat alone in the center.

Running along the upper level of the room were walkways. An innumerable number of wraith stood guard. He glanced back at his team. "They've been waiting for us."

"So it would seem." Teyla echoed.

"And the plan is?" Cadman prompted.

"I'll get the guards on the walkways." Ronon said, checking the charge on his pistol.

"We can't use frags." Aiden said. He pulled out a pair of flash bangs. "But I always carry these."

"Flash bangs?" Teyla asked.

"You bet." John replied. He took one of the grenades from Aiden. "Teyla on me. Ford, Lauren, Cadman, you guys hit the left side of the room. Ronon, take the guys on the walkway. Everyone ready?"
They all nodded.

John and Aiden each threw the flash bangs to opposite side of the room. There was a loud bang, followed by a storm of gunfire as they entered the room. John and Teyla flanked along the right side of the room, working in almost telepathic synchronization. They worked their way around the room back to back.

Wraith were dropping rapidly. The sudden force of the elite group of soldiers were decimating their numbers. John finished his circle of the room and aimed up. He saw two wraith fall from the walkway as Ronon picked them off. He added his shots to the mix.

Stunner shots flew randomly. The wraith weren't managing to work together. Instead, they were being attack from three sides at once. John picked off the last wraith with a burst that sent the wraith flying.

John clipped his P90 onto his jacket and pulled out the instructions Rodney had given him on how to activate the device. He removed the side panel and pulled the middle crystal. He then swapped the top crystal with the middle crystal and pushed the top crystal into the middle slot. He held his breath as he placed his hand on the device.

The device began to make a high pitched squeal that quickly subsided. John glanced around, the ship seemed to darken. It was similar to putting his laptop into stand by mode. He glanced down at his life signs detector. All the red dots were slowly disappearing. All except one.

He glanced at Teyla. "He's coming, isn't he?"
Teyla nodded. "He isn't affected by the device."

"But the other wraith are all in hibernation, right?" Cadman quickly.

"I cannot feel them anymore."

A stunner shot knocked Cadman over. Then a second shot almost immediately knocked Major Lauren over. John whirled to see Eli stepping down into the room. He fired again and knocked Aiden down. John, Teyla, and Ronon all had the same reaction, they fired.

Ronon twisted and spun to avoid the shots being directed at him, all the while sending a steady stream of shotgun rounds into Eli. Teyla and John both emptied their clips into Eli.

John eventually decided that he'd had enough. He dropped his P90 and drew his sword. He extended the blade. Eli turned and drew his own sword. Ronon caught on and drew his sword as well.

"Stay back." John said to Teyla.

Teyla drew her knife and stepped up to his side. "I shall not let you fight alone."

John realized he didn't have time to argue. He shifted his sword into a ready position, holding both hands on it. He slowly began to circle Eli. "How's the head?" He mocked.

"You cannot hope to defeat me." Eli responded, twirling his sword. "I am a master of your order. I defeated the last master."

"Thought it was a recent switch."
"He was most, delicious." Eli gave John a twisted smile. "And once I defeat you. I'll feed on everyone you care about. I'll make you watch as each and everyone of them becomes my latest appetizer."

"You'll find I'm full of surprises." John launched himself forward and attacked in a flurry of attacks that drove Eli back.

Ronon dived into the attack and tried to land a double handed blow to Eli's head. The wraith dived out of the way. Teyla tried to kick and slash him but had to leap out of the way of Eli's sword.

John lunged and locked his blade with Eli's. Eli broke the contact and ducked away as both Ronon and Teyla converged. John, Teyla, and Ronon all took up positions around the wraith, forming a small circle. Ronon faked and John lunged. Eli twisted his body out of the way leaped over Teyla's head.

Teyla was halfway turned around when she staggered. Eli rammed his sword into Teyla's chest. John felt his heart turn black as the sword pushed through her back. Eli quickly withdrew it and turned towards John and Ronon.

John could feel nothing but pain. He sparred one glance at Teyla. She was motionless. All this time, he'd always thought they were invincible. But Teyla was dead. He could see it. A blackness seemed to grow deep within him, threatening to choke off the last vestiges of his sanity.

Ronon was slowly circling around Eli. "First I'm going to cut off your hands, then I'm going to cut off your feet. After that, I'll cut out your guts while you're helpless to do anything but watch."

John didn't feel he had the strength to continue. The blackness seemed to wither. He could feel something in his heart. The only way to remember Teyla would be to honor her loss. He raised his sword and charged.

Eli tried to duck away but found himself trapped in between both John and Ronon. Both men attacked mercilessly. John spun and kicked Eli in the face. This knocked Eli back and into Ronon's sword. Ronon shoved Eli forward and John took Eli's head off with a single decapitating stroke.

"You should have let me cut out his guts." Ronon said.

"Be my guest." John said bitterly. The pain of Teyla's loss pounding within him. John sat down on his knees in front her. He rolled her onto her back. He could clearly see the wound that had pierced her heart. He felt the first tear crawl down his face.

The adrenaline of battle had worn off. Nothing could hide the pain. He placed a hand on her wound. He cuddled her limp body as he sobbed helplessly. All he wanted was for her to live. He wasn't sure he could live without her.

Suddenly, her whole body spasmed and she breathed in sharply. He looked down and saw, to his own amazement, the wound closing under his hand. He looked down at her and held her.

Once the wound fully closed, her eyes fluttered open. "John?" She said quietly.

John was shocked, he didn't have any clue what had just happened. "I thought you were dead." He managed to croaked.

"The last thing I remember is feeling the wraith's sword pass through me."

"I don't care." He said, kissing her. "I'm just so glad you're alive."

"The healing power of the ancestors." Teyla said, eyes wide. "John, you possess the healing power of the ancients."

"What?"

"It is rumored that the ancients could heal fatal wound with little more than their spirits."

John didn't know how to respond to that, he simply held her in his arms. He had wanted nothing more than for her to live. He released her. He looked over at Ronon. "Ronon!"

Ronon walked over, his eyes wide and his hands shaking. "Teyla, you're alive." Ronon scooped Teyla into a fierce embrace. "I'm glad you're safe." Ronon released her and turned to John. "What should we do about that wraith?"

"Throw him out an airlock or something." John said. He activated his radio. "Atlantis, this is Sheppard."
"John?" Elizabeth's startled voice asked.

"What other Sheppard's do you know?"

"I take it you've succeeded."

"Yeah. How's Atlantis?"
"According to Doctor Beckett it's eager to demolish the rest of the wraith fleet."

"Make sure it knows which ship to leave intact."

"Come on home John. You and your team are heroes."
"We'll be home as soon as we stick one really troublesome wraith out the airlock."

The old man appeared, as if out of thin air. "You John Sheppard, are truly an amazing person."

"I thought you were dead!" John replied.

"In that sense, I've been dead for a long time. I ascended a long time ago."

"So why not teach me the final trial? Why let Eli think he killed you?"

"That was the final trial. You have surpassed every other apprentice I've ever trained. I hope that you'll pass on what you've learned."

"Where are you going?"

"To join the others. Soon, we'll have to fight a great war. Your journey, John Sheppard, has just begun." The old man seemed to vanish and a bright white light replaced him. John smiled. He'd seen this before. The bright white light vanished only seconds later.

"The last of the ancestors." Teyla said.

"I don't think we've seen the last of them." John replied. He placed an arm around her shoulder. "Let's go home."

XXX

Atlantis at night was a beautiful place. All of the Athosians from the mainland had come for a celebration. Teyla maintained a respectful distance from them, standing alone with John on the balcony. They both had a cup of Athosian ale, but they hadn't drank any.

Halling walked over. He dipped his head in greeting. "Teyla, I must apologize for what you've endured from us."
Teyla chose not to answer, or even acknowledge his presence.

John turned around and looking Halling in the eye. "So what really brings you here?"

Halling was clearly uncomfortable that Teyla wasn't speaking to him, but he chose to continued. "After both you and Teyla left the village, I spoke for a long time with Jarlin about the future of the Athosian people. We were leaderless for the first time in many generations."

"The point being?" John said. "I really don't think Teyla wants to here a reason why you exiled her."

"I told Jarlin that what she did was wrong. Colonel Sheppard, you have shown your devotion to Teyla many times before them. She decided to reverse her decision. She announced to the village this morning that Teyla Emmagen was welcome back with her people."

Teyla turned around. "I am no longer Teyla Emmagen. I am Teyla Emmagen Sheppard."

"I believe that this means one thing."

"That being?" John asked with a trace of sarcasm.

"That you are both the leaders of our people." Halling turned, then he bellowed in a loud voice. "Let it be known that today, the Athosian people welcome another member to our family... John Sheppard."

The Athosians in the party all cheered. Even the expedition members cheered in loud voices. Elizabeth pushed her way through the crowd. She stopped in front of John and Teyla. "I heard Ronon threatening to kill anyone who objected as I came over."

"The Athosians have a tradition." Halling stated. "That during a celebration like this... well, there must be dancing."

John raised an eyebrow as a small group of Athosians began playing a gentle tune on their homemade instruments.

Halling extended an arm to Elizabeth. "Doctor Weir, shall we."
Elizabeth turned bright red. "I'd love too." She took his arm and they began to dance.

John laughed historically. He glanced around the crowd and saw Rodney dancing with Katie Brown. He saw Carson and Cadman in each other's arms. He saw Aiden showing Ronon how to dance. He saw Major Lauren with a brown haired Athosian woman. He turned to Teyla. "Shall we?"

Teyla smiled. "I thought you would never ask."

The celebration continued long into the night. It was a celebration worth remembering, the destruction of the wraith.

A/N: Well, there it is. All nineteen chapters finished and edited. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I'm thinking about a sequel, maybe dealing with the Ori's influence on this galaxy, but I'm not sure. Either way, you can expect many more Stargate Atlantis stories from me.

A/N: One last request, tell me what you like about this story. This is the closest I've ever gotten to novel length so I'd really like to know what you think.

"Conversion" was great, though I still think MGM and SciFi could learn a thing our two from us.

Until next time,

Cpt. Ritter