A/N - Thank you once again to everyone who went to the trouble of leaving feedback, I'm sure I don't have to tell the writers among you just how much it's appreciated.
And thank you to everyone on the Shep whump thread at Gateworld for their encouragement when I was feeling disheartened - you know who you are.

Chapter 11

Falling Down

Rodney was frog-marched down the corridor and back up the stairs. Kolya walked just behind him but, even without looking, McKay could sense the self-satisfied smile on the man's face.

"Do not worry, we're bringing Sheppard too, it's really going to be a very touching reunion." Rodney was pushed forward into a cell and forced to his knees. Three armed guards stood in the room, two Genii and the dark haired Irithian commander he had seen earlier; and out of the corner of his eye he could see two more Genii guards taking up position outside the door. Kolya smiled at him, clearly amused; Rodney met his gaze and held it. He'd been through terrified and had come out on the other side, now he was just seriously pissed off. He knew he was helpless here; this wasn't his thing, there wasn't anything he could think his way out of. He just had to hope that Sora and Narim would be successful.

Hearing movement in the corridor he looked up; the two Genii guards at the door parted and Sheppard was dragged in. Any vestige of hope Rodney had left him when he saw his friend.

ooOoo

Waiting. It sometimes seemed to Elizabeth that her life consisted of waiting. She longed to be doing something, anything, but all the decisions had been made and the plans put into action and all there was left to do was wait. When they had staggered back through the gate, exhausted and bruised, Caldwell had shown great restraint in not shouting 'I told you so'. But at least now they knew, they knew who had was responsible for the attacks and the thought of Kolya made Elizabeth's blood run cold.

"Unscheduled off world activation!" It was as if the whole city tensed at the words; perhaps the waiting was over. Elizabeth stood up, surprised at her own calm, and walked out to the control room.

"Are we getting an IDC?"

"Yes, ma'am." The gate technician turned to look at her, anxiety written on his face. "It's Dr Benedict's." All eyes were turned to her; this was her call. Her rational mind told her this was a trap but she also knew that there was a chance Sora had come good on her promise. If this really was Benedict she couldn't risk leaving the shield up, she couldn't kill an innocent man. Some people called her compassion a weakness but it was an inherent part of who she was and she hoped she'd never become so jaded as to lose it.

"Any radio contact?"

"No." She paused for the briefest moment, taking the time to look down at the heavily armoured marines down in the gate room, their weapons already trained at the event horizon.

"Open the shield. But if anyone other than Benedict, McCormack or McKay comes through it, you shut it down without hesitation." The soldiers focused entirely on the gate, ready to do what was necessary. "Do it."

The seconds that passed after the gate had opened stretched out into silence. When the figure finally stepped through, Elizabeth felt the breath catch in her throat; whatever she had expected, this wasn't it. Benedict stumbled through the gate, horror etched on his face; the words came tumbling from his mouth.

"I'm sorry." His eyes sought out Elizabeth's. "I'm so sorry…forgive me…I…I didn't know." A sob racked his body as he looked down at the explosives wrapped around his chest. "Please help me!"

Elizabeth screamed out at the stunned gate technician. "Raise the shield…" But her words never reached his ears.

The explosion was almost surreal. Elizabeth was knocked backward by the blast. After the crack of the initial detonation, a thick silence seemed to fall. Elizabeth opened her eyes and saw thousands of dust motes floating down through the air. She watched them falling gently as if time had slowed down; there was a strange kind of beauty to it.

Sound rushed back into the world and time speeded up, screaming, shouting, gunfire. Rolling on to her side and looking down at the gate through the dust filled air, Elizabeth saw figures swarming in through the wormhole like insects. Cries rang out from Atlantis' own soldiers; she couldn't see how many were injured from the explosion but she saw bodies littering the floor. More and more of the invaders entered the city until the whole of the gate room was filled with enemy soldiers.

ooOoo

Sheppard's thin frame slumped to the floor. His pale prison uniform was spattered with blood and at some point his thick, dark hair had been cropped close to his head. One side of his face was swollen and bloody, the other showed signs of healing injuries, faint purple shadows on his pale skin. An angry wound on his head looked fresh and, as his head lolled forward, Rodney could see a second blood-matted scar on his crown. Sheppard's arms, bound in front of him, were black with bruising and around his bonds were open sores, evidence of previous binds. One of his hands was swollen so badly it made Rodney wince just to look at it and he felt bile rising in his stomach.

"Oh my God! What have you done to him? Sheppard?" He got no response; his friend's eyes looked through him empty - dead.

"Don't expect an answer. I really don't think he's with us anymore. Such a shame." In a sudden movement, Kolya kicked Sheppard in the back, sending him sprawling across the floor. To Rodney's dismay, Sheppard didn't even try to protect himself and the impact with the cold stone floor opened up the wound on his forehead; a trickle of blood ran down his face as the guard hauled him up. As the Colonel's dark eyes passed over him he thought he saw a flicker of recognition but the vacant stare returned and he was left wondering if it was his own wishful thinking.

Out of the corner of his eye, Rodney saw a Genii soldier enter the room and hand Kolya a note. Reading it the conceited smile on Genii commander's face grew even wider.

"Our invading force should take Atlantis quickly. No doubt there will be a few pockets of resistance but, as you've seen, we outnumber you. As soon as the city is secure, I shall take you back with me. You can say goodbye properly; after all, Colonel Sheppard might not believe Doctor Weir is actually dead this time unless he witnesses it for himself."

Rodney finally tore his eyes away from the stricken Colonel to look fully at Kolya. "They know you're coming, they'll never drop the shields for you."

"They already have." Rodney studied Kolya's expression, unsure. He found it hard to believe that Elizabeth would have been tricked so easily but at the same time the man in front of him seemed utterly confident in his statement.

"It won't do you any good; you won't be able to run the city properly. Your scientists are at least half a century behind us, if not more, and none of your people have the gene. You won't even be able to use half the technology, including the jumpers." The Irithian commander was watching the exchange carefully he noticed, his dark eyes studying the face of his Genii counterpart.

"That is where you are wrong." Kolya glanced uneasily as the Irithian commander spoke. "The Genii have found among their people those who carry the blood of the Ancestors. Is that not true, General Kolya?" McKay rolled his eyes.

"Gene therapy? You've developed your own gene therapy." McKay wagged his finger at Kolya as he filled in the blanks for himself. "And these people are part of an Ancient worship cult. You're manipulating them, setting yourselves up as…what? The children of the Gods?"

"That's enough. You are full of lies." Kolya's composure faltered and Rodney could see his mind working. He didn't want this Irithian here. "They try and twist the truth. All they have done since they arrived in our galaxy is deceive us; it was they who awakened the Wraith, it was he," he pointed at Sheppard, "who slaughtered my men in cold blood. But now the True Heirs of the Ancestors have come and they can no longer hide behind their lies. You have seen the relics activated in the temple."

"True Heirs? And I'm supposed you're one of these miracle workers, are you?" Rodney spat out. Taking a step forward, Kolya backhanded him across the face, anger burning in the Genii's eyes. Rodney tasted the metallic tang of blood in his mouth; he'd been tortured by Kolya before and had been disgusted by his own weakness, this time he wasn't going to give in so easy. He spat a mouthful of blood out onto the floor and turned back to the Genii, meeting his eyes. "It didn't work, did it?" he taunted. "You had the treatment and it didn't take, you weren't compatible with the gene." Rodney sneered at him; he was starting to enjoy himself. "So tell me, how does it feel to be genetically inferior?"

Kolya grabbed him around the neck. "Do you want to die now?" Strong fingers constricted around Rodney's throat, digging into his flesh. His own heartbeat throbbed in his ears and at first he thought he was hearing himself choking but then, as he saw Kolya's brow furrow and his grip relent, Rodney realised that it was in fact the sound of someone laughing. Dry and strangled perhaps but a laugh none the less. Kolya let go of his throat and turned; Sheppard's shoulders were gently shaking as he giggled to himself, he looked up at Kolya an expression of pure hatred smouldering in his eyes.

ooOoo

The gate room fell in a matter of seconds. The soldiers uninjured by the blast had been stunned enough that the enemy forces running through the gate overpowered them easily. All Elizabeth could do was watch as, one by one, her soldiers were forced to the ground and bound at gunpoint. The commanding officer of the Irithian force radioed through to his superiors, notifying them of the successful completion of 'stage one'. Within minutes a group of Genii guards stepped through the gate, at their head a stocky man in a simple tunic, behind him, cloaked and hooded, came a man and a woman.

The leader of this group smiled triumphantly at the scene, gazing around the room. Elizabeth could see his chest swelling with pride and his eyes surveying the city, her city, with avarice.

"Doctor Weir?" Scanning the control room, he picked her out, spitting out her name as if it were a curse. "I am Patriarch Anwir Braen. Atlantis is now under the control of the Irithian-Genii Alliance, order your forces to stand down and surrender."

"And if I don't?"

"Then we shall take it by force, and kill everyone in the city."

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you but that's not going to happen." The open mic on her earpiece, which lay concealed in the palm of her hand, conveyed the conversation to the secondary command centre deep in the base of the city, where Radek Zelenka took control of Atlantis.

ooOoo

Kolya approached Sheppard cautiously, the burning look in the Colonel's eyes clearly unnerving the Genii.

"What is so amusing, Colonel?"

"This." As Sheppard raised his bound hands, McKay saw the knife concealed between his palms slip down into his grip. Sheppard threw his weight against the blow, ramming the blade into Kolya's thigh as hard as he could and twisting the blade, before barrelling into the commander with his shoulder and knocking him to the floor. Wrenching the dagger back out and pushing himself up, he planted a knee against Kolya's chest, pinning him to the floor, and then pushed the tip of the blade against his throat.

The two Genii guards reached for their weapons but the Irithian was quicker, he drew his weapon and took both of them down, kicking one of the fallen men's weapons toward Rodney as he did so. The two Genii guards from outside ran into the cell; the first met the Irithian commander's elbow face on and was soon on the floor. As the second guard ran in behind him, Rodney grabbed the weapon from the floor and, pointing it toward the door, screwed up his face and shot wildly in the guard's general direction. On the third attempt the Genii went down just as the Irithian put a bullet in the head of the other guard.

Breathlessly, Rodney turned, the weapon he held tightly clamped between his fingers, and pointed it at the Irithian, his hands a lot steadier than he felt. The commander spoke briefly into his radio and then returned Rodney's gaze.

"What the hell is going on?"

"My name is Iestyn and I just saved your life. I would have thought you would be more grateful."

"You're helping us?"

"Who do you think gave him the knife?" They both turned to look at Sheppard. He still had Kolya pinned to the floor, the tip of the blade had pierced the skin of the Genii's throat and a slow trickle of blood ran down to the floor.

"We need him alive, John." The Irithian took a step forward.

"No." The word sounded dry and harsh. Sheppard pushed the blade deeper and the blood flowed quicker, running down the side of the Genii commander's neck. Kolya struggled to breathe, not wanting to make any movement that would increase the pressure of the blade on his throat.

"If I am to convince the council of his lies, I need him alive." The commander went to the door, beckoning for his two guards to enter. "Do not make me use force. I have no wish to hurt you any further." Sheppard's face screwed up as if in pain at the sheer force of will it was taking him not to kill the Genii where he lay. The other man laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "He will be punished I promise you that."

Sheppard stared into the face of the man he had pinned to the floor. He released the pressure slightly and Kolya cautiously gasped for breath. There was a brief pause before Sheppard raised the knife above his head and drove it downward toward the bloody throat of the Genii. At the last moment the Irithian commander grabbed him, pulling the knife away and dragging Sheppard off Kolya and onto the floor beside him. Sheppard screamed, a primal, inhuman sound, struggling against the Irithian and desperately grasping for the knife.

Kolya pushed himself backward up against the wall, trailing blood across the floor, and then turned, trying to make for the door, only to find himself confronted by two Irithian guards. McKay scrambled across the floor to where Sheppard still struggled weakly and took Iestyn's place holding the man down. The Irithian jumped to his feet and turned his attention to his new prisoner.

"Traitor! Braen will have you executed for this, Iestyn." Kolya spat out as the guards dragged him to his feet and bound his hands.

"Perhaps."

"Why?"

The Irithian glanced back at Sheppard.

"When you torture someone, you get to see who they really are." He looked back at the Genii and fixed him with a winning smile. "I shall look forward to getting to know you better, Acastus."

Rodney watched as Kolya was dragged from the room, leaving a trail of blood behind him. Once the Genii was out of sight, he felt Sheppard relax in his arms as if a spell had been broken. "Sheppard? You okay?" The Colonel's head bowed and his hands dropped so they lay between his knees. Releasing him and moving round carefully, attempting to make eye contact, Rodney took Sheppard's hands and, picking up the discarded knife, cut through the bonds, wincing at the sight of the open wounds around the other man's wrists and the swollen purple fingers on his left hand.

"Their feet are too small."

"What?" He raised his head at the sound of the quiet voice and followed the Colonel's eyes to the bodies of the two Genii guards. "Their feet?"

"Do you think they all have tiny little feet like that?" McKay closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"You know, I'm having the day from hell and it would really help if you could not be crazy right now." Sheppard turned to him as if he'd only just noticed his presence, a distant, confused expression underlined with annoyance on his face.

"He does not have any boots, theirs are too small." Iestyn explained as he walked back in the door, wiping blood from his hands.

"Oh, right, of course." He looked at the Colonel apologetically. "Not crazy then, that's good." But he wasn't convinced. Sheppard still stared at him with the same strange look on his face.

"McKay?" Sheppard's reached up with his good hand and prodded the scientist in the shoulder as if checking to see if he was real. "Are you dead?"

"I don't think so but the way my day is going, it may only be a matter of time."

"He will be rather disorientated," Iestyn explained. "I have injected him with something for the pain and something to keep him awake but he still has other toxins in his system, so do not expect too much from him." Rodney looked at Sheppard, hoping that his friend was still in there somewhere.

"Are we going home now?" The softness in his voice and the look of hope in his eyes were childlike. Rodney wasn't used to this; Sheppard was the strong one. He forced a smile and patted the Colonel's arm gently.

"I really hope so."