Angela! You do know this chapter would be ridiculous rubbish without your marvellous input. You are so good to this fic, it has dedicated its life to you :)

Notes: I apologise for any confusion you might feel. Everything, or most of it, will be explained in greater details later (because that's just much more fun! Hurray!). I welcome your comments; it's a thrill to know what others think :) Thank you for reading!

Part of a whole

John had quickly gotten over his shock when the women had come to greet him. The need for civility was a great distraction. Within minutes, Oblee had left them with a cheeky, "play nice", following which he had been pushed into a chair and offered food and drink.

They all sat at the table, watching him. He felt needlessly self-conscious. These people looked just like him, he didn't have to impress them, charm them, please them. They were all in the same position.

"You folks lived here for a while?" Small talk. Small talk was good when you were facing yourself.

The moustache man answered. "I have lived here for eleven years."

"I for two."

"Five."

"Nine"

"Thirteen."

Thirteen! John couldn't be here for thirteen years! He couldn't stay here for even one year! He had responsibilities, friends, a home! He needed to go back, within the week! Why was this always happening to him?

He fought against the rebellion his stomach was staging. He couldn't stay here; couldn't be separated from his people again. Only a few months had passed since the whole ascension cloister debacle. He wanted to get up and scream, punch, kick; destroy everything. It had hurt so much, to be left behind, to be without them for so long. His team, his soldiers, his scientists. Atlantis was his, as were all its inhabitants. He needed them. They were his energy. Thirteen years without them would be intolerable. He had grown so close to them, had shared so much. They had become family. He felt it, uncoiling deep within: the fear, the despair, the rage.

"Why are we here?" his voice was tight but did not falter.

"Oblee brought us here. We are pieces of a whole."

"What whole?"

"She will come back and explain it to you. It is not our place."

Sheppard waited, pacing his cage like an enraged animal. Doubtless, he was a prisoner. He walked the boundary of the forest, felt the power that prevented him from leaving it. A whole forest, miles and miles of terrain, formed their enclosure.

In the morning, he arose from a restless sleep. Thirteen years, Kiren had been here thirteen years. John had lived here a day and already he longed for freedom. He needed to know what had happened to Rodney, Teyla and Ronon. Were they alive? Had they been released? Death was not an option. It was inconceivable that they hadn't found a way to escape. He gripped that hope with both hands and pulled it to him. He would escape and find them.

None of the others could offer much encouragement. They had all tried to escape, to go back to their lives, to their families. Fruitless efforts. There was no way out of the forest. Once again, John was helpless, faced with uncontrollable circumstances.

On the second day, Oblee came. She sat with him and told him everything. About Banee, about the love she felt for him, the reason why she could not accept the punishment.

"He killed a man. It was an accident, a misunderstanding, but amongst my people, death is so rare. It is most despicable…to take a life. He was severed, as his our custom. Six pieces of his essence, the six senses. Separated and thrown to all corners of the universe."

John watched her as she spoke, head bent, gaze fixed to the floor. For the moment, she lived in her memories.

"It took eighty-four years to find the first one. Kiren, the sense of touch. He was of this galaxy, easier to find. Then I found Targus, he was hearing; Opal, sight; Minevry, scent; Nihel; taste. You are the core."

She raised her eyes to look at him. They were shining with the joy of a contented heart.

"I don't understand. The core of what? The six senses of what?"

"Banee. His essence was scattered. Ripped from his body and sent away through the Ring, one piece at a time. You and Nihel were the furthest ones. Finally, all of the pieces are together. Assemblage will soon be complete and Banee will be back, we will be together at last. After ninety-seven years, I have him; all the pieces, he will soon be whole again.

"I still don't understand. How am I the core?" He did understand, or thought he did, but it couldn't be true. They couldn't be what she claimed? Pieces? John Sheppard was not some murderer's part! He was a man! He had a life, a purpose, a meaning!

"You are his intuition, his feelings, his personality. All the others are components that formed him. You, you are the key."

John didn't want to be the key, not again. He just wanted to be himself. Not the Ancient gene carrier, not some essence vessel. Simply, John Sheppard. He had enough of all these demands; the need for him to be some shape of himself for everyone. A soldier, a leader, a freak-show Ancient descendant, a pilot, a perfect son, a rock for everyone to rely on. Couldn't they just accept him as he was! Couldn't they just let him be John Sheppard, just a man who did the best he could?

"You remind me most of him. You have his mannerism, his charm, his humour. It took so long to find you, in your galaxy, so far away. I had faith. All children eventually return to their place of origin and so did you. Mira, she is the outpost. I felt her when she saw you. I saw you through her."

"Mira?"

"Yes, she has appointed herself Celebrant, on her planet. It is quite remarkable that the people have not overthrown her. Though she is a pleasant enough woman, there is a thirst for power there that is unbecoming."

This was confusing, so very confusing.

"Why isn't she here? She's a piece."

Oblee laughed. "Oh no! No! She was my assistant. Before Banee left, I was a member of the High House on our world. When she saw how frail I had become from Banee's punishment, how it affected me, she tried to take over. As I said, thirst for power is unbecoming. I sent her to Banee's home planet to greet you, all of you, when you arrived."

"She looks like us."

"Yes, of course she does! I had to link her with you somehow. Now is not the time for me to explain Mira's position and many uses. I must go, I have been here much longer than anticipated and coincidently, I am to meet with Mira soon."

Hope came to him; hit him like a bold of lightning. "Can you ask about my team?"

"As I have told you before, your companions were unharmed."

She left him, bid her farewell to the occupants of the little house, and exited.

That had been two days ago and still, John couldn't process the information. He couldn't understand. Even after lengthy conversation with his roommates who had all tirelessly explained the situation, he couldn't face it. They were all vehicles! Just envelopes for some guy's soul! John Sheppard was nothing! His whole existence: nothing! He was here because somebody else had lived here, in this galaxy! He was just…

"A FUCKING CONTAINER!" He screamed out to the empty woods. Let all the anger, the confusion, the horror out. His life had been nothing but a series of events meant to lead him here, to destruction.

As he made his way back to the house, having once again established that he couldn't escape the forest, he felt a great rage beneath his skin. It streamed in his veins and filled him with thunderous energy. He wanted to lash out and obliterate anything that came along his path. See every tree fall to the ground, every life extinguished, and every single cell annihilated.

He wouldn't give up. He couldn't give up. He mattered! His life was important. The need to anchor his identity for any deity that might be listening made him scream until his throat ached.

"I'm John Sheppard. I'm John Sheppard. I'm JOHN SHEPPARD! YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME! I'M JOHN SHEPPARD! JOHN SHEPPARD!"

Banee could stay in pieces; no one was discarding John Sheppard so easily!