A/N: Wow, thanks for the wonderful reviews, they really made my day…

And I have to say: I'm kinda relieved, cause before I discovered the wonderful world of fanfiction, I always thought I was the only weirdo obsessed with whumping my favourite characters. Now I know there's lots of other weirdo's 

Control Room

"Come on, McKay. Get me the control of the city back. She's still out there."

"Yes, Colonel. I am painfully aware of that. Now if you'd just shut your mouth, stop distracting me and let me work." Rodney spat. He did not have the patience to deal with Caldwell right now.

Colonel Caldwell turned around and sighed. Although he should be used to McKay's attitude by now, the man never ceased to amaze him.

"Major, are you at Teyla's position, yet?" he tapped on his radio.

"No Sir, not yet. Weir must be around here somewhere, we have to be careful." Major Lorne replied quietly. He wasn't going to let her overpower him, again.

"Alright, Major, but let me know the moment you have a visual of either one."

"Will do, Lorne out."

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Somewhere in Atlantis

"Why are you so full of hatred?" Teyla asked, preparing to strike the moment the other woman let down her guard.

Phebus only laughed: "Oh, don't even go there with me, Teyla. I know what you're trying to do…" She fumbled with her vest pocket, never taking her eyes off of her two prisoners who were now standing several feet away from her. She threw the plastic handcuffs at Carson's feet. "Now bind her hands."

"But, Elizabeth…" Carson tried to stall her. He was certain Caldwell had sent some of his men to help by now.

"You're playing with my patience, Carson." She said, pointing her weapon at Sheppard's unconscious form and cocking the rifle. "I have no problems with killing him whatsoever."

The determined look in her eyes told Carson that she meant what she said. He picked up the bonds and secured Teyla's outstretched hands. "I'm sorry, lass…"

"It is alright, you have no choice." Teyla said reassuringly.

"That's what I'm talking about." Phebus replied mockingly. She looked down at the Colonel's still form. "Well, I think we could use a little more privacy… There's a nice small room over there." She pointed to the right "Now, Carson. You take care of Thalan here, I don't think he can walk."

"That's not even Thalan anymore. He left before ye got here." Carson argued, but already knelt down to check on the wound.

"He left, huh? You think I'm stupid? And stop doing that, just grab his shoulders and pull him over into that room." Phebus replied impatiently. She knew she didn't have a lot of time left, she could already feel herself beginning to fade. In fact, she wasn't even sure if it really was still Thalan, but she couldn't care less, either. She wanted revenge. Somebody was dieing by her hands today and if it wasn't Thalan, she'd make sure it was John Sheppard.

She pushed Teyla into the small room, tied her hands around a cane and waited until Carson was through the door with Thalan before closing it and removing the control crystals to lock it.

The sudden movement made Sheppard stir.

"I think he is waking up." Teyla stated. She could not stand feeling so helpless. She was the one who caused the injury and was unable to help the Colonel now.

"Aye, he is.."

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The first thing John noticed when he became aware was white hot pain. He felt a strong grip on his arms. Somebody was moving him, causing his burning side even more pain. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was Teyla pointing a gun at him. Hold on…. Had she really shot him? Sure felt like it.

John tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids refused to move. He let out a small groan instead and was equally surprised when he actually heard a sound coming out of his mouth.

Was he back in control after all? He had tried kicking and screaming to get everybody's attention when Thalan had occupied his body, but nothing would come out of his mouth.

He could make out distant voices, but couldn't figure out who they belonged to.

However, he was ripped into full awareness when somebody kicked him in the side, sending his body through pure agony and causing him to cry out in pain.

"Ahhh…" he whimpered.

"Are ye bloody daft? Yer gonna kill him!" Carson yelled, kneeling down. He rummaged around his pocket and found the small syringe he was looking for.

"What are you doing? Give that to me!" Phebus demanded, holding out her hand.

"It's just something for the pain…" Carson tried to reason with her.

"Give it to me!" She replied in a cold voice.

It took awhile until Sheppard had regained his composure enough to be able to open his eyes.

He didn't know why somebody would want to kick him when he was already on the ground, but he had the feeling that it wasn't good. The fact alone, that he was on the ground and not in an uncomfortable infirmary bed told him he was in trouble.

And the pain in his head and side wouldn't subside, either.

"C….Carson?" he asked, surprised at how weak his voice sounded. His eyes still wouldn't open.

"Aye, Lad. I'm here." He tried to sound reassuring.

"Now, get away, I wanna talk to Thalan." Phebus pushed Carson to the side with the tip of her P-90. "And don't try to do anything stupid, this is always pointed at his head." She added.

"So, Thalan. How are you feelin'? I see, pretty Teyla over there followed my orders and she sure did a good job. This must really hurt." She said spitefully, pressing her knee against the wound.

"Aah… m'not….Thalan." Sheppard whispered breathlessly, lines of pain surrounding his face.

"What did you say? I didn't hear you!" Phebus replied with a grin, pressing down her knee even harder.

"You are a cruel woman. He has not done anything to you, why does it satisfy you so much to hurt him?" Teyla asked. She could not watch this any longer. Her friend was writhing in agony and Phebus seemed to enjoy just that.

"He was the cause thousands of my people had to die a painful death. Now is the time for revenge!"

"But this isn't Thalan anymore. Don't ya understand? Yer killin' an innocent man who just wanted ta help ya!"

"Oh, just shut up, both of you! You're getting on my nerves." She yelled.

The conversation between Teyla, Carson and Phebus gave Sheppard some time to catch his breath.

So, that's what this was all about. Phebus still had the control over Elizabeth and she thought that he was still Thalan.

"It is….me….you want." He said weakly: "Let them….go!" he suggested, drawing her attention back to him.

"Awww, look who's turned all self-sacrificing all of a sudden…. Just quit the act, Thalan. You should know I'm smarter than that."

Sheppard sighed. Warm blood was still dripping out of the wound and despite the pain, he was starting to feel woozy because of the blood loss.

He knew he didn't have much time.

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Major Lorne and his team warily turned around another corner. McKay had tried to explain to them where exactly Teyla's position was, but the scientist had seemed to be preoccupied at that moment and this city was damn large. Every corridor looked the same, too.

However, Lorne knew that they had to be close. He considered calling out to Teyla, but the chance of Dr. Weir hovering close by, waiting to shoot was too high. He couldn't compromise his or Teyla's position.

When the team moved across the hallway, Major Lorne noticed a brighter spot on the ground where the light was reflecting.

"Colonel?"

"Yes, Major. Go ahead." Caldwell replied immediately.

"We just found a pool of fresh blood, but nobody seems to be in sight."

"Check out the area, but be careful. This could be a trap."

"Understood Colonel, Lorne out." He answered.

"Major!" A young lieutenant on his team called. He was standing a few yards away from him waving him over. "Here's more blood." Collins said, pointing to the ground.

"Looks like dragging marks… And they lead to that door." He said, sliding his hands over the control crystal attached to the wall next to the door. However, it remained shut.

Major Lorne tapped on his radio again. "Colonel, I think we found them and we're probably too late. We have dragging marks leading to a closed door. It's locked."

"Ok, I don't want you to do anything, yet. Just stand tight." Caldwell ordered.

"Understood, we'll wait for further instructions. Lorne out."

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"Just let me stop the bleedin' and start an IV. If he goes into shock, he's not gonna last much longer." Carson said, looking desperate.

Phebus started to consider his suggestion. She could tell that John Sheppard's body was slowly shutting down. He looked pale and had just started shivering.

She did want to have some more fun with Thalan or Sheppard. Whoever was in there right now- she wasn't finished with him.

"OK, do it."

Dr. Beckett immediately knelt down and grabbed his bag. The Colonel's eyes looked distant, his face was flushed.

"I'm sorry, lad. This is gonna hurt a wee bit." Carson explained sympathetically, receiving a soft nod from the Colonel.

"Remember… I've got…a high threshold….for pain." John answered, trying to sound reassuring. His weak voice didn't help much.

He saw Carson smile and closed his eyes without another word, bracing himself for the pain.

You made it! Another chapter and so soon. Told you, I'm in the semester break, and have a lot of time. So this story should come along nicely, if I don't suffer from writer's block…

Did you love the cliffhanger? It was only a mini one, though. evilgrin

PS: tognitnj told me that I tend to get my grammar mixed up. I'm doing my best, but my English is not perfect, so I have a question: Would anybody whose native language is English be interested in checking my chapters for mistakes before I post?