Author Notes: Thank you all for the wonderful feedback. Here is the last chapter!
Warning: some things in this chapter may upset people.
Chapter 3
"It's my decision."
Carson looked upon Denna with despair, "Please. Don't do this."
"What kind of leader would I be if I sent people to their possible deaths but never went myself? My father went to Hunt until he was too old to do so. I have to do this Carson."
"No." Carson's voice cracked as the reality of the situation sunk in.
"I will come home, but if I don't, I want you to take my place as leader. Rit is far too young to lead, and the people trust you. I know you will do a good job-"
"You say you're going to come home, and then you say that?" Carson tore away, stepping back, "You know this is suicide."
"No, I believe we can do this and return. Please Carson, I want your support on this, but I will go without it."
Tears welling, but never falling, Carson nodded and listened to her instructions. "I will take five others with me; volunteers, but Tchen must stay with you. As soon as we leave, start packing up camp and move to Fennar. We will return here, so only have a skeleton guard waiting for us. This should take no longer than twenty four hours."
"Blowing up a hive ship is an impossible task."
"Not with these explosives. This may be the only chance we get." Five days ago, the Hunters stumbled upon some old ruins deep into the forest, full of strange crystals. Upon further inspection, these crystals turned out to be very volatile, the consequence being a huge smoking crater when a crystal had been left by a fire.
Carson let his head fall forwards in defeat. Stepping forwards, Denna brought him up to meet her eyes, "I love you, but I have to do this." She kissed him, not wanting to pull away. "Come, we must explain everything to everyone."
Carson crouched in the undergrowth, intently watching the Stargate for any sign of life. The twenty four hour boundary had passed long ago, and night had long closed in. Next to him sat Tchen. They were the last ones left; everyone else had moved to Fennar where Mianna was looking after them. Just as Tchen was about to tentatively suggest that they left, the Stargate burst into life, indicating an incoming wormhole. As soon as it engaged, two figures stumbled out – one male, one female. The female of the pair smashed her hand down on the DHD, plunging them into darkness as the wormhole closed.
Carson and Tchen ran forwards. Although he was glad people had come back, the two survivors were not who he had hoped. Eliya and Vedok. Before they could ask, Eliya spoke, "I'm so sorry Carson. She died on the ship as it exploded; three others were shot by darts-"
Carson swayed. He wanted to throw up. Tchen took over, "We must leave; they might have seen you dial."
Still in shock, Tchen dragged his friend through the Stargate.
Carson sat, watching the ceremonial fires being lit. Mianna sat next to him. He hadn't spoken a word since he had come through the gate the night before, nor shown any emotion. The usually cheerful, gentle soul had closed himself off to the world. As the fires were lit, the calm of the mourning was broken when a boy crashed into the camp. Breathing heavily, he said something to Tchen, whose expression darkened. Detachedly, Mianna thought that she pitied the person on the receiving end of that man now; he was royally pissed off.
Tchen strode over to him, "Four people have come through the Stargate. They interrupt our mourning."
Carson didn't answer; he only stared into the fires. Squeezing his shoulder, Mianna rose and drew the two daggers she kept at her belt. "Choose your men to come with me, but stay here. I will deal with them."
"Why are we here again?" Colonel John Sheppard sighed as they walked between the trees. Teyla walked next to him, looking around their new surroundings. Ronon looked thoroughly bored.
Rodney sighed, "The Wraith have yet again compromised our alpha site, Colonel. This planet seems uninhabited-"
He was cut off as a cold blade rested on his throat, "Then your intelligence must have been faulty."
The three soldiers in front whirled around to see their team mate being held by a woman with blonde hair and a black tattoo on her face. A silver dagger was resting on his throat. From out of nowhere, five men surrounded them, pointing weapons ranging from swords, bows, and guns. John spoke first, "Look, we don't want a fight-"
"Well, good, because it would make our lives a whole lot easier if we didn't have to kill you." The woman spat, "You will come with us and relinquish your weapons, or I will slit this one's throat."
The four sat on the floor of a pit. They were thoroughly confused. All that they did was take their weapons and throw them down a hole without another word. "Oh god," Rodney's voice caught their attention; "You don't think they're cannibals do you? I mean, they could have got those guns off others they've eaten!"
Ronon rolled his eyes, "It's highly unlikely, McKay."
Teyla gestured for them to be quiet, "Listen!"
From not too far away, an eerie singing could be heard. It was beautiful, yet sad. It was sung in words they could not understand, and yet it still held meaning, "Damn." John laid his head in his hands, "I think we interrupted a funeral. No wonder they were pissed."
The singing went on way into the night, until it faded into a whisper. Not long after, the woman returned, accompanied by a man who, in Rodney's opinion, could have scared Teal'c back at the SGC. He threw open the hatch covering their pit, and threw them a rope, "Come. Our leader wishes to see you. He seems to believe you are trustworthy."
This struck John as odd, but he didn't complain; the hole was uncomfortable, and he was worried that Ronon's patience might snap from Rodney's complaining. They followed the two into the camp, attracting many stares, ranging from curiosity to hatred. They were taken to a tent, where they were instructed to wait. As soon as they were alone, Teyla remarked, "What kind of leader would pass a judgement like that? We could have been an enemy."
"I dunno, but I guess if he likes us, he can't be all that bad."
"Thanks, John."
All four jumped. The words had been spoken with a horribly familiar lilt. John turned; half wishing he didn't have to. A man stood in front of him, almost exactly as how he had last seen him. He wore the clothes of the locals, the hair was so messy that it would rival his own, and an odd tattoo marked his face as it did the other people, but it was him.
Rodney beat him to it, "Carson?"
"Aye. Nice to see you all again. Except you, who are you?"
"This is Ronon Dex, the forth member of my team." Sheppard finally managed to get his words out.
The sombre cool eyes regarded him a moment, and then broke contact. He left the question of Ford unspoken. Ronon frowned, "Who are you?"
"I used to be the CMO of Atlanis, a long time ago."
"We though you were dead. You were taken up by the Wraith dart!"
"Wrong dart; it did not belong to the Wraith. I have lived with these people ever since we were separated – they rescued me. I had no GDO to return."
"You are the leader of these people?" Teyla asked incredulously.
She had meant nothing by the comment, but John noticed a shadow flit behind Carson's eyes, "Aye, I am."
"I have not seen you before, what do you call yourselves?"
By the second, both men from Earth could see Carson's expression harden. Although Teyla was a very empathic person, she had yet to fully grasp the tact of situations, even after all these years on Atlantis. "We are the Wraith Hunters."
Both Ronon and Teyla gasped, "They are a myth."
The woman had returned, "We're very real, thank you very much."
Ronon nodded, "The tattoos, nomadic camp, it makes sense."
Teyla frowned, "Clearly not all of the myth is true though. It is said that the Hunters are led by a race who were almost destroyed by the Wraith, who take in survivors, but this is obviously not the case."
Out of the corner of his eye, John saw the woman tense. Carson's expression turned to stone. He strode forwards, so he was inches from Teyla, and spat, "We were. It was her memorial you interrupted." He shoved hard past Teyla, causing her to stumble, and left the tent.
John looked at Rodney in confusion. There was something going on here that they didn't fully understand, and right now, it had to be one of them to talk to Carson; Teyla would likely make it worse, and Ronon wasn't an option. Silently, they agreed that John should go, and so the Colonel made to follow their old doctor out of the tent, only to have the woman grab his arm, "Be careful with what you say. None of us have been able to reach him."
John nodded, and followed the path Carson had taken into the woods. "Carson? It's me."
He found the doctor sitting against a tree. The tree marked the end of the wood as the land broke out onto a clearing, which fell sharply into a deep gorge a few metres beyond. The breeze was strong here, whipping John's hair in all directions. He sat silently next to him, waiting for the Scot to say something first, however long it took.
The sun had almost risen to midday when Carson blinked from his trance, and first acknowledged that John was with him, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to act like that."
John started at the soft brogue of the tongue next to him, "She'll understand. What's going on Carson?" Despite the fact that he had rarely used the doctor's first name on Atlantis, he felt he had to now. Having always felt responsible for what he thought was Carson's death, he needed to.
"Everything."
John bit his lip; this was not going to be easy. He decided to go out on a limb, "Who was she?"
Carson looked up the meet his eyes, and John was shocked to see how much sorrow lay behind them; he was not mourning a leader, he was mourning someone he had cared deeply for. Before another word could be spoken, however, Carson's head jerked around, and he rose, suddenly tense. Out of nowhere, he produced a short blade, which alone gave John cause for concern, "Wha-"
Carson silenced Sheppard with a look. There was an expression on his face that John had never seen before on one so gentle. It was almost murderous, yet calculating. "Come." He accent shifted, falling more on par with the one of the Hunters.
They sneaked back into the forest towards the camp, neither making a sound; another change that had befallen the doctor. John was acutely aware that he had no weapon. Voices reached their ears, one of which was horribly familiar. Sneaking a glance round the trees, they saw that the whole camp was being held at gun point, which no one was resisting. John could see his team, who were slightly less placid in the situation, at least verbally. "Kolya." John hissed.
Carson's expression darkened further, "Genii." He put more contempt into a single word than John could ever have hoped to do himself.
The Genii general was speaking loudly to the woman Hunter and John's team. "Dr McKay, you are trying my patience. Where is Major Sheppard?"
"Actually, he got a promotion, it's Colonel now."
Kolya rolled his eyes, and turned to the woman, "Mianna. I will have to start killing people soon. Where is your leader?"
Before she could answer, Carson concealed his blade behind him, and stepped out, "Right here. And if you don't leave, Genii, I will kill you."
Kolya laughed harshly, "So the great Denna is dead then? Pity, I was hoping for another conversation with her. I suppose you will have to do."
As he turned away from Mianna, Carson met her eyes, and gave a nod. So quickly, the soldiers had no time to react, she drew a dagger from her sleeve, sliced the throat of the man holding her, and held her blade to Kolya's throat. Carson gave the Genii contingent a cold smile, "I would lower your weapons if I were you."
The Genii obeyed. What happened next shocked the Atlantians to the core. In two simple words, Carson shattered any illusions that he might be the person they knew, "Kill them."
Out of nowhere, the Hunters produced blades, and before the Genii knew what was happening, they were cut down. Carson held up a finger as Tchen was about to break the neck of the last soldier and Mianna was going to cut Kolya's throat. "Cut out that one's tongue, and send him back. Then begin to pack up camp." Tchen nodded, and gave the soldier over to Vedok.
Carson slowly walked to where Kolya was struggling against three Hunters. Carson grabbed his hair, and forced him to be still, "The Genii always think that they will be the ones to stop the Wraith. This is wrong. We will Hunt them, and those who try to stop us will fall. You are a fool; an arrogant fool."
Before John could move or say a word, Carson's blade had made one swift motion across the Genii's throat, causing the blood to run freely. Kolya's eyes registered shock as he fell to the ground, blood bubbling through his mouth and from his neck. Blood dripped sluggishly from the blade as Carson crouched down to meet Kolya. "You didn't think I'd let you live, did you?" The blood flowed, and the light left the Genii's eyes.
Carson rose, and turned to Mianna, "Escort the Atlantians to the Stargate. Make sure they leave."
Carson strode out of the camp and back into the woods. John looked at the other three members of his team, who looked just as scared as he felt; even Ronon who hadn't known the doctor.
Mianna turned to the Atlantians, "Come." She frowned, "Where is the fourth?" Rodney had sneaked off unnoticed.
Carson made it to the gorge, and hit all fours, retching violently. His head span as tears ran freely. His mind refused to register what he had just done. That hadn't been him, surely? It wasn't the same man who had left Atlantis that day for a mission. But it also wasn't the man Denna had married.
A cracking in the undergrowth heralded someone coming. Carson scrambled to his feet, which barely held him, and stumbled backwards towards the sheer drop behind. It was Tchen. "Carson?" His voice was gentle, "I want you to come with me."
Carson shook his head, not able to speak. Sobs racked his body. From behind Tchen, Rodney appeared, "Carson? Come on, you can come home."
"No!" Carson yelled at them, all of his emotions vented in one word. Quieter, he repeated, "No."
The situation made Rodney feel on edge; something was very wrong. Carson's voice had a lost tone to it, almost defeated. Tchen spoke again, "Carson. You must return to camp. You did what you had to do, and now we must move on."
"I can't!" Carson cried, "I'm not me! I can't lead you, I can't return to Atlantis!" He took another step back. Rodney's stomach gave a jolt as the reality of the situation hit home.
"It's no use." Carson's voice was almost carried away by the wind. He raised his eyes to meet theirs, revealing a horrible fire, "She was wrong. I did change. I killed them in cold blood. I'm a doctor for Christ's sake! I killed a human…. I looked into his eyes and killed him. Denna was wrong."
Tchen shook his head, unbelievably calm, "Denna was not wrong. She loved you and trusted you."
Rodney nodded, "Carson, we don't care what you've done. Just – please…" His voice caught, "Come back."
"We're not human. We kill our own, and are no better than them. I'm no better. I am the same as the creatures who killed Denna. She can't love me. I can't live with what I've done."
Rodney shook his head, "No!"
Carson smiled weakly, took a step back, and raised his arms, "I'm so sorry."
He took one last step back.
A single fire burned in the centre of the camp, surrounded by Atlantians and Hunters alike. It flickered in the moonlight and reflected off the faces of the sorrowful. John stood staring into its depths, with his arm around Elizabeth's shoulders. Teyla leaned against Ronon, while Rodney stood with Zelenka in the shadows. There was no singing, only the soft crackling of the flames.
One figure walked towards the fire, and threw a bunch of dried flowers into the flames, making them flare purple for a second. Raising her tear filled eyes, Mianna addressed the group.
"Carson died today when he should not have. He saw us for what we really are, what Denna feared we would become. Both knew the truth, the truth displayed everyday by the tattoos we bear. We are the Wraith; no better. It is a fine line we tread as humans. What can we do to ensure we never become the enemy? Whatever is it, we became them nonetheless. Too many die in the war we can only pray to win. Too many die believing we will one day be free. Carson realised the truth, as should we all."
Tears fell, songs whispered, and the fire died.
FIN
Author Notes: So, there you go. What do you think? I'd really like to know your opinions. Please don't come after me with pitchforks…
