-

John was sure his heart had broken, shattered into a thousand pieces by the second gun shot.

He didn't care when his body protested painfully at being manhandled out of the gate room. His mind was left behind, weeping over the cooling husk of the one person who had managed to breeze his way past all his defences in a very long while.

He didn't even worry about his own imminent death.

His soul had let go its grip on life already, its connection to another soul much stronger than any earthly pull.

Soon, it would all be over. One way or another…

He knew without a doubt that Kolya would set off the nuclear bombs he had smuggled in, destroying the city he couldn't conquer. Maybe also partly to wipe out any lingering trace of Rodney McKay, the one who had stood between him and his grand plan. Rodney, who had managed to create an irreversible lock-down that had very efficiently contained the Genii to the segment of Atlantis containing mainly the gate room and jumper bay.

John didn't care for reasons any more.

But somehow, somewhere, there was still a spark that refused to fade. Slightly distracted, he tried to pinpoint the slightly annoying feeling. Annoying… McKay... A spark of McKay's insane defiance that was fast kindling a wildfire.

He could hear his friend's words as clearly as if they were said out loud.

"Oh, come on, Sheppard! Get over it already, you big baby! Fire up that one brain cell you have and give those idiots hell! Do your Rambo stuff. Scream, kick, kill, obliterate! And, it wouldn't hurt to –oh, I don't know- activate some things with that arrogantly superior gene of yours? Say, half of Atlantis? Perhaps the half that doesn't know they might be getting a nuclear bomb on their heads!"

John smirked, invisible behind the gag.

Oh, no, he wouldn't go down without a fight. And Atlantis sure as hell wouldn't go down. Not after all Rodney had done to keep her safe.

No, he would fight till the last. Make Rodney proud…

-

Elizabeth was lost in sadness, barely paying attention to her surroundings, until suddenly, the hallway lights started to flicker ominously. Quite by chance, she caught the maniacal glint in John's eyes.

Worry temporarily pushed the grief away.

What kind of insane plan was brooding in his mind, she didn't have the faintest idea. But it was a safe bet to say it most probably included him forsaking whatever little self-preservation he had left.

To her, the situation seemed pretty much hopeless.

The moment the wormhole had sprung to life, a cold feeling of dread had settled in her stomach. Receiving Carson's IDC four hours ahead of schedule and an urgent call from said physician for medical backup had only intensified the feeling. The unidentifiable unease had swiftly turned into full-blow horror after the small group of bloodied villagers that Carson and Lorne's team had been dragging, carrying or otherwise supporting turned out to consist mainly out of a perfectly fit Genii strike force. The element of surprise firmly on their side, they had taken over the gate room quickly and with little resistance.

At least five of her people had given their lives in vain. Twice that number was injured, now lying spread across the gate room, amidst the few real victims of a culled alien village.

She ought to have alerted the city. She should have announced the invasion over the intercom, or at least get word to Bates or Zelenka. But in reality, she had been too shocked, and before anyone knew what had happened, the heart of Atlantis had been compromised.

The Genii had been painstakingly thorough, jamming all radio frequencies, effectively keeping their presence a secret.

But they hadn't counted on Atlantis's own faster-than-lightning counterforce.

Rodney had managed to initiate a lock-down Elizabeth had not even known was possible with just a few quick strokes on a nearby laptop.

To says Kolya had been pissed would be a major understatement.

His harsh retaliation had briefly left her devoid of any hope.

But now, as she looked into John Sheppard's eyes, she saw the same determination that had lit up Rodney's eyes. And suddenly she felt ashamed for not believing.

-

Carson was beating himself up.

It was all his bloody fault! Rodney was dead because he, Carson, had been such a blasted bampot! Why hadn't he realised that most of those 'injured' villagers were just faking? He should have known better than to allow their 'medicine man' to direct him to the most seriously injured…

Good lord, he was a bloody MD! Yet he had faired no better than a damned voodoo witch doctor…

He paused in the midst of his mental ranting. Rodney's words. He had become so used to the scientist's constant derogatory criticisms that they had become part of his own mental vocabulary.

Unbidden, his mind provided him with Rodney's earlier words, his response to being blamed by Kolya.

"Negate the lock-down, doctor McKay! I know you initiated it!"

"I can't override the lock-down! That's the whole point of a lock-down, isn't it? To make sure that the people inside can't get out! The only way to override it is by someone outside the containment field!"

"Fine…, since you brought us into this mess, you'll be given the honour to choose the solution.

Either I kill your friends. Without leaders, Atlantis won't stand a change in the future, and I can simply wait until she is ready to give in to my demands. I will get the city intact, as I would prefer.

Or I destroy the city. I have quite some nuclear power at my disposal, thanks to your helpful comments, doctor. In that case, I'd take you and your friends to my planet, and squeeze every bit of information out of you I can. After that, if you've been cooperative, who knows I might even let you live to see the Genii acquire absolute power…"

"You have finally lost it, haven't you? See yourself as the King of Atlantis, or -God forbid-, maybe the entire Pegasus galaxy? You might want to ask Carson here for some of his voodoo pills against delusions and manic depressions…"

"I am not joking, McKay. Your friends or the city: the choice is yours…"

Carson guessed that despite all his bluster, Rodney had felt guilty about his actions as well. But he hadn't paused to look back, had not lost himself in 'what ifs'. Rodney had accepted that split-second decisions may come back to bite you in the ass, and he had bitten back with matched fervour and then some, refusing to turn the other cheek.

His own rather unfortunate choice of words on the topic made him smile slightly behind the gag. Then, his eyes caught a flash of blue in his peripheral field of view and the smile turned into a broad grin.

-

Kolya never knew what hit him. One moment he was striding towards the jumper bay, intent on stealing the Atlantian space ships before blowing the entire planet to smithereens, the next he was lying on his stomach, staring dazedly at a pair of boots in front of his nose.

"Going somewhere?"

The voice was annoying, easily permeating the various layers of cotton wool his brain seemed to be wrapped in.

His first thought was that he was either dreaming or death. Then this impossible fact would qualify as either the worst nightmare ever or the deepest pits of hell.

"Didn't I tell you the lock-down would make sure you couldn't get out, huh?" The huff exuded superiority, the trade-mark know-it all arrogance Kolya could associate with only one person.

But that was impossible…

"Still stunned, I see. Although by the effects of that stunner or my overwhelming brilliance I can't be su…"

A rough cough broke of the sarcastic comment.

Another very familiar voice took over, almost bubbling with joy yet sounding worried at the same time. "Are you sure you're all right? We really should get you to the infirmary…"

Kolya's eyes finally obeyed his muscles' command and rolled up.

He was met by an extremely smug smirk etched on the familiar expressive face.

"This time, you don't get to choose, I'm afraid…"

The last thing Kolya saw before another stun blast engulfed him, were two clear blue eyes twinkling with mirth, the fire of defiance blazing brightly within.

-

Rodney McKay looked down derisively at the pathetic heap of disturbed human at his feet, before meeting John Sheppard's scrutinising gaze. Asking the unspoken question that was on Carson's and Elizabeth's lips as well: how?

Pushing the pain and fatigue back for a little while longer, he magnanimously decided to satisfy their curiosity before faint… euhm, passing out.

"Illusions, colonel. Smoke and mirrors." Rodney explained, looking extremely pleased with himself. " The lock-down wasn't exactly irreversible, and if Kolya had spent some more time even one of his men would likely have been able to override it. I gave Kolya what he expected. A terrified, cowering victim, brilliant enough to create an infallible lock-down and too pathetically weak to lie about it in the face of torture. So after you guys were whisked out of the gate room, I restored radio-communications and hailed Bates, breached my own lock-down, met up with the reinforcements and had a little fun with a stunner…"

Sheppard looked suitably expressed.

"By the way…" Rodney continued, "your gene-induced flickering of the lights helped quite nicely in hiding us from the Genii until we were close enough to aim more carefully. Otherwise, you would all have ended up in the infirmary with pins and needles for a day…"

Sheppard still looked like he was seeing a ghost. "But,… you were.. shot… right in the heart…"

"Ah, yes, about that." Rodney said seemingly carelessly "I had the feeling Kolya might be even more mentally unbalanced than the last time we met." Sheppard shuddered, all too clearly remembering the Genii commander's maniacal behaviour during their previous encounter.

Rodney carried on, purposefully not dwelling on that memory, but couldn't keep from shivering. "It was a fair guess his grudge against me might escalate into something.. euhm… bullet-related… so I borrowed a little something from a fallen marine while we ducked low during the take over…"

Rodney zipped open his bulky jacket and granted Sheppard a crooked smile. As his friend's eyes widened comically, he sighed deeply and allowed himself to fall into John's arms, and into the welcoming darkness.

-