Metamorphosis

by Renfields-Spider

Metamorphosis; to transform, to change, to evolve. Sometimes people change because they want to, sometimes because they are forced. An encounter with a powerful alien leave McKay & Sheppard changed in ways neither ever expected. McShep.

9. Chapter 9

McKay stared at his computer screen, not really seeing the lines of code he'd been fixing. His mind wandered, as it had a lot lately, to a single moment where life hadn't completely sucked. He smiled and shut his eyes reimagining everything he could; he had a good memory for detail.

'Rodney, have you finished the diagnostics for the jumpers?'

McKay's eyes snapped open and he glared at Zelenka.

'No, and I'm not going to if you keep hounding me.'

'I only asked three hours ago.'

Rodney waved him off and got up. His hips had stiffened from the prolonged sitting. Wincing he rolled them to free the joints. He looked at the time and realised he was late.

'Where are you going now?' asked Zelenka.

'Food,' replied McKay, not bothering to face Zelenka or explain further, he walked out of the room and in the direction of the mess.

Once there McKay scanned the room looking for Sheppard and found he wasn't there. Had he already been and gone? That seemed possible. It was pathetic, he knew it was and he imagined everyone could see how he felt. As if, the clinginess was apparent. Except people didn't know. That was because it was so god damned unlikely. He turned to leave thinking he could come back in a little while and try. He wasn't concentrating on where he was going and walked straight into Sheppard.

'Whoa, slow down, McKay. Anyone would think they have lemon chicken on again.'

'That joke wasn't funny the first time you said it.'

'It makes me smile.' Sheppard grinned widely to prove his point.

'It's funny how much of your amusement depends on making me miserable.'

'Yes, it is.'

'What? Oh, ha-ha hilarious.'

'Are you leaving?'

'No, I came for lunch.'

'You do realise it's in there and not out here, right?'

'Yes, of course.'

'Do you need me to explain how doors work again?'

McKay pulled a face and walked back into the mess. He grabbed a tray and started the process of selecting food. It was difficult not to double check to see if John were doing the same, McKay did not want to show weakness. Once he'd filled his tray, he walked over to a reasonably quiet place to sit. Now he checked to see where Sheppard was and was not surprised to see him coming over. He sat opposite Rodney.

Sheppard would try to bait him and Rodney would try not to bite, he usually failed. It was half the fun, really. Sheppard challenged him in ways other people couldn't. Plus, if he were being honest with himself, just watching Sheppard was enough. There was something about the way he smiled it was a relaxed and lazy charm. And even when they were arguing that easy way, he had about him never left. McKay envied that a lot; he wished he could be so comfortable with himself. Although, since the life-saving incident, John had been different. Perhaps it wasn't much of a difference, but Rodney noticed.

They never used to have lunch together; McKay would usually sit alone. But for a while now, Rodney had deliberately timed eating when he knew Sheppard would be in the mess. Sometimes he was alone, often he would have Teyla or Ronon or both. Although lately, he'd seen them less and less at lunch. Not that Rodney minded seeing them of course, but he did enjoy the time they spent alone more. It seemed that Sheppard didn't mind it too much either.

'You're unusually quiet.'

'I'm thinking.'

'Doesn't usually stop you talking.'

'I am also eating.'

'Again, doesn't usually stop you.'

'I was wondering when to try dialling the gate again.'

'How long since the last time?'

'A few days. It's been six weeks since we came back.'

'Probably could schedule it in this week.'

'Weir has been a bit shifty about it. I don't think she wants me too.'

'Maybe she thinks you're being a bit obsessive over it?'

'Is that what you think?'

'No, you know I want to go back.'

'I worry it will never open.'

'You know it might not.'

'I guess.'

'McKay, we need you to go off world in about fifteen minutes. Can you suit up and meet Sheppard at the gate?' said Weir over the Comm.

'Why is only ever when I am eating do you people need me?'

'Er us people also have the guns, McKay,' said Sheppard.

'It's not like you are going to shoot me,' said McKay. Sheppard gave him a look that suggested he might be tempted.

'McKay?'

'Hello? Yes.'

'Now please.'

'Okay, okay.'

'See you later, Rodney,' said Sheppard.

'Apparently, I'm meeting you there.' Rodney enjoyed the look of annoyance on Sheppard's face. He picked up the muffin on his tray to eat on the way.

McKay swung by the lab to pick up his equipment and a jacket. It actually took him about twenty minutes. When he arrived in the gate room, he could see that Elizabeth was annoyed. Sheppard was also there fully kitted out. God knows how he managed to do all that so quickly. The gate was already open.

'At last.'

'What's happening?'

'I'll brief you on the way, McKay.'

They walked through the gate and Rodney tried not to think about all the shearing forces that could kill him instantly. Tried and failed. On the other side, there was the sunshine and a pleasant countryside to look at. There were rolling hills and a village not too far away at the bottom. It was picturesque.

'This place seems nice. I wonder how it's going to try and kill us.'

'Ever the pessimist, Rodney.'

'I prefer realist.'

'How ironic.'

'Why are we here?'

'Apparently, there's some sort of ancient temple, they were told of legends where people disappear, but they decided to investigate…'

'Sounds like a lot of our missions to be fair.'

'Best kind.'

'So why do they need me?'

'Something about a different dialect of Ancient and the way the tech is different.'

'Sounds interesting. Might be some sort of splinter group of rogue Ancients?'

'Oh, you'd love that wouldn't you?'

'Don't you?'

'I don't need too, I just turn up look pretty and point my gun at things.'

'It's intellectually stimulating, of course, you're going to hate it.'

'Hey, McKay?'

'Yeah?'

'Do you remember that time you said I was handsome?'

McKay stopped walking for a moment and rolled his eyes.

'How could I when you've never let me forget it.' Rodney had also noticed that Sheppard only ever brought it up when they were alone, like now. It was going to take at least twenty minutes to walk to the village.

'It's not something you could easily forget.'

'Well, I am sure there are some buxom wenches in the village that would gladly tell you the same.'

'Buxom wenches. What a lovely description,' Sheppard raised his eyebrow.

'I'm sure they all have wonderful personalities.'

'And you're still single… shocker.'

'Hey, I choose to be single.'

'Sure you do.'

'Some of us actually have to think to do our jobs, not just turn up and look pretty.'

'You think I'm-'

'No! No… I am paraphrasing you.'

Sheppard pouted. They walked in silence for a while and Rodney squinted trying to see what was ahead. The bright midday sun was making that particularly hard. It was actually quite pleasant. The air was warm but a light breeze refreshed as it blew over them. Occasionally, McKay stole a glance at John who seemed to be enjoying the walk.

'You still getting those dreams?' asked Sheppard.

'Which ones?'

'The drowning ones.'

'Not for a couple of weeks.'

'Good. Wait, are there other bad dreams?'

'Oh the usual, being eaten by a whale or being chased by Wraith.'

'Your subconscious never ceases to amaze me.'

'I sometimes get dreams about the Arboretum, but they are happy ones.'

'Good.'

'It's a lot like this, the sunshine, green everywhere. The pollen count is probably through the roof.'

'I think sometimes that it's good to get out of Atlantis, stretch your legs, and rescue your co-workers from peril. It's a fulfilling life.'

'And probably a short one. They're not actually in peril though are they?'

'Bad, Rodney. Don't be putting a downer on my mood.'

'Your mood currently consists of…' Rodney failed to finish as an unusual rumble came from the village in front of them. He could feel it through his boots. He and Sheppard exchanged a glance and they started running towards the sound.

'What's the likelihood of this not being connected to Lorne?' McKay shouted, even though he really didn't have the breath to spare. John was a little smarter than he was and said nothing as they ran.

At the village, one of the elders pointed them in the direction of the temple. It was another ten minutes of running. McKay panted this really wasn't his thing. Sheppard never got too far in front and always made sure he had eyes on McKay.

They arrived at the entrance to the temple, which was a cave mouth. McKay could see the 'cave' was old ancient architecture. There were differences in the language on the walls, but they were also badly degraded and it was difficult to tell what it meant. They found light markers left behind by Lorne's team and they followed them inside.

McKay felt like his sweat was sweating. The run in his gear, in the sun, was uncomfortable. He could feel his shirt sticking to the small of his back.

'Rodney…'

'Yep?'

'Be ready.'

'For what?'

'Anything. Not sure what we are walking into.'

'Okay.'

They rounded a bend and the area opened up into a natural cave, with stalagmites and stalactites included. It was beautiful. At the far end, Rodney could see Lorne with the others, so they made their way over.

'Lorne? Everything ok?'

An ancient looking console was poking out of a stalagmite formation. Rodney could see that it had formed around the Ancient device. Lorne stood beside it and the tech that was running the diagnostic was on the floor unconscious. The console had probably shorted.

'It could be better. The console shorted and zapped him when the quake happened, he's ok, but we need to get him back ASAP. Also over there,' Lorne pointed to the wall, 'There's tech I don't think is ancient.'

'Do you know what that rumble was? Earthquake?'

'According to the locals that happens like clockwork here, every three hours.'

'Every three hours?' asked McKay. He narrowed his eyes and looked suspiciously at the temple.

'Yup, I assumed it had something to do with an ancient device in this temple. The locals call it, the despair or something like that.'

'Yeah, it's never the fluffy puppy or the placidly tempered dragon, is it?' said Sheppard.

Lorne laughed and nodded. McKay's mind was already trying to compute why they named it the despair. The Ancients were often vague with names but there was usually a sound reasoning behind them.

'What did they call it exactly?'

'The river of the despairing souls,' said a voice from behind them. McKay turned to look and a young woman, clearly a native of the planet, stood watching their efforts. 'I told you that the alter is not safe to use.' She pointed at the console.

'Yes, you did and they didn't listen,' said Sheppard shaking his head at Lorne. He smiled at the woman and said, 'Hi, I'm Major Sheppard, and this is Dr McKay.'

McKay noticed he used his special Weir winning smile that he occasionally broke out for 'Kirk' moments like these. Typical. Rodney felt a pang of jealousy. He rolled his eyes dramatically knowing Sheppard would most likely see him. He walked over to the console and examined it.

'I know ancient tech is resilient but this really is quite impressive.'

'Careful,' said Lorne and he too received an eye-roll.

'Yes, I'll be careful after all the unconscious tech at my feet really wasn't warning enough.' The stalactites were forcing their way through the console from above, pushing and pressing where they had grown bigger over the years. There must be low yield conductive material in them to be arcing out what with the water dripping as well. That got McKay to wondering what and where was the power source.

'You said there was tech that wasn't ancient?' McKay asked Lorne.

'Yeah, it's over here on the wall.'

McKay walked over to where Lorne pointed and examined it. A coating of slime, one Rodney assumed did not need sunlight to survive, covered it. It might be a fungus of some sort. The wall itself was marble-like, white with swirls of colour. Next to it were inscribed words in ancient. He used his sleeve to wipe the words clear. As he read them he felt a coldness rush through his middle.

'Where did you learn what this place was called?' Rodney asked the woman who was still chatting to Sheppard annoyingly.

'My father told me.'

'He got it wrong, probably because it was passed down from generation to generation. Was anything written or was all an oral history?'

'There are sacred texts.'

'Could I look at one?'

'I will go and retrieve it for you.' She left and Sheppard came and stood by McKay looking over the inscriptions.

'Oh, I have your attention now do I?'

'Not really, but I was bored waiting for you to tell me what this actually says. It's not the fluffy puppy is it?'

'What does it mean?' Lorne asked.

'Its literal translation is the Sepulchre of the Drowned Remnant.'

'That's cheery,' said Sheppard.

'It gets worse,' replied McKay.

'Really, I am shocked. I thought it was all rainbows from here on in.'

'This bit talks about a river underground, it's part of what powers it I suspect. This place was sealed up with people inside.'

'What like a bunker?'

'It might have been once, but the clue is in the name, Major. It's a tomb and from what I can see they were alive when it was shut.'

'Well, there goes my mood.'

'How can you know all that from one tiny bit of writing?' asked Lorne.

McKay pointed to the end of the wall that met the natural cavern. There was more writing but clearer, well to someone who could read ancient anyway.

'What does that say?' asked Lorne.

'Forgive me,' said McKay.

'All that writing is just two words?' said Lorne.

'Mostly. It's written multiple times and from what I can tell, by different people.'

'Fuck,' said Lorne.

'Major Sheppard?' The annoying nymph was back. 'I have the book your colleague asked for.' She handed the book to him, smiled though her eyes cast aside to the writing McKay just pointed out. McKay felt animosity toward her, despite her being perfectly nice.

'Hey, do you know anything about this writing over here?' asked Sheppard.

'No, I'm sorry I don't understand it, although there might be some in the village that might?' She wasn't smiling anymore.

'It's ok, don't worry.' Sheppard handed McKay the book and he flicked through it.

'There is another opening,' replied the woman.

McKay looked up.

'There is, where?'

'Through here.' She pointed to a crack in the natural cave. From this angle, it was barely noticeable. McKay walked over to it and could see it could fit people down it single file.

'Whoa there McKay,' said Lorne. 'People with guns and training first.'

'Yes, please, by all means, show me how to do it professionally.' McKay looked round to Sheppard but he was looking at the village woman again. He was sure someone had said her name but he'd missed it.

'What about your tech guy?' said McKay.

'Stevens, stay with Ramirez.'

McKay looked around and saw Stevens for the first time. He hadn't noticed him at all. Facing the crack, Rodney felt the immediate clenching fear of feeling enclosed in a tight, dark, place without being able to turn around. He tried to go back but Sheppard was right behind him.

'Where you going, McKay?' Sheppard was smirking.

'Nowhere. Just checking you were there.'

'Okay, well I'm here. You can walk through the scary cave crack now.'

McKay looked up, checking for loose material or signs of collapse.

'It's fine. Now move.'

He walked through and it was surprisingly short, about twenty meters or so.

'There, see that wasn't so bad was it?' Sheppard's smugness was quite annoying sometimes.

This area was small but drafty. The rock here was different it had more in common with glass than actual stone, in places it was transparent but far too thick to see through. It was smooth and cold, it had been subject to years of change and erosion, and radial cracks had started to appear. Rodney started to have an idea what had happened and he felt sorry for the people who had died.

'The ancients sealed this place with molten silicates laced with carbon.'

'How can you tell?' asked Lorne.

'I just can. It's clear to me that this part wouldn't have been accessible before but it has eroded over time. You can see over here that time and pressures are causing cracks,' said McKay.

'Yes, but how does that relate to the rumbling?' asked Lorne.

'I honestly don't know. I could make educated guesses, but they would still just be –'

'Just be what?' Sheppard looked to where he thought McKay was and saw that he wasn't.

'Rodney?' He ran over to where he was and there was nothing. He looked up at Lorne. 'Did you see where he went?'

'I wasn't looking at him, weren't you?'

'No, were you?' Sheppard asked Miana.

'He was here,' she walked over to where he was and pointed. Sheppard came to stand beside her. The crack in the ground was extremely difficult to see and Miana stepped straight into it. Sheppard grabbed her, wrenched her back over the precipice, and by doing so unbalanced himself. His feet slipped on the edge of the smooth glass-like rock, he grabbed handfuls of air, but he knew he was going over. Lorne tried desperately to grab Sheppard, their fingertips brushed as Sheppard felt the balance tip against him, and he fell into the darkness below.

He had a few moments to register falling before he hit something large, flat, and cold. It knocked the breath out of him. Then he was sliding, moving quicker, and gaining momentum in the gloom. Then freefall and he flailed looking for purchase but finding none. Then water, freezing cold water. He gasped for breath and struggled as the water splashed onto his face. The water carried him along and he struggled to find anything to grab. He felt something yank the back of his uniform and it dragged him sideways against the current until he hit something harder. John's head pounded with pain and he found it difficult to understand what was happening. Then someone was tapping his face.

'John? John? Wake up.' It was McKay. Sheppard grabbed the hand that was tapping him awake. It was making his head hurt.

'I'm awake.' He sat up with Rodney's help, looked around, and wished he hadn't. 'What's the likelihood of us being by the hole we fell through?'

'Minimal, we fell into a moving river.'

'Fantastic.'

'Guns?'

'I have my sidearm and you do too.'

'Are you hurt?'

'I bruised my elbow and…' Rodney stopped when he saw John glaring, 'Nothing serious,' he finished.

'There's light down here, some sort of iridescent fungus and there's architecture down there, doorways over there. Maybe we can find a way out?'

'I thought you said this place was sealed?'

'I did.'

'And if the ancients sealed it so how are we going to leave?'

'I'm guessing the erosion has occurred elsewhere.'

They both heard a crackle over the Comms but no voices.

'This is Sheppard, can you read me?' He exchanged a look with McKay and shook his head. 'I don't know if you can hear us but we can't go back the way we fell through, so we are looking for alternative routes.' While he was talking Sheppard looked up. He could see a number of outlets about sixty feet up, assuming he could climb what looked to be a sheer face, the outlets looked metal and smooth. Even if he could climb them and that was extremely doubtful, there was no way Rodney would be able too.

'Well then, which way do we go from here?'

'This way looks like it goes up, which is a start I guess.' Rodney pointed at the one he thought was best. Sheppard walked through and saw that it did indeed go up. They walked in silence. Well, almost silence their boots squelched with the excess of water in them. It was cold down here and Sheppard knew they should keep moving to make sure there was no possibility of hypothermia. Rodney's puffing allowed Sheppard to know where he was and how fast to keep the pace. The degradation of this place made it difficult to progress; they had to circumvent collapsed areas.

'John?' Sheppard stopped and looked around to McKay, who pointed at a section of stonework with ancient writing on it.

'What?'

'It's a statement of philosophy.'

Sheppard looked blankly at McKay.

'And?'

'They were pacifists.'

'Why is that interesting?'

'Well most of them weren't. These ones seem to have a strict code of non-aggression.'

'Are you suggesting they sealed in a group of hippies?'

'Yes.'

Sheppard shook his head.

'It's just the gift that keeps giving.'

'You're grumpy.'

'Why shouldn't I be? After all, you're the one that cursed us.'

'Me? What did I do?'

'Does this sound familiar? "I wonder how this planet's going to try and kill us?".' Sheppard mimicked Rodney.

Rodney looked a little sheepish.

'Well, I didn't want to walk through the damn scary cave crack.'

'We can debate it or we can continue walking.'

Sheppard heard Rodney muttering under his breath and it made him smile. He was unable to let the moment go without having the last word.

Ahead they had the choice of stairs or continuing onwards. Sheppard chose the stairs, hoping there might be a way out at the top. About three or four 'flights' in Rodney's breath became laboured and Sheppard slowed the pace down. At about fourth flight the stairs opened out to a huge space. It was vast. They walked over to the edge, which probably had some sort of rail there before, but now part had fallen away and twisted metal lay trailing down off the edge.

'Careful…' said Sheppard to McKay as they stepped lightly to the edge.

As they did, the full sight of the city below sprawled out in front of them. John could see that it had been magnificent once, but now it was crumbling and decayed. It was partially flooded and he could see swirling eddies of fast dark water. What was surprising was the light. All the way over the other side, there was a bright shaft of light.

'John, do you see that?' Rodney pointed excitedly at the light.

'I do.'

'Looks like sunlight.'

'It does.'

'You could be a little more excited by it.'

'Well, I'm not a genius or anything but I am looking at the expanse of crumbling ancient buildings, which is flooded by the way, and I'm thinking it's not going to be easy.'

'How do we get down there?'

'Well, we are not going to be able to get down here, so back down and through the city tunnels and find a way out into the open.'

'The closer we get the more likely we are to be able to get Comms back up. Maybe they can get a jumper through the gap.'

'Maybe,' said Sheppard. His gut suggested otherwise. There was something about this place that really wasn't feeling right. He couldn't put his finger on it of course, but if he'd learned anything at all, it was to trust initial assessments until proven otherwise.

They went back down the stairs, which was a lot faster than going up. They took the tunnel leading down and towards where they wanted to go. At first, it was easy, some rubble and a few inches of water. But soon the inches were a few feet and some collapses were impossible to get around. Rodney clearly needed to rest and had been quite vocal about it. McKay did stop every now and then to read text or to examine a mural. Most of the tech down here was dead and they tried not to touch what was live. It wouldn't help their situation much.

As they got closer to the centre of the city, the architecture became older and was in a worse state. They had walked for a couple of hours. Sheppard stopped at the next higher and drier place and sat down.

'What are you doing?'

'Resting.'

'I thought you said we needed to keep moving.'

'We do, but it's just for ten minutes.' Sheppard patted the ground beside him. McKay sat down next to him.

After a minute or so, McKay's teeth started to chatter. John turned and looked at McKay.

'I can't help it, I'm cold,' he said defensively.

'You mouth just never stops moving does it?'

Sheppard rolled his eyes, just as Rodney had when he'd been talking to Miana. John held his arm up.

'What are you doing?'

'Wanna keep warm or not?' McKay looked confused but scootched over and Sheppard put his arm around Rodney and pulled him in tight. McKay trembled but stayed silent. John smiled to himself; in any other circumstances, this would be nice but he was frozen to the bone like McKay. The water stank and everything was covered in mould and fungus. The debris-strewn walkways made it difficult to traverse the area, and if their legs weren't aching enough, they then had to slew through the chilling, numbing water. So no, not the ideal place for snuggles.

He looked at Rodney, who'd shut his eyes and was breathing slowly, and wished he could fall sleep so quickly. He was glad that he'd managed to catch Rodney at lunchtime and spend a few moments together. McKay was regular with the times he ate so it wasn't hard to find him. At first, John was making sure Rodney's recovery was on point, but after the first couple of weeks, it was more about just being with him. Rodney never mentioned the kiss they shared and neither had he. But every now and then, he caught McKay watching him when he thought John wouldn't notice. He had tried to put a little space between them, a buffer of comfort so that they both had a chance to recover from their respective ordeals. What had surprised him more than anything was how difficult it was to go back to normal, now the line had been crossed. Even more so, when he found he didn't want it to go back. He wanted it to go forward. He squeezed Rodney and McKay snuggled in. John smiled. This place wasn't the right place to do that but the time was starting to feel right. That is of course if he hadn't vastly misunderstood McKay.

Sheppard glanced at his watch and saw eleven minutes had passed. He shook McKay.

'Rodney?' McKay jumped. 'It's been ten minutes.'

'Five more minutes…'

'No, Rodney or you'll get too cold and stop moving.'

'Aren't you cold?'

'Yes, but I'm more conditioned to extreme temperatures than you are.'

'Is being wet a temperature?'

'Move, Rodney.'

McKay got up and they resumed their trek. But now, McKay was increasingly verbal about his complaints. The rest had only made the walking worse for him. Sheppard knew he needed to distract Rodney a bit, keep that brain of his from focusing on the physical.

'So why do you think the ancients sealed these people in?'

'Well, their overall philosophies seem a little different but I don't think for a moment that would be enough for the kind of response we've seen.'

'I agree, so what do you think could cause that sort of response?'

'Anger? Although I don't know why. They extra writing outside suggests that somebody didn't want to do it. But from what I'm seeing in here, this place was old even by ancient standards.' Rodney crossed through a particularly deep part and the water went up to his armpits. 'Fantastic.'

'Okay, so how old are we talking.' Sheppard leant over and helped Rodney out of the dip.

'I don't know.'

'You don't know.'

'No, I don't.'

'Educated guess then?'

'A lot.'

'You're getting cranky, Rodney.'

'Yes, I'm getting cranky. I'm freezing walking through near darkness, constantly hitting my legs on sharp bit of fallen buildings, treading on bones and god knows what else…'

Sheppard looked around to Rodney.

'Bones?'

'Stones, I said stones.'

'No you didn't, you said bones.'

'I most certainly did not.'

John squinted at McKay and realised he needed to up his distraction method. He faced forward again and continued moving on, checking the way. Rodney must be associating this place with the 'Sarlacc' pit or whatever it was. He left speaking for five minutes or so and allowed Rodney to collect himself a little.

'So, McKay… how about that kiss we had, huh?'

From behind, he could hear that Rodney had instantly stopped moving. John bet that McKay now had that expression of utter disbelief, mouth open and eyes wide. He smirked to himself.

'You want to talk about that now?' McKay emphasised the 'now' with a slightly higher pitch.

'Why not?'

'Why not? Are you actually serious?' Impressive, Rodney had managed to go up an octave.

'Absolutely. What did you think of it?'

'What did I think of it?'

'Yup. You keep repeating my questions back, Rodney, somebody might think you're evading the question.'

'I'm not evading it, I just don't know what to say.'

'I think you know exactly what you want to say.'

'Oh, do you?'

'Yes, I think your just too scared to tell me.'

'I am not scared of you.'

'Good.' There was silence, well, apart from the sounds of them sloshing through stagnant water. 'Rodney?' John prompted.

'It wasn't unpleasant.'

'Interesting.'

'What did you think?'

'I quite enjoyed it.'

'You did?'

'Yeah, I mean you were a bit slow to start…'

'Are you critiquing my technique?'

'No, just observing.'

'You are!'

'I'm just saying you were slow to get going, it was hard to tell if you liked it.'

'I was Kirked, I wasn't ready.'

'Kirked? I didn't Kirk you. I don't Kirk people; I don't understand your obsession with that particular phrase.'

'You did, you did that dreamy-eyed staring thing!'

'I did not,' John suppressed the giggle that struggled to be released.

'I was like a rabbit caught in headlights. I didn't stand a chance.'

'So I seduced into kissing with my eyes?'

'Yes.'

'So… you think my eyes are dreamy?'

'No.'

'You just said they were dreamy.'

'Some people might think they are… just like some people might think you are handsome.'

It was John's turn to pause, was Rodney actually trying to flirt back?

'Some people, eh?'

'Yes.'

'Okay, so let's say you were taken off guard.'

'Kirked.'

'Off guard. Either way, you weren't ready.'

'Right.'

'That aside, did you like it?'

'I thought I covered that.'

'You said it wasn't unpleasant.'

'Right.'

'So by that logic, it was pleasant.'

'Yes.'

'Pleasant enough to do it again?'

McKay stopped walking again; John could sense Rodney's eyes on him. He looked around, and although the light level was gloomy, he could see McKay's face. It looked slightly panicked.

'Again?'

'Yes, again, Rodney,' Sheppard turned around and continued to walk. 'Walk and talk.' He heard the splashing resume and the silence continued.

'Yes.'

'Yes, what?'

'Yes, it was pleasant enough to do it again.'

'Good.'

'Good?'

'Yes, good.' John stopped and turned around to face McKay. McKay squeaked and looked terrified.

'Now?'

'How about this, Rodney, you do your best to get out of here alive and if you do I promise you there will be another opportunity to revisit the moment.'

'If I do?'

'If you die the deal's off, obviously.'

'Are you really so full of yourself that you think kissing you is an incentive to survive.'

'Yes, yes I am.'

'Kirk.'

'Or maybe, unlike you, I can admit how good the kiss felt.'

Sheppard rounded the corner smugly and was surprised to see daylight. He squinted shielding his eyes.

'McKay, we've broken through.'

He heard more sloshing, at a faster pace. Rodney appeared beside him, squinted, and shielded his eyes just as John had done.

'Okay, now all we have to do is get over there.'

The rumble started deep, hardly noticeable but it travelled upward and shook the entire cave, the buildings started showering shards of stone and Sheppard heard something collapse behind them.

'Move.' He said grabbing McKay and dragging him forward. Nowhere was safe to shelter so John stayed in the open and hunkered down pulling McKay down with him. It lasted for a minute or two and then started to settle down. The quake faded away Sheppard noticed and he had his arms wrapped around Rodney. McKay gripped John tightly, his head tucked into Sheppard's shoulder.

'It's passed, we're okay,' said Sheppard.

'Has it only been three hours? It felt a lot longer.' Rodney let go of John and he felt the loss of heat immediately.

John tapped his comm on.

'Can anyone hear me? This is Sheppard. Lorne? Stevens?' Nothing came through and he shook his head at Rodney. 'Nothing.'

'Well, maybe we still need to get a little bit closer for the Comms to work.' McKay looked up and around at the huge cavern. 'Perhaps there is something in the rock preventing communication.'

'We need to get closer to the cave in either way.'

'Which way?'

'Forwards until something blocks and then we go round, just like before.'

Rodney nodded and followed Sheppard's lead. He also complained less, which John appreciated. As before, it was hard going and they had to contend with a current too. The water flowed quicker in some places, but as it was, only a few feet deep it was manageable. If it got deeper, then it might be a problem. There was a large building in the centre and they needed to pass that to get through to the other side. As they got closer, they could see it must have once been quite beautiful. There were mosaics of intricate detail, mostly of scenes, which bore no relevance to Sheppard and McKay. As they rounded a corner, McKay stopped and his reaction made Sheppard stop too.

'What is it?'

'What does that figure look like to you?

Sheppard squinted and saw a figure with long, flowing white hair, pale, dressed in black.

'Wraith?'

'Yes, but look at the context.'

Again, Sheppard looked at the figures and saw that it was a group of Wraith, possibly with a queen, a red-haired figure. John narrowed his eyes, this wasn't a scene of destruction or war, and it was celebratory. The Ancients and the Wraith were together, working together. John stepped back to look at the mosaic as a whole.

'They were living together?' asked John.

'I think so, look there's a hive-like 'home' here,' McKay pointed to where he meant. 'This place is not what we thought it was.'

John looked a little longer and stepped back a little further. He could see a pattern forming, but he couldn't read it.

'Hey, Rodney, step back and look at the whole picture,' McKay stepped back.

'The people form words. This one is written in Wraith but its meaning is clear: Sanctuary.'

'Is it possible that the ancients here and the Wraith lived together, like happily or something?'

'That could explain why the others sealed them in, but it still doesn't make a lot of sense to me.'

They stood for a minute just looking at the mosaic, it was impressive art, but more than that, it was a statement about who they were and what they stood for. It made John a little sad but he did have to wonder at the folly of living with the Wraith.

'The stone this building is made from is weird as well,' said Rodney. 'The colours suggest it was formed that way, but it looks natural.'

'Why is that weird?'

'Do you know the sort of temperatures, pressure and time have to occur for natural stone to form?'

'Let's say I don't for the sake of argument.'

'Well, it's a lot.'

'But up top, you said they'd sealed people in with a rock?'

'No, I said molten silicates laced with carbon, which is basically glass and graphite dust,' said Rodney. 'The temperatures are significantly lower and much easier to control. This is something else.'

'Enough sightseeing we need to keep moving, we don't want to be around for the next quake.'

They continued and had to circumvent a few deep places where the water flowed too quickly. Rodney now took a few moments to look at any murals or mosaics they passed. As they got closer to the opening, the more Sheppard knew they would be able to get out. Of course, what was on the other side was another story, but one life threatening problem at a time.

Every now and then, there was a popping sound. Sheppard hadn't noticed it at first but it seemed to be getting louder and louder. He tried to locate the source of it, but the sound was bouncing off the walls and making it difficult to pin down.

'Can you hear that?' said Rodney looking around slightly unnerved.

'The popping sound? Yeah, I can.'

'Popping? It sounds like ice to me.'

'What does ice sound like?' Sheppard didn't hide his scepticism.

'It sounds like broken ice moving, a cracking, scraping sound rather than popping.'

Sheppard looked around again, trying to find the source of the sound. It seemed to be coming from a large building to the left of them. John walked over to it and heard the sound echoing out from near its base. There was water shooting out in tiny jets from behind. The water pressure must be immense. It slowly dawned on Sheppard that the sounds he'd been hearing were the supports for the building failing. The wall of water behind was teetering on breaking through.

'Rodney, we need to move to higher ground now.'

McKay looked at the wall and very quickly came to the same conclusion; John could see it via the panic in his eyes.

'Which way?' asked McKay.

'Over here,' Sheppard led the way across the walkway to a nearby building. There were stairs leading up and down, there were some missing so they might have a jump a few going up. He wasn't sure how high they might need to go but as high as they could get.

The bang of the other building giving way to the water was deafening; John and Rodney both covered their ears. Rodney grabbed the entryway wall as the water rushed out, it slewed around his legs, and into the building they were trying to find higher ground in. John reached forward and Rodney grabbed his arm. John pulled him in, but the water was rushing in quick and fast. They tried to make their way to the stairs that led upward. The speed of the water knocked Rodney to his knees and Sheppard stooped to help him up. As he did so, the outer wall of the building they were in gave way and collapsed. The force of the collapse threw them backwards and Rodney disappeared down the stairwell. Sheppard tried to step down but the relentless water took his legs out from underneath him. He slid down on his back and he couldn't help but notice this was how he started this whole adventure.

The water pushed them down further into ruins and John lost track of where there were. The tunnels were dark and other than the odd outcropping of iridescent fungus, there was no light. They were at the mercy of the current until it started to slow down. Rodney had grabbed some sort of pipework to steady himself. He reached out for John he grabbed the pipe too. They were floating in one of the tunnels, unable to put their feet down. There was about two feet of air space and it was filling up.

'Well this day just keeps getting betting, huh?' shouted Sheppard over the sound of the water. His bravado masking the fear beginning to knot in his gut.

'You're telling me,' Rodney shouted back with eyes wide, panic looking ready to take hold at any moment.

Sheppard tried to think quickly. They weren't going to be able to swim against the current and they would more than likely run out of air before the water slowed enough for them to move. Sheppard guessed that there must be a way through below the water line, which meant swimming down. There was no light so it would be by feel.

'Rodney, I'm gonna swim down and try to find a way out.'

'What if you don't come back?'

'I'm going to come back.'

'But…'

'Rodney, look at me,' John grabbed McKay's shoulder. 'I'm going to get us out of this, okay?' McKay nodded, the apprehension still very much there, but he relaxed a little.

'Okay.'

'I'll be right back,' he gave Rodney his 'Kirk' smile, 'and remember, Rodney… don't die.' He took a deep breath and disappeared under the water.

xxx

The cold water was chilling to the core and it swirled beneath his feet. The choppy eddies made it hard to grip onto the already slippery pipe. How long had it been? Three minutes, four? Could John hold his breath for that long? McKay knew he couldn't trust his sense of time so he started to count aloud.

'One hippopotamus, two hippopotamus,' he said.

There was barely a foot of headspace and the lack of air was starting to make Rodney feel claustrophobic. The water lapped at his face and made the feeling worse. What really didn't help was the impending sense of doom. It also didn't help that he was sure he could calculate exactly how long it would take the water to rise above his head. He really wasn't that brilliant at holding his breath either.

When he counted to past five minutes, Rodney began to fret. Had something happened to John? No, Sheppard said he would get them out of this. It had to be at least six minutes now. Should he attempt to look himself and what if John was stuck somehow?

Sheppard burst out of the water in front of him. McKay yelped in shock. Sheppard wiped the water from his eyes.

'You are not going to believe what's on the other side.'

'Unless it's dry and there's air I don't think I care.'

'You will trust me.'

McKay gave him an I-don't-think-so look and frowned.

'How far is it?'

'It's not how far it is, more how awkward it is. Take some big breaths,' Rodney started to breathe in deeply. 'Hold on to me and I'll get you through. Ready?'

McKay nodded and took one last breath and plunged himself under, which was hard to do fully clothed. Sheppard grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him along; Rodney kicked his feet as hard as he could. He could already feel the need to take another breath, but he held it in. Sheppard pulled him through a tiny crawlspace and Rodney felt his heart rate soar. Then he had to swim up a little and back down again. The space was not forgiving. As he tried to swim through he became stuck, his jacket had snagged on something. He wriggled and tried to manoeuvre but it wasn't budging. Sheppard wrenched Rodney out of the space with brute strength; he felt his flesh scraping on the rocks. And then, suddenly they were out of the water, dry and lying next to each other panting.

McKay sat up and patted himself down, not really believing that he was dry. He looked up and saw some sort of force field held the water back.

'Well, that's the good news,' said Sheppard pointing at the force field. 'The bad news is that we are now further underground and less likely to be rescued.'

'What's powering it? In fact, why is it here at all?' McKay looked at their surroundings. The room was bare and there was only one door, which rather looked like it should be in a cold war submarine. It had a rusty valve and wheel, probably to open it. It looked watertight, sort of.

'Well, that is the next question isn't it?' said Sheppard.

'I guess we go through there,' McKay pointed just as the wheel on the door started to turn. Rodney looked at Sheppard there was nowhere to hide. Sheppard pulled his side arm and indicated for Rodney to get behind him. Rodney wasn't even sure if the gun would fire. The door opened a tiny crack and there was a hiss of air.

'I know you have weapons, please do not shoot,' said an unknown male voice.

'Okay,' said Sheppard. 'I will take that into account providing you give us no reason too.'

'I'm coming into the room alone although there are others waiting outside.'

A young looking man with pale skin walked in slowly. John lowered his weapon but did not holster it, neither did he relax at all, Rodney noticed. The young man was nervous but tried to smile and spread his hands to show they were empty.

'Hello,' he said.

'Hi,' said Sheppard.

'I am Hewl.'

'I'm Major Sheppard and this is Dr McKay.'

'Would you like to come with me? This force field cannot be continually sustained.'

'Where would we be going?' asked Sheppard.

'Inside, but you are going to have to put your weapons down.'

'What if we don't want to?'

'Well, you can stay here and drown, but I'd take the other option if it were me.' Hewl indicated the doorway.

'When you put it like that…' Sheppard holstered his weapon. 'Rodney, any objections?'

'Not drowning sounds good to me.'

'If you'd like to follow me.' Hewl walked through the doorway and Sheppard followed. Rodney didn't hesitate in complying and noticed the warmth from within almost straight away.

The rather basic tunnel soon led out into a larger area. Rodney thought it looked another part of the cavern they'd just come from. He thought it might be a series of interlinked caves and that this was one of many perhaps. It seemed logical considering the underground river; it had probably carved the spaces out over time. There were other humans watching them as they walked through and the next space was breathtaking. It was beautiful. Not a bit of cavern could be seen, instead, an ardent green spread out everywhere with dotted with a myriad of bright colours. The constant glow of bright lights clearly gave the plants the light they needed to survive. It was remarkable. Rodney frowned, somewhere deep inside him stirred an unease that was hard to ignore. He looked at the people they were passing, they'd clearly lived beneath the ground most of their lives and yet, did the people above know they were here?

Hewl led them to a group who had their backs to them on the approach. They parted as they arrived and McKay saw Lorne and Stevens on their knees, weaponless. Sheppard went to grab his weapon but they grabbed his arm. At the same time, one reached over and plucked Rodney's from his holster. They were shoved in the direction of Lorne and Stevens and made to kneel. McKay glanced at Sheppard but he was looking at Lorne. As best Rodney could see, they were having some secret military conversation, finger wagging and twitching.

'Fancy meeting you here,' Sheppard said to Lorne seeming calm like they'd met in a bar.

'Glad to see you are both alive, Major,' replied Lorne equally as cool.

Sheppard looked up at Hewl.

'I'm not loving your hospitality so far,' said Sheppard but he remained silent.

They looked like they were waiting for somebody. Rodney did not like that feeling. The walls here, like the flooded cavern, were etched with writing and sprawling mosaics, which unlike the ones he'd already seen, were bright and colourful. There were some particularly intricate doors to the north of them with a vivid depiction of trees. Thick trunks and roots that seemed to go deep. Then Rodney saw something that made his insides chill. The roots ran down into a red dirt and in the dirt, bones protruded. He turned to take in the rest of the friezes and saw that their themes all ended up woven into the branches of the giant trees pictured on the door. One mosaic saw men drinking a red-brown fluid from a goblet. The sense of unease now grew to alarm. His mind was trying to warn him, he saw flashes of the meadows and the playing children. The underground of the 'Sarlacc' came to the forefront of his mind and he shuddered.

A flurry of activity in front of them saw that who they had been waiting for had arrived. A self-important older man stood before them and behind him, a Wraith stood, watching them with his cold pale eyes.

'Where did they come from?' The older man asked.

'They fell through from above, Wilem,' said Hewl.

'Have they revealed our presence?' asked Wilem.

'No, the jammers are still working perfectly,' replied Hewl.

'Then kill them,' said Wilem.

'Hey now, there's no need for hasty actions…' said Sheppard looking a bit annoyed.

'It's nothing personal,' said the older man.

'Really? Is there not some way we can work this out?' asked John. 'I'm not a fan of your current suggestion.'

'Perhaps the rite, Wilem?' the Wraith suggested to Wilem.

'No.'

'It's death one way or another.'

'I suppose.'

'What's this rite you are talking about?' asked Sheppard. 'If it will help relations between us?' The look Wilem gave John was somewhere between a smirk and pity. 'Or not.' Sheppard added.

'If you fail, you will die in excruciating pain, or we can just kill you now. It seems the more merciful option.'

'I'm not opposed to mercy per se, but in this case, I'm curious, perhaps you could tell me what does the rite entail exactly?

'You drink poison.'

'That doesn't sound like much of a rite, more like an execution.'

'If you commit a crime here, the rite is death or redemption.'

'Have we committed a crime?' asked Lorne.

'No, I supposed not,' replied Wilem.

'How many people have survived this rite?' asked Sheppard.

'In the old days, most did. But not for a hundred years or more,' said Wilem.

'How quickly does the poison work?' asked Sheppard.

'It takes days to die,' replied Wilem.

'Of course, it does. This fucking day… just does not let up.'

McKay looked at John and knew what Sheppard was about to do. Of course, Sheppard would want to try thinking there was little choice other than summary execution. Rodney's stomach churned as his mind duly responded with all the ways in which Sheppard would die painfully. It seemed to McKay that if the red-brown liquid in the mosaics were the ritual poison, it would also make sense it was the same stuff at the bottom of the 'Sarlacc' plant. If Sheppard took that, he would die. However, Rodney knew he'd been infused with it before and survived. He also knew the root of the plant cured it.

Rodney looked at the Wraith, who seemed to be sympathetic if you could possibly apply that to a Wraith. He seemed to be looking at Sheppard with pity.

'I'll do it, I'll take the rite or poison or whatever it is,' said McKay.

Lorne and Stevens looked agog at McKay. Sheppard looked apoplectic.

'Now, Rodney,' said Sheppard in a low but aggressive tone, 'I don't think you've thought that through.'

'I have.'

'The poison is taken and if you survive you must perform the rite,' said the Wraith.

McKay didn't break eye contact with Sheppard.

'I understand.'

'Rodney, don't do this,' said Sheppard.

'I am doing this.'

'McKay, I don't know what idea has gotten into your neurotic mind but you get it right back out.' Sheppard was just about managing to keep his frustration under control, but it was clear he was quite cross.

The Wraith came forward, grabbed McKay's arm and pulled him to his feet. He walked him over to what looked like a stone alter. On it was a goblet and three bottles. The Wraith picked up the first bottle and poured a shots worth of liquid into the goblet. He picked it up and handed it to McKay.

'You understand no mercy will be given for the pain.'

McKay nodded.

'Rodney, I order you not to do this. Do you understand me? That's an order from your commanding officer,' Sheppard paused, and added, 'that's me.'

Rodney smiled even though his hand shook as he held the goblet and looked at John.

'It's okay; I'm going to get us out of this.' Rodney looked into the goblet and felt revulsion. He held his breath and downed the liquid. Nothing. He looked confused; he thought it would be instant. Of course, he could have been wrong. It was a long shot that somehow surviving the red-brown liquid from the Sarlacc would protect him now. Assuming the plants were even the same. Assuming that there was any residue of the substance in his system at all. McKay started to wonder if he'd done the right thing when the fire started deep in the pit of his stomach. He dropped the goblet and fell to his knees doubling over. He vaguely heard Sheppard trying to get to him but they held him back. It was everything he remembered and more, so much more. Everything was pain.

'Help him, please!' Rodney heard Lorne; at least he thought it was Lorne. It was hard to hear over his own screams.

Inexplicably the pain started to fade. How long had passed he did not know. His mouth tasted like blood from where he'd bitten his own tongue, not that he could feel it, only that it was slightly swollen. His theory worked although the pain was there he knew he could function. Now all he had to do was survive the rite and he strongly suspected that would be doing the very thing he'd done for Sheppard. Collect the black sap. He stood shakily although he tried his best to look calm. The last place in the world he wanted to go to was back to that plant dungeon.

'It cannot be,' Wilem seemed royally pissed that McKay had survived.

'Perhaps the others can also be used?' The Wraith suggested.

'It won't be necessary,' said Rodney.

'More people the more chance you'll succeed.'

'No, the deal is this. I complete your rite and you let us go back to the surface. We will tell no-one you are here.'

'Why would we trust you at all?'

'Because the gift of life is sacrosanct.'

The Wraith blinked in surprise, as did the others who heard what he said.

'How do you know our customs?'

'I don't, but I read it enough times out there, in the flooded part of your city. It is, or it was at least, a founding principle.'

'It was… but that was before we were betrayed,' said Wilem.

'I understand this much, I go through those doors and get you what you want I've paid the toll and you will let us go,' McKay stared at Wilem and then the Wraith.

The Wraith took the other two bottles on the alter and put them in a cloth bag. He gave them to McKay. He then produced a knife with a wicked looking blade made from metal with swirling faint rainbow colours.

'You will need this to cut the sacred tree,' he pointed to the doors and McKay walked over. 'I hope you return, human.'

Rodney looked at Sheppard who had given up telling McKay not to do the stupid thing but had resigned himself to what was happening. His eyes were angry but worse than that, he saw how powerless John must feel.

'McKay?'

'Sheppard?'

'Don't die. That's an order. Perhaps one you might follow.'

'I won't, I said I'd get us all out of this and I will.'

'I know you will.'

Pleasantly surprised McKay half-smiled and nodded. The doors opened and Rodney walked through.

The tunnel was dark, dank and nothing like his favourite place to be which was currently anywhere but here. He started to see light ahead and the tunnel led to yet another cave. Except, it wasn't. It was outside. McKay could see a cloudless azure blue sky and a sprawling forested canopy just below him. There was a clear way down carved into the side of the rock. He could smell the decay here, but in the open, the smell was almost undetectable. He tried to access his comm but realised for the first time, it was not there. It must have fallen off in the floodwater.

At the bottom, moss grew in heathery mounds green and dewy in the shade. Rodney knew the moss covered the holes that trapped the unwary. Here it seemed slightly different. There were other types of tree, shrubs, and bushes, and areas of fallen leaves. Rodney hopped carefully avoiding the moss and made his way to the largest tree. Unlike the other place, he could already see a hollow where he could safely get in lower and most likely back out again. His stomach ached still and the window of relatively less pain was closing. McKay knew he must get the black stuff to survive. He climbed down into the hole and breathed through his mouth. The rotting corpse of something large and furry laid at the bottom. Carefully he placed his feet down slowly and moved toward the centre of the rootstock. He pulled the knife, cut the root, and held the bottle underneath to catch the sap. The darkness down here wasn't quite as pitch black as before and there were shafts of light where gaps had not sealed. Whilst he was scared, it was nothing like before although the stakes were the same.

Once the second bottle was full, he drank a mouthful of the black sap and it was just as ghastly as he remembered it to be. He topped the bottle up, placed the stoppers on, and made his way back. Something still made him feel uneasy. His mind kept leaping back to the children playing in the meadow. He climbed back out of the hole and started his ascent up the rock wall. Once at the top, he glanced back at the forest below; it really was quite beautiful. He turned to face the tunnel entrance and for the first time realised that the inhabitants inside must have spent many days digging through. In fact, now that he thought about it, maybe years.

Rodney stopped walking.

'No, no, no… something isn't right here.'

He looked at the walls of the tunnel. There were tool marks indicating how the rock was dug away, why? Surely, they had more sophisticated equipment.

'Why are you using hand tools? No, that's not right either you don't have the strength. Wait… human's don't have the strength but the Wraith definitely does, so the Wraith digs through, but why? I'm betting the tools you might have used are either use too much power or… draw too much attention. So you dig quietly and you stay hidden. I'm guessing because of the other Wraith. Why is the Wraith here passive? Don't they need to eat? What are they eating? Wilem told the Wraith to kill us so trespassers at least, but how many of those come by really?'

McKay paused in his monologue and turned to walk back out of the tunnel by the trees again. He looked out over and saw the sun was a little lower in the sky.

'How many people come by?' McKay frowned. 'The village nymph! We didn't know about the other room until she pointed it out. I bet she could read the ancient writing as well. Oh god…'

McKay visualised the conversation in his head where he asked her about the writing. The smile had fallen away and she had a hard time dragging her eyes from the words. They'd written the words, the villagers, perhaps even she had, but she knew their meaning well enough. So they colluded in some way, getting people into the temple like she had with Lorne's team. Wraith worshippers then? No. He'd only seen one Wraith and he wasn't in control: Wilem was. What was it the Wraith had said, "How do you know our customs?" our customs? Not, my customs or his or their customs, it was our customs.

'Oh, Meredith, you got it wrong… it's not a sanctuary as in a safe place, it is a sanctuary as in a sacred place. They aren't offering harbour to Wraith. So what are they doing with them?'

Rodney thought about the friezes on the walls and the imagery. The Wraith and their queen holding their arms up touching some of the depicted humans. Once again, Rodney saw that this place held deeper horrors, as he realised what the Wraith were doing. It was also clear that despite everything he'd done, they would be killed anyway. The Wraith would kill them one by one. The gift of life was sacrosanct after all.