Chapter summary: In which Jinto is found and the newest addition to Atlantis may not be as 'new' as everyone originally thought.

2: Found and Lost

"Jinto?"

Jinto jumped at the unexpected voice.

"This is Dr. Weir. If you can hear me, please respond."

Dr. Weir! The Atlantean lady! A smile broke cross Jinto's face. Someone knew he was missing and was looking for him. Hopefully, that meant he would be found.

"Dr. Weir!" he called to unseen speakers in the room. "I'm here. I'm here!"

"Jinto?" Dr. Weir's voice called once more.

"Dr. Weir?" Jinto said, confused. "Can you hear me?"

"If you're lost, if you can-"

There was a sharp click and Dr. Weir's voice cut off leaving Jinto once again in silence. What was that? Jinto bit his lip and stared down at the control pedestal. His eyes flickered between the many crystal tabs sticking out of the metal and made a decision.

He'd been tapping the crystals on the other pedestal with no obvious results, but maybe this one would come up with something. He needed to find a way to communicate with Dr. Weir. The crystals thumped dully as he tapped them randomly. He couldn't read the language of the Ancestors to know what exactly he was doing, but at this point anything was better than nothing.

"Jinto."

"Dad!"

The tears Jinto had swallowed back to focus on getting help suddenly surged forward. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes burned. Dad.

"If you can hear me-"

"I can."

"I'm not angry. I just want to know that you are safe."

Jinto sniffed, hot tears slipping down his cheeks as he listened to his father's calm voice. He wanted his father's arms around him. He wanted to be found.

"So if you are lost, or hurt, stay where you are," his father said.

Despite his fear and longing, Jinto couldn't fight back a smile. He was sort of stuck here. So it wasn't like he could leave. He wasn't even sure how he got here in the first.

"Make some noise if you can," his father continued. "We will find you."

"I know you will," Jinto whispered. He knew his father couldn't hear his words, but he prayed his thoughts would be felt.

When his father spoke again, it was a prayer to the Ancestors. A prayer Jinto knew well. He and his people had spoken similar prayers for years. Whenever they moved to a new camp, this prayer in particular was chanted by the elders. Unheard by his father, Jinto closed his eyes, raised his own hands in reverence, and whispered the same words.

"If you are angry that we have unrightfully inhabited your great city," he heard his father say in the common tongue, "we humbly apologize." Jinto took a deep breath and sent up his own silent apology to the Ancestors. "We mean no harm," his father continued. "We will leave if it is your wish. But I will not go without my son."

Surprised by his father's unexpected vehemence, Jinto opened his eyes and gasped. No one ever spoke to the Ancestors like that. It was terribly disrespectful. You asked for the Ancestors blessing or answers to questions. You respected them. You never spoke to them in anger.

Yet Jinto's father did so now. Despite knowing his father had committed a taboo, Jinto couldn't help but feel proud. Still, the sobs that fell from his lips were of longing and homesickness, not pride.

His thought of his father and his heart swelled with joy and love and yearning. The swelling of emotion was so intense, Jinto feared his heart would crush his lungs. He could barely breathe. He was afraid and proud and so very lonely.

But his father was out there looking for him. Dr. Weir and the Atlanteans were out there looking for him. He would find a way to make some noise or call for help. If not for himself, then for the stranger still sprawled on the floor. They needed help. Jinto needed to be found, but the stranger needed medical help. Jinto had to be a hero right now. The stranger needed him.

So he allowed himself to breathe through the wave of emotion and returned his attention to the task at hand.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. That one turned the lights off. That one made a weird whee-oo sound. That one made an eerie, echoey sound. He'd tried combinations of those before and nothing happened. Well, nothing he noticed anyway.

Huffing in mounting frustration, Jinto rubbed a hand across his aching eyes and pressed another set of crystals in a combination he hadn't tried yet. The lights flickered then dimmed, then brightened.

Then there was a familiar click. Wait. That sounded like…

"Attention everyone. This is Weir."

Oh. Maybe the click was the Atlantean turning on the speaker.

"For the time being, we need you all to remain in your quarters unless otherwise instructed."

But, just in case…

"If you see anything out of the ordi-"

"Hello?" Jinto called. "Can you hear me?"

Silence.

"Can anyone hear me?" he called again, hope making his ears strain for any hint of a sound.

"Jinto?"

Hope exploded to life. "Major Sheppard!" Jinto cried joyfully. He'd been heard. His hero heard him. He was going to be found!

"Are you okay?" he heard Dr. Weir ask, concern audible in her voice.

"I'm scared," Jinto replied honestly, shaking his head. "I don't know where I am."

"Jinto," Dr. Weir's voice said, soothing back his fear. "I need you to start from the beginning. Do you know how you got there?"

"Yes," Jinto said awkwardly. He bowed his head and braced himself for his confession. "I was playing seek-and-find with my friend in the hallway outside my quarters. It was an accident! I promise!" he pleaded. "I didn't mean to get lost."

"I know you didn't," Dr. Weir said, sounding like she was moving quickly. "We're going to retrace your footsteps if we can. Wait for us to get to your quarters."

"Okay."

Tingles of energy danced across his fingers and made his legs feel weak from relief. He felt like a slingshot strap held at maximum tautness but with no stone to sling. He had nowhere to run, no way to expel his energy except to stand here and talk. He was too afraid of moving his hands from the crystals he was touching. What if he lost the connection?

"Alright, we're here," he heard Sheppard say. "Where'd you go next?"

Jinto frowned and tried to remember. It had been dark with only the unnatural lighting to guide him. And he was so tired. He wondered what time it was? It must be very late at night.

"I can't remember," he confessed. "I'm sorry."

"He is used to the forest," he heard Teyla say, her voice softer over the speaker. "All Athosians learn to track using the stars at night or the sun during the day."

"Teyla!" he called.

"Jinto," he heard his people's leader call. "I am here. Your father is also here."

"Dad?" He immediately clamped his mouth shut when he heard his voice waver from the new wave of emotion. A knot settled in his throat and the heat of tears pressed against his eyes once more.

"I'm here, son."

He sniffed. "Dad."

"We'll find you, Jinto," his father promised. "We will. I promise."

His father had never broken a promise. "I believe you," Jinto said, smiling proudly. He tilted his head back to the unseen speakers. "I believe you, father."

Blue caught his eye and his joy faded quickly. He'd completely forgotten!

"Major Sheppard?" he called.

"I'm here."

"Is the healer with the funny voice with you?" he asked, staring at the unmoving person with concern.

"Why?" Sheppard asked. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I am well," Jinto said quickly, hoping to quell any undue concern for himself. "But I'm not alone. Someone else is here. They're unconscious."

For a moment, there was silence. Then, "What do you mean there's someone else there?" Sheppard said. "Do you know them?"

"No," Jinto said, shaking his head. "I've never seen them before. Their clothes are odd too. They appeared after I got here."

"Appeared?" Dr. Weir spoke up. "What do you mean they appeared?"

Jinto frown and thought back to that terrifying moment. He licked his suddenly dry lips before speaking. "There was this darkness," he started, feeling the fear of that living shadow return. "It filled the whole room. The lights went out. I could barely see anything. It moved like a cloud or fog but dark as night."

"Are you okay, Jinto?" Dr. Weir asked urgently. "The darkness, did it hurt you in any way?"

"No. It just swirled around like smoke. Then the person fell. They weren't there before the darkness came," he said. "I was alone when I got here. I know I was."

"We believe you," his father said, calming Jinto's nerves and bringing him back to the here and now.

"I'll go get the doctor," he heard Teyla say quietly. She must be talking to the group and not to him.

"Jinto," Sheppard's voice returned. "Do you remember going down any hallways or into any rooms?"

"Oh, yes!" How could he have forgotten. "There was a small room with boxes from Earth in it," he said, turning to look at the identical room behind him. "It had colorful glass doors."

He waited, listening for another questions.

"No boxes," he heard Sheppard mutter. "I remember helping put boxes in here."

"I went into the room, then when I came out I was here. The boxes are here as well," Jinto said, turning back to the pedestal.

He heard Sheppard sigh. "Okay, Jinto I need you tell me honestly. Did you touch anything when you went into the room?

"Yes! There was a map of the city on the wall with glowing dots on it."

"Did you touch it?"

Um… "Yes," he admitted quietly, dropping his gaze in shame.

"Where exactly?" Sheppard demanded. He didn't sound mad, just focused. Investigating.

"I…" Jinto closed his eyes and tried to summon a mental image of the city map. The map came easily, the locations of the pulsing spots and where he touched… "I don't remember. I'm sorry."

"Wait a second." McKay? McKay was there too? Wow. There were a lot of people looking for him. "We got a strange energy signature in this sector of the city last night. Right around the time Jinto disappeared. No. Wait. Oooh-uh. Nu-nuh!"

Jinto blinked. Those were odd noises. Was McKay well?

Suddenly, a mechanical hiss sounded loudly behind him, startling him badly enough that he jumped in surprise. Whirling around, he was stunned to see both Maj. Sheppard and Dr. McKay standing in the small room. Where did the boxes go? How did they get here?

"Woah," he breathed.

"It must be some kind of transporter," McKay said, his wide eyes scanning the room.

"We can name it later," Sheppard muttered, rolling his eyes. Then his gaze settling on Jinto. "Jinto!"

Immediately lowering his weapon, the Atlantean hurried to Jinto's side. Forgetting to keep touching the crystals, Jinto met his hero halfway and embraced him. It may have been childish, but he couldn't help it. He was tired and drained and relieved and wanted his dad and-

"Wait!" He pushed away from Sheppard, grabbed his hero's sleeve, and dragged him around the pedestal so he could see the person lying on the floor. "Please, he needs help."

Instead of dropping to his knees and quickly trying to offer the stranger aid, Sheppard raised his weapon and leveled it at the unmoving stranger. Surprised, Jinto stumbled back, wide eyed.

"He needs help," he insisted. "He's hurt."

"Sheppard?" he heard Weir over the speakers. They worked without him actively touching the crystals now? "What is it?"

"It's… something," Sheppard said, stepping slowly over to the stranger's still form. He crouched down, keeping one hand on his weapon at all times, and reached out with his free hand to press two fingers against the stranger's throat. "He's alive and breathing," he reported out loud for the others to hear. "Looks human."

He turned the person's hands so he could see their palms and Jinto almost smacked himself. Why hadn't he thought to do that?

"Not a Wraith," Sheppard confirmed. "Looks like some Renn Faire guy."

Renn Faire? "What's a Renn Faire?" Jinto asked, looking up at McKay.

"He's got some burns on his face," Sheppard continued before McKay could answer Jinto's question. "Nothing serious."

"His right eye," Jinto said, moving to Sheppard's side. He knelt and reached out to the person's face before he was stopped by the Atlantean. Startled, Jinto looked up to Sheppard's wary expression. "It's his eye. It's been cut. It looks old, but I don't know for sure."

"Sheppard," Dr. Weir said. "Bring him back with you, if you can. We have Dr. Beckett on standby."

"I'd rather have some guards posted just in case," Sheppard said.

"Already taken care of."

Jinto watched as his hero sighed heavily and looked back over his shoulder at McKay. "You want to use your invulnerability to help out?" he asked.

Invulnerability? McKay was invulnerable?

The brown haired man gave Sheppard a dry glare and crossed his arms in blatant denial.

"Of course not," Sheppard muttered. "We'll be there shortly," he said louder for the people they left behind to hear. "McKay, any idea what this place is?"

Jumping to attention, the scientist turned and began surveying the room in earnest. He touched one of the pedestals and some of the lights that had been dark before came to life. "My guess?"

"Yes," Sheppard drawled in a bored tone. "That is what I asked for."

McKay glared at the man and Jinto snickered.

"It looks like some kind of research lab," McKay said, choosing not to press. "We've come across several of them while exploring the city."

"Anything we should be concerned about?" Dr. Weir asked.

The scientist leaned down and studied the Ancestors' script. "Can't know for sure without more time to study it," McKay said. "However, I believe this console here accesses the city's main computer system which means some of the glitches we've been experiencing-"

"Were probably caused by Jinto," Dr. Weir finished. "Jinto? We're not mad, but did you touch anything?"

Oh. Jinto swallowed nervously. "Y-yes," he said. "I was trying to find a way to contact you. I heard you try to call me but I couldn't figure out how to reply."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Jinto," Sheppard said from his spot on the floor. "You did the right thing. We just want to be sure."

"Yeah, you think it's okay," McKay grumbled. "But we can't be sure everything was Jinto's fault. I need to know everything you touched," he said looking Jinto right in the eye.

Oh no. What if his messing around accidentally hurt someone? McKay mentioned glitches. Had one of those glitches been serious? He hadn't meant to do anything bad. He hadn't meant to hurt anyone. He just wanted to call for help. He just wanted to-

"Jinto?"

His heart skipped. "Dad?"

"I'll be waiting here when you come back."

"I'm sorry, father," Jinto said, bowing his head. "I'm so sorry."

"I think this was punishment enough," his father said gently.

His laughter was weak and watery, but it was true and that's all that mattered.

Jinto sat in the medical hall clinging to his father. He hadn't been able to let go of his father's shirt or hand since he'd first stepped out of the transporter room with Sheppard, McKay, and the stranger. He'd been greeted by relieved smiles and pats on the back.

The stranger had not been as warmly welcomed. Jinto refused to leave the stranger out of his sight and since his father wasn't going to leave him, Jinto found himself sitting next to his father in the medical hall. The stranger appeared to be male now that Jinto could see their face clearly. The person's armor, sword, and cape had been removed so only his basic clothes remained. Leather straps were buckled around the person's wrists and ankles just in case.

Jinto didn't think the restraints were needed, but after what he'd heard the adults talking about…

"Is it true?" he asked. His father tilted his head down to meet his son's gaze. "The darkness," Jinto clarified. "Is it… Is it my fault that its…"

"No," his father said firmly. "No, it's not your fault."

"Your father speaks true," Teyla said, stepping into the room. She glanced at the medical doctor busying himself in the corner with the strange Earth technology. "The darkness is not your fault."

"But I heard McKay say he thinks I released it," he said, wishing it wasn't true.

Teyla tilted her head considering Jinto's words quietly. "Perhaps that is true," she said slowly. "But you did not do so deliberately and you meant no harm. You were lost and trying to call for help." She smiled conspiratorially. "I can tell you I have personally seen the people of Earth make similar mistakes. Holling has also made some mistakes of his own," she added with a sly glance at Jinto's father.

"And I regret it," his father said with a crooked smile. "These," he looked down at the odd contraptions under each armpit, "crutches are very uncomfortable."

Reluctantly, Jinto smiled and tightened his hold on his father's arm. When he looked back at the healer's bed, he was met with a single, violet eye. The color was so deep, the gaze so old and forlorn, it took his breath away. He felt small and young and innocent. He'd never seen such a heavy gaze before.

No. He had. Once. When his father told him his mother wasn't coming home anymore.

"Jinto?" he heard his father say, followed by a quickly drawn breath.

The violet gaze slid from him to his father and Jinto shook himself.

"I will get Dr. Weir," Teyla said urgently, turning and hurrying from the room.

It was odd. Jinto didn't feel threatened. Carefully, keeping his movements slow and obvious, he sat up and pressed a hand to his chest.

"I am Jinto," he said, drawing the violet eye's attention. "I am pleased to meet you."

The stranger's head twitched in what was probably a nod of greeting. "Timaeus," he whispered.

That sounded like something from the tongue of the Ancestors.

Timaeus's violet eye moved away to take in the room and the ceiling above him. "Where are we?" he breathed. Then his eye grew wide and he quickly locked back on Jinto. "The Erebus. Where is it?"

"Th-the what?" Jinto asked, stumbling over the unfamiliar word.

"The Erebus," Timaeus repeated urgently. "It was imprisoned with us. Was it released? You must tell us. Without us to keep it calm, it will hunt."

"What will hunt?" Dr. Weir demanded, startling both Jinto and Timaeus. The red haired woman strode to the foot of Timaeus' bed with Maj. Sheppard at her side. She crossed her arms with a frown.

"The Erebus," Timaeus repeated. "It is a creature of energy that feeds on energy. It is intelligent. Please, you must tell us if it was released. We have to be present to keep it sane."

"Erebus," Dr. Weir murmured. "That's Latin for darkness."

"The shadow," Jinto's father said.

"You must take us to it," Timaeus demanded, moving to push himself up from the bed. When he felt the leather restraints resist his movement, he froze. His lone violet eye narrowed in suspicion. "Are we prisoners then?"

"You could say that," Sheppard said. "You aren't one of us, no one knows you, you just appear out of nowhere at the same time the shadow-thing does. Forgive us for being cautious."

Jinto frowned. That was an odd way of saying that. It almost didn't sound like Sheppard was asking forgiveness at all.

Violet studied the people in the room silently. "Where are we?" he whispered.

Dr. Weir's frowned deepened. "You don't know?" she asked.

"We would not ask if we knew."

"We?" Sheppard said. "There're more?"

Teyla stepped forward so she stood by Jinto's other side and rested a hand on his shoulder. "You are in Atlantis," she said, giving Dr. Weir and Maj. Sheppard a look.

Timaeus's eye widened further, the violet iris shrinking to a thin ring. "But we could not… You are not Lantean. How did you come to the city?"

Lantean? Who were the Lanteans? It sounded like Atlantean but different.

The frown on Dr. Weir's face vanished, replaced by shock. "You mean the Ancients," she said.

Timaeus hesitated, choosing to remain silent despite the confusion evident on his face.

Dr. Weir paused like adults often did when choosing their words. "I'm sorry. The Ancients are gone. No one has been in this city for 10,000 years."

The stricken expression on Timaeus face was identical to the one Jinto remembered on his father's face when they were forced to perform the farewell ceremony without a body to bury.