Phantoms…
Chapter 2 –High Alert
Rodney saw the warning lights on his screen and the schematics of what the device did, just before he felt the inexorable pull as the doorway dragged him through.
He looked at Teyla as his heart pounded in fright, but one glance could not convey what he needed to say. He could not tell them what was going to happen or even warn them not to try and follow him. All that he could do was meet her eyes one last time before he was blinded by the lights and savagely yanked backwards. His arms wrenched and he nearly lost his tablet where he held onto as tightly as possible.
Rodney closed his eyes as air rushed past him. He felt a freezing wave pass through his body as he went under the archway. He did not have time to shiver though, as a moment later he landed heavily and all his breath left him. He rolled along the floor for a few seconds and lay face down and screwed his eyes up in pain.
His breathing restarted and he groaned as he sucked in precious air and his senses fully returned. He rolled over onto his back and kept his eyes closed as he wiggled his fingers and toes. He then carefully prodded his chest and held onto his head. He did not find anything other than bruises. He wondered why none of his team mates had come over to him yet, or expressed any concern over his well being after being so brutally thrown across the room.
"Lucky I didn't break anything or land on my head," he muttered miserably.
He caught his breath for a few more seconds and then risked opening his eyes. The room was dimly lit and he tilted his head back and grimaced when he saw the malevolent archway over the floor behind him. His tablet had landed a few metres away and he could see frayed leads connected to one side.
He sighed and pushed himself upright with a wince. He retrieved his computer and sat down on the floor. He then tapped his radio and said indignantly, "McKay to Sheppard."
There was no reply. "Honestly, John, leaving me here on my own after that tumble won't sit very well on your permanent record. You're supposed to protect me."
He frowned in confusion and set about tapping on the screen of the tablet while he waited for an answer.
He heard a voice behind him, which made him jump and stand up so quickly he nearly passed out.
"Well, it sounds like McKay."
"We can't take any risks, sir."
Rodney could not see their faces clearly in the dull lighting, but he hazarded a guess, "Sheppard? Lorne?"
Lorne's voice said, "I say we shoot it and if they're still messing around with organic copies, we stun it and take it to Keller for further testing."
"It…?" Rodney asked in alarm. "John, it's me, I'm McKay."
A man stepped into the room and Rodney caught a brief flash of his face as torchlight shone over his features. For a moment there was an expression of disbelief as their eyes met, but that quickly vanished and hardened into a steely glare which made Rodney flinch. He held up his hands as he kept hold of the tablet in his right one.
John was aiming the glowing blue gun in his hand at Rodney and he turned his face away from the barrel pointed at him. John suddenly fired three shots in quick succession into Rodney's chest and McKay yelped in shock and stepped backwards.
He looked up at the man he thought was his friend and furrowed his brow as he rubbed a hand over his chest, checking for damage. He shouted, "What the hell did you do that for! I'm not a Replicator! Nearly gave me a heart attack!"
John did not reply and Rodney saw the ice in his neutral expression as he narrowed his eyes. Rodney thought he saw something else behind those unreadable eyes, almost like betrayal? Hatred? Maybe even a little guilt. They were as quickly quashed and buried just as the disbelief had been a moment ago. John's expression hardened as he let the anti-Replicator gun rest back against his chest.
He drew a stunner, rapidly levelled it at Rodney and pulled the trigger. This time the weapon had an immediate effect and Rodney tensed up as the energy blast spread through him. He dropped the tablet with a clatter and collapsed down onto the floor.
John narrowed his eyes, "Take it to Keller. Oh, and remember not to touch it this time, Major."
Lorne nodded and gave the Colonel a nervous smile, "I'll do my best, sir."
The Major pointed down at Rodney's prone form and two environmental suited figures walked over and restrained him as they strapped him down onto a gurney. They wheeled him away with Major Lorne and a squad of marines following closely behind with their guns ready.
Rodney winced as Jennifer jabbed a needle into his arm and drew some blood. He furrowed his brow at her and she looked at him blankly through the glass visor of her environmental suit. He could not move as the straps around his wrists and ankles kept him securely in place.
He asked her nervously, "Uh, why am I tied up like this?"
She kept her eyes averted and replied, "It's just a precaution."
"I think it's kind of kinky," Rodney said with a seductive smirk.
Jennifer frowned down at him and said impassively, "I'm sorry, I don't actually know you."
Rodney felt a chill pass through him and he shivered. How could she not know him? Why were her eyes so blank and not dancing with the happiness and recognition he had seen from her recently?
She started to walk away, so he quickly asked, "Jennifer? What are you doing? What's going on here and why am I being treated like this?"
She stopped and turned slightly, but not enough for him to see her face. He felt frustration building in his heart and mind and he called out to her again as she opened the door, "I want to speak to John. You know, Colonel Sheppard? Messy hair, a penchant for stating the obvious."
Jennifer stopped again and he thought he heard a tiny sigh just before she stepped through the door which was flanked by two marines. Like the ones who had attacked and captured Rodney, they had all three different guns, ARGs, stunners and sidearms.
Rodney thought they looked ridiculous and he told them, "You know, you look like how I would imagine a video game character would. Press the blue button to swap weapons?"
They did not even look at him as he spoke and he glanced down at his hands nervously as he tapped on the bedsheets underneath. He would have folded them over his chest, but the bands around his wrists were so tight he could barely move them at all.
He had only been waiting in silence for a few minutes, when the door opened again. John walked in. He was not wearing an environmental suit and he indicated for the marines to leave. They obliged and John was left in the room alone with Rodney.
Rodney narrowed his eyes at John and did not say anything. As John stepped forwards and the light above him shone across his face, Rodney drew in a sharp breath. There was a long pale red scar down the right side of his cheek. It led up into his hair and Rodney could see the gap where his hair had not been able to regrow over the injury. John's expression was stern as he seemed to be fighting a battle with weariness. His skin was pale and it looked like he had not shaved for several days.
Rodney widened his eyes warily and asked in a shaky voice, "What happened to you? How long have I been gone?"
That was the only conclusion his mind could reach at the moment. He must have been pulled through a time portal and pushed into the future.
John paused and his worn down expression was torn brutally between hatred and guilt as he stared at Rodney with intense eyes. He measured each word carefully as he said, "You're dead, Rodney. You've been dead for nearly two years."
Rodney raised his eyebrows in disbelief as his chest constricted painfully in shock, "I don't feel very dead, Colonel! I can't have been gone for more than a fraction of a second. What date is it?"
John told him.
Rodney said in an increasingly shaky voice, "But that's today's date."
John walked over and undid the restraints around Rodney's wrists and ankles. McKay rubbed his red arms indignantly and sighed.
John held him by the shoulders in a tight grip and Rodney winced. The Colonel looked him in the eyes and said, "I know you're dead, because I killed you."
Rodney's lips parted and his mouth opened, he could feel John's fingers digging into his arms as they bruised his delicate skin. He stuttered, "H-h-how?"
"The planet with the Wraith device that made us all hallucinate."
Rodney cast his mind back to that terrible day, "I remember. You shot me, you didn't seem that sorry about it either and it hurt like hell."
"Yes, I shot you in the chest, but you died."
Rodney shrugged off John's grip and stood up. He placed one hand over his side where the healed bullet hole had left a scar over his smooth skin. He stood back from the Colonel and his eyes widened, "But Teyla pushed the gun out of the way and… and it was still pretty bad, but it obviously didn't kill me, because here I am!"
John shook his head, "But Teyla didn't push it away, McKay. The bullet went right through your heart. There was nothing Carson could do, you bled out and died before he even got to you."
Now Rodney understood the guilt, but the hatred? Where did that come from and why was it directed at him?
John was frowning at him angrily again and Rodney stepped backwards to put as much distance as possible between him and the other man. He mumbled, "An alternate reality. That's really the only explanation. The device threw me out of my own dimension. Well, at least it's something I'm vaguely familiar with, but how am I going to get back?"
The citywide comm suddenly activated, "Colonel Sheppard to section 4b, intruder alert."
Alt-John released a furious sigh, "Again?!" He then tapped his radio, "On my way."
He then turned to Rodney, "Follow me and stay close."
As they walked along the corridor towards the nearest transporter, Rodney asked, "So what's been going on, uh, since I departed this life?"
Alt-John gritted his teeth in fury as his anger finally got the better of him. He suddenly rushed at McKay and grabbed his shoulders. He forced Rodney back into the nearest wall and pressed his elbow into McKay's chest painfully so that he could only yelp in fright before his breathing became very difficult.
Alt-John spat, "Replicators."
Rodney furrowed his brow and wheezed in a shallow breath, "What? We destroyed them!"
Alt-John increased the pressure on Rodney's chest and he felt his ribs creaking in protest. Alt-John spoke hotly in deeper vehemence than Rodney thought would ever be possible from his friend, at least in his own reality. "You tampered with their code. They're everywhere. Even on Atlantis. They spread throughout the Pegasus Galaxy like a plague. The Wraith may be gone, but the Replicators are completely mad and bent on the destruction of the Ancients' legacy these days."
He paused for a moment and moved away slightly so that he could slam Rodney against the wall again in rage, "Which means us. And it's all your fault!"
Rodney lost his breath and desperately pressed his hands on Alt-John's chest as he struggled to remain conscious. He was completely pinned to the wall and Alt-John frowned at him. He was too weak for his fingers to have any impact and Alt-John did not move. He closed his eyes and gasped, "I-I-I'm sorry!"
Alt-John suddenly let him go and Rodney stumbled forwards and wrapped his arms around his ribcage as he panted and wheezed. He cried, "I'm sorry!" a little more easily now that he could breathe.
Alt-John shook his head, "It doesn't matter now. Earth can't risk sending any more ships to protect us or even retrieve us. The ZPM's drained and they're coming."
Rodney straightened up and looked at Alt-John in horror. "I'm so sorry, we found a way to destroy their homeworld in my reality. I suppose it's too late for that now?"
Alt-John nodded grimly and suddenly did something completely unexpected. He wrapped his arms around Rodney and drew him into a tight hug. McKay tried to pull away and mumbled nervously, "Uh, Colonel? What're you doing? As good as male bonding is, there are easier and less embarrassing ways. You know a few beers and a movie?"
Alt-John slapped Rodney's back a few times, nearly winding him again and moved away. His eyes shone slightly before he blinked and then the icy expression from earlier returned and scared Rodney as much as it had ever done.
He said sincerely, "And I'm sorry I shot you. In this reality and your own. It's good to see you again, even if it is only for a short while before we face up to the Replicators."
Rodney furrowed his brow. It was his fault and he knew it. Although he had not directly caused the reality he was in to unravel to its destruction. He had been dead and unable to repair the damage by not being there to fix his mistake.
Alt-John's defeated and utterly hopeless speech and expression got to him though. How long had they been on edge like this, at war with no hope of defeating the Replicators who were remorseless and unrelenting?
He saw the torn look pass across the Colonel's scarred face once more. He understood it now though. Alt-John blamed himself for Alt-Rodney's death, but equally hated him for bringing the Replicators down on the Pegasus Galaxy with his careless reprogramming and the subsequent war.
Rodney suddenly had an idea, "Come with me."
Alt-John turned and began walking up the corridor again, "Where?"
"Through the doorway or portal or whatever that thing was. I am sorry for what I did and it's nice to see you too, even though it's only been a few minutes for me. But I don't belong here and I need to get back to my own reality somehow."
The citywide suddenly blared again, "Emergency evacuation! Replicator ships incoming. Twenty on the scanner this time. Shields are depleted. ETA two minutes."
Alt-John's jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth.
Rodney's eyes widened and he spoke in desperately rapid speech, "You have to let me go! Come with me to another reality! Everyone who's left can follow, I'm not sure how it works yet, but I know I can figure it out."
"In two minutes? Well now you're just making it all up like you always used to." Alt-John drawled sarcastically.
Rodney saw a brief glimmer of the John he knew in Alt-John's eyes. For a moment he stood next to the man he had come to call his best friend and he did not feel out of place in the reality where he had found himself.
His relief and hope were short lived though, as Alt-John shook his head and steeled himself, "We can't come with you. We belong here. And you're right, you need to leave or you'll be killed… again."
"Defend it to the last?" Rodney said with a sigh.
Alt-John patted his back and replied, "Something like that."
They headed over to the transporter and Alt-John shoved Rodney inside. McKay looked back at him indignantly and Alt-John said, "Off you go then. I need to get to the Control Room. We've got an evacuation plan in place so everyone's going to get off the base and rendezvous at the alpha site. I expect the self destruct is ticking down by now too." He looked away and mumbled, "Not that it really matters if we leave the city behind intact. They'll find us eventually."
Rodney held out his hand and waved it until he caught Alt-John's eye. The Colonel grasped the proffered hand and squeezed Rodney's fingers so tightly that he had to bite back a cry.
Rodney said breathlessly, "Good luck."
Alt-John nodded grimly, "You too and… thank you."
"For what?"
"I finally got to say I'm sorry." He looked down at their linked hands as he said quietly, "I've really needed to for such a long time now." He broke the bruising grip and his eyes met Rodney's, "Now, get going, McKay!"
Rodney nodded and tapped the panel in the transporter for the destination closest to the lab.
The city trembled as Rodney stepped out of the transporter. He swayed a little and had to use his hands against the nearest wall to stop himself from falling over. He started to run along the corridor and stumbled a few times as more impacts from what he thought must have been weapons fire striking the towers of Atlantis and turning them into dust high above him.
He was gasping for breath by the time he reached the lab and noticed that his tablet was still on the floor. He crouched down and picked it up. He was curious as to why it had been left there, but reasoned that a computer would be a very low priority when it came to fighting and surviving against a fleet of Replicator ships drawing ever nearer to the destruction of Atlantis.
He dashed over to the console and staggered as the floor tilted sideways savagely. His hip struck the edge of the panel and he gritted his teeth as he hammered the controls as quickly as he could.
Nothing happened. There was no power.
He rummaged through his pockets, but came up empty. All his portable power cells had been left behind in his own reality and they had taken his tac vest away. He had no idea how the device worked and there was no time left for him to figure it out.
He tapped his radio, "McKay to Sheppard? I can't leave, there's no power!"
As he spoke, the console came to life and he was yanked backwards just as he saw a blinding light in front of him. He felt an intense heat burning his skin just before he was doused in ice from the doorway once more.
He whispered, "John…" as he wondered who had diverted power to the room even as the self-destruct activated. He hoped he was wrong as the darkness encircled and closed around him and he felt himself falling into shadow.
TBC