A/N - Thanks for the reviews! Sorry for the delay, but as you probably know, the site's been down for a few days...

Chapter 6 – No More Heroes

Rodney narrowly opened his eyes as consciousness returned to him. He groaned and tried to curl up as the pain from the bleeding knife wounds in his chest and side asserted themselves. He coughed quietly and winced.

There was a man dressed in white kneeling next to him with his brow furrowed in sympathy. Rodney shivered and looked down at himself. Someone had unzipped his jacket and his shirt was pushed up to reveal the injuries to his abdomen and chest. Despite the sheer volume of blood he had already lost, there was still more for him to lose and it welled up out of the cuts and ran over his bare skin.

The man said soothingly, "Do not try to move, you are badly hurt."

Rodney glared at the man incredulously, but he was too weak to say anything or even contemplate any movement.

The man suddenly leant forwards and closed his eyes in concentration as he firmly laid his hands on Rodney's sides. Warmth spread over him and the pain diminished slightly. He then moved them up and pressed them against Rodney's ribcage and a similar sensation passed through his chest.

The man sat back and released a long breath. He looked down into Rodney's pain filled face and said sadly, "I know it still hurts, but the others refuse to come down here and help you. I am not as skilled as they are in the arts of healing, but I need to seal these wounds before I can move you."

Rodney tried to smile in thanks, but the sharp agony from the penetrating stab wounds to his body soon had him turning his face away and blinking the tears out of his eyes. He felt exhaustion trying to drag him under again.

The man said in alarm, "Oh, I am sorry, my manners! My name is Telan."

"Rodney," was all he could choke out in reply.

Telan rested a hand on Rodney's forehead and said, "I am also sorry about your treatment at the moment, Rodney. I am trying to build up your strength, but I have not been able to stop all the bleeding."

He pulled the edges of the jacket together over Rodney's prone form as he started to tremble and blood began oozing from the temporarily sealed cuts as they opened up again.

Telan cried in dismay, "Oh, this is ridiculous!" He then drew out a small radio from his belt and rested his other hand on Rodney's chest while he spoke. "Telan to Control."

"This is Deliana," a woman's voice replied.

"I know I have already asked, but I need your help!"

There was a short pause and a sigh over the radio, "Telan, you have been told many times before that that room is off limits."

Telan glanced down into Rodney's terrified eyes and gave him a reassuring look, "But a man has now come through the portal, like I have always said might happen. He is seriously injured and he needs the assistance of a superior healer or he will die."

"That is not our concern, Telan. If he cannot be moved, there is nothing we can do. It is too dangerous to risk sending anyone down there. You are there against our wishes and your disregard for your own life is not our concern either."

Rodney was getting weaker as he lost more precious blood and he was in a huge amount of pain. He was still able to grit his teeth and stay conscious though. He knew his only options were death or steely endurance.

He chose the difficult and agony filled path and opted for strength sapping and horrendous endurance. It would definitely kill him if he stayed there on the floor, even with Telan's method for temporarily patching him up. It did not last very long but it was enough for him to have a small hope for survival.

Rodney clenched his teeth as he released an involuntary whimper and moved one of his hands up in a massive feat of strength. He weakly wrapped his bloodstained hand around Telan's wrist as the man's hand remained against his chest.

He coughed again and blood was visible between his teeth and on his lips. He whispered, "Help me up."

Telan clicked the radio off in disgust and then his face was a mask of concern as he took hold of Rodney's hand, "But that would probably kill you."

Rodney gasped, "Dead… anyway…"

Telan nodded and gently squeezed Rodney's hand, "You are correct. I will give you as much of my own strength as I can spare."

"Why are you helping me?" Rodney gasped.

"You are the proof I need to finally carry on with my research and that it is worthwhile. If I let you die, then there will be no hope that I may continue. The others have spoken against me for such a long time now."

Rodney nodded and whispered, "Thank you."

Telan lifted the jacket away again and placed his hands on Rodney's bare skin next to each of the stab wounds in turn and screwed up his face. Rodney's pain lessened even further and almost full awareness returned to him. Telan's face was getting paler as he pressed his hands on Rodney's ribs and he kept going.

Rodney frowned and cried, "Stop, stop!" He desperately grabbed Telan's wrists and pried them away from himself in a stronger grip than he could ever have managed a moment ago. Telan released him and sat back on his heels and drew in shaky breaths.

Rodney said, "That's enough! Don't kill yourself, I only need to be able to walk."

Telan nodded and took Rodney's hand and pulled him upright. He tugged Rodney's shirt back down so that he was covered. McKay clenched his teeth together and rested his arm across his chest while Telan grabbed his hand and drew his other arm over his shoulders.

Rodney had a million questions flooding through his mind as he staggered along the corridor and pressed his hand against his side as he felt his hastily and poorly healed stab wounds tearing open again from his movements. He felt warm dampness spreading through the material and trickling down between his fingers.

Telan was breathing quickly, but when Rodney turned to look at him the colour had fully returned to his face. Rodney was relieved that the drain of his own healing did not seem to have had a permanent effect on his new friend.

He was far from out of danger though and he suddenly felt waves of dizziness washing over him and trying to drag him down to the floor again. He hissed through his teeth as he breathed heavily in the pain that was assailing his wracked body more severely than it ever had while he had been lying on the floor.

Telan sensed him flagging and pulled his arm down more firmly across his shoulders and held onto his waist more tightly. He said, "Just a few more steps, Rodney, and you will have all the help you require to heal your wounds.

When they reached the transporter, Rodney's legs gave out. Telan held onto him and lowered him down to the floor gently. Rodney closed his eyes as his breathing became ragged and difficult. He clutched his stomach and retched as the taste of the blood in his throat made him vomit. He groaned and coughed as he tilted his head back to rest it on the wall.

Telan quickly tapped the map on the wall and then they rematerialized in a different section.

Rodney furrowed his brow as his already considerable distress increased even more. His breaths became noisy and wheezed in his chest. He soon fell down and lay unmoving on his side. Telan crouched next to him and grabbed his radio.

"Telan to Control. I need those healers in section four! He has collapsed. I do not think he has a lot of time left, please hurry."

The same woman from earlier answered, "Acknowledged. They are on their way to you now."

Telan placed his hand on the side of Rodney's face and said, "Do not die. There are so many things I want to ask you."

Rodney narrowly opened his eyes and sucked in a rattling breath, as he spoke, blood dribbled from his mouth and ran across his cheek, "And I you."

He then closed his eyes and became unresponsive except for the shallow and jerky rise and fall of his chest as he stubbornly continued to breathe through the blood.

Rodney awoke to the sensation of soothing warmth in his chest. There was a gentle pressure over his heart, which lessened and then disappeared along with the heat. He kept his eyes closed as he trembled through cold due to blood loss. He winced as sharp pains shot through his side and chest and his suddenly rekindled senses made him aware of it.

A voice said, "Thank you. He is a lot better now. We may even be able to ask him some of our questions today."

Rodney was afraid after his treatment under the Genii with all their questions. He lifted his arms up and rested them over his midsection. He felt tight bandages wrapped around himself and said in a small voice, "No questions."

He opened his eyes in fear and blinked to clear them. Telan was sitting next to him with a smile on his face. Rodney was lying on a bed in a room not unlike the infirmary in his own reality.

Telan asked, "Why not, Rodney? I am sure that you have many of your own." He seemed to be able to sense Rodney's unease and changed his tack, "I know, I shall let you ask yours first to show that we mean you know harm." He grinned happily and said, "Quite the opposite in fact!"

Rodney felt a sense of calm as he relaxed and for some reason he knew he was amongst friends and he would be safe in this reality. A thought suddenly came to him and he asked, "How are you able to do that?"

Telan replied, "I, like many of my people, have the ability to not only heal, but to read minds."

Rodney's eyes widened and he looked around nervously. He remembered all too well his own short term abilities and the constant noise of everyone else's thoughts invading him. Telan laughed and continued, "We are only allowed to use it for good and it is unacceptable for me to read anyone's mind without their permission."

Rodney frowned, "So you're all Ancients? But how come you've not ascended?"

Telan looked puzzled but he spoke good naturedly, "I am unsure what you mean, Rodney. Who are Ancients and what is ascension?"

"You are Ancients!" He continued at Telan's blank look, "A technologically advanced, but often misguided people who built this city and the Stargates in my reality."

Telan's face fell briefly and his eyes flashed with a trace of anger before his expression became neutral.

Rodney quickly said, "Ascension is the peak of enlightenment." He scoffed, "It happens when a person becomes too lofty so that the body dies, but the spirit lives on, apparently." Even his own brush with near ascension did not make it any easier for him to accept and believe in it.

Telan continued to look at him blankly so Rodney continued, "Flashing white lights and stuff?" He mumbled, "It still just seems like a glorified way of dying to me." It seemed like none the Ancients in this reality had seen the light yet and they were still able to continue their experiments and explore the universe.

Telan was starting to look uncomfortable so Rodney hastily asked, "Uh, are you the only one with these powers? What happens when they become so strong your body starts to shut down?"

Telan looked around the room to make sure no one was in earshot, "When we reach adulthood our powers become apparent. They are never so strong that we die. I have a minor healing and mind reading ability. Deliana, who leads my people. is the most powerful mind reader, some say that she is the most powerful of all time."

Rodney muttered, "Like a whole load of superhero X-Men or something."

Telan looked confused briefly and then asked, "So what can you do, Rodney?"

He looked shocked as he saw how eager Telan's face was as he waited expectantly for an answer. Rodney said quietly, "I'm considered a genius in my reality and the smartest man from Earth."

Telan nodded in approval, "Excellent! That is a rare gift, but intelligence is highly prized here."

Rodney released a breath in relief. The sense of safety was still filling him and keeping him calm, but he now had a sinking sensation and suspicion that Telan was imprinting it on his mind somehow, even without his permission.

Telan indicated the door out into the corridor excitedly, "Deliana would like to meet you. I also need to discuss a proposition I have with her."

Rodney rubbed his belly and grimaced as it throbbed and smarted. He gasped, "I think I'd rather not move."

Telan shook his head, "The healers told me you will be completely better in a day or so and although movement will hurt a little, it will not slow down your recovery in any way."

Telan held out his hand and smiled, "Come on!"

Rodney reluctantly let himself be pulled out of the bed. His chest and side ached and pain tore through his fragile body as he straightened up. He closed his eyes tightly as he curled a hand around his side and flinched. He let his other arm hang down by his side as a horrendous tearing sting went through his chest.

Telan rested his hand on Rodney's back and the pain lessened until his breathing evened out and he was able to open his eyes and walk slowly. Telan went alongside him and offered reassurance with his presence as they headed up to the Gate Room.

When Rodney walked up the steps in the Gate Room his mouth opened in surprise. He turned to Telan and said, "We're in hyperspace? Are we in the Pegasus Galaxy?"

Several other Ancients were watching Rodney curiously, but they did not speak or come anywhere near him.

Telan said, "The Pegasus Galaxy?" He frowned and looked away, "Oh! I remember. But my ancestors left that galaxy millennia ago once it was fully explored and mapped. We are now moving onto the fifth galaxy to begin our next mission."

Rodney kept his hand on his side over the bandage concealing where he had been stabbed. He asked, "What about the Wraith?"

"Like in the bedtime stories?" He quickly continued when Rodney shot him a scathing look, "The old records say that they became extinct just before my ancestors left the Pegasus Galaxy."

"Huh," Rodney said incredulously. He then looked around the Gate Room at all the eyes critically examining him. He asked loudly, "I'm not an animal in a zoo! Which one of these gawping idiots is Deliana?"

A deep female voice spoke from behind Rodney, "I am." It made him jump and tremble in pain. Telan rubbed his back as he hunched over and scrunched his face up.

Deliana had a stern expression and glared at Rodney's back unmercifully.

Rodney suddenly cried out and lifted both of his hands up and clutched his head. Telan had to grab him under the arms to keep him upright. He turned to Deliana and said angrily, "No! It is not permitted. We abide by the rules and you should too."

She released her grip on Rodney's shattered mind and said righteously, "He is not one of us. The same rules do not apply."

Rodney continued to whimper as he pressed his fingers against his temples and Telan held him steady.

Deliana said, "It is strange that he had such a reaction, I barely touched him."

Telan patted Rodney's arm as he straightened up and his pale face was flushed from the recent bout of pain. Telan said, "He is not from this reality and he is not like us. You should be more careful or you could kill him."

Rodney mumbled, "Just pretend I'm not here."

Deliana glared at him, but did not probe his mind again. She looked down her nose at him and then spun around and stalked up the stairs towards the briefing room. Telan tilted his head at her as he looked at Rodney and they both followed her up the stairs.

Deliana did not even acknowledge Rodney was there as they took their seats on opposite sides of the table in the Briefing Room. Rodney had his hand against his side again and he only inhaled very shallow breaths to minimize the sting in his chest as his injuries healed. Telan drew his chair up right next to Rodney so that he could not only offer support, but catch him if he weakened and fell.

Deliana ignored Rodney completely and addressed Telan, "So, you were in the room with the archway again, despite my orders for no one to ever go there."

Telan looked away and said, "Yes, but only because no one else would. We are not in the habit of ignoring distress calls no matter the risk to ourselves when saving the person who has called for our aid."

"I know that and I also know that you have told me your research into the device is nearing completion."

Telan smiled and looked up at her. Rodney sat silently with his teeth gritted inside his closed mouth as Telan's focus shifted away from him and the pain intensified. The crushing fear and horror at his recent ordeal filled his weary mind with panic. His breath hitched and he furrowed his brow with his eyes narrowed.

Telan said, "That is correct. I now believe I have a way to control the device so that no one else will be lost from this reality. I have been working on an implant which can find the correct frequency of the person travelling through the archway. It is then able to locate the matching reality for that person. Even amongst the infinite number of possible realities it should be able to send them back."

Rodney temporarily blocked out the agony in his mind and body and said in hope, "So I'll be able to go home? How does it work?"

Deliana did not even look at him when he spoke and continued to glare at Telan.

He said to Rodney, "The implant emits a unique code, a reality marker if you like. A simple hand scanner can be calibrated to read it. The implant also detects the code for the current reality and channels that data to the scanner as well."

Deliana said, "I will not allow you to continue. There is too much of a risk that anyone who tries this will be lost forever like the man who just came through."

"I'm right here!" Rodney said indignantly.

Telan said, "I think he has been through enough. I also think we owe him a lot, he has become our responsibility and we should do everything in our power to send him home. After all, our ancestors created the device and it is now up to us to correct their mistakes."

Deliana looked at him coldly and then slowly nodded, "Alright. But I want you to come up with a way to destroy the device once he has gone through and is back in his own reality."

Telan smiled, "Okay. Thank you."

He turned to Rodney and grasped his shoulder and squeezed gently, "Come with me."

Rodney followed him out of the Briefing Room and drew up alongside Telan. He muttered, "How can she be the leader? She's…"

Telan hushed him with a look, "Not here."

They walked across the Gate Room and back into the transporter.

Rodney shivered as one of the healers unwrapped the bandages wound around his torso. He had his eyes closed as he sat on the edge of the bed and curled his hands into the sheets.

Telan was watching in concern and said to the injured man, "The implant much be placed somewhere where it will not cause you permanent harm and where it cannot be easily accessed and removed. I propose we place it in your forearm so that you will be able to scan it yourself without too much trouble."

Rodney said shakily, "Okay. I don't see that I really have a choice." He just wanted the nightmare to end, no matter what it took, so he gave his consent for the implant.

Rodney cracked his eyes open and examined his bare skin as the last of the bandaging was removed. He winced when he saw that the material was dark red in some areas where he had continued to bleed after it was applied. He ran his hand over the location of the stab wounds, but although the skin was red and angry, the injuries were nearly healed and it did not look like any scars would be left behind.

The healer came back and handed him a clean, white shirt. Rodney slowly tugged it over his head and then looked at Telan. He asked in fear and unconsciously rubbed his lower arm, "How will I get back to my own reality? It's all very well being able to see that I'm not in the right place, but one quick look around in every one I've visited so far and I already know it's completely wrong. I don't see how an implant is going to help me very much."

Telan smiled though and said excitedly, "Oh, but it will let you find your way home eventually. Every time you go through the archway and enter another reality it will be able to detect how close you are to correct one and gradually the reality markers will get closer and closer to a full match."

Rodney frowned, "Like a sentience of some kind? It learns and grows? How is that even possible?"

Telan's smile broadened, "We have had many more millennia to study the device and develop far more advanced technology than the ones you called the Ancients in your own reality. There are many things we can do which you have not seen."

The healer came back with a large needle. Rodney folded his arms over his chest protectively and shot Telan a hurt look. His voice shook as he asked, "Is that it?"

Telan nodded and did not seem to notice Rodney's fear. The healer beckoned one of his colleagues over and together they stretched out Rodney's arm. He looked away and closed his eyes.

One of the healers held his upper arm tightly and the other one jabbed the needle deeply into his forearm and expertly positioned it between the two bones. He pushed the plunger down and a tiny device was implanted into Rodney's arm. It latched onto one of the bones so that it did not shift.

McKay grimaced, but did not flinch even though he thought it should have hurt. The healers were skilled in their work and shielded him from any pain with their gentle touch and the numbing effect of their powers.

They pulled the needle out and Rodney's skin instantly knitted together and healed before he even lost a single drop of blood.

He glanced at them in shock and rubbed his arm, but he felt no pain.

Telan was grinning at him and pulled a scanner out of his belt and handed it to Rodney. He showed the scientist how to reconfigure it.

Rodney then held it against his arm and announced, "My marker is about six point eight million give or take a few hundred thousand. This reality is an even longer number I'm not even going to try and say."

Telan smiled at him and took the scanner away. He glanced down at the screen and tapped a few buttons. His face suddenly fell and he looked shocked and sad.

Rodney asked in fright, "What's wrong?"

Telan spun the scanner around to show him, but he told Rodney his findings anyway. "Your cells are beginning to break down. It may be a side effect from spending so long out of your own reality. Radiation and maybe just interaction and the food you have been eating are all combining to put a tremendous strain on your system."

Rodney felt fear clutching his heart and he asked in a squeaky voice, "So if I don't find a way back, I'm going to die anyway? That is if some crazy lunatic doesn't kill me first in one of the joyous alternate realities I pass through?"

Telan nodded at him grimly, "Yes. Haste is therefore very important for your survival. It may take a few hours for the device to completely calibrate to the next reality you arrive in. You may not be able to scan it immediately, so you'll need to wait."

Rodney smiled grimly as he followed Telan out of the infirmary. They went back down to the room with the archway that would lead him to the next horrendous reality and eventually take him home.

Telan handed Rodney a jacket and gun along with a bag full of supplies. Rodney clipped the belt around his waist and eyed the weapon in awe. It was white, just as the weapons he had seen inside the mass hallucination onboard the Aurora, but it seemed more elegant and had several different settings.

Telan briefed him in how it operated and then patted Rodney's back. The pain from his stab wounds had all but gone now, except for the occasional twinge if he sighed heavily or twisted his middle too much.

Telan assured him that the aching was only temporary, but Rodney had a more pressing issue with leaving before his cellular breakdown had a detrimental and tangible effect on him.

"Thanks for everything," Rodney said sincerely.

Telan smiled, "You are welcome, Rodney. Hopefully Deliana will be more receptive to my proposals after this incident. I have many other projects I am working on, but this has been the main one for a while now. The fact that the implant works as it does shows that it has been a success."

Rodney asked, "Will you work to find a way to destroy the device?"

Telan looked down at the floor guiltily, "Possibly. I will wait for a while until I am sure you are back in your reality. I believe that any changes I make here affect the archway in every reality. Which is why it cannot be easily destroyed or altered."

A thought suddenly came to Rodney and he grimaced and looked down sadly as he asked, "Any idea why in every reality I visit I'm dead?"

"Hmm, it may be because the device is compensating for you somehow and trying to assist in returning you to the own reality. It sends you to realities where you are missing or indeed, dead, almost like it is trying to fill a gap in that reality."

Rodney rubbed his forehead and sighed softly. Telan furrowed his brow at Rodney's dejection and smiled kindly at the man as he spoke, "The implant should slowly begin to train the device to learn and adapt to your passage between the realities. I am confident that it will eventually send you home, so you will not have to worry for very much longer."

Rodney glanced at him and returned the expression bravely before his face fell again. He slowly walked over and stood close to the archway. He looked down at the ground fearfully as he wondered where he was going to end up next and if he would survive for long enough to make his way home.

After a few seconds he drew in a deep breath and said, "Okay. I'm ready."

Telan smiled, "Good luck."

"I need it," Rodney mumbled, just before he was snagged and pulled through the archway in a freezing blast.

TBC