A/N: Oh dear, one of the bunnies took on a Mack truck and lost. The muses are trying to shovel it off the asphalt. And still they dance in the streets.
Ch. 9
I'll Take "This Sucks" for 400
Sheppard hurt in a way he knew he shouldn't be. He was in a damn game, for crying out loud. Sandman's playground. Wonderland. Many mighty figments of his imagination that all boiled down to it being mental – a dream. And he was told, once, that you weren't supposed to feel pain in a dream.
That person hadn't taken into account electronically produced and stimulated dreams. Sheppard's brain was being plucked like a guitar, the appropriate chords strumming to send vibrations of aches and agony through his weakening body. His chest pulsated with a dull ache from being punched through, cracked open, and sliced like a ripe melon. His thigh was even louder, the pain burning even though no blood flowed, and it was making it hard for him to stand.
Think, too, as he had no idea where the hell they were. Looked like Atlantis minus the gentle, soothing hum that was normally present at the back of his skull. Klaxons were blaring and people were darting like spooked but still organized mice.
"Oh goody-freaking-gumdrops," Rodney squeaked. "I think it's the wraith attack all over again. Yeah, it is, because I remember that guy. He was one of the ones that was supposed to watch my back but went down at the first wraith blast."
Sheppard closed his eyes and breathed, "Not again." He was pretty sure it would all end with Ford using the jumper to mow him down. Sheppard decided to go for an entirely new tactic. Well, maybe not all that new, but new enough to this Atar guy. He moved over to the nearest wall, leaned his back against it, and slid to the floor with arms folded petulantly across his chest. It hadn't really worked for him at the age of six, but things changed, and in all honestly he didn't care.
"Sheppard," Rodney yelped. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Taking a break."
Rodney blinked dumbly at him. "Can we do that?"
"I don't know." Sheppard curled his mouth into what he hoped was a feral grin. "Let's ask. Hey, Atar! Quick question..."
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Radek grinned, feeling a little giddy over the minor triumph of getting his message across. If he could do it once, he could do it again, and still had time to as it seemed the occupant of this hell-game had yet to take notice of his little trick.
Lorne hovered like a gnat over the Czech's shoulder. "Tell me Ronon's brief return to reality was a good thing here, doc. Because the lack of any other results is kind of getting to me."
"Oh, it was a good thing, major," Radek said, fingers flying so fast he was surprised the keyboard hadn't caught on fire. "Very good. As you would say, I have found a back door, and now I have a plan."
Lorne nodded. "Plan, good. I like that. So what's the plan?"
"I 'plan' on making the occupant of this game-world very, very sick. I am, even now, creating a virus that I will send into the world through the glitch in Ronon's chair. The glitch will allow the virus to slip past the many fire-walls that have been preventing me from gaining direct access." Radek set down one tablet PC and picked up another. "But it will take time."
Lorne glance back to the pale, slumped occupants of the chairs. "Doc, I don't know if we have time. The gang isn't looking too hot."
"I know. This program is advanced, complex, so much so that the pain they will feel in the virtual world will seem real to them. So real that it is taking its toll on their real bodies. I am no doctor, but the bio-readings on these consoles are making me nervous. I do not think heart-rates are meant to go this fast. I am going to send word to them now to keep Atar distracted for as long as possible. Perhaps they will find a way to slow their deterioration."
"Won't Atar get the message too?" Lorne asked, and it was a good question.
Radek grinned. " That is why I plan to be... what is word? Ah, yes, succinct."
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One of the frantic soldiers stopped running and turned, stiff-backed. He saluted Sheppard. "Sir, yes sir!"
John braced himself against the wall and crawled up it back to his feet, gritting against the aches. "Cut the crap, Atar. We need to talk. I have a proposition for you."
The young, chipper soldier's form fizzed, crackled, and then coalesced into the rather short, pudgy form of Atar. The creepy little man smiled, eyes alight with a rather insane, gleeful gleam. "You do know how to make things interesting, Colonel. But if you're hoping to spare the lives of your friends by offering yourself, I am sorry to disappoint you. Four is better than one, and one tends not to last very long."
"How about you hear me out, then jump to conclusions, Atar. I'm not an idiot and, apparently, neither are you. So here's what I have in mind. You like games, so let's play a game. You let two of my people go as a good faith payment, and you, me, and whoever stays behind takes part in a real game, with real stakes."
Atar's eyes widened, lighting up even brighter. "Ah, I see where you're going with this. We play. I win, you stay. I lose, you leave." He rolled his eyes up thoughtfully. "Ummmm... no. I like what we're already doing much better."
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Radek managed to pause. Ronon's eyes fluttered and the big man grunted.
"Ronon, listen to me," Zelenka called. "Tell Colonel Sheppard to keep the game-keeper looking the other way. He will know what I mean. Keep the game-keeper looking the other way."
Ronon grunted then abruptly passed out.
"Sure that'll do it, doc?" Lorne asked.
Radek sighed. "I hope so."
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Sheppard saw Ronon fizz and flinch out of the corner of his eyes, but refused to look in the Satedan's direction. He needed to maintain eye contact with Atar, because the little man's attention span had a half-life of one second. The moment the creep got bored, they were screwed – again, and again, and again...
"Atar, I..." John was grabbed by the collar and pinned against the wall with Ronon leaning a little too close for comfort near his neck.
"Radek says keep Atar looking the other way," the bigger man breathed, then released John.
Sheppard's immediate reaction was "What the hell?" Keep Atar looking the other way? How, by pointing toward the floor and telling him his shoe's untied? For a psycho, nothing much got passed this Atar guy. He was reading their minds, for Pete's sake. Anything that came into Sheppard's head was immediately Atar's property.
"If that was your little friend, the one who has been trying to crack my ingenious system, I would not hold out hope to anything he has in mind. I know my system, and I have become a master at multi-tasking. I can torment you to my hearts delight with one hand and shove your friend out with the other."
Except the little turd didn't have a clue what was happening beyond his world. Zelenka either knew something Atar didn't, or was hoping the creep would make a mistake. Atar may have been an avatar of some kind, but he'd been human at one point, and human beings made mistakes, even ones in computers.
"I hope you're not betting your life on that," Atar said with a malevolent grin. Crap but how Sheppard wished he could punch him and have it mean something.
John pushed away from the wall and stalked up to Atar, pointing a finger in the little man's face. "I am, actually. So here's my new proposition – you want interesting death scenarios? Then I'm your man. Yeah, sure, Teyla's all interesting because she's part wraith, but it's still a bunch of wraith stuff. Same with Ronon. McKay you'll get more mental trauma than death which I'm sure isn't quite as fun. With me you have years and years of painful experiences you can use to kill me with. Stuff from my home planet and stuff from Pegasus. Did you know I had a cousin who tried to drown me? Bet you'd like to see that. Got a bullet in my leg, once, because I walked in on a drunk buddy who was cleaning his gun, forgot it was loaded, and got me right in the shin. And that's just for starters. You've seen most of the Afghanistan stuff, but that's just scratching the surface. I've been shot, stabbed, had the snot beat out of me on more than one occasion, got shrapnel in my chest, back, and stomach all at the same time and that was just during a training exercise! Oh, and I have a really nasty phobia of bugs and clowns so imagine what you could do with that. The bottom line is - if you want someone to entertain you, then let it be me. And let's make it interesting. If I win, then the next scenario has to play out exactly how it happened. If you win, you can alter it to your slimy little heart's content. But you let my people go or I sit my ass right down and try my best to ignore you. I'll probably suck at it, but it won't be as much fun as what I'm offering. So what do you say?"
Laying out the offer left John breathless. The little man stared at him, or more like into him, searching him, picking through some of the worst memories and experiences Sheppard had to offer. Several of them surfaced unbidden into John's head, making him jump and his virtual heart pound. There were some experiences he tried to forget, others he though he had, some that still haunted his nightmares and some – more like one – so fresh it hurt.
The insane, wicked gleam was back, joined by an unnerving smile. "It is a deal, Colonel. But Dr. McKay stays. Wouldn't want him gumming up the works on the other side."
John's heart stuttered. "Wait, but...!"
"Too late." Atar clasped John on the shoulder, a bullet ripped through his spine and out his chest in a geyser of blood and bone that caked Atar's happy face, which was just wrong. Then the world blinked to black.
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A low groan got Lorne to whip around. Ronon and Teyla were stirring, Teyla raising her hand sluggishly to her chest. One of the marines watching Pondo made the mistake of going over and placing a hand on Ronon's shoulder to shake him. Ronon lashed out, grabbing the unfortunate man by the throat.
"You sure as hell better be real," Dex snarled. Lorne didn't know which he was more shocked by – Ronon's use of earth swears, the fact that he was awake, or that his tendency to return to consciousness in a rather violent snit happens so often that the major was used to it. Hell, everyone was used to it as the unfortunate marine wasn't even struggling.
"Sure... as hell... hope I ...am..." the marine rasped.
"Ronon," came Teyla's groggy voice. "I believe they are. They... feel real."
Lorne finally broke from his shock and rushed over to grip Ronon's wrist. "Yeah, I'm feeling real, so why don't you put the sergeant down before he needs a neck brace."
It took a moment, but Ronon finally relented and Sgt. Stales was able to pull a rasping breath into starved lungs. Lorne made sure he was all right, and then turned to the sickly and disoriented looking Dex. The bigger man was the poster boy of a bender after-math. He tried to roll from his chair but Lorne pushed him back with a lot less effort than it should have taken.
"Ronon, take it easy..."
Dex knocked his hand aside. "No, I want out of this chair."
Lorne had no choice but to help him. The major took one arm and the choked sergeant took the other, helping Dex from the chair to the wall. Radek was helping Teyla, setting her down beside Ronon, and then hurrying back to his tablet.
"What happened?" Lorne asked.
Ronon rubbed his forehead. "Sheppard made a deal with Atar – the game guy. He got Atar to let us go. Tried to get McKay out, too, but Atar wouldn't let him. Sheppard challenged him." He looked at the still-occupied chair, then at Zelenka. "Tell me you have a plan, doc."
"I have a plan," Zelenka said. "Did Sheppard get my message?"
Ronon nodded. "Pretty much. But you need to hurry. I feel like I was run over by ten gorak. If Sheppard and McKay stay in there much longer..."
"They will not last for much longer," Teyla interjected. She was just as crap-faced and then some as Ronon."
"What of this challenge?" Radek said, typing away. "What must the Colonel and McKay do?"
"Survive," replied Teyla, and told them as much as she could about what was about to happen.
Radek nodded. "Good. I can use that. The trick will be to hide the virus I am going to send so that this Atar can not block or disarm it. That is where the Colonel and McKay come in. They must keep him busy enough for the virus to be overlooked. I may also be able to help them using the same glitch that allowed me to send messages to you, Ronon."
Ronon sighed heavily, his body done for the day, but he kept his eyes open and on the occupied seats.
TBC...