A/N: Hey guys, sorry that it's taken so long to update, had a severe case of writers block. Anyway I promised Shep whumping and here it is. Enjoy!

Sheppard had awoken a little while ago to a pounding headache that was making him nauseous. He had attempted to alleviate the tension building behind his eyes only to discover that he was unable to move his arms, they had been tightly bound to the chair that he was sitting on.

Taking in his surroundings he discovered that he was no longer in his 'cell', this room was much larger. This room was also windowless, and he could see no visible signs of a door, however, at least this room had a light.

He was beginning to feel extremely anxious, he still had no idea where he was, why he had been kidnapped, or by who. Whoever they were, they had gone to a lot of trouble to get to him, he remembered vaguely being surrounded at the gate by a group of men, one of them stating that he had something which they wanted. He had agreed to go with them if they let his team go, he was comforted slightly by the fact that his team were now back on Atlantis, and that even now they would be planning a rescue. At least he hoped that they were.

He was grounded from his thoughts by the external clicking of a lock and the metallic creaking of a door. Sheppard found himself staring into the cold, dark eyes of a man in a black uniform, flanked by two menacing looking guards, both thick set, muscles bulging. Oh crap his resolve faltering slightly he put on his best smile,

"Hi", it came out more of a whisper, then the strong greeting he had intended to convey.

All three men having entered the room, guard 1, who Sheppard decided to dub Tiny, punched him firmly in the gut. Letting out an involuntary "Oof" he doubled over, curling inwards against the pain.

"You will not speak unless you are asked a question" the leader shouted

Having recovered from the first blow Sheppard replied stubbornly,

"You see, that doesn't work f…" he was unable to finish as he was pummelled yet again. This time he heard the sickening crunch of one of his ribs breaking.

"Silence" the man in uniform bellowed "It does not have to be this way, cooperate and we will have no need to cause you further harm."

"Why the hell should I cooperate when I have no idea who you are or why you kidnapped me" Sheppard retorted.

Another punch this time to his right eye from Tiny, followed by a swift kick from guard 2, whom Sheppard dubbed Teeny, to his shin. Too busy trying to stop himself from crying out due to the pain, he clenched his eyes shut.

Whilst Sheppard attempted to compose himself the man in uniform appeared to ponder his words before replying,

"If I tell you who I am and why we have brought you here, then will you cooperate?"

"I'll think about it," Sheppard replied coldly.

"I am Alcon, Minister of Branalia, we are currently at war with our neighbouring country, Nacarus. The Nacarans launched a bomb on our country, wiping out a large number of our population, eradiating the surface at the same time. This facility is several hundred feet underground. We have no way to defend ourselves, however we do have access to a weapon that would turn the tide of the war. Unfortunately none of our population can activate the weapon, that is where you come in. We know that you come from the city of the ancestors, and that you can use their technology. We know that the weapon was left here by the ancestors, and we need you to help us use it." As he finished he stood staring at Sheppard, with a hungry look in his eyes.

Sheppard's heart sank as the realisation of what Alcon wanted from him sank in. He had been kidnapped simply for his ability to manipulate ancient technology. Horrified at the idea of what Alcon wanted him to do, this was not the first time since activating the chair in Antarctica that he wished he didn't possess the ancient gene.

"I'll never help you" he retorted with as much menace as he could muster.

"Oh I think you will, maybe not yet, but you will cooperate eventually."

"Go to hell" he bellowed

He steeled himself against the blows that he knew were inevitable. He flinched slightly as he saw the huge fist looming down on him before it connected squarely with his jaw, his head reeled back as stars danced across his vision. Before he had time to prepare he was once again punched in the stomach, the force of the blow knocking the chair and its still bound occupant backwards, his vision greying he heard the sickening sound of another rib breaking as it came into contact with a boot.

He fought to remain conscious as blow after blow reigned down on him. As he felt the boot this time make contact with his already pounding head he could no longer keep his eyes open and lost his battle with consciousness.

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Once again he was jolted awake by the loud banging on the door of his once again pitch black cell. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept, it seemed like an eternity. The Branalians were attempting to break him by depriving him of sleep, food and barely allowing him enough water to stave off dehydration.

In combination with the sleep deprivation the beatings had continued, even the slightest movement now caused him immense pain, not that he had the energy to move anymore anyway.

He had no idea how long he had been a prisoner of the Branalians but each time they came for him to drag him away for another round of interrogation he became less and less hopeful that his team were coming for him. It scared him to think that they may be unable to mount a rescue because he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out. He would have been able to handle the beatings, having had his fair share of them in the past, but for the sleep deprivation weakening him both mentally and physically.

If it were only his life on the line he would have given in by now, but these people were actually asking him to activate a weapon left by the ancients, so that they could wipe out their enemy. Yes he had killed before, the sixty genii soldiers that had died during the siege still played on his mind, but he was not going to be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, just because he was too weak to withstand this torture. He kept telling himself that he had to hold out, that it would just be a matter of time before he was rescued, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could resist.

As he lay on the hard stone floor, cold, exhausted and hungry he heard someone call his name.

"Sheppard"

"Wah" he replied wearily, not bothering to open his eyes, even that simple one word required too much energy

"Sheppard, wake up"

"Very funny McKay, Go away" with as much force as he could. McKay! Finding a sudden burst of energy he jerked upright, his broken ribs protesting the movement, as he opened his eyes. Standing in front of him was Rodney McKay surrounded by a bright light, stunned, Sheppard asked,

"Am I dead?"

"God, sometimes you can be so dense" McKay griped "For you to be seeing me then I'd have to be dead too, which I'm not by the way. So no you are not dead."

"Ookay, so not dead?"

"Didn't I just say that. Maybe I should say it again slowly No…not…dead. I'm simply an image conjured up by your sleep deprived mind."

"Okay so what so you want?"

"How the hell should I know, I'm you hallucination. I do know that you want to give in, you're not sure how long you can hold on. I'm sure if I were in your situation you'd tell me to hold on, that you would come for me Major." Seeing Sheppard frown he corrected himself "I mean Colonel. Seriously how do you expect me, I mean the real me to remember that when you can't even remember yourself."

"Geez McKay you manage to annoy me even when you're not here. What if they don't come. I can't allow myself to activate that weapon. I just can't."

"You know they'd never leave you behind."

"Do I, do I really. Well then where are they, huh? Why am I still here?"

Alcon stood outside Sheppards cell listening to him talking to the imaginary McKay. He smiled triumphantly before ordering the guard to open the cell. He was so close to breaking Sheppard, this time he was sure he would get what he wanted.

A/N: All reviews are greatly appreciated as always, and I will try to update a little sooner this time!