Twenty Questions
(by Era Yachi)

AN: Some will notice the reference to Martha Well's Atlantis novel, "Reliquary". Man, I wish that had been an actual episode. Lizard Sheppard! Wee!

Before and After

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"Colonel Sheppard, this is Weir. Are you there?"

He stopped in the middle of the dense undergrowth, for a moment not believing what he'd heard. Then, slowly, it dawned on him that the Gate must be active, and that Elizabeth was in fact, contacting him. His hand shot to his radio. "Dr. Weir, this is Sheppard. You know, I'm very, very glad you decided to call."

"Why? What's happened?" Her voice sounded worried. "Colonel?"

"Oh, nothing," he replied irately. "It's just that I've got a badly wounded Rodney on the ground outside the Gate, and now Ronon's playing tag with a couple of Wraith darts. Our DHD is ruined. Not to mention the entire hive of life-sucking aliens headed our way."

There was a weighty pause, which he spent regretting how angry he sounded. Finally, she responded.

"I'm sending another team and Beckett through right now."

"Don't bother with the team," he said, moving through the thick foliage with his working arm gripping the P90 tightly. "They'll just attract more Wraith to the 'gate, and I think McKay's had enough for one day. We need Carson over here right now. I don't know how much longer he can hold out."

"All right, we're on it."

A soft voice interrupted. "John."

It took a moment for him to recognize Teyla's voice and stopped in his tracks. "Teyla?" he said warily.

"Dr. Beckett…cannot help him." Teyla's voice wavered slightly as he heard her inhale slowly. "Dr. McKay is gone."

The silence on the line was stifling. Then again, so was the air. If his left arm and chest hadn't been so numb, he might have felt his heart skip a beat. "You're lying."

"I am so sorry, John," she said shakily. "There was nothing I could do. At least…" Her voice caught. "…he is no longer suffering."

Sheppard was suddenly jolted from his trance by the sound of someone rushing towards him to his right. He spun to meet the attacker, tightening a finger around the P90's trigger. Instead of a Wraith, however, he found Ronon staring back at him. They look across at one another, knowing.

"He's dead," the Satedan growled.

John stood, unmoving reflection. "Yeah," he said. "He is."

"Colonel," Weir's voice said in his ear. He could tell by the sudden hoarseness of her voice that this news had struck her just as hard as everyone else. "We can discuss what happened later. Right now, we need to focus on getting everyone back to Atlantis."

"Sure," he replied hoarsely. "Everyone." After a long pause and a futile attempt to shake of the cold, clutching feeling in his gut, he went on. "Teyla, we're on our way back."

There was a jumper on the ground by the time they reached the 'gate. Dr. Beckett was crouched beside the rock where McKay was slumped, unmoving. Sheppard spotted Teyla near the side of the ship, and she wouldn't look at him even as he came near to the scene. Two or three others, a few men and woman in medical uniforms milled about. They were obviously troubled by Beckett's lack of anything—not words, not movement, not even a heavily accented curse. The Scottish doctor looked pretty much the same way Sheppard felt right now. Distraught. Angry. Powerless to do anything.

"One side, doc," Sheppard said, kneeling next to Rodney's body. Here was McKay, covered in his own blood, and he wasn't even complaining. "Geez, Rodney…" He grimaced, looking at the ground.

"Aye, ye little bastard," Beckett agreed softly. "Ye didn' even give me a chance tae save yer arse this time. Tha's not fair…"

Sheppard's attention was fixed on the nine mil in the scientist's hand. It was clean, except for the small blood print on it from his vest. Careful to not disturb his arm, Sheppard reached out and unhooked it from Rodney's fingers and tossed it away, where it sank into the grass. He knew how much Rodney hated firing that thing, and it was downright insulting to leave it there.

"This is messed up," he said, staring at the blanched face. "You're not supposed to die, Rodney. That's not part of the game."

Beckett looked at him sympathetically. "Colonel…"

It was a revolutionary mix of emotion. Most of all, he was angry at Rodney for being such an ass he had to go and get himself killed. Then he was equally as pissed of at himself for letting it happen. Angry, because this was the last on a long list of ways he imagined this could happen. McKay crowed his status of 'hero' and it was annoying as hell, but hell if it wasn't true.

The stubborn, superior ego of McKay was part of Atlantis. It was a rule that shouldn't be broken.

"Colonel, the Wraith are becoming…agitated," Teyla broke the silence with part of her steely resolve intact. "We must leave now before they return."

As usual, her point was valid. They had to concentrate on evading the Wraith before they risked exposing the survival of Atlantis. And as usual, just as his mind shifted from one priority to another, Ronon stepped forward and crouched beside him.

"Want me to take him?" he said evenly. Nodding solemnly, Sheppard stood up and let the man reach out and scoop Rodney off the ground.

He glanced over at Teyla as he stepped back to give Ronon room to move. Beckett heaved a sigh that sounded like a ghostly familiar sound to the ears of John Sheppard. No one wanted to admit it, but Rodney's misstep had not only caused him his life, but it had also awakened another dormant hive ship in the already overpopulated galaxy of the Wraith. Worse, these Wraith had a pretty good idea that there were survivors from Atlantis still intruding on their feeding grounds. Things were looking unfavorably for the expedition.

They packed the jumper, boarded and slipped into the rippling pool of the open 'gate. Never to return to this particular place in time, and none the wiser for it.

-

Zelenka's fingers followed the dialing pattern again—four, five, six…seven. As he pressed down on the last symbol, it lit up. They each watched the vacant ring in anticipation. Nothing happened.

Nothing had happened the time before, either. Even though he had tried to dial Atlantis three times already, the Gate refused to do anything but pose, empty and apparently dead. The scientist nervously wiped a bead of sweat from his brow and turned back to the team—his team, and still Rodney's team. He was supposed to be a member, but he didn't feel like one right now.

Now Rodney…Rodney wouldn't give up here. He would probably get angry, and randomly accuse someone of breaking the DHD. Then he would try to fix it. Maybe he would fail, maybe he would get it to work, but this was clearly much better handling for someone who had more field experience with Ancient technology.

"This doesn't make any sense," Sheppard said irritably, stepping up to the undamaged DHD. "Why bother fixing the DHD if it's still broken?"

"Better question yet," said Ronon. "Who did it?"

They all exchanged sidelong glances. No one had the answer to either question, not even Radek. Sheppard glanced towards the mossy spot where he'd found McKay…but that odd, tingly feeling returned. He didn't like the odd tingly feeling.

"Well we know who it wasn't, so we can all stop thinking it," he said dourly, backing down from the device. That too, made the feeling get worse. Maybe he needed therapy. It just didn't seem right to brush off the possibility that McKay might still be alive, even though he'd personally been the one to turn the body over to Beckett, and the one to meet with him in private for the autopsy report.

"Colonel, the energy reading is rapidly increasing," Zelenka announced. "Now it has stopped. It's holding steady. I believe this could be linked somehow to the DHD malfunction."

"You don't say," John replied drearily, side-glancing at him. "And you're planning to explain your theory anytime soon?"

"Well, whenever I try to dial the 'gate, the same source continues to rise to the same level," the scientist explained, gesturing with an open hand towards the direction of the power source. "It is possible…whatever it is, it is reacting to the 'gate whenever it connects to a wormhole."

"In other words, someone's trying to prevent us from leaving?"

Radek blinked, registering this translation. "Yes," he said finally. "Basically."

"Well, that settles it," Sheppard said roughly. "Let's go tell our new host how much we like to be trapped on Wraith-infested planets."

Ronon and Teyla moved off towards the half-bred path into the trees, and their team leader waited for another moment or two before he followed. Feeling more out of place than ever, Zelenka fumbled his grip around the awkward shape of the P90 in his hands and stepped after them. His uneasiness grew as the silent trek grew on and on. There was something wrong about this, terrible wrong, and he was sure that it somehow involved their departed friend.

-

They came to a field of yellow, flaky grass and cracked mud. The trees opened up into a perfectly round clearing, with the shriveled remains of vegetation covering the flat area expanding before them like a painfully ironic crop circle. Grass crumbled beneath every stride into the center of the desolate area. Sheppard turned in a slow circle, observing the strange sight with a twisted expression.

"Okay, I've definitely seen this movie," he commented. "Zelenka, are you sure this is the right spot?"

The scientist shook his head and shrugged, before putting the scanner away. "The signature reads the most powerful in the center of impression, but…"

"But?" said Sheppard.

"But," Radek went on meaningfully. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Yeah, you get used to those," came the casual reply. Sheppard moved slowly towards the spiraled center of the dried circle, ignoring his own instincts for the sake of satisfaction. The rest of the team followed with caution, a spectacular display of stealth—aside from Zelenka, who could not help but proceed gracelessly in order to save himself from falling straight through the thick matting of grass.

Ronon stopped just meters from the center of the field. "How far are we from the 'gate?"

Zelenka adjusted his glasses and recalled the numbers on the PDA's screen. "Ah, about four kilometers." And it wasn't a pleasant hike, either. He simply wasn't cut out for field work, not yet, at least.

Still in the process of converting the metric system into his own idea of measurement, Ronon remained silent in contemplation. Sheppard was, at the moment, walking straight into the exact middle of the field. "Did anyone else feel strange a little while back?"

And then, as if to answer his question, the ground under his feet suddenly moved. With a hollow groan, the grass split into a wide semicircle around Sheppard's feet. A long military history and naturally quick reflexes allowed him to jump to one side just as the section of the ground tore apart from the sod and descended into a dark chamber below. The smell of old dirt and metal wafted up from the opening.

Everyone took a moment to hover over the artificial fissure. Sheppard lifted his head. "Now, I'm not a scientific genius, but I'm going to go ahead and assume that this thing wasn't put here by gophers."

"It is quite advanced," Teyla agreed, squinting into the darkness.

Zelenka's fingers buzzed over the face of the scanner. "This is incredible. The power source is directly beneath us…and it has increased nearly fives times greater than before."

"Big enough for a ZPM?" said Sheppard.

The scientist shook his head and bent down over the edge of the hole. "No, not nearly. If the ZPM were almost depleted, perhaps, but not enough to be full or even half-charged."

"Watch it, doc," Sheppard warned lowly, moving forward to pull the scientist back. His mind was still full of images of McKay's deathly still body. "We don't even know what this thing is. I don't want you poking around just yet."

Zelenka sobered, recognizing the source of the Lt. Colonel's plight and feeling foolish for acting recklessly. Saying nothing, he stood up again and backed away. Ronon looked at him with a stony expression, making it impossible to read what he thought of the Czech just then.

"I'm going to check it out," Sheppard announced, slinging his pack over his shoulder and placing it on the ground. "I'll radio you guys if it's safe to come down. Keep an eye on each other. The Wraith might show up any minute."

"We will be careful, John," Teyla assured him gently. Drawing his mouth into a tight line, Sheppard gave them all one last glare before sliding his feet over the edge of the crumbling sod and into the opening. Ronon grabbed one of his arms and helped lower him onto the platform at the very bottom.

John hissed through his teeth as his feet hit the bottom of the chamber. He'd misjudged the drop and ended up falling three feet further than he'd planned. He reeled a moment to catch his balanced and waited for the stinging to pass. From above, Ronon asked if he was all right. He tilted his head skywards, shielding his eyes from the sunlight.

"I'm fine," he told the Satedan. He vaguely recalled that one time they'd spent searching for an archived ZPM with Rodney, with the Brotherhood. Just being down here reminded him of the mission. And Kolya. Boy, did he hate Kolya.

He didn't bother relaying his orders again. Instead, he lowered his eyes and focused on the chamber in front of him. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the poorly lit interior, and when they did, that 'prickly feeling' he so enjoyed returned. Not only did this place remind him of the Brotherhood underground cavity, it was practically identical to it.

Well, it proved McKay's theory about the ZPM chamber. It really had been built by the Ancients. If only McKay were around to find out—he'd be a hundred bucks richer and a hundred times cockier, since he'd technically won their bet. Sheppard made a point to leave a couple of fifties on top of his grave the next time he visited the mainland. Somewhere in the afterlife, of course, Rodney would probably start complaining about the ugliness of American bills and demand for the Canadian equivalent.

Instead of a wall with a secret compartment for hidden power sources, there was an additional room attached to the dusty corridor. The walls and floor were made with smooth metal and occasionally decorated with softly glowing blue lights. With his P90 ready, he rounded the corner into the adjoining chamber.

"Whoa," he said aloud.

It didn't exactly describe the strange…thing in the middle of the room. He thought immediately of the pedestal Zelenka and McKay had toyed with a long time ago, which led to them discovering the planet with the creepy mind-control guy…Dorane something or other.

Which made him think about McKay, obviously. Back then, Rodney had stayed with him, despite the fact Sheppard was turning into a half-crazed lizard who could hear the thoughts of Ancient devices. Despite the fact that he could have killed the scientist in a fit of uncontrollable rage. Yeah, he'd been a strange guy. A little too stubborn, maybe, but all around a good guy.

Eager to push away any further thoughts of the scientist, John returned his attention to the white pillar in the middle of the room. It had three panels attached to its base. There were a few dozen other stations all around the sides of the room, a few broken chairs and…bodies. Shriveled ones, but not fed upon. They'd died of something else, and he had a strong desire to not find out what it had been.

His eye was drawn slowly to the strange ring on the ceiling. It reminded him of a small Stargate, except it was thinner and plainer. It was resonating with an eerie orange light, but he felt confident that, being something the Ancients' built, that was caused by his proximity to the machine.

"Co...ne…She...ard," he heard Zelenka's voice from one end of the radio. "The ener...eading is starting to ri…atically. Maybe it's best if…come ba…for now?"

Huh, Sheppard thought. Interference? If I'm only ten feet underground and there's something blocking the radio, then maybe he's right. I should rethink exploring the scary dark hole in the ground.

"Stay right there," he said over his radio. "I'll be another minute."

He still had to finish exploring this room. He couldn't just head back without learning anything. Heading back empty-handed made certain scientists angry.

Keeping at a distance from the pillar and assorted, lifeless control panels, he circled around to the other side of the room. He found two more bodies, both equally as decomposed at the station to the far north of the pillar machine. He was about to reach out and brush off the top of the one panel that seemed to have power, and was stopped by a memorable sound.

Someone behind him cleared his throat. Loudly. Raising his P90 to his chest, Sheppard spun around to face his foe. Instead of a Wraith, he found him face-to-face with the ghostly pale image of Rodney McKay.

AN: Hmmm…is that really Rodney? Will we ever find out? Will Yachi apologize for delaying this chapter? Will I ever stop asking questions? No! I still have seventeen more to go! Ahahaha…okay, shutting up.