Thank you so much everyone, for reading and reviewing. Love you all! So this was a quick update, I know. Suddenly I have the opposite of writer's block. Yay! I hope it lasts! :D

Ps. Whump Ahead!

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

Chapter Fifteen: The Genii Suck

Much to every one's relief, Shawn answered the call. He sounded as cool and calm as ever.

"Yello."

Gus was the first to speak, practically railroading Rodney in the process. "Shawn? Where are you?"

"Oh, you know... somewhere creepy. As usual." A small scuffled could be heard along with John saying "give me that!". Next thing they knew, the Lt. Colonel was in control of the phone.

"We're being held by the Genii. Nothing notable to speak off, just a damp, cold dungeon somewhere underground. Knowing the Genii, we're probably several hundred feet underground."

Rodney was furiously tracing the phone's GPS. "Listen, this phone call alone will suck the battery. I don't have much time before it shuts off, basing on the fact that it was actually charged to begin with. So stay on the line as long as you can."

"Well, we have nothing but time..." John trailed off. Suddenly the phone sounded like it had been dropped while an unknown voice could be overheard. And then silence.

"John! John?" Gus was now panicked.

"We've lost the connection," Weir said, trying not to sound grim. But it was useless.

Rodney shook his head and then looked up at Weir from his computer chair. "I at least have the planet. It's in our solar system, but that's as far as I got." Rodney glanced back on to his screen. "They're definitely not on the same planet where they were captured."

Weir nodded. "It's good enough. I'm calling Teyla's team back. Wherever this place is, we've got to do our best. We're running out of time."

Shawn watched in horror as four guards barged into the small cell, each pointing their weapon at John's head.

"Drop it!"

John did as he was told. The first guard shot the green iPhone into oblivion.

"Hey! I waited all summer saving up my free upgrade!"

"Both of you will be coming with us." The leader of the group wasn't gentle and roughly grabbed John. Two other guards seized Shawn.

John raised his hands in surrender. Shawn followed suit.

"Don't worry. After all this is over, you'll get a new one," John said while marching in single file with the guards.

"A new one? Do you think insurance will cover my phone if it's been blasted by an alien? Do you even know how much they are selling on eBay without a free upgrade?"

The leader raised his fist. "SILENCE!"

The guard flanking Shawn jabbed the tip of his weapon into his back, shutting him up further.

Before another minute had a chance to crawl by, John and Shawn were lead out of the dirty, musty dungeon and into an area that could of only been described as a sadistic operating room. Knives, clamps and needles of various sizes lined the walls. Two stainless steel operating tables complete with thick, heavy leather straps adorned the center of the room.

"Oh great. This place again," John muttered under his breath.

A man in full Genii military garb stood near the end of the room, his back to them. On hearing their entrance, the man turned around. "So glad to have you gentlemen join me.

John recognized him immediately. "Kolya."

Kolya smiled while admiring the curved dagger he was holding. "Just finished sharpening my favorite collection. This one is special. Perfect for rupturing vital organs." His gaze shifted from the knife and landed on Shawn.

"Colonel Sheppard, it looks like the fates have been favorable to me. I have you in my possession to redeem the death of my brother." He then laughed. "And according to the surveillance in your holding cell... I also have your brother in my midst."

John clenched his jaw and said nothing.

Kolya walked toward Shawn. "Quit amusing if I do say so myself."

Shawn, who looked like he had been holding his breath for the past minute, decided to speak up. "How about John and I both give you a hand written apology? Or some form of community service? I'm pretty handy with a rake and a few garbage bags. I could take care of pine needles or ..." Shawn then swallowed hard as Kolya raised his knife to his throat. This didn't deter Shawn. "Because, y'know, killing people for revenge is so last year."

Kolya had different plans. "Strap both of them down."

The four guards in the room reacted with precision and speed, seizing both Shawn and John and complying with their leader. Before Shawn had a chance to respond, the cold metal of the table enveloped his prostrate body.

"Don't do this." John was seething. "I'm warning you."

Kolya, who was browsing his walls of sharp pointy objects as if trying to pick out a movie at Blockbuster, laughed. "Or what? You'll gain super strength and bust through your restraints and save the day? Hardly." He paused and selected a long skinny knife. "Besides, no one knows you're even here."

John growled and struggled against the straps constraining him. Two guards pointed their guns at him.

Kolya was hovering over Shawn. "Sheppard, please, I wouldn't try anything if I were you. Or this will be over much faster than you'd like."

John moved his head slightly to get a better angle at the table beside him. Kolya caught his gaze and smiled. "Isn't this ironic? My brother for yours? " Before John or Shawn could respond, Kolya jabbed the blade into Shawn's arm.

Between Shawn's cry of pain, John's lash out in anger and Kolya's distinct sneer, it was a chorus of sickening delight to the Genii leader.

Their time was running out.

The gate exploded open and Lorne was the first to emerge. He was quickly followed by Ronan, Teyla and Gus, who insisted to come above all else. The group of marines that accompanied them looked like a small army. If anything, whether John and Shawn were dead or alive, the Genii were toast.

Lorne glanced down at the ancient device he held in his hand. "Sensors are picking up something within 500 yards."

Ronan's hawk-like eyes already had it pinpointed. "Psst, Major, over here." The group mirrored Ronan by crouching down beside him. Ronan in natural form, kept his gun raised and set for kill. He used it to point directly ahead of him.

In the waning afternoon light a small opening in the ground could be seen. It resembled a manhole, but it was odd since it was placed in the center of a clearing in the woods. Suddenly the hole opened and two figures crawled out from it. Two girls in humble villager clothing, to be precise.

Gus leaned in slightly to get a better look, completely oblivious to the fact that he was in Ronan's personal space. "I recognize them! I think Shawn was hitting on them back at the first village."

The two must've of sensed they were being watched and made an effort to retreat but Ronan was far too fast. Bursting through the woods, setting his gun to stun, the two girls were down for the count before they even had a chance.

Quickly, Lorne directed two marines to guard the entrance, because keeping up with Ronan was proving to be quite the feat. Per usual.

Gus was one of the last to climb down due to residual fears popping into his head. "I am not claustrophobic, I am not claustrophobic." After he pushed away from the final rung of the tiny ladder, Gus swivelled around and found Teyla staring at him, obviously concerned.

"Are you alright?" She then placed her hand on his shoulder.

This pushed all his fears aside. Gus plastered on the toothiest grin he could muster. "Never better."

But from the looks of, Gus had nothing to fear. The Genii headquarters were anything but cramped. It resembled an over sized Costco and then some. Teyla must've picked up on his admiration of the size.

"The Genii are known for their architecture in underground dwellings. It keeps them safe from the Wraith."

Gus shuddered. "Well, if this can keep them safe from those... things, I don't blame them."

Lorne was directing groups. They needed to break up to cover more ground. But he paused. "Why is it so quiet down here?"

Ronan seemed to be itching for a gunfight. He was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. "I noticed that too. Other than those two girls at the entrance, this entire first level is pretty quite."

"Rumors have it that the Genii numbers have dwindled since we last dealt with them," Teyla said.

Ronan grumbled. "Probably because they now have an idiot for a leader."

"Maybe they know we're here and are waiting to attack us," Gus offered with a half of a shrug.

Everyone turned to looked at him.

"Actually that is probably true," Teyla added with a frown.

Lorne agreed and pointed to the group at his right. "Take the west, and we'll take the east. Keep in radio contact."

The Sargent in charge of the group nodded,"yessir-ed" and they were off.

Gus made sure to keep in pace with Ronan at all times. He knew that was his ticket to staying alive if things got hairy.

Lorne led the group down into the second level. He turned the corner, his P-90 aimed to create a warpath. Still nothing.

"I wonder if," Teyla broke the silence, "This is not their main compound. Many years ago, the Genii flourished. I wonder if they have compounds on many planets."

But it wasn't quiet for long. Lorne's radio crackled to life. Several P-90 shots could be heard along with the Sargent's voice. "We found more Genii. But no holding cells."

Suddenly the shots ceased but the Sargent's voice didn't. The Genii may be advanced but they weren't a match for the ferocity of well prepared marines. The Wraith, however, were an entirely different story. Thankfully they were dealing with the former, not the latter.

So far Kolya had broken Shawn's arm, but not his will. Shawn hadn't as much peeped after the first bout of pain.

John was beyond enraged. If he had the ability to bore holes with his eyes, the entire place would be falling to pieces. "KOLYA! I tried to SAVE your brother. I didn't send him to his grave. He did that to himself!"

Denek paused. "And I know this to be true because... you said it? That's laughable. The entire remaining Genii gave me a first hand account of how exactly you killed my brother!"

"It's a lie! I promise you!" John then looked over at Shawn, who had his eyes shut. He appeared awfully calm and serene. "Shawn listen to me. ... Shawn?"

Koyla tsked. "Oh Colonel, your brother passed out from pain several minutes ago."

John roared and thrashed once again. "Deal with me instead! Just let him go!"

"And where's the fun in that?"

The guards standing in the room suddenly moved from their position.

"Sir? We received word from Level 2 that we've been infiltrated." The guard tried to remain as calm as he could, but fear crept into his voice. His face was white. The game was up.

Relief flooded over John. Justice at its finest.

"What?" Denek replied. "That's impossible." He marched over to one of the guards and yanked the gun from his hands. "It's time to get this over with, enough wasting time."

Before he had a chance to aim the weapon, the door to the room burst open with enough ferocity to shake the foundation. Ronan Dex placed his gun at the base of Denek's head. "I wouldn't try anything if I were you. That includes breathing."

Kolya dropped his gun to the ground and watched as Lorne and Gus ran over to loosen Shawn's straps, Teyla taking care of Sheppard in the process.

Ronan leaned in closer to the Genii leader, his gun pressing further into his skull. "Don't. Move. From. This. Spot." With that, Ronan trotted over to Shawn and picked him and flopped him over one shoulder.

A newly freed John Sheppard half walked, half limped over to Denek Kolya, who was watching John as if he were a caged beast on the loose.

"You know what I'm going to do with you?" John seethed under his breath.

"Sir, there is a report of a Wraith hive ship entering the planet's atmosphere," Lorne interjected.

John now smiled. "Even better. You know what I'm going to do with you? I'm going to leave you here. We're going to go through the gate, we're going to lock it and we're going to leave you here."

Koyla's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."

John shrugged and ignored the wince of pain. "Hey, you've got a chance to survive. At least I'm giving you that."

Without a single glance back, John and his team rushed out of the Genii compound. As soon as they hit the fresh air above, a scream of a Wraith dart could be heard in the distance. Thankfully, it sounded far enough from the gate to make their escape.

With the gate glowing up and running, it was too much of a beacon to attract Wraith darts. They had to move. Fast.

Pushing all his might into the final last distance, John sprinted through the gate. After he was through, the last thing he remembered was collapsing.

The comfortingly stark white infirmary greeted John as he woke from a solid night of sleep. Moving his head to his left, he saw Shawn in an identical bed. His arm wrapped in a blue sling.

"Hey, buddy..." John started.

"Oh man, I feel like I could use a full body massage. And a trip to Krispy Kremes." Shawn then looked over at him. "Hey buddy yourself."

John sighed and searched for the right thing to say. "I am so sorry I got you into this, I don't even know where to start..."

"Dude, no apologies. Because, hello, I got my arm broken by a weird, oddly human, oddly decently good at the English language alien guy. That's the best story ever..."

John laughed. "That you can't tell anyone."

"Oh, right. And still, chicks dig wounds."

"True, true. The story you could make up, however, might be fitting for an Academy Award, I can only imagine."

Shawn grinned. "You have no idea. Jules is going to be crying like a baby."

Just then, Gus, Rodney and Weir walked in. Closely followed by the good doctor, himself.

Beckett greeted Shawn right away. "Looks like our little patient is in good health."

"It could be worse. If Gus were in my position, he'd be whining like a princess."

Gus crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Is that the thanks I get for saving your sorry ass?"

Shawn looked over at Beckett. "But he didn't even deny it! He knows he's a princess!"

"Knock it off, Shawn. If anything I'd be putting you to shame. I'd be making that sling look good."

Rodney smirked at John. "So I heard you fainted. Like a girl."

"What? I didn't faint. I collapsed. There's a difference."

"Sure, sure. That's just a fancy word for faint."

"I had a harrowing physical and emotional ordeal. I am allowed to collapse if I want to."

Rodney smiled. "Oh, I know. I'm just here to remind you that we're one for one."

As Weir watched the friendly banter between friends, she couldn't help but feel more than thankful everyone was in one piece. Although Shawn was technically in pieces.

"Ahem, boys, boys. I hate to break of the camaraderie, but I have something to say." Weir smiled at all of them. "Other than being thankful you are here, safe and sound."

She turned to Shawn and Gus. "We have enough reserved ZPM power to send you back to Earth. Which, unfortunately, is scheduled for tomorrow morning."

John frowned. "Why so soon?"

"Well, that's what I was going to tell you." She looked back at Shawn. "Your abrupt exit from Earth has left a lot of questions unanswered. And as of 0400 this morning, the Air Force," Weir glanced at John briefly, "received a formal complaint from a Henry Spencer. And we felt it was in your best interest to return."

Shawn sunk his head into his pillow. "Oh my god. Even in a different galaxy, my dad manages to embarrass me."