A/N: We had a public holiday in my city today so I managed to snag some extra time to work on this chapter. I hope you all enjoy the quick update. Special thanks to Chelsie66 and my fellow NZer, b1ack-candy for leaving reviews for my last chapter.

Ronon POV

The rat banged his fist loudly against the door of our cell. "Rise n' shine," he grinned at us through the bars.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bunk and dropped down to the floor. Erik got up at the same time and I suspected that, like myself, he had not been asleep either."

"Put ya hands through," the Rat gestured to the window. "Gonna fit ya with some pretty bracelets…" he held up two sets of handcuffs and chains.

I looked at Erik. "What makes you think we're going to do anything you ask?" he said.

The rat held the taser up to the window. "Coz this thing has a range of up ta ten metres," he said. "Makes shooting the both of ya at two, seem kind'a unfair."

"Didn't seem to bother you yesterday," I told him.

He shrugged and pointed the taser towards me, as I suspected he had been itching to do all along. "Okay, we'll do this the hard way then…"

I walked towards him, my eyes not on the taser but upon his own as I silently challenged him to pull the trigger. He might have the upper hand, but I did not fear him. One step, two-

The taser hit me in the chest and bought me up short. Even through the thick leather of my waist coat, the current seared through me so that I dropped to one knee.

"Alright, alright, we get the picture," Erik said. "Stop firing and we'll do what you want." He approached the window and stuck his hands through so the guard outside could fit them with cuffs and a chain.

"Come on," he turned to me. "Let's get this over with."

I lurched to my feet and approached the window. The guard remained impassive to my stare as he fitted the chains to my wrists. Behind me, Erik pulled his arms apart and gave the chains a yank. There was about 70cm of play, enough to allow a limited amount of movement.

"Back from the door," the Rat instructed as he unlocked it. We stepped out of our cell to find an impressive total of four guards waiting for us. The one closest motioned towards the right, and Erik and I fell into step beside one another as we led the small procession through the corridor. We passed the communal cell we had seen the day before and saw the same people were still inside. They watched us go past, but unlike last time, they did not try to speak to us or ask for help. As we turned the next corner, the singular cells came into view. The men in them approached the bars as we neared and slowly began to chant.

"Test. Test. Test. Test."

They banged their hands against the bars in rhythm as we walked. One man, his pale skin covered with tattoos, threw his head back and howled as we passed, drawing laughter and applause from his companions.

"TEST. TEST. TEST…" The chant grew louder.

The only person not participating was the dark skinned man with the missing front teeth. I met his eyes and he curled his lips back in a sneer. "Don't you die out there," he warned. "Don't you cheat me of what's mine."

That an un-named Satedan had taken such a disliking to this man was enough reason to make me feel similarly. I stopped walking and quickly raised my fingers to the tattoo on my neck. "See this?" I said. "Take a good look at it… 'coz first chance I get, I'm gonna finish the job my friend started."

He growled, and smashed his fists against the bars of his cell. Before I could enrage him further, the guard stuck me in the back with his gun and instructed me to keep walking.

Erik looked at me. "You really do have a way with people," he grinned.

I looked back at him. "Part of my charm," I told him.

He snorted with amusement and together we exited the corridor and entered the ring outside. Although it was early morning, the heat from the sun was already intense and it immediately chased the chill from my skin. In the shadow of the stone wall behind us, a large wooden platform had been rolled out and I was surprised to see Rydan himself standing on top of it.

"Good morning," he smiled down at us. "Today we are going to discover if the two of you have what it takes to make it in the ring."

As he talked, two of the guards lowered their weapons and began to pull at something buried beneath the dirt. A large section of fence was raised and then joined by another, and another still until Erik and I were completely enclosed inside a small cage of about 15 meters square. One edge consisted of the stone wall, and I noticed there was a low gate mounted in it.

Rydan, who now stood on the other side of the fence, gestured for the guards to bring out a selection of weapons. "One each," he said as they were presented to us.

"I guess a gun is out of the question," Erik said as he picked up a heavy axe with a sharp blade. His chains rattled as he pulled it through the bars and lifted it above his head to give a practice swing.

I chose a long combat stick. Although I liked a blade, a stick had two ends, either of which could be used to fend off an opponent. "Who do you expect us to fight?" I asked Rydan. It suddenly occurred to me that Erik was the only other person in the cage. Surely we weren't going to fight each other?

The same thought must have dawned on Erik, because he suddenly threw his axe to the ground. "It's not going to happen," he said to Rydan.

Rydan stared at us both for a moment and then he slowly began to smile. "Interesting," he said as he stroked his fingertips against the stubble on his chin. "Your loyalty to one another is commendable… if a little misguided. Despite how you might feel now, every man stands alone once he enters the ring."

"Not us," I told him.

He smiled. "I once had brothers who said the same thing… right up to the very moment they swung together from the gallows. Such a waste really, two lives instead of one…" He shook his head, "Anyway, I don't intend to test your stance on the matter today. I have a much more entertaining way to discover your abilities." He raised his hand in the air and looked to the guard who stood against the stone wall of our cage. They exchanged nods, and then Rydan suddenly dropped his hand to his side.

At the base of the stone wall, the gate I had noticed earlier slowly began to lift. Erik quickly bent to retrieve the axe he had discarded as the gate opened fully to reveal a black hole behind. A low snarl came from the darkness, joined quickly by a pair of yellow eyes.

"What the hell…" Erik said, and we both took a step backwards to buy ourselves some time. The growling intensified, and a second pair of eyes joined the first.

I swung my stick to get a feel for it and suddenly a dark shadow leapt from the blackness. It was quickly followed by three more and we found ourselves looking at four of the biggest wolves I had ever seen. They snarled and drooled as they looked at us, and with heads low and hackles raised on their necks the began to circle.

"They're flanking us," Erik said as we quickly manoeuvred ourselves so we stood back-to-back.

The largest of the four wolves –a huge black beast that stood almost to my mid-thigh – lunged, and I swung my stick to fend it off. It ducked out of the way and continued to circle.

"They've feeling us out," I said. "They've done this before…" I swung my stick again, and narrowly missed the shoulder of a second wolf. It bared its teeth and snapped at me aggressively.

"Wait," Erik instructed from behind. "Let them make the first move…"

The words were barely out of his mouth when all four wolves suddenly turned and came at us in unison. I caught the first one in mid-air with a hefty blow to the jaw. It yelped and fell back, and I quickly turned to avoid a ferocious bite to the thigh from its partner. Behind me, I heard Erik curse.

"For the love of…" he brought his axe down swiftly and partially severed the head of one wolf as it came at him, but a second already had its teeth clamped around his lower leg. I swung my stick wide to hold the other two wolves at bay and then crashed the end of it down upon the wolf's shoulder. The bone shattered beneath the impact and it yelped as it released its grip and tried to retreat.

"Excellent," I heard Rydan's voice from the side-lines.

There was no time to look at him as the remaining two wolves were already re-grouping for another attack. The hackles on their necks were up and they stared at us with soulless yellow eyes as they continued to circle.

"One each," I said to Erik as I locked eyes with the largest of the remaining two. I twirled the stick, hoping it might distract, but the beast's eyes never left my face. It bared its teeth, the claws on its feet scratching at the earth. A moment later, it thrust itself off its hindquarters and leapt at me. I held the stick in the middle and caught it in the chest, shoving it backwards in mid-air. It landed awkwardly, but before I could capitalize, it spun around and attacked again. This time I managed to crack the end of my stick across its foreleg and it jumped back with a yelp of pain.

"Come on!" I growled at it. "Is that all you've got?"

It hesitated, and just for a second I saw indecision in its transparent eyes. I lunged and connected the stick with its back. This time it howled in agony. Before I could hit it a second time it dropped its tail between its legs and scurried back to its lair inside the stone wall. I turned to Erik just in time to see him pull his axe out of the forth wolf's throat."

Panting for breath, we stared at each other for a moment.

"Well, well," the clap of Rydan's hands from outside the cage made us both turn. "That was a fine display… One of the best I have seen," he said as he tossed his cape back over his shoulder. "I would say you are both more than ready for the ring in my next tournament."

"We won't fight for you," Erik told him.

"I suggest you think over that statement very carefully," Rydan replied. "The tournament is in four days. If you refuse to fight, then I will see the two of you hung in the opening exhibit with the women, cowards and traitors." He stepped down from the podium and approached our cage. "I'd rather we weren't at odds with each other however… Fight for me, and I will see to whatever you want. A woman to keep your bed warm, perhaps?"

"I have no interest in your women,"Erik growled. "I have a wife."

Rydan looked at him with interest. "A wife, you say? Tell me where she is, and I will arrange to have her brought here to you." He turned to me. "Yours also, if you ask."

I stared at him with loathing. "Then I really would have to kill you," I told him.

He shook his head. "I can see we are getting nowhere with each other. Let me be clear – your choice is to fight or to hang. Surrender your weapons for now and I will see you returned to your cell to think over your decision."

I looked at Erik. Although we were armed, we were in chains, surrounded by an iron cage and an insurmountable fence – not to mention the rat with his taser and the four armed guards who had reappeared to watch our every more. What choice did we have but to comply? Reluctantly, we passed our weapons through the bars and then watched as the cage was lowered back into the ground around us. The guards instructed us to move, and still in chains, we retraced our steps back to our cell.

This time when we passed the individual cages, the reception we received was not so unified. The red-haired giant inclined his head towards us, while another actually gave us a slow round of applause. A woman had appeared in the tattooed man's cell and he was too busy forcing himself on her to acknowledge us, while the black man stared at me with hate-filled eyes. I returned his look. Soon, I promised him silently.

We were guided back to our cell and then held our hands through the bars to be un-cuffed.

"That wolf," I said to Erik the moment we were alone, "how bad did he bite you?"

"Would be lucky if he scratched the skin," he replied as sat down and worked the laces on his boot undone. "Not a mark," he said a moment later. "These boots take a fair amount of beating."

Relieved he had been so lucky, I nodded. "So what do we do now? Looks like we're gonna be stuck here for a bit."

"While we were out there, I had a look around," Erik said. "Did you notice that the three top bars on the fence in the ring are electrified?"

I shook my head. "Can't say I did," I told him. "Guess that means we won't be climbing our way out anytime soon."

He shook his head. "Chances of even getting out of this cell look slim right now," he said. "I've been thinking… maybe we should play along with Rydan for a while. His tournament is not for another four days, that gives the others plenty of time to come and spring us out of here before then."

I nodded. "We comply, it might give us an opportunity to plan an escape."

"If we can get out of our cell, it also gives us one less obstacle to negotiate."

"Sounds good," I agreed.

"Okay. So for now we sit tight and keep our eyes open. If we see a chance, we grab it – otherwise we wait and see what Marcus and the others come up with."

I stretched out on the upper bunk and rested my hands behind my head. "You think we might actually have to fight in the tournament?" I asked.

"It's a possibility," he admitted. "I don't intend to worry about it until closer to the time though."

I shivered and rubbed my bare shoulders with my hands. Not only was the cell cold, but it was also damp. We lapsed into silence as the day slowly dragged by. Somewhere around what I guessed to be late afternoon, Rydan appeared at our cell door.

"Well," he said, "you've had time to think over my offer. Are you going to fight in my tournament like men, or hang alongside the cowards?"

"Doesn't seem like we have much of a choice in the matter, does it?" Erik replied. He was propped up by his hand on the side wall while I rested against the bunks.

"Not really," Rydan admitted.

"If we agree, does that mean you are gonna feed us properly?" I asked. We'd had nothing to eat since the night before and my stomach was gnawing uncomfortably.

"I'll double your daily ration and set you up with some blankets," Rydan replied

"An offer we can't refuse," Erik's tone dripped sarcasm. "I guess you can count us in."

"Excellent," Rydan said.

I frowned. He said that word a lot, and already it was beginning to grate on my nerves.

"Tomorrow you can start training…" he continued. "I will watch your progress with interest." He turned to leave and then suddenly paused, "Oh, one last thing… If either of you defy me, or try to upset proceedings here in any way, I will see to it that the punishment you will receive is worse than anything you can possibly imagine." His black eyes promised that he was more than capable of following through on his threat.

We watched him leave, and then once again returned to the lower bunk to sit down. Just as we got ourselves comfortable, the Rat appeared outside.

"Gotcha blankets," he held them up for us to see. "I'll just put them right down here for ya," he dropped them on the ground at his feet – hopelessly out of our reach.

Neither Erik nor I reacted, and he eventually disappeared back down the corridor, his game thwarted.

"Looks like it's going to be another cold night," Erik said.

"I've done worse," I told him.

"Yeah," he agreed and then sighed as he added, "I slipped up today… telling Rydan I was married. It was stupid… and now I can't take it back. If anything happened to Isobel, I'd never forgive myself."

I looked at him. "She'll be fine," I told him. "Even if Rydan decided to look for her, there's no way he'd be able to find her."

"That's what I keep telling myself," he said. "But it doesn't make me feel any better. The man's dangerous… I can feel it."

"You've got to keep it together –" I began, and then broke off as Martha appeared at the door.

"Pleased to see the two of you safe and sound," she said as she peered in at us." Her eyes dropped to her feet and she stooped to pick up the blankets lying there. "Looks like you've gone and got on the wrong side of Hank," she said as she held them through the window towards us.

Erik didn't move, so I walked over and took the blankets from her. "Thanks," I told her.

"What's wrong with your friend?" She gestured towards Erik. "Cat got his tongue all of a sudden?"

"I'm fine," Erik got to his feet and came over to join us at the window. "What's cooking?"

"Rice and vegetables," she replied as she passed us each a generous helping. As far as increasing our food allowance went, it seemed Rydan was already good for his word. "Heard the two of you killed three wolves today…" Martha said. "That's never been done before."

"That so?" I looked at her with interest. "He do that same test with everyone?"

She shrugged. "By and by… he changes it around on occasion. More interesting for him to watch that way, I guess." She held her hand out for the empty bowls from last night and I passed them to her. "Right, that's me done for the night," she said as she turned to go.

"Thanks for the blankets," I told her.

"You're welcome," she called as she disappeared and left us alone for the night.

Sara POV

I looked down at our beautiful daughter, sound asleep on Ronon's side of the bed. Moonlight from the open curtains spilled across her face and her dark curls fanned out around her head upon the pillow. She lay upon her back with one hand visible above the blankets and her head turned slightly towards me where I stood at the window. Usually she slept in her own room but tonight I didn't have the heart to be parted from her.

It was late, and I knew I should be asleep also, but rest would not come. Troy's memorial was supposed to be in two days, but despite my earlier intentions I was yet to organize even the most basic of details surrounding it. I placed the pen and paper that I held down upon the window ledge, and pulled an armchair over so I could sit and look out over the moonlit garden below. The night was so still that not even the slightest of breezes stirred through the trees. I wondered about Ronon, about what he might be doing right at this exact same moment. It was so difficult to sit here and do nothing while he and Erik were in such an awful place.

On a whim, I reached out and opened the window. The cool evening air crept slowly into the room and gently surrounded me. I went to settle back into my chair and then froze suddenly as a sound from the bottom of the garden came to me. It was a moment before I realized exactly what I was listening too, and then the sound slowly morphed into syllables and soon words… Words sung with such an aching beauty that they rendered me immobilized as I listened. Although I did not know the song, I knew whose lips it came from and instead of sitting back in my chair, I perched myself upon the window ledge as I tried unsuccessfully to catch sight of Marissa.

Her song continued and I gave up my attempts to see her as I instead lifted my gaze towards the moon. There was such emotion in her voice that I felt like I was experiencing her pain, her sorrow as if it was my own. I lifted my hand and traced my fingertips lightly along my bare collar bone. The song went on, a solitary voice in an empty night… only she was not alone because I was there to listen. After a few minutes, the song changed and it slowly dawned on me that what I was hearing was not the sound of despair, but of deep emotional cleansing. Each beautifully formed note released a burden that would otherwise have remained locked within, festering and preventing the bearer any chance of living a normal life. I realized that today Marcus had not simply given Marissa a guitar, he had stirred her memory towards a long forgotten passion – a passion that bore the power to heal.

The longer I listened, the more I felt my own heart begin to fill with hope. Ronon was not lost to me forever. He and my brother would return to Tarus, and one day all three of us would look back on this time and laugh about it together. Marissa continued to sing, and with my spirits now in a better place, I picked up my pen and slowly began to put together the details for Troy's memorial.