GAME OVER...part 5

Rodney was muttering to himself, staring at his scanner and thinking that things couldn't possibly get any worse, when he smacked into something big and solid. Stumbling back with an "Ow!", he was suprised to find Ronon looming over him. "How? Where? How?" He stuttered.

Ronon looked grim. "Don't really have time to explain," he stated, turning a bit as his gaze shifted over the others. "Everyone okay?"

"No, we're not okay!" Rodney huffed. "Somebody is trying to kill us!"

"I know that," Ronon replied, as he began herding Rodney towards the nearest wall, gesturing for the others to join them. "We have to go."

Rodney stared at him in disbelief. "You're kidding me, right?" If he hadn't run into the big guy, Rodney would have been tempted to believe that Ronon was nothing more than a figment of his imagination. Or, rather, a figment of everyone's imagination, since the other's could see him too. When Ronon simply glared down at him, Rodney shook his head. "Go where?" He gestured to the four walls surrounding them. "There are no doors, genius! We're trapped!"

Ronon scowled at him. "Sheppard will take care of that."

"Where is the Colonel?" Carson interjected, ever the concerned physician. And friend. "Is he allright?"

Before Ronon could reply, a blast of energy slammed into the wall next to them.

"Shit!" Rodney dropped to the floor, trembling, too terrified to move.

OoO

John watched the gamekeeper with one eye. He wasn't sure what the hologram was capable of and he didn't want to risk the GameKeeper's wrath falling on his friends. So he kept one eye on the screen and he saw his friends getting blasted again. They would die if he didn't do something. So John focused on opening a door for them to escape through. He watched it appear, watched his friend's reactions. Watched Ronon guiding everyone through it. Then he saw the GameKeeper notice what he'd done and John quickly dissolved the door. Now his attention was on the gamekeeper, although a part of him was focused on keeping his friends safely hidden. To that end he made the screen turn black, almost shaking with relief that it worked.

"The game is not played this way!" screamed the Game Keeper. "You must follow the rules!"

"I am following the rules," John shot back, trying to hide a grimace as pain lanced through his temples. Keeping his friends hidden wasn't easy to do, especially when he wasn't sure how successful at it he was being. And it was even more difficult when he was trying to get the bonds holding him to loosen, without being obvious about what he was doing. So John focused on ignoring the pain, forcing a smirk as he faced the Game Keeper. "I'm playing by my rules, now," he stated. "Let my friends go and we'll call this game a tie!" He figured that was fair enough for both sides, so to speak.

But before the Game Keeper could respond, John's bindings fell away. He was free. He was also completely stunned that his efforts had worked, so he simply sat there for a moment, frozen. But then he pushed out of the chair.

Which sent the Game Keeper into a fury. "If you stop the game now, you're friends will die!" he bellowed.

"Dammit!" John hissed, dropping back down into the chair. Maybe blackening the screen wasn't such a good idea, because now he wasn't sure what was happening to his friends. So to that end he tried to send out feelers to Ronon, like he had before. But he had a few questions for the Game Keeper while he was at it. "Why are you doing this?" John demanded. "And who are you really? Game Keeper is just some bullshit title! This isn't a game you bastard! You're messing with people's lives!" Anger raged through John as he spoke. Anger at the game, and the game's creator, and at himself. John blamed himself for the predicament his friends found themselves in, and he would do whatever it took to keep them safe from harm.

"I am Roarke," the hologram announced. "And this game is the ultimate challenge. It is about life and death, which we all face. I have never lost the game."

John laughed at that and he was pretty sure Roarke scowled at him. Which was rather creepy. "Really?" he countered, sounding as condescending as he could. "Because from where I'm sitting, you look like nothing more than a freaking hologram. You're light beams and sound waves and stuff, not flesh and blood. What you are doesn't count as living where I come from."

The insult, as it was intended to be, appeared to hit it's mark. Roarke moved closer to John and he almost crackled with anger, to the point where John could feel it vibrating between them. "The spirit is life, not the body," Roarke replied. "My sentience is one with Atlantis. She is my body, so to speak."

"Oh." John hadn't seen that coming and he was afraid that if it were true, then he and everyone in Atlantis was in big trouble. So he risked dropping his focus off Roarke for a moment, so he could connect with the city. It shocked John when he felt a sudden wave of cold anger. Atlantis was pissed as hell. Only, thankfully, it didn't seem to be directed at him.

Opening his eyes, John grinned at Roarke. "I don't think Atlantis likes you," he taunted.

Roarke's image wavered and almost disappeared for a moment. "She obeys me!" he snarled.

"You sure about that?" John shot back, because he was still fully connected with Atlantis, which was cool beyond belief. In fact she was allowing him to fully multi-task. He was able to focus on Roarke but, at the same time, he was now able to sense the others. He knew their location and he made contact with Ronon, feeling the Satedan's surprise. He spoke to Ronon in his head, praying his team mate would hear him.

"Follow my lead," John sent to him.

He wanted to say more. He wanted to let Ronon know that he was searching for a way to get them out of this area and back somewhere safe. But Roarke seemed to sense what John was doing. Without warning the Game Keeper screamed and in that moment John felt pain sizzle through his body. He bit his lip to keep from crying out, but everything started fading into black.

OoO

Ronon led the way down a long, curving, shadowy corridor. He had no idea where he was going, whether it led into danger or a dead end, but he kept going. He sensed it was the right way to go.

From behind him, Rodney piped up, "What the hell is going on here?"

"Don't know much," Ronon replied.

"Tell us what you can," Teyla prompted, from her position in the rear. She was trying to keep an eye on Lorne who was weaving a bit.

Ronon considered what to tell them, then decided on just revealing everything that had happened to him and Sheppard. He ended with how the Colonel had healed his leg.

Carson was astounded. "You were injured? Let me check it. You should have said something."

"It feels fine," Ronon said, because it did. Because it felt better the more he kept using it. It didn't make sense that Sheppard could heal him, but Ronon wasn't going to question it. He was up to par again, which meant he could protect the others. That's what Sheppard wanted him to do, so that's what he was going to do. So he nudged Beckett away from him when the doctor started hovering. "You can fuss later," he told them. "When we're all out of here." He was including Sheppard.

"So, you're saying we're a part of some game?" Lorne queried, using the fact that they had stopped walking for the moment to slump against the wall.

Ronon shrugged. "Something like that."

Carson sighed. "I don't like games."

"You suck at games," Rodney stated, smirking a bit, until reality seemed to hit him. "This Game Keeper person might kill us! Oh my god! Doesn't he know we're real? That we're real people and if he kills us we'll really be dead?" Panic was clear in his tone and glittering in his eyes and he started pacing, nervously, bumping into Carson and not even apologizing.

"Colonel Sheppard will take out this Game Keeper guy," Lorne said firmly, giving Rodney the evil eye. Or trying too. Rodney was too busy mumbling to himself to pay attention.

Before Ronon could snap at McKay the lights went out, plunging them into complete darkness. There was a moment of heavy silence, where only the sound of their breathing could be heard, when Rodney timidly whispered,

"This can't be good."

OoO

John came back to his senses with an almost jolt. A painful jolt at that. Roarke was pacing in front of him, ranting and raving and sort of fading in and out of being. Pain made John grit his teeth as he straightened himself in the chair. Then he felt a sort of tingly and realized that Atlantis was trying to help him.

His thoughts went immediately to his friends, so John closed his eyes and focused on them. And suddenly the image of them appeared in his head. His eyes flew open and he looked at the screen. It was still blank. John closed his eyes again and realized the image was in his head. And that it looked kinda fuzzy. Mentally he reached out to them.

"Guys?"

"Sheppard?" It was Ronon.

Relief washed over John. "You okay? Everyone?"

There was a strange banging sound then Rodney's loud exclamation. "No! We're not okay! We're in the dark!"

"What?" That surprised John.

"There is no light, John," Teyla interjected. "Can you help us?"

John wondered how to answer her. He concentrated on making things brighter, but it would have helped if he knew where they were and why it was dark. To his susprise, Atlantis was there, guiding him. Explaining to him in his head without a word. They were in the dark, more or less, because he was. Which made John focus harder.

"Thanks, Sheppard," Ronon suddenly stated.

"We have light." That was Rodney. "How did he do that?" Then louder. "How are you doing that?"

John knew that the question was directed at him. He didn't have an answer so he made one up. One guaranteed to irriate Rodney. "Magic," he replied. "So, you guys okay now?"

Rodney snorted. "We'd be better if we weren't stuck here."

"Working on that," John said, even as he sensed that something wasn't right. He opened his eyes to see Roarke almost hovering over him. Which made John lose his connection with his friends.

"You have turned her against me!" Roarke roared, his image so faded now that he was almost transparent.

John didn't have to ask what he meant. He knew Roarke was talking about Atlantis and he wasn't sorry. He shrugged. "What can I say? She likes me better."

Roarke didn't get angrier, like John figured he would. Instead he looked amused. Dangerously so. "That means nothing, Sheppard. I am stronger than the both of you. I shall bend her to my will."

"What does that mean exactly?" John prompted, a bad feeling forming in his gut.

"You shall soon see," Roarke whispered, then he simply vanished in a shimmer of light.

John did not like the sound of that.

"Sheppard?" It was Ronon again.

"Yeah, what?" John was too distracted, and too worried about what was obviously a threat from Roarke, to be polite.

It was Teyla who responded. "Are you all right, John?"

He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, telling himself to remain calm. He had to be in control here. John knew Roarke was going to do something and that it would be something bad. He had to be ready to deal with it. "I'm fine," he said, reassuringly. "I just need to get you guys out of there."

"That would be nice," Rodney piped up, dripping sarcasm. "And if you could get my equipment to work, that would be even better."

"I'll see what I can do," John quipped, focusing half his attention back on his team. He was still fully connected to Atlantis and he asked her to help him find a way out for his friends. A moment later, John saw the schematics of where they were in his head and it didn't take long for him to send the information into the scanner Rodney held. He knew Rodney had modified it a long time ago, so that it would act as a navigational tool, among other things. "Your scanner should be working again," John said, lifting one hand to rub at his forehead. It was getting easier to do things, with Atlantis's help, but it still hurt.

Rodney looked surprised, but he stared at the screen a moment, punched a few buttons, then smiled. "I take it we follow the red line?"

John chuckled. "Yeah. I thought about making it yellow, but it was a lame joke."

"When aren't your jokes lame?" Rodney shot back.

"Rodney!" Carson chided him. Then he turned his attention to John. "How are you doing, Colonel? You sound tired."

It never ceased to amuse John how Beckett couldn't seem to turn off his mother mode. "I'm fine. I'll be perfect when you guys get out of there."

Rodney grunted at that. "Captain Obvious, you are." He was pointing the scanner to his left, then he started walking. "Follow me," he told the others. Then he looked up, as if he thought he might see John by doing so. "Unless you can beam us out of here, Scotty."

"Would that I could," John replied, not taking offense. But he really rather wished he could do just that. Beam them all to safety.

Rodney smirked then started walking again, only to smack into something and cry out. A wall had suddenly appeared before him. "Uh oh," he whispered.

John didn't like what he was seeing, especially when he realized that his friends were suddenly boxed in. Literally. They looked like they were in a giant box.

"This is so not good," Rodney whispered.

"Can't budge it," Ronon commented, pressing hard against it with his shoulder.

Lorne was trying the same thing across from him. "I think we're boxed in," he stated.

John knew this was Roarke's doing. He was just about ask Atlantis to fix it when Teyla started coughing. Then Rodney followed suit. Then the others. "What's going on?" John shouted, almost leaping out of the chair. But he remembered to stay put because he was pretty sure the Chair was his connection to Atlantis.

"Air," Rodney replied. "No air." He had fallen to his knees.

Carson soon followed him, then the others. Ronon was the last one down.

John thought he could see them turning blue. "NO!" He shouted. "NO! STOP IT!" He pounded his fists on the arms of the chair, knowing it wasn't helping to yell, but feeling himself slipping into a full blown panic. But his friends were still suffocating, so John did the only thing he could think of. He focused on Atlantis, begging for her help, then he concentrated on sending air to his friends. At the same time he imagined the box disappearing. Only it wasn't and John realized just how much control Roarke did have. But he wasn't giving up.

Concentrating harder, John willed the box to fill with air. He felt almost sick with relief when his friends seemed to suck in a collective breath of air, then all of them started coughing. "Rodney? Teyla? You guys okay?" He heard the way his voice trembled, and told himself it was just from exertion. His entire body was shaking from his efforts.

"I believe we are...okay," Teyla replied, after a moment. She was slowing rising to her feet then went about helping Rodney to his.

Ronon was already up and pointing. "What's that?"

Everyone looked to see what he was pointing at. Which looked like a shimmery wall. Only it was all around them.

Lorne poked at it then laughed. "Tingles a bit."

"Can't push through it," Rodney commented, as he timidly pushed a finger into it. The more he tried the more intrigued he seemed to become. He pushed again, then held up his scanner. "It's a force field of some kind," he announced. "Filled with sweet, breathable, air."

"I feel rather like I'm in a bubble," Carson announced, his expression grim.

Rodney snorted at his friend, then explained. "In a way you are. It's just a vacuum-sealed bubble.

Lorne was suddenly grinning. "I take it we have you to thank for this, Colonel?" He was talking louder, as if to be sure John could hear him.

"Of course it's him," Rodney interjected. "I just don't understand how he's doing it."

That makes two of us," John replied, trying to keep from revealing how much pain he was in. Because right now he hurt like a sonofabitch. In fact, his head felt like it might burst from the pressure. Apparently Atlantis knew he was hurting, because he felt a warmth spread through him and the pain eased. It didn't disappear, but it eased enough that he felt like he could breathe again without wanting to hurl.

Wishing there was something more he could do to help his friends, John was startled when Rodney's radio beeped.

Then a familiar voice filled the air. "Rodney? Are you there?" It was Elizabeth.

Rodney fumbled with his ear piece. "Yes, yes! We're all here. How did you get through?"

"You tell me?" Weir sounded both relieved and exasperated. "We've been trying to contact you at five minute intervals for the last six hours."

"We have troubles!" Zelenka's voice interjected.

Rodney was the first to respond. "What kind of troubles?"

There was a torturous moment of silence before Zelenka replied. "Systems are randomly shutting off and on. I have no control over them. Environmental systems. Power systems. The importants things."

"Figures," Rodney sighed.

Before anyone else could comment, there was a loud boom. Loud enough and strong enough that they all felt it.

Carson found himself clinging to Teyla for support. "What was that?"

"I don't want to know!" Rodney shouted, eyeballing his scanner and not looking happy.

John had been listening to all of this. He knew that Roarke was trying to destroy Atlantis in an attempt to destroy everyone. He had no doubt but that the Game Keeper was petty enough to do such a thing. John just prayed he wasn't really powerful enough to make it happen.

To that end he made himself relax in the chair and deepen his connection to Atlantis. He ignored her pain, even while trying to buffer it, and he urged her to do the same. John knew he had to become one with Atlantis. He had no idea if that was even possible, or what it meant for either one of them if he succeeded, he just knew he had to try. Because he could feel Roarke trying to shut Atlantis down, system by system. He could see and feel Atlantis fighting back. He did what he could to help her, tuning everything, and everyone, else out.

Bit by bit he helped her to bring shut down systems back online, but making the repairs, diverting power, offering his own strength to Atlantis was taking it's toll on John. Everything hurt. But he knew he had to get control or Atlantis was doomed. No way in hell was he going to let Roarke do that. It didn't help, however, that Roarke was a part of Atlantis, which meant they had to cut him out somehow.

Some part of his mind was working towards that end. Towards finding a way to get rid of Roarke. It came to him in a flash, what they needed to do. "Follow my lead," he told Atlantis. She let him know that she would do whatever he asked of her, which was both comforting and rather creepy. But he didn't let himself think about that.

John knew his idea was risky. He figured the only way to get Roarke out was to overload everything. Every system. Maybe that way they could burn Roarke out of existence. It was a long shot, but the only one they had, which Atlantis confirmed. She was willing to do this.

The had part was going to be keeping the balance. As one, he and Atlantis figured out what they needed to do. There was no thought or pattern or reason to how they worked. To the way Atlantis did repairs and John helped, even as he helped her to send power overloads to various systems, jumping ahead of Roarke and the damage the Game Keeper was creating. Atlantis was a hum in John's head, a warmth in his veins. She was every breath he took until he realized he was flying in the way that Atlantis flew. Soaring through her systems at the speed of light and beyond. He was every circuit, and he easily memorized every conduit he flowed through. It was exhilerating and terrifying and he would miss it when he was gone.

As John worked, he was unaware of the others.

Zelenka was keeping track of everything that happened and relaying what he could to Rodney. "Systems are overloading," he announced, his voice sharp and tight with fear.

"On no!" Rodney looked horrified as he punched buttons on his scanner. "I hope Sheppard knows what the hell he's doing!"

"What if it's not Sheppard doing this?" Ronon countered, because it was a reasonable question.

Rodney glared at him. "I hate you!" he snarled, because he couldn't even let himself think that way. If he did, he knew better than anyone how doomed they would be.

Teyla opened her mouth, no doubt to play peace keeper, when everything went black.

There was a moment of silence, suddenly broken by Lorne tapping his radio. "Zelenka? Dr. Weir?"

No response.

"Rodney?" Carson prompted, feeling around in the dark for his friend.

Fear rippled between them as Rodney tried to swallow the lump in his throat. It was like waiting for Armageddon. He could feel coldness seeping into his flesh. He could almost taste defeat. But he didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, anymore than he wanted to die in the dark like this.

Before he could find the words, a flash of brilliant white light blinded them. Rodney heard the other's gasp, even as he heard his own cry of fear. Then he was blinking in the sudden brightness. It slowly faded to normal light and he found himself smiling as he realized he was still alive. They all were.

Elizabeth's voice crackled in their radios. "Rodney? Teyla? Are you there?"

"We're here," Rodney announced, unable to hide his glee.

But his joy was shortlived when Teyla suddenly called out, "John? Can you hear me?"

They all waited, holding their breath, for Sheppard to reply. There was nothing.

Even as Rodney started to turn, to look for a way out, the walls around them dissolved and they found themselves in the game room. Sheppard was slumped in the chair.

Ronon was the first to reach his side, followed closely by Carson. Ronon looked coiled tight, like he was ready to punch something.

The doctor reached for Sheppard's wrist, taking his pulse, even as he tapped the Colonel's cheek with his other hand. "Colonel Sheppard, lad. Can you hear me?"

John did hear him and he forced his eyes open, even though it hurt to do so. "G-game over?" he whispered, feeling tension coil in his belly. If he failed, then they were all doomed.

Carson looked at Rodney who had been conversing with Zelenka on his radio, while keeping one eye on Sheppard. "Systems are all back to normal," he announced.

"Game over, John," Teyla announced, from her spot where she had elbowed in next to Ronon. "Rest now."

"Nice going, Sheppard," Ronon said, offering a grim smile.

John tried to nod but everything was turning gray. He slid into shadows, then darkness.

"I need a gurney!" Carson shouted, not thinking to use his radio.

Lorne was ahead of him. "A gurney and a med team are on their way."

Carson was eyeing Sheppard with concern. "How long till they get here?"

Rodney answered. "Zelenka and I are trying to coordinate directions, but we're in uncharted territory here."

"Which translates into too long," Ronon stated. He pushed Carson aside and scooped John into his arms. He knew Sheppard would hate being carried, but it wasn't the first time he'd done it and Ronon doubted it would be the last. "I can get us back," Ronon assured Carson, as he headed out the door. He wasn't sure how he knew he could, he just knew. So he headed out the door, with John cradled safely in his arms.

OoO

John heard voices. They sounded a bit fuzzy and they were definitely annoying, but they drew him towards consciousness, none the less. His eyelids weren't being very cooperative though. They felt like they were glued together and he finally lifted a heavy hand to rub at them. Finally he was able to blink them open.

"He's awake," someone announced.

John recognized Rodney's voice. He blinked a few times and suddenly five fuzzy faces came into focus from where they circled his bed. He winced as he realized he was in the infirmary. He winced again when he realized he not only had an IV, but a catheter as well. Which meant he'd been out of it for a considerable amount of time. Before he could ask, Teyla was there with a cup of water and held the straw while he sipped.

She smiled and answered his question before he could ask it. "It's been almost thirty-two hours, John. How are you feeling?"

"Been better, been worse," he replied. His body ached all over, but it was managable. His head ached too, but it was a dull pain that was more annoying than anything else. Carson must have him on the good drugs. "Is the GameKeeper gone?" He looked at Rodney as he asked.

"From what Zelenka and I can tell, yes," Rodney replied. "We just can't figure out how you did it. I mean, obviously you overloaded the systems and burned him out. We ran scans and Atlantis is showing us what appears to be a virus that has now been neutralized. So to speak."

John felt like he could suddenly breathe better. He closed his eyes a moment, connecting with Atlantis, realizing he had been feeling her hum all along. She added her reassurances that she was okay and that Roarke was gone. "Good riddance then," John slurred. For someone who had just woken up, he was feeling sleepy again.

Carson noticed. "Rest is the best thing for you right now, Colonel," he said firmly. "You can tell us everything later. Much later. Right now I want you to sleep and when you wake up again I'm betting you'll feel more like a hot shower and a good meal."

"And no catheter," John interjected, because he really hated those things.

"Of course," Carson conceded. "Sleep now."

John started to close his eyes but he remembered one more thing. "Wait," he croaked, and all eyes turned upon him. "What about the other chair? We need to destroy it, just to make sure." He didn't want anything connected to the Game Keeper left behind.

Ronon chuckled. "Already taken care of. I blasted it."

"Good." John was pleased. He wanted to ask Rodney a few more things, but his eyelids were drooping and his tongue felt too thick to form words. He vaguely heard Carson shooing everyone out and Ronon arguing. Then a thump of a chair and his bed creaking and shifting a bit. He managed to prop one eye open to a slit to see Ronon sprawled out in a chair with his feet on the end of John's bed.

Ronon leaned forward and patted John on the leg. "Good game, Sheppard," he stated. "Get some sleep. You'll need it when we start running again."

John had a great come back for that, only he was too tired to spit it out. He'd have to remember it for later. Right now he was content to let Atlantis sing him to him, as he drifted off into sweet dreams.

THE END