Chapter 1:

John Sheppard strode into the Gate room, scanning around for his team. Teyla Emmagan, a tan, strong woman stood near Ronan Dex. He was taller then Teyla, and darker. He had long dreadlocks, and massive arms that were muscular. He and the woman alone were deadly with their bare hands. John searched for the third teammate, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Has anyone seen Rodney?" John asked, tightening his strap on his pack that strung onto his back. Teyla looked away from Ronan, who was muttering something to her.

"He was still at the lab when I left him," She said, brushing her reddish brown hair out of her face.

"Over there," Ronan said, pointing over to the automatic opening doors. Rodney rushed in, panting, his face red.

"Oh jeez." He breathed and stumbled in.

"Where were you?" John said, watching Rodney try and catch his breath.

"Some idiot locked the lab doors and they were jammed—" Rodney began but John waved him off.

"Never mind, your shoes are untied." John said pointing to Rodney's shoes. Rodney gasped for air, then ducked down to tie his shoes.

"Colonel Sheppard, are you and your team ready for departure?" said Samantha Carter, leader of the expedition to Atlantis from behind him. John turned away from Rodney who glanced up at the two, but continued to fix his shoes.

"Ready to go," He said, nodding to Sam. Her bright blond hair was braided and she wore the accustom Atlantis personnel outfit, with the slight difference signifying her rank as Colonel.

Sam smiled and nodded and the Gate activated. "Remind me, why are we going to this planet?" Rodney asked, straightening up.

"We need to find more allies. Teyla has also found out that these might be one of the ancient cities that the Ancients protected with top technology. Thought it would be worth checking out," John Sheppard replied.

Rodney sighed. "I do love Ancient tech." He said as the gate finished activating.

"Well, lets see if we can make your day." John said and he stepped back along with the others, as a puddle jumper lowered into the gate room. They all loaded onto the puddle jumper and the gate activated. They flew right on through.

It took only a couple of minutes to find a good landing spot for the puddle jumper, there were many varieties of plants and trees, the place was really green. Ronan looked out of the front window, sitting right behind Sheppard at the controls.

"Is that where we're going?" he asked, pointing to a large city up ahead. It looked ancient, with a large wall surrounding the borders of the city. Sheppard nodded.

"Land right down there," Teyla said suddenly. Sheppard nodded, and took a dive.

John and his team stepped out of the puddle jumper and looked around. It was the greenest place he had every laid eyes on. There were millions of brightly colored flowers, it looked so serene, and empty it couldn't possibly have a village nearby. There was no one in sight.

"Alright, lets head out and see if there's anyone at the village." John commanded. They began making their way to the village.

"How far is this village?" Rodney asked as they kept walking.

"Not very far," Teyla said, leading them.

"How would you know?" said Rodney looking at her. Teyla looked at him with her dark eyes.

"I know my way around. My father once traveled here for a year, and he took me with him to escape the cullings. He knew it was impossible that he would find a planet where the Wraith had not touched, but he did not give up." Teyla said looking away towards the fields ahead.

"What happened?" Ronan asked, in a colorless tone.

"My father had found a perfect planet which had not been touched by the Wraith. This one. He met with the natives, they were quite advanced, but they also possessed a power that could only be bestowed by the Ancients themselves." Rodney looked skeptical, but John was curious.

"Like what?" John asked.

"To be able to control the elements." Teyla said, in a hushed voice.

"Elements?" Rodney said doubtfully. Teyla nodded.

"Water, Earth, Fire, and Air." John looked at Teyla.

"Yeah, like that could happen. Why didn't we just take the puddle jumper to the city instead of walking?" Rodney demanded. Teyla shot him a weary look.

"These people are not used to technologies such as this, Dr. McKay." Teyla explained.

"If these people can control the elements, and I stretch the if, why hasn't the Wraith come and wiped these people out already?" John said. Teyla shrugged.

"I do not know. It is possible the Wraith were also skeptical, or that they didn't believe the people as a threat. But what also bothers me, is that they have not been culled for a long time. It might be due to the fact they can defend themselves, but it would be worth checking out." Teyla said looking at John meaningfully. He didn't answer, but only looked ahead.

The others fell silent, thinking about what they had heard. Rodney strongly doubted that these people actually had any real power over the elements, it was impossible. John doubted it too, but so many strange things had happened to him in his life, that he wasn't sure. Ronan really wasn't going to expect anything just yet, for he knew anything could happen in this galaxy with all the strange races.

It was ten minutes when they finally found the village. Everyone was busily hurrying through the dirt streets. A few stopped dead when they saw the newcomers. They scurried away in fear, for this was probably very strange to them.

The villagers were dressed similar to the way the Chinese or the Japanese would dress, but they looked nothing like the Chinese or Japanese.

"Well, what now?" Rodney asked, stopping along with the others. John opened his mouth, about to tell Rodney exactly what they were going to do, when a low voice shouted above the crowd.

"Stop!" a voice boomed. Rodney jumped. Ronan's hand flew to his holster. John and Teyla stopped dead and exchanged glances.

John and his team turned around to see men, soldiers it looked like, dressed in green uniform, the commander was riding on a strange animal that stood on its hind legs. The commander had jet black hair and a stout chin, and looked very strict. The large animal he was riding was rather feathery and looked like an overlarge bird. The commander prodded the animal forward and stoutly shouted, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

John stepped forward. "My name is John Sheppard and this is Ronan, Teyla, and Rodney. We're explorers." John said, looking up at the man on the bird. The bird cantered back and forth in slight steps as if it was anxious. The man's face was expressionless.

"What are you doing here?" He repeated.

"My name is Teyla Emmagan, we need to speak to your leader. We have matters to discuss about the Wraith." Teyla said firmly, staring at the man hard. The man's lip twitched.

"I do not know what you speak of. You still didn't say who you are. What Nation?" The man asked.

John looked at the others, puzzled. Nation? "We're not from this planet." John said. The crowd gasped and people muttered among themselves.

"I thought you said your dad came here?" Rodney asked Teyla. She didn't answer. She was looking at the man with an odd expression. Almost hatred. Rodney wondered if she knew this man.

The man looked at Sheppard coldly. "Whatever trick you are trying to play, it is not working. You will be arrested immediately for lies and deception. This will not be tolerated." The commander said, pointing a staff at Sheppard's chest.

He stepped forward. Ronan smirked. "What is so funny?" the man snapped. Ronan looked at the man with a smile.

"You're going to arrest us with your bare hands? We have guns, and you have nothing." Ronan said looking at the man as if he were stupid. Indeed, the men surrounding them had no weapons to speak of, except one carried a walking staff, the commander.

The man cocked an eyebrow. "Whatever you speak of, guns or whatever, they are of no use to us. Dai Li, arrest them. Now." The man commanded. The men tensed, ready to jump.

Teyla, Ronan, Rodney, and John all cocked their guns, on guard. "We will defend ourselves! Let us see your master, then you can decide what to do with us then!" Sheppard shouted. But the Commander was not listening.

Teyla tried to persuade him, despite the building anger towards the commander. She was certain this was the man who crippled her father for a short period. "Commander, I assure you, we mean no harm. But we will indeed defend ourselves as Colonel Sheppard has warned you, and they will damage and probably kill you. Please, we wish to do you no harm," Teyla added, pleading in her voice.

The commander regarded her coldly. "It is the opposite, young lady. We do not wish to harm you, but if you come peacefully, it will not come to that. We can injure you, whether you believe us or not. Now, will you come peacefully?" the commander said in a mockingly pacifying voice. He grinned at his other companions, as if he knew otherwise.

Ronan scoffed. "When has anyone gone peacefully to jail? That's a laugh," he looked up at the commander who gave him a nasty look.

"No? Well then, I'm very sorry to hear that," he said, not sounding very sorry at all. "Dai Li, you know what to do. Bring these rogues in. Now." The commander reared back his bird, and trotted off, leaving the village staring after him. The village was already cleared out, most in their homes, but the men stayed to watch the commotion.

The Dai Li moved with shocking speed. They spun and flowed in synchronization, and John was so entranced by their movement, that he did not realize that he was being encased in rising rock until Rodney let out a yelp.

"Hey!" John cried out angrily as his gun was jerked out of his hand and cascaded to the ground, he could hear the other guns clattering to the ground, and assumed it had happened to the others. The Dai Li had shot rocks in the shape of hands that were connected to a chain, and the rock hand had actually grabbed the gun out of his hand.

"What the—" John began, but the Dai Li moved more agile now, and they all raised their arms, and the earth moved with them, trapping the team into a tight cage. They could barely move their arms.

John tried to wriggle out of the trap, but it was no use. "You try and defy the Earth Kingdom!" one of the Dai Li roared. "That will not happen, for we will crush you where you stand!"

John just looked at him, dazed. The man nodded. "What the heck is going on here?" John demanded, infuriated that this plan was going way off course.

The Dai Li did not answer, they only jumped back into a straight line, waiting for their commander to return. Rodney looked from Ronan to John to Teyla. "Oh, this is not good." Rodney moaned.

Aang groaned as he entered back into the house. Katara was sitting on a floor mat, leaning over a coffee table and looking at a couple of papers, Momo, the pet flying lemur, was sitting on Katara's back, picking at Katara's hair. She waved him away and he chattered, disgruntled. "How many more flyers did you get up?" Katara asked, brushing back a strand of hair, not looking up. Aang shrugged hopelessly, looking towards Katara gloomily.

"About twenty more. But nobody has seen Appa at all. How do we even know he's still here?" Aang asked, walking over and sitting down next to her. Katara looked at Aang with sympathy.

Aang had lost his flying Bison to a couple of hunters back in the desert. They had been searching for him ever since they came to the city Ba Sing Se.

"Aang, don't worry. We'll find him, it won't be much longer." Katara soothed. Aang nodded dully.

"I just hope he isn't hurt." He said and Katara gave him half a hug, then looked over his bald head.

The front doors swung open and Toph and Sokka entered, breathless. "We need more flyers." Sokka said, clutching at his chest and gasping. Katara handed him a stack. "Thanks," He said and he and Toph bolted out the doors. Aang and Katara looked at each other, then shrugged.

Sokka and Toph hurried around, posting up as much as they could. "Tell me again, why are we rushing?" Sokka asked, panting. Toph handed him a poster.

"So then we can find Appa faster, and Aang can stop sulking and concentrate on his earthbending." Toph said, slapping a poster on the wall, upside down. Sokka groaned, and fixed the poster.

"I very much doubt that Appa will be found faster if we stick flyers all around the city." Sokka said grumpily, slapping another poster on a wall.

Toph rolled her eyes. "Stop being a baby. Now lets hurry and get to the next wall, its not completely filled with posters." Toph said, but then a loud cry come from behind them.

Sokka jerked his head up.

"What was that?" He said looking around. There seemed to be a commotion coming from the entrance of the city. Toph shrugged and grabbed his arm.

"Lets go see!" She said eagerly and dragged Sokka to the source of the cry.

A crowd was forming as some tumult began in the center of the square. Toph shoved her way a little to see what was going on. A group of four strange adults dressed in black suits were being held together by rock. Toph knew who must've done this. "Dai Li," Toph hissed to Sokka, and he nodded.

"What did they do to get arrested?" Sokka asked, scanning the scene. A black item on the ground caught his eye. "Hey, what's that?" he asked, pointing to the ground. Toph looked around, and though she was blind, she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"No idea. It must be dangerous, or the Dai Li wouldn't have cared if they kept them." Toph said.

One of the men moaned. Toph concentrated on her sense of feeling, and identified the four figures. They were panicking, and in shock. She tried to identify any harsh feelings, and wasn't disappointed. Two of the men were fuming and the other was just panicking, maybe trying to figure out how to get out of this. The woman, Toph was surprised, was pregnant, but was also angry.

"Why are they arresting a pregnant woman?" Toph wondered out loud. Sokka looked at her surprised.

"She's pregnant?" Sokka said. Toph nodded. "She'll never survive in the prisons with a child!" Sokka said shocked.

"We have to free them." Toph and Sokka said simultaneously after a pause. Toph grinned.

"You ready Boomerang Boy?" Toph said. Sokka nodded.

"Yeah, but can you stop calling me that? It doesn't flow." Sokka complained. Toph rolled her eyes.

"You don't flow." She retorted and took off with Sokka scrambling behind her.

John struggled to come up with a solution to this bizarre problem. "Rodney, you got anything?" John said after a moment. Rodney looked at him incredulously, (after craning his neck as far as he possibly could, as John was behind him.)

"Do I got anything? No, was I supposed to? I have no idea what to do, sorry to disappoint you." Rodney snapped. John sighed.

"We'll need a miracle." Ronan said glaring at the Dai Li.

"We are so screwed." Rodney said. John, who was ignoring Rodney's comments, noticed a girl and a boy, hurrying their way through the crowd. The girl was wearing a green tunic and skirt, the boy was wearing blue. The girl jumped over an elderly man who was bickering to the next man and landed perfectly. The girl stomped her foot into the ground, and miraculously, a boulder ten times bigger than her rose into the air. She shoved it at one of the Dai Li, and it knocked the man clear off his feet. She maneuvered so quickly, using intricate techniques, Teyla and Ronan couldn't help but admire her ferocity.

The boy, however, used a boomerang to knock out the Dai Li. It was pretty affective. The girl sprinted to the boulder-like cage and grinned. "How's this for a miracle?" She said to a shocked Ronan and brought her palms up, and then pushed down as hard as she could. The boulder trembled and then sank back into the ground.

The boy motioned for the team to follow him while the girl punched a Dai Li officer in the gut. "Go!" She said, with much force. The team followed the boy while the girl kept the soldiers busy.

They ran through the city, which was a huge maze, and took four turns and finally the boy slowed down, but checked the area.

Once the boy was sure the way was clear, he stopped. "That was close!" He wheezed. John stopped and looked at Ronan and Rodney, then he looked back to the boy.

"Thanks. Who are you?" John said. The boy straightened up, boomerang still in hand.

"My name is Sokka. Toph should be getting back any second now, it doesn't take her that long to take out a few soldiers." Sokka said, looking over their shoulders for any sight of Toph. John nodded.

"I'm John Sheppard, this is Ronan, Teyla, and Rodney." John introduced.

Sokka nodded. "One question," He said, brushing off his shirt. "Why were the Dai Li trying to arrest you?" He looked up, curious. John sighed, and looked at his team.

"Well, we were accused of lying and trickery, for one." Rodney said coldly. Sokka looked puzzled.

"Lying? You must've told a pretty big lie to tick off one of the Commanders. What did you say?" Sokka asked eagerly stowing his boomerang in the back of his belt.

Rodney began but then he was interrupted as Toph barreled through. "Run to the house!" She cried and zoomed forward. Sokka stood there for a moment.

"Well, come on!" He said turning and sprinting after her.

John looked at Teyla. "Can you run?" He asked her, concerned for her child. She nodded.

But John wasn't convinced. "I don't believe you, Ronan!" he yelled and Ronan turned. "Carry Teyla, come on!" Ronan looked at Teyla, who was looking annoyed, then shrugged. He walked over to Teyla, and carried her, trotting as fast as he could after Sokka.

"This is ridiculous!" Teyla shouted at John who merely grinned. He ran after them, leaving Rodney standing there. He finally took off after them, and was the last one to reach the large house that had a large balcony, where a boy and a girl were talking with Toph and Sokka and the team.

"This is getting weirder by the second." Rodney said once he walked up next to Sheppard. He spotted a large arrow on the boy's head, which happened to be bald. "You're telling me," John said.