The Wizard of Atlantis (folklore challenge)
Title: The Wizard of Atlantis
Author: fullygoldy
Rating: What's less than "G"?
Category: Gen
Spoilers: Through Season 2
Word count: 1079
Warnings: There's a bad, very bad, wrong, with a side of bad, manip that goes with the story.
Disclaimer: insert standard form here.
Author’s Note: I'm terrible with graphics. I got the visual first, and figured I better have some text if I was going to post. I apologize in advance for subjecting you to this.
Summary: John Sheppard has a rich interior life.
Wizard of Atlantis
Once upon a time, there was a charming air force officer who suddenly found himself on a grand adventure. It all started with him being somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be, or depending on your point of view, he had been exactly where he was meant to be.
After a whirlwind of arguments, discussions and briefings, the officer stepped through a shining ring of watery light and emerged into a world of wonder that lit up for him with each footstep. He felt as if he were seeing in color for the first time ever. “Well, John,” he murmured, “a wormhole may be nothing like a tornado, but this sure as hell ain’t Kansas.”
John quickly began to recognize the rest of the expedition members. First of all, there was a cowardly lion. The lion had to be first because he was (besides being the smartest man in two galaxies) the loudest and most attention-arresting person on the expedition. He was vociferously ferocious about his own safety and security, but when push came to shove, John found Lion’s courage actually matched his fearsome brain. Along with Lion came Scarecrow. Scarecrow was a bit foreign, and Lion loudly proclaimed his lack of a brain, but John realized that Scarecrow really was quite smart, and Lion wouldn’t want to be caught dead in *any* galaxy without Scarecrow by his side.
There was the Mayor of the fabled city, Elizabeth. She was talented and beautiful; the fate of the expedition and the city ultimately lay with her. She became adept at handling the “local” petitioners, or hiding the truth of the city’s presence as necessary. She was always sending John and Lion out on impossible missions. ‘Bring back food’ seemed straightforward, and ‘Find new friends cum trading partners’ sounded innocent enough, but they always seemed to devolve into scary and dangerous. The toughest was the search for the Zero Point Module (preferably fully charged), and John often felt that they’d never fulfill this ultimate task.
He realized he’d met the Wicked Witch of the Pegasus Galaxy and her distant relation, the Good Witch of Athos, almost immediately. If he could take anything back, it would be waking that Wicked Wraith and her race of flying monkeys life-sucking space vampires. They were the reason all the other missions became so difficult, showing up at the most inopportune times, and trying to kill everyone. It was just too bad that a bucket of water, or a nuclear bomb couldn’t rid an otherwise fantastic galaxy of that problem. The Good Witch was one of John’s favorite people though. He felt badly about making it harder for her to keep her Munchkins safe and happy, but he tried to make up for it by offering whatever shelter and assistance he could provide. In return, she became part of his team too, and guided John, Lion and Scarecrow, as well as caring for her own people.
Unfortunately, John’s Toto, a loyal and enthusiastic young man, was lost one day. The Wicked Wraith had attacked Atlantis yet again, and Toto had gone missing. When found, he was half out of his mind with fear and pain, and couldn’t recognize the love and help of his friends. Toto ran away, and John vowed to find him, to bring him home. It was an easily made vow; difficult only in the execution. John’s friends supported him in his quest, helping to search the galaxy far and wide for Toto.
While searching, the team ran across a tin man with a very sad tale. The Wicked Wraith had wreaked havoc on his home world, killing or dispersing everyone, and in the process, had ripped out Tin Man’s heart. Everything; everyone he had loved, was gone forever. He had been cut off from civilization, alternately running from and fighting the Wraith for many years. He was hardly recognizable as a man, but John insisted he come to Atlantis. Elizabeth was convinced to let him stay, and Tin Man joined the search for Toto, food and ZPMs. His strength, size and cunning made him a particularly valuable member of the team.
They went on in this way until the day a great storm enveloped the city. Every citizen was called upon to save the city from the ravages of the storm, and during the course of their Herculean effort, John hit his head. Upon coming to, he didn’t seem to recognize anyone. Lion was terribly worried that John would be sent away from Atlantis if he didn’t recover his memories. Scarecrow thought they should try to get the memories back. Tin Man realized that his heart was where his home was, and didn’t think he could take losing either one again. The Good Witch knew it would be much more difficult to protect her people, old and new, without John’s help. So they decided to follow Scarecrow’s plan. Elizabeth gave her permission, and accompanied them all to the restricted hall where the special chair resided. Only a great Wizard could operate the chair properly. Others had tried, and tended to make messes. Lion helped John into the chair, which began to glow as soon as John was seated. “Did I do that?” he asked.
“Shh. It’s okay. Just think about where you are in the universe.”
Suddenly, the air was lit with constellations swirling above them. They all stared in awe. John looked at all their faces tipped up to the stars, glowing from without and within, and he knew with perfect clarity, who they were.
“Rodney.”
Rodney jumped, then gripped John’s arm harder. “Oh thank god. You remember.”
“Yeah. Ronon?”
Ronon bowed his head slightly, while curling the fingers of his right hand over his left breast. The barest of smiles played on his face, but John knew it held as much joy as the wide grins on all of his other friends’ faces.
“Radek, you thought of this, didn’t you?”
Zelenka grinned smugly and touched two fingers to his brow in casual salute.
“Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth was obviously torn between happiness at John’s return and awe over his unconscious control of the chair. “John, do you know what this is?”
He looked up at the now-familiar patterns, and thought about the long road he’d traveled to reach this point. “Home,” he breathed.
A low voice chimed, “And do you know who you are now?”
“Yes, Teyla,” I’m the Wizard of Atlantis. And I’ll never leave again, because “There’s no place like home.”
Author: fullygoldy
Rating: What's less than "G"?
Category: Gen
Spoilers: Through Season 2
Word count: 1079
Warnings: There's a bad, very bad, wrong, with a side of bad, manip that goes with the story.
Disclaimer: insert standard form here.
Author’s Note: I'm terrible with graphics. I got the visual first, and figured I better have some text if I was going to post. I apologize in advance for subjecting you to this.
Summary: John Sheppard has a rich interior life.
Wizard of Atlantis
Once upon a time, there was a charming air force officer who suddenly found himself on a grand adventure. It all started with him being somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be, or depending on your point of view, he had been exactly where he was meant to be.
After a whirlwind of arguments, discussions and briefings, the officer stepped through a shining ring of watery light and emerged into a world of wonder that lit up for him with each footstep. He felt as if he were seeing in color for the first time ever. “Well, John,” he murmured, “a wormhole may be nothing like a tornado, but this sure as hell ain’t Kansas.”
John quickly began to recognize the rest of the expedition members. First of all, there was a cowardly lion. The lion had to be first because he was (besides being the smartest man in two galaxies) the loudest and most attention-arresting person on the expedition. He was vociferously ferocious about his own safety and security, but when push came to shove, John found Lion’s courage actually matched his fearsome brain. Along with Lion came Scarecrow. Scarecrow was a bit foreign, and Lion loudly proclaimed his lack of a brain, but John realized that Scarecrow really was quite smart, and Lion wouldn’t want to be caught dead in *any* galaxy without Scarecrow by his side.
There was the Mayor of the fabled city, Elizabeth. She was talented and beautiful; the fate of the expedition and the city ultimately lay with her. She became adept at handling the “local” petitioners, or hiding the truth of the city’s presence as necessary. She was always sending John and Lion out on impossible missions. ‘Bring back food’ seemed straightforward, and ‘Find new friends cum trading partners’ sounded innocent enough, but they always seemed to devolve into scary and dangerous. The toughest was the search for the Zero Point Module (preferably fully charged), and John often felt that they’d never fulfill this ultimate task.
He realized he’d met the Wicked Witch of the Pegasus Galaxy and her distant relation, the Good Witch of Athos, almost immediately. If he could take anything back, it would be waking that Wicked Wraith and her race of flying monkeys life-sucking space vampires. They were the reason all the other missions became so difficult, showing up at the most inopportune times, and trying to kill everyone. It was just too bad that a bucket of water, or a nuclear bomb couldn’t rid an otherwise fantastic galaxy of that problem. The Good Witch was one of John’s favorite people though. He felt badly about making it harder for her to keep her Munchkins safe and happy, but he tried to make up for it by offering whatever shelter and assistance he could provide. In return, she became part of his team too, and guided John, Lion and Scarecrow, as well as caring for her own people.
Unfortunately, John’s Toto, a loyal and enthusiastic young man, was lost one day. The Wicked Wraith had attacked Atlantis yet again, and Toto had gone missing. When found, he was half out of his mind with fear and pain, and couldn’t recognize the love and help of his friends. Toto ran away, and John vowed to find him, to bring him home. It was an easily made vow; difficult only in the execution. John’s friends supported him in his quest, helping to search the galaxy far and wide for Toto.
While searching, the team ran across a tin man with a very sad tale. The Wicked Wraith had wreaked havoc on his home world, killing or dispersing everyone, and in the process, had ripped out Tin Man’s heart. Everything; everyone he had loved, was gone forever. He had been cut off from civilization, alternately running from and fighting the Wraith for many years. He was hardly recognizable as a man, but John insisted he come to Atlantis. Elizabeth was convinced to let him stay, and Tin Man joined the search for Toto, food and ZPMs. His strength, size and cunning made him a particularly valuable member of the team.
They went on in this way until the day a great storm enveloped the city. Every citizen was called upon to save the city from the ravages of the storm, and during the course of their Herculean effort, John hit his head. Upon coming to, he didn’t seem to recognize anyone. Lion was terribly worried that John would be sent away from Atlantis if he didn’t recover his memories. Scarecrow thought they should try to get the memories back. Tin Man realized that his heart was where his home was, and didn’t think he could take losing either one again. The Good Witch knew it would be much more difficult to protect her people, old and new, without John’s help. So they decided to follow Scarecrow’s plan. Elizabeth gave her permission, and accompanied them all to the restricted hall where the special chair resided. Only a great Wizard could operate the chair properly. Others had tried, and tended to make messes. Lion helped John into the chair, which began to glow as soon as John was seated. “Did I do that?” he asked.
“Shh. It’s okay. Just think about where you are in the universe.”
Suddenly, the air was lit with constellations swirling above them. They all stared in awe. John looked at all their faces tipped up to the stars, glowing from without and within, and he knew with perfect clarity, who they were.
“Rodney.”
Rodney jumped, then gripped John’s arm harder. “Oh thank god. You remember.”
“Yeah. Ronon?”
Ronon bowed his head slightly, while curling the fingers of his right hand over his left breast. The barest of smiles played on his face, but John knew it held as much joy as the wide grins on all of his other friends’ faces.
“Radek, you thought of this, didn’t you?”
Zelenka grinned smugly and touched two fingers to his brow in casual salute.
“Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth was obviously torn between happiness at John’s return and awe over his unconscious control of the chair. “John, do you know what this is?”
He looked up at the now-familiar patterns, and thought about the long road he’d traveled to reach this point. “Home,” he breathed.
A low voice chimed, “And do you know who you are now?”
“Yes, Teyla,” I’m the Wizard of Atlantis. And I’ll never leave again, because “There’s no place like home.”