Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, places, races, or ideas associated with the series Stargate Atlantis.

Claimer: I do, however, claim all rights to my Searian and the 'new threat'. . .

This is a response to a challenge that, surprisingly enough, I posted. lol. The idea wouldn't stop nagging at me until I started to type.

Beta'ed by the one and only Amaruk Wolfheart of the Wraith. XD …and I much appreciate it! 'flying tackle glomps you'

Alright…I must warn you that I have a terrible habit of not updating for extreme periods of time. So…you have been warned.

The Return

Chapter one: Awakening

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Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. The echoes of the frantic person's footsteps echoed down Atlantis's dark corridors.

"I must find somewhere to hide!" she muttered fiercely to herself. "Hiding within our own fucking city – why didn't the computers alert us!" She heard a noise coming from a few corridors back and increased her pace all the more. "Damn!" She jerked to the right and down another hall in the maze known as Atlantis.

The computers hadn't picked up on the attack until it was too late. It was almost as if the alien ships hadn't even existed until they were already within the planet's atmosphere. They were of a completely different design than the Atlantians had seen thus far. The technology was advanced, highly advanced. Maybe even on par with the Ancients. Colonel Carter had ordered an immediate evacuation through the 'Gate, but on attempting to dial the 'Gate the knowledge that there was going to be no escaping Atlantis hit everyone like a rock. The Stargate wouldn't respond to any commands given. It sat lifeless, mocking everyone present. As a matter of fact, they soon found out that the whole of The Great City of Atlantis's main systems was unresponsive. It did not react to the initiation of weapons, the command to self destruct, or the attempt to open the bay doors so they could try to defend the city with the jumpers.

The city, their home for more than three years, laughed at their despair. It would seem that it was to be their tomb.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. The young woman rounded another corner to the right, her auburn elbow-length hair trailing behind her in waves. Luckily, the city's computers were still down from whatever it was this new alien threat had hit it with, so they didn't have the advantage of using the internal life signs detector to find the expedition's personnel. It would hopefully make finding the Atlantians a bitch. Unfortunately for Searian and a few others, they were spotted before they had made it very far into the city. Thus, Searian's current predicament. She wasn't sure where she was going exactly, just that she had to get there, and quick. It was almost as if her body was deciding on where she was going even before she did.

The woman had only recently been recruited to fill the position left open by Kate Heightmeyer. Before being given her security clearance she hadn't even known sentient alien beings existed, let alone that a race of them had lived on Earth hundreds of years before she was even born. Upon arriving at the SGC back on Earth, she had been given a pile of reports to read in order to help her get up to speed on the situation so far at Atlantis and different records on what they knew of the separate alien races they thought she needed to familiarize herself with. Once reaching Atlantis, she was given even more of these files on topics the SGC hadn't breached.

Needless to say, she wasn't prepared for any kind of siege of this caliber so soon after her arrival. It just wasn't fair in her mind, but from what she had read of the files she knew she wasn't the only one that had felt that way. The thought didn't make her feel any better.

Left. Right. Left. Up a short incline on the left and down yet another dark and dreary corridor on the right.

Over her own echoing footsteps she heard her pursuer growing closer.

I wish it would just leave me ALONE. But that would be too easy, wouldn't it? she thought sarcastically.

She turned her attention back to where she was going and noticed a door almost at the end of the corridor on the left. Why this door stood out to her, she didn't know. She had passed many just like it in the halls she had already put behind her. Without thinking, she threw all her effort and energy into getting to that door. For some reason she felt if she could only get inside everything would be all right. A few seconds later, she reached the door and waved her hand across its control panel. She whirled and backed into the room, watching back down the corridor until the door cut off her view. She didn't see her pursuer before the door closed, but she could still hear him. If it was a him. She turned to the room and began to look for anything that would help her defend herself.

"Lab. Great."

Her eyes scanned carefully around the plain room looking for a rod, a pole, a gun… Heck she could dream, couldn't she? There where the usual consoles and screens, a table, and some bubbling test tubes. She froze in her searching of the room when her eyes fell across a stasis pod on the opposite side of the lab.

"Wraith!" she choked through her suddenly very dry mouth.

Inside the pod stood a Wraith. Long pale hair hung just above its waist, contrasting harshly with the black of its clothes. The pale green skin glistened slightly in the gloom of the lab, and its golden eyes were hidden behind closed lids.

Searian had only seen a Wraith with her own eyes twice before, and both times she had been almost too scared to move.

She took a few hesitant steps closer in order to get a better look. It didn't seem to be breathing.

"Dead." Strangely enough, her spirits plummeted a bit at this realization.

The auburn haired girl was shocked back into reality when she heard the door open behind her. She spun, fear overriding her every thought at seeing the shadowy figure in the doorway.

In the gloom, it was hard to see exactly what it looked like. But she did see the look of sadistic pleasure that was plastered across its almost feline face. Then the sudden change to fear when it looked over her shoulder.

The next thing Searian knew, there was the sound of shattering glass coming from behind her and she was knocked rather unceremoniously to the side as a white and black blur flew past her and tackled the creature to the floor.

Her eyes widened when she realized what had happened. The Wraith was NOT dead and it was feeding on the feline-like alien. One of its hands was over the creature's mouth, muffling the horrendous screeches and cries the thing was emitting ,and the other was, of course, draining the very life from its body.

Out of the two times Searian had seen a Wraith, she had never seen one feed, and it terrified her. She watched in horror as the creature began to wither away before her very eyes. It screeched and writhed under the weight of its captor, all the while becoming more and more like the mummies she remembered seeing in museums as a child. Before the process was complete, it began to try and call for help in the most musical voice she had ever heard even with the words being distorted by all the screeching and hissing. Of course, it was so muffled by the Wraith's hand that no one but she and the Wraith could hear it. It only served to scare her more. She had to get as far away from it as possible.

She tried to get to her feet but all she managed was to lift herself slightly before she fell back to the floor. Her ankle had been broken in the fall. She glanced back to the Wraith and watched in utter horror as it released the corpse and began to stand. She couldn't keep it in any longer; her fear was demanding she do something. She screamed.

The instant the sound began to leave her throat the Wraith was upon her. It jerked her from the floor and pushed her roughly against the wall behind her. Its left hand went to Searian's mouth and shut off the scream that had only barely made it past her lips, coming out as a pathetic squeak. Its right held her against the wall by her left shoulder.

"Silence! You will attract them!" it hissed as its face twisted in a look of disdain.

She squeezed her eyes shut in her fear. I'm going to die now aren't I? she thought. Of course, it hadn't really crossed her mind since the city had come under siege, not even while watching the Wraith feed. Sure she had been afraid, but not until this moment did the reality of the situation hit her. A tear slid down her cheek.

The Wraith snorted at the sight and leaned closer. "I am the one your people have labeled Steve." He paused to make certain she was listening. "You will assist me, human."

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There you go, the introduction. So what do you guys think?

Reviews are much appreciated my friends. Lets me know how I am doing and what might possibly need to be improved on. Plot wise or whatever wise for that matter. LOL!

Oh! For future reference, I am always open to new ideas that you guys might want to throw me for the story. XP Feel free to let them fly. I love interactivity! XD