My Name is Hera Ren.

I was born over ten thousand years ago in a galaxy far, far, away. I know that sounds clichéd; I have seen the first time those words were played on a screen in what humans call movie theatres. But it my case it is quite literal. I was born in the Pegasus galaxy, three million lights years from what humans refer to as the Milky Way, in a great city that was the jewel of my people's civilization; the city of Atlantis. I was the younger sister of Athena; the daughter of Moros, the last High Councillor of Atlantis; and the daughter of Melina.. my mother who died immediately after I was born.

Athena would tell me stories of my mother, at least what she could remember. And I longed for her touch, her scent, her arms around me when I was upset and when I was happy. Make no mistake, I loved my father and my sister; in fact I still love her, despite what she has became.

As I look down at her standing next to creatures known as vampires, I can't help but recall our stories; our stories of how we arrived at this point in time.

It was ten thousand years ago that I died during an attempt to make peace with a race known as the Wraith against the wishes of my father. I believed that the Wraith, a race of beings that sucked the life force of humans beings… a race that treated humans like cattle would want peace after nearly a hundred years of war. In fact, despite my race being technologically advanced, we were still losing to them due to their superior numbers and technology that was at an equal footing to ours.

But I still wanted to try.

That was my mistake, a mistake that ended my life.

I remember my sister was captured, along with some of her companions, when they came to rescue me. I remembered screaming when the Keeper of the Wraith, the individual who would look after the Wraith soldiers while they hibernated, pushed her palm onto Athena's chest and stole some of her life force.

I saw Athena aging before my eyes until the Wraith soldier next to the keep ordered that she stop; that my sister was meant for the queen because of what she was trying to do… finding a cure for the Wraith. I remembered that the Keeper reluctantly returned Athena's life force to her before she turned to the Wraith soldier and told him that she was still hungry.

I remember when the soldier told the Keeper to take me instead, and it was then that my heart started to pound in my chest. I watched as Athena screamed while she tried to break out of the pod that she, like me, was trapped within. I watched with tears in my eyes as Athena begged for my life and offered hers instead. I told Athena to stop as the Keepers reached out with her hand and place it on my chest.

"Athena!"

I shouted Athena's name before telling her that I was sorry, that it was fault that she was there.

I saw the Keeper look back at Athena who shook her head while she was screaming again for my life, while the creature pulled her arm back. I knew exactly what was going to happen next; it was a foregone conclusion.

So I did what I could to calm my sister down.

I shouted for Athena to listen to me once again.

"I love you, my sister"

Those were the words I told Athena who just looked at me while I opened my mouth wide in pain. I could feel the Wraith's palm feeders piercing my skin while tears streamed down my face. I looked at Athena, and she was the same way.

"Goodbye"

That was the final word I told my sister as the Keeper's fingernails dug into my chest and she started feeding on my life-force in earnest. I then heard Athena screaming and threatening the Wraith, telling her that that she would kill their entire race. All I could think of was that I hoped my sister wouldn't go down the path of vengeance. As I smiled at my sister, I experienced what humans today refer to as seeing one's life flying before their eyes. I remembered playing with Athena, I remembered being in my father's arms, my father.. I remembered the times we'd look up at the star that my father told us was our mother looking down on us. I remember our happy times, I remember the times when we very angry at each other, I remember times when I wouldn't even talk to my sister; but one thing that remained constant was my love for her.

No matter what happened, I loved my sister.

She would tell me that I was her light; the light that pierced through the darkness of the war all around us.

And I would tell her that she was my heart; whenever I would go, whatever I would do… it felt as if Athena was always guiding me.

As the visions vanished, I watched my sister crying as my vision finally started to get clouded.

However, just before my life force was all but gone. I noticed a bright light in the corner of my eye. A bright white light that formed into a red haired figure in a white and gold dress; a figure that I had only seen in pictures.

And then I died.

Just as everything turned into darkness around me, just as quickly everything turned bright white and I found myself lying on a warm, white floor. I slowly got up to my feet at hearing the footsteps of someone behind me before I turned around. I turned and saw the most beautiful woman just looking back at me with her long, red curled hair falling along the sides of her face, with her standing nervously in front of me in her white and gold dress; and with her hands clasped together at the lower part of her body while she was playing with her thumbs.

"Hera?" said the woman as my heart started to beat faster and faster as remembered Athena telling me about her; I remembered my father telling me about their courtship, and their marriage to each other after four years. I remembered the pictures in the room that Athena and I shared while we were still children; all pictures of the woman standing in front of me.

"Mother" I said with a voice shaking with emotion; a voice that was about to break.

I ran towards the woman; I ran towards my mother as I screamed in happiness. I put my arms around her with tears flowing from my eyes, and she wrapped her arms tightly around me while she sobbed. The both of us staying close to one another with my head on her shoulder while I took in her scent, the same scent that some of the Athosian people would create; made with a mixture of different berries found on Athos.

I was finally with my mother.

We finally started to getting to know one another as mother and daughter, while at the same time we'd watch over Athena and my father; we could just observe, forbidden from intervention in the lives of those in the lower plains. I saw the darkness within Athena take over as she did everything she could to destroy the Wraith, and while the one project succeeded in killing an entire Wraith Cloning facility, it also killed innocents. My mother and I saw the Council deny Athena her other projects while we sighed with relief.

We watched as Athena returned to Earth with my people; Earth…. The planet of our ancestors. There she eventually met a lovely young girl. A young girl she tried to project but failed, a girl named Sineya…. The one that eventually became to be known as the First Slayer. After all of my sister's trials and tribulations; Sineya's loss and the loss of genetically engineered Clones that were used by the Furlings to power the demon that possessed Sineya, Athena finally broke. I stayed by her side constantly, alongside our mother, while Athena was in a catatonic state.

Eventually, Athena recovered and she admitted her guilt in creating the clones… something that she was forbidden to do. She was then exiled to Kheb, which was where I made my presence known. I would like to think that it was seeing me again that made her concentrate on training with Oma on Ascension.

It would be years later that the person I considered to be my heart finally ascended. I met her on a planet at the far end of the Milky Way as she flew through the Stargate. For the first time in decades, our family was finally together again. Sometimes the both of us would go exploring; two immortal sisters travelling from one galaxy to another in the vast universe. We watched civilizations rise and fall, we saw stars explode; releasing the building blocks of life into the universe.

We were happy.

But It would be thousands of years later that I would lose my sister again.

She descended to the lower plains so that she could help the eventual Slayer who should have arrived in the city known as Sunnydale. However, the girl never arrived… the girl was sent somewhere else by beings known as the Powers that Be; the same beings that sent down the so called prophesy of the First Slayer. I watched as Athena, now known as Willow Rosenberg, grew up alone.. alone even though she had friends.

I stayed close to her always. I would visit her with my mother at dawn, with eventually became my favourite time of day. Athena or, as she was now, Willow would open her eyes at dawn and the first person she would see was me. I found it strange that my sister could see me, especially since I was supposed to be invisible to all humans.

'It could be the Furling part of her' I thought to myself as I made funny faces at my sister. I laughed when she laughed, and when she couldn't take it anymore… when her need was great.. she would cry and the ones known as Sheila and Ira would come take care of her. Over time, they became more concerned with work, and Willow was left with a caregiver. Either way, my mother and I stayed with her; usually as balls of light.

My mother and I stayed with her through her years growing up in Sunnydale. I always watched over her, at least until the day she and her friend, Xander Harris, were turned into vampires. I made my presence known after they were attacked, and I was about to risk it all by killing the vampires… I felt the power I had grow inside me, the power that millions of worshippers who were unknowingly fuelling my power to the level of a god by giving up their free will in the worship of the Goa'uld known as Hera. I gathered storm clouds over the city, my face became hot as prepared to fire.. I was prepared to be punished by the Others… I was prepared to suffer forced descension, all to protect my sister.

However, at the last moment before I could do anything, my mother intervened and brought me to here. And that was the last time I saw my sister as a human being. I watched as she slaughtered her family, I was as she killed on the orders of the Master. Me and my mother could only watch in horror at what she was doing.

My sister was turned into a monster.

However, I knew deep down that wasn't true as well. What these humans thought they knew about vampires were absolutely wrong. I had hoped that at least someone on what the humans refer to as the Watchers Council would know the truth; for if they did, then I could have budged them along to find a way to save my sister.

But no one knew.

Not even the man who was supposed to be the Slayer's watcher.

"You are wrong" I remembered telling the older man as he read books in the library about any information he could use to kill the Master, the vampire that was responsible for making my sister into a vampire. I was outside his perception as I looked at him, and then walked around the table.. looking at the books her was reading, "the soul never leaves the body, and the body doesn't die. The demon spreads itself into the body, turning it into itself. The demon is so strong, so powerful that it suppresses the soul of the human it enters. But that process taints the soul of the turned; the original soul starts to darken. The longer the demon is in control of the body, the more the soul is tainted; and the more it's tainted, the less remains of the original person the vampire used to be. The body doesn't die, not until the weakness of wood is used against it. And that is because the demon takes everything with it as it dies, everything except the tainted soul. There is a reason the Master looks the way he does, there is a reason why he looks like the demon that is occupying him. His human soul is gone, all that remains is demon."

I looked away from the man before closing my eyes. I could still hear Willow screaming.. I could still hear her soul crying out for help.

I opened my eyes again and sighed before leaving the library of the school.

It was four years later that a woman from an alternate reality came through to this one; a Cordelia Chase. I scanned her mind and smiled when I saw visions of Athena.. a happy Athena… a living Athena. Then I had to watch in horror as Willow and Xander killed her after she was rescued by the librarian and his friends.

But I knew that there was hope.. I knew that somewhere in another reality, my sister was still alive.

It was two days later that the current Slayer, a Buffy Summer arrived in Sunnydale after being called for by the librarian. I watched as they made a plan of attack, and then.. then it bring me to this day.

I am watching from the walkways of a warehouse, a warehouse that was meant to be a blood factory for vampires. I am watching as the Slayer shot at the Master, I am watching as Athena jumps off the stage and starts to go on the attack. I watch as humans attack her, human that consist of the so called White Hats that saved Cordelia Chase.

My eyes are on Athena the whole time. I went down to the floor below; as two humans grabbed Willow and were starting to push her back. I sensed that many humans died, I sensed that the Slayer died.. but I didn't care.

'Athena's soul is about to be freed' I thought to myself when she suddenly vanished.

I looked on confused; as did the two humans when she suddenly reappeared.

My questions running through my head were quickly dispelled when the two humans grabbed her again. I smiled as they pushed her through a broken stake made out of wood. I watched at she turned to ash before they went for another target.

They didn't see what I saw. A pale circular light covered in swathes of darkness. I reached for the orb, and then held it in the palm of my hand before I pulled back my arm and brought it to my face. I could hear Willow voice still asking for help. I could feel her sorrow and anguish.

I saw the swathe of darkness changing shape and floating over the pale white orb.. the same orb which should have been shining bright white. I looked at the soul, and smiled.

"I will help you" I told the orb, "you told me that I was your light in the darkness, now I will be exactly that. I will bring you back from the darkness, Athena; my dear sister, you are coming home."

TBC.