A/N: Wow! Eight reviews for the previous chapter, I think that's the most number of reviews I've received for a single chapter since I started this story. I would like to thank everyone who read and reviewed.
A/N2: I realize that some readers may not like this chapter so please no flaming *puts up Ancient personal force field* I've made extensive rewrites, but I felt this was the best way to continue on from the previous chapter. Hope you all still enjoy it. Reviews, as usual, are welcome
Definitions:
Intar: Goa'uld energy weapon used during training, non-lethal energy rounds
Sunnydale City Airport, Earlier the same day, 1830hrs
Once the Homeworld Security jet landed at the Sunnydale City Airport, it was immediately taxied to a hanger near the main terminal. Once inside, the plane door opened up and its passengers which included SG1, General O'Neill, and Agent Barret from the NID filed out and headed to a waiting table where Major Paul Davis from the Pentagon was seated and behind him were five black coloured vans.
"General O'Neill?" said the Major as he looked on in surprise as the SGC base commander approached him, "I thought you'd be at the SGC sir"
"Come on Davis" said the General, "when an unknown group hacks into federal agencies to conduct a background check on one of my own people's classified file, of course I'd take a personal interest"
"Here is the Presidential Order sir" said the Major as he handed General O'Neill an envelope that held the Presidential seal.
"Uh, General?" said Colonel Carter as she looked at a message she just received on her phone, "We may have a slight problem"
"What now?" said the General as he turned to look at her
"I've asked Walter to keep in contact with Colonel Pendergast on the Prometheus so that we could get tracking data on Willow through her subcutaneous transmitter" replied the Colonel
"And…?"
"Well.. she's been at the same location without moving for the past few hours" she continued
"That would mean that Willow Rosenberg is being held prisoner" said Teal'c
"Most likely" said the Colonel as she glanced back at Teal'c before facing the General again, "Sir, I don't think this is a matter of just giving these people a letter from the President ordering them to stop looking into Willow"
"It's a rescue mission" said Daniel as he interrupted the Colonel
"It's just a theory but that may be what we could be facing here" said the Colonel as she nodded at Daniel
"I would have to agree" said Agent Barret, "but we would still have to approach this very cautiously"
"Agreed" said the General, "How many people do you have Barret?"
"Just the two strike teams General" said Agent Barret, "sixteen of the NID's best"
"Alright" said the General, "Get into the vans, it's almost an hour to Sunnydale from here and I want to get there as soon as possible"
The General then turned to Major Davis, "I'll have to call the President and General Hammond, they need to know that the situation's changed. If they are really holding Captain Rosenberg hostage, then this could get a lot worse, especially if they're holding her for information about the Stargate Program"
"I agree Sir" said the Major
"Major" said Colonel Carter, "Maybe you should also inform the local authorities and the FBI that we'll be coming into Sunnydale on a national security matter and may need them as backup"
"Yes ma'am" said Major Davis as he went into one of the vans to make the phone call, he was followed by the General and Colonel Carter.
"Carter" said the General, "check that the Intars these guys are using are functioning properly, I don't want any lethal weapons to be used today"
"Yes Sir" said the Colonel as she went to the strike teams to check their Intar weapons
Once the president and General Hammond were notified of the change in plans and after a final weapons check, everyone piled into the five vans and drove the hour long drive to Sunnydale.
Slayer Council, Buffy's office, 2008 hrs
"Isn't Joshua done yet?" said Dawn impatiently as she sat facing her sister
"Dawn, why do you still hate Willow?" asked Xander
"How can you not?" said Dawn, "she is, no was, one of the most powerful magic users and after one mistake, she runs away with her tail between her legs", she continued, "come on, if she was here and didn't leave us behind, so many things could have gone differently don't you think?"
"Yes" said Xander, "But how do you know it would have gone for the better?"
"Look Xander" said Dawn, "the fact remains that she ran away like a coward. I say we take whatever is in her head, assess the threats that information presents us and then we let her go. It's that simple, all she had to do was tell us what she knows; instead she had to go all G. on us and say everything is classified. It's her own damn fault that she's in this situation"
Suddenly the phone in Buffy's office started to ring.
"Hi Faith" said Buffy after taking a quick glance at the caller ID, "Is it done? Has Joshua gotten the information?"
"Hi Buffy" said the familiar voice of Willow on the other line, "I'm bored… wanna play?"
"Willow?" said a surprised Buffy as the others in the room looked up at her, "Where's Faith, Angel and Joshua?"
"Oh you know how it is Buff" said Willow, "Angel is hanging out for a bit, Faith and your so called 'best psychic', Joshua, are asleep"
"Willow" said Buffy, "What did you do?"
"Oh nothing that bad" said Willow as she walked down a hallway, "Barring some broken bones, a little bit of electrocution and a teeny tiny impalement, they're just fine. They'll live"
"Willow" said Buffy, "let's talk about this ok?"
"Are you serious Buffy?" laughed Willow, "you want to talk now? It's a little too late for us two friends to sit down and have a little chit, a little chat, don't you think? Especially since you gave the order to, I don't know, take me down?"
"Look Willow, you know why I had to do that. You're a security risk" said Buffy, "at least until we know more about your work and if it has anything to do with us"
"I already told you it didn't have anything to do with you, Buffy. Not everything in this world has to revolve around you" said Willow, "But you still ordered that my mind has to be mined for information. How did you think I'm going to take that?"
"Willow, don't make me take you down" said Buffy quietly
"Buffy, I took down three of your best" said Willow, her voice suddenly sounding serious, "you say I'm a threat to your so called Slayer Council? I'll show you, Dawn and Giles exactly what kind of threat I can be"
Willow immediately disconnected the call and telekinetically flung the phone hard into the wall. After looking at the hole she made in the wall, Willow suddenly grabbed her head in pain and kneeled down onto the floor. The pain going through her head was so excruciating that she had tears coming out of her eyes.
"Come on" Willow told herself as she closed her eyes and tried to calm down, "Control, I need to be in control". She suddenly recalled what she had done to the three people in the other room, and it made her physically sick. She did everything she could to not spill her breakfast onto the carpeted floor.
"Oh God. Faith…. Angel, I'm sorry. Why didn't you all just walk away?" thought Willow to herself, "I don't even sense the other psychics anymore, hopefully all of them including Amy were using their ability to back up Joshua and the feedback from my attack nullified their powers, or gave them one hell of a headache"
After the pain had subsided, she felt something trickling wet down her nose and after touching it, she saw that it was blood. "Not again, so much for me being a threat" she thought to herself as she slowly got up and leaned on the wall. Looking around, she saw that she was right next to a rest room, so she slipped in and slowly closed the door behind her. Looking at the mirror on the wall, she saw the red streaks coming down from her nose and quickly turned on the faucet and washed her face. Grabbing the sink, she closed her eyes again to just try and regain some semblance of control over her powers. She knew that she was scared; her friends had turned on her on a dime which was something that she still couldn't believe and that she was alone although her colleagues, "No not colleagues" thought Willow to herself, "My friends, my team. They're coming for me. I just need to hold out a bit longer"
Suddenly she looked up at the mirror at her normal green eyes as she sensed someone familiar heading towards her. She turned around and walked out the door towards the location this person was coming from. As she turned around a corner, she came face to face with Tara.
"Tara…" said Willow
"Willow" said Tara, "Please… please surrender. I…I… please."
"Tara" frowned Willow as she looked at the blonde woman in front of her, "Just turn around and walk away. You don't have to be a part of this."
"So… sorry Willow, I… I can't do that" said Tara, "Just… just give Buffy what she wants to know. And… and then yo…. you can go, we won't stop you. I… I won't st… stop you."
"Tara" said Willow sighing, "I'm tired of explaining this to everyone; what Buffy wants to know is classified. I can't tell anyone what I do, even my parents have no idea. I'm asking you to walk away, because after all of this is over, there will be hell to pay. So please, you shouldn't be involved in this"
"I.. I… trust Buffy" said Tara, "we ne.. need to know what… what makes this job classified; yo… you could be a danger to us"
"Tara, we're friends" said Willow, "Please, don't get involved."
"I…. I can make you forget that you ever told us anything" said Tara, "you…. you'll have no regrets."
"How can you say that?" said Willow incredulously, "That's almost the same as what Joshua tried to do. If they do what they're talking about, that would mean I'll be forced to reveal information that would be detrimental to national security. Are you comfortable with that?"
"Pl… please, Willow" said Tara, "I… I.. promise we… we'll keep it safe. May… maybe we can use the information better than the mil… military"
"Tara" said Willow shaking her head, "I'd rather die, than reveal what I know to you, Buffy or any of the others. None of you have the right."
Since she met Tara, Willow has been trying to read her mind without any success. It was as if there was something that made her unable to concentrate, her mind felt utterly scattered. Then suddenly she started to feel dizzy.
"What did you do, Tara?" said Willow weakly as she leaned on the wall with one hand.
"So… sorry Willow" said Tara, "Buffy and I knew you'd be coming this way so I made up a little confusion spell. Makes you unable to use your powers, magical or not, since you won't be able to concentrate"
"What happens next?" asked Willow as she slipped down onto the floor with her back leaning against the wall.
"You… you'll fall asleep, and… and then you'll be carried to the main office" said Tara, "where Giles will perform a spell, and then I'll make you forget anything happened. I…. I'll even give you a nice memory of us having spent time at the Bronze after having dinner with everyone. You'll never know the truth. You.. you'll never even remember this conversation"
"If you continue this Tara, then I won't be able to protect you from what happens next" said Willow as she fell onto the floor, "the others can't escape from what they've done and they'll be chased across the Earth if need be. Walk away, please"
"Pl… please sleep, Willow" said Tara with a sad smiled as Willow lost consciousness, "ev… everything will be alright. You…. you'll see."
As soon as Willow was knocked out, Tara took out her phone and made a call.
"Buffy, she's contained" said Tara as she connected a call to Buffy
"Alright, someone will be on the way to pick her up" said Buffy on the other line, "good job"
Buffy disconnected the call with Tara from her office and then called Amy at reception
"Amy" said Buffy on the phone, "Lock down the dorm, inform Spike and Andrew that the potentials are not to leave the dorms for any reason whatsoever"
"Buffy?" said Amy, "Is everything alright?"
"It should be soon, I hope" said Buffy, "we'll be getting what we need from Willow. Make sure that there is a car waiting to take her back home after we're done, ok"
"Yes ma'am" said Amy smiling
"And Amy" said Buffy, "get a med team to the room Willow was being held at; Faith, Angel and Joshua seem to have been injured"
"Hold on, Willow's gone?" asked Amy as she looked worried
"Yes, she's coming to us" said Buffy
"Should I send back up to you?" asked Amy, "I can recall Kennedy and some of the more combat experienced potentials"
"No" said Buffy, "we'll take care of this, and then after we get what we need, we'll make Willow forget that she was ever here or what we did" she continued, "and Amy, we are not to be disturbed for any reason. Am I clear?"
"Yes" said Amy, "Good luck"
Slayer Council Lobby, 2020 hrs
"Sierra Golf Leader to Sierra Golf mobile" whispered General O'Neill into his ear piece as he, Colonel Carter and Major Davis walked towards the entrance to the Slayer Council Headquarters. After confirming with Colonel Pendergast on the Prometheus, they found that Willow's subcutaneous transmitter led them to this particular five story building.
"I hear you Jack" said Daniel who was waiting with Teal'c and Agent Barret in the surveillance van that was parked a block away, alongside the four other vans that carried two NID strike teams, equipment and a small command post
"If you don't hear from us in thirty minutes" said the General, "send in the strike team, I have a feeling that I won't like these people much"
"Got it Jack" said Daniel
"All right kids" said the General, "The local authorities as well as the FBI have been notified that backup may be needed to clean things up here after we're done. But ultimately, this is our show"
General O'Neill gave a nod to Major Davis to press the buzzer on the glass security doors. As they looked in they saw the receptionist look at them in surprise, before she pressed the door release buzzer to let them in.
"Good evening, I'm Amy. How may I help you?"
As Amy was talking to the Air Force officers, she tried to read their minds to find out what they wanted but found that she couldn't read them.
"Get me the person in charge of this place now" said General O'Neill his best commanding voice
"That would be Miss Summers" said Amy surprised
"Well, call this Miss Summers then" ordered the General
"I'm sorry" said Amy, "but she said that she is not to be disturbed tonight"
"Your boss broke into confidential records in at least four federal intelligence agencies to look at a confidential file of a valued colleague and friend, or at least attempt to look into her entire confidential file" said Colonel Carter, "so I'd really suggest that you call her before you're taken in for questioning"
"In addition" said General O'Neill, "we want Captain Willow Rosenberg returned to us unharmed right now. If I see even one mark on her face, then everyone here will be arrested, including yourself, for participating in the illegal detention of an Air Force officer and will be spending some time in a federal penitentiary"
"Ummmm…. I'm sorry" said Amy nervously, "but there isn't anyone here by that name"
"That's quite funny actually" said the General, "I know for a fact that she's in this building right now"
"Listen Amy" said Major Davis, "you said that Captain Rosenberg isn't here, but we are receiving a signal from her subcutaneous transmitter that says she is indeed here. If fact she's been here for hours. So you get whoever is in charge here on the double"
"Ummm…. Sorry, everyone is busy tonight" said Amy as she remembered Buffy's order not to disturb them tonight, "maybe you'd like to make an appointment for tomorrow to see Miss Summers, Mr. Giles or Mr. Harris"
"No" said the General as he leaned forward, clearly angry "stop stalling, we want to see the people in charge of this place, and we want to see Captain Rosenberg. Do I make myself clear?"
"I.. I..I'm sorry" said Amy who was absolutely nervous
"Look" said Major Davis, "This can go either one of two ways. You can call your boss and ask him or her to come down here or we send in a strike team to rescue Captain Rosenberg and arrest everyone here"
Amy looked around nervously as she reached for her phone. She knew that Buffy told her she was not to be disturbed but now there was really no choice. She had to be notified, maybe she could do something. However, after a few rings Buffy still wasn't picking up her phone and Amy looked nervously at the people in front of her.
"I'm sorry" said Amy, clearly scared about the prospect of being arrested, "no-one is picking up"
General O'Neill sighed and spoke into his ear piece, "Daniel, you are a go with the strike team"
"Alright Jack" said Daniel as he signalled to Agent Barret and the strike team to move into the main building and find Willow.
General O'Neill then took out his phone and called the SGC, "Walter!" he shouted
"Sir?"
"Tell Pendergast to use the 'special satellite' we have in orbit to find out exactly which room Captain Rosenberg is in. Then send the directions to that room from the lobby onto Carter's phone"
"Yes sir" said Walter as he disconnected the call
"Sir?" asked Colonel Carter as she looked at the General
"I'm not good with smart phones Carter" said the General smiling, "too complicated"
"Yes Sir" said the Colonel as she returned the smile before her phone beeped, "Sir, looks like we have the directions now" she said as she changed her expression as she read the data from the Prometheus.
"What's up Carter?" asked the General as he noticed the change in her expression
"According to the data sent by Colonel Pendergast, there is another level below this one that seems to be using an awful lot of power for this time of night" said the Colonel
Just then they heard the sound of screeching vans turning into the parking lot. Out of the vans poured out the rest of SG1 minus Willow and Agent Barret with sixteen of the NID's best. Within a few minutes all of them had poured into the lobby and were awaiting orders.
"Alright Amy" said the Colonel, "I want you to lie facing down on the floor with your hands on your head, is that clear?"
"Yes" said the frightened girl. She knew that Buffy should be warned, hopefully she would be checking the security cameras in her office.
General O'Neill then gathered together SG1 and Agent Barret and gave them their assignments.
"Carter" said the General, "Go to the level below this one and check what's going on. It may be nothing but it's still better to take a look. Take two of Barret's people with you", then he turned to Daniel, "Daniel, take five of Barret's people and check out that building that's behind this one" said the General as he pointed to the direction of the dorms before finally turning to Agent Barret, "Barret… Davis, I need you here to coordinate with the local authorities" said the General
"In the meantime, Teal'c and I will go look for Captain Rosenberg" said the General as he and Teal'c took out their Intars.
"What about the rest of my team General?" asked Agent Barret
"I leave that to you Barret" said the General as he stepped back and made an announcement, "Listen up, our priority here is the safe return of Captain Rosenberg. Under no circumstances will any lethal rounds be used. Only weapons to be used are the Intars. Is that understood?"
"Yes Sir" said everyone
"Alright move out people" said the General as he turned to Teal'c, "come on T, let's go find our girl"
Slayer Council, Buffy's office, 2030 hrs
"Ummm… Buffy we have a problem" said Xander as he looked at the camera feed from the lobby. He looked at all the armed personnel as they started to move out to look for Willow.
"It's over Buffy" said a groggy Willow who had just woken up, "I'm begging you to stop this. Just surrender, please"
"The fact that so many people are here to get you back means that the information you have is extremely important" said Buffy as she leaned into Willow, "and since you're so stubborn about it, I'm beginning to doubt your loyalty to me"
"Buffy, what are you talking about? Are you listening to yourself?" asked Willow, "This has nothing to do about being loyal to you or your being loyal to me. Simply put, you are not supposed to know anything about what I do. It's classified for a reason"
"Which means that it could pose a threat to us" said Buffy
"Oh for cryin' out loud" exclaimed Willow as she turned to Xander, "You guys need to surrender now. Don't let it go any further. I'll speak up on your behalf, just stop all of this madness."
"Are you begging now Willow?" asked Dawn
"Buffy, stop this" asked Willow ignoring Dawn
"Buffy we need to get out of here" said Xander
"No, I want that information" said Buffy, "I need it to keep us safe"
"Buffy" said Willow, "Please don't do this. I'll protect you, I'll try to make sure nothing happens to you or the others. Think about Dawn and Xander. You illegally held an Air Force officer, broke into federal databases to get information on my classified file, which is restricted by order of the President himself; you know what could happen to you?" and Willow continued with tears in her eyes, "don't do this"
"Tara" said Buffy, "is your confusion spell still in effect?"
"Ye.. yes" said Tara
"Put a barrier spell outside the office doors and prepare a spell to make everyone in the building, except for us, forget everything that happened today"
"But Buffy….." said Tara just as she was interrupted by Buffy
"Can you do it?" asked Buffy angrily
"I… I'll need some time" said Tara as she glanced at Willow, who was glaring at Buffy.
"Xander" said Buffy, "take Dawn out of here with you and lay low for awhile"
"No" said Dawn angrily, "I want to know what she has to say"
"Get out of here Dawn" said Willow as she looked at Dawn. She was pleading with her eyes to make Dawn leave the room with Xander.
"Shut up!" screamed Dawn, "Don't you dare tell me what to do!"
Willow flinched when she heard Dawn shout at her again, it hurt her every time the girl she considered to be like a younger sister to her say those things.
"Giles, is the binding still in effect?" asked Buffy
"Yes it is" said Giles, "she won't be able to use her powers"
"Giles" said Willow as she hung her head down with her eyes closed while she tried to concentrate her powers, "You are extremely lucky that Tara has that confusion spell active now. You seem to forget that my abilities aren't magical, and once I get my concentration back; you'll be the first one to pay"
"Giles" said Buffy, "use the truth spell. I want all her secrets"
Willow was on her knees as Giles finished the spell, and she could feel it working immediately once it was cast. It was an urge to say the truth to any question at any cost and she was afraid that the secrets of the Stargate, the SGC, even the knowledge about the Asgard, the Goa'uld and the Ancients would be released to Buffy and the others.
"I have many questions for you Wills" said Buffy, "But the most pressing are where do you really work? What do you really do?"
Willow tried everything she could to stop from opening her mouth and it frightened her that there was nothing she could do. "This must have been what it was like when I used to cast spells on others" thought Willow to herself. Just as she was about to answer, she made a split second decision on how to keep her involvement in the Stargate Program secret. It was all she could do to keep a secret the world wasn't ready to find out, yet.
Buffy looked on as Willow was struggling not to answer the question, she struggled so much that she was sweating bullets down her face. Then Buffy smiled as Willow opened her mouth, she was finally going to get answers as to whether Willow was a security threat for the Slayers Council. But she and the others were surprised when she finally opened her mouth and no sound came out; just then Willow doubled over in soundless pain as blood started to come out from her mouth.
"What did you do?!" screamed Buffy as she held Willow by the neck
Willow: "It was hard for me to project my telekinesis outwards to do any real damage, yet, because of the confusion spell but, it was much, much easier to use it within my own body"
"What do you mean?" asked Buffy
Willow: "I severed my own vocal chords, Buffy"
"Oh God" said Buffy as she looked back at Dawn and Giles.
"What happened?" asked Giles, "why isn't any sound coming out from her?"
"She severed her own vocal chords" said a shocked Buffy as she looked back at Willow staring back at her. Looking closely at Willow's eyes, she could see anger just radiating from her
Willow: "Yes Buffy, that's how far I'm willing to go to keep this secret from you or anyone else who does not need to know. I just never thought we'd actually get this far. Now please surrender, I can sense my team coming for me"
"Red? Red?" shouted General O'Neill, "Are you in there?"
"Willow Rosenberg, open this door" said Teal'c before he turned to the General, "O'Neill, there seems to be an energy field protecting this room"
"I know T," said the General, "Looks like we're in the right place"
Willow couldn't concentrate enough to make a clear mental reply. Instead she looked around the room she was in and saw some perfect weapons she could use, but only if she was fast and accurate enough. She pinpointed the two vases in the room to use as missiles against both of the magic users. She knew that once they were knocked out, the spells would simply dissipate. She closed her eyes and concentrated her telekinesis to perform what she hoped would be one big attack. Thanks to the confusion spell, it was extremely hard for Willow to concentrate but within a few seconds she felt a surge of power building inside her but she had to wait to release it.
"Tara!" shouted Buffy, "I need the forgetting spell, like right now. Make her forget too"
"I'm ready" said Tara as she heard sounds coming from the door.
Willow knew what was going on, the General and Teal'c were using the Intars to attack the barrier spell that was right outside the door. Willow smiled to herself once she knew that she was ready and released the power she had just managed to store up.
"Say the spell Tara!" shouted Buffy, "Now!"
Just before Tara could say a single word, she felt something solid smash into the side of her head and was knocked unconscious. Buffy looked as Tara fell onto the ground just as she heard the sound of another vase smashing behind her. As she turned around, Buffy saw Giles duck. But that was all Willow needed since it was Tara that set up the confusion spell and the barrier outside the door. Once the confusion spell was gone and Willow had regained full control of her powers, the first thing she did was to throw Giles onto the wall behind Buffy.
Buffy turned back to Willow with an incredulous look, "What did you do?" she shouted
Just then the doors to the office smashed open and in stepped General O'Neill and Teal'c, "Everyone stay exactly where you are" he said as he and Teal'c aimed the Intars at the group of people in front of him. Willow mentally grabbed an extra Intar from the General's hip holster and pulled it to her hand before she stood up and aimed it at Buffy.
Willow: "Stop this insanity now!"
Willow looked at the shock in the faces of the Scoobies, especially Buffy who was staring into the barrel of the weapon.
Willow then glanced at the looks of surprise in the General's and Teal'c's faces when they saw who had been holding her in the room; they recognized the group from the pictures that Willow had shared of the Scooby gang during team nights at her apartment. They were stunned when they realized that it was actually Willow's friends who had been holding her.
"Red….." said the General as Willow aimed the Intar at Buffy, "Captain….. I need that thing back"
Willow kept on aiming the Intar at Buffy with her arms shaking; her mind was concentrated on her best friend who had just put her through one of the worst nightmares of her life. Not only had Buffy ordered someone to invade Willow's mind for whatever secrets she had, she was also responsible for Willow having to lose her voice. Willow felt her fingers slowly squeeze the trigger when she noticed Teal'c's hand softly squeezing her shoulder.
"It is over Willow Rosenberg" said Teal'c softly, "Please give me the weapon"
Willow looked at Teal'c and then back at Buffy, with the Intar pointed towards Buffy the whole time. After a few tense seconds, Willow put down the Intar, and deactivated it before handing it back to Teal'c.
Willow shook her head before she fell back onto the floor with Teal'c crouched next to her.
Willow: "It's all over Buffy. Surrender….. please"
The Scoobies slowly put their hands up in surrender, while Giles was groaning on the carpeted floor.
"Carter… Daniel, we found her" said the General into his ear piece
"Is she alright Sir?" asked the Colonel
"I'm not sure, I think she's in a state of shock" said the General, "I need you to send some units to the third floor, the office at the end of the East wing"
"Copy that Sir" said the Colonel, "and Sir, we've found something here. Looks like they were using some real fancy facial recognition software to do checks on us as well. One of the IT guys we've rounded up said that the checks started once we entered the building"
"Oh for cryin' out loud!" said the General, "get Barret to take the computers away, they'll be needed as evidence and contact the local authorities and the FBI, I think we'll be needing that backup now. If they give any problems about jurisdiction, tell them to take it up with the President and the Joint Chiefs"
"Yes, Sir"
"Ummm… Jack?" said Daniel over the radio
"Yea Daniel?"
"We're in some kind of a dorm; there are young girls of all ages here. Looks like the youngest is 15 or 16 years old. They've barricaded themselves behind a heavy security door. There's some platinum hair coloured Englishman and a weirdo who's spouting stuff about a government conspiracy guarding them"
"Got it, Daniel" said the General, "Don't do anything to frighten them. Just stay put, I think I'm with the leader of this little group. We'll ask her to tell them to stand down"
At that moment two other NID men came into the room as back up for the General and Teal'c, along with Colonel Carter who was surprised when she saw Buffy as one of the people whose hands were raised.
"Anne?" said the Colonel, "Anne Summers?"
"Wait a second Carter" said the General as he pointed at Buffy, "You know her?"
"I've met her once Sir" said the Colonel as she looked at the General, "She came to Colorado Springs to meet Willow. I met her when I was meeting…. a friend for breakfast". Then she turned her attention back to Buffy, "Where you responsible for this?" asked Colonel Carter outraged, "How could you?"
Willow: "Colonel, please. They're scared"
"Willow" asked the Colonel, "Why didn't you speak normally just now?"
"What do you mean?" asked the General
"Sir, she spoke to me telepathically" said the Colonel as she crouched down to look at Willow, "I know you're in shock Willow, it'll be alright, I promise; Does it hurt anywhere?"
Willow: "Yes"
"Where does it hurt Willow?" Colonel Carter asked as she saw tears falling down Willow's face as a few seconds later, Willow pointed to her own throat.
Willow: "Hurts a bit ma'am"
"Willow, did someone hit you on your throat?" asked Colonel Carter as she started to get worried, as did Teal'c and General O'Neill
"She severed her own vocal chords" said Xander looking upset at Willow's pain
"She did what?!" exclaimed Colonel Carter as she looked at the horrified faces of General O'Neill and Teal'c.
"Why did she do that?!" asked Colonel Carter as she glared at Xander while the General and Teal'c stood there shocked
Willow: "Ma'am, a truth spell was used to get information on what I did for my job. When I felt the spell taking effect, I had no choice but to do what I did. I was almost going to reveal everything, Colonel. I had no choice. I had no choice"
Colonel Carter could see that Willow couldn't stop the tears from flowing. She had her head hung low and her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably. The Colonel took both of her hands and cupped Willow's face, "its ok Willow, we'll fix this"
Willow: "Yes ma'am. But the woman here, Tara, and Giles who's lying on the floor need medical attention. There's another room on the other side of this floor, there are three people who need medical attention as well. Please, help them ma'am"
"Sir" said the Colonel, "Willow said that there are three people on the other side of this floor who need immediate medical attention"
"Go Carter" said the General as he turned to one of the NID men, "You go with her, and call for immediate medical assistance for these two here and in that room"
"Are you not Willow Rosenberg's friends?" said Teal'c to the Scoobies standing in front of him, "I do not understand how you can do this and still call yourselves her comrades"
Willow: "Teal'c, please don't be angry at them"
Then Willow started to slowly get up on her shaky feet
"Here Willow Rosenberg, I shall assist you" said the big Jaffa as he helped Willow up to her feet.
Willow: "Thank you Teal'c"
"General O'Neill" said the Colonel, "we reached the room and we've found two people, the third one seems to have gone missing. The two, a male and a female are in the room lying on the floor, they're still alive, all of them have bruising across their bodies, and the female has a broken ankle that looks to have been crudely dressed. Whoever did it seems to be long gone"
"Alright Carter" said the General, "let the medics handle them, I need you to meet with Daniel and see what's going on with this dorm situation"
"Yes sir" said the Colonel
Willow: "Sir, What will happen to them"
O'Neill: "They'll be taken in for questioning by the NID and then charges will be brought against them"
Willow looked at the General with sadness in her eyes before turning to look at Buffy.
Willow: "Buffy, please ask the potentials to stand down. Don't let this get any worse"
Willow looked on as Buffy, with a look of defeat, walked slowly to her table and picked up the phone that had a line to the P.A system in the dorm.
"This is Miss Summers to all potentials" said Buffy as she looked at Willow with sadness, "Stand down, I repeat all potentials stand down and cooperate with the authorities"
Willow: "Thank you"
"Red" said the General as he slowly grabbed her shoulders, "let's get you checked out ok"
Willow nodded as she was led out by General O'Neill, but before she left the room, she heard the words of an angry Dawn.
"I hate you Willow. I hate you so much. You ruined all of our lives again" said the girl as the other Scoobies just looked on.
Willow simply couldn't take it anymore and she turned around and walked to Dawn until her face was just a few inches from the younger girls face.
Willow: "No Dawn, you ruined your own lives. I had nothing to do with this. Your anger, Buffy's and Giles' paranoia caused all of this to happen. You people have no one to blame but yourselves. All I did was defend myself against people I thought were my friends. How the hell do you think that make me feel?"
The General and Teal'c 'heard' what Willow had to say, as did the other Scoobies. Then General O'Neill walked Willow out of the room followed by the Scoobies who were accompanied by Teal'c and another two NID guards.
Slayer Council HQ, 2215hrs
As Willow walked out of the front door, she saw lights from police cruisers and ambulances outside in the parking lot. General O'Neill had led her to one of the waiting ambulances for her to get a check-up.
"Don't worry Red, I'll be right here with you" said the General
Willow: "Thank you Sir. Wow, that's a lot of cops, NID guys and FBI for one rescue Sir"
O'Neill: "For a member of my team, nothings too much Red"
Willow: "I'm sorry Sir"
O'Neill: "For what?"
Willow: I lost control of my powers again, I injured some people badly and then just now I took an Intar away from you and almost fired it on a civilian"
O'Neill: "Did you do all of that to defend yourself and your teammates?"
Willow: "I guess so Sir"
O'Neill: "Then you've done your job as best you could. I don't know anyone brave enough to risk severing their own vocal chords to prevent a secret from coming out. As for the Intar incident, you had enough control over yourself not to fire it"
Willow smiled at the General before taking a quick look behind him. She saw some of the NID guys taking out computers and computer parts out of the building and putting them into an awaiting van.
Willow: "The computers Sir?"
O'Neill: "Looks like they tried to run background checks on us as well. And after a quick look through, Carter saw that they hacked into MI5, MI6, the Chinese Government and, some of our other departments as well. She also thinks she found a paper trail to suspected thefts of millions of dollars from Swiss bank accounts of known war criminals and shady businessmen. I think the FBI would probably be interested in that. The computers will still be taken by the NID as evidence for when there is a trial; other non-confidential information will probably be shared with the FBI and the other agencies they broke into"
Willow: "Will they be ok Sir?"
O'Neill: "I don't know Red"
Willow: "Can I help them in any way?"
O'Neill: "They held you against your will Red. And from what you told me, tried to get classified information out of you. You sure you still want to help them?"
Willow: "Yes Sir, they're still my friends. Plus, I think two of them were unwilling to go along with it, although I'll need permission to read their minds so that I can confirm my suspicions. Also one of the people arrested today, is my best friend's younger sister Sir. She's only 21, and after today her entire future will be ruined, I need to do something to help her Sir"
O'Neill: "I know you want to help them Red, but they made a choice to do this. They have to live with the consequences of their actions"
Willow: "I know Sir, but Dawn is so young. I know she would have had a bright future in front of her. I need to do something to help her Sir, help her and Faith. They'll be facing jail time won't they?"
O'Neill: "It's most likely"
Willow: "Sir, I would like to do something, anything to help them"
O'Neill: "The only one who can do anything right now is the President. If you want, you can make your case with him and he could recommend leniency. But I can't give you any guarantees on what he'll say. He was pretty pissed that a shadowy group had managed to kidnap and illegally hold someone from the SGC"
"Red" said the General, "you have nothing to feel guilty about"
Willow nodded as she looked past him and saw Faith being put into an ambulance. The redhead quickly ran over to the ambulance she was being put into.
Willow: "Sir, please tell them to hold on. She was one of the one who seemed reluctant to hurt me. The one I told you about"
"Guys" said the General to the paramedics who were preparing to put the gurney carrying Faith into the ambulance, "just hold up for a few minutes" and continued, "Could you guys excuse us? We have some national security stuff to talk about with this individual here"
"Please don't take too long" said one of the Paramedics
"Thank you" replied the General as he turned to Willow, "all yours Red"
Willow nodded at her superior officer as she reached for Faith's face. Willow saw that Faith's hair was covering her face so she gingerly moved Faith's hair to the side and looked on as she slept calmly. Willow looked down at Faith's ankle and saw that it was heavily bandaged, then she suddenly recalled the moment she grabbed her ankle in the room and twisted it until it broke. That memory made Willow cringe.
Willow: "Faith… Faith…. Please wake up"
Willow and the General looked on as Faith slowly opened her eyes and tried to move.
Willow: "Faith don't try to move. I'm sorry but I kinda bruised you up a bit, and broke your ankle. You're being taken to a hospital now. Just wanted to check that you're ok"
"I remember" said Faith softly, "Not bad Red, remind me not to have you as a enemy huh"
Willow smiled at the Slayer
Willow: "I'm really sorry Faith"
"Don't be, Red" said Faith until she noticed something drastically different, "why weren't your lips moving?"
"She cut her own vocal chords" interrupted the General.
Willow just simply looked away as she saw the horror on Faith's face.
"Oh God" said Faith, "Why?"
Willow: "They used a truth spell on me. It was either I do this or give them classified information"
"It's my fault" said Faith, "I should have been more vocal about why they shouldn't do what they were planning. I'm so sorry, I tried to stop it. They said that if I wasn't the one who took you down, they would have sent someone else to do it. And they wouldn't have been nice about it"
Willow: "Sir may I have a moment alone with Faith?"
O'Neill: "You have two minutes Red. She needs to go to the hospital to have her ankle checked out and Agent Barret needs you to give him a statement"
Willow: "Yes sir"
General O'Neill gave Willow some space by moving to a respectful distance away from the red head. He looked around and noticed Colonel Carter talking to Daniel. He looked back at Willow just to make sure she was alright as he saw her holding Faith's hand and talking to her. Wanting to give them more privacy, he walked towards the Colonel and Daniel.
"I really am sorry Red" said Faith as she came to a realization, "we're in big trouble aren't we"
Willow: "Yes"
Faith saw the trembling of Willow's lips and knew that the consequences of their actions today would be very, very bad.
"How bad?" asked Faith
Willow: "National Security was breached in a major way Faith and classified materials that should never see the light of day, yet, was almost revealed, plus the kidnapping and illegal detention of an Air Force officer and….. "
"How bad Willow? How bad will it get?" asked Faith again as she squeezed willow's hand
Willow: "It's very likely that Federal charges will be filed against everyone involved. They'll be taking my statement soon but…"
"Don't you dare lie to cover our asses" said Faith as she closed her eyes and lay down on the pillow
Willow: "What I was gonna say was that, you guys are most likely looking at a very long jail sentence Faith"
"Oh" whispered Faith, "Well, we made our choices Red, now we have to live with it or in this case, die with it"
Willow: "I sensed there was something wrong when we were talking earlier today. I sensed something was wrong when you said you got that message, I sensed something was wrong when we were on that empty floor. I should have called you out on it; maybe I could have helped you prevent what happened. I'm the one who should be sorry"
"Shoulda, woulda, coulda, Red" said Faith as she smiled, "It happened, don't blame yourself"
Willow: "I'll talk to my CO. Maybe he can get the President to talk with me. I can't let it end like this; I don't wanna see you all die.
"I really am sorry Red" said Faith
Willow: "And I know that was the absolute truth. I know that everything you just said was the truth. Trust me when I say I'll do everything possible to help you guys"
"Ummm… ma'am" said one of the paramedics, "we really have to get going"
Willow simply held up two fingers indicating she needed just two more minutes, and the paramedics nodded
Willow: "They'll send you to Sunnydale General now, but you'll be placed under heavy guard"
"Ok" said Faith
Willow: "I'll come visit you after I give my statement and change"
"You don't have to" said Faith
Willow: "I do. I'd like to spend more time with you. I need to ask you something, did you mean what you said when we were on that empty floor? The part about you liking me?"
"Yea, kinda" smiled Faith
Willow: "Then why did I sense a lie from you?"
"You know me Red" said Faith smiling, "since when have I ever been a 'proper girl'?"
Willow: "You are one strange girl. Anyway, the paramedics are coming back. I'll try to see you later at the hospital. If I can't today, then I talk to my CO about coming tomorrow. All I know is that people will be asking you lots of questions. Please don't do anything funny ok"
Willow smiled at the brunette before she looked around and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Then she stepped back and let the paramedics put the gurney onto the back of the ambulance. Faith saw Willow wave at her as the doors closed before she closed her eyes. She had a feeling in her heart that the next few days were going to be trying for everyone that was involved.
"Willow" said Colonel Carter as she placed her hand on the red heads shoulder, "come on, Agent Barret wants you to give him a statement"
All Willow could do was look at the ambulance as it drove away and nodded.
Willow: "Could you be there as well, ma'am?"
"Do you want me there?" asked the Colonel
Willow: "Yes, please"
"Then that shouldn't be a problem" she said.
As the Colonel led Willow to where Agent Barret was going to take her statement, she saw the Scoobies sitting in three of the squad cars while school busses rolled into the grounds to collect the fifty or so potential slayers that were staying in the dorms. Willow had no idea though how many were working with Xander's business tonight or if they even knew what had happened.
Willow: "What will happen to the girl's ma'am?"
"I think the local authorities will work with the FBI to search for their families" she said as she looked at Willow, "and don't worry about your voice, I've contacted Area 51. We'll be getting the Goa'uld healing device early tomorrow morning"
Willow: "That's always a good thing"
"Come on, we're here already" said the Colonel as she opened the door to the van and Willow got in before her. The Colonel looked at Willow's friends in the squad cars and could see Anne (Buffy) sitting in the back seat with her head down. The Colonel could see Buffy crying as the tears fell onto her hands. Then she looked away and closed the van's door.
Agent Barret took almost thirty minutes to take Willow's statement and ask some follow up questions before Willow's part in this whole situation was complete. As she got out of the van followed by Colonel Carter, they saw the General and SG1 standing to one side talking amongst themselves and headed towards them.
"Hi Willow" said Daniel
Willow: "Hi Daniel, guess you heard about my voice issues?"
"Yeah" he replied, "I really don't know what to say. I'm stunned that your friends were involved in this whole fiasco"
Willow: "Tell me about it. But they did what they did out of fear I guess"
"Still doesn't make it right Red" said General O'Neill
Willow: "I know Sir… Oh no!"
"What's wrong?" said the General
Willow: "Sir, I need to talk to them. It's important"
"I don't think that's a good idea" replied Colonel Carter
Willow: "You don't understand. If this is their headquarters, then I guessing there are some things in that building that cannot fall into the wrong hands"
"Like what?" asked Daniel
Willow: "I'm talking about spell books on Dark magic, Light Magic, artefacts that can end the world, every conceivable dangerous item that if it fell into the wrong hands would be very, very bad"
"You're kidding right?" asked the Colonel
Willow: "I can show it to you Colonel. If it's here, you can see with your own eyes. The books I mean, not the magic. They have to be hidden away, destroying them could bring about unintended consequences"
"Ok" said the General, "Let's say what you're saying is true. Where do you suggest that these things get hidden away?"
Willow: "Through the Stargate, we can deposit it somewhere off world where there are no inhabitants to use or misuse them. They can stay there for all eternity and we can lock out the address from the dialling computer so that there is no temptation to go and use it"
"Willow" said the Colonel, "you're getting too far ahead of yourself, if you wanna talk to them go ahead before they're taken to the police station. Tomorrow the people from the NID will take them to Washington for questioning"
Willow: "Thank you Sir"
Willow then quickly ran to one of the cruisers and after Daniel helped identify her to the officer who was guarding them, she opened the back door to talk to Buffy. Then after the identification, Daniel had walked back to stand with the others. Once she opened the car door, Willow didn't see the Buffy she knew, the one who was spunky and confident, fun loving and a joy to be around. No, the one in the back of the squad car now was silently crying, her blonde hair hanging over her face and she looked destroyed.
Feeling a pain in her heart, Willow crouched down and held on to Buffy's knee and squeezed.
Willow: "Buffy…. Buffy…. I have something important to ask you"
"No more" said Buffy softly as she kept looking down, "I don't want to talk to you anymore. Get away from me"
Willow knew that she had to be very delicate now, a wrong move would spell bad news. The way Buffy was now, it seemed to Willow that she could break at anytime.
"Leave her alone you bitch!" shouted Dawn who was seated right beside Buffy, "can't you see your handiwork"
"Go away Willow" said Buffy as her voice was breaking, "I just want to die, go away"
Willow: "I'll try to help you Buffy"
"I don't want your help!" screamed Buffy, "Can't you see that.. I don't want your help… I don't want to see you anymore… I hate you.. you betrayed me… betrayed us… you make me sick. If I ever see you again, I'll kill you and bury your body inside the Hellmouth. Go to hell and die!"
Willow fell back onto the asphalt at the outburst and looked up in shock at Buffy. The next thing she knew, Willow heard footsteps running towards her and two arms grabbed either side of her and helped her up. Looking to either side of her, she could see the concerned faces of Daniel and Teal'c.
Willow: "I need to go to the other car and talk to Xander"
Willow pulled her arms away from her teammates and walked slowly towards the other police cruiser as she left Daniel and Teal'c standing behind her looking at each other. Her legs trembled after each step that she took until she reached the cruiser and looked at Xander. He had pulled his head back and had his eyes closed.
"Excuse me ma'am" said the officer who had heard the screaming from Buffy.
It was lucky that Willow had her back turned towards the officer; she didn't want any questions from him about how Willow could be speaking without moving her mouth. However, she was sure he saw weirder things in Sunnydale.
Willow: "I'm Captain Rosenberg, USAF, I was held captive by these people and I'd like to question them about something. If you have an issue with tha, then talk to my Commanding Officer, General O'Neill. Is that understood?"
"Ummmm… Yes ma'am" said the officer. She could tell from his thoughts that he had just joined the Sunnydale Police force only a few days ago so he was still a bit green.
Willow: "Look officer, I just need three minutes with the suspect ok? In private please"
"Alright" said the officer as he walked towards the car carrying Buffy, "Umm… thanks for your service to our country"
The officer simply saw Willow nod before he walked away.
Once the officer was gone, Willow opened the cruisers door and crouched until she was eye level with Xander.
Willow: "Xander, I need to know if there are any things, like spell books or artefacts that shouldn't be in the building. Is there anything there that will cause problems in the wrong hands?"
"No" said Xander, "They're all gone"
Willow: "Xander…."
"Tell my mom I'm sorry" said Xander as he turned to face away from Willow
Willow: "Xander, I'll do everything I can to help you"
"Ok" said Xander as he kept on looking away
Willow knew that Xander won't be answering anymore questions, but she sensed that he was telling her the truth. There was nothing in the building that could come back later to bite them in the ass. As she closed the door to the cruiser, she could sense someone watching her from a distance. She turned around and saw a shadow staring at her from another building across the street. As she squinted her eyes, she could see that it was Angel who was staring back at her in full vampire mode.
Willow: "Go home Angel, please. I'm tired of fighting with friends"
Willow then simply put her hands in her pockets, turned around and walked to her teammates who were waiting for her. She knew that for the days ahead, she would need their support.
