Disclaimer
This is an Alternative Universe story using characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files and CI5, The New Professionals. I'm borrowing these characters from their owners with no intention of making a profit. This is purely for entertainment. If anybody wants to use any section of this story, please ask first. The same for anybody who wants to archive my stories. Please be gentle in your comments. There is a major character death, but it's implied, we don't actually see it.
Footnote
The BBC commentator is Barry Davies, The Ice Skating expert is Robin Cousins. I'm taking liberties with the characters to a certain degree. However, this is an Alternative Universe story (even to 'The Eternal Joining', my own story). There is no Mulder or Doggett, they never existed. There could be other stories in the series but it would depend on the reaction to this. I like writing about the macabre and the weird. If somebody wants to have a go at writing a sequel, check with me first. Who knows it could be a joint effort. Liberties are being taken with characterisation, if this offends I apologize. However, I feel that in Alternative Universes people take different paths with each decision they make. On this occasion Buffy and Willow were recruited by the CIA. However, they both kept their, I believe, inherited skills. I thought wouldn't it be interesting if Dana Scully and Monica Reyes also had those skills but were hidden. Here is the result of my strange imagination.
THE SLAYER AND THE WICCAN
Washington DC
Monica Reyes was running in the pouring rain. Behind Dana Scully was barely keeping pace, her injured ankle throbbing with each step. In front of them, their partners were involved in a fire fight and were being cut to pieces. They tried to move closer to help, but found that they couldn't for one simple reason - shots were being fired in their direction. This caused Reyes to pull Scully to the cover of a metal wheeled bin. From there, they could see that both of their partners were dead and, worse still, the bad guys were closing on their position. Things were looking bad. Especially after both Reyes and Scully checked their weapons.
"Two left," Reyes said.
Scully held up three fingers.
"So who wants to be Butch Cassidy and who wants to be The Sundance Kid?" Reyes said.
Scully laughed and hugged Reyes. Which was just as well because two shots ripped past their heads causing them to move behind the bin, effectively trapping them. They shot the first five men who approached their position, but they both knew it was a futile gesture. They grasped hands and braced themselves for the end. They even offered a silent prayer. Then the miracle happened. Men were being thrown into walls as if being thrown by an invisible hand. A blonde fireball launched herself at the other men, kicking one and punching another into oblivion. From her hiding place Reyes could see the blonde's partner, a fragile looking Red-Haired woman, sending fireballs from her hands and incinerating anybody who got close. She heard Scully punch a guy and then landed a decent right cross herself. Within minutes, the hopeless position had turned into a mismatch as their attackers either lay dead or in ashes or were staggering away pleading for mercy. The police arrived in force just moments later, but their blonde and red-haired rescuers were gone. Both Reyes and Scully ran to their fallen partners but found that their fears were justified, they were both dead. They both held onto their partners and rocked them, tears cascading uncontrollably from their eyes. Two police officers approached with shame on their faces.
"Are they?"
Reyes nodded and hugged her dead partner even tighter as if squeezing him tighter would bring him back to life. She looked at Scully and saw her smile weakly. She gently released her partner and approached Reyes.
"We have to let go now," She said.
Reyes shook her head. Scully placed her hand on Reyes's shoulder.
"Monica!" Scully almost gulped "We knew there was a chance this could happen. We have to continue what they started. The killers of our partners must be brought to justice."
Reyes looked at Scully and saw the red stains and the tears on her face. She was trying to be strong and at that moment Reyes knew that she had to echo Scully's strength.
"We will avenge you," Reyes promised before she let him go.
Arlington Cemetery - Two Weeks Later
The funeral was a sombre affair on a drab and wet day. Both Scully and Reyes were either comforted by family members who knew they couldn't do anything or spat at by others who didn't think they did enough. It was the second time they saw the blonde and the red-head, whom they could see were smiling in sympathy. They then turned to walk away. Scully and Reyes tried to catch them but found they had completely disappeared like phantoms.
"Agent Scully, Agent Reyes?"
The two women turned around and saw a tall distinguished looking man wearing a long dark coat with matching dark gloves, which he took off to reach into his inside jacket pocket.
"My name is Harold Malone. I'm Director of Operations for the United Nations Criminal Intelligence Task-Force. I have a proposition to put to you."
To prove what he was saying was true, he handed both Scully and Reyes a card. The two agents studied the card and then the man.
"I assure you, I'm genuine," Malone said "And so is my offer."
"Which is?" Reyes asked.
"To leave the FBI and join us at the United Nations Criminal Intelligence Task-force."
Both Scully and Reyes looked at the man with a certain amount of interest. Malone smiled and took that to mean 'convince us'.
"You will be handsomely rewarded for your work, plus you will be allowed to continue what you do now without interference from me."
"And you will protect us from whomever would want to harm us?" Reyes asked.
"I'll be doing a little bit more than that, Agent Reyes," Malone said "You see, I do not like Agents being set up for assassination by their own people just for being too efficient at their job. Your partners deserved better and so do you."
"Meaning?" Scully pressed.
"That I intend to help you bring the people responsible for your partners' deaths and your attempted murders to justice."
It was that day that Dana Scully and Monica Reyes became partners in UNCIT. It was also that day they started striking back at their partners killers. With Malone's help, they had uncovered a conspiracy that struck like a cancer within the FBI. Nine months after the death of their partners, Scully and Reyes were placing handcuffs on the Deputy Director of the FBI and charging him with conspiracy to commit murder. He went down as did other corrupt members of the FBI. However, the main architects, a shadow conspiracy that operated outside the law remained untouched.
"We'll get them," Reyes promised as she and Scully left the Washington DC courthouse under a hail of photographers and reporters, all shouting questions in their direction and all being pushed away by UNCIT operatives and local police.
"Monica!"
Scully pointed over the road. Reyes looked and saw, for the only the third time, the blonde and the red-head. This time they were being hustled into the car by Malone and driven away before they had a chance to finally meet their rescuers.
Bermuda - Two Years Later
They were to get that chance two years later under very trying circumstances. Scully and Reyes were in, of all places, Bermuda. They were attending a conference on the Paranormal where one of the guest speakers was a man called Rupert Giles. On the evening of the last day, Reyes received a note under the door asking for her and Scully to meet Giles in a nearby bar in an hour. They arrived to find Giles nervous and jittery. They found out that he was CIA through an exchange of business cards. As soon as that was established he took them out of the bar and for a walk along the beach. They stopped at a beach-side café where Giles bought them a couple of soft drinks. They found a quiet secluded spot to begin their conversations.
"I need your help," He said "My charges have been out of contact for the last seventy two hours and I don't know what to do."
"Your charges are?" Scully asked.
"Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg."
"Is it usual for them to be out of contact for this long?" Reyes asked
Giles shook his head.
"We trust each other implicitly. Every time Buffy and Willow are on assignment without me, we arrange that they make contact with me every thirty six hours either personally or by messenger. They have never broken that arrangement."
"So you think they are in trouble," Reyes observed.
"They must be."
"You have told your superiors this?"
Giles took off his glasses and shook his head.
"Why?" Reyes asked.
"Because I cannot entirely trust them. I'm convinced that they have set Buffy and Willow up to be killed."
Scully looked at Giles quizzically. Giles took out a handkerchief and rubbed his glasses before replacing them.
"I personally recruited them out of college five years ago," He continued "they have unique qualities which make our bosses nervous."
"Such as?" Scully pressed.
"Willow Rosenberg is a witch, a very powerful witch with the power of telekinesis amongst other powers. Buffy Summers is stronger than she looks. She's faster, more agile and certainly more fitter than even the fittest athlete. They also share a powerful sense of curiosity, which also makes our bosses nervous."
"That still doesn't explain why your bosses want them dead," Reyes said.
Giles took out his handkerchief and rubbed his glasses again. That alone told both Scully and Reyes and that this was making Giles uncomfortable. Yet to his credit, the Englishman took a deep breath, replaced his glasses and continued.
"For the last year and a half Buffy and Willow have been looking into illicit CIA activity. They were actually inspired to do this by you and your late partners. Anyway, they have uncovered a hornets nest of shady dealings and murder going back decades. Some were linked to people you had arrested last year. However, they didn't quite have enough evidence to convict. It was one of the reasons Buffy and Willow accepted the assignment in Cuba,"
He got to his feet and began walking. Scully and Reyes picked up their drinks and followed.
"They had heard that Luis Macarin wanted to defect. He had evidence that linked the CIA to several assassinations around the world including a possible link to the death of John F Kennedy," Giles continued once they were far enough away from the café.
"And you think it's a trap?" Scully said.
Giles nodded.
"I warned them of that possibility," He said "However, they still went in saying that they couldn't afford to miss such a vital opportunity. They are like daughters to me. If they are dead, I wouldn't know what to do."
"Why us?" Reyes asked.
"Because you owe them a debt. It was Buffy and Willow who saved your lives a couple of years ago."
Reyes looked at Scully. They had finally put names to the blonde and the red-head.
"Let us talk to Mr Malone," Scully said.
"Thank you," Giles said gratefully.
Bermuda - Ten Hours Later
The news brought Malone to Bermuda to meet Giles. Giles told Malone everything that he had told Scully and Reyes. Malone himself added that he had heard from one of his contacts in Havana that Macarin was dead and that Buffy and Willow were on the run having been accused of his murder.
"This whole thing definitely smells of a set up," Reyes said.
Malone nodded his agreement. He didn't like this one little bit. It actually wreaked of a very nasty CIA plot to have Macarin assassinated and Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg killed along with him in order to 'kill two birds with one stone' to coin a phrase. The two men and two women walked along the beach in silence. It was clear to Scully and Reyes that Malone was deep in thought and they didn't want to say anything to disrupt this mood, even when Giles kept throwing anxious glances at them. Malone suddenly stopped causing the others to stop as well.
"Do you have access to Miss Summers and Miss Rosenberg's data on illicit CIA activity?" He asked Giles.
"No, but I know where the information could be,"Giles answered.
That answer seemed to satisfy Malone.
"I want you to take me there," Malone said "Miss Scully, Miss Reyes, I want you to go to Cuba and find Miss Summers and Miss Rosenberg."
Malone took out a small note pad, scribbled something down and tore off the page.
"This is the address of a cigar shop in Havana, ask for a man called Hector. He will help you."
Reyes took the piece of paper.
"Please be careful," Malone said.
Reyes and Scully took Malone's hand.
"We will," Scully promised.
Cuba - Two Days Later
Scully and Reyes took a plane to a nearby island and then hired a yacht to sail to Cuba. The ride was choppy and it took a great deal of skill to control the yacht. However, they managed to land in a northern harbour. After tying up, they arranged for the Harbour Master, a man sympathetic to American causes, to ensure that the yacht disappeared. He sold it to a fisherman looking for a quick sale and split the proceeds with Scully and Reyes. That ensured that they had money for a longish stay.
"Look after yourselves," He said "I don't want to read about you in the papers."
"I think we can guarantee that won't happen," Reyes quipped.
The Harbour Master laughed and hugged both of them.
"God Speed."
They started the long walk out of town in a hope of hitching a ride. The Harbour Master had offered to get them a ride, but, Reyes felt that he had done enough and declined. They managed to catch a ride with a businessman trying to get home to his family a few miles outside town.
"You've just got in?" The man asked as he started up the car.
"Yeah!" Reyes said "We had a small problem with our yacht. Damn thing developed a slow leak. I think we hit something on the way in. There's no way we can afford the repair."
"So you've sold it for scrap," The man deduced.
"We've sold it to somebody who can fix it, The Harbour Master managed to get us a barely average price," Reyes said "Oh well! Easy come, easy go."
The man chuckled.
"That's the trouble with the waters around here, too many rocks," He said "And too many people ready to take advantage."
Scully could feel him looking at her through the rear view mirror and felt uncomfortable.
"So what brings you to Cuba?" He asked.
"We're trying to find a couple of friends," Reyes said honestly.
"Really! I have some contacts within the government, maybe I can help."
"It's okay," Scully said "We have one or two leads to follow."
"If I can be of any service please don't hesitate to ask."
The Businessman gave Reyes his card.
"Thank you," Reyes looked at the card "Mr Louis Collargo, we'll keep it in mind."
"What do I call you?" He asked.
"Carla, Maria," Reyes said
"Well Carla and Maria, how about some dinner, maybe tonight."
"We're going to have to take a rain check on that," Scully said.
"A pity!" Collargo said "I know some good restaurants in Havana."
"Maybe soon," Reyes said.
Havana - Three Hours Later
When Collargo dropped Scully and Reyes off, the two women breathed a sigh of relief. There was something about that guy that unnerved them. For a start, despite his claim to be trying to get home to his family, the way he was eyeing them up suggested he was interested in a little bit more than dinner. It was more than possible that they were the main course, both of them, probably at the same time. That made them both shudder. Putting that to the back of their minds, they began searching for the cigar shop. They found it in a back alley and at eleven o'clock at night. Reyes pressed the door bell. Within a minute a tired, world weary woman answered.
"We're here to see Hector," Reyes said "Harry sent us."
The woman looked around and then ushered the two of them into the shop. She took them through the shop into the back, where a Hispanic looking man was having supper. He stopped eating and got to his feet.
"Are you Carla and Maria?"
Reyes nodded.
"I'm Hector Borrego. Alicia, go and get something for our guests."
The woman nodded and hurried out of the room.
"It's okay," Scully said "There's no need."
"Nonsense," Hector said "You've had a long journey. Please have a seat."
Scully and Reyes took seats at the table as instructed. Hector sat down and poured out two drinks from a beer pitcher, which he offered to both Scully and Reyes. Reluctantly the two women accepted the drinks.
"Ever since Harry Malone contacted me, I've been doing some checking. It's not good."
Both Reyes and Scully braced themselves.
"It seems Miss Summers and Miss Rosenberg had got to Luis Macarin and was on the verge of getting him out when they were ambushed by Fidel's Militia . Macarin was killed and both Miss Summers and Miss Rosenberg were taken prisoner."
"And they escaped," Reyes deduced.
"The Cuban secret police still do not know how," Hector allowed himself a smile "Two little women ripped twenty grown men apart and then walked out the door. Fidel himself wants to know why."
"We know," Scully said with a grin "We've seen them in action."
"You said it was not good," Reyes interrupted.
"Last night, there was a fire fight in the Northern village of Jerez between a unit of the Cuban Militia and Miss Summers and Miss Rosenberg. They escaped, but there is a possibility that one of them may have been wounded."
The woman returned with two plates of stew and placed in front of Scully and Reyes. Both women thanked Alicia and started to tuck in.
"Can you get us to Jerez?" Reyes asked after swallowing a mouthful.
"Give me a couple of hours to arrange something," Hector said "You can stay here until I get back."
"May not be possible," Reyes said "Have you heard of a man called Louis Collargo?"
Hector closed his eyes in anguish.
"He's Secret Police, isn't he?" Scully said.
"One of Fidel's best," Hector said "He gave us a lot of problems a couple of months ago. How do you know him?"
"He gave us a lift into Havana."
"Damn it!"
Hector thought for a minute.
"What did you say to him?"
"That we were looking for a couple of friends," Reyes said "We didn't say who."
"Then there may be a way out. Alicia!"
The woman entered on the call of her name.
"Have Carlotta and Margarete returned from that trip?" Hector asked.
"Si, they arrive last night."
"Can you get them here?"
"Si."
"Get them here and brief Miss Scully and Miss Reyes as to who they are."
Alicia nodded and left the room. Both Scully and Reyes looked at Hector quizzically. Hector smiled.
"Carla and Maria are going to have their tearful reunion for Mr Collargo's benefit,"
He said
As promised Scully and Reyes got their tearful reunion, in front of the cigar shop with a couple of Secret Police members in an unmarked car two blocks away taking pictures with a long range photo lens. To keep up the pretence, both women had even changed into Cuban native clothes and had made a point of trying on scarfs and head-wear in front of the shop. Two hours later, as promised, Hector returned with a jeep and a map.
"Try and keep off the main roads," He said "There will be road blocks on every main road leading to the Northern ports."
Scully and Reyes got into the jeep.
"When you get there go to this address and ask for Ricardo, he will help you."
Hector gave Reyes a slip of paper.
"What about Collargo?" Reyes asked
Hector looked at his watch.
"Give it ten minutes then go."
"Will the boat be there when get there?" Scully asked.
"Don't worry," Hector said "The boat will be there. Just make sure you get yourselves, Miss Summers and Miss Rosenberg to the rendezvous point."
Hector went back inside. Ten minutes later, Reyes gunned the engine. She took the road to the main road to find that the Secret Police car had gone. She and Scully gave the high five and then drove off.
Northern Cuba
For the first couple of hours, it was plain sailing. For a start they had the cover of darkness and a four wheel drive that allowed them to stay off the main roads for as long as possible. When they ran into road blocks, which was seldom, paperwork provided for them by Hector allowed them to skate through. However, as they closed on Jerez, they saw troopers everywhere, stopping every car, prodding every hay-cart with pitch forks. Even they were stopped and searched.
"Where are you ladies heading?" The Sergeant asked them as two of his troopers searched the jeep, opening the boot at the back and rummaging through the luggage.
"We're going home," Reyes said.
"And where's that?"
"Port Rogue," Scully answered.
"Really," The Sergeant said suddenly interested "I suppose you know the Hacienda Tavern?"
"We've heard of it," Reyes said with a wink.
Which was true, as it happened to be the town's brothel. Another snippet of information the resourceful Hector thought might be useful. Both Scully and Reyes now knew why Malone trusted this man with his life. The guy was a genius.
"It's clean Sergeant," His Corporal said.
"Of course it is,"
The Sergeant leered at both Scully and Reyes. Then, as an afterthought, he produced two pictures from his pocket.
"I suppose you haven't seen these two on your way home?"
Reyes took both photographs and looked at them. They were unflattering pictures of Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg.
"No!" Reyes said innocently "Why? What have they done?"
"What about your friend?"
"Maria, have you seen these people?"
Reyes gave Scully the photographs. Scully looked at them.
"No!"
She handed the photographs back to Reyes, who handed them back to the Sergeant.
"Okay," The Sergeant said "Just be careful if you run into them. They killed six people whilst trying to escape. I wouldn't want you to risk your pretty heads."
"We'll certainly be careful," Reyes said.
They got back into the jeep and moved away. Just as they were about to turn the corner, Reyes saw a familiar looking car pull up at the check-point.
"Dana!"
Scully looked through the mirror and saw Collargo get out and the Sergeant snap to attention.
"Damn it!" She said.
"We have to remain calm, Dana," Reyes said.
Scully took Reyes hand and squeezed it. Reyes took a deep breath and moved the jeep away again. They were lucky, nobody moved against them.
Jerez
Ricardo Morais was as good as Hector said he was. He was able to narrow the search area down to three possibilities: an abandoned gold mine two miles north of Jerez; an old farmhouse south of Port Rogue and an old church in Port Rogue itself. Although all three had been searched by the militia, there were hiding places that only certain people knew about and they would rather die than reveal them to the forces of Fidel Castro.
"The church is tended by a woman called Rosa. If Miss Summers and Miss Rosenberg are there, she'll be looking after them. Tell her that Ricardo sent you."
"Thank you," Reyes said.
"Don't thank me," Ricardo said "Just find them and get them out of here. The last thing we need at the moment is Fidel's thugs stomping around. It's bad for business."
Port Rogue
Ten minutes later, in a car supplied by Ricardo, Scully and Reyes were on the road. The sun was starting to rise on the horizon making life a little more difficult, especially with Collargo being in the area. With time running short, they decided to gamble on Buffy and Willow being at the church in Port Rogue reasoning that they could always double back and check the other sites if they weren't. It was also the most likely place to find a safe haven. A gold mine and a Farmhouse, especially this close to Jerez, were just a little too obvious, and the one thing they had learned about Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg already, they had developed a healthy doze of paranoia. In that aspect, they were a lot like their late partners. They arrived at Seven o'clock that morning. Scully and Reyes approached the cottage next to the church. Reyes knocked on the door. Within a minute the door opened and a woman in her seventies looked out. Reyes put on her best smile and asked.
"Are you Rosa?"
"Who wants to know?"
"Ricardo sent us," Scully said "He thought you might know the whereabouts of a couple of friends of ours."
"The blonde and the red-headed woman?"
"Yes!"
"They didn't kill Macarin you know. That pig Collargo was responsible."
"We know," Reyes said "We've come to help them."
"The Rosenberg child is hurt, she is a powerful witch, but even she may not be able to pull out of it," Rosa said with a tear in her eye, "She could be dying."
That was news Scully and Reyes didn't want to hear. Scully took the woman's hand.
"I'm a Doctor, I can help."
Rosa grasped Scully's hand and looked into her eyes. Believing her, she left the house and shut the door carrying a basket in her hand.
"We must go quickly."
Scully and Reyes followed the old woman to the church and down a passageway into the crypt. She then produced a key and unlocked a side door to reveal a flight of wooden steps going down. They took the stairs quickly, reaching another door which Rosa knocked on three times and then another three times. The door opened to reveal a visibly upset Buffy Summers.
"I have brought you some more food and a Doctor," Rosa said.
Scully and Reyes came from behind Rosa. The light almost shone from Buffy's eyes as she recognised them.
"Monica, Dana, thank god!"
She hugged both women in turn.
"How's Willow?" Scully asked.
"Bad! She's lost a lot of blood."
Rosa handed Scully the basket and then departed. Scully and Reyes followed Buffy into the room to see Willow lying in a makeshift bed. Even from this far away, Scully could see that the red-head was in trouble. Buffy moved to Willow's side and gently shook her.
"Will?"
Willow opened her eyes.
"Buffy," She said weakly "Have they come?"
"Monica and Dana are here," Buffy said "Just as you predicted."
Reyes took Willow's hand causing Willow to look in her direction and smile.
"Hi there," Reyes said.
"Thank you for coming, Monica. You could be too late."
"Don't say that," Reyes said squeezing Willow's hand.
Scully crouched down beside Reyes and lifted the blanket covering Willow to see the extent of the wound. It had been well bandaged and treated by Buffy, but, there was still a serious risk of infection. Scully undid the bandage and gently touched the wound causing Willow to wince.
"Damn! Internal bleeding," Scully said "Monica, have a look through Rosa's basket, find out what medicine she brought."
Reyes emptied the basket. There was food and medicine but only medicine to keep the fever down.
"It's going to have to do," Scully said.
"Is she going to die?" Buffy asked in a small voice.
"Not if I can help it," Scully said "Monica, go and find Rosa, tell her we need plenty of hot water."
"You're going to operate?" Buffy asked.
"I've no choice, that bullet has got to come out now."
That was enough to send Reyes flying out the door.
The Church - The Next Afternoon
It was early afternoon before Scully got the bullet out. Willow was luckier than she initially thought. There was internal bleeding but not life threatening if they could get her to a hospital and get her started on anti-biotics. Having said that however, there was something about Willow's recovery that was puzzling her. It started the moment Scully touched her as if Willow was drawing strength from her. It was an odd sensation, but, based on nothing scientific. However, Willow did look brighter and stronger. Scully disregarded it as a figment of her imagination and continued dressing the wound.
"Is she fit enough to move?" Reyes asked.
"Ordinarily I would have said no, but, considering Collargo could be here any minute and Hector wont wait that long......"
Without even thinking about it, Buffy gently lifted her partner up and carried her out and all the way to the car. Scully and Reyes followed admiring Buffy's strength and obvious love for her partner. By mid-afternoon, the four women were on the road heading for Hector and safety. If it was plain sailing before, things were about to get worse because there was now no way they could bluff their way past checkpoints. They had to abandon cars, walk around road blocks and steal new cars, but as Reyes said.
"This could be fun."
Northern Cuba
They headed west, away from Port Rogue and nowhere near Jerez. It was the safest route that Hector could think of. It was, of course, longer, at least a three hour drive. However, all four women knew that they had to add at least another three hours to that and more with Willow's injury. But, at least the makeshift suture under the bandage was holding. With the bullet out, Willow was looking stronger with every hour that passed, helped possibly by the pain deadening spell that she cast to help her move easily.
"It doesn't solve my problem," Willow said "but at least I wont be a burden."
Those words didn't stop Scully from constantly looking at her fellow red-head to check if she was alright. However, there was another reason for her looking. Something was still bothering Scully about the way Willow seemed to be gaining strength. She was glad to see it of course, but how was she doing it? She looked back again and saw that Willow had seen her looking at her.
"You will find out eventually, Dana, you both will, trust me."
Scully looked at Willow in disbelief at what she had just heard in her mind. Willow smiled at her in encouragement.
"Trust me! All will be clear soon."
However, the philosophy of 'sods law' dictates that 'anything that can go wrong, will go wrong', and it started to go wrong for Buffy, Willow, Monica and Dana when the car ran out of petrol and spluttered to a halt.
"Damn it!" Reyes exploded slamming her hand on the steering wheel.
"So what do we do now?" Buffy asked.
"Somebody goes for petrol?" Willow suggested..
"No," Reyes said "We stick together."
The four women got out of the car and unloaded their belongings from the boot. Scully, Reyes and Buffy pushed the car off the road with Willow steering. They then started walking north west, keeping the main road close so that it acted as a guide to the port where Hector said he would wait. Half an hours walking lead them to a village with very little modern equipment. The two cars on view were very well worn 1950's models. Willow, despite her getting stronger, still felt tired and that lead her to getting a dizzy spell. Scully had to catch her before she fell.
"I think we need to rest," Scully suggested helping Willow to straighten herself up
The others agreed, feeling a bit tired themselves.
"There's a tavern just over there," Reyes said "I say we get something to eat and move on, we can't stay in one place for too long."
The four women walked toward the tavern, only just avoiding a drunken man who stumbled out of the tavern and almost pawed Reyes.
"Whoa, big boy."
Reyes steered the man away and entered the tavern. Scully, Buffy and Willow followed. The place was relatively quiet, a few people sat at tables, eating meals and imbibing alcohol. A couple of the men staggered up to Buffy and Scully and tried their luck. Buffy smashed one of the men into a table, Scully kneed the other in the groin.
"We don't want trouble," Reyes said "We just want something to eat."
The men staggered to their feet and, enraged by their battering, launched at Buffy and Scully. They went flying again, this time from Reyes's fist and Willow's magic. The Innkeeper came from behind his bar to stop the two enraged men from launching a new attack at the four women who had adopted a defensive mode and was ready for anything.
"Carlos, Luis," The Innkeeper said "Leave the Ladies alone before they wreck the building beating you to a pulp."
The two men looked at the Innkeeper, then the four women, then left muttering revenge. The Innkeeper burst into laughter and then lead the applause.
"You are the first women to give those two what they deserve," The Innkeeper said after the applause died down "I think that deserves a free meal."
"Thank you," Reyes said.
They got the best table and the finest food and a pat on the back from villagers glad to see the Rodriguez brothers get their comeuppance. They even got use of the Innkeepers old jeep, complete with a full tank. But then 'Sods Law' struck again and the Rodriguez brothers returned, with the Militia close behind.
"You're harbouring American spies," Carlos announced "They murdered Luis Macarin."
Suddenly their 'friends' turned hostile. Buffy and Willow had to use their full powers to beat off attacks from the Rodriguez brothers, the militia and certain villagers, whist Scully and Reyes used fists and chairs to fend off their attackers. Suddenly, machine gun fire ripped through the air.
"Go!" The Innkeeper said tossing Reyes the keys to his jeep.
The four women left with the Innkeeper and two of the villagers covering their retreat. As the jeep sped away, two military vehicles emerged to give chase.
"Oh Hell!" Reyes cursed.
She floored the accelerator and swerved from side to side to avoid the bullets.
"Will?" Buffy said expectantly.
Willow closed her eyes and concentrated. Behind them the two drivers lost control and crashed into each other causing both vehicles to explode in a ball of flames. All four women breathed a sigh of relief, a feeling which lasted for a minute before a gunship emerged and started to fire on them, some bullets ripping into the jeep just missing the occupants. This time Scully and Buffy opened fire on the helicopter causing it to back away and giving Reyes a chance to crash the jeep into the forest and zigzag through the trees, avoiding bullets and a flame throwing weapon which incinerated trees in their path.
"Willow, can you do it again?" Scully asked.
"I don't know," Willow said.
Willow hung onto Buffy as Reyes swerved the jeep around a tree that had just been hit by a flame thrower.
"If you don't do it, we're dead!" Reyes said.
With Buffy and Scully grasping her hands, Willow began to chant. Above the helicopter engine began to misfire and then stopped. Suddenly, the helicopter dropped like a stone and exploded on impact with the ground. The threat for now had passed. However, the next village gave Scully and Reyes their worst fears. It was obvious that Collargo had found out who they were and that the names of Dana Scully and Monica Reyes had joined the names of Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg on Cuba's most wanted list. If things were bad before, they were worse now.
"We need a new disguise," Buffy suggested.
The rest agreed, which was why Buffy and Reyes raided two gardens to borrow clothes hanging on lines. They were loose fitting and the majority of the clothes were for men, but beggars couldn't be choosers. They had also found a stream for them to bathe in. It gave them a chance to clean up and for Scully to check Willow's wound. She was amazed that it was virtually healed.
"You have better powers of healing than you thought," Willow offered.
Scully shook her head.
"There was no way you could have recovered like that," Scully said "That bullet had done some damage, enough to have kept you in hospital for at least two weeks."
"Both Willow and I have tremendous powers of recovery," Buffy said
She handed both Scully and Willow a canteen of water and a change of clothing.
"And telepathy as well?" Scully challenged "On the road, Willow said 'you will find out eventually, Dana, you both will, trust me', but she didn't say a thing. What did that mean?"
"That both you and Monica have the power as well. The four of us are the Slayer and The Wiccan. Monica and Buffy are the Slayer, you and I are the Wiccan," Willow answered
"You're joking!"
"There was no way I could have brought that helicopter down on my own. You and Buffy tipped the balance."
"Why hasn't this so-called power manifested itself before now?"
"Because they were dormant," Buffy answered "You probably had some inkling, but they remained in the back of your mind, unable to break forward."
"There is a way to prove that what we are saying is true," Willow said.
"Which is?"
"A joining of souls," Buffy said "It will prove once and for all that we are soul mates and you have Willow's powers as much as Monica has mine."
Scully closed her eyes. She couldn't believe she was hearing this. Yet there was something. At her partners' funeral, how did she and Reyes know that Buffy and Willow were there, the same at the Courthouse, and she did hear Willow clearly in the car a couple of hours ago.
"Wait a minute!" Scully said "Soul Mates! All four of us?"
"Take the joining ritual and find out," Willow said "Monica has the same doubts you have, but, she has agreed to take part."
Scully sighed. This sounded ludicrous, but somehow believable. There were things that happened in her life that needed explaining.
"Why not," She said "If Monica can find a place where we can hide, we'll do it."
Willow grasped Scully's hand.
"Thank you Dana, this means more to me than you'll ever know."
Five minutes later, Monica returned with news of a place where they can rest and hide.
"It's twenty minutes walk from here, but it should give us enough cover."
It was agreed to move to the new location and to stay there until night and then head to the rendezvous point.
A Cave - Northern Cuba
Reyes was only slightly out with her estimate. It was a twenty five minute walk to a group of caves hidden within the forest. Once they settled in and prepared and ate a meal from rations that Ricardo had prepared for this reason, they sat in a diamond, Scully facing Reyes, Buffy facing Willow.
"All link hands," Willow said
Scully took a deep breath, nervously shook her hands to loosen them and took Buffy and Willow's hands. Reyes, smiling at Scully's reaction, took Buffy and Willow's other hands thus completing the diamond.
"I want you to relax and clear your mind of all doubt," Willow said.
Seeing all the others close their eyes, Scully closed hers. To her left, she heard Willow chanting and, to her surprise, felt herself joining in with the chant as if it was some song that she heard on the radio and had been compelled to join in with. Slowly the sound began fading until nothing, not even her own voice, could be heard. It was eery and at first Scully didn't want to open her eyes. She could feel that she was sitting on something soft, probably grass. Reaching out, she touched the ground and felt that it was grass.
"Dana?"
Willow's voice sounded calm and confident. She felt Willow's touch and felt that her hand was touching skin. Wasn't I wearing a jacket? Scully thought.
"Hey, Dana. It's beautiful!"
Reyes's infectious voice caused Scully to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was that Reyes, Buffy and Willow were all naked. The second thing she felt was a slight breeze touching her skin suggesting that she too was naked. She looked around and saw that she was in a typical English garden on a hot summers day.
"Where are we?" She thought out loud.
"Paradise," Reyes 'said' with a smile.
Scully saw Reyes stand up and stretch, her athletic form stretching in perfect formation, her breasts firm and beautiful. Willow took Scully's hand and helped her to stand up. She noticed that Willow too had a beautiful well formed body, as did Buffy. Scully could feel herself breathing faster as if trying to fight lust from coming on. She saw Buffy perform a well executed cartwheel and felt herself chuckle as Buffy landed gracefully. Scully bent down and picked a flower, she smelt it and felt a slight tingle of excitement. Reyes was right, this was paradise.
"This is the Gateway," Willow 'said'.
"To?"
"The testing of the soul."
All four looked up and saw Rupert Giles sitting on a swing seat. His face reddened when he saw their condition and produced four robes from seemingly nowhere.
"I wish there wasn't a necessity for nudity," He 'said' "It's so....awkward."
"Still the prude, Giles," Buffy 'kidded.'.
Giles shook his head and frowned. The four women put on the robes and sat in front of him.
"Okay," Scully 'said' "What do we need to do?"
"You need to believe in extreme possibilities, Dana," Giles 'said'.
"I'm here, aren't I?"
"You believe some of it, but, not all if it. You have to trust yourself and your colleagues."
"Dana, you are part of the greater whole," Willow 'said' "You, myself, Monica and Buffy share a destiny. Together we are a force for good against the oncoming darkness."
"Whoa! Back up! Oncoming darkness?"
"We have discussed this often, Dana," Reyes 'said' "There has been an increase of evil activity over the last one hundred years. Two World Wars, the events of September the 11th 2001, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the Gulf War, Vietnam, the death of our partners. Everything seems to be building up to something big."
"And the four of us can stop this 'oncoming darkness'?"
"Yes," Giles 'said' "The Slayer and The Wiccan are powerful enough to stop the forces of evil, but only if they act as one."
This was a lot for Scully to take in. She saw Reyes and Buffy take off their robes and face each other.
"Monica?"
"It's the joining ritual," Giles 'said' "The Slayers are going to be joined as one, as will the Wiccans."
Buffy and Reyes held hands and began merging into each other, first the hands and then the arms.
"Take my hands, Dana," Willow 'said'.
Scully looked at Willow and saw that she had taken off her robe and was again naked. She looked at Buffy and Reyes and saw that their torsos were touching and merging at the same time.
"I'm scared!" Scully 'admitted'.
"I know, so am I, so are Buffy and Monica." Willow 'said'
Scully looked over and saw that Buffy and Reyes were now completely merged and were one complete entity, a body shaped mass of light which glowed in a mass of oranges, reds and yellows mixed with the odd spec of black.
"It's okay, Dana," The body spoke in Reyes's voice "I feel renewed, invigorated...."
"You forgot to say great!" The body said in Buffy's voice.
The body emitted Reyes's infectious chuckle that Scully so loved. Scully smiled and then slipped off her robe and turned to face Willow. She caressed Willow's hands and then grasped them. Both of her hands merged with Willow's. Within seconds both sets of arms had merged leaving Scully and Willow's faces close as if ready to kiss.
"You're doing great, Dana," Willow 'said'.
Scully was feeling great. The pains of the last two years were ebbing away. When full merger with Willow happened, the pains were all gone. The being known as Scully/Willow felt invigorated and alive. Scully/Willow saw Buffy/Reyes approach. They turned to Giles who smiled and pointed to the archway that suddenly appeared. Buffy/Reyes took Scully/Willow's hand and began walking towards the archway. They stopped to turn around and look at Giles. Giles took off his glasses and gave them a rub. His eyes were red with tears. Buffy/Reyes and Scully/Willow both took deep breaths and walked through the archway.
Dreamland - An Ice Rink
They reappeared just as they were stepping onto an ice rink. Scully/Willow could see that Buffy/Reyes was wearing an all in one black sequin costume and that she was wearing a black sequin dress. After being announced the two of them glided on the ice and took their position.
"This is probably the most important skate of their lives," The BBC Commentator 'said' in Scully/Willow and Buffy/Reyes's mind "The perfect skate and the elusive gold medal is theirs."
"I hear it's a brand new routine," The Ice Skating Expert 'said' "That is a very big risk."
"We shall see," The Commentator 'said "The music by the way is from Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Sir Tim Rice's 'Chess'."
The music, the opening theme from the musical, started and the routine was underway. Within ten seconds Scully/Willow and Buffy/Reyes had completed the perfect synchronised Triple Axel, Triple Toe-Loop combination.
"Excellent Combination!" The Commentator 'gushed'.
"Did you see the height of the Triple Axel?" The Ice Skating Expert 'said'.
By now Scully/Willow had landed the perfect thrown Triple Salchow and the two couples had gone into the most synchronised side by side combination spin anybody had ever seen.
"So far, so good," The Commentator 'said'.
"The Quad is coming. That will be the test, if they land that then they are one step closer to the gold."
The death spiral was completed with perfection, followed by a graceful linked combination spin and another side by side triple/triple. All of it perfectly choreographed in time with the music. Scully/Willow saw the smile on Giles's face and gracefully spun Buffy/Reyes around to see Giles, who gave the thumbs up sign. Two side by side triples and a side by side Camel Spin later, Giles was gone. That created a small falter in the next combination jump, which they both just survived.
"That was close," The Commentator 'said' "A near disaster."
"It took a great deal of strength and agility to complete that combination," The Ice Skating Expert 'agreed' "But these two were already noted for that, what was lacking until tonight was the artistry."
Then it came. Scully/Willow pulled Buffy/Reyes through the lightening fast straight line steps sequence and then prepared for the thrown quad. Buffy/Reyes threw Scully/Willow from a toe-loop position. Scully/Willow spun four and a half times in the air and landed the perfect toe-loop landing.
"They've landed the Quad!" The Ice Skating Expert 'said' with excitement.
"I think we've just seen the gold medal jump," The Commentator 'agreed'.
"Not quite," The Ice Skating Expert 'said' "There is still the Axel combination."
Again the big jump came after a steps sequence, this time a circular one. The Axel/Axel combination was landed with no falter or hesitation. The audience, already livened by the performance, went mad.
"That's the Gold!" The Ice Skating Expert 'said'.
Buffy/Reyes and Scully/Willow went into the final combination spin before laying gracefully on the ice like the ending of Torvill and Dean's Bolero routine. The audience, already mad with wonder, were on their feet in applause. Flowers were thrown onto the ice. Buffy/Reyes helped Scully/Willow to her feet. They hugged each other and kissed before skating towards the trainers and performers box.
"I'm speechless," The Ice Skating Expert 'said' "The grace, the power, the speed, all was in perfect union. Even the small mistake showed the power of recovery of these two."
"It was like the joining of Soul Mates," The Commentator 'said' "But will the Judges agree?"
"They must, it'll be an outrage if they don't."
Scully/Willow and Buffy/Reyes sat down holding hands tightly. The first marks came up - seven 5.9's and two 6.0's, enough for first place. A few seconds later, the second mark, for artistic impression, emerged. The audience went nuts.
"It's sixes across the board!" The Commentator 'said' with growing excitement "All the Judges have given them a six."
"It's what they deserved," The Ice Skating Expert 'said'.
Scully/Willow and Buffy/Reyes hugged each other with tears in their eyes. As they left the arena the applause was still ringing in their ears.
Dreamland - The Garden
They walked through the archway back into the garden. Giles got to his feet, tears in his eyes.
"The Slayer and The Wiccan are as one. My job is done."
"Giles?" Buffy/Reyes 'said' sensing something wrong.
"It is time for the Slayer and the Wiccan to stand on their own two feet."
"Giles, you're starting to scare me," Scully/Willow 'said'.
"There is no need to be afraid," Giles 'said' "The Slayer and the Wiccan is complete. Evil will not stand up against them."
"Two of us are new to the power," Buffy/Reyes 'said' "They will need a mentor."
"They already have one."
Giles got to his feet and headed towards the archway.
"Giles!" Both Buffy/Reyes and Scully/Willow pleaded.
"Do me proud."
Giles passed through the archway. As soon as he went through, the archway disappeared.
The Cave - Northern Cuba
Scully opened her eyes and saw that she was back in the caves and cradling a sobbing Willow. She was feeling tears coming out of her own eyes.
"He's dead, Dana," Willow said "Giles is dead."
"I know," Scully said
Reyes and Buffy joined Scully and Willow in a group hug. All four had shared an exhilarating experience, all four had learned something new about themselves and each other, but, more importantly, all four knew that they were alone. Reyes looked at her watch. Only five minutes had passed and it was still light outside.
"I suggest that we get some sleep," Reyes said "We have a long night ahead."
The others agreed.
Northern Cuba
They left the caves an hour after night fell, all of them wearing the stolen clothes and looking more like Cuban peasants. Within the next hour, they had to duck into hiding once when a couple of Cuban soldiers, cursing Collargo's name for daring to get them out of the comfort of their mistresses bed, passed them. The two men stopped right in front of their hiding place and lit cigarettes for a brief rest.
"I hear that those four women killed twenty soldiers during two escapes from our wonderful Militia elite. Fidel is going to have the survivors shot for incompetence."
"I would love to see that," The taller soldier said "Just for the look on those smug bastards' faces when they pulled the trigger."
"You would have done any better, Miguel?"
"Of course, I know how to handle women."
The smaller soldier took a drag of his cigarette.
"They crashed two cars and a helicopter just by thought alone. If they can do that to them, just think what they could do to us."
The taller soldier stopped smoking and looked at his companion.
"Two cars and a helicopter? Just by thought alone?"
"That's what I heard."
The taller soldier made the sign of the cross and caused Willow to stifle a chuckle. The two soldiers tensed and grasped their rifles tighter.
"Who's there?" The Taller soldier snapped.
Buffy placed a hand over Willow's mouth to make sure of no more giggles. Beside them Scully and Reyes held their breath. They could hear their hearts pounding ten to the dozen as the soldiers drew closer to their hiding place.
"Hear anything now, Miguel?" The smaller soldier asked.
The taller soldier shook his head.
"I think some coffee might calm our nerves eh, my friend?"
"Something a bit stronger, perhaps," The taller soldier replied "I have something in the jeep."
"Lead the way."
The two soldiers left. When they were finally out of sight, Scully and Reyes started to breathe again and Buffy removed her hand from Willow's mouth.
"Sorry!" Willow whispered meekly.
The others simply glared at her.
A Fishing Port - Northern Cuba
They reached the objective, a small fishing port, within the next two hours. They entered the village and found that, despite the heavy concentration of troopers within the port, most of them were drunk. It also helped that they were all dressed in male clothes and how somehow developed the male way of walking, easy for Buffy and Reyes, but a little harder for the more genteel Willow and Scully. For those two reasons, they easily passed the troopers and entered the rendezvous point, a tavern close to one of the jetties, and found a quiet secluded table out of the way. Within a minute, a man walked over with a tray containing five beers. It was Hector.
"I didn't think you'd get here," He said placing the tray on the table.
"Neither did we," Reyes said.
Hector pulled up a chair and sat down.
"How are you, Miss Rosenberg?"
Willow looked at Scully and Reyes who nodded that he was all right.
"I'm fine," She answered.
"I heard that you were seriously wounded."
"I was."
Hector looked at Scully and Reyes in astonishment.
"Long story, Hector, which is going to have to wait for another time," Scully said.
"Do you have the boat?" Reyes asked.
"Jetty five, it's a motor-boat."
Hector suddenly ducked his head.
"What is it?" Buffy asked.
"Collargo's just come in."
Scully looked over Willow's shoulder and saw Collargo enter with five soldiers, two of them being the ones they avoided just a couple of hours ago.
"What do we do?" Willow whispered urgently
"We remain calm and pray that he goes away," Hector answered.
Collargo and the five troopers began touring around each table, inspecting all of the women and some feminine looking men.
"I think we should leave," Reyes suggested as Collargo got closer.
That plan was blocked by the arrival of the Sergeant from the road black at the back entrance. They could see Collargo approach their table.
"Hector?"
"Oh shit!"
Hector closed his eyes. Again Scully and Reyes held their breath, but they were joined this time by Buffy and Willow.
"It is you, Hector, what are you doing so far away from your tobacco shop?"
"Meeting friends," Hector said.
"Really," Collargo said "I really would like to meet your friends."
He touched Buffy's shoulder and found himself being thrown over Buffy's shoulder into the wall. The tall trooper called Miguel went for his weapon but Reyes leaped like a gazelle and smashed the weapon out of his hand. Scully knocked a recovering Collargo cold with a right cross, whilst at the same time Willow hit the encroaching Sergeant with a chair, the force of the blow staggering him into another table. The five of them headed for the exit. A shot stopped the five of them cold, along with the arrival of more troopers.
"Do you really think I wouldn't have back-up considering what Miss Rosenberg and Miss Summers can do," Collargo approached the five of them, his luger in his hand unwavering in its determination to fire if needed.
"Now, are we going to be sensible or do I have to kill you?"
Hector toppled over, showing signs of bleeding from his back.
"Hector?" Scully said.
The trooper known as Miguel pistol whipped Scully causing her to crash into Reyes. Buffy drop kicked Miguel into another table and smashed one of the troopers blocking the front entrance out the door. Willow grasped Scully's hand.
"Start chanting."
"What?" Scully said stunned.
"Just do it," Willow ordered.
Willow began chanting. Scully took a deep breath and began chanting the same words as Willow. She was amazed to hear the ancient language coming out of her mouth as fluently as it was coming out of Willow's. The fact that she knew the language at all also amazed her. Reyes hit another trooper using all of her newly gained slayer strength. She heard Scully and Willow chanting some ancient spell. She also saw that Collargo was about to open fire and sent a beer glass in his direction. As it hit Collargo's gun hand causing his bullet to whistle past her head, Reyes could feel herself chanting the ancient spell as well. Buffy too had closed her eyes and was chanting. All four could faintly hear a piercing whistling sound which seemed to be paralysing everybody else in the room.
"Get Hector!" Willow told Reyes.
Reyes could see that Buffy had also got the message and was already pulling the badly injured Hector out of the bar. She helped and the two of them were able to bodily carry the man out. Willow and Scully followed still chanting. The four of them started running towards the water, Buffy and Reyes still carrying Hector.
"Let me go," He hissed "Save yourselves."
"No way, Malone will have my hide," Reyes said.
Hector struggled to free himself and was hit again by another bullet. Willow sent a fireball speeding towards the soldier who shot Hector. He had no chance, the ball hit him square on, incinerating him in a ball of flames. Hector took out his weapon and starting firing on the advancing troopers.
"Tell Malone that all debts are repaid," He shouted.
"Hector!"
Buffy grabbed Reyes and pulled her towards the water.
"We can't leave him," Reyes said.
Scully took Reyes's other hand and helped Buffy drag the reluctant Reyes towards the jetty. More soldiers emerged in front of them.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Buffy exclaimed.
Both she and Reyes dealt with two more soldiers, whilst Scully and Willow used telekinetic powers to propel the other two into the water. Before anybody else could react, the four of them dove gracefully into the harbour. Underneath the water, as bullets whistled past them, Scully, Reyes, Buffy and Willow swam powerfully, the fact that they were still holding their breath as they swam not even close to being a problem. Thirty seconds later, the four of them emerged to find they had escaped their pursuers.
"How the hell did we do that?" Scully asked.
"The Slayer and the Wiccan can do anything," Reyes said.
"Don't you start, Monica," Scully said.
"We'll discuss that later," Willow said "We have to get to Jetty five. We owe that to Hector at least."
The four of them started swimming.
The Harbour - Two Hours Later
The target yacht was dark and quiet. A little too quiet for all four of them. From their hiding place, they could see troopers all over the jetty and mini coastguard cutters combed the waters. They were safe in this particular hiding place. However, to go for the yacht now would be dangerous to say the least. Unfortunately, staying in the water wasn't an option either.
"Stay here," Reyes said "I'll go and have a look. If I'm not back in five minutes, get out of here and find another way off."
"No!" Buffy said "If we go, we go together."
"Damn it, Buffy!" Reyes hissed "We can't risk all of us."
Buffy answered by diving under the water. Reyes held up her hands in exasperation and dived in after her with Scully and Willow close behind. They caught up with Buffy at the bow of the yacht.
"Never do that again," Reyes snapped "We work as a team or not at all."
"Okay, Boss!" Buffy said sarcastically.
They ducked into hiding as a trooper emerged on the deck and looked over the side. They lowered themselves under the water and held their breaths. First Buffy, then Reyes occasionally popped their head up to see if he was still there. A minute later, all four popped up to catch their breath and found to their relief that the trooper had gone.
"Damn it!" Reyes said.
"What the hell do we do now?" Scully asked.
"We find another boat," Willow said "There was a small fishing trawler two jetties back."
Reyes looked at her companions thoughtfully.
"Okay, but, this is how we're going to do it."
Reyes outlined her plan, which involved her and Buffy going on first and ensuring that the coast was clear and then Willow and Scully following up. In that way, if Buffy and Reyes ran into problems, then Scully and Willow would have the choice of either trying to find another way out or, if possible, attempt a rescue. The plan was agreed. They swam away from the yacht and made their way to the trawler. Waiting for a patrol to move away, Buffy clambered up the anchor rope and hauled herself quietly on board. Reyes followed and joined Buffy on the deck. Everything seemed quiet causing Reyes to give the signal for Scully and Willow to follow them up. In the meantime Buffy had sprinted to the Trawlers' cabin and was crouching below the steps leading up to the cabin. A man came out of the cabin and lit a cigarette.
"Monica, Dana, Willow! We have company."
"How many?" Scully 'said'.
"As far as I can see, one."
Scully looked at Reyes and Willow. Willow picked up an object and threw it into the water. The man looked up and raised his weapon.
"Who's there?"
Willow threw another object into the water causing the man to come down the steps. Buffy launched herself at the man and knocked him cold with a stunning left, right combination. She snatched up his weapon and pistol whipped him when he stirred.
"Buffy, Dana, put him overboard," Reyes ordered "Willow, you're with me."
A few seconds later a splash caused several men on jetty five to turn and look including Collargo, who had obviously planned his trap around the yacht and hadn't even anticipated that the women would improvise like this. Reyes, seeing the men descending on the trawler, managed to get the trawler started.
"Buffy, Dana," She called "The anchor."
The two women undid the rope and threw the rope into the water. As they did so Scully dove on Buffy pushing her to the ground. Several bullets whistled past them hitting the bulkhead.
"Shit! These bastards' mean business," Buffy said.
The trawler starting moving off its mooring and started to head out to sea, accompanied by a hail of bullets smashing both the cabin window and keeping Buffy and Scully pinned down at the bow of the Trawler. They made it to open sea but found that a coastguard cutter was tacking to intercept them, guns blazing from the main weapon. Reyes, tried to steer the trawler whilst at the same time trying to stay out of the way of the bullets. Willow opened the cabin door and opened fire with the stolen weapon on the cutter, giving Buffy and Scully a chance to join them on the bridge. Within a minute, it became a hell of a lot more difficult when more cutters emerged, effectively cutting off any chance of escape. Collargo's voice boomed from one of the cutters.
"Miss Rosenberg, Miss Summers, Miss Scully, Miss Reyes, you have lost. Surrender now and I promise we will not harm you."
"Like hell he will," Reyes said.
She opened up the engine and advanced at ramming speed at the cutters.
"What the hell are you doing?" Willow exclaimed in horror.
"Trusting to luck."
"What happened to 'we work as a team or not at all'?" Buffy said.
"Do you have a better idea?"
Buffy shook her head and held on to something solid tightly. Scully and Willow offered up a prayer to the Goddess of Luck as they followed Buffy's lead and held on. The trawler was being strafed by weapons fire, some were hitting canisters of oil and exploding. By the time the Trawler reached the cutters, the ship was ablaze and on the verge of explosion.
"We've got to jump," Scully said.
Reyes reacted by opening the engine right up and following the other three women off the bridge. The four of them dived off the trawler just as the trawler crashed into two cutters causing a massive explosion which took out another two. Two more cutters emerged from the smoke and opened fire on the water, causing the four women to dive down. This time there was no hiding place, all the cutters needed to do was wait. The four women had to come up for air and that would be the time to take them. The four women held hands and prayed for a miracle as the pain of holding their breath ripped into their lungs. Above them they could hear explosions and wondered if Collargo was trying to force them up. They saw flames belching from the cutters and men diving into the water. Collargo and several men dived in and swam towards them, their weapons raised ready to fire. Buffy, Reyes, Scully and Willow broke away from each other and prepared to fight for their lives. Collargo reached them first but found that his weapon jammed. It was too wet. Buffy took the opportunity to wrestle with the man, but, was unable to stop him putting his hands to her throat and squeezing. The combination of that and being under water caused her lungs to almost explode. She could see that the other three women were embroiled in their own fight, some more successful then others. Willow for example, was lashing out with her feet as her assailant tried to throttle her. She saw the red-head produce a knife and stab the man several times until blood oozed from the body. She then went to help Scully who was struggling in her fight. Reyes in the meantime was almost playing with her assailant, causing the man to miss with a punch and delivering her own blow. However, Buffy could see that Reyes was starting to have trouble holding her breath. She was starting to have trouble as well, so with all her strength she wrenched Collargo's hands free and delivered an almighty punch which send the man spinning away. She headed for the surface to get some air and saw that the other three had already beaten her to it in their own fights. She saw Scully and Willow force their assailants head down until he breathed no more. She saw Collargo emerge and swim towards her ready to continue the attack. Buffy lashed out and hit the man square on the jaw, which only seemed to enrage him. Reyes took Collargo's arms and stopped him from following up. The man struggled violently and tried to pull Reyes towards the flaming cutter which was ready to explode again. Buffy followed and grabbed Collargo and punched him again, this time helping Reyes to pull the man down under water. Two more cutters emerged and more people dived in, only to be met by frogmen who suddenly emerged from the water and forced the other men to back off. Collargo bounced up trying to catch his breath, both Reyes and Buffy hit him and the fight was over. They pulled the man away from the cutter just as it erupted in a violent explosion. Collargo was taken prisoner by two frogmen, whilst four more fitted scuba gear to Buffy, Willow, Scully and Reyes.
A Motorised Dinghy - International Waters
It was a short swim to a motorised dinghy where the four women were hauled on board by sailors dressed in American Naval uniforms. A blonde haired woman wearing the insignia of a Lieutenant Commander approached them and said:
"Miss Rosenberg, Miss Summers, Miss Scully, Miss Reyes, I'm Lieutenant Commander Samantha Carter. Welcome to the USS George Washington."
The four women looked at the short haired blonde and breathed a huge sigh of relief. They then hugged each other in tears. They had made it. The USS George Washington took Buffy, Willow, Scully and Reyes to Jamaica where Willow, under Scully's insistence, went through a through medical. She was, incredibly, given a clean bill of health, all signs of the wound had gone. However, Scully had given up her feeling of disbelief. She had seen too much, done too much, during those twenty four hours on Cuba to disbelieve anything that happened. The debriefing that took place on Jamaica was by necessity devoid of all extra information other than what happened.
Washington DC
Two days later, they were on a flight to Washington DC for a reunion with Malone, who had pulled many strings to stop any further investigations as to what happened on Cuba until they reached the American capital. The State Department were, of course, furious. It had been a diplomatic disaster of the most embarrassing magnitude for the United States. Castro himself had demanded the extradition of Willow Rosenberg, Buffy Summers, Dana Scully and Monica Reyes for the murder of twenty five Cuban nationals. Malone told the State Department that they no longer had jurisdiction over the four women. The United Nations had to make that decision. By the time the four women arrived in Washington DC, Malone had presented Buffy and Willow's case against their bosses - The CIA - to both the UN and The President of the United States, including evidence that Collargo had assassinated Luis Macarin under instructions from his paymasters - The CIA! That coupled with the information that Rupert Giles gave his life to retrieve was enough for a senate enquiry to be ordered and for the CIA to arrest several of their own people.
Arlington Cemetery
The funeral of Rupert Giles was arranged a week after Willow, Buffy, Scully and Reyes returned from Jamaica. It took place at Arlington Cemetery with military and civil honours. Malone had personally set the whole event up with a full armed guard delivering the traditional twenty one gun salute reserved for a fallen hero. Malone himself gave a eulogy which described Rupert Giles as a giant with integrity and honour.
"He gave his life in an attempt to expose a cancer which was destroying his country and the people that he worked for. He gave his life to protect his charges Willow Rosenberg and Buffy Summers and to ensure that the hard work that those two brave women did should be brought to light. Not only will I continue that work, I give Mr Giles my word, under the sight of the Holy Redeemer, that I will ensure that Miss Rosenberg and Miss Summers will receive the same protection that he so gallantly gave them,"
Malone smiled in the direction of Willow and Buffy who stood in front of the grave arm in arm with Monica Reyes and Dana Scully.
"You were a brave and honourable man," Malone said "Your wisdom and knowledge will be missed by those who know and loved you."
Malone stepped back and allowed the twenty one gun salute to begin. In front of the grave Buffy, Willow, Scully and Reyes grasped each others hands and bowed their heads.
Dreamland - The Ice Rink
The action took them back to the garden and the archway. The merger of Buffy and Reyes and Scully and Willow was swift and beautiful, with two bright lights which once was four people glowing in the warm English sunshine. The two lights which were Buffy/Reyes and Scully/Willow moved through the archway back onto the ice rink.
"And here are the gold medalists ," The BBC Commentator said as Buffy/Reyes and Scully/Willow skated to the podium at the centre of the rink.
Buffy/Reyes took Scully/Willow's hand and they stepped onto the top podium. To their surprise, Harry Malone stepped forward and placed the medals around their necks.
"The Slayer and the Wiccan are now as one," Malone said "They may join with my blessing."
Buffy/Reyes turned Scully/Willow around and began the merger again. First the arms of the two entities were joined, then the torsos until one entity stood on the podium. The Buffy/Willow/Scully/Reyes entity lifted up into the air and glided through the roof and into outer space. They took a tour of the known universe, landing on planets and taking in the sights, smells and taste of each planet they landed on. The Buffy/Willow/Scully/Reyes entity was completely free, invigorated and alive. The entire spectrum of lights and colour became one to them. The slightest molecule of every living and sentient being was in reach and was easily manipulated. Their power was immense and both comforting and frightening. Comforting because Scully, Reyes, Buffy and Willow were together and nothing, not even death, could part them. They loved each other like sisters and lovers at the same time. They were making love with each other and the stars. It was also frightening because they were all powerful. In this state, no molecules were safe. They could kill by the simple manipulation of molecules. They were the ultimate killing machine - totally unstoppable and highly dangerous. In fact the only thing stopping them from being that killing machine were their own separate personalities. They were one, but the Reyes/Buffy/Scully/Willow entity also had reason, the distinction between right and wrong and therefore the ability to exercise common sense. It was that common sense that saved them in Cuba, that would help them in all other missions for the forces of light. They also had individual thought and the ability to challenge each others decision. It was the perfect balance which meant that as long as they were together, they could never go off the straight and narrow and into the abyss which would lead to the destruction of the world. The Buffy/Reyes/Scully/Willow entity had been given the role of lights' champion against the darkness and with darkness starting to gain a foothold, they knew they couldn't be found wanting.
Arlington Cemetery
As they returned to the grave-side, they found that the ceremony was over and only the four of them remained. Their arms were linked together like one long unbroken chain. Willow placed the flowers she was carrying on the grave.
"Goodbye Giles," She said.
Reyes placed an arm around Willow's shoulder and held her close. Buffy and Scully took her hands and squeezed them tightly. Malone, behind them, chose that moment to step forward.
"Time to leave, ladies," He said.
The four women bowed their heads again and followed Malone to the car.
THE END