Chapter 7 -- Sanity
The First One watched the entrance of the strangers with suspicion. From her One's reaction, he knew them but she would not take a chance with her packmates's lives; the female was carrying a gun, and the dark male was not human – though he wasn't a demon. The other male didn't appear to be a threat, but that didn't mean he wasn't capable of doing damage.
"Don't move." The pack near the door drew their guns, as the others pulled out various knives.
"Hi, Jack, do you think you could help us out here?" Daniel asked as he raised his hands, slowly. The Scooby gang remained still as they watched their friend regard the strangers with a predatory glint in her eyes.
"I don't know, Danny. How the hell did you find me?"
"Sir, we asked our friend who has better resources to look for you," Carter replied vaguely, looking at the civilians pointedly.
"Thor?" Buffy guessed, amused.
"Thor," Jack groaned.
SG1 stared in shock at their CO's breach in protocal.
"You'd think he'd have better things to do than try to find a washed-up colonel."
"Hey, I'm not washed-up, and I'm a loveable guy."
Daniel would have chucked at the exchange if he didn't have a gun pointed at his chest.
"Um, Jack, the guns?"
Instantly, Jack's face closed and regarded SG1 in a way that he normally reserved for potential enemies.
"Give up your weapons and move slowly towards the table."
Reluctantly, they did as he ordered.
"Why don't you all entertain yourselves for a moment, while we discuss … matters," Jack suggested – ordered – as he, Buffy and several of the pack gathered together near the weapons cage. However, the two guards remained by the doors, guns drawn.
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Rupert Giles frowned as he regarded the strangers; particularly the one Jack had referred to as 'Danny'.
"Excuse me, might you be Dr. Daniel Jackson?"
Daniel was surprised. Why would a high school librarian know him?
"Yes, and you would be?"
"Rupert Giles."
Daniel blinked in surprise.
"You're the Curator for the British Museum. Why are you working as a librarian in Sunnydale?" he asked in shock.
"I felt the need for a career change," then changed the subject as he introduced the others, "this is Willow Rosenberg, Xander Harris, and Faith. We're friends of Buffy Summers," Giles said, pointing to the blond slayer.
"Well, this is Samantha Carter and Murry. We're friends of Jack O'Neill."
"I told you the name 'Jack O'Connor' was a fake," Willow said triumphantly.
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"Sir, there is an lieutenant that would like to see you, General"
"Send him in," Hammond replied.
Lieutenant Mitchells entered the office and stood at attention.
"At ease, soldier. What can I do for you?"
"Sir, it is true you're trying to find information on Project Full Moon?"
Hammond leaned forward in his desk.
"I am. Can you tell me anything, lieutenant?"
"I was a part of the program, sir, with Colonel O'Neill as my CO. I'm under orders not to reveal anything about the specifics or mission of the program, sir."
"Who gave the order, son?"
"General Craig, sir."
"I assume there is something you can tell me, or we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"Yes, sir. The Colonel was responsible for the failure of the program, even though there was not enough evidence to court martial him. His current disappearance is mostly an attempt to keep the program from restarting."
"Sir, if SG1 interferes with … others … associated with the project, there is a good chance they'll end up dead."
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"I say we kill them all," Jammie said, eyeing the people at the table warily. DKG looked unsure, but still kept her gun drawn.
"They are the First One and Sir's packmates."
"They aren't true pack; they're only friends of Buffy and Jack O'Neill – not of the Ones."
DKG glanced thoughtfully at the subjects of their discussion.
"Do you think there's much difference between the two?"
Jammie shrugged.
"I don't know. We went into an asylum insane and came out at least semi-sane. They went in sane and left insane."
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With her slayer hearing, the First One was privy to the conversation between her guards. And for the most part they were right.
Her parents had placed her in a mental hospital when she tried to talk to them about vampires and Merrick's death. The first week at the hospital was terrible; the local vamps thought a caged slayer would be an easy kill. Every night they came, and in the morning the orderlies would find her covered in blood and bruises.
For her own safety, she was transferred to a facility that offered twenty-four surveillance of its patients to prevent self-induced injuries. At first the slayer had been relieved, but that feeling soon left when she met Dr. Hathaway.
It hadn't taken long for Dr. Hathaway to begin the programming process. Normally, the process was unsuccessful when dealing with patients with a firm grasp of reality, but the sudden revelation about vampires and demons left a crack in the slayer's perceptions for the process to exploit.
Also, it wasn't necessary for the process to change the basic instincts of the slayer. As a slayer, Buffy already operated on instincts. The process merely refined those instincts towards the wolf-model Hathaway used.
As the weeks passed, with her only companion being her instructor, the slayer felt herself slipping into madness. The nights were filled with nightmares about vampire attacks and the death of her Watcher, and the days were filled with drills given by Jack.
Unable to take another night alone in her room, the slayer broke the lock and began to explore the adjacent rooms. Because each room was soundproof, Buffy was shocked to learn that there were four other teenagers in the rooms next to and adjacent to her own. Cautiously, she broke the lock on one and entered.
Every night after that, the five of them continued to meet.
Unlike Buffy, before entering the hospital they were mentally unsound. The programming and military training had served to help them regain a part of their sanity – though it was only by embracing the programming. They were shocked to learn that Buffy hadn't suffered from a mental disorder, and was fighting the process – causing her to begin to lose her grasp on reality.
One night, Jack discovered them as they began to explore the facility. To their surprise, he didn't alert Dr. Hathaway but helped them.
Jack was the first person, outside of her pack, that she told the truth to. At first he was incredulous, that is, until she bent a steel bar with her hands. Between her new friendship with Jack, and the pack at night, Buffy began to regain some of the balance she had lost.
Then, Dr. Hathaway found out about their pack and allowed them access to the rest of packs – for experimental purposes.
The slayer was surprised by the hostility between the packs, since she viewed the military personnel and the doctors as the enemy – not the other patients. Watching a violent fight beginning to turn deadly, her slayer instincts kicked in and she broke to two apart. They turned on her, and her wolf-instincts took over. She beat them into submission, and declared that unless anyone wanted to challenge her for leadership, there would be no more domination games ending in deaths.
At that moment, Buffy accepted the programming and became the First One.
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"Well, kids, what do you suggest we do now?" Jack asked. Lambert opened his mouth and Jack continued, "Excluding killing all of them."
Everyone fell silent.
Suddenly, the doors flew open revealing Principal Snyder… and Dr. Hathaway.
"Ms. Summers, I am happy to announce that this man has a court order, which states he has the authority to take you into his custody. Dr. Hathaway?" Snyder said, joyfully.
"Hello, Buffy. I'm sad that our time together didn't help you better. But I'm sure with more time, we can cure you of your delusions," Hathaway said with a smug smile.
In an instant, Buffy was surrounded by her pack and Jack reached out and grabbed the document from Snyder's hands. Scanning it, Jack grimaced.
"Damn it, it's real. Apparently your parents signed documents giving him custody in case of a relapse."
"That's right, Jack. You should also think about getting some help. A man with clearly suicidal tendencies as yourself requires twenty-four hour surveillance."
The First One's eyes narrowed. Bob took a step towards the doctor, not liking the threat against Jack; Sir was the One of the First One, no one threatened him! He was stopped as the First One placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I understand, doctor. Of course, since neither my friends nor Jack's names are on that paper, you have no business with them."
"Of course, not. All we've come for is you."
The doctor's voice gained a proprietary note.
"All I need is you."
TBC
I hope you all enjoyed it – including the little peek into the First One's mind! Don't forget to tell me what you think.