Chapter Five

Showdown

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"You remember your name?" Elizabeth asked, unconvinced.

"Yeah." Buffy said, a little bit annoyed. Why was everyone so disbelieving? Sure, she hadn't been able to remember a thing about who she was for over two years, but the point was, she was beginning to now.

"Why now?" Weir asked, her face pensive.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.

"What I mean is, you wake up one day in a strange place and you can't remember anything, like who you are or where you are, and you stay like that for what, two and a half years? Then, suddenly, you know who you are within the first hour of being here? I don't think it's a coincidence."

"First of all, I don't know who I am… yet. All I know is my name." She explained. "Secondly, maybe it has something to do with the Stargate. It was my first time through after all."

They all gave her skeptical looks to which she replied defensively, "What? It's a suggestion."

"The Stargate can't just give you your memory back." McKay told her "That's not how it works. Though, I do have to agree with Elizabeth, I don't think this is a coincidence."

"Well, neither do I, but if it's not the Stargate, then what is it?" Buffy asked.

They sat there, trying to come up with an idea as to why she had suddenly remembered her name, but when they could think of nothing they turned expectantly to McKay.

"Don't look at me," He said. "Do I look like a medical doctor?"

"Maybe she should go see Dr. Beckett." Ford suggested suddenly.

"Yeah, I was going to have her do that later on, but I think now is a good time." Weir replied.

"Who?" Buffy asked.

"He's a medical doctor; maybe he'll have some answers for you."

"Show me the way."

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"While this is very unusual, I really don't know what could have triggered the sudden recollection. Explain to me again, how did it happen?" Dr. Beckett asked his irritated new patient.

"I told you," A slightly exasperated Buffy said, "It just came to me, in flashes."

"And you're sure that this is your name that came to you?"

"Yes." She emphasized. "I can just… tell."

"And you can't remember anything else?"

"No."

"This is definitely strange," He said contemplatively "I've never seen anything like it. Your memories have lain dormant for so long only to resurface now, why?"

"That's the million dollar question. And the only thing that's resurfaced is my name."

"Well, I'm going to have to take more tests. I need to examine this further." He told her.

"Great," She said sarcastically, "How long do I have to be here for?"

"That eager to get away from me, are you?" He asked in mock hurt.

"It's not you, this place just gives me the creeps." She explained.

"Well, I'll try to make it quick." He told her.

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Three hours later, and still nothing conclusive, Buffy walked out of the infirmary with a frown on her face. She looked outside to see that the sun had set, and unfamiliar stars were appearing in the darkening sky. Unfortunately, the hall in which she was standing was abandoned and she was completely turned around. She wandered aimlessly around corners, wondering how this part of the city could be so deserted when she had seen so many people bustling throughout it just hours before.

She turned another corner only to find that there was a man hurrying through the hallway at full speed towards her, and he didn't even seem to notice that she was there until it was too late. He looked up with irritation only feet away, both moving to the same side in an attempt to avoid a collision. No such luck. Papers went flying to the floor as the man's arms flailed. Buffy gave him an apologetic look, but the man didn't seem to notice as he scrambled to pick up the mess off of the floor.

He got up, papers securely in hand and looked at her once more.

"Are you the new girl?" He asked her suddenly.

She looked confused for a moment, but then answered. "Uh, yeah, that'd be me."

He looked her over and she felt suddenly very uncomfortable under all the scrutiny of everyone she'd met within the past 24 hours.

"You look familiar." The man stated.

He didn't even give her a chance to respond beforehe started talking again.

"Guess you just have one of those faces..." He trailed off as he began to leave, turning the corner before Buffy could ask for directions back to her quarters.

"What cha doing?" She heard someone behind her ask.

She turned to see Major Sheppard looking at her and sighed in relief at seeing a familiar face. "There you are!" She said, "I've been looking all over for you."

"For me, huh?" He asked, a hint of mock arrogance in his teasing tone.

"Any of you," She corrected, rolling her eyes. "I seem to have gotten myself lost."

"So I can see." He said. "Anyway, Dr. Weir wanted to talk to you, she asked me to come and find you."

"You couldn't have come any sooner?" She asked, "You could have saved me from the wrath of Dr. Beckett."

"That bad?"

"Not at first. But he kept getting more and more irritated as the minutes ticked by." She explained while they began to walk down the hallway and into another.

"What did you do to make him so aggravated?" Sheppard asked with a smirk.

"Oh, I may have 'accidentally' knocked a few things over." She said, feigning innocence

"And this wouldn't, by any chance, have been an attempt to divert his attention so you could make a break for it, now would it?"

She laughed a little bit at this. "Me? Never!"

"Ah, I thought so. Well, seeing as how you were in there for hours, I'm thinking that didn't go as planned."

"He strategically placed one of those machine thingies in my path in anticipation of an escape attempt when I wasn't looking! Sly bastard." She said, and then realized where they were. "Hey look, people."

They had arrived in the control room

"Buffy, how did it go? Any ideas as to what's going on with you?" Elizabeth asked, looking up from her computer.

"No." Buffy said regretfully, "Just a splitting headache."

"Well, that's a shame. But I had an idea." She explained.

"Really?" Buffy asked, intrigued. "What?"

"Well, as Rodney stated earlier, it's unlikely that the Stargate itself has caused your sudden remembrance, but what if it was the experience itself that triggered the suppressed memories. Perhaps it's only a matter of finding things that will jog your memory. I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?"

"Yeah, but where do I start?" Buffy asked skeptically.

"I don't know. But maybe if you went through the Gate again you might have a little more luck." Weir suggested.

Buffy's face blanched. "Back through the Gate?"

Elizabeth nodded.

"Back to where I came from?"

"No, of course not. I mean to another planet. Major Sheppard and his team are scheduled for another mission in half an hour; I think you should go along. The planet is supposed to be inhabited by peaceful traders and it shouldn't take very long." Elizabeth explained.

"Alright, I mean, that is, if it's not going to be a problem for them." She said, looking around at the team that had gathered around them during their conversation.

"It's not a problem." Sheppard insisted. "I'm sure you won't cramp our style."

"That's very reassuring, thank you." Buffy replied sarcastically.

"Alright then, can you be ready in twenty-five minutes?" Elizabeth asked her.

"Sure."

----

They ended up on a planet that seemed pretty devoid of intelligent life. Teyla had insisted that the village was a few miles away from the Gate, but all Buffy could see was trees.

Suddenly she became very aware of a rustling noise that seemed to have come from a far bush. It was large, and the foliage was thick, but she could definitely tell that there was something there. She couldn't see it so much as sense it. She didn't question this however, as she knew she had to act quickly. She tapped Sheppard on the shoulder, as he was walking directly in front of her, and then stopped dead. Before he spoke he saw the warning look in her eyes and silently motioned for the rest of the group to leave the trail that they had been following. Then the rustling noise started again, and all five were able to hear it this time.

Once concealed in the thick forest, Sheppard motioned for the team to head back, and he too turned to leave. But Buffy didn't follow. He looked at her questioningly, and when she still didn't budge he reached out to grab her arm. But that was when the creature revealed itself and Buffy gave a gasp of surprise. She had never seen a Wraith before, but she had heard many stories, all of which ended badly. She looked at Sheppard to see that he looked nervous, very nervous.

"Come on!" He yelled at her, thinking there was no point to keeping quiet now that the thing had seen them.

She ignored him and headed towards it, meeting it in the middle of the path. It looked at her with curiosity before it struck her across the face. Acting on instinct she composed herself and then proceeded to kick it in its stomach. It stumbled backwards but did not fall and came at her with a great deal of force. To her surprise she blocked the blow and dealt one of her own. It staggered once more, and she could tell that it was angry now. It tried to grab her but she dodged its hand and in one solid movement spun and kicked with so much strength that it finally toppled to the ground. She smashed her boot into its chest, hoping to keep it pinned and moved her foot up to its throat. It looked at her with ferocity in its eyes and she didn't hesitate to push down with all her might until she heard a satisfying snap and looked down at it with slight curiosity. It was only after a moment when she looked back to find that Teyla and Ford had come back to see what was happening and that the both of them, along with Sheppard, were staring at her like she had just grown big, bright horns on top ofher forehead.

Having not yet fully comprehended what she had done, she gave a self conscious shrug and asked in a small voice, "What?"

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Author's Note:

I actually wrote this chapter almost two weeks ago but I didn't get the chance to edit or upload it until now. Last week I was busy with mid terms and this week wasn't much better. It's all just one big headache. Anyway, I just wanted to apologize, I planned on having this posted a lot sooner. Of course, this chapter was a lot harder to write than I anticipated and I'm still not entirely happy with it, but I think this is as good as I can get it, so… Anyway, your feedback helps bunches, as I have said many times before.