Summary: When Willow figures out more of what Cerephus (the Immortal) has planned, our intrepid heroes plan a pre-emptive strike. And a wedding. But will the strike against the Immortal Goa'uld go off as planned? Tune in and check it out, campers!
Crossover: Highlander, Stargate SG-1
Warnings: Character death
Notes: I know the first few parts of this story were a little slow, but I swear I'm building up to the good stuff. There's action, not to mention pre-wedding and wedding wackiness on its way. Oh, and that whole apocalypse thing. Honest!
Disclaimer: I look into bank my account and find it pretty darn nigh to empty. Yup, guess that means it's still all theirs. Think I'll go cry now...
DID SOMEBODY SAY SOMETHING ABOUT NOT FADING AWAY? PART V
By screaminheathen69
Prologue
For 9,500 years, Cerephus hid in plain sight. He immersed himself in the mystical world, learning all that he could, growing ever more powerful as the millenia passed by. He was always careful to hide the fact that he was Goa'uld, knowing that his time for retribution would eventually present itself. Besides, life wasn't all that bad, what with the Immortality and magic, not to mention good ol' fashioned Goa'uld science. And he had certainly come to enjoy the company of human females.
By necessity, he became an expert swordsman, mastering several martial arts over the long years. Every few hundred years or so, he'd get bored and actively seek out a worthy opponent. But usually, he'd just use the ribbon device to disable his adversaries, taking their heads while they were incapacitated.
He spent far more time and effort mastering the magycks, delving deep into all things mystical, growing ever more powerful knowing that the day of retribution would eventually come. And when that day arrived, not only would the Tau'ri pay, but the System Lords themselves would bow down before his might.
So he was patient. Patience was one of the many things he learned from his host, and probably the most valuable. He hid the fact that he had become a powerful sorcerer, even to the point of spreading the reputation that he didn't use magic. His patience allowed him to bide his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to present itself. Which of course, it eventually did. Or, more to the point, a series of events.
First, when Anubis foolishly attacked and proceeded to get his butt thoroughly kicked.
Second, the day a certain Slayer walked into his life.
Third, when he figured out that she was in fact there to spy on him. Not to mention a few other useful little tidbits.
He knew it was finally time.
And set about making it happen.
Chapter the First
It has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt (by Samantha Carter herself, mind you) that the only thing that can travel faster than an SG team through a wormhole is gossip. In fact, wormhole travel seems intractably slow when compared to the Speed of Gossip. So by the time Buffy had gotten dressed and made her way down to the cafeteria to get a rather late breakfast, people were already snickering and giving her 'the look'. You know, that look, the one you see aimed your way when an especially juicy bit of gossip has just been let loose at your expense.
Ye Gods, but it's gonna be one of those days... She found an empty table near the windows and plunked down her dangerously overloaded tray. She was ravenous this morning. She smiled to herself as thoughts of why she was so hungry came drifting back. Ahh, let 'em gossip. The looks on Daniel and Riley's faces were priceless. May hafta look into a shutting-up spell for Dawnie, though.
She shrugged and attacked her breakfast with gusto. There were times when she loved her Slayer metabolism. Grudgingly, she put thoughts of last night out of her mind and turned her thoughts to Cassie's Slayer dream. She had no doubt that it was genuine, and that it was time to save the world yet again. They'd known for a while now that Cerephus was planning something big, but nobody'd had a clue it was this big. And the whole Goa'uld situation complicated matters, of course. If it was just Cerephus, they would be able to take him down cleanly. But, no, he had had to go off and be an alien as well as an Immortal, apparently planning to bring in big ol' spaceships and the whole nine yards. Aaarrrgghhh!
It irked her no end, but she had to admit to herself that she didn't know where to go from here. Aliens were just a bit outside her normal field. Vampires, demons, the odd Hell-God, sure, no problem. But aliens?
Also, the thought of Slayers on other worlds, not knowing what they were, or why the had become what they were, was bugging her too. We're gonna hafta do sumthin' 'bout that. Maybe we can send some teams offworld to help 'em out. She giggled at the thought of Slayer-Nauts. I'll talk to Jack about it later. Give everyone some more gossip ammunition.
"Mornin', B." Faith plopped into the chair across from Buffy and plunked her boots up on the table. She was smirking something fierce, eyebrow quirked. "Girl, you wouldn't believe the story I just heard..."
Chapter the Second
Willow Rosenberg was officially exhausted. Strung out. Pooped, even. She hadn't slept well, and what little sleep she had gotten was plagued by dreams. Or, more specifically, Cassie's dream. It kept coming back to her in fragments, glimpses of what was to come. Maybe. She'd awakened repeatedly, sweating and shaking, more terrified than she'd been in years. Even with Kenendy beside her, comforting her, she couldn't seem to calm down.
But through it all, she kept feeling that she was missing something, some important clue that would help them to stop it all from happening. So, after watching the clock creep past seven AM, she gave up on sleep and settled herself on the floor to meditate. She opened herself up to Gaia, refreshing herself, and then turned her mind to the dream.
- Cerephus stood before an army of demons, making a speech in some language she couldn't understand - a meeting, probably at Giles'. They were all there, looking grim, as Teal'c was talking about something called a 'Za'tarc' - a battle in space, with Earth shining as a backdrop, the Prometheus and her fighters taking on three Ha'tak class motherships, along with dozens of Al'kesh and deathgliders. And losing - Cerephus waving his hand, an orange colored force throwing his enemies back - Jack, arguing loudly with somebody named Anise (no unresolved sexual tension there, thought Willow) - falling, falling, Slayers falling all around her - Angel looking down at the stake in his chest, shocked, turning to dust as Nina howled, her grief turning to rage, letting loose the wolf - Willow, Cassie, Connor, Illyria and Dawn, back to back, fighting against overwhelming numbers - an explosion of lightning as an errant staff blast took Duncan's head off - Buffy, staff weapon in hand, shooting down Kennedy - her friends, battered and bloody, laying dead - Willow, eyes and hair gone jet-black, blood oozing from the burst veins in her forehead, drawing power from a glowing ball of green energy and channeling it into the Hellmouth - the world burning, burning -
- burning -
- burning -
- everything, everyone -
- burning -
- oh - my - Goddess -
- I can hear the Earth SCREAMING -
Willow came out of the trance screaming. Kennedy came running from the bathroom, still dripping from the shower. "Willow? God, Red, what is it?"
Willow drew in a shuddering breath. "Oh. My. Goddess." This was soooo not good.
Chapter the Third
Dawn and Spike were seated at the computer in her room, browsing through the files Samantha Carter had provided. Having finally finished laughing at Dawn's retelling of the events of earlier in the morning (God, Spike, you shoulda seen it! Riley's eyes were all bugged out, and his mouth kept moving, but no sounds were coming out. It was hilarious!), they were reading through SG-1's mission reports, only up to somewhere around the third or fourth year. Dawn was duly impressed, and even Spike was forced to admit he was impressed as well. He especially liked the fact they'd taken down that Seth creep. Hell, I was evil when we crossed paths and I hated the miserable bastard...
Dawn was humming quietly to herself. Spike had spent the better part of an hour trying to place the familiar tune, but couldn't quite place it. She pointed at the screen. "Look, another alternate reality entry. Wonder if there are any more of me out there. Wonder if that mirror thingy could get to the 'world without shrimp'. And here, they helped negotiate a 'protected planets' treaty. Geez, I'd love to meet this Thor guy. Ooooo, the SGC was invaded! We've been invaded!" She said, grinning goofily.
"Marvelous. I'm all a twitter at the thought. 'Ere, looks like they went to some snakeheads idea of Hell. Sounds lovely."
Dawn rolled her eyes and kept reading, still humming. "Hmmmm, hey, Jack was trapped on some planet called Edora for a hundred days. Got back and helped shut down an illegal NID operation. Good for him!"
Spike scrunched up his face, thinking. "Where do I know NID from, pet?"
"You know, the NID? The nice people that signed the checks for the Initiative? That chip you had shoved up your noggin was probably derived from something SG-1 brought back. Neat, huh?" She grinned her most ingratiating grin.
Spike glared daggers at her. "No. 'Neat' would be the last word I'd use to describe that bloody buggerin' piece o' shite."
She just giggled and resumed her reading and humming. Spike found himself humming along with her, wishing he could remember the name of the damn thing. Dawn glanced at her watch, and started shutting down the 'puter. "We'd better get going. Giles called a meeting in about twenty minutes. Hope it doesn't take too long, Amanda's due in later for sword practice." She stuffed the files and her laptop into a carry-all, scooping up her katana as they went out the door.
"That's a nifty bit of hardware you've got there, Nibblet. Mind if I take a look?" Dawn shrugged and handed him the sword, humming again. He gently unsheathed the blade, giving it a few experimental swings and admiring the balance. "Very nice. Where'd ya come up with this, then?" he asked, studying the green and white inlaid handgrip.
"Gift from Duncan and Kate. They had five commissioned after we got through with Glory. Me, Buffy, Giles, Willow and Xander each got one. They're identical, except for the coloring of the handgrips, and the engraving on the blades. Buffy's is red and white, Xander's is blue and red, Willow's is white and violet and Giles' is gold and silver. The engraving is our names and a blessing in Celtic."
"Celtic? On a katana?"
"His name is MacLeod, dummy."
"Oh. Right. Makes sense then, dunnit?" He sheathed the sword and handed it back to her. "You mind if I tag along? Dunno what I'm gonna do today otherwise, might pick up a few pointers."
"Sure. Amanda'd probably love to meet you anyway. Maybe use you for a practice dummy."
"Nothin' like a spot o' violence to make the day go by quicker."
"Ain't it the truth."
"It's a date, then," he said with a smirk.
"Long as you leave the handcuffs in your room," she said, grinning evily.
Spike was, for once, speechless. Gathering his wits, he followed her down the stairs. Nibblet's growin' up. Wait a sec. That song. 'Where do we go from here?' What the Hell is she hummin' that damn thing for? And why the Hell am I humming it? Ahhh, bugger it all, it's gonna be stuck in my head the rest of the bloody day...
Chapter the Fourth
As soon as Willow had calmed down enough to think coherently, she went in search of Giles. She found him, as well as Daniel, in the conference room discussing the Pergamum Codex. "Hey there Giles, Daniel." They both nodded in greeting, caught up in their conversation. "Umm, Giles, I needed to talk to you for a minute. Or three. Before the rest of the crew gets here."
Giles glanced at her, then took a longer look as he saw her obvious agitation. Daniel noticed how disturbed she looked as well. "Umm, I can step out if..."
Willow waved a hand. "No, no. Stay, please. You're a part of all this too. I, uh, well... I couldn't sleep very well last night. Kept having nightmares about what Cassie showed us."
Giles put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "That's not all that surprising, Willow. It was rather intense."
"No. I mean, yeah, intense, definitely. Sure. But it was more than that. I kept feeling like there was something I was missing, something important, I just couldn't see it. So this morning, I did a memory spell, went into the dream so I could see it more clearly. It, uhh... kinda freaked me out."
Daniel quirked an eyebrow. "'Freaked you out'?"
"World class wiggins, actually. Scared the crap out of Kennedy when I came out of the trance screaming. But I can remember the whole thing clearly now. We may be in bigger trouble than we thought."
"Bigger trouble than the world turning into a charcoal briquet? Startin' to think I don't wanna know what your definition of 'big' trouble is," Daniel said dryly.
Giles smiled. "No, you really don't." He turned back to Willow, who was wringing her hands nervously. "Tell me what you saw, dear."
"It'd be easier if I just show you both, okay?" Giles nodded, Daniel did a moment later, albeit somewhat uncertainly. Willow touched a hand to each of their temples and closed her eyes. "Just relax. Be with me..."
A minute later, Willow sat back, taking a deep breath, as Giles and Daniel came back to themselves. To her amusement, they both immediately started cleaning their glasses. "Dear Lord," Giles said tiredly. It was every nightmare he'd had about Dark Willow for the last two years. In technicolor.
"Yeah. Tell me about it. That's why it looked so familar yesterday. It's pretty much what would've happened two years ago if you and Xander hadn't stopped me."
Daniel, mind still on the vision, came back to the conversation. "Umm, huh? Who stopped what and how?"
Giles cast a glance at Willow, who shrugged. "Two years ago, a man named Warren Mears had teamed up with two other young men from Sunnydale"
"The Nerd Trio. Giganimous pains in the ass, lemme tell ya," interrupted Willow.
"Yes, anyway, they took a special interest in the Slayer, Buffy, and caused no end of grief to her, as well as being a general nuisance to all and sundry. Buffy, Willow, and the rest of their friends managed to keep them from causing too much trouble."
Willow nodded. " 'Cept for when they froze that security guard. And sicked those demons on Buffy. And zapped Buffy and made her Invisible-Girl. And that time loopy thing at the Magic Box"
"Er, yes, I believe he has the general idea, Willow." Daniels eyes had long since glazed over. "Anyway, Buffy stopped them from robbing an armored car, capturing his accomplices, one of whom was Andrew. Warren got away, only to show up at Buffy's house the next morning. With a gun. He fired several times, hitting Buffy and nearly killing her. Willow and Tara, her girlfriend at the time, were upstairs. A stray bullet killed Tara. Right in front of Willow." He paused and took a breath. It was still painful to think about, let alone talk about. Tara was truly special. "Willow was rather upset by this, of course..."
"'Upset'? Geez Giles, British much?" Daniel laughed quietly as Giles rolled his eyes. "I went postal, Daniel. Apocalyptically postal. I tracked down Warren and flayed him alive, then went after Andrew and Jonathan. And I didn't care who got in the way. I threatened to turn Dawn back into a green glowball, I kicked Buffy's ass all over the Magic Box, and then I almost killed Giles when he showed up all Gandalf-y to stop me."
"Gandalf-y?"
"It's a word. Hush. We fought. I won. I took his magic, which was pure, white magyck. It made me able to feel all the pain, everywhere. Everbody, all over the world, all their suffering. It was too much. I decided to end the pain, end it all. I dug up this old temple and set about destroying the world. Would have, too, if Xander hadn't showed up when he did. He, along with the white magyck, managed to reach the last spark of humanity I still had and talk me down. I spent the next year learning to control the magic in me, until I finally managed to tap into the light side of the Force last year when we were fighting the First. Anyway, what happens at the end of the vision, the Earth burning?"
Daniel nodded. "Yeah, it's indelibly burned into my memory."
"Well, that's pretty much what would've happened if they hadn't stopped me. And we wouldn't be sitting here right now having this conversation. Totally wigged out yet?" She gave him a sunny smile, trying not to sink into the depression she usually found herself in when reminded of the events surrounding Tara's death.
"Nah. Not really. Save the world a few times, die, ascend, and come back again, guess you get used to it. That's a scary thought, actually. The getting used to it. Anyway, you think maybe you're the one to light the match, so to speak?"
"Seems like. I went all dark and veiny after Tara was killed. In the dream, I go all nasty after Buffy fries Kennedy with that staff weapon. And I'm pretty sure that was Dawn I was drawing energy from."
Giles nodded. "It would certainly seem so, yes."
Daniel had his eyes closed, thinking. "In the dream, didn't I hear Teal'c say something about a za'tarc?"
Willow thought for a second. "Umm, yeah. Why? What's a za'tarc?"
"A za'tarc is someone who's been programmed by the Goa'uld to be a spy, or more commonly an assassin. They have no idea that they've been programmed until the triggering event happens. If I understand correctly, these Slayer dreams are usually prophetic, right?"
"Yes," answered Giles.
"Then I guess it follows that we're being warned that there's a za'tarc amongst us. Or maybe more than one. And as much as I hate to say this, Buffy is the most likely candidate."
Willow was quick to defend her friend. "No! No way, not Buffy! She couldn't"
"Yes, she could. And she wouldn't have a clue. Not her, or anybody else that's been programmed. Believe me, I've seen it." He shuddered at the memory. They'd been people he'd known, been friends with. "For that matter, it could just as easily be Kennedy, and that's why Buffy had to shoot her. Or will have shot her. In the future. This is almost as confusing as time travel, you know?"
"Ooooh, yeah."
"Anyway, what I'm saying is, it could be any one of us. We're gonna have to find out. Which probably brings us to Anise. Jack's gonna be thrilled," he said, pulling a face that had Willow and Giles chuckling.
"Old girlfriend?" asked Willow.
"No, just a monumental pain in the ass."
"You guys talking about Spike, are ya?" Angel asked as he walked in, followed by Dawn and Spike. Nina had opted to go do some sight-seeing while Angel was tied up at the meeting. She thought it'd be nice to go out in the daylight and actually be able to see the sights.
"Peaches, you can just stick it" Dawn put a hand over Spikes mouth before he got on a roll.
"Later you two. Hey guys." Dawn waved her free hand while guiding Spike to a chair. "What's up?"
Giles cleared his throat. "Er, I believe we'll wait until everybody gets here, if that's all right. I'm quite sure I'll have to repeat myself numerous times as it is."
Dawn just rolled her eyes. Willow caught Xander as he came in and gave him a heartfelt hug. He hugged back, confused. "Not that I don't always enjoy Willow-huggage, but what's up, Will?"
She squeezed a little tighter. "Just wanted to say thanks, is all."
"You're welcome. For what?"
"Saving the world, dummy. And for being so very Xander-y."
"Oh. No problem. Always happy to save the world. And to be Xander-y."
Down the hall Buffy caught up to Jack. "Hey, Jack, wait up a sec!"
"Afternoon, Buffy. Hey, heard any good gossip lately?" he asked conversationally.
"Oh, you know, the usual. Faith and Robin broke a table in the cafeteria, this Slayer has a crush on that Watcher, some stuff about these two people having the kinky sex. Rumors abound aplenty. You?"
"The same, the same. Didn't take long, did it?"
"Nope. Not that I figured it would, what with Dawn being there and all. Super powered gossip monger, she is. Was kinda funny, though."
"Oh, definitely. Wish I had a picture of Carter's expression." He smirked at the thought. "And didja notice how nobody seems to be quite as worried about that pesky end of the world thing anymore?"
"Oh, definitely. Amazing how one good, juicy bit of gossip can totally outweigh an apocalypse. 'End of the world, yadda yadda, demon army, yadda yadda, alien horde, yadda yadda, oh say, didja hear about who did who now?' Some people are just too easily entertained." Buffy threw her hands up in mock exasperation.
"Ain't it the truth, ain't it the truth." They walked into the conference room laughing, to see a sea of eyes looking at them. They were the last to arrive. Buffy gave a little wave as Jack smiled lopsidely, muttering a 'morning campers'.
Dawn was giving Buffy the eye. "'Delayed', were you?"
Willow tried to choke back her laughter and wound up snorting coffee out her nose.
Chapter the Fifth
In the end, it was quicker and easier for Willow to simply share the vision with the rest of the group than to try to explain it. There was a protracted silence after, everybody sitting there shocked, looking around at each other uncomfortably. It was a lot to take in.
Jack finally broke the silence. "Crap. Anise. The end of the world, that I can deal with. But do we really have to bring Anise into this? I mean, really... The System Lords, Replicators, evil senators, even the occasional attack of the Nerd People, bring 'em on, them I can handle, but I sooo am not in the mood for Anise."
Carter patted a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You'll find a way to persevere, sir." She managed to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. Almost. Jack shot her a dirty look.
Kennedy and Buffy were staring at each other, both wanting to say something, anything. Buffy cleared her throat. "That is not going to happen, Kennedy. I won't let it." Kennedy just nodded, unable to find the right words.
Angel stirred in his chair. "We won't let any of it happen. We've been warned, so now we stop it. I... we will not lose anyone else. Not this time. Not ever again, if I have anything to do with it."
Spike thumped a fist on the table. "Damn skippy we won't."
Teal'c did that nodding thing he does. "Indeed. WillowRosenberg, were you able to determine a time frame for the impending battle?"
"Not exactly, no. I get the feeling we've got a month, maybe two though."
Kaithlynn Lockley leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. "How do you figure that?"
"In the dream, Faith was wearing her wedding band. The wedding is still three weeks off, so short of the wedding getting moved up..." She gave a little shrug and looked at Faith.
Faith nodded, eyes closed. "Yeah, Red, I am wearing it. And I think you're right. Month, maybe two. Feels about right." She sighed and smiled tiredly. "Helluva honeymoon, huh babe?" Robin just shook his head, resigned.
Daniel turned to Jack. "What about that whole za'tarc issue, Jack? We need to figure out who, if anybody, had been compromised."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Carter, when we're through here, have the Prometheus beam you back to the SGC. See if you can get ahold of Jacob and have him bring one of those zanax detectors. Preferably without Anise." She nodded, smiling. "I know he's due here in a couple of weeks anyway, but try to get a signal through to Thor while you're at it, see if the Asgard can spare a ship or two. It was pretty obvious the Prometheus was losing, and losing bad. I'd rather avoid that. Like to avoid the whole damn thing, actually."
"Right there with you, sir."
"Also, see if the Tok'ra or any of the rebel Jaffa have heard any rumors about an impending invasion. It'd be nice to have more than our usual last minute warning. For once." Jack was rubbing his temples. He could feel the migraine coming on.
Teal'c had been sitting quietly, as usual, and thinking hard. "Would it not be prudent to take action against Cerephus now, thereby preventing him from setting these events in motion? A surgical strike, as it were? While it might not stop the Goa'uld fleet from arriving, if I have correctly interpreted the vision WillowRosenberg and CassandraFraiser have shared with us, it would seem that Cerephus himself is responsible, directly or indirectly, for the final destruction of Earth. If we were to remove him from the photograph"
"That's 'take him out of the picture', T," said Jack.
"Thank you, O'Neill. If we were to take him out of the picture now, we would be able to devote our full attention to the defeat of the invading fleet."
Faith nodded. "Man's got a point. I'd be down with little pre-emptive ass kickin'."
Giles turned to Buffy and Kaithlynn. "You two have studied the Immortal more closely than any of us. Do you feel we could take him down successfully?"
Buffy shrugged. "Probably. Depends on how much he knows. I think it's a safe bet he knows more than we thought."
Kaithlynn nodded. "He's been planning this for a long time. I'm pretty sure that what we've dug up on him so far is just the tip of a very large iceberg. If what Daniel thinks is true, and he's the same Cerephus that built the pyramids for Ra, then who knows what wonderful little tricks he's come up with in the last ten thousand years."
"Spike and me'll be happy to do it. Be nice to settle up that old score," Angel said with a nasty grin.
"Too bloody right. Definitely want in on that," said Spike.
Jack chimed in. "If you do go after him, I'd like SG-1 to go with you. They'd know what to look for Goa'uld-wise."
Duncan cleared his throat. "Since he's an Immortal, I'd better come along as well. I don't know what would happen to the rest of you if his Quickening was released without another Immortal there to take it."
There were many more volunteers. Buffy finally stood up and help up a hand for quiet. "Okay, I think we all agree that taking out the Immortal Snakehead is what needs to happen, right?" She nodded and smiled as the group unanimously agreed. "Good. Here's what I'm thinking. We put together two strike teams. I'll lead one, Faith will lead the other. Willow, Dawn, Duncan, Spike, Angel, Col. Carter, Teal'c, Daniel and Cassie, I'd like all of you to come with. There may be a few more, but I'm not sure who yet. I wanna keep the groups small. And, yes, Kennedy, you'll be in whichever group Willow goes in. We'll get together in a couple of days and sort out group assignments. In the meantime, we research. Find out everything we can about Cerephus and what he's got planned. I don't want to go into this blind. Like Angel said, I'm through losing people. Questions, Comments?"
From somewhere down the table, one of the younger Slayers spoke up. "Let's kick his ass!" Buffy grinned as applause broke out.
"Okay people. Let's go save the world. Again."
Chapter the Sixth
The next afternoon, Jack's cell phone rang while he was sitting in a meeting with Buffy, Faith and Giles. "Yello, O'Neill here. Oh, hey Carter. Didja get ahold of your old man?"
"Yes sir. He'll be here in a couple of hours with a za'tarc detector, and any intelligence the Tok'ra have that might help us."
"Sweet. Any other news?"
"Nothing from Thor or the Jaffa rebels yet. The Asgard High Command said Thor is currently helping evacuate one of their colonies, but thought he'd be loose in a few days. They promised they'd have him contact us."
"Sweet again. Good work, Sam."
"Thank you, sir. Umm, dad did tell me he was going to be bringing some company with him..."
"No! You are not about to tell me he's bringing her! He wouldn't do that to me! I thought Jacob liked me!" Giles, Buffy and Faith were staring at him curiously. He pulled a face and shrugged.
"I don't know who it is, he didn't give me any names, but he did say they were three of the Slayers that had been found amongst the Tok'ra. They were hoping to meet with our new friends. Do you think it would be possible for Buffy and Giles to be here when they arrive?"
"Umm, hang on a sec, I'll ask 'em." He covered the mouthpiece. "Hey, you kids busy this afternoon?"
Buffy shrugged. "The usual. Coupla training sessions. Somebody could cover for me though."
"I was going to help Willow with some research, but it can wait till tomorrow if need be," said Giles.
"Meetin' with the caterer 'n the manager of the reception hall," said Faith. "What?" She just stared back at Buffy and Giles' incredulous looks. "Yes. I'm planning my wedding. Deal with it."
Jack smiled lopsidedly at Faith, then turned back to the other two. "So, you two feel like a trip to Colorado Springs? Got some company coming."
Thirty minutes later, a bemused Jack O'Neill beamed up to the Prometheus, plus five. Upon finding out where Giles and Buffy were going, Willow, Dawn and Xander had cajoled their way into coming along. Not that Jack really minded. He had actually enjoyed the show, laughing quietly to himself while Willow and Dawn had begged, pleaded and wheedled. Xander had just looked at Jack and asked "Hey, dude, mind if I tag along?" They had time for a quick tour, so he showed them the engine room and the hangar bay, ending up at the bridge.
"...So, I tried to get 'em to name her Enterprise, but they had their minds made up on Prometheus," he was saying as they stepped onto the bridge.
Dawn was studying everything intently. "Okay, I get that. You big nerd. But really, she's more Galactica than Enterprise. More utilitarian, more of a battleship. What?" she asked at the looks her sister and Willow were giving her. "So I watched a Battlestar Galactica marathon or two with Xander back in the day. Sue me. Oh, wow..." She trailed off as she caught sight of the view out the viewport.
"Yeah. Never get tired of that," Jack said quietly. Dawn and Willow went and leaned against the viewport, and both of them were very quiet for a while.
Buffy leaned close to Jack. "Gee, Jack, you sure do know how to impress a gal." She fluttered her lashes at him, giggling as the blush climbed slowly past his collar. Xander made little gagging noises, while Giles just rolled his eyes. "Shuddup Xan." Xander made a 'who, me?' gesture and walked over to stand next to Willow.
Buffy giggled and turned back to Jack. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself."
"Don't worry about it. Carter's had almost a full day to get the gossip wagon moving, I'm sure news of our little tryst is already making the rounds. In fact, I bet I get a call from Hammond inside of two days." He glanced at his watch. "We'd better get a move on, Jacob's supposed to be arriving in about twenty minutes, don't want you kids to miss the show." Dawn, Willow and Xander reluctantly turned from the view and the group headed for the cargo bay.
As they materialised in the conference room overlooking the gate room, Willow was grinning. "Man, I gotta tell ya, it's great to teleport around and not be all pooped afterwards. A witch could get used to this." Jack laughed and gestured them towards the window.
"Well, if you liked the Asgard transporters, you're gonna love what's coming up next." The Scoobies were startled as klaxons began blaring, but relaxed when they saw the grin on Jack's face.
"OFF-WORLD ACTIVATION. SECURITY TO THE EMBARKATION ROOM, REPEAT: OFF-WORLD ACTIVATION. SECURITY TO THE EMBARKATION ROOM."
Jack's grin widened as he nodded down at the spinning gate. "Watch this..."
The vortex whooshed out and back before settling into the stable event horizon. Dawn let out a squeal, leaning into the window along with Willow, whose mind was working overtime, trying to wrap around the physics of the impossibility of a stable wormhole.
Giles stood there in quiet amazement. "Most impressive."
Buffy blinked, looked at Jack, and said "Wicked!"
Xander took a deep breath, wide eyed. "Great googly moogly..." Jack's grin was threatening to become a full blown smirk.
Jacob Carter stepped through the gate, followed by two female Tok'ra carrying a large box. And Anise.
"Aaaarrrrggghhhh! I knew it!" Jack started beating his head against the window, saying 'I knew it' over and over, thumping his head against the glass on each 'knew'. Below them, Jacob looked around, trying to identify where the dull thudding sound he was hearing was coming from. It reminded him of the sound of a watermelon hitting the ground. He finally spotted Jack beating his head against the observation window, four young people and an older man watching him with bemused expressions. He turned to Anise, trying to hide his grin.
"Guess Jack knows you're here."
Chapter the Seventh
Thirty minutes and a quick check up in the infirmary later, Jack, Carter, Buffy, Willow, Dawn, Xander, Giles, Jacob, Anise and the two Tok'ra females were gathered in the conference room. Jack was holding an icepack to his forehead as he downed two extra strength Excedrin.
"Soooo... Jacob, good to see you again." He managed a civil nod to Anise. "Care to introduce the rest of your group?"
Jacob nodded. "These are two of our Slayers, Aht'ell and Na'reen." The women both bowed their heads in greeting.
"Nice to meet ya. Thought you were gonna bring three Slayers with you, Jacob. The other one get cold feet?"
Anise looked at Jack with an amused expression. "What would the temperature of my feet have to do with my coming here or not, General O'Neill?" The Scoobies were somewhat taken aback by her voice, which was deep and faintly mechanical sounding.
"Huh? Oh, wait a minute... You're one of the Slayers?"
"Indeed. Or, more accurately, it is my host Freya that has become a Slayer. She was just as shocked at the change as I, if not more so. We have thus far found it to be an exhilarating experience. We had hoped to come to Earth for a time, in order to learn of our Slayer heritage and participate in training with our Slayer sisters." She was studying Buffy closely as she said the last.
Buffy smiled. "Glad to have you. Unless Jack has some objection..."
"No! I mean, no, I have no objection to Anise and her friends going with you. Far from here. Train. Study. Enjoy the pleasant sisterhood of slayage. By all means." Jack was practically blathering.
Xander smothered a grin. "Guess that's settled, then. Welcome to Earth, home of the many oogly-booglys that go bump in the night."
Aht'ell gave Xander a confused look. "'Oogly-booglys'?"
"Technical term. Just one more item on the curriculum, right G-Man?"
Giles raised a pleading look toward Heaven, and as usual got no response. "I suppose so, yes. We'll be happy to make arrangements for you at the hotel in Devon. Have you any special needs that we should be aware of?"
"No, just a place to stay. Appropriate clothing would be appreciated as well," Anise said.
Dawn grinned. "Excellent! I smell an impending shopping expedition!" She chose to ignore the horrified look on Giles' face.
Jack shook his head tiredly, happy that Anise was Buffy's problem and not his. "So, Jacob, did you kids dig anything up on this Cerephus guy?"
Jacob bowed his head as Selmak took over. "We didn't have to dig all that far, General O'Neill. I knew Cerephus, long ago. Worked under him briefly here on Earth, about one hundred years before the Uprising. At the time, he was a brilliant engineer. He designed the pyramid landing platforms, as well as backwards engineering a great deal of what we now know to be technology of the Ancients. He was a third level Goa'uld, but ambitious. He was always on the lookout for ways to advance himself. During his time on Earth, he became obsessed with what you would call the occult. I didn't understand why at the time, believing it to be the stuff of fantasy, no more than myths and legends." Selmak heaved a tired sigh. "I guess we know better now, don't we..."
Anise leaned forward. "Unfortunately, nothing is known of Cerephus after the time of the Uprising. He was presumed killed along with the rest."
Jack arched an eyebrow. "Yeah. And how many of those 'presumed dead' Goa'uld have shown up here on Earth since then? Don't answer that, it was rhetorical."
"Indeed. Unfortunately, we have nothing to report as regards an impending invasion. If there is a fleet being readied to attack Earth, they are keeping it well hidden. Rest assured, every ship we can spare is searching even as we speak, and word is being spread to all our covert operatives. We will not rest until we have confirmation, one way or the other," Anise finished, looking at Jack.
"Thanks. We do appreciate it."
Jacob spoke up again. "One piece of good news, Jack; there are two Al'kesh on their way here now, fully crewed and armed to the teeth. They should be here in seven days time."
Carter gave her father a huge grin. "That's great, dad!" She turned to Jack. "With two fully armed Al'kesh to back up the Prometheus, she might just stand a chance, sir."
"Definitely better odds than we usually have. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that our resident wicca over there is right about the timetable." Willow shifted uncomfortably in her seat as all eyes turned to her.
"Hey, I didn't send the darn dream, I just helped make it clearer. Any erroneous images are the sole responsibility of the sender, not the send-ee." Several chuckles floated around the table.
Buffy patted Willow's hand. "Don't fret it, Will. It'll probably turn out the whole thing was just the First messing with us to get a rise out of us. It'll happen when it happens, just like always." Willow nodded, trying to sink into her chair.
Jacob turned back to Jack. "Anyway Jack, if I can borrow Sam for a while, we can start checking out the SGC personnel while Anise, Aht'ell and Na'reen head back to England with our new friends here and start checking their crew. And just for your edification, the four of us will be the first to be tested before you folks leave. All right?" Everybody agreed. Jack declared the meeting at an end, and the group started filing out.
Xander caught Jack at the door to his office. "Hey, Jack, I was wondering..."
"Yeah?"
"Any chance a guy could bum a ride in one of those X-302's sometime? Cause, that would just be too cool, ya know? And Andrew would so totally be green with envy..."
Chapter the Eighth
Four days later, all the critical personnel at the SGC and the Coucil had been checked out, and testing was continuing on all that were left. So far, no za'tarcs had been discovered, but Jack refused to be too optimistic about that fact. He was too used to having the other shoe drop. Carter stayed at Cheyenne Mountain, helping her father with the testing, as well as helping the maintenance crew on the Prometheus in making sure it was ready for the impending battle. Jack had also remained at the SGC in order to catch up on his paperwork. He hated paperwork.
In Devon, planning continued for the strike against Cerephus. Buffy and Kaithlynn Lockley had gathered together everything they'd been able to discover about him and his compound, searching for a way past his protective wards. Willow had tried to astral project there to give the place a once-over, and had been painfully rebounded from the wards. ("Worst headache ever!")
The three Tok'ra were rapidly assimilating into the ranks, and had in fact become quite popular for the stories they had to offer of other worlds. The fact that they were stronger and faster than the rest of the Slayers made no difference, they were welcomed as sisters. Anise and Willow had already become fast friends, Willow finally having somebody on hand to get scientific with.
There was a meeting scheduled for that afternoon to discuss plans for the strike. The current plan still called for two teams; one under Buffy, one under Faith. Buffy's team consisted of Willow, Duncan, Angel, Kennedy, Daniel and Carter. Faith would be going in with Dawn, Cassie, Amanda, Spike, Teal'c, Bethany and Anise.
Amanda had volunteered to go in with Faith's team, partly to keep an eye on Dawn, but also because she had agreed with Duncan that their should be an Immortal with each team. The last few days had seen Dawn, Amanda and Spike grow thick as thieves. There had been a marked increase in practical jokes, and they chose to ignore all the suspicious looks they were receiving.
Teal'c had asked that he be assigned to whichever team Cassie was on. He had no doubt about her abilities, but he found he had the same protective streak towards her that the rest of SG-1 had, and felt that this mission was too risky for him not to be where he could keep an eye on her. Cassie protested at length, saying that she was a big girl now, not to mention 'hey, Slayer here!', but inside she was thrilled he'd be alongside her.
Anise had quickly proven herself a more than capable warrior, and had been included primarily in the hopes that with her more extensive knowledge of the Goa'uld, she would be able to spot any nasty tricks that Cerephus had planted along those lines.
The two groups, plus Giles, Xander, Kate, Kaithlynn, Vi, Robin, Andrew, Gunn, Connor and Illyria were gathered in the largest conference room, waiting for Jack, Jacob and Carter to arrive. Nina was also there, sitting next to Angel. She had told him she'd like to know what was going on, maybe even help out if she could. He was glad to have her there, although he was worried about her getting too involved in this part of his life. Werewolf or not, she didn't have any experience fighting, and the thought of her getting hurt scared him more than he cared to admit. Nina and Faith were looking through various catalogues at bridesmaids dresses, while the bridesmaids themselves, Buffy, Willow and Dawn, put in their two cents whenever they could. Faith had quickly adopted Nina as her bridal consultant.
With the customary flash of white light of an Asgard transporter beam, Jack O'Neill appeared in the room with four others, as well as two large crates. "Good morning campers. We come bearing gifts!" The teenager standing next to him rolled his eyes.
Giles walked over and shook his hand. "Hello, general. It's afternoon here, by the way. Who have you brought with you?"
Jack turned to the man standing next to him. "Rupert Giles, General George Hammond, my immediate superior and the man in charge of the Prometheus. We figured he should be in on the planning since it seems the Prometheus plays a big part in what's coming." Giles and Hammond shook hands, making polite small talk.
"You know Col. Carter here, of course. This is her father Jacob Carter, formerly a general in the U.S. Air Force, currently host to Selmak of the Tok'ra." Jacob bowed his head in greeting to the assembly.
"And last, but never least, me." He grinned at the blank looks he recieved as the teenager rolled his eyes again.
"Sorry. This is Jon O'Neill. My mini-me clone. He'd like to help you folks out. Giles, Buffy, we'd like to talk with you kids after the meeting's over with, okay?"
"Sure, Jack," Buffy said. She was looking closely at Jon. Yup, definitely a resemblance there. Jon looked to be around seventeen, maybe eighteen, and obviously worked out a lot. 'Course, with all that black-ops training, he'd probably want to stay in shape.
Jon returned Buffy's gaze. Leaning in close to Jack he whispered, "That Buffy?" Jack nodded, wearing a smug grin. Jon scowled. "I swear to God, the next time I lay eyes on Loki, I am so gonna kick his little gray ass."
Jack looked around the table. "Where's Riley and Sam?"
Buffy waved a hand. "They got a call about a demon infestation in Tasmania. Something about Tasmanian Devils being possessed or somesuch. They took a dozen Slayers with them and went to check it out."
"Oh. Okay. They take Bugs Bunny with 'em?"
"Nope. Riley didn't think it was all that funny when I suggested it to him, either."
"Boy's got no sense of humor. Bet Sam laughed, though."
"Yup. Mostly at Riley," Buffy grinned. "You said something about gifts? What'd ya bring me? Always love the prezzies."
"Carter, you mind?" He gestured at the two crates. She opened up one of the crates and held up one of the items it held.
"These are zat'nikatel weapons. We just call them zats." She tossed one to Buffy. "They're sort of like high powered tasers. One shot will incapacitate, the second kills, and the third disintegrates the target. They're effective against vampires, we checked them out while patrolling with Cassie."
Buffy turned the zat over in her hands, then hit the button to open it up. "The first shot just knocks 'em out?"
"Usually. It depends on the person. It doesn't always render the recipient unconscious, but it will knock them down for a while at the very least."
"Nice. Coulda used one of these about a zillion times." She triggered a burst at the corner of the room, making everybody jump. "Sorry..." She handed the zat over to Willow. Willow had a 'just got a new puppy' look. She couldn't wait to take one of these apart.
Buffy turned back to Jack. "Thanks, Jack. These'll come in handy."
"Thank Jacob. They're a gift from the Tok'ra. Just remember, those things are alien technology. Which means 'classified'. Therefore not to be left laying around willy-nilly. Okay?" He said the last with a raised brow, taking in the group as a whole. He nodded at the various words of agreement. "Okay. So, what's up in the world of Snakehead the Immortal?"
Giles cleared his throat. "Well, we have decided on the teams, which I believe you were sent a memo about?" Jack nodded. "Good. Buffy and Miss Lockley have given us as much of the layout of Cerephus' compound as they could come up with. He apparently has some very potent wards protecting the place"
General Hammond raised a hand. "Pardon me. Did you say 'wards'?"
"Err, yes. A ward is a protective spell. The spell can be refined to repell magycks, energy, sound or solid bodies. He at the very least has warded off magic. We're not sure what other types of warding spells he may have in effect, therefore we've put a witch with each team. Willow with Buffy, and Bethany with Faith." Bethany gave a small wave.
Jack hadn't met her before. Hafta thank her for coming up with that hangover cure when I get a chance, thought Jack.
"Anyway, we were hoping to utilise your transporters to beam into the compound. Willow thinks she can work with the technology to make sure the wards can't stop you. And if not, we're reasonably sure your technology won't set off any mystical alarms."
Hammond nodded. "No problem. Just let us know the timing."
"We were hoping to go in two days time. Now, as Cerephus has taken an Immortal for a host, the only way to kill him is to take off his head, although we believe disintegration would work just as well. These, err, zats might do the trick nicely, in fact. Have you all read the files we provided concerning Immortals? Good. One of our concerns is what will happen when his Quickening is released. The host is at least 10,000 years old, so it is quite likely that it will be incredibly powerful. Both Duncan and Amanda are going to endeavour to be as close as possible if that happens, in order to take it upon themselves."
He sighed and started cleaning his glasses. "If possible, we'd like to capture him alive. At the very least, it would afford us the opportunity to interrogate him, hopefully to discover what plans he has set in motion. And, if I have understood General O'Neill correctly, the Tok'ra may be able to remove the symbiote, freeing the host. I would very much like to try to save him, if we can. The priority, however, is to stop him. By whatever means necessary. Understood?"
There was a general assent from the group. "Good. Now, Angel, I believe you had something you wished to discuss?"
"Yeah. Actually, it's Connor and Illyria that had something to ask." Angel nudged his son.
"Um, well, you see... Illyria 'n me, we were hoping"
Illyria spoke up. "We wish to join in your strike. We feel that our presence would be beneficial to the overall effort, and the half-breed Angel agrees with us."
Connor shrugged. "Yeah, what she said."
Buffy turned to Angel. "You think it'll help?"
Angel nodded. "Connor 'n me are pretty evenly matched. He's probably a better tracker than I am. And Illyria over there has whupped all of us at one point or another. That jerk Hamilton was the only one I've ever seen that could actually take her down, and that was just because he had all that extra mojo from the Senior Partners."
Illyria stood up and started pacing. She wasn't much good at sitting still for long. "This battle is something that Wesley would have thought important. I shall therefore go in his stead, and do battle in his memory."
Buffy glanced at Giles, who nodded. "Okay, you're both in. Connor, you're with my group. Illyria, why don't you go with Faith's crew."
Illyria cocked her head. "That is the group Spike is with, is it not?" Buffy nodded. "That is acceptable to me. Waging battle alongside him is agreeable."
"Glad t' have ya, Blue," Spike said.
Faith looked Illyria in the eye. "Just remember; God-King or not, I'm the one in charge. You do what I say, when I say it. Keep that in mind, we'll get along just fine."
Illyria stared at Faith for a long minute, then nodded. "Agreed. You are a worthy warrior, fit to lead an army. I will try not to let your impertinence offend me overly much."
Faith took it in bemusedly. "Riiiigghhhht."
Giles stood. "Well, now that's settled, Faith why don't you take everyone down to the training room and have Col. Carter help you to familiarise
both groups with these new weapons. General O'Neill, I believe you had something you wished to discuss with Buffy and I?"
Faith paused next to Buffy, waiting for the rest of the group to file out. She leaned down close to Buffy. "Yo, B, two Jack's huh? That could be all kinds of interestin'." She ducked and ran out the door just as Buffy took a pot shot at her with the zat she had held on to. She peeked back around the doorframe. "Temper, temper..." She ran after the rest, laughing.
Giles was staring at Buffy, eyebrow quirked. She ignored him. "Sooo, Jack. What's the what?"
"Well, I'm sure you haven't forgotten what Willow showed us from Cassies dream, right?"
"Not likely to forget it any time soon, no."
"Well, when she showed it to us the other day, I saw Jon here in it. He was one of the people lying dead at the end of it." Jon shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Oh." Buffy closed her eyes, remembering the dream. Yeah, that is him. Eww, now that looks unpleasant.
"Anyway, the more I thought about it, the more I figured he'd wanna know about it. I know I would, and since he's me..." Jack shrugged. "I met with him and explained the situation, told him about you kids and what was going on."
Jon spoke up. "I want to help. Maybe train to be a Watcher. I can certainly help train your girls. With all the black-ops training, not to mention six years worth of offworld experience, I think I could make a difference here. Certainly a lot more difference than I am at that damn high school. And I know me. If it weren't for what's going on out there," he crooked a thumb skyward, "I know Jack the Elder over there would be right here. No way I can turn my back on this, now that I know about it. You kids need all the help you can get."
Buffy studied them both. "You both sure about this?"
They both answered as one. "Yeahsureyoubetcha."
Buffy looked at Giles, who nodded. "Okay Jon, you're in. In fact, I'd like you on my team for this strike, if you feel up to it. I figure you'll fit right in with SG-1 again. Okay?"
Jon gave her a huge grin. "Abso-fraggin'-lutely." He stood up and headed after Faith, but stopped at the door. "Umm, somebody wanna tell me how to get whereever it is they all went?"
Chapter the Ninth
Later in the day, most of the group was still in the training room. Jon and Carter were working with several Slayers who were practicing with the zats. Buffy, Giles, Xander, Kaithlynn and Jack were off to one side going over details while keeping an eye on the rambunctious group.
Angel was teaching rudimentary swordfighting techniques to Nina. Amanda and Dawn were sparring full tilt, as they always did. Dawn had become quite adept over the last few months, and Amanda was finding herself hard pressed to stay ahead of her.
Spike, Kennedy, Duncan and Teal'c were standing between the two fencing areas, trying to watch two battles at once. Kate and Willow occupied the second arena, dueling almost as fiercely as Amanda and Dawn. Spike nudged Kennedy and spoke quietly, not wanting to break any of the fighters concentration. "Oi, when did Red get all swordmaster-y? Thought she was all about the magyck."
Kennedy shrugged. "She used to be. Still is, really. But you know what happens if she lets the magyck take over. I don't think that's as big a problem since she went all Goddess-y last year, but she won't let herself forget about it either. She and Dawn both train for the same reasons, they don't want to become too dependent on their powers. This gives them more skills to use in a fight, keeps them both in shape, and gives them both focus. And Dawn just plain thinks it's fun."
"Yeah, kinda shows," Spike said.
Teal'c nodded. "Indeed. She does appear to find great enjoyment in the challenge of the duel. And she does seem to be most proficient, as does WillowRosenberg."
Duncan chuckled. "They've both come a long way in the last few months. Especially Willow. Kate was pretty shocked when Willow came to her and asked her if she'd be willing to train her. Dawn had just asked the same of Amanda. That's when I decided to commission the blades for them all. It's been interesting watching their progress."
Kennedy laughed. "Boy, ain't that the truth. A few weeks ago, a bunch of us got together and watched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. They both got to giggling and took off down here. Some of us followed them, found them flying around the room like the people in the movie. They were laughing so hard that there wasn't much actual sword play going on, but it was wicked cool to watch."
Duncan gave Kennedy a bemused look. "Guess I missed out on that."
"No problem, Mac. I'll loan you the video. Andrew and Xander set it to music from The Matrix." Duncan turned back to watch the fights, smiling. His life certainly had gotten more interesting since meeting up with this group.
Buffy had been watching the duels closely. She was incredibly proud of her sister. Didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun now and then, though. While Dawn's back was to her, she picked up a basketball and threw it as hard as she could straight at her sister's head. Dawn, in mid-swing, simply carried it a little further and skewered the ball on her blade, deftly turning the swing into a spin and sending the remains of the ball back at Buffy while still blocking Amanda's next stroke. Giles looked at the shredded basketball Buffy was holding and shook his head. "Would you like me to take that out of your salary, then?"
Buffy shot him a dirty look as Jack and Kaithlynn laughed. "Just write it off as a training expense. Smart-aleck Watchers, anyway."
Jack dug a few more items out of one of the crates. "Anyhoo, I know you kids have your own mojo going on, but I'd appreciate it if you'd have everybody on the strike force carry one of these. They're Asgard homing beacons, they'll let us keep a lock on you guys in case you need an emergency beam out. They also work as communicators. Might be handy if that... what'd you call it?"
"The Wiccan-Mind-Meld," Giles said, managing not to roll his eyes.
"Yeah, that. In case that would fritz out on you. Little back up never hurts, right?"
Xander nodded. "Yup. Definitely. And speaking of back up, when do I need to have the second string gathered up and ready to go?" It had been decided that Xander would head up a third group, to be held in reserve aboard ship in case the first two teams got in over their heads. He and Vi had put together twenty one of their best, including Kate, Robin Wood, and the Finn's, provided they got back from Tasmania in time.
"We'll beam your crew up the the Prometheus same time as Buffy and Faith's groups. Jacob, Aht'ell and Na'reen have asked to join up with you too, if that's okay."
"Definitely. The extra muscle is much appreciated." Xander was more than happy to have them along, having seen what the three Tok'ra Slayers were capable of.
Jack was flipping through his notes. "Eeexxxcellent. I'll get back with you all tomorrow with the final scheduling details. Anything else?"
Buffy had been watching Jon as he interacted easily with the younger Slayers. She tilted her head towards the younger O'Neill. "You sure about this, Jack? I mean, don't get me wrong, we're glad to have him, but I thought you were worried about having the wrong people find out about him."
Jack shrugged. "He can take care of himself. He was going nuts in that high school, Buffy. He went from saving the planet on a regular basis to trying to pass his English exams. He can make a difference here." He looked at the younger version of himself wistfully. "And he's right. If it wasn't for the SGC, I'd be here right beside you kids. This way, I kinda am. Know what I mean?"
"Yeah. I do. We'll take good care of him Jack."
"I know you will." Jack grinned smugly. "And for the record, he is insanely jealous of me right now, especially now that he's met you."
Buffy snorted. "Men. Always hafta brag to each other. I'm gonna go see if Duncan wants to spar." She flounced off toward Duncan, but flashed him a smile over her shoulder as she went. For once, the weight of the world wasn't weighing quite so heavily on her shoulders. It was nice.
Chapter the Tenth
Two nights later, on board the Prometheus in high geosynchronous orbit directly above Rome...
Both strike teams, as well as Xander's back up team, were assembled in the cargo bay. Giles and Jack were going over last minute details while team members checked each other out, making sure that all their equipment was secured, weapons loaded, sharpened, or charged. Most of them were dressed in military black and gray BDU's, much of which had been temporarily 'borrowed' from the SGC. Even Spike was decked out in military garb, foregoing his everpresent leather duster.
Spike was currently eyeing Illyria. "Look, Blue, not that I don't love the whole blue 'n red dominatrix thing you've got goin' there, but this is supposed to be a covert operation, ya know? Might want to rethink the color scheme, luv."
Illyria stared at Spike for a minute, as if she were deciding whether or not to smash in his skull or not, then nodded. "Very well, half-breed. Is this more acceptable to you?" She shifted her appearance, her leather outfit fading to a dull black while her hair and skin shifted back to something far more familiar to Angel and Spike. It took Spike a moment to find his voice. It still hurt, seeing Illyria wear Fred's sweet face.
"Err, yeah luv, that'll do better. Might want to slather on a bit o' this, though." He handed her a tube of black face paint. She just gave him one of those Illyria Looks, and shifted her appearance again, darkening her skin. "Right. There ya go, then."
He walked over and stood next to Angel, who was rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. "Never will get used to that. You feelin' alright there Peaches?"
"Yeah. Just have a bit of a headache. Had it for a day or so, now. No big deal." He didn't tell Spike that it had steadily been getting worse. It was starting to feel like a dagger digging into his skull, right between the eyes. I can deal with it, it's just a headache...
Buffy walked over and stood next to Jack. Buffy hollered for quiet. "Some of you are probably worried that I'm gonna go all power speech-y like I did back in the Dale. Maybe some other time. For now, let's keep this simple. Down there," she pointed down at the floor, towards Earth, "There is a very bad man. He's got it in his beady little brain that he's going to bring about yet another apocalypse. We," she gestured around the cargo bay, taking them all in, "are going to go down there and kick his snake infested ass. And we are all coming back. Right?"
There was an enthusiastic cheer. "Right. You all know what you're supposed to do, so let's go do it." She turned to Jack as the group started splitting into teams, preparing to transport down. She looked up at Jack and gave him a small grin. "Kiss for luck?"
"Oh, okay." He leaned down and gave her what would have been a toe-curling kiss, if not for the hoots, wolf-whistles and cat-calls that started in the second they started kissing. Buffy just flipped the bird to the group in general. He broke the kiss and drew her into a quick, fierce hug. "You be careful, Squirt."
Buffy grinned crookedly and snapped off a jaunty salute. "Yessir, general sir!" She ambled over to her group.
Daniel walked over to Jack and pursed his lips. "Kiss for luck?"
Jack smacked him upside the head. "Get outa here, Space Monkey." Daniel jogged over to his group, chuckling.
Jack watched morosely as the two strike teams beamed out. He really wanted to be down there with them.
Sometimes this whole general gig really sucked.
Chapter the Eleventh
The two teams beamed in on separate sides of Cerephus' compound and started making their stealthy way toward the walls surrounding the villa. Buffy and Faith took the lead, with Willow and Bethany beside them, using magyck enhanced senses to look for booby traps.
Angel's headache had gone from bad to worse as soon as they materialised. It was starting to worry him, but he kept it to himself.
Willow opened up the Wiccan Mind-Meld to both groups, as well as those back on the ship.
Willow: Okay, I'm sensing the barrier right in front of me. Bethany, you find it over on your side?
Bethany: Yeah. Powerful. The Haahkga'hiatssuu spell?
Willow: Yeah, I think that'll work without setting off whatever mystical alarms he has attached to these wards. Everybody chill for a minute while we do the spell, okay?
Both teams waited, tense with apprehension as the two young wicca did the spell that would hopefully allow them access to Cerephus' compound. A few minutes later a gap in the barrier could be seen forming in front of both Willow and Bethany.
Willow: Yay us! Okay guys, go before it collapses!
Willow and Bethany were the last through the portal, slowly closing it so as to not set off any alarms.
Buffy: Okay, we're in. Faith, you know where you need to go?
Faith: Five-by-five, B. Team Velma is on the move.
Faith's team had taken the name Team Velma, while Buffy's was Team Daphne. Xander's back up unit was Team Shaggy. Jack had flatly refused to be called Freddie, so the Prometheus was temporarily Scooby Command.
Buffy: Jack, you guys still able to track us with those Right-Guard thingies?
Jack: If you mean the Asgard beacons, then yes, they're coming in loud and clear. So we should be able to beam you out.
Daniel: Should? Why do I not like the sound of 'should'?
Jack: Well, I could try to beam you out right now, Daniel, but I kinda think the big bright flash o' light might be just a teensie bit of a giveaway, don't you?
Daniel: Smart ass.
Hammond: Don't I know it...
Jack: (indignantly) Sir!
Connor: Everybody freeze. There're at least two guards over here, maybe more. Dad, come over here.
Faith: We're clear all the way inside, B. You want we should wait up for you kiddies or head inside?
Buffy: No, go ahead. We'll take care of these guards and catch up.
Faith: Gotcha. Let's go, Velmsters.
Spike: I can't believe we're bloody well calling ourselves Velma...
Dawn: Aww, is the Big Bad Vampire afraid his rep is gonna be ruined?
Spike: Next time, I get to pick the bloody name Nibblet.
Dawn: Oh, gee, let me guess. Team Ramones? Team Sex Pistols?
Angel: Team Peroxide Wonder?
A mental chuckle went through the meld. Spike went on at some length about Angel's questionable parentage.
Faith: Chill. Door's locked. Anybody here know how to pick a lock?
Cassie: Whole group of super powered people here, Faith. We could, like, break it down...
Faith: Tryin' for quiet here, lil' ET.
Illyria: Step aside. The shell has memories that may be helpful here. I need a thin bladed knife and two small pieces of wire. Or a credit card.
Thirty seconds later, Illyria had the door open and team Velma quietly entered the villa. Meanwhile, Connor and Angel had silently taken out the guards that were blocking Team Daphne's path.
Buffy: Good work you two. Let's go, Faith's already inside. Angel, you all right?
Angel: Yeah, I'll be fine. Just a headache is all.
Connor: You don't look fine dad.
Angel: Okay, so it's a bad headache. Come on, bad guys to kill.
Willow looked at Angel carefully, her eyes still enhanced by the detection spell.
Willow: Wait a second, guys. Angel, is the pain in your eyes?
Angel: Yeah, sorta behind my eyes, like knives digging in. Why?
Willow: Because I can see it. Not the pain, sorry, but what's causing the pain. Willow passed her hand in front of Angel's eyes concentrating. It's a binding spell. Someone has done a binding spell on your eyes! Wait, that doesn't make any sense...
It hit Angel like a ton of bricks as, suddenly, he knew. Cordy, it wasn't just the one, was it?
Angel: Willow, can you undo the binding spell?
Willow: Sure. Gimme a second. She waved her hand in front of his eyes again, muttering a phrase in latin.
The binding spell was broken.
Angel collapsed to the ground, choking back an anguished scream as the vision struck him full force.
bursts of staff and zat fire flared brilliantly-
-bodies fell, death all around-
-Faith, a blank look on her face as she slid lifelessly down the wall-
-Cerephus, eyes glowing, smiling smugly as he looked out over a sea of dead bodies-
Angel slowly realised that he was the center of attention of a very worried group. Good God, how did Cordy ever put up with these damn things? He grabbed Buffy by the arm. "We've got to get in there and help them!" He clambered to his feet.
"It's a setup. We're all walking into a trap!"
Chapter the Twelfth
Willow spun around and faced the villa. FAITH! IT'S A TRAP! FAITH! BETHANY! CAN ANY OF YOU HEAR ME?
The rest of Team Daphne was screaming into the meld, trying to warn Team Velma of the trap, but to no avail. "Aww, crap!" Buffy took off full speed for the house, the rest of her team on her heels.
Buffy: Jack, we're cut off from the other team! It's a trap, and they're already inside. Can you still beam them out?
Jack: Sorry, kiddo. We still have them on our sensors, but the transporter can't get a lock. Something's jamming it.
Buffy: Guess we do this the hard way. Willow, can you lead us to them?
Willow: I think so. I can still sense them, but it's all fuzzy. There's some kind of general dampening spell over the whole house. I may have trouble working the magycks once we're inside.
Buffy: Swell. Okay, here we go...
Buffy kicked in the front door, then ducked back out of sight as a wave of crossbow bolts and staff weapon fire burst through the door. Carter, Daniel and Jon opened up with their own zats as Kennedy let loose with the bow she was carrying. Willow brought the fight to a quick end when she threw a ball of blue fire into the room, incinerating the demons inside.
Jon cast Willow an appraising glance. "Handy, that."
Willow grinned lopsidedly. "You should see me startin' up the charcoal for a barbeque."
Connor and Duncan flitted through the door. "All clear, come on in," Connor called over his shoulder.
Team Daphne filed into the entryway. "Where now, Will?" Buffy asked as she turned a slow circle, watching for any hidden enemies.
Willow closed her eyes, concentrating. Finally she pointed up the stairs. "Thataway. I can feel Dawn powering up up there." Buffy was halfway up the stairs before she finished her statement, the rest of the group a second behind. As they reached the top of the stairs, they could hear the sounds of battle off to their left.
They could also see several dozen vampires and assorted other demons waiting for them. Buffy never slowed her pace, wading into the wall of demons, zat in her left hand firing continuously, katana in her right, moving, cutting, slicing like a thing possessed. Kennedy soon ran out of arrows, and casting the bow aside went to work with the battle axe she had carried slung across her back. Angel, Connor, Willow and Duncan cut a swath of death with their swords while Carter, Jon and Daniel fired unerringly with their zats, going hand to hand when they had to. Jon even produced a machete from under his backpack, beheading several vampires.
Willow could think of several ways to take out every demon in the hallway, but not without injuring her comrades. Glad I spent all that time training with Kate! Oooo, fireball! She took out a group of vamps that was trying to sneak up behind them. "They're trying to box us in, Buffy! Coming up behind us!"
Jon took a quick look behind him. "Ahhh, crap. Carter, help Willow cover our six. Buffy, we need to get out of this hall, now!"
"You see me arguing? Show me the door, we'll beat feet!" She was trading blows with an Mmm'Fashnik demon, her katana a blur.
Jon looked around helplessly, then a thought occurred to him. He turned his zat on the wall, firing four quick triple bursts at it, opening a sizable hole. "There's your door. Let's go, people!"
One by one, Team Daphne made a fighting retreat through the hole in the wall. It lead them into what appeared to be a gigantic ballroom.
It was also where Team Velma was fighting an even larger contingent of demons.
Led by Cerephus himself.
They walked in just in time to see Faith flying through the air, propelled by the force of Cerephus' ribbon device. She hit the far wall with a resounding thud and bounced off, only to land square in the middle of a dozen vampires. She stood up, dazed, and sneered. "Howdy boys. Name's Faith. You all might wanna start shitting yourselves right about now." She disappeared quickly under the mass of swinging vamps.
Illyria was slugging it out with two huge demons, the likes of which Buffy had never seen before. Didn't seem to be faring too well, either. Bethany was out cold, Dawn standing over her, blasting demons as fast as she could, but they just kept coming. Amanda and Anise had both taken hits from staff weapons, and were down as well.
Teal'c, Spike and Cassie were trying to fight their way to Cerephus, who was standing on the raised stage at the far end of the room. They weren't making much progress, though.
Buffy took all this in in the blink of an eye. "Angel, Connor, you go help Faith. SG-1, you go help Dawn. Willow, try to clear 'em a path, see if you can do anything for Illyria over there. Kennedy, you watch Willow's back. Duncan, you 'n me are going after Cerephus. Got it? Good. Now go!"
She and Duncan started for the smug Immortal Goa'uld. Buffy tapped the Asgard communicator as she went. "Jack? Hellooo Jack? If you can hear me at all, we need backup! Like, yesterday! Jack? Anybody? Crap." She loosed several shots at Cerephus with her zat, but they were deflected harmlesly from his shield. "Double crap." She pushed the zat into a pocket and drew out a throwing knife. Jack had told her that he had been able to throw a knife through a shield once, and that slower moving projectiles such as tranq darts had been known to penetrate as well.
She found an opening and threw, the knife flying straight and true right for Cerephus' head.
And bounced off his magyckly enhanced shield.
He cast his gaze about, looking for the being that had had the impudence to throw a knife at him, finally spotting Buffy as she and Duncan fought their way towards him. He smiled, smugly, pleased that his Slayer was doing exactly as he'd known she would, fitting into his plan just as he'd hoped.
Spread out before him was pure bedlam, war at its worst, the Champions of the Light battling the Forces of the Darkness. Oh yes, the Champions were a powerful lot, to be sure, most especially Willow and Dawn, who had become Powers unto themselves. But even Champions such as these could be defeated. And he, Cerephus of the Goa'uld, he was going to be the one to do it.
Angel and Connor had reached the now unconscious Faith, and were now trying to get her clear, fighting a running battle the whole time. Carter, Jon and Daniel were now standing guard over Bethany, Anise and Amanda, freeing Dawn to take the fight to the enemy. She was now blazing a trail though the horde, Spike, Teal'c and Cassie in her wake.
Cerephus felt the first twinge of fear since the battle had begun. He had thought his wards would keep Dawn and Willow from accessing their powers while inside the barriers, but it was obvious to him at this point that he'd sadly underestimated their strength. As dangerous as Buffy and the rest of them were, the Witch and the Key were by far the greatest dangers he faced here. He watched the redheaded wicca float up for a clear shot at the demons that had managed to fight Illyria to a standstill, and saw an opportunity.
He summoned a staff weapon to him, taking aim at Willow. Such an easy target. And her death will most certainly be a most severe blow to the Slayer.
Buffy and Duncan had finally fought their way to the edge of the stage. Buffy jumped up onto the stage, about fifteen feet away from Cerephus. She saw him holding the staff weapon and tracked his line of sight to see who he was aiming at. "Willow!"
She threw her sword at him, trying to distract him. It bounced off the shield just like everything else she'd thrown at him. He turned his head slightly, throwing her another smug grin, then sighted back down the staff again.
Buffy didn't think about it, didn't have time to think about it.
She could see Cerephus' finger tightening on the trigger, Willow dead in his sights.
She leaped.
Directly into the line of fire.
Took the full burst from the staff weapon in the chest.
Landed in a heap at the edge of the stage, looking down at her charred flesh in shock.
She looked up at Duncan, her eyes pleading, unbelieving. "Ow..." She slowly tumbled off the stage to land on the floor, face up, eyes staring dully up at the ceiling.
Dead.
To be continued...
Mwahahaha... Yes. I killed Buffy. Deal with it. Or let me deal with it in part six... It may be a while before I get part six up, I've been procrastinating on too many projects around here. Life, who knew? Please to make with the feedback, I'd love to know what you think of this story as it progresses. All Hail the Goddess Willow! later ;)
'To thee no star be dark'