A/N: The first part of this chapter references events in episode 58 of the 'Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers'.
Giles' Apartment, four weeks ago; 1800 hours.
Willow knocked on the door to Giles' apartment before stepping back with her hands in her pockets. The Watcher had told her that morning in the library that someone would be coming from the Devon Coven to meet with her in regards to her magic training, and now that she was going to meet this woman, the redhead started to get nervous. She took a few deep breaths and wondered how she should tell Giles and this woman about the training that Niko had done before leaving for Earth.
Stepping back as Giles opened the door to his apartment, Willow smiled at him as he welcomed her in while stepping back, and to one side. Willow walked in to find a woman with dark curly hair up to her shoulders get off the couch before she walked around it. Willow could tell that she was in her mid-forties, with a green blouse and orange skirt as she walked towards the redhead while her hand was reaching out.
"You must be Willow Rosenberg," said the woman in an English accent.
"Yea," said Willow shaking her hand; the redhead then noticed the woman looked down at her hand as she turned it over to look at the palm, and then back up at Giles, and then at Willow again with a smile.
"My name is Althanea Pierce," said the woman before she asked for Willow's other hand.
"Sure," said the redhead as she looked at Giles who nodded his head before she put up her other hand. Willow then watched Althanea hold her hands in her own before Althanea turned the hands over and looked at the redhead's palms again. Willow saw the dark haired woman then look back at her before gently releasing Willow's hands.
"Let us take a seat before we begin?" asked Giles as he motioned towards the couch. The two women nodded their heads and headed to the living room, where Althanea sat on the couch with Willow and Giles sitting across from her. Giles then leaned forward and was about to say something when Althanea asked that Willow tell her about herself.
"What would you like to know?" asked Willow who had the palms of her hands laying down in her thighs.
"About you," said Althanea, "if we're going to be working together in developing your magic, then I'd like to know the background of the person I'll be working with."
Willow then nodded her head before telling the woman everything about herself; from her being alone with her nanny, to her feeling that sometimes she had a guardian angel looking over her in the form of a ball of light, to telling Althanea about her parents and how her mother dismissed her concerns and believed that Willow should be independent from a young age. Willow then told Althanea about her experiences in school in very basic terms; in that she was the outsider who had a very small circle of friends. Willow then looked at Giles before asking him if she should talk about everything that happened in High School.
"Althanea knows about Buffy," said Giles as Willow nodded her head before looking at the woman again.
The redhead told Althanea, who listened silently and without interfering, about meeting Buffy, and the adventures she had since then.
"I'm usually the research girl," said Willow before telling Althanea that she'd hack into computers to find information they were looking for, but she always wished she could do more, "I still do, but after Halloween… I also kinda know my limits. I know I need to control myself. That I can't always help Buffy and…"
"Which is why you would like to learn how to control magic in this world," said Althanea nodding her head.
Willow knew that the woman meant that as a statement, and not a question while she nodded her head.
"Tell me about Niko," said Althanea, "I'd like to know who she was… or is, her experiences; I'd like know a little of the training she received, and who trained her… what she was trained in… everything that you can tell me."
Willow nodded her head before going on a quick background of Niko from when she was found on Alspeth, to her discovery by Ariel and her exodus to the planet known as Xanadu where she was training in the mystics and her own psionic powers of telekinesis and clairvoyance. Willow told Althanea about Niko's training with the Galaxy Rangers, followed by the procedure that surgically inserted the Series Five implant in her brain, and the brains of three others, as an experiment that would bring humanity closer to merging man and machine.
"Interesting," said Althanea, "and this implant, according to what Mr. Giles has described, has the ability to enhance your natural powers by…"
"A lot," said Willow, "when Niko used it to cut the magical links from Janus' statue to the implant and the badge, she… I mean we, saw the links themselves. We saw everything… all the magical energy reaching out to those in costume from the Janus statue."
"Interesting," said Althanea nodding her head, "that is an amazing power; being able to see magic by augmenting your own powers. The ones I know can do it naturally, but you did it with the aid of technology which in itself is amazing."
"Thanks?" said Willow nervously.
"What are your thoughts on magic?" asked Althanea.
"I used to think that it would be cool to learn magic," said Willow as she looked at Giles, and then at Althanea once again, "I mean I was kinda reading some books even before this whole thing happened."
"You never told me that," replied Giles.
"Sorry?" squeaked Willow before she looked at Althanea who was chuckling, "now I know what Niko's been through in her training with magic. I know the level of control she put in so that the magic didn't take her over, and that's because of the training she received from Ariel and the Circle of Thought. And her experiences are my experiences, but I know that magic in Niko's world could be different than our world; so I'd like to control my own version of magic; combining Niko's training with Ariel, and with what you can teach me… I mean if you still want to teach me."
"I'll be a hard task-master," said Althanea as she looked at Willow with her deep blue eyes, "we'll start from the basics. We, ss in you, me, and Mr. Giles will devise a plan using what you've already learned with Ariel since that wold be the easiest. If I believe there are any deficiencies, then I'll make some alterations here and there."
"I got it," said Willow nodding her head.
"One more thing, Willow," said Althanea, "you must not skip ahead to the next lesson by yourself until I feel you've mastered the basics. Is that understood?"
"Ummm…" said Willow nervously as Giles frowned at her, "I kinda skipped ahead and… I mean I'm sorry but even with the Rangers, there'd be times when Niko would still train with Ariel since she was her Mentor. And well, there was something that Ariel was teaching Niko."
"Which is?" asked Althanea with a lot of curiosity in her voice.
"Ariel was a master of deception," said Willow, "I mean she trained Niko in the basic and advanced magics, but her speciality was in illusions."
"In war," said Giles, "deception is key."
"Yeah," replied Willow as she looked at the watcher, and then at Althanea, "that was Ariel's motto too. She could disguise herself, disguise others, and even project a copy of herself... it was the last part that interested me."
"Show me," said Althanea as Willow closed her eyes, "control, Willow. This seems like a very advanced form of magic. So control is key."
"I understand," said the redhead as she opened her eyes and smiled; and it was then that Giles gasped as he looked behind Althanea. The middle-aged witch then turned around and stood up with a smile on her face. There, standing behind the couch that Althanea was sitting on earlier, was a perfect replica of Willow smiling back at them. Althanea walked around the couch while Giles stood up with his eyes wide open in surprise, and followed Althanea around the couch and stood in front of the doppelganger.
"Willow, how…." Said Giles as he looked at the redhead who had her hands rolled into fists, and her face was concentrating on the image in front of her.
"I have to concentrate," said Willow as the fake Willow turned to face Giles and Althanea, and waved, "I can make her move how I want, look how I want, and…"
The doppelganger then walked over to the kitchen counter, and picked up a cup before turning to Althanea and Giles, and then walked towards them.
"And I can project my telekinesis through the image, make it seem like she has physical form," said Willow, "but… but… Giles, catch the mug."
"Ohhh," said Giles as he rushed forward as the doppelganger vanished, and the cup fell towards the floor, only to be caught by Giles. Giles then placed the cup on the counter before turning around to see Althanea kneeling in front of Willow who was rubbing her forehead, "Willow?"
"It takes a lot out of me," said the redhead as she looked at Althanea, and then at Giles before she shook her head, "doing that the same way that Niko did it is kinda pain on the brain. I can hold it for a few more minutes if I really concentrated, I guess. But Ariel told Niko that this really isn't a long distance technique, she had to be nearby for it to work."
"I did feel the magic," said Althanea as she stood up and then walked backwards until she was sitting on the couch while Giles sat next to Willow, "but I'd like for you to put a hold on using that magic until you've gotten a grasp on the basics on the magics of this world. Clear?"
"Yeah," said Willow nodding her head.
"It is impressive though, and like I said…" said Althanea as Willow gave a small smile while the older women leaned forward, "we will augment Niko's mystical training, but we will begin with the basics, and then we will go on from there."
"Neat," replied Willow nodding her head.
"Now," said Althanea, "show me what you can do using your telekinesis."
Willow smiled as she slowly got up, and lifted herself slightly off the floor before coming back down again; she then mentally lifted a cup before putting it down gently, and then she mentally picked up the chair she was sitting on earlier. The redhead then crossed her arms out in front of her and concentrated as an orange shield, the length of her arms, formed in front of her.
"That's it," said Willow, "at least without the badge."
"What can you do with the badge?" asked Althanea, "in terms of your telekinesis."
"A larger shield," said Willow as she lay her palms on her thighs again after sitting down, "but that wipes out the Alpha radiation charge in the badge much faster. She could even absorb the strength of people she's holding on to, using that strength to power the shield but it weakens whoever she's holding. Then, Niko was able to fire telekinetic blasts using the badge… heck, she helped destroy some large Sphinx thing that was fighting her and Ariel when the Megamind took over Xanadu and…"
"The who now?" asked Althanea.
"The Megamind was an enemy of the Circle," said Willow, "a very powerful being that the Circle trapped away in a mind-space singularity… it's kind of like a powerful prison. But somehow he escaped, took the entire Circle prisoner; he used them as a power source while Ariel escaped to Earth to find Niko."
"How'd she escape?" asked Giles.
"Intergalactic teleportation using magic," said Willow as she remembered Ariel showing up tired in a flash of light in front of Niko, Zachery, and Q-ball, "it's really cool. But Niko wasn't able to do that, I mean she hadn't been trained, but I guess she preferred flying in Ranger-1."
"Ranger-1?" asked Giles who was surprised that he was finding about all this now. And then he came to the realization that while he had asked Willow about her new abilities, he hadn't really dug deeper into who Niko was and what experiences Willow had gained.
"The Series Fiver rangers' ship," said Willow excitedly, "she could fly a Ranger Interceptor too… think a larger fighter jet, except in space with hyperdrive technology."
"Oh," said Giles.
"And that's where the whole deception thing came into play," said Willow, "they worked as a team where Ariel used Niko's body as a disguise, and she made Niko look just like her. That way, the Megamind… which wanted to fight Ariel, so that he could get rid of the greater threat before going after Niko who he knew as Ariel's apprentice."
"So he attacked Ariel," said Althanea.
"Who was really Niko in disguise," said Giles as Willow nodded her head.
"Yeah," replied Willow, "and then when the Megamind used the majority of his powers on Niko, who was disguised as Ariel, she lost her disguise and Ariel… I mean the real Ariel, then attacked Megamind after losing her disguise as Niko. Get it so far?"
"Yes," said both Giles and Althanea together.
"So she defeated Megamind?" asked Althanea.
"He was still too powerful," said Willow, "but Ariel held him off while Niko put on a device. You see, one thing I kinda forgot to mention was that the Megamind followed Ariel to Earth where he kidnapped the leader of the Series Five Rangers, Zachery Foxx. The Megamind kidnapped him so that Niko would got to Xanadu to rescue him… he wanted to add Niko and Ariel to his collection of the captured Circle members who were giving him power. Anyway, while he was attacking Ariel who was using a shield to protect herself, Niko put on the device; a remote control for activating Zachary's bionic arm."
"Interesting," said Giles, "bionic… as in?"
"Robotic arm," said Willow, "when he presses his badge, the Series Five implant in his brain channels powerful energy into his left arm. He then points and shoots; his arm cannon has got enough power to take out a fully armoured tank… which he did. Anyway, I activated the arm using the remote while he was unconscious, and fired at the Megamind who was distracted. That ruined his concentration, and freed the other Circle members who gathered their power and imprisoned the Megamind again.."
"Very interesting," said Althanea, "this Circle of Thought seems to be a very powerful group."
"They were," said Willow, "but they didn't like to interfere as a group in the affairs of other planets… which was understandable, I guess."
"Thank you for telling me this," said Althanea, "knowing about you and Niko would help me greatly. I say we start immediately, that is if you're up for it?"
"I am," said Willow.
"From the basics then," replied the older woman.
Sunnydale High Computer room, 0800 hours; Present day.
Usually Willow would wait for Buffy and Xander at the entrance, and then head for class. This time though, the redhead was imagining her first meeting with Althanea at Giles' house following the incident with Angel. As she headed to the computer lab, Willow wondered about Miss Calendar's reaction last night, the redhead wondered how Miss Calendar knew that she should get away from Angel; that was the one thought that was bugging her as she walked past her locker while looking a tall of the other students walking past her.
Once Willow went home after Oz dropped her off, she went up to her room and closed her windows and her curtains. After what happened, she wanted to stay at home and think about the danger that Angel… or Angelus… could cause while she meditated. However, before she could sit on her bed and perform her meditation, Willow called Althanea and asked her if she knew anything about the curse that gave Angel his soul.
"I also need a way that would revoke a vampire's invitation into a home, Althanea," said Willow softly into her phone. The two of them talked for a few more minutes before Willow told Althanea that she was going to get some meditation done, and that she'll see her tomorrow, "oh, umm… about the curse? Maybe you could talk to Giles about it?"
It was around six in the morning that Althanea called Willow before she had to go for her work at the Sunnydale Mercy Hospital as a nurse. She told the redhead about the people behind the curse after she contacted her people in Devon who had just come back to her with their research.
Willow suspected that Miss Calendar was connected with the gypsy clan known as the Kalderesh.
And it was while she was thinking about recent events that Willow entered the empty classroom where Miss Calendar was handing out some assignments onto the sides of the computers for the students who were due to arrive in thirty minutes.
"Willow, hey," said the I.T teacher as she placed the last of the paper on the table at the back row while Willow looked back over her shoulder to make sure that there was no-one there before she closed the door, and then turned to face Miss Calendar who was headed back to her desk, "are you okay? I know last night was a harrowing ordeal and.. and I have to tell you that I was scared to sleep without a cross and some holy water under my bed.
"It was kind of scary," said Willow nervously; the truth was that she was terrified as she thought about the evil version of Angel. She fought alongside Buffy and Angel as Nighthawk in previous nights, but the Angel from last night was a different creature. Willow could feel the evil coming off him… extreme evil.
Willow shuddered as Miss Calendar placed her hand on the redhead's shoulder.
"I mean, I was lucky that you were there," said Willow.
"He still held you hostage until that… what's Xander calling the mysterious girl? Nighthawk?" asked Miss Calendar as Willow nodded her head, "until she and Buffy arrived and drove Angel off."
"Yeah," said Willow as she sat down across from Miss Calendar; it was then that Willow realized that she needed to try and pretend being the nervous, mousy girl to get Miss Calendar at ease, "ummm… actually, I… I was just wondering how you knew that I was gonna be in danger."
"Huh?" asked Miss Calendar while she looked at Willow, who was hoping that her favourite teacher would admit that she knew about the Kalderesh curse, or that she could be one of the Kalderesh, "it was just luck, Willow. Just a feeling I had."
"There was nothing else?" asked Willow as she put her hands on the table in front of her and started playing with her fingers, "I… I mean it was pretty scary and.. I guess I must have felt some wrong but since he was Angel I still went to him when he called me and… what I mean is that, you know how you get this chill up your spine when something's wrong?"
"Yea," said Miss Calendar.
"I kind of got that from him," said Willow, "but you weren't scared and…"
"Oh, I was," said Miss Calendar as she leaned forward and put her hands on her table as well, "I had this feeling too and, and that's why I asked you to walk away from Angel."
"But that's the part that I don't get, Miss Calendar," said Willow nervously, while internally she was hoping that she'd get an answer soon, "you didn't hesitate when you called for me, I mean if you were there for a little while like me and…"
"Are you saying I knew that Angel wasn't himself?" chuckled Miss Calendar, "Willow, what happened was a very traumatic thing last night for all of us… and yes, I do carry a cross with me always because, well… this is Sunnydale."
Willow knew that she wouldn't get the answer she wanted, so she tried a different approach; a twisted version of the truth.
"Thanks for trying to save me, Miss Calendar," said Willow with a smile as the older woman nodded her head, "anyway, once I got home I checked the internet for anything on spells that take away souls."
"Okay?" asked Miss Calendar as she leaned forwards.
"I did some digging for four hours," said Willow, "and.. I mean there's not a lot of stuff on there, and my search parameters were a bit hokey. But there was one name that kept coming up, Kalderesh. Supposedly there's a rumour that this gypsy clan could be capable of a spell to restore souls, but it also said that there's not a lot of them left anymore. I tried looking for details on the spells and.."
"Willow," interrupted Miss Calendar, "you shouldn't go off looking into spells on your own. Whatever this is, it could be dangerous and… and I'm sure that if it was this Kalderesh clan that cursed Angel, then they did it for a very good reason."
"Maybe," replied Willow as she noticed teh momentary look of fear on Miss Calendar's face, "but why make it that he'll lose his soul somehow? I mean… it doesn't make sense, you know. Were they helping him by giving back his soul, or were they punishing him for something that he did."
"Maybe it's something that we'll never know, Willow," said Miss Calendar as Willow shrugged her shoulders and smiled slightly.
"I guess," said Willow as she got up from her seat, as did Miss Calendar, "I just wish I could do something to help Buffy, you know?"
"Me too," replied Miss Calendar as she looked down at the table, and then back at Willow as she picked up her backpack, "she loved him a lot?"
"Yeah," said Willow as she looked at Miss Calendar, "umm.. Miss Calendar, you know you can tell us anything, right?"
"Yea," came the reply.
"I'll… umm… go get my stuff from my locker," said Willow as she gave a small wave to the I.T teacher as she headed towards the door, "see you in the library? We still have the whole Judge thing to deal with and Xander said he had an idea last night to stop him before we were interrupted. Oh… oh, and maybe you could help me looked for more information on the Kalderesh? I mean I'm sure that there's gonna be some who still exist and…"
"I doubt it," said Miss Calendar, "but yeah, I'll help you."
"Neat," said Willow before she nodded towards the door, "anyway, should get going.. you know how it is… class, class, and more class."
"I'll see you and the others in the library," said Miss Calendar as Willow nodded her head before closing the door behind her. The redhead then walked down the hallway while she frowned to herself.
'She's hiding something,' thought Willow to herself when she remembered the facial expression that existed on Miss Calendar for a few seconds when she mentioned the Kalderesh, 'means she's heard of them before. Then I mentioned helping me search for any living Kalderesh. Ummm.. she knows something she's not telling us, I'll go see Giles after my first class."
While Willow was walking away, Miss Calendar leaned against the door and sighed as she rubbed her forehead. She then looked up at the empty room and wrapped her arms around her front.
"Willow knows something," said Miss Calendar softy before she turned around and opened the door, she then peeked her head outside. When she saw Willow making a left turn into another hallway, Miss Calendar stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her while thinking to herself, 'if Willow keeps digging online, she'll find something. No.. my background's been changed but… Willow's pretty stubborn when it comes to telling her not to search for something. She'll get even more suspicious… and even without my help, she'll find something. There's fifteen minutes until the first bell, I need to find Rupert and get ahead of this… forgive me, Rupert… Buffy. You're not going to like what you hear.'
After Miss Calendar closed the door, she hurriedly walked through the hallway and made a right turn into the same hallway where Willow had made a left. The I.T teacher was heading towards the library, and she hoped that Giles would understand why she had to keep her real duty in Sunnydale High a secret.
'I'm sorry,' thought Miss Calendar to herself as she rushed up the central staircase to the second floor, and towards the library.
TBC.