A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews. I do have a couple of reasons why in this story, Willow won't be going anywhere for magical help. The first is that she doesn't want to make the same mistakes with magic she made in Sunnydale, especially due to its addictive properties, before she ended up in the SGC. So I'm trying make her less magical but as in the previous chapters and this one, she does have some sort of abilities. The second reason is because of the secrecy surrounding the Stargate program. It would be probably be hard to ask somebody, not involved with the program, about the Ancients or other alien races when they are not supposed to know about the Ancients in the first place. I hope that makes sense? As for Pete, while I agree that in the show he calms down a bit after the whole Osiris thing, I still can't get over the whole stalking and the whining part of the character. I have no doubt that he loves Sam but a lot of times, at least to me, he borders on obsession with her and her job. I mean even in the episode "Affinity" he admitted he stalked Carter (although I'm still figuring out what that says about Sam herself since she accepted his marriage proposal). As for Dark Willow, will she come back? Definitely, but the question is which side will she be on (trying to be a bit dramatic here). Thanks for reading, remember every review means that Destiny travels to another planet with a Stargate somewhere in the universe
Three months after the Battle of Antarctica, Antarctica, 4:45am
Willow had found herself walking through feet of snow towards a bright shining light that seemed to shine at the end of an icy cliff. As she walked through the snow, she sensed an odd sense of calm and serenity. As she reached the end of the cliff she noticed a recessed section of ice to the left, a few yards from where she was standing. As she was walking towards this section, she looked over the cliff and what she saw amazed her. She stood looking at a great city covered in a dome that looked like gold since it was reflecting the light from the tall towers within it.
"Atlantis" said Willow to herself
Once she reached that recessed section in the ice, all the while stealing looks at the beautiful city before her, she noticed that a podium-like structure had simply slide out of the ice in front of her. She looked down at it and saw that the podium had a green coloured plate on top with an outline of a palm.
"What's a palm scanner doing all the way out here" she said to herself
Upon putting her hand on the scanner, there was a flash of green light that scanned her hand and the next thing she knew, a set of rings had simply come up from the ice.
Before she could even finish taking a breath, the rings had transported her to a very dark place. It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness before she carefully stepped forward. She didn't want to be caught slipping on the ice in Antarctica, that would be just simply embarrassing. Once her feet had left the transport pad, the lights had automatically turned on, as if wherever she was had sensed her presence. She looked around her and saw that she was in a room of some sort, it was pretty Spartan with just a bed and some light fixtures that looked like LED lights. She looked for a door that would get her out of this room and after looking for a few minutes, she had accidently activated it as she was sliding her hands on the walls.
She left the room she was in and it led to the chair room that they found in Antarctica.
"This must be the Ancient outpost" said Willow to herself, "but it looks different, more open"
She could see more rooms in the outpost but there was one section she was drawn to, it was awindow that was level with one of the pier like structures of Atlantis. As Willow was walking towards this window, she felt the ground and the surrounding area shake violently. She looked on as the great city itself started to rise out of the ice.
"What the hell?" said Willow to herself, "a flying city? But all the legends claimed that Atlantis sank beneath the sea, not flew out of the ground"
She saw the city slowly lift up into the air before there was an explosion due to the activation of what looked like engines underneath the city. The activation of the engines caused a great wall of ice and snow to cover the land, including the outpost, in every direction. Willow followed the flight of Atlantis with her eyes until the blue colour of the engines disappeared in space. Once the blue tint of the engines disappeared, the heard a ringing noise coming from out of nowhere, the ringing got louder and louder until she opened her eyes and realized that it was just a dream.
Willow's Apartment
"Was that just a dream or just another residual memory from the Ancient download" said Willow to herself as she rubbed her temples
She picked up her phone and saw the caller ID, it was a missed call from Daniel.
"Daniel, whats up?" texted Willow to Daniel's number and then went back to sleep
It has been a little over three months since the Battle of Antarctica, and during the first week, Willow would visit Colonel O'Neill in his stasis pod-slash-prison every night during a shift change or when there was little to no activity in the immediate area thanks to feeds from the outpost that Major Carter had allowed her access to. Every visit to the Colonel was the same, Willow would send his messages from his team and she would tell him about things that happened in that particular day.
Eventually, Willow did get official permission from Dr. Weir and General Hammond to visit the Colonel during the period of talks between the signatories to the Antarctic Treaty about the research possibilities of the Ancient outpost. As most of the people were from the SGC or had the highest security clearance possible, they never questioned where the mysterious girl who would usually be clad in her pyjamas would show up out of nowhere and then disappear again.
This day, however, was promising to be quite different. After she awoke from her dream due to Daniel's phone call and her subsequent return text, Willow received another call from Daniel asking her to come to the SGC as soon as possible.
"I think we'll finally be going to the outpost, Willow" said Daniel, "meet me in my lab"
"Sure" said Willow trying to stifle a yawn
"Were you asleep?" asked Daniel
"No" said Willow groggily while looking at her alarm clock, "it's only five in the morning Daniel, why would I be asleep"
"Yeah…. Well…. sorry" he said sounding sheepish on the phone, "so….. can you make it out here now?"
"Yeah Daniel" said Willow sighing as running her hand through her hair, "give me a few minutes to shower and change. I'll see you at the mountain in an hour or so"
"Are you alright?" asked Daniel
"Yea… no" said Willow, "I've just been having a strange dream for the past few weeks", "with some really bad headaches" she thought to herself
"Wanna talk about it when you get to base?" asked Daniel
"Yea, sure. I'll see you soon" said Willow
Willow slowly got up and sat on her bed for a few minutes before taking some asprin, going for a shower and putting on a new set of clothes, and a tall cup of coffee. She decided to take her Jetta this time since the weather was too chilly, "guess the weather report is right for once, looks like that massive cold front they were talking about is coming in today" said Willow to herself as she could see the condensation of her breath as she breathed out.
As she drove to the SGC, she kept wondering about her dream. She didn't lie to Daniel, it had been going on for many weeks and every time she had it, there would be more details being uncovered. She remembered that the very first dream was of her walking in snow before she got so cold that she had to wake up. It all culminated with the dream she had that morning with Atlantis apparently taking off to go to parts unknown.
Daniel's Lab, SGC
"Morning Daniel, here's your coffee" said Willow to the archaeologist who was running around his lab packing different materials, "ummmm…. What are you doing?"
"Morning Willow" said Daniel as he grabbed the coffee from Willow, "getting ready for the trip to the outpost, you should get packing"
"Yea" said Willow grimaced, "Its not happening today"
"Huh" said Daniel surprised, "How do you know? Did Dr. Weir tell you anything?"
"No, but I did meet her on the way here" said Willow, "I came in at the same time as her and I asked her about the situation with the outpost"
"And?" asked Daniel motioning Willow to continue
"And…. She didn't say anything" said Willow as she sat down on a chair on the other side of his desk, "but I did sense a feeling of apprehension and regret"
"That doesn't mean anything Willow" said Daniel smiling, "You just don't want to go"
"Well, not really but only because I've been there for the past 3 months and I've been dreaming about it" said Willow, "Oh, no change with the Colonel last night as well"
"Good morning Dr. Jackson, Willow" said Dr. Weir who had come up to Daniel's lab, "What are you doing?" she asked looking at the boxes and backpacks that were on Daniel's table
"Oh, just getting ready to got o the Antarctic outpost" said Daniel
"Sorry Dr. Jackson" said Dr. Weir as she faced a disappointed archaeologist, "they're still conducting negotiations"
As Daniel and Dr. Weir were discussinhg the finer points of politics and its problems in helping Colonel O'Neill, Willow could only grin and give a silent 'I told you so' look to Daniel.
"Not one word" said Daniel as he turned back to Willow after Dr. Weir had left
"Hey, I did try to warn you" smiled Willow
"So while I unpack all this stuff, wanna tell me about your dream?" asked Daniel, "Oh, before you start, you think you can use your…. You know…."
"My what daniel?" asked Willow
"You know…." He replied
"No I don't know" said Willow
Leaning into Willow, Daniel whispered "Your telekinesis" before he stepped back and stared and motioned at his boxes and bags, "come on, help me out here"
"Nope" smiled Willow, "you woke me up at five in the morning, an ungodly hour. Just for that I require tribute"
"I'll get you something at the commissary" said Daniel
"Oh come on" said Willow, "That stuff is free"
"Then what do you want?" asked Daniel nervously
"You're gonna be treating us to lunch today" said Willow rubbing her hands in glee, "from anywhere on the surface"
"Very well" said Daniel smiling, "now, if you please"
"Just tell me where you want these" said Willow as she began to lift multiple books, charts and papers all at once as Daniel showed her where they should be put. As she was putting away the last of Daniel's things, Major Carter and Teal'c walked into the room.
"Good morning, Daniel Jackson, Willow Rosenberg" said Teal'c as Major Carter simply waved
"Good morning" said both Willow and Daniel together
"Guess what guys, Daniels treating us to lunch today" said Willow smiling
"Really?" said Major Carter, "Anywhere?"
"Anywhere" said Willow
"There is a new restaurant near O'Malley's, is there not?" asked Teal'c
"Yea, you're right Teal'c" said Major Carter smiling, "Alright we'll be going there. What brought on this sudden generosity Daniel?"
"It's payment for Willow helping me move all my stuff back to where they belong" said Daniel, "anyway, shall we go for breakfast?"
"Yep" said Major Carter, "lets go guys, we have a briefing in one and a half hours"
Briefing Room, SGC
Willow was listening to the arguements being made for and against a proposal by Major Carter to use the Tel'tak that was modified by the Colonel before the Battle of Antarctica to contact the Asgard. However since that ship was the most advanced piece of equipment they had, the pentagon made the decision not to use it.
Dr. Weir had asked Major Carter to come up with a new plan to contact the Asgard.
"How about Cimmeria?" asked Willow softly
"What about Cimmeria?" asked Dr. Weir
"Since Cimmeria is an Asgard protected planet, wouldn't that mean they would be monitoring it?" said Willow, "Isn't there supposdd to be an Asgard teacher there? Maybe he would know how to help contact Thor"
"That's a good idea" said Dr. Weir, "Willow and Daniel could go to Cimmeria and ask the Asgard teacher there to try contacting Thor"
Willow and Daniel nodded.
"And in the meantime" continued Dr. Weir looking at Major CArter, "maybe Major Carter can see what else we can do from this end"
Major Carter just nodded her agreement.
Cimmeria, four hours later
The Stargate on the planet called Cimmeria whooshed open with the characteristic unstable vortex before Willow and Daniel walked through the event horizon. As they looked around the pathway to the nearby village, the Stargate behind them shut down.
"Alright Willow, lets go find Gairwyn" said Daniel as he started to walk with Willow beside him, "the last time we were here, Thor had left an Asgard teacher, Hermod, behind to help the Cimmerians. Maybe she know where he is"
"You haven't been here since that time?" asked Willow
"Well, SG1 hasn't" Daniel replied, "but other teams do come by on occasion to check up on them"
"How much longer to the village?" asked Willow
"About a ten minute walk from here" Daniel replied
As they were walking along the path, Willow and Daniel noticed a woman walking towards them.
Willow: "Daniel, is that Gairwyn?"
Daniel: "Yep"
"Hello Gairwyn" said Daniel as he approached the woman.
Willow quickly glanced at her and noticed that she was wearing a dark colour cloak and a sword that was attached to her back.
"Hello Daniel" said Gairwyn, "We had noticed the portal activate and so I was selected to come meet the SG team. I am surprised that it was you and your friend who came" she continued as she looked at Willow
"Ah, Gairwyn of Cimmeria please meet Lieutenant Willow Rosenberg of the Tau'ri" said Daniel as he introduced the two ladies.
"Nice to meet you Gairwyn" said Willow bowing her head, "I've heard a lot about you and your people from Daniel"
"'Tis good to meet you as well, will you not come and eat with us before you have to start your mission" asked Gairwynn
"Sorry Gairwyn" said Daniel, "we actually have an urgent request for Hermod and time is of the essence"
"Very well" said Gairwyn, "please follow me. Hermod is educating our young ones today, it is only a short walk from here" she continued as Willow and Daniel followed her
After a brisk walk with Gairwyn catching up with Daniel, they reached a structure that had a color scheme and angles that were clearly Asgard in design surrounded by trees and a clearing to the side with what looked like play equipment for children. Taking a closer look, Willow noticed that the equipment was of Earth design donated by the SGC for the children in Cimmeria to enjoy. Willow smiled to herself; she recalled Major Carter saying that they had done the same thing to the people of Eudora after Colonel O'Neill was stuck there for a hundred days. The SGC had helped in rebuilding Laira's village and also had donated play ground items for the children there.
As she was thinking about this, she didn't notice Daniel and a grey alien come stand next to her. She turned surprised as Daniel tapped her on the shoulder to introduce her to Hermod.
"Oh!" said Willow as she turned around, "Daniel you scared me"
"Sorry about that" said Daniel, "I actually wanted to introduce you to someone" he continued as he motioned to Hermod, "Hermod of the Asgard, please meet Lieutenant Willow Rosenberg of the Tau'ri"
"Hello Hermod," said Willow as she crouched down and shook the tiny hand of the Asgard, "It's nice to meet you, and please call me Willow"
"Very well Willow" said Hermod, "as I was telling Dr. Jackson, please state your case so that I can go back to my work"
"Daniel hasn't told you?" asked Willow looking at Daniel
"No, I thought it would be better if the both of us were here when we asked him" Daniel replied
"What do you want to know?" asked Hermod who was beginning to sound annoyed at the interruption to his day
"We are very sorry to bother you Hermod" said Daniel, "but we wouldn't unless it was absolutely urgent"
"It's about Colonel O'Neill" said Willow to a very surprised looking Hermod
"Yes, O'Neill" said Hermod, "he is one of the most respected names, for a human, among the Asgard. Is he not well?"
"Not really" said Willow looking at Daniel who nodded at her to continue, "Colonel O'Neill downloaded the entire Ancient database into his brain again which helped us to defeat Anubis' attack on Earth. But now, we need your help to remove the database from his brain"
"I see" said Hermod, "I am sorry about what happened to Colonel O'Neill, however to remove the knowledge from his mind, a special device is required which, unfortunately, I do not have. How is he at this moment?"
"Thanks to the download, we found an outpost of the Ancients in our Southern pole" said Willow, "and the Colonel used that knowledge to access a stasis pod and put himself in stasis"
"Interesting" said Hermod, "I am surprised that humans are able to use the technology of the Ancients. However, the stasis process would slow down the degradation of his mind until a more suitable solution is found"
"Actually" said Daniel, "That why we're here. Is there any way for you to contact Thor? We've been trying to reach him for the past three months but there's been no response"
"Supreme Commander Thor is currently on a mission for the Asgard High Council" said Hermod, "but I will try to contact him directly, however I can provide you with no guarantees. Like I said, I will try to contact him"
"That's all we ask Hermod" said Willow, "I hope that you have more success in contacting him"
"I am sorry that I am unable to help O'Neill" said Hermod, "he is a legend among our people and we all will be hoping he recovers"
"Thanks for your help Hermod" said Daniel as he and Willow turned around and walked slowly towards the Stargate.
As they were walking, they heard the Stargate activate and a few seconds later there was a crackle on the radio.
"Carter to Willow and Daniel"
"Major this is Willow, sorry but we've had no luck on Cimmeria" said Willow, "Although Hermod did say he will contact Thor directly on our behalf"
"Are you guys on the way back?" asked Major Carter
"Yeah Sam" said Daniel, "We're heading back, we're about 20 minutes away from the gate"
"Well head back quickly" said Major Carter, "we've gotten permission to use the modified Tel'Tak so that we could go directly to Thor's location"
"You know where he is?" asked Daniel
"Most probably" was the reply, "you guys will be debriefed once you get back. Carter out"
Upon hearing the news from Major Carter, Willow and Daniel ran up the path to the Stargate and dialled Earth.
Major Carter's lab, SGC
After Daniel and Willow finished their post mission check-ups, they ran over to Major Carter's lab where Teal'c and Major Carter were waiting for them.
"Hey" said Daniel, "so you finally managed to convince Dr. Weir to let all of us go?"
"Not exactly" said Major Carter sheepishly, "it's just Teal'c, Willow and me going to Hala"
"But why?" asked Daniel
"Well, you know that the Asgard home world, Hala, was the site where they used the time dilation device to trap the replicators, so we're hoping that Thor would still be there monitoring the situation" said Major Carter
"I mean why am I being left here Sam" asked Daniel
"Oh! I need you here, Daniel" said Major Carter, "because in case we fail, then you are the only one who can help the Colonel"
"Damn" said Daniel, "I was hoping I'd be going with you guys"
"The thing is Daniel" said Major Carter, "our journey there has a chance of frying hyperdrive and I don't think I'll be able to repair it without the Colonel's help so it's entirely likely that unless we find Thor, this would be a one way trip"
"A one way trip?" asked Willow
"There's a small chance, Willow" said Major Carter, "but I have a feeling that Thor will be there, do you trust me?"
"Yes, ma'am" Willow replied
"Alright, you and Teal'c should go gather supplies and provisions for the journey there" said Major Carter, "we'll leave in six hours"
"Yes ma'am" said Willow as she and Teal'c left for the supply room
After Teal'c and Willow had gone, Major Carter and Daniel were alone in the former's lab.
"Sam, is it a good idea to take Willow with you?" asked Daniel, "shouldn't she be kept safe here on Earth, especially since you said this might be a one way trip"
"We can't protect her from everything Daniel" said Major Carter, "When she first agreed to join the program, she knew that these kind of missions would be involved" she continued, "even Dr. Weir believes it would be a good idea. In case of an emergency, we might have to land on a hostile planet and her abilities would be extremely useful in case we run out of ammo for the weapons"
"I thought you didn't believe in magic" said Daniel
"I don't think it is magic" said Major Carter, "that's another reason I want her to go. Maybe Thor can give us some insight into where her abilities come from"
"I still don't think it's a good idea Sam" said Daniel, "having her go I mean"
"She's kinda like the Colonel" said Major Carter, "she didn't show fear when I said that this may be a one way trip. I think she's exactly what we need for this mission"
"But she's still a kid" said Daniel
"No she's not Daniel" replied the Major, "she's a lieutenant in the U.S Air Force"
After some grumbling, Daniel agreed grudgingly that the Major was right.
"Come on Daniel" said Major Carter smiling, "lets help those guys inventory the stuff"
"Sam" said Daniel as they were walking out of her lab, "if you do intend to have Thor look her over, please do it with her consent"
"Daniel" said the Major as she turned to face him, "I would never have anything done to her without her consent. How can you even suggest that?"
"I'm sorry Sam" said Daniel, "I didn't mean to put it like that. It's just that I think her power has a lot of potential for good and bad. And sometimes with the military, you never know what they would want to do with that power, with or without her consent"
"That's why we'll protect her Daniel. The SGC will protect her" said the Major, "come on, let's go"
On board Goa'Uld Tel'Tak, two hours away from Hala
Willow was bored on the flight to Hala. Teal'c was piloting the space craft. Major Carter was doing what looked like her thirtieth inventory of the supplies and weapons they had brought, and right now Willow sat down leaning against the wall of the ship's cargo bay; sometimes she would move to the passenger seat and looking out the window at the hyperspace corridor.
"Willow" said Major Carter, "Are you hungry? We've got a lot of turkey sandwiches"
"Not at the moment Major" said Willow smiling, "Thanks though"
The Major nodded, took her sandwich and walked over to the passenger seat at the front of the craft to keep Teal'c company.
Willow knew she had to do something to keep herself busy or else she'd go nuts. So while she was sitting down, she played around with the boxes that contained their supplies. She would mentally move the boxes and put them into different configurations; she then mentally took out a sandwich from one of the storage boxes, deconstructed it into different configurations and then ate one without using her hands.
Willow even opened one of the boxes containing the weapons, picked up a shotgun and brought it to her before settling it down onto her hands. She physically checked the weapon to make sure that the shotgun was unloaded. Once she confirmed that it was, she mentally picked it up out of her hands and made it float in front of her eyes. Then she went to work disassembling the entire weapon without using her hands until all she could see floating in front of her was a debris field of screws, firing pins, springs, barrels, among other things. She spun the debris around on its axis before mentally putting it back together into a fully operational shotgun and landing it into her hands once again.
"Neat trick Willow" said Major Carter to a very surprised Willow
"Sorry Major" said Willow grabbing her chest, "I didn't see you there"
"Can you do that with any weapon?"
"I guess so Major, as long as I know how it works" replied Willow
"How about you try with this?" said Major Carter as she unloaded her nine millimetre and threw it towards Willow.
Willow mentally caught the gun, rotated it along all of its axes to an impressed Major
"Show off" said Major Carter smiling
"You threw it, ma'am" said Willow smiling before she deconstructed the entire gun, rotated the debris and then put it back together again; all while looking at the Major and grinning, "Here you go Major" said Willow after she put the gun back together and floated it back to Major Carter's waiting hands.
"That was impressive Willow" said the Major, "I'll ask Teal'c to get you schematics of the Jaffa staff weapons when we get back to Earth, you think you can do the same thing?"
"I should be able to Major" said Willow, "and don't you mean if we get back? I mean you did say this may be a one way trip"
"I know we'll make it back Willow" said Major Carter, "trust me"
"Of course ma'am" smiled Willow
"Mind if I sit next to you?" asked the Major
"Please" was the reply
"So….." said the Major, "how's things? Have you talked to your parents lately?"
"I've talked to my Parents just before we left actually" said Willow, "they're teaching at Cambridge for the next few months before moving onto Germany for a lecture tour. I told them I was getting deployed to a far off country so they may not be able to reach me which, technically speaking, is kinda true"
"Hah" said the Major laughing, "I've had to use that same excuse with my father before he became part of the Tok'ra and I've had to do the same thing with Pete", she continued before Willow could interrupt her, "your parents seem to be very busy people"
"Yea" said Willow sadly, "Too busy. They really haven't been around much growing up"
"I see" said Major Carter looking down at the floor
"I'd maybe see them around a total of maybe two months out of a year" said Willow to a surprised Major
"So who looked after you?"
"Well, until I was a freshman in high school, I would stay in my house, or I guess my parents house, with a nanny that they hired to look out for my needs. Once I started high school, our neighbour in Sunnydale who was a family friend would let me stay with them after school was finished, but I was stubborn so I'd have dinner at my friends house and then go next door and sleep in my parents' house"
"That must have been awful" said the Major, "I mean not having you parents around much"
"It was" said Willow, "And when I was younger, I was angry at them because I thought they hated me since they weren't around much. But as I grew older, I realized that what they were doing was for me, to give me a better future and I guess they're still doing it", she then glanced at Major Carter, "Major, may I ask you a personal question?"
"Sure Willow" she replied
"Well" said Willow nervously as she thought to herself "Tell her about Pete, screw any evidence. She deserves to know"
"Willow?" said the Major
"Do you trust me, ma'am?" asked Willow
"Of course" replied the Major
"I recently found out that….." Willow couldn't finish what she wanted to say as suddenly the entire ship started to shake violently.
"Willow Rosenberg…. Major Carter" said Teal'c, "we have arrived, and there seems to be a problem"
TBC