A/N:Here's the next chapter. Had it finished early so I'm hoping that it's not that bad. I'd like to thank everyone that's read and reviewed this story.
Summers' Security Services (3S), Downtown Sunnydale
Xander was in his office looking through the needs of six new clients, two of whom were prominent politicians and the other four were celebrities on some weird television show about teenage angst. As he evaluated the needs of these clients, he knew exactly which potential slayers to assign to each person. Usually he would team up one potential with each client but this time he wanted to pair up the new potentials with the more experienced ones. He had agreed with this idea of Buffy's, that the potential slayers needed more combat and real life experiences before they were sent to different states to battle the forces of evil.
After he was done assigning the potentials with their clients, he turned to look at a picture on his desk. It was one of the whole gang during their high school year, before everything became grown up and real life had kicked all of them in the ass. He was broken out of his day dream thanks to a phone call. Looking at the caller ID, he saw that it was Buffy.
"Hey Buff" he said once he pressed the green button to connect the call
"Xander" said Buffy, "we may have a little problem"
"What kind of problem?" asked Xander concerned
"It's Willow" replied Buffy
"Buff" said Xander, "What happened? I thought we agreed…"
"Xander" interrupted Buffy, "Her background since she attended the Air Force Academy has been scrubbed clean. It's all listed as Classified or Top Secret. We've been trying to hack deeper into what she's been doing with the military but so far we've been unable to"
"Damn it Buffy" said an exasperated Xander, "I thought we agreed not to do this with her? She's our friend… your best friend"
"You think I don't know how much it hurts doing this?" said Buffy, her voice breaking, "I tell myself that we're doing this for our own security but it still hurts" she said almost breaking down
"I know, I'm sorry" said Xander trying to soothe Buffy, "Does she know?"
"No, I don't think she suspects anything" said Buffy trying to calm down, "she's taking a tour of the facility with Faith"
"Listen, I'm on my way down there ok?" said Xander, "When she finds out, we'll deal with it together"
"Ok" said Buffy as she sat dejected in the stairwell near the secured doors
General O'Neill's Cabin, Silver Creek, Minnesota, 0930 hrs
"Walter!" shouted General O'Neill into his phone
"Yes sir?" asked the gate technician
"Contact Captain Rosenberg" ordered the General, "tell her to stay indoors where ever she is, preferably in a secure area"
"Sir?" said Walter confused
"Is Carter on base?" asked the General ignoring Walter's question
"No sir, she just left the control room, however she hasn't left the base yet. She said something about having to see Detective Shanahan" said Walter
"Damn it!" said the General, "Call Carter back, tell her it's an emergency"
"Yes Sir" said Walter, "what do I tell Colonel Carter if she asks?"
"Tell her that someone or some group has been looking into Captain Rosenberg's background" said the General, "she needs to trace the hack, we only know it leads to the Captain's home town but we need to find out who's doing it and then we can ask why"
"Yes Sir" said Walter, "I'll notify her immediately"
"I'm on the way to the airport now" said the General, "I have a Homeworld Security jet waiting to get me to Peterson"
"Yes sir" said Walter
"And keep trying to contact Captain Rosenberg until you actually reach her. Is that understood?" asked General O'Neill
"Understood Sir"
"Oh Walter, I'm sending you my flight information" said the General, "Have Carter, Teal'c and Daniel meet me at Peterson. Once I land, we'll be immediately heading out to Sunnydale City Airport"
"Yes Sir" said Walter, "Sir, do you think Captain Rosenberg is alright?"
"I don't know" said the General, "Keep trying"
"Yes Sir"
Slayer Council HQ, at that exact same time
"Wow, Faith" said Willow as she walked next to the slayer, "the facilities here look really good"
"Yeah" she replied, "the training areas for the potential slayers are pretty state of the art. Everything they need is available right here to train them so that they could survive attacks by vamps, demons and the like; once they're activated, they shouldn't have any trouble in taking over for either me or Buffy"
"Isn't there any spell that can activate all the Potential slayers at once?" asked Willow
"I have no idea" said Faith, "I think you'll have to ask Tara about that one. But it would be cool if we could do that"
"You know, I always thought you were the loner type" said Willow smiling, "how come you got involved in this?"
"The boss lady asked for my help with her idea about gathering and training the new potentials" said Faith, "how could I skip out on that?"
"And these potential slayers stay here in this building?" asked Willow
"Not here" said Faith, "there is another building that was converted into a dorm to house them"
"That's cool" said Willow, "So is there also a magic training section?"
"That's actually on this floor" replied Faith,
"Nice" said Willow, "Would I be right in guessing that Tara is in charge of the magic section?"
"Yep" replied Faith, "We even have training for Watchers here"
"Really?" said Willow, "Let me guess, Giles is in charge of that?"
"Yep" replied Faith, "he's been training Dawn, Xander and a few others to be Watchers. He has been successful for the most part"
"And Buffy is in charge of combat training I take it?" asked Willow smiling
"She is in charge overall since she is the most experienced Slayer here" said Faith, "but Angel and I share the responsibilities"
"That's cool" said Willow, "Are they here?"
"Yea" said Faith, "They should be here somewhere"
Just then, Faith had received a text on her cell phone. Not wanting to invade her privacy, Willow walked on as Faith stopped to read the message. If Willow had stopped and turned around, she would have noticed Faith's eyes widen in disbelief.
"Hey Red" said Faith as she looked up, "You keep on walking, I gotta return a call. Just walk straight on and take the first hall way to the left, you should be able to see Tara teaching in one of the rooms"
"Yea, sure" said Willow as she started to sense unease emanating from Faith, "everything alright?"
"Yea" replied Faith, "I just have to return a call, go on ahead without me"
Willow didn't like the feelings that she was sensing from Faith, "Unease, shock, disbelief. Why am I sensing those feelings from her?" she thought to herself as she walked on, "Nah, must just be my imagination. These are my friends; I've got nothing to worry about here"
As she watched Willow walk away and make a left into the hallway, Faith called the number from where she received the text message. After a few rings, someone from the other line picked up; from the background noise she could tell that she was on the speakerphone. Making sure that she was out of earshot, she started to talk.
"Are you guys nuts?" said Faith
"No we're not Faith" said Buffy
"Listen Faith, her entire current background is either classified or Top Secret. We just found another classification for her, Presidential Eyes Only" said Dawn
"The secrecy she is involved in makes her a security threat to us Faith" said a new, male voice, "We need to know where her loyalties lie"
"Giles?" said Faith, "You're going along with this entire insane thing? I mean come on, there has to be another way"
"Damn it Faith" said Buffy, "if there was another way, don't you think we would have done it? Amy said that her mental guards are strong and so far we've been unable to break through her defences"
"Maybe because it's none of our business?" said Faith
"If you can't do this Faith, we'll send someone else. But since she knows you already, she would never suspect it" said Dawn
"Buffy" said Faith ignoring Dawn, "think about what you're asking me to do. If this happens, she'll never forgive us"
"Do whatever you have to do Faith" said Dawn
"She'll understand" replied Buffy
Faith then immediately disconnected the call and stared at her phone, stunned by the conversation she had. She checked her message again just to make sure this whole thing wasn't a dream.
Buffy: Willow threat. Take down authorized.
After closing her eyes for a while, she started to walk in the direction she sent Willow. As she turned the corner, she saw Willow coming out of a classroom with Tara.
"It… it was go… good seeing you again, Willow" said Tara
"I liked sitting in during your class, even though I came in at the end of it" said Willow, "You've become very adept at magic"
"Thanks" said Tara smiling
"Are you free to go to the Bronze tonight?" asked Willow, "I mean I'm only here for a few more days, and it would be nice if we could hang out again like the old days"
"Su… sure" smiled Tara as she nodded her head, "I… I'd li… like that very much, th… then you can tell me how… how your life has been going."
"So it's a date, then?" said Willow, but then was surprised by what she said, "I mean not a date, date. A date as in a group of people going out. Unless you want to go on a date in a group" she continued nervously
"Ye… yea" said Tara smiling, "let… let's make it a date"
"Hey Red" said Faith as she approached Willow and Tara
"Faith" said Willow as she turned to face the petite brunette, "everything alright?"
"Yea" said Faith, "just had some issues with one of my students. It's all ok now" she lied
Willow sensed something was wrong, that what Faith had told her was a lie and now she started to get slightly worried.
"Can you guys excuse me for one second" said Willow, "I need to make a quick call"
"Yea sure" said both Faith and Tara
Willow had a sneaking suspicion that something was wrong and she felt as if she had to let someone from the SGC know her whereabouts. As she turned on the phone, she saw that there was no signal coming through. "Damn it" she thought to herself. If the SGC can't contact her by phone, she had to at least get a message out that something was wrong. Then the subcutaneous transmitter that Colonel Carter developed, and had implanted into all base personnel, would help in tracking her movements. But she still had to try and get a message out, at least to General O'Neill.
"Faith" said Willow as she turned around, "Is there anywhere here that I can get a signal?"
"Come on" said Faith, "you can try the top floor. This floor has always been fifty-fifty for cell phone reception"
"Oh no" thought Willow to herself, "Will the signal from my transmitter go through?"
"Alright" said Willow smiling at Faith, "lead the way".
"See you tonight then?" said Willow as she passed Tara
"Of course" replied Tara before she went into the classroom
As they waited for the elevator, Willow had a strong feeling that something was really off about Faith. She could sense that Faith was feeling upset, although she didn't show it, and she was lying. Once they reached the top floor, Willow followed Faith out into an empty, open space.
"Damn" said Willow, "There's still no signal here"
"Umm.. Willow" said Faith nervously
"Yea" replied Willow as she continued to search for a signal, waving her phone in the air
"I'm sorry, I lied to you" said Faith as Willow suddenly stopped everything she was doing and turned around.
"What do you mean?" asked Willow as she slowly and cautiously walked towards Faith
"I did get a message, but t wasn't about a student" said Faith, "It was actually a message from Buffy, about you"
By now, Willow's senses were telling her that part of what she was saying was true but she still had a very bad feeling.
"What was the message?" asked Willow as she mentally prepared to fight her way out of the complex, but how the heck do you fight against a building of Slayers and Potentials, not to mention magic users.
"Well, when I saw you accompany Buffy here, I actually texted her if it was ok to ask you out" said Faith
Upon hearing that, Willow was surprised, "Wait…. What?" she said.
"Yea" said Faith as she walked towards Willow, "I've actually liked you for sometime, even before you left Sunnydale. So when you came here with Buffy, I asked her if I could take you downtown for a date"
"Let me get this straight" said Willow, "You like me….. so you asked my best friend for permission to ask me out?"
"Yea" shrugged Faith smiling, "What can I say, I'm a proper girl"
Willow could sense that there was something really wrong and that Faith was lying to her but she couldn't figure out what it was; all she knew was that she had to get out of there.
"Listen Faith" said Willow, "I'm really flattered and all but I already have a date with Tara tonight, so I think I should go back home and get ready. Do you mind giving me a ride back home?"
"Well you'll be here for a few more days right?" said Faith, ignoring her question, as she moved forward and slid her hands around Willow's waist and pushed her to the wall, "we could go for a nice, romantic date; just the two of us tomorrow" she said softly and seductively
"Faith" said Willow, "please, don't"
"Come on Red" said Faith as she placed one hand on Willow's check and leaned in to kiss her, "Just live and play a little why don't ya?"
The next thing Willow knew was that Faith was kissing her against a wall and there was nothing she could do. Willow gave in to the sensory overload and returned Faith's kiss. She closed her eyes as she felt Faith's lips start kissing her neck and her hands start exploring Willow's back. Unfortunately, if Willow had kept her eyes open, she would have noticed that while Faith was exploring Willow's back with one hand while kissing her, the other hand reached behind her own back and took out a taser that was hidden under her jeans.
Faith moved her lips to kiss a spot under Willow's ear before she whispered, "I'm so sorry Red"
Willow opened her eyes in shock, but it was already too late. Before she could do anything she felt thousands of volts of electricity coursing through her body and she could hear a scream. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was herself who was screaming in pain before she started to fall forwards. She felt Faith catch her as she was falling and slowly lay her down on the floor.
Willow looked through a haze as she noticed a tear fall down Faith's face as she reached for her phone and called a number.
"It's done. Top floor, east side elevator" said Faith, "I seriously hope you know what you're doing"
After she disconnected the call, Faith kneeled next to Willow and looked into her eyes.
"I'm so sorry Willow" she said.
All Willow could say before she fully lost consciousness was, "Why?"
Peterson AFB, Colorado, 1540 hrs
Once the jet provided by the Department of Homeworld Security landed, General O'Neill walked down the stairs onto the tarmac to meet up with Colonel Carter, Teal'c and Daniel.
"Jack!" shouted Daniel, "Any news on Willow?"
"No nothing yet" said the General, "we've tried calling her phone, both her personal one and the secure line, and even her home phone but no response yet"
"Do you think whoever ordered those break ins into the personnel databases has her?" asked Daniel
"I don't know Daniel" said the General
"O'Neill, has anyone contacted Willow Rosenberg's family and associates?" asked Teal'c
"No T," said the General, "We don't want to scare her friends and family until we have something concrete"
"Maybe she's at a location with bad cell reception?" said Daniel
"I sure hope so" said the General, "because I don't like the alternative"
Everyone nodded when the General had finished, but he could see from their eyes that they were already thinking about the worst case scenario; that the rogue cell of the NID or some private individual or group had kidnapped Willow and were running experiments on her.
Shaking those thoughts out of his head, the General addressed SG1.
"Here's what we know so far" said the General, "Agent Barret from the NID called me at my cabin to say that someone hacked into federal databases to conduct a background search on Captain Rosenberg" he continued, "we're not sure who is doing it or why"
"Carter" said the General as he turned to his second in command, "any news on her location?"
"Yes Sir" she said, "looks like both her phones are in two separate locations, her private cell is near a private residence and the secure one is in another location entirely, looks like some kind of an industrial park. I contacted Colonel Pendergast on the Prometheus to cross reference the locations with Willow's subcutaneous transmitter"
"And?" asked the General
"She's at the industrial park" replied the Colonel, "And we know which building it is"
"Alright" said the General as he turned to the other male members of SG1, "Daniel, T…. Why don't you guys board the plane? We'll be leaving for Sunnydale once it's been fuelled. I need to talk to Carter for a bit"
The General stepped closer to Colonel Carter and waited until Daniel and Teal'c were on the plane, "Thanks Carter. I heard that you have a date with Shanahan so maybe it would be better if you let us handle this, and you could take the rest of the night off". When General O'Neill finished saying those words, he mentally winced and kicked himself, "What the hell did I just say?" he thought to himself.
"Sir" said the Colonel, "I'd like to go with SG1"
"Weren't you telling me the other day that Shanahan wasn't happy that you were too busy working and not spending enough time with him?" replied the General
"I know Sir" said the Colonel, "But this is Willow we're talking about here. We all should be going"
"Listen Carter, I really don't want Shanahan calling the mountain again and complaining that you haven't spent much time with him" said the Colonel
"Wait a second, he called the base?" she said shocked
"Eh, guys?" said Daniel as he shouted from the door of the plane, "we're wasting time"
"One minute Daniel" said the General as he turned to face the Colonel again, "Carter, do remember that I ordered you to get a life. We'll take care of this; anyway Major Davis from the Pentagon will be meeting us at Sunnydale. So you shouldn't worry too much, don't you think we can handle it?"
"It's just that I don't want Willow to think I don't care, Sir" said the Colonel
"She won't think that, Carter" replied the General
"With all due respect Sir" whispered the Colonel, "I'll still like to go, this mission is to find out why someone is looking into my teammate and if I remember correctly, you gave me command of SG1. Also, since we have been unable to contact her, we can assume that she has been taken by those same people who're conducting this background check. So, it would be highly irresponsible and unprofessional of me, as Willow's immediate superior officer, not to go and make sure everything is alright with her." said the Colonel
"Very well then Carter" said the General as he stepped back. Looking closely, Colonel Carter could see the General giving her a quick smile before they turned around and boarded the plane.
"Hey Jack, what happens if they refuse to stop looking for more information on Willow?" asked Daniel once he saw that General O'Neill had boarded the flight.
"There'll be two NID strike teams on stand-by. So either they stop looking into her or we effectively shut them down" replied the General, "plus Major Davis will be there to deliver a Presidential Order to cease and desist all activities in regards to Willow"
"A bit nuclear don't you think?" asked Daniel, "the strike team part, I mean"
"Daniel, they broke into four federal agencies, even the Air Force personnel database to run a check on Willow" explained the General, "this is already beyond a national security issue and whoever they are, seem to have an unhealthy curiosity with our resident red head", and he continued, "so no Daniel, I don't think it's nuclear at all, if it was nuclear, I'd have all of them arrested for treason and put into a deep, dark hole"
Daniel knew that his friend was right, this was a big breach of national security especially if they found out about the Stargate Program, then the fall-out, especially among the international allies who are not in the know about the program would be immense.
"Alright, we will meet up with Agent Barret at the industrial park; Daniel and Teal'c will stay with them outside the park while Carter, Davis and I will head into the building. We'll ask them nicely to stop, and if they don't then they'll have problems. Is that understood?" said the General
Once the General saw that everyone nodded their acceptance of the plan, they strapped themselves in for the three hour ride to Sunnydale.
Slayer Council HQ, at that exact same time
"Willow"
Willow groaned as she slowly opened her eye and felt something soft under her.
"Willow, wake up. You've been asleep for hours"
Willow slowly sat up and found that she was in a room, about the size of her bedroom, with a table and two chairs to one side and she was sitting up on a bed.
"Where am I?" she thought to herself, "What the hell happened?"
"Willow" said the mysterious voice
Willow looked around and found that there was no one in the room, it was just her. And then she suddenly remembered kissing Faith, the feelings she got from the Slayer and the shock from the taser.
"Should have listened to my instincts" thought Willow to herself, "Stupid, Stupid Willow. Now I definantly need to keep my defences up"
"Willow"
"Who's there?" said Willow as she looked around the room and finally settled on the security camera that was located on the top left side, right above the door. She stood up and looked straight into the camera, "you know, this is so clichéd. If you wanna talk, then come into this room and talk" she said angrily
She reached out with her mind and shorted out the electronics of the camera so that someone, maybe one of the people she considers her friends, could come and explain to her why they had to taser her and put her into a room that looks suspiciously like a cell.
A few minutes later, she heard someone knocking on the door.
"Seriously?" said Willow, "You attack me without any provocation, and now you decide to knock before entering?"
"Let me talk to her first" said a familiar voice as the door opened and the one person that Willow thought she could trust came into the room.
"Xander?" said Willow stunned
"Hi Wills" said Xander
"Don't 'hi Wills' me" said Willow, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Look Willow" said Xander as he tried to approach Willow,
"Don't you dare come near me!" shouted Willow, "Did you know about what was going to happen today?"
"NO!" shouted Xander before he calmed down again, "No, I didn't know"
Willow sensed that what he was saying was true, but she was so attached to these people who she always thought off as her best friends, that she didn't think that her sensory abilities could be trusted.
"I know Dawn, Buffy and Giles are behind this, I can sense it" said Willow to a surprised Xander, "bring them here now!"
"Wills" said Xander, "Its not like that"
"Its not like what Xander?" said Willow, "I came back to Sunnydale to visit you guys, my friends and the people I trust. Instead, I get lied to, and attacked, and now I find myself in a cell?"
"Wills" said Buffy as she stepped through the entry way into Willow's room, "its not like that"
"I am sick and tired of hearing 'its not like that'!" shouted Willow as she slammed her hands on the table, "explain to me then. Please enlighten me"
"Wills, when you came to this complex. We ran a background check on you, it's the same one that we run on all of our visitors and clients" said Buffy who had come into the room
"Hold on a second" said Willow turning to face Buffy, "you ran a background check on me? Without my permission? Why? I'm not a client, nor am I just a simple visitor here, I'm your friend"
"It was for our security Wills" said Xander
"You don't get to talk Xander" said Willow as she glared at him
"Let me guess, when you tried doing a background check on me, you found nothing right?" said Willow as she glared at Buffy
"Yes" said Buffy
"What did you do then, huh?" asked Willow
"We broke into four of the most, so called, secure databases on Earth" said Dawn who had just came into the room
"You did what?!" shouted Willow, still unable to believe what she's been hearing so far
"Get out of here Dawn" said Buffy
"No, no, Sis" said Dawn smugly, "I want to hear from this coward why her files have the words classified, Top Secret and even, Presidential Eyes Only"
"Willow" said Buffy, "Xander told you about those secret experiments the military was doing in creating hybrids between demons and humans right?"
Willow just glared at her friends now, unable to believe what was going on in front of her eyes. She refused to answer Buffy's question.
"We just wanted to find out if your department was responsible for what happened. We just don't want to go through that again" said Buffy
"Well, while I don't know who was responsible for that, it definitely wasn't the Air Force" said Willow, "since you have the answer you want, I guess I'll be leaving now" said Willow
"Not yet Willow"
"I was wondering when you would show up Giles" said Willow
"So what is it that you do that's so classified?" asked Giles
"Are you an idiot Giles?" said Willow, "what I do for my job is classified, which means no one gets to know what it is I do unless they have the necessary security clearance, which i know for a fact that none of you do"
"We need confirmation Willow" said Buffy
"Confirmation of what?" asked Willow incredulously
"Confirmation that whatever you are a part of, won't come and bite us in the ass" said Dawn, "So come on, tell us what's so classified about your work and, as long as there is no danger to us, you can go. As long as we don't know what you do, we have to assume that you're a security risk to the Slayer Council" she continued.
"Dawn" said Willow as she stared at Buffy's younger sister with disgust, "Are you really that much of an idiot. Classified means you, or any of you in this so called Council, do not have the authorization to know absolutely anything about what I do. So I suggest that you let me leave, or I swear to you things will get bad"
"Willow" said Giles, "we have other ways to find out what we want from you. So you either just tell us what we want to know or we get one of our psychics to go through your mind and find what we need"
"What the hell are you talking about?" said Willow shocked at what Giles was saying
"Buffy" said Willow as she faced the girl she had always thought of as her best friend, "what the hell is wrong with you all. Do you have any idea of what you're talking about? Just to find out what I do for a living, you're willing to torture me?"
"Then tell us what we need to know!" screamed Buffy as she slammed her fist on the table so hard that she broke it
"No" said Willow quietly, "No way in hell am I giving out anything to you. You wanna torture me, enter my mind without my permission, and rip out whatever information it is that you want? Then go ahead, I really would like to see you try. But as of this moment, we are done" she said as she stared at the faces of her former friends.
"Willow, please" said Xander softly, "No one's going to torture you"
"Then let me go" said Willow defiantly
"No" said Dawn
"We still haven't determined if you are a threat to us or where your loyalties lie" said Giles
"Leave me alone, then" said Willow as she turned around and walked over to the bed and sat down
"Wills" said Buffy, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lose my temper"
"You made a big mistake you know?" said Willow as she looked up and Buffy and the others, "The moment you ran a background check on me, it was already red flagged where I work, that's how classified my work is, and my CO has a saying" continued Willow as she looked at all of them in the eyes, "Never leave anyone behind. This means that they're coming for me if they cannot reach me, and then they'll be coming for you."
Feeling defeated, Buffy turned around and faced Dawn with tears on her face, "call Joshua, tell him we need a read on Willow. Use every psychic we have here to help him break her defences"
"Well Willow" said Dawn as everyone left the room, "I guess we'll know why you are so classified very soon"
"Dawn" said Willow as she stared at the younger Summers girl, "If you knew the truth about what I do, then you wouldn't hate me"
"Then tell us" said Dawn
"No" said Willow
"Then you've left us no choice" said Dawn smiling, "Joshua, our best psychic will get whatever information we need and then you can leave"
"My name is Willow Rosenberg, Captain, United States Air Force" said Willow smiling, "and you're not going to get a single thing from me"
Slayer Council HQ, 1955 hrs
For the past few hours, Willow was left alone in the room. Looking out the window, she could see that it was evening already. She had lied about the background check raising a red flag; she had no idea really what would happen if someone did a check on her. She was worried that if there was no flags were raised, then General O'Neill would never be able to find her, or know that she's missing. She didn't want to even send out a mental call for help since she was afraid that would weaken her mental defences. All she could do now was wait uneasily for this Joshua to come.
O'Neill: "Red, Red….are you there?"
Willow closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as she 'heard' the voice of her CO
O'Neill: "I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I wanted you to know that we are in Sunnydale now. All of us know where you are, and we're coming to get you"
Willow couldn't help but smile as there was one part about what she told Buffy that was the truth; no one gets left behind. Just then she heard the door open and before she turned around she sensed three people walk into the room. Well, two people and one vampire. Turning around she smiled at the new arrivals.
"Hi Faith… Angel…. real nice to see you. Are you here to taser me again Faith?" said Willow
"I'm sorry Willow" said Faith as she looked down onto the floor
"Sure you are" replied Willow before she stared at Angel, "let me guess, you're the extra muscle, here to back up Faith?"
"Willow" said Angel
"Come on Angel, at least look into my eyes and tell me the truth" said Willow, "what is the use of being friends if we can't tell the truth, right?"
"Then tell us what we need to know Willow" said Angel
"What I do for a living is not only classified Angel, its also none of yours, Faith's, Buffy's or anyone else's business" said Willow as she turned to Faith, "how about you? Not going to say anything?"
"No" said Faith as she tried to avoid Willow's glare
"Hello Miss Rosenberg" said another man who came into the room, "my name is Joshua, I believe Buffy told you to expect me?"
"Its Captain" said Willow
"Excuse me?" asked Joshua
"Its proper to use to use my military rank when you address me. Mine is Captain.. not Miss" said Willow
"Ok then, I guess I'll call you Captain Rosenberg" said Joshua before he turned to Faith and Angel, "You guys can wait outside if you want"
"No" said Angel, "I don't like you or trust you, and I know your methods for getting information. Don't harm her in any way, you're just to get the information and get out, those are Buffy's orders"
"Come now" said Joshua, "from what I understand, I am being given a lot of freedom as to how I get that information, of course there may be some unpleasantness involved but if its required then there is no choice" he said before turning to Willow
"Captain Rosenberg" said Joshua, "please don't resist me, I've got the other psychics backing me up so it shouldn't take too long to break through your guards. Just remember, the more you resist, the more pain you'll feel"
"Joshua" said Faith, "if she's harmed in any way, then you'll be facing me"
"What the hell is this?" laughed Willow, "Two good cops and one bad cop? Really? Why don't you just get it all over with? Just be prepared to find things you may find unpleasant"
"Very well then" said Joshua as he closed his eyes and concentrated on getting into Willow's mind
Location Unknown, Time Unknown
When he opened his eyes, Joshua found himself on a beach in a Sunny day. He could feel the heat from the sun hammering down on him, with only a slight breeze in the air. He looked around and all he could see was sand and an ocean that spread as far as the eye can see. He could also see coconut trees dotted all over the sand, like one of those pictures of tropical beaches that people see on calendars.
Suddenly he felt a presence behind him, "Come on Captain Rosenberg, there's no way you could hide from me" he said smiling as he turned around to face Willow, "What?!" he said in surprise.
Once Joshua turned around, he had expected to find Willow there alone, not with two clocked and hooded figures that were flanking her. Looking closely, he could see the Willow in the middle, whom he assumed was the primary one, in her Dress Blues with her rank insignia shining under the sunlight had a couple of ribbons on her chest. The one standing to her left was dressed in a black cloak, with the face and head covered under a hood of the same colour, while the one on Willow's right was dressed in a cloak and hood that was as white as snow.
"Who are they Captain Rosenberg?" asked Joshua confused
"You really want to know?" said Willow, the one in the Dress Blues, as she tilted her head and smiled
"Yes" said Joshua
The two figures turned towards Willow, who in turn nodded to then both. Joshua stood on the sand surprised as the two figures slowly took down their hoods, to reveal themselves. Walking forward a little, he could see that both of the cloaked figures were Willow as well. The only difference between the two cloaked Willow's was that the one in the black cloak had jet black hair, with black markings going down her hands and face. The most unsettling part for Joshua was the stare he got from this 'Dark Willow', the eyes where as black as her hair, he could even see his own reflection in them.
"Who are you?" he said nervously, as he made a few steps back. This was a development that he didn't expect
"I am Willow" said all three of them at once, "and you are not welcome here"
He looked on as the Willow dressed in the all white cloak turned towards the one in the middle. He saw them share a smile and then the Willow in the middle nodded before the one dressed in white simply turned and walked away before transforming into a figure of pure light and vanishing. Looking at the two figures who were left, he suddenly felt a pain in his chest.
"I leave this to you" said the primary Willow to the one Joshua dubbed 'Dark Willow' as she stepped back a few paces and just stood there staring emotionlessly at Joshua.
As he grabbed his chest and lay down on the sand, Joshua saw Dark Willow looking down at him. "Hello" was the last thing Joshua heard Dark Willow say while smiling at him before he blacked out.
Slayer Council HQ, Willow's 'cell', 2000 hrs
Faith and Angel looked on in shock as Willow changed right in front of their eyes. They saw this new Willow have jet black hair and black, soulless eyes. They saw her simply smile as Joshua grabbed his chest and fell onto the floor struggling to catch a breath.
"Willow, stop!" shouted Angel as he rushed to Joshua's side, "You're killing him"
"No" said Willow with a cold smile, "I'm just hurting him as he wanted to hurt me"
"This isn't you Willow" said Angel, "stop this"
"Seriously?" laughed Willow, "you people just betrayed our friendship and now you want me to stop?"
"Willow" said Faith, "don't kill him. I'm sorry about my part in all of this but you cannot kill that man"
"Don't you dare talk to me, Faith" said Willow as she let go of Joshua's heart and flung his body against the wall.
"Willow!" shouted Angel as he ran towards Joshua and felt for a pulse.
"He'll live" said Willow with a cold smile, "a bit bruised up but he'll live, but as for the two of you. I still haven't made my decision." She said as she mentally picked up the both of them and flung them hard to either wall and watched as they fell back to the floor. She sensed that all three of them were still breathing as she walked out. As Willow passed Faith's prone body, she felt her hand grabbing her foot.
"Don't Willow, please" said Faith as she struggled to speak, "we're sorry"
Willow stopped and turned around before she crouched down next to Faith, "You're sorry? Are you really sorry or just sorry because I'm ready to finally strike back?"
"Really sorry" said Faith, "please don't harm anyone. It's not you"
"Oh Faith, Faith, Faith" said Willow as she leaned down over her face, "Thanks for the kiss earlier" she continued as Willow put her hand under Faith's shirt and felt the skin on her hips before she reached for the taser that was near the small of her back, inside her jeans.
"I think we could have been wonderful together" said Willow as she gave Faith another kiss before tasing her.
"No!" shouted Angel as he changed
"Vampire mode, Angel?" said Willow as she turned towards him, "Faith will live. Now I have one less slayer to worry about" she continued as she place a hand on Faith's foot and twisted hard until there was the sickening sound of a crack, "and that was just in case she decides to try something funny"
"What's this?" said Willow as she saw a phone sticking out of her pocket. As she took it out, she noticed that it was the same phone that Faith received that message on. "Umm… I wonder what her messages say" said Willow to herself, "and here's the last message received. My, my, Buffy's been a very bad girl. Did you know she ordered my so called takedown, Angel? What am I saying, of course you knew. You guys are so close right?" said Willow as she innocently looked at Angel. "You know what? I think I should call her, what do you think?" she asked
"Stop it Willow" warned Angel
"No" said Willow calmly as she flung Angel hard onto a wall and held him there; while she was mentally holding him against the wall, she used her mind to take apart the legs of the broken table and twisted the metal until it became a sharp point. She then flung the metal projectiles towards Angel until they impaled through his shoulders and feet and dug into the wall behind him.
"I'm simply defending myself, they tried to hurt me by holding me against my will and ripping information from my mind without my permission. And for what? So that they can find out what kind of classified work I'm doing?!" laughed Willow
Willow saw Angel transform back to his human form and hang his head as his eyes closed. "Please Angel you've had to endure much more suffering than this" said Willow, "I know you're pretending and that once I leave, you'll recover fairly quickly and defend Buffy and the others"
Slowly Angel raised his head again and said, "Don't Willow, don't harm anyone"
"Really Angel?" said Willow, "You ask me not to harm them but you and Faith were so willing to stand by while that bastard Joshua tried to rip information, that none of you are privy to by the way, out of my head. Boy was he surprised", and Willow continued, "You're just as much of a threat to me as Faith so here's what I'll do, I'll just break the bones of both of your arms, your legs and your ankles". As Willow went about naming the bones that would break, Angel felt them crack and break. Trying not to pass out, Angel looked into Willow's eyes and after having seen every terrible thing there was to see during his long life; he feared for Willow, he could see great evil in her and he was afraid that they were the ones who had caused it to surface.
"You'll survive Angel, you always do" said Willow as she stared emotionlessly at the vampire with a soul, "but because of my so called friends, I don't think I can be me anymore"
She then walked past Joshua's and Faith's still breathing bodies and walked out into the hallway. She scanned for Buffy and the others, and gave a malicious grin once she found them. She then walked along the corridor while she dialled the last number on Faith's phone,
"Hi Buffy" said Willow as she gave a grin.