A/N: Thanks for the positive reviews on the previous chapter. I had an idea for this chapter which is essentially my take on the Buffy episode, Wrecked. I just had to write this chapter down and since I just finished it at 1:00am, I figured I might as well upload it to the site. However, this would mean that I'll be uploading the next chapter in about one and a half weeks. I wanna take a break for a few days before I start the outline of the next chapter. I sure hope you all enjoy this chapter and please review.
A/N2: IN the previous chapter, Grogan was always meant to be a Captain. Not a Lieutenant. Sorry about the mix-up. Hope this chapter doesn't get too confusing.
Episode references: Wrecked (BtVS), Point of View (SG1), There But For The Grace of God (SG1)
Planet Designated P8D-767, 1400hrs
Willow was sitting down panting on the ground under a large tree a little distance away from the entrance to the ruins. Her face was still covered in soot when she tried to start a fire through vibrating the air molecules in a localized area among some dry branches that they were going to use to start a campfire. Instead of starting a small and controlled fire, she created a small explosion.
"You alright Willow?" asked the Colonel as she handed her a MRE for lunch
"Yes ma'am" said Willow, "My ears are still ringing a bit though"
"I'm impressed" replied the Colonel, "but you still need to control the area you're trying to ignite though"
"Oh trust me" said Willow, "it's not as easy as it looks"
"Think about it this way though, in a combat situation you'll need to do it in a split of a second" said the Colonel, "but it should maybe be used as a backup, remember your first choice should be whatever weapons you have on you"
"You're right Colonel" said Willow, "I'm still not used to this, makes me exhausted"
"Which is why we're taking a break and having our lunch" said the Colonel smiling
Willow nodded as she opened her MRE and tasted the mysterious food inside.
"Tastes like chicken" said Willow as she dug into the food
"Really?" said the Colonel smiling, "I think you have the beef meatloaf"
"Maybe going through the gate affects the tastebuds?" said Willow, "makes everything eaten taste like chicken"
"Could be" said the Colonel laughing
"Hey guys" said Daniel as he and Captain Grogan walked up to where Colonel Carter and Willow were sitting down and sat down for their lunch.
"Here you go Carl, Daniel" said Willow as she handed them a MRE each.
"Thanks Willow" said Daniel as he looked at the pack, "Ummm…. Beef meatloaf, yummy"
"Ah.. does it taste like chicken?" asked Grogan as he looked at the pack suspiciously
"Yeah" said Willow as the two men just stared at her "really good chicken though, if you can get past where it says 'beef' on the pack. You should be just fine"
"Ah well" said Daniel as he tucked into his MRE, "it could be worse"
"I don't know how it could be worse Sir" said Grogan
"Sam could have cooked the food" said Daniel as he ducked to avoid a fork being thrown at his direction from Colonel Carter
"I'll have you know Daniel that I can cook" said Colonel Carter as she brandished a spoon towards Daniel
"Sam" said Daniel, "your fire alarm went off when you were cooking a pack of ramen noodles"
Willow was taking a drink of water when she suddenly laughed and spilled out the water from her mouth
"Really ma'am?" asked Willow
"Sam put the ramen into the boiling water and then forgot about it" said Daniel, "she found out something was wrong when the fire alarm was going off thanks to the small fire in the pot"
"That only happened once" said the Colonel
The four members of SG1 spent the next hour simply sitting down under the tree, and eating their lunch while trading embarrassing stories about their pasts. Very soon, Daniel and Grogan made their way back to one of the caves where they had found what looked to be artefacts and cave drawings. In the meantime, Willow stood up and got ready to get back to patrolling the perimeter when she stopped and turned around to face the Colonel.
"Colonel" said Willow, "permission to speak freely?"
"Of course, is this about that woman-to-woman talk you wanted to have?" asked Colonel Carter
"Well yes but the first thing I wanted to ask you about that offer from Dr. Weir to join the Atlantis expedition" said Willow
"OK, what about it?" asked the Colonel as she slowly got up and tidied up her gear
"Would you go if you were in my place?" asked Willow
"I would" said the Colonel, "I think it's a fantastic opportunity. Come on Willow, it's the city of the Ancients. It's something we've been aiming for quiet some time now"
"I know ma'am" said Willow, "I know it's a huge opportunity and with the Ancient gene maybe I could be of some use there. But I also know that there are other people out there who have the gene who would be much better than me, which makes me think that maybe I should stay where I am right now, at the SGC"
"Well, you should think about what you want to do" said the Colonel
"Ma'am" said Willow as she closed her eyes, "would you still go if you were to marry Pete?"
"Huh?" said the Colonel as she turned to Willow in surprise, "where's this coming from?"
"Would you go if you married Pete?" repeated Willow
"I honestly don't know what I'd do if that happened" said the Colonel, "he hasn't talked about marriage or anything yet, but I guess I'd like to think he'll be happy for me if I did go. Why do you ask?"
"Well" said Willow as she stopped right before reaching the camp, "I kinda like someone on Earth, and I'm not sure how this person will feel if I decide to go to Atlantis"
"Ah" said the Colonel, "the age old question of 'to go, or not to go', because of liking someone. All I'd say to you is that I hope this person, whoever it is, understands no matter if you decide to go or don't decide to go"
"So what was the woman-to-woman thing you wanted to talk about?" said the Colonel
"Umm…." Said Willow, "It's about Pete"
"Pete?" said the Colonel in surprise as she stopped walking and turned to face Willow, "What about Pete?"
"I really don't know how to say this" said Willow as she looked at Colonel Carter, her blue eyes staring back with curiosity, "so I guess I'll have to be blunt and get it over with. I think Pete has been following you around without your knowledge"
"What?" said Colonel Carter, "You're joking right?"
"No ma'am" said Willow
"Willow" said the Colonel, "I know that you and Cassie don't like Pete, I mean I know he has his hang-ups, but I really hope that you and Cassie would be happy for me"
"Colonel" said Willow, "I know you have feelings for him but I still feel it's something you should know about"
"Do you have proof of what you're saying Willow?" asked the Colonel
"I just know what I saw and heard ma'am" said Willow
"Heard?" asked the Colonel
"He thinks really loudly" said Willow, "I can't help but to overhear his thoughts sometimes"
"But" continued Willow, "I could show it to you in full High Definition and with stereo sound to boot"
"Huh?" said The Colonel as she looked confusingly at Willow
"With your permission" said Willow, "I would like to link my mind to yours, and you can see everything I've seen and heard so far. You can go through my memories and see the times when I noticed Pete following you, and even what he was thinking at the time"
"Willow, while I don't doubt your sincerity" said the Colonel, "There's no way for me to know what you show me is the truth"
"Which is why through this link I'll give you full access to my memories, from my days in Sunnydale to the present" said Willow, "the link will be one way, you can see everything from my point of view but I won't be able to look into your mind. I still remember everything that happened to me ma'am"
"But?" said the Colonel
"You may also feel the entire range of emotions I felt, from abject terror to fear to love" said Willow, "but this is the best way for me to prove to you what I'm saying is the truth"
Quietly Colonel Carter looked into Willow's eyes, when she saw no deception there she agreed to Willow's suggestion
"Ok" said the Colonel, "what do we have to do?"
"Let's go back to camp, ma'am" said Willow, "its better if we did this there while seated"
"Alright" said the Colonel as she and Willow turned around and headed back to the camp.
Once they were back at the camp, the Colonel contacted Daniel and Grogan on the radio.
"Daniel" said the Colonel over the radio
"Yea Sam?" came the reply
"I need you and Grogan back here" she said
"Umm…. Is everything ok?" asked Daniel
"I'll explain when you get here" said the Colonel
"OK….. give us ten minutes" said Daniel
Ten minutes later, Grogan and Daniel had come back to the camp where Colonel Carter briefed them on what was about to happen.
"You're kidding?" said Daniel as he looked at both Colonel Carter and Willow
"Daniel" said the Colonel as she pulled him to one side, "Willow said that Pete has been following me around"
"What?!" whispered Daniel, "You need to tell Jack"
"I don't even know if it's true Daniel" said the Colonel, "which is why Willow come up with this idea"
"Willow, is it safe?" asked Daniel as he and the Colonel walked back to where Willow and Grogan were standing
"I don't know Daniel" said Willow, "Colonel Carter will have access to all of my memories but I don't know if that will affect her physically in anyway"
"I need to find out about Pete" said the Colonel as she turned to Daniel, "and to do that in relative peace, I need you and Grogan to stand guard. From what Willow tells me, once it starts, we'll be defenceless until I signal Willow to deactivate the link"
"Will she retain your memories?" asked Daniel as he looked at Willow
"She'll remember what she saw" said Willow, "but it won't be her memories. What I mean is that she won't be able to confuse my memories as hers. It won't be like her experience with Jolinar"
"Let's start then" said the Colonel as she sat down facing Willow
"Alright ma'am" said Willow, "I'm going to put my hands on your temples, just close your eyes and remain calm. Breathe normally"
"OK" said the Colonel as she closed her eyes and she nodded in agreement as Willow placed both of her hands softly on her temples.
"Now Colonel" said Willow as she closed her eyes as well, "I'll open my mind and link to yours; do you see a door in front of you?"
"Yes" said the Colonel softly
"Once you're ready, open the door and you'll be in my mind. If you want to get out at anytime, just imagine the door again and then go through it; you'll be back out to reality" said Willow
"OK" said the Colonel
"So shall we?" said Willow
"Yes" replied the Colonel as she opened the door and walked into Willow's mind
While all this was going on, Daniel and Grogan looked at each other worried about what might happen. But they knew that the Colonel was right, while they were joined like this, the two of them were vulnerable in case of an attack and the two men had to watch over them and defend their position until they were finished.
"Hey Captain" said Daniel to Grogan, "How long has it been?"
"About ten minutes Sir" he replied, "any idea when they may be done sir?"
"No idea" said Daniel when suddenly the Colonel opened her eyes and gasped before she quickly got up and ran towards the entrance of the ruins,
"Sam?" said Daniel as he ran after her, "Carl, stay with Willow!"
"Sure" said Grogan as he crouched down to where Willow was sitting down with her hands now on her thighs and her eyes closed, "Captain?" said Grogan as he saw tears coming down her cheeks, "are you alright"
"Yes" said Willow as she slowly opened her eyes and wiped the tears away
"What happened?" asked Grogan
"She saw everything" said Willow as she slowly got up, "where did the Colonel go?"
"I think she ran over to the entrance. Dr. Jackson's with her now" said Grogan
"Thanks" said Willow as she stepped forward on her unsteady feet
"Whoa there" said Grogan as he held her up to prevent her from falling over
"I need to get there" said Willow
"Ok" said Grogan as he aided her over to the entrance where Colonel Carter and Daniel were standing
"Sam" said Daniel as she was bent over and panting hard, "What happened?"
"I saw everything Daniel" said Colonel Carter as she slowly stood up, "I saw everything that girl has been through in high school and in college. Everything she said about her past was true, everything about vampires, demons… everything"
"Seriously?" said Daniel surprised, "Then about Pete?"
"True too" said the Colonel, "She saw him a few times. The first time was outside her apartment and then there was another two times during team nights at General' O'Neill's house"
"Sam" said Daniel
"I know" said the Colonel, "I need to talk to him"
"Colonel" said Willow as she was being helped by Grogan, "are you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't know that the connection would be so…"
"Scary? Tiring?" said Colonel Carter with a smile as she approached Willow, "I'll take over from here Grogan" said the Colonel as she put Willow's arm over her shoulder and helped her back to camp,
"Glad you're alright ma'am" said Willow, "found what you needed to find?"
"Yes, I'll talk to Pete when we get back" said the Colonel as she looked at Willow, "you are one brave girl you know that? Having to face all of those horrors while you're still in high school, I don't think I could've done the same thing"
"I didn't do anything Colonel" said Willow, "you saw from my memories that Buffy did most of the heavy lifting, I either got captured or attacked mostly"
"Don't sell yourself short" said Colonel Carter, "it took guts to face all that and from what I saw, you did save your friends too, even fought against vampires when the odds were stacked against you"
"Thanks ma'am" said Willow
"But I didn't go further than the memory of you being held against your will at the Slayer Council HQ" said the Colonel, "But now, I'm ordering you to get some sleep for a couple of hours. Then we'll do some training again. What do you say?"
"Sounds like a plan ma'am" said Willow as the Colonel helped her to get into the tent. Willow then unarmed herself and slipped into her sleeping bag and dozed off
"Sleep well, Willow" said the Colonel as she looked at Willow sleeping for a few seconds before closing the tent flap and heading towards Grogan and Daniel.
"You guys should take a break too" said the Colonel, "it's already 1530hrs"
"I think we'll go back to the cave I was checking out Sam" said Daniel, "there are a lot of cave systems here, and maybe we could find some important archaeological discoveries that would give us more insight about the Ancients"
"Alright" said Colonel Carter, "check-in every thirty minutes"
"Yes mom" said Daniel smiling as he and Grogan walked away
"I heard that Daniel" said the Colonel smiling as she turned back and sat down next to the tent.
Planet Designated P8D-767, 1745hrs
It had been almost two hours since Willow dozed off. When she awoke, she found herself back in her tent with Colonel Carter outside talking on the radio.
"Sam" said Daniel, "You should check this cave out"
"I'm sure it's interesting Daniel" said the Colonel, "Found a lot of paintings?"
"Better than that" said Daniel, "Grogan noticed the walls in this cave looked a bit off, so after a quick test, we think that the cave we're in now has traces of Naquada"
"What?" said the Colonel as she quickly stood up and picked up her gear
Upon hearing that the Colonel was ready to go, Willow got out of her sleeping back and slowly exited the tent carrying her vest and weapons including her combat knife, sidearm, a zat and her P90.
"Hi Willow" said the Colonel, "feeling better now?"
"Yes ma'am" she replied as she put on her vest and latched the P90 onto it, "Sorry I overheard you talking to Daniel about the cave, so I thought I'd go accompany you there"
"Let's go then" said the Colonel, "I want to be back here before dark. I guess we'll do the rest of your training at the firing range back on the base?"
"Sure ma'am" replied Willow
"Daniel" said the Colonel on the radio, "Willow and I are on our way, we'll be there in less than thirty minutes"
"Ok Sam" replied Daniel
It took the two female members of SG1 almost 20 minutes to reach the cave entrance where Daniel and Grogan were standing. Once they reached the cave, Colonel Carter took out some equipment for measuring the concentration of Naquada and collected some samples.
"You're right Daniel" said the Colonel after running a quick test on the samples
"Any readings on the previous cave you found?" asked the Colonel
"Nothing at the other one ma'am" said Grogan
"There's another cave entrance about ten minutes away from here" said Daniel, "I'll take Captain Grogan and check it out, just don't disturb the artefacts that are along the cave walls. I wanna take some back with me to examine them more closely"
"Alright Daniel" replied Willow, "any idea how deep it goes?"
"Nope" he said, "we just went a few meters in before we found out about the Naquada"
"Alright" said the Colonel, "just be careful"
"Will do" said Daniel
As they watched Grogan and Daniel walk off to the other cave, Willow and Colonel Carter turned around and slowly walked into the cave where they found the Naquada.
Unknown: "Help me!"
"What?" said Willow as she turned around to the entrance and then back towards the cave
Unknown: "Help me!"
"Colonel" said Willow, "did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" said the Colonel as she was feeling the wall of the cave before crouching down to collect some more samples, "I'll take these back to the SGC for further analysis"
Unknown: "Aaaagh… Help me!"
"Ma'am" said Willow, "Are you really telling me you don't hear that?"
This time Colonel Carter turned around while crouching to face Willow, "I don't hear anything Willow"
"I'm hearing someone shouting for help" said Willow as she switched on her flashlight and pointed it at the darkness of the cave
Unknown: "I wanna go home.. help… please!"
"It's a girls voice. It sounds familiar but it's a bit garbled, I can't make out who it is" said Willow as she looked at inside of the cave, "she's saying she wants to go home. Whoever it is sounds terrified"
Unknown: "Oh God my head…. my arm's broken! It hurts so bad….. she crashed the car… its coming.. please someone help us… its coming for us… Buffy, Spike, somebody, anybody… help us please!"
"Dawnie?" said Willow stunned as she tried to look into the cave using her flashlight
"Willow?" said the Colonel as she looked at Willow's terrified face, "Willow! What's wrong?"
Dawn: "Damn it we missed the movie, what's she doing in that other room anyway. I don't wanna stay next to this weird guy"
"I'm hearing Dawn's voice, Colonel" said Willow
"You mean Buffy's younger sister right?" said the Colonel, "the one who'll be staying with you?"
"Yes ma'am" said Willow, "except the voice I'm hearing in my mind is so clear that it sounds like its coming from this cave, somewhere inside. Right now she sounds calm, but a little while ago she sounded terrified"
Dawn: "What's she been doing? Her eyes, her eyes are just… what's going on? She looks like she's high or something"
"Something's wrong ma'am" said Willow, "you really can't hear that?"
"No Willow" said the Colonel
Dawn: "Somethings following us, I can feel it. I'm scared… Why is she telling me to go home alone.. I can't… I wish I was at home now…. Aaaaaaaaagh….. it's a demon…. Oh God, it scratched my cheek… it tasted my blood…. Buffy.. help…. Oh no! She's scared too…. Run… run….!"
"Dawnie" shouted Willow as she ran into the darkness of the cave
"Willow" said the Colonel on the radio, "Stop. Wait for backup"
"I'll be alright ma'am" replied Willow on the radio, "she needs help… she's in danger"
"Damn it" said the Colonel as she went back on the radio, "Daniel.. Grogan, I need you back to this cave immediately. It's an emergency"
Daniel and Grogan were almost at the other cave when the call came in from Colonel Carter via their radio. They looked at each other when once they heard Colonel Carter's tone of voice and immediately turned around and ran as fast as they could towards the cave they left Willow and the Colonel in.
As Willow kept on running further and further into the darkness of the cave she sensed the danger that Dawn, and whoever was accompanying her, was afraid of kept getting closer. Because of the darkness of the cave, Willow never saw a slippery patch of moss on the ground which in turn made her slip and fall hard onto the cave floor.
"Oh God, that hurts" said Willow as she suddenly felt herself slipping down an incline until she landed with a thud at the bottom.
She was lying on her back as she reached for her radio, "Colonel Carter?"
"Willow" said the Colonel, "Are you alright?"
"Just fell a bit ma'am" said Willow as she winced in pain, "be careful a few hundred meters in, the floor gets really slippery. Plus it starts to incline a bit so I'd probably recommend some climbing gear, just to be on the safe side"
"Are you at the bottom of the incline?" asked Daniel
"Yea" said Willow as she struggled to get up. She unhooked her P90 and put it onto the floor so that she could slowly get up. It was then that she noticed that the floor that she hit felt smoother than the cave floor.
"Are you injured?" said the Colonel
"Just some scrapes and bruises" said Willow, "which I deserve for running off half assed. Sorry Colonel"
"Don't worry Willow" said the Colonel, "I'll forgo the court marshall for now"
"Captain" said Grogan on the radio, "I think we found the incline you mentioned, can you give us a signal?"
Willow turned on the flashlight on her P90 and pointed it to the top of the slope.
"Alright Willow, we see your light" said Daniel, "looks like you're some way down there"
"I'm looking around Willow" said the Colonel as she pointed her flashlight around the walls and the floor of the cave, "but I don't see any stairs or any other way to get down to where you are, and the incline is too smooth to try walking down"
"I'm guessing we need the climbing gear huh?" said Willow
"Can you get up?" asked the Colonel over the radio
"Gimma a minute ma'am" said Willow as she slowly got up and clipped her P90 back onto her vest and looked up the slope to see three flashlights pointed down towards her location, "so far no major injuries but I think I got a cut on my face though"
"That can be fixed later on" said Colonel Carter, "What do you see down there?"
Dawn: "Help me!"
Dawn: "Help me!"
"There it is again, Dawn's voice" said Willow into the radio as she turned around, "oh no!"
"What is it Willow?" asked the Colonel
"Daniel, do you know if this trading post was for selling Quantum Mirrors?" asked Willlow
"I don't think so" said Daniel, "I haven't seen any indication among the ruins or the artefacts near the entrance to suggest that"
"Well, maybe this is where they keep their extra stock for a big sale that never happened, because I found a few Quantum Mirrors down here" said Willow
Daniel, Colonel Carter and Captain Grogan looked at each other worriedly before the Colonel got on the radio again, "What do you mean by a few?" asked Colonel Carter
Willow turned around facing the mirrors before she got back on the radio, "maybe about fifty or sixty of various sizes"
"What?" said Daniel
"What do you mean by various sizes?" asked Colonel Carter
"Some are quite huge and others are about the size of something you would use as a decoration for a living room or something. There are others that look like Geodes as well, although I cant tell how they would work without the mirror" said Willow as she shone her flashlight alongside the floor and the walls when she noticed something on the wall.
"Ah… stand by" said Willow on the radio as she walked towards what looked like a recessed panel on the wall
Once she reached the panel, she instinctively knew to put her hand on it. With her hand pressed against the panel, Willow it flash white when suddenly ring transporters activated on the middle of the floor.
"Colonel" said Willow on her radio, "I think I just activated some ring transporters. Do you see a pad up there?"
The group at the top of the incline turned around and noticed a pad had appeared a few feet behind them. They walked over to the pad when suddenly the ring transporters activated and they were transported to the bottom of the incline where Willow was standing by the wall.
"What just happened?" asked Daniel
"I just touched this panel" said Willow, "and the transport pads opened up"
"Let me try" said the Colonel as she pressed her hand against the panel but no light flashed. Daniel and Grogan tried as well but the results were the same
"Maybe it could be only activated only by those who have the Ancient gene?" asked Willow
"Considering that, other than you, none of us here have the gene" said Colonel Carter as she walked towards the mirrors, "I'd have to say that you may be right"
Dawn: "Aaaagh… Help me!"
Dawn: "Oh God my head…. my arm's broken! It hurts so bad….. she crashed the car… its coming.. please someone help us… its coming for us… Buffy, Spike, somebody, anybody… help us please!"
Dawn: "I wanna go home.. help… please!"
"There it is again" said Willow as she pressed both of her hands onto the sides of her head, "Dawn's screaming, and it's louder"
"It can't be possible" said the Colonel, "These mirrors are inactive"
Willow slowly walked past SG1 and the mirrors she saw pictures of in the mission reports of the incident that occurred a few years back when an alternate Dr. Samantha Carter and Major Kawalsky had come to the SGC from an alternate reality. She also read the mission report of the time when Daniel went to an alternate reality where the Goa'uld had launched an invasion of Earth. Willow continued walking towards the back where there were a group of medium sized objects that looked like Geodes near the back of the cave wall.
"I can sense it coming from here" said Willow as the rest of SG1 followed her to one Geode in particular
"Willow" said Daniel, "it looks nothing like any Quantum Mirror that we've seen"
"I know" said Willow, "but the material around it looks like Naquada doesn't it Colonel?" continued Willow as she placed her hand on the rock like structure that surrounded the Geode when suddenly, the crystals inside lit up.
Willow and the other's quickly stepped back, watching as the light emitted by the crystals grew brighter until it released an energy that looked similar to the event horizon produced by a Stargate. They looked on as the event horizon started to freeze.
"That's new" said the Colonel as the frozen event horizon took on the reflective qualities of a regular Quantum Mirror.
Willow then put her hand on the Geode again causing a picture to activate on the mirror. They looked on as the mirror showed various pictures at a fast pace before stopping at one that seemed to show the inside of a darkened shop.
"The Magic Box" said Willow to herself
"Magic Box?" asked Grogan
"It's a name of a shop in Sunnydale" said Willow as she turned towards the rest of SG1, "I recognize the stacks and the ladder that's going up to the forbidden spells section"
"Magic?" said Grogan, "Really?"
"You're at the SGC Captain" said Colonel Carter, "You know you should expect anything"
"I know ma'am" said Grogan, "But magic?"
"One day you should ask Willow how she came to the SGC" said Daniel as he looked around the activated Geode
"Sam" said Daniel as he stood behind the activated Geode, "Looks like these new types of mirrors are connected directly to the cave wall, which I can bet with you is made up of Naquada"
"You could be right" said the Colonel as she moved behind the Geode, "looks like this version of the mirror uses the direct connection to the Naquada in the cave as a superconductor, just like the Stargate"
Dawn: "Help me!"
Dawn: "Help me!"
"There it is again" said Willow as the others looked at her, "I can hear Dawn screaming"
"Ma'am" continued Willow, "Permission to go through"
"Sorry Willow" said the Colonel, "but I have to refuse that request"
"Sam" said Daniel
"Daniel" said the Colonel, "Not now"
"But…" said Willow before she was interrupted by the Colonel
"Willow" she said, "what happens if you go through but can't come back? You'll be stuck in another reality"
"Colonel" said Willow, "I'm sure the SGC of that reality can help me to return here if t comes down to that. We still have our regular Quantum Mirror at Area 51 don't we?"
"What if there's no SGC in this reality?" said the Colonel as Willow suddenly looked between her and the activated mirror. The Colonel could see that Willow hadn't thought about that.
"Colonel" said Willow, "since there's obviously a quantum mirror on the other side, wouldn't it make sense that the Ancients also occupied that reality? Which means that they also created the Stargates there, which leads to the high chance that the Stargate in Giza was found in 1928. And thus the formation of the SGC or SGA, or whatever it's called there"
"There's no way to confirm that though" said the Colonel, "You'll be going into an unknown environment"
"Will all due respect Colonel, isn't that what we do at the SGC every day?" said Willow, "We take risks, no matter how calculated they are, and step into unknown environments without knowing whether we'll come back home again"
"She's got a point Sam" said the Colonel,
"Ok, tell me this then, what if this alternate reality is only connected to this mirror here Willow?" said the Colonel, "What if it doesn't connect to any of the other mirrors here?"
"Ma'am, she needs help" said Willow as she referred to Dawn, "How can we leave her there when we're unsure if Buffy or anyone could save her"
"Willow" said the Colonel, "what about Entropic Cascade Failure? I saw what happened to Dr. Carter when she came here with Major Kawalsky, it was extremely painful for her"
"Ma'am" said Willow, "I read the mission report. That didn't happen until about forty eight hours later, and I know I'll be back before then"
"How can you be sure Willow?" asked the Colonel
"Please ma'am" said Willow, "She needs help, she's asking for someone to help her. Buffy and the others may be busy battling something else and from what I heard, whoever she's with is incapacitated"
Dawn: "Help me!"
Dawn: "Help me!"
"There she is again" said Willow as she turned around to face the mirror
"Willow" said Colonel Carter, "we don't know how long the energy created by this version of the mirror can last for. It could turn off just as soon as you've gone through"
"Wouldn't our Naquada generator work Sam?" asked Daniel, "Couldn't they provide power?"
"This is nuts" whispered Grogan
"I don't like this Willow" said the Colonel
"Ma'am, if I don't do anything then Dawn could die in the other reality" said Willow, "I can make it back, just leave me a sign here and next to the one in Area 51 so that I know I'm coming back to the correct reality"
"You have two hours" said Colonel Carter softly, "two hours to save her and then come back, do I make myself clear?"
"We'll wait for you here" said Daniel
"Grogan" said the Colonel, "You and Daniel stay here, I'll take the ring transporters and head back up to the Stargate, contact the SGC and ask them to send in SG2 and SG11, and some signboards and check with Dr. Brightman if anyone else has the Ancient gene. We may need them to operate the mirror again in case something happens"
"Yes ma'am" said Grogan
"I can come too Sam" said Daniel
"It's alright Daniel" said Colonel Carter, "I need you guys to stay here"
"Colonel" said Willow as she took off the patches of the SGC and SG1 from her BDU's and turned them over to Colonel Carter along with her Zat, "maybe it would be best of these remain with you"
"Alright" said the Colonel as she handed Willow an extra clip for her 9mm and one extra clip for her P90.
"Thanks ma'am" said Willow as she put them in her vest pockets before she turned back towards the mirror
"Colonel.. Daniel, I'll be back in two hours" said Willow as she put her hand onto the mirrored surface, and gave a little scream
"Willow!" shouted the Colonel as she, Grogan and Daniel saw what looked like electrical energy engulf Willow and pull her into the mirror before forcibly throwing her out the other side.
Alternate Reality, Magic Box, 2230hrs
"Son of a…!" said Willow as she felt herself get forcibly ejected out into the other side of the Quantum Mirror and was thrown onto the floor a few meters away. Her head narrowly missing the ladder that led to the forbidden spell books.
She grabbed her sides and felt for any broken bones of which luckily there were none.
"That was extremely lucky" said Willow to herself as she looked around the darkened Magic Box, "Looks like everyone went home"
She turned back to the still active mirror and saw Grogan, Colonel Carter and Daniel looking at her worriedly. Willow gave them the thumbs up sign to indicate that she was ok. She saw that the Colonel was talking to her in sign language, she reminded Willow that she had two hours to save Dawn and then get back.
Willow signalled her acknowledgement and checked her P90 which held the regular armour piercing rounds and her 9mm sidearm. As she was checking the rest of her gear, Willow immediately sensed Dawn who happened to be with someone.
"Is that the other me from this reality?" said Willow to herself, "why are her thoughts so jumbled and incomprehensible"
Dawn: "Damn it we missed the movie, what's she doing in that other room anyway. I don't wanna stay next to this weird guy"
"Oh no" said Willow as she ran towards the entrance of the Magic Box and unlocked it from the inside before leaving and closing the door. Since she didn't have the keys to the door, she mentally locked it from the outside.
Dawn: "What's she been doing? Her eyes, her eyes are just… what's going on? She looks like she's high or something"
"The other me does drugs in this reality? And she took Dawn with her?" said Willow as she started running towards where she was sensing Dawn's presense.
Willow: "Dawnie where are you?"
Dawn was walking along an alleyway next to a seemingly light headed and over stimulated Willow when she heard Willow's voice in her head.
"I'm right next to you Willow" said Dawn as she looked worryingly at her companion
"I know" said the alternate Willow, "let's go and have some fun"
Willow: "Buffy, where are you? Damn it Buffy where are you? Dawn's in danger"
Buffy was walking and arguing with Spike when suddenly in the middle of telling spike to get out of her life, she stopped in her tracks.
"What's wrong" said Spike as he stared at a surprised Buffy
"Willow?" said Buffy as she was contacted telepathically by SG1's Willow
While she was running, Willow had finally pinpointed the location where Dawn and her alternate were through her telepathy. The downside was that it was too far away to make it just by running from her location. Just before she hit the downtown area, Willow spotted a group of motorcycles parked outside a restaurant. Sensing that no one was in the immediate area, she got onto a black motorcycle and started to hotwire it.
"Thank you Colonel Carter for teaching me how to hotwire a motorcycle" said Willow to herself as soon as she was done with what she needed to do. She pressed the ignition button on the handlebar and was smiling when the engine started. She reversed the bike before taking off towards Dawn and her alternate self just as the owner of the motorcycle came through the entrance. The owner was stunned as he saw his motorcycle being ridden away at full speed with the tyres smoking and having left marks on the road.
Meanwhile, Dawn and the alternate Willow were walking in an alleyway completely unaware that there was something following them.
"What was that? I'm getting out of here" said a scared Dawn when she heard a noise
"Oh Dawnie, don't. It was probably a cat or something like that" said the alternate Willow
Dawn: "Something's following us, I can feel it. I'm scared… Why is she telling me to go home alone.. I can't… I wish I was at home now…. Aaaaaaaaagh….. it's a demon…. Oh God, it scratched my cheek… it tasted my blood…. Buffy.. help…. Oh no! She's scared too…. Run… run….!"
"Shit" hissed the SG1 Willow as she sensed both Dawn's and her alternates' fear, "Damn it!"
Willow pushed the throttle on the motorcycle as much as possible until she sensed that Dawn and her alternate self were just around the corner. As she turned the corner at speed, Willow two people running into a blue car which promptly drove away while being chased by a creature.
"What kind of a demon is that?" said Willow to herself as she opened the throttle on the motorcycle again and sped towards the car.
Dawn sat in the passenger side of the car terrified as she saw Willow driving the car just by using her magics. She looked back only to see the demon still running after them. It was then she noticed the headlights of a motorcycle coming up real fast behind the demon until it was right beside it.
As SG1's Willow sped up right beside the demon, she was thinking about what she could do to stop it. Using the guns during a high speed chase were out of the question on a motorcycle and she was going at such a high speed that she couldn't telekinetically use her knife against the creature accurately. So she did the next best thing which was to telekinetically push the creature onto the side of a building.
Dawn looked on stunned as whoever was on the motorcycle simply stopped after the demon was flung onto the side of a building. She then turned back towards Willow who was still driving the car with her magics and made a tight left turn into another alley.
"Willow, stop the car" said Dawn
Just then Willow took her eyes off the road and looked behind her.
"Willow!" screamed Dawn just as the car crashed onto a wall
SG1's Willow had gotten off the motorcycle with her 9mm sidearm in her hand with the safety off. She ran towards the side of the building and saw the Demon starting to get up from the ground. The demon looked at her and snarled.
"Witch" said the demon as it pointed its fingers at her
"No" replied SG1's Willow
The next thing Willow knew, the demon was running towards her. Without giving any warning, Willow emptied an entire clip from her 9mm into the demon which at first seemed to have stopped it in its tracks as it fell onto the ground unmoving. Just then she sensed that Dawn and her alternate were in trouble.
Dawn: "Oh God my head…. my arm's broken! It hurts so bad….. she crashed the car… its coming.. please someone help us… its coming for us… Buffy, Spike, somebody, anybody… help us please!"
Willow quickly ran to the motorcycle and started it up again before she opened the throttle to full speed and rode towards the car crash. However, she didn't notice the demon moving a finger, and then shortly after its arm, before it picked itself up and stood looking at the girl who was riding the motorcycle away. It looked down at its body and saw the bullet holes and the blood coming out of them. It then started to run towards the scent of SG1's Willow, the alternate Willow and Dawn. As it was running, it was going through in its thoughts about how to best torture the one who had shot him with the human weapon.
Willow: "Buffy you're needed. I'm telepathically sending the location to you. Come quick, they're in trouble"
"Spike" said Buffy as she took off running, "I know where they are"
"How?" said Spike as he ran behind her
Just as they rounded a corner, both Buffy and Spike noticed a motorcycle turning into an alley in the distance. The same alley where the voice in Buffy's head had told her to go to.
"Come on Spike" said Buffy as she ran toards the alley
"Willow?" said Spike out of Buffy's earshot
Willow was riding the motorcycle at full speed through the alley until she saw the smoke coming from the car wreck just a few feet away. She stopped the motorcycle and quickly ran to the car not caring whether Dawn or her alternate self saw her. As she was running towards the car, she sensed that both Dawn and her alternate self were alive but Dawn could be more injured.
She quickly ran to the passenger side and opened the door.
"Dawnie?" said Willow as she crouched down to slowly take off her seat belt, "are you alright? Where does it hurt?"
"Willow?" said Dawn as she stared between the SG1 Willow and he other Willow who was lying slumped on the steering wheel
"Long story sweetie" said Willow as she sensed her confusion, "can you move your legs? Where does it hurt?"
"I can move my legs" said Dawn, "my head and my arm hurts… I think its broken"
"Listen I need you to come out of the car ok?" said Willow, "I'm scared there may be a fuel leak or something and a spark could set it off"
"Ok" said Dawn as Willow ran over to the driver side to check up on her alternate. Dawn looked on as the other Willow, the one wearing some kind of a uniform with a big gun strapped to her vest ran over to the drivers side and felt for a pulse from the Willow who was slumped.
"She's alive and breathing" said SG1's Willow as she looked at Dawn
Dawn was already out of the car and heading to where the uniformed Willow was when all of a sudden something hit her and she got thrown underneath an overpass. Looking up, she saw that it was the same demon as before and when it was almost on top of her, she screamed for Buffy.
Upon hearing Dawn's screams, Buffy and Spike ran even faster than before.
"Get away from her" shouted SG1's Willow as the demon was on top of Dawn and almost ready to slash her with its claws before she could crawl away to safety.
Willow telekinetically pushed the demon until it hit the other side of the concrete wall under the overpass.
"Easy Dawn" said SG1 Willow as she slowly lifted her up and leaned her against one of the pylons, "I can sense Buffy and Spike coming, they're close by. You'll be ok"
"Alright" said Dawn as she stared at the SG1 Willow
Suddenly Willow tensed up as she felt claws going through the back of her vest and her skin.
"Damn it" said Willow as she turned around to face the demon which had already stood up after having been being crashed onto the wall.
Dawn saw the vest Willow was wearing fall off her and land with a thud onto the ground. Looking closely, she saw that the vest already had some drops of blood on it. As she looked at Willow's back, she could see the place where the demon had scratched her, blood was slowly coming down her back from the scratches. Worried, Dawn looked towards the alley and could see two figures quickly running towards them.
Willow: "Dawn, Buffy and Spike are here. Run towards them, I'll hold this thing off.. Go now!"
"But…." said Dawn before she was interrupted by Willow
Willow: "Go now Airman, that's an order!"
Upon hearing the anger in Willow's voice and knowing the danger she knew she was in, Dawn quickly ran off towards the approaching Buffy and Spike.
Willow sensed that Dawn had already run towards her best friend and could sense that the demon was prepared to do anything before Dawn could reach Buffy and Spike. So she gave an all-out pre-emptive attack with her telekinesis. Ignoring the pain in her head and the pain coming from her back, Willow blasted the demon on to the wall and held it there.
"Buffy! Spike!" shouted Dawn as she ran towards her older sister and the vampire.
"Dawn" said Buffy, "Are you ok?"
"I think my arm is broken" said Dawn
"Who else was in the car with you?" asked Buffy
"Willow" said Dawn crying
"Spike, watch over Dawn and Willow" said Buffy as she ran toward where Dawn said the Demon was and stopped in her tracks just as she reached the car and looked at the person under the overpass.
She looked shocked at the red head who was somehow holding a demon on a wall and the similar red head who was slowly coming to in the driver's seat of the car.
"Witch" said the demon again as it pointed to SG1's Willow
"No, I thought I told you that when I pumped one clip of bullets into you" she replied
"Slayer" it said
"Wrong again" said Willow, "that would be my best friend who just happens to be standing a few feet behind me. Wanna try again? By the way, nice dress Buff" she continued without turning around
The demon caught the scent of both Willow's in the vicinity and finally knew there was something wrong.
"Abomination" it said
"You're so rude" said Willow as she mentally grabbed her combat knife and unsheathed it, "I mean I've been called that before, but it still hurts my feelings"
She then walked towards the demon in anger and as she started to slowly crush its hands and feet, she noticed blood dripping down from her nose.
"You tried to harm someone I care about Demon, I won't let that slide" whispered Willow before she mentally plunged the knife into its head and twisted its head around 360 degrees. As Willow continued to hold the Demon on the wall, she blasted it again with her telekinesis at close range, crushing every bone in its body and then one last time to make sure it stayed dead. She then let go of the demon and watched in fall onto the ground before wiping the steady stream of blood that was now flowing out of her nose.
"Worth it" thought Willow to herself
Just when she let go of the demon, it started to glow with red sparks coming from inside it before it spontaneously combusted. Surprised Willow turned around to only see her alternate self leaning against the one of the pylons with Spike and Dawn standing behind her. Buffy must have noticed that Dawn, Spike and this reality's Willow were behind her because she turned around to face her Willow.
"It's time I slipped out of here" said the SG1 Willow to herself as she telekinetically grabbed her knife, P90 and her vest before slowly slipping away, "I guess reading comic books are useful, kind of gave me the idea to change a person's perception of things and people. Hopefully they won't see me until I actually leave"
She slowly walked towards the motorcycle knowing that once she starts it, everyone would be able to see her riding it away, but it would be too late to stop her by then. As she was walking away, she closed her eyes as she heard her counterpart beg Dawn and Buffy for forgiveness
"Dawnie, I'm so sorry" said the alternate Willow to her best friend's sister, "I'm so sorry"
"Stay away from her Willow" said Buffy as she helped to lead Dawn away
"Buffy, where's the other Willow" asked Dawn, "she was just here"
"I don't know" said Buffy as she looked around before turning to Spike, "have you seen her leave Spike?"
"I guess she must have slipped away" said Spike as he saw the uniformed red head walking towards a motorcycle
"I'm sorry.. Oh God… I'm so sorry" said the alternate Willow
"Seriously Willow, stay away from her" said Buffy as she protectively shielded her sister from Willow
SG1's Willow could do nothing but sense Dawn's fury and disappointment at her counterpart, she felt the slap that the alternate Willow had gotten from Dawn before Buffy asked Spike to take her to the hospital.
"Buffy, I'm so sorry" said SG1 Willow's counterpart, "I'm so sorry"
"You could have killed her" said Buffy as she faced her Willow
SG1's Willow turned around as she saw her counterpart go onto her knees and cry, and beg for forgiveness from Dawn and Buffy. She didn't stay for the rest of the apology as she quickly started the motorcycle and rode away with Buffy, Spike and Dawn staring at the retreating red head.
After travelling at the speed limit for ten minutes, Willow reached the restaurant from where she took the motorcycle and left it secured at the parking lot. She even took out a pencil and paper from her vest and wrote an unsigned thank you note for the owner.
She then ran towards the Magic Box on foot.
"I'm almost home" said Willow to herself as she was a stone's throw away from the Magic Box. Sensing something amiss, she quickly slowed down and took cover in an alley. She took out her 9mm and changed the clip before she holstered the weapon and cautiously crept up to the shop window. Just then she noticed that her vision was getting blurred and she was feeling dizzy.
"Not now" said Willow to herself, "please not now, I can crash when I'm in my own reality"
Taking a peek inside, she noticed it was dark, too dark.
"Where's the light from the Quantum Mirror?" said Willow softly to herself before she noticed movement in the shop and she took cover under the window.
It was then that she noticed that the door to the shop seemed to have been tampered with. She peeked through the window again and when she noticed whoever it was had gone to the back of the store, Willow slowly crept in and took out her 9mm and released the safety.
When she was just outside the entrance, Willow sensed that whoever it was had returned and seemed to be very angry about something.
"Hold it" said Willow as she stepped into the shop with her gun aimed towards the person, "don't move"
"Wait, wait" said a very familiar voice, "I can explain"
"What the hell?" said Willow as she mentally switched on the shop lights.
"Xander?" said Willow with her gun pointed at her and her alternate's best friend
"Willow?!" said Xander as he dropped a broom while putting up his hands, "did I miss Halloween or something?"
"Xander! Why couldn't they pay for whatever they steal?" said a voice from the back of the store
"Ummmm….. Anya, sweetie" said Xander nervously, "can you come here please?"
"What is…." Said Anya as she walked out of the back of the store and immediately put her hands up once she saw the gun
"Ok" said Willow as she engaged the safety on her gun and holstered it. It was then that she noticed the missing Quantum Mirror, "this really, really isn't good"
Xander put his hands back down and looked at Willow confused, "Wills, I thought you were taking Dawn to the movies"
"No….. not your…." Slurred Willow as she stepped forward onto the table of books where the Quantum Mirror used to be. And she dropped to both of her knees before collapsing onto the floor. Willow knew that the adrenaline she was running on the whole time had run out and now she was feeling the effects of her blood loss.
"Wills" said Xander as he ran towards Willow which was when he noticed the blood dripping from the cuts on her back and her nose. "Anya call an ambulance now" shouted Xander
"No ambulance…. No doctor…" whispered Willow, "not supposed to remain….. complicated"
"You need a doctor Wills" said Xander
"No… please" said Willow, "need to go home… mirror"
"Willow" said Xander, "don't sleep, stay awake"
"Anya!" continued Xander, "Where's that ambulance?"
Willow slowly opened her eyes only to see a white light forming behind Xander as Anya kneeled down beside him. Their voices were now fading into the background as she focused on the white light which began to take form. Willow gave a small smile as she recognized the woman who was standing behind Xander and Anya as they were desperately trying to stop the bleeding.
"Hi Oma" said Willow smiling before she closed her eyes
"Hello Athena" said Oma Desala as she looked down confusingly at Willow
"What's an Oma?" said Xander as he looked at Anya before turning back to Willow, "Wills? Wills?" continued Xander as he felt for a pulse.