Willow's room, Sunnydale General, Alternate Reality, 12hours elapsed
Immediately after the General, Major Davis and Sam left the room, Willow was left alone with Dr. Frasier who was looking at the red head curiously.
"Doc?" said Willow as she took off her blouse and reached for the black coloured undershirt
"How did I die?" asked the Doctor as she started to take off the IV line from Willow's hand
"Ma'am?" asked Willow
"You said that I was alive" said the Doctor, "which means that in your reality, I died. So how did I die?"
"You died a hero" said Willow, "it happened on P3X-666, you had just stabilized Airman Wells when a stray blast from a staff weapon hit you right in the chest. You died instantly in front of me and Daniel"
"I went to '666 in this reality as well" said the Doctor, "Daniel saw the Jaffa and pushed me out of the way but the blast hit Airman Wells, and he died"
"I'm sorry" said Willow
"His wife had a baby a week later" said the Doctor with a faraway look before she looked at Willow again, "Did the other me leave anyone behind?"
"Cassie" said Willow
"That's the girl you were talking about?" asked the Doctor
"Yes" said Willow, "I hadn't joined the program at that time, but I read the mission report that during a visit to a planet called Hanka, the Goa'uld Ni'irti released a virus that killed every single human on the planet including the entire SG team stationed there. Well, everyone died except for a young girl called Cassandra, who you, I mean the other you, adopted as your own"
"I have a daughter?" said the Doctor as she brought her hand to her mouth, "who's looking after her now?"
"Well she lived with my Colonel Carter for awhile" said Willow, "then she lived with me for about a year. Now she's studying medicine, just like her mother, at Georgetown University"
"Thank you for telling me about her" said Doctor Frasier, "and although she's not mine, thanks for looking after her"
"No problem doc" said Willow as she put on her boots, "So shall we go?"
"Lets go" said the doctor as she led Willow out the door to a conference room on the second floor.
Conference Room, Sunnydale General, Alternate Reality
Willow spent about two hours talking with General Hammond who was the head of Home World Security; General O'Neill, the SGC base commander; Major Davis the Pentagon liaison; Sam who happened to be the Head Scientist on base, and finally Dr. Frasier, Daniel and Teal'C. They talked about what happened at the SGC since the first mission to Abydos and Willow was surprised at some of the variations. She already had the first shock of the day with seeing Dr. Frasier alive and well in this reality.
She was also surprised to find out that SG1 had been officially retired since the end of the Goa'uld-Tau'ri war a little more than six months ago, and that now the SGC was conducting more exploratory missions with their new Prometheus class ships, the Triton that was operated by the Americans, the Britannia which was operated by the English, the Sun Tzu which was operated by the Chinese and the Leningrad which was operated by the Russians. These ships, including the Prometheus, have been also taking care of those minor Goa'uld who still pop up now and again along with the newly formed United Jaffa.
"Wow" said Willow, "My SGC is still at war with the Goa'Uld and the replicators too, occasionally"
"We know the replicators are out there" said Sam, "but so far, the Asgard been taking care of them"
"Yea" said General O'Neill, "We even gave them some of our rail guns in exchange for some new shield technology. The last we heard from the little guys, they were successful in freeing most of the replicator held planets"
Suddenly, Willow turned around sharply and looked around the room with her gaze setting down at the double doors to the conference room. She had an uncomfortable feeling for a little while as she sensed some kind of darkness that was all over Sunnydale, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"Captain?" said General Hammond
"Sir?" said Willow as she turned around to face him
"Anything the matter?" he asked
"Generals, Major, Sam, Daniel, Teal'c" said Willow as she looked at the alternate reality versions of her SGC teammates, "what do you know about Sunnydale?"
"Well" said Sam, "we did our research before coming here and what we found actually surprised us"
"You mean the high crime rate involving gangs on PCP?" asked Willow
"Yea" said Sam, "How did you…?"
"It's the same story in my reality" said Willow, "and the fact that there are more graveyards here than there should be for a city of this size; that's the same in my reality too"
"So you're saying it's not crime related?" said General Hammond
"No sir" said Willow, "It's something else"
"Which is?" asked Major Davis
"Sir" said Willow, "In my reality, my personal file is classified as Top Secret: Presidential Eyes Only. As I understand it, only the SGC, especially the SGC Commander and the President knows the truth about me. The Vice President and the Joint Chiefs don't have authorization, at least not yet anyway"
"Why's that?" asked General O'Neill, "that's extremely unusual for a single individual"
"It has to do with the manner of my arrival at the SGC of my reality" said Willow before she told the story of how she ended up at the SGC and the truth about Sunnydale, the Scoobies, the Hellmouth, the Watcher's Council and the Slayer.
"You're kidding me" said Daniel as soon as Willow finished her story
"Vampires and Demons are real? And there is a single girl who fights them?" said General O'Neill
"I'm not sure about how it is in this reality, but in mine, there are two slayers, one is in minimum security prison and the other one is working at the SGC as a civilian consultant" said Willow as she retold the story of what happened with her reality's Slayer Council.
After she was done talking, all Willow could see was a sea of eyes looking at her in disbelief
"So let me get this straight" said General O'Neill, "Vampires are real, Demons are real, this city is on top of something called the Hellmouth, Witches are real, anything I missed? Oh I forgot, one of the Captains in the U.S. Air Force also happens to be a Witch"
"Former, actually Sir" said Willow, "I haven't practised since I made the wish that brought me to the SGC. Well, that's not quite true either; I made a modified locator spell when the Colonel Carter of my reality was lost in the Prometheus"
"Well" said Sam as she looked at General O'Neill, "we did go battle aliens on far away planets"
"Daniel Jackson" said Teal'c, "What are these creatures that Captain Rosenberg speaks of?"
"They're supposed to be imaginary creatures that are intended to scare children and are the kind of beings that you would find in horror movies" said Daniel
"Willow" said Sam, "can you show us some proof of your witchcraft?"
"Sam" said Willow, "like I said I don't practise anymore but that doesn't mean I don't have any special abilities"
"You mean like astral projecting yourself to the General's home?" asked Major Davis as Willow looked at him, "The General briefed us on the way here"
"Yes" said Willow, "That's one aspect of my abilities. I honestly don't know how far it goes but so far I've manifested telekinesis, telepathy and some sort of emotional sensing abilities"
Everyone looked at Willow as she revealed her abilities silently, eventually it was Teal'c who broke the silence, "your abilities sound like Jean Grey of the X-Men"
This time it was Willow who looked back at Teal'c with her mouth open. "Teal'c, you read comics?"
"T?" said General O'Neill, "Really?"
"Indeed" said Teal'c, "it was Daniel Jackson who introduced me"
"Daniel?" said Willow and General O'Neill as she looked at the archaeologist
"Hey, it's a cultural thing" he said nervously
"Sure it is" said General O'Neill smiling
"Young lady" said General Hammond, "Can you show us proof of these supposed 'abilities' of yours?"
Willow was grinning as the General asked her that question
"What is it Captain?" asked the General as he saw Willow's grin
"That was the same question you asked me the first time I appeared in the SGC in my reality Sir" said Willow smiling, "it just brought some good memories"
General Hammond smiled at Willow as he looked at the red head and could only imagine the feelings his counterpart must have had when she first appeared in the briefing room.
"Well, here's something that my reality's Colonel Carter showed me" said Willow
"Wait, I'm a witch in your reality?" asked Sam
"No ma'am" said Willow, "you simply thought that I could use my telekinesis in different, offensive ways such as this…" continued Willow as she held out her hand with her palm facing up. Willow concentrated on one area right above her palm.
Everyone in the room soon stood up surprised as a small ball of light seemed to shine just on top of her palm.
"Interesting" said Sam, "You're vibrating the molecules in a highly localized area?"
"Yes ma'am" said Willow
"Carter?" said General O'Neill as he looked at look of wonder in his wife's face
"Jack" said Sam, "she's vibrating the molecules of air so much that it's creating its own light" she continued as Sam put her hand closer to the ball of light
"Sam" said General O'Neill and Daniel with concern
"It's alright" said Sam, "wow, I can feel the heat as well"
"I'm sorry" said Willow, "I'm just starting this and I can't hold it for too long, may I dissipate it?"
"Yes you may" said General Hammond
Willow closed her eyes and willed the molecules to slow down until the light slowly faded away.
"Wow" said Saw as Willow opened her eyes
"Yeah" said Willow, "That takes a bit out of me"
"So" said Daniel, "let's say you did practise witchcraft, why give it up?"
"It's addictive Daniel" said Willow, "the magic you invoke for spells and such, it's addictive. I remember I used to want it, I was so eager to practise magic especially the dark magics that I had eventually hurt my closest friends, which was why I made the wish I told you about earlier. The one that made me end up in the SGC. There are some people who can control magic well and not get addicted to it as much; but me, I liked the feeling"
"Using these abilities is much harder for me" continued Willow, "but I remain in control, at least for the most part"
"Does Cassandra know?" asked Dr. Frasier
"I never told her" said Willow, "General Hammond said that I could tell Cassie if I wanted to, but I thought it would be better if I didn't"
"Why?" she asked
"Because when my reality's Dr. Frasier died, I attempted to heal her using magic. But I was unsuccessful; she died instantly from the staff blast. I couldn't bring back someone who was already dead using magic" said Willow sadly, "and I didn't want for Cassie to blame me for being unable to save her mother. It's torture enough for me to know that I wasn't able to do anything to save her from death"
It was then that Dr. Frasier walked over to Willow and put her hand lightly on her shoulder.
Suddenly, everyone saw Willow stiffen as she grabbed onto the side of the table.
"Willow?" said Sam
"Oh no" said Willow, "It's too soon"
"What's….. Oh no!" said Sam as she saw Willow shaking violently on the chair as her body seemed to be getting slowly ripped apart. The entire event lasted only a few seconds as they saw Willow trying not to scream although she was obviously in pain.
Eventually the shaking stopped and Willow leaned on to the table panting, "Ok, that was too soon"
"How long has it been since you arrived in this reality?" asked Major Davis
"A little over fourteen hours now" said Willow, "I thought I'd have at least forty eight hours before Entropic Cascade Failure started, I guess I was wrong"
"Alright" said General Hammond, "we need to find the mirror and send Captain Rosenberg back to her reality. Dr. Jackson and Dr. Carter will go to where the mirror was last located while Captain Rosenberg is given another check up by Dr. Frasier after that event that just occurred"
"Sir, that was just a temporal event, I'm feeling fine physically" said Willow, "with your permission, I'd like to accompany Sam and Daniel to the Magic Box. Especially since my weapons are there"
"Doc?" said General O'Neill
"She's right sir" said Dr. Frasier, "since this situation is temporal based, I won't be able to do anything. Even painkillers won't help"
"Sam?" asked the General
"She'll be alright Jack" said Sam, "Janet's right, Entropic Cascade Failure is a temporal event, a doctor won't be able to do anything to help. And maybe it's better if Willow keeps busy instead of waiting at the hospital for another attack to occur"
"Alright" said the General, "in the meantime, Major Davis and Teal'c will be going to the alternate versions of these Scoobies to inform them of the briefing"
"Yes sir" said Willow smiling, "thank you"
"Go and find the mirror Captain" said General O'Neill
Sunnydale General Hospital lobby, Alternate Reality, 15 hours elapsed
Dawn was angry at both Buffy and Willow as she left for school that morning and was mad with them for most of the day. She was angry at Willow for putting her in danger and angry at Buffy for letting it happen in the first place. During lunch, she decided to skip the rest of the day to go to the hospital to find the other Willow who had appeared out of nowhere and saved the both of them before promptly vanishing. She then recalled that later that night, she and the rest of the Scooby gang had seen her being wheeled into the emergency room.
That event was what brought Dawn back to the hospital; she wanted to thank this other Willow for saving her and her own Willow. But when she asked the counter staff about this other mysterious Willow, they had refused to give her more information since they were ordered by the Air Force to keep everything confidential.
"I know Buffy said she'll be coming later on tonight" thought Dawn to herself, "But I couldn't wait around, I need to see this other Willow"
From where she was seated, she could see both entrances and exits to the lobby and she hoped that if she waited long enough, she would be able to meet the other Willow when she would have to leave the hospital. She stood up as, a few seconds later, she got her wish.
Dawn looked on as Willow wearing a black coloured uniform with the Air Force logo emblazed on the sleeve stepped out of the elevator accompanied by a blonde female and a dark haired, glasses wearing man who reminded her of a younger Giles.
"No way" Dawn thought to herself, "this one is hotter, much hotter"
She quickly got to her senses and shouted to this other Willow, "Willow!"
Willow, Daniel and Sam turned to where the sound of the voice came from as Dawn came running up to them.
"Dawnie" said Willow as she looked at Buffy's younger sister in surprise, "Hi"
"Hi" said Dawn smiling, "I'm Dawn"
"Yes I know you're Dawn" said Willow smiling
"Umm… Willow?" said Daniel
"Daniel, Sam… this is Dawn Summers, my best friend's younger sister" said Willow
"Oh" said Daniel, "so she's the one you came to…."
"Yep" said Willow as she interrupted Daniel
"Dawn, this is Dr. Samantha Carter and this is Dr. Daniel Jackson" said Willow
"Hi" said Dawn as she gave them a tiny wave
"What are you doing here?" said Willow as she saw what time it was, "You should be in school, does Buffy know you're here"
"She doesn't care where I am" said Dawn as the three SG1 members looked on in surprise
"Captain" said General O'Neill as he came out of another elevator, "shouldn't you be off to the Magic Box now?"
"Yes Sir" said Willow as Dawn looked on surprised
"Captain?" said Dawn as she looked between the four people there
"Uh Sir" said Willow "This is Dawn Summers, one of my friends I told you about
"Hi" said General O'Neill before he turned to face Willow "I leave it up to you if you want to tell her now"
"Thank you Sir" said Willow as she saluted the General
"Willow" said Dawn after the General had left, "How come there are two of you? Did the other Willow do a spell to bring you here?"
"No" said Willow smiling, "listen, I'm going over to the Magic Box now ok. Something very important to me was stolen and I need to get it back. And I'm guessing that since you skipped your classes Buffy and the others would be getting really worried about you"
"I told you" said Dawn, "she doesn't care"
"Come on Dawn" said Willow, "let's go to the Magic Box, at least its better than staying at the hospital. And on the way there you can tell me about everything"
As Daniel was driving the car with Sam sitting in the passenger seat, they were listening to Dawn telling them about Buffy's death at the hands of Glory, how this reality's Willow had brought her back to life, the whole episode with the singing demon that made Buffy tell the truth about how she was ripped away from heaven, The overuse of magic by Willow, then came the whole forgetting spell cast by her Willow, and Dawn ended her story with the episode that had happened last night.
"Oh God" thought Willow to herself, "in this reality, I'm a junkie?"
"So" said Dawn, "it's your turn"
"My story is a bit complicated" said Willow
"This is Sunnydale" said Dawn, "how complicated could it get?"
"I'm from an alternate reality" said Willow as she stared at a surprised Dawn
"I knew that Willow, I mean my Willow, summoned you here" said Dawn, "she's so….."
"It wasn't her Dawn" said SG1's Willow, "It was a device that brought me here, and it's been stolen and I need it to get back to my reality"
"But why?" said Dawn as she sat facing Willow and held on to her hand, "you saw what my Willow was like… and Buffy doesn't really care that much, she's too busy moping around and woorying about herself. Can't you stay?"
"Dawn" said Willow, "I can't pretend to know what's going on with my counterpart, but I know that Buffy loves you very much"
"Please stay" said Dawn
"I can't Dawnie" said Willow
"But why?" repeated Dawn
"She'll die" said Sam
"What?" said Dawn as she looked at the Willow sitting next to her horrified
"Entropic Cascade Failure" said Willow, "there can't be two of me in the same reality. In this reality, I'm the intruder so the increased entropy caused by me being here is erasing me out of existence"
Just as she finished explaining, Willow quickly grabbed the sides of the front passenger seat.
"Willow?" said Dawn worriedly
"Willow?" said Daniel as he looked at the rear view mirror at the look of horror in Willow's eyes.
He quickly pulled the car over to the side of the road just as Willow's tremors started.
Dawn looked on horrified as it looked like Willow's body was being torn apart while she was screaming. Then, the tremors stopped just as it started with Willow leaning her head on the back of the front passenger seat headrest, panting heavily.
"Ok" said Willow who was in pain, "that really hurt"
"That looked worse than the one that happened in the conference room" said Sam
"It was" said Willow
"Willow" said Dawn as she rested her hand on Willow's shoulder, "will you be alright?"
"I'm sorry Dawn" said Willow, "this is why I need to get back"
"Can't you send my Willow back to your reality?" said Dawn, "then you can stay here"
"Oh Dawnie" said Willow as she faced the young girl, "You don't really mean that. Listen, she'll need you if she's going to recover, you shouldn't give up on her. She needs you and the others to help her through this long road"
"Are you alright Willow?" asked Daniel
"Yea" said Willow as she leaned back and closed her eyes from the residual pain, "we should continue, I don't think I've got much time"
After driving for another ten minutes, the small group had finally arrived at the Magic Box.
"Dawnie" said Willow, "there are other things that you need to know about how, why and from where I came from. But we'll deal with that later ok? Don't tell the others yet about what just happened, can you please keep this a secret?"
"Alright" said Dawn as she looked at Willow with concern before she and the others got out of the car and entered the shop.
Magic Box, Alternate Reality
As the group entered the shop, Willow recognized the familiar chime of the bell on the door frame that sounded when a customer opened the door. Just then, Anya and Xander walked out from the back office to welcome what they thought were new customers. Instead what they got was a uniform wearing Willow, a blonde lady, a glasses wearing man, alongside a nervous looking Dawn.
"Ummmmm… Willow?" said Xander
"Hi Xander" said Willow as she stepped forward
"Are you my Willow or the other Willow, which my Willow must have accidentally summoned" said Xander, "You aren't another vampire are you?"
"Xander" said Willow as she turned around to look outside the window, "Its daylight, if I was a vampire then I'd be dead by now"
At the word 'dead', Willow sensed Dawn flinch a bit behind her.
"And what are you doing out of school?" said Anya as she looked at Dawn, "You know Buffy's been going crazy searching for you?"
"Really?" said Dawn surprised
"Told ya Kiddo" said Willow before she turned to Xander
"Xander" said Willow, "I need my weapons, the ones that I had on me last night when I collapsed here"
"Yes" said Anya, "and I had to clean the blood out you know, it was such a disgusting job.."
"Sorry Anya" said Willow before she turned back to Xander, "I need those weapons and my vest"
"Not until I know what going on" said Xander
"Ok" said Willow, "I need to talk to you in private"
"You can speak here in front of everyone" said Anya she stood supportively next to Xander
"Well" said Willow, "its about the time when Xander tried to do something with a orange crayon…"
"Wait!" shouted Xander, "it's ok, let's talk at the back training area ok?"
"Ok" smiled Willow
"Go" said Sam, "we'll check for anything we can find about the mirror here"
"Listen Xander" said Willow when they reached the back training area, "were you soldier guy during Halloween?"
"Yea" said Xander confused
"Remember what the protocols were for any classified projects?" asked Willow
"Yea?" said Xander
"The reason that there are two of me is classified, at least until later today" said Willow, "do you understand?"
"Wait" said Xander, "What do you mean classified?"
"Oh for crying out loud" said Willow as she walked up to Xander, "Soldier! When I say classified, what do I mean!?"
Xander instinctively stood at attention and shouted, "Classified, ma'am"
Xander then realized what he just did and looked sheepishly at a grinning Willow.
"You know" said Willow smiling, "I never thought that would actually work"
"Xander" she continued as she held his hand, "I know you think I'm a clone or some other sciency stuff, but I can't tell you yet. You'll find out later. I promise"
"Alright" said Xander
"In the meantime, I need my weapons back ok?" said Willow
"It's in the back office" said Xander as he started to walk back out to the shop area, "and just so you know, you look good in an uniform"
"Thanks Xander" smiled Willow as she followed him out.
Willow saw Dawn sitting at the table near the book stacks looking upset, "what happened?" she asked
"Buffy ripped me a new one" said Dawn, "apparently I'm grounded till the end of time"
"Willow" said Sam as she stood next to the counter. She whispered to Willow when she came close to her, "Don't look at it directly but I think there's a hidden camera in the Skull on the second row of the shelf, I just noticed it while I was taking readings on any energy traces and something seemed to interfere with my readings"
Willow: "Wireless camera?"
"Huh?" said Sam
"Did you say something?" said Daniel as he looked at Sam
Willow: "Guys, remember I'm telepathic. Just think loud and whatever you do, do not look directly at the skull"
Anya: "Hey, since when are you telepathic?"
Willow: "Anya, private conversation here"
Anya: "Come on, you people just look around and don't buy any stuff"
Willow: "Oh for goodness sake. Anya, do you have any security camera's here?"
Anya: "No we don't, too expensive since all people do is browse without buying stuff"
Willow: "What? Did anyone come in to install anything? Anything at all?"
Anya: "Yeah, someone came in to fix the phone line. Although I don't know why since our lines where all working. But he said that it was a disaster just waiting to happen and that when the phone line died, the store sales would suffer"
Willow: "Sam.. Daniel.. you heard that right?"
Daniel: "This is just weird"
Sam: "Daniel….. Anyway, yea, we heard. If it's a wireless camera, we could check if it's still transmitting and to where. They may have seen who took the Mirror, but I need my laptop which I don't have with me now"
Willow: "Or, the ones who installed the camera may have taken it after they saw that I had come through. How about the eye in the sky? Can it help?"
Sam: "Maybe the sensors on it can help. I'll call Jack"
Just then Xander walked out of the back room carrying Willow's weapons and handed them over to her.
"You got everything there?" asked Daniel as Sam went outside the shop to make a call to General O'Neill to request help by using the Prometheus' advanced scanners
"Yea" said Willow as she looked at Dawn looking at her weapons
"Umm…. Daniel" said Willow, "let's go to the back room, I need to check everything before we leave and I'd like not to do that in front of Dawn"
"Sure" said Daniel
"Xander" said Willow, "I need to check my weapons, could we use your back room? You can accompany us if you want"
"Sure" said Xander as he turned to face Anya, "I'll be right back"
"Make sure they buy something before leaving" said Anya
Dawn looked on as Willow, Daniel and Xander went into the back room. She knew that they had done it so that she wouldn't be curious about the weapons that Willow was using.
"Come on" thought Dawn to herself, "I'm around swords, axes, stakes and sharp dangerous stuff every day, it's not like a gun is anything that bad"
It was just at that exact moment when Buffy and Sam walked back into the store together.
"Dawn" said Buffy, "I'm gonna kill you one of these days, how could you skip classes? I thought we were over this?"
"Sorry Buffy" said Dawn, "But I just wanted to see the other Willow"
"I told you I would have taken you to see her tonight" said Buffy, "you know how worried I got when the school called and told me you went missing?"
"I met up with Willow at the hospital.. I mean the other Willow" said Dawn, "she's in the back office with Xander and a friend of hers… even that blonde lady you came in with knows her" Dawn continued as she pointed at Sam who was looking through one of the shelves.
"Excuse me?" said Buffy as she walked up to Sam, "I'm Buffy Summers"
"Oh Willow's friend" said Sam, "Oh sorry, I'm Dr. Samantha Carter"
"What's a Doctor doing with a military outfit?" asked Buffy
"I used to be a Colonel in the Air Force" said Sam, "but I still do field work when I can"
"That's nice" said Buffy as she immediately changed the subject, "Who's that?" continued Buffy as she pointed towards the back office. "That's not Willow because I just left Willow back at my house resting"
"Miss Summers" said Sam, "For the moment, the information you're requesting is classified. But you'll get to know what's going on later today"
"I know someone who can get me the information I need, because we don't need any more troublesome military problems in Sunnydale" said Buffy
"What's going on?" said Willow who walked out of the back office with all of her gear checked and safetied up
"Willow?" said Buffy as she turned around at the double of her best friend
"Hi Buffy" said Willow as she smiled and gave a small wave to her friend
"Willow" said Sam, "We found where the signal leads, and we need to go now"
"Alright" said Willow as she nodded her head
"Buffy" said Willow as she looked at her friend, "there's something we need to do now, I promise I'll explain everything once we get back"
"Tell me now Willow or whoever you are" said Buffy, "in fact I don't really care, the last doppelganger of my best friend turned out to be a vampire. So I can't really have you running loose. I think that maybe you're a shape shifting demon who's being employed by the military. Am I close?"
"Oh for crying out loud" thought Willow to herself, "not this again"
"Look Buffy" said Willow, "There's something important to me that was stolen from here last night, and I need to get it back. I promise that it's not vampire, demon or otherwise monster related so it really doesn't concern you. But you, along with the rest of the Scoobies, will find out everything later"
"Buff" said Xander, "You need to let her go"
"Buffy" said Dawn, "I trust her"
"Buffy" said Willow, "This is a national security operation here. I'm sorry but I can't tell you what's going on. But trust me it's important"
"See you later Buff" said Willow as she headed out with Daniel and Sam
"The Prometheus sent us details of where we need to go" said Sam as she got into the car, "we'll meet up with Teal'c and SG3 before we go to our target"
"Alright" said Daniel as he sped off
Meanwhile back in the shop, Buffy had received a call from Giles who was on his way back to Sunnydale.
"I know Buffy" said Giles when she told him that the Air Force was conducting some sort of operation in Sunnydale, "I'm on the way back to Sunnydale on-board a private jet provided by the Pentagon. Apparently whoever these people are, have as much connections with the British and American governments as does the Watcher's Council. I was simply told that something important will be revealed later on and that I had to be briefed, together with you and the others, on a Top Secret project that the Air Force was conducting"
"Any news from the Council about what's going on?" asked Buffy
"They're being stonewalled by both governments" said Giles, "something about Top Secret clearance being required"
"I thought the council had the highest level clearance?" asked Buffy confused
"Looks like it doesn't, at least for whatever it is that the Air Force is up to" said Giles
"Well" said Buffy, "whatever they're up to, I don't like it. I have a feeling it's like the Initiative again"
"Well whatever it is, we'll be finding out about it later on" asked Giles
Outside Unknown Housing Community, Alternate Reality, 16 hours elapsed
As soon as they reached a secluded area, they met up with SG3 and Teal'c who were accompanied by General O'Neill.
"Sirs" said Willow as she saluted the General and Colonel Reynolds.
"So you're the girl form the alternate reality" said Colonel Reynolds.
"Yes sir" replied Willow.
"Well, welcome to this reality" said the Colonel, "now let's get you out of here shall we?"
"Yes Sir" said Willow smiling, "that would be best".
"Alright guys" said the General as he called everyone to a table near a black van, "the Prometheus managed to trace the signal from the wireless camera to a house in that housing community down the road. Information says that the internet line is owned by one Warren Mears"
"Apparently this guy is a genius" said Colonel Reynolds, "almost Carter's territory, so be extremely careful"
"We've already contacted the proper authorities and told them we'll require officers should there be a need to arrest this individual" said the General, "SG3 will be on standby and will surround the house while SG1 will be going in through the front door"
"Use your Zats as your primary weapons so as to avoid civilian casualties, other weapons are to be used as needed" said Colonel Reynolds, "Just remember, we're here to get the Quantum Mirror back; any other crimes this individual may have done will be handled by the local authorities"
"Yes Sir" said SG3 and Willow
Warren Mears' Basement, 30 minutes later
"Hey" said Andrew Wells as he poked at the Geode, "How come this thing hasn't activated again?"
"I don't know" replied Johnathan Levinson, "I tried every spell I could think of but we haven't been able to do anything"
"Look" said Warren, "we know that another Willow came out of that thing, we saw the video again this morning."
"But that mirror effect where we could see the other people in uniform standing in that room disappeared once we took it out of the Magic Box" whined Jonathan
"Then we take it back there later tonight" said Warren, "and then we'll see if it activates again"
"What do you think it is?" asked Andrew
"Since another Willow came out through it?" said Warren, "I'm guessing it's a doorway to another dimension or reality?"
"Oooooh, can you imagine after we take over Sunnydale of this reality" said Jonathan, "We can take over the Sunnydale of the other reality. We'll be super villains in two realities"
"Nice" said the three boys as the high fived each other
Just then, it was Andrew who noticed two black vans driving up to Warren's home.
"Hey guys" he said as he pointed to the monitor, "what's going on?"
Warren and Jonathan then ran up behind him and looked in surprise as the black vans stopped at Warren's driveway and five people in black uniforms carrying weapons came out of one van while another four people, including Willow came out of the second van.
"Uh, Guys" said Andrew
"The invisibility gun" said Warren as he grabbed for it
"Quick" said Jonathan as he stood by to be shot by the invisibility weapon that Warren had developed, powered by a mystical jewel they had stolen from a museum.
"Luckily we tried this out on the chair this morning" said Warren as he shot Jonathan who immediately turned invisible.
Jonathan then quickly took the gun from Warren and shot him and Andrew with a blast of radiation which caused the invisibility to take immediate effect.
"Quickly" said Warren, "put the gun somewhere safe, and hide"
The invisible would-be super villains then ran quickly towards the edges of the basement to try and hide just as the door to the basement opened and they saw four people including Willow, walk down the stairs.
"Wow" said Willow as she looked around with the Zat activated in her hand, "this looks like a veritable nerd's paradise, I like it"
"Willow, looks like we found your mirror" said Sam smiling
"Really?" said Willow as she ran to where Sam was standing looking at the Geode on a desk.
"Yep" said Willow as she holstered her Zat, "that's the one"
"You're right" said Daniel, "It looks different"
"Indeed it does Captain Rosenberg" said Teal'c
"Hopefully this still works or all of this would have been for nothing" said Willow as she put her hand on the rock like structure covering the Geode.
"Ummmm…" said Daniel as he looked at Willow with concern, "Nothing's happening"
"No, no, no, no, no" said Willow as she continued to press her hand on the Geode, waiting for the event horizon to form.
"Willow" said Sam, "Maybe it's location based, you can only go back through from where you came in to this reality"
"I hope you're right Sam" said Willow, "I guess we need to take this back with us huh?"
"Lets" said Daniel as he carefully lifting up the fragile Geode along with Teal'c.
It was just then that Willow had a feeling that she was being watched and turned around to scan the room.
The three invisible boys were wondering what was going on as Willow looked directly at them before looking away at another direction. All of them sighed in relief when she slowly walked away from each of them.
Willow: "Daniel… Sam… Teal'c… I sense three people in this basement"
Daniel: "I don't see anyone"
Sam: "Same here Willow"
Willow: "Trust me, there's one on my two O'clock. Sam, there's someone on your direct five o'clock and Daniel, there's one on your direct three o'clock"
Daniel: "Any ideas?"
Willow: "Teal'c, can you walk calmly walk back up the stairs and just block the door?"
Teal'c: "Indeed Captain Rosenberg"
Willow: "Thanks"
Warren had noticed that one of them, the big muscular guy, had slowly walked off and was heading up the stairs. It was at this time that he intended to make his move as he slowly but surely walked towards Sam. Not only was she closer to where he was hidden, he intended to get that strange weapon that was folded in the holster at her side.
Willow smiled as she sensed someone slowly making their towards Sam. Whoever it was, was thinking so loud that she knew exactly what he intended to do after getting Sam's zat. He intended to hold her hostage until he could leave, leaving his other two friends to face the music alone.
Willow: "Sam I need you to move three steps to your left"
Sam 'heard' what Willow had said in her mind, and moved to her left just as Willow turned while activating her Zat and shot a beam of blue electricity at the individual standing right behind her. Sam quickly turned around and saw that the electricity was crackling on an invisible body just as it fell on to the floor.
"Now I know that there are two more of you" said Willow seemingly into thin air as she looked between two sides of the basement, "Go visible and we won't fire on you"
"OK" said Willow, "How about this, I'll count to three and the first one to answer, doesn't get stunned"
The three SG1 members just waited for someone to make a sound as Sam gave her Zat to Willow. As soon as she received the extra Zat, she aimed one at Jonathan and one at Andrew.
"Ok guys" said Willow, "Someone speak, or else I shoot. I know one of you is going through a list of spells in your head of how you can get out of this uninjured. I swear to you if you do a spell, I'll shoot you instantly"
Willow waited along with her two teammates as they looked into empty space, when suddenly Willow squeezed the lower part of the Zat in her left hand and shoot a beam of electricity towards one side of the basement. Sam and Daniel looked on as the beam crackled around its target stunning him.
"I did warn you" said Willow as she brought the other Zat to the last invisible individual
"Ok Ok Ok!" said Andrew, "The gun on the table to your left, reverse the polarity and shoot us with it. We'll then become visible"
"Thanks" said Willow as she picked up the gun and shot it at Andrew, "now was that so hard?"
She then shot the gun at the other two individuals in the basement so that they could become visible.
"So" said Sam to the flustered young man who had just become invisible, "you created an invisibility ray?"
"It was Warren's idea" said Andrew as he looked at Sam, "You're hot"
Sam and Willow looked at each other and smiled as they walked past Andrew towards a computer setup in another room. Sam sat down at the desk and pulled up camera feeds from various places such as the Magic Box where they could see Anya working at the register, The Bronze, to some classrooms at the university, to Buffy's front lawn and other locations all around Sunnydale.
"Willow" said Sam, "looks like we've got some peeping toms over here"
"No kidding" said Willow
"Guys, take a look at this" said Daniel as he looked at a newspaper clipping of a heist involving a rare diamond that looked just like the one that was attached to the invisibility weapon.
"Samantha.. Daniel Jackson" said Teal'c as he stood beside a white board, "These individuals seem to have made various plans to be carried out at some point in time"
"Willow… Sam" said Daniel as he went to meet Teal'c at the Whiteboard, "You gotta see this"
"Looks like they wanted to take over Sunnydale or something" said Willow as she looked between Andrew and the two other bodies lying unconscious on the floor.
"Well" said Sam, "looks like our mission is over, let's take the Geode and get out of here. The police can take care of these three since it looks like they were involved in various crimes, including the theft of that diamond"
"Hold on one second" said Willow as she turned towards Andrew, "What did I tell you earlier?"
"Huh?" said Andrew confused
"You were thinking about summoning a demon" said Willow
"How?" said Andrew surprised as the last thing he saw was a blast of blue energy hitting him before everything went black
"Uh Willow?" said Sam confused
"Sorry" said Willow as she turned towards Sam, "He was thinking about what demon he could summon to get him out of this situation"
"Oh ok" said Sam as she shrugged her shoulders, "let's just get out of here"
"Yes, let's" said Daniel
"Indeed" replied Teal'c as he carried the Geode out to one of the awaiting black vans
Willow noticed Sam informing the police about the camera feeds from the different locations and the stolen diamond that they had recovered from Warren's basement. She had let them know that they were stunned using a taser and were ready to be arrested before she got into the van.
"So" said Sam as she looked back at Willow, "ready to go home?"
"Oh yes" replied Willow
"Jack" said Sam as she got on her phone, "SG3 will secure the mirror for transport and will be bringing it to the Magic Box… since that's the place where Willow came through, that's the place where she can go back again"
Willow was listening to the conversation when suddenly the tremors came again and she gave a loud scream.
Sam, Daniel and Teal'c turned around only to see the red head getting her body torn apart even more than before. It took a few seconds before the tremors stopped and Willow calmed down enough to talk.
"Captain Rosenberg?" said Teal'c as he put a hand on the shoulders of the panting and sweating red head.
"I'm alright" said Willow, "But I need to go back soon"
"Jack" said Sam as she called her again, "Willow needs to go now. She just had another tremor and this time it was really bad. If you want a debrief, you need to do it now"
Willow closed her eyes from the pain and leaned back onto the seat as she heard the van take off towards the Magic Box with Sam driving at high speed with a police escort.
Magic Box, Alternate Reality, 17 hours elapsed
"Willow?" said Tara who was sitting looking through some books with Dawn, next to the book stacks at the back of the store, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, an Air Force Major came to our house looking for me, Buffy and Dawn. He asked to meet up here for some sort of briefing" said the alternate Willow as she looked nervously at Tara and Dawn, "Is Buffy here?"
"I think she's training at the back" said Tara just as the door opened again and Sam, Daniel and Teal'c walked in supporting the SG1 Willow.
"Whoa" said the alternate Willow as she walked up to her doppelganger, "you're not a vampire are you?"
"No" said the SG1 Willow smiling, "I'm not a vampire"
Just then the door opened again and SG1's Willow turned around to see General O'Neill and Richard Woolsey walk into the Magic Box.
"Mr. Woolsey?" said SG1's Willow in surprise
"Ah, you must be Captain Rosenberg" said Mr. Woolsey as he held out his hand which Willow took and shook, "And these" he said as he looked at the people behind SG1's Willow, "must be the Scooby Gang"
"And you are?" said Buffy as she walked out of the training area
"Richard Woolsey, from the International Oversight Authority"
"The who?" said Buffy as she stood next to her Willow who was still staring in shock at the SG1 Willow.
"The IOA" said Woolsey, "we're basically civilian oversight for classified military programs"
"Right" said Buffy as she was joined by Xander and Anya
"Hey" said Xander to the SG1 Willow, "you ok?"
"Not really" said SG1 Willow as she looked at Mr. Woolsey, "you may want to start the briefing, I don't know how long I've got"
"It won't take long" said General O'Neill, "SG3 is securing the Mirror as we speak and should be here within ten minutes. I need you to hold out Red"
"Yes Sir" said Willow
"What's going on here?" asked Buffy, "and what mirror are you talking about"
"Other than that Giles person" said General O'Neill to Mr. Woolsey, "everyone we need to talk to is here. Davis works really fast"
"Actually" said Tara as she help her hand up, "most of us were already here. You're just lucky"
"Oh" said the General
"I can brief Mr. Giles later, General" said Mr. Woolsey
"Hey baldy" said Buffy which made both Willows give a slight smile, "again, whats going on?"
"What you're about to hear is classified under section 11-C-9 of the National Security Act, which means that if any information revealed today is leaked, you will all be charged with treason against the United States" said General O'Neill
"And the Watcher's Council won't be able to help you" said Mr. Woolsey
"You know about the Council?" asked Buffy as she looked on in surprise
"Yes actually" said Woolsey as he handed out Non-Disclosure agreements to everyone in the shop
"What's this?" asked Buffy
"A Non-Disclosure Agreement" said the General, "what we're about to tell you has been deemed classified above Top Secret. You cannot tell anyone what you hear today, at least until a year from now which is when this classified program will be disclosed to the entire planet"
"This is gonna be interesting" said Xander as he signed the document
"Hey" said Buffy
"Come on Buff" said Xander, "Its not everyday the military gives out its secrets to the public. I kinda feel special knowing what's going on before everyone else"
"I'm in too" said Dawn and Tara as they signed the piece of paper
Soon everyone in the shop had signed the NDA. Even Buffy, albeight reluctantly
"What about Giles?" asked Buffy
"He'll be debriefed later on" said the General just as Colonel Reynolds and another SG3 member came in carrying the Geode and put it on the table next to the entrance.
"Hey" said Anya, "that's the thing that was stolen"
"Yep" said Sam smiling
"Captain?" said General O'Neill, "wanna introduce yourself?"
Willow slowly stood up facing her alternate self and friends, "Hi, I'm Captain Willow Rosenberg, USAF. And I'm from an alternate reality"
"Willow" said Buffy as she turned to look at her Willow, "I thought you said you didn't summon her?"
"She didn't Buffy" said SG1's Willow as she pointed to the Geode, "I came to this reality through what's called a Quantum Mirror from another planet about seven thousand light years from Earth, designated as P8D-767, from an alternate reality"
"Wait, wait, wait" said Xander, "Did you say another planet?"
SG1's Willow glanced at Dawn and her alternate as they both perked up.
"Look, in my reality, I left Sunnydale almost six years ago and joined the Air Force" said SG1's Willow, "after graduation, I started work at a secret organization known as Stargate Command"
"Stargate?" said the alternate Willow
"Yes" said Sam, "it's an alien device, that was found in Egypt in 1928, capable of creating an artificial subspace wormhole between two Stargates that could be located thousands of light years away"
"But how do you account for stellar drift?" said the alternate Willow as Sam looked at her
"We kinda Macgyvered something that takes care of that" said Sam
"You're joking right?" said Dawn
"No Dawnie" said SG1's Willow as she suddenly slumped forward and had another temporal tremor
Dawn and the rest of the Scoobies looked on in horror as SG1's Willow was screaming while getting her body torn apart. The tremors stopped after a few seconds before she turned to General O'Neill and Mr. Woolsey.
"I can't stay any longer" she said, "It's coming too fast now"
"What was that?" asked a concerned Buffy
"Entropic Cascade Failure" said SG1's Willow as she stared at her alternate self
"Oh no" said the alternate Willow as she realized what was going on, "you need to go now"
"You figured it out" said SG1's Willow smiling as her alternate nodded
"What? Wills?" said Buffy as she looked at her best friend
"I'll explain it to you later Buff" said the alternate Willow
"Just answer me one thing Willow" said Buffy as she looked at SG1's Willow, "Why did you come here to this reality?"
"I heard Dawn cry out for help" said Willow, "I couldn't ignore that, so I had to risk it"
"Thank you" said Willow's alternate as SG1's Willow nodded at her
"Wait Willow" said Xander, "Who's Oma? You mentioned her name when you collapsed"
"Oma Desala" said SG1's Willow
"Wait you met Oma?" asked Daniel
"Yes Daniel" said Willow, "this was the second time, and I'll have to leave you to explain to them about the Ancients"
"Ancients?" said Tara
"Sir" said SG1's Willow as she turned to General O'Neill, "I need to go, please promise you'll explain everything to them?"
General O'Neill nodded as he helped Willow to the Geode.
"Hope this works" said Willow as she touched the device and looked on as the crystals inside the Geode started to glow and eventually formed the familiar event horizon. She looked on as the event horizon froze to resemble the mirrored surface of the typical Quantum Mirror. Willow noticed that once the Mirror was activated, she could see a lot of flood lights on the other side as Grogan walked in front of the other side of the Mirror and waved at her. SG1's Willow waved back smiling as Grogan seemed to call for someone.
SG1's Willow, her alternate and the other Scoobies looked on as another Daniel, Sam, Teal'c and then Faith walked in front of the Mirror. Willow looked at a sign that Daniel was carrying and laughed. The sign had said 'Sam can't cook ramen noodles, she burns it'.
"Faith" said SG1's Willow softly as she waved at her
"Faith?" said Buffy
"Yeah" said SG1's Willow softly, "she joined the SGC too"
"Listen Buffy" said the SG1 Willow as she turned to face Buffy, "the police will be coming by later to talk to you about some guy called Warren Mears. Looks like he was spying on you guys or something, you should also give them the wireless camera that's inside that skull over there. They would want that as evidence"
"What?" said Buffy
"I know things will get hard for you my friend" said SG1's Willow as she hugged Buffy and whispered in her ear, "I've been sensing a great darkness emanating from Sunnydale ever since I got to this reality. I don't know if the other me can sense it or not, but you need to be careful. And you need to be prepared"
"What?" said Buffy as she looked at SG1's Willow confused
"Willow" said SG1's Willow to her alternate, "there's always another way, just remember that when you get that urge. Your friends will be there for you but it's up to you to control yourself. Trust me; I know how hard it can be"
"General, Sam" said SG1's Willow as she turned to the alternates of her superior officers, "thank you for helping me get home. And give all my best to little Gracie, I'll miss her"
"Will do Red" said the General
"Sam" said the General, "about that thing?"
"Oh" said Sam as she reached into her pocket and gave SG1's Willow a piece of paper, "Take this, it has the gate addresses to six other outposts like Praclarush Taonas and the one in Antarctica"
"Power Sources?" said SG1's Willow stunned
"Yes" said Sam
"Thank you" said SG1's Willow as she hugged Sam
"Daniel, Teal'c" said SG1's Willow, "Take care of yourselves"
"Dawnie?" said Willow as she turned to face the alternates of her Scooby Gang but couldn't find Dawn anywhere.
"I think she's at the back" said Xander
"I don't have enough time anymore Xander" said SG1's Willow, "I cant take another event like that, and it could come at anytime"
"You should go Willow" said Buffy
"Goodbye" said SG1's Willow as she hugged Buffy before turning around and putting her hand on the mirrored surface. Everyone looked on as she gave a small scream and was covered by an electrical field that seemed to suck her into the mirror.
Mirror Room, Planet designated P8D-767, Prime Reality
Just like how she ended up in the alternate reality, Willow was forcibly ejected from the mirror once she had reached the other side. She hit the ground hard as she slid across the room and then stopped after a few minutes.
"Ok" said Willow as she lay on her back, "that really, really hurt"
"Hey Willow" said Daniel, "what'cha doin'?"
Willow opened her eyes to see five pairs of eyes looking down at her
"Enjoy your vacation?" said Colonel Carter smiling
"Wasn't a vacation ma'am" said Willow grimacing, "I thought I was going to be lost forever"
"As did we" said Teal'c, "it seemed that the mirror on the other side was stolen by trespassers soon after you went through"
"Then the big boss sent me and the big guy in as backup, in case they reactivated it and decided to come through" said Faith
"Lookie lookie" said Faith as she looked up and waved at the mirror, "its B"
Willow looked at the mirror just as she saw Dawn standing in the background looking at her with a mixture of emotions showing on her face. Just then Willow saw her running towards the Mirror and then she put her hands on it.
"No!" shouted Willow but nothing happened which made Willow breathe a sigh of relief. She didn't want Dawn to experience the same tremors she had when she was in the other reality.
The alternate Dawn looked on in shock as nothing happened before she stepped back looking extremely upset.
"I'm sorry Dawnie" said Willow just as the mirror shut down.
"Hey Willow" said Daniel, "You alright?"
"Yea" said Willow as she looked at her team, "Oh Colonel, I got a present from your alternate"
"What is it?" said the Colonel as Willow handed her the piece of paper from Sam
"Gate addresses" said Willow, "the alternate reality SGC found power sources like the glowy crystal thing that powers the Ancient chair in Antarctica"
"Oh" said the Colonel, "General O'Neill will be pleased"
"Is he mad?" asked Willow
"Well" said the Colonel, "let's just say that this will go a long way in calming him down"
"But he did say that you'll give him a real heart attack one of these days" said Faith smiling
"Oy" said Willow
"Lets get back home, Willow" said the Colonel, "I'm very eager to read your report"
"Yes ma'am" said Willow
Faith: "Hey"
Willow: "I'm sorry"
Faith: "Was kinda worried you won't be getting back"
Willow: "Same here, should have told you that one day maybe one of us many never come home"
Faith: "I get that, I really do. Its just that…."
Willow: "Never thought it would happen so soon or when I'm lost in another reality?"
Faith: "Yeah, that's it"
Willow: "How about I apologize for rushing off to an alternate reality by making dinner?"
Faith: "Well it better be for three people. Remember Dawn is coming tonight"
Willow: "Oh yeah"
Faith: "But I still expect a nice dinner tonight"
Willow: "Yes m'lady. Oh how was it coming through the Gate?"
Faith: "It was wicked cool"
Willow smiled and nudged Faith with her elbow while they walked behind the rest of SG1 as they exited the cave and walked towards the Stargate.