A/N: Hiya everyone. This chapter is my take on the episode "The Powers That Be" (SG1: s09e05). Some of the dialogue may seem familiar since it was taken from the episode. Anyway, please enjoy and review. Cheers.
The Girls' House, 0800 hours.
Willow slowly opened her eyes as she felt the heat of the sun warm up her body. She found herself lying on her side, her arms around Faith as the brunette still kept on sleeping. Rubbing her eyes, and with one arm under Faith's body, she carefully turned around and saw that the two of them were all alone on the platform.
'Tara and Dawn must be downstairs' thought Willow to herself, 'maybe Buffy and the others already arrived and they're taking care of them.'
Smiling to herself, she then turned back towards Faith and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Hey" said Willow softly as she tried to wake Faith up, "I think they're here."
"Ummmm?" said Faith as she slowly opened one eye and smiled at Willow before pulling the redhead towards her and sleeping again.
"We gotta go to work you know" smiled Willow as she kissed Faith's forehead, "we should be getting the reports from the Prometheus scans today."
"An hour more?" mumbled Faith, "I'm just so exhausted."
"You alright?" asked Willow as she placed a hand on the Slayer's forehead. Once she did, she felt that her forehead was hot, "hey, looks like you have some high fever or something. Come on, let's get you back to the base. We should get Dr. Lam to take a good look at you."
"I'm fine, Red" said Faith as she started to cough and then she moved her body quickly to the other side and gave a large sneeze before she turned back to Willow and smiled at her, "I'm really fine, don't worry about me."
"No you're not, Faith" said Willow as she slowly got up and reached out her hand as Faith grabbed it as she slowly got up grumbling under her breath, "come on, follow me down the ladder slowly."
Once Willow reached the ground she stepped back and watched as Faith slowly climbed down in a tank top and shorts.
"Take your time" grinned Willow as she looked up at the brunette, "I like the view from here."
"Oh, I'll get you for waking me up so early" said Faith as she reached the ground. She then turned around and gave Willow a quick peck on the cheek before she held the redhead's hand and walked to the front door and into the house. It was then that they noticed something very unusual, Tara and Dawn were missing.
"Where are they?" asked Willow as she scratched her head, "I mean, I don't think they would have left without saying goodbye."
"Maybe they did?" said Faith as she shrugged her shoulders and went into the room she shared with Willow, "maybe we were so exhausted that we don't even remember them saying goodbye."
"But Dawn's supposed to be going off-world with SG22 today" said Willow, "she could have waited for us."
"Maybe you could call them?" said Faith as she suddenly grabbed a hold of the wall, which was when that Willow ran up to her and helped her lean on the cream coloured wall facing the bathroom.
"Later" said Willow as concern crept into her eyes as she looked at Faith who was breathing hard, her face was red and she started to have something that looked like a rash covering her arms, "we need to get you to the infirmary now!"
"Red" said Faith as she grabbed her head, "I… I'm alright… I just need to…."
"Faith" said Willow as she put one of her arms over her shoulder, "I'm ordering you to come with me, now."
"Yes, ma'am" said Faith as Willow helped her into the passenger side of her car before she ran to the driver's side and got in. After starting the car, she drove onto the main road before she sped off to Cheyenne Mountain, breaking most of the traffic laws along the way.
"Red" said Faith as she leaned back on the passenger seat, clearly uncomfortable as she rubbed her chest.
"Faith" said Willow as she placed a hand on her chest and started the healing process, "don't close your eyes, do you understand me? Faith! Do you understand?"
"Hurts" said Faith as the white light from Willow's hand seemed to have little effect, "Red, it hurts."
"Damn it" said Willow as she reached for her cell phone again and called the SGC. And although the phone was connected, there was no answer on the other line, "Hello? Hello? Walter? Anyone there?"
"Red" said Faith as she saw the front gate to the mountain, "where is everyone?"
"I don't know" said Willow as she got out and checked inside the guardhouse and found no one there. With no other choice in sight, she pressed the button that brought the gate up and ran back into the car before driving into the complex proper.
After parking the car, Willow ran to help Faith out of the passenger seat. Putting an arm around her shoulders, Willow helped Faith into the main lobby. As they were taking the lift down to the SGC proper, Faith started to cough harder and harder. It was just before the doors opened that Faith looked at her hand that was covering her mouth when she coughed.
Willow noticed Faith's eyes getting wider and wider in fear.
"Faith?" asked Willow, "what's going…."
Faith looked at Willow before showing her hands which were covered in spots of blood.
"No" said Willow worried as she looked at Faith. Once the doors to the lift opened, she carried Faith and ran as fast as she could through other personnel who she and Faith noticed where also coughing. Some were even on the floor leaning against the walls and panting. It was when she reached the infirmary that the both of them got the shock of their lives, the entire place was full. Beds were crammed into all the infirmary rooms, Isolation rooms and even some of the unused offices in the mountain according to Dr. Lam who ran over to Willow once she and Faith walked into the primary infirmary room.
"Major" said Dr. Lam as she brought a gurney, "place her on this, we'll find a way to make her comfortable."
"Comfortable?" asked Willow, "what? This is just flu right? I mean…."
"Major" said Dr. Lam, "you need to see General Landry… don't change, don't do anything… go now."
"How about Faith?" said Willow as she held onto the brunette's hands, "I can't leave her like this."
"Code Blue!" said a nurse on the far end of the room, "she's coding! Get a crash cart here now!"
"Major!" shouted Dr. Lam as she looked at Willow before running to the other patient, "get going now!"
"Red" said Faith as she started to struggle to breathe, "go."
Suddenly, the entire room started to shake.
"What the hell?" said Willow as she looked at Faith who nodded her head before she turned around and ran towards the General's office. As she was running out the infirmary and into the hallway, Willow felt the mountain itself shake again when there was a sudden explosion from behind her that threw her forward onto the floor into an adjacent hallway. Turning around after getting up slowly, she still felt the mountain shaking from what seemed to be an attack from an unknown enemy. Walking into the hallway she was in after she left the infirmary, she looked in horror at the plumes of smoke coming from what used to be the infirmary. Limping into the room, she saw that the explosion had taken out everything and everyone, including Dr. Lam, who was lying on one corner of the room with her body burnt to a crisp.
"Faith… Faith!" shouted Willow as she hurriedly limped towards an overturned gurney. As she limped to the other side of the gurney, she could only collapse onto her knees as she saw the half burnt body of Faith lying on the floor with her eyes wide open. With tears streaming down her face, Willow slowly closed the brunette's eyelids before leaning down and kissing her forehead.
"I love you" said Willow as she whispered into Faith's ear, "I'll always love you."
Willow then got up and quickly passed by more burn victims and others who were coughing blood and just simply lying on the floor. It took her some time to get to the briefing room where the General was standing at the window overlooking the Stargate, alone.
"Sir" said Willow as she ran into the room, only to be shocked at the state of the General after he had turned around. She could see that he looked extremely weak, there was dried blood on his shirt and his eyes looked sunken. Willow ran over to him as he almost fell onto the floor, but she was able to get a hold of him in time and helped him to his regular seat at the head of the briefing room table.
"Major" said the General, "we failed."
"Sir?" asked Willow, "I don't even know what's going on."
"We failed, Major" said the General as he coughed blood and had trouble breathing, "we failed. All…. All current off-world…. teams have….. have been re… rerouted to Alpha, Gamma, Beta and Omega sites. Ordering you to.. to join… join Colonel Reynolds at Alpha Site."
"Sir" said Willow, "I can't go… I can help… what happened?"
"Too late" said the General as he looked at Willow, "order of General O'Neill, report to Alpha Site."
"But…" said Willow as General Landry clearly in pain turned around and cupped her face, "please, Sir. I can help."
"Orders stand, Major" said the General as he coughed again, "after you and Faith have gone through, we will be initiating the self-destruct. We'll take some of those bastards with us."
Suddenly, Willow hugged General Landry to prevent him from falling after she felt the mountain shake harder than before.
"What was…." Said Willow.
"Daedalus" said the General, "that was the Daedalus crashing into Colorado Springs. They're gone… they're all gone."
"Sir?" said Willow, "How? Who?"
"SG1" said the General, "they were on the Daedalus, together with SG11, SG25 and SG26. They were going to try and beat the Ori ships that arrived in our galaxy. But…. We failed."
"The Ori?" said Willow shocked, "here? They're here?"
"Go, Major" said the General as he tried to push Willow away.
"Sir" said Willow as she stood up, "but…."
Suddenly, Willow saw everything around her melt away. She found herself on a vast field with the skies coloured red. She saw strange ships that where firing what looked like orange tear shaped beam weapons into the Earth, destroying anything it came into contact with. Looking around her, she found that she was surrounded by bodies. As far as her eyes could see there were dead bodies littered all around her.
"What.. what kind of a joke is this?" said Willow to herself as she pinched her arm, "wake up….. damn, you wake up."
The redhead felt something fall onto her cheek, and then on her other cheek. She soon heard the sounds of rain drops hitting all the dead bodies around her. She felt the wetness of the liquid at it hit her head.
"Rain?" said Willow to herself as she felt more drops falling on her.
Wiping the drops that fell on her earlier, she looked at her fingers and noticed that it wasn't water falling onto her surroundings or on her, it was blood.
"No" said Willow as she brought the palms of her hands together as blood pooled in her palms before she separated her palms and stumbled back, "no."
It was then that Willow noticed one of the strange ships turn around and start moving towards her location. Unable to will her legs to move, the redhead looked on as the ship was almost on top of her before it stopped. Confused as to why the ship stopped, Willow then stood shocked as the ship fired the orange tear shaped beam directly at her. Closing her eyes and using her hands to cover her face, Willow screamed as she felt the heat of the beam first burning her clothes, before it instantly stripped off the flesh from her bones and then her bones themselves turned to ash.
The Girls' House, 0300 hours.
Willow and Faith snapped their eyes open at the same time and looked at each other in shock.
"Red?" whispered Faith as she gently caressed Willow's cheek, "what was that?"
"I… I…. are you really here?" asked Willow as Faith slowly raised her body on her elbow and looked behind the redhead.
"This is real" whispered Faith, "Dawn and Tara are deep asleep right next to you."
Willow then rolled to the other side and looked at Dawn who was sleeping on her side facing away from her. She then rolled back to her previous position and faced Faith.
"That.. that was one hell of a nightmare you had" said Faith, "I… damn…"
"I'm sorry" said Willow, "it's the link between us, the nightmare was so intense that you saw it too."
"It's alright" said Faith, "it's just that… I mean if that's a taste of what may happen, then…"
"We need to win" whispered Willow, "they must never reach Earth, we need to win."
"Maybe you should tell the General about this?" asked Faith, "have you told him about the previous dreams you had?"
"No" said Willow, "but you're right. I'll tell him today once we get in."
Faith then moved forward and kissed Willow on her cheek just as the both of them noticed the lights of a vehicle coming up the driveway.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you" whispered Willow as she slowly sat up, followed by Faith who by now was already standing up and extending her hand to help Willow.
"You did your best" said Faith, "'sides, it was only a nightmare."
"I'll give up everything for you, you know that right?" asked Willow as she covered both Tara and Dawn with the unused side of the large blanket, "to save you, I'd give up my life."
"Don't talk like that" whispered Faith as she turned back and looked at Willow just as she was getting ready to go down the ladder, "you said it yourself, if you tried to heal someone with a major injury.. or someone who's near death, it could kill you. Do you really think that I would want to live without you?"
"But you'd live" said Willow softly as she walked towards Faith, stepping only when Dawn shifted her body and placed an arm over Tara's shoulder, "I'd do the same for Dawn."
"Red" said Faith as she let go of the side of the ladder and walked towards Willow, "promise me you won't do something as stupid as that."
"Faith" replied Willow in a whisper.
"Promise me" whispered Faith as she held Willow's hips and moved her closer, "promise me."
"I can't" said Willow as Faith gave a small frown on her face, "I can't make that promise."
Faith closed her eyes and nodded her head. She knew through the link she shared with Willow that continuing with this was going to go nowhere.
"Alright" sighed Faith as the both of them heard someone knocking on the main door, "I guess we should go downstairs huh?"
"Yeah" whispered Willow, "don't be mad at me.
"I'm not" replied Faith as she held Willow's hand and walked towards the ladder again, "just… just don't make any drastic decisions if anything does happen to me, or to Dawn. At least promise me that."
"Alright" said Willow as she kissed Faith.
"Good" said Faith as she got onto the ladder and started to step down as they heard even more knocking. Once she had reached the ground, Faith stepped back and watched Willow climb down with a grin plastered on her face.
"What?" asked Willow as she continued down the ladder when she sensed Faith looking at her.
"Nothing" said Faith as Willow reached the ground, "I was just enjoying the view."
Willow grinned at Faith before holding her hand and walking over to the front of the house where she saw a blue car parked next to hers and Faith's, with five women standing near the main entrance.
"Hey B" said Faith as she and Willow walked towards the small group.
"Buff" said Willow as Buffy gave the redhead a hug and kissed her cheek.
"Congrats, Will" said Buffy as she tightened her hug, "I know you told me over the phone, but… I prefer it like this."
"Vi, Kennedy" said Faith as she gave each of the girls a hug, "everything went alright?"
"Yeah" said Buffy as she released Willow from her hug, "we had… something.. go down in Denver."
"Must have been bad" said Willow as she opened the door and let everyone in.
Buffy looked at Willow with one eyebrow raised, as if wondering if the redhead knew about what they were doing in Denver.
"Don't worry" said Willow, "I've got no idea what happened in Denver… I know it's all 'need to know' stuff, and I don't need to know. Just said that it must have been something big since the BPRI sent two Slayers and some of the more senior Potentials, plus one we haven't met yet."
"Oh" said Buffy as she shook her head and introduced the unknown Potential to both Faith and Willow, "this is Satsu."
"Nice to meet you" said Satsu as she gave a small bow to Willow and Faith.
"Same here" said Willow as she returned the bow, before Faith accompanied Satsu into the house, leaving Willow and Buffy alone outside.
"Glad to know you're alright" said Willow.
"Thanks" smiled Buffy, "is Dawn…?"
"She and Tara are asleep in the viewing platform upstairs" said Willow as she pointed to the roof, "we were all lying down stargazing… and then we fell asleep."
"Oh" said Buffy as she and Willow walked into the house.
"If you guys are hungry" said Willow as she led Buffy to the kitchen, "we've got some of Faith's grilled steaks, and Tara's mashed potatoes. She made some extra for you guys."
"Where's Tara?" asked Kennedy.
"Sleeping on the viewing platform upstairs with Dawn" said Buffy.
"I'm guessing that you guys must be tired?" said Willow as she turned to Buffy who nodded her head, "how about you guys get something to eat and then get some sleep. I don't think Angel's that much of a slave driver to make you drive the whole morning tired."
"Kennedy" said Buffy as she looked back at the newest Slayer, "call Angel. Tell him that we'll set off later in the morning. We'll be staying at Willow's place."
"Right" said Kennedy as she took out a cell phone and dialled the BPRI.
"Hey Red" said Faith as she handed Willow her secure phone from their room, "your phone was vibrating, you must have some missed calls."
"Shit" said Willow under her breath as she looked at Buffy, "I gotta call back… will you guy be alright?"
"Yeah" said Buffy when the phone rang again.
"Alright" said Willow as she walked over to her room just as she connected the call and closed the door.
The Girls' House, 0345 hours.
It was ten minutes since Willow went into her room to talk to whoever it was that was calling her. IN the meantime, Faith and the others were all seated at the dining table having some of the steak and the mashed potatoes that Tara had made earlier, and kept in the oven. As Faith was talking to Buffy, she heard the door open to hers and Willow's shared room and saw the red head in a black T-Shirt, jeans and an Air Force wind breaker.
"Red?" asked Faith as she and the others looked at the redhead, "what's going on?"
"I'm needed back at the mountain" said Willow, "kinda urgent."
Faith: "What's going on?"
Willow: "Got data back from the Prometheus. That was Dr. Lee on the line, he checked the data and found something interesting. He wants me as a second set of eyes."
Faith: "Need me to come?"
Willow: "I'll be fine. Don't worry. You didn't get a good night's sleep because of my nightmare, so you get some sleep. I'll be back as soon as possible."
"You really have to go?" asked Buffy as she looked at her wrist watch, "this early in the morning?"
"Sorry Buff" said Willow, "one of the satellites that supply much of the East coast with their favourite TV channels is on the fitz. So they need me to come in and troubleshoot. The same problem may happen to the ones that supply the west coast with their favourite channels."
"Sounds boring" said Kennedy as she bit a piece of steak while looking at Willow and then at Buffy, "this is why you held her? For TV stations? I don't get what so classified…"
"Kennedy" said Buffy as she glanced at Willow who shrugged her shoulders.
"Yeah" said Willow as she put on her boots, "but that's my life now… boring.. boring... but then again, unless you want interrupted TV when you reach home…."
"Red" said Faith as she got off her chair and ran to Willow as she reached the door, "call me once everything is alright?"
"Sure" smiled Willow as she kissed Faith before opening the door and running to her car.
Faith looked on as Willow reversed her car, and then drove off out of the driveway. The brunette then turned around and walked back to the table and talked with Buffy and the others, while glaring at Kennedy.
Science Lab One, SGC, 0430 hours.
Willow had changed into her BDU's after washing her face to remove the cobwebs that were still in her eyes. However, before heading to meet with Dr. Lee, she went to the Mess Hall and got two large cups of coffee. Once she had the coffee in her hands, she walked to Science Lab One where Dr. Lee was sitting over a computer console sleeping with his head laying on one of his hands.
"Hey Doc" said Willow as she put one cup of coffee next to Dr. Lee who had instantly jerked awake and looked around.
"Major" said Dr. Lee as he looked at a smiling Willow who motioned towards the cup of coffee in front of him, "oh, thanks." He then took a long sip of the steamy liquid before he put the cup down and motioned towards his computer console.
"What have we got, doc?" said Willow as she grabbed a seat and sat next to the scientist.
"Well" said Dr. Lee, "as you know, the Prometheus was conducting a planet-wide search for quantum mirror and ZPM power emissions."
"Yeah" said Willow as she nodded her head, "and.."
"Well" said Dr. Lee as he pressed a few buttons on the keyboard and a world map appeared on the computer screen and blue and orange dots started to appear, "the orange dots are readings with probable ZPM emissions, and the blue dots are probable Quantum Mirror energy emissions."
"Oh dear God" said Willow as she looked at the computer screen with her eyes wide opened.
"I wasn't sure" said Dr. Lee as he pointed to one part of the screen after he zoomed into the map of the United States and stopped until he got to a map of the whole of Sunnydale, "but you're from Sunnydale, right?"
"Yea" said Willow quietly as she pointed at the blue dot and some numbers that appeared next to it, "and look at those energy emissions, and it encompasses the entire city… but how? I mean if it's true, then the power requirements must be massive.. where's it getting its power from to remain open like that."
"Actually we found both power emissions" replied Dr. Lee as he zoomed out of the map of Sunnydale, "we found a ZPM emission from an area maybe an hour's drive outside of Sunnydale."
"That's just desert" said Willow as she pointed at the screen, "and if there's an outpost there, then it would be underground, or else someone would have seen it."
"We need Prometheus to run a deep scan of the area" continued Willow, "if there really is an outpost there, then it should have ring transporters like the one in Antarctica."
"Hopefully" said Dr. Lee as he zoomed the map out again, "we've got additional Mirror emissions from Cleveland, Easter Island, Rome, and Abuja. But we're just measuring emissions, we can't be sure if there really is some type of Quantum Mirror in these places, including Sunnydale, without actually going there to check it out."
"Right, and check this out. The ZPM emissions coming from outside Sunnydale include the Death Valley National Park, Nairobi, outside of Mogadishu, near Kartoum in Sudan, Outside of Awbari, Libya, in the middle of the Australian Outback, and Glastonbury" said Willow, "must be the Glastonbury Tor cavern."
"Could be" said Dr. Lee, "it's probably powered by a ZPM, but we still haven't been able to find it yet."
"Wait a second" said Willow as she pointed at an orange dot on the screen, "is that in the Pacific Ocean?"
"Looks like it" said Dr. Lee, "but the readings seem lower that the rest of the ZPM readings."
"Wouldn't be surprised if there's a shield covering that outpost" said Willow as Dr. Lee nodded.
"Getting to the outposts, if those really are the continental outposts, in Sunnydale and Death Valley would be relatively easy" continued Willow, "we already have permission for the Glastonbury cavern. The others would be more of a.. how can I put it nicely… political minefield? Decisions will be made by the people out of our pay range."
"That's true" said Dr. Lee as he yawned.
"How about you do get some sleep" said Willow as she looked at Dr. Lee, "we can check this out again later in the morning."
"Right" said Dr. Lee as he rubbed his eyes and got off his seat, "I'll go get some shut-eye in my quarters."
"Alright" nodded Willow as she took his place, "good night, Doc"
"Night, Major" said Dr. Lee as he walked out of the lab.
Science Lab One, SGC, 0730 hours
"Major" said General Landry as he walked into the lab and found Willow sleeping with her forehead on the table.
"Ummmmm?" mumbled Willow as the General tapped her shoulder, "no mom, I don't want the frogs to chase me."
"Major?" said the General again.
"Sir?" said Willow as she snapped her eyes open and quickly stood at attention once she saw the General looking at her, "sorry, Sir."
"At ease, Major" said the General, "I heard you were in the lab since 0430 hours, and hadn't left."
"Yes, Sir" said Willow as she looked at the report she was writing just before she fell asleep, "the Prometheus found some sources of Mirror and ZPM emissions. I was actually writing up a report when I fell asleep."
"Well" said the General, "After you're done with the report, I want you to freshen up and then give Miss Lehane a call to come in early. Once Dr. Jackson is awake and Colonel Mitchell has come in, we'll meet in the briefing room. SG1 will be sent off-world today."
"Sir?" asked Willow as she felt mixed emotions coming from the General, "is everything alright?"
"No" said the General, "we just heard from the Tok'ra."
"Sir?" said Willow, "what did they say?"
"Since 0100 this morning" said the General before he left, "forty three different planets have been visited by Priors. It's begun."
Gateroom, SGC, 1000 hours.
"Hey Buff" said Willow in her full tactical gear as she used one of the base phones to call Buffy, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to get back home."
"It's alright" said Buffy who was sitting in the dining room at their home, "I'm actually just waiting on Tara to get ready, then we'll be leaving for Sunnydale."
"Still" said Willow as she leaned on the wall in the hallway outside the Gateroom as Colonel Mitchell and Daniel just passed her by, "I mean, we've still got his whole channel mess to fix up, plus there's a report about sunspot activity…. so yeah."
"Will" smiled Buffy on the other line, "it's alright. Just make sure our channels are back up will ya? Kennedy already threatened to stay in your house if we don't have it back again by the time we get to Sunnydale."
"Right" said Willow, "drive safe."
"I will" said Buffy, "we'll drop Dawn off on the way out of Colorado Springs."
"Thanks" said Willow as Faith and Vala passed her, "I'll see you later then."
"Yea" said Buffy as she disconnected the call and put her phone back into her pocket.
Willow placed the phone down and walked towards the Gateroom behind Faith and Vala.
"Major" said the Colonel as Willow stood next him, "read anything from our guest?"
"No sr" said Willow, "she must have heard something about me from the personnel here, because she's not thinking out loud."
"Can you read her mind?" whispered the Colonel.
"Are you ordering me to, Sir?" asked Willow.
"Unless it makes you uncomfortable" said the Colonel.
"Sorry, Sir" said Willow, "usually unless it's an emergency or of its an enemy, I prefer not to read others minds without their consent."
"Very well then" said the Colonel.
"Can you mentally link us?" asked the Colonel.
Willow: "Done, Sir."
Mitchell: "This is just unnerving sometimes."
Willow: "We could use the link in only emergencies?"
Mitchell: "Let's do that. But keep us all connected still, and I'll try not to think too loud."
Vala: "Why Colonel, I never thought you….."
"Major" said the Colonel, "take her out of the link."
"Sorry, Sir" smiled Willow, "you asked to connect everyone, so that's what I did."
"Alright Walter" said the Colonel as he looked back at the control room, "dial up P8X-412."
Once the wormhole was established Willow and the others walked through the event horizon and arrived at P8X-412.
Planet designation P8X-412, four days later.
It has been four days since SG1 arrived at the planet, four days since Vala admitted she came back to the planet to take whatever riches she had collected during her time as the host to the Goa'uld Qetesh, four days since she was forced to admit to the people of the planet that she was not a god and two days since she was put on trial for crimes against the people in a 'Mal Doran', a trial system Vala developed when she came back to the planet after the Tok'ra took out her symbiote.
Faith sat down on the ground with her head in her hands as she recalled how during the trial a Prior had come through the gate. The same Prior who had said that he would return after having visited the people of the planet three or four days ago. She recalled that the people were split into two factions; one faction were for converting tor Origin and praying to the Ori, while the others didn't want to have to do anything with any gods, false or otherwise.
She remembered that Daniel, who spoke up on behalf of Vala, gave arguments against viewing the Ori as gods; stating that they were simply ascended beings with a greater level of knowledge and higher technology. However, the more shocking part was when Vala and Daniel saw the Prior for the first time and recognized him as the one who burned Vala alive when they were in the Ori galaxy, when they used the communication stones with the Ancient device found in Glastonbury Tor.
"You doubt the power of the Ori?" said the Prior as he faced Daniel and pointed at a man they had met before, Vachna, who one of the supporters of the Priors and the leading voice for converting to Origin.
"No" said Daniel, "but I understand how they got it, and because I do, I'm not willing to abandon my own free will and worship them for it."
"The Ori healed this man, this man that was sick" said the Prior as he placed his hand on Vachna's forehead, "this man who could barely walk."
"This man was healed through knowledge" said Daniel, "we have medicine. We have tools that can do much the same thing."
Daniel then pointed to one of the Goa'uld healing devices on a table in the courtyard where the Mal Doran was taking place.
"This device has the power to heal if you know how to use it. But not by magical power" said Daniel, "It's called technology!"
"Technology" said the Prior as he rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Yes. Knowledge and understanding of the way things work. Of the science of the universe" said Daniel as he motioned to everyone in the courtyard.
"Maybe so" said the Prior, "but consider this. There are two men, one is starving and the other has a plentiful crop. Is it not wrong for the fortunate man to horde his harvest? Should he not share with his hungry brother?"
Willow and the other started to look around concerned as the crowd started whispering and nodding to each other at the Prior's words.
"It is the same with 'knowledge and understanding'" continued the Prior, "as you have said, the Ori have a greater understanding of the universe, but most importantly, they are willing share it with us, out of their love for us, their creation. Only fools would turn away."
"Just because the Ori know more than we do, doesn't make them gods" said Daniel, they are beings who were once like you and me, but they evolved. They learned of humanity's potential. Eventually, over time, they used that knowledge to shed their physical bodies and live as energy on another…higher plane of existence."
"You are all children of the Ori, but you have been raised by evil" said the Prior as Willow rolled her eyes and stood up and walked towards Daniel, "the true nature of the universe has been kept from you by powers that would have you stray from the Path of Origin. It is time to open your eyes! Let Origin show you the way."
Azdak, the leader of the other faction, looked as if he was considering what the Prior was saying. SG1 and Vala could see that the villagers were all listening intently, some with curiosity, some still bowing their heads. Daniel turned around and walked the length of the hall away from the Ori passing Willow.
"You're right" said Willow as she looked at the Prior, "Maybe hoarding knowledge is wrong. But then again, maybe it's not. Maybe, learning something for yourself is part of the journey to enlightenment.
But killing someone for not worshiping you, regardless of your power, is wrong. Very wrong. Knowledge is power, but how you use that power defines whether you are good, or evil."
"I see we have found one of the embodiments of evil" said the Prior as he walked towards Willow before he turned around and started to walk away, "the choice is yours. Walk the path or fall to the will of great evil. The choice… is yours."
"No" said Vachna as he ran to the Prior and kneeled in front of him, "I beg of you, give us another chance. Please, spare us all."
"Believe in the power of the Ori" said the Prior as he put his hand again on Vachna's head and looked around at the inhabitants of the planet, "or be laid down in the dust."
That was then, and now, as Faith rubbed her face with her hands; she stood up again and walked between the numerous numbers of inhabitants who had come down with a mysterious sickness as soon as the Prior had left the planet through the Stargate. As Faith approached Dr. Lam and some of the other medical units from the SGC, she recalled that Vachna, the man the Prior had touched was the first one to fall ill. They had brought Vala out of her jail cell to help save him using the healing device, which at first seemed to have worked. But then more and more people started falling sick and the healing device couldn't keep up with the number of people who were going into shock before anyone could do anything. Eventually, even the healing device had failed.
As Faith walked past those lying down, she saw how everything looked so similar to the dream she had shared with Willow. Faith closed her eyes when she thought about Willow, and how they had to depend on her healing ability to at try and save more people.
She recalled that even Colonel Mitchell had been affected by the mysterious sickness, and when Willow had heard that.. she immediately rushed into the room he was being held in. Faith had tried to stop her from exerting herself but nothing could stop the redhead.
"Dr. Lam" said Willow as she kneeled beside the Colonel, "how is he?"
"Not good" said Dr. Lam as she inserted some antibiotics into his body, "his temperature has skyrocketed, he's having chest pains, stomach pains and he's having trouble breathing."
"Sir" said Willow as she placed her hands on the Colonel's chest, "you'll be fine."
"Major" said Dr. Lam as she held Willow's hands which were shaking, "how many did you heal?"
"Me and Vala?" asked Willow as she kneeled down on both knees, "maybe…. I…. I…. I mean…."
"Major?" said Dr. Lam, "how are you feeling?"
"This body will heal" said Willow as she looked at Dr. Lam, "you have my medical reports from the Asgard, so you know this body can heal itself."
"Major" said Dr. Lam as Willow interrupted her.
"Doc" said Willow, "please check his vitals."
Willow started to breathe hard as the white light emanated from her hands as she slowly healed Colonel Mitchell.
"His vitals are improving" said Dr. Lam as she looked at Willow who was already panting.
"A few more seconds" said Willow just as Faith had come in and ran over to the redhead.
"Hey" said Willow as she finished the healing process and collapsed into Faith's arms.
"Major?" said Colonel Mitchell before he looked at Dr. Lam, "Doc? Get these things of me."
"Dr. Lam" said Faith as Willow lay her head on the Slayer's shoulder, "she's burning up."
"Major" said Dr. Lam as Willow opened her eyes again.
"HI ma'am" said Willow as she smiled and nuzzled her head into Faith's neck, "I'd just like one more night, as long as I'm away from any frogs, or tadpoles… or a frogpole or a tadrog… you know?"
"Major" said Dr. Lam, "I need you to lie down."
"No" said Willow as she widened her eyes and looked at the entrance of the building they were in, "the Prior, he's back. Faith, I need to be there."
"NO!" shouted Dr. Lam as she quickly calmed down, "you will stay here…. That's an order."
"Doc" said Willow, "I need to help stop him."
"Colonel" said the Doctor as she turned to Colonel Mitchell who had gotten off his bed, "she's sick…. She's got whatever this is, and her body's not healing itself. If it was, then she'd would have been alright by now."
"Colonel" said Willow, "I can help.. I need to help."
"Come on" said Colonel Mitchell as he put one of Willow's arms around his shoulder and helped her up, "lets go and help then, that's the spirit."
"Miss Lehane" said Dr. Lam after a few minutes of helping other patients with Faith's help, "she needs medical care. You know what will happen if she pushes herself."
"I'll convince her to get back" said Faith as she got up and walked to catch up to Willow and Colonel Mitchell.
A few minutes earlier, the Prior who had caused the mysterious sickness had returned to the village only to be faced by Vachna, who had begged him to cure everyone, and by Vala and Daniel.
"Why are you doing this?" asked Daniel as he motioned to all the sick around him.
"From the smallest seed of doubt springs forth a mighty poisonous tree of evil" said the Prior.
"Yeah, all right, cut the crap" said Daniel as he stepped forward, "this is my fault, all right? I'm the one who told these people if they didn't bow down to you, bow down to 'the Ori', you might just give up and go away. Well I was wrong. I understand now. You don't have to kill them to prove a point to me."
"No Daniel" said Vala as she raised her weapon at the Prior, "no more talking to the Ori or to this Prior. Heal them now…. Heal the people of this village now."
"Only their faith can heal them now" said the Prior.
"Then you are useless to us" said Vala as she raised her weapon and fired at the Prior.
Everyone looked on in shock at the rounds that simply stopped in mid-air just before they went through the Prior's chest. They watched as the Prior smiled and made no move, but a few seconds later the smile disappeared from the Prior's face when he noticed the rounds were still hanging in mid-air. It was then that everyone in the village started whispering when they saw Willow walk up with Colonel Mitchell behind Vala, Daniel and Teal'c.
"You feel it don't you" said Willow, one arm around Colonel Mitchell and another arm raised, "you're trying to stop the rounds, but you can't.. you're finding it hard."
"The Ori will show everyone the path to enlightenment" said the Prior as he looked at Willow, "the ones who are evil, will be burned in the fires of damnation."
"Right" said Willow as her nose started to bleed.
Willow felt a push back on her telekinesis and the Prior attacking her mental defences.
"Colonel" said Willow as she started to feel a large telekinetic pressure as the crystal in the Prior's staff started to get brighter and brighter, "get away."
"Major?" said the Colonel.
"Get away, sir!" said Willow as she telekinetically pushed away the Colonel, just as she was sent flying backwards and slammed into the desert sand.
"In the end" said the Prior as he walked past Daniel and the others who were thrown aside telekinetically, "Evil will always be defeated."
The Prior walked up to where Willow was coughing and had grabbed her chest in pain from the illness that she knew had affected her as well.
"The Ori" said the Prior as he telekinetically picked up Willow and hung her up in the air with her hands raised to her sides.
"RED!" shouted Faith as she ran towards Willow.
The Prior looked at Faith and smiled before turning back to Willow, who was already having difficultly breathing, as she gathered balls of energy on the palms of her hands and aimed it at the Prior.
"No" said Vachna as he ran in between Willow and the Prior forcing Willow to dissipate the energy in case she hit the villager, "please do not let their evil deeds doom us. We all bow to the power of the Ori."
"No" said Willow as she struggled to breathe, "the.. the Ori are not gods. Don't…"
"Silence" said the Prior as he telekinetically flung Willow into the building where Faith had just come out from. The Slayer could only look on helplessly as Willow flew over her and crashed through the door, and into the room where Dr. Lam was helping more patients.
"Major!" said Dr. Lam as she rushed to Willow and gave a small smile when she felt a pulse, although the redhead was unconscious.
The Prior could only smile at the shocked Faith as he tapped his staff onto the ground as the crystal on top gave off a brilliant white light that shone through the entire village.
"Hallowed are the Ori" said the Prior as Dr. Lam noticed that once the light washed over Willow, she started to feel better and only then did her injuries start to instantly heal, however she was still unconscious from the impact of hitting the wall.
"Hallowed are the Ori" said the villagers as they bowed down in reverence to the Prior.
As Faith ran back to the building were the medical unit was stationed, the same one that Willow had gone through, she was shocked that not only were the sick suddenly healed; but even the dead had returned to life.
'What the hell?' thought Faith to herself as she turned around and saw the same scenes of jubilation everywhere.
Meanwhile, back at the village, the Prior started to walk towards the Stargate. As he passed the Colonel, Daniel, Vala and Teal'c, he turned towards them and smirked.
"Tell others of what you have seen today" said the Prior as he turned around and walked off.
TBC.