A/N: Can't believe 90 chapters so far. Hope you guys enjoy this one, and thanks everyone for reading and reviewing.
Episode tag: The Fourth Horseman (SG1: s09e10 and s09e11)
Control Room, SGC, 1850 hours.
It had been a little over forty five minutes since SG1 had left for the Sodan planet, and a little over thirty minutes since the Gate activated and Daniel had let the SGC know that everyone was alright. Upon hearing that bit of news, Colonel Carter had left out the breath she was holding in before she walked to the hallway so that she could give Pete another call to tell him that she'll be home soon.
"Still nothing" said the Colonel to herself as the call went straight to his voicemail again.
Putting the phone back onto its cradle, the Colonel walked back to the control room just as the Gate started to dial.
"Incoming wormhole!" said the Colonel as a contingent of Marines ran into the Gateroom and took positions in front of the ramp.
"Colonel?" said General Landry as he ran down to the control room, "SG1?"
"Ummm…." said the Colonel as she waited for the IDC, and received it almost immediately, "yes sir, it's SG1."
"Open the Iris and deactivate the shield" said the General as Colonel Carter nodded her head.
Almost immediately after the Iris opened and the shield deactivated, the Puddle Jumper came through the Gate and hovered in the air, right in front of the Marines who were told to stand down by the General. As the Jumper hovered, the General could see that Faith and Colonel Mitchell were giving them a wave.
"Colonel, Miss Lehane" said General Landry, "good to have you back."
"Good to be back, sir" said Colonel Mitchell, as Faith nodded her head.
"Major" said the General take the Jumper back to Science Lab One, "all of you have a date with Dr. Lam, and then we'll have the briefing."
"Yes, Sir" said Willow.
"Oh, Colonel" said the General as he looked through the control window at Colonel Mitchell, "did the Sodan…."
"They chose the Ori, sir" said the Colonel as he looked at Willow and nodded.
"But we still have one hell of a briefing for you, Sir" said Willow.
"Very well" said the General, "get to it then."
"Yes, Sir" replied Colonel Mitchell.
"Welcome back" said Colonel Carter as she smiled at Willow.
"Great to be back" said Colonel Mitchell and Faith together.
It was two hours later that the entirety of SG1 sat in the briefing room as Faith and Colonel Mitchell told the others about their experience with the Sodan. After that, they talked about Athena and her connection to the Sodan; especially how she had helped them find the planet they currently inhabited. Once the briefing was done, the General leaned back into his seat and wiped his face with his hands.
"So we lost a potential ally" said the General.
"Not exactly, General" said Daniel, "when Jolan escorted me back to the Gate, he told me not everyone was in agreement with what Haikon was doing, including himself. Apparently, Faith and Colonel Mitchell must have told him something that gave him doubts on what the Prior's were telling them. So he agreed to send us intelligence on where the Priors would be sending them, or planets that the Priors were going to convert."
"When can we be expecting the first message?" asked General Landry.
"Possibly tomorrow" said Daniel, "that's when the Prior is supposed to return with a mission for them."
"I see" said the General, "I'll have SG2, 6, 11 and 14 on standby. In the meantime, go home and rest up people."
"Yes, Sir" said the three military personnel who stood up as the General rose and walked back into his office.
"So telling them about Athena did nothing?" asked Colonel Carter as she looked at Willow.
"Nothing" said Willow.
"I wouldn't say that" said Faith, "I could tell that Haikon has his doubts, but the lure of finally finding a path to enlightenment is too much for him to ignore."
"Maybe" replied Daniel, "but.. I don't know…. I think we need some…"
"Wins" said Colonel Mitchell as he led SG1 out of the briefing room, "we need some wins."
SGC, one week later, 1200 hours.
A week after the encounter with the Sodan and the rescue of both Faith and Colonel Mitchell, the unthinkable happened. Despite having lost various battles against the Priors in terms of planets being converted to Origin, the Ori still saw Earth as a threat… their primary threat mostly due to the development of the Anti-Prior technology.
It started with intelligence provided by Jolan of the Sodan, he had directed the SGC to the planet designated as P2X-885, a poverty stricken world where SG6 was sent on a purely recon mission. The nightmare started soon after they had returned to the SGC.
By the time SG6 had returned to Earth, Willow was in the gym while Faith was conducting a training lesson for some of the SGC's newest recruits. The redhead had stood on the sidelines after she had finished her workout, while she watched the Slayer wipe the smug smiles off the faces of some of the recruits after she threw the largest down onto the floor.
Willow: "Pissed you off?"
Faith: "They thought I couldn't take them one-on-one, especially this guy."
Willow: "I wish them luck."
Faith: "They'll need it."
Willow: "I'm gonna go take a shower, lunch?"
Faith: "An hour? Make it two, I wanna have a long…. Long shower."
Willow: "Sure. Meet you in the Mess Hall?
Faith: "Got it."
Willow smiled at Faith as she helped the Marine up before he took his place among the other recruits. The redhead walked out of the gym and towards the elevator landing. As she was waiting for the elevator, she heard some familiar voices coming from behind her.
"Daniel….. Sir" said Willow as she turned around and saw the archaeologist and Colonel Mitchell, who was balancing a basketball on his hand.
"Willow" said Daniel, "done with the gym?"
"Oh yeah" said Willow, "just waiting to get into the showers, get some lunch and then finish designing the Midway Station."
"Right" said Colonel Mitchell excitedly, "for the Gate bridge, right?"
"Yes, sir" said Willow, "hopefully we'll have it completed by next year."
"Then Atlantis will be just a footstep away" said Daniel as he looked out into space dreamily.
"Anyway" said the Colonel as he pointed to the elevator in front of them, "I wouldn't take that elevator if I were you."
"Why not, sir?" asked Willow.
"Colonel Barnes and SG6 just came back from '885" said the Colonel as he grinned at Willow, "and… well, let's just say that he and the others smell like the time the Hak'tyl brought all their horses here when the SGC was searching for a new planet to relocate them. Anyway, we saw them heading towards the elevator you're waiting for now."
"Oh" said Willow in realization as she recalled that the SGC smelled of horse manure for weeks despite the ventilation systems working at full power, "Right, I'll take the other elevator then. Thanks, Sir."
"No problem" said the Colonel as Willow walked past them.
"See ya, Daniel" said Willow as she waved at the archaeologist.
"See ya, lunch later?" asked Daniel as Willow was walking away.
"Sure" replied the redhead as she turned around, "two hours alright?"
"Got it" replied Daniel as he walked off with the Colonel; he then stopped as soon as Willow was out of earshot and grabbed the Colonel's shoulder, "wait a second, didn't Colonel Barnes and the others head for the other elevator? The one that Willow's heading towards?"
"Why yes, Jackson" said the Colonel grinning, "I do believe they did."
"Oh boy" said Daniel as he looked back at the empty hallway.
"Come on" said Colonel Mitchell trying to stifle his laughter as he grabbed Daniel's arm and quietly ran toward the other elevator, "I wanna see her face when she realizes that Barnes and SG6 are in the elevator."
"You do realize that she probably read your excited thoughts, right?" asked Daniel as he walked behind the Colonel with his hands in his pockets.
"Nah" said the Colonel with a dismissive wave of his hands as he and Daniel silently tailed Willow, "I didn't even think about it, nor was I excited."
"She's a human lie detector" whispered Daniel.
"You worry too much" said Colonel Mitchell as the both of them stopped and peered around the corner of the hallway as they saw Willow press the button for the elevator. They looked on as Willow put her hands on her hips as the door opened.
Once the doors of the elevators opened, Willow crinkled her nose and stepped back as a gush of foul smelling air rushed out of the elevator from the five men who were staring sheepishly at the redhead. It was then she knew that she had been tricked, plus she heard someone behind her in the hallway struggling not to laugh.
"Ummm…. Major" said Colonel Barnes scratching his head, "maybe it would be better if you took the next one."
"Yes, ma'am" said Lt. Fisher nodding his head, "we just spent a week with poverty stricken peasants and only one fresh water well, so….. we're not exactly the best people to be around."
"That's alright" sighed Willow as she stepped into the elevator and stood in the space that the men had made for her, "you're going my way, I take it?"
"Yes" said Colonel Barnes as he pressed the button that closed the door.
As the doors were closing, Willow caught a glimpse of Colonel Mitchell and Daniel peeking out at her, so she simply waved and smiled at the two of them.
"I've seen that face before" said Daniel worriedly, "you're so going to get it from her."
"Nah" said the Colonel as he looked at Daniel, "come on, let's get another hour at the gym before lunch."
"Right" said Daniel as the both of them took a step forward after turning around, and suddenly tripped and fell onto the floor.
"What the?" said the Colonel as he stared at his shoe laces which were tied to each other.
"See" replied Daniel as he slowly sat up and untied his shoelaces, "I told you so."
That should have been the end of things, but the return of SG6 was the start of a nightmare scenario that the SGC knew could one day happen and were already working on a defense. When future SGC members looked back during this time though, many would say that it led to what many would call a miracle.
Planet Designated P6Y-382, four days later, 0930 hours.
It has been four days since SG6 arrived at the SGC from their recon mission; four days since Colonel Barnes, Airman Ryan, and Lt. Brooks developed symptoms of the Prior Plague; four days since the Plague became airborne and spread throughout the continental U.S and the rest of the planet, and two days since the Ancient known as Orlin descended into the lower plains as a child so that he could hold on to his Ascended knowledge for much longer in order to help search for a cure. He appeared in Dr. Lee's lab when Willow and Colonel Carter were brainstorming on a way to prevent the further spread of the Plague in the second day, after Willow was told that she didn't have the Plague in her body; but she was warned by General Landry not to heal anyone, at least not yet, in the event that she could succumb to the plague as well.
"Sir" said Willow as she stood in the General's office, "Orlin is working with Colonel Carter but in the mean time, maybe my healing abilities can hold the secret to the cure."
"Major" replied General Landry, "I realize that; but if it doesn't, then we have a huge problem. We'll lose you... and without a viable cure on the table, I'm not willing to risk that action."
"But, Sir" said Willow.
"Major" replied the General, "that's an order."
"Yes, sir" said Willow quietly as she walked out the General's office and leaned on the wall, out of view from the General.
While everyone at the SGC, including Orlin, was doing everything they could to contain the Plague and prevent it spreading further across the planet; the world that the SGC computers would later designate as P6Y-384 had no idea about what was happening outside the confines of their planet. To any outsider, the small village of five hundred people spread across a vast field would just be a normal, idyllic farming community.. and they would be right.
Two days ago though, the lives of the people on this planet changed when a Prior came through the Stargate and walked to the village, where he had preached to the village elders about the Ori and their promise of ascension.
"No" said one of the elders, "we want nothing of gods, or enlightenment… we are not interested."
"You would refuse the Ori?" said the Prior as he looked at the large group in front of him.
"Yes" said another man as he stepped forward holding a bladed farming tool, "leave this village and never come back, we have no interest in your, or these Ori's promises."
"Beware" said the Prior as he turned around and walked back towards the Stargate, "all those who deny the Ori will be ground into dust. You have two days on which to decide."
"The decision has been made" said a woman, "leave and never come back."
That was two days ago, and the village elders never realized the mistake they had made.
"Rose! Rose!" said Jay as he ran on the trail that led towards the Stargate that stuck out off the ground, "where are you? Mother told us not to play so far away from the village."
"Jay" smiled Rose as she turned and giggled at her older brother, "here…. try and catch me if you can."
"Rose!" shouted Jay as he chased his younger sister through the tall grass that surrounded the ring, "we need to go back, mother will be worried."
"Catch me, Jay" said Rose giggling as she ran around the ring, and hid behind the Dial Home Device.
"Ok" said Jay as he stepped up from behind Rose and hugged her tight, "I caught you."
"You cheated" laughed Rose as she tried to get out of her brother's grip, "I…."
"Oh no" said Jay as he heard the inner ring of the Stargate making a grinding sound as it turned, "the great ring….. run home Rose… Run now!"
Rose followed her brother's order and ran… she ran as fast as her little legs could take her while sensing that her brother was close behind. Turning around, she saw that Jay kept on motioning her to run.
"Come on!" shouted Jay as he caught up to her.
"Jay" said Rose in wide eyed wonder as she pointed at the Stargate, "look."
Jay turned around just as the unstable vortex of the wormhole formed as he too looked in wonder at the blue shimmering pool of water.
"The great ring" said Rose as she walked towards the Gate, "it's… it's so beautiful."
"Rose!" hissed Jay as he grabbed Rose's arm and ran pulling her along with him until they were close to his village.
"Mother!" shouted Jay as he got close to his home which was located close to the entrance of the village, "Mother!"
"Jay?"
"Mother" said Jay panting as he ran into the house with Rose, "it's…. it's…. the… the great ring….. it's…."
"You went out there!" said his mother, "I told you…. we heard the stories…. That it's dangerous.. how could you…"
"Mother!" shouted Jay, "we saw people coming through the ring as if it was magic."
"What?" said Jay's mother, "what did you say?"
"Attention!" shouted a man from the outside.
"Stay inside the house" said the mother as she looked out her window and many people in armour standing outside the entrance to the village, "do not leave…"
"But" said Rose.
"Do…. Not….. leave… do you understand me!" shouted their mother.
"Yes" said both Rose and Joy as they hung their heads down while their mother walked out of the house and closed the door behind her.
"Greetings"
"I am Lord Haikon of the Sodan"
"I am Jo, one of the elders of the village. How may I help you?"
"You were visited by a Prior of the Ori were you not?" asked Haikon.
"Yes" replied Jo, "but we refused him, we asked him to leave and never come back."
By this time, people from the nearby houses had come out of their homes and stood next to Jo.
"Lord Haikon" said Jo as she glanced at their armour and the strange weapons they were carrying, "we are just a simple farming community. All we wish is to be left alone; I do not know what the Prior told you, but…."
"We were informed of a world of non-believers who were conspiring against the Ori" said Haikon as he looked around and noticed that all the people around him were carrying farming equipment in their hands.
"All we did was say no to them" shouted a man who stood next to Jo.
"Please" said Jo as he turned to the man, "do not shout."
"Very well" said the man who nodded at Jo.
"We were told that your people posed a credible threat" said Haikon as he looked at Jo.
"We are but only farmers" said another man as he walked towards Haikon, "we do not have advanced weapons, we do not have armour as you are wearing, all we wish is to live our lives in peace. Would you murder an entire village for that?"
Haikon could only look at the people in front of him and he turned around and saw fields of nothing but various types of crops as far as the eye can see. He then looked back at Jo and the man who stood next to her and viewed them with a critical eye.
"Jolan" said Haikon as he glanced back to teh other warrior behind him.
"My lord" said Jolan as he ran up to his leader.
"Let us go home" said Haikon as he turned around to the surprise of not just the Sodan warrior, but to the surprise of Jo and the man standing beside her.
"Thank you" said Jo.
"I once met a woman of the Tau'ri" said Haikon as he looked back at Jo, "she told me that I needed to have faith that I would follow the spirit and the traditions of the Sodan, instead of those of the Ori. And that is what I am doing now…. Following the traditions of the Sodan."
Jo could only nod her head as she saw Haikon and the other Sodan warriors walking away towards the Stargate.
"Ren" said Jo as she turned to the man standing next to her, "who are the Tau'ri?"
"I do not know" said Ren as he held her hand and walked back towards her home, "where are the children?"
"They should be…." Said Jo as she opened the door and was surprised when she couldn't find them in the living room.
"Rose?" said Ren as he ran to the bedrooms,
"Jay?!" shouted Jo as she ran into the back of the house.
"Anything?" asked Ren as Jo shook her head, tears welling in her eyes.
"They know better than just to leave without saying anything" said Jo, "I can't lose my children again."
"You will not" said Ren as he held on to Jo, "we will get them back. Where do you think they may be?"
"I don't… I mean…. I told them never to play near the great ring and….." said Jo as her eyes widened, "the great ring!"
"Shhhh" said Jay as he and Rose hid behind some of the tall grass near the DHD.
"I am quiet" whispered Rose.
"You are making noises through your nose" said Jay, "stop it."
"But…" said Rose as Jay's hand covered her mouth as Haikon and the other Sodan warriors appeared on the trail that led towards the Stargate.
"Jolan" said Haikon as he nodded at the DHD.
"Yes, my lord" said Jolan as he dialed the Sodan planet while Jay and Rose watched the symbols that lit up on the dialing device from their hiding spot. They watched that as soon as the one the knew as Jolan pressed the red button in the center of the circle, the shimmering blue pool of water appeared and they watched as the Sodan warriors walked through.
"Wow" said Jay as he stood up from his hiding spot, holding onto his sister once the last few Warriors walked through.
"JAY! ROSE!" shouted Jo as she and Ren ran up the trail and stopped as they looked at the blue shimmer before it vanished.
"Mother…. Ren" said Jay as he turned around excitedly, "see… I told you… it's magic."
"Jay" shouted Jo as she hugged her son, and then motioned for her daughter to come and join in as well, "don't ever do that again. I lost two of your sisters….. I don't want to lose the both of you, I don't want my heart broken anymore."
"Sorry, momma" said Rose as she kissed Jo's cheek while Jay wiped the tears that were falling from his mother's eyes.
"I have never seen the great ring do that" said Ren as he looked up at the Stargate, "it was amazing… I mean, I have only heard legends that it was used by the gods to conquer our people long ago, but there was never any writings on what it did… or how it worked."
"We saw those men just walk through the water" said Jay.
"Yes" said Rose as he pointed at the DHD, "they pressed some buttons and then 'whoooosh'."
"Do you remember the buttons?" asked Ren as he walked back towards the small family.
"Yes" said Jay, "they were..."
"Maybe another time?" said Jo as she looked down at the children, "maybe we'll talk about it after we have our meal?"
"Yes, mother" said both Jay and Rose together.
"Ren?" said Jo, "you are more than welcome to join us at our table."
"I would like to stay and examine the great ring" said Ren as he stared at the Stargate.
"Very well" said Jo, "do not stay here for too long, it will be dark soon."
That was the last time that Jo would see Ren alive. After having their dinner, the small family had gone to bed. Once they had awoken the next day, Jo sensed something wrong in the village, as if a dark cloud had fallen over the entire community. As she walked out of her house to perform her morning chores, she noticed that people all around her were coughing, while others were complaining to each other of pain in their chest and difficulty breathing. While she walked through the village, she felt herself getting weaker… as if she had to stop continuously for breath, as if her lungs were slowly burning from the inside.
Walking slowly back to her home, she went to her children's bedrooms where Jay and Rose were still asleep.
"Jay" said Jo as she ran her hand through his hair when she noticed that he was burning up, "Jay!"
"Mother?" said Jay as he wiped his eyes before looking at Jo, "are you….? I don't feel so well."
"Oh baby" said Jo, "come, I need you to wake up. I'll take you to the doctor."
"Rose" said Jo as she turned around to face her other child who looked pale, "Rose?"
"Momma" said Rose softly as Jo placed a hand on her forehead, "I don't feel well, momma."
"Rose" said Jo as she picked her up from the bed, "Jay…. Get up, follow me to the doctor now!"
A distraught Jo ran as she carried Rose who held on tightly to her neck with Jay closely following them until they reached the doctor's home.
"Doctor!" screamed Jo as she pounded on the door, "DOCTOR!"
"Momma" said Rose as she started to cry, "I don't feel so good."
"Rose" said Jay as he looked up at his sister, "you wanna play?"
"Yes" said Rose as Jo kept on pounding the door.
"Don't sleep alright" said Jay, "tell me what games you want to play and then we will play… we will play when you get better."
"Tired, Jay" said Rose softly.
"Rose" said Jo as her daughter held onto her neck tighter.
"Mother" said Jay, "the great ring, we can call for aid… those men.. the ones who came yesterday can help us."
"I… I…" said Jo before she started pounding the doctor's door again, "DOCTOR! Please.. help!"
"Mother!" shouted Jay as he looked around and saw people just sitting on the ground slowly as they started to pant, "please, mother…. We need to call for aid… the village…"
Knowing she had no choice, and with Rose having difficulty breathing, she knew she had to do something drastic. She had to take a risk.
The Sodan Planet, ten minutes later.
Just as Jo, carrying Rose in her arms, and Jay stepped through the event horizon of the wormhole; they found themselves in a forest full of tall trees. As the Stargate disengaged after they passed through, Jo and Jay looked at each other in shock before they looked at their surroundings.
"Where…. Where are we?" said Jo as she looked around in surprise, "what.. is… what?"
"Halt!" said a voice as Jo and Jay turned around, only to face six warriors who appeared out of nowhere with their weapons raised and ready to fire.
"Please" said Jo as tears streaked down her eyes, "please help me… my children need a doctor… I beg you… please!"
The Sodan warriors in front of them looked at each other in confusion at the scene playing out in front of them as the blonde haired mother of the two children was calling for their help. One of the Sodan put his weapon onto his back and stepped forward before taking Jay into his arms. Another warrior reached for Rose, but Jo twisted her body and shook her head, as the warrior nodded his head before turning around.
"Take them to the village" said the warrior.
"But the Prior?" said another Sodan warrior.
"I have heard that Athena killed him" said one of them.
"It matters not, the girl is in distress, she needs medicine" said the warrior who held on to Jay, "they will not stay here to die, that is not the way of the Sodan."
"Come" said the man who was carrying Jay in his arms as he nodded at Jo to follow him.
Jo and Rose followed the warrior to a structure that resembled an obelisk as he pressed a combination of buttons, and soon they were awash in a bright white light.
Meanwhile, back in the village, the members of SG22 were covering up the body of the Prior who had a hole in his head and chest courtesy of both Willow and Colonel Mitchell. They had tried to convince the Prior that the Ori were lying to them, that they need people to worship them willingly so that they could sap power from the lower plains of existence.
They even had gotten General Landry and Orlin to the Sodan planet to try and convince the Prior that the Ori were simply using them for their own ends…. That the Ori don't offer ascension for their followers since they would have to share the power. But it was unsuccessful, as the previously powerless Prior managed to stave off the effects of the Anti-Prior weapon and attack General Landry. Willow and Colonel Mitchell had no choice but to shoot the Prior, with Willow going for the head shot.
"SG22 leader to SG one leader" said Colonel Raimi over the radio to Colonel Mitchell who was talking to Faith, Willow and General Landry about the events of that day with Lord Haikon after Daniel had taken Orlin back to Earth fifteen minutes ago.
"Go ahead" replied the Colonel.
"The Sodan guarding the Gate brought in a mother and her two children to the village entrance" said Colonel Raimi, "looks like they have the Plague, and the little girl doesn't look too good. And, Colonel… the mother is claiming to be from Earth."
"What?" said General Landry surprised as he looked at Colonel Mitchell, Willow and Faith.
"Sir" said Willow, "Colonel Carter said that Orlin hit a wall on his research, I think it's time we use my powers… we really don't have a choice now."
"Powers?" asked Lord Haikon.
"Haikon" said Willow, "I have special abilities, but that doesn't mean that I'm… you know."
"Athena" said Haikon as he nodded his head, "I… I understand."
"Sir" said Willow as she turned to the General, "we don't have a choice anymore, Orlin did everything he could… the other Ancients won't help us… I think it's time we used me."
"Red" said Faith as she squeezed her arm, "are you sure?"
"We don't have a choice" said Willow as she looked at Faith, and then turned to General Landry, "Teal'c is still trying to convince Gerak but there's been no luck on that end… right, Sir?"
"Yes" said General Landry as he closed his eyes and sighed, "do it."
"Sir?" said Colonel Mitchell.
"Do it" said General Landry as he looked at Willow.
"I'll go with you" said Colonel Mitchell as he looked at Willow, who nodded her head.
"Sir" said Willow as the General nodded his head.
"Major" said General Landry as Willow passed him, "I'm sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about, Sir" said Willow, "if I can heal enough people, then maybe Dr. Lam can get a cure and help others."
"SG22 to SG1, we have a problem" said Colonel Raimi over the radio, "one of the children just stopped breathing."
"Go" said General Landry as Willow and Colonel Mitchell ran towards the entrance of the village where they could see Colonel Raimi giving CPR to a young girl who seemed about three or four years old, with her mother crying as she knelt on the ground and had her hands covering her face.
"Rose!" said Jay as he stood next to his sister, "ROSE!"
"Sir" said Willow as she ran up to the girl and looked at the Colonel, "any pulse?"
"Weak" said Colonel Raimi as she felt for her pulse, "very weak."
"Colonels" said Willow as got on both knees and looked up at both Colonel Mitchell and Raimi, "please get them back I need to concentrate."
"Alright" said Colonel Raimi as he picked up a crying Jay while Colonel Mitchell tried to help Jo stand up but was pushed away.
"NO!" shouted Jo, "I'm not losing my children again… I'm not losing them again."
"Ma'am" said Willow as she looked at the woman who had her head down, "ma'am, look at me…. I can…."
Willow's eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock and surprise as the woman, the mother to these two children, looked back at her in equal shock and surprise.
"No" said Willow utterly shocked, "it.. it.. can't be."
"Major!" said Colonel Mitchell as Jo kept on looking at Willow in shock, "the girl."
"R… right" said Willow as she quickly composed herself, placed her hand on Rose's chest and closed her eyes. Soon there was a white light that emanated from her palm as everyone looked on as Rose's cheeks started to gain back its colour and she started to open her eyes.
"Hey Kiddo" said Willow as she looked back at the little blonde girl who was smiling at her.
"He…. Hello" said Rose, "momma?"
"I… I… I'm here" said Jo as she looked at her daughter before looking back at Willow.
"It's me" said Willow as she looked at Jo, "it's really me."
"Major?" said Colonel Mitchell, "do you know this woman?"
"Sir" said Willow, "I.. I have to heal her son.."
"Oh, right" said Colonel Mitchell as Colonel Raimi brought Jay over to Willow as Jo looked on at the redhead in front of her.
"Hey Sweetie" smiled Willow as she put her hand on his chest, "this won't hurt at all."
"Ok" said Jay as he smiled as he started to feel his strength returning back into his body, "it tickles."
"I know, right?" said Willow as she wiped away some tears from her face, "you hungry?"
"Yes" said Jay as Rose quickly got up after Willow had taken out a bar from her bottom vest pocket.
"This is a Hershey's candy bar from my home world" said Willow as her voice started to break and she wiped more tears from her face as the two Colonels looked on confused. She then unwrapped the bar, broke off one piece and put it into her mouth and chewed, "it's really yummy and sweet and everything else a kid needs, how about you take it and share it with your sister?"
"Momma?" said Rose as she got up and hugged her mother, "can we? Please? We'll be good."
"Looks like you got your hunger back" laughed Jo as she kept on crying.
"Come on" said Colonel Raimi as he took both of the children's hands, "how about we go visit some friends?"
"YES!" said Jay and Rose excitedly.
Willow watched them go off before she turned and looked at the woman in front of her.
"Are you a dream?" asked Jo as she started to cry even harder, "I had dreams about you and the others for so long that… that…"
"It's me" said Willow as she put her hands on Jo's cheeks, "it's me, I'm real."
"Major?" said Colonel Mitchell.
"Sir" said Willow as she looked up at her commanding officer, "meet Joyce Summers, Buffy and Dawn's mother."
"Wait a minute" said Colonel Mitchell confused, "didn't you say she was…."
"Yes" said Willow as she started to heal Joyce.
"And are you sure she's not a replicator or… well, you know" said the Colonel.
"I can feel her emotions" said Willow as she looked at Joyce, who looked almost the same as the day Willow left Sunnydale.
"Willow" said Joyce as she put her hands on the redhead's cheeks, "you're real…. Oh God, you're real."
"Welcome home" said Willow as she gave Joyce a tight hug before the blonde woman breaking down on Willow's shoulder.
Willow: "Faith.. I need you at the entrance."
"Willow" said Joyce again as she wiped the tears from her eyes, "I… I was taken.. I…."
"It's alright" said Willow as she sensed Faith running towards her.
"Red" said Faith as she ran towards Willow and the woman she was hugging tightly, "what's…. oh God."
Faith could only stop and stare in shock as she brought both of her hands to her mouth.
"Faith?" said Joyce.
"It's alright" said Willow, "she's real."
"Mrs. Summers?" said Faith as she walked forward and knelt onto the ground, "is it really you? You're not some alternate reality…"
"She's real" said Willow.
"Faith?" said Joyce as she cupped the Slayer's cheeks, "it's you?"
"Yes" said Faith as her voice broke before she gave her a tight hug, "I'm so sorry about what happened between us… God, I'm so sorry."
"Sir" said Willow as she stood up and wiped her eyes, "I can confirm that she's the real Joyce Summers."
"I understand" said the Colonel as he looked on in surprise, "but we still need to run a full DNA test on her, plus the regular tests for nanites and such."
"Momma… momma" said Rose who ran from the training ring where she was playing with Jay, "I'm hungry again."
"Sorry" said Jay sheepishly to Joyce.
"Can I have more?" said Rose as she looked up and tugged on Willow's BDU's while smiling.
"Here ya go" said Colonel Mitchell as he took out his candy bar, unwrapped it and gave it to Rose who gave him a wide smile.
"Rose" said Joyce as she wiped her eyes again before motioning to her to come close to her..
"Mother?" asked Jay as he looked at the tears falling down her cheeks, "are you alright?"
"Yes" said Joyce, "there.. there's some people I want you to meet."
"Ok" said Jay and Rose together as Joyce stood up, along with Faith.
"I want you to meet your Aunt Willow and Aunt Faith" said Joyce as she looked at her two children before looking at Willow and Faith, "Willow, Faith… these are my children, Rose and Jay."
"Hey" said Willow as she tussled both their hairs.
"B and Dawn are going to be doing back flips" said Faith as she laughed while wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Buffy… Dawn" said Joyce as she wiped more tears that kept on falling down her face, "Oh God… how could I… are they? I mean…"
"They're alright" said Willow, "Buffy's still in Sunnydale working for a new organization that battles supernatural threats, and Dawn's in Sunnydale working on another project for us."
"Jay, Rose" said Joyce as she crouched down, "there are something's that you should know."
"Ma'am" said Colonel Mitchell, "before you continue with your story, would you please come with me. We need to get you checked out at our Alpha Site."
"Huh?" said Joyce as she looked at Willow.
"Earth is under attack by the Prior Plague" said Willow as Joyce looked on in surprise, "we're trying our best to beat the disease but…. Anyway, all off-world teams are being directed to our Alpha Site. No wormholes are being allowed to be connected back to Earth, at least for now."
"Willow" said Joyce as she looked at the redhead, "what? Wormhole?"
"That's what you came through" said Colonel Mitchell, "that giant ring? The Stargate."
"Stargate?" said Joyce, "in the world I was deposited in, they called it the Great Ring."
"Deposited?" said Willow in surprise as she looked at the Colonel and then at Faith before looking at Joyce, "who deposited you there?"
"He… it…" said Joyce, "he called himself Loki."
Angel and Cordelia's office, BPRI, Sunnydale, California, one week later.
It had taken Gerak to sacrifice himself through healing everyone in the mountain, together with the research that Orlin had completed, in order to create the cure for the Prior's plague which was being distributed to hospitals across the country, and throughout the world. At the end of the day, the world wide death toll was three thousand, but now the planet had access to the cure. The SGC now knew that the Prior's first line of attack on any planet, the plague, would fail. The cure was eventually distributed to other planets that were affected, but some planets received the cure too late… every living being had been eradicated.
All the while Joyce and her two younger children were guests at the SGC while they were fully examined by the medical team under the supervision of Dr. Lam. In the meantime, Willow had asked General Landry and General O'Neill that disclosure be made to the BPRI as Joyce's return wouldn't be something that could easily be explained away… especially since her body should still be in her grave.
"Angel" said Buffy as she walked into his office after he had cancelled all of her upcoming missions before ordering all senior staff of the BPRI to report to him and Cordelia, "what's….. Willow?"
"Hey Buff" said Willow as she stood in the office in her dress blues, along with Faith and Dawn, and a bald man who was talking to Cordelia.
"Willow?" smiled Buffy as she hugged the redhead, "what're you doing here? I mean… you look good."
"Thanks" said Willow as Xander, Tara, Kennedy, Giles and Anya walked into the office, "hey guys."
"Willow" said Giles as he gave the redhead a hug, "you look good."
"Thanks" said Willow as she stepped back.
"Willster" said Xander as he gave her a mock salute before giving her a hug, "have I ever told you how good you look in an uniform?"
"You never saw me in this, Xander" said Willow.
"Major" said Xander as he ran his fingers over the oak leaves, "I still can't believe it, I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks" smiled Willow.
"So Willow" said Dawn, "now do we get to know the surprise?"
"Yea" said Willow as she nodded at Angel.
"I need everyone to take a seat" said Angel as he stood in front with Willow, Cordelia, Faith and the bald man, "we have representatives from the IOA and HomeWorld Security who want to talk to you guys today about a special project."
"Before we continue" said Faith as she gave folders to Kennedy, Xander, Buffy and Giles, "I need you guys to sign the non-disclosure agreements."
"Wait" said Dawn with her eyes wide in surprise, "disclosure? Are you serious? Really?"
"Yeah" smiled Willow, "full disclosure."
"Willow" said Buffy as she read the paperwork, "this is…"
"Buff" said Willow, "you've wanted to know what I do for a living. Now you get that chance."
"But.." said Giles as Willow interrupted him.
"Listen" said Willow, "Faith and I actually had to beg the President to get disclosure for you guys since there are some special circumstances that I'll get to later on. This project has already been disclosed to some of our allies in NATO, others will soon follow suit. Organizations like this one would technically be the last to know.. but, like I said, there are special circumstances present as to why you need to know now. So please, just sign it and we can begin. Please."
"Some details of the project will be allowed to be leaked" said Woolsey, "the only thing that cannot be leaked for matters of security and privacy are the location of the project and the names, addresses and other details of the people involved with the project."
"Alright" said Buffy as she signed the paperwork and returned it to Faith, along with the others.
"So, IOA?" asked Kennedy.
"That would be me. I'm Richard Woolsey from the International Oversight Advisory"
"Wait" said Xander, "earlier did you just say Home World? Don't you mean homeland? Homeland Security?"
"Homeland Security is charged with protecting the United States and its territories, including protectorates, from and responding to terrorist attacks, man-made accidents, and natural disasters" said Willow as she stood next to Faith.
"Both Red and I are with Home World Security" said Faith as Buffy, Xander, Giles and Kennedy looked on in surprise.
"Home World deals with outside threats to the planet" said Willow, "plus it operates our Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Omega sites, the F-302 program, the 303 and the 304 programs, the SGC which is mostly funded by the IOA, and… well…. There are other surprises out there."
"Wait" said Xander surprised, "did… did you just say Off-world?"
"Willow?" said Buffy, "what do you mean by threats… I mean outside threats?"
"Aliens" said Willow as Xander stood up excitedly.
"I knew it!"said Xander.
"No you didn't" grinned Willow.
"Willow" said Giles as he took off his glasses, "what are you saying?"
"I don't work at NORAD or the Deep Space Telemetry program, nor am I responsible for making sure that you can get your satellite channels on time" said Willow, "all of that were cover stories."
"Same for me" said Faith, "and it's the same for Dawn."
"Sorry" said Dawn sheepishly as she felt Buffy looking at her in shock.
"Dawnie?" said Buffy, "what?"
"Buff" said Willow, "don't blame her, Dawn had to sign a confidentiality agreement just like me, and the others who work at the place I work."
"Wait" said Kennedy, "then why didn't Tara, Anya and the others… oh."
"Angel?" said Buffy, "you knew?"
"Yea" said Angel, "something happened while you were in prison… and well."
"Listen" said Willow as she looked at Buffy and then at Angel, "we can go through details later."
"As you were saying, Willow" said Giles.
"Right" said Willow, "I work for an organization that operates out of Cheyenne Mountain, under NORAD known as Stargate Command."
"Stargate?" said Giles surprised.
"It's a ring shaped device that was found on the Giza Plateau in 1928" said Faith, "it basically creates an artificial subspace wormhole from one gate to another gate in the galaxy."
"Willow" said Giles, "aliens? Stargates? I mean…. It's unreal."
Willow and Woolsey then started to explain the basic workings of the SGC, the Stargate network, the Goa'uld, and the Ancients as Buffy, Giles, Xander and Kennedy looked on in surprise.
"Wait" said Buffy, "so those parasite things that Travers wanted to put in us?"
"Alien" said Faith as she nodded her head.
"Ewwww" said Buffy.
"Wills" replied Xander, "I don't believe it… it's just so…."
"Please say cool" said Willow.
"It's so cool" said Xander excitedly.
"Major?" said Woolsey as he handed her some envelopes.
"Thanks" replied Willow as she handed Tara, Angel, Anya and Dawn the envelopes.
"What's this?" asked Anya.
"Open it" said Willow as she smiled at Faith.
"They are letters of thanks from the President for duties performed on behalf of the SGC" said Woolsey.
"Which means that I can safely say that Tara and Anya received a commendation from the President for helping to save not only Willow, but two of their comrades who were stuck in another galaxy" said Angel.
"What?" said Kennedy as she looked at Tara, "you told me that…."
"You should be proud of her" said Willow as she sensed Kennedy's anger, "she saved my life.. she's a hero for helping us to get intelligence on an enemy, which we'll discuss later."
"B" said Faith, "you should be the proudest of Dawn."
"Dawnie?" said Buffy as she looked at her sister, "what does she mean?"
"Mr. Angel?" said Woolsey.
"Right" said Angel as he reached into his drawer and took out a small box that the IOA man had given to him earlier that day, "Dawn, not only did the President and the SGC give you a commendation, he also wanted you to have this as a thank you."
"What?" said Dawn as she opened the box and found a plaque inside.
"Dawnie?" said Buffy, "what did you…"
"She helped us save the galaxy" said Willow as Buffy looked at the redhead in surprise.
"I didn't do much" said Dawn sheepishly, "I just.. I mean…"
"Miss Summers" said Woolsey as he looked at Buffy, "according to your sister's own report, which has been corroborated by Colonel Carter, Major Rosenberg, Miss Lehane and General Jacob Carter, your sister protected this galaxy from being invaded by a race of mechanical beings called replicators. If she hadn't done what she did, we wouldn't be here right now."
"Sorry" said Dawn as she looked down at the floor, "I couldn't tell you."
"You kidding me?" said Buffy excitedly as she hugged her sister, "you have no idea how proud I am of you."
"Well done, Dawn" said Giles as he gave her a hug.
"There are some other things you guys need to know" said Willow as she walked towards Buffy, "but first I wanna show you something special."
"Willow" said Buffy as she looked at the redhead and hugged her, "I'm so sorry.. about everything that happened. What have I done?"
"It's alright" said Willow, "we're resetting everything remember? And you're getting full disclosure so…. You wanna see her?"
"See who?" asked Buffy.
"Guys" said Willow as she looked at the Scoobies in the room, "wanna see something special?"
"What?" asked Xander.
"You'll see" said Willow as she turned back to Angel, "you coming?"
"Nah" said Angel, "I've already gone off-world; take Cordy with you."
"Angel?" said Buffy, "you went off-world?"
"Willow will explain everything when you get to the SGC" said Angel before turning to Cordelia, "go…. I'll stay here."
"You sure?" asked Cordelia, "I mean…."
"Yeah" said Angel as he kissed her cheek.
"Mr. Woolsey?" asked Willow, "it's a quick hop from here to Cheyenne."
"I'm planning on going to Washington" said Woolsey.
"Driving?" asked Faith.
"Plane" replied Woolsey.
"Alright" said Willow as she motioned everyone to follow her, "come on… off to the roof we go."
"Wills" said Xander as he ran up to the redhead while she was walking up the stairs, "so everything's true? All the things you said in the office were true?"
"There are something's that I can only tell you in the SGC" said Willow, "and there are things I need to show you."
"Like?" said Kennedy who had ran up behind Willow as the redhead opened the door that led into the open roof of the BPRI building.
"Like this" said Willow as she took out a remote control from inside her jacket and pressed a button.
"My word" said Giles as he and the others saw the Puddle Jumper decloak in front of them.
"This is one of the ships the Ancients used when they inhabited the galaxy" said Willow as she opened the rear hatch and walked into the ship as the lights automatically turned on, "it's one of their many technologies that uses a special gene to operate which I possess, as does Faith and Dawn."
"Dawnie?" said Buffy as she looked at her sister.
"We think that since I was created from your blood" said Dawn, "you have the gene too."
"Willow" said Cordelia, "how about me?"
"We have a test that can be run at the lab, if you want that to be tested that is" said Willow before she looked at Giles, "I know you have a lot of questions, Giles… especially about the Ancients and the best person to ask would be either Daniel or Dawn."
"Actually" said Dawn, "Dr. Jackson is the most qualified."
"Wait" said Giles, "you mean Dr. Daniel Jackson? The man who was the laughing stock of the entire archaeological community?
"Yeah" said Dawn, "that one."
"Rear hatch is closed, Red" said Faith.
"Thanks" replied Willow sat on the pilot seat and held on to the controls as the console in front of her lit up, "hey Buff, wanna sit up front?"
"Sure" said Buffy as she ran up to the front of the cockpit and sat next to Willow.
"Here we go" said Willow as she cloaked the ship and flew straight up into the sky.
"Jumper One to SGC Control" said Willow.
"Jumper One" said Colonel Carter on the subspace communication system.
"SCG Control" said Willow, "has Odyssey left for its test?"
"Negative" replied the Colonel.
"Copy" said Willow, "we'll conduct a cloaked fly-by before heading back to base, ETA twenty minutes."
"Got it" said the Colonel, "enjoy."
"Odyssey?" asked Xander as he walked up to the front as he saw everything become dark as the stars slowly started to appear in his view.
"That" said Willow as she pointed at the ship in the distance, "the Earth's third battle cruiser, the latest out of the assembly line; the Odyssey."
"You really weren't kidding when you said you were working on a warp drive, were you" said Xander as Buffy and the others walked up to the cockpit and looked out in surprise.
"Hyper drive, actually" said Faith, "intergalactic hyper drive. Although it was a gift to us by one of our allies in helping them to fight the Replicators."
"Willow" said Cordelia, "it's…. it's,….."
"She's beautiful" said Willow, "even Angel hasn't seen her yet."
"Kennedy" said Buffy as she turned around, "you gotta see this."
"It's alright" said Kennedy as she sat on one of the Jumper seats.
"You mentioned 302's or something" said Xander.
"Newest fighter interceptors" said Willow as she headed back down towards Earth, "they fly in space and everything. The Prometheus is the 303; and the Daedalus and the Odyssey are the ships under the 304 program. All three have the most advanced alien and human technology that's available right now."
"SGC Control" continued Willow.
"Jumper One?" said Colonel Carter.
"Heading Home" replied Willow as she flew the Jumper towards Cheyenne mountain.
In the twenty minutes it took Willow to get to the SGC, everyone had surrounded Dawn and Faith to ask them questions about what they had been up to at the SGC. It was soon after the questions started that Giles had walked up to Willow and sat down on the co-pilot's seat.
"What you've done, Willow" said Giles as he looked out the window before turning to Willow, "everything you've done is on par with what Buffy and the other's have done to save the world, from everything I've heard from Faith and Dawn you've done a lot of good."
"I only joined the tail end of the fight with the Goa'uld" said Willow, "the others handled the heavy lifting… but this new enemy we're facing. I know we've only told you the basics… at least what we can tell you outside the confines of the SGC… you'll be able to get all your questions answers once we get back. All I can tell you is that we've made a lot of mistakes, but we've fixed them… although sacrifices had to be made… people have died… friends have died."
"I never expected you to be doing this" said Giles silently, "but here you are, you travel to other planets.. helping people… saving lives… and I couldn't be more proud of you."
"Thanks" said Willow as Cheyenne Mountain came into view, "we're here."
"Buffy" said Giles as he turned back towards the blonde Slayer when he saw the mountain, "look."
"Jumper One to SGC Control" said Willow, "Please open roof doors for entry."
"Doors are open" said Colonel Carter, "take the ship to Science Lab One through the entry hatch on Level Twenty One."
"Level Twenty One" said Willow as she entered the mountain, "copy that."
"Once you've parked" said the Colonel, "bring everyone over to the briefing room, General Landry and Daniel would like to meet them, and then you can show them the surprise."
"Copy" said Willow as she flew the ship through the hatch into Science Lab One.
"Guys" smiled Faith as Willow landed the Puddle Jumper onto solid ground, "welcome to Stargate Command, please leave your tray tables on the upright position and.. yeah… you know the drill."
TBC.