Atlantis, Lantea, 10,000 years ago.
A soft white light with tendrils trailing behind it descended slowly down to the darkened Gateroom in Atlantis, it started to slowly dim as it formed into the shape of Athena. Taking a step forward after materializing, she noticed that the city sensed her presence and started to activate its systems.
"Shhh" said Athena as she looked up and around her surroundings, "slumber, old friend."
Walking slowly up the central stairs, the lights that had turned themselves on earlier began turning off by themselves. Shrouded in total darkness now, Athena radiated a dim white light from her body as she walked to the control room and brushed her fingers over the transparent sheets that covered the control consoles. She then walked to the back of the room and pushed open the door to the main balcony where she stood leaning over the railing as she smiled at the sight of her home which would lay under Lantea's ocean for millennia. Giving another smile, she brushed the railing as she walked back into the control room and telekinetically closed the doors to the balcony.
Walking down the stairs at the back of the control room, she was flooded with images of her friends, colleagues and family who had walked or, in some cases, ran through the hallways. Once she had walked down two levels, she entered another hallway where she recalled having met Dr. Weir. Smiling, Athena continued to walk until she reached a door. Mentally opening it, she walked into the room that had only one Potentia in the control column while Dr. Weir was encased in the stasis chamber. Walking up to the chamber, Athena stood in front of Dr. Weir.
"I wonder what my descendent will be like" said Athena as she looked at the woman, even though the redhead knew that she could not be heard, "maybe I will meet her one day in the future, tell her what you sacrificed to save your expedition if they make it back to Atlantis."
Athena then saw the two Potentia that were left on the floor next to the stasis chamber, and then looked back at Dr. Weir.
"Farewell, Dr. Weir" said Athena, "I will come and say hello whenever I visit Atlantis. I wish you a good journey home."
Athena then turned around and walked through the door before mentally closing it shut. After she had walked around the city by herself; taking in the good and bad memories that she created, she started to glow brighter before she flew into the air and vanished in a flash of white light.
For thousands of years, both Athena and Hera would travel together like any sisters as they explored various galaxies and civilizations, collecting knowledge along the way. There was a tiny bit of competition between the two of them as to how much knowledge they could gain, however they never stopped, they couldn't stop; so there was never a winner. The two sisters taught each other, and learned from each other. The sense of adventure for both of them was intoxicating. They had seen wars fought in various galaxies, watched over other life forms but never directly interfered in their evolution in any way, they watched civilization rise until they reached their ultimate point before falling again.
In the intervening two thousand years after their ascension, Hera and Athena had travelled to many worlds and had seen many things across various galaxies together. It was later that both Athena and Hera reached a massive vessel that had just finished recharging its systems by flying straight into a yellow star millions of light years away from the Milky Way.
Soon enough, two lights manifested in one of the hallways of the ship and slowly dimmed to reveal both Athena and Hera smiling at each other.
"I told you that I would be able to reach here before you" grinned Athena as she looked at Hera who was sulking.
"You cheated" said Hera, "you said you had seen a star cluster nearby that looked like the jewel that mother had left for me. I looked, and then realized it was a trick and the next thing I knew… you had already gone through the hull of this vessel."
"I did wait for you" replied Athena as she stuck her tongue out at Hera, who stuck her tongue at her older sister as well.
"So" said Hera as she punched Athena's upper arm before she wrapped her arm around Athena's and walked through the hallways, "this is Destiny?"
'"Yes" said Athena as she looked around the curved hallway, "records showed that the ship was launched eons ago, just a few years after our ancestors came upon Avalon."
"I read about that in the library" said Hera and the both of them turned a corner and reached a closed door. Reaching out her hand, Hera mentally opened the door to reveal a large viewing room.
"Amazing" said Athena as she walked over to the railing and looked at the view, "this is so…"
"Old?" said Hera as she stood next to her sister and leaned on the railing as she looked out at the forward section of the ship.
"The ship is not old, Hera" said Athena as she smiled at her sister, "she is beautiful."
"Indeed, she is" replied Hera as she rolled her eyes, "I have realized you have gotten interested in engineering, and psychology, even the arts on Tartan Prime. At least that is what mother has been telling me."
"And you have developed a talent for learning about medicine" replied Athena as she rolled her eyes this time, "even though I suggested you take the biological sciences, which you refused."
"Sorry" said Hera sarcastically as she bumped Athena with her elbow. It was then that her demeanour became more serious and she told Athena that the anniversary of Sineya's death was almost upon them.
"I know" said Athena, "I will be visiting her burial site after we set off from Destiny."
"So you think this vessel will ever return to Terra?" asked Hera as the both of them turned around and walked through the hallways, "do you think that our descendents will see it again?"
"From what I read" replied Athena as she shook her head, "no, it will continue following the other vessels and collecting information. I am afraid this vessel will die alone in the vastness of the universe."
It was a few hours after the both of them had walked through the whole ship that both Athena and Hera left to go on another adventure.
Somewhere in the Mediterranean, Earth; around 3500 B.C.
There would be times when Athena would return to Earth, especially to pay her respects to Sineya who she buried in an area close to where the redhead's home used to be when she had her mortal form. She resolved that she would come here every year, no matter where she was; she would come and visit Sineya so that the first Slayer wouldn't be alone, so that she wouldn't be forgotten.
There was one time however, a few thousand years after she and Hera had left Destiny, that she felt her powers slowly increasing. Athena knew that the increase in power wasn't anything even close to the combined power of the Others, but she still felt the power being continuously funnelled into her very being. Concerned, she had asked Hera if she had had felt a slow increase in power as well. Athena was surprised when Hera claimed that she felt an slight increase in her powers as well. Concerned, Athena thought back to what she had read about the Ori and how they gain power from millions of worshippers in the original galaxy the Alterrans had come from. She frowned as she immediately flew back into the lower plains and followed the path of the power that was being funnelled into her.
Landing in a mountainous region, Athena walked across fields of crops as she came to a great structure. She looked at the pillars that made up the structure as she went into a large room where she could hear a woman speaking to a large crowd of people. Knowing that she couldn't be seen by anyone else, Athena stood at the back and listened in to the woman who, along with eleven other people next to her, was telling the large group of people assembled in the structure that she was their god. She told them that she and her companions were very powerful gods, and that their subjects would be taken to another place where they would be rewarded for their loyalty. She also told then that any disobedience would be punished, that they would live and die at the whim of their 'gods'.
Athena had her hands folded across her chest when she saw two men standing up and denouncing the group as gods. He had told them that they would never be worshipped, and that they were imposters. The redhead saw the woman smile as she turned around and signalled to a dew men carrying staff weapons, the same staff weapons that the servants of Ra used to carry. One of the men then handed her a golden device.
"Come" said the woman as she wore the device on her hand and motioned to one of the men who dared to talk back to her, "let me show you the power of your god."
Frowning, Athena had a bad feeling about what was going to happen next but she knew that she couldn't interfere. She had to watch, and there would be nothing she could do. The redhead watched as one of the men defiantly walked up to the woman where he was told to kneel on the ground.
"No" said the man as the large group of people behind him started to whisper loudly, "you are not…."
"Jaffa, kree" said the woman as two ornately dress men carrying the staff weapons approached the man and pushed him down onto his knees. She watched with eyes furrowed and her jaw set as the woman approached the man and placed the hand device over the man's head. The woman then looked at the man, and then at the others behind him.
"This is what happens for defying your god" said the woman loudly as she released a massive surge of energy from the hand device. Athena could see the energy being blasted into the man's brain which was soon overloaded with energy as the man started to bleed out of his nose and ears. Athena closed her eyes and shook her head as the man fell over onto the floor dead, before the two Jaffa dragged his body away.
"Now" said the woman as she looked at the frightened group of people in front of her, "who dares question the word of the gods? Anyone?"
Athena looked at the woman and her companions as they stepped forwards as all of their eyes glowed in unison.
"We will take you to another world" said a bearded, large, imposing man, "there you will serve us…. You will work for us… you will do as we say, you will follow the words of your gods. You will follow the will of your lords, you will live and die by the breath that is expelled by our bodies."
Athena watched as they each introduced themselves; she was shocked when two of them were named Hera and Athena. Finally she was able to figure out why their powers were slowly increasing, most of these people were giving up their will in the worship of these so called 'gods'. And since there is an energy transference through the worship, the power was going to Athena and Hera since they were higher beings.
'We need to be careful now' thought Athena to herself, 'careful in how our powers are used.'
Frowning to herself as Athena saw the Jaffa activated their staff weapons and forced the people into the nearby fields. The redhead looked on as the frightened populace were taken onto a large ship that decloaked to take on its cargo, before taking off into the air.
Once the structure was empty, the redhead watched the Goa'uld posing as her take off the device and give it to another Jaffa who bowed his head as he walked backwards and left the structure.
"Athena" said the Goa'uld known as Zeus, "have you found a world that is suitable for our grand experiment?"
"Yes, there is a Stargate… but the device that dials out is missing" replied the blonde woman, "other than that, it is an idyllic planet ripe for this experimentation. I, for one, would like to see how far they would go."
"As long as Anubis, or the other system lords, do not interfere" said the one known as Aprodite who was barely wearing anything at all, "we will let these scum evolve to a certain technological point, and then manipulate them into fighting each other. And from the ashes of that destruction, we will see if they are able to grow and evolve further. And then we will repeat that cycle…. This will indeed be a grand experiment. I cannot wait for the results."
"I propose we each take a group of people and separate them into tribes" said another woman, "one for each of us; they will serve us, they will be under our thumb, they will fight when we tell them to, and they will live at our own pleasure. We will se how they evolve."
"And at fixed points" said Athena with a smile, "we will instigate battles between them, then we will see how the survivors rise again."
"Fitting for such a primitive race" said another man as the group turned around, leaving the red haired Athena shaking her head before she herself left the structure and flew towards the Stargate for another destination.
Ancient Egypt, 2995 B.C.
A few hundred years later, Athena had returned to Earth to see Sineya once again. As she was standing over her grave, Athena turned around and looked at the distance in confusion. She could sense a great battle being fought in the distance, and immediately said goodbye to Sineya and flew towards it. It was then that she had witnessed history being made as the people who had been living under Ra's cruel thumb launched an organized rebellion and drove the powerful system lord off Earth. Athena watched in surprise as a Gateship decloaked and took away the Stargate that had been located next to the ship. She looked on as the ship returned weeks later, and lay the Stargate onto the ground. She watched as the occupants walked out and they, along with the villagers, buried the Gate under a stone covering. As Athena walked closer to the Gateship, she noticed that the four people who walked out seemed out of place among the villagers.
One of them was a dark haired man; the other was a grey haired man who was accompanied by a blonde female and a Jaffa. Athena watched surprised as the villagers thanked the Jaffa for helping them in the fight for their freedom. She watched as the four of them talked about changing the future; it was then she realized that these people were time traveller s and that the Gateship they had used earlier was the time ship that Janus had shown her thousands of years ago before he ascended.
Athena soon saw the consequences of that one act of freedom. Travelling to many of Ra's worlds, she saw books being destroyed and writing of any kind outlawed. Some worlds had fought back, only to have many of the people massacred until they were brought under control again. Athena soon noticed that it was not only on Ra's worlds that writing and books were outlawed, many of the system lords had started to outlaw writing with varying results on their own territories.
Planet that would later be known as Kobol, 2994 B.C.
However, what happened on the planet that would be eventually known as Kobol by the humans the twelve Goa'uld had brought hundreds of years ago was different. They made a vital mistake in not conducting a proper survey of the planet itself for any other advanced technology other than the Stargate. In their grand experiment to see how people would respond to a cycle of slavery, violence and then relative quiet in which the people were allowed to repopulate, which would be followed by more violence once they had reached a certain level of advancement; the Goa'uld ignored the fact that the planet could have held other forms of advanced technology from other races; which it did.
Some of the humans on Kobol found an alien ship buried within a mountain range about three hundred years after arriving on the planet. Within that time, their 'gods' had been playing with the lives of the people in declaring war against each other for the most petty reasons. When Athena went to explore the vessel, she frowned when she noticed it was of the earliest Furling designs, complete with their version of a hyperspace generator that they called Point Drive.
'This is their oldest design' thought Athena to herself as she walked through the hallways, 'it could be one of the first that brought them to Avalon, before they started using our hyperspace technology.'
Walking through the ship, she saw some of the natives coming here in secret to explore and experiment with the technology without the Goa'uld knowing about it. Athena knew that they acted as gods in that they would arrive on the planet and exit in bright flashes of light through the use of ring transporters, and then order the people to go to war in their name to protect the honour of their particular 'god'. The people were told that those who refused would be struck down immediately, so most people fought. They went to war. While the others went to war, there were others who wanted to explore the nearby areas, which led to the discovery of this ship and it's wealth of technology.
The humans had spent the next hundred years exploring the technology of the ship under the noses of the Goa'uld. Eventually the humans found a compartment within the ship that Athena had found centuries earlier. It was full of humanoid drones that numbered in the thousands which, unknown to the humans, had extremely advanced artificial intelligence. These drones were meant to maintain and, if necessary, control the ship in case of an emergency should the entire Furling crew be wiped out. They had been deactivated once the ship lost most of its power in its journey from the Furlings own galaxy to the Milky Way. Athena had read through the records and found that the ship had depleted all its stores of fuel in making the final 'Point Drive' jump to the planet. The remaining crew had conserved what power remained to the now inactive and burnt out shield emitters and external maneuvering thrusters so that the ship could land. Every single iota of power from all non-essential systems, including the system that controlled the drones, were transferred to strengthen the shields and to reduce the amount of damage the ship would encounter when it crash landed millions of years ago.
Eventually, the Goa'uld had gotten bored of their experiment and went off to other endeavours; leaving the people of the planet alone. As Athena walked through their growing civilization century after century, she saw the people slowly become more technologically advanced by using the Furling technology as a base. Eventually, they even learnt to modify the drones to fit their own needs and to fight their wars. Athena would look on in sadness as they continued the wars between each of the twelve tribes that the Goa'uld had set up.
However, word of the rebellion on Earth never reached this planet that the people would eventually call Kobol; named after the class of ship that was found by the early humans on this world. Athena had eventually found out that the ship crash landed a few hundred years after the plague was wiped out from the galaxy. Athena, would come to this planet every few years to watch its progress, and the more it progressed… the more the people forgot about where they had come from. As every new generation was born, the cruelties of the Goa'uld were forgotten and the stories of benevolent gods such as Athena, Zeus and Hera started to spread among the population. Athena walked unseen through schools as the students were taught that their race had begun on Kobol, which to them had become the truth. Even humans had taken up the names of the 'gods', and their mantle of 'godhood' so that they could rule over the people. But Athena still never interfered, or corrected them.
'They are free to believe' said Athena as she walked towards the Stargate that was located within the deep bowels of a mountain. With no DHD, Athena raised her hand and dialed an address mentally before she walked through.
Athena would visit the planet again a few hundred years later. By this time, she was amazed at the progress that the people had made. She was even more amazed at the progress the ships drones had made. She knew that their artificial intelligence was built in such a way that they were programmed to evolve, they were never meant to stay still. However, it was that evolution that created a civil war a few hundred years later. Athena was watching as explosions were occurring in many of the planet's cities. She later found out from examining the databases that the now organic drones, whose A.I's were based on the already advanced originals, had found a database on the ship that mentioned a planet called Earth. That the original Furling crew of the ship had sent a signal to Earth requesting aid from the Alterra, but had received no response. These organics who had called themselves the Thirteenth Tribe had proof that Earth was from where the original humans were brought to the planet, thanks to sensor logs they managed to unlock after hundreds of years that showed ships exiting hyperspace and depositing people onto the planet.
'The sensors were still working for all this time' thought Athena to herself as she read through the logs of the ship, 'they tried to call Earth, but by then we were all either ascended, dead or in Pegasus.'
Athena frowned when the organic drones were accused of heresy, which then started the civil war. The redhead watched as the organic drones built a ship and left the planet, leaving the others to their own fate. However, Athena knew that they could never reach Earth as it was still developing technologically. She had seen in other galaxies of what a sudden jump in technology could do to races that were not sufficiently prepared for such a gift, so Athena did something that she promised herself she would never do. She interfered. Materializing unseen on the bridge of the ship, she mentally changed the coordinates that the ship would make its final jump to, just before she was ripped away from eh lower plains and brought to the Others who eventually punished Athena by forcing her to remain on Earth for a thousand years. Once her exile was completed, she left the planet for Kobol once again; only to discover that the planet was devoid of life.
"Everyone has left" said Athena to herself as she flew over cities that were completely empty and crumbling. She then flew to Kheb once again, where she spent the next few thousands of years in quiet meditation.
Unknown Planet, around 550 A.D.
Thousands of years later, Athena returned to Earth after Moros had descended. After demanding to know what Moros was thinking, and his reasons for doing so; the old man told his daughter that he knew that the Ori would one day become a threat.. and that he had to do something to prevent them from gaining more power.
"You seek to destroy them?" asked Athena outraged as Hera stood next to her, "what happened to genocide? You prevent me from doing the exact same thing to the Wraith. You told me that committing an act of genocide would affect me deeply."
"I realize that" said Moros as he telekinetically took apart the console in the Glastonbury Cavern, "you know what the Ori are capable of Athena.. Hera… you know what they will do to the Others. To you."
"Father" said Hera, "I realize they get their powers from the lower plains; the same thing has been happening to Athena and myself because people are giving up their will without realizing it. But the Ori worshippers are giving them power because of that same free will, just as the same with the both of us."
"Once they get enough power" said Moros as he looked at his two daughters, "they will wipe all of the Others out, they will wipe you out. They will wipe Melina out. I will not let that happen, I refuse."
"Does Mother know what you have planned?" asked Hera who was surprised when Moros nodded his head.
"Father" said Athena as she stepped forward, "please, we will fight them when the time comes. Please do not do this."
"I do this for Melina" said Moros, "and for my two daughters."
However, the two sisters couldn't do anything when Ganos was sent by the Others to destroy the nearly completed weapon. The two sisters arrived at Moros' lab just after Ganos had shot him with an energy beam to knock him out. When asked why she didn't wait for the both of them before doing anything, Ganos told the two sisters that she eventually had agreed with Moros. The Ori were a threat, and that she should be the one to take the man out, and then place him in a stasis pod in the lab.
"But why?" asked Hera.
"One day" said Ganos as she looked at her friend, "if the Ori ever come to power in Avalon, the worthy will find this place and wake up your father. They will aid him in building the weapon once again, away from the eyes of the Others in this lab. There will come a day when the Others will realize what kind of danger the Ori present, and until that day; Moros will be safe here."
"But…" said Athena as Ganos looked at Moros who was in the sealed stasis pod.
"If it were any other who was sent" said Ganos as she turned and looked at Athena, "Moros would be dead right now. Your father will live on, and rebuild the weapon if need be."
"If not?" asked Athena.
"I will ascend him again" said Ganos, "if need be."
Hellmouth, 1830 A.D.
Athena had seen a lot of things over the thousands of years that she had been ascended. She had seen civilizations on Earth rise and fall, then she left the planet once again and travelled to the other human seeded planets to watch the progress that they were making. She had seen the slow rise of what would later become the Tollan civilization. She had seen them when they were first implanted onto their word, to when they had became a very powerful space faring civilization that had weapons even the Goa'uld were afraid of. She was walking through one of their various cities on their home world when she sensed a disturbance back on Earth. Rushing back to the site of the first gateway, at the site where Sineya had died thousands of years earlier; the redhead found a group of demons that were gathered around a lone human male.
Floating down to the ground and walking towards the large demonic forms, Athena hid herself from their senses. She wanted to know what was going on, she wanted to know why she was getting such a bad feeling from the man in front of her.
"Yes" said the man as he looked up at the demons, "you give me immortality, and I will create a town here… a town that will draw people for you all to feast on when the time is right. You give me what I seek, and I will give you that."
"Wilkins" hissed a large snake like demon as it slithered around the man, "we demand tribute, tribute for the power of immortality."
"Of course" laughed the man Athena knew as Wilkins, "ask and you shall receive."
"Your soul" said another great demon as it rose above the man, "we demand your soul."
"Done" said the man as snapped his fingers before he rubbed his hands together gleefully as he gave out a chuckle, "this is going to be so fun fun."
"Is that what you truly want to do?" asked Athena as she appeared in front of the man in the form of an haggard old woman, "you truly wish to sell your soul for immortality? An empty immortality?"
Athena noticed that most of the demons around her had started to hiss and pound the ground while the others remained quiet as rage emanated from their scaled bodies. The giant snake had even lunged towards her but instead of biting down into flesh and bone, it simply bit into thin air as the disguised Athena walked through its closed mouth as her body glowed slightly before she looked back at the snake.
"You have a skull between your teeth" said the old woman as she smiled at the demon before turning back to the man.
"Richard Wilkins" said the man as he reached out his hand, "future mayor of a future city in this fantastic location."
"You realize that the dimensional gateway will cause havoc for the city" said Athena, still in her disguise, as she looked at the hand and then looked back up at the man without shaking it, "you realize what you will be doing to yourself."
"I can see the future here" said the man as he stood next to Athena and reached out to the distance with his arms raised high, "homes, shops…. Opportunity. A great place to start a family if I do say so myself. And if all it takes to achieve that is a soul… then I'm fine with that. Bring on the future."
Just then the demons behind the two of them started to growl, snarl and hiss.
"Of course there'll be feeding time for my benefactors too" said the man.
"I see" replied Athena as she started to walk away before turning around, "a great hero perished here a long time ago. You should change your mind, lest that hero's successor returns."
"Nah" said the man as he looked on as the old woman frowned, bowed her head slightly and limped away. He then turned around and faced the demons and laughed, "so, what do you think? Sunnyvale? Smile-Dale? How about Happydale? No? Sunny Acres? Has a nice ring to it. No? Fine…. Sunnydale."
The man noticed the demons move away from him, and then he gave a wide smile.
"Sunnydale it is then" said the man as he turned around and got ready to create the city that would later cause so much pain in so many lives.
Sunnydale, 1899 A.D.
Athena had encountered the man known as Richard Wilkins once again a few decades later when he approached the same demons to begin the process of ascension. Athena frowned to herself as she looked on while the man made various deals with the demons for instructions on how to accomplish that feat.
"Ascension" said a man who had appeared out of nowhere and stood next to Athena, "such a bastardization of the name that your people have for enlightenment."
"What do you want, demon?" said Athena who stood staring at the current mayor of the new town know as Sunnydale, "why are you here? You have a message from your oh-so glorious Powers?"
"I take it you're still angry about the whole Sineya thing?" asked the demon as he leaned against a wall.
"Anger does not begin to describe how I feel, Whistler" said Athena as she stared at the strangely clothed demon, "what does the pet of the Powers want?"
"Insults?" asked Whistler, "I thought your people were enlightened?"
"Watch yourself, demon" said Athena, "our people achieved much before your kind came to this dimension through the gateway. If that gateway was never opened, many of the things that occurred would never have been. Sineya would have been safe, all those Slayers would not have had to die; I would not have had the clones I created be sacrificed to a needless death."
"Fine, fine" said Whistler as he put his hands up in surrender as Athena closed her eyes and sighed.
"My apologies" said Athena as she turned and started to walk away, only to be followed by Whistler.
"You realize what will happen here" said Whistler, "people will start dying, there is already a mystical force in place throughout the city."
"I can sense it" said Athena, "the mayor created the field… it does not matter to me."
"Eventually a Slayer will be sent here" said Whistler, "will your kind not help her?"
"The Others will not" said Athena, "and neither will I, unless I absolutely have to."
"And if you have to?" asked Whistler.
"Then I will have no choice but to descend to this plain of existence" said Athena, "if I wish to help the humans, that is what I will do."
Sunnydale, 1981 A.D.
After that conversation with Whistler, Athena explored the galaxy for another eighty years during which time she had rediscovered the people that the twelve Goa'uld had taken from Earth long ago. Living in twelve different worlds, Athena looked on as they fought against one another; as they used to while the Goa'uld ruled over them on Kobol. She watched as they created machines that would eventually save their lives and help them in fighting their wars, and cleaning their streets and buildings, and even looking after their children.
She had visited a museum where she took a close look at one of the robots. It had a similar design to the drones that had been found on the Furling vessel thousands of years ago. Athena watched as the machines slowly gained some level of sentience, and the humans of the twelve worlds slowly and unknowingly started to act like the Goa'uld by enslaved their creations. The redhead frowned as the tensions between the humans and the machines rose up so much that all it took was the unintentional killing of a human child by a machine that all out war broke out. Athena watched in concern as great ships, designed similarly to the ship that the early humans on Kobol had found, were being built to combat the machines who, ironically, built their own machines of war. Unable to stand looking at the deaths anymore, Athena flew back to Earth where she spent the rest of her ascension.
After travelling the world for another two years, Athena ended back in Sunnydale which had already become a bustling city. Entering City Hall, the redhead saw the immortal Mayor chairing a meeting of the city planners. Shaking her head at the duplicity of the man, Athena then walked out of the building and headed towards what she had heard from one of the secretaries was an establishment where the local children would meet and enjoy times with their family and friends.
As she walked down the street, she turned to an alley when she took on a physical form and mentally changed her clothes to fit in with her surroundings. It was then that she felt a presence behind her and smiled.
"Hera" said Athena as she turned around and hugged her sister, "will you not join me? I have heard a drink known as a chocolate shake is quite delicious."
"And where have you heard that?" asked Hera.
"I eavesdropped on a few children while on the way here" replied Athena as she shrugged her shoulders.
"I see" said Hera as she took on physical form and changed her silver dress to a tight low cut top and trousers, "what do you think?"
"Hera?" asked Athena as she looked at her own chest and then at Hera's before looking at her sister's eyes, "put those away."
"But…" said Hera.
"Hera" said Athena, "don't make me tell Mother."
"That will not work every time, Athena" said Hera as she snapped her fingers and her clothes changed into a cream coloured dress and a long skirt, "just so you know, I am more than ten thousand years old. I think I can pick out my dresses."
"You're still my younger sister" said Athena as she held Hera's hand and walked out of the alley and into the small diner. They were greeted by one of the waitresses who then showed the two sisters to their seats, before handing them a menu. Athena told her that the both of them would take a while, so the waitress left them alone and went to greet more customers.
"I see you have learnt the language?" said Hera as she read the menu and then looked at Athena confused, "what is this hot-dog?"
"I do not know" chuckled Athena, "it is probably some edible meat. And the language was relatively easy, it did evolve from our own."
"And reading through the books of that handsome man from the future in what they referred to as Ancient Egypt helped?" said Hera as she leaned forward and grinned, "did it not."
"Order your food" said Athena as she kicked Hera's shin, who in return kicked Athena's shin as the both of them yelped softly.
After they had ordered some hamburgers, fries and chocolate shakes; the waitress look their menu's away, leaving the young women to themselves.
"Do you not feel it, Athena" said Hera softly as she looked out the large window, "I can see dark energy jut pouring out of the gateway."
"These fools build their centre of knowledge over it" said Athena as she leaned back and shook her head, "and yes, I feel it as well."
"No Slayer has been sent here since…." Said Hera as she looked at her sister who shook her head.
"There was another who died here" said Athena a she looked out the window, "she was of the race that is native to this particular nation. She died near the gateway."
"But she was activated because of Sineya's sacrifice" said Hera.
"Yes" replied Athena as the waitress brought their food to the table.
As the two started to have their meal, a couple passed them and was seated at an adjacent table.
"Nice to see the both of you again" said the waitress as she gave menu's to the couple, "I've heard that the both of you graduated."
"Yes" said the woman, "just got my doctorate in psychology with a focus on child development."
"Counselling" said the man as they finished ordering and handed the menu back to the waitress, "we're back here for good. We're opening a practise here in Sunnydale."
"Neat" said the waitress as she took the menu's from the couple, "so when are the Dr. Rosenberg's having a little baby?"
Upon hearing that name, Athena coughed as she almost chocked on her food. After swallowing, she looked up at Hera and then at the couple who was sitting across them. Hera noticed the look that Athena was giving the couple before she too turned to take a quick look, before looking at her sister again.
"Athena?" asked Hera, "are you alright?"
"Do you recall me telling you about that woman who travelled through time?" asked Athena as she looked at Hera, "Dr. Elizabeth Weir?"
"Yes" said Hera as she looked back again as the couple were taking about having children after the waitress left, "she thought you were a part of the military."
"Correct" said Athena, "she called me Willow Rosenberg."
"It is just a coincidence" said Hera as she looked back at her sister, "and do you really want to meet this Willow? Do you not sense it from the woman?"
"You are correct" said Athena as she closed her eyes and concentrated, "I sense the Furling gene within her. But… no… something's wrong."
"What?" asked Hera.
"Dr. Weir said that Willow was my descendent" said Athena, "but I never had any biological children, so how…."
"What are you saying?" asked Hera when she came to a sudden realization as shook her head, "no, that woman came from an alternate timeline. Perhaps you had children in her own particular timeline, which does not mean that…."
"They cannot have children" said Athena surprised as she looked at her sister, then at the Rosenberg's and then at the view outside. She was looking at the increase in the dark energy that was pouring out of the gateway, "that couple cannot have children, I can sense the woman's deep seated worry that there is something wrong with her because she cannot give her husband a child. If they cannot, then there would be no Willow... something... something is very wrong. If she cannot have children naturally, then... I... is it me?"
"Athena" said Hera as she reached for her sister's hands, "are you alright?"
"I was once asked by a demon" said Athena as she looked back at her sister, "if a Slayer was sent here, would I not help her. My answer was that I would not, unless I absolutely had to."
"What are you saying?" asked Hera as she looked at Athena.
"Look at the dark energy coming out of the gateway, Hera" said Athena, "and the Mayor of this city is planning to perform the bastardized version of Ascension here, on top of the gateway. There is no telling what will happen."
"Athena" said Hera softly, "we have witnessed other forms of this twisted version of Ascension, the humans eventually managed to kill those creatures off."
"Not all" said Athena.
"True" replied Hera, "that one perished in the volcanic blast, but…"
"We can't do a single thing" said Athena as she turned to Hera, "I need to…"
"No!" shouted Hera as everyone in the diner became quiet and looked at the two sisters.
"Forget" said Athena as she looked at everyone and made them forget what they had seen or heard, before the patrons went back to what they were doing.
"Athena" whispered Hera as she leaned forward, "what you are suggesting is…. Have you thought about it? Returning to the lower plains would mean you would be stripped of your memories, your powers, all the knowledge you have collected; and your immortality. Athena, I do not want to lose you."
"Even if I do not have these ascended powers" said Athena as she looked at Hera, and then at the female Rosenberg, "the woman has the Furling gene. I will not remember my dislike of that race, and thus having the gene from the woman would make it easier for me to practise the mystics. And…."
"And?" asked Hera.
"I hope that even without my memories" said Athena as she held on tightly to Hera's hand, "I hope that my sister would always watch over me."
"Of course I would" said Hera.
"As would I" said another voice as the two sisters found themselves on a street in the middle of a row of shops.
"Mother" said Athena and Hera as they hugged Melina tightly, "I have missed you."
"It has only been a few months, my daughters" said Melina she gave the both of them a kiss on their cheeks.
"Mother" said Hera, "Athena wants to…."
"I have heard" said Melina smiling.
"Is this what you want to do?" continued Melina as she looked at her oldest daughter, "do you really wish to be reborn?"
"That is the only way I can help in this plane of existence" said Athena, "and with the dark energy, I think I should do something to help. The universe has the Others, and I have my mother and sister to watch over me."
"You have" said Melina as she took physical form and changed her look so that she wouldn't be recognized. She also suggested that Hera and Athena do the same before the three women walked down the streets of Sunnydale together, "let us see what your new home will be like."
As they were walking through Sunnydale, it had already gotten dark. The three women soon heard four sets of footsteps behind them as they walked down a street towards a row of houses.
"Hello" said a voice from behind the three women as they turned around and faced the four men, including the one who had just spoken, "three young ladies walking alone in the dark, maybe we could keep you company. You know, have you for dinner and drinks."
At that, the three women noticed that the men in front of them were chuckling.
"No thank you" said a disguised Melina, "my daughters and I can look after ourselves, and they have just eaten."
"I insist" said the man as he and his compatriots morphed their faces and walked a few steps forward.
"Interesting" said a disguised Hera as she walked up to one of the transformed men, "a vampire, right? Athena, this is a vampire?"
"Yes, Hera" sighed Athena, "I told you that the energies from the gateway was attractive to these creatures."
"Interesting" said Hera as she looked at the surprised vampire, "but not as scary as you made them out to be."
Just then, two of the vampires snarled and lunged at the group only to pass right through them as the women momentarily glowed white.
"Hey" said Athena as she looked at Hera while Melina chuckled as the four vampires looked at each other confused, "I didn't know what they were when I first met them you know, they were scary.. Especially when they sucked my blood."
The two disguised sisters were arguing with each other as the two vampires lunged at them again but they still went through them.
"What the hell is going on here?" said one of the vampires as he looked on confused.
"Two sisters arguing" said Athena as her eyes glowed a brilliant white, "now leave us."
"Believe me" said Hera as her eyes glowed white as well, "my sister planned to annihilate an entire race when she was angry. Do not make her angry, you will not like her when she is angry."
"Leave" said Melina with a smile as the vampires looked at each other in confusion before running off.
"The.. the Master will hear about this" said one of the other vampires before he turned around and ran off after his friends.
"You do realize that line you said was from a televised serial on this world?" asked Athena as she raised an eyebrow.
"Really?" asked Hera with a grin as she wrapped her arm around her sisters and walked to the row of houses alongside their mother, "I hadn't noticed."
"Well" said Melina, "it is true. Never make Athena angry."
"Mother" said Athena as she looked at Melina in shock, "are you mocking me?"
"Yes" replied Melina as she kissed the top of Athena's head, "you are my daughter and I reserve the right to mock you."
"Yes, mother" sighed Athena as Melina and Hera laughed loudly.
It was a few minutes later that they reached a house that had all of its lights switched off as the occupants were already deep asleep.
"We are here" said Melina softly as she looked at Athena.
"Athena" said Hera softly as she tightened her hold on Athena's arm, "Will you not reconsider?"
"I love being one of the Ascended" said Athena as she looked at her mother and then at her sister, "I love the both of you, I love father. But I miss being alive. I have seen only a small part of this universe, and I know there is more… but I also miss being mortal. There is a certain exhilaration to it all, and in being alive.. if I can help the humans using the powers of those I despise, then I will do it."
"You could just revert to a baby and…." said Hera as Athena gently held on to Athena's shoulder.
"This is the only way" said Athena, "I will be stripped off my knowledge, powers and memories. Without the Furling genetic code, I may not be able to practise the mystics easily. But by physically being reborn, I can have that gene from the woman. It is a means to an end, Hera."
"Athena" said Hera as the both of them leaned their foreheads against each other, before Athena kissed the tip of Hera's nose just as the redhead used to when they were children.
"I depend on you to watch over me, Hera" said Athena as tears fell from Hera's eyes, "promise me."
"I promise" said Hera as she nodded her head.
"As will I" said Melina as she gave her oldest daughter a hug, "I will be there for you, always."
The three of them shed their disguises and flew into the bedroom where the Rosenberg's were fast asleep.
"Are you ready, Athena?" said Melina as she put her hands on both sides of her daughter's head.
"Farewell, mother" said Athena as she gave Melina a kiss on her cheek, "Farewell, Hera."
"Be well, Athena" said Hera, "we will watch over you always, Willow."
Smiling, Athena closed her eyes as soft white light started to glow from the palms of Melina's hands. Hera watched through tears that were welling up in her eyes as Athena started to glow brightly while her body slowly began to dissipate, starting from her feet, up to her head. Eventually all that remained of Athena were two brilliant white balls of light, one slightly larger than the other one.
"Mother?" asked Hera as she approached Melina and looked at both of the balls of white light.
"All her knowledge and powers have been stripped away from her" said Melina as she nodded at the larger ball which she then threw up into the air as it floated upwards before vanishing, "it's power will grow as long as people keep on worshipping in Athena's name. Athena will be free to retrieve her power and whatever knowledge she has gained once she learns to ascend again, if she ever learns to ascend."
"And the other?" asked Hera as she wiped her eyes before nodding at the smaller light.
"Athena's essence" said Melina as she gently held the pulsing orb with both hands, "everything that makes Athena is here, including her memories. They were to have been stripped away as well but…"
"The Others" said Hera concerned, "will the Others not intervene?"
"I have locked away her memories" said Melina, "it will be restored once she has done enough to attempt ascension."
"And if she does not?" asked Hera.
"She will eventually grow old, and die" said Melina sadly, "and her memories with die with her; she will never know her true self."
"May I?" asked Hera as she nodded at the light which Melina carefully handed to her youngest daughter. Hera then carried the pulsing white light to the woman who was lying asleep on the bed with her back to her husband.
Hera walked to the bedside and then looked around. She noticed a framed piece of paper on the far wall and then looked down at the woman.
"Sheila Rosenberg" said Hera, "human-Furling hybrid, you had better watch over my sister. If any harm…"
"Hera" said a frowning Melina.
"Sorry, Mother" said Hera as she looked back at Melina before looking at the sleeping form of Sheila. Hera then leaned forwards and brought her hands near her mouth and blew at the ball of light softly. She watched as the light floated over the sleeping body of Sheila Rosenberg while it pulsed a few times.
"I will miss you, Athena" said Hera, "I will miss you so much, my dear sister."
Hera saw the light pulse multiple times before it fell and travelled into Sheila. Hera stepped back and towards Melina as Sheila's body started to glow a soft white, and then the glow coalesced at her abdomen before a surge of blue electrical energy travelled through her entire body.
"Come, Hera" said Melina, "let us leave. It is done."
"I would like to remain, mother" said Hera, "just for a little while."
"Very well" said Melina, "in that case, I will remain with you as well."
Both mother and daughter just sat on the roof of the house looking at the stars that were shining in the sky above Sunnydale. Soon, the both of them noticed the first light of a brand new day.
"It is dawn, mother" said Hera who had her head on Melina's shoulder, "it is beautiful."
"Yes" said Melina, "come with me to visit your father in the stasis pod, we must let him know what has occurred here."
"He is unable to hear" said Hera.
"Perhaps" replied Melina, "but we should still tell him."
In the intervening years, both Melina and Hera had always been there watching over Athena, now known as Willow. Even when she was left with her nanny, or alone in her home, or when she was with Xander… Hera and Melina were always close by and watching over her; making sure that she was never truly alone. It was Melina who Willow had caught a glimpse of when she was performing Angel re-souling ritual. She was sitting on the hospital bed right after she woke up from the coma after an attack by Angelus' minions as she insisted on trying the ritual again. She was absolutely sure that she could do it, she was absolutely sure that she could re-soul her best friend's love. Willow knew she was weak, that she was still injured and she struggled through the spell while in pain. Deep down she was afraid that despite her attempt; she could still fail Buffy. However, just then, she had seen a blur of white as it passed her before feeling a hand pressed behind her back. It was then she started to feel a warmth pass through her body. As if possessed, Willow said the spell perfectly before that feeling went away and she hung her head low panting.
Unknown to Willow at the time, not only had the spell worked and Angel was resouled albeit too late for Buffy to save Angel, Melina was punished by the Others for intervening. As her ascended form was ripped away from behind Willow, Hera quickly took her place and succeeded in helping Willow say the spell out loud before she too was ripped away by the Others. Both of them were stripped of their powers and exiled to Earth for a year, forced to watch Willow but helpless to intervene again. In her mind, Willow had pushed away the thought of the white blur, just as she had pushed away the thoughts of the white ball of light that she would see out of the corner of her eyes when she was younger. Her mother would say that she was just imagining things.. that relying on imaginary friends meant that she was still too reliant on others.
Slowly, as her memories fell into place, Willow started to hear sounds of voices when suddenly there was a buzzing sound near her. And then she felt anguish, rage and deep seated worry. Then she heard a voice, a voice that was familiar to her… a voice that she hadn't heard in a little more than thirty years.
"My dearest Athena" said Melina's voice as Willow felt a slight breeze brush against her cheek, "I need you to awaken, you have learnt the truth.. now I need you to awaken. Your friends require your aid… come my daughter. You can do it."
"Mother" said Willow as she opened her eyes slowly and looked to her left where she saw a blurry figure of a brunette haired figure run right by the foot of her bed, "no."
Colonel Carter's car, 0705 hours, a few minutes earlier.
Colonel carter had just stopped by a coffee shop at the nearby intersection when she received a call on her cell phone. Looking at the caller I.D, she saw that it was from General Carter. Smiling to herself, she picked up the phone and flipped it open while she was waiting for her order which included a Latte for Faith who she knew was sitting by Willow's bedside.
"Hey dad" said the Colonel as she brought the phone to her ear. However, the Colonel didn't receive the normally cheerful response she'd expected from her father; in fact, there was no response on the other line, "hello? Dad? You there? Did you accidentally dial me again?"
Frowning, the Colonel shut off the phone and then drove forward behind another car as the occupants went to pick up their order. She dialled the General's number, and waited as it rang; but no one picked up.
"What's going on, Dad?" asked the Colonel to herself as she then dialled her home number but no one picked up again, "come on, pick up."
Feeling a pain in her chest, the Colonel looked on in concern as she redialled the General's number.
"Come on, dad" said the Colonel to herself as the phone of the other side kept on ringing, "why did you call me and not answer? Doesn't make sense."
Looking at the car in front of her she sighed when it left the drive-thru counter. However, instead of stopping and grabbing her drink, she drove all the way back home. It took Colonel Carter five minutes to drive back to her home and then park her car on the driveway, then she ran up the walkway and up to the porch. Ringing the doorbell, her heart fell when she didn't hear any sounds from inside.
"Debra should be crying, she always cries when the doorbell rings" said the Colonel to herself as she rummaged through her purse and grabbed her key. Unlocking her door, she pushed it open and was greeted by a horrible sight.
"Oh God!" shouted Colonel Carter as she ran into the living room where General Carter lay on the floor bleeding from a bullet wound at the abdominal region, his blood having soaked into the carpet, "Dad! Dad!"
The Colonel saw the blood on the coffee table and knew that he must have fallen on the table before he fell onto the floor. Relieved that she found a weak pulse when she pressed the pulse point on his neck, she quickly ran towards Debra's room where she looked in shock at the empty crib.
"No! No! No!" said Colonel Carter as she ran back to where General Carter was laying bleeding and immediately took out her cell phone and called the SGC which was immediately picked up by Walter, "Walter!. Walter! listen to me, contact Prometheus Station, lock on to my and my dad's subcutaneous transmitters. Tell them I need a site to site transport right now straight to the infirmary. And tell Dr. Lam and whoever's available to get their asses in gear."
"Ma'am" said Walter, "I need…."
"Damn it, Walter!" shouted Colonel Carter as tears just flowed out of her eyes, "my father's been shot and Debra's been taken I…"
"On it, ma'am" said Walter as he stood up and ran to another phone and relayed Colonel Carter's orders to the Prometheus Station. He then, while still on the phone with Colonel Carter, told all medical personnel to meet with Colonel Carter at the infirmary in a minute. His face full of concern as he sat down, he then told the Colonel that she'd be transported momentarily.
"Thank you, Walter" said Colonel Carter as her voice broke as she thought about General Carter and Debra, "thank you…. in the meantime… I need.,,,"
The Colonel looked up as she heard a buzzing sound and in a flash of white light, she was transported to the SGC infirmary where a sleeping Faith who was still holding on to Willow's hand had woken up with a start. Looking around at what was going on, the Slayer's eyes went wide at the sight before her.
"Sam!" shouted Faith as she quickly got off the chair she was sitting on and ran towards the bloodied General Carter.
"Help me, Faith" said the Colonel as she held on to the upper part of the General's body, "please help."
"Hold on" said Faith as she gently got her arms under the General as she felt blood still coming out from the wounds on his back. Picking him up, she quickly walked towards an empty bed as Dr. Lam and her team of nurses rushed in after Walter had briefed them on what was going on.
"Dad! Dad!" shouted the Colonel as she was pulled back by Faith, "Oh God…. And Debra… Debra's gone.. Debra's gone."
"Sam!" shouted Faith as she turned the Colonel around so that they were facing each other, "what happened? Where's Debra?"
"I.. I think…" said the Colonel as the both of them noticed something out of the corner of their eyes. Turning their heads around, they saw Willow slowly sitting up while looking at them.
"Red" said Faith as she rushed towards her lover.
"Willow" said the Colonel as she ran to the redhead, "listen to me, Dad's been shot I need you to…."
"Someone call Dr. Warner!" shouted Dr. Lam as General Landry rushed in alongside Teal'c, Anya and Tara who had just arrived and had completed their briefing on what happened to Daniel.
"Doctor?" said General Landry as he approached Dr. Lam.
"Sorry, dad" said Dr. Lam as she released the brakes off the bed, "we're losing him."
"Doc" said Willow as she pulled off the wired leads and the I.V lines that where going into the top of her hands, "wait."
"Red" said Faith as she put the redhead's arm around her shoulders and helped her walk to the bed that held the General.
"General" said Willow as she closed her eyes and put her hands over his chest, "I can see… I can see everything."
"What?" said Dr. Lam as she looked at Willow, "what can you see?"
"I'm travelling through his vein's, his arteries" said Willow, "I can see where the bullets impacted, ribs…. Just missed the heart… shoulder…. Collar bone; Just missed the jugular…."
"Willow" said Tara, "you can see inside?"
"Yes" said the redhead as she lifted her arms slowly upwards as the General's body rose and slowly turned to the side as the nurses stepped back. Then, Willow telekinetically took out the three bullets out of his body and then started to heal his injuries while turning him back around and putting him down on the bed.
Willow then opened her eyes and stumbled back as Faith and Colonel Carter caught her.
"Got ya" said Faith as Willow looked into her eyes and smiled, "you did good."
"I saw her" said Willow as she looked at Faith, "I saw her Faith, she was such a lovely girl. I knew her…"
"Red?" said Faith.
"Willow" said the Colonel as they helped the redhead back onto the bed, "can you find Debra? Someone took Debra."
"Colonel?" said General Landry as he walked towards the blonde woman, "I've already informed General O'Neill and Woolsey about your missing daughter. They have assured me that the NID will do everything in their power to bring Debra back. They're heading to your home now."
"OK" said Colonel Carter as she sat next to Willow while her hands were trembling and covered in blood, as was her clothes.
"Sam" said the General weakly, "Sam?"
"Dad, Daddy" said the Colonel as she ran to her father and leaned over him as Dr. Lam and the other nurses hooked him up to machines to ensure that everything was alright.
"Pete" said the General to everyone's shock, "it was Pete."
"Dear God" said the Colonel as she stepped back and brought her hands to her mouth and shook her head, "no… no… no…"
"Tara" said Willow as she looked at the blonde witch while sitting on the bed, "can you do a locator spell?"
"Yes" said Tara as she looked at Willow and then at Colonel Carter.
"Locater spell?" asked General Landry as he looked at Willow, "that same spell you used to find Colonel Carter when she was lost on the Prometheus?"
"Yes" said Willow as she rubbed her head.
"Tara?" said Colonel Carter, "can you?"
"I need something of hers" said Tara, "and yes, I'll find her."
"Anya" said Colonel Carter, "when they're found, I need to make a wish."
"Colonel" said Anya as she looked nervously at the blonde, "I don't have my powers anymore, I'm human…. I was going to surprise Daniel with it.. but…"
"Oh" said Colonel Carter as she looked down at the floor.
"Colonel Carter" said Tara, "all I need is something of hers to get a pin point location, do you have anything on base?"
"I have everything of hers at home" said the Colonel as her voice broke, "everything's at home."
"Teal'c and Faith" said General Landry, "I need you to….."
"Sam" said the General as he spoke through his oxygen mask while a bag of blood was attached to his arm, "my side pocket.."
Dr. Lam reached into the General's side pocket and took out a pick coloured clothe that was folded in half, She then handed that to the Colonel who opened it and smiled at the embroidered letters in red that said 'D+C'.
"Her handkerchief" said the Colonel as she gently caressed it.
"She.. playing…" said the General as he closed his eyes.
"Dad?" said the Colonel as Dr. Lam pulled back his eye lids and flashed a light into them.
"He's asleep" said the doctor as she turned to face the Colonel, "I need to get him out of those bloodied clothes and onto a new bed. I'm sorry, but I'd like everyone to leave… for now. Everyone except for Major Rosenberg, I need to do a complete work up on you."
"Ok" said Willow as she nodded her head.
"Sam" said Faith as she gently held on to the Colonel's arm, "come on. Let's get you and Tara somewhere private so that she could do her thing."
It was fifteen minutes later that Tara's locator spell bore any fruit. On a piece of cloth that lay on the floor surrounded by candles, the normally sceptical Colonel sat across from Tara with Faith in the middle as lines were drawn on the piece of cloth by magic and a pulsing yellow dot which was standing still.
"Maybe he's taking a break?" asked Faith, "I think that's the I-25. Should be the fasted way out of here."
"That's on the way to Denver" said the Colonel shocked, "his parent's place. That's the only thing I can think of."
"Tara" said Faith, "can you get a bit more detail on where they stopped?"
"Yeah" said Tara as she said a spell and the lines that were drawn on the cloth earlier were erased and more detailed drawings appeared.
"I know where that is" said Colonel Carter as she ran to the nearby phone on the wall.
Rest stop along I-25, few minutes later.
Pete had just walked out from the restroom with Debra in his arms after changing her diaper. Smiling to himself, and safe in the knowledge that Colonel Carter should be in the SGC by now, he walked calmly to his car. He first secured Debra into the safety seat before he stepped into the driver's side seat.
"See, Debbie" said Pete as he looked at his daughter through the rear view mirror, "you and I are going to have so much fun. We'll be going flying to…"
Before he could finish what he was going to say, he heard a buzzing sound before a white light enveloped both him and Debra. Before he knew it, he found himself in a large grey room surrounded by Marines pointing their weapons at him.
"Mr. Shanahan" said Colonel Pendergast who walked in through the door behind the armed Marines, "welcome to Prometheus Station."
"My daughter" said Pete as he glared at the Colonel, "where's my daughter?"
"She's right where she belongs" said Colonel Pendergast as Pete heard one of the Marines step forward, "she's with Colonel Carter."
"She belongs with me!" shouted Pete, "not with her… I'll get you all for this, I'll sue…."
"Right" said Colonel Pendergast as he picked up a phone on a nearby wall, "General Landry, Sir. We have the package… of course, Sir… we'll be waiting."
"What are you….?" said Pete just as he was hit with by a jolt from a Zat which made him tumble onto the floor of the space station.
Planet Designated P8U-453, AKA Pete's Planet; an hour later.
As Pete slowly opened his eyes, he found that he was lying on a rocky path. Slowly getting on his feet, Pete looked around and saw that he was surrounded by trees and mountains everywhere. It was then he saw the giant stone ring that stood behind another device that seemed to have been destroyed as yellow, red and blue crystals lay shattered at the base.
"The Stargate" said Pete as he stood slowly up and wiped off the dirt that was attached to his shirt.
It was then that the man noticed the vehicle that was parked near the gate, as well as numerous boxes and what seemed to be building materials. Walking towards the boxes, he opened some of them to see that some contained food, some had basic medical supplies, while others had some other basic necessities. All of the boxes had papers that explained what was in the boxes, and all were addressed to him.
"What the hell is this?" said Pete to himself as he looked around, "and I…."
Just then he saw the chevrons at the edge of the Stargate start to light up, after which the event horizon of the Stargate formed and the vehicle next to the Gate came to life as he heard a voice coming from the speakers; the voice of his ex-wife.
"Sam?" said Pete as he walked towards the MALP and looked into the camera, "what the hell….."
"Don't you dare 'what the hell' me" said Colonel Carter over the speakers as she leaned into the console while General O'Neill, General Landry and Woolsey were standing right behind her, "how dare you…. you actually shot my father… you kidnapped Debra and…."
"Debra's mine!" shouted Pete, "and you better get me back or else…."
"You are in no position to demand anything" said Colonel Carter, "if it were up to me, I would have put you on a Goa'uld occupied planet so that you'd be enslaved by them.. .I was actually thinking about Ba'al."
"Mr. Shanahan" said General Landry as he gently placed a hand on Colonel Carter's shoulder, "you are on a habitable planet. You'll have fresh water, air and food. Everything you need to start a small dwelling has been provided for you. We will be sending you supplies such as MRE's every two weeks for the next six months by ship. After that, it's your responsibility to catch your own food. Basic medical supplies will be brought to you by ship once a month, so I suggest you be really careful. Other than that, you dont really have much to worry about, you're the only one on that world. It's pretty safe from what I've been told."
"Sam?" said Pete as he realized the gravity of the situation he was in, "honey…. Baby, I'm sorry…. I swear I'll leave you and Debra alone.. please."
"Sorry, Pete" said the Colonel, "you're dead on Earth, I shot you in self defence when you tried to break into my house to kidnap Debra."
"What?" shouted Pete as he put both of his hands on his head, "Sam…. How…."
"I have friends who are experts in cloning technology" said the Colonel with venom in her voice, "you tried to take two of the most important people in my life away from me, so I'm taking your life away from you. I have no regrets."
"Sam!" said Pete, "I'm sorry, please…. I'm begging you."
"Goodbye, Pete" said the Colonel as she looked back at General O'Neill who nodded his head, "I've got my daughter to take care of."
"SAM!" screamed Pete into the vehicle, "don't do this… you…. you…. you bitch! Get me out of here now!"
Just then, the Stargate disengaged leaving Pete as the only human on the planet.
"Crap" said Pete to himself as he turned around and looked out into the distance.
TBC.