Ori Vessel, Unknown region of space, 2100 hours.
Melina floated down into one of the two remaining Ori vessels in the Milky Way and materialized in one of the many ornately decorated hallways. Looking around, she could sense that this was the ship that carried the Orici. Smiling to herself, she slowly walked though the hallways as she looked around her surroundings. Soon she even passed by a group of Ori soldiers, who were on a march to areas unknown, without being seen. She walked right past them with the redhead looking forward and making certain that no one, not even the Orici herself, would sense her. She walked through the halls as she passed even more soldiers, before coming upon a door. Standing in front of it, the redhead smiled as she glowed white before walking through the door and into a large ornately furnished room.
Smiling to herself, Melina looked around the room as she walked about, past a pale man who had sigils etched on his face, as well as grey coloured eyes and hair who was looking into a screen on the wall while using a molecular assembler. Smiling at the man she knew was Dr. Daniel Jackson, she was really smiling at her husband who was doing everything he could to help rebuild the Sangraal. Glancing back at Daniel, she then looked back down at a small table and the copy of the Book of Origin that Adria had given him to read.
"Not that you have to" said Melina as she looked at the book before looking at the man standing at the wall, looking into the screen, "read it, I mean. After all, Adria made you a Prior of the Ori. All that information about the Book should be in your mind."
Just as Melina had spoken the Orici's name, the doors to the room opened and Adria walked in. Melina watched as Prior Daniel stopped what he was doing and stepped back from the machine and looked at Adria.
"Orici" said Daniel as he bowed his head in reverence.
"How goes the weapon?" asked Adria as she walked around the room, past the Prior Staff that was leaning on the wall, before turning around to look at Daniel.
"It is almost ready" said Daniel as he looked at a circular, organic looking device on a pedestal that had four crystal pillars that curved inwards and a mass of crystals of varying heights that were located in the middle of the device, "the weapon will destroy the Ancients in this galaxy, Orici."
"Good" said Adria as she walked closer to the pedestal and looked at the device before looking at Daniel with a smirk, "good. Finally, the Ancients, the evil that hid knowledge and power away from the humans in this galaxy will be wiped out of existence."
"Will we be using the weapon, now?" asked Daniel calmly.
"No" said Adria, much to his surprise, "I have another job for you. We are still going to be converting people to Origin.. once we have gained enough power, only then will we launch an attack on the Ancients. In the meantime, while the Ancients are busy fighting the Ori,I will have ready the weapon; once the Ori retreat back to our galaxy, I will fire the weapon in this one. The Ancients will be unable to interfere as the weapon detonates and kills them all."
"As you wish, Orici" said Daniel as he bowed his head in reverence to Adria, "you would like for me to start converting planets with the other priors?"
"Yes" said Adria as she put her hands on his chest, "we will begin with a planet that we will reach in an hour. The other ship on the world known as Caprica has left that planet after resetting the Stargate, and Priors have been sent through to aid in converting them. That ship will now search for a missing ship… a ship that fought on the side of the Ori during a battle with the ships from your world."
"Very well, Orici" said Daniel as he nodded his head.
"Now" said Adria as she turned around and walked towards the door, "let us continue converting worlds to Origin, the endgame is upon us and I aim for total victory over the Ancients."
"As do we all" said Daniel as Adria glanced back after the doors opened, "Hallowed are the Ori."
"Hallowed are the Ori" said Adria before she walked out into the hallway and the door closed behind her.
Melina watched as Daniel stumbled back, slightly exhausted, after operating the machine ever since he was made a Prior after being brought onto the ship. His stumbling was stopped when he held on to the edges of the molecular assembler pedestal, and closed his eyes as he stood over the Sangraal.
"I can sense you" said Daniel as he slowly opened his eyes and continued to look at the weapon while his arms were trembling from exhaustion, "I know you're here, Janet."
"Sorry, Dr. Jackson" said Melina as she made herself known only to him, much to Daniel's surprise as he looked at the redhead. He had seen visions of her from the memories that he shared with Merlin.. but seeing her in person made him see how similar she was to Willow.
"You're Melina" said Daniel as he leaned forward and grabbed his head, trying to rub out the massive headache he was getting, "Willow's… I mean, Athena's mother."
"Yes" said Melina as she stepped forwards and stood across from Daniel who was still looking at the weapon, before he looked up at Melina.
"How is she?" asked Daniel as he coughed.
"She is well" said Melina, "she.. she and her team are helping another group of humans. Do not be concerned, there are many who are searching for you as well."
"At least preaching about Origin will give me some rest" said Daniel, "but Merlin's mind doesn't have long… I don't really know how much time the both of us have for the plan."
"It will be enough, Dr. Jackson" said Melina as she gave the archaeologist a small smile, "may I speak with Moros?"
Daniel nodded when suddenly his entire demeanour changed and he gave a wide smile as he looked at the redheaded woman.
"Melina" said Moros as he stood up straight and slowly walked towards the redhead, "it has been far too long."
"I am aware" said Melina as she walked around the pedestal and caressed Daniel's cheek as she looked into his eyes. It took only a second for the ascended woman to know that she really was talking to Moros, "I apologize for not having come earlier."
"I have seen Athena's union in Dr. Jackson's mind" said Moros as he spoke through Daniel, "it was a very beautiful ceremony."
"Yes" replied Melina as she tenderly held on to Daniel's hands which were trembling slowly. She looked at his hands, and then up at his face, "I wish you had not done this."
"It was required, Melina" said Moros, "Dr. Jackson was one of us, so I knew his mind could hold on much longer than most. The Sangraal is nearly complete, soon…. The plan Dr. Jackson and I have come up with will come into fruition."
"And we will lose one of our daughters" said Melina sadly as she held on tight to Daniel's hands.
"No" said Moros shaking Daniel's head, "I know you, among others, are able to see events that are yet to be; however, those can be changed. I believe Athena will do what is best for her friends and family."
"I have not told her" said Melina shaking her head, "I have not even shown myself to her as yet. But I have seen it… I have seen the day she will have to make a choice."
"Shhhh" said Moros as he wiped a tear from Melina's face, "I cannot imagine what it must have been like to lose Athena; for her to descend. Neither can I imagine what it was like to lose Hera a second time and.."
"And now" said Melina as she kissed the top of Daniel's hands, "now I'm losing my husband again; and this time… it is forever."
"This is my choice, Melina" said Moros, "my body is on a planet that is cut off from the Stargate network. It does not have life any longer that you, or any of the Others, could trace. I have done this to save you, to save our children."
"Athena, Hera and I would visit you while you were in stasis" said Melina while she rubbed the top of Daniel's hands with her thumbs, as Moros nodded his head.
"Deep inside, I felt your presence" said Moros as he continued to speak in Daniel's voice, "then when I woke up, I saw the oldest of our children surrounded by friends and a new love. Janus had once told me that Dr. Weir and her people were explorers, and that is what our daughters have become…. Explorers. They are the living legacy of our people, Melina."
"Yes" said Melina as her voice broke before she closed her eyes and her face twisted in anguish when she reminded herself that Moros was going to be gone for all time.
"We will see each other again" said Moros as Melina tried to give a small smile while nodding her head.
"I have seen that as well" said Melina, her eyes red, "we will say goodbye one last time at the end."
"As it should be, Melina" said Moros as he held both of her hands tightly, "I would have completed my mission to protect you, Hera and Athena from the Ori. That is what would make me glad."
Melina could see Daniel getting weaker as he got down on one knee and was breathing hard. He looked down and closed his eyes while Melina could only look on in worry.
"Moros?" said Melina stepping forward as Daniel lifted his head up and looked at the redhead.
"Sorry" said Daniel as he let go of Melina's hands and grabbed on to the side of the pedestal and pulled himself up, "he's still in there but… the emotions he experienced made him weaker."
"Oh" said Melina as she stepped back slightly with a downcast face.
"I can feel the love he has for you, Dawn and Willow" said Daniel as he reached out with his arm and telekinetically grabbed the Prior staff that was located in another corner of the room, "he.. he misses you."
"And I him" said Melina, "he has been trapped in ice for millennia, and…"
"The plan will work, Melina" said Daniel as he stood up straight, "it has to work."
"Dr. Fraiser has already told Athena that you, and Moros, are well" said Melina as she wiped some tears, "she has also appeared to Miss Jenkins in a dream to tell her that you are well."
"She'll kill me" said Daniel when suddenly the both of them looked towards the door. Daniel then turned to Melina and told her that he sensed Adria returning to the room.
"Farewell, Dr. Jackson" replied Melina as Daniel nodded his head before she simply stopped appearing to others. She simply walked past Adria who had entered the room and walked towards Daniel. Looking back, she saw the Orici talking to Daniel before Melina turned back around and walked out through the door. She had finally seen her husband after ensuring that Willow and Dawn were safe; after ensuring that their children were safe. But Melina knew that Moros' time was nearing an end and she resolved to be at his side when the time came.
Planet Designated P3H-652, 2135 hours.
Willow was had just come out of the tree line after having seen off Satterfield, Grogan and Sharon to the Beta Site. As she walked towards the camp, Willow saw the three small Colonial ships in the area that was designated for them to land; all of their hatches were now closed since their passengers had gone into the medical facility. Making her way towards the building, she walked past some of the Marines as they stared at the redhead with suspicion. Looking at them as she walked past, she could tell that they were some of the Marines who were with the first ship and from their thoughts, the redhead could tell that despite the proof offered; they still thought she was a Cylon. Frowning as she walked past, the redhead noticed more Colonial Marines standing by the door to the Medical facility, while others were in the Mess tent with some brown coloured cups in their hand.
'Coffee' thought Willow to herself as she walked past the second group of Marines who quietened up until after she passed them, 'the universal beverage.'
Once she was at the doors that led to the facility, Willow looked around and sensed Faith was only a few meters off the ground as she watched over the camp. She closed her eyes and saw with her mind that two members of SG-25 were guarding Sam's jumper, while another two were walking the perimeter of the camp. She saw that the members of SG-26 were spread throughout the camp while SG-13 and both Colonel Finn's were in the medical facility, as were the other civilian personnel.
Opening her eyes, she glanced to her left as the Marines were looking at her before walking over to the other Colonial Marines, the same ones who still thought that Willow was a Cylon. Shaking her head, Willow opened the door to a large room filled with organized chaos. She looked on wide-eyed as Dr. Burke and her team were trying to convince the Colonials that it was for everyone's protection that they all receive the blood test. It was not long after that Willow heard Colonel Dixon's patented loud whistle before everyone stopped. She then saw Dr. Burke translate everything the Colonel was saying in Ancient Greek before a man in a suit and tie was walking threateningly, and shouting, at Dr. Burke just as she, and the other SG team members in the facility had their hands rested against their Zats.
Willow: "Sir?"
Dixon: "Stand down, Major."
It was then that Willow and the others watched Major Adama walk in front of the man in the suit and tie who was shouting at Dr. Burke earlier and calmed him down, as did some of the other members of the delegation. She watched as the dark haired man in the suit put his hands up in frustration before he turned around and sat down on the chair at the table where blood would be collected. Willow walked over to Jon who was standing on one side of the large room looking at everyone as the man roughly pulled up his sleeves and slammed his arm onto the table as the vials shook.
"Hey Jon" said Willow as she stood next to him, "what just happened?"
"That guy" said Jon as he nodded at the man whose blood was being drawn, "some big shot… I think Dr. Burke said he's the speaker of some Quorum of Twelve, or something. Name's Zarek."
"Ok" said Willow as she looked at the man, and then at the other's who were standing in a group behind him surrounded by Colonial officers wearing the same uniforms as Racetrack and Skulls from earlier, "and?"
"He took issue to us asking them to provide blood tests" said Jon, "something about how we're still not who we say we are… that they're the last of humanity.. yadda yadda."
"That exciting, huh?" asked Willow with a smile.
"Oh yeah" said Jon as he glanced over at the redhead, "you getting any feelings from them?"
"A lot" said Willow, "fear, dread, nervousness; tension so thick that you can cut it with a knife. Some have hope, some just want everything to end."
"Don't blame them" said Jon as he looked around the room where Hailey and the other members of his team were stationed at the walls of the facility to keep a look out for everything, and anything, "what happened to them would make anyone antsy."
"True" said Willow as she leaned on the wall as the man who had shouted earlier walked back to the group while he glared at Colonel Dixon who was talking to the Vice-President and Major Adama through Dr. Burke as a translator. Looking around the room, Willow saw the other members of Dr. Burke's team talking to the Colonials as they tried to reassure them that this blood test was important for the safety of their fleet. Suddenly Willow turned back to Balter again when she heard that same woman's voice speaking in Ancient Greek.
Willow: "Dr. Burke, just keep talking to the Major and the Vice-President, try not to look at me. I know this is strange but I need to use your mind as a translator for me, and Colonel Dixon. Do you mind?"
Willow saw Dr. Burke talking to the Vice-President and Major Adama while her back was facing the redhead.
Burke: "O…k, how is this going to work?"
Willow: "Just keep on translating between English and Ancient Greek. I know it'll take some muti-tasking to translate what the Major the Vice-President are saying, but I think what this woman is saying could be important as well. I'll connect your mind to me, and Colonel Dixon. I'll then connect the three of us to the Vice-President. Colonel? Are you ok with that, sir?"
Dixon: "Yeah."
Willow: "Making connections, and now. You should hear the voice now."
Willow saw Dr. Burke stop talking as she rubbed her head once they started hearing the woman's voice. She looked on Major Adama seemed to ask her if she was alright when the lead translator looked up and nodded her head. It was almost instantly that Willow heard the woman's translated voice in her mind.
"Look at them, Gaius" said the woman, "they developed a simple way to detect a Cylon. Maybe you're a Cylon yourself. What do you think they'll do when they find out you have nanites? What do you think they'll do when they find out you're a member of the last five? Umm….. come on… answer me. What if you're not a Cylon? What if you're right? Maybe I am your unconscious mind talking to you.. maybe you have a tumour.. but oh wait, you had yourself checked out and you're fine."
Willow looked at the Vice-President's reaction when he suddenly stopped talking as his face became pale. She knew that Colonel Dixon and Dr. Burke were doing everything they could to continue talking, but she could feel the shock just radiating off their bodies.
"Umm…." Said the Vice-President as he glanced to the smiling red dressed woman on his left before looking at Colonel Dixon and Dr. Burke, "I think I should lie down. I'm suddenly not feeling too well."
"That the best lie you can come up with, Gaius?" said the woman in a playful tone of voice as Willow and the others listened intently, "come on… you've come up with so many cover stories. You're smarter than everyone here.. the man who the other Cylons would grant hero status… the man singlehandedly responsible for the fall of the Colonies."
It was at that statement that Willow had her eyes opened wide as she stiffened her posture while Dr. Burke continued to talk with shakiness in her voice that Major Adama immediately noticed. The Major watched as a hint of anger appeared in Dr. Burke's eyes before he saw Colonel Dixon look back at Willow who appeared shocked.
"Colonel Dixon" saidthe Major as the Colonel looked back at him, before looking at Balter, "is everything alright?"
"Major, I…" said the Colonel as everything melted around him. He saw the scenery change as it was replaced by a green open space with people talking all around them.
"Colonel?" said Dr. Burke as she looked around confused, "where are we?"
"Sorry" said Willow as she walked up behind the Colonel who turned around startled, "we were linked when the voice said something to the Vice-President, something about codes. He started to have an intense memory, and that where we're at."
"Oh" said the Colonel with his eyes wide open in surprise, "this is cool."
"Yea" said Faith who just appeared out of nowhere, "not so much when I'm flying a ship over the base. Red?"
"Sorry" said Willow sheepishly, "the link… it was an intense thought so you go pulled in… all of us who were linked got pulled in. You're still flying the ship… don't worry. It's not going to crash."
"But wont Major Adama be seeing us as standing still not doing anything?" asked Dr. Burke while she looked around as the numerous people walking about, doing their own business. She tried to touch one of them but her hand simply went through the person as if they were an image.
"About a second would pass in the real world" said Willow as she looked around her surroundings when she stopped and saw Balter walking towards them with a tall, blonde woman.
"Wow" said the Colonel as he saw the woman, which was when he noticed that the other women were looking at him with their eyebrows raised, "sorry."
"Yes, sir" said Willow as Balter stopped and put down a silver case on the ground before he pulled the woman towards him and gave her a kiss that lasted a few seconds. In the meantime, the group walked towards them. Once they had gotten close enough to see the tongue action between Balter and the woman, Balter stopped and smiled at her.
"I've got the codes for the defence mainframe. Hopefully this would give you a leg up on your completion so that that your company wins the contract" said Balter as he looked up at the woman and leaned to the side, picking up the case. HE stood next to her and held the briefcase vertically before opening it. Willow and the others rushed to stand behind Balter as they saw files that Dr. Burke said seemed to be confidential. She then noticed other files that had the words 'Top Secret'. They watched as Balter looked around while the woman had her hand around the man's shoulders."
"My God" said Dr. Burke as she looked at the officers and Faith, "he sold everyone out."
Just as she spoke, the scenery changed again and they found themselves in a living room looking out of a large window to a view of a lake and mountains in the distance. They turned around when they heard a commotion in the other room as footsteps ran down some stairs. The group walked in only to see Balter in hysterics as he kept of pointing to the woman.
"How?" said Balter, "how can you be a Cylon? That's not possible.. Cylons cannot…"
"Evolve?" said the woman as she smiled at Balter before sitting down on an armchair.
"Machine's cannot evolve" said Balter.
"I'm a woman"
"You're a synthetic woman" said Balter, "you're a machine, a robot. The last time anyone saw the Cylons, they looked like walking Chrome toasters."
Willow and the others heard the conversations between the both of them, even the part where Balter genuinely seemed shocked that the woman had gained access to the Colonial Fleets deployment schedule, communications frequencies and unlimited access to every defence related database. They watched as Balter was more concerned with was going to happen to him before he turned around and told the woman that she was his way out, that she had to have a way out because she would die once the nuclear weapons hit the surface.
The woman then told him that there are twelve models of the humanoid Cylons and that she's Number Six. She also told him that she wouldn't die because her consciousness would simply be transferred to another body somewhere. It was then that everyone covered their eyes as a nuclear blast occurred in the far mountain range.
"It's started" said Colonel Dixon as he saw another nuclear weapon hit, before another one.
"The people on Rand and Caledonia" said Willow as another one hit close by, "this is how they must have felt when the missiles rained down on them as well. I can't even begin to imagine their terror, or the terror Colonials experienced."
Suddenly, they saw a blast wave hit as everything returned to normal as the group found themselves back at the medical facility,with Major Adama asking if everything was alright and Balter trying to weasel out of a test.
"Yea" said Colonel Dixon as he shook his head and rubbed his forehead while Dr. Burke translated, "everything's alright. Listen, get yourself checked out.. trust me.. it's for your benefit. You don't want this plague affecting you."
"Alright" said the Major as he nodded his head before grabbing on to a Balter who seemed to be mumbling something in Ancient Greek that no-one could hear properly.
"Doc" said the Colonel as he looked at Dr. Burke, "I need you to look around and keep talking to these people. But don't tell them about…"
"I know, Colonel" said Dr. Burke as she shook her head, "will you be talking about this with Major Rosenberg, and Faith?"
"Yea" replied the Colonel as he looked back at Willow and nodded his head towards the door before looked at Dr. Burke again, "just keep everyone calm, Dr. Burke."
After Willow had nodded her head, she leaned in towards Jon and asked him to keep a lookout on Balter.
"Something up?" whispered Jon as he looked at the redhead.
"Trust me?" asked Willow as she turned to Jon.
"Of course" he replied.
"Get together with Jen" said Willow before she walked towards the exit, "make sure that man doesn't leave until after he gives his blood for testing."
"Sure" said a confused Jon as Willow smiled and nodded at him before she turned and walked out the exit with Colonel Dixon. Jon then shook his head and walked over to Hailey and told her about Willow's request, that they were to make sure that the Vice-President gets his blood drawn.
Outside the medical Facility, 2200 hours.
Faith had landed the Jumper while it was still cloaked next to Sam's Jumper. The brunette Slayer tried not to laugh at the members of SG25 who were guarding the first Jumper when they jumped in surprise when the ramp of the cloaked jumper opened. Walking down the ramp, Faith reached the ground before turning around and pressing the button that would close the ramp. Nodding at the members of SG25, Faith then ran past the buildings of the camp until she reached the square, away from the medical facility and the Colonial ships, where Willow and Colonel Dixon were waiting for her.
"Ok" said Faith as the tree of them walked together towards the tree line for more privacy, "that was… interesting."
"Yeah" said Willow as she looked back at the medical facility, "is he's responsible…"
"Well" said Colonel Dixon, "he is. He is ultimately responsible for what happened to the Colonies, but the main question is do we tell the other Colonials?"
"I don't think we can tell them anything" said Faith shaking her head as they stopped close to the tree line, "without proof, we can't tell them anything. I know that we saw into his memories… but we can't exactly tell the Colonials that Red is a psionic who was pulled into the Vice-President's memories where we saw him helping a Cylon gain access to their defence mainframe."
"That's true" said Willow shaking her head, "and these people are traumatised as it is; if they find out that I can read minds and…. you know, do other stuff… then there is no way to know how they might react."
"And the proof part" said the Colonel as he rubbed his forehead, "especially the fact that we have no physical proof."
"If his body does contain nanites" said Willow as she walked around, "and from the way he was acting with the Cylon… I mean, look…. We know that Sharon's blood contains many, many nanites as does the blonde Cylon. Would it be too out of this world to think that she and the Vice-President had some sort of a physical relationship."
"Sex?" said Faith.
"Uh huh" replied Willow, "if his body does contain nanites, then that's the only way I would guess they got in there. The nanites, at least most of them, could have made direct connections with his brain and his optic nerves since he seemed to be looking at something that wasn't there… which means he's seeing something."
"But that assumes he has the nanites in his blood, right?" asked the Colonel as Willow nodded her head, "but what if he doesn't? What if we're dealing with Ancients?"
"If we're dealing with Ancients" said Willow, "then we could have a problem.. but I highly doubt it. What would the Ancients have to gain? So far they've only given us titbits of information, just enough to make our own way with what they want us to know. But the voice, it's like she's directly interfering which means that the Others would have taken care of her. The truth is that we don't know."
"Either way" said Faith, "we won't know until we test his blood."
"Sir" said Willow as she looked at Colonel Dixon, "what if he asks for asylum? Let's say he has nanites in his blood, we have an obligation to tell the Colonials, don't we? What if their reaction is the same as their reaction towards Sharon?"
"I need to talk to General Landry about this" said the Colonel.
"But he's not a Cylon" said Faith as Willow nodded her head, "if he was, then Red wouldn't have been able to see into his mind. So…. Again, what do we do?"
"Sharon was different" said Willow, "she's a machine… a living, organic machine that these people still see as a thing. I've seen the Furling drones grow and evolve to become better before they left for Earth… and Sharon may be halfway there, evolution wise, as are the other humanoid Cylons… but the Vice-President is fully human. The Colonials may want him charged, if they can find proof of what he did, under their own rules."
"Either way" said the Colonel as he rubbed his head to get rid of the headache, "I still have to talk to the General about this. Either way, we can't prove anything right now. Even if he does have nanites, that's not necessarily proof about his part in the fall of their Colonies."
The Colonel then told Willow to return to the medical facility and have both Riley and Sam accompany the Colonials to the refugee housing units that had been set up ten minutes away from the camp. He then turned to Faith and asked her to stay up in the air for another two hours, before she landed and switched duties with Sam. In the meantime, he told the both of them that he'll dial Earth and talk to General Landry about what they saw in Balter's mind.
"Yes, sir" said Willow as the Colonel nodded and turned before walking into the forest and towards the Stargate.
The two women then walked back to the camp where Faith mentally kissed Willow who turned towards the Slayer and smiled before they separated. The redhead walked into the medical facility while Faith headed towards the cloaked Jumper.
Walking past the Colonial Marines who were outside the doors as they pulled down their sleeves after having given their blood for testing, Willow opened the doors and headed straight to Riley and Sam who were overseeing everything with Dr. Burke.
"Sir, ma'am" said Willow as she nodded at Riley and Sam, "everyone done?"
The both of them said that the Vice-President had given some problems, but Major Adama convinced him to get over his irrational fear of needles and get his blood drawn.
"It probably helped that the other Colonial Officers around him had their hands on heir sidearm's while they looked at the man confused about why he was so against giving blood" said Dr. Burke as she glanced back at the Vice-President who was talking, with his back turned, to Zarek and another man.
"Shady guy" said Riley as he glanced towards the Vice-President as well, "reminds me of some of the scientists we used to have at the Initiative. Complains way too much about small things."
"Sir" said Willow as she looked at Riley, "Colonel Dixon would like you and Colonel Finn to accompany the Colonials to the refugee units that have been set up. He said to take Jon, Jennifer and the others with you while Faith will cover you from the air."
Willow then turned to Sam and told her that Colonel Dixon would like for her to relieve Faith in two hours.
"I'll have SG25 stand guard at the camp" said Riley as Willow nodded before he turned to Dr. Burke and asked her and her team for help in translating what was going to happen now. It was a few minutes later that the Colonials followed Riley, Sam and Dr. Burke along with Jon, Hailey and the rest of SG13 towards and walked towards the refugee units that was located ten minutes away. After they had all left, and the medical facility was quiet; Willow walked to one of the scientists and tapped on his shoulder.
"Doc" said Willow as the man turned around on his chair, "I need you to check the Vice-President's blood for nanites."
"Nanites?" asked Dr. Robert Wade, one of the SGC's newer recruits, "are you sure?"
"Yea" said Willow as she pointed at the vials of blood, "we're still checking them for the Prior plague, as well as the Ancient gene… but I need his done quickly for any sign of nanites."
"Ummm… alright" said the bearded man as he stood up and walked over to the case of vials and took out the one with Balter's name. He then placed a small drop of the blood on the scanner before shutting the doors to the small device. Turning on the screen, the scientist looked at the screen and then at Willow who was frowning, before he looked back at the screen.
"Only three that we could see" said the doctor as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
"Three is still too much" said Willow as she looked at Dr. Wade, and then at the screen again, "I'll tell Colonel Dixon about this, in the meantime… take whatever samples your people need for testing the plague and the Ancient gene. Quarantine the rest of his blood, and we need screen caps of the nanites. We'll keep the quarantined blood in reserve in case we need to prove it to the Colonials tomorrow."
"Why not tell them now?" asked Dr. Wade.
"We've already told them that testing for the plague would take hours" said Willow as she nodded at the screen, "if we show them this, then they'd think that we suspected the Vice-President was a Cylon; and that we knew something was wrong. This way, we can tell them that we came across these nanites while testing the blood for the plague."
"I'll have the other blood tested for nanites as well" said Dr. Wade as Willow turned towards him, "just in case."
"Alright" said Willow, "I'll let Colonel Dixon know. In the meantime, the Vice-President isn't going anywhere. I don't think he can fly their ships, and I'll let our people know not to let him out of our sights. Plus Faith is in the cloaked Jumper keeping an eye on him, and the other Colonials."
"I'll get to work then" said Dr. Wade as Willow nodded her head before patting the man's shoulder and turning around. She exited the facility right before she heard the scientist ordering his people to begin testing the other blood for nanites, and then the Plague followed by the ATA gene. Once Willow had left the medical facility, she pressed on her ear set and told all of the Earth officers that nanites had been found in the Vice-President's bloodstream and that, until tomorrow which was when they would receive the results for the tests on whether the Colonials have been infected with the Ori Plague, he needed to be kept under watch.
"You sure he's got nanites, Major?" asked the Colonel who was still talking to General Landry via the Stargate.
"Yes, sir" said Willow.
"Alright" replied the Colonel through his ear set, "everyone copy?"
"Yes, sir" said all of the officers together.
"Colonel Dixon, sir" said Sam into her ear piece as she walked the Colonials to the refugee housing units, "I can have SG-26 watched over the Colonial ships, make sure that the Vice-President doesn't leave by himself."
"Very well. Keep an eye out" said Colonel Dixon in response to Sam, "Major Rosenberg, stay with the scientists. Notify me once they have detected any more Colonial personnel with nanites."
"Copy that, sir" said Willow, "Rosenberg out."
Willow then pressed her earpiece once again before she turned around and walked back into the medical facility.
'Hopefully no other surprises for tonight' thought Willow to herself as she saw the scientists working to clear the other personnel, 'because tomorrow's a whole different ball game.'
The Summers Residence, Sunnydale, the next day; 0800 hours.
As Dawn slowly opened her eyes while facing the streams of sunlight that was entering her room, she smiled before she turned onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. Wiping her eyes, she slowly pushed herself up, before she started to her shouted and laughing from downstairs. Smiling to herself, the brunette then closed her eyes and took in the smell of pancakes, eggs and bacon that were wafting up from the kitchen, up the stairs and into her room. Putting her feet into the fuzzy slippers that she and Joyce had bought during their trip to the mall, Dawn got off the bed while wiping her eyes and opened her door. As she went to freshen up, she heard voices from downstairs and smiled when she heard the voices of Buffy, Xander and Joyce. She strained to hear Jay and Rose's voices but then she remembered that the both of them had gone to school.
'Forgot about that' thought Dawn to herself as she opened the door to the rest room, 'Rose gave me a hug, while Jay waved before they left… must have been too sleepy.'
It was twenty minutes later that Dawn freshened up before putting on a fresh set of clothes and slowly walked down the stairs. The further she got down the stairs, the more intense was the smell of the pancakes as the smell brought her memories back to when she was younger, and demolishing stacks of pancakes that Joyce had made. She would even take Buffy's share, much to the ire of the blonde Slayer.
'Of course she wasn't the Slayer then' thought Dawn to herself as she walked down the small hallway into the kitchen, 'but then again, those memories were implanted in me.'
Walking into the kitchen, she smiled as Buffy looked up from eating some pancakes and smiled, along with Xander who was seated next to the blonde at the island while Joyce placed a plate of food on the other side of the island, across from Buffy and Xander, for Dawn.
"Thanks, mom" said Dawn as Joyce ruffled her hair before she kissed the top of Dawn's head. Joyce then grabbed her warm cup of coffee and drank the remaining liquid before she told Dawn that she was needed at the gallery, "you're going to work? I thought it was your day off?"
"It was supposed to be" said Joyce as she washed the cup, "but we just got in some artifacts, and paintings, from South Africa for a showing in a few days and I need to go over the shipping manifest. I'll just be gone for a few hours…. You're not mad?"
"No" said Dawn shaking her head, "it's alright."
"I'll be back soon, alright?" said Joyce as she smiled at the brunette who nodded her head. Joyce walked towards the living room where she picked up her purse before looking back and waving at Buffy, Dawn and Xander.
After the front door had closed, Dawn looked back at Buffy and grinned before leaning forwards on the island.
"How was your mission?" asked Dawn excitedly. However, the excitement on her face vanished when she noticed the look of concern on Buffy's face as she and Xander looked at each other before looking at Dawn, "Buffy? What's going on? No one got hurt, did they?"
"No" said Buffy as she set aside her plate, "a few days ago, Spike got some information from one of his sources."
"Deep underworld sources" said Xander, "and I mean that literally."
"Ok" replied Dawn, "and?"
"His sources said that a number of artifacts were found" replied Buffy, "artifacts that were thought to have been lost ever since…. Well, ever since Ben was created."
"Ben?" said Dawn who was by now confused as she looked at Buffy and then at Xander, "who's Ben? The only Ben I know is…. Oh no."
"Yea" replied Xander as he saw Dawn's eyes open wide in realization of who they were talking about; Ben Wilkinson, the human vessel of the hellgod known as Glory, "that Ben."
"My team, Kennedy's team and Rona's team including four NID special squads were activated" said Buffy as she looked at her sister, "artifacts, according to Spike and Giles, when combined with a ritual could have opened a doorway straight into Glory's dimension."
"But" said Dawn when Xander reached out and grabbed her hand, and gently squeezed.
"Dawnie" said Xander, "Giles and Spike discovered that this opened a one way doorway, allowing something to come into this dimension straight from Glory's hell…. Something called the Chaos Bringer."
"Ok" said Dawn nervously, "and..?"
"They were close" said Buffy, "too close. Remember those hobbit like things that used to stick to Glory?"
"Uh huh" said Dawn nodding her head, "you mean the disfigured ones?"
"Yeah" replied Xander, "we thought that most of them were taken out at the tower the day…. You know."
"The day I died" said Buffy as she grabbed a hold of Dawn's hand and squeezed, "anyway, a lot of them went into hiding to look for these artifacts. We found them performing the final part of the ritual, I guess… well, all you need to know is that they didn't succeed."
"But if they had?" asked Dawn.
"Then that Chaos Bringer would have been used to destroy the world" said Buffy, "one of the hobbit's we questioned after stopping them said that it was in revenge for what happened to Glory, and that there were others who would rise again and take the artifacts away… their goal is to avenge Glory; they wanted to get rid of us first, then you…. and then everyone else."
"Now that they've found it" said Xander, "they won't stop looking for it. The one we questioned said that they can find wherever we hide it. That even if it takes them months to find it again, they will… they will scour the entire Earth just to get their hands on it again."
"So, we're not keeping it on Earth" said Buffy as Dawn smiled, "we've already talked to General O'Neill and General Landry, we've asked them to put this in the Omega Site."
"Area Fifty Three" said Dawn, "the repository of objects deemed dangerous to the survival of the planet."
"Yep" said Xander, "General Landry told us that it would be kept under some kind of technology given to them by the Asgard. A lock that can only be opened by the one who imprints their genetic material on the lock itself…. Which is extremely cool."
"Yeah" said Buffy as a smile appeared on her face, "the genetic material we'll be using is Xander's blood."
"Xander's?" asked Dawn as she looked at the dark haired man, "why?"
"You were created from my blood, remember? Anyone could take our blood and open the lock if they, in the very unlikely scenario, can get access to the Stargate" said Buffy, "'sides, the two General's believe that it would be more secure to have someone not related to us by blood become the lock. Xander's identity as the blood donor will be kept secret. The only ones who know will be General Landry and O'Neill."
"So I volunteered" said Xander with a grin as he squeezed Dawn's hand, "don't worry Dawn, you're safe."
"Thanks" said Dawn nodding her head, "what happens now?"
"With Tara on leave" said Buffy, "Angel asked Amy to place a barrier around the artefact so that those hobbit's can't detect it, we told her that the NID will be coming tomorrow to take it to a secret site covered in magics so that Glory's creatures can never get to it again."
"She believed that?" asked Dawn.
"Uh huh" said Xander excitedly, "then tomorrow we'll head to the SGC with you. Can't believe I'll be going through the Stargate again."
"Uh huh" said Buffy as she smiled at her husband before looking at Dawn, "you guys mind having guests?"
"No" said Dawn, "of course not, Willow and Faith took a few days off to go to Atlantis. They should be back by tomorrow."
Dawn got off the stool after noticing the look that Buffy and Xander gave each other when they heard about Atlantis. She poured herself a cup of coffee from the warm coffee pot before heading back to the island.
"Buffy, Xander" said Dawn as she sat down on her stool and looked at them after taking a sip off the coffee, "did Willow tell you about… well, about herself.. I mean about Athena?"
"Yea" said Buffy as she and Xander nodded their heads, "Giles is at the BPRI searching for any records of Athena, he's going to Area Fifty One next week to talk to Travers about the oldest Watcher's Codex's… the ones that were not kept in the library… the ones that Giles suspects that man has been hiding."
"Wait" said Dawn confused, "what does Willow, or Athena, have to do with the Watchers Codex?"
"Dawn" said Xander, "what did Willow tell you?"
"That she was born in Atlantis" said Dawn as she recounted everything that Willow had told her on the Avalon, except for the part where the redhead claimed that Dawn was her sister. The brunette looked on as Buffy and Xander looked at each other as if they were silently discussing whether they should reveal some secret to Buffy. Dawn then told the both of them that Willow said that there were some things that only Buffy could tell her.
"Right" said Buffy nodding her head. Buffy then told a surprised Dawn what Willow had told them about meeting Sineya, the Furlings, the clones, and the creation of the First Slayer. Dawn had her mouth open while she heard about Willow's exile, the redhead witnessing the First Slayer's last breath, and her giving a weapon created for the Slayers to a group of guardians. Buffy told Dawn that Athena loved Sineya just like a daughter, that she was happy and alive once more since her sister died.
"What did Willow tell you about her sister?" asked Dawn softly.
"Nothing much, actually" replied Xander, "she told us that she loved her, that her entire outlook changed when Hera died."
"My best friend wanted to destroy a galaxy" said Buffy as she got off the stool and walked past Dawn to get to the coffee pot where she poured herself another cup. She then walked past Dawn, who was looking at Buffy, before talking her seat on the stool again and took a sip of her coffee. Buffy sighed and put the cup on the island before looking up at Dawn, "if I was in her place, if I had lost you the same way she lost her sister… then I guess I'd have done the same thing."
"Tried to" said Xander as he corrected his wife, "Willow wasn't allowed to go through with that."
"Right" said Buffy nodding her head, "all I'm saying is that I understand. If I lost Dawn.. if she died when Glory tried to…"
"She didn't" said Xander.
"I didn't die" said Dawn as she looked at Buffy who was looking at her coffee.
"If Dawn died" continued Buffy as she continued to look at her coffee, "then I would have done anything to get her back…. I would have searched everywhere; killed every demon, vampire or even human that got in my way.. I would have destroyed anyone who stopped me from ripping reality apart to get back to a time before we found out who Glory really was. I'd then have killed Ben myself just so that Dawn wouldn't die."
"You wouldn't kill a human" said Dawn softly.
"For you" replied Buffy as she looked at her sister, "if you died, I would have done anything to get you back…. Damn anyone who tried to stop me."
"But she didn't die" said Xander while Dawn held on to Buffy's hands.
"I know" said Buffy, "but I can understand what Willow tried to do.. like I said, I'd do the same if Glory succeeded in killing Dawn."
"But you sacrificed yourself" said Dawn softly, "and we brought you back.. I mean… we didn't rip apart reality to do it but… we brought you back."
"I know" said Buffy as she looked at Dawn and then at Xander, "all I'm trying to say, I guess…. Is that we'll all try to do something to bring those close to us who died."
"Yeah" said Dawn as she recalled the spell she used to try and bring back Joyce to life after she died. A shiver went up her spine when she thought about what could have appeared on their doorstep the night she tried the spell, the night it worked… the night there was a knock on the door while the both of them were arguing. The demon she got the spell from, the same one who would later betray her to Glory, told her the way to break the spell she cast would be to rip the picture of her mother she used as a catalyst. And that's exactly what she did, ripped the picture right before Buffy opened the door expecting their mother to be on the other side. The brunette had always thought about that incident, even more so since Joyce returned with Jay and Rose, 'what was that thing I brought back? A zombie clone? Was it mom? A monster?'
"Dawn?" asked Xander as he waved his hand in front of Dawn's face when she shook her head and smiled at the dark haired man, "you alright?"
"Yeah" said Dawn, "what else did Willow say? About Hera I mean."
"Well, Willow did say she's back" said Xander as Dawn looked on in surprise, worried that Willow would have told the two of them the truth.
'No' thought Dawn to herself, 'or else they would have told me something.'
"She… she's back?" asked Dawn trying to be as confident as possible to hide her nervousness.
"Yea" said Buffy, "she wasn't sure if she should tell her or not since apparently she has another family. But we thought that she should tell her. That she should read her and the family into the program and tell her the truth."
"What if she couldn't handle it?" asked Dawn, "I mean if…."
"Dawnie" said Buffy, "I think Willow's smart enough to know that her reincarnated sister would have no idea what she was talking about. I think she'll start Hera, and her new family, with the simple stuff. I give it a few years while she gets to know her sister's new persona while she tells her everything about the Stargate, and the Ancients before revealing the truth between their relationship."
"Right" said Dawn, "what else did she say about her sister?"
"They loved each other very much" said Buffy as she recalled the conversations they had in private after the briefing, "she even said that her sister is the reason she has this weird fear of frogs."
"Really?" asked Dawn as she raised an eyebrow, "how so?"
"Well" said Xander, "from what Willow told us, Hera was playing with a frog like creature on a planet which then hopped onto her hair. Willow said that she was jumping around trying to get rid of the frog while she felt the slimy feet on her scalp. Since then…"
"She's been scared" said Dawn with a smile as she imagined Willow jumping around and screaming for someone to get a frog off her head.
"They were very close" said Buffy as Xander nodded his head.
"Having her die in front of her must have destroyed her inside" said Xander.
"It would have destroyed me" said Buffy as she looked at Dawn.
"It killed me when you died" said Dawn before the blonde woman go off her seat and walked around the island before hugging her sister.
"Who can forget the kleptomania?" said Xander with a huge grin plastered on his face, "can't believe you stole toothbrushes… of all things…."
"Hey" said Dawn as she reached over after Buffy had sat back down and slapped Xander's arm, "that was not funny."
"A little bit" said Xander as he jumped back off his seat before Dawn could slap him again.
Dawn then stuck out her tongue playfully at Xander before she took a seat. She smiled as Xander kissed the top of Buffy's head before he walked over to the living room where he switched on the game console. Now, Buffy and Dawn were left alone in the kitchen as the brunette took Buffy's cup and refilled her own cup, and Buffy's, with coffee before heading back to the island and taking a seat.
"Willow said that show us her memories" said Buffy as Dawn looked at her, "but she said that she won't show us Hera, at least until she tells her sister the truth."
"And if she accepts the truth" said Dawn while Buffy nodded her head.
"Xander's so happy for Willow" said Buffy as she looked back at the dark haired man choosing a car on a racing game he was playing, "he's seen her grow up alone, and now she found out she has a sister. A sister, and a mother, whose always had been looking over her."
"She must have loved Willow a lot" said Dawn softly.
"That's what sisters do" said Buffy, "I wish I could have been down here for you."
"You were always here" said Dawn with a sad smile, "even so… I did a lot of stuff I wasn't proud of…. Stuff that I'm still not proud off… even though I knew in my heart you were watching me."
"You know" said Buffy as she got up from her seat and walked around the island and sat next to Dawn. She wrapped her arm around Dawn's as the brunette placed her head on Buffy's shoulder, "I was wondering if I ascended. Maybe it wasn't Willow's type of ascension… what if it was the ascension of the Powers?"
"Buffy?" asked Dawn.
"I don't remember much" said Buffy as Dawn held her hand tightly, "but there was a feeling of peace, of warmth. I knew it was heaven… but what if it was just a higher level of existence? What if the Powers had ascended me?"
"Then you're making me feel even worse about wanting you back" said Dawn as she closed her eyes.
"But that's the thing though" said Buffy as she rubbed her cheek on the top of the brunette's head, "how did a spell bring me back? Yea, it was a powerful spell but maybe it worked because… look, if the Powers are mystical in nature… than it makes sense that I'd return through mystical means."
"Or the Powers knew you still had work to do" said Dawn, "they saw the city going to hell, and wiped your memories while the spell was being cast and returned you to your body."
"I don't know" said Buffy, "all I know is that I'm here, you're here, Xander, mom, Rose and Jay are here."
"True" said Dawn with a smile as the both of them watched Xander curse at the television after he crashed his car.
"I love you, Dawnie" said Buffy as she moved her arm from holding onto Dawn's arm, and placed it around her shoulder and pulled the brunette closer.
"I love you too" said Dawn as she gave a small smile while her head lay on Buffy's shoulder as she thought back to Willow, and what she said, 'do I tell Buffy? What will she say? Will she be angry at Willow? Will she be angry at me? Is it my right to tell her before telling Willow that I accept that I am her sister, but even that I don't know. There's no proof. Dr. Jackson, if you're out there… I need an answer. Am I Hera?'
TBC.