Angel Investigations, Los Angeles, California; alternate reality, 2000 hours.
Cordelia was sleeping on her bed in the Hyperion Hotel, the headquarters of Angel Investigations when she suddenly opened her eyes and grabbed her head and lay on her back. For months she had been getting visions from the Powers that Be, powerful visions that caused her immense pain as she squirmed on the bed trying not to scream. However, the pain was so excruciating that she had no choice but to scream out loud, especially after what she had just seen in her vision.
Almost immediately, Angel and a the others in his team ran through the door after turning on the light as Cordelia sat up with her nose bleeding profusely, and the young woman breathing hard.
"Cordy?" said Angel as he sat on the bed next to her while Wesley handed him a box of tissue paper, which he in turn handed to Cordelia to stop the bleeding. Soon Fred, followed by the demon known as Lorne and Conner ran into the room after Cordelia's scream reverberated throughout the entire building.
"Angel" said Cordelia as the pain subsided and she grabbed a piece of tissue before stuffing it into her nose, "I saw… I saw…"
"Cordelia" said Wesley, "take your time, what did you see?"
"Yellow rain" said Cordelia as she looked up at Wesley and then at Angel, "yellow rain crashing into Sunnydale… destroying it….. wiping it away from the face of the Earth."
"The First?" asked Fred as she approached Cordelia's bed.
"No" replied Cordelia, "Willow… I saw Willow in a white and gold dress… she was standing on Kingman's Bluff as she watched the city get destroyed. She was smiling."
"Willow?" asked Angel, "Cordelia… we went to her funeral. She's dead."
"I saw Willow, Angel" said Cordelia, "and it wasn't the First Evil. You need to call Giles or Buffy, or someone. Maybe it's a demon that's impersonating Willow, but whatever it is…. The Powers gave me this vision. It's happening, alright? Willow's going to destroy Sunnydale. Worse to worse, the demon impersonating her could be in league with the First."
"And with the two Slayers and all the Potential Slayers in one location" said Wesley as he looked at Angel stunned, "whatever this yellow rain is, it will kill them all…. The Slayer line destroyed in one fell swoop."
Angel got up and paced the floor of Cordelia's room. He knew that Cordelia's visions always came true, it was because of her visions that showed Faith would play a crucial role in the upcoming battle against the First Evil that he used all of his contacts to get the dark haired Slayer out of jail legally. And it worked; she was freed due to her having inept counsel, malicious prosecution by the D.A's office due to her background and the fact that there was absolutely no proof that she actually killed anyone. Now, after hearing what Cordelia was saying, Angel was worried that he sent Faith to her death.
"Alright" said Angel as he looked at his team, "Wesley, Conner… get to Sunnydale. Cordy's visions are always right so I don't want to waste time calling Buffy for permission to send help. I'll call her house to warn them that there may be an imposter in Sunnydale pretending to be Willow."
"Buffy's going to be so pissed" said Cordelia.
'No kidding" said Angel.
Ori Vessel, Site of Supergate, Prime Reality; 0130 hours.
All Faith could do was scream out loud as she tried to reach for Willow's hand; the Slayer saw the redhead reach out for her as well, but it was all a futile gesture. Her speed hampered by the pain from her broken arm, all Faith could do was look in horror as her wife's hand disintegrated and as her hand passed right through Willow's as if she wasn't there. She looked on as Willow's body turned into particles of white light as it was pulled into a single point behind her, and a few minutes later that point of light disappeared leaving Faith alone. She panted as she looked around at the stunned faces of Colonel Mitchell and Vala, then Colonel Carter, Prior Daniel and Teal'c who looked at the area where the point used to be, and then at Faith.
The Slayer could only hear her heart beating as she looked back at where the point of light used to be, and then at Colonel Mitchell. Turning around she looked at the body of Adria, lying on her side with her bones broken and a hole in her chest. Her eyes open, and looking lifelessly at the white walls of the Ori ship. Faith dropped her hand to her side and felt for her sidearm, but she couldn't find it. She looked up and saw it on the floor next to Teal'c; the place she dropped it when she raced towards Willow. She felt her face twist in anguish as she looked at Colonel Carter, who ran past Adria's body and towards her.
All this time, Colonel Mitchell could only see Colonel Carter taking Faith into her arms as she hugged the Slayer while she started to cry. He knew that Willow ascended and used her powers, and he read the report of what happened when the other Ancients punished Daniel; they put him on another planet naked and without any memory of who he was. His worry was something like that could happen to Willow; which meant that finding the redhead would be extremely difficult, and he knew that Faith knew the same thing as well. The Colonel walked out of the hallway he and Vala were in and approached Faith when he saw Adria's mangled body out of the corner of his eye. He turned around and pushed Vala back so that she won't see the body of her dead daughter, a daughter that tried to single handedly enslave the entire galaxy on behalf of the Ori, but still her daughter nonetheless.
"Vala" said the Colonel as he pushed the woman back into the adjacent hallway, away from the body of her daughter, "no… you don't need to see."
"Cam" said Vala as she pulled herself away as the Colonel could only turn around and look while she walked towards Faith. He frowned when Vala looked around the corner and simply stared with her eyes wide open at the mangled body of Adria. He then walked towards Vala, "Vala… we need to go."
"Adria?" said Vala as she walked towards her daughter, ignoring the Colonel who could only close his eyes; Vala stood in front of Adria's lifeless eyes and there was a hint of anguish on her face as she looked at her daughter.. the same daughter that was poised to enslave the entire galaxy for the Ori, and then looked at the devastation on Faith's face as her body trembled. Vala then looked at the Orici's body one more time and called her name, but there was no response.
"Colonel Mitchell" said Teal'c while Daniel was leaning on him, "we must go… or else we will be stuck in the Ori's home galaxy."
"Mitchell to Odyssey" said the Colonel softly as he looked at Vala and then at the others around him, "beam us back please, sir"
Odyssey, Bridge, 0135 hours.
General O'Neill was at the left most console when he heard Colonel Mitchell asking for a beam out as the Ori Ship they were on headed close to the Supergate's event horizon. Pressing a few buttons on the console while Dawn stood next to the command chair, there was a buzz followed by a flash of light as Dawn and the General looked on in shock at the sight before them. Vala was standing looking off into space as if she was in shock, Faith was sobbing in Colonel Carter's arms while the blonde haired woman rubbed the Slayer's back and was trying to comfort her. Both Dawn and General O'Neill then looked at the defeated look on Teal'c's face, and Colonel Mitchell's expression to know that something went horribly wrong.
"What happened?" asked General O'Neill as he looked at Colonel Mitchell, "Mitchell?"
"The mission was a success, sir" said the Colonel softly as he glanced at the Supergate which shut itself off after the ship with the Sangraal had gone though, "it was a success, I think."
The General knew from his voice that something had gone horribly wrong, so he counted the number of people on the ship from SG-1 and, again, came up one short. But it was Dawn who asked the question that the General feared.
"Where's Willow?" asked Dawn as she looked at Faith who had her back to Dawn while the Slayer's head was buried in the Colonel's neck. The Colonel, herself, looked at Dawn and shook her head as the brunette stepped back with her hands over her mouth in shock. Dawn then looked at Daniel who stumbled towards Colonel Carter and Faith .
"Father… I…" said Dawn as everyone, except for General O'Neill and Faith, looked at Dawn in surprise as she rushed towards Daniel who had his hands on Faith's shoulder and arm. She reached him after passing a surprised Teal'c and put one arm around Daniel's shoulder, and another one on his arm gently.
"You will find her, Faith. Now I want you to sleep… sleep my child" said Merlin as he squeezed Faith's arm and used the last of his power to heal the woman's broken arm. It was then that Faith stopped crying as she closed her eyes and went to sleep in Colonel Carter's arms. Daniel then fell backwards as Dawn, with the help of Teal'c, got down on their knees and lay Daniel down on the floor of the bridge.
"Father" said Dawn as she looked at Daniel's pale face as colour slowly returned to his cheeks, "where's Willow?"
"Goodbye, Hera…. Goodbye, Melina" said Merlin as he brushed his fingers on Dawn's cheek, his last act before his hand fell to his side and hit the floor of the ship as Daniel's hair returned to its usual colour, his face was no longer pale and the facial tattoo's had vanished.
"Goodbye" said Dawn softly.
The General then rushed to Daniel's side and felt the side of his neck and sighed, "He's alive… I guess he's just exhausted."
"Dawn Summers" said Teal'c as he looked up at Dawn, who in turn looked around at everyone looking back at her now that her secret was out, "you are Willow Rosenberg's sister?"
"Yea" said Dawn as she looked at everyone, "I just found out an hour ago and.. yeah… but where's Willow? I mean…"
"She ascended" said Vala softly as she wrapped her arms around herself, "she beat Adria using her powers and, and she was gone."
"No" said Dawn as she looked at Vala and then at the others who avoided her eyes.
"Ascended beings" said Vala softly as she turned and walked slowly towards the main window that looked out from the bridge, "they gave me a daughter, they made her a maniac, then they killed her and took away the one who saved us."
"Vala" said Colonel Mitchell, "help me get Daniel back to the infirmary, will ya?"
Vala looked out the window and the Colonel saw the woman wipe her eye before she turned around and walked towards Dawn. She told the brunette that she was sorry about Merlin, and that she hoped that they'll get Willow back soon. Dawn nodded her head before stepping back as Colonel Mitchell and Vala helped Daniel stand up. The both of them put his arms around their shoulders before taking him down the hall to the infirmary. After they had gone, Dawn walked towards Faith and ran her hand through the Slayer's hair while she was still in Colonel Carter's arms, her face buried in the blonde woman's neck as she gave Dawn and the General a sad smile.
"T, Carter" said the General as Teal'c and Colonel Carter looked at him, "take Faith to the… huh?"
Before the General could finish what he wanted to say, Colonel Carter told the man that she could hear Faith moaning before she mumbled something into her ear. They got closer to the Colonel until they could hear Faith talking in her sleep.
"Red" said Faith in her sleep, "come back."
"Faith?" said Dawn as she rubbed the Slayer's back while she continued to hug the Colonel, "you were supposed to be…"
All of a sudden Faith opened her eyes and pushed Colonel Carter away, causing her to stumble back as Teal'c rushed behind her and held her steady. All of them looked at Faith who was panting as she held on to her chest.
"I…. I…." said Faith as she stepped back and looked at Colonel Carter and Dawn, "Sam, Dawn… it hurts… it hurts so bad."
"Faith?" said Colonel Carter as she approached Faith cautiously, "we need to get you to…"
Just then Faith collapsed onto the floor of the ship, as she started to sweat profusely. The group looked in shock for a few seconds before bursting into action.
"T!" shouted the General as she rushed to Faith's side, "get Faith to the infirmary, now!"
"Yes, O'Neill" said Teal'c as he picked up Faith. The General then turned to Colonel Carter and told her that they needed to keep an eye on the Supergate for a few hours after feeling for Faith's pulse. Sighing with relief, he looked up and told them told them that her pulse was steady, but they still needed to keep a look out for her and any Supergate activity for a few hours.
"Call the SGC" said the General, "tell them what happened. Ask the Jaffa High Council for a ship to watch the Gate, we need one here as soon as possible. And have our SG teams and our allies start searching for Red… I don't care where they start, but I want a start. Contact Atlantis, tell them what happened. Since that city was her home, I wouldn't be surprised if she was sent there and…."
"No" replied another voice as everyone turned around to find a red haired woman in a gold and white dress standing behind the command chair while Colonel Carter raised her P90 at the woman. Looking closely, the Colonel glanced at Dawn who had a huge grin on her face before she looked at General O'Neill, who looked back at her and nodded his head. The Colonel then slowly put her weapon down as the woman in white smiled and walked towards them slowly, "Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter, Teal'c of Chulak, and General Jack O'Neill…. I mean you no harm. My name is Melina Ren, I am the mother of Athena and Hera."
"Mother" said Dawn as she ran past Teal'c and the others.
"Hera" said Melina as Dawn rushed up to the woman and jumped into the her arms as the older redhead stumbled back slightly, "I missed holding you like this so much, Hera."
"I missed you too" said Dawn as she held on tightly to Melina, "I remember, I remember everything now."
"I am glad" said Melina as she looked at Daniel, and then at Faith and closed her eyes.
"Father's passed on" said Dawn as her voice broke slightly while she took in Melina's rose scent, "he's gone forever."
"It was his plan" said Melina as she kissed Dawn's cheek before looking at General O'Neill and what remained of SG-1, "Dr. Jackson will be alright. He should awaken in a few minutes; I can tell you that all traces of Moros has left his body. I have said my final goodbyes to him in his mind."
"And Faith?" asked Colonel Carter.
"Faith" said Melina as Dawn released her. The redhead then walked towards Teal'c who was holding on to the young woman in his arms. She then put her hand on the Slayer's chest and smiled, "she is an amazing young woman, her psychic bond, and the resultant link, with Athena is stretched extremely thin; but it still exists and it is still powerful."
"Can we get her back?" said a female voice as Melina turned around, while everyone else looked at the entrance to the bridge as Vala stood there with her arms wrapped around herself, "can we get her back?"
"Vala Mal Doran" said Melina as she approached the dark haired woman, "you are the mother of Adria, the Orici."
"Yes" said Vala as she straightened up, "and she's gone, the galaxy's safe."
"I am sorry" said Melina as she closed her eyes before turning around and looking at the Supergate. She then lowered her head and turned to face Vala once again, "I am sorry about what you will have to do."
"Excuse me?" said Vala as the others looked at each other nervously, "what? I think… what do you mean?"
"Athena… Athena has been shunted into another reality" said Melina turning around after she kissed a confused Vala on her cheek. She then took note of the shocked look on Dawn's face, as well as on General O'Neill,, Teal'c and Colonel Carter. Vala then slowly walked up to Colonel Carter who squeezed Vala's arm and whispered something into the dark haired woman's ears. Vala nodded her head before she turned around to face Melina who stepped back slightly, "that is why Faith is in pain; she is connected to Athena while she is in another reality… a far off reality."
"Mother" said Dawn as Melina turned to face her daughter, "can we get Willow back?"
"As long as the link exists" said Melina nodding her head, "then yes… but the both of them will feel it in their hearts how far apart they are; even after they get over the initial shock. It's like a throbbing sensation that remains until she returns to this reality; it is that link that is key."
"Quantum Mirrors" said Colonel Carter, "we have a planet full of quantum mirrors that can…. No… that won't work… even with the Mirror that Willow used to get into that reality to save our Dawn from the Initiatice, there is no way to know if there's a SGC in that reality."
"Carter?" asked the General as he looked at Colonel Carter.
"Sir" said the Colonel, "there are trillions of realities out there, and Willow could be in one that doesn't have an SGC, or she could be in a reality that has no Stargates to speak off… or one where there were never any Ancients. Sir, Willow could be in a reality that…."
"Colonel Carter" said Teal'c, "are you saying that we do not try?"
"No" said the Colonel, "I'm saying that if we're not careful, then we'll have more people stuck in alternate realities… so far, we've been lucky that every reality that Willow has an SGC. If she's in one that doesn't… then…. I.. I don't know sir. I honestly don't. Faith can activate another Mirror on P8D-767 and open a doorway to where Willow is. I have no doubt about that, but if we can't get a dial in from that planet to Earth? Sir, what if the Goa'uld is still in control? Then Faith is in trouble… the team that goes back is in trouble. If the gate is buried or doesn't exist.. then its most likely that Faith and us will be stuck in Antarctica and unable to explore unless we somehow manage to convince the people in the McMurdo of that reality that we're inter-reality explorers… especially if they don't have a working SGC. Sir, when Willow went to rescue Dawn from the Initiative, she had the mimic devices so that she could blend in and rescue her. This time…. I… I want to try, sir. I'm… I'm just being realistic."
"We must not leave Willow Rosenberg in the other reality, Colonel Carter" said Teal'c as the Colonel's serious looked transformed into a wide grin.
"You have an idea?" asked Vala.
"Melina" said the Colonel as she turned back to face the red haired woman, "you said that Willow and Faith are connected by a bond that traverses realities, right? Like a string that Willow runs behind her to show the way home?"
"Yes" said Melina nodding her head as she smiled at the Colonel, "something like that."
"Is there a way to pull the string?" asked Colonel Carter as she made a pulling motion wither arms, "pull it so much that Willow can be brought back here?"
"Dr. Fraiser said you were a genius" said Melina as the Colonel smiled, "but to do what you suggest requires very powerful Mystics, and like all Mystics… this has a high cost. A cost that Faith must be willing to pay."
"What cost?" asked General O'Neill.
"I do not know" said Melina as she shook her head, "as you know, the one you call the Ancients are not allowed to interfere. If I were to do anything with helping get Athena back to this reality, then it would directly cause the Others to retaliate against me."
"So you don't want to bring your daughter back?" asked Vala, "you're not willing to sacrifice yourself for…"
"Vala" said Dawn as she looked back at the dark haired woman, "please, I've lost Willow today… I know you've lost Adria… I don't want to lose my mother too. I've lost mom once… I mean… my and Buffy's mom and I know how that feels… I don't want to lose her again, especially not after I descended and lost all memories of her."
"Athena has been trained by the best" said Melina as she looked at the people standing in front of her, "she will find a way to return."
"Get someone to '767" said the General as he looked at Colonel Carter, "in case Red activates the Mirror from whatever reality she's in… I want to make sure someone's there waiting for her."
"Yes, sir" said Colonel Carter as she nodded her head before Dawn approached Melina to ask her a question.
"Mother" said Dawn, "can you take the energy's of the Key out of my body?"
"Yes" said Melina as she looked at Dawn, "Moros, could have done it as well. But it would have meant undoing the Mystics, the extremely powerful Mystics, that not only bound the energies of the Key into your body, but the same Mystics that reshaped reality itself so that it gave your new family and friends, everyone that met or had seen the Slayer, memories that you are her sister. I can take away the Key from your body, but it would mean that the Mystical forces would be undone. You would lose this body, and retain the memories you lived as Dawn Summers. However, Buffy and Joyce…. Jay and Rose… the SGC…. Everyone that has seen or met you will lose their memories of you. You will no longer have Buffy Summers as a sister, or Joyce Summers as a mother. Is that what you really what?"
"No" said Dawn softly as she realized the grave mistake if the Key energies were taken out of her body, "I… I… love mom; I love Buffy, Jay and Rose…. And I also love you. I love you and Willow so much. I remember, I remember what you wanted to do the day I descended.. I couldn't let you do it because I couldn't lose you. I knew if I descended, that you would always watch over me… that you would always be there."
"I have been" said Melina as she started to glow white while smiling and Dawn before looking at the General, "and I always will. General O'Neill, me telling you the whereabouts of my daughter is thanks for what you and your people have done for the one you refer to as the Ancients."
"I could have done with a muffin basket" said the General as Melina smiled at him.
"Dr. Fraiser keeps on saying that you need to go on a diet" said Melina as Colonel Carter coughed as General O'Neill turned to look at her, "may you all be careful. The war is not yet over."
"It never is, is it?" said the General as Melina vanished leaving behind Dawn and SG-1 on the bridge.
It was thirty minutes later that Colonel Carter had finished making a report to the SGC, thirty minutes later that Faith and Daniel had woken up and the blonde woman asked Colonel Mitchell to ask Daniel if he remembered how to turn off the ship's cloak. Smiling after she heard Colonel Mitchell say that Daniel couldn't recall anything, Colonel Carter saw a spike in energy readings from the Supergate. Looking up, she looked stunned as blue energy crackled all along the giant ring before she told everyone to get up to the bridge. Just then, the unstable vortex formed before settling down into the event horizon as Colonel Mitchell, Dawn, Vala, Teal'c, Faith, General O'Neill and Daniel ran into the bridge from the infirmary on the same deck.
"Carter?" asked Colonel Mitchell.
"It just activated" said Colonel Carter as she looked at Colonel Mitchell, General O'Neill and then at Faith who was rubbing her chest, before looking out the main window.
"Guys" said Dawn as she pointed at the ripples on the Gate before eight Ori ships came through and joined the lone Ship that hung in space near the Gate.
"We knew this could happen" said Colonel Mitchell as he looked at Daniel and then at General O'Neill, "we may have defeated Adria."
"We may have destroyed the Ori" said Vala, "but we haven't beaten their followers' belief in the Ori as gods.."
"But sending the Sangraal to the Ori galaxy was still the right thing to do" said Daniel as he stood next to Faith, "and we'll find Willow."
Outside Shadow Valley Vineyard, Sunnydale, alternate reality; 2015 hours.
Everyone just stared stunned at Willow when she said that she was from another reality, that she was not their Willow. Suddenly Willow looked behind the group when she saw movement from the structure that Buffy and the others had came out of.
"Listen" said Willow as she unclipped her P90, "move…. Get out of here now. Are the guys in the red robes the baddies?"
"Ye.. yea" said Buffy as she shook her head, "you.. how can you be… I thought you're…"
"Buffy" said Willow as she raised her P90 and walked past them. It was then that the Scoobies saw the red robed creatures coming towards them, "move.. move now!"
Willow started firing her weapon in short bursts as Buffy and Xander looked on shocked before Faith and Spike pulled them away respectively. Willow glanced back to make sure that they were already running before she made her move and ran behind them, but not before shooting the ones she had Zatted earlier in the head; something Spike had seen when he turned around to make sure that Willow was behind them.
"Move!" shouted Willow as Spike ran while Willow ran behind them, turning around and shooting at the creatures that were coming at them from behind. They kept on running until they reached the main road where Willow saw three cars at the side of the road; a red BMW, a silver Ford sedan and Joyce's Jeep. Amanda, the least injured of the potential Slayers jumped into the BMW as the potentials put the severely injured Xander and Rona in the back seat. The other injured got into the silver car that was driven by Faith, and the Jeep was being driven by Spike with Buffy in the driver's seat.
"Will.. Willow" said Xander as he looked back in pain at the redhead, "you… coming?"
"Amanda, Faith!" shouted Buffy, "take them to the hospital.. go!"
"Yeah, B" said Faith as she looked back at Willow suspiciously before driving off as she followed the car being driven by Amanda.
Willow clipped her P90 back to her vest after the two cars had driven off; she then made sure they weren't followed before she turned around and walked towards the jeep. Heading towards the jeep, Willow saw something illuminated under the headlights of the Jeep from the corner of her eye. Turning around, Willow saw Buffy in a purple top and cream coloured trousers glowering at her in the distance, before she vanished.
"What was that?" asked Willow as she looked at the area where Buffy's doppelganger was standing. She then looked at Buffy and told her that it looked just like her, except she was wearing different clothes.
"That was the First" said Buffy as she nodded, "get in, we need to talk."
"Yea" said Willow when she suddenly stopped and placed her hand on the front of the Jeep, "ow.. Damn."
"Red?" asked Spike as he got out of the car and rushed to the redhead, "your heart is going nuts, what's wrong?"
"Will?" said Buffy as she got out of the Jeep with her eyes wide open when she saw the redhead grabbing her chest before she stumbled back. The both of them, and the other potentials in the Jeep then saw Willow drop down onto both her knees before falling onto her side.
"Red?" said Spike as he rushed to the redhead and knelt down. Hearing a steady pulse, he sighed and put his arms under the redhead and picked her up. Looking at Buffy as he stood up, the bleached Vampire could see the fear in her eyes… the same fear he could guess that she had when she tried to save Willow's life, the day their Willow died. He called Buffy but the Slayer just seemed to be looking out into the distance, only coming back to the here and now after Spike called her name even louder than before, "Buffy, I need you to open the rear door. I'll put her on the back seat, she'll be alright."
"She came back to me, Spike" said Buffy as Spike put her in the back seat next to the Potentials and told them that if any of them touched her weapons, he'll bite them.
"She's not our Willow, luv" said Spike as Buffy frowned, "she smells different, yea? I can smell her.. and I'm sure that dog-breath will tell you the same thing."
"Don't call him that" said Buffy softly, "he's been there for Tara as a shoulder to cry on, while I've been…."
"Let's get home, luv" said Spike as he put the keys into the ignition and turned the engine while Buffy looked back at Willow. She then looked down at her vest, and her BDU's, wondering what was going on. She then turned back and looked out the windshield as Spike started to drive off, knowing that she needed answers.
The Summers Residence, Sunnydale; alternate reality. 2130 hours.
The last thing Willow remembered was collapsing near the Jeep that Buffy and Spike were driving; however they were not her Buffy and Spike, instead they were the alternate reality versions of her best friend, and the bleached vampire. Opening her eyes slowly, Willow gave out a soft moan before she found herself lying on her side while facing a door. She saw that the door was partially open with light streaming onto a chest of drawers. She tried to push herself to sit up but she found that she couldn't. Confused, Willow looked down and noticed that her wrists were tied together using a plastic zip-tie; frowning, the redhead then heard footsteps coming towards the room she was in. Quickly closing her eyes once again, the redhead could see the light from the outside hallway hitting her eyelids when the door opened while she breathed in and out calmly. She didn't flinch when she felt a hand on her forehead that ran through her shoulder length hair, before a pair of soft lips kissed her cheek.
"I couldn't believe you came back" said a voice that Willow recognized as Tara, "I don't care if Cordelia's vision says that you're a demon, I'm just… I'm just…"
"Tara?" said another male voice that she recognized as Oz, "you need to get away from her. Please, I know how much you miss Willow, I do too…. But… but you don't smell the same thing I do. It's not our Willow…. she could be a demon but we need to wait for her to wake up. So please, come down with us."
"She died, Oz" said Tara in a tone of voice that Willow didn't need her empathic powers to know that it was filled with despair, "she died in my arms.. and now the Powers brought her back to me. To us."
"Tara" said Oz softly, "why would the Powers give Cordy that dream, and bring our Willow back? It doesn't make sense."
"What about Buffy's dream?" asked Tara as she looked at Oz who shook his head, "she told us what she saw, Willow saved Sunnydale."
"All she said was that she pointed at the sky" said Oz as he kissed Tara's forehead, "come on down; we looked through her things and… whatever background the First gave her… it seems incredible."
Willow heard footsteps walking away as Oz told Tara that they found Air Force insignia on one of her sleeves. Everything else was lost on Willow's ears as the door was closed, leaving only a small stream of light coming into the room from the small gap at the door.
'Cordelia has visions?' thought Willow to herself as she moved to lay on her back before sitting up. She then made sure that her feet weren't tied together before she carefully put her feet onto the carpeted floor and stood up slowly. She then pulled her hands apart to tighten the plastic ties as much as possible before she used the technique that Colonel Carter had shown her the first time she joined the SGC to break the Zip-ties. Rubbing her wrists, she looked at herself and found that she was just in her socks, BDU trousers and her black undershirt. She reached around her neck and sighed in relief when she found that her dog-tags were still on her. Looking around the darkened room, Willow saw that there was nothing else of hers in the room, save for her boots in one corner.
'Everything else must be with the Scoobies' thought Willow to herself as she put on her boots before kneeling down onto the carpet to tie the laces. The redhead then stood up and had a decision to make; she could sneak out of the room and check out what was going on and why they thought she was a demon, but she knew that Oz's sense of smell was more acute than a vampire's when she recalled what happened when they met years later back in her reality… the shock he had when he learnt she was a clone.
'If they think I'm a demon' thought Willow to herself, ' no… I can't deal with that right now. I can get out the window near the bed, maybe that's the last thing they'll expect; but, I'll be unarmed. They have my P90, my Zat and my sidearm. Not to mention my SG-1 and SGC patches, C-4 and my combat knife. This is so not good.'
Willow knew that she needed to contact the SGC, and the best thing to do would be to get out of the house, and run to her home. If the alternate versions of her parents weren't there, then she could make a call and get the SHC over here in a flash. But she also knew that once the Scoobies found out she was gone, her home would be the first place that they would look.
'Damn it' thought Willow to herself as she crawled on top of the bed and opened the window. Peeking her head outside, she was unable to hear anything so the redhead went back into the room before she stepped out onto the Summers residence roof with one foot out the window, followed by the other. Once on the roof, she found herself looking out at the front lawn.
She crouched down into the shadows so that she couldn't be seen by any nosy neighbours. It was then she noticed that many of the other houses were empty; there were no cars, or any light on in any of the houses nearby especially given it was the time of night when people would usually be watching TV. Shaking her head, Willow pushed the thought to the back of her head before she cautiously climbed down the roof. She then lay on her stomach and looked down at the porch. She saw some of the Potential Slayers in the living room bandaging the injured, including Kennedy while it seemed Giles and the others were either in the kitchen, or the dining room. She then saw the Potential Slayers look at the kitchen when she heard Buffy shouting.
Taking this as her chance, Willow put her legs over the edge of the roof before she slowly pulled herself down to the porch where she looked through the window again and saw that she was clear. She then dropped down onto the porch where she immediately crouched down before she ran to the pathway that led to the front door. She kept on running down the pathway away from the house and took cover behind a tree on the footpath near the main road. It was then that she made a decision to run as fast as possible to the center of town where she could possibly vanish in the crowds, instead of her own house.
Back in the Summers house, Willow's weapons and her vest were all laid out on the island as the Giles and Buffy were arguing among themselves. Spike could only look at Giles and Buffy as they argued with each other on whose vision about Willow was correct; Buffy's or Cordelia's. Shaking his head, the bleached vampire walked over to the island where Dawn, Anya, Oz and Tara were sitting quietly around the redhead's gear. He picked up the Air Force patch and smiled before looking at the SGC and SG-1 patches. He put down the Air Force patch and picked up the SG-1 patch and looked at it closely before putting it down again.
"Oz" said Dawn as the vampire looked up and saw Dawn looking at Oz with a sad smile on her face "you don't think that Willow's a demon, do you? I mean.. she's Willow."
"I don't know" said Oz as Spike looked at him and frowned, "my sense of smell is much better than Spike's, and I got something off from her… like… like she's changed."
"If she was a demon" said Tara, "don't you think she would have… I mean… wouldn't she have killed us?"
"And why would a demon need a gun, anyway" said Dawn as she picked up the nine-milimeter before Spike grabbed the weapon away from her, and frowned.
"This is not for you to play with, lil'bit" said Spike as he took the nine-milimeter, the C-4, the combat Knife and the P90 into his arms, "I'll keep these with me."
"What about this?" asked Dawn as she picked up the purple object that lay on the island, "looks weird, nothing like the other weapons."
"Wait" said Oz as he stood up while Giles and Buffy stopped arguing about what Willow really was, and sniffed the air, "something's wrong."
Oz got off his seat and dashed to the front foyer before turning and running up the stairs, followed by Tara, Dawn and Buffy who were waiting at the bottom of the staircase as he opened the door to the room Willow was sleeping in. The three of them were then joined by Anya and Giles who stood behind Buffy as Oz ran out of the room and rushed down the stairs.
"She's gone" said Oz as she ran out the door and stopped at the porch before sniffing the air, "she's gone. Her scent was strong but it's now getting less and less. I can't tell which way she went."
"I told you" said Spike as he looked at Giles as the others turned back to look at the Vampire, "I told you to wait for her explanation but no, you tied her up when you heard she was a supposed demon thanks to some wonky vision. A vision that contradicts the Slayer's."
"And yes" said Giles sarcastically looking at Spike, "we should take the word of a demon on the goodness of another demon that's impersonating someone we all love, and miss dearly."
"Giles" said Buffy as she looked back at her former Watcher. She furrowed her eyebrows at him before walking onto the porch and looking out at the street and sighed. She knew that ever since the whole incident with Giles distracting her so that Principal Wood could ambush Spike, that her relationship with the Englishman had changed. The trust that she had in him was broken. And now, because of the differing beliefs in the visions she and Cordelia received, her friend who somehow came back from the dead was gone.
"Tara" said Buffy as she turned around and looked at the black haired witch. She saw the look of sadness on her face when she realized that Willow was gone again. Buffy remembered what happened the day Xander and Willow got shot, she remembered the blood curdling scream from Tara, and then she remembered the young woman just staying in her room; even after the funeral. It took weeks for Buffy and Dawn to get her out of the room and back into the real world; even Oz had helped. Initially nervous about Willow's ex-boyfriend helping the redhead's girlfriend cope with the devastating loss to the both of them, Buffy was happy that Tara was slowly opening up again as slowly but surely the two became like brother and sister.
However, they were all surprised when the young woman cut her long hair and dyed it black. Tara said that Willow had always wondered what she looked like with black hair and that Tara hoped that the redhead could see her from where ever she was. Now though, Buffy could tell that Tara was going to break down again as Oz put his arm around her shoulder and comforted her. The blonde slayer knew that she had to help Oz keep Tara together; "Tara, can you do a location spell to find this Willow?"
"You can use the weapons, can't you?" asked Oz as Tara wiped tears from her eyes and nodded her head, "come on, Tara. I'll help you."
"Dawn" said Buffy as she looked at her sister, "help Tara and Oz will you?"
"Are you going to go and find Willow?" asked Dawn as she gave a small smile, "cause if you are then…"
"No" said Buffy, "you're not coming. We still have injuries and I need you to help the Potentials."
Buffy then looked at Anya and Andrew and told them to do the same thing, to help watch over the Potentials while she put on her jacket, and grabbed her cell-phone.
"Yea" said Andrew, "Oh…. oh, what if she's not a demon…. But an alien brought here to take on the form of Willow?"
"Yea" said Buffy sarcastically rolling her eyes upwards, "like that would ever happen. After you're done with the Potentials, find me everything you can on Caleb. I'll go look for Willow."
"Buffy" said Giles as the Slayer turned around and looked at the man, "Willow could be dangerous, please be careful."
"Call Faith at the hospital" said Buffy as she looked at Giles before Giles interrupted her, "and…."
"Buffy" said Giles again as the Slayer glared at him, "visit the injured Potentials at the hospital. You are their general and they need you now…. Xander needs you now."
"I'll go find her" said Spike as he put on his black jacket and looked at Buffy and then at Giles, and then at Buffy again, "the Watcher's right, they need you… plus you don't want everyone going after Willow."
"But you need to get back here soon" said Giles as Spike lit a cigarette, "Wesley and Connor will be coming here in a few hours, they'll take over for you."
"A nutcase and another loon going after a supposed demon?" said Spike as he smirked at Giles, "what if she's telling the truth and they happen to kill her? And despite what dog-boy tells you lot, I know she's human."
"Then she shouldn't have escaped" said Giles shaking his head, "that makes her look more like a demon."
"Or she overheard us talking" said Buffy as she walked out of the door leaving Giles behind, "I'm going to the hospital; Spike, take the cell with you. Call if you find Willow."
"Buffy" said Tara as she ran from the kitchen, "Willow's close by, take a left and then go down ten houses. She should be in the last house on the right."
"Spike" said Buffy as she looked at the vampire, "go."
"Yeah" said Spike as he got on his motorcycle and sped off while Buffy looked back at Giles.
"Cordy's vision is wrong, Giles" said Buffy, "Willow would never destroy the city. Call the Coven, see what they say."
"If they had anything to say" said Giles, "then they would have. Listen, Buffy, this is a war we are fighting. The final battle against an immeasurable foe, we… we can't have our feelings for someone we care about… don't you think that I too wish that Willow has really come back? Don't you think I want her back? The fact is the First is using a demon that's using the face of someone all of us love to weaken us. What if the demon has a trigger, like Spike used to have? What happens then? She's here free and she kills all of us in our sleep…. Damn it, Buffy."
"You're wrong, Giles" said Buffy with tears in her eyes as she headed for the jeep, "you're wrong."
"I hope I am" said Giles softly as he looked at Buffy driving the jeep in the direction of the hospital, "I hope I am wrong… but I can't take that risk…. We can't afford to take that risk."
A few minutes earlier.
Willow had been running past what looked like empty houses. Surprised at the emptiness around her, the redhead ran towards one of the houses at the end of the street. Looking around for any movement in the house despite the darkness, Willow shook her head and jogged up the walkway. Once she was at the porch, the redhead saw that the door was open. Confused about what was going on, she opened the door and walked into the house before looking around. The house layout was similar to Buffy's home in that she stepped into the foyer before closing the door and calling out for anyone.
Frowning at herself when she received no response, Willow walked into the living room and found items scattered all over the place as if the house had been looted, or the residents had hurried out with whatever they could carry. She then saw some of the framed photographs of a family of four that lay on a table next to a phone in the living room. Reaching for the phone, Willow put the receiver and sighed in relief when she heard a dial tone.
"OK" said Willow as she crouched next to the couch so that she could look at the front and the rear entrances of the house, she dialled the number for NORAD. She then put the phone to her ear, hopeful that she'll get through to the SGC, and that they'll believe her story.
"NORAD" said a male voice on the other line as Willow let out a sigh of relief.
"I need to talk to the Commanding Officer in charge of the Chappa'ai Project" said Willow; a code word she had come up since before her second mission to the alternate reality to save Dawn from the Initiative. A code word she was sure anyone working in any reality's SGC would know that she's talking about the Stargate.
"Excuse me?" said the voice of the phone as Willow took the phone off her ear and looked at the number she dialled in surprise before she placed the receiver to her ear again, "Miss?"
"Level Twenty Seven" said Willow as she looked out the window at the empty street outside, and then crouched again, "I need to talk to the Commanding Officer of the base… it's urgent."
"Miss" said the voice again, "I'm afraid you reached…"
"Listen to me" said Willow as she rubbed her foreheads in frustration, "I have beta-level clearance which I know is several steps above yours. I am ordering you to connect me to the Commanding Officer of Project Chappa'ai."
"Please hold" said the voice as Willow heard a click on the line. The redhead knew that the call was being transferred and she hoped that whoever was the Commanding Officer of the SGC would pick up the phone.
"General Kelly" said another male voice as Willow opened her eyes in surprise, "who am I speaking with?"
"General" said Willow, "I am only allowed to speak to the Commanding Officer of the Chappa'ai Project, would you be him.. sir?"
"Yes" said General Kelley as Willow frowned when she heard two clicks on the line indicating that she had two minutes before the call would be traced to her location.
"If you don't mind me asking, sir" said Willow, "what does Chappa'ai mean?"
"I'll answer if you tell me why you have Beta level clearance?" asked General Kelley.
'No' thought Willow to herself as she slammed the receiver on the cradle and tore the line out from the wall socket, 'screw me upside down, there is no SGC in this reality. Damn it… and my friends think I'm a demon so… yeah.. I'm screwed there too. But I need confirmation. I need computer access.'
It was then that Willow heard a motorcycle engine approaching the house. Peeking her head over the couch, Willow saw that it was Spike riding the motorcycle as he rode up the driveway and stopped. She saw him leave the keys in the ignition as he got off the seat before she crouched again. Smiling, the redhead moved as quietly, but quickly, as possible across the living room before she heard the door knob turning just as she got into the kitchen. She then hurriedly opened the backdoor and slipped out as Spike walked into the house and looked around. The redhead tried to keep as calm as possible while she hurried past Spike, who was inside the house. Willow peeked in through a window that looked into the dining room with an uninterrupted view of Spike as he had his back to her while walking towards the living room where he looked down at the torn phone cord. She saw him look around, and ducked in time before he faced her direction.
"Willow!" shouted Spike from the living room as he looked around; not finding her anywhere on the lower floor, "I know you're not a demon. So does Buffy, we just need to know what's going on Pet. So please… just come out. Look Cordelia sees vision's from the Powers that Be. The vision she got hinted that you may be a demon. Buffy had one of her psychic dreams too and…. and she saw you in a white dress of some kind. She doesn't know what it meant but she told us that some yellow rain fell and destroyed some demons and vampires. She told us that all of us died but you helped her save Sunnydale. I know what happened was wrong… we should have talked to you instead of tying your hands. Rupert is a bit…. moronic I guess is the word.. but he was looking out for everyone."
Spike looked around the living room and frowned before he walked back to the foyer and looked out the window at the far end of the living room. The same window that, unknown to the vampire, Willow was looking at him just a few seconds earlier. Thinking that she may be upstairs, Spike walked up the stairs to the second floor and checked out all the rooms.
As Spike walked up the stairs, Willow looked through the window again and noticed that Spike had gone. She looked around the corner of the house and saw his motorcycle, but he wasn't there. Taking a wild guess that he could either be in the kitchen or the second floor, the redhead rushed to the motorcycle that he left behind. She then reached out and turned the motorcycle around before taking a seat and turning the ignition. It was then she heard something slam shut from the second floor. Turning on the lights, the redhead looked back as she could just make out Spike rushing down the stairs before she hit the throttle and sped off down the driveway and onto the road.
"Willow!" shouted Spike as he ran after his motorcycle for the next five minutes, "Red! At least give me back my motorcycle."
Spike kept on running but he couldn't keep up with the vehicle as Willow sped off before making a left turn towards the city.
"Oh, Bollocks" said Spike to himself as he stood alone in the middle of one of Sunnydale's streets.
TBC.