Battlestar Pegasus, about nine days ago; 2140hours, Prime Reality.
Admiral Cain was looking at the blip on her DRADIS screen that showed the Battlestar Galactica. She slammed her hand on the center table when one of her CIC crew told her that the Galactica was spooling up her FTL drives. She reached for the phone that was to her left on the table and told one of the communications officers to connect her to Galactica Actual. As the young man nodded his head, Admiral Cain turned and looked at her Executive Officer who was standing straight on the other side of the table, she had already reminded him and the others that what they were doing was the will of the gods. She told them that Roslin's statements saying that they were all traitors that sold out the colonies was a lie.
"She's the one who wanted to deal with Cylon synthesizers!" the Admiral had shouted after she listened to the President screaming over the speakers, "she's the one who betrayed all of us! Some of you may think that I am forsaking the gods. But in reality, the arrival of these Ori is a gift that has fallen onto our laps. We will use them, we will use their technology to take back our homes. Roslin and her ilk, the other cowards who are running away, are not true Colonials. I have wanted to fight for all of you, I wanted to fight for our homes and that is what we will do. Our Vipers have said that the Galactica Vipers helped the Earth ships escape our retribution for helping the Cylons, that is already a betrayal of their oaths to protect the Colonies. They would rather protect Cylon synthesizers, beings who could be Cylons themselves, instead of their own race and that is the greatest crime not only in the regulations of the Colonial Fleet, but also in the Articles of Colonization. Most importantly, it is the greatest crime in the eye of the gods. They are the traitors! Not us!"
Once Admiral Cain had finished talking, she looked around at her crew in the CIC before turning to face her Executive Officer, Colonel Fisk. She then smiled when all he did was nod his head before they received news that the Galactica was preparing to jump. IT was then that the Admiral contacted the other warship and demanded to know what Commander Adama was doing. However, they never received a response as the Galactica jumped away a few seconds later.
Scowling, the Admiral then ordered that while the Ori vessel was taking care of one of the Earth ships, that the Pegasus would destroy the one that Narcho earlier claimed had lost its energy shielding. As the Pegasus opened fire on the Avalon, one of the officers at the CIC scanning stations stood up and turned to face Admiral Cain.
"Sir!" shouted the Officer, "we're getting a build-up of massive energy near the Ori ship. The power output, it's.. it's unbelievable. And it's going to…."
"Frak" said another officer who turned around, "massive energy release detected, Sir."
"Get our planes back" shouted Admiral Cain before she turned to face Captain Shaw, "prepare to jump."
"Where, sir?" asked Captain Shaw as she heard over the noise in the CIC that their planes had returned.
"Anywhere and…." said the Admiral ducking as a shower of sparked rained down after some electronics above the table exploded.
"Admiral!" shouted Colonel Fisk as he ran around the table and, covering his face, reached for her and helped her up. It was then that another officer turned and told the Admiral that there were several explosions throughout the ship due to massive electromagnetic energy that was coming from the explosion.
"Captain Shaw, get….." shouted the Admiral as she ran towards the officer just was a console next to the dark haired woman exploded, throwing the Admiral back on the floor with burns on her face and arm.
"Admiral!" shouted the Colonel as he ran to the Admiral while at the same time shouted at Captain Shaw to make a jump before the targeting computers were rendered useless.
"Yes, Sir!" shouted Captain Shaw as she turned the key that activated the jump drive. Everyone felt the familiar knot in their stomach as a result of a FTL jump before Captain Shaw turned around and told everyone that the jump was completed. However, by the time she completed her sentence, all of a sudden there was a tremor throughout the whole ship before lights throughout the ship turned off. It wasn't too long before the emergency generators kicked on, and the red emergency lights turned on to the shocked faces of those in the CIC.
"Shaw!' shouted the Colonel as he picked up the injured Admiral Cain who was groaning with her eyes closed, "get engineering teams to the power plant, I want to know exactly what's going on and how long it would take to get main power back up. Then I want… I want…"
"Sir" said Captain Shaw when she noticed the man before her just looking around as if he was going into shock when he thought about what was happening throughout the ship, "I'll have someone check the FTL drives. We still have spare parts available since teams were in the process of repairing certain areas of the ship, mainly the drives and the electronics; not to mention that network overhaul. There also the spare parts we took from the fleet of fifteen ships."
"Alright" said the Colonel after he shook his head, "I'm leaving you in charge of the repair details. Get someone to find out exactly where we are, while I get the Admiral to the infirmary."
'Yes, Sir" replied Captain Shaw as the Colonel walked away carrying the Admiral to the infirmary, before the Captain turned around and assigned jobs to the CIC crew.
Battlestar Pegasus, three days later; 1300 hours, Prime Reality.
Admiral Cain was in a dream, a dream where she was just a little girl and running through metal containers while shouting for her younger sister. The same sister who was taken by the Cylons during the First Cylon war.
"Lucy!" shouted Cain as she ran past one container after another, chasing a shadow that was just turning one corner after another and the laughter of a little girl who was calling out for her sister, "Lucy! Come back."
Cain kept on running until she came upon a broken doll that was lying on the ground. Her eyes narrowed at her sister's favourite doll, the Admiral went down on both her knees and placed both of her tiny hands under the doll and lifted it up. She then looked up and around her, all while shouting for Lucy to come out; that it wasn't funny anymore.
"Lucy!" shouted Cain again as she got on both her feet and held the doll to her chest, "Lucy, come out. I'm sorry I left you… I'm sorry I ran off without you. Please just…"
The Admiral turned around slowly, with tears in her eyes as she thought about where Lucy could be, when she heard thumping noises behind her. It was the familiar sound of a Cylon centurion walking towards her. She looked up at the chrome bodied automaton that walked towards her and stopped with one weapon in its right hand while looking at her as its bright red eyepiece moved ominously from one direction to another. She stepped back as the Centurion aimed its weapon at her head when its body started to shake.
"Die" said Cain as she walked backwards, "die… die… die.."
She watched as the Centurion kept on shaking more and more until the body was torn apart, with parts flying all over the place, with some part flying right over her head. While that was amazing for the little girl to see, it was what was behind the former Centurian that was even more amazing for Cain.
"Who… who are you?" asked Cain as she stepped back with her sister's doll clutched tightly to her chest. All the while, she was staring at a man who was standing before her with a brown robe covering his body. She saw that he was holding a staff in one hand that glowed brightly until the last of the Cylon's pieces had been destroyed. The young girl then saw the light from the staff dim as the bald man who seemed to have the right eye closed, with a scar over the eye lid and the other eye was pale, looked down at her. Cain looked closer at the facial scars on the man's face, which seemed to have a permanent scowl.
"Helena Cain" said the man as he approached the young child, "I am a Prior of the Ori."
"You…. you are a Prior?" asked Cain as she stepped back once more.
"You are looking for your sister" said the Prior in a matter of fact tone of voice as he stared at the Admiral, "you will not be able to find her. She is in the arms of the Ori, learning to walk on the road to enlightenment. The same enlightenment that we are offering you and your people."
"No" said Cain as she clung on to her sister's doll, "she's not dead."
"The Ori know all, Helena Cain" said the Prior, "the Ori see all, and they have seen the destruction that your gods have wrought on your home worlds. They have led you to destruction and death through the creations of soulless machines. Soulless machines that the Ori are now eliminating from this land."
"Yes" said Cain with her teeth clenched in anger as she looked at the doll, "I want them dead. I want the people who protect and speak for them dead. They killed my sister, they killed my people… I want them all dead!"
"I know you seek to deceive the Ori" said the Prior as he looked at Cain, "I know you plan to take the gifts of the Ori by force. However, it is something that we will seek to give to you… no force is required. In return, we seek your complete and utter allegiance to the Ori. Anyone deemed to trickery will be destroyed by the Ori, remember they see all. Those who are full of trickery will burn in eternal fire for all time; those who are dull of trickery will see death and a great plague affect them until no one.. not one man, woman or child is left standing."
"I.. I…. I want the Cylons gone" said the Admiral as her adult self took over the place of her child self, "I want them dead, I want the technology to make that happen. I want to punish Roslin, Adama and the rest of that fleet for betraying the principles of the Colonies and…"
"No!" shouted the Prior as the light from the staff started to glow brighter and brighter while Cain grabbed the sides of her head and screamed in pain as the Prior started to speak in a tongue that she never heard before. It wasn't long before the Prior was speaking in her language, the language of the Colonies, "those people will be made to worship the Ori.. the Ori who seek to help all those who live in this land. The Ori seek to offer everyone a place on the great path. The Colonies mean nothing… only the Ori are important, Helena Cain."
Soon Cain found herself lying on the ground while holding the sides of her head as her brain seemed as if it was going to exploded. She could hear the Prior in her mind as he continued to speak in that strange tongue while, at the same time, she received visions of Baseships being destroyed and of people bowing before the Priors who had been sent to Caprica through the Stargate. She saw the Ori ships destroying strange pyramid type ships near a giant ring of blue that was just hanging in space. She saw ships get destroyed or damaged one after another by the Ori ships before they entered a greenish cloud and vanished into it. Cain then saw a wall of fire in front of her, and then she saw a face looking back at her from the flames. She screamed and jumped back when the face called her name.
Suddenly, she was surrounded by darkness as she heard voices in the distance. She could then, slowly, hear people speaking in familiar voices around her. She recognized two of them, Captain Shaw and Colonel Fisk, however she didn't recognize the other two. Opening her eyes slowly, she saw blurred figures from the corner of her eye before closing her eyes again to clear the cobwebs.
"Colonel" said Cain as she opened her eyes again and looked around. She found herself lying on a bed in the infirmary as she heard beeping from her left. She brought both of her arms up and looked on in shock as one arm seemed to be covered in bandages, while the other hand had I.V lines hooked up to the wrist. It was then she felt a sting on the side of her face; reaching out, she felt bandages on her left check and left side of her head.
"Sir" said Colonel Fisk after he had told Captain Shaw and the other two crew members to leave them and report to the CIC, but not before telling the Captain that she was in charge of the CIC until he returned. Once they had left, the Colonel approached Cain's bed and stood there holding the railings while looking over her body, "how are you feeling?"
"Like a console exploded" said Cain softly as she looked at her Executive Officer.
"The doctor said that your arm has been burnt, along with the side of your head and parts of your cheek" said the Colonel as he frowned, "shrapnel went into your leg, and although they've been taken out… it'll take some for you to get back on your feet. Well, on your own feet without any aid. However, the doctor said that you'll have scars on your face and arm for the rest of your life."
"Could have guessed that" said Cain softly, "the ship?"
"We're still repairing the FTL drives" said the Colonel, "whatever it was that those Earth ships did, it took out our drives and electrical grid. Luckily we had spare parts on hand because of what was taken from the first fleet we met with after the attacks, and from the retrofit from the Scorpion Shipyards."
"Good" said Cain, "I had a strange dream, Jack. It was the same dream I've had since the end of the First Cylon war, but this time.. this time there was someone who shouldn't have been there."
"Sir?" asked the Colonel who looked on confused as the Admiral closed her eyes before turning her head and looking up.
"A Prior of the Ori" said Cain before she heard a gasp from the Colonel and then turned her head to look at him with her eyes narrowed, "what's wrong?"
"A ship of the Ori; one of those grey vessels" said the Colonel as Cain nodded her head, "well, it just dropped out of whatever t uses as a FTL drive and appeared on our port side an hour ago. I've ordered the launch of alert Vipers but the ship has made no hostile moves yet, and even if they did Sir… I don't think we have a chance in Hades of surviving an attack."
"Good, don't attack" said Cain as she tried to get up but lay back down after she felt a rush of pain go through her body, "I want a message sent to that ship. Tell them that I am requesting a meeting with the Prior. I want their technology in exchange for us offering unconditional support for the Ori."
"But sir" said the Colonel, "I understand the need for an alliance with these heretics, but many on the ship won't… some already believe that expressing open support for the Ori is an insult to the gods."
"Our duty is the protection of the Colonies, Colonel" said the Admiral as she looked at him, "if these Priors can give us technology to free our homes and destroy every last remaining Cylon… then as the last Admiral of the fleet… I will take that offer. And then once we're done, once every Cylon is gone and our homes are freed… then we'll hit these Priors from the inside. We'll take the ship… reverse engineer the technology and then go after Adama and Roslin. They are the real traitors here, Jack. Now, follow my orders. Send the message and get the doctor here, I need to get to the CIC."
"Yes, Sir" said the Colonel before he went to find the doctor while Cain closed her eyes again; absolutely sure that everything would be going her way.
Infirmary, Odyssey, Present day, Prime reality; thirty minutes until arrival to Earth orbit.
Willow and Faith just returned from their wedding reception as they walked through the trail that led to the clear blue lake in the distance, which was overlooked by a high cliff. The two young women had excused themselves before taking off their footwear and walking with their bare feet on the cold, but soft, ground. Walking arm in arm, they walked for a few minutes before reaching the lake. It was then that Willow turned around to face Faith once the both of them reached the water's edge.
"So you wanted to be alone up here, huh?" asked Faith as Willow put her arms around the dark haired Slayers neck while Faith wrapped her arms around the redhead's waist.
"Uh huh" said Willow with a smile as they started to dance to a silent song, "there were too many people in the hall; don't get me wrong, I love all of them but… anyway, with my parents staying in the cabin, as well as Major Carter and Debra…"
"Sometimes it's nice to be alone" said Faith as she looked at Willow as the redhead turned her around, "but then, we're leaving for Paris tomorrow. We'll be alone for a while week."
"True" replied Willow, "but then again, you never know when the next world ending emergency is gonna happen."
"True that" said Faith as she pulled Willow in closer while, at the same time, the dark haired Slayer cupped the back of the redhead's head and gave her a deep kiss. Willow held onto Faith tightly while they kissed as she ran her hand through the Slayer's hair. While they kissed, Faith had a feeling of being lifted up in the air. Stopping to catch her breath and look at the redhead who gave her a small smile, the both of them then looked down and found that they were floating a few inches off the ground.
"Oh" said Willow as she looked down, "would you look at that?"
"Hah" said Faith with a grin when Willow looked back at her, "I guess I made you float."
"You did" said Willow as she kissed the Slayer again.
"I love you, you know" said Faith after they broke the kiss.
"For all time" replied Willow as Faith heard the sounds of thunder in the distance. Looking at the cloudy sky, the Slayer looked back at her wife and asked if they should be getting back since it looked like rain.
"What rain?" asked Willow as she looked up confused before looking at Faith again.
"There wasn't rain" mumbled Faith as she looked up at the gathered clouds when she saw lightning strike a tree behind her, "Red?"
"Faith?" asked a confused Willow who seemed to be oblivious to what was going on behind her as lighting struck another tree, followed by another as the strikes seemed to slowly come towards them, "what's going on?"
"Come on" said Faith as she let go of Willow before grabbing one of her arms, and made a move to run away from the lightning strikes, "we need to find shelter."
"Faith" said Willow who seemed to be surprised at what was going on since she resisted being pulled away by Faith, "Faith let's just stay here a bit longer? Please?"
Faith saw Willow looking around her surroundings before looking back at the dark haired Slayer, telling her that where they were was beautiful. She told her that she didn't want them to leave so soon.
"It's a full moon, Faith" said Willow as she looked at the lake which had the overcast sky reflected in its surface, "look at the full moon. This night is perfect."
"No!" shouted Faith as Willow opened her eyes wide in surprise while the dark haired young woman looked over Willow's shoulder and saw the strikes already hitting the ground behind Willow, "Willow! Come with me now. We need to get out of here. I'm not losing you."
"Faith" said Willow as she pulled Faith back to her again and wrapped her in her arms, "you'll never lose me."
Willow took Faith's hand and placed it on her chest before she placed her own hand on Faith's chest. She then gave Faith a smile and told her that their link would forever ensure that the both of them find each other, no matter where they were.
"Then come back to me!" shouted Faith as a bolt of lightning struck the ground just a few meters behind Willow, leading the dark haired Slayer to close her eyes and look away. When she looked back over Willow's shoulder, she saw the ground was blackened due to the strike. Faith then looked back into Willow's confused eyes as she begged the redhead to leave this place together; that it was getting dangerous.
"Our lives are already dangerous, Faith" laughed Willow as she kissed Faith's cheek just before a force pushed Faith off Willow as the Slayer landed hard on the ground a few meters away. As Faith slowly got up, she looked at her cut arm before she looked up at Willow who was looking back at Faith with confusion etched on her face, "Faith?"
"Red!" shouted Faith as she ran towards Willow as fast as she could just as a bolt of blue and white lightning hit Willow. Faith heard a scream as she was pushed back by another force before hitting the ground again hard. It took a few seconds before Faith looked up and started to tear up when all she saw was a blackened mark on the ground where Willow once stood. She winched in pain as she slowly pushed herself to her feet and, once she stood up, then she slowly walked towards the blackened spot before falling down on her knees in shock, "Red? Red? Come back. Please? Come back to me. Come back to me."
It wasn't long before Faith heard another soothing voice coming through her thoughts; a voice that was calling for her, followed by a booming voice that asked the dark haired Slayer to wake up. Faith looked at the blackened spot at where Willow once stood before she closed her eyes. It wasn't long before she felt herself lying on a soft mattress as light filtered through her eyelids. Opening them slowly, Faith covered her eyes when she found herself looking at fluorescent lights above her when she felt a hand laying gently on her shoulder.
"Faith?" said Colonel Carter who was standing next to the Slayer when she had been crying out for Willow to come back while she was unconscious.
"Sam?" asked Faith as she wiped the tears off her eyes and slowly sat up as she felt another pair of hands on her back. Looking at the other side, Faith saw Teal'c who had stepped back after helping her sit up, "hey big guy."
"I apologize for speaking loudly, Faith Lehane" said Teal'c, "however it seemed as if you were having an inadequate dream."
"Bad dream, Teal'c" said the Colonel as Teal'c nodded his head.
"It's alright" said Faith softly as she looked at the bed sheets, "What happened? The last thing I remember was Red vanishing and… and everything after that is a blur."
The Colonel looked at Teal'c before looking at Faith again and told her what had happened while she was out. She told the surprised Slayer that Dawn got back all her memories thanks to Merlin, that they had met Melina who told them what was special about the link she shared with Willow, and that it was key in getting her back. She told her that General O'Neill was in command of the ship while Daniel was with Dawn who was just as equally worried for Faith and Willow. She then continued with telling Faith that Colonel Mitchell was talking to Vala about what happened with Adria before finishing with the appearance of even more Ori vessels that came through the Supergate.
"Crap" said Faith softly before she looked at Teal'c and then the Colonel.
"Indeed" replied Teal'c.
"Anyway to know if the Sangraal worked?" asked Faith as she turned her body until her legs were hanging off the bed.
"None" said the Colonel who handed Faith her boots while Teal'c stood in between the both of them, "which means we've got a big fight on our hands. Even if the Sangraal worked and killed the Ori, we still have their followers to worry about."
"Indeed" said Teal'c, "however, Melina Ren implied that Vala Mal Doran may have to make a sacrifice one day. She has not given us any of the details that we require, however."
"Which means that we may have failed on all counts" said Faith as the Colonel frowned.
"Vala believes that the device worked" said the Colonel, "She and Willow followed Daniel's instructions to the letter. The only thing we have questions on is regarding Adria, and the Ori army."
"Adria's dead" said Faith as she laced up her boots, "I saw the body… I mean we all saw the body. We saw that hole through her chest too, nothing can survive that."
"She's the Orici" said Dawn as Colonel Carter and Teal'c turned around and faced the young woman who was holding two cups of coffee in her hands, "I wouldn't be surprised if she's… if she's alive somewhere out there in the Ori galaxy."
"Dawn Summers" said Teal'c as Dawn gave him a small smile.
"We'll leave the both of you alone" said Colonel Carter as she looked at her watch, "we've got another fifteen minutes before we reach Earth."
"Alright" said Faith as she hung her legs over the edge of the bed as the Colonel and Teal'c, who bowed his head slightly at Faith, passed by Dawn and walked out of the infirmary. A nervous Dawn then walked towards Faith who had her head hung low as she wiped her eyes. She put both cups of coffee on the side table and approached the Slayer slowly until she was standing right in front of Faith, who raised her head. Dawn saw that Faith's eyes were red as her face twisted in anguish.
Without speaking any words, the two young women then hugged each other as Faith started to tremble in Dawn's arms. It was then Dawn's turn to cry as she felt warm tears falling on her neck from Faith while she remembered what happened that day. The same day that she got her memories back; that was the same day she lost her sister. Tears flowed down Dawn's face as she held on tightly to Faith's back as she started to remember everything about her life in Atlantis; Athena comforting her, the redhead waking up her younger sister at dawn so that the both of them could say goodbye to the last shining star that they could see on Lantea.. the same star that Athena had told her that it was their mother saying goodbye to them.
"I.. I'm sorry, Dawn" said Faith softly as she looked at the tearstained face of the young brunette, "I should have been there sooner."
"None of us could do anything" said Dawn as she wiped Faith's tears before wiping her own, "she… she did it protect us. Just like Buffy jumped off the tower to protect all of us, Willow ascended and interfered to protect all of us."
"I can't imagine what it must be like to lose her again" said Faith as she looked at Dawn, "she died once, but the Asgard cloned her and she came back to me.. to us. But now, she could be anywhere in the galaxy."
"Faith" said Dawn as she wiped her eyes and sat next to the dark haired Slayer and held on to her hands, "I asked Colonel Carter and the others not to tell you this. I mean, I thought it should be my responsibility."
"What?" asked Faith as she looked at Dawn.
"Just let me finish before you say anything?" asked Dawn as Faith nodded her head, "mother… I mean… yeah, she's my mother. Anyway… mother told us that Willow's in another reality. The link that you share with Willow is the key in getting her back."
"Wait…" said Faith as Dawn squeezed her hand.
"Faith" said Dawn as the Slayer nodded her head, indicating that she wanted Dawn to continue, "Colonel Carter says that we can try the Quantum Mirror, but that carries a risk; especially if the other reality doesn't have an SGC. Then she suggested we use the link you share with Willow as the way to get her back; you know, pull on the link and get her back here. But to do that, we need magic… a lot of powerful magic. Mother said that it's possible and that you need to make the choice when it comes down to it, but we don't know the risks."
"Let's call Tara when we get back" said Faith softly.
"Already sent a message" said Dawn, "the General asked General Landry to contact Tara and tell her what's going on. She had to go back to Sunnydale, but Anya's still at the SGC."
"She heard about Daniel?"
"Yep" smiled Dawn, "she was squealing in the back when the news came through to the SGC that he was alright."
"Good" said Faith as she tightened her hold on Dawn's hand, "do you really remember everything?"
"I remember everything" said Dawn as the two of them looked at each other, "I remember how scared Athena was the day I died. She tried her best to rescue me but…. but it was my fault. I wanted peace so badly that I never thought about the consequences… I never thought that Wraith didn't want peace, it didn't even occur to me. It was mother who ascended me the night I was buried; that night I returned to Atlantis… Mother told me the rules, that I couldn't interfere in the lower plains and I agreed. I missed mother… I never saw her until that day but I was worried about my father and Athena. So I checked up on my father as he sat in the dark with the panel leading out to the balcony open. The moonlight shone on the frame that was in his hand… the frame that contained a picture of me when I was ten. I was holding onto Athena's hand while he stood behind us. I saw him brush his fingers on the picture before I couldn't look anymore and teleported myself to Athena's lab. I walked through the door and just saw darkness. Athena was in one corner of her lab just.. just sobbing as she told herself that all the Wraith was going to die. I got worried for her… I saw her plans to build a device to destroy the galaxy.. I saw things that made me worried for her."
"I saw her memories too" said Faith as Dawn nodded her head.
"I didn't want Athena to descend" said Dawn, "my father was in stasis and all I had was Athena, and mother. But she insisted and.. and I lost my sister again. She lost her memories of how we used to go from one galaxy to another gathering knowledge along the way; we were never really interested in the power, all we wanted was knowledge. And then it was just mother and me as we travelled together for most of the time. Sometimes we'd separate while one watched over Willow as she grew up. We knew that she was alone so we made sure that even though she couldn't see us, made sure that we were always there. Did you know that she always used to wake up at dawn?"
"No" said Faith as she looked at Dawn who gave her a smile.
"She used to cry out once it was dawn" said the brunette woman, "and while Sheila and Ira were getting up, I would teleport in and brush my fingers on her cheeks. Then she would give me, to be honest with you until this day I never know if she actually saw me, but she would reach out to me and give me a wide smile before laughing out loud. I knew Athena loved the dawn when we were both in Atlantis, and after she was reborn it was no different. She would always wake up at dawn, whether she was a baby or a toddler or a girl going to kindergarten; she would wake up at dawn. And that's the time I would come to see my sister, that's the time that she would give me a wide smile. Then Sheila told her that I was just a figment of her imagination and that she should start relying on herself more often."
"Then you and Melina appeared to her as balls of light" said Faith softly.
'Yeah" replied Dawn, "we made sure that she was never alone. We were there even when she met Buffy; but it was then that we decided it would be best to leave her be. I knew that Sineya's successors would be able to protect her from the darkness. Before I left this planet to explore the galaxy again, I threatened the Master while disguised as an old woman. He dared to send his minions to attack my sister during the Harvest, and I told him that the Slayer would take care of him.. prophesy or not… he would pay."
"And he did" said Faith as she looked nervously at Dawn, "were you there when I… you know."
"Yea" said Dawn nodding her head, "I saw everything; including how lonely you were… I saw everything you tried to hide from the other Scoobies. I hoped that you would open up to them more, but you didn't. I also hoped that the Scoobies… that my sister would help you. But they didn't. I watched as all hell broke loose as Willow wanted to see you dead… I watched as you and Buffy fought each other. I saw the Mayor transform and try to kill everyone."
Dawn told Faith that she had seen everything that happened to the Scoobies. She told the dark haired slayer that she felt something that she hadn't felt in thousands of years on the surface of the planet, the activation of the Earth Stargate. She told the Slayer that she followed the first team to Abydos and silently cheered as they set the Abydonians free and killed Ra.
"I knew things would change then" said Dawn, "humans had tasted the stars; there was no way to give up travelling through the Stargate now. I alternated between the SGC and Sunnydale until I descended. Athena showed me that sometimes you have to make sacrifices to help protect the world, and I followed her example. I descended and chose my name."
"Dawn" said Faith as the brunette nodded her head.
"Both mine, and Athena's, favourite time of day" said Dawn as she smiled, "the time of day I'd always be at Willow's side when she woke up so that she was never alone, at least until her parents came into the room."
"Why did you descend?" asked Faith.
"I'll tell everyone when we get Willow back" said Dawn as she got off the bed and hugged Faith again, "and we will get her back, Faith."
"I lost mom once, but I got her back" continued Dawn referring to Joyce, "I lost Buffy once, but I got her back too. We lost Willow…. and I know we'll get her back."
"I hope so" said Faith as she lay her head on Dawn's shoulder.
"We will" said Dawn closing her eyes as she held on tight to Faith, "we definitely will."
Asgard Vessel Mjolnir, Orbit over Earth. Alternate Reality; 0025 hours.
Willow smiled when her scenery changed from facing the First Evil, to facing the view of the Earth through a window. She walked forwards and touched the glass-like material that the Asgard used and placed her hands on it. Turning away from the view in front of her, Willow looked at the diminutive grey alien who stepped away from behind a console and walked towards her.
"Heimdall" said Willow as she nodded her head.
"Major Willow Rosenberg" said Heimdall as she stopped a few steps away from the redhead, "welcome to my ship, the Mjolnir."
"Neat" said Willow as she looked around and then looked back at Heimdall who was still looking back at her, "Bilskirnir Class, I take it?"
"Yes" said Heimdall in surprise, "you have been on one of these ships in your reality?"
"Yep" replied Willow a she crouched down to eye level with the alien, "in my reality, the Asgard and the humans of Earth… the Tau'ri…"
"The Tau'ri" said Heimdall as he walked a step forward, "that language is Goa'uld in origin."
"We've beaten the Goa'uld" said Willow as Heimdall tilted his head, "the Jaffa are free, and are now our allies against a great enemy. A new powerful enemy from the home galaxy of the Alterra."
"The Ancients" said Heimdall as Willow nodded her dead, "we have not seen any Ancient for thousands of years. I have met with your father several times during the initial stages of the Alliance's battle against the Goa'uld."
"How's that going?" asked Willow, mentally wincing as she knew the answer to the question. Her suspicions were proved right when Heimdall said that the Goa'uld were still in control of numerous parts of the galaxy. He also confirmed that due to the Asgard war against the Replicators, they haven't been able to enforce the Protected Planets Treaty as often. Willow and Heimdall then walked to one of the consoles where she asked Heimdall what the current situation was in their war.
"We have discovered an android on a desolate planet" said Heimdall as he entered the ship into a Hyperdrive window, "we discovered that…."
"My God" said Willow as the picture of the android came up on the screen in front of them, "it's Reese. I wasn't there but I read up on the mission reports. You found a command that ordered all Replicators to come forth, right?"
"Yes" said Heimdall.
"Don't tell me the Asgard have set off a trap using a time dilation field on Hala?" asked Willow as she turned to a surprised Heimdall.
"Yes" said Heimdall.
"Turn it off" said a very worried Willow, "Heimdall, tell the others to turn it off. You'll be creating a much bigger problem for yourselves, and every galaxy that's out there including this one."
"Major Rosenberg" said Heimdall as he looked up at Willow, "the Asgard Science Council has discussed this at length and…"
"Heimdall" said Willow, "please. Your people did the same thing in my reality. You guys were desperate, I understand that. But something went wrong and the bug replicators became more advanced. They eventually evolved and took on human form. They were extremely difficult to kill, and almost took over this galaxy."
"I see" said Heimdall as he looked down before turning to face the console where he moved a stone from one position to another before turning back to Willow again, "you said that you knew of a weapon made by the Ancients to battle the replicators."
"Yes" said Willow as she nodded at Heimdall, "first I need you to give me a visual representation of the symbols on a Stargate in this galaxy."
Heimdall nodded his head before he walked to another console with Willow following close behind him. Once they had reached the console, Heimdall pressed a stone as another screen popped up with rows of Stargate symbols. Willow saw Heimdall move to one side before he turned around and asked the redhead to tap on the symbols that she's looking for.
"The computer would then take us out of hyperspace and plot a course to the coordinates represented by the symbols you have input"
"Alright" said Willow in reply as she tapped six symbols and used the Earth glyph as a point of origin. Once she pressed the final symbol. Willow turned and looked out the window as the ship came out of hyperspace, made a fifty degree turn and then flew into another Hyperspace window. She then turned to Heimdall and told him that the planet they are going to has an Ancient Repository of Knowledge and that her plan was to download the entire repository into her mind. It was Heimdall who then nodded his head and told Willow that the redhead will be then placed into the medical pod so that her blood could be checked out while he connected her mind to the ship's computer.
"Oh" said Willow, "my reality's Thor placed a genetic lock on my DNA."
"It should not be a problem" said Heimdall as the ship came out of hyperspace. Willow turned around and walked over to the window as the ship orbited the dark green planet below, "the ship's sensors have detected a power source under the surface of the planet. It is located within a hollow compound with only one Stargate."
"That's the place if I'm not wrong" said Willow as she looked out the window.
"You are aware that your mind cannot hold the entire Repository of Knowledge indefinitely" said Heimdall as he walked next to Willow before looking back up at her, "you have said that your body is that of a near ascended Ancient." Willow nodded her head as Heimdall continued, "your mind, despite being at a near-ascension level of evolution, is still a biological construct. It will be dangerous if you hold on to the knowledge for too long as the information is simply too vast."
"Thanks for letting me know" said Willow as she looked at Heimdall, and then at the planet, "the entire history of the Ancients. From the Alterra and the Ori, to the Ancients who returned to the Milky Way from Pegasus to the last surviving Ancient who passed on before my sister and I descended. More than fifty million years of history and knowledge. I kinda guessed I can't hold it for too long."
"Yes" said Heimdall, "are you prepared?"
"As I'll ever be" said Willow as she stepped back and turned around while Heimdall walked over to another console and pressed some stones before looking back at Willow.
"I have locked onto a transmitter in your forearm" said Heimdall.
"Thanks" said Willow, "beam me back up in about sixty seconds."
"Very well" said Heimdall as Willow saw him move a stone on the console before she was enveloped by a pulse of white light. She saw her surroundings change as the light dimmed and the redhead found herself in a large empty room. Looking around, she saw the Stargate in one end and then she noticed the circle of symbols on the floor and smiled.
"We are the Ancients, this is the place of our legacy" said Willow as she read the inscription to herself before she walked over the symbols which glowed slightly, which was when a organic-like structure with a screen came out of a nearby wall. Willow walked towards it and took in a deep breath before placing her face onto the screen. She saw white light that started to get brighter and brighter as she stepped back when the entire device popped out from the wall with what felt like hands cupping the back of her head as she was held steady while the light, now of various different colours, started to get brighter and brighter. It wasn't long before the redhead felt the device release her as she got onto both knees on the floor.
"Oh" said Willow softly as she felt the knowledge of the Ancients flowing through her mind before she collapsed onto the floor, "that was just so nifty."
Just as it was for General O'Neill when he had the download both times, Willow closed her eyes as the fatigue of having all that information download directly into her brain took a lot out of her. Once her eyes were closed, a bright white light enveloped her as her lying body vanished. Once the light from the transporter had dimmed, there was no one left in the room… the same room that wouldn't see human;s from Earth for another two hundred years.
Asgard Vessel Mjolnir, ten minutes later; twenty minutes away from Orilla.
Once Willow was beamed straight into the awaiting medical pod, Heimdall set about flying his ship into a hyperspace window towards the Othalla galaxy and the Asgard home planet of Orilla which, according to a report by Thor, would be most likely overrun by replicators soon. Once Heimdall had set the medical pod to examine Willow's blood,, he then set about connecting her mind to the ship's computers so that she could use their beaming technology to build the weapon.
Heimdall had already sent a subspace communiqué to the Asgard Science Council and Thor once Willow was in the pod. Once that communiqué was sent, Heimdall heard a beeping sound from the medical pod that indicated the examination of Willow's blood was complete. He moved a stone at the console where he was standing as a graphic of a DNA strand appeared on screen with two arrows pointing to different sections with red flashing symbols in the language of the Asgard. It was then that another screen popped up to show the protein marker and something else that was interesting to Heimdall.
"She is a clone" said Heimdall to himself as he looked at Willow and then at the screen, "she has clone markers and a genetic lock on her body, but the Ancient and Furling genes are all present naturally in her body. Those genes were not genetically engineered. However, to replicate the Protein marker, Commander Thor would need to remove the key placed on her genetic code."
Heimdall then sent his findings to the Council before he turned back to Willow again. HE just need to wait for Willow to connect to the computers and build the weapon; but so far Heimdall was sure that she was living up to her side of the deal. He just hoped that the Asgard would be able to help her.
"It is time we contacted the Nox" said Heimdall to himself, "they can help us with the protein marker, and may… just may help Major Rosenberg in getting her home."
It was a few minutes later that Heimdall heard a buzzing sound that was coming from his ship as some of the lights overhead started to flicker. He looked at the console before him and then looked at Willow before he turned another stone and started to speak.
"Major Rosenberg" said Heimdall as the lights stopped blinking.
"Ummmm" said Willow's disembodied voice, "Heimdall?"
"Your mind is connected to the ship's computer" said Heimdall as he looked at the unconscious body of Willow that lay inside the medical pod, "you may be able to use the holographic projections systems to create a body for yourself if you wish."
"Oh" said Willow as Heimdall saw a glimmer before him and stepped back as the redhead created a holographic body for herself. She looked at her hands and arms before smiling at Heimdall, she then turned around and looked at her own prone body before looking away since it brought back bad memories. Turning back to Heimdall, she told him that she could build a handheld weapon while putting the schematics onto the ship's computers. She told him that Thor managed to use that information in her reality to build a disrupter cannon that he used on a planetary scale.
"I see" said Heimdall as he nodded his head after Willow asked him for permission in using the Asgard beams to construct the weapon, "but could you explain the workings of the weapon?"
"Not really" said Willow as her mind activated the construction beams, "I can tell you that it fires a disruption wave that severs the connection between each replicator block. Before we came across the disruptor in my reality, we used projectile weaponry that used kinetic force of the projectile to destroy the bugs. The Asgard in my reality made the mistake of using the time dilation device which brought about the existence of human form replicators that were nearly impossible to kill using our standard projectile weapons. All that worked was the destructor."
"The Asgard has been trying to build a weapon such as this" said Heimdall as he walked to a pedestal on the far end of the room which was glowing white, "but we have been unsuccessful."
"Yea" said Willow as Heimdall looked at the glow, "same thing happened in my reality. But I've put the information you need to build a larger version of it that could be used on a planetary scale into your ship's database."
"Thank you" replied Heimdall as the glow vanished and all that remained was an oddly shaped weapon. The Asgard scientist then headed back to the medical pod that held Willow and pressed a few buttons, "Major, are you ready to return?"
"Heimdall" said Willow's disembodied voice, "is there any way for me to keep selected knowledge in my mind. I've got the details here on how to create a ZPM. I mean we don't have the technology to create one yet, but the knowledge could send us on the right track."
"I am sorry" said Heimdall shaking his head, "there is no way for us to selectively leave the knowledge in your mind."
"Awww, shucks" said Willow's voice, "fine, you can bring me back to the land of the awake."
"Very well" replied Heimdall as he pressed another series of buttons before a red light shone onto Willow's sleeping face. It was a few seconds later that she opened her eyes slowly while the glass covering of the medical pod retracted. Willow groaned a bit before she sat up, wiped her eyes and looked at the Asgard looking at her.
"I know I was sleeping" said Willow as she wiped her eyes, "but I'm still so tired."
"Your mind was working on sifting through the information from the download" said Heimdall as he looked at the redhead, "you are a clone?"
"Yes" said Willow as she nodded her head and slowly got out of the pod, "my original body was taken over by a Goa'uld called Anubis and…"
"Anubis?" asked Heimdall as he approached Willow, "he is dead."
"Not in my reality" said Willow, "and I'm pretty sure he's here as well… at least I wouldn't be surprised. Anyway, he's a being of energy that took over my body and unlocked the full range of Ancient powers. Long story short, my body couldn't handle the strain so you and Thor created a cloned body for me."
"I see" said Heimdall.
"Then my father unlocked my memories of being Athena before and after my ascension," said Willow before clarifying, "sucks having memories of my Ascended years but no knowledge of how the tech I encountered works." Willow then sighed and shook her head wishing she had the knowledge to back up her Ascended memories.
"Interesting" said Heimdall as he looked up at Willow before turning around and walking back to another console, "while you were asleep, I received a message from Commander Thor. He wishes to meet with you once Orilla has been freed from the replicator ships."
"How long?" asked Willow as she followed the Asgard scientist after she took the weapon from the pedestal and carried it with her.
"They will reach Othala in fifteen minutes" said Heimdall, "we will reach the planet in twenty minutes."
"We'll be too late" said Willow shocked.
"Yes" replied Heimdall, "we have already started to evacuate our people, our consciousness… all our knowledge.. everything we have are being evacuated. Commander Thor and the rest the fleet are already in orbit of the planet. If we do not succeed…."
"Heimdall" said Willow as she crouched down, "the Asgard helped my people many times, your people saved the lives of my friends, your people saved my life. Even if it wasn't the Asgard of this reality, I would be honoured if you'd let me help you."
"We have used every advanced technology we have available, Major" said Heimdall, "however, all the replicators have done is assimilate the technology and use it against us."
"The reason that Thor in my reality valued our help was because we think differently" said Willow, "my friend is the smartest person I know, but by the Asgard standards, she uses simple methods of thinking. Basically your people's thinking was too advanced… you needed someone stupid."
"I see" said Heimdall, "what would you suggest."
"The reason our projectile weapons are so successful against the blocks is because the kinetic energy from the projectile destroys the connection created between the blocks that allow them to reform."
"Yes" said Heimdall, "but we still use Ion weapons that the replicators have been able to absorb."
"I don't know how" said Willow, "but the Asgard in my reality managed to increase the kinetic energy from the Ion guns. They were able to destroy an entire replicator ship just through sheer kinetic force that damaged the individual blocks."
"I see" said Heimdall as Willow saw him heading to another console while the redhead got back on her feet and just stood there as a simulation popped up on the screen in front of Heimdall. Willow saw that there was a replica of one Asgard ship, and then a replica of a replicator ship. The redhead saw Heimdall press some buttons as he ran simulations of the replica Asgard ship on screen firing at a cylindrical replicator ship. It took a few tries for the Asgard scientist before he walked away from the console and towards Willow, "I have sent the successful simulation to Commander Thor, and have notified him that I will begin building a large scale weapon that could be used to free Asgard ships that have been taken by the replicators, the same weapons could be used to remove the replicators on a planetary scale as well."
"That's good" said Willow as she walked to the far wall and leaned her back on it before sliding down onto the floor, "we still have fifteen minutes left?"
"Yes" said Heimdall as he nodded his head while Willow put the Replicator Disruptor in the floor of the ship next to her.
"I think I'll sleep for a little bit" said Willow as Heimdall nodded.
"Very well" replied the Alien as Willow closed her eyes and fell into a restless sleep. Her mind was worried about Faith, about her world.. her reality. She just wanted to go home.
TBC