Isolation Room One, SGC, 0930 hours.
Faith was standing in the observation deck over Isolation Room one as she watched Willow being tended to by Dr. Lam and her team. She looked at her wife and smiled as the redhead looked back at her before she turned to Dr. Lam to answer a question. Faith then saw the redhead looking back at her, before giving a small smile.
'She came back to me' thought Faith silently to herself as she took a step towards the glass and placed her palm on it while looking at Dr. Lam putting electronic leads onto Willow's chest, wrists and forehead. While all of that was going on, the only thought that swam through her head was that Willow returned to her. The dark haired Slayer knew that she was being selfish; she knew that the others were also glad that Willow had come back but despite all of them being like her extended family, it was Willow who mattered the most to Faith. She knew in her soul that even if Willow wasn't able to come back from the alternate reality, the others would still be there for her. The entirety of SG-1 would be there for her, her new sister-in-law would be there for her, Buffy and the others would be there for her; but it would still be like she was alone because Willow wouldn't be.
Faith looked on as a nurse brought in a portable scanner and placed it near the redhead as she thought about what happened twenty eight hours ago at the BPRI, after she returned from asking the Powers that Be for help in getting back Willow from the other reality. She lost herself in her thoughts as she recalled the day that she and Tara were unsuccessful in their attempt to bring Willow back from the alternate reality.
BPRI, Medical Room One, Sunnydale, Twenty Eight hours earlier.
It was four hours after returning from seeing the Powers that Be, that Faith lay on a bed in one of the medical rooms at the BPRI with Dr. Lam, who had arrived along with her team, and SG-1, and Dawn after the dark haired Slayer talked to General Landry over the phone after she and Tara were kicked out of the Conduit. Faith remembered that Dr. Lam was telling her that she'll be monitored throughout this whole 'crazy idea' of placing the Slayer in a near death state, and that should anything happen that wasn't supposed to happen then the doctor will abort the procedure. Dr. Lam looked away from Faith and looked at the others in the room as she repeated herself, that if her readings showed that Faith's vital signs were below a certain threshold, then she would step in and stop everything.
"Is that clear?" asked the doctor as Tara, Dawn, Faith, Kennedy, Buffy and two members of the Devon Coven nodded their heads as Dr. Lam stood with her hands on her hips, "good. Now, all her vitals will be read by my tablet wirelessly so there shouldn't be a problem.. but like I said…."
"Yes, doc" said Faith as she looked at Dr. Lam. The doctor nodded her head at Faith and then walked out of the room where she met with the other members of SG-1 outside. Once the doctor had left and closed the door behind her, Faith and the others found themselves in a darkened room after one of the Coven members had turned off the lights. Faith looked on as each person in the room lit a candle that they were holding around the bed, under which Tara had drawn some symbols an hour ago with the help of the people from the Coven who were beamed to the BPRI, along with General O'Neill. Tara walked towards Faith and lay her hand on the Slayer's chest before she leaned over and whispered.
"You'll go to sleep, sweetie" said Tara gently as Faith nodded her head, "you won't hear the spell; instead you'll see a representation of the link that you and Willow share soon after you close your eyes. But I can tell you one thing; you'll be going through many realities to get to her. I can sense the link now, and it's so thin…. I… I have to warn you not to stop for too long."
"Huh?" asked Faith as she looked at Tara who looked over her, and into her eyes.
"You'll go past multiple realities" said Tara, "you'll see what happens to you or your friends when you follow the link to Willow. You can stop and see what happens in those realities, but stop for too long and then you could find yourself in that reality, without a way to get back to Willow… or get back here. Your soul will physically manifest in that reality, and you'll lose the link. Let go of the link for an extended period of time, you'll possibly emerge in the reality you're viewing and if it doesn't have an SGC or any Ancients.. then you'll be trapped with no way to get you back here. But if you follow the link to its final destination, then you can just pull on it again and come back the same way. Do you understand?"
"I think?" said Faith nervously as Tara gave a small smile.
"Just don't stop, ok?" said Tara, "or at least, not for too long."
"OK" said Faith.
"Ready?" asked Tara as she looked at everyone who were standing and holding the candles. After they nodded, Tara asked them to sit at their designated spots and place the candle on the floor in the middle of the 'X's' that were drawn in front of them. Tara then looked back at Faith as she mumbled a spell, and before the Slayer knew it, she fell asleep.
"Whoa" said Faith to herself as she opened her eyes once again and saw a blue puddle above her. The puddle looked like the event horizon created by a Stargate, however just the puddle existed; the ring itself wasn't there. The Slayer noticed a thin, but bright, red line that was going into the puddle above her. Looking down the line, she saw that the line went past her. Turning around, she was surprised to find that the line was connected to another body, her physical body; she was really just floating above her own physical body. She could see everyone sitting around her, unmoving and silent. She then looked at the line that connected to her physical body and touched it; and as soon as she did, she found herself wearing a red stripped dress just as she felt another presence behind her. Holding on to the line as she moved to a vertical position, with her feet over her physical body's chest; Faith looked behind her and saw that Tara, a Tara with pure white eyes and white hair, was looking back at her with a smile.
"Go, Faith" said Tara, "go and find Willow. Go, now."
Faith could only nod her head as she looked up at the puddle above her before she squeezed the red coloured line tightly. It was then than she felt an incredible force pushing her through the puddle as she entered what could only be described as a long, and curving greenish tunnel. She found herself flying through the tunnel at a very fast speed as she held tight onto the line, she went through one curve of the tunnel after another while hearing voices all around her. Faith looked at the semi transparent sides of the 'walls' of the tunnel, behind which she swore she could see planets and stars in the distance. However, there was something else; she could see movement on the 'walls' but she was going too fast to make heads or tails of what it was. It was then she heard a loud shout from a familiar voice. A voice that she thought she would never hear again.
"Damn you, Faith!"
The Slayer turned on the line and looked to her left as she kept on travelling when she suddenly slowed down, before she stopped moving. Faith looked closer at a 'wall' when she finally saw not only where that voice had come from, but what the movements she had seen when she entered the tunnel were; she was looking at the videos of billions of alternate realities.
"Tara was right" said Faith as she focused on one reality as she saw a version of herself being beaten by someone as her mother shouted at her.
"I told you not to go to the police, right?" said her mother as Faith in the red dress looked away, "I told you not to say a thing… and now? You got this guys brother arrested. You brought this on yourself…"
"Mom! Mommy!" shouted the alternate Faith as the red dressed Faith turned back again only to see the man standing over her alternate as he started to kick her, "mommy, please! Help me!"
"I… I… I…" said the red dressed Faith as she closed her eyes, "I need to go, forgive me."
Faith felt herself moving fast once more as the last sound she heard, that of a sickening snap, stayed in her mind followed by the voice of her mother telling the man that he could have her other daughter, Anne, as a consolation prize.
As Faith travelled through the never-ending tunnel while holding onto the line, she slowed down at several points and saw her greatest fears come true on many alternate realities. That she would either end up dead before she became a Slayer, or that she would never become a Slayer; she even saw one where Willow had flayed her alive before burning her body, she saw another one where she, along with Angelus, managed to kill Xander before she went on to kill the rest of the Scoobies. Faith saw very few realities were she ended up alive; and even less where she ended up happy. She saw extremes of how her life could have ended up, but the one that haunted her the most was the reality where she saw herself stabbed by Buffy after the fight at her apartment.
Faith saw her alternate push a shocked Buffy, who had plunged the knife that the Mayor had given her before the graduation ceremony, away as she walked backwards towards the edge of the balcony. She saw her alternate taunting Buffy and preparing to jump when suddenly Buffy, in a last minute show of strength and speed, got up and grabbed her before she could jump. Faith watched as Buffy threw her injured alternate to the ground, before she straddled the dark haired Slayer and beat her to an inch of her life. The red dressed Faith could just cover her mouth as she closed her eyes and shook her head as she heard Buffy punching harder, and harder until she stopped. The red dressed Faith opened her eyes and saw the scene change to Angel's mansion as Buffy ran in with Faith over her shoulder before unceremonious dumping her at the foot of a bed where she saw Angel laying down while he was talking in his sleep, and sweating profusely.
"Buffy!" shouted Giles as the red dressed Faith saw him run in after Buffy had dropped her alternate's body and then ran to Angel and helped him to sit up, "what you're planning on doing…. Look, I know you care about Angel.. I know that…"
"He's dying, Giles!" shouted Buffy, "and the blood of a Slayer in the only thing that could save him."
"We can find another way, Buffy" said Giles, "you're talking about murdering a human being.. I know that Faith and you have…"
"No!" shouted Buffy as she placed the ensouled Vampire's arms over her shoulder and helped him to stand up, "No! She did this…. You said it yourself, this is a war… a nightly war and our strongest fighter is down. Faith's a casualty of war… that's all she is."
"Buffy, Finch was an accident… that's what I told you. What you're talking about here is murder…. You kill Faith now, you kill a human… it's murder" said Giles calmly as he kneeled next to Faith and felt for a pulse, "she's still alive, Buffy. Feel her pulse, Buffy; she's still alive. She's human. I know how you, Xander and Willow feel about her. But, what would they say if you did this? What would they say if you killed her?"
"Willow, and Xander would say go for it" said Buffy as she lay Angel back down on the floor at the foot of the bed, "so would Oz, so would Cordelia… so would everyone that I know."
"Think about this" said Giles as he stood over Faith and looked at his Slayer, "if you do this, you become no better than Faith."
'I'm saving the world" said Buffy as she walked towards Faith's body, "I am the Slayer, and my job is to save the world… so please, Giles…. Please move."
"If you do this" said Giles, "then… then I failed you. A Slayer protects, Buffy… yes people die in a war.. yes, there's collateral damage.. but this is murder."
"Get out of my way, Giles" said Buffy before she turned around when Angel started to cough, and call for the blonde Slayer. The red dressed Faith saw the video on the tunnel wall as Giles took advantage of Buffy's distraction and picked up the alternate Faith who was still bleeding from her stab wound, and the injuries to her face. The red dressed Faith then saw Buffy turn around after helping Anger, and scream before she ran to Giles and pushed him away, causing him to let go of Faith who fell onto the hard ground with a thud.
"No!" shouted Buffy as she pulled Faith's unconscious body by her hair towards Angel as she glared at Giles, "No! I will not have the love of my life die. I will not sacrifice him to save her! You are my Watcher, Giles! Mine! Not hers!"
"Buffy" said Giles as he rushed towards the blonde Slayer as she dropped Faith in front of Angel before she walked to her Watcher and swung a punch at his face.
'No' thought the red dressed Faith to herself as she watched Giles fall onto the ground as Buffy walked back towards her alternate's body, 'No… Buffy…. No. You're better than this… no."
"Angel?" said Buffy as she lifted Faith's unconscious body and placed her against his body with her neck exposed, near his mouth, "Angel… I need you to drink. Please, drink."
"Angel" said the red dressed Faith as she looked at this horror show, "no, please."
"Angel" said Buffy as she pushed his head down towards the unconscious Faith's neck, "I need you to bite.. please… I need you back… please."
"Buffy" said Giles as he tried to stand up slowly, "don't… don't do this… we can still win."
"I love you" said Buffy as she caressed Angel's cheeks while his lips were moving, but no words were coming out, "please…. Bite…. Bite her."
Buffy reached behind her back and took out the knife that the Mayor gave Faith as a gift, the same knife that she stabbed Faith with, and cut the side of the dark haired Slayer's neck as blood poured out of the wound before pushing Angel's head towards the prize once again.
"Bite her, feed on her. I need you back" said Buffy as the blonde saw Angel open his eyes slightly before they became gold in colour as he morphed into his vampire face. Buffy got up to her feet and walked back as Faith eyes snapped opened before her face twisted in pain as Angel bit into her. Buffy, a shocked Giles and the red dressed Faith, who was looking at the video in the tunnel, looked on as the alternate Faith started to gasp for air as Angel wrapped his hands tightly around her waist and chest while he continued to drink the Slayer blood.
"Angel!" shouted Giles as he got up, "stop! Stop it, now! You'll kill her!"
"Do it" said Buffy, "she wanted to end the world. Let her die."
"Angel" said Giles as the vampire stopped feeding and pulled his head back in surprise before he looked back down at Faith and pushed her off him, her body falling onto the floor with a thud. Giles then quickly ran to Faith while Buffy ran to Angel and helped him stand up.
"Buffy?" asked a still dazed, but stronger, Angel as the blonde Slayer helped him to stand up, "what? How?"
"It doesn't matter" said Buffy as she hugged him tightly, "you're cured. You're back. That's all that matters to me."
"Buffy?" asked Angel as he looked at Giles turning over Faith's body before feeling for a pulse. The old man then looked up at the vampire and shook his head, "what did you do?"
"I saved your life" said Buffy, "Faith had to die for you to live, kinda poetic that. She tried to kill you; but she was the cure in saving you."
"No" said Giles as Buffy turned around and looked surprise at her watcher give Faith CPR, "come on. Wake up.. come on. Damn it, wake up!"
"No!" shouted the red dressed Faith as she brought both her hands to her mouth in shock at what she just witnessed, "No!"
The Faith in the tunnel looked on as Angel looked up from Giles, and looked straight at her.
"Faith?" asked Angel as the surprised dark haired Slayer looked back at him when she suddenly felt herself floating towards the video on the tunnel wall. Just as Giles turned and looked at where Angel was staring, the red dressed Faith turned around and saw that she was slowly floating away from the red line, the same red line representing the link she shared with Willow; the same red line that she wasn't holding on to anymore.
"No" said Faith as she leaned forward and stretched, before she just managed to grab the line again, "no, it's not real… it's not me.. it's not me."
Faith pulled herself towards the line when she heard Giles' voice. Turning around, she saw the Giles in the video looking back at her.
"Faith?" asked Giles as he looked back at the one lying dead on the floor, and the one that he could see through a shimmer in the air, a shimmer that was floating above the floor with a Faith wearing a red dress; a Faith in tears, "who are you?"
Angel looked shocked at the red dressed Faith as well before he finally looked down at the dead Faith at his feet, the same Faith he had fed on. He then looked with his eyes wide open at the top of Buffy's head as she cried while hugging him. He then, once again, looked back at the vision of a shocked Faith through the shimmer.
"Buffy" said Angel softly as he turned Buffy around gently and pointed to the shimmer.
"No" said Buffy shaking her head as she pointed at the red dressed Faith, "you're dead… why don't you just die?!"
"I… I.. I'm sorry" said a stunned red dressed Faith as she looked at Giles, Angel and Buffy, "I can't stay… good… goodbye."
Then just as it had appeared, Giles, Buffy and Angel saw the shimmer, and the red dressed Faith, vanish. Giles looked at Angel, and then at a panting Buffy before he looked back down at Faith who suddenly arched her back as she took in a deep breath.
"Faith?" said Giles as he kneeled back down over the Slayer's prone body, a body that was breathing with her eyes closed, "can you hear me?"
"Get back, Giles" said Buffy as she rushed towards Faith while she pulled back the knife over her head. Swinging it back down, Buffy was surprised when Giles grabbed her wrist before taking the knife out of her hand and throwing it to one corner of the room. The look that he gave her was one of anger, mixed with a great deal of disappointment, as he reached down and picked up Faith in his arms. He then got a good grip on the dark haired rogue Slayer, and turned around.
"Giles" said Buffy as she approached Giles, "she…."
"Go back to the library" said Giles as he turned with Faith in his arms, "go back to the library and wait for me there."
"Not while…" said Buffy.
"Buffy!" shouted Giles glancing back as the blonde Slayer looked at Giles in shock, "we still have a lot of work to do. You and Angel call the others to work. I'll go to the hospital and admit Faith into the Emergency Room. I'll leave once she's inside. Angel? Are you a hundred percent?"
"Yes" said Angel softly as he stood looking at where the shimmer used to be, and then he looked at Buffy, before looking at the beaten and near dead Faith.
"Good" said Giles as he glared at Angel and Buffy, "now go."
"Giles" said Buffy again as Giles turned back around and headed towards the door, away from Buffy and Angel, "please… I did what I had to do to help Angel.. I…"
"The Council probably has a new Slayer by now" said Giles stopping as he looked at Faith, "Faith died and a new Slayer was called, so I can be sure that they won't be coming after her again. Go to the library, I'll meet you there once I've taken Faith to the hospital."
Buffy could only look on as she felt waves of anger just coming off Giles as she just stood there with her mouth open. Once her ex-Watcher left the room with Faith, she turned back to face Angel who looked back at her before she hugged him again. All the vampire could do was still look at the site of the shimmer before they walk out of his mansion together.
Back in the tunnel, Faith concentrated as she started to travel again with tears welling in her eyes while she saw more of her alternate futures, alternate pasts and alternate presents; videos that she could see along the walls of the tunnel. As she continued to travel, she noticed that the red line she was holding on to started to curve towards the wall of the tunnel.
"Must be close-by" said Faith to herself as she wiped her eyes with her free hand, "look at me…. I'm a mess."
"Jack!"
Upon hearing that name, and the familiar voice, Faith suddenly stopped moving just before she reached the curve that turned towards a video in the distance.
"Mommy!"
Faith looked behind her, and to her right as she focused on a video of her in a red T-Shirt and blue jeans who was bent down and running at a little boy, who seemed to be about one year old, with her arms opened wide. Faith looked on with her mouth hanging open, and her eyes wide open as she looked at her alternate, who had streaks of grey hair, put her arms around the little boy and pick him up.
"Heya, Jack" said the alternate Faith as she boy kissed her cheek, "were you good?"
"Uh huh" said Jack as he placed his hands on Faith's cheeks, and squeezed until her lips were deformed as the little boy laughed out loud, "missed you mommy."
"Missed ya too, you little monster" said the alternate Faith as she kissed the toddler. Faith could only watch with tears in her eyes as her alternate walked with Jack to a wooden table near a lake, where a certain redhead was already taking out some food from a cooler.
"Mommy" said Jack as she reached for the redhead who grinned at Faith before taking Jack into her arms.
"Hey, red" said Faith as she gave Willow a kiss while Jack put his hands over hands over his eyes.
"Faith" replied Willow, a Willow whose hair was much lighter than the one that the Slayer knew, as she sat Jack down on a high seat that was facing the red dressed Faith. She looked at the child while the alternate Willow and Faith were talking and helping each other set the table. Faith looked closely at the child while still holding the red line in the tunnel when she raised her eyes brows even higher, so high that Teal'c would be jealous.
"He…. He's my son" said the red dressed Faith to herself, "dark hair, green eyes… mixture of my features, and red's…. this…. He's ours. But.. but how? What kind of a mother would I be? It's… it can't be…."
As the alternate Faith and Willow were talking, the red dressed Faith saw that Jack was looking at the two of them before he turned his head and looked straight at the red dressed Faith. She saw Jack giggle and jump up and down on his high seat as he clapped and laughed at the red dressed Faith. In turn, the red dressed Faith could only look back at the child and give a little wave before she closed her eyes, still unable to believe that she could have a child in another reality, a child that seemed to be happy. A child with none of the baggage that plagued her own childhood.
'That's one of my greatest fears' thought Faith to herself as she opened her eyes again and looked at the child who was looking back at her with wide eyed fascination, just as the alternate Willow picked him up. The red dressed Faith could see the alternate version of her wife, and then herself, look at where Jack was pointing; but all they did was shake their heads and then looked back at Jack.
"Mommy" said Jack as he pointed at the red dressed Faith, "I see mommy."
"Jack?" said Willow as she crouched down and looked at where he was pointing, but all she saw were children playing on the grass as she waved at a older blonde, and man, who were approaching them in the distance. The alternate Willow then turned back to Jack and asked him what he saw.
"I see mommy" said Jack as he looked at the red dressed Faith through a shimmer in the air, "she's wearing a red dress…. Like the picture in your room."
"Faith?" asked Willow as she looked at her wife, who in turn was looking confused at where Jack was pointing.
"I don't see anything" said Faith as she took a few steps forward, "is someone there?"
"Jack" said the red dressed Faith as she held on to the red line, tears coming out of her eyes as she thought about a future with a child, "be a good boy… eat your vegetables… and… and… be safe. I have to go now, ok."
"OK, mommy" said Jack as the alternate Willow and Faith looked at their son, and then at each other confused, "bye, bye, mommy."
Jack saw the shimmer vanish before he looked up at the confused faces of the two women before he told them that the red dressed woman was gone, but she blew him a kiss while she was crying.
"O….k" said a confused Willow as the blonde woman from earlier walked up to the table.
"General Sam, Unca Pete" shouted Jack as he flailed his arms towards her, "up… up…"
"Hey Jack" said the blonde woman as she rushed to Jack and picked him up before looking at Willow, and then at Faith, "General, Doctor Lehane."
"General, Pete" said Willow and Faith together while Jack laughed.
In the meantime, Faith wiped her eyes as she travelled along the line and then through the curve and until she went through a video on the wall of the tunnel where she found herself standing before the love of her life; her wife standing in the living room of an alternate Buffy's house. The dark haired Slayer gave Willow the message that she needed to give her, while Willow told Faith that the Asgard will help her get back in three days. Upon hearing that, Faith's hearth jumped for joy as she looked at Willow.
It was a few minutes later that she pulled on the line again before she started to travel through the same tunnel, past the same videos on the walls of the tunnel. As she travelled, she saw more videos of her, Willow, the Scoobies and SG-1 in various alternate realities; however, she just caught a glimpse of those realities instead of actually taking a closer look like she did before. She knew Willow was alright now, and she knew that they needed to get the necessary things ready so that she could return safely; and so that they could shut down the inevitable creation of the reality bridge from their side. Just before she reached her own reality, Faith caught a glimpse of a reality where what seemed to be the Scoobies were standing next to a yellow school bus, and looking at a large crater in front of them. Faith could only shake her head as she zoomed past that reality as the line took a left turn, and the next thing she knew she was awake in her own body with Dr. Lam, Tara, Buffy, Dawn and the others all looking over her.
"She's coming home" was the only thing that Faith could say as she laughed, "she's coming home."
Isolation Room One, SGC, 1000 hours; Present Day.
Faith kept on watching as the doctors made sure that her wife was feeling no negative effects of travelling from the alternate reality, and from her descension. The dark haired Slayer looked on as one of the machines that measured Willow's brain activity showed that she was using the same about of her brain as before she ascended.
It was then that the door to the observation deck opened and Daniel, Anya, Vala, Colonel Mitchell and Colonel Carter walked in, followed closely by Teal'c who gave Faith a respectful bow.
"How is she?" asked Colonel Mitchell and Carter as they went up and stood next to Faith.
"She said that she's alright" said Faith as she recalled what Willow told Dr. Lam, "her healing powers are back after they failed in the other reality."
"Do we know why she did not have her abilities?" asked Teal'c.
"No" said Faith, "at least nothing that Dr. Lam could guess."
Faith saw Willow look up at them and smile before she gave a little wave. Waving at the redhead, Faith suddenly felt a wave of guilt from Willow. Turning to her left, Faith saw Vala standing next to Colonel Mitchell as she gave a small smile, and a wave, at Willow.
Willow: "Faith, I killed her daughter… I… I know it was the right thing to do, that we had no choice… but…"
Faith: "She understands. She knows that you had to do it. She's more angry at the Ancients and the Ori, but she doesn't blame you for what happened to Adria."
Willow: "I'll still apologize to her. And…. and I did something in that reality that… I mean… I wanna tell you later?"
Faith: "O…K?"
Willow: "Is Dawn here?"
Faith: "She said she's leaving the house at ten thirty, she doesn't have a mission so… yeah. Plus I didn't call her earlier since I figured it would be better for you to be done with your medical first. But since you're done, I'll call her…. give her some excitement as she drives to the SGC."
Willow: "Thanks."
Faith nodded at Willow before she told Colonel Carter and Mitchell that she'll be going to make a call. As she left the observation desk, Faith closed the door to the room and leaned her back against it and sighed, before she gave a smile.
Her love was back, and she'd seen an alternate future; Faith had seen what could be and now, now she wanted that to happen. She wanted to beat the Ori, while at the same time helping the Colonials and Cylons, so that there could be some semblance of peace. So that she and Willow could eventually even start talking about what she saw as she travelled through the tunnel; she wanted to tell her about Jack most of all, she wanted to tell Willow about the feeling that seeing the boy brought in her.
"But not now" said Faith as she pushed those memories deep down, using techniques that Willow taught her, so that it would be hidden from the redhead, "not now. But soon."
Faith then smiled again and rushed down the stairs to make the call to Dawn that Willow had come back; that the sister she knew as Athena was back with them.
Phoenix Dwarf Galaxy, 1.5 million light years from Milky Way; several years ago.
Close to a star that was already on its last legs and about to go supernova, stood a red-haired woman in a white and gold dress. It wasn't long before she was joined by a brunette who appeared in a flash of light wearing a silver and cream coloured dress.
"Hera" said Melina as she hugged her daughter, "I did not think you would come."
"And miss this?" asked Hera as she pointed at the star, "we always used to watch sights like this as a family. And with Father in the Stasis chamber, and Athena making her own way on Earth in what they call the Air Force Academy; well, I thought it would be best if we came and watched this on behalf of them."
"Is Athena well?" asked Melina.
"Yes" replied Hera, "she is well; she has been through the Stargate numerous times during her break."
"I have observed her looking through some of the ruins, along with a few others" said Melina as Hera nodded her head before the both of them straightened up, "here it comes."
The two women smiled as they watched the death of a star in a brilliant array of light; its death expelling the building blocks of life that would scatter throughout space. Hera smiled at Melina as a cloud of brightly coloured gas formed, surrounding them before Melina turned to Hera.
"Have you been watching over those holy men?" asked Melina, "the ones who call themselves the Order of Dagon?"
"Yes" said Hera as she shook her head, "but they have not done anything to prevent this beast, or Glory or Glorificus… whatever it is that the humans call her, from getting the Key. I fear that it would be too late, that the Key will fall into the hands of that creature."
"You do not believe they will create the body of the vessel in time?" asked Melina.
"Humans are arrogant" said Hera as she looked at the bright colours around her from the explosion, "they believe that they could contain such a power as the matrix, or the Key as they call it; a mistake that our people created to open the gateway in Sunnydale."
"By extension" said Melina, "our ancestors were arrogant as well to think that any good could come out of creating an energy matrix to open doorways into the dark dimensions. However, they did it to save themselves from the plague that nearly killed our race."
"They should not have listened to the Furlings" said Hera, "creating the matrix to open a doorway, and then using our Quantum Mirror technology to control the doorway, and keep it open, created the problems that Athena faced on Earth after she descended. In our arrogance we tried to do something dangerous thinking that we could control everything, and in the end the Furlings were the real winners of our folly. They gained the mystical energy after the doorway was opened; even used it to open more of what the humans call Hellmouth's before burying the matrix deep within the Earth where it is moving from one area of high mystical energy to another constantly."
"What has happened, has happened" said Melina gently as she looked at Hera, "we must hold out hope that the humans can find a way to create a body that would hold all that power."
"And if they do not, mother?" asked Hera.
"Then we have to have hope that the Slayer would be able to save everyone" said Melina when suddenly she and Hera turned and looked out into the distance. They looked towards the Milky Way, and focused on Earth before they looked at each other in shock, "It is happening, have they…?"
"No" said Hera as the both of them arrived in the higher plains before instantly moving back down into a monastery. Hera and Melina looked around at the stone walls with lit torches providing the light as they saw a few men running as fast as they could from a scream behind them. The two ascended beings saw them running before one of the men looked behind him and down the hallway they had just come from, the same man who was holding a book, and a vial of blood. Hera could only shake her head in defeat as she saw the men running again as the others pushed the one holding onto the blood up to the front before a red dressed woman ran past Hera and Melina and grabbed two men while the others continued to run. The two women winced as they heard the skulls of the men cracking as the woman dismembered their bodies, before shouted for her key. Hera could only look at her mother before she told her that no, they hadn't created the body. There wasn't enough time to create an advanced enough body that would hold the energy of the Key, even if it was magically bound. The truth was, there was nothing they could do; they had to hope for a miracle or else the Earth was doomed.
Stargate Command, Present Day; 1030 hours.
As Dawn was about to leave the house for the SGC, she got a call from Faith; a call that she picked up as she was locking the door, the one call that made her turn around and run towards her car after hearing five words.
"She came back to us."
Those were the words flying in the brunette's brain after Faith's call as she turned over the engine of her car before she got out onto the main road and drove as fast as she legally could towards the SGC; she didn't want to get a ticket, or get into an accident while on the way to see Willow.
"My sister" said Dawn to herself as she wiped the tears that were welling in her eyes as she drove towards the mountain, "my sister's back."
As she drove along, Dawn remembered the times that two little girls from Atlantis would spend on the balcony of their parent's room as they looked at the stars, wondering which star was Melina. She smiled as she recalled Athena saying that the brightest star in the sky was their mother, and the redhead would point to one. However, the brunette would have other ideas and she'd point to another one that she'd say was brighter than Athena's star. They would then start arguing before Moros would have to intervene and say that Melina would be the first star in the night sky, and the last star before day break; that she wasn't necessarily the brightest.
"She's the one who'd be out first to see the both of you" said Moros as he sat in between his daughters who lay their heads on his two laps, "she'd be the last star to leave, so that she could stay longer to say goodbye to the three of us."
Over time, Hera and Athena knew that what their father told them was something any parent would tell their child.. to assure them that their mother was in a good place and watching over them; but they still would look out for the first star together before darkness, even in their twenties and until Hera's death.
As Dawn drove before stopping at a red light, she rubbed her chest as she remembered the Keeper, the pale skinned female Wraith, who smashed her palm against Hera's chest and sucked the life force out of her. Dawn wiped more tears when she remembered the pain on Athena's face, the redhead's struggle to get out of the pod that the Wraith had them trapped in. Dawn drove the car once the light was green, but the memories of that day were clear in her mind. She remembered the pain as her life was sucked out, she remembered Athena shouting; the brunette knew that Athena would feel the loss hard, so Hera just gave her sister a smile.
"A real smile" said Dawn to herself as she made a turn, "so that you wouldn't worry, that I knew it was the end for me, and that I wanted you to find a way to escape; and live your life."
Dawn recalled what she thought about as she died; the love she had for Athena and Moros, the pranks she played on Athena which would lead to retaliation by the redhead, the journeys they shared in travelling through the Stargate during the war with the Wraith, she remembered the Gateships they piloted to fend off a Wraith dart attack along with ten others during maintenance of the shield emitters. She remembered the arguments that the two sisters would get into for little things, like boys.
The brunette recalled one such memory, as she made a turn onto a road that led up to Cheyenne mountain in the distance, which had her running after an eighteen year old Athena who was walking down a hallway while talking to another woman.
"Athena!" shouted Hera as the redhead turned around and frowned before she looked at the woman next to her and telling her that they'll talk later.
"Hera?" said Athena with some trepidation when she looked at the anger on her sister's face, "how are you?"
"How dare you tell Remus off?" said Hera as other Lantean's walked past them, with some taking a long look at the confrontation while they were still walking away, "he asked me to join him for an evening meal, but apparently he told me just a few minutes ago that you told him to keep away from me."
'I'll kill him' thought Athena to herself as she looked at the floor before glancing at the red faced Hera who stood in front of her with her hands on her hips, 'don't tell Hera, that's what I told him… don't tell Hera.. or else.'
"Well?" said Hera as Athena looked up at Athena, "isn't there something you want to say to me? How about you go apologize to Remus?"
"No" said Athena as she grabbed a hold of Hera's arm and pulled the brunette away from the throngs of Lanteans who were walking in the same hallway. The redhead brought Hera to one of the balconies that looked over the outside ocean before she closed the door and leaned on the wall while Hera looked at her sister, "I will not apologize to him."
"You told him that you will drug him and send him into a black hole!" shouted Hera as she waved her hands about wildly.
"Hera" said Athena, "I overheard him telling someone that he had plans for you; plans that… well, aren't honourable in the least. Well…. I mean… you know… the things that men and women do and… Look, he planned from the beginning to just… you know…. Let's just say that he wasn't interested in you for your mind. That's what I overheard, ok. And… and I don't know what you are so angry about. I'm your older sister; it's my duty to prevent you from getting hurt."
"Don't!" said Hera as she lifted a finger at Athena, "I am not a child any longer. And it's my choice if I make a mistake… not yours. I cannot believe you did this, Athena! How could you? Now everyone will think that my sister's an insane woman and I can say goodbye to any chance with any boy on Atlantis."
"Hera" said Athena, "that's going a bit too far. There are ones out there you will fall in love with and…"
"And they now think that you are insane" said Hera as Athena looked on, "who will want to ever talk to me again."
"Hera" said Athena as the brunette rushed past her angrily and waved her hand over a panel that opened the doorway back into the hallway they just left.
"I hate you, Athena" said Hera without looking back as she walked away, leaving a downcast Athena on the balcony as the door closed.
Back in Colorado Springs, Dawn reached the main gate that led into the mountain as she used the back of her hands to wipe her eyes. As she approached the gate, she pulled down her window and handed her base I.D. to the guard who looked suspiciously at the brunette and her red face, and puffy eyes before he went back into the guard house to check her name on the computer. Once sure that everything was alright, the guard handed the card back to Dawn just after she wiped her eyes again before waving her in.
As Dawn drove through the tunnel that led to the parking lot, she recalled the aftermath of that argument with Athena. She, as Hera, was in her room; a room that she had just gotten after years of living in the same room with Athena. As she just lay on the bed angry, Hera suddenly heard a soft knock on the doors.
"Who is it?" said Hera while she continued to look at the ceiling.
"Hera" said Athena softly, "please let me in. It has been hours, and…. and I am worried about you."
"Go away, Athena" said Hera, "I am alright, but I would like to be alone."
"Please, open the door Hera" said Athena as Hera turned her head to look at the closed door to her room, "I am literally disgusted with myself; I smell and I am in serious need of a hot shower.. but I needed to see you first.. so please, open the door."
"Athena" said an exasperated Hera as she got out of bed and walked towards the door. She was going to tell Athena that she'll be talking to her later, that the brunette was still angry with her but she didn't mean what she said earlier about hating the redhead. However, what she wanted to tell the redhead couldn't leave Hera's mouth since she was in shock at the sight before her once she opened the door. Hera immediately brought her hands over her mouth as she looked, with her eyes wide open, at Athena who was covered in mud. The brunette saw that the redhead's hair was covered in brown mud, with bits of it wiped from her face. She could see bits of a sticky green substance mixed in with the brown on her uniform as well as Athena shuddered while she stood with arms behind her back.
"What.. what happened?" asked Hera as Athena stood in the empty hallway.
"Before you say anything else" said Athena as she looked at Hera, "just let me speak?"
Hera nodded her head as she looked at her mud covered sister.
"I will not apologize to Remus for threatening him" said Athena as Hera frowned, "but I will apologize to you for interfering in your love life. You are right, I have no business interfering; and.. and I don't like you being angry at me because it hurts my heart."
"Athena" said Hera as she leaned on the entrance, "I…"
"And so that you won't continue being angry at me" said Athena as she revealed a plastic box that he hid behind her back. She held the transparent box, which had multiple small holes on the top, and held it out for Hera to see.
"Those….. those…" said a very surprised Hera as she looked at the four creatures inside the box while, at the same time, she saw Athena's hands trembling in fear. She then looked up at the small smile on Athena's face before the brunette took the box and looked closely inside.. just to make sure that she wasn't dreaming, "those are Feregers."
"Yes" said Athena as she stood with her arms at her side, physically shuddering when she imagined those jumping, and slimy, small animals, "remember you wanted to keep some as pets, but I refused because…"
"We were staying in the same room and you were afraid" said Hera as she looked at the small animals that were jumping in the transparent box, before she looked up at her sister, "but…"
"I knew it would make you happy" said Athena softly as Hera put the box down on a table near the entrance, "so I went back to that planet and got some for you."
"But" said Hera as she pointed at Athena's uniform.
"Oh" said Athena as she looked down at her uniform, and then up at her mud caked strands of hair, "the Feregers and I didn't see eye to eye. I asked them to come nicely but, they tried to escape so I had to.. well, more like slipped into mud capturing them."
"Some got onto your hair?" asked Hera softly as Athena nodded her head.
"Forgive me?" asked Athena as Hera rushed and gave her sister a hug. The brunettes' eyes opened wide when she heard a squishing sound between them, and realized what just happened; that her clothes were now ruined as well. All she could do was smile as Athena held her tight, knowing that she too would now have to take a hot shower… especially if that smell that hit her nostrils was anything to go by.
"You accidently jumped into some animal waste, didn't you" asked Hera a she continued to hug her sister.
"Uh huh" said Athena, "I did tell you that I smell."
"I didn't mean it, Athena" said Hera as the redhead nodded her head, "I could never hate you… I was just angry."
"Thank you" said Athena as she held her arms around Hera tightly, "but I should go… or else we will stink up the entire hallway."
"We have to incinerate these clothes" said Hera as Athena nodded her head on the brunette's shoulders.
"I love you, always" said Athena.
Once the elevator reached the floor that Dawn needed to get to, she ran straight towards the infirmary instead of changing into her BDU's. As she ran through the hallways, she finally reached the one where she saw Colonel Mitchell and Vala walking out of the main infirmary with Daniel, and Anya.
"Hey Dawn" said Vala and Daniel as the brunette rushed towards them.
"Colonel, Vala, Daniel, Anya" said a panting Dawn before she pointed at the door, "is she?"
"Her medical's done" said the Colonel, "Carter, and Teal'c are in there as well… and she'll be briefing us in about fifteen minutes."
"She got in some time ago" said Daniel, "Faith and General Landry called us once she got in. The General wanted to call you too, but Faith wanted you to come in once Willow was done with her medical."
"Don't worry" said Vala, "Teal'c, Sam, Faith and I have been by her side since she returned. Now you should go inside."
"Thanks" said Dawn as she ran through the door while the others went to the briefing room. As soon as the brunette cleared the entrance, she saw the redhead with her back to Dawn as Faith, Colonel Carter and Teal'c looked up. Just then, Willow turned around and smiled at the brunette just as Colonel Carter told the redhead that she and the others would meet her in the briefing room. The three of them then walked past Dawn, while Faith gave the younger brunette a light punch on the upper arm. Dawn smiled at Faith before she walked towards Willow who had stood up on the floor and was walking around the bed.
"Willow" said Dawn as she ran and hugged the redhead tightly.
Willow held on tightly to Dawn as she felt tears flowing from her eyes, and then she felt tears from Dawn fall onto her neck as she rubbed circles on Dawn's back.
"I…" said Willow as her voice broke before she coughed, "I heard you got your memories back."
"Uh huh" said Dawn as she nodded her head on Willow's shoulder, "all of it."
"You've come back to me" said Willow as she held on tighter as Dawn gave a small laugh, "ever since I got my memories back, I… I've waited for this moment."
"It's here" said Dawn as she pulled back and wiped the tears from her eyes, after which she held onto both of Willow's hands, "I was thinking about how you came to my room, covered in mud… remember?"
"Uh huh" smiled Willow, "I let the Feregers go after you… you died."
"I saw you do it" said Dawn as she smiled at the redhead who was looking on confused, "I….. I mean mother ascended me the day I was buried. That night I visited Father; I saw how lonely and upset he was as he sat in the dark. Then I went to visit you in your lab. I saw how angry you became; I was scared for you… I thought that I'd lose you… that father would lose you."
"I was lost for a while" said Willow as she hugged Dawn again, "but the Council stopped me in Atlantis."
"There are so many things I wanna say" said Dawn as she held on to Willow tightly, "but.. but we need to tell mom and Buffy… I…. what do we tell them?"
"That you're Dawn" said Willow softly, "that you're still their daughter, and sister. That will never change."
"But now I have an official sister-in-law" said Dawn as Willow hugged her tight and nodded her head.
"And by extension, you know, since I'm your sister, and Buffy's your sister.. I guess that makes me Buffy's sister as well, in a kinda weird way… but then makes that crush I had on her all icky and…." said Willow as she shook her head, "anyway I guess that makes Xander my brother-in-law."
"Uh huh" laughed Dawn as she nodded her head on Willow's shoulder.
"You wanna come to the briefing?" asked Willow as Dawn nodded, "then I have to write my report, before I have a three day leave. Colonel Carter told me that SG-1's on stand down, while the other teams gather intel on the new ships that came through the Supergate."
"Feel up to going to Sunnydale?" asked Dawn as she lay her head on Willow's shoulder, "we can leave tonight?"
"Yeah" said Willow as she kissed the top of Dawn's head, "yeah, we can leave tonight."
"We tell them everything?" asked Dawn as Willow nodded her head.
"I love you, my sweet Hera" said Willow softly.
"I love you too, Athena" replied Dawn as she hugged Willow even tighter.
TBC.