Planet Designated P6T-392, 1600 hours.
With Talia, in her resistance uniform standing with another three resistance fighters as well as six Ori soldiers, in a open plaza that was still strewn with cars, blocks of cements and even body parts from the Cylon attack, she stood and watched the Caprica Stargate start to dial while looking on in amazement at the chevrons lighting up. She listened to what the Prior was telling the assembled group, that they were heading to various planets to spread the word of Origin to people who were, in the Priors words, infected with darkness in their souls. As she watched the inner ring rotate, Talia didn't much care for the spreading of Origin, instead she was looking for the opportunity of going to another world where she would meet with other human civilizations.
'And I hope to find someone, or some information that I could take back to the leadership' thought Talia to herself, 'we just sold our souls.'
Despite the mixture of thought swimming in her head, Talia wondered what the people would be like, would they be as advanced as the Colonies were becoming again thanks to the Priors helping them; or would they be primitive societies. She really had no idea. Then when the last chevron was locked, Talia and the other Colonials jumped back as the unstable vortex rushed forward, before settling down into a blue puddle. She then looked at the Prior looking back at them before he turned and walked through the puddle of water. Talia wondered if they would drown, and so asked one of the Ori soldiers around her.
"You will not" said the Ori soldier as he pointed at the event horizon, "come…. come as the will of the gods brings you to a new land."
The soldier grabbed Talia's arm before pulling her along as they headed through the Stargate. Once through, the Ori soldier released Talia as she, and the other Resistance fighters, rushed down the stairs of the pedestal that held up the Stargate and vomited at the side of a trail near some bushes. While this was going on, the Prior looked at them with a stern eye, and the Ori soldiers chuckled at what was going on; only quieting down when the Prior looked at them.
Talia and the others then looked at each other before they wiped their mouths, and headed back to the group and began their march to a village in the distance. Talia looked at the abundance of trees, and then heard the sounds of animals, birds, and soon they heard the sounds of women and men in the nearby fields as they stopped what they were doing and watched these strangers walking down the trail from the Stargate.
Talia's first few trips through the Stargate that day were uneventful. She watched the Prior convince the villages that they had been to accept the teachings of Origin; that the Ori were gods who would raise their followers to the road of enlightenment. On the other end of the spectrum, Tara had also seen the horror of the Prior burn a group of men, as well as women and children, until their skins were hanging off their flesh. She, and the other Colonials nearly vomited again, while the villagers were screaming for their heads… that the group before them should be killed for murdering their fellow villagers; at least until the Prior resurrected the dead. Talia looked on in amazement, as did the other Resistance fighters with her, as the resurrected people stood back up and looked at each other confused before they got on their knees and bowed down to the Prior. Talia could see amazement of the faces of her fellow resistance partners as they whispered that the Priors were really given the power of the gods, the power of the Ori.
However, despite the amazement with the Prior's powers of resurrection, Talia still knew the brutality of the Priors, and of the Ori army. But she couldn't deny the power that was displayed. Witnessing that power was enough to believe in gods that the Colonials had never heard off.
'I was told Admiral Cain was given the same powers' thought Talia as she looked at the men and women of the resistance around her, 'I never met the woman, I have not even seen her.. but does she approve of this? And if she does, then… then does that mean that our souls will suffer if we do not do what she says? Or what the Prior's say?'
She knew that her Resistance teammates were being brought over to the side of the Ori, especially after the Prior had performed various other miracles which included healing the sick, the wounded, and the dying. She looked on as people cheered for them, but there was something eating away in her as well. She could see that the Priors were doing good, but the ruthlessness with which the Priors destroyed the next two villages after they flatly refused Origin and told them to leave, left a scar in her mind. She could see the other Resistance members in her team were having the same thoughts as her, but the Prior reminded them that evil must not be allowed to gain a foothold once again. That the deaths of those people would extinguish a small part of the darkness, and that the Ori were not done yet.
Talia just nodded her head, along with the Resistance members in her team, but her agreement with the Prior's explanation never reached her eyes. She glanced at the others resistance fighters, and Talia could tell that they were being slowly taken in by the Prior. As they headed back to the Stargate from the last planet, Talia looked back at the rubble they had left behind after the Prior caused a quake that decimated the entire village. She knew that people died, and she could hear the screams of survivors as they mourned the dead. But, unable to do anything, especially with the entire Resistance leadership being taken in by the Prior's in such a short span of time.. there was nothing that one Resistance soldier could do.. except find others like herself in secret – a great risk given the powers that the Priors employed.
There were two more planets that refused Origin, and were decimated by the Prior. But it was the final planet before they headed back to Caprica that changed everything. As they stepped out of the Stargate, and walked down the pedestal, then down the trail to a village in the distance.. Talia noticed something different.
She looked around as she saw farmers, which really wasn't any different than the other planets they had been on earlier that day, but they were all staring back at them in defiance. It was as if they knew why the Prior had come. Talia looked at the Prior and he made no indication that he feared these simple villagers. As they reached the entrance, the Prior and his group were met by a large group of people… all of whom were holding on to various farm equipment in their hands.
Talia looked around and saw the people pumping their hands holding the farming equipment over their heads as they demanded that the group leave the planet, that they were not wanted. In the back of the group though, Talia noticed people who were spread out, but moving through the crowd in tanned cloaks with hoods that covered their faces. She saw them weaving in and out as they glanced over at her group before looking away. Thinking that it was just her imagination, Talia shook her head and then looked in front of her as a man from the village asked everyone to quieten down, before he headed towards the Prior.
"We know who you are" said the man, "and I will tell you now, that we are not interested in Origin."
"You have not heard of the light that the Ori brings with you" said the Prior as he held the book of Origin in his hands, "do not be like…"
"The people of the Tau'ri have spoken to us about your lies, Prior" said the man as he looked behind him at the group of Ori soldiers, and the resistance members, "the Ori do not ascend their followers to the great path. They only demand worshippers so as to increase their…"
'Silence!" shouted the Prior while Talia looked at the other resistance members who looked back at her.
"Can they be telling the truth?" whispered Talia as she turned around and looked at the resistance fighters behind her.
"We saw their powers" said one of the men.
"Who are the Tau'ri?" asked the other resistance fighter while the fourth one shrugged her shoulder
"They are of no consequence" said one of the Ori soldiers as he grabbed Talia's shoulder and spun her around roughly so that she faced the group of farmers, "hold your ground, and show the Ori your commitment. If you die here today, you will enter the next life… a gift from the Ori for your sacrifice."
Talia and the resistance fighters were given orders to spread out and prepare to fire from the captain of the Ori soldiers after he himself was given an order by the Prior. Talia put her hand on the rifle at her side before bringing it up and moving to her left along with two of the Ori soldiers as she aimed at the crowd of farmers, consisting of both men and women.
"My name is Doran" said the man facing the Prior, "I am the head of this village and I am telling you to leave. We are not interested in what you have to tell us."
"You wish to know the consequences of rejecting the Ori?" asked the Prior as Talia uneasily held up her weapon at a segment of the group in front of her. She had seen what the Prior could do on the few planets that had rejected the teachings of Origin.
'I've killed Cylons…. I haven't killed humans yet…. The others have… gods, not let this be the day' thought Talia to herself as she glanced at the assuredness of the Ori soldiers, and the slight fear from the resistance fighters with her. However, it seemed that their fear wasn't for the people, it was fear of the Prior's abilities being unleashed on them if they didn't follow the Priors orders. They had seen the devastating effects of the quakes that were caused by the Prior, and they were afraid that any of the Priors would do the same back on Caprica to them if t.
'Setting off quakes inside a human body' thought Talia to herself, 'by the gods, the Priors would do it if we do not shoot. And people would cheer. It is one thing to watch the Prior kill people.. humans… but for us to do it… kill innocents if they do not worship the Ori. God's, what are they doing? Will they fire on them? Will I fire on them? What will happen if we do not open fire?'
While Talia was looking at the other resistance fighters, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye coming from the crowd around her. The same figures in cloaks she noticed earlier were hurrying among the people, talking to them and pointing back towards the village. She then noticed those villagers heading back while the figures stayed.
"Your people abandon you" said the Prior as he too noticed the decreasing crowd who were running back to the village, "they do not agree with you, do they wish to see you be punished?"
"I told you" said Doran, "we were visited by the Tau'ri, in fact they are right here."
Talia, and now the rest of the Ori soldiers, noticed the figures were now shouting at everyone to get back into the village. At the same time, a few of them reached under their cloaks and raised what seemed to be variations of Colonial weapons before putting down their hoods. Talia looked around as the others raised their weapons after the last of the villagers had ran into the village.
"SG-12, SG-10 take positions."
Talia looked on shocked at the language that one of the men had screamed. She then saw the people near him take up covering positions around the entrance while the man who spoke raised his weapon at the Prior and spoke.
"My name is Major Richard Daniels of Stargate Command, we know who you are, Prior. The man asked you to leave…. So leave. Don't come back."
"Evil has entered this world" exclaimed the Prior as he raised his staff, "and with the light of the Ori, the evil will be eradicated!"
Talia looked on in horror as the Prior slammed the bottom of the staff onto the ground. Talia, and the other resistance fighters, remembered what happened the last few times he made this particular motion.
'The jewel on the top of the staff would glow, and then the ground would shake, and the people would die' thought Talia as the staff hit the ground, and she looked at the people who claimed to be from something called SG-12 and SG-10… words she understood, but didn't know what they meant, 'thanks for the download, but it won't help them. May Zeus forgive us.'
Talia closed her eyes and waited for the trembling of the ground, but nothing happened. Surprised, Talia opened her eyes and looked at the confused Resistance fighters, and then at the stoic looks on the Prior, and the Ori soldiers. She looked at the jewel on the Prior's staff, and it never glowed. Talia then looked at the men and women in the cloaks and wondered if they were her people's salvation, another group of humans who could help her.
"Listen to me!" shouted Major Daniels, "the Ori are not gods. All they are is advanced human beings who evolved beyond the needs of a physical body. They ascended to another plain of existence as energy, and now they demand human beings give up their free will so that they become more powerful!. They do not ascend those who worship them, they do not share their powers! Surrender! Put down your weapons and.."
"Fire on them" said the Prior as the Ori Soldiers started to fire just as Major Daniels grabbed the back of Doran's collar and ran for cover. Talia was confused as she saw the other cloaked people firing their weapons while the Ori soldier next to her started to fire his energy weapon. It was only a split second, but Talia saw the soldier's energy blast from the staff he was carrying hit Doran's back before the soldier was taken down by armour piercing rounds. She then felt a sharp pain in her side as she went down onto the grass without ever firing a shot. Just before she closed her eyes, she saw the Prior fall after a bullet went through his head. A smile came across her lips as the Prior hit the ground dead.
The Summers Residence, 1720 hours.
While Buffy, Rose, Jay and Jon were in the living room talking each other, Joyce and Dawn were in the kitchen preparing some snacks and coffee. While Dawn set the filter in the coffee maker, Joyce was pouring some Chex-Mix into a bowl. She was half-way through before she put the packet down on the table top and sighed.
Upon hearing the sigh, Dawn turned around to see Joyce leaning on the table with two hands as she just looked at the bowl, and then at Dawn. IT was from her face that Dawn could tell that something was bothering her mother.
"Mom" said Dawn as she looked back down the hallway that headed to the foyer before looking at Joyce again, "he's a good man. Yea, he's got the mind of General O'Neill… but like he said, that only goes until the point he was cloned. Everything else is new; I mean he even had to re-do high school."
"I know he's just a clone, and I believe him" said Joyce, "it's just a little weird."
"And Buffy dating Angel wasn't weird?" asked Dawn with an eyebrow raised.
"Point taken" said Joyce shaking her head.
"Plus" said Dawn as she walked towards Joyce and wrapped her arm around the older blonde's, "if you really think about it… technically, and I really mean technically.. I am a little over ten thousand years old. So Jon's the one who should be weirded out, but he's not… and I am happy with him, mom."
Joyce looked at the smiling face of her second daughter before placing her hands on both of her cheeks.
"I can see it, sweetie" said Joyce, "it's just the feeling a mother has when her children start dating, you'll know what it's like one day."
Dawn could only shake her head before Joyce kissed her forehead. When the older blonde stepped back, she managed to catch light from the outside catching onto something around Dawn's neck. At the mention of the pendent by Joyce, Dawn reached for it and told Joyce that it was something Willow, while she was still Athena, had made for her birthday.
"I died before she could collect it" said Dawn as she shook her head after Joyce asked if she could touch it, "she had it made by a gemsmith from Athos."
"Gemsmith?" asked Joyce as she looked up at Dawn.
"Athosians who had the knowledge passed down to them of a process to make gems, large or small, malleable so that they could make it into any design that they wanted. It had to be done in one go before they hardened" said Dawn as Joyce nodded her head, "if it's something intricate, then they'd do it separately and then meld them together using a special, well they never really revealed their secrets about it – I guess it would be something like soft cement – but this piece was made in one go. Willow said it needed to take time because of the different coloured gems involved."
"It's beautiful" replied Joyce.
"It's the last of its kind" said Dawn as Joyce looked at her surprised, "I mean the only one of its kind using this special process.. you know… using the different colours… all at one go. The Athosian leaders used it as a symbol of their leader ship. But when Willow told the current leader, and the IOA/SGC team on Atlantis about who she really used to be, the leader returned this to her."
Dawn told Joyce that the Wraith culled a majority of the Athosians, which in turn meant that eventually.. even the gemsmiths who knew the special processes were culled. She told Joyce that Teyla told Willow that there were more items of the Ancients in their possession, but the necklace she was wearing was the last that the gemsmiths had made.
"You wanna try it on?" asked Dawn as she began to take the necklace off before Joyce stopped her.
"It's yours, sweetie" said Joyce as she noticed how the pendant caught the light that came in from outside as it seemed to glow, "and now, back to Jon?"
"I love him" said Dawn as Joyce put her hand around her daughter's shoulder and kissed the tp of her head, "I really do."
'Does he make you happy?"
"Yes" said Dawn nodding her head.
"Then I'm alright with that" said Joyce as she helped Dawn make the coffee before they head back into the living room.
It wasn't too long before Xander, Tara, and Kennedy returned to find a surprise waiting for them in Dawn and Jon laughing in the living room. Dawn introduced Jon to her one time crush, which was when Xander claimed that he had always been Dawn's crush.. even after marrying her sister.
"Xander" said Buffy and Dawn together as the dark haired man chuckled.
Dawn and Buffy then looked at each other, and then Dawn stared at Jon who had an eyebrow raised at her.
"Hey" said the brunette playfully as she looked at Jon while she was pointing at Xander "he's my first crush, and you know what they say about first crushes."
"Dawn" exclaimed Buffy and Jon together as Xander, Tara and Kennedy chuckled. All the while, Jay and Rose looked at each other, and shrugged their shoulders.
The rest of the day had gone without incident while Xander, Tara and Kennedy finished some reports they had to type, and then send in to Cordelia. In the meantime, Jon and Jay were playing a racing game while Rose was cheering whoever was leading at the time. While all that was going on, Buffy, Joyce and Dawn were in the kitchen as Dawn showed the blonde Slayer the pendent Willow made for her all those years ago. It wasn't too long after that that they had started talking about Dawn's boyfriend.
"You know" said Buffy with a twinkle in her eye as she looked at Dawn, and then walked over to the sitting room door where they could hear Jon and Xander trying to shout over each other on who was going to be winning, "if Jon's really the General's clone, I've gotta say… he was pretty hot when he was younger."
"Buffy" said Dawn with her eyes wide open.
"True" said Joyce as she looked off into space while Dawn looked at her mother in horror, "If I was in my twenty's then, ah…."
"Mother" exclaimed Dawn as Joyce and Buffy looked at each other, and then back at a horrified Dawn before they started to laugh at the look on her face, "the both of you are gonna make me see another councillor, a trauma counsellor this time."
All the two blonde women could do was laugh before giving the young brunette a hug.
New Kobol, 2100 hours.
After she fell on the grass and closed her eyes after the Prior fell on the other planet, Talia could still hear the shots around her as if she was in a dream. Soon the sounds of weapons fire stopped, and then she heard shouts from Major Daniels telling people to make sure that there was no one injured in the village. The wound on her side causing her pain, Talia opened her eyes a little as she grimaced because of the sting going through her whole body while she caught sight of Major Daniels kneeling next to a fallen Daron and checking for a pulse on his neck.
She then saw him call out to a woman and told her to take the man back to something called the SGC, that it was an emergency.
"He's still breathing" Talia heard, "pulse is weak, get him to Dr. Lam… move it!"
"Yes, sir" said the woman as she waved a man over and the both of them picked Doran up and rushed towards the entrance to the village, and right past the fallen Ori, and resistance fighters.
"Help" whispered Talia as she looked at the feet of two men as she lay on her side, men who were ordered by Major Daniels to check up on the Prior, and the Ori soldiers, "Help."
Talia knew that her voice was weak as she felt life leaving her. She knew she was hit by a bullet, but she had no idea how bad it was until now.
'I'm feeling cold' thought Talia to herself as she closed her eyes after whispering 'help' once again.
It wasn't too long before she heard footsteps, and then two fingers on her neck.
"Sir!" shouted the voice over her as she opened her eyes a little before she was gently turned on her back as she heard another footsteps coming towards her, "the others are gone, but this one's alive… just barely. She's got a wound on her side, and she's bleeding out."
"Help" whispered Talia, "I…. Colonial…. Help…. I… I…"
"Colonial?" asked the Captain who was kneeling next to her confused as he looked at the other two officers, including Major Daniels, "I thought they spoke Ancient Greek, or something?"
"Contact the Colonial planet" said Major Daniels, "have them send someone to stabilize her, and then return her to that planet. I'm sure her people would like to know why she's helping the Ori."
That was the last thing Talia heard before she felt a pressure on her side, the same area where she was wounded. She knew that someone was putting pressure to stop the bleeding, but all she could do now was close her eyes.
It would be hours later that Talia would slowly open her eyes again to the smell of antiseptic, and the sounds of beeping. She recalled the same sounds the day after she was found following the attack on the school she taught at on Caprica the first day the Cylons returned.
'I am in a hospital' thought Talia to herself.
Groaning as she opened her eyes, she looked around to find herself on a bed with wires attached to her chest, and tubes going into her wrists. She slowly got up, but gasped at the pain in her side before she lay back down again as the machine next to her started to beep loudly.
She looked at the waves that were displayed on the machine, as well as numbers under letters that she didn't know the meaning to such as 'B/P' or 'G.E.' She then head a door to her left open as she turned her head to look in that direction as a woman walked in wearing a modest shirt and trousers. She was soon followed by a dark haired man in a strange uniform with the word 'Finn' embossed over a pocket. Then another man, this one in a suit, followed by a blonde woman in fatigues, and a black T-shirt walked inside the room. She looked at the woman and noticed the familiar shape of the Colonial dogtags.
"Dr. Burke?" said the man in the uniform as he nodded at the woman next to him, "do you mind translating?"
"I…. I…" said Talia as she struggled to speak, "liquid…. Liquid…"
Dr. Burke and the others looked at each other in surprise at Talia using English. It was a few seconds later that Dr. Burke rushed to Talia's side table, poured some water before bringing the straw filled cup to her mouth.
"Can you understand me?" asked Riley as Talia nodded her head while she sipped the liquid through the straw..
"Dr. Burke" said Riley as he looked at the woman, "could you speak to her in Ancient Greek, for the benefit of these guys? You can translate what she's saying?"
"Ancient… Greek?" asked the confused Talia.
"Ancient Greek is the language that the Colonials have been speaking" said Dr. Burke before she introduced herself, Riley, and then the Vice-president, and Starbuck. Talia looked at Dr. Burke, and then at the others and back to Dr. Burke once again.
"Am… am I back on the Colonies?" asked Talia as she looked around, and then at Starbuck, and the vice-president, "am.. am I back with another resistance movement somewhere in the Colonies? I.. I had people saying that they were the Tau'ri, that they knew other Colonials… so is.. is this it?"
"Calm down" said the Vice-President as he took a step forward while looking at Dr. Burke as he mentally noted that he need to ask her about this Tau'ri. He then looked at Talia, and spoke, "first of all, what's your name?"
"Talia… Talia Gallo. I'm from Tauron… I was born in Tauron City, and.. and I've been a resistance fighter since the Cylon attack,"
"Miss Gallo" said Riley after Dr. Burke translated her responses to him, "how did you end up with the Ori?"
"The Ori defeated the remaining Cylons on Tauron, Caprica, Picon and they were heading for the other Colonies alongside the officers and fighters from the Pegasus" said Talia as the Vice-President, and Starbuck looked at each other in surprise while Dr. Burke translated for Riley, "I.. I heard that Admiral Cain became a Prior of the Ori, that something called the Orici made her that way."
At that, Dr, Burke looked back at Riley with worry on her face as she translated what Talia told her for Riley's benefit. Riley could only shake his head in disbelief while the Vice-President asked Talia if she was absolutely sure.
"Yes. They began killing innocents who didn't want to worship the Ori" said Talia, "the leadership of the resistance sees it as a necessary evil. As does the remaining military who helped the resistance in fighting the Cylons since the attack.. I.. saw people murdered… even I… I participated in sweeps for Cylons that were immediately killed but… but innocents? Some were publically executed. The leaders claimed that the Priors promise eternal life after death, and even advanced technology."
"What technology?" asked Riley as he stepped forward.
"One of the members in my resistance cell, a lieutenant in the military told me that… that Cain knew about a secret project in one of the outer moons" said Talia, "and that she ordered some officer s to retrieve it… an experimental Battlestar that Cain, and some of the top brass knew about. He told me that it was decked out with experimental technology that was being developed by Greystone Industries before the Fall. Energy shields, and energy weapons…. He said that with the knowledge of the Ori technology that Cain has.. she.. she could have Pegasus and the other ship ready for battle in under a year."
"Dear gods" said Starbuck as she looked at Dr. Burke, who looked back at her. The linguist then looked at Riley and translated what Talia had told them. The two from Earth looked at each other as the blood drained from the Army officer's face. Riley then turned and headed out towards the door, passing Starbuck and the Vice-President before turning around again.
"I'll notify Home World Security, and the SGC" said Riley, "we have a much bigger problem than we thought."
Dr. Burke nodded her head before she looked at the confused look on Talia's face.
"You never answered" said Talia, "where am I?"
"You're on a planet we've called New Kobol" said the Vice-president as Talia turned her head to look at him in surprise, before he nodded at Dr. Burke, "a place that her people graciously offered us as a new home."
"And you?" asked Talia turning her head to face Dr. Burke, "if you're not Colonial then…."
"I'm from Earth" said Dr. Burke as Talia's eyes went wide, "I'm sure you've heard a lot from the Priors about Earth, none of them good I'm sure. I can tell you that they've been lying to you. The rest of your people should be here by tomorrow, and then we'll talk."
"The rest?" askedTalia as she looked at Starbuck, and then the Vice-President.
"A fleet of survivors led by the Battlestar Galactica are on the way here" said Starbuck as Talia smiled, "you've heard of her?"
"Who hasn't?" asked Talia, "the famous Galactica. One of the twelve original Battlestars that were created during the First Cylon war. Built under the flag of Caprica, survived every skirmish it went through. I was going to take my students there after it was decommissioned and made into a museum… but… but that was before the Cylons came."
"You were a teacher?" asked the Vice-President.
"I taught Colonial history to my students" said Talia as she closed her eyes and recalled watching some of her students being gunned down in front of her, "but most of them… died."
"I am sorry" said the Vice-President as Dr. Burke stood to one side.
"You know Laura Roslin?" asked Starbuck as Talia nodded her head.
"Yes, the Secretary of Education" said Talia, "I met her once, but that was two years ago."
"She's the President of the Colonies" said the Vice-President as Talia's eyes went wide opened, "she's the last surviving cabinet member, and she just won the election. I know she'd like to hear more from you."
"As I'm sure would our military leaders" said Dr. Burke, "I'm not in the military, but even I know that if this Admiral Cain has become a Prior, then that's really, really bad news. Especially if she's prepared to upgrade the weapons using Ori technology."
"Do you think your military brass will change their minds now?" asked Starbuck.
"I don't know" said Dr. Burke, "I'm sure Colonel Finn's already told them the situation and… and I'd probably make my case with them once your President has been apprised of all the details."
"We'll do that" said the Vice-President as he nodded at Dr. Burke before he looked at Talia, "get some rest."
"But" said Talia when she was interrupted by the Vice-President.
"The resistance fought the Cylon occupation, Miss Gallo" said the Vice-President, 'your people continued to fight even when all seemed lost. Now I want you to rest… rest because the fight's not over yet."
"You're getting our people back?"
"Yes" said Starbuck nodding at Talia, "that's the idea."
Talia nodded her head before she looked back up at the ceiling, and smiled. She then closed her eyes as she felt pats on her shoulder from both the Vice-President, and Starbuck before they left the woman alone to get some rest. They were soon followed by Dr. Burke, who wished her a good night's sleep before closing the door behind her.
Summers Residence, 0300 hours.
As Dawn opened the door to what used to be her room, and was currently the room for her younger brother and sister, she quietly walked into the hallway before closing the door behind her. She looked up and down the hallway as she stopped and remained silent before smiling when she heard Kennedy lightly snoring in the room that she shared with Tara. She then looked at the other end of the room towards the closed door behind which laid Joyce sleeping with both her younger children.
The young brunette then tip toed down the stairs, careful to not make any noise, and before long she reached the bottom of the stairs. Walking into the living room, and towards the mass of blankets that covered a sleeping Jon, Dawn smiled at the young man before leaning down and kissing him on the forehead.
Standing up and just looking down at him, Dawn recalled that the rest of the night was spent either playing games on the console, or just sitting about and talking about their lives back at Joyce's house. Then, when it was time for everyone to say good night, Joyce asked Jon to stay at home instead of going to a hotel. Buffy and Xander told the young man that they'll be spending their night at one of the BPRI's rooms unto the plumbing at their house is completed by the next day. And with Tara and Kennedy sharing one room, Joyce asked Dawn to go ahead and sleep in her sibling's room while Jon can take her room, and she'd sleep on the couch.
"Mrs. Summers" said Jon, "I'll take the couch."
"Nonsense" said Joyce as she walked down the stairs with some pillows and a blanket after Xander and Buffy had left.
"Mrs. Summers" said Jon as he took the pillow and blankets from her, "I mean it. I've been roughing it for a long time, sleeping on a couch is nothing for me."
"He's slept on rough ground, mom" said Dawn as she stood next to Jon, "believe me, he can take it."
Dawn remembered Jon nodding his head as she stood over him. She then reached down and lightly stroked his hair knowing that he won't wake up. Jon had once told her that his sleeping patterns depended on the situation, if he was on a mission.. then he was an extremely light sleeper, but if he knew he wasn't on one, then he could sleep like a baby.
'Sleep' thought Dawn to herself before she turned and walked into the sitting room, before she made a right turn into the kitchen. The young woman then headed towards the back door, opening it before stepping outside and closing the door behind her. Dawn could see that the backyard was lit up by the light of the moon and, unlike the early days of Sunnydale… before the BPRI and a team of Potentials, Slayers and NID personnel, it was safe.. especially with the supernatural threats at a low, 'things still keep coming because of the Hellmouth, but they're immediately dealt with.'
Dawn sighed before she sat on the stairs that led down to the grass of the yard and looked up at the few stars in the sky. She then looked at the grass before she brought her hand up, with her palm facing upwards. She then slowly cupped her hand as she closed her eyes and concentrated. The brunette had known since the time she was nearly captured in the other reality by Professor Walsh that there was something to her, after all she had mentally throw something at the woman when she tried to take her… when Forrest, the soldier restraining her, shot the alternate version of her mother.
'Luckily the other me wasn't created yet' thought Dawn to herself.
Following that incident, Dawn wondered if what happened was because of her extreme emotional distress at the time. She practised at home, without telling Willow about what happened, to see if she could do the same thing; however, she had mixed results. She managed to get pencils, or erasers, to fly to her.. but when it came to vases.. or picture frames.. they would wobbled to the edge of the table she placed it on and fall onto the floor, or they won't move at all.
She didn't know if Willow suspected what she was doing, but figured that even if she did.. then the redhead was waiting for her to come for advise; that Willow didn't want to interfere in whatever Dawn was trying to do.
'She never told me anything' thought Dawn to herself, 'she never told the others, or they would have talked to me about it… especially Dr. Jackson.'
She recalled the door that was sliding down at the Initiative headquarters when she was rescued by Spike in the other reality. She remembered the door stopping midway, and at the time she thought that there was a malfunction.
'Until the flying vase incident with Walsh, at least' thought Dawn to herself.
She would practise every night in secret after Willow and Faith had gone to bed, but she still had mixed results. However, she would never practice when she was on a mission, she wanted to do it alone and not tell anyone; at least not until she was able to master it. Then came the first mission to Caprica where she and her team were unable to save SG-14, and when she had gotten shot by one of the metal Cylons. She hoped that she could try something to protect herself, and the rest of her team.. but she was unable to. She practiced every night after that.. she would wake up early at home, and then try practicing her powers, and then she would go back to sleep. Every time it had mixed results.
That is until she received her memories of her time on Atlantis and her ascension. She remembered staring at Glary and walking towards her with energy gathered on the palms of her hands, she remembered the telepathic chats she'd have with Athena as they flew through the universe together, she could remember using telekinesis to made the water dance on a planet that was just ocean in another far away galaxy; she remembered all those things but she didn't have the knowledge on how to do it. But ever since getting her memories back, Dawn realized that she wasn't the Key made into flesh; she was a being of energy that was just joined with the Key. She chose to become the Key's vessel so that it could be protected, that if anyone else had tried it… they could have been driven insane just by the pure power that the Key held.
'I am an Ancient' thought Dawn to herself as she concentrated. She knew she was right, she even talked to Willow about it and she agreed. Dawn's body was of someone who was at a near ascended level of evolution; her mind was able to take in all the new memories without any harm because the connections to handle all that information was already there; they were always there. Dawn remembered that the SGC ran tests on her after she found out she was Hera, especially a brain scan and found that she was using nearly sixty percent of her brain at any time, and now.. as she thought about how easy it was for her to learn new things, especially when it came to new and exotic languages.. it all made sense; learning them in only a few months when it would take others years.
Now as her eyes remained closed, Dawn concentrated on the area over her palm. She had even tried it last night after the marathon love-making session with Jon, part of which had freaked Willow out, as she wore her robe and walked silently out to the back yard where, after thirty minutes of concentration, she was finally able to vibrate the air immediately over the palm of her hand.
'Now' thought Dawn to herself, 'I go to the next level.'
As she sat on the stairs, Dawn began to vibrate the air above the palm of her hand. She could feel the vibrations as the air started to move faster, and faster. She could slowly feel the area above her palm getting warmer as a light started to shine through her closed eyelids. Smiling at herself, Dawn opened her eyes and saw a fluctuating, and floating, light that was emitting a bit of warmth.
"Control it" whispered Dawn as she looked at the light and imagined a field around the ball of light, and ten minutes later.. the fluctuations on the surface of the ball stopped. She then looked on with widened eyes, and a mouth open in surprise as she made the ball dance over the palm of her hand, even made it jump from one finger to another on her right hand.
She then tried to make the ball of light split into two, however all it did was fizzle away as it tried to split. Sighing Dawn put her hand down and got up, straightened her shirt, and then headed back into the house glad that she at least managed to improve by herself.