“Did you recognize what those… things were?” Sam asked, leaning against the wall. The throbbing in her head had faded to a manageable level. She no longer felt as though she was going to be sick. Yet, she didn’t feel ready to fight her way out of her confinement either.
“I have not seen creatures like these, Colonel Carter,” Teal’c replied.
Unfortunately, neither had she. While she hadn’t been given a decent opportunity to study the creatures, she had seen more than enough to convince her they weren’t anything from this world. There was nothing from this planet that looked like that and were that strong.
She clearly remembered how easily both she and Teal’c folded against them. The two of them had fought like hell, but the fight itself had only lasted mere seconds.
Seconds!
“They looked like monsters,” Sam said suddenly, frowning.
Teal’c tilted his head and studied her. “Do you believe these to be the demons of which Percy West spoke?”
Sam shook her head. “They’re not demons, but I can see how other people would think they were. According to news reports, the people who were at the hospital at the time of the massacre claimed the attackers had been ‘monsters’.” The Survivor of Sunnydale website also claimed Sunnydale had been full of demons and such. Percy claimed the Mayor had turned into a demon. Rosenberg may have believed the same thing.
“These creatures… They were what Rosenberg was running from at the hospital,” she continued, her heart starting to beat just that little bit faster. “They were waiting at the hotel, as well…”
“They were after Willow Rosenberg.”
“Or her friends,” Sam conceded. This was it. This confirmed everything. The attack on the hospital was more than likely related to Willow and her friends, to Sunnydale. Why else would the creatures be waiting at the hotel Willow was staying at?
It also explained why the hotel had appeared deserted. There was no way any of them would have gone back there if they knew the, er, creatures would be able to find them.
What it didn’t explain, however, was why Daniel and Kawalsky both lied to the General. Sam highly doubted, after all that happened, they would still be in the dark about Sunnydale. Surely Willow would have told them something, if not everything. SR-1 was a close team and it was clear that Daniel cared deeply for Willow… The four men would have hounded Willow until she caved and confessed.
So why didn’t they call the General? It was obvious these creatures weren’t from Earth. It was the simplest and most obvious explanation, at least to Sam. Why didn’t anyone call for back up? Or at the very least speak to the General unofficially.
An uneasy feeling washed over Sam.
If what she suspected was true, then Daniel would have – should have – called the General. He would have. Daniel was the heart of SG-1, their conscience. The fact that these creatures were walking around meant that everyone around them – innocent civilians – were in danger.
That was not something Daniel would keep quiet about.
Daniel was the type of person who would do anything to ensure the safety of others. No orders, no regulations, nothing would have stood in his way – including his love of Willow. Daniel only knew how to do one thing and that was the right thing, consequences be damned.
Sam also found herself wondering why Rosenberg hadn’t approached the SGC when she joined their ranks. Surely the lieutenant would have considered the possibility that the ‘demons’ she feared were actually aliens. Why hadn’t she come to them?
Sam almost feared the reason.
Daniel’s eyes closed as Willow’s hushed words sunk in. Her pale face was now matched by the four of theirs. Horror wasn’t a strong enough word to describe what he was feeling right now.
“Rosenberg…” Kawalsky said her name like a curse, his voice barely more than a whisper. Willow’s friends had followed her into the main bar area and, while they weren’t actually paying any attention to them anymore, they were still being careful not to be overheard – including by preternatural ears.
Or at least SR-1 was.
At this point, Daniel was in two minds as to whether or not this should be a private conversation.
This was a nightmare.
“Rosenberg,” the Major started again. “Do you actually think that what you’re proposing is possible?”
Willow shrugged. “I’m not an expert on snakes, sir, but the fact is we don’t know that it’s not possible. Just because something has never been done before…”
“Doesn’t mean it can’t,” Kawalsky finished for her. “Daniel, what are your thoughts on this?”
Mind-numbing horror? “It’s a possibility. We know for a fact that snakes can survive in non-human creatures.” Daniel’s mind went back to the planet P2X-338 where they discovered that the Goa’uld Marduke had survived for thousands of years inside a carnivorous creature. It was a creature whose physiology wasn’t anything remotely close to human. “There’s nothing that suggests it wouldn’t survive in a demon.”
“A snake in a demon… That’s, um, bad.” Grogan said, looking green.
“It’s worse than bad, Grogan,” Willow said. “These demons are from a Hell dimension. They’re not the hybrids we face on Earth. These are pure demons. They’re impervious to everything but magic. There’s no telling how the two physiologies will react. As it stands now, all our weapons are pretty much useless against them. There’s no guarantee that C4 or grenades will have any impact. Add a snake to the mix and we could have something even more powerful. It might mean only the most powerful of magics will have effect… or maybe nothing will hurt them.”
“We should never have come here,” Hayes said. “We should have stayed away.”
“There are a lot of things we should have done, Hayes,” Kawalsky said. “But kicking ourselves isn’t the answer.”
“Do we even have an answer?” he asked.
Willow shook her head. “The only thing I know is that we can’t risk waiting twenty-four hours. We have to move now. The longer Teal’c is with them, the more likely…” She didn’t need to finish the sentence.
Kawalsky let out a long, shaking breath. “Rosenberg, Willow…We can’t keep this to ourselves. Not this.”
Daniel closed his eyes, his heart breaking for Willow.
“Actually, sir, I think we have to,” Hayes said, to Daniel’s surprise.
“I’m sorry?”
“Captain Hayes is right,” Willow agreed, her eyes wide with panic. “Sir, if we go to the SGC now, they’re just going to slow us down. We know that weapons are useless against the demons, so they’ve got nothing to offer us. Some of the more technological weapons might come in handy, but there’s no guarantee. More than likely, the only thing they’re going to do is to want to take over command.”
Daniel wondered if the others heard the doubt in her voice like he did. Once again, his heart went out to Willow. He could only guess how she was feeling right now – terrified, panicked… torn. He didn’t blame her for wanting to keep the SGC out of this. Look at the trouble their involvement had caused!
“They’re not going to understand about magic,” Hayes went on. “By the time the reinforcements get here and we bring them up to speed, it’ll be too late.”
“And that’s the best case scenario. With General O’Neill out of the picture, there’s no way we can avoid official channels. That would mean not only could the demons be seen as a threat, but Tara, Angel, and Faith might be as well. Especially Angel. There’s too many variables and not enough time to work through them.”
Daniel nodded in agreement.
“Besides, two hours from now is too late,” Willow told him. “We have to move now”
Kawalsky nodded. “I understand that, I do, but… This changes everything. I was willing to go along with previous plan, but that was before we knew about the potential security risk. If we don’t involve them and we all die getting Carter and Teal’c back…”
Willow’s eyes widened at Kawalsky’s words and Daniel could not remember a time she looked so horrified.
All the air in her body fled at Kawalsky’s words. He was right.
This changed everything.
It changed more than even Kawalsky probably realized.
No matter how much she tried to deny it. The two worlds she had fought so hard to keep apart were colliding… and there was nothing they could do.
They were all damned.
Damned if they went to the military, damned if they didn’t. There was too much at stake. Things had been bad before, but now they were… God, words couldn’t describe how bad things now were. Not only did their odds of success change, but the odds of stopping this apocalypse changed.
What if a demon blending gave the demons enough power to end the world?
After all, both Sam and Teal’c held in them an element that had enough power, when combined with other bombs or other technology, to destroy the entire planet. What if combining it with supernatural elements did the exact same thing? Oh… Oh God!
What if the demons hadn’t ‘mistakenly’ taken Sam and Teal’c like they originally thought and the demons sensed the power within them? What if the demons had a way to use it? How would Giles and the others know how to stop them without knowing what they were up against? God, would they even be able to stop the apocalypse?
She closed her eyes as the enormity of the situation slammed into her. Keeping secrets was impossible now. It killed her to admit it… God, it killed her that she had been so wrong.
They couldn’t not tell the SGC.
Just like she couldn’t not…
“Willow? Are you okay?” Daniel’s concerned voice interrupted her thoughts.
No, she was not okay. God, this was… everything was screwed. Everything. She honestly didn’t know if they were going to be able to stop things before they went to hell, literally, and that terrified her.
“Look, Rosenberg, I know this isn’t what you wanted, but we’ll do this as quietly as we can.” She opened her eyes and stared at Kawalsky. “I’ll call Lou, tell him we have a potential foothold situation. I’m not going to mention demons, so there’ll be a chance of keeping this under wraps. I’ll tell him contact Jack. I’m pretty sure this will bring him home. He’ll be able to control it from there. I’ll tell them to organize SG teams 2, 3, 11, and 37 as back up. When the teams get here, we’ll tell them the real story.”
All four teams were teams they had rescued at one time or another. Her heart swelled at his words. Kawalsky was choosing teams he knew would cover for her if asked. People who felt they owed them.
“With Jack home, he’ll be able to field any questions from the President. And if he can’t come home, Reynold’s will cover for us.”
“Are you going to tell them Sam and Teal’c are missing?” Daniel wanted to know.
The major nodded. “It’ll explain the need for the excessive back-up.”
Twelve men on their own didn’t sound at all excessive for back-up. Twelve SGC personnel, on the other hand, was. Including the five of them, that would be seventeen members of the SGC fighting… There was no way they could do this without the President’s knowledge.
“I’ll also call Janet,” Kawalsky said.
“Why?”
“Because if none of us survive, someone has to know the full story.” Kawalsky reached over and squeezed her shoulder, smiling apologetically. “I really am sorry, Rosenberg, but this is bigger than any of us and we need to use all the resources we can.”
Willow froze at his words, her eyes going wide.
Kawalsky picked up her reaction immediately. “Rosenberg?”
“You’re right, sir.” Kind of, anyway…
“I am?” He blinked, surprised. “Wait, Rosenberg, all this time you’ve been desperate to keep the military out of this and now you’re completely fine with it?”
Oh no, she wasn’t fine with it. A part of her was screaming inside. Willow knew her friends were going to be exposed, but… It was an apocalypse. The end of the world. What good would it do if she kept her friends a secret only to have them die?
What good would it do to keep any secrets if it meant the end of the world?
She ignored the question. “Sir, if we go to the SGC, then we’ll have access to all their technology.”
Kawalsky nodded. “That was kind of the point, Rosenberg.”
“Exactly, sir. It means that we might not have to extract Colonel Carter and Teal’c ourselves,” she said, her heart pounding excitedly. “If the demons are keeping them in the same prison they held Faith, then I know the exact coordinates. If we give the coordinates to Colonel Pendergast…”
The Prometheus could beam them out.
“Oh God!” Daniel exclaimed. “Of course!”
Grogan grinned. “It’d save us getting our asses kicked, that’s for sure.”
“There’s a chance it won’t work,” she told them. “The demons could have already taken the power, they might have a way to block us from accessing them or they may have been taken to someplace our sensors can’t reach.” She couldn’t – let herself get too excited over this plan.
There was one major flaw to it…
A flaw, for reasons she refused to contemplate, Willow couldn’t bring to her commanding officer’s attention.
“But it’s a viable plan,” Kawalsky said, smiling approvingly.
“What if they’re not being held where you found Faith?” Hayes asked.
“I can ask Tara to do a location spell, the kind of location spell that won’t link them back to her like mine do,” Willow said. “Once she finds them, Colonel Pendergast can get them out and bring them here.” She would absolutely love to suggest that everyone return to the base after they saved Carter and Teal’c, but she knew that wouldn’t happen.
Just like she knew this plan going off without a hitch wouldn’t happen.
Still, if there was a remote chance this could work, they had to try it. A demon blending was something they couldn’t risk.
“Then we’ll go with it,” Kawalsky said. “I’ll call Lou now, get the ball rolling. It’ll take at least an hour or two for Jack to organize everything.”
Willow nodded. “You might want to make the call in the privacy of our room, sir.” At his raised eyebrows, she continued. “If Angel sees you using the phone, he’ll stop you.”
“She’s got a point,” Grogan agreed.
“You might want to take back up,” she suggested, hoping it didn’t sound like she was trying to get rid of them. “You don’t want someone following you and listening. It’s imperative my friends don’t hear about the military involvement until I’ve had a chance to explain.”
If they did, then the flaw she was concerned about would more than likely blow up in their faces.
Nothing was more important to her than all of them getting out of this alive.
Kawalsky studied her, as though he knew she was holding something back. God, he probably did know. The man could read her like a book. But, to her surprise, he didn’t call her on it. “All right, Hayes, you’re with me. Grogan, I want you to talk to Tara about your plan, see if you can get to work on that.”
Plan? “You have a plan?”
Grogan opened his mouth but Kawalsky cut him off. “He’ll fill you in later,” he said. “Daniel, I want you to…”
“Stay with Willow,” Daniel finished firmly.
“Daniel…”
“Kawalsky, I’m not going let her tell her friends you’re calling Jack on her own,” he said.
Now it was her turn to try to argue. “Daniel…”
The archaeologist met her eyes. “Will, they’re going to feel betrayed when you tell them what we’re doing and they’re going to take it out on you.”
“Daniel, they’re not going to hurt me.” She knew that unequivocally. Oh, they’ll shout, yell, Faith might slam her against the wall but they wouldn’t hurt her. Not like he was implying…
Daniel gave her a gentle smile. “I know they won’t, but I think maybe I can help reassure them we’re going to do everything in our power to keep them protected. I’m not military.”
“He’s got a point,” Grogan agreed. “I got the vibe that they’re not too fond of us military types. At least Cordy isn’t, Dr J might be able to keep them calm.”
Maybe. It was possible, but Daniel couldn’t be there. Not for this.
“Or call us for help when he can’t,” she heard Hayes mumble.
“All right,” Kawalsky agreed before she could argue any further. “Daniel, you and Rosenberg do what you can to keep her friends on our side. Hopefully it won’t take Jack long to start getting things organized so you probably only have two hours at the very most to talk them around.”
Willow stood silently and watch Hayes, Kawalsky and Grogan walk away from them. Her friends, she noted, were watching with great interest. When they were far enough away, she turned to Daniel.
“Willow…”
“I’m fine, Daniel,” she said, giving him a small smile.
It was a lie and they both knew it. She looked devastated. Actually, she looked, devastated, confused, scared and another emotion he couldn’t quite identify. Daniel didn’t blame her one bit. God, in her place he would be feeling exactly the same. She was exposing her friends to the military, not just the SGC.
Daniel wasn’t naïve enough to believe they would be able to keep her friends’ existence under wraps permanently. Not with Sam and Teal’c missing, and not with four SG teams about to become involved.
God, Daniel wanted to strangle Jack for sending Sam and Teal’c.
Who was he kidding? He wanted to strangle himself for not listening to Willow. This was why she had so desperately tried to keep them all away. Why, even when she had been clinging to him consumed by fear and grief, she had wanted him to leave.
Instead of helping her, they made things infinitely worse.
“I’m sorry,” he said, unable to stop the two words from spilling out.
Willow nodded once, not asking what the apology was for. She looked over to her friends, who were again watching them closely. He could only imagine what they were going to think of Willow by the time this was over. Daniel was going to do everything in his power to make sure they didn’t blame Willow.
This was their fault, not hers.
“We, ah… I guess we should go over to them,” Daniel began. No point in putting off the inevitable.
Unsurprisingly, Willow didn’t move. Her eyes were fixed on her friends.
He sighed. God, this was a disaster.
“We’re in deep shit, Daniel,” she said, finally.
Guilt sliced through him. “I know.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t think you do. As soon as I tell them Kawalsky’s on the phone to the SGC, they’re going to hate me… and they’re not going to listen to a word I say. No matter what explanation I give them, no matter how much I tell them it’s for the best, they’ll see it as a betrayal and nothing else.”
“We’ll make them listen.”
She turned to face him. “How? Daniel, they think I’m a military puppet! They’re not going to believe that I actually believe this the best choice we’ve got and, despite what you think, they’re not going to listen to you. Being a civilian won’t make a difference to them. They’ll think you’re a puppet too.”
More than anything he wanted to believe she was wrong. “Maybe if we speak to Giles alone.”
“It’s not going to work that way, Daniel.” The defeat in her voice made his heart break. “We have to tell them all together, and when we do, they’re going to leave.”
He froze. “What?”
“It’s the one flaw in Kawalsky’s plan. My friends aren’t going to hang around waiting for the military to show. They’ll be gone before the Prometheus is in position.”
Oh God… “Willow, they can’t leave! What if our plan to save Teal’c and Sam doesn’t work? What if it’s too late?”
“Then they’ll be facing a blended demon,” Willow said. “They’ll be alone, uninformed and unequipped. They’ll think they have enough power, but they won’t and they’ll die and the world will end.”
No! “Willow, we can’t let that happen.”
“I know.” She closed her eyes. “I can’t lose my friends, Daniel. I can’t be responsible for their deaths.”
“Willow, this is not your fault.”
Her eyes snapped open. “If they walk out of here and face the demon cult alone then, yes, it will.” She held her hand up when he tried to argue. “It will be my fault because I have the power to stop them.”
“Power?” It was a strange word to use in the circumstances.
“Yeah.” She took a deep breath. “You know what they say… knowledge is power.”
Knowledge is… Wait! She… She wasn’t saying what he thought she was saying, was she? “Will…”
She ignored the question in his tone. “Daniel, I need you to wait outside the kitchen while I tell them Kawalsky is calling the SGC.”
“No, I’m going in –”
“After I tell them, you’re going to take Angel and Faith to see Kawalsky. Angel and Faith will be pissed, so take Grogan with you for back up. Keep everyone in the bedroom for as long as you can. Kawalsky said we had about two hours; I’m going to need close to one. No less than half an hour.”
He stared at her in shock. “You’re going to –”
“Don’t finish that sentence, Daniel,” she said, cutting him off a second time. “I’m just going in there to tell them that we’re going to call the SGC, that’s all. Nothing else.”
Never before had Daniel been so grateful the two of them could communicate with more than just words. Pride surged inside him and he wished he could take away the devastated look in her eyes. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. “You’re making the right decision.”
“It’s the end of the world,” she said as they began making their way towards the Angel Investigation team. “What good are secrets if there’s no one left in the world to keep them from?”