Chapter 55

/Day twenty-seven, Month One, Year One/

Hermione, Willow and John Watson stood near the dock of the Cape of Good Hope waiting for the Arks to arrive. They had been waiting for an hour. Forty minutes ago they saw the arks appear on the horizon as small specks now that they were much closer their eyes were wide.

"Good lord! Look at the size of them Hermione." John said.

"It's… it's remarkable." She replied.

"Well, that's an understatement if I've ever heard one." Willow replied.

"Yes, well, I don't think there are words to rightfully explain what I'm thinking or feeling at the moment. It's bigger than the cruise ship my parents and I vacationed on the summer before I went to Hogwarts. And that one had a rock climber an Olympic sized pool a golf driving range and a ball room. They called those kinds of cruse liners a floating city. These arks are enormous. Umm, Uncle John, why are you hiding behind that truck?"

"Hermione, Sherlock's brother is on that ship. If he sees me he might not be inclined to allow Sherlock off the ship and might decide to have me killed.

I'm not taking chances with ether of our safety. As long as he doesn't see me he should allow Sherlock off the ship and then we can find a way to rescue him."

"I can fix it so they don't see you. Here." She said as she taped the top of his head.

"Burr, it felt like you broke a cold egg over my head and that it's covering me." He announced.

"Yes, that's the general description of the feeling of disillusionment. But now you're invisible." Hermione replied.

"Invisible? How…well I mean it's magic obviously but how long will it last?"

"As long as we need it." Hermione told him.

"Look, they are about to lower the door to let people out." Willow announced.

John stood next to Hermione who wasn't disillusioned as they waited.

/Scene Break/

On board the Ark Sam and Vala were waiting patiently for the doors to open. They were somewhere in the middle of the crowed and trying to discusses their plans for what they planed to do once they were off the ship.

"Do you think we'll be able to communicate with the Hammond." Vala asked

"The radio telescopes should be our best bet. Most are located in South Africa. I'm sure we can get inside and send a message out. It should be powerful enough to punch through the electromagnetic radiation now that it has decreased in intensity." Sam replied.

"And you know where these telescopes are?" Vala asked.

"Yes, I've been racking my brain for the last few days trying to remember where they are and which would be our best choice to use as far as size and power. The Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory, in Johannesburg has a twenty-six meter dish but a frequency range of only 1.66–23 GHz."

"And I take it that that's not enough?" Vala wondered.

"No, it isn't. The ones we will need are ether in Durban, or Carnarvon, they both would have the power we need but Carnarvon, has the bigger dish. The first thing we will need to do is find transportation." Sam said.

"Do you think that will be a problem?"

"It might be. Because we look like military, people might be more inclined to shy away from us."

"Why?" Vala asked.

"The military in Africa isn't really popular here. The military, the terrorists and the Guerillas military treat the citizens of Africa similar to the way the Jaffa treated people when they believed in the false gods."

"That could be a problem." Vala said. "Perhaps we should find cloths that would allow us to blend in."

"No, I think we'll be okay but as I said we may have a little difficulty getting transport. Besides I don't want us looking like easy prey to the military."

"Easy prey?"

Sam looked uncomfortable before she spoke. "The military here may be responsible for abductions of white females for the purpose of selling them into slavery…. Mostly as… sex slaves."

"Ah, I see. And you think they would think twice before attacking us simply because we are dressed as military? Well, they might see it as more of a challenge. I'm not saying you're not right but I wouldn't stake my life on it. We should keep our eyes peeled as I've heard the people of earth say. Which seems disgusting to me. Peeled eyeballs, really, where do your people come up with these sayings?" Vala said which caused Sam to cover a smile.

/Scene Break/

Towards the front of the crowed Mycroft Holms waited with his men ready to disembark from the ark. Sherlock stood between two men. He looked as helpless as a new born kitten. And the men had to hold him up. Mycroft smiled as he knew his brother would hate him once the drugs wore off but at least he was safe and could no longer embarrass him with the silly male relationship he had with John Watson. Once off the ark they could go there separate ways for all he cared. Hopefully they would be in two separate countries when all was said and done and he would continue his governmental rule while Sherlock faded into obscurity. He did his duty and protected his brother as their mother asked but now the slate was wiped clean as far as Mycroft was concerned and he could now live his life without constantly monitoring his little brother. Mycroft's intellect was just as sharp as his brothers and as he knew his brother so well he expected Sherlock to commit suicide the first chance he got if he didn't let himself waste away in depression.

/Scene Break/

At the front of the crowed Kennedy Kinsey stood directly in front of the door because she wanted to be the first person off the ark and on dry land as soon as possible. Over the last twenty-seven days she had lost almost half of her body weight. She had been so sea sick for so long she couldn't keep any thing down. She felt foolish because every time she made a mess this hot black haired woman would be sent to clean up after her. At that point she couldn't see herself chatting up the attractive woman for a quickie in her cabin. Kennedy had her hands on the door rapidly tapping it ready for it to open.

/Scene Break/

On land outside the ark and at the top of the hill John Watson raised his disillusioned binoculars to his face as he watched the door of the ark begin to lower. Willow and Hermione did the same as they raised the magical equivalent call omnioculars. As the doors lowered, an announcement from the captain said that everyone should stay off the door until it completely lowered and touched ground. Slowly the door came down. It took a half minute to run through its cycle before it touched ground. Possibly because of the damage the door took the last time it was opened and closed. The first thing that happened that anyone who was watching saw was a female running like a mad woman form the ark onto land. Willows eyes went wide and immediately hit record on her omnioculars. She knew who it was and figured Kennedy ran out of her sea sick medicine somewhere during the trip. Willow smiled happily.

Kennedy ran with her arms flailing and wind milling as she ran for land to the side of the ramp and out of the disembarking people's way. She didn't want to get stepped on by the stampede. She fell forward and lay there for many moments her face in the dirt, then stumbled to her feet and rushed for a nearby tree and hugged it. Kennedy seemed to be content to simply stay there for the duration of the day hugging the tree thanking deities to be on dry land. Willow smiled in satisfaction.

Just then John saw him. Sherlock was being escorted off the ship by two other men and Mycroft was following.

"There he is! It's Sherlock, let's go."

"Hold your horses Mister. We need to find out what they're likely to do first. You just had concerns about his brother shooting you. Let's just stand here and see what happens." Willow said.

"Oh and we better not look like we're looking at them or they could become suspicious." Hermione said. "Use your omnioculars settings to look on a curve so we can see them without look in their direction."

"That's not fair I don't have a pair or those omnioculars. You'll have to tell me what's going on." John said.

"Uncle John your invisible remember? You can face yourself in their direction."

"Oh, right, I forgot, sorry."

As Mycroft followed along behind he looked around at the curious gathered people who came out to see the spectacle of the arks opening for the first time since they broke away from port. Oddly his focus rested upon two women who seemed to be looking through some strange sort of binoculars. They seemed to be looking anywhere but at the spectacle everyone else was focused on which was the arks and its people. He decided to ignore them for the moment as the came upon a bench half way up the hill.

"Put him down here for a moment."

As they did Mycroft sat next to him.

"Well Sherlock, this looks like the end of our association. As far as my obligation to our dearly departed mother is concerned I fulfilled my part of it. This is a new day in a new world and you will go your way and I will go mine. That you had a relationship with that poofter John Watson was just a fluke. I know how antisocial you are, so, I don't believe you'll find a new lover out here. If I've gauged you correctly you probably don't feel life is worth living at this point and that my dear brother is your prerogative."

Just then there was another announcement coming from the Ark.

"Your attention please, the collective African governments have decided to relocate our disembarking location. Because of military Guerilla movements in the area they feel that our present location is unsafe and the governing bodies aboard the arks agree. So in accordance with the leaders of Africa and the leaders of the arks we will be departing for Morocco in twenty minutes. Within that time it is asked that the passengers that have just disembarked re-board so that we may take you to safer grounds. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Well, Sherlock, this couldn't have worked out better if I'd planned it myself. It would seem this is goodbye." Mycroft said as he stood and turned to him one last time. "It's such a shame to see such a brilliant mind go to waste but I can't afford the time or resources to keep you in line but then, I really don't think that will be a problem for to much longer will it, Sherlock?"

With that Mycroft smiled and turned from his brother and headed back to the ark.

On top of the hill John said in an appalled voice. "He's leaving him. He's just leaving him behind to fend for himself in an unfamiliar environment knowing there could be trouble on the way."

"Yes, but now is our opportunity to get to him." Hermione said as they made their way down the hill.

/Scene Break/

After hearing the announcement from the Ark Kennedy looked back at the large ship as if it were the craziest piece of abstract art she had ever seen before she said. "Fu%k that S*#T. You couldn't pay me enough to get back on any boat ever again. So long suckers." She then moved as far away from the arks as her wobbly legs would carry her not having any destination in mind.

/Scene Break/

"So, what do we do now? Do we get back on?" Vala asked Sam.

"No, that would only carry us farther away from our objective. The radio telescopes are on this side of Africa. The distance we would travel from here would only take a few of days. Where the arks are going it would take us a few weeks if not over a month to get there. Africa is a big place."

"Yes, I remember seeing it from space a few times. I was told it resembled a rhinosaurus head."

"That's actually pronounced rhinoceros." Sam said with a smile.

"Yes, one of them. What do they look like?" Vala wondered.

"For all I know we might see a few on our way to the telescopes." Sam replied. "It's a really beautiful country with some of the most amazing animals."

"So, we'll be doing some sight seeing on the way. I should have brought my camera." Vala said with a smile as they walked along trying to find first a road and then a ride.

/Scene Break/

John, Hermione and Willow had made their way to Sherlock. Willow warned John that he might go into shock if he sees you just appear out of thin air and so he had Hermione take the disillusionment charm off him. Then he realized he still may shock his friend just by being alive. He would need to approach this gently. They got to Sherlock who while drugged was no where near as drugged as his brother thought he was. After more than twenty-seven days of being on the same drug at the same dose he had built up immunity to it. His lethargic manor was more to do with depression than any drugs. He had lost everything. The people he trusted, all his written work and the city he loved.

Gently John sat next to him on the bench. Sherlock paid no attention to his surroundings or the people gathering around him. They didn't matter. He lost everyone that mattered.

"Hello Sherlock. Did you have a good journey?"

Sherlock stiffened. It sounded exactly like John but it couldn't be. He had to be imagining things. He was falling into some type of delusion brought on by the combination of stress, depression and drugs.

"Sherlock, I know you're sometimes too brilliant for your own good and probably think I'm some form of hallucination but contrary to your brothers thoughts of me I was smart enough to find my own way here. You see when my niece came to our door on Baker street after you were kidnapped she started spouting off the same work you were researching, only she had the most likely landmass that would still be standing in her arsenal of knowledge."

"That not possible. There could be no way to have predicted that kind of outcome." Sherlock mumbled to his dilution and cursed himself for it.

"Yes, it was a slim change. A gamble even, but here I am and I must say, Mrs. Hudson and I made it to these shores just in time." John said.

Sherlock took a chance and lifted his head to look in John's direction. It looked like John. Sherlock's eyes focused on the pores of John's skin the tiny hairs growing from his face that only showed themselves at this time of day. He observed how John subconsciously took air into his lungs with each breath and how John's pupils dilated after each blink of his eyes. Sherlock decided that there was too much detail in this hallucination. John just couldn't be delusional. It couldn't even be a ruminant from the drugs. This was John Watson. Somehow his dearest friend had survived.

"J…John? H…how?"

"It a long story and I think it's a story even you would find hard to believe without evidence. But I'm sure where we're going there will be plenty."

"John, it's all gone. All my work…Everything…"

"Actually, I brought everything from Baker Street with me all your work, all your papers and every last stick of furniture. I even brought Mrs. Hudson."

"Mrs. Hudson's alive as well?" He asked hope visibly building within the man who was just shy of death. His personality came back online like a rebooting computer.

"John…John. You're alive!" Sherlock announced excitedly.

"Yes, I know." John said happily.

"I'm alive!" Sherlock said ecstatically.

"I can see that." John said almost giggling.

/Scene Break/

On board ark number four, Mycroft Holms brought his men to the upper observation deck overlooking land side to mockingly wave goodbye to his dear brother. As he got there he witnessed three people approach his brother. They looked concerned for him. But then Mycroft became suspicious. They were all white not African and the one man of the group was blond, his movements were also familiar. Then the thought hit him. "No, it couldn't be. There just was no way." He said out loud to himself.

"Give me the binoculars!" Mycroft ordered and one of the men hurriedly complied. He brought them to his eyes and squeezed them so tight that he nearly cracked the lenses. "No! …SHERLOCK!"

/Scene Break/

Sherlock heard the distant voice yelling his name as did everyone else.

"Everyone, do not react. It's imperative no one looks around for the source of that voice." Sherlock said. "John, forgive me in advance."

With that said he embraced John leaning him backwards and planted a deep kiss on his lip. It was then that they heard that same far away voice a little louder and this time the voice was strangled from the high volume and pitch it was trying to achieve. Sherlock broke the kiss with a satisfied smile. John looked at his best friend completely shocked and confused and within the turmoil of these feeling he decided to ask a question his idled brain slapped together haphazardly.

Are we gay now?

Sherlock quirked an eyebrow upon his straight face. He paused to look John up and down and said. "Don't be ridicules." Before curtly turning away and walking up the hill.

John stood there looking after him in thought; because it was Sherlock, without some sort of positive or negative after "Don't be ridicules." It just didn't answer his question. You just never knew with Sherlock. Deciding it didn't matter at the moment he followed after him.

Hermione and Willow looked at each other in confusion.

/Scene Break/

Mycroft was livid. He nearly strained his vocal cords and now his throat burned. "Get me a gun, Now!

"We weren't allowed to bring a gun on board, sir. They searched everyone and took everything they found." His man said.

"Don't tell me you weren't able to sneak one on board?" Mycroft seethed.

"No sir, they were thorough."

Mycroft went beyond red and onto purple. His anger had him nearly jumping up and down but he managed to control himself to merely foot stamping. Then like a caged lion he paced back and forth before ordering his men to get down there.

"Sir, the door has closed and we have already set sail. We are now several hundred yards from shore."

"Then have them turn this garbage scow around." Mycroft ordered and then saw the porter he knew. "You there, have your captain turn this ark around." He ordered.

"That's quite impossible sir, we are underway. The only way turning around would even be considered is if there was significant damage to the ship. After what it went through in the beginning of this voyage that kind of damage doesn't seem possible." The porter explained.

"But my brother was left behind." Mycroft told him.

"Sir, there was more than double the time to re-board than there was to disembark. The recall was announced three times, if your brother didn't come back on board than that is his problem." The porter told him.

"My brother is mentally impaired. I left him in our cabin which I thought was secure. When I returned he was gone and now I find him left on shore. We need to turn around." Mycroft lied.

"I'm sorry sir, but the most the captain can do is fly you back down this way once we get to our destination in Morocco."

"Fly? Yes, what about those helicopters you used the other day can't we use them?"

"Sorry sir, those choppers will probably never fly again. No fuel left for them on board."

"Damn it!" Mycroft yelled straining his vocal cords once more.

/Scene Break/

"Sherlock stopped at the top of the hill and waited for the others to catch up."

"I take it you've just realized you have no idea where you're going." John said.

"Yes, that and you haven't introduced me to you friends."

"You actually admitted that you didn't know something? That's a first."

"John, I have been drugged for days of which I am still feeling the affects. So, yes, I am having a slight problem and may be somewhat addicted."

"Addicted? That bastard. I'll kill him if I ever see him again." John announced referring to Sherlock's brother.

"Yes, thank you for the sentiment but it does nothing for the problem. Sherlock said.

"Are you saying your own brother drugged you with something that you will probably have withdrawal from? You own brother?" Willow said outraged.

"I'm sorry, Sherlock Holms, I'd like you to meet my niece Hermione Granger and her friend Willow Rosenberg. They work with the Guardian Council Academy for gifted girls. Willow, Hermione this is Sherlock Holms.

"Interesting, are you aware how large your pupils get when your angry, Miss Rosenberg? They nearly take up all the color of your iris. Quit fascinating." He said nearly nose to nose with her.

"Umm, personal space please." Willow said.

"He doesn't know the concept." John informed her.

"Do you know what kind of drug he used?" Hermione asked.

"It feels like an opiate or possibly some form of heroine." He replied.

"That's horrible." Willow said.

Hermione reached into her beaded bag and pulled out a bottle of blue liquid.

"Here drink this it should make you feel better."

"What is it?" he asked.

"A flushing potion." She replied.

"Potion?" he wondered.

"Yes, and hold on to this amulet as you drink it."

Sherlock looked at John and John told him that he could trust them.

He didn't understand why he needed to hold the amulet. He took one look at the contents of the bottles opaque liquid and then downed its contents. He felt the most unusual feeling he couldn't even begin to describe coming from the amulet in his hand rushing up his arm and throughout his entire body. Then he felt the need to throw up. He turned to the bushes besides him and did so.

"Sherlock! Hermione what's wrong with him."

"Well, what did you expect a flushing potion to do? But you better get him into that buildings public rest room before he flushes from the other two directions."

Sherlock didn't have to be told twice. He could already feel the pressure in his guts he would need a bathroom quickly and so rushed to get to one.

Twenty minutes later Sherlock emerged from the rest room. He looked a bit drawn and pale but had a very curious look upon his face.

"I feel completely sober. Not even a hint of withdrawal or even addiction. How is that possible? What kind of counter drug was in that bottle?"

"It wasn't a drug. It was a potion." Hermione explained.

"I'm afraid my nice is leaving out one essential element. It was a 'magic' potion. Real magic Sherlock. It would turn out my niece is a practicing witch."

Sherlock looked towards John and then to Hermione who stood there innocently. He then turned to Willow and asked.

"And you Miss Rosenberg."

"Yep, me too."

"I see. That would make so much sense to some of the things I've seen in my work and close many of my unsolved cases if magic were applied to the equation. John you did say you kept my work didn't you."

"Yes, everything is back where we're staying." John said looking at him dumbfounded.

"At some point I'd like to go over some of my cases to see what is possible when magic is applied."

"You're taking the existence of magic rather well. I was only convinced when our coffee table turned into a pig." John said.

"I just felt an indescribable feeling from this inanimate object help to purge my body of a cocktail of drugs that were destroying not only my body but my mind. I felt the…energy…power…or magic if you will curse through me and push the foulness out of my very veins. There isn't any medical way that that would be possible so yes, I would have to concede that it was real magic."

"Good then that would make this next part go better. We need to get back to the D.R.O. Congo." Willow said.

"That's hundreds of miles away from here." Sherlock said.

"Hence the need for magic." She said pulling out a length of rope from her bag. "This is what we call a portkey it will take us to where we are going in seconds. I'll warn you now; it's a bit of a wild ride. So let's get away from here before those Guerilla's decide to show up."

"And you believe the Democratic Republic of Congo to be safer?" Sherlock asked.

"Our wards are strong and our people are even stronger." Willow said

"More witches?" Sherlock wondered.

"And wizards, slayers, moon-wolves, and an assortment of other magical beasts and beings." Hermione replied.

"I see." Sherlock said reserving judgment on weather or not to be worried or not. "Very well let's use this… portkey and get to safer ground."

They all entered an ally and were gone before anyone knew it.

Just then a jeep drove by the alley and parked across the street. The passenger got out and said to the driver.

"I thought those arks were supposed to be here?"

"You just missed them." Samantha Carter said coming out of a building after getting the information she needed to get to the radio telescopes and some maps. Vala followed behind her. "You sound American." Carter said.

"I am. You look military." The passenger said.

"Yes, we were American military. We just got off the arks a little while ago before they left for Morocco."

"Why did they leave?" The driver asked.

"The African governments invited them to a more hospitable place." Sam explained.

"Why didn't you go with them?" The passenger asked.

"We actually needed to be on this side of the continent. We're looking to get to Carnarvon South Africa. Can you direct us to someone who can get us a ride?" Sam asked.

"Actually, a few of my friends are going to take a trip to the D.R.O. Congo. Would that be anywhere near on their way?"

"Depending on their rout it could be." Sam replied.

"Well, we seem to have missed what we came here to see, so hop on in and we'll take you back so you can ask Faith and Queen."

"Thank you very much. I'm Samantha Carter and this is Vala Mal Doran. We really appreciate it." Sam said getting in.

"Yes, thank you." Vala said jumping in beside Sam.

"Joyce Dixon and this is my friend Zeta Johnson." Joyce said as Zeta took off.

/Day twenty-eight, Month One, Year One/

Sean Angus Malloy sat in the same bar he had been visiting for the past twenty-eight days. It was the same bar he had met his uncle, a general in the air force. As he sat there he had made a decision.

'This was stupid he's gone and won't be coming back. He died in the end, he must have. Tomorrow I'll move on. I can't live with this kind of hope knowing it isn't possible. The guy died end of story.' He thought.

He got up from the table and went to the bar. He paid his tab he started a few weeks ago and began to leave. As he opened the door from his side a new customer opened it from the outside. As they both looked up there was recognition.

"Da… I mean Uncle Jack. You made it. I mean you lived. I mean…" He silently cursed to himself for that slip he made at the beginning of his greeting more than the confusion of the rest of what he said. His uncle looked so much like his father did.

"Yeah, so did you. Very eloquently put by the way."

"Yeah, I thought so. I'm a journalist remember."

"So you are. So, is this your hang out or what?" Jack asked because the only reason he came here was because it was where he'd agreed to meet Sean that one time and the last place he had seen him.

"Only for the past twenty-eight days. I was just thinking that I would probably need to move on soon. There are big stories going on out there. I heard that the arks are moving on up here to Morocco. I was thinking about heading there. You got to admit the pictures I would take would become part of the history book."

"Yeah, I could see that." Jack replied.

"So, what took you so long to get back here? "

"Personal issues." Jack replied.

"Why are you here now?"

"Oddly enough I was ordered to seek you out and confirm that you are alive by the president."

"Of the United States? Why?" Sean asked.

"Well… it may have been because of my personal issues."

"…You lost some one." Sean said with certainty.

"Several someone's actually." Jack replied.

"That bull, its one special someone you lost that caused the personal issue. I can see it on your face. It's the same one my father use to get when someone as close as family to him died."

"Yeah so." Jack deadpanned.

Sean wasn't about to pry. He just found family again and he wasn't going to make him turn away by asking a bunch of personal questions that may piss him off.

"So how long are you here for?" Sean asked

"Two weeks." Jack replied

"Wow, you must have been really messed up. Listen you want to come with me to get pictures of the arks. It'll take a couple of hours to get to the ocean where the docks are. I need to get moving if I want to be there on time."

"Sure, why not. How are we getting there?" Jack wondered.

"I got my motorcycle out side."

"That was yours? Cool bike."

"You know my father's bike is back at my apartment you can ride that one. You can ride cant you?"

"I haven't done it in years but yeah. Even so, they tell me it's just like riding a bike."

"My uncle, the comedian."

"Naw, I like my day job. Will we be coming back this way?" Jack asked.

"In a day or two. It depends on what kind of photo opportunities arise when we're there. Why?" Sean asked.

"I have to check in with some people in the area every so often. It shouldn't be a problem. My next check in is in three days."

"We should be back in plenty of time." Sean told him.

"Well, lead the way mild mannered reporter."

"You don't know me too well do you?" Sean replied.

"I know barely anything." Jack said.

"That admission is the fist step to enlightenment padwan."

"Oh, you and my friend 'T' would get along famously, Master Yoda." Jack stated.

/Scene Break/

On the shore of Libya a small beetle watched from her large glass jar as a young skinny African kid of about ten was being harassed by three older African kids of about eleven or twelve. They were really mean to the skinny one. They were yelling in some African dialect she couldn't understand. At this point she hoped the skinny kid had friends that would show up or something. These bigger kids could really hurt the little one. It was then the beating started and Reeta Skeeter became agitated. This was out of hand. The sound of the fists hitting the poor boys flesh and then the blood, it was just so horrible. The little one could die if they didn't stop. The kid landed with his head right next to her jar before the others stopped and left. Reeta was worried. The kid didn't look good he could be left here to die and no one would know because these were the first people she had seen on this beach in the last two days when her jar washed up on shore. She was very agitated as she flew around her jar ramming her hard little beetle body against the sides of the jar, trying to make enough sound to keep the kid awake. She didn't want to see him die. To Reeta's utter surprise, after the other kids were out of sight the skinny kid sat up. The kid wasn't as hurt as he pretended to be. He looked after the other three to make sure they were gone before turning to Reeta's jar. He looked into it and saw the strange bug inside. They stared at each other for a long minute before the kid spoke.

"It can't be nice for you to sit in a glass jar with the hot sun beating down on you. You will surely die soon if you stay in there."

The kid then twisted the lid off. Reeta was nearly in shock but she was so happy that she was sure it was illegal to feel such elation. She flew out of the bottle and immediately transformed back into a human without concern that she was doing so in front of her savior.

"You…your…you're a…you're a genie." He said.

"Sorry, no, I happen to be a witch but I'll tell you what, I'll still grant you a couple of wishes for getting me out of that thing."

The kid looked wide eyed at her. His prayer may have just been answered. With trepidation and caution he slowly and clearly announced the one and only wish he had wanted since the earth quakes started.

"I wish for you to bring my mother and father back to life."

Reeta felt like she was kicked in the gut. She never thought the kid would ask something like that. Food maybe, healing his wounds she could have imagined not that she was that great at healing spells. But to have been asked to bring his parents back from death.

"Kid, listen to me I'm not a genie I'm a witch I can't bring people back from the dead. Come to think of it I don't think a genie could either. That kind of thing is usually done by a necromancer or a djinn and you really don't want to meet either of them. They tend to take more than they give. What exactly were those kids beating you for anyway?"

"They know I don't have a mother or father to take care of me. My family has always been poor. My mother died two years ago and my father died almost a month ago. We always lived on the streets but now they are gone and I am alone. I have no one to guide me in how to live my life until I enter adulthood."

"Are there no orphanages?" Reeta asked.

"So many people have died across Africa in the past month that the orphanages overflow with their children now. Listen to me, I've thought of another wish. If you can't bring my parents back to me, can you send me to them?"

"WHAT!" Reeta shrieked. "NO. Listen kid… what is your name by the way?"

"Jamal." He announced.

"Well, my name is Reeta Skeeter. Listen Jamal; there is one thing I am very certain about and that is that your parent had wanted you to live until you're a hundred or something like that. You can't be talking about dieing. You're still young and have a lot to learn. You have to grow up and take all those rights of passage all kids do. Like finding a girl and falling in love and having your own kids to know what it like to love so much."

"Where is your boyfriend or husband and child?

"Hey I'm still young. I still have time to find someone. I just wanted a career as a newspaper reporter first. But what are we going to do about you? Where do you live?"

"I have been staying in a nice crate outside the butchers shop. When he would throw out the meat and cheese that was getting to old to sell at the end of the day I would have a nice meal but those kids found out and chased me away and destroyed my box."

"I'm going to have to find someplace to put you."

"I could stay with you."

"Are you kidding I don't even know where I'm going. Maybe I can go back to England because there isn't a place called Italy anymore."

"There isn't a place called England anymore ether Miss."

Reeta looked at him in shock for a moment before asking. "Europe?"

"I'm sorry but it's gone too." He said.

"America?" She asked in desperation.

"Gone, they are saying that Africa is the only land that survived and has risen out of the ocean. This very beach wasn't here a month ago."

"Well then I'm really at a loss kid."

"Please let me stay with you. I could help you find your way around. My family has traveled through many countries in Africa. I know my way around many of the big cities in them. That's were all the big news happens and I speak three African dialects besides English and a little in two other dialects. I can be very helpful."

"Alright, I do need your help. But it will only be for a little while and then we'll find you someplace to… I don't know…get a life…live it …and…well, you get the picture." Reeta said unsure of herself. Little did she know that when you take responsibility for someone even for a short time that it would only makes it that much harder to let go later. And so Reeta and Jamal walked back up to the city to find a place for them both for a few days until she could get her bearing and find the closest magical town.

/Scene Break/

Gwen cooper had made her decision and decide that she had had enough of this cockeye world of magic and wanted to leave. So she walked right up the hill to the man she had seen many of the people go to for help. He was talking to two of the men they had put in the ranks of what they jokingly call their police force. She felt they were mocking the police everywhere but she had to put that aside for now, she was here for a reason. She pulled him to the side and proceeded to ask Xander to get her away from here.

"Where would you like to be if not here?" Xander asked.

"God, why would any normal human being want to be here? I don't care where I go. Maybe you can send me to where those arks are."

"From what I heard they are supposed to be headed for Morocco. I'm sure one of the witches can make you a portkey to head there." Xander said.

"Do we have to involve those witches? The less I see of then the better." Gwen protested.

"They're the only way to get you there quickly and in one peace. The other way would take week of an arduous journey because of the Guerilla military looking for white slaves. It would be like trying to smuggle you through an underground railroad."

"Alright, alright, fine, just get me away from here." She said heatedly.

"Just a moment." He said as he opened his cell phone and dialed. He listened for a moment before he spoke. "Hey Will, listen Gwen Cooper just asked me about a portkey to Morocco. Looks like Dawn won the pool."

Gwen looked at him as if laser beams would come out of her eyes and burn the man to a crisp for betting on her.

"What…no, I was put down for some time tomorrow. Anyway can you set her up with a one way portkey?" he then looked at Gwen and asked. "That will be one way, wont it." Xander asked.

"I have no intention of coming back to this fruit farm." She hissed.

"Yeah Will, one way."

Just then right in front of the four people the Morog demon decided it was time to attack Jim and Blare. It appeared several yards away and once it did it began screaming. Everyone was startled by its sudden appearance and was motionless for several seconds. Jim came to his senses first and began ordering Blair.

"Blair, it's the Morog demon, make your silver knife ready."

As Blair pulled his knife he made his observations known. Jim, look at it. "It isn't charging at us. It seems to be in pain."

"It must be the new ward set up to protect us from demons." Xander said.

"I hope you're not feeling sorry for the thing, Chief."

"Hell no, I'm telling you this is the perfect time to attack." Blair said.

They both ran towards the demon but before they cot to it a giant wolf charged it knocking it to the ground. The Morog demon was in to much pain to put up too much resistance as it got to all fours to make it way upright the wolf grabbed its forearm in its jaws and pulled it behind the demon. It was on its knees now giving one of the men a perfect opportunity to plunge his silver knife into its chest. Blair took that opportunity. The wolf let go when it seen that Blair made the final blow sinking the large knife deep into the creatures chest. It was over as demon lost all of its fight. Blair tried to pull the knife from its chest but it seemed to be stuck. The Morog began to collapse. Its eyes rolled back into its head as it drew its last breath. Then there was what seemed to be an explosion of blackness as what seemed to be a black hole opened and seemed to faze the body of the demon into it as well as Blair who had still been trying to pull his knife from the demons chest. In Blair's defense it happened so fast that one fraction of a second they were there the next fraction they were gone. Blair didn't even get to notice the black hole.

"What happened? Where did they go?" Jim asked Xander.

Xander just stood there ether too shocked to say anything or he just didn't have an answer to give him.

"We're not sure. We'll have to do some research." Willow said, shocking Gwen as she wondered when the woman had gotten here.

Then Oz began to transform from his wolf form, shocking Gwen even more. As he finished his transformation he said. "If I were to guess, that might have been the way the demon body dies but doesn't leave any evidence of being here. Most demons melt into an ooze that evaporates into nothing. Some turn into dirt. Vampires turn to dust. The Morog's body may go back to the dark corridor."

"So, does that mean that Blair could still be alive?" Jim asked.

"I just don't know. Like Willow said, we'll need to do some research." Oz said

It was then Gwen heard Xander make an announcement.

"Thank you for your immediate response to the danger but the situation has been dealt with. You can return to what you were doing."

Gwen turned around to find what had to be every female student the G.C. had been standing behind them. Over one hundred girls stood there with a wide range of weapons, from wooden stakes and clubs to swords, axes and maces.

'When the hell did they get here?' She thought.

"What about Blair?" One of the slayers said and the others grunted in agreement to know the answer to the question.

"We will be doing all we can to find out what happened to Mr. Sandberg and see if there is anything that can be done." He replied.

As everyone moved away Gwen turned to Xander and heatedly asked. "This kind of stuff is the reason why I want out of here. What about getting me to Morocco?"

"I can help you with that." Willow said. "This is no place for civilians."

"I'm not a civilian. I'm a cop."

"Well, yes, you use to be but even when you were a cop you were still a civilian to our fight, the whole demon hunters against demons thing." Willow replied.

"That isn't a thing. It's just weirdness." Gwen hissed.

"Which is why, we consider you a civilian. It's we who need to protect people like you and not be seen doing it."

Gwen didn't want to be hearing any of this. "Can you just get me out of here?"

"Sure, I'll take you personally."

"Is the earth giving up magic again, Will?" Xander asked.

"Kind of, very little and sporadically at best but there's enough to get us there and back. Well… actually, I may need a little while to top off the magic I'll need to make it back here but it shouldn't take long. I'll be back soon to help with the research."

With that said Willow grabbed Gwen by the arm and disappeared. Jim then followed Xander and Oz to the library to find answers. The two Scoobies already knew that Jim might not be much help given that he may have just witnessed his friend's death.

/Scene Break/

Joyce and Zeta entered the small one room cabin Faith and Queen had been sharing for the past few day since their accident that broke their legs. Faith healed almost over night but, it took another two days to be as fit as normal. However, it had taken Queen several days before the pain had died down enough to be able to do magic and send some healing magic into her broken bones.

The two young slayers looked a little uncomfortable upon entering.

"Miss Faith, we wanted to say how sorry we were to bring the strangers here."

Faith had been packing her duffel bag for the trip before turning to face them. She looked angry and the way she had been packing her bag showed it.

"You know what? I'm not the least bit angry with ether of you. What I'm angry at is the freaking Powers That Be. This has their stench all over it."

"What do you mean?" Zeta asked.

"Think about it, you two just so happen to want to see the arks for no other reason than to see them. Those two strangers just so happen to be there. They just so happen to need a ride in the same direction we just so happen to be going. Ether the Powers That Be had something to do with this or there is some whack job author writing our live the way he wants."

"And thy name be Fate." Queen announced as she packed some fresh fruit in her bag.

"Yeah, well, I'd like to give Mr. Fate a solid slayer kick in the mangos. This means we'll need to take the gas guzzling truck and we won't be able to use our slayer abilities or magic without making sure to get our two hitch hikers out of the way first. The last thing we need is a couple of solder types finding out about magic."

Just then two Jenny and Sara came in an announced that the truck was ready.

"What about the extra gas barrels?" Faith asked

"Two of them have been loaded on to them and strapped down."

"Right, those two hitch hikers didn't see you load them did they?" Faith wondered.

"No Miss, Miss Rona had them help build the fence on the other side of the village."

"Good, then why don't you tell them we're ready to move out?"

"Yes miss."

"Well, you ready to try again Queen?" Faith asked.

"I am, I will discreetly try to help save our fuel with magic along the way."

"Did you put the mojo on the whole truck so we don't break down on the way."

"I did so last night. Barring any accidents we may have, the truck will not suffer from any normal ware and tear."

"Good, well then, I guess that's it. Let move out." Faith said.

/Scene Break/

The thick crowed paraded off the first ark to make port everyone of them carrying a backpack and a duffel bag. Sean Malloy was snapping many pictures with his digital camera.

"Are you sure you're going to have enough memory on that thing, Sam." Jack O'Neill asked using the Sean's preferred nickname.

"I brought several more sim cards they hold over two gigs each so yeah I should have enough. This is historic I can sell every picture I take for a small fortune. They'll be in the newspapers first but eventually be put into many history and conspiracy books."

"Conspiracy books?" Jack asked.

"Well sure. Just that these arks exist says that the governments knew about this happening and pulled their collective resources to build them in secret from the rest of the world. If I were into that kind of thing I could sensationalize it by calling them the great betrayer of man kind. Just think how many people they let die."

"But there would have been no way to save the entire planet." Jack argued.

"True, but it would be interesting to find out how they picked each of these people to save. What made them important? Was it genetics, wealth, politics?"

"Are you really going to write something like that?" Jack asked not just a little disappointed in his nephew.

"Me? No, I'm just saying how I think my pictures will be used and I get to keep all the royalties so I'll have money for the future."

Jack was relived but concerned. His nephew was right; this didn't bode well for the future.

/Scene Break/

On the other side of the crowd Rose and Jackie Tyler and Mickey Smith where watching people parade by. They felt that they needed to be here, to see history in the making and seeing how much of the rest of the world survived. They were feeling very melancholy about the whole thing. As the last of the people left the first ark they didn't feel like being there any longer. They stepped of the curb and followed the crowd. Just then they witnessed a man with a camera trying to get the attention of anyone who could speak English. Eventually he caught up with them.

"Excuse me do you speak English." He asked Jackie.

"Um yes but…" Jackie began but the man continued.

"Great, I'm Sam Malloy independent photo journalist. Would you mind giving me a quote about this historic occasion?"

"Well I…" Jackie said.

"How was your trip aboard the ark?"

It was then Mickey decided to answer for her.

"Oh she was…" He began but was cut off by Rose.

"Terrified!" Rose said. "In the beginning it was terribly scary for each of us and you know my mum isn't one for wild rides and it took a bit for it to even out but we manage to get through it. You know like the British saying goes. We kept calm and we're carrying on."

Jackie and Mickey just looked at each other in confusion.

"That's great, thanks, what's your name by the way?"

"Umm, Rose Tyler and my mum's is Jackie and this is my friend Mickey."

"Great thanks again." He said and moved on.

It was then that Jackie and Mickey rounded on Rose. "What the hell was that all about?"

"Well, it just came to me that there might be some benefits to being thought of as part of the ark passengers. I don't know what kind, but who knows."

"It could just as well be bad thing." Jackie said.

"She's right; there could be some kind of turmoil brewing in the future. It may not be a good thing to be a survivor from the ark."

"I hadn't thought of that." Rose was reluctant to acknowledge.

"Let's just hope it doesn't get us in trouble." Jackie replied.

/Scene Break/

Gwen Cooper sat on a wooden chair in her hotel room. She had seen the arks pull into port earlier from her window but had no interest in seeing the passengers depart. It was just further conformation of what the rest of the Africa already knew. The rest of the world was destroyed and the arks held the survivors. At the moment she wasn't even thinking about that. Her mind rung with the word of some woman, some witch calling her a civilian in a secret war. She had thought that the people that she had been surrounded with were weird dangerous freaks and that magic was evil. But she didn't know evil until she had seen that creature they called Morog. The creature had been in pain and still she could feel the evil flow off of it in waves. Once when she was a beat cop a tiger had gotten loose from the zoo and cornered her in an alley along with a mother and her screaming children. She had never been more afraid then she was that day. That was until today. That creature, that demon even though it had been in debilitating pain was more terrifying in every way. You could taste the evil in it. And then those people charged to the scene to… to what, kill it? No they had referred to it as slaying. What was the difference really? She guessed they justified it as you could kill a person but slay demons. It made sense she guessed. She was glad that it had been slain. It didn't belong and it had been evil and dangerous. Was she wrong about the people she left behind? Did they serve the unknowing public, keeping them safe by slaying demons as a public service. They didn't get any recognition or even get paid that she knew of and today one of them may have died right in front of her. She needed to silence her thoughts there were just too many at the moment. Maybe things would look different after a nap.

/Scene Break/

Earlier in the day Kennedy Kinsey hadn't even been two hours off the Ark when she found herself surrounded by several men whose intentions were to capture her for some nefarious purpose. She hadn't been keen on being their plaything and decided to make short work of them. When they tried to jump her she grabbed one man by the throat and tore it out the next man had his jaw broken with one punch and the third had both his arms broken and was kicked in the shin breaking his leg as well.

Now she was in a bar arm wrestling big men for food and beer. The next contestant would be paying for her room for the night but just then several men came through the door dressed in military garb the room went quiet. Kennedy looked disgusted and sat back in her chair with her arms crossed. The men spotted her and walked right over to her. The lead man studies her for a moment. He then looked to a big man next to him and nodded in her direction. The big man charged Kennedy. From her sitting possession she struck. It stunned him and he backed away to charge again. By this time Kennedy had lazily stood up the fight continued. She never showed her true strength just her martial art prowess all the while looking board. In the end the big man lay on the floor unconscious. The leader walked up to her he stood there looking at her as Kennedy looked at him unimpressed. The leader grimaced and raised his arm to backhand her across the face.

"Do that and you'll loose that arm. I can guarantee it." She said.

The leader seemed to find what he was looking for within Kennedy. Perhaps it was the killer instinct. He dropped his arm and smirked.

"I could use someone like you."

With no other opportunities on her horizon she said.

"What's in it for me?"

The leader openly smiled.

"You'll get a place to sleep, three meals a day, and plenty of action." He said.

Kennedy considered the offer for a moment before saying. "It sounds good, at least until something better comes along." She replied.

No other words were said as they all turned and left through the door they came in from, Kennedy following behind without question.

/Scene Break/

The sun was setting and Lucius Malfoy was in his living room reading the evening paper the elves procured from the local while shopping in one of the magical districts. He came across an article that got him excited.

Muggels make port in Morocco.

Three of the biggest water faring vessels made port today dwarfing any of the ships the muggels have ever made to date. According to our sources the vessels were arks and also according to our sources these arks hold people from many different lands because the rest of the land masses have disappeared beneath the oceans. The African Ministry of Magic had suspected this for some time and has sent out several wizards on brooms to fly to other nearby countries: Italy, Spain, Turkey, Jordan and Yemen all have been reported missing and it is believed the others are gone as well making Africa the only land for people to live upon. The people of Africa that have died in the past month number in over a million possibly a million and a half. The refugees coming off the arks number in the thousands of many different nations. The future should prove interesting for muggel and wizard kind alike.

This was the information Lucius had been waiting for. He now knew that there was no one left to pursue him. There wasn't a prison to be thrown into. He threw the paper in the air yelling "I'm free! I'm free!"

"Look out Africa, I, Lucius Malfoy will soon dominate this pathetic excuse of land for myself and as the prophecy said. I will be KING of all I survey and beyond and I will rule with and iron fist."

/Scene Break/

Ethan Rayne had climbed out of the cave of trials in the early morning. The moment he exited the cave the dijinn had put it's claw upon his chest and placed a demon inside him. He then spent all day recovering. He still wasn't up to par but good enough to make his way outside the tent he had been recovering in. Now that he had time to recover a bit and think he realized he didn't feel much different but then he hadn't felt any different when he didn't have magic and only found out when he tried to do some. But he was told he would have his magic back once he was given the demon. He decided to test it and made a ball of flame and flung it at a large bolder. He was very happy.

"Your powers have been restored." The dijinn stated.

"Yes thank you. But I have a question. You said that I now have a demon inside of me and that he enjoyed chaos as much as I do. I don't feel any different I don't feel the demon."

"That is because he still sleeps within. He will wake soon enough and then your struggle will begin."

"Struggle? What do you mean?" Ethan asked.

"Two being now share one body, you will both struggle for dominance over it when he wakes." The dijinn explained.

"You didn't say that would happen." Ethan said worriedly.

"You did not ask. You will have to find a way to compromise or you could find yourself a passenger in you own body."

"What can you tell me about this demon? What its name what kind of demon is he. How did he die? The more I know about him the more I may have to bargain with."

"His name is Bok and he is a gargoyle demon. He was one of the last of his kind to enter the earth realm. However, that is not to say there aren't more back in the hell dimension he came from. Gargoyle demons have been known to be nearly indestructible. He has continually tried to raise more powerful demons than himself to find one he can serve. His last attempt was to raise a demon in Cardiff Whales who had been chained within the hell mouth there.

"I thought that was a hell hole?"

"That was only because the demon itself blocked most of the energies coming from the mouth."

"That must have been one big demon. Why didn't he succeed?"

"He did but the Guardian Council had dispatched many slayers and destroyed Abodon and then caught up with Bok."

"Then we have a common enemy. Perhaps we will be able to find a compromise sooner rather than later. We can destroy the Guardian Council together. This time I'll attack the England branch of the Guardian Council that will get Rupert's attention."

"That will be impossible. England no longer exists."

Ethan looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"Much has changed in the last thirty days that you have been in the cave of trials. The world has reshaped itself. Africa is the only landmass that hasn't caught fire and is still above water. It had been prophesized that these events would to come to pass."

"I knew nothing of this prophecy. I missed all the chaos because I was stuck in those blasted trials. I feel cheated."

"Are you challenging me mortal?" The dijinn asked darkly.

"No, no of course not, I just meant if I hadn't lost my magic I could have helped in some small way to create even more chaos."

The Dijinn chuckled as he said. "Don't worry human. There is plenty of time and chaos still to be made, because Africa is always in a state of unrest."

Ethan nodded his head in recognition of the dijinn's wisdom and said. "I Ethan Rayne, vow to spread untold chaos to every corner of Africa in Janus's name."

Thunder clapped in the distance after his proclamation.

"If I believed in omens I would say Janus has heard you and given you a sign that he accepts you vow." The Dijinn announced.

Ethan nodded and finalized his vow. "So mote it be."

The End of 2012 Heroes save thy self

But I don't want it to end.

So I'm already planning the sequel.

Look out for 'Heroes save thy self: Year One'

A.N. So, I was listening to retro radio and heard this one song and thought 'if this story were a movie with rolling credit this would be the music that fit perfectly.' So as you read the rest of this pull out your copy of Richard Marx and Donna Lewis - At the Beginning with you from the Anastasia Soundtrack and read on.

A.N. The 2012 movie ended on day twenty seven. I gave you an extra day. This story was about how the hero's would be saved and how they would survive the earth curst displacement giving new beginnings to both the good guys and some of the bad. From the beginning, this story was made with the intentions of making plot bunnies for it to continue and I do hope to do so in the future however, I need to take a break to find out more about Africa or I could be falling into what a TED talk video calls 'The Dangers of the Single Story'. Look it up on youtube. The new story will be called 'Heroes save thy self: year one'. What havoc will Kennedy Kinsey, Lucius Malfoy and Ethan Rayne cause? Reeta Skeeter a mother? Will Sam and Vala find their way home? What will they find out about or reveal to Faith and Queen? What will happen to the Ark refugees? And what will the ultimate fate of Blair Sandberg be? (That was something I cooked up as I wrote it) These questions and more to be answered next time. In the meantime I found some of my old stories that I never posted and plan on giving them the once over so they can be posted. Thanks for reading. Thanks for the reviews.

Q: A reviewer named Lizett suggested that I switch the category of this fic to something more popular that the 2012 move, something like Harry Potter or Buffy the Vampire Slayer for more reviews. My question is: would that screw up the people who put the fic in their favorite's stories folder? If not I might try it in a couple of weeks.

What TV/Movie's I borrowed the characters from:

Beauty and the Beast - (1987) (TV Series)

Bell, Book and Candle - (1958) (Movie)

Blue Bloods - (2010) (TV Series)

Blues Brothers 2000 - (1998) (Movie)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - (1997) (TV Series)

Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles - (2001) (Movie)

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - (2000) (TV Series)

Doctor Who - (2005) (TV Series)

Ghost Whisperer - (2005) (TV Series)

Greatest American Hero - (1981) (TV Series)

Harry Potter - (1997) (Books)

Kung Fu the Legend Continues - (1993) (TV Series)

Tomb Raider - (1993) (video game)

Law & Order - (1990) (TV Series)

The Mummy - (1999) (movie)

NCIS - (2003) (TV Series)

Quantum Leap - (1989) (TV Series)

Rizzoli & Isles - (2010) (TV Series)

Sherlock - (2010) (BBC TV Series)

Stargate SG-1 - (1997) (TV Series)

Stargate Atlantis - (2004) (TV Series)

The Good Witch - (2008) (TV Movie)

The Sentinel - (1996) (TV Series)

Torchwood - (2006) (TV Series)

Tru Calling - (2003) (TV Series)

Walker Texas Ranger - (1993) (TV Series)

and of course '2012 the Movie' - (2009) (Movie)