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Rating:PG-13
Chapter 20 - Puzzle pieces-part 2
Earth, Wolfram&Hart
Angel was sitting behind the desk in his office and flicking through the pages of various Wolfram&Hart reports with a dreary expression. He had spend the last two hours searching for anything unusual, but couldn't find any proof that would confirm what Faith told him. None of the files contained informations about unexpected demon movements or opening portals to other dimensions during the last year. Frustrated, he threw away the last volume and headed to the main hall. Faith said she would arrive at six and Angel wondered how she managed to get from England to L.A. in less then three hours. When he left his office, he saw Faith was already waiting for him and talking to Lorne.
Faith noticed Angel enter the hall and studied his unhappy expression. Without a single word she knew his search wasn't successful. "Man, if this the look you use nowadays to welcome a friend you haven't seen for months, I don't want to know how you greet your enemies.", she grinned.
"I'm sorry Faith." Angel sighed and tried to smile. "I couldn't..."
"Find anything." Faith nodded. "Got that part the minute you gave me this brooding look. Doesn't matter. What I really need is a chat with the powers so I'll sing, Lorne spills out what they know and everything will be fine."
"I'll be glad to hear you sing sweetheart, however a message from the PTB is exactly the one thing I can't offer. I've lost my powers almost two years ago and we have never found out why. We have seers from Wolfram&Hart, but they can't contact the PTB and use their own abilities to predict the future." Lorne explained.
(A/N I haven't Angel's last season and the end of S4 so I'm not sure if Lorne has his powers, but in this story he doesn't.)
"Almost two years ago? What was the last prophecy you heard?"
"Oh, please don't remind me of that night. It was right after Angel got the control over L.A.'s branch of W&H and over three dozen lawyers ran to me and wanted to know their future. I needed a tequila after each vision to forget what I've seen and almost forty drinks make even a demon soused." Lorne tried to remember. "I think the last lawyer I heard sing will be arrested next month for smuggling."
"That's all?" Faith wondered. "No visions about demons or...let's say...planets?"
"Now that you mentioned it." Lorne paused thoughtfully. "I had a weird dream that night, which I always considered the beginning of a very long hangover. But there is no way it could come from the PTB. I had always received the messages only when people sang and this was just a dream." Lorne shrugged. "It was too cheesy even for a prophecy anyway. I saw a demon without a face in a dark cloak, sitting on a golden throne and I heard someone say: The future is written in the stars. Then all of a sudden the picture was gone, like when you switch off a TV. "
Faith's face got paler, she knew exactly what the prophecy meant. The guy on the golden throne was definitely a Goa'uld. "Is there another way to contact the powers?"
"Only one I have cognizance of. It's a hidden chamber in Derinkuyu." Angel replied. "The only place where you can talk to the PTB without a seer or an oracle."
"Derinkuyu.That's the new skyscraper two blocks to the south from Wolfram&Hart?"
"It's a underground city in Turkey." Angel explained. "I'll book a ticket to Ankara for tomorrow."
"I have something a little faster." Faith smirked."Ready to go right now?" Faith got a little closer to Angel and when he nodded she activated the rings, leaving the others stare with open mouths at the empty space previously occupied by Faith and Angel.
When the couple reappeared in the transport ship Angel just looked around without showing any sing of surprise and put his arms on his hips. "Why do I feel like there is something you didn't tell me?"
"I'll explain everything under way." Faith promised.
----
Jack was sitting in the conference room and listened to Carter describing the last mission on P4X-something. It was a routine work. Greet the villagers, get some soil samples, keep Daniel out of trouble, ask about alien technology and persuade the locals Teal'c belongs to the good guys. Nothing really happened during the mission which Jack considered a surprise because usually SG-1 was under attack within the first ten minutes. Even the food the villagers gave them seemed to be without a virus, nanobots or a chemical changing them into mutants. However, no matter how friendly were the inhabitants on PX4, Jack would prefer to stay on Earth during the last hours and the reason was the General's next sentence.
"The interrogation of senator Kinsey is already over."Hammond informed his first team.
Daniel noticed Jack's disappointed expression. "You're sorry you missed it?"
"Only the part where they beat the crap out of him." Jack clarified. "What did he tell us?"
"There is a new Goa'uld who calls himself Anubis." Hammond began to explain the situation. "He knows about the second Earth and used Kinsey and NID to make the slayers attack us. However his other intentions remain unknown. Anubis was exiled by the other System Lords about six hundred years ago and everyone took for granted he was dead. He wants to regain his former position and is looking for some artifacts that would give him more power when they are combined with the blood of the Key. Dawn's and Buffy's blood seem to have some kind of magical properties, that's why Anubis and Kinsey kidnapped Buffy and Dawn. The set is based on technology as well as magic and it wouldn't work without their blood. To control the Key, NID drugged Buffy and tried the same process with Dawn, but the drug wasn't effective enough to overpower the natural resistance of a slayer and Dawn had cast a spell to protect her from the effect of chemicals. I think we should concentrate on finding the artifacts. Kinsey knows only about three of them. The first is Ra's eye, which Anubis found a month ago on Abydos. (A/N Two years sooner then in the show. I made up the second artifact.) The second item is Apophis's staff and the third and most powerful is some kind of axe. Kinsey has no idea where the axe is, but he knows the location of the staff. "
"Let me guess." Jack interrupted Hammond. "He didn't tell Anubis he found the staff because he wanted the power for himself."
"Which gives us a chance to stop whatever Anubis's plan is." Jacob entered the conference room.
"Dad!" Sam rushed to her father and hug him."I thought you had an important mission. "
"The Tok'ra Council suspended almost all our operations the moment you sent us the message Anubis is alive." Selmak explained. "I'm afraid you don't realize how serious threat Anubis represents. Once again your overestimated self-confidence means danger for your planet."
"So enlighten the benighted, oh powerful Tok'ra. Bless us with your knowledge." Jack snorted. He hated when the Tok'ra treated him as someone who had no idea what he was getting into.
"This really isn't the best time for sarcasm Jack." Jacob replied."Anubis was cast out because his crimes were too much even for the System Lords. His return might change the situation in the whole galaxy. You don't know how many ships and Jaffa he has on his side. "
"We don't know the strength of Anubis's army, but we know what he's looking for." Hammond informed Jacob and turned to Daniel. "Doctor Jackson."
"Apophis staff is on P3X-421, hidden in a temple called by the local inhabitants Naria'Tak which roughly translated means Serpent's Legacy." Daniel explained."NID agents had tried to recover the staff two months before we arrested them, but the temple was too well protected and only one soldier survived. He knows the inner structure of the temple and we plan to take him with us. Apophis is gathering his forces to attack the other System Lords nowadays so the number of guards should be lower then usual. Apophis probably doesn't know the real value of the staff."
"This NID soldier coming with us. Who is it?" Jack wondered.
"Martin Roberts." Daniel read the agent's name.
"You mean Colonel 'I killed two slayers.' Roberts ?" Jack asked."Thank God Faith isn't here, because...well...I presume we need him alive."
"Roberts will be escorted to SGC in one hour." Hammond informed the others. "I agree with Selmak, we can not allow Anubis to complete the set. SG-1 and Jacob will leave to P3X-421 in 90 minutes."
----
Faith landed the cloaked ship in a valley near the coordinates Angel gave her and they both got out. Angel wasn't very enthused when she described him the situation, especially after he heard that Connor and Fred knew about the stargate and didn't tell him. Faith tried to explain to him, the less people knew about the gate the better, but he was still a little angry that SWC knew about such a serious threat and kept it secret.
Faith followed Angel to a side entrance, which according to his informations was mostly unused. Angel broke the small chain, which was keeping the door shut, and got inside. He knew they had to hurry, because the sun would rise soon and he didn't fancy running back to the ship in full daylight.
"We're lucky there are no guards here." Angel remarked. "We would get into a lot of trouble if we landed in front of the main entrance."
"Demons?"
"Tourists." Angel replied. "There is a large camp site and a motel for anyone who wants to visit the city."
"What's so special about the city?" Faith wondered.
"It was built twelve hundred years B.C. by the Hittites. The name of the city actually means 'Deep well' and it's extent is over 1500 hectare." Angel switched on his flashlight and walked through several rooms until he found stairs and then headed down to lower level. "It has eight floors and could accommodate thirty thousand people. The city was used mostly as a sanctuary during the conflicts between the local demon tribes and the rising Persian empire. It was a holy place no soulless being could enter. Later, when the war was over, several hundred monks stayed and build a hidden altar dedicated to the PTB. It's the only place where a normal human can contact the powers." Angel described the city while they were walking through the various rooms and halls."By the way, I hope you like riddles, because the entrance to the chamber is protected by powerful magic and you'll be asked a question to prove you're worthy."
"Great. Exams." Faith nervously ran her hand through her hair."One of the many reasons I left high school. What happened to those who didn't answer correctly?"
"Most of them ended up in a hospital with burned skin and broken bones. Offensive magic is a good way to keep the number of evil humans, who try to get inside, at minimum." Angel smirked. "Oh ... that definitely won't happen to you ... I'm sure." he quickly added when he saw Faith's resentful expression.
Angel walked to the left wall in the last room on the eight floor and raked off the sand that covered a small lever. He touched it with a magicaly enhanced dagger he got from Wesley earlier and the lever began to glow with soft green light. He turned it to the right and the rear wall of the room disappeared.
Faith saw the passage to the hidden chamber, but hesitated. She came there to find out what's going on but when the answers were within her grasp, she got scared of what would be revealed. The fact she'd have to solve a riddle to enter didn't help much. She saw Angel giving her an encouraging smile so she took a deep breath and stepped into the corridor.
Faith expected to experience some kind of change in the passage, however when she got inside, she didn't feel any different so she just continued walking through the corridor, wondering when the trial will begin, but nothing happened and she soon reached the hidden chamber. She looked around and noticed the it wasn't much bigger then other rooms in the underground city. The walls were decorated by large colored pictures of animals and graffitos. Faith couldn't recognize the various languages - the oldest were cuneiform, the newer were medieval Latin. The room was lit by four white crystals, one in each corner and in the middle of the room was a lapidary altar in the shape of a kneeling woman. Faith noticed something strange. It seemed that whoever was supposed to take care of the chamber, had a really long holiday because there were spider webs on the walls and the altar itself was covered by a thick layer of dust. 'This place was abandoned at least one year ago.' Faith thought and wanted to leave, but then she noticed a shoe behind the altar. She ran to the middle of the room and saw a short man with dark hair lying on the floor, dressed in brown trousers, green shirt and a brown coat. Faith put her hand on his neck to check his pulse and was surprised when she found out his heart was still beating. The man was holding a small green glowing crystal in his hand and though Faith was no expert, she was sure the crystal was the only reason he was still breathing, because his body was covered with the same amount of dust as everything else.
Faith wondered how long he was inside and more importantly why didn't he leave. She picked him up carefully, making sure he wouldn't loose the crystal and carried him outside the chamber. He was very light, even though the magic keeping him alive obviously took care of supplying his body with enough food and water. In the beginning Faith thought the man was just sleeping, but now she realized, his state looked much more as a coma.
Angel was a little shocked when he saw Faith leave the passage with a man in her arms. How could somebody survive inside the chamber? Faith laid the man on the floor and began searching through his pockets. "I found him inside. Perhaps he has an ID." she explained.
Angel wanted to help her, but stopped when he saw the man's face. "That's not necessary. I know him, he is a demon working for the powers. His name is Whistler."
----
Jack and the rest of his team followed Colonel Roberts and headed to Serpent's Legacy through a beech forest, or at least Jack thought the trees were beeches. Jack didn't really care what kind of trees or bushes surrounded them as long as there were no hidden Jaffa preparing an ambush. Till now the mission was much easier then he expected. There were no soldiers protecting the stargate and the villagers told them the temple had less then ten guards. The both suns almost reached the horizon and it would be dark soon, which would give them another advantage, because no matter how advanced techology the Goa'uld possessed, it seemed they never heard about night vision. The equipment of a Jaffa was quite primitive - all they carried was a staff weapon and usually a zat gun or a stun grenade. Without a targeting system a staff weapon was useless for longer distances and a good sniper could kill a dozen Jaffa before they got close enough to endanger him. That's why Jack and Teal'c were carrying two M24's fitted with with silencers on their backs.
The group was still five hundred meters away from the temple when Roberts suggested to stop and leave the path. He wasn't sure when the guard-changing takes place and fighting a group of Jaffa on the path would alert the security in the temple. The Jaffa who were off duty lived in a nearby village and would probably rush to help the guards as well. They continued walking thirty meters to the right from the path until they were two hundred meters away from the guards. A perfect distance for taking out the soldiers one by one, Jack thought, took one M24 and gave the other one to Carter. Meanwhile Teal'c tied Roberts to a tree and gagged him. Jack wasn't sure how Roberts would react if he had a chance to betray them and he didn't plan to find out in the most unsuitable moment.
The temple itself had the shape of a small pyramid with only one entrance, which was lit by several torches and all ten Jaffa were near it. Hidden behind a small shrub, Jack and Sam waited until the guards stopped walking and fired at the two who were closest to them. The Jaffa fell down to the ground and the others began to look around franticly. Before they realized what was happening Jack and Sam reduced their numbers by another two. The rest began to run towards the other end of the green field in front of the temple, where they expected the enemy was hidden. If Jack had enough time to do so, he would start shaking his head, because from his point of view, only an idiot can run over an open space and hope he'll get close enough to a sniper without a hole in his stomach. Teal'c and Daniel were prepared to kill any soldier that would get too close, but it wasn't necessary - all Jaffa were dead before they reached the middle of the meadow.
Jack knew they should hurry, because they still didn't know when the guards were supposed to change. He untied Roberts who showed them how to unlock the door and deactivate the shield protecting it. It was quite simple - there were three golden levers in the shape of a serpent on the wall and all he had to do was turn the three serpents so they would face each other. Roberts told them the staff was in the middle of the pyramid, in a hall with three entrances. It was necessary to pass all three simultaneously or the security system would close the pyramid and start a countdown. Then they would have only about five minutes to leave the pyramid before a naquadah bomb would turn it into a big crater. Roberts was sure there were transport rings somewhere, in case a Goa'uld would stay inside, but he had no idea where to look for them. Jack was against splitting his team into three parts. It would make them much more vulnerable and he wasn't sure if Roberts didn't make it up to get a chance to escape.
"Sir. We can't risk starting the countdown." Carter objected.
"All right, but if anything happens, I'm not the one who explains it to Hammond." Jack announced. "Daniel and Carter will take the first entrance, Roberts will go with Teal'c." , he ordered.
The others nodded and left to the north and west side of the pyramid, while Jack continued to the middle from the south. He reached the door leading inside sooner then the other two groups and waited. Roberts told Jack all they had to do was touch the eyes of the serpents pictured on the three doors. If he was lying, Jack would make sure he would never leave the temple. Jack's train of thoughts was interrupted by a the sound of footsteps behind him. He turned around but couldn't see anyone.
"Teal'c, Daniel?" Jack said nervously into his transmitter. "Where are you right now?"
"We almost reached the second entrance O'Neill." Teal'c answered. "We are already in front of the first door." Daniel replied.
Jack aimed at the corner where he heard the footsteps. "Come out with your hands up!" he shouted, but nothing happened.
'Didn't work.' Jack thought. 'Let's try something else.' "Kre!", he yelled.
"It's interesting that the first thing you tried was: with your hands up!" a young blonde man dressed in jeans and a black leather jacket came out from behind the corner, smiling at Jack. "You know, not everyone in the galaxy can speak English."
"But you obviously can." Jack snorted, aiming his P-90 at the man's heart."So I want to see your hands above your head. Now!"
The stranger didn't obey and got a few steps closer to Jack, still smiling. "And what if I don't?"
"This." Jack shrugged, lowered his weapon and fired at the man's leg. The stranger fell to the ground and Jack waited for several seconds if he tries to stand up. When his body didn't move at all, Jack went to see how badly he hurt him. As soon as Jack kneeled next to him, all of a sudden the man grabbed Jack by his throat and and threw the surprised Colonel almost four meters away. Jack landed hard on the floor and was slowly standing up, feeling pain from the impact spread through his body. He saw the stranger simply ignored the hole in his leg and was smiling again. Jack couldn't understand how it was possible and prepared to fire at him again.
"Colonel O'Neill." the man shook his head. "Didn't the slayers teach you anything..." he got a step closer to Jack and his features changed into game face."...about vampires?"
----
Buffy slowly opened her eyes and stood up, looking around the room. Her vision was a little blurry, like the last time she did the revealing spell. So far everything seemed to be normal, except the photographs of Dawn, whose figure was periodically appearing and disappearing. In spite of the fact she knew this would happen, it was still painful for her to see the origin of her sister was fake. Buffy left her room and walked down the hall, studying her surroundings and the people she met. She was a little frustrated she couldn't recognize any spell on any of them. She continued strolling around the manor, hoping she would find at least a sign a spell was used on them. When she reached the main hall she was ready to give up, but then something got her attention. There was a large map hanging on one of the walls. It was a hand drawn copy of Kepler's celestial map from the 18'th century. Buffy watched it carefully for a while and could swear the positions of the stars were changing.
When she got closer she realized not only the stars changed, but the shape of various constellations was different as well. The map was fake.
Buffy wasn't sure what it meant, but was she beginning to suspect the map wasn't the only thing that was different. Why would someone change a map? Suddenly she got an idea. If the positions of the stars were changed then... Buffy ran to the ring transport situated in the main hall and activated it. A second later she reappeared in the warehouse and looked around. She saw a few slayers, who were currently on duty and guarded the entrance and the stargate. Even though the gate was protected by Willow's spell, that made any visitor who didn't belong to SWC unable to move and deactivated any electronic device the visitors would carry, Buffy insisted there will be always at least ten slayers inside to protect it.
All items in the warehouse seemed to be real so Buffy turned her attention to the stargate. It was deactivated at that moment and Buffy fetched a sight of relief it was still there. However when she looked at it for the second time, the gate shimmered and disappeared.
To be continued.
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