A Trek to the Hellmouth
by Antonio Cabañas
Chapter 30
Disclaimer: Star Trek in all its incarnations and all related characters are property of Paramount Pictures. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and all related characters were created and are owned by Joss Whedon. Star Trek, and Star Trek: The Next Generation created by Gene Roddenberry. Star Wars and everything related with it is property of Lucasfilm Ltd., and was created by George Lucas. Resident Evil is property of Capcom. I'm only borrowing them for fun. Tony Castro and the USS Corsair were created by me, other adventures of her can be found in my site http/ borg31de777yahoo.es.
Spoilers: Buffy to season 4, Angel to season 1, although due to the nature of the story there is some spoilers to later seasons. Star Trek to Star Trek: First Contact, and to Deep Space Nine season 5.
Author Note 1: I have borrowed some concepts from the two Star Trek / Buffy crossovers by Scott Eiland, and from the story "Time Slayer", another Star Trek / Buffy crossover that I found in the net a few years ago.
Author Note 2: this has nothing to do with the story, but if you are a Star Trek fan, go to http/ the site of "Star Trek:New Voyages", the best Star Trek fanfilm in the web.
I wish to thank my beta-reader Carycomix, for his help and support through all this time.
Answer to Reviewers:
Louie Pastiche: thanks, the truth is that I tried to develop Tony as a character as much as possible, when I realized that she could potentially ruin the story. I'm writing a sequel called "The Key of Forever". I hope to have it here soon.
Summary: a month after the events of Star Trek: First Contact, remnants of Borg technology aboard the Enterprise launch the ship to the moment when Buffy destroyed Adam.
Sunnydale High School Ruins.
"I think that Adam's death triggered a self destruct program. That program instructed the Borg nanoprobes to destroy everything of Borg origin: implants, regeneration alcoves, technology, even the energy collector" said Geordi.
"The destruction of the implants was too much for some people, but there had been less casualties than we could expect, as nost of the drones were in the first stages of asimilation." informed Dr. Crusher "They don't remember most of it, and now that we have the transporter available, I'm going to make sure that their memories of this night are eliminated."
"Very well, Beverly. Make it so" answered Picard.
While the officers went to their task, Picard looked around, seeing the ruins of Sunnydale High School, and then to the now unimpressive crack in the ground that hid the interdimensional portal known as the Hellmouth.
'It's odd,' thought Picard 'all my life I have negated the supernatural, and now the supernatural had slapped me in the face. Well, with the weeks that the Enterprise is going to need in Spacedock after this, I'll have to visit Admiral Szell, and talk about it.'
His thoughts were interrupted by the commbadge chime.
"Korov to captain Picard."
"Picard here. What have you found in Valentine Manor."
"As we expected, most of the Borg technology here is destroyes,and a low yield photon grenade should take care of the rest."
Picard exhaled a sigh of relief. He had been fearing that he had to follow Tony's suggestion of using a quantum torpedo to level the old manor.
"Understood. Picard o… One moment, lieutenant. Have you found the Borg Queen there?"
"No, sir. But we haven't conducted a exhaustive search yet."
"Do it, lieutenant. We can't afford to let the Queen loose in this era."
Near Sunnydale
The red-haired vampiress waited until the members of the Circle synchronized their computers, and the conference could take place.
"I greet everyone" said Omega, current Head of the Circle. They never used their real names in this conferences, only the names of greek letters. The red-haired vampiress code was Gamma. "As you know, Gamma has something to propose."
"My proposition is to keep a low profile in Sunnydale, by moving our headquarters in the West Coast from Sunnydale to Los Angeles or San Francisco. I think that the disadvantages of not haveng a close supervision of the Hellmouth are less important that the potential danger of the Slayer getting a clue of our existence."
She listened to the discussion that followed. She was the newer member of the Circle, but her unnatural intelligence had gained her an important position almost immediately.
"This matter requires a careful consideration. So we'd better leave this decision to our next reunion. Any objection?" Omega paused, waiting for somebody to raise an objection. After a while he spoke again "Gamma, do you have any other matter to put into our knowledge?"
"Yes, fellow members of the Circle. Our agents have discovered something that can be of our interest."
Ruins of Sunnydale High School
"Believe me, Jean-Luc. We aren't going to find the Borg Queen, point. That is a task for other people."
"Why?"
"Just know I can't tell you. When we go back I'll tell you what I know."
"I'm not pleased, but I defer to your judgement."
Enterprise-E Main Engineering
Geordi was crouched before the power distribution console, replacing the isolinear chips that had been burned before. Farrell was to his side, helping him.
"How did you come with the idea of using the background radiation to generate a true aleatory list of frequencies."
"I picked it from an old spy novel of the 20th Century." answered Farrell, smiling "Apparently they used the background radiation to generate codes that couldn't be cracked."
"Interesting, and how was that done?"
"My specalty is not cryptography, but apparently..."
Sunnydale High School Ruins
"Buffy, did you want to talk with me?"
"When we were talking… up there" she pointed up to the sky. "You said that 'death is your gift'. What's that supposed to mean?"
Tony sighed. Since she had uttered those words, she had been fearing this question.
"The answer of that riddle is part of your destiny, Buffy. It's related to the decision that you will have to take next year."she said, and the quickly added "When you will come back, keep an eye on Willow."
"Come back from where?" asked Buffy "You know, the cryptic nonsense is beginning to be irritating."
"Sorry, but if I tell you, I'll throw a giant wrench into the wheels of History."
"OK, OK" said Buffy "Well, at lest can you tell me about the Slayers of your time?."
"A thing that I can tell you, is that you will be instrumental in a great transformation of the Watcher's Council. They won't be the asholes that you have known anymore."
"That's a relief." said Buffy "And about the Slayers?"
"Longer lived, better trained, but still carrying a short, brutal life. That hasn't changed. Sometimes I wish that I had never known about the Slayers."
"Why?"
"My youngest daughter Susana is a Slayer."
"And she blames it on you."
"Yes."
Howell residence. Sunnydale
The phone ringed waking Charles T. Howell, who took the phone and answered it.
"Yes?"
"Mr. Howell?"
´"Yes. Who are you?" said, still half-sleep.
"My name is Meg Richards. I am in the Sunnydale Hospital"
That awakened him completely.
"What…what has happened?"
"Is your daughter Amy Howell?"
"Yes." He was very frightened now. "Has something happened to her?"
"I don't know. You'll have to came here and see for yourself."
Sunnydale Hospital
The red-haired vampiress hanged the phone and looked toward where the doctors were tending the young Amy Howell. When her agents had found her, she was crying in the middle of a small mountain of junk. Even now, eh looked a bit… repulsive. She had lost all her hair, her skin was a sickly, very emaciated tone and there were small wounds all over her face and head. It was obviously that she had something to do with what had happened that night in Sunnydale. She had convinced the other members of the Circle that following the usual procedures in this case was not indicated.
1630 Revello Drive backyard. Sunnydale
Buffy looked at the sky and saw how the spark of light of the Enterprise-E disappeared. The talk with Tony had let her to consider how fortunate she was with her mother. And she had taken the decision of helping Tony in this. She would write a letter for opening in January of 2374, to be sure. A letter that she wanted to consult with her mother.
A Sunnydale Cemetery. 22 of June of 2000.
The tombstone read "Elizabeth Anne Summers. 1980-2000. She saved the world a lot.". That final joke brought a sad smile to Angel's lips.
"Hi, Angel." said a familiar voice.
"Hi, Dawn." He said without turning to face her. Not for her, but for her company.
"Hello, Angel" said the Buffy-Bot in a voice so similar to the real Buffy that he had to reassure himself that Buffy was dead.
"It isn't too late for you to stay here?. The Sun is going to rise in a few minutes." asked Dawn, concerned.
"I have my car parked in front of the gate. Don't worry, Dawn."
"Look who is here! Mr. Tall, Brooding and Handsome in person." said Spike. Angel hadn't heard him.
"William, that joke was funny the first time, but you have repeated it all the times that we have met last year."
"Spike. Thanks to you, I'm not William anymore."
"Do you think that I don't know it? I'm reponsible for your existence, and for Drusilla's. All the murders that either of you have done is over my conscience."
"Shut up, you two!" said Dawn, hitting Buffy's tombstone. "This isn't the place for one of your fights."
They both looked at Dawn, and Spike glowered at her.
"What?"
"Your hand…" said Spike, his voice suddenly strangled.
Dawn looked down and saw a few drops of blood flowing from her broken nail, just as the Sun started to appear over the horizon.
"Uh, oh" was the only thing that managed to say Dawn before the energy vortex swallowed the three of them, leaving only a very confused BuffyBot.
Lykandia System. Starbase 580. 17 of August of 2372
Captain Antonia Castro of the USS Corsair was enjoying a good meal in the Starbase lounge when she noticed that somebody had left a PADD in her table. She looked around but she couldn't see anybody near the table. She took the PADD and examined it. On it, scribbled faintly over the polishe surface there was a number that she recognized, because it had been a recognition code used by the Watcher's Council. She took it gingerly and read it. The news were very bad.
'Oh, Karen.' she thought. 'How could I reach you on time?'
She looked around and noticed a familar sight in that Starbase, an human accompanied by a tall, shaggy humanoid, that boasted of having the fastest ship of two galaxies.
Earth's orbit. December 2373.
The Enterprise appeared as she had disappeared, from a temporal vortex a few hours before.
"Well, I'll file the report to the Department of Temporal Investigations."
"Thanks, Tony. I have never get along well with their people."
"And who does? But I'm the second in their list of people that they don't want to meet in atemporal investigation."
"That always help. I hope that you will explain them why we haven't conducted a through serch of the Borg Queen"
"Of course, but first I'll explain you, when we dock. Now I'm going to take a few hours of sleep."
"All right, Tony. But at least, can you answer a question?"
Yawning, Tony said:
"Go ahead."
"Who is the first?"
"James T. Kirk."
THE END
…
OR NOT?
Dawn's adventures will be in the upcoming
story, THE KEY OF FOREVER.
With a lot of guest stars, from an Star Trek TV series, from my own Star Trek
fanfics, and from other fiction realms.