Okay, I tried like a crazed maniac (unlike those sane maniacs) to get this chapter up yesterday, but the site didn't like me...or something. But I had this ready for posting yesterday and I couldn't get it up. So here it is, the next chapter. If I get chapter four done today as well, I'll post it today since I was planning on having it done by today so I could post it today, but those plans got botched.

Enough of my griping about technology though. Go read the chapter. There are a few...surprises in store for you guys, as well as the characters.

If I owned these things, do you really think I'd be stressing out about how to pay for college? Didn't think so. Now go read the chapter. Or else!

Dante halted in front of the large mausoleum, his eyes hardening when he saw the vampiric symbols for Lilith's name. He looked down at the ground and saw the dead bodies of a couple. He slowly advanced into the mausoleum, the flashlight on his shotgun illuminating the way.

"We don't have much longer till sunrise," Sam said. "And even at a dead run, it'll take too long to get to the Gate."

"That's fine, because we're not leaving until Lilith is dead," Dante said. The four looked around the small building. An ornate coffin was in the back and Dante began making his way towards it. As he reached out to touch the stone, there was a blinding flash of light.

Sam blinked and immediately saw that Dante had vanished. "Dante!" she yelled. She hurried over to where he had last been and found no trace of him. "What the hell?"

"Perhaps he was beamed away," Teal'c suggested.

"By whom?" Daniel asked.

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Dante blinked, his vision clearing. He instantly knew that he was in a different room than he had been in a moment before. He looked around, frowning at the architect and some of the strange symbols. The sound of footsteps reached his ears and he spun around, shotgun raised.

Dante slowly lowered his gun when an elderly woman came into view. Her hair was pure white and her skin was wrinkled. She wore a plain white gown that just touched the tops of her feet. Her soft blue eyes looked at Dante with, to his surprise, pride. The vampire took in a breath and knew that the woman was older than any vampire he had met.

"Who are you? How did I get here?" he asked softly.

"I brought you here. My name is Serenity," the old woman answered. "And what is your name vampire?" she asked.

Dante was taken aback that she knew his nature. "Uh…Dante," he said slowly.

"I have awaited your arrival Dante," Serenity said, gliding over to one of the tables in the room.

"You have?" Dante asked in confusion.

"Lilith has arisen at long last. She must be stopped before reaching Earth."

"Why?" Dante inquired. "I mean, why can't we let her get to Earth?"

"The answer to that is here," the woman said, gesturing to a strange device planted in the wall. "All of our knowledge is here."

"Our?"

"To understand Lilith, you must understand what she truly is. And to do that, you must look into the knowledge of the Alterans," Serenity said.

Dante frowned. "I've never heard of them."

"I believe we are now known to humans as Ancients. Many of us Ascended when a terrible plague ravaged this galaxy. I alone remained behind to watch over Lilith and guide the vampire that ventured here to kill her."

"Wait, wait," Dante said. "I read about the Ancients when I was at the SGC waiting for dusk here. You're saying that you're the last of the Ancients?"

"Not quite," Serenity said.

Dante arched a brow in confusion. "You mean other Ancients have survived?"

Serenity could tell that Dante was suspicious of her. "Not exactly. Millennia ago, we Alterans had outposts throughout this entire galaxy along with cities. But we had other cities as well. Atlantis was the grandest of these cities. It went to the Pegasus galaxy where it remains to this day. It was in the Pegasus galaxy that we discovered a most terrible enemy."

"The Wraith?"

Serenity looked at him curiously. "How do you know of the Wraith?"

"A group of people from Earth went to Atlantis. Least that's what I heard back on Earth. They've encountered these Wraith."

Serenity nodded. "For years our war with the Wraith raged on. Countless Alteran scientists tried to come up with a way to…vaccinate themselves from the Wraith. After a decade of fighting, such a drug was created. It prevented the Wraith from feeding off of the person while giving the person a dramatic increase in natural abilities and possible immortality," she said.

"So why didn't this drug catch on?" Dante questioned.

"Several side effects were soon discovered. Alterans are sometimes able to heal those who are injured. Those who took the drug could no longer do this. The person who took the drug also had to have real blood in place of food and could never venture out again into the sun."

Dante's eyes were wide. "Y…you mean you created vampires?"

"As well as lycanthropes. The scientists attempted to correct the side effects of the vampire drug only to uncover that the new drug had more dire effects than its predecessor. On nights of the full moon, the takers of the new drug were turned into giant man-wolves. We were unable to find a cure for either drug."

She turned and stared at a table filled with strange devices. "But the vampires and lycanthropes used their abilities to fight the Wraith as best they could. But it was not enough. In the end we had no choice but to sink Atlantis to save Earth from the Wraith. I traveled to Earth and then to this place to try and find a cure for the drugs."

"How did Lilith get infused with the vampire drug?" Dante asked. "The only way it could have happened is if she…" he trailed off, looking at her.

"She stole it from an outpost and injected herself with it. She then traveled to Earth, promising her brethren that she would take Earth's Stargate and keep it for the Wraith to come through once Atlantis had been taken."

"Then a group of the eldest vampires came here, tracked her down and killed her before she could take over Earth," Dante said. "Then her remains were brought here and sealed away for all time."

"For ten thousand years," Serenity said. "Many Alterans did not believe in magic, but it does exist in this plain of existence Dante. Lilith knew this and cursed herself to return at a set time."

Dante ran a hand through his hair. "This is a lot to take in," he muttered. He let out a slow breath. "So…if vampires were originally Alterans, doesn't that mean their children are as well?"

"Indeed," Serenity answered. "Though only two pure Alteran vampires remain. Alexander and Amelia."

"Viktor wasn't an Alteran?"

She shook her head. "I was told that he was a human man on his death bed before being made a vampire."

"And now only three pure blooded Alterans remain," Dante mused.

Serenity frowned. "Three?"

Dante looked at her. "I'm actually Amelia and Alexander's son."

"Then the fate of this galaxy rests in your hands. The knowledge of your ancestors lies here, should you wish to access it."

"I remember Sam telling me that the knowledge in there almost killed her commanding officer. Won't it kill me?"

Serenity shook her head. "You are an Alteran Dante. The knowledge contained in this library will not kill you."

"Well…this will probably be the best way to stop Lilith," he muttered to himself. He cautiously walked over to the device and placed his head in front of the window. Two hand-like metal arms jutted out from the wall and grabbed onto his head. His eyes widened as a flood of knowledge came pouring into his mind. Within moments the device released him and he grabbed onto the wall to remain standing.

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"Still no sign of Dante?" Sam asked.

Teal'c shook his head. "There are no trapdoors or hidden passageways in this mausoleum," he said.

"So where the hell did he go?" Sam demanded.

"It almost looked like he was beamed away by something," Daniel suggested.

"The Asgard? We would've heard something from them by now," Sam said. She sighed and headed for the door. "I'll take another look outside." Before she could step outside, a white flash of light blinded them. When their vision cleared, they found themselves in a white room, tables with various pieces of alien technology occupying the room. Sam swept her gaze around the room and saw Dante standing over the still form of an elderly woman.

"How'd we get here?" Daniel asked.

"I beamed you here," Dante said. Sam immediately noted a change in her half-brother's voice. He spoke with more authority and power seemed to radiate off of him. He turned to SG-1. "I have a lot to tell you guys before the sun goes down."

"Tell us what?" Teal'c inquired.

"What Lilith really is."

Sam frowned in confusion. "She's a vampire, the mother of the race."

"No she's not," Dante said. He looked at Daniel. "You were partly right about her. She is part Wraith."

"How is that possible?" Daniel and Sam exclaimed in shock while Teal'c arched a brow in surprise.

Dante licked his lips. "Well, believe it or not, it all starts long before any vampire or lycan was made…"

Plot twist! Bet none of you saw that happening. If you did, keep quiet about it. I'm the only person allowed to know what will happen next in the story.

Muse/Voice-in-Head: Yeah right. Now get back to work writing the next chapter!

Alas, I cannot. I must depart shortly for class. But I will work on it in between classes, I promise.

Muse/ViH: Good girl. Here's a cookie.

Yay! Sugary goodness to keep me awake...ZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz...

Muse/ViH: Uh...gotta go...just...review. It might wake her up...maybe...