Okay, here is the final chapter. But don't worry, there's another part of the series coming up soon, I promise. So don't fuss.
Jack: Fuss...Fuss...I think your muse likes to scream at us.
Probably, she means no harm.
Jack: She's very low on charm.
You have a great gift for rhyme.
Jack: Yes, yes, some of the time.
Muse/ViH: Enough of that.
Jack, are there rocks ahead?
Jack: If there are, we'll all be dead!
Muse/ViH: No more rhymes now, I mean it!
Jack: Anyone want a peanut?
If you couldn't tell, that whole exchange is from The Princess Bride. Hence, I do not own it, just like the things in the story.
Muse/ViH: Thank god...
Oh shut up. Hope you guys like this chapter.
Dante paused at the bottom of the ramp, several bodies lying in the Gate Room. He didn't turn when Sam and Teal'c came through the Stargate. The vampire ignored the smell of the blood and looked up to the high window of the briefing room. His eyes narrowed and he leapt through the broken glass of the Control Room's window. He dashed up the steps and skidded into the briefing room.
Lilith turned, her face and hair stained with blood. She dropped the semi-conscious form of Jack and faced Dante. "Still alive I see," she sneered.
The cold rage in Dante's chest erupted into a roaring volcano and he tackled Lilith to the ground. The two combatants began punching and clawing each other, blood staining the carpet and walls. Dante hurled Lilith off of himself and rolled to the balls of his feet, every muscle tense and ready to spring.
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Sam ran into the room and quickly observed what was happening. She grabbed the General and pulled him into the hallway. She knelt down in front of him. "Sir, are you all right?" she asked.
"The hell is that thing and how'd it get the GDO code?" Jack demanded, forcing himself to stay conscious.
"Lilith is a hybrid of a Wraith and vampire. She killed Janet and got the codes and GDO from her," Sam answered. "And Dante is beyond pissed off."
"I don't blame him," Jack said, slowly rising to his feet. Sam helped him up and handed him a pistol. "Teal'c and Daniel?"
"Teal'c's locking down the base and setting the self-destruct. Daniel stayed behind on the planet," Sam said. Jack nodded and looked into the room.
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Dante blocked a punch from Lilith and rammed his elbow into her gut, smiling in satisfaction when he heard several ribs crack and break. He rammed his head into her skull and broke her nose. Lilith staggered away, stunned by Dante's powerful and wild attacks. She swiped at him with a clawed hand and backed away.
His anger is giving him too much strength. He no longer cares if he lives or dies…only if I die with him, Lilith realized silently to herself. I should not have killed that Earth woman.
Dante bared his fangs at Lilith and charged in. The force propelled them backwards and they crashed through the window. The fell down into the Gate Room, the glass from the window preceding them. Lilith landed awkwardly and heard her ankle and tibia snap. She looked down and saw the bone jutting out from ragged skin in her leg.
Dante had landed easily on his feet and began walking towards Lilith, his eyes colder than ice. Lilith struggled to get away, only to have Dante grab onto her injured leg and jerk it violently. The hybrid shrieked in pain.
"Please…I beg of you…mercy," she gasped.
"The same mercy you showed Janet?" Dante growled. He bent down and picked her up by the throat, his weakening muscles straining with the effort.
"Please lord, spare me!" Lilith pleaded.
Dante's eyes narrowed. "Never," he whispered. He slammed her into the floor and violently snapped her neck. Her head spun a full hundred and eighty degrees until it was completely looking backwards. He let her body fall to the ground and stumbled away, physically and emotionally exhausted.
Sam, Jack, and Teal'c came running in and stopped when they saw Lilith's dead body. Sam slowly made her way over to Dante. He looked at her; his eyes back to their normal hue. Blood tears were streaming down his face. The two silently hugged, Dante's body quivering with sobs. Sam felt her own tears beginning to fall as soft cries issued from Dante's throat. Teal'c and Jack stood silently nearby, each dealing with their grief in their own quiet way.
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Three days had passed since Janet's death. Dante silently watched Janet's coffin being lowered into the cold ground, the rain plastering his hair to his head. Since it was a heavily clouded day, the vampires who knew Janet were able to attend her funeral. Alexander and Amelia stood in the front, Draven and several members of the Council just behind them. Cassie was standing next to Sam, tears in her eyes. Sam was standing still, unwilling to let her own tears fall. Her dress coat to her dress uniform blew in the small breeze. Teal'c stood next to her dressed in a plain black suit, a black fedora on his head, hiding his tattoo. He had his hand clasped with Sam's, each drawing strength from the other. Jack was next to Teal'c, his face a mask to conceal his emotions.
Daniel was on the other side of the grave, dressed in a dark suit. Near him were several Jaffa disguised as Earthlings, including Bra'tac and Rya'c. Next to the Jaffa were several members of the Tok'ra. On Daniel's other side were several holographic images of the Asgard, Thor and Heimdall among them. The rest of the people were friends and family of Janet's, including many SGC personnel.
Dante didn't move as people began to slowly leave, many of them heading to Jack's house for the wake. He watched as dirt and mud covered the coffin. He bowed his head as the gravediggers left, their job completed.
Dante didn't even look as Sam rested a hand on his shoulder. "You can't blame yourself Dante," she said softly.
"I could have saved Janet," he whispered. "I could have shot Lilith…"
"Dante, you were barely able to stand. You said yourself that your hand was shaking too much to get a safe shot off. You were doing what you thought was right."
"I let her die," he protested softly.
"Dante, you didn't let her die. You were doing your job."
"And it got the woman I loved killed. I couldn't even save her with all the knowledge I got from that library," he snapped.
"Dante, it is a miracle that you're able to hold all that knowledge in. I doubt I could do it, even if I am half Ancient. But you should know that everyone can't be saved. People die Dante. It's a part of life. Not everyone is an immortal."
"I know," he admitted.
"No one blames you for what happened Dante. Not me, not Daniel, not Cassandra; no one. You're the only one blaming yourself here," Sam said.
"I'd like to be alone," he said. Sam nodded. She gave him a hug and began walking away. Dante watched her leave before looking at Janet's gravestone. He bent down and kissed it, the rain washing his crimson tears away. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you Janet. I'm sorry…" he whispered.
He placed a silver claddagh ring on the top of the stone and slammed his fist into it. The ring was buried into the stone, the top of the ring glinting in the faint light. Dante turned and began walking in the opposite direction of everyone else. His long black coat billowed in the wind with each step. He pulled his left sleeve back and hit several buttons. He disappeared in a flash of light, only to reappear in a frozen wasteland near where the second Stargate was found in Antarctica.
Dante hit a button and a large red ship shimmered into view. It was a third of the size of Prometheus, but still larger than anything else the Earth had. A set of doors opened and Dante went in. The doors closed behind him and he went into the cockpit. He pressed several buttons and the ship rose smoothly into the air.
"Go wherever," he muttered to the ship. He left the cockpit and went into a room that he had decided to use as his bedroom. He collapsed onto the bed and drifted off to sleep, sad dreams meeting him.
As Dante slept, the computer screen in the cockpit displayed the projected flight path. The ship had already gone out of Earth's solar system and was in hyperspace. On the computer, below the flight path, read the destination of the ship: Pegasus Galaxy.
END?
Hope you guys liked this story. The next part of the series will be up soon, I promise.