Title: Phoenix Risings: Necro-Gate: Part 2
Raiting: PG-13/R
Chapter Number: 3
Author: White Werewolf
Category: Buffy/Xander—only in this fic. Not much of
it though. Another 'ship might appear as well.
Spoiler: All I know it is set after, "Becoming Part
2"
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, but the ideas, my
computer, and my website: http: Summery: A goa'uld kidnapped Faith and took the
Necronomicon, now SG-1, and some of the Scrappies head
to the SGC to stop her.
Author Notes: This part is just the prologue to the
Phoenix Risings Trilogy; which will turn into a huge
series. This is the third part of the trilogy. It
will house many crossovers and focus on the
Buffy/Xander relationship.
Special Thanks: This chapter is for our friend,
Merlin. May he rest in piece. Next fic I write, I
will soley dedicate it to him.

Crossovers Planned:
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer
Hercules: the Legendary Journeys
Evil Dead
Stargate SG-1
Xena: Warrior Princess
Mortal Kombat

Cameo Crossovers will suddenly appear. Take a read,
and see if you can spot one.
-

She said, "We're vampire slayers."

He showed a confused look, "Vampire slayers?"

Buffy clarified, "Chosen girls who kill vampires."

Eric said with uncertainty, "Vampires exist?'

She nodded, "As well as other creatures."

"Other creatures…"

"Yeah, vampires, werewolves, mummies. Anything you
could think of…exists. Well, accept for leprechauns.
And all can say is thank god."

"…"

"Eric?"

"This is intense."

She didn't like the sound of that. "I know it is,
Eric. But it is the truth."

"Assuming you are telling me the truth, Buffy. Where
is Faith?"

"That's another story."

-

Aphrodite appeared in the middle of a vacant space.
To her left were rocks, the same with the right.
Stalagmites and stalagtites covered the roof and
floor.

In front of her was a gate. A circular gate that led
to Outworld, another dimension. No deity of the
Earthrealm had any powers within the dimension. Which
was a flaw, especially for her.

But Hercules needed her help. Xander did too as well
as this girl she never met. But she needed to prove
to herself that she could do something beneficial.
Something that went beyond her godly heritage and into
the world of mortality. Hercules did it all the time
and was famous for it. Aphrodite wanted to experience
that too.

However this time, she wouldn't try to dress like
Hercules. This time, she was going to be herself and
do what was right.

Taking a deep breath, she approached to the gate and
pressed the seal. Soon, it circulated and the gateway
split open. Two sides left and a vast window emerged.
A swirling blue light was left in the gate's wake.

"Here goes nothing, girlfriend." Aphrodite said to
herself as she stepped through the gate. The whole
time, not knowing what could happen to her as an after
effect, but willing to do what was needed.

-

Aphoridte appeared out of the whirling window and
looked around herself. She was in a very dark place.
It could easily be compared to her uncle's underworld.
Taratus and Outworld had a lot in common.

She walked forward, feeling the shivering wind that
howled in the air. Gazing upward, she saw steps that
led to some kind of temple. "I guess that's somewhere
to start."

The goddess would've teleported there, but she didn't
have her powers in this realm. So, seeing the size of
the steps and the amount of them only made her upset.

"I was not built to be mortal." She said to herself.

Sighing, she shook her head, "Doesn't matter. You can
do it, girl."

The blond then started to walk up the steps, the
coldness of the air started to slowly change to warm
air. Partly because fire from torches were bordering
the staircase.

Reaching the top of the staircase, she wrapped her
dress tighter around her waist. Now, she wished
didn't always where that loose pink lacy outfit. But
it was her style…and the goddess of love had to always
be the most noticeable. It was a simple fact.

"Hello?"

No answer.

"I'm trying to find Raiden."

No answer again.

"What's a goddess got to do to get some attention
here?"

"Well, wearing that outfit is sure to get some
attention."

She scowled, "Duh. That's why I wear it." She then
looked around, "Who's there?"

A man walked out of the shadows, "I was told you were
coming."

Aphrodite looked harder at the approaching figure,
"Who are you?'

He grinned, "You don't remember me?"

Her eyes widened, "Nightwolf."

-

"Goddess Ninedinna." The First Prime of Ninedinna
said aloud.

She smiled, "Young Faith is in captivity, K'nic. I
finally have the Necromicon."

"Congratulations, my goddess. What do you have
planned for your captive?"

The fake goddess turned her head and glanced down the
hallway towards the room of Faith's confinement. "I
have my plans."

-

"Buffy, stop with all these vague questions. I ask
you something, and then you return with another
question. Where is Faith?"

She knew Eric wasn't going to let this go, and she had
no right to deny him this information. Well, she did.
But he wouldn't have it.

Thinking over this situation only made her head hurt.
She didn't want to cross General Hammond, especially
because he has been so understanding with her and her
friends. But Eric was one of those exceptions

With that final thought, she decided to tell him,
"Eric, what I'm about to tell you may sound strange.
Hell, I still find this incredibly strange."

"Just tell me what's going on?"

Taking another breath, she admitted, "Faith was
kidnapped by an alien. Xander, Kevin, Ash, and I are
at some military base and we plan to rescue her."

"What?"

"Eric, bottom line here. There's a lot to this world
outside what you know. Everything you ever thought to
be fake or crazy is true. Most of it, if not all.
Vampires, werewolves, aliens…they all exist. Faith
and I are girls who fight vampires every night. Back
in Sunnydale, Xander and I are part of a group that
fight vampires every night."

"Excuse me while I faint.' Eric said, and then the
phone went dead.

"Eric?'

No answer.

"Eric? Pick up the phone Eric Matthews or I'll be
forced to kick your ass."

Again no answer.

Sighing she said to herself, "Now what do I do?"

-

"How are you doing, Aphrodite?"

The goddess looked at the mortal, "Can't complain too
much, Wolfy. But I am in a bit of a problem."

Nightwolf approached her, "That's what I've heard.
So, tell me, Aphrodite. What do you need?"

She said shyly, "I'm looking for Raiden. Hercules
asked me talk to him."

He looked at her skeptically, "Hercules sent you? Why
didn't he come himself?"

Aphrodite filled him on with the situation. "So,
bottom line, I need to talk to Raiden. He's the one
that knows where the Astral Rod."

The man said, "Raiden is down the South Tunnel. He's
in his temple. Go there, and you shall speak to him."

"Tubular." The goddess said with a grin, "But why
couldn't he meet me here?"

Nightwolf answered, "He had to finish up a ritual, and
couldn't be interrupted."

She sighed, "I wish I could just teleport there."

He grinned, "That's what happens when you're a god or
goddess from Earthrealm. You lose your powers. Just
be glad you don't have to be part of Mortal Kombat."

The goddess of love smiled, "Can't say I hate that.
Although Hercules would win hands down."

"Probably, but he isn't mortal. That is the rule."

She glanced down the stairs to the south. "So, Raiden
is down there?"

He replied, "Sure is. You better get going."

Aphrodite nodded, "On my way."

With that said, the two split there ways.

-

Trying again, she asked, "Eric?"

Again no answer.

Sighing to herself, she hung up the phone and gave
some thought. She needed to make sure he was alright.
Picking up the phone, she dialed another number.

"Hello?"

"Gunn, it's Buffy."

"Buffy? Where are you? Are you okay?"

Smiling from the concern from her friend, she quickly
answered, "Gunn, I'm fine. But right now, go over to
Eric's. See if he's okay."

"Why? What's going on, Buffy?"

"Eric and I were talking. He fainted. I need you to
go over to him and make sure he's alright."

"But Buffy?"

"No time, Gunn. Go over to Eric's. He fainted after
I talked to him. Whatever you do, don't ask him any
questions. Just see if he's alright, hang up the
phone, and I'll call back in thirty."

"What's going on, Buff?"

"No time. Just see if he's alright."

Nodding, he stated, "I'm on my way. Anything I need
to know."

"I told him the truth about Faith and I. He knows
about vampires. So, if he asks any questions about
the supernatural, tell him the truth. But, that's it.
Just stick with the information you already know."

Then the phone went dead.

Sighing, Gunn pulled out of his bed and stared at the
wall, "Damn it, Buffy. Where are you?"

Shaking his head and chuckling to himself, "At least
you got Xand with you. No more solo business for
you."

Getting out of bed, he quickly grabbed a pair of
jeans, slipped them on over and his boxers and took
his red t-shirt. After getting dressed, he grabbed
his car keys, left a note for his sister and gang
explaining what happened, and left for Eric's.

-

Gunn barged into Eric's apartment and sure enough
found Eric laying on the floor. The phone was in his
right hand, palm open.

Walking to him, he knelt down and hung up the phone.
Slapping Eric's cheek, he said, "Hey, Matthews?"

His eyes fluttered open, "What happened?"

Gunn chuckled, "You fainted, Sleeping Beauty. Buffy
called me and told me get over here."

The Philadelphian started to sit up when Gunn grabbed
his arm, "Easy there. Buffy said she would be calling
again soon."

Eric looked at him, "So it's true. Buffy and Faith
are vampire slayers?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Buffy died first and was revived by
Xander. Kendra came next, she died. Then Faith
came."

Getting the information at a steady pace, he
summarized, "So, in order to become a slayer, the one
before her has to die."

"That's the way it works. That's why there currently
are two. They were called by the Powers that Be.
Now, they fight vampires every night. Xander, Ash,
Kevin, Tim, Gabrielle, Wesley, myself, and my crew
help every night."

"Me too."

"Listen, Eric. I don't know what's going on. We have
to wait to Buffy calls again."

"How long will that be?"

Gunn glanced up at the clock that hung next to the
door. "In about five minutes."

"What will we do till then?"

Just as Gunn was about to answer, the phone rang.

Taking a breath, Eric picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Good. You're awake." Buffy said into the receiver.
"Put me on speaker phone so you both can hear me."

Eric looked at his friend for a second, and then
pressed the button. Hanging up the phone, he said,
"Speaker's on."

"Good. You there, Gunn?"

He nodded, "Sure am, Buffy. As you would say, 'What's
the sitch?'"

"Well, I'm only aloud to say so much. I assure you,
Xander, Kevin, Ash, and I are fine. We teleported
somewhere. We met someone who told us about Faith's
kidnapper. And now, we're going to rescue her. We'll
be back after."

Eric sighed again, "Again with the 20 questions,
Buffy. What about the military base you're at?"

Gunn asked, "Military base?"

They could hear Buffy depressed volume in breathing.

"I might as well tell you too, Gunn. But you can't
tell the others. Alright?"

Receiving her answer, she continued, "Xander, Kevin,
Ash, and I, along with SG-1 were teleported off-world.
We ended up teleporting to a space ship and meeting
Thor—an alien. He told us about Ninedinna—Faith's
kidnapper and that we have to go defeat her and save
Faith. Then we teleported to a secret military base.
That's where we are right now, and we're going to go
find Faith."

"So, you're saying aliens are real?" Eric asked.

Gunn nodded, "As well werewolves, deadites, vampires,
and apparently aliens. To tell you the truth, I'm not
totally surprised."

"Just promise me you won't tell the others, guys. The
only reason I'm telling you is because I need to let
you know I'm okay and that I thought Eric deserved to
know the truth. Just tell the others we're okay, and
not to worry."

"I guess we can do that." Gunn said agreeing with
Buffy's decision.

"You betcha."

-

She walked into the dark room, the only light
emulating from the fire that shined on the top of a
pillar by the far wall.

The goddess saw the light cascading on the elder god.
His silvery long hair reflected the light onto the
ground.

"Greetings, Aphrodite."

She said, "You got to teach me how to do that,
Raiden."

He turns around, "It's one of my many gifts. What can
I do for you?" The Thunder God asked as he went to a
pair of chairs. He pulled one back, "Please sit."

The blond smiled, "Thanks. I need to ask you
something."

Raiden sat down opposite her and said, "Thor contacted
me, Aphrodite. He was able to find me after he talked
to Hercules. I understand you need the Astral Rod."

She nodded, "I do. I need to find Faith. Hercules is
allowing me to help this time, and I want to prove to
him and me that I can be of some help."

"You do realize that Zeus will punish you if he ever
finds out."

Aphrodite said in a lone tone, "I know. But I need to
do this."

He nodded, "Good. The Astral Rod is at the Temple of
Shao Khan. With Shao Khan dead from the tournament,
it's a good resting place for it. Be warned,
Aphrodite. You must do this alone. If you want, I
can send you a guide."

"Well…"

"Yes?"

She said quietly, "I don't know who's around."

The elder god said, "In Outworld? There's not much.
You spoke to Nightwolf. There are the members of the
Lin Kuei. Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Ermac and Rain died
recently."

The blond showed a confused look, "Didn't Sub-Zero
die?"

He said, "The one you're thinking about is the older
brother. He died during the last Mortal Kombat
tournament. His brother also has the same abilities
and skills the elder brother had."

"Oh," she said with realization. "I think I want him
for my guide."

The Thunder God nodded, "Very well, Aphrodite. Go to
the entrance of the South Tunnel and Sub-Zero will
meet you there. He will take you to the Temple of
Shao Kahn. There, you will find the Astral Rod." He
got out of his chair and walked around it. Hugging
his arms around his chest, Raiden said, "I would
suggest you also find the gate address. That is the
only way Hercules and his friends will be able to
rescue their friend. I must say that I am impressed,
Aphrodite."

"You are?"

"Hercules has told me about his family. And from the
ones that I have met, you are full of surprises.
Hercules is certainly fortunate to have you as a
sister."

She couldn't help but smile, "Thank you, Raiden."

"You are very welcome. Now, better head out. I'll go
get Sub-Zero."

Aphrodite got out her seat and headed for the door, "I
wonder if I can melt his coldness and create some
steam."

She heard the Thunder God chuckle as she left,
"There's always a chance."

-

"What now?" Buffy asked as she heard a knock coming
from her door.

Getting out of bed, she approached the door, and held
the knob in her hand. "Who is it?"

"Buffy, it's Sam."

Glancing at the clock, she returned to the door.
Opening it, she said, "Morning."

Sam looked at her, "You ready for the meeting?"

Buffy said, "I will. Xander said he'd come by this
morning so we could walk down together."

"Good." The captain said with her hands behind her
back.

The younger blond looked at her strangely, "What do
you have behind your back?"

Sam said, "I thought about what we talked about
yesterday. About you having the short life span?"

The mention of the last part of the statement made her
stare at the ground, "What about it?"

Noticing her low tone only made Sam regret using that
as an opener. "Sorry, about that."

Buffy shrugged, "It's alright. I just have to get
used to it. But thanks to my friends, I'm sure I'll
survive longer then other slayers."

She smiled, "That's good." Taking her hands from her
back, she appeared to holding a weapon of some kind,
"Hopefully, this can help too. It's an axe I made out
of tritanium."

Handing her the axe, Buffy looked at it. "Tritanium?"

Sam nodded, "It's a very strong metal. I thought you
might be able to use it on patrols. "

Buffy grinned, "Thanks, Sam. You didn't have to do
that."

"I know." Sam said. "But I wanted to, Buffy. I
think its small size will be able to make it easy for
use."

The Slayer gave the weapon a quick twirl at the staff.
"It feels good. Thanks, Sam."

"No problem," Sam said with a smile, "Just doing my
part."

A sudden knock at the door was heard.

"You decent, Buffy?"

Buffy answered, "Come on in, Xand."

Xander opened the door to see the two blonds. "Oh,
hi, Captain."

She grinned, "Call me, Sam, Xander."

He nodded, "Not a problem, Sam. You want to come
along? I was just taking Buffy down to the Debriefing
Room."

"Sure. C'mon."

With that said, the three of them headed down the
hall.

-

"How are we doing, Faith?"

Faith got up from her laying position and stared at
her captor, "Just five by five." Faith said with
disgust.

"Well," Ninedinna said as she brought the book
forward. "This book of mine has certainly gave your
uncle some problems. Hasn't it?"

She stood to her feet and walked toward the field that
held her. "You ruined his life, you bitch! But, why
not take him. Why take me?"

Ninedinna waved her hand and the field dissipated.
Walking inside, the system lord walked toward the east
wall. "What do you know of this book, Faith? Oh, and
don't try to escape. I can kill you where you stand."

She glared at her, "You're bluffing. You need me, you
bitch."

Nonedinnna walked to her, "I do need you, Faith. But,
I can always use the other Slayer. What's her name?
Either way, I can get what I want."

"Xander won't let you touch her." Faith sneered.

"You mean that boy? He's nothing."

Faith snarled, "He can do a lot more than you think."

"I'm sure you're right." Ninedinna agreed. "Tell
me," she said changing subjects, "do you know anything
about the goa'uld? Or about jaffas?"

"Goa'uld? Jaffa?"

Ninedinna smiled, "Here's also something you might be
interested in. It doesn't matter what gender you to
become pregnant."

She yelled, "What?"

-

Aphordite sighed as she leaned against the tunnel
wall. She looked up into the sky and looked at the
sun.

"Too dark. Wish Apollo had some contacts here." She
said with a smirk.

Rubbing her arms to gather some warmth, she said, "I
hope this isn't too hard."

"Hello, Aphrodite."

The goddess turned to the greeting, "Hi there,
Studmuffin. Like the no mask look."

He grinned, "My brother was the one with the mask."

"About that. Sorry that he died. But that's what
happens in Mortal Kombat."

The reformed assassin nodded, "That it does. Raiden
tells me you need the Astral Rod."

"I do." Aphrodite stated. "How far is Khan's
Temple?"

"Not too far. But we better get going. When we get
there, you're going to have to go in yourself. Only
people of the divine can handle the rod."

She ran her hand down her long blond hair. "Makes
sense."

With that said, the two of them started down the path
that was before them.

Glancing at him, she asked, "So anything new?"

He shook his head, "Not much. Just training for
future tournaments. Planning to reform the Lin Kuei."

"Good. Hercules would be proud."

Sub-Zero agreed, "He helped me come to that decision.
Do you know where Faith is?"

She shook her head, "No, I don't. I don't know where
to look."

The member of the Lin Kuei suggested, "You could try
Merlin."

The love goddess smiled, "Thanks, Subby."

"Not a problem. C'mon, we better get going."

-

SGC

The three of them walked down the hall.

Xander thought back to the room and remembered Buffy
holding a weapon. "Hey, Buff?" She looked at him,
"What's with the axe? Where'd you'd get it?"

Sam answered for her, "It's an axe that I made for
her. It's made from trinium."

He showed a confused look, "Trinium?"

Buffy recalled, "A very strong metal. Sam made it for
me after we talked. It was a very thoughtful gift."

Xander agreed, "That it was. So, does anyone know how
we're going to deal with this Faith situation. Ash
must be feeling the worse of all of us."

Buffy stated, "I'd have to agree. Being her uncle and
all. Ash already lost some people. He doesn't want
to lose anyone else."

The boy nodded, "Nobody wants to go through that.
But, it is part of life."

Sam said, "Definitely. I've lost some people over the
years. All my boyfriends died on me."

Xander chimed in, "All mine tried to kill me. Well,
except Cordy. But I have a feeling things aren't
going to go well with her when we get back."

"If you don't mind me asking, why?"

He answered, "After Buffy ran to LA, I dropped
everything and went after her. We've been away from
Sunnydale for a month now."

Buffy sighed, "I can't believe it's been a month
already."

"It's almost like every night was a Tuesday, huh?"

Sam showed a confused look, "Tuesday night?"

Buffy responded, "It just seems that everything
dangerous happens on a Tuesday. It's like the Powers
that Be have some weird fetish with Tuesday nights.
If it was my choice, I'd have it on Mondays."

As Buffy said that last comment, the three of them
opened the door to aready see Kevin, Ash, and the rest
of SG-1 sitting inside.

-
OutWorld

"Not a problem. C'mon, we better get going."

Sub-Zero and Aphrodite walked down the long path.
Wind continued to hallow through the air. Branches of
trees shifted slightly due to the lack of weight.

The sun that beamed darkly dropped from the horizon as
the full moon started to rise. Stars started to
puncture the calmness of the night sky. A true
tranquil atmosphere erupted and it was only
interrupted by the sounds of the wind and the
conversation between two mortals.

Now holding a torch, Sub-Zero headed the way down the
dirt path. Aphrodite followed shortly by him.

"All you have to do, Aphrodite is walk inside the
temple. I cannot follow." Sub-Zero said breaking the
silence.

She nodded, "All right. After that, I'll go back to
Earthrealm and teleport to Merline, talk to him, go to
wherever Faith is, and report back to Hercules."

"Sounds like a plan." Moving his hand forward, the
light shined north to the opening of the temple.
"This is my stop, Aphrodite. Before you go inside,
you must know there will be some obstacles ahead of
you. Even though you are mortal within this realm,
you should be able to get by. I cannot go inside with
you."

"I understand," the goddess said as she glanced at the
entrance. "I just hope I can do this."

"I believe you will have some trouble, but that is
expected. Good luck, Aphrodite. I will be here when
you get back."

With that said, Aphrodite climbed up the steps.
Taking a breath, she said to herself, "I can do this."

-
Ninedinna's Ship

"You heard me, Faith. You don't need to be female to
be pregnant. You could also be male."

Her eyes widened, "So you're making my uncle
pregnant?"

She chuckled, "Not exactly, Faith."

With her eyes still wide, and her in shock, "You're
going to impregnate me?"

Ninedinna walked back to the entrance and through it.
With a wave of the hand, she lifted the force field
and said to her, "I'll leave you with that thought."

Watching her exit the hall left Faith's mind reeling.

Pregnant.

Pregnant?

She couldn't become pregnant. She was a vampire
slayer.

Vampire slayers can't become pregnant, could they?

Sighing to herself, "I don't want to be part of the
new sitcom, 'My Two Moms.''

Glancing at the window from behind her, "Where are you
guys?"

-
Shao Khan's Temple

Aphrodite entered the temple. As soon as she stepped
on the first stone tile, fire erupted from the torches
that descended down the hallway on the walls. Light
engulfed the once dark temple.

"I guess I go forward."

She slowly walked down, looking everywhere. Making
sure she didn't miss a thing—anything that could help
her get the Astral Rod.

Pictures decorated the wall. There was a definite
impression from the pyramids of ancient Egypt.

Sighing, 'I wish I knew what they meant." Glancing
allover them. "Kinda blocky though."

She continued to walk down the hall. Nothing was out
of the ordinary.

"Where are these so-called obstacles?"

Uttering that question was a mistake, because as soon
as she took one step forward, the stone tile began
dropping. Immediately, she withdrew her foot, but it
was too late.

Soon, more panels started to fall. A hole started to
expand, and Aphrodite suddenly fell within it.

"Crap!"
-

Shao Khans Temple

Aphrodite fell with a thud.

Glancing around her, she couldn't see anything.

Nothing.

Everything was in darkness. She couldn't see if her
hand was in front of her face. Total blackness.

"Just great." She said to herself.

Dusting herself off, the goddess asked. "Now what do
I do?"

-

SGC

The former Promised One smiled his thanks as the Jaffa
stated, "Kel'no'reem is a meditation technique I use,
Xander. It requires much focus and time . We must be
incomplete solitude for it to work properly. Since
this is your first time, it will take some training
before you can fully experience the whole effect of
kel'no'reem. That means no interruption."

Xander took all that information in, "So, basically I
get to kiss all my social time goodbye."

Teal'c nodded, "Indeed. However, it will be most
beneficial in our search for Faith Williams and
Ninedinna."

He glanced around the room and seeing all his friends
giving him appreciated looks only made him decide to
follow through with Teal'c's method. "I understand,
Teal'c."

George addressed, "To make this move faster, I will
clear Teal'c from all SG-1 missions until Mr. Harris
receives the information we need."

"Thank you, General Hammond." Teal'c said. "I
suggest we start immediately."

Hercules asked, "Can I talk to Xander privately for a
moment? I need to ask him something about the
connection he has with Faith and Buffy."

Buffy questioned, "What is this so-called connection,
Xander? Why haven't I heard about it before?"

Xander answered, "It's like this, Buff. After I had
dinner with Ash and Faith…"

She listened to his tale as well as the rest of SG-1.

"So, since I wasn't at my full slayer capability, and
Faith wasn't ready to be called, the Powers that Be
chose someone that was close to us, that person being
you, and decided to make you our babysitter."

He chuckled, "Well not babysitter, Buffy. More like
Mini-Watcher. Only I don't have the tweed outfit,
British accent, or advanced demon knowledge. Y'know
what? Just think of me as your best friend who always
has your back."

"Oh," she said with realization, "so basically
nothing's changed."

He grinned, "Exactly."

Hammond addressed the group, "I think this meeting is
over. As for Mr. Sorbo's request to talk to Mr.
Harris in private, I don't have a problem with that.
Keep in mind guards are stationed outside this room at
all times. With that said, meeting adjourned."

"General Hammond?"

George looked at the short blond, "Yes, Ms. Summers?"

"Where's the mess hall? I didn't get a chance to eat
breakfast yet."

Xander turned to her, "How 'bout this, Buffy? After
Kevin talks to me, I'll go down to your room, pick you
up. We'll eat breakfast. Then I'll meet Teal'c for
Kell 'no' reem." He turned to Teal'c, "is that
alright?"

"I do not have a problem with that, Xander. The
guards will direct you after."

"Good." Xander said with a grin.

"You're dismissed."

Hercules and Xander watched their friends leave the
room. Closing the door behind them, the demigod
noticed the security camera.

Giving a clap, the camera shut off.

"Good thing I came in here last night, huh?"

"What?"

"After we left for our rooms, I came by the debriefing
room and placed a replaying loop that was set for
after I gave a clap. Working at a television show has
it advantages."

He grinned, "I see that."

Giving a moment's pause, he questioned, "So, what do
you want to ask me?"

-
Shao Khan's Temple

Looking all around her.

"How do I get out of here?"

Looking around the room, she tried to see any source
of light. Unfortunately there was none.

"Think, girl. How can I get out of here?"

Her mind began to wonder as to how to figure out this
problem. She needed some sort of light, some thing
that would make all this darkness seem to fade away—or
at least to temporarily shrink the void of
nothingness.

Her mind kept bringing in what Sub-Zero told her. He
told her that only the beings of the divine could
handle the rod. Even though she was mortal in this
realm, she still had her blood, the blood of the gods.
Changing blood couldn't happen if a god entered
another realm—any realm, like Outworld.

So that meant, even though she was mortal now, she
still had some godliness within her. Maybe there was
something she could use. Now, how could she use her
godhood within this problem?

All gods and goddesses of love had something other
deities didn't. Aphrodite had something Ares, Zeus,
Hera, and even Apollo didn't have. She had the
closest thing to a human soul. True, marriage and
conflict are human characteristics like love, but
there is one difference. While all can deal with the
human soul, love is eternal. Marriage could end and
conflict can be resolved. Sure, people fall out of
love, but love doesn't always have to of the romantic
type. It could also be part of the platonic. There
is always some form of love within a human being.
It's one of the strongest emotions, and that made her
only more empathetic to humans.

And within a soul, there was always her inner light.

Her inner light?

Light!

As soon as she had that thought, light erupted within
the room.

A smile crossed her lips, "Just as one god said, 'Let
there be light."

Spying a door at the end of the room, Aphrodite
started to walk towards it. The Astral Rod was within
her grasp, she knew it.

"Don't worry, Faith. Aunt 'Dite is on her way."

-

TBC

Let me describe something to you. When I post the chapters at and Twisting the Hellmouth, I wait until four short chapters are done. When they are, I post them as one long chapter at and Twistng the Hellmouth.

If you want to read the latest of this series, go to the Phoenixverse yahoo group. The url is in my bio section at Come and join. That is you would like.