Chaos Theory – Re-keyed. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Neon Genesis Evangelion/Stargate SG-1/Star Wars/Star Trek/Halo/Lord of the Rings Crossover...
---
Title: Chaos Theory: Re-keyed
Rating: PG - Language and Violence.
Genre: Crossover
Author: PitViper
Date (Part Nine): 2009-5-28
Summary: This is a BtVS/NGE/SG-1/SW/ST/LotR/Halo crossover. Based on the Halloween costume episode. Very AU. The Key's spell goes both forwards and backwards in time… what happens when it interacts with Ethan's Halloween?
Disclaimer: I don't own it, wish I did. I'm not making any money off of it – so please don't sue me. BtVS is the property of Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox. Neon Genesis Evangelion is the product of Gainax and ADV Films. Star Wars is owned by George Lucas. Stargate SG-1 belongs to Double Secret Productions and Sci-Fi channel. Lord of the Rings is the property of J.R.R. Tolkien and his family. Halo is owned by Bungie. And Star Trek is the property of Paramount Pictures (Who obviously understand nothing about Gene's vision of the future)
---
Chaos Theory: Re-Keyed
Part Nine: Don't Fall When You Look Down
"We find ourselves in this moment, unable to move back, unwilling to move forward. We are frozen by fear, apathy and ignorance. What is this flesh? This simple mortal bond that ties us to the physical universe? We are luminous beings, not this crude matter. This flesh is simply the whim of a few billion-trillion atoms to be us for a while. That we treat each other so differently because of so little proves we have far to go in order to achieve enlightenment." -- Willow Rosenberg, On This Mortal Coil, pg. 472. Published December 7th 2041.
It was a good morning for Mayor Richard Wilkins the Third... The sun was shining, the trees rustling in the wind, his future snacks walking hither and dither doing things that such tiny, clouded minds are want to do. All in all, it was a good day.
He glanced over a the phone, Alan had called a few minutes earlier and gave him a rundown on the evening's happenings. The children affected by the Chaos Mage's spell were evidently taking over some buildings in the Warehouse district. They were being exceedingly industrious as well – considering that once he was ascended this entire town was going to be his playpen, having decent property didn't hurt. Granted, considering the power of his future form, Dick didn't think he'd be able to take advantage of many of their little toys for himself, however, there might be one or two little trinkets he can get his minions to adapt for his use.
He looked out the window as the people scurried to and fro in the bright sunlight of Sunnydale. He glanced over at the horizon and noticed some clouds gathering. Rain on a day like today would have been so dreary. A few phrases muttered in Latin and the clouds were now studiously making their way to inundate some poor over-watered town a few hundred miles north. He'd been sending the rain clouds that way for the last two weeks, and soon the land would give way and half the town he'd been toying with would be buried in mud.
"Sometimes it's good being me." Richard smiled to himself, thinking about Mayor Simmons and his golf-game. The man was widely known as a poor looser... what wasn't known was how much of a poor winner he was. He barely beat Wilkins and was bragging for the last three weeks. "Well, Gosh, I hope he's wearing his fishing boots today, its going to be another wet one in Pristine Falls."
He took a deep breath, and glanced one more time out the window. His smile grew as he eyed the various self-motivating happy-meals, the addition of a few high-calorie fast-food joints had started to pack the pounds on some of Sunnydale's denizens. In a couple of years Sunnydale High would be filled with plump children and their plump parents, just right for the...
His thoughts about the future were stopped abruptly when the panes of glass in his east and west looking corner office windows shattered. His personal shield spell appeared at first glance to stop the projectiles.
Wilkins looked at the projectiles that had 'almost' killed him. They were evidently a pair of very large bullets, hovering in mid air directly before him. Evidently they stopped almost instantly right before they would have fully impacted his shield.
Two more bullets came into the room at a much more sedate pace than the first two. The bullets then maneuvered – surrounding him at the four cardinal directions. Suddenly the fronts of the large bullets opened up, revealing what looked like sophisticated electronics.
"So, Dick, can you hear me now?" Came the grizzled voice from all around him. The bullets were vibrating his Shield! 'No matter,' Dick thought silently, 'I'll find out who these interlopers are and eliminate them.' "Who am I speaking with?"
"Well, you can call me Spartan 117-a." Came the gravelly voice, "my partner, Spartan 117-b is on the other building. We thought we'd get your attention before we send you to hell."
Wilkins blinked, then laughed, "Gosh, such language coming from the children today. I think I will have to come up with some appropriate form of punishment, Jack O'Neill and Alexander Harris... oh, how are your parents, Xander? Are they nice and dry?" Wilkins smirked as a growl of a slightly different timbre echoed around him, confirming the identity of the other person. "To be honest, I was watching both of those particular costumes very carefully. The Mage had more power than I anticipated, but he couldn't have pulled this off by himself."
Just then the bullets started blinking blue. 'That's odd' Wilkins thought – 'No matter, can't harm me in this shield, and I doubt they would have the power to wait until it falls at the end of this afternoon.' "You know, I was going to look forward to snacking on you at graduation, Harris, but I'll settle for smiting you now." Wilkins muttered in Latin for a moment, a simple locating spell – which formed a little white ball in front of him. He let his hand hover beneath it, and then he blew gently on the floating ball of light – which promptly shot off to the west – then bounced off the inside of his shield, shooting right back at his head.
The light impacted Wilkins head and released a small amount of ambient energy back into the warlock, which caused the Mayor to stumble for a moment. "Gosh, that shouldn't have happened."
The voice had a distinct smirk in it, "Oh, did I mention, we've turned your spell against you. This slightly-bigger-than-a-coffin shield is going to be your home for the rest of eternity, or at least eternity from your perspective."
"Call it, Hell-for-One," Harris said through his radio. "A simple modification to the local space-time you're standing in, and pop, out of sync with reality you go. And where you'll stop... well... nobody knows – except that it will take a few billion years for you to get there, if you're lucky."
"Enjoy the ride." Jack spat out, as the four devices began to hum ominously.
As his shield began to turn red, and the world faded out of existence, the mayor muttered the last phrase he'd ever put to voice in this world: "Oh dear..."
---
The President of the United States Henry Hayes sat down heavily in the offered chair. Next to him was General Hammond, who was wearing a similar gob-smacked expression – not because he was surprised of what was being asked, but instead because of the way they asked it. "Would you care to repeat that?" The President asked.
The young woman before him smirked a bit, "Yep. We're offering our services to protect and defend this planet." She paused for a moment, looking at her colleagues, "And the terms and conditions of this protection are sitting in front of you."
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff looked at the copy of the proposal before him, "You're nuts." Was his simple two word response.
The girl continued to chew her gum, and even began blowing a bubble. Only once it had inflated to a nearly insane size then burst, did she suck the remains back in and respond, "Maybe."
The President looked over the papers in front of him. Having been briefed by a diplomatic liaison from the British Isles, he knew what the young woman was. "The kind of autonomy you're asking for..."
"Is vital and necessary to the defense of this planet." said the only physical adult at the table. Giles was keenly aware of what their little group looked like to these men of power sitting across from him, however, he knew that the memories of those who had possessed these children would give them a distinct advantage. "We're aware of the games you and your companions play in the world, gentlemen. We, in fact, understand that a great many problems that the world experiences are actually generated as cover for the massive amount of resources you have been gathering to prosecute this war." Giles stared darkly at several of the generals at the table.
The President leaned back, wondering why these people were making such inflammatory comments. "I don't know what you're talking about..."
"Perhaps you don't, but General Mackenzie over here does." Giles intoned, as he glared at the Army General that was sitting with the President's entourage. To his credit, the man didn't so much as flinch. "You have been creating conflicts and wars in various places to cover a buildup – a buildup that has no real reason to exist outside of the false conflicts you've created."
The President glanced at General Hammond.
General Hammond responded, "There has been no additional funding or material directed to the SGC from any source, Mr. President. In fact, funding is down twenty percent over the last year due to cutbacks initiated by the Congressional Oversight Committee headed by Senator Kinsey."
"The bulk of the resources are being diverted to various other front groups," Buffy added calmly. "Thousands are suffering because of conflicts you've started, conflicts that you are using as a cover to redirect resources and troops towards a top secret organization known as the NID."
"There's a veritable paper trail of secret documents and forged communiques that lead directly to your footstep, General." Giles added quickly. "That and ties with the mysterious Area 51 ensure that this is more than coincidence."
The President glanced at the stoic visage of his general, he could tell the man was seething underneath the facade he was casting. "If this document is correct, then there's more than ample reason for this deception. The world isn't ready to know about aliens – hell, I'm not ready to know about aliens."
"Burn 'em all and kick their asses..." The general muttered under his breath, no longer able to resist the temptation to speak up.
The President glared at the man, as did the others across the table from him. Jim McNeil decided to add fuel to the fire, "Let us know how you really feel General?"
To General Mackenzie the simple question almost demanded a response from him, "You want to know how I really feel? Well, let me ask you this: Do you think you're going to get out of this alive? Do you think that anyone in this town will live once we get out? You think we'll let a bunch of Satan worshipers and geeks take over this country? We'll nuke you if we have to." The man practically growled. "I'm not one of those spineless motherfuckers who will mess around with this; when I get cut, I bleed red, white and blue – this is about national security, putting this country and its priorities first no matter what the cost..." The man abruptly shut up, looking almost astonished that he blurted that out.
The President's glare turned to shock, and then he turned to the Joint Chief sitting next to him, "What?"
Giles smiled, "This room is under a mild truth compulsion. The thoughts and feelings of those in here are being subtly influenced so that the truth comes out."
Jim said, "Like it says in the document, this is no longer about one world or even the human race. There's an entire galaxy out there – for better or for worse – that needs our help and protection. It starts here, with Earth. Its time to grow up, and leave behind childish things."
Jim might as well have been speaking to a brick, as the President and his staff were focused on the fact they were being influenced to tell the truth. "A truth compulsion? Like some sort of airborne truth serum?" The President asked, aghast that he could be under the affect of some sort of drug...
Buffy sighed aloud, "No, Mr. President, nothing like that. There are no chemicals involved, no drugs. Its a subtle manipulation of an energy field that exists – an underlying matrix of power that allows us to temporarily change the rules of local space-time." She paused for a moment, letting the facade that she was a California blond air-head fade away, "The physics we've been able to observe are so complex you'd have to have an Einstein level of understanding in quantum mechanics and a team of scientists backing you up to even understand the basics. In fact, there are only three people on this planet right now that could even begin to comprehend the truth behind what we have done in this room. So here is where we take a page from Asimov and call it 'Magic'."
"Is this some sort of device or machine?" George asked, wondering if it was something that they could build themselves. Of course, he could see the usefulness of such an ability especially in the SGC.
Giles chuckled, "In a manner of speaking. People often forget that nature is the mother of all invention. Odds are, if humans have created something, there is an analogue in nature."
Jim mentally sighed, realizing he'd have to spell it out for them. "To answer your question, General Hammond, it is the most often forgotten machine." Jim tapped his temple with his forefinger, "Organic Brains are orders of magnitude more capable than any human construct, with the proper training, of course." He smiled, "Although I'm sure that Noonien Soong would have a little argument with me about that, but things are what things are."
The President sat back, upset but not wanting to focus on that particular aspect. "The demonstration of your abilities last evening was convincing enough. They're still trying to figure out how the hell you guys made my desk lamp flash the first chapter of The Lord of the Rings using Morse code, or get the screen on the Football to display a game of Tic-Tac-Toe."
Jim smiled at the thought and irony of displaying that particular game on the 'Football's tiny display, "Suffice it to say, our technology is light-years beyond anything you could possibly imagine. The truth is: if the situation on this planet and in this galaxy wasn't what it was, we would have been more than happy to let you continue to blissfully and ignorantly thrash about in the universe. Some lessons have to be learned the hard way, after all.
"But this isn't the time to lecture you on what you should and should not be doing. As it stands, we're hip-deep in a pile of horse manure and at any moment someone with temporal shields could decide that we're too much a thorn in their side to allow to exist. What we need to make sure of is that you're not against us."
Mackenzie growled, "Sir, they've fucked with our heads and squeezed our balls in a orange juicer. We can't let these Commie motherfuckers mess with the sovereignty of this great Nation..."
"Ah yes, General," Giles noted distastefully, "I figured you would consider us in such a light. After all, any threat to your continued bank-roll must be a threat to the Nation."
"How much was it," Buffy tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Seventy six point five million? Apportioned and diverted straight from the coffers of the General Accounting Office. Thirty million which was ear-marked for upgrades to the military outpatient housing at Bethesda, twenty million that was tagged to go into a war-veterans child health care supplement package... and, oh yes, my personal favorite, ten million dollars that was to be put into an anti-AIDS education campaign for foreign service men and women."
The President watched as the General worked his lower jaw, the compulsion to tell the truth evidently agreeing with his inner need to gloat and express his true opinions. Only a desire to remain free and not be immediately buried under Fort Leavenworth keeping his mouth shut. As for himself, the President noted several occasions where he felt the need to speak the truth – something he intended to do as long as it was in the best interests of the country. Over the years he had found that honesty in situations such as these was the easiest way to attain ones goals, and it didn't require constant censure and review of ones actions to maintain a ruse.
But just because one was honest – just because one told the truth – did not mean that one must tell the whole truth. Still, it was time to stop this, "Despite everything, we'll have to investigate these allegations – I don't need to say how disappointed I am that you people felt the need to place us in a situation where national secrets could be compromised."
General MacKenzie agreed heartily, "Damn Straight."
The President glared over at him, "Shut up."
Buffy just smiled, "Everyone in the room is under the same effect. Even us."
"The ability of an individual to resist the compulsion varies, of course," Jim noted, "But you can always choose not to speak. And you'll find that the things you believe should be kept secret will not be exposed."
Giles looked at MacKenzie, "That the General chose to reveal so much simply identifies the disdain and contempt he holds those secrets in – he honestly believes, Mr. President, that the words he spoke should be shouted from the rooftops and bellowed through the halls at the top of his voice."
"Let's not get distracted from our purpose here, Mr. President." Jim spoke softly, "As a group we need to know that the United States will support our activities here. As one of the most powerful nations on the Earth, if the US decides to align against us, we will have to consider other options." He paused for a moment, "We can leave this world any time we choose." Jim said solemnly, looking at the President of the United States, "We can continue our work elsewhere. In fact, its a contingency we're planning for." Jim stood up from the table which suddenly became hollow in the center, and proceeded to walk into the gap provided, "We were born and raised here, Gentlemen, but we cannot afford to allow the entire universe to suffer while you play games with provincial politics and practice war games with the Goa'uld. There are other races out there, not to mention thousands of human civilizations, that need our help."
"The situation on this world is not all peaches and cream either." Buffy noted, "There has been a battle between the forces of darkness and the forces of light for thousands of years on a world-wide scale. Creatures you believe are the stuff of fairy-tale and folklore actually exist. Beings from other dimensions, called Demons by us, share our world."
"While some of these beings only want peace and to live without persecution," Giles continued, "Some are irredeemably evil. Creatures of nightmares, such as the Vampire, prowl the Earth and kill the living to sustain themselves. And not all that is evil comes in such an alien form, Mr. President."
"Right now," Jim continued, "Two of the people at the heart of our operation are dealing with a human who, for the last hundred years, has been preparing his body and this town for a truly evil event."
"This man has forsaken his humanity, dabbled in arts darker than you can possibly imagine. He's made deals with creatures and beings that exist solely to defile and corrupt anything that crosses their path. He has used the powers he possess to extend his life and perpetuate crimes that are almost unspeakable." Giles finished.
"It almost sounds like you're talking about Hitler." General Hammond noted.
"No, but it's almost as bad." Giles said sadly, "The man's name is Richard Wilkins. The mayor of this town – this town that sits upon a dimensional gateway known as Boca del Inferno – or the Mouth of Hell. And he's done so for a hundred years."
Just as the President was about to protest – knowing instinctively that they meant to kill this person, the lights in the room dimmed and a series of holograms were projected in mid air.
Giles stood and walked to where Jim was standing - the projections forming around him, "As you can see, these pictures are all of the same man – historical archives and photos dating back to the late eighteen-hundreds show that this is, indeed, the very same man in every picture."
Buffy picked up this thought, "We don't know his exact plans, but considering the ritual murders that have been occurring regularly for the last hundred years, it can't be good." The holograms switched to show a series of coroners images and various occult items.
"Our consensus is that it is a demonic empowerment ritual. Perhaps even an 'Ascension' ritual, but without more knowledge of all the demonic sacrifices involved we can't be sure. Whatever it is though, it is not going to be nice, especially on the Hellmouth."
The President blinked, "I've been briefed on the supernatural threat, but this is the first time that I've heard about a gateway to Hell sitting on American soil."
Jim broke in, "Its not actually 'Hell' per-say... think of it as an Earth that lost the battle between good and evil – a parallel dimension where monsters from our nightmares managed to destroy the Champions of Light and claim the world as their own. If you were to go there, odds were you'd think it was Hell, but there would be recognizable features – places like mountains and river valleys that remained untouched that would show this world as once having been an Earth.
"It is not the only parallel universe," Jim continued, "There are many others – some would seem to be heaven in comparison to our own, some would be almost identical. Some are a dark mirror, seemingly identical, until you scratch the surface. There are an infinite span of parallel dimensions and universes, each of which representing a quantum decision point – a possibility that both could and could not occur. The most far flung universes are the ones of pure energy, and pure nothingness. They exist at the extremes, the ultimate expression of infinity."
"The Ancient city below us was created to harness the energies and explore the diversity of parallel dimensions. The other Hellmouths are either due to similar Ancient constructs or due to accidents with said constructs." Buffy paused a moment, "And as Jim said, the Hellmouth dimension isn't the only one available to travel to – there are others. Its quite likely other portals that exist besides the known hellmouths that can take us to parallel dimensions and universes all across the world. Fortunately, the veils between realities are not so delicate and thin as some would have you believe, it takes considerable effort to breach a portal – and even more effort to keep one open. And some portals have defenses to keep out the unwanted, or keep in the condemned."
The President nodded. What else could he do? He was here, faced with a group of people who were all but declaring their independence from the United States, and there was damn little he could do about it. and stood, "You've given us a lot to think about."
General Mackenzie looked almost gleeful that he was being allowed to leave a free man as he stood.
A glance at two of the marines stationed at the door was all it took for the President to convey his wishes. "General Mackenzie, you will be held while we investigate the charges levied against you."
The two marines grabbed their former commander by the arms, even as he protested, "You believe them?"
The President glared, "I'm a politician, and unlike some, I do listen to my constituency – reports of underfunding often reach my staff, which they do their best to track down. Although," The President spared a glare towards his staff, "I was advised that some of the diversions were necessary for the continued safety of the country," He turned back to Mackenzie, "I didn't realize that the funds approved for Bethesda were actually going into your pocket."
Just as Buffy rose, and all were standing, the room faded out revealing a black and yellow grid in a box-like room.
The President's eyes widened, "This is..."
"A holodeck." Jim completed. "You were sitting in a conference room constructed of force-fields, photons, and artificially generated matter, where necessary. The term holodeck is misleading, as there are really no holograms to be had – it's precisely tuned forcefields that reflect and emit certain frequencies of light and forcefield controlled materialized matter, in the case of the water at the table. Its just a sample of what we're capable of, and proof that we can back up the claims we made in our proposal. I'd suggest that you think very carefully about it. Six billion lives on this world, and countless millions of others in distant star systems depend on it."
---
In another room, the man possessed by G'kar sat in dim candlelight, pen scribbling on paper as he voiced random thoughts.
"So, you are convinced that they are worth it?" Another of the changed asked, his Centauri hair style sticking up in the dim light.
"Aren't you?" the man who appeared to be G'kar asked, his pen placed to rest on the desk.
"Bah!" The Centauri man said, standing in the light wearing the Ambassadorial robes of one Londo Mollari. "Arrogance and Stupidity in the same package – and they are still as efficient as ever." Then, softly, "Carl, How can you even think they are worth it?"
"Will..." Carl Birmingham said softly, "Don't get too lost in Londo's persona, Don't fall too far into that trap – because we are more than the sum of our parts."
William Samuel's eyes went wide, "More than the sum of our Parts!" He gestured at himself, "I seem to have several new 'parts' as it were – all of which appear to be after market!"
"And I have a pouch!" Carl hissed, "You don't hear me screaming to the heavens about my lot in life!"
Will blinked, "I suppose you are right." Then he chuckled, "Don't we make a pair? I'm over here complaining about my new add-ons while you write on those damnable Narn scrolls. And what are you writing anyway?"
Carl looked over at his desk, covered in false-starts and partial scribbles, "G'kar and I are a lot alike. Neither of us thought seriously about writing until it was almost too late – and fortunately for me, I was able to learn from his pain and sorrow. I learned how to express myself in words, Will, and that's worth all this." He gestured to himself. "Thanks to G'kar, I can see for the first time in my life.
"I know we humans, and yes I still consider myself human, have a potential – a vast potential – to become better than we are. We are stronger than we know, and worthy of what we've received. We've been blessed, Will, blessed with the gifts and knowledge of others who had walked the hard, long roads.
"Blessed with the thoughts of scholars and wise-men, warriors, priests and a thousand other occupations from a hundred different disciplines. We have gifted mages and engineers, scientists and artists from worlds that only existed in our imaginations until this very moment! Right now in these very halls are men and women who know how to build star ships and construct spells on levels no one could imagine." Carl paused a moment to gather his thoughts, "And, for the first time, we have those with the wisdom to guide us into the future. Humanity has always been at its best when it is moving forward with a purpose. For the last dozen or so years, we've been resting on the collective laurels of a generation long since past – and its high time we stood up and did something about it."
William stared at Carl, mouth slightly agape, as the man turned back for a moment to his desk. "Madness..." he whispered.
Carl's eyes perked up, "Madness?" he asked, letting out a dark chuckle, "We have been asleep, my friend, for a very long time. I pity those who have not had this awakening – because they are sitting right now, in their homes and schools and cubicals, wishing and praying that something, anything, will come along to whisk them away on some great adventure.
"They don't see that the adventure is waiting for them! They just have to take the first step. All life seeks to spread its wings and explore new horizons. Life begets life in this way – its in our genetics to wish to pass it on to others. For the last few years, we've listened to others say 'One day someone will do something and then our lives will be better.' We push the responsibility onto others – while we daydream and pray for change without actually doing anything about it. Well... Change, my friend, has come and reared its ugly head in the sleepy town of Sunnydale California, and it has bitten us on the ass."
"And so it has, old friend..." Will whispered. "Be careful what you wish for, eh?"
Carl smiled, "G'kar let me see a simple truth in the universe, my friend. While change is always born of pain, it also gives rise to hope. Can you imagine our world just a dozen years from now? Things that were considered science-fiction will be commonplace – we've reached a singularity, a point where we as a species will leap a hundred years ahead in our society for every ten that pass in real time. We're on the verge of becoming a space-faring civilization." He looked down for a moment, "You've asked what I was writing..." Carl looked fondly at his scrolls, then grabbed a PADD tucked away in the drawer, "Then see what it is that I am writing."
Will looked at the outstretched hand containing the PADD as though it were some vicious serpent offering him a beer. Finally, with a dejected sigh, he reached out and grabbed the pad. In order to irritate his friend a bit, he read it aloud in his 'Londo' voice, "We the people of the Earth Alliance recognize and declare without hesitation, prejudice, or reservation that all sentient beings are created equal..." He stopped for a moment, and continued to read down the page – mostly bullet points but, "Carl, what is this?"
"What does it look like?"
"Its..." He looked up his eyes wide, and seemingly misty for some strange reason.
"Its going to be our Charter, Will. A guarantee of rights and freedoms that will ensure that any sentient, whether they are a computer construct or an alien life form, are granted the inalienable rights and freedoms that all human beings should enjoy. It recognizes a sentient construct as being equal to the sentient that constructed it. It recognizes that no sentient can be beholden or a slave to another being, or be forced to labor against their will to satisfy another sentient's desires."
The PADD was trembling in Will's hands. Secretly, ever since Halloween, William had been terrified that he'd be considered less than human, and have his rights as a human stripped away. "Do you think this can work?"
"It has to work," Carl said, "It has to, because like it or not, humanity is going to be star-bound. We will have to become the glue that holds the universe together. If not... then..."
Will swallowed, "War..." He shook his head, "Its true, isn't it. We humans are the glue – better yet, the duct-tape that holds everyone and everything together."
"Humans build communities." Carl responded, "And, if we're sufficiently open-minded about it, we won't discriminate by what species a person is from. As Jim once said, 'I try to look for the similarities between people.' I'd like to think that there are more similarities than there are differences. After all, consider the humble Swedish Meatball."
This brought a raised eyebrow and a light chuckle from Will, "You are MAD!"
Carl smirked, "I'm just a reflection of the universe."
---
Author's Notes:
We're coming to the end of Chaos Theory: Rekeyed. Maybe two or three more chapters to go. I've got the start to a couple other stories rattling around in my brain, and hopefully once I finish this, I'll have enough done where I'll feel comfortable posting a new one in relatively short order. Then again, it could be months, depending on workload and real-life. I've long since given up trying to predict when I'll be able to sit down and pound out a few more pages of story – its best to take it as it comes, otherwise it becomes more work than pleasure.
To everyone who has been reading and following Chaos Theory, Thank you for sticking with it. I can't say when I'll have more, but I promise that there will be and I hope you enjoy it.
Later,
PV.