Chaos Theory - Day Zero Part Seven. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Stargate SG-1/Star Wars/Star Trek/Halo/Lord of the Rings Crossover...

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Title: Chaos Theory: Day Zero
Rating: PG-13 - Language and Violence.
Genre: Crossover
Author: PitViper
Date (Part Seven): 2006-12-4, updated 2007-1-13, updated 2007-3-4
Summary: This is a BtVS/SG-1/SW/ST/LotR/Halo crossover. Based on the Halloween costume episode. Very AU. Buffy and the gang get Halloween costumes... and SG-1 arrives in Sunnydale to observe the evening... in costume as well. Needless to say, chaos theory is in full effect...

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. 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).

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Chaos Theory: Day Zero
Part Seven (Epilogue): "From Darkness to Light…"

In this life there are things that have weight. Some of them are physical. Some are emotional. Some we choose to carry… some of these burdens choose us to carry them. In the end, life is about how a person carries the obligations of their existence – the physical burdens and the incorporeal duties, the enduring tasks and the ephemeral moments of decision. All these burdens comprise our destiny, the blueprint that we cannot see or know before hand… unless seeing the future is one of your gifts.

Such is the existence humanity has chosen for itself. To constantly seek paradise while choosing never to partake of such a mundane and carefree existence. It is this unique quality – to be willing to accept hardship over happiness yet still striving to create heaven from hell – that allows humanity to flourish where most other species would have long since consigned themselves to dust.

And such thoughts were on the mind of one Buffy Summers. Granted, this was a very unusual situation for the blonde slayer. After all, up until recently she'd been the All-American California Girl. She had hidden her intelligence beneath a vast sea of frills and clothing, as is the case for thousands of other girls. She had already planned her future: Marriage to a rich and powerful man. Fast cars, society parties, and jewelry to be lavished upon her by her 'adoring' husband were all the components of her dreams. Dreams forged in the depths of society's morays and etiquette.

Not that this was what she truly wanted. But what she truly wanted wasn't what would allow her to live comfortably in a society that, despite great advancement and growth, still saw women filling the roles that men chose to give them. So she had done what millions of other women had done over the last century of advancement: bought some blonde hair-dye and prepared herself to go out and catch a meal ticket. 'Didn't really need good grades to go and do something like that.' She had once thought.

Then the universe decided to piss on her plans. Seems that destiny was indeed a bitch, and she was busy readying a strap-on for use on Buffy's virgin future. So with one mighty thrust of the universe's pelvis, Buffy Summers was screwed, and became The Slayer.

The Slayer was the second part of the death of Buffy Summers. It was a calling that forced itself upon her – choosing her out of thousands, perhaps millions, of other potential slayers to become the thing that creatures of the night feared. And with becoming the slayer came the knowledge that her life could now be measured in months and days, rather than in years. She now contained the spirit of a woman that had malevolent energies forced into her body by a group of overzealous men who wanted a controllable weapon to use against the forces of darkness: a woman who had been chained to a stone and supernaturally raped. She had been a normal girl one second, dreaming the dreams that normal people dream. The next, the Slayer had invaded her mind, body and soul - giving her sensations, strength, agility and stamina that clearly marked her as something other than human.

But that was fine. Buffy could deal. Really, being the Slayer was better than being a society drone. Los Angeles contained plenty of examples of worse things that could happen. Then there were her parents, the time spent in the Asylum, and then the divorce. She was numb by the time she finally reached Sunnydale.

So she trudged through the last year. Having no one to really talk to outside of Giles, she realized that she would die young and then some other girl would get the shaft. The dying young part didn't really bother her – it meant that she wouldn't have to live long enough to be forced to attract a man with money, live off of him for a while until he inevitably dumped her for the 'Younger' model, had a nice divorce (or two…) and live somewhat happily off of support payments.

Then again, though, there was the last part of that contract – that another girl would wake up one night screaming at the top of her lungs as she dreamed the last experience of the previous slayer – which gave Buffy pause. Could she accept the responsibility that another girl, just like her, would one day be called to fight (all alone) against the forces of Darkness? No… no she couldn't.

So she lived as best she could, keeping the shell of the ditzy blonde around for sentimental reasons in order to throw off those around her – both the creatures of the night and her family. After all, she didn't need to be put in an institution… again.

Then Halloween came.

Now… now there was another entire life spent in isolation added to her psyche. A Jedi. A fictional character from George Lucas' imaginations… And there it was – Siri Tachi – all at home in her rather crowded mind and soul. Not so fictional anymore. A lifetime spent in a state not too far from a slayer's. And she had the Force now. And with that particular power, Buffy mused silently as she watched the stars, would come the Future. Siri Tachi was particularly 'Gifted' with such visions. Visions of things that were. Visions of the things that are. And visions of the things that might yet be. It was the last that truly frightened her: for the future was always in motion.

Buffy sat heavily on the steps outside the school and looked out over the grounds. She could almost feel the weight of destiny sitting even more squarely on her slender shoulders. She looked over to her side as Jack silently sat next to her.

"Crazy night." Jack said, his helmet in his lap. Cortana was busy tapping into the local networks - finding out more about the world she was in and how she could fit into it. "I know you already heard it, but the name's Jack."

"Buffy," she said shortly. A small chuckle escaped the Slayer. "Yeah. Crazy night."

Jack shifted a bit uncomfortably, "'bout that thing back there with the gun..."

Buffy actually laughed at this, "Don't worry about it - I knew you wouldn't shoot... I just needed to make sure you knew just why it wasn't a good idea for you to try."

"I would have shot - the zat at least..." Jack argued, practically growling.

Buffy smiled, "You could have tried to shoot me. But I'm good with a lightsaber. Real good." She looked up and out into the stars, "They don't seem right. The stars, I mean." She felt Jack's eyes on her, and she decided to elaborate: "They're not my stars anymore, Jack. I... I never really knew the night constellations. I spend all this time fighting the demonic forces that constantly invade Sunnydale at night, but I don't think I ever took a moment to go out and look up at the sky. Now that I do... I don't see anything familiar.

"Siri used to spend hours in the Jedi Archives as a youngling staring at the projections of nighttime stars from various worlds." Buffy elaborated. "She would stare and wonder... and imagine that she would be sitting on Dantooine or Mon Calamari... Corellia or Chandrilla or any of the thousands of worlds in the Republic. Now... when I look up at our sky... I... I find nothing familiar anymore." She looked over at Jack, "Do you ever just look up at the sky?"

Jack smiled, "All the time. Believe it or not, and I'll deny it to the ends of the universe if you tell one of my team, but I always wanted to be an astronomer. I've actually got degrees in Physics and a PhD in Astrophysics. But being an astronomer wasn't in my cards. I wasn't such a good student in high school. And no college was going to accept that a mediocre student like me wanted to be an astronomer. So I figured if I couldn't make a living out of looking at the stars... I'd try to make one out of going to them.

"So I joined the Air Force. I simply enlisted, right out of school - and quickly found out that they don't let people just hop into spacecraft." Jack said, with a small smile. "And then they discovered something about me. I was good with guns. Real good. Knives, too. Hell, I was even good with my bare hands.

"Don't let anyone ever tell you that being in the Air Force is all about flying. I was Special Ops. There are Seal teams, Army Rangers, and Marines around the world who owe me a couple rounds in the local pub for what I've done over the years.

"Finally, I hit a wall: Couldn't do it anymore. I had fallen in love, found someone to marry... And decided to become a regular officer in the Air Force." He swallowed a bit. "The funny thing about joining up… you never get to choose what you do. They still tried to send me out on missions, and it ruined my chances for marriage long before we actually had a chance. I was just about to tell them to shove it when they actually let me go and be something other than their mission boy. Evidently a psychologist or two figured out I was about to hop ship and recommended I get out of the black. I worked undercover for a foundation - helped people out, and did it without having to touch a gun. But the Military always pulls you back in, eventually.

"They got me, and I joined the Aviator club. I fell in love again, and we married. I had a son, and life was good for a while." Jack smiled sadly for a second, "A side note: If you're ever lost, one thing you should make sure you have is duct tape, a paperclip, lighter, and some rope. If you have those four things, you can get out of any situation.

"But back to the story: My first time in a plane," Jack thought back, "It was like... like God had come down and given me a big hug. It was my reward... my forgiveness for all the shit I had to live through on the ground. Up there, where there's just sky and clouds and thirty thousand feet between you and the Earth... there's no feeling like it in the universe. Your troubles melt away, and everything is okay. Yeah, it sucks when you're on a mission to go kill someone or something... but the twenty minutes you spend doing the job is worth it just to be able to fly like the birds for the other hours you're in the cockpit. There's no freedom like it.

Jack looked over at the young woman, "Being up there puts everything into perspective. It's just... amazing."

Buffy nodded slightly, "Why tell me all this?"

"I guess it was an attempt to make you understand why I didn't want to see you have to muck through this shit that's on your shoulders. You're still young. You can have a life. I've already lived most of mine... and I want yours to be better than mine." He sighed and muttered, "Kids shouldn't have to do this shit."

"A life… I seem to have more life rattling around in my head than I know what to do with." Buffy sighed as well, "What happens now?"

"Dunno." Jack said. "NID is going to catch wind of this. If they haven't already started to set up an operation around here, they're going to do so soon. I'm not too worried about you guys, you're Jedi, and that Xander guy is a Spartan... He can kick ass and take names with the best of them now, I'd reckon. We'll stay here a while, but eventually we'll have to go back. The 'gate needs to be protected, and that's our destiny." He glanced over at her, "But we're not going to forget about you guys. I'm going to assume that, because of this Hellmouth thing, you guys can't leave?"

Buffy looked over at him, "Not a chance. This is the active hellmouth. If there's going to be a demon invasion, its going to start here. How about you? We could bring your 'gate' here? You know, bring all our troubles to one place so we can pool our resources."

"Under normal circumstances... that would probably be a good idea. But this hellmouth of yours sounds like a pretty unpredictable thing. And combining that with Ancient technology and wormholes is probably not a very good idea. Besides, that would probably just make the NID more interested in this place than they probably already are. If you believe nothing else I say, then trust this: The NID equals bad news."

Buffy nodded. "Gotcha. NID bad."

"They come here... they'll probably start seeing these Vamps and Demons and start building their own Frankenstein monster - or worse: experimenting on them. Nazi like experimenting, I'd imagine. And they'd be just as interested in dissecting you as they would a vamp." O'Neill looked out into the distance. "I don't think I ever want to see what they'd do to learn what made a Jedi tick." Jack sighed, "As much as I'd like to think they wouldn't be that bad... any time you get government organizations that believe they know better than everyone else and are answerable to no one... It leads to shit like what the Nazi's pulled. You'd think that nobody would ever forget the evils perpetrated by those sadistic bastards... but there's always someone out there willing to pick up where Hitler left off."

"They're going to be just as interested in you and that blonde haired Major of yours. In fact, you're probably in more danger, because they know they can replicate what was done to create you." Buffy retorted. "Lets face it; they're going to come after all of us."

Suddenly the helmet's speakers came to life, "That may be," Cortana replied, "But I'll be damned if I'm going to let any of you be subjected to something like that without a fight."

"What'cha thinking, Cortana?" Jack asked.

Jack could almost hear the evil smile in Cortana's voice, "Oh, just making some bases around the world. A little plan that Me, Myself, and Major Carter came up with.

"No one country or government is responsible enough to handle what we know." Cortana started, "Not even the United States. Like you said, Colonel, there's always someone ready to pick up where Hitler left off. That's one thing that history has taught me: those in power by their own decision always want more power. If men have to die so that they can have steak on their plates and caviar as their hors-de-vors, then that's what will happen. However, if we don't start getting our collective asses in gear, its going to be the Covenant all over again - only this time instead of being wiped from the galaxy, we're going to become cattle for the Goa'uld."

"Then close your gate. Bury it. Shoot it off to the moon." Buffy added her two cents.

Jack tried to suppress a laugh as Cortana spoke: "Would be a brilliant idea except for one, small, issue. The Goa'uld have ships. Compared to the Pillar of Autumn, the Covenant, and the Ancients, they're slow and lumbering things - but they'll get here eventually. There in lies the problem.

"Infrastructure." Cortana said. "Right now the Earth is geared towards making 'Chevies' not 'Starships'. The industries capable of building the Autumn simply don't exist. And make no mistake; the Earth is at war even though nobody knows it yet."

"The Goa'uld know about us. But even if they didn't, a system lord would have eventually sent a ship or two to investigate our world. Earth is well on their maps, and too lucrative an opportunity to pass up – six billion slaves ripe for the picking. Eventually they'll send an overwhelming force to come and seize the planet. Or glass it." Jack inserted as Cortana prepared to continue. "Right now, going through the gate is our only way to fight them - to keep them off balance. We're managing to make them fight each other, but the other shoe will eventually drop. We'll annoy them enough to make them take action. But, leaving them alone though is simply not an answer."

Cortana continued, "Therefore I'm gathering the resources and technologies necessary to build a defense system and a fleet. That begins with creating bases around the world independent of government control where we can start gathering the forces we'll need to eventually take the fight to the Goa'uld.

"We're going to need Spartan II's. And we'd like it if we also had Jedi on our side. With Major Frasier's knowledge of Federation medicine and medical technology, Major Carter's repository of Federation technical know-how, and the Jedi's thousands of years of experience with advanced hyperspace physics and large-scale shipbuilding, I figure it will take us about five years to go from nothing - which is what we have now - to something akin to a Halcyon class battle cruiser. And after the space-docks are in place... We'll be putting out a new capital ship every two weeks." Cortana spoke to Jack, "So, flyboy, think it will work?"

"I think we're planning just a little too far ahead - after all, we've got a mess to clean up here." Jack told Cortana. If Jack were to be honest with himself, he'd have to admit that he hated the idea of going behind the government's back. However, the thought of having Senator Kinsey gaining control of a Halcyon class battle cruiser like the Pillar of Autumn made him shudder. "But it sounds like a plan at least."

"So... Halsey Incorporated sound like a good name?" Cortana asked hopefully. "I've located some nice property about thirty minutes outside of town - perfect for several large hangers, and construction facilities... and a nice underground base of operations. Plus we could have offices in Colorado Springs as well... and have them linked by transporters."

"Not to be ungrateful or anything... but where do you plan on making the money for this?" Jack asked, looking uncomfortably at the shocked slayer.

"Already made thirty-five million playing with the Nikkei market. I'll be hitting the London FTSE soon too. There's always the future's market as well. Not to mention I've got plans for every significant technical invention from 2010 onward. I think our first patent will be a power cell... yep. It will be nice to know that New York City won't be underwater come 2030 because of global warming, although I'm sure that the Oil Barons will put up quite the fight. Then I'll start working on the designs for the new Longswords and Pelicans, and have some Warthogs whipped up by a vehicle manufacturer - possibly Hummer or Jeep. Haven't decided yet..." Cortana started muttering. "Why is it that California construction companies don't keep night hours or at least have live people at their offices after hours? There's just so much to do and so little time to do it in. And I'm going to need to get a hold of the California Department of Transportation - I need a four lane highway built quick-like..." Cortana trailed off into silence.

Jack didn't want to think about how Cortana was doing what he thought she was doing... "I think I'm going to head back in and see how Danny is doing." Jack asked, "How 'bout you?"

"Sure. Nothing better to do, I suppose."

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"So, Cortana, what's the care and maintenance for a Mjolinr Armor like this?" Xander asked calmly, "I mean, what do I do to get rid of the body odor?"

"Well..." Cortana started, "I think you're going to become quite familiar with using a toothbrush, warm water, and very mild soap. Anything too strong and you'll compromise the interior electronics." She let him think about it for a few minutes, "Honestly, though, the interior lining will probably need to be replaced after about a month. It's designed to be resistant to body oils and bacteria, so there shouldn't be too much odor. And the lining shouldn't take too long for me to replace - its relatively simple materials, so you can forestall your nightmare of 'odorific' armor. The important stuff is in the second and third layers of the under armor. It will be months before I can replace components like that. At least the armor itself isn't as bad. I figure that it will be about three or four weeks before I'll have enough resources to attempt to construct replacements for your ceramic-metallic ablative armor plates. Still, in the mean time, I recommend that you be very careful."

Xander nodded, as he looked over towards Willow and Daniel, "How are they?"

"Daniel is probably pretty close to coming out of his unconsciousness." Cortana replied, "Willow on the other hand... Yoda did quite a number on her."

"She looks a bit like Linda 058." Xander mused looking over his best friend's new features. He could see the muscles that had developed - her body mass had definitely increased by a significant fraction. Even unconscious she seemed to ripple with strength and power.

Closing his eyes, he tapped Anakin's abilities and reached out with the Force... And was almost thrown back by the sheer brilliance in her Aura. "Whoah."

"Like I said. He did a number on her." Cortana reiterated. "And you are right about the resemblance. Although I'm sure that she's not going to be too happy about it. I'm detecting Spartan II levels of muscle density, although the actual muscle mass is quite a bit less."

Xander chuckled darkly. "So about those plans of yours..."

Cortana cut Xander off, "For the past fifteen minutes you've been telling me about your life, leaving out certain details." Xander could hear the anger building in Cortana's simulated voice, "Now I may only be a UNSC AI, but I can recognize the signs of child abuse. The nanites detected all the bone injuries you received at a young age. While this would be normal for a Spartan, something's telling me you weren't recreating the Charge of the Light Brigade as a live-fire exercise at the age of eight..." Cortana let loose a slight growl, "I don't know what it is about Sunnydale that seems to make people ignore shit like this, but I want you to know, you're not spending one nano-second longer than you have to in the presence of those animals you call parents.

"Since I've just purchased some property outside town, property that already has a few warehouses on it, I don't think it would take much for me to set up some barracks in there. After all, we're going to need room for training, exercises and such - not to mention, tomorrow morning you have a fifteen mile run scheduled at five am..."

Xander's eyes widened, "You can't be..."

"Serious? Of course I am. What? Do you think that the Chief's body just magically stays nice and fit? He puts in about five hours a day of hard exercise."

"It's not the work out - gods know I understand that part, but five? In the morning?" Xander squeezed out. He could almost imagine Cortana putting her electronic hands on her hips and getting a very stubborn maternal look on her face.

Cortana let a bit of sternness into her voice: "You mean to tell me there's going to be some other time in the day when you're going to be able to do it? Come on Xander, work with me here..."

Xander caved, realizing that Cortana was right. It was the only time for such things. "Okay. But you'll owe me a Twinkie for lunch every day that I'm doing this."

"No problem, but just remember, every Twinkie you consume is another five miles onto the run." Cortana said, an invisible smirk in her voice. "To be honest Xander, I don't know how you survived until now. It may not look it, but the bad guys around here are actually worse than most of the Covenant. The primary advantage the Covenant had was in numbers and technology. But these bastards have honest-to-goodness magic and god-like physical abilities. If you didn't have a slayer here..."

"Yeah... tell me about it." Xander muttered as Buffy and Jack walked back in. "So does he know? I mean about what the Spartan stuff is going to do for him?"

"Yeah, I think he does: At least on a subconscious level. I don't think it will really hit him until tomorrow." Cortana mused, as she ran some diagnostics. "How are you dealing with it - all of these changes... I mean, after all, there's Jedi now."

Xander nodded again. "This has to be the funkiest day in my life. Certainly not the worst - but definitely a nine on the wig-o-meter. And knowing I'm going to live for hundreds of years because of some of the things the Spartan modifications did... That's just scary."

Cortana thought for a moment, "Actually, the scary part is that you don't think you'll live for hundreds of years - children shouldn't have to worry about death. And you are way too young to find living forever scary."

"Yeah… well… living forever isn't something I ever planned on doing." Xander noted sadly. He looked up, "Light bulb seems a bit agitated." He noted shortly as he looked at Guilty Spark.

Cortana thought about it a moment. "Hum… we really don't know much about Guilty Spark, or his abilities…"

As if hearing their conversation, Guilty Spark floated down to them. "Ah, Reclaimer… I could not help but overhear your conversation with the construct."

"Hey, light bulb, the 'Construct' has a name." Cortana noted impatiently.

"I am of course aware of your designation." Guilty Spark noted sarcastically, "But I don't see a reason to use it. Names are something that organics assign to us artificials; we, unfortunately, do not get to choose our designations."

"I'll clue you in, Sparky," Xander noted with a smirk, "We organics don't get to really choose the names we're stuck with either. If we did, my official 'designation' would not have the name 'Harris' anywhere in it."

"Oh, but you humans do have recourse, at least in the legal sense. You can choose to change your designation. Although I find the entire need for designations to be a bit obsessive; after all, a name is just a name. A name is a simple method of identifying you out of a larger group of relatively similar organics. It is the same for us artificials. Who you are is not in your name, but rather in your actions, Reclaimer.

"In any case, to answer your query, I am a bit disturbed by something my sensors are detecting. There is an unusual energy resonance in the nearby quantum temporal field. I would say that the radius of effect is approximately thirty five point two eight kilometers. The readings are unusual in that they have a temporal convergence both in the past and in the future."

"That's impossible." Cortana said. "In order for that to happen, something in the future would have to be doing something to alter the past… and for us to detect it, we would have to be…" Cortana's voice became fearful, "we'd have to be in the middle of it!"

Guilty Spark spoke quickly, "Indeed, construct. I am detecting a quantum variance wake that is building in magnitude. The wake from the past and the one generated in the future will converge upon our position in approximately ninety-eight point three seconds."

"A what?" Xander asked; his technobabble not up to snuff…

"A Heisenberg Wake: It's been theorized by Temporal physicists for two hundred years. It's the physical manifestation of a temporal paradox." Cortana lectured, not taking into account that she was 'technically' in the past. "Basically and simply put, this energy wake is both a destructive and creative force – the expression of both existence and non-existence; usually generated when a temporal change is effected in the past. As the wave propagates forward through time, the energies and range of its effects increase proportional to the change in the time stream," Cortana explained, as the others in the room became interested in their conversation. "Guilty Spark? Do you have any way of protecting us from the energy wake?"

"I'm afraid not. The Alterians did not create me with temporal shielding in mind, Construct." Guilty Spark noted sadly.

Cortana sighed, "Well… let's hope that it's not one of us that were erased in the past… In case it was… it's been a pleasure Xander."

Xander shook his head, "Well… since it's something to do with time, and we probably won't remember any of this weirdness happening… It's been swell Cortana. See you on the other side."

Just as Giles and Carter were about to ask what was going on, a wake of greenish colored energy passed through the room…

And the world faded to white.

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Author's Note:

Sorry it took so long for me to update. To be honest, I had this written up months ago… but when I looked at it, it just didn't fit. So I re-wrote it. Again… and again… and again. I didn't want the story to drabble on and on, and needed a way to end this so that it would not only stand alone – but also allow for a continuation of the story – of which I have several chapters already written.

So fear not. I promise I won't abandon a story. :) It might take me an eternity to get the chapter up, but I don't ever abandon.

Later,
PitViper.