The Ghosts That Haunt Me: An Alias/Buffy Crossover
By: Sam Lincoln

Rating PG-13

Summary: A Rambaldi prophecy sends Sydney to Sunnydale in search of "The Chosen One."

Spoilers: General spoilers for the current seasons of Alias, Buffy and Angel, but nothing specific to any storyline.

Disclaimer: All characters from Buffy and Angel are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from Alias are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.

The Ghosts that Haunt Me

Sunnydale
Buffy and Dawn walked through the cemetery, patrolling for any demonic activity. Buffy was armed with just a stake while Dawn carried a crossbow and a bag full of other assorted weapons.

"It sure is nice that things are back to normal," Dawn commented, "Well, as normal as things get around here," she added after a moment.

"Yeah, I just wish Giles had come back from England with Willow," Buffy said, agreeing with her sister.

"I guess he needed to recharge his British batteries some more."

Buffy smiled, "Yeah, that must be it," she replied, unconvinced.

They continued walking through the cemetery, each sister lost in her own thoughts.

"Hey Buffy," Dawn asked after a while.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to jinx anything, but have things seemed a little too quiet lately?"

They came to a stop in front of a fresh grave and rested against two nearby tombstones. "I suppose so," Buffy said with a shrug. As they watched the ground in front of them shifted and two hands burst free, followed closely by a head. Buffy held out her hand. "I think this shot calls for a five iron."

Dawn reached into her bag and withdrew an axe. "Five iron, excellent choice." She placed the axe in Buffy's outstretched hand.

Buffy walked up to the newborn vampire still struggling to emerge from its grave. "It's 300 yards to the pin, Summers is using a five-iron, bold choice," Buffy said, as if a television commentator, "Fore!" She shouted as she swung her axe. The stroke removed the vampire's head from its next and sent it spinning into the air, disintegrating as it flew.

Buffy stood still for a moment, admiring her imaginary golf shot. "It's in the hole," she declared as she turned to face her sister.

Dawn politely clapped, "You got all of that one," she observed.

Buffy handed the axe back to Dawn, "Yeah, Tiger Woods doesn't have anything on me."

Dawn put the axe back into the bag, "So where to now?"

Buffy looked around the cemetery. "Home I think. You're right Dawny, things have been too quiet. If a new Big Bad is on the way I want us to be well-rested so we can kick its ass." The two sisters walked towards the entrance of the cemetery, leaving behind the hold in the ground made by the late vampire.

SD-6 HQ

Sydney Bristow walked into the briefing room feeling no small amount of trepidation. Ever since she had learned the truth about SD-6 she had come to view each new mission with a sense of dread. Her apprehension was increased when she saw that Arvin Sloane was the only person in the room. "You wanted to see me?" She asked Sloane.

"Yes Sydney, take a seat," Sloane replied.

"Were are Dixon and Marshall?" She asked as she sat in a chair halfway down the table.

"They won't be necessary for this mission," Sloane said tersely. "Now then, Technical Division has finished translating another section of Rambaldi text."

At the mention of Milo Rambaldi Sydney felt her blood run cold. "Oh really," she said in as off-hand a manner as possible. "What did it say?"

Sloane smiled, "Patience Sydney, I was getting to that." He tapped a key on the table in front of him, calling up an image on the screen in front of Sydney. It was a picture of a page of text. "We extracted this from a recently discovered fragment from one of the last works Rambaldi wrote. The fragment refers to a 'Boca di Hell located on the west coast of the New World."

Syndey frowned, "Boca di Hell? The Mouth of Hell?"

"Yes, exactly," Sloane nodded, "According to Rambaldi an artifact of great power is located there. Rather thoughtfully Rambaldi also provided a sketch of the artifact." Sloane zoomed in on a picture of an amulet. "As you can see the artifact is an amulet with writing on both sides. The detail on the page is not enough to make a translation, but the text on the artifact appears to be Sumerian."

"But how is that possible? The Sumerians lived on the other side of the world thousands of years earlier."

Sloane held up a hand, "I know, I'm just relaying what our experts said. Now, the text also makes reference to a defender of the artifact, the Chosen One. According to Rambaldi, 'Only the blood of the Chosen One will awaken the amulet.' There's no other mention of this person beyond that it's a young woman and that 'She defends without knowing.' Whatever that means."

Sydney nodded, "So do we know where the Boca di Hell is located?"

"As a matter of fact we do, and it's not too far from here." Sloane called up a map of Southern California. "Clues in the text indicate that the artifact is located here." A dot on the map began to flash.

Sydney leaned in and stared at the map, "Sunnydale? Why does that name sound familiar."

"Several years ago there was an explosion at local high school during graduation ceremonies. The mayor, school principal, and a large number of parents and students were killed in the blast."

"That's right, was the cause of the explosion ever determined?"

"Officially no, but I've heard rumors that a group of students planted a bomb." Sloane paused as they both considered the type of person it would take to commit such an act. "In any event that has to relevance on your mission," Sloane continued. "I want you to drive down to Sunnydale, locate this artifact and find out who this 'Chosen One' is. I expect you to bring both of them back to SD-6 Headquarters." Sloane paused letting his instructions sink in. "I don't expect you to meet any resistance so I'm sending you in by yourself."

Sydney nodded her understanding, "What will be my cover?"

Sloane tossed Sydney a small package, "You're a collector of rare antiquities tracking down an item for a client."

Sydney picked up the package. "When do I leave?"

"As soon as possible," Sloane replied, "We've already arranged accommodations for you in Sunnydale, and also provided you a list of places to look for information relating to the artifact."

Sydney scanned the list, "A magic shop?" she asked in disbelief.

Sloane nodded, "That's right, the former owner was well-versed in arcane lore and matters of antiquity, much more so than your run-of-the-mill new-age hippy. Perhaps the current owner took notes," he explained.

"Is there anything else?" Sydney asked as she stood up.

"Just one more thing. Watch your back out there Sydney. Just because you're not in a hostile country do not let your guard down. Sunnydale is a dangerous place and I would hate to see anything happen to you."

Sydney nodded, "I'll keep that in mind," she said as she walked out of the briefing room.

To be Continued