Title: Chapstick and Apocalypses

Author: Koohii Cafe

Rating: K

Crossover: BtVS/Stargate

Disclaimer: Since I am a poor chickadee with no wealth to speak of, I think it's safe to say that neither BtVS nor Stargate are mine. ^^;

Written for: TtH August Fic A Day Challenge

Summary: "So we're looking for some special kind of chapstick?" "'Chappa'ai,' Buffy, not 'chapstick.'"

Chapstick & Apocalypses

"So we're looking for some special kind of chapstick?" Buffy nose wrinkled in confused as she looked up from the book she'd been half heartedly poking through. "Don't get me wrong, using chapstick is important, but what does it have to do with demons and the apocalypse?"

"'Chappa'ai,' Buffy, not 'chapstick,'" Giles groaned softly, although he should have been well inured of his Slayer's mangling of words after so many years. She shrugged a little and dropped the book down on the table with a heavy thud, ignoring his wince at the treatment of said book.

"Chopstick, got it." She grinned brightly, pleased with her own correction. Giles resisted the urge rub his temples, instead focusing on the matter at hand.

"The Chappa'ai is described as a 'great ring,' in the references I have found, that once resided in Egypt. It is said that it formed a- a portal of sorts, that would lead one from Egypt to a hell dimension belonging to a race of demons known as the Goa'uld."

"Alright. Gold demons, portal to hell, I'm following. Doesn't sound too bad, so far. Very much of the handle-able variety." The blonde turned and shifted so that her weight leaned back against the edge of the table, her head tilting with a thoughtful expression. "So- what? We find this ring thing, melt it down, hammer it, destroy it, and poof, no apocalypse? I mean, this isn't like some big melt-it-down-in-Mount-Doom thing, is it?" Giles arched an eyebrow at her reference to a set of books he was positively certain she had never read, curious, and she flustered somewhat, backpedaling. "What? There was a movie, and there was yummy hotness of men in it. You think I didn't watch it?"

"Of course," he responded smoothly, a trace of amusement in his tone. So he hadn't been wrong, and he knew his Slayer as well as he thought he did. The corner of his lips quirked up before he continued. "Unfortunately, there is not enough information to know whether or not this will be worthy of- 'a trip to Mount Doom.' If this is truly a demonic ring that serves as a portal to a specific hell dimension, then it could very well be protected against the simplest means of destruction."

"Ooo! Then if we can't destroy it, if it's pretty, maybe I can guard it. You know, as a Slayer. I'd just have to keep it with me all the time, wear it- to keep it safe, of course, and not being used." Her face perked up a little, hopeful almost, and Giles laughed despite himself.

"And if it is not to your liking?" he questioned, arching an eyebrow at her. Her face fell a little, before she shrugged.

"Then one of the others can guard it. Maybe Kennedy?"

"I shall keep that in mind," he commented dryly, shaking his head at her. She was not the Slayer he had hoped for all those years ago when he'd first been assigned to her, but she was his Slayer and he would have her no other way. "Let us focus, first, on finding the Chappa'ai, then worry about its destruction or guardianship at a later date."

"Sounds good! So where do we start?"

And that, indeed, was the question.