*****

Former Sheriff Jim Valenti sat on the couch of his living room. A bottle of scotch and a shot glass sat on the table in front of him. In his hand was a picture of Tess, Kyle, and himself. He smiled, remembering when Amy took it on Christmas Eve. They hadn't gotten into the Christmas spirit in years. Then an alien girl moved into their home and made them clean up their act. He chuckled. She'd definitely been a good influence on Roswell's Valentis.

He looked at the clock. Two hours had gone by since dawn. Two hours ago, his adopted daughter and the other three aliens that made up the Royal Four of the planet Antar had gone home. They left Earth and he'd probably never see any of them again.

Valenti reached over and poured a shot of scotch into the glass. Only a few inches away lay the tape Isabel asked him to give the Evans. For now, the Evans were convinced that Isabel was spending the night over here and Max was spending the night at Michael's apartment. In a few more hours, when their kids didn't come home, they would realize something was wrong. After twenty-four hours passed, they would file missing persons' reports down at the station, and then Valenti would give them Isabel's tape.

He heard the door unlock and open. "Dad?" Kyle called.

Jim stood up and went to meet his son at the door. But when he got there, he realized Kyle wasn't alone.

He stared at the people he never thought he'd see again. Not only were Kyle, Maria, and Liz there, but Max, Isabel, and Michael now stood on the threshold of his house.

"I thought you were leaving," he said.

"Change of plans," Max said. He sounded angry and unhappy. Looking at all of them, Valenti saw the same expressions on each of their faces.

Only one person was missing. "Where's Tess? Did she...go?"

"Yeah, she went," Max said. "That bitch went to Kivar with my son."

Valenti stared at Max as he felt his anger rising. Max called his daughter a bitch! He opened his mouth to yell at the alien king when his son placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Dad?" he began. "There's no easy way to say this. Liz was right. An alien killed Alex. Tess was the alien."

"What? You're joking, right?" Tess couldn't be the murderer. There was just no way.

They moved into the living room and explained what had happened not that long ago. When they were finished, Jim sat there in shock. He'd let a murderer live in his house. He picked up the photo of him, Kyle, and Tess. "I can't believe it. She fooled us all."

A loud noise made him look up. He saw Max kick the wall before he started pacing. "I can't believe I trusted her. I should have known better."

"There was no way you could have known," Liz said, but her boyfriend wasn't consoled.

"There should have," he insisted. "That bitch is now the mother of my son. I can't let him be raised by her and Kivar. I have to get him back somehow."

"How?" Michael asked, rubbing Maria's hand. "She left in the granilith. We don’t have any way to get there."

"There's got to be some way, and I'm going to find it."

"I'll help you," Isabel said, speaking up for the first time during the whole conversation. She had been fingering a picture of Alex, but now she stood up and put the picture in her back pocket. "She has to pay for what she did to Alex."

In a way, Jim felt the same way Max did. He felt betrayed for loving a girl he thought he could trust. Now he knew that everything she did was a lie, and he hated himself for believing that lie. He wanted to talk to Tess more than ever, so that meant he would help the others. But until they figured out how to get to her, they had appearances to keep up.

"In the meantime, we have to pretend everything is normal," he said. "Everyone has to go back to their jobs and houses."

Everyone agreed. They started to leave, none of them looking like they'd have any fun that day.

Before Max and Liz left, Valenti said, "We'll find a way to get your son, Max. Tess, too." He looked down at the picture. "I have some questions that need answering."

Max nodded and the young couple followed Michael, Maria, and Isabel out the door.

*****

Oz's striped van sped down the highway. For miles in any direction was a hot desert. He had fortunately gotten the air conditioner fixed before he left California, and he had plenty of water to last in between towns. Even though silver was the only thing that could kill the werewolf, Oz didn't think dehydrating himself would have been a good idea.

More than a year had passed since his last visit to Sunnydale, California. The love of his life, Willow Rosenburg, was still there. She loved him, but she loved someone else, too. Her name was Tara. Oz wanted to be with Willow so much, but he also wanted her to be happy. Tara made her happy, so Oz left again.

He kept in touch this time. He didn't have to worry about full moons anymore, so he called during those nights, too. He still meditated and everything to keep his werewolf self under control. He didn't want anyone to get hurt during the nights he should have turned into a werewolf.

He wandered all over the continent this time, getting a temporary job whenever he needed more cash. He did that at the last town he stayed at, so he had plenty of money for a few more weeks of restaurant food and the rent for a lot in a trailer park.

There was a road sign up ahead. When he got closer, Oz made out, 'Welcome to Roswell, New Mexico.'

Oz smirked. He'd heard about Roswell. Aliens had supposedly crash-landed there in the 1940's. Oz wouldn't believe in aliens if Willow hadn't told him about the Queller Demon that visited Sunnydale a few months ago. The Queller was an alien summoned by someone unknown to kill all of the crazy people on the Hellmouth. That alien, however, crashed in a meteor, not a flying saucer.

He rounded a bend in a hill. To his left, the cliff overlooked the town of Roswell. It was smaller than Sunnydale, but probably got more tourists, judging by the number of hotels he could see from there. The town had as many hotels as Sunnydale had graveyards.

Ten minutes later, he drove down Main Street. The business names that he passed made him laugh. They said things like 'The Hanger 20 Night Club' and 'The Crashdown Café.' The town definitely had a theme going.

Oz checked his watch. He had a few hours before sundown, when he would check the town's vampire population. Spotting a trailer park only a few blocks down the road, he pulled in there and rented lot #17 for a few nights. Roswell looked like it had plenty of things to keep him busy for that long.

*****

Later that evening, Oz entered the Crashdown Café for dinner. Not many people were there yet. He spotted a pay phone and decided to call Willow. She'd love to hear about his latest stop.

He walked over, put some money in, and dialed her dorm room number. After several rings, she picked up.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver.

Oz smiled. Even her voice sounded lovely. "Hey, Willow. It's me, Oz."

"Oz?" she echoed. Then she started crying.

"Willow? What's wrong?"

"There's something you should know about Buffy."

"What?"

"She's…Buffy's dead, Oz."

*****

Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer, was dead. They all knew it would happen someday, but they all hoped she would outlive any other Slayers that came before her. They were wrong.

Oz gulped down a glass of alcohol and set it down on the bar. He usually didn't go this far, but he had gotten drunk before. The first time had been after he found out Willow loved Tara. This was the second time.

The bar wasn't anything like Willy's. No demons hung out there, and the bartender was the kind of person who wouldn’t give out any information to anyone. As long as he let Oz drink without asking for an ID, the bar suited his needs.

An older man slid onto the stool next to him and ordered a drink. Oz didn't know him, but that really wasn't a surprise. He looked around, seemingly in a good mood. He spotted Oz, and squinted a little, probably trying to see better in the poor lighting.

"Aren't you a little young?" he asked.

"No," Oz lied.

A half smile played across his lips. He turned to the bartender and accepted his drink. "Of course." He took a big sip.

Oz wasn’t really drunk yet so he got a good look at the man. He was taller than Oz and had brown hair that was thinning at the top. He seemed normal, but it was his scent that set Oz off. The man looked human, but he smelled completely different. It wasn't anything like any demon's scent, either.

Oz didn't really think about it. He was mourning for Buffy, after all. Maybe the alcohol was getting to his head.

The taller man held out a hand. "I'm Valence Hope."

Oz shook it. "Daniel Osborne."

"Come here often?" he asked.

"No," Oz replied.

"Passing through?"

Oz nodded. "I'm from California."

"California? Don't think I've ever been there. Pretty big state."

"I guess so."

He smiled before taking another sip of his drink. "Not much of a talker, are you?"

Oz shrugged. "Not in the mood."

The other man's beeper went off. He picked it up and looked at it. He gave Oz an apologetic smile and stood up. "I have to go now," he said. He held his hand out to Oz again and they shook hands. "Nice meeting you, Mr. Osborne."

*****

Valence walked toward his van, a bounce in his step and a feigned air of ignorance to what could be hiding in the dark. He walked to a car parked across the street and climbed into the driver's seat.

Then his entire manner changed. Anyone that wasn't watching very closely wouldn't have noticed it, but he stood up straighter, and the friendly expression on his face disappeared to be replaced by an uncaring look, maybe even disgust at his surroundings and situation.

He took the unearthly communications device off from his neck and turned to the other occupants of the car. There were two of them. One sat in the front. He also had a communications device. His name was Lewis, a vampire Valence had appointed as his second-in-command for as long as he was on the planet. Lewis' demands in return were hard to find, but not impossible. Valence had accepted his terms simply because they gave him something to do when he wasn't carrying out his own leader's orders. In the back, was a half-demon named Marik. His demon side wasn't worth much in a fight, but his ability to look human whenever he wanted had gotten him into the computer industry. That was where Valence had found him. Even now, he sat in the back seat with a laptop booted up and ready to use.

Marik's eyes were wide and staring. At first, Valence had liked the fact that most of his minions feared him. But now, it was just irritating. "Well?" He asked impatiently.

"Oh! Um," Marik glanced down at his laptop. "There's no doubt. All three of them know each other. So do a small number of humans, including Deputy Valenti, who used to be the sheriff until he started helping them out. There are many places where they meet together on a regular basis, so there should be no trouble getting them all."

Valence smiled. "Excellent."

Lewis's communications device beeped. "Sir, there's a call for you."

Valence picked up his own device. "Your highness," he spoke into it, in his native tongue. He knew his two minions wouldn't understand a word.

"I'm getting impatient, Toren," Kivar himself spoke through the pendant. "Have you found them?"

"Yes, your majesty," Valence answered. "I expect to be back on the planet with all three of them in less than a week, sir."

"Excellent, Toren. You will be rewarded. But if you fail to bring them back, you know what will happen."

"Yes, my King."

The conversation ended, and Valence was reminded of his surroundings. He hated this planet, and couldn't wait to return. He was loyal to Kivar, and was therefore afraid of the type of punishments he knew his King could invent. He was a little irritated that it had taken this long to get to Roswell. Earth's technology was so far down the line he almost walked here instead of flying or taking the bus.

Magic was probably the only good thing about this boring planet. When he'd discovered he could use it to his advantage, everything changed.

"Marik," he said. "I want you to look up someone named Daniel Osborne, from California, and tell me what you find."

"Yes, sir," Marik said nervously before getting to work.

"Anyone special?" Lewis asked. Valence closed his eyes in annoyance. Vampires were far too intrusive.

Then something occurred to him, and he smiled. "Perhaps," Valence said. "How would you like a werewolf instead of the hind of a Haryl Demon?"

"A werewolf? That's not going to get me that much on the market, sir."

"Just be happy with what you get," Valence said. "Remember, if you don't do your job, you won't get anything."

*****

Isabel sat on her bed, staring down at her favorite picture of Alex. She missed him so much. She remembered the few times they danced: in Las Vegas and at the Prom. Both dances took place only weeks before he was gone forever. Tess killed him. They thought they could trust her and she killed the only man Isabel ever really loved.

A tear fell down her cheek. Isabel ignored it, and soon more tears made their way down her cheek. Isabel lay back on her bed and cried.

Isabel sat up in bed breathing heavily while memories of the dream went through her mind. "It was just a dream, Isabel," she told herself, but she remained unconvinced. It had seemed so real.