The next morning, Isabel was sitting in a booth at the Crashdown. Next to her was Max, and across from them were Kyle and Maria. Maria didn't have to work that morning, but Liz and Michael did. Liz had already taken their order and Michael was busy cooking food in the kitchen.

"My dad told the police about the jeep. He thinks it was stolen," Max said.

"At least they haven't found what's left of it yet. What are you going to do then?" Maria asked.

"I don't know. We weren't going to be here when they found it. They were supposed to think we died in it."

"My dad will make sure nothing goes wrong," Kyle assured them.

"Thanks," Max said.

Liz returned to their table carrying a large tray with their food. She passed out everyone's breakfast food, remembering to give Max and Isabel tabasco sauce packets. As she handed the packet to Max, their hands touched and both of them smiled. Even though his son was half a galaxy away, Max was glad that he could finally be with Liz. He was also glad that the guy sitting across from him, Kyle, didn't sleep with her.

"Iz, here's some Tabasco sauce," Liz said, holding the packet out to Isabel. Isabel wasn't paying attention. She was lost in thought.

"Earth to Isabel," Maria said. Isabel snapped out of it and looked at them. They gazed back with concerned looks.

"You okay, Isabel?" Max asked.

"Not really," Isabel confessed.

"That's understandable," Kyle said. "I find it all hard to believe, too."

"Yeah," Isabel said as her thoughts once again shifted to Alex. "But I also had this dream last night. It just really freaked me out."

"What was it about?" Max asked. Sometimes they got prophetic dreams, so it never hurt to ask.

Isabel shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

*****

Oz woke up in the back of his van with a mild hangover. After he found some painkillers in one of his bags, Oz debated what he would do next. Buffy's funeral had been last week. He could go back and help out any way he could. He could help Dawn move all of her things into Giles' apartment. The Slayerless Watcher was Dawn's guardian now. Oz wasn't sure if he wanted to be that close to Tara again, though.

Sighing, he grabbed a change of clothes and some soap and walked over to the trailer park's bathhouse to take a shower.

A newspaper stand sat just outside the bathhouse door. The caution he'd learned from living on the Hellmouth hadn't worn off, and Oz decided to check the paper for any evidence of the town's supernatural population.

He took a paper out and looked through it. On page three, he found an article about five kids that were found with their blood drained and two little wholes in their necks. The police were trying to keep it quiet, because they didn't want to spook the locals. Some people chalked it up to an alien experiment, but Oz knew better.

There were vampires living in the city of aliens. Oz decided that he would have to check it out before he headed for Sunnydale. That meant he would stay there for a few days.

After he showered, he stepped into the driver's seat of his van. He drove down to the Crashdown Café to have breakfast.

When he reached the café, he parked the van and walked into the building. It looked just as tacky during the day as it did at night. The booths were shaped like saucers and the walls had collages of little green men. The waitress uniforms also went along with the theme, with alien head-shaped aprons and aluminum antennae. Oz chuckled at all of it as he looked for someplace to sit.

A smell hit his sensitive noise. He frowned. It smelled like Valence Hope did last night, only it was mixed in with more human smells.

He looked for the source. His gaze fell on one of the booths on the right wall. Two of the occupants smelled human, but the other two gave off the peculiar scent. One of the waitresses stood at the end of their table talking to them.

One of the two people with the odd scent, a girl with long blonde hair, looked up. When their gazes met, she gasped.

Oz frowned. He didn't know her, but she obviously knew him.

*****

Isabel couldn't believe it. It was the guy from her dream. His hair was dyed red instead of black, but she knew it was him.

Their gazes met before she could look away. She wondered if he'd noticed her stare. She watched as he sat down at one of the tables.

"Isabel?" Kyle asked.

She looked at the other people at the table. They were staring at her, concerned. "I know him."

"Who?" Max asked, glancing around.

"The guy sitting at the table over there. He was in the dream I had last night."

"What happened in the dream?" Max asked again. Isabel told them.

"That doesn't make sense," Kyle said. "Why would he have a piece of wood?"

"And what do you mean when you said the other guys had screwed-up faces?" Maria asked.

"I don't know," Isabel replied.

"Hopefully, it was just a dream."

"If it was just a dream, why was he in it? I've never seen him before."

"I've gotta go take his order," Liz said. "I'll see if I can learn anything."

"Thanks," Max said, squeezing her hand. She smiled at him before heading over to the stranger's table.

Liz walked up to the table feeling a little nervous. Whenever one of the aliens had a dream like that, something happened in the waking world. She just hoped that this time it wouldn't be bad.

"Hi," she said, trying her best to sound casual.

He gave her a half-smile. "Hi."

She fumbled with the pad and almost dropped it. Cursing herself silently, she took a deep breath and got ready to take his order. "Have you decided what you wanted to eat, sir?"

"Um, Yeah, the Unidentified Frying Objects, an Alien Blast, and one Martian Burger. You have some creative names in here."

Liz laughed, hoping she didn't sound fake. "I guess we do, Mr…?"

He held out his hand. "Call me Oz."

"Oz. Don't think I know anyone around here named that."

"It's not common, true."

"So, are you just passing through?"

"Actually, yeah. I'm heading back to California in a few days. A friend of mine died recently and I should be there for everyone."

Liz's breath caught in her throat when he said that. Someone died recently…who knew how?

"Sorry for your loss, Mr. Oz," she said.

"Thanks."

"Your food will be ready in just a minute," she promised. She took the menu from him and walked toward the kitchen.

*****

When Liz stepped through the double doors, she handed the order to Joel, the only cook besides Michael, and leaned against the wall. A minute later, the doors swooshed open again and Maria stepped through.

"So, what happened? Is he dangerous? Is he some alien hunter?" Maria asked, just as nervous as Liz felt.

"He didn't seem that bad," Liz said. "But he mentioned a death. Someone he knew died recently."

"Oh, God," Maria said, clapping her hand over her mouth.

"Who are you talking about?" Michael asked, walking up to them.

"A guy Iz saw in a dream," Maria answered.

"He's here in the Crashdown right now," Liz added.

They told him about Isabel's dream. He was confused, to say the least. "Why was he carrying a stick?"

"Beats me," Maria answered.

The doors opened again and Max stepped through. "So, what did you find out?" he asked Liz. Seeing her nervousness, he put her hand in his and squeezed it.

Feeling better now that he was here, she described her conversation with Oz. "He didn't seem that bad. He had a weird name, though. And he said a friend of his died recently."

"Might be worth checking out," Max said.

"Well, what if he didn't kill whoever it is? What if he's not bad at all?" Maria asked.

"Then why would Isabel have a dream about him? It doesn't hurt to be careful. He may have something to do with Tess."

"How?" Michael asked.

"Well, she did leave yesterday, and Isabel dreamed about him last night. I don't know what else it might mean."

Maria and Liz exchanged worried looks. "Max, what if it doesn't have to do with your son?" Liz asked.

Max ignored the question. "I’m going to follow him and see what he does." He turned and entered the front room again.

Liz watched him go, then turned to the other two. "I'm worried about him. What if Oz has nothing to do with Tess and-" she hated to say it, but she forced it out, "-their son?"

"Even if he doesn't, I don't trust him," Michael said. "I think Max has got the wrong ideas, though. I'll try to finish my shift early and check up on him."

Liz smiled at him, grateful. "Thank you, Michael."

"You have to bring him his food," Maria said. "Think you're up to it?"

Liz nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

She grabbed the tray with Oz's food, took a deep breath, and left.

"I've got a doctor's appointment to go to," Maria said. Hastily, she added. "Nothing serious. It's just a check up, but I promised I'd be there."

"Go ahead," Michael said, giving her a quick kiss. "I'll let you know if something comes up."

"Okay," Maria said, smiling. She glanced through the window to see Liz hand Oz his food. She hoped she would be okay.

As she headed out the back door, Maria glanced down at her stomach. She wasn't going to a normal checkup. She hoped the doctor would say everything was okay, too.

*****

Oz called Sunnydale again before he left the Crashdown. Only this time, he called Giles' house, hoping to get Dawn. "Hello, Rupert Giles speaking," Giles said when he picked up the phone.

"Hey, Giles. It's me, Oz."

"Oh. Hello, Oz," the Englishman said. "Have you heard?"

"Yeah, I did. I wanted to let you guys know that I'll be heading back over there in a few days. Is Dawn there?"

"No, she's not. It would be nice to see you again, Oz."

"Yeah. I'll talk to her when I get in town."

"Where are you, exactly?"

Despite what had been going on, Oz couldn’t help but smile. "Roswell, New Mexico."

He heard a chuckle. It was weak, but it was there. "Roswell? Have you run into any aliens?"

"If you mean Queller Demons, no. But I do know some vampires are in town. That's why I'm staying here for a few days."

"Vampires? How many?" Giles asked, alarmed and concerned.

"Don't know. I'm going to find out tonight."

"If you need anything, please let us know."

"I will. See you in a few days, Giles."

"Goodbye, Oz. Good luck."

When he left the Crashdown, Oz decided to leave his van and check out the various businesses on that block. A lot of tourists and other visitors crowded the UFO Center and Museum. Oz shook his head as he left a shop owned by Amy Deluca, a maker of alien-themed souvenirs. This town really loved all this stuff. Whatever keeps you in business, I guess, he speculated.

When he started walking again, he could sense someone following him. Still walking, Oz sniffed the air. His over-sensitive nose picked up the common outdoors and motor smells. It also picked up the scent of one of the two people from the Crashdown with the inhuman scent. It was the boy.

Oz headed back to Main Street. He decided to stay in the public part of town right now, so his stalker couldn't try something. When they were alone, though, he would get some answers.

*****

Max followed Oz back onto Main Street. So far, it seemed as if the other man didn't know he was being followed, and Max wanted to keep it that way.

He'd passed the Crashdown again when he heard someone come up behind him. Max stopped next to an alley and turned around to see Michael walk up. "Michael, what are you doing out here?"

"Came to help out," Michael answered. "I figured you'd need a break."

"I don't." Max looked back down the street. Oz had paused at a stand of postcards, which gave Max a few minutes. "If this guy knows anything about Tess and the baby, I'm gonna find out." He started walking again, but Michael stopped him.

"Max, we don't know what this guy's story is. He may not have anything to do with Tess."

"We don't know that," Max insisted.

Michael sighed in frustration. Whenever Max set his mind to something, it was almost impossible to make him change his mind. Michael decided to try anyway.

He never got the chance. A growl came from deep within the alley. Max saw a blur out of the corner of his eye. "Michael, watch out!"

Michael turned in time to see something moving really fast at him. Without thought, Michael brought his hand up and sent out his alien power.

It hit the thing and it slipped behind a dumpster with a whimper.

Max and Michael stared at the dumpster. They looked at each other. Slowly, they walked forward. As they rounded the dumpster again, they heard another snarl. Max brought his palm up and created a green shield just in time. The creature slammed into it a few seconds later.

Michael and Max gazed at the thing in shock. "What the hell is that thing?" Michael asked.

"Good question," Max said.

The thing was on all fours like a dog, but it didn't look anything like one. It looked more like a canine gargoyle. It opened its mouth and snarled, showing off three rows of sharp teeth. The shield made it appear green, but that only made it look worse.

Suddenly, they heard another growl from behind them, then another creature landed on Max's shoulders, pushing him to the ground and making the shield fall.

"Max!" Michael said, then sent another blast at the creature on Max's back. The creature was thrown off. The other creature leaped at them, but another blast from Michael made it stay back.

Max got back up and threw up another shield, blocking Michael and Max from the exit. Both creatures started slamming into it, making Max wince. "I can't keep this up for long," Max said.

Michael looked around for a door, window or fire escape they could use, but found none. "We're trapped."

"Hey, hellhounds!" a new voice called from the mouth of the alley. Both hellhounds turned toward the sound. Michael and Max looked and saw Oz standing there, holding an axe.

The hellhounds snarled and attacked. Oz swung the axe, slicing through one hellhound's exposed stomach. The hellhound fell to the ground, dead.

The other hellhound leaped onto Oz's right arm and held on with his mouth. Oz cried out and let out a snarl of his own. He grabbed the hellhound and threw him into the alley's right wall. The hellhound whimpered as it slid to the ground, but got back up and crouched down, ready to strike. Oz brought the axe up in his left arm, waiting.

Then the hellhound switched directions and leaped at Michael and Max, who'd thrown down the shield. Before he knew what he was doing, Michael brought his hand up again. A white burst of power, much bigger than the others, escaped from his palm, hitting the flying hellhound. The hellhound's body dropped to the ground, dead and smoking.

Oz checked his arm. It was only a flesh wound. He wondered if the bites would turn him into a hellhound, but since he was already a werewolf he really doubted it.

He gazed at the other two. They stared back. "I guess we have a lot to talk about," Oz finally said.

Max and Michael exchanged looks. Neither of them trusted Oz, but they did want some answers. "Yeah, I guess we do," Max finally said.

*****

They went inside the Crashdown. Isabel and Kyle left two hours ago, and Liz's shift was over, so it was just them.

Before they entered the café, Oz got a fresh shirt from his van. The wound had already closed, one of the advantages of not being human, so no blood got on the replaced article of clothing. Max could have healed it, but he and Michael had voted against showing Oz anymore of their powers.

They sat at one of the booths near the door. Michael and Max sat facing the front windows and Oz sat on the other side. "So, what are you?" Michael asked Oz. "We heard you growl like one of those things."

Oz raised an eyebrow as he debated what to tell them. "I'll tell you if you promise to tell me what you are in return."

"What do you mean?" Max said, exchanging a look with Michael. What had Oz seen?

"Well, I'm kind of wondering why that hellhound was smoking when it fell to the ground, and why there was this weird green shield in front of you."

"You first," Michael said.

"I’m a werewolf," Oz answered, and watched their looks of disbelief.

"A werewolf," Max repeated. "There's no such thing."

"Prove it," Michael challenged.

Another smell came to Oz's noise. He recognized it as the guy he'd met in the bar the night before.

He looked around and sniffed the air again, but the scent that had been so clear a minute earlier was gone. Oz glanced around, but couldn't see the guy anywhere.

"What?" Max asked.

Oz shook his head. "Don't know. I just picked up the scent of this guy I met last night for a minute."

He turned to see both of them staring at him. "You can smell people?" Michael asked.

"You know their scents?" Max asked at the same time.

Oz nodded at both of their questions. "He smelled kind of like you."

"Like us?"

He nodded again. "Yeah, except your scents are mixed in with human smells. His aren't human at all."

Max and Michael exchanged a look. If Oz was telling the truth, that could mean only one thing…"A Skin's here," Max said.

"Yeah, but how many?" Michael asked.

Oz glanced back and forth at them. "What's a Skin? Is that a type of demon?"

"Demon?" Michael asked, looking back at him. "So, you're saying that not only are werewolves real, but demons are, too?"

"Yeah."

"Wonderful," Michael said, sighing.

"You still don't believe me, do you?" Oz asked. He glanced around. "Is there somewhere we could go that's a little more private?"

Max and Michael exchanged looks yet again. "Break room, maybe?" Michael suggested. Private enough, but not too far away from a crowd where they could escape quickly.

Max nodded. The three got up and walked to the break room in the back of the café.

Once there, Max and Michael stood near the closed door and turned to Oz. "Okay, prove it," Max said.

Oz nodded. He stood a few feet away from them, closed his eyes, and held out his hand. He hoped this worked. He didn't want to lose control and transform completely.

He could feel his arm change before he opened his eyes. He watched it be covered with long brown fur in only a few seconds. His arm got a little bigger as his muscles seemed to expand, and the nails on his fingers elongated until they were talons. Oz closed his eyes and concentrated again to stop the rest of his body from changing, too.

Michael and Max stared at Oz's now completely transformed arm and watched as it changed back to its human form. Then they looked up at Oz as the werewolf took a deep breath. Oz gazed back.

"I'm convinced," Michael said. Max nodded, too. He was a little disappointed. Oz obviously had nothing to do with getting Tess and his son back to Earth. He was also shocked as his mind was forced to open up a little more.

Oz questioned, "So why were you following me earlier?"

"A lot has been going on," Max admitted, "and we thought you had something to do with it. We were wrong."

Oz noticed the note of disappoint in his voice. "Sorry. So what are you guys?"

Max looked at Michael. "Think we should tell him? We're gonna need his help tracking down that Skin."

"Isabel isn't going to like it," Michael said. "But you're right. We're gonna need his help." He looked at Oz. "I'll keep an eye on him, though."

Oz nodded in acknowledgement of the threat.

"Let's call the others," Max said. He promised, "As soon as they get here, we'll explain everything, as long as you also tell them you're a werewolf."

"Sure."

*****

A half an hour later, Liz, Maria, Kyle, Isabel, and the sheriff had arrived at the Crashdown. All of them eyed Oz with uncertainly and distrust, even the sheriff, who knew the whole story from Kyle.

Oz explained that he was a werewolf again and demonstrated it the same way as before. When he changed his skin back, everyone was shocked into silence. "So, vampires and demons and werewolves are real?" Kyle asked.

Oz nodded. "Yep."

Everyone tried to process that, even Max and Michael, who were still shocked over it. Valenti thought about a lot of the murder cases that ended up on his desk. Some of them had died from blood loss. One more mystery solved.

"You don't eat people, do you?" Liz asked, then blushed. "I mean, wolves like meat, don't they?"

Oz smiled. "I don't eat people, no."

"Do you change on the full moon, like in those werewolf movies?" Maria asked.

"I used to," Oz said, thinking about all those times he woke up in cages without any memory of the night before. "But I've been using these meditation techniques to help me control my…"

"Urges?" Maria suggested.

Oz winced. "Uh, I guess you can call them that." He looked at Isabel, Max, and Michael. "I'm still wondering what you guys are, though."

Max glanced at Isabel and Michael. Michael nodded his assent. Isabel, who kept remembering her dream, was a little hesitant. Then she remembered that Max said Oz could help them fight a Skin, and figured he couldn't be that bad, so she nodded, too.

"Okay," Max said, letting out a deep breath. Liz rubbed his hand, giving him comfort. He looked back at Oz. "Michael, Isabel, and I…" How many times had he done this already? "We're aliens."

Oz's eyes widened, then he shrugged. "Okay. I guess that explains why you don't smell like any demons I know."

They looked, surprised, at him. "You're not surprised?" Isabel asked.

Oz shrugged. "When you fight demons and vampires and prevent the apocalypse a few times, very little surprises you. Besides, friends of mine have run into an alien before."

"They have?"

Oz nodded. "It wasn't like any of you, though. It was a demon, although it was an extra-terrestrial demon."

"So demons come from outer space?" Liz asked, fascinated.

"Some of them do."

"So where are you from?" Valenti asked.

"California."

"Werewolves come from California?" Maria asked.

Oz smiled. "It's where I got bit." He regarded all of them. "So, what's a Skin?"

They told him. They explained how and why the Skins were their enemies.

"So, if you killed all of the Skins that were sent to Earth, why is this guy still alive?" Oz asked.

"He must not have been in Roswell with all the others," Michael guessed.

"Or he found a way to cheat death, like you said Nicholas did," Isabel said, addressing Max.

"Whatever it is, he's still a threat," the sheriff decided. "We have to deal with him and with vampires. Which one comes first?"

They all glanced at each other. "Well," Max said, "we can try to identify the Skin. What did you say his name was?"

"Valence Hope," Oz supplied.

"Too bad we don’t have a computer expert," Kyle said, then mentally cursed himself when he realized what he'd just said.

Everyone got quiet. Kyle glanced at Isabel. "I'm sorry, Iz, I didn't mean…"

After a long pause, Oz cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him. "I have a friend that could help us out with that. She's in California, but she'll have no trouble accessing Roswell's hotels."

"Is she a werewolf?" Kyle asked.

"No. She's a hacker."

"Okay," Max agreed, "call her. But remember, you can't tell anyone that we're aliens."

"I won't," Oz promised.

"Now, what about the vampires?" Max asked him. "What can we do to help?"

"Well, they can't come out into the daylight, so we don’t have to worry about them until dark. As for the hellhounds, we should investigate that alley, try to see where they came from."

"I'll try to find all the vampire-like cases on file at the station," the sheriff volunteered. "See how many vampires we're dealing with or if they kill in a pattern."

"Okay. Thanks," Max told him. Sheriff Valenti stood up and went out the door.

"Our shifts are about to start," Liz announced. As much as she wanted to help out, if she was late for another shift, her dad would kill her. Maria, too.

"Go get ready for them," Max told her. "We'll let you know if something comes up."

The two waitresses left to put on their uniforms. Max turned to Oz and handed him the cell phone. "Oz, call your friend. Michael, Kyle, and I will go with you outside to the alley. We'll wait for you to finish your call. Isabel, I want you to stay here with Maria and Liz in case we need backup."

Isabel nodded. "Okay."