A/N1 I haven't been posting because I'm working on an original story. I'm not done with my story, but I wanted to update this. After this chapter, I might be another few weeks before I update again as I work on my original story.

A/N2 Parker Booth is a character of the show 'Bones'. I don't own the character or the show. In this story Parker's age might be different from the show Bones.


In the basement of the Summer's home, Alexis was walking towards Xander as Xander was putting the pitcher of water down. The potentials were doing their assignments quietly as Christopher stood by while watching to make sure that they didn't goof off along with helping the ones who would ask for his help.

As Alexis was reaching for a glass, she asked, "Did I do something that got Buffy upset with me?"

"She's not upset with you or anyone," Xander assured her. "There's a stranger in the house who could've been sent here by Cosgrove."

"I know that," Alexis quickly said. "Aubrey had spread that warning already."

"Yes, and you're not very selective when you tell people about your father's side of the family," Xander pointed out.

"I only told a few people, like Eric…" Alexis was only able to get out.

"A perfect example," Xander quickly interrupted with.

"What about him?" Alexis questioned.

"He was a complete stranger to you."

"He's Becca's boyfriend," Alexis retorted.

"And of course infiltrators would never plant themselves as someone's significant other just to get information from us," Xander sarcastically said.

"I… what?" Alexis questioned in a dumbfounded manner.

"Eric could've been using Becca to learn secrets about us."

"N-no," Alexis said with certainty. "Eric… I can sense that Eric truly cares for Becca. He wouldn't…"

"Do you have a supernatural ability that can sense that, that we weren't told about?" Xander quickly questioned.

"No; I… I can just tell," Alexis said. "I'm certain of it."

"I'm certain of it too, Alexis, but I'm not certain enough to speak freely as you are. And since you had just admitted that you don't have a supernatural ability to sense an infiltrator, I strongly suggest that you use a lot more discretion when you speak to strangers of your father's side of the family."

"Alright," Alexis said as she nodded. "You're right."

Xander gave Alexis a skeptical look while asking, "You're not agreeing with me just to hush me up, are you?"

Alexis grinned while saying, "I would, but not this time. You convinced me. I'll use more discretion."

"Good," Xander said with a grinned.

"Alexis!" Christopher called. Alexis and Xander looked. "You need to get back to your lesson, so hurry with the water."

"Right," Alexis told Christopher before turning back towards Xander. "Thanks for the water… and the pep talk."

Xander nodded with a grin before he and Alexis went their respective ways.

Upstairs, Buffy was sitting at the kitchen table with Hunter in her lap as she and the others were discussing Lucy's options of where to go to get away from Cosgrove. Lucy had claimed not to have any out-of-state relatives who she could stay with. However, she had mentioned an old boyfriend who was currently living in Milwaukee, but she doesn't want to reopen that door.

"We could always send you to another dimension," Amy jokingly said. "That would get you out of Cosgrove's reach."

"What?!" Lucy uttered nervously.

"I'm joking… kind of," Amy said.

"Yes, well, Amy's inappropriate humor aside, she might have a point," Giles said. "Lucy, regardless to the fact that you don't have friends or relatives with whom you can stay with, your best option to get away from Cosgrove is for you to leave town."

"No; it's not," Lucy insisted. "Sorceress Cosgrove will reach me no matter where I go. Here is my best option."

"We don't have room for another occupant," Buffy said as Xander was re-entering the kitchen.

Just after Xander had entered the kitchen, Jocelyn, Wendy and Carrie were returning through the back door. Jocelyn was still carrying her map.

Jocelyn looked at Lucy while saying, "I need to speak to you, Buffy… privately… in the backyard."

Before Buffy had a chance to move or reply, Hunter pointed towards Jocelyn while uttering, "Ouchie!"

When everyone was drawn to Jocelyn's blood-stain shirt, Teresa stepped closer while demanding to know, "Are you okay?!"

"Yes, I'm fine," Jocelyn assured Teresa as Buffy stood up with Hunter. "Wendy, Carrie and I just ran into a little trouble with an old acquaintance of mine."

Buffy put Hunter down, and as she was raising up, she said, "We'll talk in the backyard." She then moved towards the door.

"Who's she?" Carrie asked while gesturing towards Lucy.

"I'm Lucy Stevens," she said while standing and extending her hand to shake hands.

"I expect you and the other young ladies of this house to act properly, and behave like ladies whiles she's here," Buffy repeated herself before exiting the house with Jocelyn.

With what Buffy had said, Carrie slightly hesitated before shaking Lucy's hand and introducing herself. After Carrie's introduction was over, Wendy introduced herself in a slightly cold tone.

Buffy and Jocelyn walked into the backyard for a short distance before Buffy asked, "So what happen?"

"The Master is alive and well," Jocelyn said. She then saw that Buffy was thinking about what was said, but didn't look shocked. "And you knew that."

"I suspected it," Buffy corrected. "A few months after I had killed the Master, the Master's bones were stolen by a time-fugitive vampire."

"Buffy, again I'm truly sorry for casting that spell that prevented him from bursting into dust after being staked."

"It's fine," Buffy assured her.

"It's not though," Jocelyn countered. "If I didn't do it, the Master's death would have been final in Sunnydale when you threw him on that chunk of wood. Because it wasn't final, he now has twenty to thirty minions…"

"The Master is the one who's recruiting," Buffy uttered with a renewed interest. Jocelyn nodded. "Where is he now?"

"He and his vampire minions had hit the sewers after Carrie, Wendy and I escaped his gunmen," Jocelyn said before pointing to her map. "However, we encountered them here."

Once Buffy had looked at where Jocelyn was pointing to on the map she uttered, "Whoa! That's the area of where all the plant life was killed!"

"Yes, and I'm sorry for that too," Jocelyn said.

"Wait! You had something to do with that?" Buffy asked.

Jocelyn nodded before saying, "When I get killed, my body regenerates by stealing the life from the Earth. That area is now barren… nothing will be able to grow there for a long time."

"You, Carrie and Wendy didn't exactly escape the gunmen, did you?" Buffy asked.

"Wendy and Carrie would've escaped with flesh wounds; however, I was actually shot several times in the back and in the back of the head," Jocelyn informed.

"Okay, well, between you, Willow, Amy and DG we should be able to come up with something to undo the damage that was done to that area," Buffy said while gesturing towards the map.

"Willow is good at creating her own spells, so I really hope you're right," Jocelyn said. "I hate leaving wastelands behind where I've stepped."

Buffy slightly grinned before gesturing towards the back door while saying, "Let's go."

Jocelyn nodded before she and Buffy walked towards the back door. As they were entering the back door, Valerie, while dressed in her P-Express uniform, was entering from the front door.

"Okay, we don't have to worry about investigating tonight," Buffy said as she and Jocelyn stepped into the kitchen. "The cause to what had killed all those trees and plants was Jocelyn regenerating after being shot and killed by the Master's minions."

"So the Master is back in the picture," Giles uttered as Valerie was stepping into the kitchen.

"And his vampire minions are armed with guns?" Xander questioned.

"That would be a yes!" Wendy strongly confirmed.

"Vampires now carry guns?" Valerie quickly asked.

"Now and even before my time," Giles said as everyone turned towards Valerie.

"Great!" Valerie sarcastically uttered.

"It doesn't happen often though," Giles assured her. "Normally the vampires who carry guns are the ones who had carried them when they were human."

"Okay, well, we got hours before we need to worry about the Master and his gun-wielding vampires," Buffy said. "Anyway, Valerie, meet Lucy Stevens." Lucy again stood up to shake hands. "Lucy, Valerie Blackstone."

"Nice to meet you," Valerie and Lucy said together.

"Lucy came to us from the Cosgrove's mansion," Buffy continued. "In fact, Lucy, how long had you been with Cosgrove?"

"I worked for him for five years," Lucy answered. Valerie gave Lucy a curious look as Lucy continued with, "I found out about him being a real-life sorcerer a year later. I wanted to quit working for him then, but he poisoned me with his loyalty drug."

"While working for him, have you learned anything that would help us against him?" Giles asked.

"Let me get this straight," Lucy began. "You don't want me to join you, but you want me to give you information that will help you."

"I supposed that did sound a bit contradictory," Giles agreed.

"Yeah, well, he had never done his dealings in front of me, so I don't know anything that will help you folks anyway," Lucy said.

"That's fine," Buffy said. "However, we still need to deal with the issue of finding you a safe place to hold up until we can stop Cosgrove, and the issue of re-fertilizing the land that is making the morning headlines."

"I think I know how to solve the land problem," DG informed.

"How?" Buffy, Giles and Jocelyn asked.

"For the past five years, Ambrose has been working on a device that would create rain with Mauritanium rain water," DG said. "And as you know, Buffy, Mauritanium rain water will instantly fertilize infertile soil."

"How close is he at achieving that?" Buffy asked.

"He has a prototype built, but because of the last rain fall with Mauritanium rain water was only slightly more than five years ago, the O.Z is still abundantly fertile and un-test-worthy to test his prototype," DG said as Aubrey stepped into the kitchen with a digital camera.

When everyone turned towards Aubrey, Aubrey took pictures.

"What are you doing, Aubrey?" Buffy asked.

"Taking pictures," Aubrey answered as she continued to snap pictures.

Buffy rolled her eyes before saying, "Yes; I can see that. Why?"

As Aubrey continued to take pictures, she said, "It's for the time-capsule. Danni's upstairs making a slayer's manual in a comic book form."

"With Melaka being the… the 'hero'—for the lack of better word—of the manual?" Valerie asked.

"Good guess," Aubrey said as she snapped Valerie's picture.

"Not as good as you think," Valerie confessed.

"Val?" Giles prompted.

"I dreamed of Melaka last night," Valerie began. "I was a ghost though in this dream and I followed her and her pet four-armed monkey to the time-capsule. The box was decaled with Melaka's images, and inside the box was a slayer's manual in a comic book form and photos of us."

"Hey, Danni and I have plans to decal the time-capsule," Aubrey said. "If Buffy will let us, that is."

"Truthfully, that's a good project for you, Danni and the others to take on," Buffy said. "So run with it."

"Cool," Aubrey said as she continued to take pictures.

"Aubrey!" Buffy sharply called out to grab her full attention. .

"What?" Aubrey asked as she stopped taking pictures and looked at Buffy.

"Not at this very moment though," Buffy told her. "So find something else to do… and away from the kitchen."

"I think I got everyone's picture anyway; bye," Aubrey said before leaving.

Just after Aubrey had exited the kitchen, Xander jokingly said, "It's seemed as if it was just yesterday that she was shy and quiet. Wait, it was yesterday."

"She just found a project that she likes," Valerie said in Aubrey's behalf.

"Was that the dream that Mat had trouble waking you up from?" Giles asked as the opening of the front door was heard.

"It was," Valerie said as she and the others glanced towards the kitchen entrance.

"Buff!" Willow called out.

"In the kitchen, Will!" Buffy called back.

"Do you think that your dream was a prophecy, Val?" Giles asked as the closing of the door was heard.

Valerie shrugged before saying, "With what Aubrey and Danni are doing it certainly points to that."

"It also points to dream walking," Jocelyn said.

"Dream walking?" Valerie echoed as Willow, Dean and Sam were walking into the kitchen. "You think I dream walked to Melaka's place and time?"

"Stranger things have happen," Giles pointed out.

"And since you have visited Melaka within your meditation, that path to her would've been paved for you already," Jocelyn added.

"Crap!" Valerie uttered. Everyone gave her a curious look. "Now I wish that I had written down my dream when I had first awakened."

"The memory of it is fading?" DG asked.

"And quickly," Valerie said. "I mean, I remember the highlights like the monkey, what Melaka had found in the time-capsule and… and I think that Melaka had found the monkey inside a treasure chest and… and that the monkey ran from Melaka and she chased the monkey to… to a… to a library… I think. Once Melaka had reached the library was when I woke up the first time. Then I went back to sleep and dreamed about Melaka—with the monkey at her side—finding the time-capsule."

"Okay, well…" Buffy was only able to get out.

"It seems as though I'm forgetting something important about… about the monkey… I think," Valerie interrupted with.

"Val!" Buffy uttered to grab her attention.

"Yes?" Valerie questioned while moving to look at her.

"You can brainstorm about your dreams later," Buffy said. "Right now we need to brainstorm on finding Lucy a safe place to hold up."

"Have you guys seen the news report?" Sam asked. "About a big area of dead trees and plants not far from here?"

"Here's the cliff note version on that," Buffy began. "The Master's alive and he is heavily recruiting. Jocelyn, Wendy and Carrie had stumbled across the Master and the Master's minions. The Master's minions had killed Jocelyn, and Jocelyn coming back to life is what had caused that; however, Ambrose might have a machine that will correct that. Now moving on to Lucy's situation. Lucy came to us from Cosgrove's mansion while seeking refuge from Cosgrove; however, we don't have room for her here, so we need to find her a place to stay while keeping her out of Cosgrove's reach."

"Vicki," Sam said.

"What about her?" Buffy asked.

"She doesn't mind helping us… as long as she doesn't have to face demons that is, and she and her place are unknown to Cosgrove," Sam said.

"Lucy, you can't stay with us, and you won't get a better deal than Sam's solution," Buffy told her.

"Then I'll take it," Lucy said as Valerie's work phone sounded with a text message.

As Valerie checked her message, Sam said, "Vicki is currently at work, so I can't arrange this with Vicki until this evening."

"She can hang out here until then," Buffy said before turning towards Valerie. "Val? Do you need to go?"

Valerie nodded before saying, "I have a pick up."

"I have a question for you, so I'll walk you out," Buffy said.

"Later, everyone," Valerie said while waving 'bye'.

"See you" and "later" was what everyone had responded with before Valerie and Buffy turned to walk out.

Once Buffy and Valerie had reached the stoop, Buffy prompted, "So, about Lucy? Is she a plant sent by Cosgrove?"

As Valerie concentrated on a thought with a disquieting expression on her face she answered with, "I'm not sensing any deceit from her."

"The reassurance of Lucy not being a plant would've been more assuring if you didn't look troubled while you were saying it," Buffy pointed out as she and Valerie casually walked towards the P-Express van.

"Lucy's not deceiving us… but for some reason I'm sensing a shadowing emotion from her," Valerie explained.

"And that means what?" Buffy asked.

"I only felt that once before and I can't remember where I was or what I was doing, or who I was with," Valerie said.

"So you don't know what that shadowing emotion means?" Buffy questioned.

"Not currently," Valerie said. "But if I can remember where I had sensed that shadowing emotion before I might be able to interpret it."

Buffy nodded before saying, "Okay, well keep me informed."

Valerie nodded before waving and saying, "Later."

"Later," Buffy echoed with a wave before she turned and walked back towards the house.

In the sewers, the Master and his minions had found a nice size dry area with enough indirect sunlight to do a locator spell, and the Master was now doing one to locate the descendents of his old minions.

While using the Washington D.C. map, three dots lit up, and the second closest of the three dots came over the sewer tunnels and was located at a high school.

"This is where we'll start," the Master said while pointing to the second closest dot. "We can get there during the day light hours."

"Yes, Master," a chorus came from his minions.

Before the Master and his minions continued through the sewers, the Master enchanted a talisman to make the talisman glow bright yellow while around the target individual.

At the high school, Parker Booth (Seeley's Booth's fifteen-year-old son) was listening to his favorite teacher, Ms. Heidi Sparks during his normally least favorite subject, history. A few seats away from him sat Brie Daniels (Buffy's weekend student).

In Twin Falls, Faith and Ben were walking the hiking trails while searching for any clue that would lead them to the swarm of spiderlac. Once they got to the rough terrain of the trails, they found tracks that almost appeared like it could've been made by a barefooted child with very wide feet and long toes.

As the two examined the tracks, Ben gestured towards them while saying, "Those weren't made by any human."

"No, they weren't," Faith agreed as she took out her cell phone. "I'll send a picture of this to Angel and B. Hopefully one of them could tell me what we are dealing with."

As Faith snapped the shot, Ben asked, "Should we follow these tracks and see where they lead?"

"We will," Faith said as she went to send the picture. "Just one moment." Faith sent the picture twice; the first one to Angel and the second one to Buffy. As Faith was putting her cell phone away, she told Ben, "Alright; let's go."

The footprints led off the trails and the two followed them until the tracks ended at a huge rock formation. The rock formation was six feet tall, five feet wide and five feet in depth. Graffiti, drawings and several sets of initials loving another set of initials written inside a heart-outline had covered most of the rock.

Faith and Ben tried to locate more footprints for a short time before Ben said, "The trail went cold."

"I'm not so sure about that," Faith said as she focused along the base of the rock formation.

Ben pointed to the closest footprint to the rock formation—which was six inches from it and pointing towards it—while saying, "The trail ends here."

"And you don't find it strange that the trail ends here?" Faith questioned.

"Of course I do," Ben said. "It appears though that the subject that we had trailed had walked to this rock formation and… and—I'm just going by what I see here—but the subject might have left by backing out and perfectly retracing his or her step."

"You aren't thinking like a paranormal detective," Faith said as she pulled out her stake from underneath her shirt at the back.

"A bit too early for vampires to be out," Ben said as he stared at the stake.

"This isn't just for staking vampires," Faith said as she poked the rock formation with it. When the stake thudded against the side, she poked the wall again below her original poke.

"Yes, it also for staking evil rock formations," Ben sarcastically said.

Faith shot him an annoyed look and as she continued to poke the wall, she said, "I'm looking for a cloaked entrance, smart ass."

"You think there's a cloaked entrance?" Ben questioned as Faith's stake passed through the wall without a thud at around twenty-nine inches from the ground.

"I do," Faith said with a smug grin as she held the stake steady with half of it disappeared inside the wall.

"Suddenly I do too," Ben said as he stared at the stake.

"Okay, get out your pocket knife," Faith said as she slowly raised the stake. Faith had only moved it an inch before it made a thud. "And carve a mark above my stake."

"Gotcha," Ben said as he pulled out his pocket knife.

"Oh and keep the mark small and make it to where a person has to know what he or she is looking for before he or she could see it," Faith added. "I don't want to set off any alarms to whatever is using this entrance."

"Hopefully whatever is using this entrance isn't on the other side while listening to us," Ben said before he went to make his mark.

"Most likely it would've attacked us by now if it was," Faith said.

"How come I find that thought even less comforting?" Ben commented.

Faith slightly grinned before saying, "Each day I never know when things are going to spring out at me, so welcome to my world."

"Your world sucks," Ben said.

"No arguments there," Faith told him. Ben just shot her a grin.

It took Faith and Ben only a few minutes to mark the cloaked entrance and once it was marked, the entrance was shown to be thirty inches high and eighteen inches wide.

"So do we enter?" Ben asked.

"Not without flashlights and our slaying equipment," Faith quickly told him.

"As to how small it has to be on the inside, do we really need…" Ben was only able to get out.

"Asked the man before entering Doctor Who's phone booth," Faith sarcastically interrupted with.

Ben thought for a second before asking, "You think it's bigger on the inside?"

"Ben, chances are, this is a portal into another dimension, and I'm not entering it unprepared," Faith told him. Ben thought for a second before nodding in agreement. Faith then gestured in the direction that they had come. "Let's go; we're done here for now."

Ben nodded before he and Faith walked towards the main hiking trails.

11:40 A.M., at the high school, Heidi and her students heard screams that were coming from the corridor just before the Master and three male vampires barged into the classroom. The three vampires were showing their demon faces.

"May I…" Heidi got out before seeing the master's face and then began screaming.

All the students shot out of their seats and backed away towards the far wall. Except for Brie, the female students and a few male students began screaming around the same time that Heidi had screamed.

"Awe, music to my ears," the Master said while referring to the screams. He then held out the talisman in front of him and moved it until it glowed the brightest towards Parker.

Parker was standing within the direct sunlight that was shining through the window.

After the Master saw who his target was, he reached out his hand towards Parker, clutched the air and mesmerizingly ordered, "Come here."

When Parker took a stepped towards the Master, Brie got in front of him to stop him while uttering, "No! Don't!"

"Move aside," the Master mesmerizingly ordered Brie. Brie automatically obeyed as if she had suddenly lost her free will. The Master than focused on Parker again. "Now come."

As Parker continued towards the Master, Brie came out of her trance and uttered, "Parker! Stop!"

When Parker acted as if he didn't hear Brie, Brie looked around the room for anything that can be used as a weapon. She didn't see anything, but she did notice that the window shade was blocking out part of the direct sunlight.

Once Parker had stepped out of the direct sunlight, the Master ordered his minions, "Take him!"

As the Master's three minions moved to grab Parker, Brie moved as quickly as she could towards the window. As the minions were a few steps from Parker, Brie leaped for the window shade.

The Master saw what Brie was doing and took a step back before the window shade could be yanked from its fasteners.

Brie took hold of the window shade just as she started her downward arc and then hit the center of the window at full force soon afterwards. The window cracked without breaking and as Brie was hitting the floor with the window shade in her hand, the direct sunlight flooded most of what was in the shade.

The three minions were caught in the direct sunlight. Two of the minions rushed towards the corridor before they burst into flames as the third one grabbed Parker and threw him towards the door. As Parker was flying through the air, the vampire burst into flames. As Parker was hitting the floor, shoulder first, the vampire burst into dust.

The surviving minions then grabbed Parker and jerked him to his feet.

"No!" Brie screamed as the Master and his minions dragged Parker away. Brie—while using her might—threw the window shade towards the door; however, the Master, his minions and Parker were gone before the window shade struck the doorjamb. "Damn it!"

Suddenly as if it was an afterthought, Brie broke into a run towards the corridor.

"Brie! No!" Heidi uttered as Brie hurriedly exited the classroom.

TBC