DISCLAIMER: All things Buffy are the creation and property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy Productions, and so forth. All things non-Buffy are the creation and property of many other individuals and corporate entities.

This particular story is the creation of Robert A. Black (that's me). Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think of my work. Good or bad, I'd like to hear it.

TIME CONTEXT: This story takes place between the Buffy episodes, "Nightmares" and "Invisible Girl."

Confused? Refer to the Readers' Guide at the end of the chapter for hints and explanations.

"You're where?"

Scully was almost shouting into her cellphone. Giles tore himself away from the group gathered around the computer and went to see what was going on.

"Mulder, I can barely hear you," Scully said as Giles reached her side. "What's all that noise in the background?" Her eyes opened wide as she listened to Mulder's answer.

"Is your partner in some sort of trouble?" Giles asked.

"He says he's standing on the Bridge of a starship that's in the middle of a giant space battle," Scully replied.

Giles gulped audibly. "Well," he said at last, "I'd say that qualifies as trouble."

"Where's that signal coming from?" Quinn called from over by the computer.

Scully held up her cellphone. "Do you mean this?" she asked. "I've got my partner on the line, but I'm not exactly sure where he is."

Quinn and the Fourth Doctor hurried to Scully's side. Quinn grabbed the cellphone and looked it over. "This is amazing," he said.

"Do you realize what you've done?" the Fourth Doctor asked Scully. Before Scully could answer, he took the cellphone from Quinn and spoke into it.

"You there," said the Fourth Doctor, "whatever you do, keep this line open for as long as you can. All right? Good man." He handed the phone to Scully and stalked back to the computer. Quinn followed him.

Still unsure of what was happening, Giles set off after the two men. Scully began to follow, but stopped to talk to her partner again.

"Who was that? I'm afraid that'll take some explaining... Yes, I know. We do have the time, but I need to see what's going on first..."

Once Giles reached the computer terminal, it wasn't hard for him to see why everyone was so excited. The signal from Scully's phone appeared on the screen as an unmistakably clear path through the distortion fields. The path was twisted in an impossible number of directions, but it was unbroken from beginning to end.

"As long as that signal remains intact," Arturo was saying, "we can lock onto its coordinates with one of our timers and slide there."

"We'd need a lot more power to cut through the distortion fields," Quinn countered.

"We could use the Hellmouth," suggested the holographic Doctor.

"We don't know how to do that," Arturo admitted. "I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"But I would," said the Seventh Doctor. "Given our limited resources, I can't do much, but I think I can improvise something that will allow us to make one slide."

"Then let's do it," said Quinn.

"Hold on a minute," said Giles as he stepped into the conversation. "If we can only make one slide, we have to be sure it's the right one." He turned to Scully and asked, "Is the entire group from the Bronze with your partner right now? Is Buffy with him?"

Scully relayed the questions to Mulder, then listened as he answered. "They separated hours ago," she finally replied. "Right now, Mulder only has two other people from the Bronze with him."

Giles looked at the group. "We have to find the rest of them," he insisted. "Someone may be closer to whoever is causing all this."

"The others could be anywhere," said Quinn. "How do we find them all?"

Kes pushed her way into the crowd. "We can start by using the Starfleet communicators," she suggested. Turning to the holographic Doctor, she said, "Harry Kim was part of the group at the Bronze. See if you can contact him."

The holographic Doctor touched the badge on his chest. "This is the Doctor, calling Ensign Kim," he spoke into midair. "Are you receiving me?"

The only reply was silence. "Ensign Kim," the Doctor repeated, "if you're receiving my transmission, please respond."

They were again met by silence for several long moments. Finally, a voice spoke from the Doctor's badge.

"Hello? How do you turn this thing on?" It was definitely not Ensign Kim.

"Buffy!" called Giles. He hurried to the Doctor's side.

"Giles?" came Buffy's voice. "Where are you? How are you talking over this guy's pin?"

"Never mind that right now," said Giles. "Where are you? Is everyone with you all right?"

"We've had a couple of run-ins with some vampires," came Buffy's reply. "Some of us got a little banged up while we were chasing this Master guy."

"The Master?" Giles repeated in horror. "Surely you haven't faced..."

"Not that Master. A different one. Ace says the Doctor knows..."

"Buffy," said the Seventh Doctor, suddenly jumping in, "we're trying to find everyone who was at the Bronze with you. Is there anyone else there with some kind of communication device?"

There was a brief pause, presumably while Buffy was looking around. "Just Commander Riker, from the Enterprise," came her reply.

"The Enterprise?" said Scully. "That's where Mulder says he is."

"Splendid," said the Fourth Doctor. "I do so love a convenient coincidence. Don't you?"

***

"Riker to Enterprise. Are you receiving?"

Things had calmed down a bit on the Enterprise-D Bridge. With a bit of persuasion, Marcus had convinced Picard to let him take the helm controls, and he had successfully steered the ship clear of the most intense battle zone. By the time Riker's call came through, almost everyone had returned to their normal seats and stations.

"Loud and clear, Commander," said Picard. "It's good to hear from you again."

"We're trying to link up my comm signal with the one coming from the Sunnydale library," Riker reported. "The group there believes that will help them get a fix on the source of the distortion fields."

"Acknowledged," said Picard. "We'll be listening."

As if on cue, another voice came through the Bridge speakers. "Enterprise, this is the Doctor calling," it said. "Well, one of them, anyway. The only one connected with Starfleet."

"We read you as well, Doctor," Picard replied.

Another voice promptly replaced the Doctor's. "This is Rupert Giles. We're still trying to locate everyone who was at the Bronze this evening. Agent Mulder said there were only three of you on the ship. Who's still missing?"

"We haven't seen Willow, Leela or Gabrielle since we landed on the Enterprise," Mulder replied. "They could be anywhere."

***

"What's that he said? Willow's missing?"

Xander had been helping Kimberly return to reality, but when he heard of Willow's absence, he raced to Riker's side to find out what was going on. Kimberly shook the last of the fuzziness from her head and followed him.

"Have you scanned the ship to see if they're onboard?" Riker was asking.

"I'm afraid we've been a bit preoccupied," came a British-accented voice that Xander didn't recognize. "I'll have Mister Data do it now."

There was a pause, then another voice came over Riker's badge. "The internal sensors do not detect any anomalous life signs," it said. Xander was momentarily startled, as were Buffy, Ace and Kimberly. The voice sounded exactly like the robotic vampire they had just fought. No wonder Riker had gotten them confused.

"I am attempting to scan the surrounding ships," Data continued, "but debris and radiation from the battle are obscuring our sensors. I cannot obtain any accurate readings."

"That's bad, right?" Xander asked. Riker nodded grimly.

"We've been able to locate everyone else through their communications devices," the holographic Doctor said from wherever he was. "Perhaps the missing individuals are carrying something we could use to lock onto them."

"I don't think Leela and Gabrielle have anything like that," Buffy spoke into the badge she had taken from Harry. "And Willow doesn't even carry a beeper."

"Wait a minute," came Mulder's voice. "Willow did have something with her. It looked like a pink wristwatch. She said she found it in the Bronze. That's what got us in this mess to begin with."

"Oh my gosh!" cried Kimberly. "My communicator!" She checked her wrist and realized it was bare. "I must have lost it during the fight."

"Do you know the frequency at which the device operates?" asked the holographic Doctor.

"I think so," Kimberly replied.

"Then stand by," the Doctor advised. "We think we have a plan."

***

"There's no question about it," said Giles. "We have to make our slide to Buffy's location."

"That would make the most sense," agreed Quinn. "According to the computer, she's closer to the focal point of the distortion fields."

"She also has some injured people we'll need to treat," said the holographic Doctor.

"And we can work from there to find a way of contacting Willow," Giles reminded them.

"At that distance, we'll have enough power for six people to go," said the Seventh Doctor. "Is anyone willing to step forward?"

"I'm going," Giles insisted. "I'm Buffy's Watcher. I need to be there for her."

"I'll go, too," said Quinn, "just in case something goes wrong with the slide."

"You'll need a medical expert," said the holographic Doctor.

"Sorry, Doctor, but you're the only one who can maintain our communication lines," countered Arturo. "You need to stay."

"I'll go instead," offered Scully.

"And I'll go, too," said Kes. "You might need some help with the non-humans."

"Well, all right," the holographic Doctor conceded. "I suppose that will have to do."

"And if I go," said the Fourth Doctor, "that leaves room for one more."

"I would suggest," said the Seventh Doctor, "that we give the final place to Mister Lennier."

Giles had almost forgotten about Lennier. He suspected most of the others had as well. The Minbari was sitting quietly against the end of a bookshelf, apparently meditating once again. Giles didn't know how long he had been that way. At the mention of his name, though, Lennier stood and looked at the Seventh Doctor curiously.

"Why do you say that, Doctor?" Lennier asked.

"Because," the Seventh Doctor replied, "you look like someone who's waiting for the answers of the Universe to arrive. You should be there when some of them do."

Lennier formed his hands into a pyramid shape and held them in front of himself as he bowed. "As you wish," he said.

"I'll have the coordinates in a minute," said Wade. "You'd better get ready."

"I have some more weapons back in my office," said Giles. "We can go and get them if you think they'll be useful."

Giles looked over at the Doctors, expecting at least one of them to reply. Instead, he found them staring at each other intently.

Finally, the Fourth Doctor broke the other's gaze. "What's that?" he asked. "Weapons, oh yes. Nasty things, really. I don't use them myself, but you're welcome to bring some along. I... I need to look at the Hellmouth for a moment."

With that, the Fourth Doctor stepped away and went to the balcony overlooking the vortex. Giles looked around for the Seventh Doctor, and discovered that the little man had slipped away.

There was no time to wonder what the Doctors were up to. Taking Quinn with him, Giles hurried back into the overgrown stacks, on the way to his office.

***

"You wanted to see me alone? Here I am."

The Fourth Doctor watched as his older counterpart approached him. The Seventh Doctor had a way of coming and going without anyone else noticing him. The Fourth Doctor wondered when he would learn that trick.

"I want to propose a slight change in plans," the Seventh Doctor said with his Scottish burr. "I don't think you should make the slide with the others. I think I should go instead."

"Do you?"

"Yes," said the little man. "It's just a feeling I have."

"Really," said the Fourth Doctor, knowing better than to take his counterpart's answer at face value.

"Trust me on this one."

"All right," said the taller man. "Just tell me one thing. This 'feeling' of yours. It's not exactly cricket, is it?"

"No," the Seventh Doctor replied. "I doubt Rassilon would approve."

The Fourth Doctor smiled one of his trademark smiles. "Good," he said. "I've been afraid of becoming a fuddy-duddy in my old age."

"That may happen eventually," the Seventh Doctor replied, "but not today."

***

Willow Rosenberg's brain had been given an overdrive chip.

That's what it seemed like to her, anyway. Spock's assistance had enabled Willow's mind to work with a speed and clarity that she had never known before. Her fingers sped across the starship's science console as she hunted through the computer for the information Spock needed. No matter what strange futuristic concept he asked her to look up, she ready for the task.

Willow thought she should feel something more about her transformation, but her emotions were strangely muted. She could still feel them, but it was as if they were coming to her from a long way away. Spock had said it was a side effect of his contact with her mind, one that would help her with the job at hand and would fade away later. She wanted to worry about whether or not he was right, but worrying at this point was hardly logical.

Their research was progressing well. Spock had gone through almost all the ship's information on interdimensional anomalies and was now concentrating on temporal anomalies. There was also something about a "Halkan incident" that interested him, but Willow didn't know what that was, yet.

Willow was just preparing to begin a new search when she heard someone calling her name.

"Willow? Willow Rosenberg? Can you hear me? If you can hear me, please answer."

Captain Kirk spun around in his chair. "Where's that signal coming from?" he asked. "Uhura, can you track it?"

"It's not coming over the normal ship's channels," replied Uhura, a black woman who sat at the next console over from Willow.

"Come on, Willow! It's us! Aren't you there?"

Xander? How did his voice get all the way out here into space? It wasn't logical. Unless...

Willow immediately remembered the strange wristwatch that had started her entire journey. She was still carrying it. Without hesitation, she reached into her pocket and pulled the device out. Sure enough, the voices were coming from it. Xander and Kimberly were calling to her.

"Fascinating," said Spock. "May I see that?"

"Just be careful," said Willow. "Press the wrong button, and you could end up a long way from here."

"Someone obviously wants to hear from you," said Kirk. "Do you know how to answer them?"

Willow shook her head. "This thing isn't mine," she explained. "I just found it tonight."

Spock handed the watch back to her. Indicating a button on the side, he said, "I believe you should try pressing here."

Willow took the watch and pressed the button Spock showed her. "Hello?" she spoke into the watch face. "Xander? Is that you?"

"Willow!" came the frantic reply. "Where are you? What's happening? Are you all right?"

"It is gratifying to hear your voice, Xander," Willow said evenly, "but there's no need for such emotionalism."

"Huh?" said Xander. "This is Willow, isn't it?"

"Sorry," said Willow, catching herself. "It's a long story. I'll explain later."

"Oh. All right, I guess," Xander replied. "Listen, Will, we've got everybody else hooked up through these communicator things. The gang back at the library figures that if we all put our heads together, we can think of a way to get everybody home."

"I'm already working on that," Willow told him. "I, uh, found some help."

"You did?" There was silence for a moment, then Xander continued. "The others want to know if you can put your friends on."

Kirk turned back to Uhura. "Lieutenant," he said, "can you get a fix on that frequency?"

"I'm getting it now, sir," Uhura replied. "We should be able to hail them in another minute."

This is most fortunate, thought Willow. Once they had pooled their resources with the others, their search for a way to fix everything would probably go much faster. It was a rational conclusion.

Then there was the matter of Xander. Willow thought she should be happier to hear from him, or upset that he and Kimberly had obviously been together through all the night's events. Yet neither reaction seemed logical. She would have to devote some of her new mental skills to this little dilemma. Maybe she could make sense of it that way.

***

Giles watched as Buffy led the way down the tunnel. Ace followed close behind the Slayer. The Seventh Doctor was walking along next to Giles, keeping as close a watch over his charge as Giles was keeping over Buffy. Behind them, Quinn and Lennier brought up the rear of the group.

The slide had been like nothing Giles ever experienced. The sensation of flying through the multicolored vortex was exhilarating. By the time he landed in the Master's underground chamber, he found himself wishing the journey could have lasted longer. But this was no time for joyriding, not when they were so close to solving the mystery that had affected them all.

Buffy was eager to start the chase as soon as they arrived. She and Ace had cared for the injured as best they could, and Xander and Kimberly were busy trying to contact Willow. The minute Kes and Scully got to work, Buffy's thoughts turned to picking up the Master's trail before it grew cold.

They reached a branch in the tunnel and Buffy paused, trying to focus her senses. "This way," she said at last, indicating the branch. "Get ready."

Giles looked down the smaller, darker tunnel Buffy was leading them through. He could see nothing ahead of them, but he thought he heard machinery of some sort.

"Are you sure?" Quinn asked. "No offense, you being the Slayer and all, but maybe we should cover both passages."

Buffy shrugged. "Okay, smart guy," she said. "If you don't trust me, or if you just want to miss out on the action, that's fine by me. Don't worry about dividing our forces or anything."

"I can assure you," said Lennier, "that if we are needed, the universe will arrange for us to be there."

As Quinn and Lennier went off down the main passage, Giles, the Doctor and Ace followed Buffy down the side tunnel. It soon opened into another wide chamber. The walls and floor near the entrance were still in their natural, rough-hewn state, but the far side had clearly been fashioned by artificial means. A bank of computers stood against the back wall, and a man dressed entirely in black stood there working on them.

Giles saw Buffy's entire body tense. Obviously, the man in black was their quarry, the Master. As Giles watched, the Slayer crept forward, a new stake Giles had brought for her drawn and ready. If the Master knew she was coming, he gave no indication of it.

Something was wrong. This was far too easy. Giles glanced over at the Seventh Doctor and saw a look of alarm on the little man's face. He quickly turned back towards Buffy, who by now had almost reached the Master and was preparing to strike.

"Buffy!" Giles called. "Wait!"

The Master heard his cry and turned, just as Buffy pounced. She buried the stake in the Master's chest. He cried out in pain and fell back against the computers.

Buffy whirled around to face Giles. "Why the hell did you do that?" she cried. "You call yourself a Watcher? You're supposed to protect me, not get me killed!"

Giles started to protest, but something caught his eye. The Master's body had not yet turned to dust. In fact, the vampire had pushed himself off the bank of computers and was bearing down on the unsuspecting Slayer.

"Look out!" Giles shouted, but it was too late. The Master hit Buffy with a chop to the neck. The Slayer collapsed on the chamber floor.

"There's one thing you should know," said the Master. "Time Lords - even Time Lord vampires - have two hearts." He looked over at the Seventh Doctor. "You didn't bother to tell her that?" he sneered. "It's not like you to be so careless."

Ace took a few steps forward. "Buffy got the job half-done," she said, brandishing a new stake of her own. "I'll just have to finish it for her."

Much to Giles's surprise, the Seventh Doctor stepped forward and held Ace back. "Not this time, Ace," he said. "The Master is my problem, and I'll be the one to handle him."

With that, the Seventh Doctor stepped past his companion and advanced across the chamber. Ace followed close behind him, and Giles fell in beside her. Even if the Doctor insisted on facing the Master himself, at least he and Ace might pull Buffy to safety.

"I didn't expect to see this version of you again," the Master said to the Seventh Doctor. "Isn't there another one of you around somewhere?"

"I left him back where he'd be safe," the Seventh Doctor replied. "There are enough laws of time being broken right now. He doesn't need to see you yet."

The Master laughed a laugh that sent a chill through Giles's body. By now the Time Lords had met in the center of the chamber. Buffy was left unattended, and Giles quickly motioned for Ace to help him retrieve her.

"You are truly amazing, Doctor," the Master was saying. "Constantly flouting the laws of time yourself, yet acting like their staunch defender when it suits you. I know perfectly well which other version of you is here. If he sees me now, it would warn him of the time when we meet in his future. He might change the course of his life - of your life. We couldn't have that, could we?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I simply want you to admit that you and I are of the same breed," said the Master. "Meddling our way across the universe for our own self-interest. Nothing more."

"You're going to have to wait a long time before you hear that," the Seventh Doctor replied. "I'm nothing like you. For one thing, my ambition hasn't blinded me to something that's perfectly obvious."

The Master looked puzzled for a moment. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"This night," said the Seventh Doctor. "All of it. People from different times, places and even universes brought to one place." Indicating the computers, he added, "You think all these machines will control it. But you're wrong."

"We'll see, Doctor. I've already used these machines to bring a large number of beings here. I can do it again, as often as I like. I've harnessed the power of the vortex."

"You may have tapped into the power of the vortex, but you haven't harnessed it," the Seventh Doctor retorted. "That was done before you arrived. There's another intelligence at work here. One you won't be able to ignore forever."

"Save your scare tactics for the less intelligent," the Master scoffed. "I have more important things to do."

The Master turned back toward his computers. Giles gasped. Buffy was still on the cavern floor, and they were all between the vampire and his equipment. As the Master approached, Giles and Ace grabbed Buffy's arms and pulled her to her feet. The Slayer groaned as they tried to push her out of harm's way. The Master walked straight past them, no longer interested.

"Despite the feeble attempt your companions made to stop me," the Master boasted, "I've managed to increase the capacity of my dimensional power grid tenfold. That will be more than enough to project a distortion field anywhere I choose."

The Seventh Doctor had a horrified look on his face - a bit too horrified, Giles thought. "You can't use that!" the Seventh Doctor cried. "It's madness!"

"We'll see, Doctor!" shouted the Master. He stepped over to the bank of computers and pressed several keys. The machines whirred to life - for all of ten seconds. Then they promptly exploded in bursts of smoke and sparks.

The Master tried to shut his apparatus down before it self-destructed completely, but without warning, he found himself rooted to the floor. A shimmering haze began to envelop his body. He turned to the Seventh Doctor. "What have you done?" he cried.

"I've done nothing," the Seventh Doctor replied. "You've done it all to yourself. You've finally gained the attention of the intelligence that brought us all here. And I don't think it's very happy to see you."

The Master's body suddenly elongated until it became a glowing thread that reached to the ceiling. Giles could still hear the Time Lord screaming for help as the beam shot through the top of the cavern and was gone.

"What the...?" Buffy was beginning to stir again. "What's going on?" she asked. "Where's the Master?"

"Taken care of," Giles assured her.

"Well, at least that's one guy we don't have to worry about," said Buffy.

"Yes," said the Seventh Doctor as he joined them. "But I believe our real problems are just starting."

As they all watched, a glowing portal appeared in the chamber wall. Three figures stepped through it. A small boy with red hair and freckles led two nervous-looking adults, a man and a woman, into the chamber. They all wore clothes that even Giles thought looked out of date.

Buffy had now regained enough strength to stand on her own. She approached the three new arrivals cautiously.

"How did you do that?" she asked the trio.

"Do what?" said the small boy. "You mean how did we get here? I wished it, of course. That's how I do everything."

"And a really good wish it was, too," said the man. Turning to the woman, he asked, "Wasn't it a good wish, dear?"

"Absolutely," said the woman. "One of the best wishes he's made all day."

Giles could hardly believe what he was seeing and hearing. He had even more trouble believing the conclusions that his mind had drawn from what he saw and heard. Still, he felt he must step forward and test his theory. "Did you just say you can... 'wish'... for anything you want?" he asked.

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

"Of course it is," said the man. "And you did a good job of saying it, too."

"Real good," added the woman.

"This is amazing," said Giles. "Just who are you?"

"My name is Anthony," said the small boy. "Anthony Fremont. I brought you all here, because I want you all to play with me. Forever."

End of Chapter 15

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