The Cotswolds, the Deeper Well.

The entrance to the Deeper Well, a hole that goes straight through the Earth from the Cotswolds in England to New Zealand, was created hundreds of thousands of years ago at the tail end of what modern mages and the Watcher's Council used to call the Primordium Age. It was the time of demons… not the ones who exist now… instead, there were the pure-blooded demons. Known as the Old Ones, they crawled, slithered, flew, and walked out of all the hell dimensions to Earth. They were the most powerful beings for millions of years; the rulers of the Earth who went to war with each other for territory and food. They were eventually beaten back by humans who were taught to wield magic by the mystical sects of the Furlings; the latter used their mystical abilities after returning to Earth millions of years after the Ancient weapon was used to recreate life after burning away the plague. The Deeper Well was created to imprison the sarcophagi and the powerful essences of the Old Ones. The magic was also meant to hid the entrances away from all prying eyes.

Given the powerful and dangerous forces imprisoned in the Deeper Well, it was guarded by various other powerful demons whose only role was to defend the Well from trespassers. And now, as the skies became a dark red, the Guardians of the Deeper Well were about to face hundreds of demons that could feel the world was changing.

In many cities all over the world, demons allegiant to evil, darkness and the First Evil were already coming out of hiding in this new age. The cloud cover in the sky being taken as an ominous sign that their time has come once again. The demons that were gentle and pacifist – many hid themselves as alien species – made the decision to stay away from the open; some even helped keep humans safe as the Federation Security Services were becoming overwhelmed by malevolent entities that escaped from Hellmouth and demons in some areas of London, Paris, Houston, D.C, and many other places around the world. Many demons and others of the dark, those who harboured grudges against this new order… this new peace…, were eager to return to the old ways they had only heard about. They wanted a return to the time when demons roamed free and did what they wanted with little resistance.

The hundreds of demons making for the Well would swell to the thousands. The Guardians of the Deeper Well set a signal for aid to the Covens around the world, informing them of what was happening. And now, as the demons rushed towards the Guardians, the clock was ticking towards the end of the world.

The defenders of the Well needed the powers of the Light and the power of the Slayer in their fight. One of the defenders was the Lord of all Vengeance demons, D'Hoffryn, and he was doing everything in his power to protect the Well. It wasn't out of the goodness of his dark heart though, for even he knew that the Vengeance business would suffer if the Old Ones rose and annihilated the beings, both human and alien, on Earth. Even he knew that any action by the Covens and the Slayer would take time; after all, they were dealing with the destruction of the Hellmouth seals.

As he fought, he could sense the New Zealand Guardians struggling against their powerful foes, he could also the dark magics and energy gushing out of the Hellmouths covering the Earth. He could feel it extending outwards and into space… he could feel the lifeforces above on the orbiting vessels. And then, a smirk formed on his face as he recognized one of the life-forces. He recognized one of the magical signature.

As he fought with the other Guardians against the demonic hordes trying to push through their defensive lines, he could feel the Guardians in the New Zealand entrance fighting their foes as well. Magical energy was being expended violently as the defenders tried to push back the demon hordes of darkness coming to tear open the Deeper Well and release the Old Ones. However, D'hoffryn knew that they needed help… and right now one of the most powerful witches of Earth was in orbit around the Earth.

As he sliced through one vampire after another, D'Hoffryn yelled out, "hold the line!" The other guardians grunted, howled, and snarled as they fought before D'Hoffryn snapped his clawed fingers and then vanished off the face of the Earth.

Outside Sunnydale; at that same time.

Josie was the last person to rush towards the shuttlecraft as the dragon continued diving down toward their location. She briefly looked up at the dragon, its large leathery wings folded by its side as the inside of its mouth, which was wide open and showing off the glint of razor sharp teeth, glowed brightly. She gulped before rushing into the shuttlecraft and then called out to the witches holding the shield that prevented the other demons from rushing towards the shuttlecraft.

"Get in!" she yelled as the dragon neared… the roar getting closer just before there was a sound of an ancient jet engine. The sound was unmistakable… she could never forget that sound ever since she heard it when visiting the Air and Space Museum with her parents many years ago in D.C. She could the roar from the dragon shake her bones before the atmosphere heated up just as she stepped back into the panicked crowd of Starfleet personnel and some of the Coven witches, as well as her Watcher, behind her while putting her arms over her face to block the intense heat. Josie instinctively knew what was happening, and it horrified her just as she realised that the witches holding the shield were ignoring her, 'no… the dragon… the dragon must have begun streaming fire… all of them are gonna die!' A hand covered in a red cloth reached out over her left shoulder and slammed on a button along the metallic frame of the door. Josie's eyes widened in horror, as did the eyes of the others near the rear exit, when the witches turned to ash upon being hit with the orange-red flames a second later.

Everyone felt the heat from the hellish flames for an instant just before a shield covered the entrance. Then everyone heard the roar of the dragon once again while the door was being raised. Then there was a loud thud from their left. Everyone turned towards that direction before there was the roar of the jet engine once again… the sound travelled through the bulkheads around them.

And all them could feel the air inside the shuttlecraft heating up. Which was supposed to be difficult, especially since the shields were supposed to have encased the ship.

"Whoever's in charge of this thing!" Amara yelled out as she stared at the bulkhead while the ship was shuddering slightly from the heavy footfalls of the dragon, along with the hundreds of thousands of demons rushing past the out of bounds Shuttlecraft. The vessel belonged to the dragon as it staked its claimed – it already killed several demons that wanted to force themselves through so that they could feed. Of course, they didn't know about the shields, but that didn't matter in the end… the were turned to ash the moment they tried rushing the dragon. As the dragon thundered towards the front of the shuttlecraft, everyone in the small vessel, including Josie, as well as Data who was manning the pilot's station, looked out the window.

Just as Amara yelled into the enclose space to fire the shuttlecraft's phasers, the dragon thrust its head forward and roared. A few seconds later, there was a thick stream of flame that enveloped the shuttlecraft. Data was making sure that the shuttlecraft was prepped for an emergency take-off. Data, upon hearing Amara's yell, glanced at the rapidly depleting shield strength – which was surprising really – before making up his mind that once the shuttlecraft was in the air, then they would be able to move fast enough away that the dragon couldn't catch them.

Just as the small vessel rose up into the air and out of the stream of fire, it turned to port and Data was about to accelerate away with the shields at forty percent. He was curious how the shields of an advanced shuttlecraft could have taken so much damage by a simple stream of fire. Data began wondering if there was something to the dragon – well, other than there being a real life dragon a few meters away; while he was tapping buttons, his positronic brain examined ancient Earth history book and discovered that Dragons were just a myth. There were stories of knights killing dragons, but they were all stories.

Data then glanced at the dragon pulling its head back after closing its mouth. He calculated the probability of the dragon spewing fire once again, and then he heard Amara telling him once again to fire the phasers. While Data wanted to know why the shuttlecraft's shields were affected by what seemed to be ordinary fire… he powered the Phasers, targeted the dragon just as the back of its throat started to glow orange and red. He knew it was only a matter of time before there was another stream of flame rushing towards the shuttlecraft. It was just before the dragon rushed forward with a ferocious roar that Data fired the two forward phaser arrays.

'Whoooooosh!' the phasers cut through the neck of the dragon. As it fell off the neck and towards the ground, there was an audible sigh of relief from the humans and aliens in the shuttlecraft. As the body of the dragon trembled slightly before toppling onto the ground, the other monsters that were avoiding the ship as they rushed past towards the city suddenly took notice - after all, the dragon was the only thing keeping them away. And so, many of the demons started making their way to the shuttlecraft. It was just then that a message came through to the shuttlecraft's communications systems.

As the ship rose higher and higher into the air out of reach of the demonic hordes, Data glanced at Josie who pushed through the crowd of people who were looking out the front window at the hundreds of thousands of demons that covered the dessert ground. It was like a river of darkness pouring out of the hole in the ground that led to the opening in the Hellmouth.

"Dear God," she whispered in shock as more and more demons poured out of the hole. Josie then looked over at Data and asked, "have they reached the city?"

Data turned his head towards Josie after tapping a few tabs on the console and reading the data on the screen in front of him. He nodded his head before saying, "they will enter the city limits in seventy-two seconds."

"We need to fire phasers and torpedoes before they can get into the city," Josie said as she looked out the forward window while the shuttle banked left, "if they get in…" Josie shook her head in disbelief… this was her first major engagement as a Slayer, and she was already on the back foot. In fact, this was nothing like the invasion six months ago… those Invaders were more or less human; and now she was facing demons. A lot of demons.

'Get a grip on yourself,' Josie thought to herself just as glowing orange elliptical bolts of plasma hit the mass of demons rushing towards Sunnydale. The explosions were enough to scatter the demons but they continued their onward rush towards Sunnydale and the other nearby cities. Then more bolts followed soon after from behind them much to Josie's surprise. Seconds later, there was a 'beep' from the computer before Data said that there were ships the size of shuttlecrafts heading towards their location from Sunnydale.

There were more explosions all around on the ground as dismembered parts of demons both small and large were being killed. The Shuttlecraft piloted by Data began firing phasers as well… the weapons cutting down the demons while two photon torpedoes were fired at the hole from where the demons were escaping. The large explosion caused by the photon torpedoes kicked up sand, rock, pieces of demons, as well as the ashes of vampires that were instantly killed from the blast, into the air. It was like a warzone with explosions on the ground while aircraft from the Resolute and the lone Starfleet shuttlecraft – at least for now. Data received a message from Starfleet Command that a Squadron of Peregrine fighters and tactical shuttle craft were being deployed towards Sunnydale.

"The Sunnydale city limits have been breached," Data said before looking at a worried Josie. The latter knew that human would be in danger, and that the focus wold be on more of the demons entering the city limits.

'The outlying suburbs would be hit first,' she thought to herself as her heart raced. She pushed her worries aside as she looked over her shoulders at the witches and Starfleet officers before turning her head back to Data, "we need to stop the ones already in the suburbs." She then nodded at the great battle that was ongoing in the dessert on the outskirts of the city while saying, "we need to stop them before they get any further."

Josie then continued, "these things will not negotiate any truce or trade, they will not surrender peacefully. I am going in for the kill, will you and your people help me?"

Data nodded his head before he looked over his shoulders towards the Starfleet Officers. He knew that some of them were civilians, and so he was duty bound to keep them safe. But the others had received training and were capable of watching out for each other. And they were able to use phasers without freezing up no matter the situation.

Changing course and heading for the suburbs, Data relayed his intensions to Command before telling the Starfleet officers to accompany Josie. They were to stop the advance of these 'creatures' at all costs.

"Demons," Josie clarified before Data could continue, "none of you Starfleet types will believe what I have to say, and frankly I don't care. What I do care about is that we have stop these things from pushing their way into the city."

"Demons?"

"Demons," Amara said after taking a breath to calm herself, "they will kill you even if you only want to talk. Let's not put that to the test, we need to sto…" Before Amara could say that the demons needed to be stopped with extreme prejudice, she grabbed her head and yelled at the pain. She reeled back, only to be caught by one of the Witches and Starfleet security personnel behind her. They held her steady as a seer in the Coven sent her a warning… it was a battle… a bloody battle taking place away from here.

"Miss Amara?" Josie exclaimed as she pushed through the crowd around her, "what is it?"

"You… you need to take a force down with you, Josie," Amara said after telling the two people holding her steady that she was fine. At the same time, she was rubbing the sides of her forehead and said, "take the Starfleet Security personnel with you."

"But…" Josie said before being interrupted by Data.

"Miss Kensington," he said as the shuttle craft was about to land a few houses away from where demons had started to kill humans and aliens While Data was looking at the still dazed Amara, he was ordering the computer to fire phasers at the beings that were not in any Federation database. While the phasers began firing, killing as many demons as possible, Data asked, "the Security personnel will accompany Miss Charney, as would your own people I assume. However, I can see that you are highly…"

"In short," Amara said as Data tilted his head, "the rest of us are needed in New Zealand. I'll give you the Coordinates."

"New Zealand?" Data asked narrowing his eyes, "the danger is here; at least that is what I can assume from my observations."

"There's a bigger threat," Amara said before her eyes shifted towards a confused Josie, "the Deep Well, Josie." And Josie's eyes widened in shock. Josie knew what it meat if the Deeper Well was in danger… the witches around them also knew since they were looking at Amara with fear in their eyes.

"The Old Ones," Josie whispered, her voice full of fear.

"You concentrate on protecting Sunnydale… you need to stop the demonic advance with the Security personnel and the Coven witches while the other ships stop more reinforcements from moving towards the city," Amara said as she put her hand on Josie's shoulder, "I'll go with Mr Data, we'll use this shuttle to hopefully cut down the demons before they break into the Well."

"It should be me," Josie said as she looked into Amara's eyes, "I should be there and…"

"We already sent a request for aid from the Pegasus Slayer," Amara said, "and I know they will come. For now, a Slayer needs to lead the fight against the demons here. If there is nothing to hold them back, then more people will die."

Josie nodded her head.

Theirs's was only one shuttle not taking part in the firefight out in the dessert against the demonic hordes. Data said that the demons that got into the suburbs were too close to the civilian structures, and so Starfleet Command had already issued an evacuation order. But people were not moving out of their homes… at least not until the first wave of demons started to break into homes and kill people. Below the shuttlecraft, there were hundreds of people… human and alien… running and driving away from the monsters coming their way.

Once the shuttle landed, the rear door opened before Josie, carrying the scythe in her right hand, stepped out with the Security personnel and the witches. The Starfleet Security personnel still didn't believe anything that was said in the shuttlecraft – from demons to witches – there were explanations for anything. However, Data ordered them to help Josie and the women.

"Set your phasers to kill," Josie said as she spied demons in the distance running towards them while chasing several people, "double up… one witch with one Starfleet Security." Josie glared at several vampires and demons she did not recognize coming towards them, "spread out and hold the line."

'They are coming,' Josie reassured herself, 'the other Slayers are coming.'

The Enterprise; orbit of Earth.

Tara and Major Wittings were walking alongside each other as they strode out of the transporter room while the trainee witches were following closely behind them. Because of the fading dark magic which had been permeating the ship until now, Tara could now sense the girls amazement as they walked through the hallway towards what Riker referred to as a Turbolift at the far end of the hallway. In front of them were the aforementioned Riker walking alongside Anika, the two of them were whispering among themselves. And the whole group were surrounded by four members of the ship's security team. Tara glanced at each person around her before her eyes focused on the blonde haired woman in front of her. She looked away just as Anika turned her head over her shoulder and asked, "Miss McClay, you seem to know what's going on down Earth. Perhaps you could explain some words you spoke of that I am not familiar with on the Resolute."

Riker looked over at Anika and then at back Tara as they continued walking towards the turbolift. He listened as Anika mentioned words that had him wondering why they were being used in the first place. These were words such as 'Hellmouth', 'demons', 'escaping darkness'. He narrowed his eyes in confusion at Tara who just looked back at the two of them with a calm expression on her face.

"There are explanations for what I said back on the Resolute," Tara answered nodding her head, "but to understand what's going on… what set this whole thing into motion… you will need to understand some things about Earth's past."

"We were given information on the work of Stargate Command," Riker added as they continued their walk, "and even that has proved divisive in the Federation Council." Tara tilted her head in confusion before meeting Anika's eyes after she looked over her shoulder.

Tara was wondering why that would prove divisive in the Federation Council. It was, after all, the SGC who protected the Earth and its off-world allies numerous times before the exodus to Pegasus. With that thought in her head, Tara then said, "while the SGC has done everything to keep the planet spinning. This isn't about the SGC. This is about a separate organization and its mandate to protect the Earth from otherworldly threats."

"Otherworldly threat?" Riker asked with his eyebrows furrowed, "you mean off-world threats? That that would be the job of the SGC."

"Otherworldly threats, Commander," Major Wittings said with a shrug, "trust me when I say these things

Tara saw Anika slow down slightly while the latter said, "I have studied the workings of the SGC as well as most of the mission reports from when it was situated on Earth. However, there have been no reports of actions taken on what you referred to on the Resolute as a Hellmouth."

"Hellmouth?" Riker said narrowing his eyes as he stopped and turned towards Tara, "what's a Hellmouth?"

"We should talk in private... someplace where you could grab a drink, Sir," Major Wittings said before he glanced at Tara and then back towards the perplexed First Officer of the Enterprise, "it is going to be a little unbelievable, and very heavy on the information. And it will take time for you to process. Trust me, it was for me."

Tara nodded her head in agreement before saying, "And this isn't about Earth's relatively recent past," She then looked at Anika and then at Riker who had by now stopped and was standing alongside Anika, the two of them facing Major Wittings and the others while the Security Team was keeping a close eye on what was happening. "This is about what happened millions of years ago."

"As I have said," Anika spoke, her head turned towards Tara who was standing with her arms by her side, "I have read some of the revised history of the Milky Way by Dr Jackson in Atlantis. I am knowledgeable about the Ancients who arrived on Earth from another Galaxy, the plague and their exodus to the Pegasus Galaxy in Atlantis."

"This is information Starfleet has already been privy to by the Pegasus Alliance," Riker said before turning towards Major Wittings, and then to Anika who was staring at Tara with arms behind her back. Riker then turned his head back towards Tara who was looking back at him, "was there something that was not divulged? And does what you have to tell us relate to this energy that influenced our emotions?"

"Sir, honestly, maybe the best place to talk would be somewhere not so… well… public," Major Wittings said while the other three trainees nodded their heads in the empty hallway. There was no one else walking about since everyone was ordered to their duty stations after the arrival of the Resolute and teleportation of Tara and her team to the Enterprise, "what Miss Maclay has to say will seem impossible and… well, just impossible… to you folks, but it's true."

"What is impossible?" Riker asked as he narrowed his eyes at Tara. Starfleet has doing things that were once considered impossible a reality. At least that was what he thought at one time, at least until he was privy to the information handed over to Starfleet several months ago – that humans had begun travelling the stars before the start of World War Three, before the fight against the Eugenic super soldiers, before the very first warp flight. And not to forget the off-world bases constructed long before the Earth came into contact with the Vulcans. 'What could be any more impossible than Pre-Warp interstellar exploration.'

Tara was about to make a quick explanation about the Hellmouth before saying that they might want to get a stiff drink so as to process the rest of what she had to say. She wanted to say that the Hellmouth was located beneath Sunnydale High - that it was a place where the barriers between dimensions was already weak... that this thinness allowed for portals to be formed between the Earth and other Hell dimensions; that dark mystical energy from those Hell dimensions would leak out, and thus attracting all manner of monsters and other supernatural creatures to Sunnydale.

But before Tara could say anything, she felt a sharp pain in her chest followed by a throbbing pain in the left side of her head. She groaned out as she grabbed the left side of her head and stumbled sideways towards the wall. It was Anika who grabbed a hold of her before she could impact the wall with her shoulder. Tara saw the looks of concern from bot Anika and Riker, and wondered if the expression on her face relayed how painful it was for her at that point in time. She closed her eyes again while groaning at the chill going up and down her spine. She felt as if there was something dark and evil coming towards them... she felt as if something cold was squeezing her heart.

"Are you alright?" Anika asked, but her voice seemed so far away to Tara.

"Get her to the sickbay," Riker said, his voice also sounding as if he spoke from a distance, just before Tara felt the three trainees also groaning in pain. Two of the trainees stumbled onto the floor just before the security personnel helped them up to their feet, while the third, Ta'asekno, stumbled sideways into Major Witting's who held her steady.

Riker saw the four women nearly collapse, and was about to tell the Security Personnel and Anika to help them to the infirmary when Tara, who was still leaning against the hallway wall - where Anika placed her a few seconds ago - whispered out, "no". Her eyes then wide open in shock. 'Looks like she's more horrified than anything,' Riker thought as his eyes glanced at the other women who were looking at Tara for some reassurance… it looked as if their expression was a mixture of confusion and fear.

"Miss Maclay, what was that? I felt… I felt as if…"

"Something was gripping my heart," Ta'asekno finished between breath with her hand on her chest.

"What has happened?" Anika asked as she turned her head towards the concerned Major Wittings before turning towards the other women and then to Tara who was still panting out while her eyes were closed shut. Anika felt Tara's hand on her shoulder tighten slightly before loosening once again as the latter opened her eyes slowly.

"Miss Maclay…"

"Tara.. please… call me Tara."

"Tara," Riker said with a concerned voice, "what just happened? The four of you… at the same time may I add… seemed confused for a few seconds. Enough to lose your footing. And not just that, you four looked like you were in pain."

"A bit of pain," Tara whispered shaking her head before she looked at the confused expressions on the trainee witches, "and yes, I felt what you felt as well."

"I do not understand," Anika said before Tara turned her head towards the former Borg drone, "what did you feel?"

Tara shook her head; she didn't know how Anika, Riker, and not to mention the Security Personnel would take to what she had to say in order to explain what just happened. 'Yeah, how would they take the fact that something mystical... a presence, tried to frighten us again?' But no matter what, whether they believed her or not, there was no denying what was happening right now on Earth was urgent. And so, Tara took in a deep breath and said, "the Earth is being corrupted."

"Excuse me?" Riker asked with his left eyebrow arched upwards. Tara look looked over at him and then at the confused expression on Anika's, as well as the confused expressions on the security personnel while Riker spoke, "the Earth is becoming corrupted?"

Tara was panting as she closed her eyes. She couldn't see in her mind's eye what was happening on the surface; it was as if the miasma around the planet suddenly cut off some of her senses. But she could still feel Earth's magic darkening… she could feel it rotting, crying out for help. She had felt the seals shattering… she felt demons coming up to the surface. But now, now there was nothing but a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Miss Tara," one of the trainee's said with a look of worry.

"Alice," Tara whispered as she slowly shook her head while waving a hand towards her, "don't worry, I…"

It was then that there was another male voice in the hallway. Another voice that none except for Tara recognized.

"There is much to worry about, Tara Maclay." Tara leaned sideways to stare at the figure behind Riker just before he and Anika, along with the the security detail around them, turned their attention to the figure standing in the hallway. The Security Personnel stepped forward with their phasers out and pointed at the intruder; at the horned blue skinned demon – not that the Starfleet Officers knew exactly what species of alien the newcomer was – who had a mocking expression on his face. "Welcome home, you are needed."

"Nice to see you too, D'Hoffryn," Tara said as Anika, who had been staring at the creature, saw out of the corner of her eyes that Tara was stepping in between Riker and herself. Anika watched as Tara give a small bow to the alien they were facing before speaking with a smirk on her face, "I don't get a hello? It has been years since we last saw each other."

'She knows this alien?' Anika thought to herself as she stepped closer to Tara while keeping an eye on the other Starfleet officers who were getting tensed up. Anika wasn't at all surprised by the tensed Riker and the Security Personnel... especially since the shield around the ship should have been reactivated after she, Tara and the others beamed onto the Enterprise. Nothing was supposed to have been beamed into the ship, so the thought going through Anika's head was, 'How did he beam in?'

"The hello was implied," D'Hoffryn tilted his head before continuing to speak, "I suppose you know the seals have shattered and everything trapped in the Hellmouth is emptying out into the world."

"What is this Hellmouth?" Riker asked as he puffed out his chest.

D'Hoffryn scoffed at the question with a roll of his eyes before saying, "death."

"Death?" Riker was confused, 'what is he talking about?'

"I do not understand," Anika said with a confused expression on her face before looking over at Tara, "Tara, we would like an explanation." At the same time, Riker was asking their mysterious guest how it was that he made it on board the Enterprise without any transporters; to which D'Hoffryn shrugged.

"There is no time to provide them with explanations, Miss Maclay," the Lord of all Vengeance Demons said as he looked at Tara, "you should know that while the Hellmouth has opened and released every single dark thing that was ever locked away inside; there is a much more problematic battle that requires your aid and the aid of the Slayer."

"What could be more problem…" Tara then opened her eyes wide before she could finish saying 'problematic' and whispered, "no."

"Yes," D'Hoffryn gravely muttered.

"Miss Tara?" the trainee witches said when they sensed the shock coming from their teacher. Rebekkah, a dark haired and tanned skinned trainee, asked, "what is it?"

"The Deeper Well," Tara said. She realized the great danger the world was in… the opening of the Hellmouths was one thing; there was a sliver of a chance they could be closed again using the method used three hundred years ago. But the Deeper Well was something else entirely, if the Old Ones were resurrected, then the battle for Earth would be over before it even began. Tara turned towards Riker and Anika. Tara knew there wasn't much time to waste, but she also knew in her heart that both Anika and of them needed to understand the gravity of what was happening. And then there was another issue in her mind, her trainee witches were still not prepared for what they would be facing down there, and she was afraid that the Starfleet Security personnel would freeze up in a battle against demons and other supernatural creatures. Tara then took a deep breath before saying, "Commander Riker, Anika, Security guys... what you are about to hear is not everything about the current situation... I'll have to leave out the details because of the urgency of the situation and the danger we face if the Deeper Well is open and its prisoners freed."

"There is no prison on Earth known as the Deeper Well," Riker said while Anika looked on.

Tara took on a far sterner look as she turned her head towards Riker and then spoke, "there are things that existed on Earth long before the earliest humans came into being." Tara could see that Anika was about to interrupt her, so Tara raised her hand and told Anika and the others to listen, and that her trainee's would fill them in on everything else, "but for now, the Deeper Well is a greater threat." Tara then took a deep breath as Riker and Anika nodded their heads reluctantly, signalling Tara to continue, "things that you think are impossible... such as mystics, magic, demons, supernatural incidents..." Tara could see Anika and Riker, as well as the Security personnel staring in disbelief, but she continued on anyway, "all this exists. Once, the Earth was occupied by demons... powerful demons that made the planet their Hell... they carved it into their own territory. This was after the Alterra left the Earth, and the Milky Way, for the Pegasus galaxy. Over time, humanity rose up against these demons thanks to another race of Aliens who were allied with the Alterra, the Furlings. The Furlings taught humanity how to wield magic... how to defend themselves against the pure demons and the supernatural. Eventually, they pushed back or killed these pure demons known as the Old Ones."

Tara took a deep breath before continuing, "the Old Ones who were killed lost their physical form, but their essences were too powerful to be destroyed. And so, they were imprisoned in sarcophagi in the Deeper Well... a prison created by the Furlings to intern these essences."

"You are joking?" Riker asked, a stunned look on his face.

Tara didn't miss the stunned expressions on Anika and the Security personnel either. She would have chuckled if the situation wasn't so serious, "this is not a joke. The Guardians of the Well, a cadre of demons that are tasked with protecting the Well could lose the fight to prevent the entrances from being over-run."

D'Hoffryn then said that there was no more time to argue about what is possible or impossible, "if the Well falls, the Old Ones will be released. The coming apocalypse caused by the demons pouring out of the Hellmouth will be nothing compared to when the Old Ones are free to walk the Earth."

"The end of the world, the end of all life... human and alien... could happen right now. And we can stop it if I get down there now," Tara said before she walked towards D'Hoffryn.

"But..." Riker whispered, his mind still processing what he was just told. Tara turned towards Anika staring at her in disbelief as the former stopped next to D'Hoffryn. Tara then looked past the Security Personnel, Riker, and Anika and said, "you three still aren't ready for what's down there." Before the girls could speak, Tara said, "your job is to tell these guys everything about the Hellmouth, Slayers, the Deeper Well and the truth behind why it was created." She then turned to Major Wittings and sternly said, "when Buffy and the others get here, tell them to get some units to the Cotswalds and New Zealand… tell them the Deeper Well could fall if there's no back up. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," the officer answered as Tara turned towards Anika who had her eyebrows furrowed.

"Why are you going? Why..."

"Before leaving for Pegasus," Tara said, "I was the Supreme Witch of Earth." Tara smirked at the surprise on Anika's face before turning to D'Hoffryn and saying, "let's go."

D'Hoffryn smirked before he waved his hand. The Starfleet personnel were stunned when the two of them vanished in a cloud of black smoke.

"Computer!" Riker exclaimed once forced himself out off the shock of learning these revelations, 'this is insane... demons and the supernatural? Insane!' The Computer beeped before he continued, "can you trace the… whatever just happened!?"

"Negative, unable to trace destination of phenomenon."

"It's magic," Alice said as she stepped forward. Her words having the Riker and Anika spin around with expressions of confusion and disbelief. The girl then sighed before saying, "Like Miss Maclay said, we need to talk about everything you heard about when it comes to the monsters that live in the dark."

"Or the ones that you hear stories about." Rebekkah said.

"All of them… your worst nightmares, they exist."

"What are you talking…" Before Riker could finish what it was that he wanted to say, there was an announcement over the communicator in his badge. It was Troi reporting that the sensors detected an energy flare on the surface of the moon.

"On the moon?" Riker asked as he turned towards Anika, the two of them looked at each other for a second; what Tara and the girls had said was pushed aside for now thanks to this new issue, "what energy flare on the moon?"

"Deanna? What's going on?" Riker asked into his communicator.

"A flare from a cloaked… it's a cloaked Stargate!" Troi's voice showed off how surprised she was before continuing, "it's seven kilometres away from the edge of Luna Base Three."

"What the hell is going on?" Riker turned and barked at the girls and Major Wittings.

"They're gonna save the world," the Major said with a small smile on his face, "If the Stargate is open, then Mrs. Harris-Summers and the other Slayers will be coming through. They need to know what Tara told us. They need to know there's very little time left."

TBC