Santa Barbara:  1990

A young Shawn Spencer sits outside his house on a warm, dark night in the late summer California weather.  In his hands are binoculars, which he is looking through out at the ocean across from the house. 

Henry walks out, trying to find his son.  Eventually, he sees the young Spencer on the roof, looking through the binoculars.

“Shawn!  Get down from there!” Henry cried.

Shawn looked down, “No!  I’m watching for aliens!”

Henry stood for a beat, then began to stomp toward the corner of the house Shawn was perched on. 

“Okay!  I’m coming!” Shawn said quickly.

“Hurry up!  Dinner’s ready and we don’t want to keep your mom waiting,” Henry warned.

Shawn moved quickly, knowing what his mom would do if she had to serve dinner late.  It wouldn’t be pretty, and he’d miss WrestleMania next week, because he’d be grounded until school starts.

“What did you say you were doing up there?” Henry asked as his son set foot on the ground.

“Watching for aliens.  Gus and Dennis say they really exist and showed me proof,” Shawn insisted.

“Gus and that other boy are full of it.  Aliens don’t exist, Shawn,” Henry said.

“But Dad…” Shawn began to protest.

Henry grabbed his binoculars out of his son’s hand, “They don’t exist.”

With that, Henry walked inside with the binoculars.  Shawn then heard him shout out the door, “Get in here and eat, Shawn!”

Shawn sulked and went inside to eat dinner.  No matter what his dad said, Shawn believed his friend.  One day, he hoped to meet an alien.

Santa Barbara: 2010

Shawn and Gus walked out of Dennis’ house, after solving the ‘alien’ case which turned out to be a case about money.  As they got into the Blueberry, Gus turned to Shawn with a concerned look.

“Shawn, no more cases about aliens,” he said, then protected his ears from the inevitable flick and subsequent pain it would cause. 

None came, however.  Shawn looked deep in thought.  Gus slowly dropped his hands, but kept an eye on his best friend.

“No worries, Buddy.  We’re done with the alien angle.  I will never, from this day on, speak about aliens again,” Shawn said, crossing his heart with his finger.

“Seriously?  No more quote, un-quote, alien cases?” Gus asked.

“No.  Now, if we had one about vampires, that would be awesome!” Shawn said with a smile.

“Sooki is mine!” Gus said, making gestures with his hands.

Shawn tsked, then Gus, then Shawn.  Back and forth they went as they drove down the road. 

Secretly, Shawn was glad it was over.  He turned to Gus with a look in his eyes.

“Dude, I could go for some pineapple smoothies and Jerk Chicken,” he said.

“You know that’s right!” Gus said, fist extended.  Shawn bumped it and they headed off to nourishment.

As they passed by the old warehouse district, Shawn got a weird sensation down his spine.  He looked back, seeing nothing. 

“What?” Gus asked.

Shawn looked forward again, “Nothing.  I’m just hungry.  I need food, now!”

As the car rounded a corner, two people peeked out from behind a building and glanced at each other.

“Do you think we were seen?” the female asked.

The male shook his head, “No.  We had the cover of these abandoned dwellings.  Come, we must create lives for ourselves and get some clothes.  It is custom for us to wear clothes.”

The female looked down at her body, “These bodies are strange.  What does a human woman need with these?” She pointed to her chest.

“I believe it is nourishment for a newborn human.  Come, we must find suitable clothing,” the male said.

“How long are we to be here?” the female asked as they snuck around to a laundry mat nearby.

“We don’t leave until we complete our study on human behavior. Especially their belief systems on what they consider supernatural phenomenon.  Humans with psychic abilities are the top of our list,” he said. 

“Psychic?  Humans have that capability?” she asked.

“They claim to, some of them.  Come on, Suina, let’s go.  We have transportation waiting for us.  The Elders have set up lives for us on this planet.  We are to go to a place called the Foundation.  It’s run by another team from our world.  There is where we’ll learn about the human culture before we venture out into the world for ourselves,” he explained as he grabbed a bag of clean clothes someone had placed on a bench. 

He grabbed some for himself, let her grab some clothes, then dropped the bag and they both ran to a waiting taxi nearby. 

“When we are ready, we will be given a list of humans to watch.  If one interests us enough, we take them back to our world and study them further,” he said.

“Palar, what if we don’t find one?” Suina asked.

"We will, Suina," Palar said. 

Santa Barbara: Present Day

Shawn and Juliet strolled down the boardwalk, hand in hand.  In his other hand, a churro, in hers, the same.  They munched quietly as they watched the boats coming into the bay as the sun blazed down upon them.

“Shawn?  That case yesterday, did it seem a little, strange, to you?” Juliet asked.

Shawn bit into his churro and chewed before speaking, “Maybe a little.  Why?”

“I don’t know.  I just got that funny feeling.  Those two people that were involved, Peter and Sara Jones, seemed a bit too interested in you.  Almost as if they were studying you,” Juliet answered.

“Jules, of course they were!  They were in awe of my abilities,” Shawn bragged. 

Juliet shook her head, “Yeah, right.  Come on, let’s get back to the Psych office.  Gus is probably wondering where we are.”

They began walking, unaware that two sets of eyes watched from a bench not too far away. 

“There he is again, Palar.  With that female accompanying him.  I could tell from earlier they have an interesting relationship,” Suina said as the two walked up steps heading toward the buildings behind them.

Palar nodded, “You are right, Suina.  Yet this psychic, Shawn Spencer, seems interesting in his own right.  I used the Detector on him, and nothing came up.”

“Nothing?  That’s impossible.  Of the psychics we’ve studied, all of them have shown some form of actual psychic ability.  The Detector must be malfunctioning,” Suina said.

Palar shook his head, “No.  I double checked while we were at the police station.  It’s in perfect working order.  Yet, Mr. Spencer acted as if he were sensing different things.  Things that even those two detectives didn’t see.  No, something is different about him.  In fact, he’s becoming more and more a possibility for further investigation.”

“You mean, back to our world?” Suina whispered.

“Yes, my dear.  I think we should take a closer look at Shawn Spencer, Psychic Detective.”

The two aliens-dressed-as-humans got up and walked to the Psych office.  Before entering, they hid and changed forms from Peter and Sara Jones to two agents from the FBI.  Suina looked at her badge.

“Agent Sylvia Smith, FBI,” she read.

“Agent Patrick Wolff, FBI,” Palar read. 

The two looked at each other, then walked to the door of Psych with serious expressions.

Inside, Shawn, Juliet and Gus were playing “Where’s the pineapple?”, in which Shawn was winning, of course, due to his skills.

“Why do we keep playing this when we always lose, Gus?” Juliet asked as Shawn picked up the toy pineapple from behind the TV. 

“Apparently we like to torture ourselves, Juliet,” Gus said.

Shawn chuckled for a moment, “All right, we’ll…stop,” he said, looking out the window.

“What?” Gus asked.

“Two people just walked by.  They looked kind of suspicious,” Shawn said, carefully sneaking around his desk.

The front door opened to reveal a man and a woman in black suits, black ties and dark sunglasses.  Both stood in silence, which gave Shawn the perfect opening.

“Hi, my name is Shawn Spencer.  This is my girlfriend, Jules and my partner Millennium Falcon.”

 The two looked at each other, then produced badges.

“I’m Agent Wolff,” he said.

“Agent Smith,” she replied.

“We’re from the FBI.  Mr. Spencer, we want to talk to you about your psychic abilities.  Namely, we wish to test them,” Agent Wolff said.

Juliet, Gus and Shawn looked at each other with raised eyebrows.  All three knew this wasn’t good. 

“Test his abilities?  Um, are you sure about that?  I mean, there are a lot of other psychics out there.  Maybe you should test them, first,” Gus said.

“No, Sir.  We’ve been watching Mr. Spencer for a while, now.  He’s the most interesting hu…psychic we’ve ever seen.  Our supervisors agree that he is, indeed, very talented,” Agent Smith said.

Shawn swallowed hard, “Well, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to tell your supervisors I’m unavailable until the next century.  Looks like they’re out of luck.  Goodbye!”

He basically pushed them out and shut the door in their faces.  Suina and Palar looked at each other.

“He’s going to be a tough one, apparently.  How are we going to get him to go with us?” Suina asked.

Palar sighed, “We’ll try another disguise first.  This time, as a couple who hires Psych.  If that doesn’t work,” he pulled out a laser gun, “We take him by force.”

Suina nodded, wary of the people on the boardwalk, “Understood.  Come, we must hide.  We will return tomorrow.”

Walking around the side of the building, they vanished into thin air, unseen by the world around them. 

Inside, Shawn, Juliet and Gus were sitting around the room, letting what just transpired sink in. 

“Something seemed a little off about those two, didn’t it?” Juliet asked, breaking the silence.

“They weren’t real agents, that’s for sure,” Shawn said.

“They weren’t?” Gus asked.  He stood up and moved toward Shawn.

“No.  Their badges were fake.  I’ve seen real badges.  They have a distinct mark that makes them almost impossible to counterfeit.  Those two badges didn’t have the mark,” Shawn said, looking up at Gus.

“Why do I get this feeling I don’t want to know how you know that?” Juliet asked.

Shawn looked at his girlfriend with a smile, “You’re right, you don’t.  Come on, we have some checking to do on those two ‘agents’.”

Shawn led the way out the door with Juliet and Gus right behind.  All three climbed into the Blueberry (Juliet’s car was in the shop) and they rode off toward the SBPD.  Shawn’s mind went into overdrive as he thought about those two agents that had showed up.  Something about them seemed vaguely familiar.  Almost as if he’d met them before.

“Peter and Sara Jones?” he asked out loud.

“What about them?” Juliet asked from the back seat.

“Those two “agents”,” he used the finger quotes, “looked a little like the couple from that last case.  You know, the ones that were so interested in my “psychic” abilities.”

“Think they might be related?” Gus asked as he pulled into the station lot.

“I don’t know, Gus, but we can find out.  We’ll ask Lassie,” Shawn said as he bounded out of the car.

Gus looked at Juliet in the rearview mirror with an exchanged glance of worry, then followed the faux psychic inside.

“I suddenly get the feeling it’s going to be a long day, Juliet,” Gus said as they entered the doorway.

“I agree with you one hundred percent, Gus,” she said.

Inside, Shawn was already at Lassie’s desk.  However, Lassie was nowhere to be seen.  Juliet wondered briefly where her partner was, then remembered his location.

“Shawn, he’s not here.  I just remembered he’s with Marlowe all day,” she said.

Shawn turned to Juliet with a smile, “He’s actually not with Marlowe.  He should be walking in the door in five, four, three,” Shawn pointed to the main doors, where Lassie suddenly appeared.  With him, an unknown man.

“He must’ve arrested someone while he was out to Mario’s,” Shawn said.

“How do you know he was at Mario’s?” Juliet asked.

“The tomato based stain on his shirt, plus I’ve seen that guy working at Mario’s.  In fact, he’s a waiter,” Shawn said.

Lassiter froze when he saw Shawn standing by his desk.  He looked over and found Buzz sitting down, looking over files.

“McNab!  Take this guy to the holding cells for processing,” Lassiter ordered.

“Yes, Sir!” Buzz complied.

Buzz took the man from Lassiter and headed down to the holding cells quickly.  Lassie took a deep breath and headed toward his desk.

“Spencer, what are you doing here?” he asked angrily.

“What the waiter do, Lassie?” Shawn asked, raising a finger to his temple, “I’m sensing he’s wanted for questioning in the robbery last week.”

Even Gus and Juliet gave him funny looks as Lassiter answered, “Yes.”

“Where’s Marlowe?” Juliet asked, preventing Shawn from saying anything else.

“She’s waiting in the car.  She didn’t need to come in, because I’m just writing down my report really quickly and then we’re leaving.  So, whatever you’re doing here, Spencer, I’m not involved.”

“But Lassie, we have a case for you!” Shawn said.

“No,” Lassie said shortly.

“It involves the FBI,” Shawn said in a sing-song voice.

Lassiter looked up, then right back down, “No.”

“Shawn, he’s not going to work on this with us.  Let’s just go back to the Psych office and look up the files ourselves,” Gus said.

“You can’t get into FBI files without clearance,” Lassie said, not looking up from the paperwork.

The three looked at each other and nodded, “All right, Lassie, we’ll leave you be.  Let’s just hope that those two fake agents don’t come back and try to kidnap me,” Shawn said.

At the word ‘fake’, Lassiter looked up, “Wait, fake agents?  How do you know they were fake?”

“I sensed they were, Lassie.  Get with the program,” Shawn replied.

“Why did two supposedly fake agents visit you?” Lassiter asked.

“They wanted to test Shawn’s abilities,” Juliet chimed in.

Lassiter raised an eyebrow, “You’re kidding me.”

“I was there.  It’s exactly what they said,” she said.

With this, Lassiter stood up, “Stay here.  I’ll be right back.”

Walking out the door, the Head Detective disappeared from view.  While he was gone, Shawn, Gus and Juliet began to speak.

“How’d you really know that the waiter was wanted for questioning?” Juliet asked.

Shawn grabbed the file off Lassie’s desk and opened it, “Right there.  Jameson Rodriguez, wanted for questioning in the armed robbery of New Fields Bank.”

Juliet grabbed the file, “You never cease to amaze me, Shawn.  He only had that open for a second, if that!”

“That’s how good my memory really is, Juliet.  Remind me to tell you more this weekend,” Shawn said.

“He’s coming back,” Gus announced.

Juliet dropped the file on his desk before Lassie saw it.  Right behind the Irish detective was his wife, Marlowe.

“Honey Bear, are you sure you have to work?” she asked, a little too loudly for Lassie’s comfort.

“I just have to see what Spencer is getting himself into, Baby.  Then we can be alone for three whole days.  Okay?”

Marlowe snuggled against Carlton, “Okay, but don’t be gone too long.”

He took out his Fusion keys and his wallet.  Producing a credit card, he handed the keys and the card to Marlowe, “Here, go get yourself something nice.  I’ll drive the Crown Vic.”

She looked at the keys and the card, then smiled up at Lassiter, “Okay, Baby.  I’ll see you at home later!”

With that, Marlowe walked off, a happy little bounce in her step.  Lassiter turned to Shawn with a dangerous expression.

“Lassie, you’ve really gone soft, haven’t you?” Shawn asked with a smile.

Before he knew what was happening, Lassiter grabbed the front of Shawn’s shirt and dragged the faux psychic into the closest conference room.  Gus and Juliet followed quickly.

Shawn was unceremoniously thrown into the room, jamming his leg into the table.

“Ow!  Okay, I get it!  You’re mad!  Yeesh!” Shawn cried.

“I am supposed to be spending the day with my beautiful wife, yet you walk in here and get me worked up,” Lassie growled.

“Technically, you were already here with that waiter in handcuffs.  I didn’t interrupt your date, you did,” Shawn said, keeping his distance from Lassie.

Juliet stepped in between the two men, “Carlton, we may need help on this.  Shawn, sensed, that these two agents may have something to do with the couple from the case yesterday,” she said, giving a sideways glance to Shawn.

“Peter and Sara Jones,” Gus added.

“Yes,” Shawn said, raising his finger to his temple, “I am sensing that they are related.”

“Related how?” Lassiter asked.

“They looked a lot like them.  Maybe family related,” Juliet said.

Lassiter nodded, seemingly calmed down somewhat, “Those two whack jobs were watching you like a hawk yesterday, Spencer.  Maybe they were the ones posing as agents.”

“That does make sense.  Yesterday, they were asking you all types of questions about your abilities.  Today, they come back in disguise and ask you to come with them to be tested.” Gus said.

“Well, then, let’s find out everything we can on Agent Patrick Wolff and Agent Sylvia Smith, a.k.a. Peter and Sara Jones,” Shawn said.

The team set to work, trying to get in touch with the FBI (Lassie knew an agent he could call).  While they waited, Juliet pulled Shawn to the side with a concerned look on her face.

“Shawn,” she whispered, “real or fake, there are two people that are *too* interested in your “psychic” abilities.  What if they expose you?”

“Jules, don’t worry.  They won’t because I’m too good at what I do.  I mean, if Head Detective Carlton Lassiter hasn’t picked up on it yet, than these people won’t figure anything out.”

“Shawn, Carlton has never believed you were psychic,” Juliet said.

“Yes, but he’s never proven I wasn’t.  Potato, Tomato,” Shawn said.

“Potato, Shawn,” Juliet said.

“I’ve heard it both ways,” Shawn replied.

They returned to Lassie’s desk to wait for an answer.  Meanwhile, Palar and Suina were back at the Foundation, going over plans for the following day.  Their mentors, L’wana and J’ahara, were assisting in the plan.

“We may need to kidnap another human for your plan to work,” L’wana said.

“No, we shouldn’t put any more humans in danger.  It should be one of us.  I believe it should be you, J’ahara.  You are the strongest of the four of us, and you’ve been on the planet the longest.  You know more about these humans,” Palar said.

J’ahara contemplated for a moment, “I suppose, but what are you going to do?”

Palar looked at Suina, then back at their superiors, “This is what we’re going to do.”

Shawn, Juliet, Lassie and Gus were now in the Chief’s office.  They were explaining the information when she held up a hand to stop them.

“Is this police business?” she asked.

The four looked at each other, then Shawn answered, “Well, not exactly, Chief.  We needed Lassie’s help with the fake FBI agents.”

“So this is a private case?” she asked.

“No.  Chief, these people made a threat toward Shawn,” Gus said.

“They threatened you, Mr. Spencer?” Chief Vick asked.

“No, not exactly.  Gus is just being over dramatic.  They said they wanted me to come with them to test my abilities,” Shawn corrected.

“How do you know they were fake agents?” she asked.

“I…” Shawn looked over at Juliet, “I could see it on their badges, Chief.  There’s a distinctive mark on real FBI badges.  These two didn’t have that mark. I know it’s illegal to impersonate an agent, so that’s why I involved Lassie and Jules.”

Lassie looked at him, “I thought you *sensed* they were fake,” he demanded.

“Well, I never got around to telling you the part about their badges,” Shawn said, mentally slapping himself for the slip.

The Chief stood behind her desk, looking at the two consultants and her two detectives.  She studied them all for a long moment before speaking again.

“Mr. Spencer,” she started, “Normally, I would’ve said that my detectives are not to be involved.  However, you are employees of the SBPD, and these people are impersonating agents of the FBI, then I will allow it.  But,” she added, “I want to be involved in every step of the way.  Is that clear?”

The four of them nodded, leaving the Chief to her own devices.  Once outside, they began to talk about the similarities between the agents and the couple from the day before.

“Number one, they were very interested in your abilities,” Gus said.

“Number two, the agents today were, also,” Shawn added.

“As well, Shawn,” Gus said.

“I’ve heard it both ways,” Shawn replied nonchalantly.

“Let’s continue,” Juliet said, giving her boyfriend a look, “Number three,” she started.  She looked at her partner, “Wait, there isn’t a number three, is there?”

Shawn was about to open his mouth, when he was cut off by Gus, “No, there isn’t, Juliet.”

“Okay, then let’s go back to yesterday with the couple.  I,” Lassie started, but looked up to find Henry standing there with a look on his face.

“Dad?  What are you doing here?” Shawn asked.

“Shawn, I need to talk to you a moment,” he answered.

“Um, okay.  Be right back,” Shawn said hesitantly.

The two walked into the conference room and shut the door before speaking again.  Henry turned to his son with concern.

“Shawn, those people yesterday worried me.  They seemed to be too involved in the case.  As if they set it up,” he said.

“My thoughts exactly, Dad.  Today, they came to the office, impersonating FBI agents.  Well, that’s Lassie’s theory, anyway.  They did look a lot like them, so it’s not far off point,” Shawn said.

“FBI?  Are you sure they weren’t really agents?” Henry asked.

“Dad, you taught me long ago about the badges.  Things haven’t changed, they still have that secret mark that makes them impossible to forge.  These two didn’t have that mark,” Shawn replied.

Henry considered this, “What did they want?”

“They wanted to test my “psychic” powers,” Shawn answered simply.

His dad’s eyebrows raised, “Say what?  Shawn, if they were to do that…”

“I know, Dad.  They’ll expose me.  Jules is worried about that, too.  But I’ll get them before they try that,” Shawn said.

“Don’t be over confident, Shawn,” Henry warned.

Shawn nodded, then turned to walk out.  Henry placed his hand on his son’s shoulder, stopping him. 

“Be careful.  Agents or not, they’re obviously after something.  Keep your wits about you,” he said.

“My wits?  Dad, really?”

“Whatever, Shawn!  Just don’t get into trouble.  I’d say protect yourself, but I’m sure you’d twist it around,” Henry said, then walked out in a huff.

Shawn stood, open-mouthed with a comment on his lips, but watched in silence as his dad walked away. 

Gus walked in, watching Henry walk away.  He turned to Shawn in question.

“What was that about?” he asked.

“Dad told me to watch my back.  He’s actually worried about me,” Shawn said, looking at Gus.

“I don’t blame him, Shawn.  Juliet’s worried and so am I.  Come on, we need to get back to the Psych office.  Lassiter said there’s not much that can be done until tomorrow, anyway,” he replied.

Shawn followed, but still had that shiver down his spine.  Almost as if he knew things wouldn’t turn out, well, good.  He could hear his dad’s voice in his head, “Be careful.”

Out the door he went, behind his best friend.  Juliet stayed behind to help Lassiter with the case from the day before. 

Outside, the air felt different to Shawn.  It felt, ominous; as if there were something brewing on the horizon.  He looked around, halfway expecting those two people to appear and grab him. 

‘Great, now I’m paranoid,’ he thought as he climbed into Gus’ car. 

“You all right?” Gus asked as they pulled out of the SBPD drive.

“Yeah.  Drop me off at home, okay?  I’ll meet up with you tomorrow at Psych,” Shawn answered, looking out the window.

Gus shrugged, but did as Shawn asked.  When he did drop him off, Gus watched as his friend walked into the house and shut the door.  He’d been quiet the entire way.

‘I hope he’s all right,’ Gus thought as he made his way back to his apartment.

Shawn sat inside, looking at old photos that were taken when he was a kid.  Some with Gus, some with his parents, then more with Gus.  He then saw one with Gus and Dennis, and his mind replayed the case of the oil guru who faked alien abduction to buy property. 

“Why would I remember that now?” he asked himself.  He put the picture back and closed the album, yawning in the process. 

Instead of going into the bedroom, Shawn turned off the light and drifted off to sleep on the couch, with a million things on his mind.

Juliet walked in about two hours later, her house dark.  Confused at the lack of light, she entered carefully.  She quietly set her badge and purse on the end table near the door, but kept her gun with her. 

Moving through the house, she flipped on the light and moved like a cat.  The sight before her made her smile and drop her gun.  There was Shawn, asleep on the couch. 

She giggled, which woke the sleeping detective.  He rubbed his eyes and spotted Juliet staring at him with a smile.

“Hey, Jules.  When’d you get home?” he asked groggily.

“Just a few minutes ago.  Come on, let’s go to bed.  We can get a fresh start in the morning.  Lassiter couldn’t find much and his agent friend was still looking for files.  We’ll have to work without him tomorrow, though.  He’s insistent that he spends time with Marlowe,” Juliet said as she walked into the bedroom.  She turned on the bathroom light and began her nightly regimen. 

Shawn leaned sleepily against the doorway, watching her as she brushed her hair 100 times.  She stopped at forty-five and looked at him.

“What?” she asked, the hairbrush poised to continue.

“Just love watching you, Jules,” Shawn stated.

He leaned in and gave Juliet a deep kiss.  The brush fell to the floor as the two embraced.

Across town, Gus sighed as he lay in bed.  Shawn’s behavior on the way home worried the young detective. 

‘Maybe the case is getting to him.  People posing as agents, wanting to test Shawn’s abilities, another case involving the same people.  It’s just like Pluto, messed up,’ Gus thought.

Eventually, Gus fell asleep, but his dreams were haunted by the two “agents” taking Shawn away to do crazy experiments, and the subsequent news stories that would follow about how the psychic wasn’t really psychic.

Palar paced back and forth inside the Foundation.  Suina and J’ahara had yet to return from a meeting with the Elders deep in the woods near Santa Barbara.  They had gone to inform them of the news that they had found their candidate for experimentation.  L’wana stood nearby, watching her colleague pace.

“Palar, calm yourself,” she said finally, feeling a little dizzy watching him.

The younger alien stopped and looked at L’wana, “I am sorry, my friend.  I’m just worried about Suina and J’ahara.  They’ve been gone too long,” Palar answered, sitting down on a cushion by the older woman.

“They will return soon.  You know how the Elders are.  They will ask many questions,” L’wana assured him.

A few moments later, Suina and J’ahara came inside, looking peaceful.  Palar and L’wana approached them with questions on their minds.

“The Elders agree that this Shawn Spencer is a perfect candidate.  However, they don’t agree with the plan you came up with, Palar.  They feel that they should handle this case, now,” J’ahara said.

Palar’s face looked confused, “The Elders wish to handle this?  Why?”

“They, they feel that Shawn Spencer is a special case.  He seems to possess powers greater than what we’ve studied in the past.  The Elders are coming here to take Shawn back to our world,” Suina stated.

L’wana gasped, “They’re coming here?  The Elders will be gracing us with their presence?”

“Yes,” J’ahara said, “They will be arriving in the morning.”

“Then we shall prepare.  Bring the ceremonial robes, L’wana,” Palar said.

The four aliens began a traditional welcoming ceremony, which continued long into the night. 

Lassiter was tossing and turning in bed, which was keeping Marlowe awake.  She sighed and turned to him.

“Trouble sleeping, Carly?” she asked.

Lassie picked up the slight hint of annoyance from his wife’s voice.  He sighed, “Yeah.  Spencer and this case are making it impossible to shut my eyes.  I’m sorry for keeping you up.  I’m going to go for a walk to clear my head.”

“At two in the morning?” she asked incredulously.

“I used to walk late at night when I was working a tough case.  Or when Spencer got on my nerves.  It’s a mix of both, so I really need to get some air.  Don’t worry, I’ll take my gun, okay?” he said, kissing her on the forehead.

“Okay, but be careful, Honey Bear,” she cooed. 

Lassie climbed out of bed, got dressed as casual as possible (which was a dress shirt and his suit pants) grabbed his gun and walked out the door.  Not wanting to disturb the neighbors, he took the stairs down to the main lobby and left Prospect Gardens with the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

About a mile down the street, Lassiter felt as if he were being followed.  Carefully and methodically, he continued walking, keeping his eyes straight ahead.  One hand was on his gun, the other clenched into a fist.  Something rustled beside him, and he pulled his gun.

“SBPD! Come out with your hands up!” he shouted.

Slowly, an image emerged from the brush.  It was none other than Guster in his pajamas.  He was shaking like a leaf, his hands in the air.

“Guster!  Judas Priest, man!  I could’ve shot you!” Lassie said as he holstered his gun. 

Gus dropped his hands, “Sorry, Lassiter.  I couldn’t sleep.”

“You too, huh?  Since when do you take walks at two in the morning?” Lassiter asked as the pharmaceutical rep fell in step beside him.

“I used to all the time when Shawn was gone.  I’d always wonder what he was doing, where he was at that time,” Gus said.

“What about now?” Lassie asked.

“I’m worried.  He wasn’t acting like himself when I took him home.  It was like he knew something was wrong,” Gus answered.

Lassiter turned toward him, “I would think that’d be a relief to you, Spencer not acting all childish.”

“Lassie, when Shawn gets quiet, I get worried.  He’s done this before.  Like when his dad was shot.  You remember how he was,” Gus stated.

Lassiter remembered how the psychic seemed determined to catch Carp after Henry ended up in the hospital.  Heck, he’d even put his badge on the line to help the brown haired detective out. 

“You think being asked to go with those fake agents may have something to do with it?” Lassie asked curiously.

“I think so.  He was a little shaken up at the idea,” Gus said, trying not to give too much away.

They stopped in front of Gus’ apartment complex.  Lassiter had never realized how close Guster lived to he and Marlowe.

“I’m going to turn back to home.  I’ll see you in a few days, Guster.  I’m spending time with my wife tomorrow.  Agent Samson will be coming to the station at ten sharp.  Make sure you’re all there by that time.  Got it?”

“Right.  See you soon, Lassie,” Gus said, heading to his complex. 

Lassiter watched him until he got inside, then turned around toward home.

He happened to look up and see a bright shooting star arc across the sky.  Sighing, he continued back toward home, looking forward to falling asleep next to Marlowe.

The next day, Gus, Shawn, Juliet and Chief Vick were standing in the Chief’s office, listening intently to Agent Samson.  He had told them what they had guessed; the two agents were not FBI.  They were fakes.

Shawn sat down, the events replaying in his mind.  He didn’t know why this was getting to him so much.  It haunted his dreams last night. 

The door opened, revealing Lassie, dressed in his normal suit.  Shawn looked at him, curious as to why he was at work, when he swore he was spending time with Marlowe.

“Chief, may I have a word?” he asked.

“We’re right in the middle of the briefing, Detective.  Can it wait?” She asked.

“I’m afraid not.  We need to talk privately.  It involves your husband,” he said somberly.

Karen’s eyes widened, “What?  What’s wrong?”

“Just follow me, Karen,” Lassie said, then walked out.

“Give me a moment, Agent Samson,” she said, tears threatening to spill over.  She walked out behind Lassiter with a quickness the team hadn’t seen in years.

“That’s strange,” Shawn said.

“What?” Gus asked, noticing it was practically the first words Shawn had said since they’d arrived.

“Lassie didn’t even acknowledge us.  Even Agent Samson,” Shawn replied, peeking out of the blinds.  Chief Vick and Lassie were nowhere to be seen.

“Well, whatever happened must’ve been bad,” Juliet said, “Especially for Carlton to have circles under his eyes.”

“He was out walking last night.  I know, I met him on my walk,” Gus said.

Shawn turned to his friend, “Walk?  You went for a walk last night?”

Gus nodded, “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep.  Neither could Lassie, apparently.  He and I talked about the case somewhat, then he went home.  He told me to be here this morning, but that he wouldn’t be.  He seemed insistent that he was going to spend time with Marlowe.”

As if on cue, Marlowe rushed through the doors, panting.  She looked around, her eyes wet with tears.

Shawn saw the tears first, “Marlowe, what’s wrong?”

She turned to the faux psychic, “Carlton never came home last night.  I waited up for him.  When his alarm went off, I started searching for him.  Halfway between here and home, I found this,” she produced Lassie’s Glock, “laying in the grass.”

Juliet jumped up, grabbing Lassie’s gun from Marlowe, “He’s here.  He’d never leave his gun anywhere, though.  Weird.”

“He’s here?  Where?” Marlowe asked.

“I think in a conference room.  He’s talking to Chief Vick privately about something.  He did seem a little off,” Shawn said.  He looked up at Agent Samson, who had a look of concern on his face.

“Lassiter wouldn’t leave his gun anywhere.  Come on, let’s find them,” Agent Samson said, heading out the doors. 

For the next few minutes, the team searched every room for the Chief and Lassie.  Yet, they were nowhere to be found.  They started asking other officers if they had seen the two.

Buzz shook his head, “Sorry, guys, I haven’t seen either one today.  I just got here.”

Dobson gently shook his head, but said nothing and got back to work filing.

“He’s never much help, anyway,” Shawn said as they went down the hallway toward the holding cells.

They were empty, as well.  They checked every place they could think of, including the morgue.  Woody shrugged, “I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen them for a few days.  We seem to be short on bodies right now.  Nobody comes down here just to visit anymore.”

“I’ll see you later, Woodster,” Shawn said, feeling uneasy. 

They returned to the Chief’s office, where they found who they were looking for.  Chief Vick was sitting calmly at her desk, while Lassiter was sitting at the table, looking through a case file.  The others stood there, looking confused.

“Chief?  Is everything okay?” Juliet asked.

Karen looked up, “Of course, Juliet.  Everything is just fine,” she replied.

Shawn felt a cold shiver go down his spine.  Something wasn’t right.  Looking over at Lassie, he *saw* what the file was.  It was the case file from two days ago. 

“But, Lassiter said something about your husband.  Is he okay?” Juliet asked. 

“Oh, he’s fine.  Mr. Spencer, may we speak in private?” Karen asked.

Shawn blinked, “Um, sure, Chief,” he said slowly.

“What about the case?” Gus asked.

“Oh, we’ll get to it later.  What I have to say to Shawn is much more important.  Agent Samson, your services are no longer required.  You may go,” Karen said to the agent.

Agent Samson looked confused, but left without a word.  Karen got up and stood next to Shawn.  She placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Come, Shawn.  We must talk,” she said.

Shawn said nothing, but followed Karen out the door.  Lassiter stood up and followed them, not even glancing at Juliet and Gus; who stood, dumbfounded.

“What is going on?” Juliet asked.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.  Come on, we have to follow them,” Gus said, crouching down and tagging along behind the others.

Juliet followed instinctively, watching as Gus snuck behind the three.  She wondered where the Chief was leading Shawn, then watched as they walked down the hall to the holding cells. 

Gus was momentarily trapped by a group of officers who were blocking the hallway.  Juliet walked up and cleared her throat.

“Excuse us, gentlemen,” she said fiercely.

They stepped out of the way, letting Gus and Juliet continue to tail Shawn, Lassie and the Chief.  However, when they reached the holding cells, they saw no one. 

“Where are they?” Gus asked.

“They’re gone!” Juliet exclaimed.

Marlowe raced in, “Where’s Carlton?”

Juliet turned, “I don’t know, Marlowe.  They just vanished.  Shawn, the Chief and Carlton.”

“Like they vanished into thin air.  There’s no way they could’ve gotten past us,” Gus said.

They went back upstairs, continuing to look for the three.  Nobody had seen them return from the holding cells.  Juliet sat down at her desk, worry creasing her features.  Marlowe sat down next to her, while Gus stood, leaning on the pole nearby. 

“We need to call Henry,” Gus said.

Juliet looked up, tears in her eyes, “Do it, Gus.  I get the feeling we’ll need all the help we can get.”

Shawn, meanwhile, woke up laying on a cold metal table.  On either side of him was the Chief and Lassie, looking down at him. 

“Lassie?  What’s going on?” Shawn asked groggily.

“Just rest now, Shawn.  All your questions will be answered soon,” Lassie said. 

“Shawn?  You rarely call me that.  Chief?  Are you okay?”

She nodded, “Yes, of course I am.”

That’s when Shawn saw something in their eyes.  Lassie’s blue eyes were now a bright shade of violet.  Karen’s were a shade of red. 

“What’s wrong with your eyes?” Shawn asked.  He realized he was tied down to the table.

“Sleep for now,” Karen said, placing her hand on his head.

Shawn suddenly felt tired, and fell asleep within seconds.  His last thought; aliens had taken over Lassie and the Chief.

Gus paced, waiting for Henry to show up.  It’d only been a few minutes, but it felt like days since he had called Shawn’s dad.  He kept looking at his watch and looking around the station for any sign of him, or Shawn, Lassie and Karen. 

Juliet sat at her desk, tapping her nails on the wooden top.  Marlowe had taken residence next to Juliet and did the same thing.  They looked at each other with the same look of worry.  Both were worried about their friends and their men. 

Shawn, meanwhile, had awoken.  He was still tied to the table, but the restraints were a bit loose.  Taking the advantage, and his father’s training, he wriggled out of them and slowly sat up. 

He felt strange; a float-y feeling was as close as he could describe it.  Shawn looked around, not seeing Lassie or Karen anywhere. 

‘Then let’s go find them,’ he thought as he slowly crept out of the stark, white room. 

The further he went, the weirder the feeling got.  Where was he?  Where were the others?  He didn’t know if he wanted to find out where, considering the float-y feeling. 

“Lassie?” he braved.  Calling out could be dangerous, but Shawn didn’t have much of a choice. 

He was lost.

Gus, Henry, Juliet and Marlowe were now seated in a conference room with the blinds and doors closed. 

“Shawn, Lassiter and Karen can’t just disappear.  They have to be somewhere,” Henry insisted.

Gus looked at the father of his best friend, “But they did vanish!  There was no way they could’ve snuck past us.  We saw them go toward the holding cells.”

“Did you see them *in* the holding cells?” Henry asked with irritation.

“Well, not exactly,” Juliet said shyly. 

“Juliet, they didn’t disappear.  They must’ve headed somewhere else and you just didn’t see them,” Henry said, a little softer. 

Gus and Juliet looked at each other, but Marlowe spoke up, “Henry, Carlton wouldn’t leave without warning.  He had this strange look in his eyes, too.  Even the Chief did!  I remember they both didn’t have their usual eye color.  Carly’s were, like, a purple color.”

Juliet looked at Marlowe, “Purple?”

“Yeah, and the Chief’s eyes were red.  You didn’t see that?” she asked incredulously.

Juliet shook her head.  She hadn’t seen either’s eyes; she was too distracted by the sudden behavior change in them both.  She looked up at Gus, who now had wide eyes. 

“What is it, Gus?” she asked.

“Odd behavior, eye color change, Lassie leaving his gun in the bushes, Karen unconcerned about her husband, and now they have Shawn,” he said quietly, almost to himself.

“Gus?  What is it?” Henry questioned.  Suddenly, he had a bad idea about where Gus’ rationalizing was going.

“Shawn’s been kidnapped!” Gus announced.

“Wait, what?” Henry asked.

“It all adds up.  Shawn’s been kidnapped!  Or, really, alien-napped,” Gus corrected himself.

Henry rolled his eyes, “Gus, be serious!”

Gus tsked, but Juliet shook her head, “Really, now is not the time for jokes.”

“It’s not a joke, Juliet.  I think aliens took over Karen and Lassie,” Gus insisted.

“Come off it, Burton!” Henry said, using the man’s rarely used first name. 

Gus was about to retaliate when a shadow appeared behind the door.  A slow, methodical knock made the group look around. 

The door opened to reveal Peter Jones.  His wife, Sara, stood behind him with no expression on her face.  Another couple was with them with the same, expressionless faces.

Gus almost growled at them, but restrained himself long enough to speak, “What are you doing here?”

“You are right, Mr. Guster,” Peter said cryptically.

Henry stood up, “This was a private meeting,” he said with a snarl.

“We know, Mr. Spencer.  We wish to join in, because we know where your psychic is,” Sara said.

“Who are they?” Juliet asked, pointing to the other couple.

“My name is Linda, and this is my husband Jason Porter.  We’ve known Peter and Sara for years,” she answered.

“You know where Shawn is?” Gus asked.

“Yes, I’m afraid we do.  Your detective friend and the Chief of Police are with him,” Jason said.

“We know that, but where are they?” Henry asked, irritated with the run around these people were leading.

Peter pointed up. 

“Upstairs?” Marlowe asked. 

“No, a bit further than that,” Linda said, closing the door behind the four of them.  The four that were sitting looked at each other.

Jason turned to his three cohorts and nodded. 

“Perhaps if we showed you our true forms, you’d believe Mr. Guster?” Peter said.

“What do you mean, true forms?” Gus asked.

The four that stood suddenly shimmered.  Their human features melted away, revealing a purple-ish tinted skin, slightly larger black eyes and no hair. 

Gus nearly fell out of his chair.  Juliet’s mouth hung open in a silent ‘O’.  Marlowe just stared, as did Henry.

“We are not from your world.  We are from a distant star over 300 light years away.  We came to your planet to study human life, especially the phenomenon you call ‘psychics’.  We are very interested in how humans can get information through just the powers of their own mind,” the one that was Jason said.

Henry looked over at Juliet and Gus and raised an eyebrow as Linda spoke.

“When our friends Palar and Suina caught up with your psychic, Shawn Spencer, they discovered he was very gifted, indeed.  We wished to study him further.  We informed our Elders of the situation, but they decided to take matters into their own hands, as you humans say.”

“They took over the ones you call Lassiter and Chief Vick,” the one that was Sara said.

“Something tells me you aliens aren’t very smart, then,” Marlowe said suddenly.

“Why do you say that?” Palar asked.

“Because Shawn isn’t a real psychic,” she answered.

Shawn carefully snuck around the stark white…whatever it was.  He kept that float-y feeling as a clue that he wasn’t in Santa Barbara anymore. 

Just when he thought he was going around in circles, he came upon what looked like a door straight out of Star Trek.

He glanced around, as if Gus would’ve heard that thought.  His buddy didn’t know he was, actually, a closet Trekkie.  He’d managed to hide his series collections where Gus would never find them. 

He squinted and tilted his head, looking for a way to get inside said door.  No doorknobs, no key holes; it looked like nothing would get it open.  Then he remembered that most of these doors opened like automatic doors at most retail and super markets. 

Stepping back a bit, Shawn looked up to see a small sensor attached to the wall.  He positioned himself in front of it, but nothing happened.  He moved around a bit, trying to get into a perfect stance.  Nothing seemed to be working.

That’s when he heard strange voices coming down the hall to his right.  Shawn panicked for a moment, since it didn’t look like he could hide, until he spotted a small space just his size to squeeze into. 

He hid just as two figures appeared, talking in some alien tongue.  Shawn saw what they really looked like; Purple-ish skin, large, black eyes; and they were balder than his dad. 

The two aliens stopped in front of the door, waved a strange looking device in front of the sensor and began to step inside. 

Shawn wasted no time as he managed to duck into the room behind them just as the door closed.  He held his breath for a second, expecting an alarm to sound that a human had entered the room unauthorized, but heard nothing.

He saw a room full of equipment, some familiar, some never seen before.  It was when he looked at the back corner he froze.  There, in a cell, were Lassie and Chief Vick.  They were, for all accounts, out cold that he could tell.  Shawn feared the worst, but hoped for the best.

He found a hiding spot and waited for the two aliens to leave, which they did a few moments later, after checking on the two human captives.  Shawn hoped that they weren’t going to check on him, next, but knew he had to get Lassie and Karen out. 

Stealthily, he went toward their cage.  To his relief, they were both breathing as if asleep.  He began to study the locking mechanism on the cell door.

The group stared at Marlowe with wide eyes.  Had she seriously just said that?  She knew Shawn wasn’t a psychic? 

Hundreds of questions jumped into the heads of the three other humans in the room.  The four aliens stood, no expressions on their alien features, but Juliet could almost tell they were stunned, as well.

“Wait, what?” she asked, trying to play the innocent card.

“Juliet, I figured you knew, seeing as you’re his girlfriend.  Shawn isn’t a psychic,” Marlowe repeated.

Henry ran his hand over his face, “Did someone tell you that, Marlowe?”

She shook her head, “No.  Even Hon…I mean, Carlton, doesn’t know I know.  I figured it out just before we got married.”

Gus cleared his throat uncomfortably.  He looked from the aliens, to Marlowe, back to the aliens and so on, words escaping him for the moment.  Not only were there four aliens standing inside the room, but Marlowe had known for months that Shawn wasn’t really psychic. 

Henry sighed, “Marlowe, I would suggest, that for now, you don’t tell anyone you know about Shawn.”

“I haven’t yet, until now.  Juliet, you know, don’t you?” she asked the blonde detective.

Unable to form words, Juliet only nodded.  She exchanged a quick glance with Henry before her eyes settled on the aliens.

“Are you not afraid of us?” Sara asked.

“I’m petrified.  But I learned how to hide it when I was in prison,” Marlowe admitted.

The four looked at each other, then back toward the humans in the room.  J’ahara looked at L’wana and nodded.  They began to shimmer again, changing back into their human forms. 

“Thank you,” Gus said after they were all back to normal. 

“We apologize for frightening you, Mr. Guster.  We merely wanted to show you we weren’t, as you humans say, crazy,” Linda said.

“Now, though, we have a big problem.  Where did your, elders, take Shawn?” Henry asked.

“And the chief and my husband?” Marlowe added.

Peter looked up, “If my calculations are correct, they should be somewhere near Saturn by now.”

“Saturn?” Gus asked. 

Peter nodded, “Yes.  They are traveling at 9.5 AUs per hour.  Saturn is in opposition from your sun, so yes, that would be correct.”

“How do we chase after them if they’re in space?” Juliet asked, almost disbelieving she’d just questioned space travel.

“We have our own ship,” Jason said.

“We will proceed to speed after them,” Linda added.

“What about us?  Are we going to just sit here and wait?” Henry asked.

“I’m afraid that is what you will have to do, Sir,” Peter said.

“Bull!  I’m going!” Henry exclaimed.

“Me, too!” Gus announced.

“Let’s make that three,” Juliet said, standing up. 

Marlowe followed suit, “I’m going after my Honey Bear!”

The four aliens looked at each other and shrugged.  They knew there would be no convincing these humans otherwise.

“Very well.  Come, the ship isn’t too far away.  It’s at the abandoned warehouse on State Street,” Jason said.

Gus blinked, “Why is everything creepy or out of the ordinary based on State Street?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Guster, what was that?” Linda asked.

“Nothing.  Call me Gus, please,” he replied.

The eight people stepped out the door and walked quickly to the outside.  When they were past the doors, the four humans felt very light.  Seconds later, they were five miles away inside the warehouse.

“How’d we get here so fast?” Henry asked.

“We teleported you here.  We believe it is a better mode of transportation than your cars,” Sara said, grabbing a remote. 

She pointed the remote toward an empty space in the building and pushed a button.  A sudden hum filled the emptiness, followed by the appearance of a massive ship. 

Gus marveled at the reflective surface.  He looked back at the aliens, “Natural cloaking, right?”

Jason raised an eyebrow, “Why, yes, Gus.  How did you know?”

“I’ve done my research,” he answered, flicking his nose.

“We have no time to lose.  Come, we must leave the Earth’s atmosphere at hyper speed if we want to at least have a chance to catch up to the Elders and your friends,” Linda said, ushering them up the walkway that was now present.

As the door closed, the roof of the warehouse opened to reveal the Santa Barbara Skies above. 

“Be ready for hyper speed.  It will jolt you for a moment, but your bodies will adjust to the feeling within a few minutes.  I’ll warn you, you might experience a wave of nausea for a few seconds, but it will pass,” Linda said as she strapped in Juliet.

“Let’s go get my son,” Henry said with determination.

With that, the ship lifted up and out, quick as lightning.  Before they could be seen by anyone walking around below, the craft disappeared into the Great Blue Beyond and out in search of the other ship that held Chief Vick, Lassie and Shawn.

Shawn, meanwhile, had come out of hiding and was busily working away on the lock that kept Karen and Lassie in. 

“Spencer?  What in the Sam Hell happened?  I feel like I got ran over by a bus,” Lassiter’s voice said shakily.

“You wouldn’t believe me, Lassifrass.  Just make sure the Chief’s okay,” he said, still wriggling with the lock.

Lassiter looked over and saw Karen lying on another bench, looking sound asleep.  He quickly pieced together what he could from the night before.

He had just started walking back to his place after talking to Guster about the case and Spencer.  Looking up, he’d seen a shooting star fly across the inky night sky.  He had shook his head at the silliness of wishing on stars and all that junk when he came upon a person standing in the middle of the sidewalk.  They were just standing and staring at the night sky.

“Excuse me,” Lassiter said.  The person didn’t move.

“I’d like to pass,” Lassiter added, a bit more forceful.

Still no movement from the person, but words came out, “Hello, Detective Carlton Lassiter.  I am T’kana.  I will be using your body as a vessel until I am done with my mission.” He said, turning slowly.

Lassiter saw who, or rather, what was talking.  He went to grab for his gun when it flew out of his hand and landed in the bushes beside the sidewalk.

“You won’t be needing your weapon.  Please stand still,” T’kana said.

Suddenly, Lassiter couldn’t move.  He was paralyzed.  He watched with horror as the ‘whatever-it-was’ came toward him.

Lassie shook his head and looked down at Chief Vick.  He began to gently shake her, trying to wake her up as Spencer worked on the lock.

Shawn fiddled with the locking mechanism, using his eidetic memory to recall Gus’ safe cracking magazines he’d looked over; of course, he’d never tell Gus that.

Karen finally came around and looked over the cell; her eyes landing on Lassiter.  Confusion settled on her face as she spoke.

“Lassiter?  What happened?”

Shawn jumped in, “We were taking by aliens, Chief.”

“Come off it, Spencer.  There are no such things…as…um, Spencer.  Behind you,” Lassie suddenly got quiet.

Shawn, knowing that a nervous Lassie wasn’t good, turned slowly to find the two aliens staring at him.  He gulped.

“Human, why do you insist on rescuing these other humans?  They will be returned to Earth unharmed shortly,” one said.

“What about him?” Karen asked, trying to wrap her head around what she was seeing. 

“This human has intrigued our associates on Earth.  We will be studying him further on his psychic prowess,” the other alien said.

Shawn’s eyes widened in alarm.  ‘Psychic Prowess?  Uh-oh,’ he thought. 

Lassiter regained his composure, positive this was all a humongous waste of his time, “Spencer’s psychic prowess?  Guster, is that you in there?”

The two aliens looked at each other then back to Lassiter, “If you mean the best friend of Shawn Spencer, he is down on Earth with your other human friends.”

It was obvious Lassie didn’t believe him since the look on his face was full of anger, “If this is some kind of sick joke, Spencer, I will personally see to it you’re booked and sitting in jail for years!”

“Lassie, as much as I would love to take credit for this, do you seriously think I would involve the Chief of Police as part of a prank?  Come on, Lassie-opolus!” Shawn said.

Karen took the opportunity, “Carlton, you know perfectly well I would never follow some scheme of Mr. Spencer’s just for him to get a thrill or his kicks.”

Lassiter looked at Karen, then Shawn, then the two creatures standing behind the psychic.  His eyes widened and his breathing became shallow.  He was living an actual nightmare.  Real aliens had abducted him!

Lassie stood up and stepped backward, almost falling over the cot where he’d been lying only a few moments ago.  Shawn stood up, turned and faced the aliens with his most serious face.

“Let them go and I’ll cooperate.  If not, you don’t get to check one hair on my head,” he ordered.

The two aliens looked at each other and began speaking their native tongue.  Karen, Shawn and Lassie watched as they communicated back and forth.

Not too far behind, Gus, Henry, Marlowe, Juliet and the four aliens were standing in the main control room, watching as stars seem to fly past.  J’ahara turned to the four humans and pointed to the screen.

“We’re gaining on the vessel that holds your friends.  We should intercept them within the hour.  They have stopped just past Saturn; they may be deciding your friends’ fates,” he said bluntly.

The four humans looked at each other with fear in their eyes.  Henry looked L’wana directly in the eye as he spoke a moment later.

“If anything happens to Shawn, Karen and Lassiter, I will personally see to it the government has their pick of alien bodies to study.  Do I make myself clear?”

“We can assure you that your friends will not be harmed physically,” Palar said.

“What about mentally?” Gus asked.

“That,” Suina stated, “cannot be so certain.”

Shawn stood there, facing the aliens with a look of resolve.  No matter what, he wasn’t going to let these…things do anything to Karen and Lassie. 

Lassie couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.  Was Spencer sacrificing himself for them?  Was he being, dare he say, brave?

‘This is a day for the record books,’ he thought as the aliens began speaking English.

“We will not harm your human companions.  Our sensors have indicated that another ship is approaching us, so we will unlock the confines that hold them.  You will need to follow us.  This ship is, how you humans say, a maze and you could quite easily get lost,” B’harla said.

Shawn looked back at the other two and nodded.  Turning back, he began to speak.

“Do you know what the other ship is?” he asked.

“Yes.  It is our companions that you have met.  They appear to be following us.  Since it is not part of our plan, we must see why they have broken protocol and meet with them.  Come, all of you,” T’kana replied.

The lock clicked, signaling it was open.  Carefully, Lassiter picked up Karen and walked out of the cell, all the while watching the two aliens very closely.  They had, after all, possessed he and the chief just to grab Spencer. 

The three humans followed the two aliens out through the ship, twisting and turning through what seemed like dozens of tunnels.  Shawn looked over everything, memorizing every detail he could possibly find.  If one iota of wall was different, he memorized it; just in case the three had to run, he could lead them away.    

Gus paced as the ship came to a complete stop in the middle of space.  Normally, he’d be ecstatic that he was in outer space, in a space ship with real, live aliens.  Not so much when he knew that his best friend, the Chief of Police and the Head Detective were on their way to who knows where.

“They’re heading toward us.  They have agreed to meet with us,” L’wana said.

“Good,” Henry said, the gruff sound in his voice giving away his emotions.  He was worried.

“I just hope they agree to let them all go,” Juliet said sadly.

Henry looked over at the blonde detective, “They’ll let them go, or else.”

J’ahara shook his head, “I wouldn’t threaten them, Mr. Spencer.  The Elders are the type to take a threat and turn it into an opportunity.  They are not giving like we are.  It is why they are the Elders.  If they believe they will be harmed, they will harm your friends.”

Shawn followed the aliens closely; Lassie and Karen right behind him.  It seemed like they’d been walking for hours, but it was only ten minutes from the time they left the ‘prison’ until they arrived in the main control center of the ship.

The psychic detective looked around, trying to memorize every button he could see.  Of course, considering the buttons had symbols on them instead of English words, Shawn figured it wouldn’t do much good.  He turned his attention to the aliens and which buttons they were pushing. 

Lassie was doing a similar move, watching the aliens’ every twitch.  He knew that whatever was going on, these aliens were preparing for some kind of attack on the other ship.

Karen watched her two detectives closely, knowing they were both forming a plan of their own to get them all out.  Deep down, she was hoping that Juliet and the others were planning some kind of rescue, but figured that would be almost impossible.  They were in space, after all. 

Shawn looked up at the screen just as the aliens made contact with the other ship.  There was Sara and Peter Jones staring back, with two other people and…

“Gus!  Jules!” Shawn cried suddenly.

The two aforementioned people looked up, relief in their eyes upon seeing the three safe and alive.

“Shawn?  Are you three okay?” Henry asked.

“Silence, human!” the front alien on Shawn’s ship hissed. 

Henry looked like he was about to explode when Juliet walked over to him and began talking to him.

“J’ahara, what is the meaning of this?” B’harla exclaimed.

L’wana began to speak, but was silenced by J’ahara, “Esteemed One, I know that this was not part of the plan, but,”

“You following us is in direct violation of your mission on Earth.  You brought this human to our attention,” T’kana pointed to Shawn with a menacing finger, “and we took over.  Your mission is over.  Return to Earth for further instructions.  That is an order, Lieutenant,” he finished.

Palar took a deep breath and let it out slow, “We refuse the order, Esteemed One,” he said finally.

The front Elder growled, “You refuse an order?!  How dare you disobey an Elder!”

L’wana looked over at J’ahara, then at Suina and Palar, and then turned back to the screen, “We believe the order to be unfair and unjust, Esteemed One,” she said calmly.

“Explain,” T’kana replied.

“Not only have you taken the Chosen One, but you have taken two other humans that have no impact on our research.  That is a direct violation of our laws.  Our people are not to take any creature without an interest in said creature.  Detective Lassiter and Chief Vick are of no interest, yet you abducted them along with Shawn Spencer.  You have broken our laws, Esteemed One,” she said.

“We are the Elders!  The laws do not apply to us!” B’harla exclaimed.

“The laws apply to all on our planet, B’harla,” Palar said.

“How dare you use the name of an Elder?  You must be an Elder yourself to speak their names!” T’kana said.

The other Elder began speaking in what was apparently their language.  It was loud and it sounded extremely angry.  Shawn, Lassie and Karen covered their ears as he seemed to get louder with each word.

Juliet, Gus, Henry and Marlowe did the same on their ship, as his voice was booming through the speakers.

A moment later, he had finished, and the four aliens hung their heads.  They turned toward the group with fearful expressions.

“I’m afraid that your friends are to be punished for our insolence,” L’wana announced.

“Say that again?” Henry asked.

“They will be tortured and killed because of our disobedience.  We are sorry, but there is no saving them,” Palar said.

“There’s always a way,” Juliet said, determination showing on her face.  There was no way she would lose Shawn, Lassiter and the Chief.

“Can you lock on them and teleport them to this ship?” Gus asked.

“The Elders have their shields up.  There is no way to teleport through them.  They would have to drop their shields in order for us to even lock on, and there is no way they will now,” Suina said.

Marlowe walked over to the controls, and then looked back at the four aliens, “I’m betting you can make them drop their shields,” she said.

The rest of them looked at her with wonder.  Gus asked the question first, “You know how to work this thing?”

“I was watching Carlton the whole time the aliens were talking.  He kept mouthing the words ‘circular star’ over and over.  There’s one button here that looks like that.”

L’wana nodded, “That is our laser cannon.  However, firing upon the Elders would be suicide: for all of us.  They will retaliate without hesitation.”

Suddenly, Shawn’s voice boomed over the speakers, “Release them!  I’ll cooperate, but you have to let Lassie and the Chief go, first.  Send them over to the other ship, or I won’t let you do a thing to me.”

The picture on the screen told the story to the others.  Serious Shawn had made an appearance; and he meant every word he said.

“Human, you are in no position to give orders.  We are Elders.  Our wisdom goes far beyond what even your mind can comprehend.  Our race has been across the cosmos, to other worlds in galaxies that have not been seen by human eyes except through a telescope,” B’harla said with a snobbish air about her.

“I don’t care if you met Superman or E.T., you let my friends go or you get nothing from me!” Shawn demanded.

T’kana looked at the other Elders, then toward the screen, “Is what this human saying truthful?  Will he truly refuse further study if we do not follow his wishes?”

Palar nodded, “Yes, Esteemed One.  He will not follow procedure.  We watched him with interest during the police cases.  Shawn Spencer is one not to follow protocol.”

Henry had to choke back a laugh, ‘For the first time in his life, I’m glad he doesn’t follow the rules,’ he thought.

T’kana looked over at the other two humans, “Is what they say true?”

Lassiter jumped at the chance, “It is.  Spencer, here, is very disobedient.  He won’t listen to anything you say.  In truth, he’ll make your lives impossible.  You won’t get anything out of him no matter what you try.”

B’harla raised an eyebrow (or, what they all thought was one), “Very well.  T’kana, send the two humans to the other ship.  We will forgo punishment until a further date.  Palar, return them to Earth, then meet us out here.”

Palar looked slightly confused, but bowed and readied the ship for receiving Lassiter and Karen.  As he did, Juliet looked up at the screen and saw Shawn mouth something.  He kept repeating the same thing over and over again; blue button, red circle, blue button, red circle.

Juliet’s eyes surveyed the buttons on the control board in front of the aliens.  There, near the center, was the same button Shawn was referring to.  She looked back up, nodding slightly to Shawn, indicating she found it. 

Shawn covertly winked, then turned his attention back to the Elders.  They had placed Lassiter and Karen on two platforms, then began to push a sequence of buttons on the main control board.  Shawn watched carefully, memorizing the sequence so he could escape. 

“You will feel dizzy for a few seconds after you end up on their ship, but it shall pass,” B’harla said.

Gus felt uneasy.  Something wasn’t right about all this.  The Elders had given up too easily; way too easily.  He watched every move over the screen, keeping special attention to Shawn. 

Henry watched the aliens on the ship he was on.  Pushing aside his disbelief in this whole charade for the moment, he didn’t trust a single alien that was in the picture.  Whether they were on this ship or the other one, it didn’t matter.  Something was off about them.

Marlowe watched as Lassiter was loaded onto the platform.  She turned and saw where the platforms were on their ship; running over to grab her husband the minute he made an appearance. 

“Prepare for transport.  Lowering shields.  L’wana, prepare to receive the two humans,” B’harla ordered.

“Yes, Esteemed One,” L’wana replied, pushing a few buttons on the control board.  

A buzzing noise sounded throughout the ships, which made every human on board take notice.  Palar saw the looks and smiled, “It’s all right.  It’s just the teleportation warming up.”

Juliet knew something else was happening.  She tapped L’wana on the shoulder and motioned for her to follow.  When they were out of sight from the Elders, Juliet spoke.

“Linda, right?” she asked.

“Yes, that was my human name.  My real name is L’wana.  What troubles you, Juliet?”

“This whole thing.  It’s like something is off,” Juliet replied.

L’wana blinked, “Off?  All of our equipment is on.”

“No.  I mean, something’s not right.  The Elders gave up too easily.” Juliet answered.

Gus came over just then, having seen them leave.  He heard Juliet’s concern and jumped in.

“She’s right.  It’s too suspicious,” he said.

“Why do you feel that?” L’wana asked.

“Simply because they claimed, and you claimed, that Lassiter, Karen and Shawn would be paying for your insolence.  You stood up to the Elders, they got angry, then suddenly they decide to let them go in return for Shawn doing what they say?” Juliet said.

L’wana thought for a moment, looking around the corner at the screen.  She then looked over at the transporter pads and saw the flash of light.  Lassiter and Karen were there suddenly, looking dazed but all right.

“Your friends have returned,” she said, pointing to them.

Lassiter was already off the platform, being bear-hugged by Marlowe.  Karen was being helped off by Henry.

“Yes, and we’re glad.  But we want Shawn back, now.” Juliet said.  Gus nodded feverishly in agreement.

“I’m afraid that’s impossible,” Palar said, walking over to the three.

“Why?” Gus asked.

“Because the Elders are gone.  Your friend Shawn is with them, now.  I don’t know how long, but it will be a while until you see him again.” J’ahara said. 

Henry looked up at the now darkened screen and felt anger swell inside him.  Karen had been set down on a stool nearby, and Lassie was still in an embrace with Marlowe.  The elder Spencer shook his head.

“Follow them,” he ordered.

Suina, who’d been manning the controls, looked at him calmly, “I cannot.  They will surely kill your son if we do.”

“I’m doubting it.  They’re up to something and my son is on that ship.  Follow them!” Henry shouted, his voice raising with every word.

Palar came over and gently placed his hand on Henry’s shoulder, “Mr. Spencer, do not worry.  Your son will be fine.”

Henry shook off the alien’s hand and headed for the controls, “If you don’t follow them, I’m going to start pushing buttons.”

The four aliens looked at each other and nodded.  J’ahara took a deep breath and let it out slow, “Very well, Mr. Spencer.  I can assure you, though; if we are seen following the Elders, Shawn will be punished.”

“My boy is strong, but they won’t hurt him.  Because if they do, I’ll return the favor,” Henry said with fervor. 

Lassiter nodded in approval, “I’m with Henry.  I may not be a fan of his methods, but he’s a colleague in trouble.  Now, follow them.”

L’wana turned to Suina, “Follow the Elders, but keep your distance.  We don’t want them knowing we’re behind them.”

“Yes, L’wana.  Setting course for our home world.  Are you sure these humans can handle the trip?” she asked.

Palar looked at the faces of the six people, “Yes.  They can handle it.  I can see it in their eyes.”

Suina nodded, then began pushing a sequence of buttons on the control board.  With one last button, the ship flashed and vanished into space, taking six humans on a wild ride through the cosmos, ready to rescue Shawn.