A/N - This is my first FanFic, so 'constructive critcism' only, please. This takes place during and episode of Charmed when Prue and Phoebe aresummoning Jackson Ward. Season 1. I have no idea where it takes place during Buffy.

Disclaimer:These charactersnot mine. Except for Cole who is mine forever. Don't sue me. I am not in the mood for a lawsuit and do you really think that if I owned either of these shows I would be sitting here writing fanfiction instead of kicking Brad Kern's ass? Didn't think so. On to the story.

WHERE'S BUFFY WHEN YOU NEED HER?

"I hate cemeteries at night," Prue Halliwell, oldest of the Charmed Ones, said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I hate cemeteries at day," Phoebe, her youngest sister, another of the Charmed Ones, replied. Suddenly, a high-pitched squeak that vaguely resembled bats and nails on a blackboard sounded across the gigantic stone mausoleum. Phoebe jumped and spun around.

"What was that!" she asked in a small voice that implied that she was a little nervous to hear the answer.

"Oh, probably a zombie or a vampire," Prue's cocky but frightened voice scared Phoebe even more. She tried to lighten up the situation by joking, "Great, where's Buffy when you need her?"

The zombie let out a high-pitched scream that made Buffy cringe. He flew backwards and was impaled by an iron bar jutting from a marble pillar. Buffy sat, breathing hard, thinking about how she could have been asleep in her bed back at home. But no, not her. She had had to take a plane and two busses all the way to San Francisco to deliver a note to this "powerful demon-friend" of Anya's. Who, by the way, still hadn't shown. And why the hell was it so important that he had to meet her in a cemetery? She had been considering leaving when she spotted the vampire and his little zombie friend tailing two women. She had better go make sure they were okay. As she dragged herself up, she heard one say –

"Perfect, there it is. Jackson Ward. Do you have the picture?"

Phoebe pulled a photograph out of her jacket pocket and handed it to Prue. Prue glanced at it, and then gave Phoebe an 'are you joking?' stare.

"Hey Jackson, let's party?" she asked.

"Okay, well, I couldn't think of anything else to write," Phoebe defended. "Could we just do this and hurry?" She emphasized the final statement with a wave of her hand.

"Okay," Prue answered, peeved.

Buffy squinted, and was baffled by what she saw. The liquid that the taller woman poured over the nameplate was turning black and bubbling. As she stared, she missed the man coming in the door behind her. The door made a loud clang as it shut. She spun around, and he said:

"Call me crazy, but you don't look like much of a vengeance demon. Where's Anyanka?"

"Anyanka? Oh, Anya. She couldn't make it, so I got stuck on a plane and two busses so I could deliver this oh-so-special message."

A corner of his mouth twitched. Was he laughing at her?

"You expect me to believe that Anyanka, or 'Anya' as you seem to call her, sent a mere, powerless young mortal girl to talk to me." He laughed out loud at this, and then tried to regain his composure.

Buffy was more than a little miffed. Who did this guy think he was, anyway? "Mere, powerless young mortal girl'? She was so angry she almost missed his hand flick behind his back. Anya had warned her abut this.

"If he twitches his had or puts it behind his back, he is probably summoning an energy ball. At this point, you might want to do something to defend yourself."

Anya had failed to tell her how to defend herself, so she did the most effective thing she knew. She whipped out a stake and jabbed him in the chest.

He glanced at it, surprised. Buffy rocked back on her heels, a stake in each hand, ready to strike again.

"So, you must be the new slayer." He emphasized new. With a sickening squelch, he pulled the stake free, and then continued.

"Nice try, but since I am a demon, a completely different species than vampires, stakes wouldn't work as wall as you might think. You see, once you get as high up on the demonic food chain as I am, you tend to be immune to things like stakes. And it helps to be a – "

What it helped to be, she would never know, because at that moment he was cut off by someone's scream of agony. Both looked up, surprised by the man who had materialized where, just an hour ago, the two women had been. He screamed again, clutching at his chest. That was when Buffy noticed he was transparent. She started forward to help, but the demon guy stopped her.

"Don't," was all he said, but she could tell from his tone of voice that he was entirely serious.

The man next to the plaque picked up the photograph the women had left.

"You'll pay," he hissed through his teeth, smiling like a maniac as he limped outside.

"What the hell was that?" Buffy asked, "Because it sure as hell wasn't a vampire, zombie, or demon.

"Evil spirit," replied the man in an annoyed tone.

"And why does he want to make those women pay? What could, as you so eloquently put it, 'mere mortals' do to him?"

"Mere mortals!" he snorted, "Those were two of the Charmed Ones. I should go make sure he doesn't kill them." replied the man.

"So, you're good, then?" Buffy made a mental note to ask Willow who the Charmed Ones were.

"Good! Ha! That's a nice one. No, they are my newest job. In fact, now that I think about it, I should probably just let Ward take care of them, and then take the credit. Toss a few energy balls; make it look like a demonic battle.

"So, anyway, what was so important that Anyanka couldn't just skip on down here and tell me herself?"

Boy isn't he just the picture of a perfect gentleman, Buffy thought, but she said, "She said to tell you 'from the weaker half comes happiness, and redemption. Tell Raynor that she is done, and the Oracle foresaw 4 important witches in your future, and that if you try to change who you are instead of who one of tem is, it will work out a lot better, as in you not being dead.

"So now that I have given you that wonderfully confusing prophecy-message thingy do you think I might be so privileged as to hear what it means?"

The man was silent for a long while. Then he spoke, "It means Anyanka is quitting, Raynor, the boss, will not be happy, she thinks the Oracle can be trusted, and…"

"And…?"

"And I haven't quite figured the rest out yet."

Buffy was still really confused, but it seemed she would get no more answers from the guy. She decided to try a different tactic.

"Do you want me to take back an answer?"

"Hmm, what? Oh, sure."

She waited, but he didn't say any more. "Well?"

He seemed startled. "Oh, sorry. Yeah, um, tell her that I will try the whole human thing, right after I finish this assignment. Out with a bang, you know?"

"And…" she still wasn't satisfied.

"And what?"

"And are you planning on giving a name?"

"No, I'm not."

"Oh. Whatever. See ya," she was annoyed.

She made it all the way to the door and pulled it open, when a voice called out one word:

"Cole."

"Coal? What does that have to do with anything?" she turned back around to face him.

"My name. Cole. Cole Turner."

And with that, his body blurred, and he was gone.

"Okay, then. Going home now," she said to the air. A laugh floated back, and she shivered and walked away.