Chapter 32: Something Wicca This Way Goes Part 1
"Okay, how do we know Zankou's not here waiting for us?" Phoebe asked as she, Buffy, Paige and Piper orbed into Magic School.
"Because Magic School's protected from him, that's how," Buffy answered. "That's one of the first things dad taught Dawn and I when we started coming here after school."
Piper turned and headed out the door. "Leo?!" she shouted as Buffy, Phoebe and Paige followed her.
They rushed through the hallway heading for the Great Hall as they looked for Leo.
"Still, now that Zankou's got the Book of Shadows," Phoebe said.
"He can't use all of its powers, not without ours," Piper said.
"Dad!" Buffy shouted.
"No, but he could use it to get our powers," Piper said. "I mean, it's been done before, right?"
"Look, as long as we're here, we're safe," Paige said as Leo came out a nearby door.
"What's wrong?" Leo asked looking at his daughter and Piper.
"How are the boys?" Piper asked.
"They're fine," Leo said. "They're sleeping. Why?"
"Uh, Zankou's got the Book of Shadows," Phoebe told him.
"What?" Leo asked shocked that it was even possible. "How?"
"Well, as soon as we figure that out, we'll let you know," Paige replied.
"Though I do have a theory, dad," Buffy said. "He attacked us, well Piper, Phoebe and Paige where it would hurt the most. Namely at the innocents they've lost."
"In another words he broke us down," Phoebe added.
"Right," Buffy said. "And you told me and Dawn that Paige, Phoebe and Piper's powers are tied to the book as well as their emotions. So by making them vulnerable …"
Leo nodded seeing where his daughter was going. He was proud of what she had been able to deduce from what evidence was at hand. "He made the Book vulnerable, too," he finished for her.
"I guess he knew us a little better than we thought," Piper said with a sigh.
"The question is, what is he really after?" Phoebe asked.
Leo looked at Buffy and motioned for her to continue.
"Power," she suggested.
"Buffy's right," Paige said in agreement.
"The Nexus," Piper said with a sigh.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
In the basement of the Halliwell Manor demons worked digging out a hole in the floor.
"There we go," one of them said.
Zankou rushed down the stairs and headed over to the demon in charge, Kahn. "How close are we?"
"We'd be a lot closer if we could use our powers to open it," Kahn replied.
Zankou shook his head vehemently. They couldn't do that or they might not make it out of the basement alive. "The nexus will view that as a threat, destroy us all. Remember it's neither good nor evil. It's just sheer unadulterated power, the kind The Charmed Ones have been harboring for far too long. Now it's my turn to play."
"What'll be your first move—once you possess it, I mean?"
"Oh, I don't know, uh ... I'll have full access to the Book of Shadows, of course, which means ... I'll have ultimate power," Zankoue said as he laughed at the mere thought of it. "I hope I don't get bored."
"The Nexus, milord," a demon said.
Zankou turned and found the demons stood over a hole in the ground. "Step back," he said as they stepped back. He moved in front of the hole and closed his eyes. "Natum adai necral ..." Smoke started to rise out of the hole in front of him. "… daya intay layok!"
In the midst of the smoke the Shadow rose out of the hole. It gave a roar and hovered in front of Zankou as if it were sizing him up. Zankou opened his eyes and looked back at it. Suddenly, the Shadow slammed into Zankou, seeping into him through his eyes pushing back as it filled him.
Zankou turned to face the demons and they each saw his eyes had turned solid black. "It is done," he said in a voice that was much deeper than usual.
"What are your orders?" Kahn asked as the demons bowed before Zankou.
Suddenly, Zankou gasped in pain. He staggered forward, raising his hands to his face as he screamed. The Shadow is violently expelled from him and back into the ground.
"What happened?" Kahn asked.
"The sisters," Zankou said, his voice back to normal along with his eyes, "they cast it out of me with a spell."
"From the Magic School? Impossible."
"Nothing's impossible there!" Zankou said as he pushed the demons out of the way and headed for the stairs.
"Where are you going?" Kahn asked.
"To the Book of Shadows ... to find a way to stop them!" Zankou said as he looked back at Kahn. He headed up the stairs leaving the demons and Kahn alone in the basement.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
In the Great Hall of Magic School Buffy slowly stood up from her hiding place behind a sofa and next to Paige. "Did it work?" she asked.
"I think it did," Paige replied as she too stood up.
Piper slowly stood up from her hiding place behind a set of large chairs lined up against one side of the wall. While Phoebe stood up from her hiding place behind another set of large chairs lined up against the opposite wall.
"How do you know?" Phoebe asked.
Paige linked hands with Buffy as they stepped around the sofa. "Well, because if he'd already tapped into The Nexus, he would have broken in by now. Good thing you remembered that spell."
"Well, we can't just keep casting it because he's gonna figure out a way around it sooner or later," Piper said as they all headed for the table in the middle of the hall.
"Well, we have to get the book back before he does," Phoebe said.
"How?" Buffy wondered.
"I'd like to know that also, any ideas?" Piper asked.
Phoebe sighed. "Oh, I was hoping you'd have some."
"Me?" Piper asked. "Why me?"
"Well, because you're the only one who still has any confidence around here," Phoebe replied.
"Well that's not entirely true," Buffy said with a smile. "I have confidence in you guys."
"Actually," Piper replied. "You might be the only one, Buffy, because I'm just 'cause a good actor."
"Well, I hope you can fool the Book because unless we get our confidence back—and fast—it may not let us get it back. And if Zankou gets The Nexus first, there won't even be a point of trying," Paige said.
"Well, we can't let that happen. I mean, if he succeeds, then everything we've done in the last seven years means nothing, and I'm not willing to live with that," Phoebe said.
"Well, you might not have to," Piper said.
"What if I got it?" Buffy asked.
"It might not let you, Buffy," Paige said with a sigh. "It surely knows you and I are tied together."
"Then we go down fighting," Phoebe said.
"Which brings us back to how do we stop him?" Paige said.
"Okay, let's think about this for a second," Phoebe said as she moved to one of the chairs and sat down. "We know Zankou as well as he knows us, right?"
"Yeah," Piper said. "So?"
"So, what is the one thing that Zankou wants more than the Nexus?" Phoebe asked.
Paige scoffed. "Our heads on a platter?"
Buffy shook her head as she let out a sigh. "You do know that is not an image I want in my head, right?"
"Sorry," Paige said as she gave Buffy a quick peck on the cheek.
"Despite Paige's choice of words, she's right," Phoebe said. "He hates us. He wants to kill us. So why don't we give him a reason, you know, piss him off enough so that the focus is off The Nexus and onto us?"
"It could buy us time to get the Book back," Paige agreed. "It just might work."
"Yeah, unless he kills us first," Piper said.
"Again don't mention that either," Buffy said as she glared at her step-mother.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Kahn walked into the attic of the Halliwell Manor and found Zankou looking through the Book of Shadows. "What are you looking for?"
"A reversal spell to stop them from keeping me from The Nexus," Zankou replied.
"But even if you find one, it might not work," Kahn said. "You said yourself that without full access to the Book that it –"
Zankou glared at Kahn. "I know what I said. There's a potion."
"Why not just keep trying to take in The Nexus ... outlast them—after all, they can't keep pulling it out of you - timing it just right? Sooner or later, you'll have the power long enough to break through the protection of the magic school, then you can kill them."
"You don't know them like I do," Zankou replied. "You can't take them head-on. It doesn't work. That's how demons die ... but not this demon, not this time."
"This is no time for personal vendettas," Kahn told him. "I think your focus should be The Nexus, not the witches."
"Are you challenging me, Kahn?" Zankou said with fire in his eyes.
"You brought me on as your counsel. I'm merely acting as such. If you are displeased with me, then –"
Zankou shook his head. "No. No, you have served me well and will continue to do so. And to that end, go to the kitchen and bring me up some mandrake, henbane, and some hemlock root. I'm making a potion."
"To do what?" Kahn asked.
"To steal their powers," Zankou replied. "There are other ways of gaining full access to the Book of Shadows."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Phoebe sat at a desk in Paige's study writing various things down as she looked through the various text books.
Piper sat at another desk, with more opened books in front of her. "Wasn't there a confidence spell in the Book of Shadows?"
Phoebe nodded. "Yeah. Remember we cast it on that waiter at Quake?"
"Wow, Quake," Piper said. "That was a long time ago. Maybe we should cast it on
ourselves. We could use a little confidence."
"Yeah, but that won't piss off Zankou," Phoebe said with a sigh.
"No, but it might help us get the Book back," Piper said.
"What if we ... switched bodies with him instead?"
"Can't," Piper reminded her. "He'd be in Magic School."
"Ooh, right. How about a love spell? We could make him fall for one of us," Phoebe suggested.
Piper chuckled. "Sorry. Both Paige and I are taken."
Phoebe sighed. "Yeah, well, I'm not."
"Yeah, but you're not that desperate ... are you?"
Phoebe shrugged. "Well, those demons do have a way of keeping you warm at night."
"Yeah, but that's only because they have fireballs," Piper replied as Phoebe chuckled. She looked down at the open book before her. "Hear secret thoughts ... stretch the imagination." She looked at Phoebe. "What if we turn you into a banshee again and turn you loose on him?"
"Ooh, too much screeching," Phoebe answered. "It's hard on my voice. Hey, I have an idea. What if we humiliated him and turned him into an animal, like we did that one time to everyone at P3, remember?"
"That was a backfire for a spell, remember?" Piper reminded Phoebe.
"Oh, right," Phoebe said. "Still beggars can't be choosers."
"Phoebe, Piper!" Buffy yelled from the Great Hall. "Come here. Paige and I think we got something."
They quickly walked out of the study and down the hall into the Great Hall and find Paige and Buffy with various magic beings.
"What are they all doing here?" Piper asked.
Paige smiled. "Reinforcements."
Phoebe smiled as she turned to look at Piper.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
In the attic of the Halliwell Manor a cauldron exploded as Zankou added an ingredient to the pot. "Impressive," he said. "Hand me one of those vials, if you would."
"How do you know it will work?" Kahn asked as he reached for a vial and handed it to Zankou.
"I don't, but I assume if it's in their venerable book, it should," Zankou replied.
"But they're hiding in the magic school. How are you gonna get close enough to use it on them?"
Zankou smiled. "They're not gonna stay hidden for long. That's not their style," he said as they heard the sounds of the demons attacking someone or something downstairs. "As I was saying." He dashed out of the attic followed by Kahn. They ran down the stairs into the main hall. "What the hell?"
There they found that the main hall and sitting room were filled with magical beings wreaking havoc on the demons. Trolls ran around the rooms causing the demons to run into each other. Valkyries fought demons as do fairies and leprechauns.
Zankou powered up and energy ball and threw it at the giant.
Kahn threw an energy ball at the Valkyrie.
Zankou threw another energy ball at a gnome.
A fairy flew into Zankou, weaving around his head, who batted the fairy away with his hand.
With Zankou distracted a troll took the opportunity and ran quickly up the stairs. He ran
circles around Zankou's feet causing him to trip down the short flight of stairs.
Kahn looked down at the troll and threw an energy ball at him, vanquishing him.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
In the Great Hall of Magic School a rainbow appeared in front of the girls as they waited for word.
"Now!" A leprechaun said as he appeared.
"Something wicked in our midst, in our home where he exists," Piper, Phoebe and Paige chanted as Buffy watched.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
At the Manor Kahn walked down the stairs to check on Zankou. "Are you all right?"
His response was a wave of orb lights that passed over Zankou changing him into a pig with only his head intact. The magical beings stopped fighting the demons and began laughing at Zankou.
"Well, don't just stand there!" Zankou said, humiliated. "Kill them all!"
The magical beings floated, flew and ran across the sitting room as Zankou realized what was really going on.
"The Book! They're after the Book!" Zankou shouted. "Stop them!"
Kahn immediately shimmered out.
Zankou closed his eyes as he thought of a spell to restore himself. "Reverse the spell from whence I fell."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
In the attic Kahn shimmered in to find Piper, Phoebe and Paige there. Piper raised her hands and blasted Kahn, sending him backward out the attic door and down the stairs.
Hurry," Piper said to Phoebe. "Get to the book. Go, go, go!"
Phoebe ran to grab the book but found a shield impeding her. She fell down backward onto the floor with a thud.
"What happened?" Piper wondered as she helped Phoebe up.
"It wouldn't let me take it," Phoebe said. "We should have cast a confidence spell."
Behind them Zankou flamed into the attic. "You're trespassing."
They turn around and see him standing in front of the attic window just as Buffy orbed in behind him.
"So are you," Buffy said hoping to distract Zankou. Instead Zankou threw an energy ball at her throwing her across the attic, hitting a table with a thud.
Piper, Paige and Phoebe ran around Zankou to Buffy and knelt down to help her up.
Zankous smirked as he saw his opportunity and threw the vial containing the potion he brewed on the floor near Phoebe. It burst and a cloud of white smoke rose up out of her, unknown to all of them just as Paige orbed them all to Magic School.
Kahn re-entered the attic a second later dismayed that that he'd missed the sisters. "I failed you. Forgive me."
"Actually, it was a complete success," Zankou said. "After all, we still have the Book, and, as an added bonus, I now have one of their powers." A grin graced his face.
