Chapter 33: Something Wicca This Way Goes Part 2

Paige knelt next to Buffy as she healed her girlfriend's wounds. "Does it hurt?" she asked.

"Not any more than usual," Buffy said with a smile.

Piper glanced at her husband, Phoebe, Paige and even Buffy and an Elder named Sandra. "This is getting old."

"You were lucky to get out of there at all," Leo said from where he knelt next to Buffy and Paige.

Paige sighed. "Tell me about it."

"He threw something at Phoebe," Buffy said, "maybe a potion or something."

"Did it do anything?" Leo asked looking at Phoebe.

Phoebe shook her head. "I don't think so."

"The magic from your book is not available to him yet," Sandra said as she walked around them.

Buffy stood up as did Paige and Leo and turned with Piper and Phoebe to look at Sandra.

"Yet being the operative word," Piper said.

"Well, we wanted Zankou to focus on us," Paige asked. "Now, uh, how do we survive that?"

"You gotta get the Book back," Leo said.

"How?" Buffy wondered. "They tried."

"It won't let us take it," Phoebe added.

"Maybe he cast a protection spell on it?" Paige wondered.

"Or maybe the Book doesn't remember who we are," Piper said.

"Maybe it's because we don't remember who we are," Paige said with a sigh as she glanced at Buffy.

Well, you've got remember," Leo said. "Now, you gotta go back. You gotta try again, together."

"Leo's right," Sandra said in agreement. "You have to get the Book back if only to destroy the

Nexus."

"What?" Buffy said at the same time that Paige said, "Excuse me?"

"There's a spell in the book, one you've never used before, called, How to Banish a Suxen."

"A Suxen?" Phoebe asked out of confusion.

"Nexus spelled backwards," Leo told them.

"It was put in there a long time ago as a last resort, in case we lost control of The Nexus, to keep it from evil," Sandra said.

"But if we destroy the Nexus, good won't have access to it, either," Phoebe argued. "We won't have access to it."

"I don't think the elders think that we're gonna be around long enough to worry about that," Piper said.

"Not necessarily," Sandra said as she looked at pointedly at Buffy and Paige. Piper, Leo and Phoebe all turned to look at Buffy and Paige and got the implication that if the Elders had felt that they would lose that they would not have given Buffy and Paige to each other to fall in love. "We're simply taking precautions."

"Including—let me guess—sealing yourselves off from us in case we fail?" Piper asked.

Sandra didn't answer the question for she knew that Piper, Phoebe and Paige knew the answer. The Elders would still be in their lives or at the least in Paige and Buffy's even if the Charmed Ones lost the battle against Zankou. "Be well," she said as she orbed out.

"Eh! Excuse me?" Paige said. "That's what you're leaving us with? Now what?"

"Well, you can't just give up," Buffy said as she glared at her girlfriend, "that's what."

"Uhh, Buffy," Piper started.

"Look," Leo said as he draped an arm around his daughter's waist. "I agree with Buffy. You can't just give up. Your plan is working. You got Zankou off The Nexus. Now you just need to distract him long enough to get the book back."

"He's too powerful," Phoebe objected.

"The hell he is," Leo argued. "Look, you guys are The Charmed Ones. No one is more powerful than you guys are. How many times have you proven that over the years? You can't just give up. Look, you have a legacy to carry on, to pass on to the next generation, to our boys, to Buffy and Dawn, to your future kids ..."

"A bit wordy, isn't he?" Paige asked.

"Well, you know him with the exposition," Piper said.

"Doesn't mean he's not right," Phoebe said. "The question is, what's our next move? I mean, we can't just ask the leprechauns and the trolls for more help."

"But maybe we could ask some bats," Piper said as she glanced at Buffy, "with the help of the Slayer."

"Bats?" Buffy asked.

"The vampires you face as the Slayer are not the only kind of vampire out there," Leo said. "While they share similarities there are differences. The kinds you face as you know are a type of possessor demon. The ones that Piper, Phoebe and Paige have faced come from a Queen. These vampires infect a person with vampirism and with the first kill become a vampire. They do not need to die and vanquishing the Queen before that first kill will return the victim to normal."

"Who was infected?" Buffy wondered getting the notion that they knew this from first hand information.

Paige tentatively raised her hand.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy, Phoebe, Piper and Paige orbed into an underground cave.

"Okay, now what?" Phoebe asked as she noticed the sleeping bats.

"We draw out the Queen," Piper said.

"How?" Buffy wondered.

Piper started blasting the bats hanging from the ceiling, who screech and attacked them in return.

"Ok, uh ... get," Paige said as she ducked.

"Okay, ladies, a little bit of help here, please," Piper said.

Buffy and Paige waved their hands at the flying bats as they said simultaneously, "Bats!"

Four bats partially orb out as they're flying and smash into the other, exploding upon impact.

Phoebe threw a potion vial and hit a bat as it's flying, causing it to explode just as the Queen appeared.

"Who are you?" the Queen asked.

"Stop the attack before I kill you, too!" Buffy said.

"The Slayer!" the Queen said shocked to find the Slayer there. They had been lucky so far that they had never drawn the Slayer's attention like the other vampires had. "Cease!" All the bats obeyed and settle down on the ceiling of the cavern. "What do you want?"

"We're here," Buffy said, "to make a deal, your help in exchange for immunity from me."

"We have something in common," Piper added. "Neither one of us wants a certain demon to take over the underworld, right?"

"I'm listening," the Queen said.

"Well, if you help us stop him, you can keep the underworld in disarray like you guys like it, and we'll grant you immunity from us as well as from Buffy," Piper said. "We'll never come after your family again. And even better, you won't have to answer to Zankou. Interested?"

"Very," the Queen said.

"Okay, well, then follow us," Paige said as she, Buffy, Piper and Phoebe orbed out.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy, Paige, Piper and Phoebe orbed into the attic.

"What took you so long?" Zankou asked from where he sat at the table. He had been waiting for them.

"Where's the Queen?" Piper asked glancing at her sisters and Buffy.

"Oh, she betrayed you," Zankou said as he stood up. "I got to her first, she agreed to my terms with the promise I dealt with the Slayer as well. I knew you all were coming," he looked at Phoebe pointedly, "thanks to your premonition powers." Suddenly, he threw a potions vial at Piper's feet and a white cloud rose out of her and moved over to Zankou as he absorbed her powers. "And now I have yours."

Piper waved her hands and found she truly no longer had her powers anymore.

"Looking for this?" Zankou asked as he used Piper's own power against her and sent her flying backward to the other side of the attic.

"Unh!" Piper groaned as she crashed to the floor.

Buffy looked to Paige who nodded and orbed out with Phoebe. She ran to Piper and they orbed out as well.

Kahn who had been standing next to the table looked to Zankou. "Why didn't you kill them when you had the chance?" he asked.

"Because I don't have all their powers ... yet," Zankou said.

"I mean no disrespect but you also have made an enemy of the Slayer, who also is a witch and in love with the youngest of the Charmed Ones," Kahn reminded Zankou.

"I know," Zankou said with sigh. "I must tread carefully when it comes to her. But she will die, just as I promised the Queen."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy, Piper, Phoebe and Paige orbed into the Great Hall of Magic School to find Leo waiting for them. He could tell just by the looks on their faces and the wound on Piper that it didn't go as planned.

"Ow," Piper said as Buffy helped her over to the couch.

"It's okay, mom," Buffy said as Piper looked up at her. "Paige, she's needs healing."

Paige nodded as she knelt down and held her hands over Piper's wound and began healing her.

"Mom?" Piper asked, she noticed a smile on Leo's face and she smiled also. She may only have been fifteen years older than Buffy, but being called mom by her own step-daughter was very nice to hear none the less.

Buffy smiled and nodded. "It took a while for me to come to terms with that, but you are my mom, Piper. Just as my mom is my mom. I am just lucky to have the privelidge of having two moms."

Phoebe sighed. "Well, we're two powers down."

"Two powers?" Leo asked.

"He used a potion," Buffy said. "Looks like he stole Phoebe's powers and then just now mom's."

"Something tells me we're not getting out of this one, girls," Paige said. "And I'm going to be next."

"Unless he's got enough already to get in here," Phoebe said.

"Well, he has more access to the Book now, which means he might be able to figure out a way soon," Leo said.

"Well, we wanted him to come after us, right?" Paige asked. "Looks like we got our wish." She sighed. "Who are we kidding? We're screwed."

"Okay, well, if we're going down, we are not going down alone," Phoebe said.

"We can't think like that," Leo said.

"Leo, I mean, come on," Phoebe argued. "Let's be real. It's over. He's got our house, he's got our Book, he's got two of our powers. Shoot the Queen made a deal with him and he's now gunning for Buffy as well. The only real question is whether or not we could take him down with us."

"I can't believe we're even having this conversation," Buffy said with a sigh.

"Yeah," Piper said. "Well, believe it, sweetie. I'm sorry." She looked at her sisters. "So how do we do it?"

"We've got to get that spell from the Book, the one that destroys The Nexus," Phoebe said.

"And how is that gonna destroy Zankou?" Leo wondered.

"We let The Nexus take in Zankou first and then cast the spell - hit two birds with one stone," Phoebe said.

"Don't you mean five?" Piper asked. "We're gonna have to be in there to say the spell."

"Can't you just say it from here?" Buffy asked, concern flooded her voice. These were people she was talking about. She didn't want them to die.

"Not and get the timing right, no," Phoebe said with a sigh.

"Well, it's been nice knowing you ladies," Paige said.

Suddenly, there's a loud explosion from outside the ceiling and a grunt of pain. Everyone looked up and around.

"What was that?" Leo wondered.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Zankou yelled as he flamed into the attic of the Manor and crashed to the floor with a thud. "Ugh! So close."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Outside the home of Darryl Morris, Darryl, Sheila and their two sons exited out the front door.

"Hold hands. Hold hands," Sheila told her sons.

"Why are you running?" Darryl asked as they all laughed and smiled.

Suddenly behind them Leo and Buffy orbed in.

"Darryl!" Leo said.

"Oh. Leo," Darryl said as he spun to face father and daughter. "This must be Buffy?"

"Hi, I'm Buffy," Buffy said. "Sorry we orbed in unexpected. Dad needed to talk to you."

"Listen I am done talking," Darryl said.

"It's not just about the girls," Leo interrupted. "It's about Sheridan."

Darryl looked at his wife for a moment before looking back at Darryl . "What about Sheridan?"

"I know she's investigating the girls, but whatever you do, you've got keep her away from the house. Something big is gonna go down soon."

"Are they okay?" Darryl asked as he and Sheila both noticed the worried look on both father and daughter's faces.

"What is it?" Sheila asked.

"Look, I know you're stuck in the middle of this, and for that, I'm sorry, but we need you to keep them away from the house until this is over, for Sheridan's sake, for everybody's sake. I gotta go. Take care," Leo said as he walked off.

Darryl watched Leo walk away and then looked at Buffy.

"I'm going to abide by your decision," Buffy said, "and not say too much. But mom, you know Piper, Phoebe and Paige may not walk out of this alive. I am about to lose the family I love so dearly and only met a couple months ago." She then orbed out.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Across town Victor Bennett stepped inside his apartment carrying a package of groceries.

Suddenly, two women run out of the darkness, grab him and throw him over to the couch.

"Hey! What the - uhh!: he said as he found himself facing two leather clad women - one dark-haired, the other blonde. Neither one recognizeable. "What the hell's goin' on? Who are you?"

"Who are you?" one of the women asked as she kicked the couch for him to answer.

"She asked you a question," the other woman added.

"Victor," Victor said. "Victor Bennett."

"Do you think it's really him?" one of the women asked the other.

"If it was Zankou, he would have attacked us by now."

The dark-haired woman snapped her fingers and white orb lights swirl around the two and they change into Phoebe and Piper.

"What?" Victor asked confused.

"Sorry, dad," Phoebe said. "It was the only way we could be sure."

"And we didn't want Zankou to know we were coming," Piper said.

"Zankou?" Victor asked. "Who is Zankou?"

"Long story," Phoebe said as she turned on the lights. "It's safe!"

Paige orbed in carrying Chris and holding Wyatt's hand. "Hey."

"What the hell is going on?" Victor asked just as Buffy orbed in next to Paige, Wyatt and Chris.

Piper walked over to Wyatt. "Thank you, sweetie," she said as she took an envelope from her eldest son.

"Is the guest bedroom that way?" Paige asked motioning toward the hall.

"Uh, yeah," Victor said.

"Come on, baby," Paige said as she took Wyatt and Chris into the guest bedroom leaving Buffy, Piper and Phoebe with Victor.

"Hi," Buffy said. "I'm Buffy, I'm Leo's daughter and Piper's step-daughter."

"Uh, hi," Victor said.

"Look, dad, we're running out of time," Phoebe said as she sat down on the arm rest of the couch. "And there's no gentle way to break this to you, so I'm just gonna say it. We're in some serious trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Victor asked.

"The kind of trouble we can't get out of," Piper replied as she knelt down in front of her father. "

In here is the deed to P3 and the house already signed, our bank accounts, power of attorney, the schedule for the boys and our Wills."

"Hold on. What are you talking about? I'm not gonna take that," Victor said staring at the envelope.

"Dad, you have to," Phoebe said. "We need you to. You're all we have. Well you and Buffy."

"We can't explain everything right now," Piper said. "You just need to know this is our only way out. It's our only choice. Please, for them?"

"I don't understand," Victor said. "Are you saying I'm never gonna see you again?"

"No," Phoebe said as she hugged Victor. "Never say never. Not in this family."

"Now, dad," Piper said. "In my Will is an addendum. Upon Buffy's eighteenth birthday she gets guardianship of her brothers and ownership of the house and on her twenty-first she gets ownership of P3. She will have it harder than you. She just found out a couple months ago that Leo was her father and that she had two younger brothers. She needs this, okay? She needs to be reminded of what she's fighting for."

Victor looked to Buffy and nodded.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Paige sat in the guest bedroom with Wyatt and Chris as Phoebe, Buffy and Piper walked into the room.

"Hey," Piper said.

"Hey. How'd it go?" Paige wondered.

"You mean other than giving me guardianship of Wyatt and Chris and my getting the manor when I turn eighteen and P3 when I turn twenty-one?" Buffy asked with a sigh. "Peachy with a side of keen."

Paige sighed as she handed Chris to Phoebe and walked over to Buffy. She looked at her sisters. "You didn't tell her?"

"Not yet," Piper replied. "Didn't have a chance."

"We think we have a way to vanquish Zankou and keep us alive as well," Paige said as she looked at her girlfriend. "But it would mean appearing dead to the world to do so."

"So the Will, the deeds and Wyatt and Chris's guardianship?" Buffy asked.

"Are all in my Will for real, honey," Piper said. "If this doesn't work out, what I said to dad out there is true. You need something to fight for in light of losing all of us. If it does work out, dad is not going to be around forever and as he gets older from a legal standpoint you would have to watch over your brothers. Even though in reality your dad and I will watch out for your brothers."

"I assume to make your lives simpler," Buffy said. "That you have a plan for faking dad's death as well?"

"We do," Phoebe said. "We have to go, you guys."

"Okay," Piper said as she took Buffy's hand and Paige took Phoebe's and the all orbed out.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Okay, we only have one shot at this. We can't miss," Phoebe said after they had orbed back to Magic School.

"First we've gotta get to the Book, and convince it we still believe in ourselves," Piper replied.

"Well, we do, don't we?" Paige asked.

"Absolutely," Phoebe said.

"Just feels kind of strange, you know, doing it this way," Piper said as she glanced toward Buffy who sat on the other side of the room. She didn't blame her step-daughter for wanting some time to herself.

"Well, I kinda wish we'd learned how to do it earlier," Paige said. "Would've come in handy."

"Well, Prue was really protective of it," Piper said. "I'm just glad she showed Leo how to do it."

Just at that moment Zankou flamed. So this is Magic School. How quaint," he said as he looked around.

"What took you so long?" Piper asked.

Zankou smiled. "Patience is a virtue. I can't even begin to tell you how long I've been looking forward to this moment, a moment no demon has ever enjoyed ... until now." He held out his hand, palm up and an energy ball formed.

"Book!" Paige said as Phoebe and Piper began to run. A book orbed off the table and orben in hitting Zankou causing him to drop the energy ball.

As the energy ball hit the wall near the door he noticed everyone was gone. "Must we go through this?" He turned and chased after the girls.

Buffy, Piper, Phoebe and Paige ran into the Great Hall where they scatter. Zankou was not far behind. He threw an energy ball at Buffy and it exploded against the desk she ran behind. He threw another energy ball at Phoebe who hid behind a line of chairs. It hit the center of a chair, missing her as she moved.

Paige ran past the pillar just as Zankou threw an energy ball at her. She ducked and hit a couch.

"Paige!" Piper said as she ducked behind another row of chairs. "Get out of here."

"No," Paige said. "Not without you two and Buffy."

"Inseparable to the end. But first things first," Zankou said as he threw a potion at Paige as the vial broke nothing happened.

Paige smiled and then disappeared.

Zankou looked down at his hand wondering why the potion had failed to work. "What's happening?" He turned around and looked at Piper who vanished. He looked to Phoebe who vanished as well. "What?" He looked to Buffy.

Buffy smiled. "You see," she said, "Phoebe was not the only one with a premonition power. Once they told me their plan all I had to do was get a premonition and find out the best way to do it." She too then vanished.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

The girls gasped as their astral forms returned to their bodies. "Ah, astral projecting worked," Paige said.

"Thank you, Prue," Piper said.

"The Book," Phoebe said as they rushed upstairs to the attic.

"I'll keep watch for the demons and Zankou. Hurry and do what you need to," Buffy said.

"Okay," Phoebe said. "This may be the last time we have to say this." She and her sister gathered around the book holding hands as they chanted together. "The power of three will set us free. The power of three will set us free. The power of three will set us free."

They let go of each other and touch the Book. Nothing happened.

Piper opened the book and looked through it just as Buffy's Slayer hearing picked up something from outside.

"Mom?" Buffy said as she glanced at Piper. "I think your time is running out. Sounds like police sirens."

Piper closed the Book and picked it up as she, Phoebe and Paige walked over to the attic window. As they looked outside they saw police cars pull up outside the Manor.

"What the hell happened?" Paige wondered.

"I don't know," Phoebe said. "But if they come in here before we get Zankou, it's gonna be a blood bath."

"Come on, we gotta find that spell," Piper said just as Zankou flamed in between them and Buffy.

"I underestimated you four," he said. "It won't happen again." He threw an energy ball at the sisters as Paige orbed them out. He turned and looked at Buffy who orbed out as well.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Outside the fireball broke through the roof as officers and other police personnel gasped.

"What the hell was that?" someone asked.

"It's probably the same thing that got Sheridan," said Agent Keyes, an agent with Homeland Security. He didn't notice as Buffy orbed in behind a bush. "All right, everybody, listen up. On my command, we storm the place. Everybody in

position."

"I wouldn't go in just yet if I were you," Darryl said as he walked up next to Keyes.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Piper, Phoebe and Paige held hands in front of a hole in the basement floor as Zankou flamed in. "Natum adai necral ..." they chanted.

Zankou waved his hands and pushed Piper, Phoebe and Paige away from the hole. They crash into the wall on the other side of the basement. He stepped down from the stairs and closer to the hole. "Too late. You can't take The Nexus. It has been in me. It knows me now. I should've done this before." He turned his back to them and started chanting. "Natum adai necral. Daya intay layok."

The Shadow rose out of the hole and approached Zankou and then entered him through his eyes. When he turned to face them they saw his eyes were solid black. "You can't stop me now."

"No? Watch us," Paige said as she took a spell out of her pocket and she and her sisters read from it. "From ancient time, this power came, for all to have, but none to reign."

"No!" Zankou shouted as he felt something building up within him.

"Take it now, show no mercy. For this power can no longer be."

Zankou turned red, unable to control what was happened as the Shadow was destroyed from within him. He screamed and then he exploded as he was vanquished.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Outside everyone watched as the basement exploded and white smoke billowed and dissipated around the house.

"Holy ... God ..." Keyes said.

"Aren't you glad I told you to wait?" Darryl asked.

From where Buffy stood she watched as Keyes ordered his men to go in and then he and Darryl entered the house as well. She watched as a crowd gathered outside and then she spotted her dad approaching the crowd. She ran over to him and pulled him back to the bush. "Stay here," she said. "Piper, Phoebe and Paige will be along in a minute. It's part of their plan."

She moved away from her father and toward the crowd. "Let me through," she said. "I gotta get through. Let me through."

"Hey!" an officer said as he stopped Buffy from going further. "Where do you think you're going?"

"My step-mom and dad were in that house," Buffy said.

"You got any I.D.?" the officer asked.

"No," Buffy said. "I'm only sixteen my mom won't even let me take the driving test. And second the name that would be on the I.D. would not show my birth father's name. It would show my adoptive father's name. So it wouldn't help you …"

Just then Darryl walked out the front door with Keyes. "Buffy," he said spotting her. "It's alright officer, let her pass."

The officer let Buffy pass and she ran up to Darryl, "Mom and Dad?" she asked.

"Who is this?" Keyes asked.

"Leo Wyatt's daughter," Darryl said to Keyes, "and Piper Halliwell's step-daughter, Buffy." He looked to Buffy. "Was Leo with Piper?"

Buffy nodded. "Yes," she said. "Where are they?"

"I am sorry to inform you," Keyes said, "that it appears that both your step-mom as well as your father died in an explosion in the basement."