Chapter 24: Witch Trials

Buffy and Phoebe walks walks in through the front door. All the lights are turned off. "Hello? Anybody home? Sister witches, guess what?" Phoebe says.

Buffy and Phoebe walks in the living room and turns on the light. Piper is there making out with a guy on the couch. She jumps up. "Oh, oh. Are you nuts?"

Buffy looks at the Guy, "What are you doing?"

"Hi." The guy says.

"Hi." Buffy and Phoebe say.

Piper freezes the guy and walks over to Phoebe and Buffy. "Ooh."

Phoebe smiles, "Hi."

Piper frowns, "Sister witches? I can't believe you said that. What's the matter with you?"

Phoebe shrugs, "How was I supposed to know that you were gonna be here with anybody? Last I heard that you were meeting a banker friend about the loan." She looks at the guy and then back at Piper. "Is this the credit check?"

Buffy rolls her eyes.

Piper shakes her head, "It's not what you think. We were just... we-we... were just kissing, that's all."

Buffy shakes her head, "Piper, you don't have to justify it."

Phoebe nods, "You're single. You're responsible. You're way overdue in the sex department. I say go for it."

Piper shakes her head, "I'm not way overdue. All right, maybe a little, but that's besides the point. I would never just sleep with a guy to get something. You know that."

Buffy sighs, "Piper, give yourself a break."

"You're going through a lot right now. No job, straining to buy the club, you haven't heard from Leo in weeks." Phoebe says.

Prue walks in through the front door. She's on her phone. "All right, well, the preview is at five and the auction Sunday at eleven."

Piper frowns, " Oh no, Prue. Go back outside. Go on. Hurry!"

Prue looks at them for a second, then goes back outside. Piper stands back next to the guy and he unfreezes.

"So, you must be Prue and Phoebe." The guy says as he stands up.

"Uh, no. Actually..." Buffy says and points back at the door.

Prue comes back inside, still on the phone. "All right, great, yeah, I'll see you then." She hangs up.

Buffy smiles, "She's Prue. I'm Payson." Buffy points to Phoebe. "And this is Phoebe."

Piper nods, "Rob, can we take a rain check on the rest of the evening? It's getting kind of crowded in here."

Rob nods, "Okay, sure." He grabs his coat and heads for the door.

"Yeah. Okay, um, so I'll meet you tomorrow at the club at noon. Great. Thanks for dinner." Piper says.

"Okay, all right." Rob says as he and Piper kiss. "Bye."

Piper smiles, "Bye."

Rob leaves. Piper closes the door and turns to her sisters and Buffy, who are grinning.

"So, did you get the loan?" Prue asks.

Piper smiles, "Hopefully. I'll find out tomorrow."

"Well, my fingers are crossed." Prue says as she, Buffy and Piper start to leave the room.

"Wait, you guys. Where are you going?" Phoebe asks.

Prue smiles, "Well, I have an auction coming up. I have clients to call."

Buffy nods, "It's late Pheebs. I've already stayed up half the night slaying. I'd like to spend the rest of it in bed."

"Wait, you guys. Don't you even know what tomorrow is? It's our one year anniversary of becoming witches. Hello?" Phoebe says.

"Tomorrow is? Really?" Piper asks.

Prue nods, "So..."

"Yeah, so?" Buffy says.

Phoebe sighs, "So? So? It's a day to celebrate. And not just because it's our anniversary of becoming witches. Or the fact that it also marks the anniversary of Buffy coming to live with us. But because it falls on one of the most powerful wiccan days of the year. The autumnal equinox. Now, according to this witch that I met today at the bookstore..."

Piper frowns, "Hold it. A witch?"

Prue sighs, "You didn't tell her about us, did you?"

Buffy nods, "Yeah Pheebs."

Phoebe rolls her eyes, "Well, yeah, sure I did. Why not? I mean, I didn't tell her that we're magical witches, obviously. Look, I'm sorry but I think after everything we've been through it's important to learn as much as we can about who we are. Forewarned is forearmed."

Prue nods, "And I think that we should leave well enough alone. I mean, we've been demon-free for over a month now, I'd like to keep it that away."

"Amen to that." Piper says.

Buffy, Prue and Piper walk out of the room.

The next morning in the attic. Both Book Of Shadows opens up by themselves and the pages start to flip. Phoebe races in. "Prue! Piper! Buffy!"

Prue, Buffy and Piper rush upstairs into the attic.

"What's going on?" Prue asks.

"Uh, I don't know." Phoebe says.

Piper frowns, "Why does the books do that? How do the books do that?"

The sisters go over to the Charmed Book and Buffy goes over to her Book. They look at the page they are open up to.

"Rite of passage. Fight it with the Power of one or else..." Phoebe and Buffy say reading from both books.

A vortex opens in the wall and a gust of wind blows through the attic. A demon is sitting in the vortex. Prue hesitates to use her power and the demon steals both Books.

Buffy powers up a fireball and throws it just as the vortex closes. The fireball hits the wall.

"What the hell was that?" Piper asks.

Phoebe frowns, "The Book Of Shadows. Where's the Book of Shadows?" She then looks at Buffy's. "Buffy where is your Book?"

Buffy shakes her head, "The demon got it."

"So much for being demon-free." Piper says.

Buffy, Prue and Piper pick up pieces of paper that blew across the room when the vortex opened. Phoebe is knocking on the wall where the vortex opened.

"Did you find anything?" Piper asks.

Phoebe shakes her head, "Nothing. But whatever it was literally came out of nowhere and disappeared into nowhere."

Buffy sighs, "Well, it took both yours and my Book of Shadows somewhere."

"And he's powerful too. No other demon's been able to steal the book." Piper says.

Prue nods, "But if he's so powerful, why didn't he kill us?"

"He probably didn't want to go up against you or Buffy." Phoebe says.

"Me or Buffy? What do you mean?" Prue asks.

Phoebe sighs, "That's what the Book of Shadows says. "Fight it with the Power of One." That's gotta mean your or Buffy's powers. Their the strongest."

"Says who?" Prue asks.

Phoebe sighs, "Says every demon or warlock we've ever gone up against."

Buffy nods, "She's right Prue. I can tackle vampires from ten feet away simply because my power is fire based. You have the other active power that's that strong.

Piper nods, "Their right, Prue. The power of one's gotta mean you or Buffy, otherwise it would've said the Power of Three. The only question is how are we gonna find this demon. We don't know anything about him."

"Well, we better think of something fast because without the Book of Shadows, we're not the Charmed Ones anymore. And Buffy's nolonger the Charmed Slayer just the Slayer." Phoebe says.

The doorbell rings.

Buffy nods, "I'll get it." She heads downstairs, "Coming." She walks into the foyer and opens the door. A 13-year old girl, Jenny, stands there. "Uh, hi..."

(A/N The age for Jenny in the script said she was 16. Karis Paige Bryant who played Jenny was actually about 13 or 14 during season 2 of Charmed. So I changed the age from what was listed in the script to meet what the actress actually was at the time.)

"Can I use your phone, please?" Jenny asks.

"Uh, well, actually, we're..." Buffy says.

Jenny smiles, "Please? It's an emergency. Please?"

Buffy sighs and nods, "Okay. Come on in. It's right around that corner."

Jenny walks in and picks up the phone. Prue, Phoebe and Piper walk in the foyer.

"Are you out of your mind?" Piper asks.

Buffy sighs, "What was I supposed to do? Say no?"

Phoebe nods, "Look at that poor girl."

They look at her.

"Jenny? Jenny, come on. Talk to me." Someone calls from outside. A cute guy in his late 20's let's himself inside.

"Whoa!" Prue, Piper and Phoebe say.

Buffy rolls her eyes.

"International Operator please. Saudi Arabia." Jenny says into the phone.

Prue frowns, "Saudi Arabia?"

"I'm sorry. We're moving in next door. Or at least we're trying to. Our phone's not hooked up yet." The man says.

Phoebe nods, "So, you're our new neighbours?"

The man nods, "Name's Dan. Uh, Dan Gordon."

"I don't care if the circuits are busy. I have to talk to my mom." Jenny says.

Dan nods, "And that's my niece Jenny. Who's obviously not talking to me. Jenny, sweetie, come on." Jenny hangs up and storms outside. "I'm sorry. It's nice meeting you."

Phoebe smiles, "You too." Dan leaves. "I saw him first!"

Buffy rolls her eyes.

"Demons now, drooling later." Piper says.

Prue nods, "Look, I have to meet my client before the preview." She starts to leave.

Phoebe frowns, "Oh, wait a minute. The scariest demon we've ever run across opens up some portal in our attic, and steals the both ours and Buffy's Book of Shadows and you want to go into the office?" Prue nods and walks away. "Wh-" She turns to Buffy and Piper, "What's the matter with her?"

Piper sighs, "It's the first demon she's faced since Andy died. Maybe it's bringing up some bad memories."

Buffy sighs, "We just got done with me working through my issues, now we have to deal with Prue's." Piper and Phoebe glare at her. "Sorry that's a tad insensitive."

Later at a Park witches have gathered for the Equinox celebration. Buffy, Piper and Phoebe walk up to the gathering.

"What are we doing here?" Piper asks.

Phoebe smiles, "Celebrating the Equinox. Can't you just feel it? The energy in this place? It's a convergence."

Buffy rolls her eyes, "It's a crock."

Piper nods, "I thought we were supposed to meet your witch friend."

"We are. This is where she told us to meet her. Now, please just relax." Phoebe says.

Piper shakes her head, "Relax? My life was a mess before our little wake-up call this morning, remember?"

Buffy nods, "Yeah remember just last week?"

Stevie arrives.

Phoebe smiles, "Oh, Stevie!"

They go over to her.

Stevie smiles, "Hey, Phoebe. I'm so glad you could make it."

"Um, actually, we are not here for this. We needed to talk to you about something. This is my sister, Piper. And my cousin, Payson." Phoebe says.

"Hi." Piper and Buffy say.

"Hey, Piper, Payson, it's very nice to meet you both. Are you both witches too?" Stevie says.

Piper looks to Buffy who rolls her eyes, "Uh, sorta... maybe... We don't know. Uh, is everybody here one, also?"

Stevie shakes her head, "Oh, no. No, no, no... It's just a group of believers, women who know of this special place and who've come to celebrate. By the way, happy anniversary."

Phoebe nods, "That's what we wanted to talk to you about. Why did you say that today was gonna be a powerful day for us?"

Stevie smiles, "Because your anniversary falls on the Equinox. Which is a powerful day in and of itself. For you, this convergence of powers is even stronger. The potential greater. All you have to do is connect. You wanna try it?"

"Try it? How?" Phoebe asks.

Stevie smile, "Let us begin." She joins the other women.

Piper frowns, "I don't wanna connect."

Buffy sighs and nods in agreement, "Neither do I, Pheebs."

"We have to connect." Phoebe says.

Piper shakes her head, "I don't wanna try it."

"Okay, but we have to because..." Phoebe says.

"Why?" Piper and Buffy say.

Phoebe sighs, "What have we got to lose, okay?"

Piper, Buffy and Phoebe turns around and notice all the women have taken off their clothes.

"Well, apparently we've got our clothes to lose." Piper says.

Phoebe nods, "I see that."

Phoebe pulls Piper and Buffy behind a rock wall and Phoebe starts taking off her clothes.

"No. Whoa, Whoa. Wait. What are you doing?" Piper asks.

Phoebe smiles, "When in Rome."

Piper shakes her head, "No-no-no! We're not in Rome, Phoebe. We're in California. And it's illegal here."

Buffy nods, "There's another issue. If I took my clothes off and a cop saw…"

"It's totally natural, okay? Go for it. Come on." Phoebe says.

Piper sighs, "God. This is ridiculous. Can I keep my shoes on?"

Phoebe nods, "Yeah, but that's it."

"We've got absolutely zero, zero information." Piper says as she takes off her clothes.

Phoebe sighs, "Everybody's naked, not just you. Come on Buffy a cop is not going to see you."

Buffy sighs as she takes off her clothes, "I hope your right, Pheebs."

"And now we're naked." Piper says.

"Shh, okay? Shh." Phoebe says.

"The Power of Four." Gram's voice says.

"Did you just hear that?" Phoebe asks.

Buffy shakes her head, "Hear what?"

"The Power of Four." Gram's voice says again.

"That. Grams?" Phoebe says.

"Grams?" Piper says as she looks around and she and Buffy tries to cover themselves up. "What? Where? I don't hear anything."

Buffy nods, "I don't hear anything either."

Later Outside a large building that's up for sale. Piper pulls up in her car. She and Buffy gets out and walks inside. Rob is there looking around. Piper and Buffy comes down the stairs.

Piper smiles, "Oh, god, Rob. I'm so sorry I'm late. Uh, I got stuck at this thing and then my sister needed a ride, and I'm so totally screwed on the loan now, aren't I?"

Buffy rolls her eyes.

Rob shakes his head, "Don't be ridiculous. I'm just looking around, checking things out."

Piper nods, "It needs a lot of work, uh, I know that."

Buffy looks around and shakes her head, "Yeah I'd say."

Piper glares at Buffy, "But that's not a problem and just because the last two owners went bankrupt, doesn't mean it can't work. I've done three separate marketing studies and found a 68% interest in the target clientele."

"Piper..." Rob says.

Piper nods, "Plus, running a restaurant is very similar to running a club."

Rob nods, "You've already shown me all this. I've got it. I've got everything, except for an understanding of why you wanna put yourself in a position to fail like this."

Piper looks to Buffy, "Uhh..."

"Clubs are an extremely high risk business, Piper. You could lose your shirt." Rob says.

Piper nods, "Well, it wouldn't be the first time today."

Buffy glares at Piper.

"Look, I know what I'm getting myself into. I know the risks and actually it's a lot less risk and a lot a less expensive than starting my own restaurant, which is what I really wanted to do. The point is, I'm tired of working for somebody else and helping them realizing their dreams. I wanna run my own place. This place. And I can do it, too. But not without your help." Piper says.

Rob nods, "Well, at the risk of you never wanting to go out with me again... Congratulations."

"I got it?" Piper says excited.

"Looks like." Buffy says.

Rob nods, "You go it."

"Yay!" Piper says as she hugs Rob and they kiss.

Buffy walks away looking at the room, distracting herself from her cousin to give Piper a little privacy.

"Hmm." Rob says.

"Oh." Piper says.

They start making out.

"The Power of Four." Gram's voice says.

Buffy stops and looks back at Piper as she pulls away from Rob.

"Did you hear that?" Piper asks Rob.

"The Power of Four." Gram's voice says again.

"Hear what?" Rob asks.

Piper looks at Buffy, "Grams?"

Buffy nods indicating she heard it also.

Jeremy appears and knocks Rob unconscious. Piper screams and backs away. "You're dead, witch."

Buffy runs to the phone on the bar and dials.

Piper freezes Jeremy, "Oh my God. Jeremy?"

"Hello?" Prue says over the phone.

"Prue, thank god you're there. Jeremy..." Buffy says.

"Buffy, calm down..." Prue says.

"Just attacked us." Buffy finishes.

"Jeremy? That is impossible. We vanquished him a year ago." Prue says.

Buffy nods, "Well, apparently he got unvanquished somehow. And since we don't have either Book of Shadows, we're gonna have to remember the spell together. I'm conferencing Phoebe." She presses a button on the phone. "Phoebe, are you there?"

"AT&T, the Power of Three." Phoebe says.

"Okay, wait. Wasn't that it? The Power of Three will set us free." Prue says.

Jeremy unfreezes.

Piper frowns, "Whoa!" She freezes him again.

"Dang." Buffy says. "He's fighting through Piper's freezes."

Jeremy unfreezes and Piper freezes him again.

Piper nods, "He's adjusting or something."

"Uh, okay, put us on the speakerphone. We have to say it together." Phoebe says.

Jeremy unfreezes and laughs, "You're not getting away from me this time."

Jeremy attacks Piper with his dagger. She ducks and tries to get out of the way.

Buffy hits the speakerphone button and sets the phone down on the cradle.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Piper says.

"Piper! Buffy!" Phoebe says.

Piper nods, "Hurry! Now! Hurry, now, now, now!"

"The Power of Three will set us free." Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Buffy chant. Buffy is concentrating augmenting the spell. "The Power of Three will set us free. The Power of Three will set us free."

Jeremy is vanquished again.

"Piper?" Prue says.

"Buffy?" Phoebe says.

Piper frowns, "Ow. Ow."

"Piper? Buffy?" Prue says.

Buffy sighs, "It's okay. He's gone. Again."

A short time later Rob is on a stretcher. Piper is crouching down beside him.

How can either of you not have seen who attacked me? How is that possible?" Rob asks.

Piper shrugs, "I don't know. I guess I was blocked or something and then he just sort of disappeared, you know?"

Buffy sighs, "I was on the opposite side of the building looking away. I was trying to give you and Piper some privacy. I didn't look back till I heard Piper scream. By then your attacker was already gone."

"I'm starting to understand why this place keeps going under." Rob says.

Piper looks to Buffy and then back to Rob and shakes her head, "Oh, no. It's not a bad crime area. Not at all."

Rob nods, "Well, it's something I'm going to be checking into. I can assure you of that."

"Excuse me, ma'am." The paramedic says as he carries Rob up the stairs. Prue walks past and looks at him.

"Yeah, hi, how ya doin'?" Rob says.

Prue goes over to Piper and Buffy. "Are you two okay?"

Piper sighs, "Physically, yeah." Buffy nods. "I think my loan's on shaky ground. I couldn't exactly tell Rob, "It was just a warlock. Don't worry about it"."

Prue sighs, "Oh, it would be a shame if the loan didn't work out, I mean, this place is great. I used to come here. It has a lot of potential."

"Yeah? You think so?" Piper says.

Prue smiles, "Mmm hmm."

Buffy nods, "Yeah I think Prue's right. I can definitely see this as the place to come. If you attacted some people my age. I could see this place giving the Bronze a run for it's money."

"Care to loan me sixty grand?" Piper asks.

"Hmm. Any ideas on where Jeremy came from?" Prue asks.

Buffy shakes her head, "No."

Piper sighs, "No, but I don't want to run into any of the other demons we've already vanquished."

"Well, hopefully Phoebe can find some answers in those new books of hers." Prue says.

Piper nods, "I sure wish she had our book to look it at.

"I wish I had mine also." Buffy says.

:Feels kind of lost without it. Although..." Piper says.

Prue frowns, "Although what?"

Piper nods, "It was weird but right before Jeremy appeared, I swore I heard Grams."

"I heard her also." Buffy says.

"Grams?" Prue asks.

Piper nods, "I was positive it was her. She said "The Power of Four". And Phoebe said she heard her say it this morning. Maybe Grams was trying to warn us."

Later Piper pulls up in the driveway at the Manor and she and Buffy get out of Piper's car.

"Piper, Buffy, wait up. I think I figured out how to find who the demon is. All we have to do is ask the Book of Shadows." Phoebe says.

Piper looks to Buffy as if to ask do you know what she's getting at, "What?"

"It's been right in front of us the whole time." Phoebe says as she shows Kit's collar.

"Kit's collar?" Buffy asks.

Phoebe shakes her head, "No, the triquetra. The symbol of the Power of Three. Our symbol. Maybe that's what Grams has been trying to tell us."

Buffy shakes her head, "Except Grams has been saying the Power of Four."

"Maybe we heard her wrong, Buffy." Phoebe says. "Anyways, Stevie said all we would have to do is find our connection, right? That if we did, we'd be able to tap into the Power of the Equinox. Well, this has got to be it, the Triquetra. It's us. It's on the cover of the Book of Shadows, both Books in fact."

Piper sighs, "I still don't understand how we can ask the Book for help when we don't have the book." Phoebe pulls Buffy and Piper inside. "Ugh!"

Phoebe leads them into the conservatory and to the spirit board.

"The spirit board?" Buffy asks.

Phoebe nods, "It told us how to find the Book of Shadows, didn't it Piper? It can do it again. All you have to do is believe. Now come on. We're stronger together."

Piper sighs and looks to Buffy who nods, "Okay."

Phoebe, Buffy and Piper sit around the spirit board. "Come on. Okay. Close your eyes and feel it." Phoebe says.

They touch the pointer.

"The Power of Four." Gram's voice says.

"Did you hear that?" Phoebe asks.

Piper nods, "Grams?"

Piper looks around. The pointer moves.

"A-B." Phoebe says.

Buffy opens her eyes and looks at the pointer, "R-A."

"X-A-S." Piper says.

"Abraxas?" Phoebe asks.

They look at each other.

A shorttime later Buffy and Piper is sitting on the couch in the living room. Phoebe walks in, reading from a book. "Okay, I found it. "Abraxas - A demon of the astral plane who destroy witches by demonising their powers." Okay, but what does that have to do with either Book of Shadows?"

"Well, that's where our and Buffy's powers come from, isn't it? Maybe Abraxas it turning it evil somehow." Piper says.

Phoebe nods, "That would definitely undo our spells. And explain why Jeremy all of a sudden became unvanquished."

Buffy frowns, "And the Woogyman."

"When did the Woogyman become unvanquished?" Phoebe asks.

Piper frowns, "A couple of seconds ago."

Phoebe looks behind her and sees the Woogyman. They jump up. "Freeze it."

Piper shakes her head, "It doesn't freeze, remember? And it's immunite to Buffy's power as well. The spell. What's the spell? Spell, spell..."

Phoebe nods, "I am light. I am one too strong to fight." I can't remember the rest."

Piper smiles, "Yes you can. Okay, we can. Uh, "Return to dark, where the shadows dwell. You cannot have this Halliwell"."

Buffy closes her eyes and concentrates augmenting the spell, "Go away and leave my sight. And take with you this endless night."

The Woogyman is vanquished.

Piper smiles, "That wasn't so hard."

Phoebe nods, "It's a good thing we were together."

Buffy sighs, "Abraxas must be reading the book backwards. That's how he's turning it evil."

Phoebe shakes her head, "How do you figure?"

"The spell to vanquish Jeremy was at the back of your Book. And the spell to vanquish the Woogyman was right before that." Buffy says.

Phoebe nods, "Which means more are on their way."

"Uh-huh." Piper says.

"We gotta warn Prue." Phoebe says.

Buffy nods, "Yeah."

Piper nods, "Uh-huh." They walk into the foyer and Phoebe touches a photo frame. She gets a premonition. In the premonition, Nicholas the warlock, is attacking Prue at Bucklands. "What? What happened?"

Phoebe frowns, "I saw the warlock Nicholas, killing Prue."

Buffy frowns, "Isn't that one that required you and me to say?"

Phoebe nods, "Yeah. Let's hope she doesn't need you."

Later at the hospital Prue is lying on a bed. Piper, Buffy and Phoebe are standing beside her. The doctor finishes taking her blood pressure.

"Well, your blood pressure's back to normal. So is your temperature, your electrolytes. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were perfectly healthy young woman." The doctor says.

Prue nods, "Does that mean I can go home now?"

"Well, I'd like to run a few more tests. Find out what caused your body temperature to rise spontaneously like that. Has that ever happened to you before?" The doctor asks.

Phoebe smiles, "It's happened to us all before." She laughs.

Buffy glares at Phoebe.

Prue nods, "Doctor, it's okay. Really. I think I know how to keep it from happening again."

"All right. I'll see to your discharge papers." The doctor says.

Prue smiles, "Thanks."

The doctor leaves and Prue gets up.

"That was close." Piper says.

Prue nods, "Too close."

Piper shakes her head, "No, I don't mean her. I mean you. The paramedics said you almost died."

"Yeah, well, what else is new?" Prue says.

Buffy sighs, "Prue take it from someone who's actually died twice that it's not the most fun of experiences."

"We better figure out a way to get the books back from Abraxas because if we don't, we're all dead." Phoebe says.

"But how? We don't know where the astral plane is." Piper says.

Phoebe smiles, "Yes, we do. It coexists within our own plane. Remember, that's what Stevie said."

Prue shakes her head, "Still doesn't help to find the demon."

Buffy nods, "Prue's right."

Phoebe sighs, "Maybe, maybe not. I was thinking... You know how we always thought that nobody could take either Book of Shadows out of the house but us? Maybe nobody did. Maybe their still in the house. Just on different plane. The astral plane."

Piper nods, "That would mean Abraxas is still in the house too."

"Right. So, we would need to find a doorway or a window to get to his plane like he used to get to ours and we need to do this before the end of the Equinox, by sunrise tomorrow. And then Prue or Buffy can kick some astral ass with the Power of One."

Prue grabs her stuff and leaves the room. Buffy, Piper and Phoebe follow.)

Piper frowns, "Prue, what's the matter?"

"Nothing. I just think that it's a long shot, that's all." Prue says.

Buffy thinks about it for a moment and decides Prue is right. It is a long shot. The question is, is it enough of a shot to work.

"Well, at least it's a shot." Phoebe says.

Piper nods, "I agree, I mean, who knows how many other demons and warlocks he's let loose that we just don't know about yet."

Phoebe nods, "Or even worse. If Abraxas gets to the first page of the book before we get to him, we're toast."

"Why?" Prue and Buffy asks.

Phoebe sighs, "Because it's the incantation that gave us our powers, remember? Then he will start on Buffy's and she too will lose hers. If Abraxas says that backwards too, then we'll lose them and the books forever."

Prue nods, "So we go back to leading normal lives again. That doesn't sound so bad."

Buffy sighs, "I wish that were possible. I'd still be the Slayer I just wouldn't be Charmed."

"What? Are you joking, Prue?" Phoebe asks.

Prue shakes her head, "No, Phoebe, I'm not joking. Look, we always said that things happen to us for a reason, right? So, maybe the reason this time is to give to us an out. And Buffy you know you can always quit being the Slayer, lead a normal life."

"Prue, there's no out. Abraxas will kill us." Piper says. "And Buffy."

Prue shakes her head, "Not if all he wants is the books. After all, that's the real power, not us."

Piper nods, "If all he wanted was the book, he wouldn't keep sending demons and warlocks after us."

"Yeah, well, we won't have to worry about anymore if he gets to the first page." Prue says.

Phoebe frowns, "What are you saying, Prue? Look, if we don't get to him, we stop being witches."

Prue smiles, "Exactly. Which means we stop risking our lives all the time. Which means we stop watching the people we love lose theirs." She looks to Buffy as she thinks about Andy. The two people in their lives that had given their lives for them. She walks away.

"Prue..." Phoebe says as she starts to follow.

Piper stops Phoebe from following.

Buffy looks at her cousins and nods, "She needs time. Just as I did."

Later back at the manor in the kitchen Buffy and Phoebe's sitting at the table and Piper is looking in the fridge.

"We're screwed, you both know that." Phoebe says.

Piper shakes her head, "No, we're not. If there's a window, we'll find it."

"That's not what I meant." Phoebe says.

Buffy nods, "She'll come around."

Phoebe sighs, "By sunrise? You both know how Prue is when she makes up her mind about something. That's it. We're screwed."

Piper sighs, "And we're out of wine."

The doorbell rings.

Phoebe smiles, "I'll get it. You two keep dreaming." She gets up and walks out to the foyer.

Buffy sighs, "I think this will take Prue's power. I can't use mine till we have the books, as I don't want to accidentally torch them. I think Phoebe is right were screwed without Prue."

The phone rings and Buffy answers it, "Halliwell Residence. Payson speaking."

"This is Savings and Trust calling for Piper Halliwell about her loan."

"Hold on one moment." Buffy says as she looks to Piper. "It's the bank about your loan."

Piper takes the phone from Buffy, "This is Piper Halliwell." She listens and sighs. "No, I understand. Okay, bye." She hangs up the phone as Phoebe walks in.

"Who was that?" Phoebe asks.

Piper sighs, "Rob, the banker. Or rather, his assistant. Telling me that my loan has been denied."

Buffy sighs, "Oh Piper…"

Phoebe shakes her head, "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry."

Piper nods, "That's okay. Just wasn't meant to be, I guess. Really glad I never slept with him, though. What was I thinking?"

"About Leo, maybe?" Phoebe asks.

Piper sighs, "Ugh."

"Wine?" Phoebe says as she holds up the bottle of wine.

Later in the attic Piper has drawn the triquetra symbol on the wall with chalk.

"You really think that's the window?" Phoebe asks.

Piper nods, "You said yourself the triquetra's the key, our connection. And besides, we keep hearing grams say "The Power of Four" or Three or whatever. This is what that stands for. Either that or I just screwed up this wall for no reason."

Buffy nods, "Well, even if it is the window, if Prue doesn't show up..."

Prue walks in. "She'll show. Better late then never, right? Look, I know that I haven't exactly been myself lately and I know that I'm going through... something." She looks to Buffy with a knowing look. "And that I have some things to work through. But I don't wanna let you guys down because of it. Right now, it's not about me. It's about us."

Phoebe smiles, "Attagirl, Prue. I knew you'd come around."

"Excuse me?" Piper says.

Phoebe nods, "Well, I did deep down."

Buffy rolls her eyes. She looks to Prue, "Are you sure you're up for this?"

Prue uses her power to move a chair across the room. "I'm sure."

Phoebe smiles, "Okay, so when the window opens, Prue, you'll knock Abraxas away from the Books, so Buffy and I can reach in and grab them. And then, while you're holding him back...

Prue nods, "You'll find some spell to vanquish him I got it."

"Okay." Phoebe says.

They walk towards the wall.

Piper nods, "Okay. We have to create a circle." They join hands. "Three, two, one."

Buffy and Phoebe touch the wall and it opens up. Abraxas appears.

"Hold on. Now, Prue, now!" Phoebe says.

Abraxas smiles, "First the books, then you."

"What's the matter with you?" Phoebe says.

Piper frowns, "Prue, use your power."

"Prue!" Buffy says.

Abraxas pushes them away and they slide across the floor. The portal closes. Buffy, Phoebe and Piper look angrily at Prue.

They get up and head down the stairs.

Piper sighs, "Prue, what happened up there?"

Prue shakes her head, "Nothing."

Phoebe nods, "Yeah, nothing is exactly the problem."

"I never said that I had the power to go against him. You did, remember?" Prue says.

Phoebe shakes her head, "No, the Book of Shadows did."

"Pheebs give it a rest." Buffy says.

Prue sighs, "Well, maybe it was wrong. Maybe Abraxas is just too strong."

"Maybe, but that doesn't explain why you hesitated." Piper says.

Buffy shakes her head, "Guys!"

"I didn't hesitate." Prue says.

Phoebe shakes her head, "The hell you didn't Prue. I saw you."

Piper nods, "We both saw you."

Buffy shakes her head, "Guys this is doing no one any good."

Prue frowns, "So, what are you saying? This is my fault, is that it? Because I can't defeat Abraxas?"

Phoebe shakes her head, "No, Prue, you can. You just won't. Okay, something is holding you back. Something big time and instead of facing it, you're running from it."

"Phoebe..." Piper and Buffy say.

Phoebe sighs, "But you can't keep running, Prue. Because you have got to figure out what your problem is, otherwise we're all dead."

Prue starts to cry. "That's right, Phoebe. It's my responsibility, isn't it? The oldest sister, always supposed to be able to figure things out. Especially now with Buffy here. Well, if that's the case, then how come I couldn't save Andy? Or Buffy? If I'm supposed to be so powerful, how come I couldn't save either of them? I mean, my god, don't you understand? Andy died because of me, it doesn't matter what he said, it was my fault. And I wasn't fast enough to save Buffy. How could it be good to be witches if all it does is get the people we love killed?" She cries.

"Oh, sweetie." Phoebe says.

Piper shakes her head, "Prue, it's not your fault. You tried to keep Andy from coming here that night, remember? You tried to warn him but he came anyway. He came because he wanted to."

Phoebe nods, "And there was nothing that you could have done to stop him, Prue. He chose to walk through that door, not because of who you are, honey, but because of who he was."

Buffy nods, "Protector of the innocent, just like us. Besides your not to blame for my dying at the hands of the Master. If anyone is to blame it's me. I made the choice Prue. You all didn't know till after I had already left to face him. And then as soon as you could you came to find me. You did everything you could to prevent my dying."

Prue sighs, "I just don't know if I believe in it anymore."

Phoebe nods, "Honey, we've done a lot of good as witches too. You know that. But that doesn't mean that bad things still aren't gonna happen. But just because we can't help that, doesn't mean that is our fault."

"Or yours." Piper and Buffy say.

Phoebe nods, "Come here."

They all hug.

"The Power of Four." Grams voice says.

They look around.

"Okay, did you guys hear that?" Phoebe asks.

Piper nods, "Mm-hmm."

"Grams?" Prue and Buffy say.

"The Power of Four." Grams voice says.

Prue looks to her sister and cousin, "How is that possible?"

Phoebe shakes her head, "I don't know but it's gotta to be a good thing if we're all hearing it."

"Maybe it means we're connected." Piper says.

Buffy nods, "But why is she saying the Power of Four? I'm not a Charmed One."

Phoebe smiles, "Probably because you're a Halliwell, Buffy. And I think I know what she means. To be as one. Maybe that's what the Book meant by the Power of One."

Piper nods, "The four of us working as one. The Power of Three augmented."

Prue smiles, "Which is what the triquetra represents. Which makes sense in a way. Buffy could be considered as part of the triquetra. There is the three interlocking ovals, which is the three of us. Then there is the large circle surrounding the three interlocking ones, that's Buffy.

Buffy thinks for a moment and then nods, "I think your right."

Phoebe looks at her watch. "Almost sunrise. Do you think you're ready to try the window again?"

"Yeah, yeah, but Abraxas will be ready for us here. We have to take him by surprise, go where we're most powerful, where we're most connected." Prue says.

A shorttime later they are at the Park where Phoebe, Piper and Buffy met Stevie. Prue, Buffy, Piper and Phoebe have joined hands around the stone.

"Hear now the words of the witches, the secrets we hid in the night, the oldest of Gods are invoked here, the great work of magic is sought. In this night, and in this hour we call upon the ancient power. Hear now the words of the witches, the secrets we hid in the night, the oldest of Gods are invoked here, the great work of magic is sought." Buffy, Prue, Piper and Phoebe chant.

Both Books drop out from the sky and lands on the rock.

"Buffy, Prue, Piper..." Phoebe says.

Prue shakes herhead, "Keep chanting."

"Hear now the words of the witches, the secrets we hid in the night..." Buffy, Prue, Piper and Phoebe chant.

Abraxas appears above them, "What are you doing? How'd you bring me here?"

"The oldest of Gods are invoked here, the great work of magic is sought. In this night, and in this hour we call upon the ancient power. In this night, and in this hour we call upon the ancient power. In this night, and in this hour we call upon the ancient power." Buffy, Prue, Piper and Phoebe chant.

Abraxas is vanquished. Phoebe grabs the Charmed Book. Buffy grabs her Book.

Phoebe smiles, "And we didn't even have to get naked."

Later back at the Manor Prue and Buffy places both Book of Shadows back on their stands.

"That's more like it." Prue says.

Buffy nods, "Yeah."

Prue flips through the Charmed Book.

"I'll feel better when we erase that window. I don't want any more demons coming through it." Piper says.

Phoebe shakes her head, "They can't. It's our window, not theirs."

Piper nods, "Still, better safe than sorry. Especially if we can expect any more demons like Abraxas coming." She goes over to the wall.

Prue sighs, "Well, apparently we can. "Rite of Passage. Fight it with the Power of one, or else... a more powerful evil that awaits will destroy you"."

"Wow. I'm glad I didn't finish reading that yesterday. I might have changed my mind about not wanting to give up our powers." Phoebe says.

Prue and Buffy look at each and then shake their heads. "No, you wouldn't have. You like being a witch too much, Phoebe. And you help remind me that I like being one too." Prue says.

Phoebe smiles, "Hmm."

"Hey, me three." Piper says.

Buffy smiles, "Me four."

Piper nods, "Too bad it doesn't pay the bills, though."

Phoebe looks to Prue, "Did you get it?"

Prue nods, "Mm-hmm."

Prue, Phoebe and Buffy happily go over to Piper.

Piper looks at her sisters and cousin, "Get what?" They hand Piper an envelope. "What's this?" She looks at it. "$60,000? Where did you get this?"

Prue smiles, "Home equity loan. Phoebe and I took a second out on the house. To help you buy your club. Well technically Phoebe, Buffy and I. But Buffy is underage so she can't be added to the loan."

Phoebe nods, "Actually, our club technically."

"Right, as long as you don't mind being partners with your sisters." Prue says.

Buffy nods, "Or your cousin."

Piper smiles and hugs them, "Thank you!"

"The Power of Four." Grams voice says as the pages turn in both Book of Shadows and Grams' spirit appears.

"Grams?" Prue says.

Grams smiles, "Hello, my darlings. Oh, it's nice to see you, or rather, it's nice being seen by you."

"But-but-but how is this..." Piper says.

Grams shakes her head, "Possible? All things are possible, my dear. It's just simply a matter of your being able to do them."

"Wait, so you're the one that keeps turning the pages in the books?" Phoebe asks.

Grams nods, "Just my way of looking after all four of you. As best I can, anyway. Don't try to understand this. You're not ready yet. But the fact that you could hear me before, can see me now, means that someday you might be. Be good to each other. I love you." She disappears. Both books turns to a page, the same page.

"Is it just me, or is this attic getting awfully crowded lately?" Buffy says.

They go over and look at the Books.

"Look." Prue says.

Grams has written "Happy Anniversary, My Darlings" in both Books.