"Oh no, no, come on!" She waved her arms around, trying to get the magick to work. But then she had a better idea.

"Ok then. We'll rumble." She looked around for something to use as a weapon, and she took the axe that had been resting in Spike's hands. Then Faith did what she does best-slay.

It fought well, but not quite well enough. She got the axe's blade through its neck. Almost. The demon/vamp made a noise which she guessed was a laugh, and it pulled the blade out, tossing the Slayer along with it. She landed with a thud twenty feet away. Faith got back up and tried to figure out how to get her powers to work. The prophecy/book thingy had mentioned something about having to combine the powers of the Charmed Ones and the Slayer. They had assumed that Faith was just that, and that was all. But there was another piece to the puzzle. She snapped her fingers as she figured it out. She had to use both of her powers to destroy the final Big Bad.

'Great. I got that part. Now how do I do it?' She thought, at a loss. 'How did I get it to do it's thing first? Saw my new big sis out cold. Got pissed, and then I.'

"I got it!" She thought about things that made her unbelievably angry. Never knowing her parents, being shipped from one foster home to the next, Kakistos killing her first watcher, the mayor dying, and now the thought of her losing the only family she would ever have...and it worked. The green tendrils came back out of her fingertips, but instead of killing the bad guy, it worked itself into her weapon, turning it a clear, radiant green.

"Whoa, sweet!" Without another thought, she stepped up to the demon/vamp and held her axe up, which it regarded with renewed fear. They traded blows for what felt like an eternity, until she finally saw an opening. Faith took it and tried to kill it again. This time it actually worked, turning the monster into a small pile of ash. She stood there, not knowing what to do. But she didn't have to wait long. From the ruins that were once the park entry, a woman stepped out. She was glowing, and not in the happy way. Light spilled off her, and she walked gracefully towards Faith. When the woman was fairly close, she held out her hand.

"Faith. You're so beautiful."

"Uh, thanks lady. Who are you?" Faith took a cautious step back.

"I keep forgetting you've never met me. I've watched over you your entire life. You think getting out of that coma was your super-Slayer healing? No, sweetie, it was your mother, putting in a favor."

"No... they said that my mother was dead."

"I know, honey. But I can come down here every once in a while. I've already guided the rest of my daughters in their times of greatest need, and now it's your turn."

"I don't understand." The Slayer whispered, tears flowing freely down her face. "Are you really my mother?"

"Yes, honey, I am. And now you need to make a choice. We don't have much time."

Faith nodded, not completely sure what was going on around her. "What do I have to do?"

"Your future could take two different paths. You have to understand that the Powers That Be never expected for any of this to happen. A fourth Charmed One, a second Slayer. You're special. Your destiny is up to you, and whichever selection you make will alter, well, everything about what's to come. One: you could go back to jail in Los Angeles and serve the rest of your sentence. Two: Go to San Francisco with Prue, Piper, and Phoebe, using your new position as Charmed One to fight the good fight."

"I want to go with them." She said quietly. "I've never had family, and I want to know what it's like."

Now it was the ghost's turn to start crying. "Faith, I know. But I couldn't do anything about that. I died a month after you were born, at the most. I could never be there in body, but I've always been here in spirit. And I always will be. Sweetie, you have to know, I'm so proud of you."

"But I'm a major-league screw-up."

"No, you were just going down the wrong path. But you realized that and started on your own way, towards redemption. You could always break out of that jail, Faith, you know that. But you didn't, because that would be that would have been wrong. I couldn't be prouder. I love you, sweetie."

Patti Halliwell started to fade. "I have to leave now, you've made your choice. Good-bye honey. I'm always here." And then she was gone.