DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer – it all belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox, etc. . .Neither do I own anything to do with Charmed, which belongs to Spelling Entertainment and Constance M. Burge. I think.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: OK, I'm finally back in the fanfic game! It's been total ages, but now all my stupid exams are over and I can dedicate my free time to finishing this. This is a somewhat celebratory chapter – firstly, as I said before, my exams have finished, but more importantly – I SAW JAMES MARSTERS IN CONCERT LAST NIGHT!!! It was soooo amazing, he looked fantastic, sang even better AND because me and my friend were so close to the stage, he actually smiled and waved at me!!!

Anyway, yes. Back to the story. I've taken into account your requests – I have to say DG1988, I completely agree with you, but it is fanfic, and I want to please the people reading – you'll all (well, the BA shippers anyway) be happy to know this is going to end nicely, and there will (of course) be Piper/Leo stuff towards the end. But yes, anyway – enjoy!


Chapter 6 – What Now?

They staggered back into the library that night – Buffy, Willow, Giles, Oz, Xander and the Halliwells – Buffy especially hardly able to walk or breathe. She had forced Angel to head back to his crypt, regardless of his protesting.

Wesley and Cordy had awaited them anxiously. Cordy, catching sight of Buffy's state, jumped up.

'Sheesh, what happened to you? You look awful!'

Xander said bitterly at his ex: 'She almost got strangled by the Mayor, Cordelia. And may I say, bonus points for tactfulness!'

Buffy took a seat on one of the chairs, shivering fingers gently stroking her neck.

'I'll get the First Aid.' Giles dashed into his office, while the rest of them sat around her to give her moral support.

'We're so sorry,' Phoebe apologized. 'If we'd known Angel was a demon, we never would have done that spell, especially considering he was carrying the box. . .'

'Don't worry.' Buffy shook her head lightly. 'I should have told you. I thought it was better you didn't know – that even if I explained the whole soul thing you wouldn't understand. . .shows how stupid I am.'

A brief calm followed this, until-

'Did you at least get the Box?' Wesley asked innocently.

Buffy shot him a malicious look. 'Do you see a goddamn box?!' she croaked.

'Buffy, don't talk,' Willow advised. 'Relax your vocal chords.'

Wesley looked away ashamed.

They talked amongst themselves, while the Charmed sisters found a quiet space in the corner of the library.

'Oh God, we almost got her killed. . .' Prue ran her fingers through her hair, clearly stressed.

'Hey, come on guys,' Phoebe tried to console her sisters. 'This wasn't entirely our fault.'

'Really Phoebe? Wasn't it?!' Prue spat out. 'We made the Distraction potions and chanted the spell, we confused Angel, and we froze the scene and gave the Mayor an opportunity to strangle Buffy!'

Piper looked between the two of them. 'Prue's got a point.' She thought for a moment. 'Wait. . .didn't you say, Phoebe, that in your premonition we got the box?'

Phoebe nodded.

'Then. . .why. . .?. . .oh.'

'What?' said Prue, trying to get it out of Piper.

'Well. . .in Phoebe's premonition, it must have been Wesley's death that triggered some sort of diversion on the other side and enabled us to get a hold of the box – that's why Phoebe saw it in the first place. This way, because he wasn't there to be killed, the diversion never happened.'

They were in awe.

'But it's better that Wesley didn't go, right?' Phoebe said expectantly. 'I mean, if he had, he would have died, and we would have lost an innocent.'

'Yes, but now,' Prue reminded, 'the Mayor will most likely Ascend, and hundreds of more innocents will die. Frankly, one would have been better.'

Piper stared disbelievingly. 'Prue, how can you say that? We can't sacrifice innocents, not ever.'

'But what if there's no other way?' Prue said sharply.

'There's no point in debating it now, Prue, it's too late.' Phoebe decided she'd end the topic then and there. 'We've got to think about our next move. You heard the Mayor – he's an invincible demon. We can't kill him any standard way.'

'This is ridiculous. . .' Prue said, annoyed with herself. She grabbed the coat she had removed just minutes before and headed towards the double doors of the library.

'Prue, where are you going?' Phoebe said desperately.

'To take a walk. I need to clear my thoughts.'

'Prue, you can't just walk all over the Hellmouth on your own!' Piper warned. 'It's dangerous!'

'I can take care of myself,' Prue called out behind herself as she departed.

The library had gone silent at Prue's exit. The only sound that could be heard was Buffy's heavy breathing.


Faith sat on her bed in her apartment, head spinning at the thought of what had just happened.

Buffy had almost gotten killed. Been killed by her boss no less. If she had died, Faith would never have been able to forgive herself.

And that's what it boiled down to in the end. She hated herself for what was happening. How long could that keep going on? Sure, the Mayor was giving her the material lifestyle she'd always dreamed of, but morally, she knew she'd crumbled.

She cuddled her knees, rubbing her face in them. A knock on the door startled her, and her head shot up.

The Mayor walked in, grim expression on his face. He shut the door behind him.

"Uh-oh," Faith thought. "I'm in trouble".

'I think we need to talk, Faith,' he said darkly.

It was ironic. Faith had always longed for a father figure, and had even in an odd way dreamed of being scolded like this. But considering the circumstances, it wasn't what she had expected it to be.

'Faith, are you slipping?' he asked seriously.

'I don't know what you're talking about.' She didn't dare look him in the eye.

'You know what I'm talking about; don't you lie to me.' The harshness of his voice terrified her more than ever before. She just waited for him to finish.

'Faith, are you feeling. . .guilty?' He said the word as if it was a completely new one in his vocabulary.

She shook her head, trying her best to look up at him. 'Of course not. I'm five by five. It's just. . .I'm a little overwhelmed with everything that's going on.'

He nodded. 'Uh-huh. . .so why didn't you want me to kill the little Slayer?'

She hesitated, shifting uncomfortably. 'I just thought. . .we didn't need another body on our hands, y'know?'

He frowned. 'Is that it, Faith? Can you honestly tell me that's the only reason?'

She couldn't answer the question. 'All I know is that you've given me a life I've always dreamed of. Never would I betray you – I promise.'

He gave her a faint smile. 'Alright then.' He patted her knee. 'Sweet dreams, my darling girl.' He kissed her forehead and silently left her to her room.

"I can't deal with this right now. . ." she thought. Slipping her feet into her shoes, she skipped out the window onto the streets of Sunnydale.


The gang had gathered around the table late that night. Their main theme was: "what should we do next?" but the conversation seemed to be going nowhere.

Meanwhile, Cordy and Phoebe had resorted to the lighter side of the situation – they were still fighting over Wesley.

'And it was really hard, but we vanquished the fear demon through the Power of Three. . .' Phoebe bragged.

He sat there, truly impressed, notebook on his lap. 'Fascinating.'

'Wes!' Cordy called his attention to her. 'Have you seen my new nail polish?'

Wesley glanced at it, looking approvingly. 'That's very nice.'

Phoebe poked him. 'And then there are warlocks – don't even get me started on those. . .'

'OK!' said Cordy, agreeing with Phoebe's rhetorical comment. 'So, I was thinking, for the Prom. . .'

'Cordelia!' Buffy managed to let out, throat still sore. She scanned her mind for the other girl's name. 'Phoebe! Quit acting like kids!' Her voice was aggressive. 'We've lost the one chance we had at preventing the Ascension – I almost died!'

Solemn silence enveloped the room.

'We have to work harder than ever right now. I'd appreciate you save your stupid crushes until after we've destroyed the Mayor.'

Cordy and Phoebe rose from either side of Wesley, joining them at the table. Wesley stood up also, but Buffy stopped him.

'You – stay there. Make notes or something.'

Wesley sat back down, opened up his notebook and stared at it for a minute. He looked back up at the two girls vying for his affection. A content smile spread across his face, and he started scribbling something down.

'OK, let's face it – we have minimal information on the Mayor and what the Ascension entails exactly,' Buffy stated.

'Well, when the rest of you were frozen,' Piper recalled, 'we tried to shoot a steel rod through his heart, but he just pulled it right out.'

'He followed that,' Phoebe went on awkwardly, 'by removing the rod, and the wound healed automatically.' She sighed. 'He's an invincible demon.'

'Well, that makes things easier,' Xander muttered sardonically.

To their tremendous surprise, a blue sparkly light illuminated the room. It lasted for a couple of seconds before a man stood in its position.

'Leo!' Phoebe exclaimed, true joy heard in her voice.

He smiled at them, but then something caught his eye. He had orbed behind Wesley, and peeked at what he was writing, his face demonstrating confusion. He stood up straight and walked over to the table.

'Leo, what are you doing here?' Piper asked astonished.

'The Elders informed me that you'd headed to the Hellmouth. I decided I'd come help you guys with the problem.' He looked around. 'Where's Prue?'

'Taking a walk,' Piper told him.

Leo looked taken aback. 'On her own? On the Hellmouth?! In the middle of the lead up to the Ascension?!?!'

'You know about the Ascension?' Phoebe was surprised.

He nodded. 'Sure. It's happened before in history.'

'Sorry, I have to interrupt,' Buffy achingly stood up. 'I think I speak for all of us here when I say I was caught off guard by the big flashy light. . .who is this guy?'

'This is Leo,' Piper said briefly. 'Our Whitelighter.'

'What's a Whitelighter?' asked Willow.

'Every witch has a Whitelighter,' Leo explained. 'They're like guardian angels.'

Willow frowned, saying quietly to herself: 'How come I don't have one?'

Leo paused. 'Wait. . .who are these guys?' he directed the questions to the sisters.

Phoebe pointed the most obvious person out. 'That's Buffy – she's a Slayer. She has super-fighting powers to fight demons.'

'The Slayer?' Leo was overwhelmed.

'You know about Slayers?!' Piper said frustrated.

'Sure.' He half-shrugged. 'The Chosen One.'

'How come you never mentioned her?' Phoebe asked suspiciously.

'Never came up,' he excused. He caught sight of Giles subtly looking away, and said: 'You look familiar. . .do I know you from somewhere?'

Giles appeared startled. 'What? Oh. . .no, I don't think so. You must be confusing me with someone.'

'Hey, buddy,' Buffy waved her arms. 'What can you tell us about the Ascen. . .?' Towards the end of her sentence, her voice faded out painfully.

'Leo, could you heal her?' Piper asked worriedly.

He approached Buffy. 'Why? What happened?' A concerned expression came over his face, the kind a doctor always had examining a patient.

'A demon almost strangled her,' Phoebe reluctantly said.

He cocked his head. 'In that case. . .'

He outstretched his hands near her throat. Buffy looked panicked for a moment, but as soon as his hands started to glow and her pain began to ease, her expression became relaxed.

She caressed her throat with her hands. 'Wow. . .' The pain had completely subsided. 'How did you do that?'

'Healing powers,' he filled in. 'Come with the job.'

Xander raised his hand. 'Can I be a Whitelighter?'

'Depends,' Leo smiled cheekily at him. 'Are you a hero?'

Xander opened and closed his mouth, victoriously pointing. 'Yes! I've killed a few demons in my time. . .' he looked around nervously, '. . .and stuff.' He skulked away into the corner, mumbling to himself.

Leo walked back next to Piper, who was trying her best not to look at him longingly. She was so happy he was there; it made her feel safe.

Buffy caught Piper's look, recognizing it as one she had given Angel so many times. She stuck a little post-it note in her mind, thinking she'd ask about it later.

'As I was saying. . .' Buffy went back to Leo. 'What can you tell us about the Ascension?'

'Let's see. . .' He looked pensive. 'In short, it's demons with bigger plans.'

'What kind of plans?' Phoebe asked.

He sighed. 'Every demon you have fought so far has been tainted – a demon- human hybrid, if you like. When demons choose to Ascend, they firstly have to gain invincibility. . .'

'. . .which the Mayor's done,' Oz informed.

'. . .100 days before they Ascend,' Leo went on. 'When they do, they become pure demons.'

'How do these differ from normal ones?' Piper asked fearfully.

'For one thing, they're bigger,' Leo said simply. 'Huge, to be exact.'

They were silent. This problem was bigger than they thought.

'Can we vanquish it?' Phoebe asked.

'Well, I would suggest you check the Book,' Leo directed. 'There should be something in there. But considering you don't have it. . .'

'Oh, we have it.' Phoebe took his advice, and went to take the Book out of the bag it was in. Leo was confused at first, but then accepted the sisters had dared to take it out of the house, something they almost never did.

Phoebe flicked through the pages, as the gang surrounded it, hoping for a revelation. Wesley however, remained sitting down, scribbling in his notebook.

Leo took Piper's arm, leaning in sideways towards her and whispering.

'Who is that guy?' He raised his head to Wesley.

Piper made it clear: 'That's Wesley. He's completely useless, and also Phoebe's crush.'

Leo's mouth opened slightly. 'Uh. . .did you know he's writing "two women love me, I am a sex god" over and over again?'

Piper snorted, concealing her face in his arm. 'Phoebe really can pick 'em, can't she?'

He laughed with her, before Phoebe turned her head back. 'What are you two laughing about?'

'Nothing.' Piper's face went serious instantly. Phoebe suspiciously returned to the Book, frantically searching.

Piper stole one last glance of Leo, before approaching the table where the rest of them were. It was only a few minutes until:

'There!' Xander pointed triumphantly.

Phoebe flattened out the page onto a terrifying picture of a giant demonic creature, and a small article of text beneath it.

'The Ascension. . .' Phoebe skimmed the text with her eyes, '. . .happened in the Urals in the thirteenth century. . .a sorcerer became the pure-form embodiment of the demon Lo-Hash, and. . .'

Willow read out the last part. '"The destruction of this creature was only due to the convenient eruption of a nearby volcano. No spell can destroy it in its pure demon form. . .but a ritual can vanquish the so-called invincible hybrid. This is kept in a set of books that are the key to the event itself". . .' Her voice trailed off.

Buffy voiced others' thoughts. 'The Books of Ascension. We need to get them.'

'There are Books of Ascension?' Piper queried.

'Faith took them not too long ago,' Buffy updated. 'She killed the demon that had possession of them and stole them.'

'Gee, the more I hear about this Faith, the more I like her!' Phoebe said sweetly, yet with obvious sarcasm.

'They must be in the Town Hall,' Giles guessed. 'Heavily guarded of course.'

'I take it there's no chance we'll get in,' Xander said hopelessly.

'Ooo!' Phoebe bounced up and down. 'Leo can orb there!'

'Huh?' Cordy looked oblivious. 'What's orbing?'

'The sparkly thing he did when he came in,' Piper said.

Leo looked up at the ceiling, as if he had heard something. 'Uh-oh.'

'Oh, no you don't!' Piper grabbed him by the arm. 'Leo, you can't go! We need you to stop the Ascension!'

He shrugged apologetically, his gaze still looking up. 'I'm sorry, Piper. They're calling. You know I have to.'

She looked at him desperately, lowering her voice. 'Leo. . .I can't do this without you.'

He shook his head. 'You're gonna have to.' With that, he disappeared the same way he had come in.

'Well, that was pointless.' Cordelia said, discreet as always. 'Gets our hopes up, and then smashes them.'

Piper dropped her head, disappointed by the lost opportunity.

'So. . .' Oz observed the group. 'New plan? Because I'm thinking chimps – and maybe an eggplant. . .'


After a walk and getting some well-needed fresh air, Prue had retreated to a small bar, where she was drowning her failure in a drink.

She kept thinking there was something she could've done, even though deep down she knew there wasn't. The hardest thing though was the notion of what they could possibly do next.

She was half-asleep, and she knew that she had to be getting back to her sisters. However, the idea of another drink just seemed to be too appealing right now.

She was about to call for the bartender, until something – or someone, rather – caught her eye, and fear paralyzed her body.

Faith.

Suddenly, the idea of going back to her sisters didn't seem so bad.

She sprang up, but not before the other Slayer saw her.

'Wait!' Faith called out.

Prue didn't even think about it. She was dodging every fat sweaty man in that bar, eyes set firmly on the exit.

'Please, don't go!' Faith took advantage of her Slayer speed, running as fast as she could past the protesting public.

Prue reached the doorway and ran out into the empty alley, swiveling her head left and right, searching for the quickest way out.

But she was too delayed. Faith emerged from the bar panting. 'Please. . .don't leave!' she pleaded. 'I won't hurt you!'

Prue's back had been turned, but as she twisted around, she built up all the force she could magickally muster and slammed Faith into the wall using her power of telekinesis.

'Stay the hell away from me and my sisters!' she yelled, infuriated.

Faith's body was aching, but she was determined not to give up. This was her only chance. She stood up, brushing herself off, calling after Prue. 'Please – just hear me out.'

Prue rolled her eyes. 'Why should I?! You work for the bad guy!'

Faith shook her head hopelessly. 'Look – I know I fought on the side of evil tonight. That's why I need your help.'

Prue took deep breaths, not letting her guard down at all. 'I know all about you Faith. The bad Slayer gone worse. Killed a man – didn't care. You're on the path of evil and you're spiraling downwards. There's no backing out of that – you can't fool me.' She spun on her heel and began walking away. But then a sound terrified her.

Faith's sobs.

She slowly turned back to the Slayer, whose figure had crumpled to the floor, and a lifetime's worth of tears and sadness seemed to be breaking out.

'Faith?' she uttered quietly.

'I can't do this anymore!' Faith screamed painfully. Prue cautiously approached the Slayer, keeping a safe distance.

Faith slammed her fists on the ground, denting it noticeably. 'I just need someone to talk to. To be able to confess and not have any judgment attached to it.' Faith's tearful eyes looked up at Prue. 'You're a good guy, but you're not really connected with what's going on, yet at the same time you understand the situation.' She sniffed. 'You get me, right?'

Prue meekly nodded. 'Just about.' She had come closer to Faith and now had the nerve to put an affectionate hand on her shoulder.

Faith jumped at the touch but welcomed it entirely. It's what she'd been longing for. A kind touch that wasn't polluted with evil and wrong-doing; a touch that gave her the sensation that it would all be OK.

Prue couldn't explain it, but she felt all this girl's pain channel through her. And at once she realized what she was dealing with.

She knew an innocent when she saw one.

She took Faith's hand, gripping it tightly in a friendly gesture. She said plainly:

'Let's talk.'
A/N: Next up. . .Buffy and Piper have a heart-to-heart, and the gang come face to face with Faith again – and she makes a desperate plea. Also, because I'm in a good mood, I'm going to request no flames (which I think are horrible anyway – I'm proud to say, I've never given anyone a flame ever, I believe that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it. I hope the readers go on that principle too. :)