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: In the following chapter, regarding Prue's power of astral projection, I know that she cannot bring objects back with her when she returns to her original self, but let's just pretend that because she received her power on the Hellmouth it was boosted, or the pages managed to transport themselves. This is kind of a spoiler – you'll get what I'm saying when you read this.
Chapter 8 – A Ritual, A New Power, and Chickens
Faith walked up the steps of the town hall to the main entrance with the Mayor – the man she was about to betray. Even though he was evil, a part of her could not help but feel awful for what she was doing. But it was right. And it had to be done.
They entered the building together and the Mayor smiled proudly at her.
'Now, I must be off – but you hang around sunshine, and we'll have a super- fun day out!'
She smiled what she thought was sweetly, until he turned away from her and walked into a conference room. God only knew what the hell would happen in there.
Faith meandered her way through the labyrinth of corridors, in her mind holding a picture of the room she was looking for – the Mayor's Office.
She recognized it as soon as she saw it. The room's door, guarded by two beefy security men. They were easy enough to get past, what with her status. . .and the fact that their brains were the size of walnuts.
She paced to the door casually. 'What's up boys?' she said, well aware it was flirtatiously.
One guard winked at her. 'Same old, same old.'
'Listen,' she stroked his upper arm tentatively with her fingertips. 'I need to wait for the Mayor this morning until his conference is over. . .he said to wait in his office. . .can you let me in?'
'Why sure, sweet cheeks,' he bobbed his head to the other guard, who removed a key from his waist and unlocked the door.
'Thanks. . .' Faith stepped in. These guards were too stupid for their own good.
'Hey hun,' the first guard stopped her from going on in the room. 'Aren't I gonna get a reward?'
'Why of course!' she closed up on him. 'Close your eyes, pucker up. . .' he did so, and she walked backwards, slammed the door, and locked it from the inside.
'Retard. . .' she said to herself, as she hurried onwards to the closet where the Books were kept. She pulled at the door, and the books crumbled at her feet.
'Bingo.'
She prepared herself for some intensive ritual searching.
10 minutes before class, Xander yawned widely, covering his mouth as he did so.
'We should really stop doing these all-nighters – I think they're starting to seriously affect us.'
Willow rested her head on Oz's shoulder, dozing lightly. 'I'm just glad things are finally looking up. . .of course, it's Faith, so who knows if we can trust her. . .'
'She will come through,' Prue assured in the background. 'I know it. . .I just wish I could help her.'
'She'll be fine,' Buffy confirmed. 'We should head off to class.'
'What, now?!' Xander said disbelievingly. They stared at him.
'But Faith, and. . .the Books, and. . .' he sighed hopelessly. 'I guess I can sleep on the desks in the language labs.'
Buffy, Willow, Oz and Xander left together, leaving the Halliwells alone with Giles and a sleeping Wesley in the corner.
The three of them sat around the table, silent for several minutes, unable to say anything to each other.
'So. . .' Piper began. 'What do you guys think of Sunnydale?'
'It's different,' said Phoebe simply. 'Actually, wait. No it's not.'
'I have to admit. . .' Piper said uneasily. 'I'm kinda jealous of Buffy.' She leaned in, and spoke quietly. 'I mean, she gets to combat evil with her best friends and boyfriend. We have to keep it hush-hush the entire time.'
'You know what?' Phoebe responded, changing her mind. 'I was wrong. When it comes to sociality, demons are better known among everybody – after all, it is the Hellmouth. In San Francisco – I don't know how – but it's been kept quiet for so long. Don't you think so Prue?'
Prue was staring blankly onwards.
'Prue?' Piper poked her sister, and she jerked.
'Oh!' She massaged her temples. 'Sorry. I spaced out for a minute. I'm just worried about Faith, I want to help her – to know she's OK.'
'Prue, honey, we all do,' Piper rubbed her arm supportively. 'But she's got to do this on her own. It's the only way.'
Prue relaxed on the back of her chair, arms crossed. She sighed deeply.
'Hey, what happened with you and Leo?' Phoebe directed at Piper.
She shrugged. 'Oh, nothing. He came. . .he went. . .I wish he hadn't. . .'
Phoebe frowned for her sister, her eyebrow twitching. 'Still crazy about him, huh?'
Piper threw up her hands. 'I had started to get over him! And then something – someone – made me see it differently.'
'Huh. . .' Phoebe looked on curiously. 'Prue, what. . .?' she trailed off as she saw Prue's head which had dropped to her chest.
'She's asleep,' Piper whispered. 'No wonder.'
'Best we leave her,' Phoebe suggested, and they stood up, walking away from Prue to another part of the library.
Faith briefly scanned each page with her eyes, trying to find any ritual that would mean the end for the Mayor. It hadn't been easy for her – already twice she's had to take a two-minute break to realize this meant the demise of the man who was like her own father.
'Get a hold of yourself, Faith. . .' she kept telling herself. 'He's evil. Slayers destroy evil, remember?'
It was the only principle that kept her going.
She'd found two or three rituals to do with the event, but nothing had been what she was looking for – a ritual to kill the Mayor in his 'invincible form'. She'd found a way to summon minions for the Ascension, locations of some ancient trinkets that unleashed some hell or other, and a bizarre way to request the help of a giant chicken.
The sooner she got away from that one, the better.
A faint pinkish light flashed for a second. Faith jumped back, more terrified than she thought she would be.
But then Prue stood in its position, frantically looking around.
'Faith!' she got to her knees to see the books Faith was looking through.
'Prue, how'd you get here?' Faith uttered urgently.
Prue thought back to what had happened. 'I. . .I don't know. I guess I wanted to be here badly enough and I just sorta. . .ended up here.'
'You have to go!' Faith pushed her away. 'If anybody sees you, we're both dead!'
'OK, but. . .' Prue paused, looking down at her body expectantly. 'I don't know how.'
Faith anxiously swung her head back, looking at the locked door. Faint shadows of the men who had let her in were visible, but no other commotion seemed to be going on outside.
Faith let out a frustrated noise, attention torn between the Books and Prue.
'OK, look. . .I don't think I have a lot of time left. While you're here, try help me out with the searching. Otherwise, think of a way to get back to the library!'
'Uh. . .OK, alright. . .' Prue grabbed the first book she saw and started flicking through it.
'No. . .no. . .' she hesitated at an awkward picture, '. . .is that a giant chicken?'
Within a few seconds, the image of Prue started fading away.
'Faith!' she called. She flicked over one last page, and her body disappeared completely. Faith sat cross legged on the floor, her mouth slightly open. She had been in the world of demons and magick for a while now, but it never failed to surprise her.
Shaking away her thoughts, she glanced at the page that Prue had left the book in.
That was it.
Spell for Vanquishing a Creature Preparing to Ascend.
'Prue, girl, I love you!' she said to no one in particular. She lifted up the book in the air, reading the page over and over. Yep, this was it. And not a minute too soon – she could already here the meeting closing up a couple of corridors away.
Not wasting any time, she ripped the page out effortlessly, along with the page before and the page after, just in case. Folding them twice, she tucked them into her inside left pocket, and slammed the book shut, along with any others that had been open. Piling them on top of one another, she stacked them back in the closet, and shut the door of it firmly.
Patting her inside pocket, for some strange reason checking that the pages were indeed there, she finally felt confident about herself.
A familiar voice rang through the corridor, and her heartbeat speeded up.
'Yes, that's wonderful – I'll see you and Mrs. Litman at golf this weekend!'
Faith tucked her hands innocently behind her back, staring absent-mindedly at the ceiling. Just act casual, don't tense up. . .
The Mayor gave a half-hearted laugh, pushing away the two guards at the door and unlocking it with his own key. Faith stole one more look at the pocket containing the papers, and then lifted her head up.
'Faith!' he sounded genuinely surprised. 'What are you doing here?'
She shrugged nonchalantly. 'Nothing, boss, just got bored. . .figured I'd stop by here and wait for you.'
'Isn't that sweet?' he walked over to her and took her hand gently. 'Now – looks like I've got another pesky conference to attend, but this one shouldn't be so bad. Could you wait a little longer?'
She nodded stiffly. 'Sure.'
He clapped his hands together. 'I can get them to bring you something if you want. Some food? Games? Someone for you to play with?'
Inside herself she flinched at the last comment. 'No, I'll. . .I'll be OK. You just do your thing.'
He smiled brightly. 'Alrighty then. I'll be done soon, but how does a picnic in the park sound?'
'Perfect.' She put her hands in her pockets.
He gave her a small wave and left the office.
She didn't know how she'd make it through these next few hours, but she couldn't risk leaving the building. She felt the pages getting heavier and heavier in her pocket – and as a burden on her shoulders.
Prue jerked her head up, drawing in a sharp breath. She took in her surroundings, and realized she was back in the library.
'Piper. . .Phoebe. . .' she called out her sisters' names when she didn't see them in any direct view. Sure enough, they rushed in from Giles' office quickly.
'Honey, what is it?' Phoebe asked concerned. 'You had a nightmare?'
'No. . .' Prue's voice was shaking slightly. 'I think I unlocked a new power.'
'Which is?' Piper asked speedily.
Prue shook her head, remembering everything that had happened as if in a blurred dream. 'I was with Faith. . .I was helping her find the ritual. . .and I just. . .appeared and disappeared.'
'Prue, that was probably a dream, sweetie,' Piper comforted. 'Faith hasn't been in touch with any of us.'
'No, Piper, it was real,' Prue pressed. 'I was there. With Faith, in an office. I touched a book. . .and I helped her.'
'So you like. . .astral projected?' Phoebe guessed.
'Yeah, I guess. . .I did.' Prue mildly smiled, but exhaustion remained with her.
'Just relax Prue,' Piper calmed her. 'Take deep breaths. Unlocking that power must've taken a lot out of you.'
'Yeah, I'll just. . .' Prue contemplated whether to stand up or remain sitting down. '. . .get a drink of water.'
She stood up from her seat, as Buffy and the Scooby Gang filtered into the library.
'I think that might win it as the longest hour of my life,' Xander declared.
'Couldn't stop thinking about Faith?' Willow asked him.
'Huh, no! Where'd you get that idea?' Xander let out an insulted noise before giving in. 'OK. . .yes. But in no way was she naked in any of these thoughts.'
Willow scolded him with a look.
'Any news?' Buffy asked the library crew, Wesley starting himself awake and Giles coming out from bookshelves.
'Kinda. . .' Phoebe looked over hopefully at Prue, who had just managed to pour herself some water.
'OK. . .' She put the cup down. 'I sorta. . .unlocked a new power, and uh. . .astral projected to where Faith was.'
'Oh God, the Mayor didn't see you, did he?' Willow sounded worried.
'No, luckily, we were in his office alone – the door was locked. Point is, Faith got access to the Books, and apparently, no one suspected her.'
'Good.' Buffy nodded her head. 'Do you know when she'll get to us?'
Prue shook her head. 'No idea. Hopefully she found what she was looking for.'
'Hey, Prue, I was thinking. . .' Piper cautiously approached the subject. 'When you astral projected to Faith, you were just thinking about her, right?'
Prue nodded.
'Well. . .' Piper wrung her hands. 'What if you try do that again, and see if she managed to find the ritual? If she did, maybe you could take it off her. We could start working on it.'
'I guess. . .' Prue rubbed her hands on her jeans, trying not to sound nervous. 'But wouldn't it be really risky, in case the Mayor saw me?'
'If it's too dangerous, you could just get yourself right out of there,' Phoebe affirmed. 'Faith could say you were spying or something, without her looking like the bad guy. Or I guess in her case – the good guy.'
'Alright. . .' Prue said reluctantly. To make herself comfortable, she dropped down to the floor, crossed her legs, and took deep breaths.
Concentrating hard on the image of Faith in her mind's eye, she tried to activate her newly-found power.
Faith paced up and down the Mayor's office, every few minutes glancing at his big sunshine clock on the wall. As every minute passed, the more nervous she got. She couldn't believe she was being such a chicken. She was the Chosen One, for God's sake! Well, one of two, but still! If she was this afraid of one man, what would she be like fighting other demons intent on destroying the world?
A sparkling pink light startled her once again. Her recovery time was shorter now that she knew it was Prue appearing in her presence.
'Faith!' Prue ran over to the girl. 'Is everything OK?'
Faith nodded eagerly. 'Yeah – I found the ritual!' She opened the side of her jacket and removed the folded up pages. 'Take them before the Mayor notices anything's missing.' She clapped the sheets of paper into Prue's hand.
Prue skimmed her eyes over them quickly – the first page was a picture, the second contained the ritual needed, the third some spell to make demons allied to your side. 'Nice work Faith!'
Faith smiled shyly. 'It was actually you that left that page open when you disappeared. I just carried out the oh-so-effective page-ripping out.'
Prue looked up from the pages, letting out a quick smile. 'You know you did so much more than that.'
Faith beamed inside. Despite all the worry and the guilt, it was all worth it in the end.
'So, can you take them with you?' Faith queried.
Prue contorted her face. 'I have no idea. . .I guess I could try.' She tucked them in her pocket, and whispering 'bye', she shut her eyes and let herself be pulled back to the rest of her body.
She took in a short gasp and raised her head. She was back in the library, and the rest of them were staring at her with wide eyes.
'Well?' Phoebe said, folding her hands together.
Prue instantly felt for the pages. A soft crinkling sound confirmed what she'd hoped for. 'Yes!' Grabbing them out of her inside pocket, she leapt up, unfolded them, and waved them around.
'I got it.'
The desk was cluttered with objects for the ritual. Herbs, stones, incense, candles, amulets – it was more precise than they would've imagined.
'Alright,' Piper gave the table a quick once-over. 'I think that's everything.'
Prue gave a dark laugh. 'Well, if it isn't, we can certainly use all this stuff for the spells we do in the next year or so.'
'Yeah, about that – thanks for the supplies Giles.' Phoebe gave the former Watcher a grateful smile. 'This is quite a collection for someone who isn't a witch.'
'Actually,' Willow piped up, 'a lot of the stuff is mine. A-and the magick store's, which I go to.'
Piper cocked her head, as a little reminder popped up in her head. 'Uh. . .Willow, right?' she checked. Willow nodded nervously at being talked to so directly by a great witch.
'You wanna help us make this potion and set up the ritual? God knows we need it with all this stuff. . .' she waved her hand vaguely at the table. 'What do you say?'
Buffy raised her head, biting her bottom lip anxiously.
Willow's voice came out as a little squeak. 'Love to.' Piper took her hand in a friendly gesture.
'Wait a minute. . .' Prue said, reading the page. 'It says here this ritual has to be performed exactly on top of the Hellmouth.' She looked up quizzically. 'Where is that?'
Giles answered her. 'Conveniently, right here.'
'What – underneath the library?' Piper said disbelievingly.
Xander, Willow, Buffy and Giles replied in unison: 'Uh-huh.'
The witches got to their ritual preparation. Phoebe took a container of black sand and poured it in a circle on the higher level of the library – up the small steps and away from the entrance. She scattered a red sand pentagram, with all five points touching the circle. At each point, she lit a candle – already it was looking threatening.
Piper and Willow stood over the cauldron that Willow had provided, listening to the ingredients that Prue was reading out.
Giles and Wesley observed each of the amulets, cross-referencing them with occult books that lay open in their arms. When they were confident with their meanings, they handed one to each person in the room. Before they did, Giles checked with the witches: 'You girls I assume have already taken care of protection charms on yourselves?'
'Got it covered,' Willow said with a grin, looking up from the cauldron where she was placing some beetroot.
Wesley handed an amulet to Xander and, lingering on Cordelia, gave her one too. Afterward, he hung one around his own neck.
'Each of these are for your own protection,' Wesley clarified. 'The spell that will be performed is a very powerful one, and we must take extra precautions so that no one – apart from the Mayor of course – gets hurt.'
Giles handed amulets to Buffy and Oz. They observed the trinkets interestingly. 'You must not take these off at any time until the Mayor is completely destroyed. The result could be anything near fatal.'
Buffy hung the amulet round her neck. 'Wow, I feel like I'm getting that talk on the plane about safety stuff before you take off.'
Giles smiled snidely, putting on his best Watcher face. 'Joke all you want, but don't blame me when you're flapping your arms around and clucking like a chicken.'
Prue froze and raised her eyebrows as she remembered the ritual in the Books of Ascension. Why were there chickens everywhere? She shook away the strange thoughts on her mind.
'Hey. . .' Phoebe turned to the group. 'How is Faith gonna get the Mayor to come here?'
Prue looked up and out the window. She only hoped the Slayer would manage to keep a convincing story all on her own.
A/N: Coming up – the final showdown between the Mayor and the Scoobies. But will Faith manage to trick him fully and lure him into the library without any problems?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the following chapter, regarding Prue's power of astral projection, I know that she cannot bring objects back with her when she returns to her original self, but let's just pretend that because she received her power on the Hellmouth it was boosted, or the pages managed to transport themselves. This is kind of a spoiler – you'll get what I'm saying when you read this.
Chapter 8 – A Ritual, A New Power, and Chickens
Faith walked up the steps of the town hall to the main entrance with the Mayor – the man she was about to betray. Even though he was evil, a part of her could not help but feel awful for what she was doing. But it was right. And it had to be done.
They entered the building together and the Mayor smiled proudly at her.
'Now, I must be off – but you hang around sunshine, and we'll have a super- fun day out!'
She smiled what she thought was sweetly, until he turned away from her and walked into a conference room. God only knew what the hell would happen in there.
Faith meandered her way through the labyrinth of corridors, in her mind holding a picture of the room she was looking for – the Mayor's Office.
She recognized it as soon as she saw it. The room's door, guarded by two beefy security men. They were easy enough to get past, what with her status. . .and the fact that their brains were the size of walnuts.
She paced to the door casually. 'What's up boys?' she said, well aware it was flirtatiously.
One guard winked at her. 'Same old, same old.'
'Listen,' she stroked his upper arm tentatively with her fingertips. 'I need to wait for the Mayor this morning until his conference is over. . .he said to wait in his office. . .can you let me in?'
'Why sure, sweet cheeks,' he bobbed his head to the other guard, who removed a key from his waist and unlocked the door.
'Thanks. . .' Faith stepped in. These guards were too stupid for their own good.
'Hey hun,' the first guard stopped her from going on in the room. 'Aren't I gonna get a reward?'
'Why of course!' she closed up on him. 'Close your eyes, pucker up. . .' he did so, and she walked backwards, slammed the door, and locked it from the inside.
'Retard. . .' she said to herself, as she hurried onwards to the closet where the Books were kept. She pulled at the door, and the books crumbled at her feet.
'Bingo.'
She prepared herself for some intensive ritual searching.
10 minutes before class, Xander yawned widely, covering his mouth as he did so.
'We should really stop doing these all-nighters – I think they're starting to seriously affect us.'
Willow rested her head on Oz's shoulder, dozing lightly. 'I'm just glad things are finally looking up. . .of course, it's Faith, so who knows if we can trust her. . .'
'She will come through,' Prue assured in the background. 'I know it. . .I just wish I could help her.'
'She'll be fine,' Buffy confirmed. 'We should head off to class.'
'What, now?!' Xander said disbelievingly. They stared at him.
'But Faith, and. . .the Books, and. . .' he sighed hopelessly. 'I guess I can sleep on the desks in the language labs.'
Buffy, Willow, Oz and Xander left together, leaving the Halliwells alone with Giles and a sleeping Wesley in the corner.
The three of them sat around the table, silent for several minutes, unable to say anything to each other.
'So. . .' Piper began. 'What do you guys think of Sunnydale?'
'It's different,' said Phoebe simply. 'Actually, wait. No it's not.'
'I have to admit. . .' Piper said uneasily. 'I'm kinda jealous of Buffy.' She leaned in, and spoke quietly. 'I mean, she gets to combat evil with her best friends and boyfriend. We have to keep it hush-hush the entire time.'
'You know what?' Phoebe responded, changing her mind. 'I was wrong. When it comes to sociality, demons are better known among everybody – after all, it is the Hellmouth. In San Francisco – I don't know how – but it's been kept quiet for so long. Don't you think so Prue?'
Prue was staring blankly onwards.
'Prue?' Piper poked her sister, and she jerked.
'Oh!' She massaged her temples. 'Sorry. I spaced out for a minute. I'm just worried about Faith, I want to help her – to know she's OK.'
'Prue, honey, we all do,' Piper rubbed her arm supportively. 'But she's got to do this on her own. It's the only way.'
Prue relaxed on the back of her chair, arms crossed. She sighed deeply.
'Hey, what happened with you and Leo?' Phoebe directed at Piper.
She shrugged. 'Oh, nothing. He came. . .he went. . .I wish he hadn't. . .'
Phoebe frowned for her sister, her eyebrow twitching. 'Still crazy about him, huh?'
Piper threw up her hands. 'I had started to get over him! And then something – someone – made me see it differently.'
'Huh. . .' Phoebe looked on curiously. 'Prue, what. . .?' she trailed off as she saw Prue's head which had dropped to her chest.
'She's asleep,' Piper whispered. 'No wonder.'
'Best we leave her,' Phoebe suggested, and they stood up, walking away from Prue to another part of the library.
Faith briefly scanned each page with her eyes, trying to find any ritual that would mean the end for the Mayor. It hadn't been easy for her – already twice she's had to take a two-minute break to realize this meant the demise of the man who was like her own father.
'Get a hold of yourself, Faith. . .' she kept telling herself. 'He's evil. Slayers destroy evil, remember?'
It was the only principle that kept her going.
She'd found two or three rituals to do with the event, but nothing had been what she was looking for – a ritual to kill the Mayor in his 'invincible form'. She'd found a way to summon minions for the Ascension, locations of some ancient trinkets that unleashed some hell or other, and a bizarre way to request the help of a giant chicken.
The sooner she got away from that one, the better.
A faint pinkish light flashed for a second. Faith jumped back, more terrified than she thought she would be.
But then Prue stood in its position, frantically looking around.
'Faith!' she got to her knees to see the books Faith was looking through.
'Prue, how'd you get here?' Faith uttered urgently.
Prue thought back to what had happened. 'I. . .I don't know. I guess I wanted to be here badly enough and I just sorta. . .ended up here.'
'You have to go!' Faith pushed her away. 'If anybody sees you, we're both dead!'
'OK, but. . .' Prue paused, looking down at her body expectantly. 'I don't know how.'
Faith anxiously swung her head back, looking at the locked door. Faint shadows of the men who had let her in were visible, but no other commotion seemed to be going on outside.
Faith let out a frustrated noise, attention torn between the Books and Prue.
'OK, look. . .I don't think I have a lot of time left. While you're here, try help me out with the searching. Otherwise, think of a way to get back to the library!'
'Uh. . .OK, alright. . .' Prue grabbed the first book she saw and started flicking through it.
'No. . .no. . .' she hesitated at an awkward picture, '. . .is that a giant chicken?'
Within a few seconds, the image of Prue started fading away.
'Faith!' she called. She flicked over one last page, and her body disappeared completely. Faith sat cross legged on the floor, her mouth slightly open. She had been in the world of demons and magick for a while now, but it never failed to surprise her.
Shaking away her thoughts, she glanced at the page that Prue had left the book in.
That was it.
Spell for Vanquishing a Creature Preparing to Ascend.
'Prue, girl, I love you!' she said to no one in particular. She lifted up the book in the air, reading the page over and over. Yep, this was it. And not a minute too soon – she could already here the meeting closing up a couple of corridors away.
Not wasting any time, she ripped the page out effortlessly, along with the page before and the page after, just in case. Folding them twice, she tucked them into her inside left pocket, and slammed the book shut, along with any others that had been open. Piling them on top of one another, she stacked them back in the closet, and shut the door of it firmly.
Patting her inside pocket, for some strange reason checking that the pages were indeed there, she finally felt confident about herself.
A familiar voice rang through the corridor, and her heartbeat speeded up.
'Yes, that's wonderful – I'll see you and Mrs. Litman at golf this weekend!'
Faith tucked her hands innocently behind her back, staring absent-mindedly at the ceiling. Just act casual, don't tense up. . .
The Mayor gave a half-hearted laugh, pushing away the two guards at the door and unlocking it with his own key. Faith stole one more look at the pocket containing the papers, and then lifted her head up.
'Faith!' he sounded genuinely surprised. 'What are you doing here?'
She shrugged nonchalantly. 'Nothing, boss, just got bored. . .figured I'd stop by here and wait for you.'
'Isn't that sweet?' he walked over to her and took her hand gently. 'Now – looks like I've got another pesky conference to attend, but this one shouldn't be so bad. Could you wait a little longer?'
She nodded stiffly. 'Sure.'
He clapped his hands together. 'I can get them to bring you something if you want. Some food? Games? Someone for you to play with?'
Inside herself she flinched at the last comment. 'No, I'll. . .I'll be OK. You just do your thing.'
He smiled brightly. 'Alrighty then. I'll be done soon, but how does a picnic in the park sound?'
'Perfect.' She put her hands in her pockets.
He gave her a small wave and left the office.
She didn't know how she'd make it through these next few hours, but she couldn't risk leaving the building. She felt the pages getting heavier and heavier in her pocket – and as a burden on her shoulders.
Prue jerked her head up, drawing in a sharp breath. She took in her surroundings, and realized she was back in the library.
'Piper. . .Phoebe. . .' she called out her sisters' names when she didn't see them in any direct view. Sure enough, they rushed in from Giles' office quickly.
'Honey, what is it?' Phoebe asked concerned. 'You had a nightmare?'
'No. . .' Prue's voice was shaking slightly. 'I think I unlocked a new power.'
'Which is?' Piper asked speedily.
Prue shook her head, remembering everything that had happened as if in a blurred dream. 'I was with Faith. . .I was helping her find the ritual. . .and I just. . .appeared and disappeared.'
'Prue, that was probably a dream, sweetie,' Piper comforted. 'Faith hasn't been in touch with any of us.'
'No, Piper, it was real,' Prue pressed. 'I was there. With Faith, in an office. I touched a book. . .and I helped her.'
'So you like. . .astral projected?' Phoebe guessed.
'Yeah, I guess. . .I did.' Prue mildly smiled, but exhaustion remained with her.
'Just relax Prue,' Piper calmed her. 'Take deep breaths. Unlocking that power must've taken a lot out of you.'
'Yeah, I'll just. . .' Prue contemplated whether to stand up or remain sitting down. '. . .get a drink of water.'
She stood up from her seat, as Buffy and the Scooby Gang filtered into the library.
'I think that might win it as the longest hour of my life,' Xander declared.
'Couldn't stop thinking about Faith?' Willow asked him.
'Huh, no! Where'd you get that idea?' Xander let out an insulted noise before giving in. 'OK. . .yes. But in no way was she naked in any of these thoughts.'
Willow scolded him with a look.
'Any news?' Buffy asked the library crew, Wesley starting himself awake and Giles coming out from bookshelves.
'Kinda. . .' Phoebe looked over hopefully at Prue, who had just managed to pour herself some water.
'OK. . .' She put the cup down. 'I sorta. . .unlocked a new power, and uh. . .astral projected to where Faith was.'
'Oh God, the Mayor didn't see you, did he?' Willow sounded worried.
'No, luckily, we were in his office alone – the door was locked. Point is, Faith got access to the Books, and apparently, no one suspected her.'
'Good.' Buffy nodded her head. 'Do you know when she'll get to us?'
Prue shook her head. 'No idea. Hopefully she found what she was looking for.'
'Hey, Prue, I was thinking. . .' Piper cautiously approached the subject. 'When you astral projected to Faith, you were just thinking about her, right?'
Prue nodded.
'Well. . .' Piper wrung her hands. 'What if you try do that again, and see if she managed to find the ritual? If she did, maybe you could take it off her. We could start working on it.'
'I guess. . .' Prue rubbed her hands on her jeans, trying not to sound nervous. 'But wouldn't it be really risky, in case the Mayor saw me?'
'If it's too dangerous, you could just get yourself right out of there,' Phoebe affirmed. 'Faith could say you were spying or something, without her looking like the bad guy. Or I guess in her case – the good guy.'
'Alright. . .' Prue said reluctantly. To make herself comfortable, she dropped down to the floor, crossed her legs, and took deep breaths.
Concentrating hard on the image of Faith in her mind's eye, she tried to activate her newly-found power.
Faith paced up and down the Mayor's office, every few minutes glancing at his big sunshine clock on the wall. As every minute passed, the more nervous she got. She couldn't believe she was being such a chicken. She was the Chosen One, for God's sake! Well, one of two, but still! If she was this afraid of one man, what would she be like fighting other demons intent on destroying the world?
A sparkling pink light startled her once again. Her recovery time was shorter now that she knew it was Prue appearing in her presence.
'Faith!' Prue ran over to the girl. 'Is everything OK?'
Faith nodded eagerly. 'Yeah – I found the ritual!' She opened the side of her jacket and removed the folded up pages. 'Take them before the Mayor notices anything's missing.' She clapped the sheets of paper into Prue's hand.
Prue skimmed her eyes over them quickly – the first page was a picture, the second contained the ritual needed, the third some spell to make demons allied to your side. 'Nice work Faith!'
Faith smiled shyly. 'It was actually you that left that page open when you disappeared. I just carried out the oh-so-effective page-ripping out.'
Prue looked up from the pages, letting out a quick smile. 'You know you did so much more than that.'
Faith beamed inside. Despite all the worry and the guilt, it was all worth it in the end.
'So, can you take them with you?' Faith queried.
Prue contorted her face. 'I have no idea. . .I guess I could try.' She tucked them in her pocket, and whispering 'bye', she shut her eyes and let herself be pulled back to the rest of her body.
She took in a short gasp and raised her head. She was back in the library, and the rest of them were staring at her with wide eyes.
'Well?' Phoebe said, folding her hands together.
Prue instantly felt for the pages. A soft crinkling sound confirmed what she'd hoped for. 'Yes!' Grabbing them out of her inside pocket, she leapt up, unfolded them, and waved them around.
'I got it.'
The desk was cluttered with objects for the ritual. Herbs, stones, incense, candles, amulets – it was more precise than they would've imagined.
'Alright,' Piper gave the table a quick once-over. 'I think that's everything.'
Prue gave a dark laugh. 'Well, if it isn't, we can certainly use all this stuff for the spells we do in the next year or so.'
'Yeah, about that – thanks for the supplies Giles.' Phoebe gave the former Watcher a grateful smile. 'This is quite a collection for someone who isn't a witch.'
'Actually,' Willow piped up, 'a lot of the stuff is mine. A-and the magick store's, which I go to.'
Piper cocked her head, as a little reminder popped up in her head. 'Uh. . .Willow, right?' she checked. Willow nodded nervously at being talked to so directly by a great witch.
'You wanna help us make this potion and set up the ritual? God knows we need it with all this stuff. . .' she waved her hand vaguely at the table. 'What do you say?'
Buffy raised her head, biting her bottom lip anxiously.
Willow's voice came out as a little squeak. 'Love to.' Piper took her hand in a friendly gesture.
'Wait a minute. . .' Prue said, reading the page. 'It says here this ritual has to be performed exactly on top of the Hellmouth.' She looked up quizzically. 'Where is that?'
Giles answered her. 'Conveniently, right here.'
'What – underneath the library?' Piper said disbelievingly.
Xander, Willow, Buffy and Giles replied in unison: 'Uh-huh.'
The witches got to their ritual preparation. Phoebe took a container of black sand and poured it in a circle on the higher level of the library – up the small steps and away from the entrance. She scattered a red sand pentagram, with all five points touching the circle. At each point, she lit a candle – already it was looking threatening.
Piper and Willow stood over the cauldron that Willow had provided, listening to the ingredients that Prue was reading out.
Giles and Wesley observed each of the amulets, cross-referencing them with occult books that lay open in their arms. When they were confident with their meanings, they handed one to each person in the room. Before they did, Giles checked with the witches: 'You girls I assume have already taken care of protection charms on yourselves?'
'Got it covered,' Willow said with a grin, looking up from the cauldron where she was placing some beetroot.
Wesley handed an amulet to Xander and, lingering on Cordelia, gave her one too. Afterward, he hung one around his own neck.
'Each of these are for your own protection,' Wesley clarified. 'The spell that will be performed is a very powerful one, and we must take extra precautions so that no one – apart from the Mayor of course – gets hurt.'
Giles handed amulets to Buffy and Oz. They observed the trinkets interestingly. 'You must not take these off at any time until the Mayor is completely destroyed. The result could be anything near fatal.'
Buffy hung the amulet round her neck. 'Wow, I feel like I'm getting that talk on the plane about safety stuff before you take off.'
Giles smiled snidely, putting on his best Watcher face. 'Joke all you want, but don't blame me when you're flapping your arms around and clucking like a chicken.'
Prue froze and raised her eyebrows as she remembered the ritual in the Books of Ascension. Why were there chickens everywhere? She shook away the strange thoughts on her mind.
'Hey. . .' Phoebe turned to the group. 'How is Faith gonna get the Mayor to come here?'
Prue looked up and out the window. She only hoped the Slayer would manage to keep a convincing story all on her own.
A/N: Coming up – the final showdown between the Mayor and the Scoobies. But will Faith manage to trick him fully and lure him into the library without any problems?
