Chapter 6 part 1
"Sorry, Pri. There's no big bad coming to devour us." Wesley shut the last of the many books and scrolls on the table and a cloud of dust rose. Wes coughed and used his hands to wave the dust from his face. "I don't mean to disappoint you." He added with noticeable sarcasm.
"I'm glad that you found no world endangering force of evil in those ancient, musty, dust covered, thousands of years old documents. But these mystical future telling sources of yours have been dead longer than you can count. Don't you think that their aim might have been a little off? I mean, dudes, you're taking crap from a bunch of dead guys over the intuition of one of the future's most powerful witches. Just think for a moment, maybe they got something wrong." Pri sighed and a sincere look of concern showed through her seemingly evident calmness. "You might not have found anything but-"
"Something's coming. Something…big…hello I'm Willow. Glad to see that I'm not the only one trying to convince these stubborn pains-in-the-ass that trouble's on its way. And from the look on these guys' faces that's exactly what you're doing. For a while I thought I was going crazy or something, thinking that something apocalyptic is 'gonna happen." The twenty-something year old redhead continued to babble on about the impending doom, which could be arriving at any moment, until Pri held out her hand.
"I'm Pri, Pri Halliwell. I-I didn't see you come in. Were you here the whole time?" The dark haired Wicca smiled and slowly shook Willow's hand. As the red-head brought her hand back down to her side, Pri's hand seemed to tingle from the warmth of the petite woman's touch lingering on her own hand. "Oh, yes. Um…I just sense some kind of evil presence nearby like…like it's-"
"In the air. Like an invisible cloud of darkness hovering threateningly over your shoulder. I feel it too. All the way from Sunnydale, I might add." Willow smiled back. "I came in through the back." The young Wicca's smile faded when she noticed Pri staring. "W-what's wrong? Is there something in my teeth? Are my eyes actin' all weird like?"
"No…it's just-I, um, was just noticing how great your smile is." Pri blushed to the roots of her dark hair and she looked down. "Sorry." Wow…she said exactly what I had been thinking. It's almost like she read my mind. Pri thought to herself before recollecting herself and looking back up. "The last time I felt powerful evil like this was in the future-your future, my present- when my big sister was in town. But she's not even born yet…well neither am I for that matter. I was told, in my past life-before passing on-, that I would be the first born of Paige Matthews Halliwell. But once I was born into my second life I could sense that there was one born before myself. It's very strange that the Elders didn't know of this, or if they did, why would they keep it from me. What's even stranger is that she is the evil one and I am the good one." The young Wicca's brow furrowe in deep thought.
"What is that supposed to mean? You're from the future?" Willow's eyes widened in surprise.
"Her father was a good fire demon. He and Mom dated until he was killed helping her and the aunts fight the Source. My father was an evil water demon. He was planning on killing my mom when he was killed by the aunts after he…let's just say he was killed. I had the evil father and she had the good one. I have the dark blood so why am I not the evil one? Not that I want to be evil." Pri paused to ponder some more on the situation. "Please do some more research. Wolfram and Heart could have already done the rising. If they did, and she is here, she must have been pulled through a time portal on the sun from her time to this before being beamed down to Earth. Sinistra is one tough bitch-er-witch. She's overflowing with evil." Pri turned to face the redheaded Wicca. "Willow, could you come with me to the library? I think I remember seeing some old volumes and texts that could be of some use."
"Sure. I'll drive." The young woman grinned for she had just bought a brand new car.
"Or I could orb us. That's much faster." Something about Willow's face, be it the quick shift in her expression from a cheerful grin to a goofy pout, or be it the sparkle slowly fading from her beautiful green eyes, made Pri quickly change her mind. "Or you could drive." The future Wicca could not hold back a smile as the redhead's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Yay!" Willow scurried to the counter, grabbed her keys, and made a b-line for the door.
"She certainly seems happy; for someone about to research the impending apocalypse, that is." The amused smile lingering on Pri's lips softened into a loving one.
Fred recognized that look and she, too, smiled. "I wouldn't keep her waiting in that car too long. She can get a bit touchy and…impatient."
As Pri began to follow the path that Willow took out the door to the car, she turned back to Fred and smiled weakly. "Thanks, I'll remember that."
Willow brought her new SAAB convertible to a stop at the red light. "What books are you planning on look at once we get to the Library? They surely have nothing we haven't got."
Pri nervously cleared her throat. "Turn left up here. I was never planning on going to the library, I'm sure they have nothing." Willow stole a quizzical glance at Pri before turning her eyes back to the road. "That was only an excuse to get out of there. We're heading for San Francisco. I have a book at home that's sure to have some answers." The light turned green and, as Willow turned left, Pri looked at her and smiled. "I would have told you sooner but I figured we'd have plenty of time to talk apocalyptic later. And, to be perfectly honest, I knew who you were before you introduced yourself. I've seen you all the time on BtVS. I-I'm very sorry about T-Tara. I know it was a long time ago for me, seeing as I'm from the future, but for you it must've been quite recently. I mean, I mean, I know it was just a TV show to most people, but I know it was real. It must've been terrible losing someone you love so much. I wouldn't know what it's like to love like that, all of my family died before I was old enough to know the meaning of the word, let alone have that feeling for any of them." Pri sighed. "Sorry for bringing it up. A-and you probably didn't want to hear all that stuff about me."
By the time the dark haired Wicca had said those last words, Willow had already turned the car onto the highway. The cute redhead glanced to Pri and smiled warmly. "It's okay. That was…that was quite a while ago. I bet you came from the future to save your family. Am I right?"
"Yes. But I…my family can't know that they all die like that. The future may have changed for worse because I told my mom that I die when I am twenty-two. I also told her not to try to stop it, neglecting to tell her that she wouldn't even be alive to try." Pri turned away to look out her window to hide a tear slowly rolling down her right cheek. As she tried to steady her voice she added; "If she or my aunts knew that they are dead in my and my cousins' future, they would be driven to a state of extreme paranoia. It is their paranoia that will lead to their destruction."
Willow, not knowing what to say to a person in this unique situation, just looked over at Pri and gives her another warm, comforting smile. She continued to drive in silence, all the while wondering about Pri and her quest to save her loved ones. Finally, after an hour of driving in silence, Willow spoke. "Is your whole family a line of witches? I mean, you are a witch, right? You're part demon part witch."
"Yes. The Halliwell line has been around for quite some time. And unless me and my future cousin can save his brother from turning evil…it won't be long before the line is wiped out." Pri sighed again and turned from the window to face Willow. "If he turns evil, it's good bye Charmed Ones and hello hellish apocalyptic future."
Willow's eyes widened in shock and her grip on the wheel tightened. "D-did you say Charmed Ones?" Pri solemnly nodded her head. "But the Charmed Ones are but only a myth; a-a legend. Surely they don't…your family really isn't…is it?"
Pri smirked and a grim chuckle escaped her lips. "Whitelighters are but only myth as well, but here I am; living proof that both exist. Aunt Piper freezes time and blows stuff up. Aunt Phoebe levitates, has premonitions, and has empathic powers. Mom Orbs and tele-orbs. Individually they are your everyday run of the mill witches. But together they are an unbeatable force of good…or they are in this time." Pri smiled warmly. "I'm surprised you didn't know we exist. They've helped Angel a bunch of times…and vice versa."
"Whoa…when I fist met you I sensed a lot of power, but I never imagined that you're a future descendant of the legendary Charmed Ones. It's an honor to have met you." Willow was awestruck by all of the information she had just been given. "In fact, it's an honor to be in the very presence of someone as powerful as yourself."
Pri blushed slightly. "Thank you, but really, I'm not all that honorable. I'm just like everyone else." Pri smiled shyly and the red of her face deepened. "From what I've heard I should be honored to be in your presence-I am honored to be in your presence." Pri's smile became one of admiration. "You restored Angel's soul and brought Buffy back from the dead and so much more. You've got a lot of power for just one witch. You're like the Charmed One. I'm surprised I've not heard of you helping Angel out more often."
Willow hesitated. "Well, after nearly bringing the apocalypse, I've decided to be careful with magic. Even if it's to help Angel. Meaning, no more lightning bolts out of the hands, and no more restoring souls and reviving the dead. I'm sticking to the basics and even those are too dangerous. I-I get all Black Magick Eyes and veiny and dark hair and m-"
Willow was beginning to babble hysterically and Pri cut her off, wanting to direct the redhead's attention back to the road. "Willow, shhh…it's okay. Just relax and get off here, this is the exit closest to my house." The future Charmed One tried to soothe her new friend as best she could. "Willow, sweetie, we may have just met but I know you from watching BtVS. The last episode you conquered your fear. You cast a spell more powerful than any before without the darkness taking over. Your magick saved the world. You have the power, and you can control it." Tears welled up in Pri's eyes as her heart filled with compassion for this young woman breaking down in front of her. How horrible it must be to fear yourself and your capabilities, Pri thought to herself. What terrifying pain she must be in. If only I could help…
"I caused the reenactment of "The Titanic" to become real."
"What? Don't be ridiculous. The blame for that accident rests on a-a freak accident…I saw it on the news. The ship hit the concrete iceberg and it went down. Since it was a reenactment the ship, once again, had not enough lifeboats and an old-fashioned-type engine. How could you possibly even think that you're in any way responsible for what was clearly a terrible accident?" Feelings of confusion, sympathy, and care swirled through Pri's head like a whirlwind.
"That's what the news said. Kennedy was on the ship when it hit. I was paranoid about it crashing s-so I c-cast a spell." They were nearing the Halliwell's house at this time and the redhead was sobbing and convulsing, her firm grip on the wheel becoming ever so unstable. "B-but it went c-c-completely w-wrong…it was supposed to make both icebergs inflatable, but it ended up making them both concrete. I-I killed so m-many p-people."
"Kennedy…oh my god. Willow…you are not to blame-whoa!" Suddenly the shaking of Willow's hands jerked the wheel to the left; the car swerved into traffic going the opposite direction. Pri took the wheel and pulled the car back into its designated side of the road. "Let's pull over. We can talk; it'll help you relax. Wouldn't wanna crash this snazzy new car would we?" Pri smirked playfully, trying to lighten up the mood.
Willow shakily nodded her head in agreement as Pri pulled the car into a parking lot. Taking a few deep breaths she began to speak. "I know I didn't do it. It's just…sometimes I wonder if I did, and if I'm really emotional I start to believe it and I get out of control. I-I'm just gonna quit. Too many people I love have died because of me."
"Willow, none of those deaths were your fault. Believe me. I could take you back in time; give you the chance to change everything; do everything differently…but it would still be the same. Because it's not your fault." Pri tightly wrapped her arms around Willow's shoulders and put a comforting hand behind the other's head, brining it to rest on her own shoulder. The dark haired Wicca whispered softly into the woman's ear, attempting to soothe her fearful soul, feeling Willow's sporadic shaking become a distinct, constant shiver. "It's okay, you'll be okay; it's not your fault. Just breathe…"
Willow sat silently in Pri's arms for what seemed like ages; listening to the calming words being whispered in her ear; her breath slowly steadying and her shaking finally reduced to an occasional slight shiver. "T-thank you. I'm b-better now. If I remember correctly, we have a book to look at and a futuristic evil force to stop." She lifted her head off the dark haired Wicca's shoulder and sat up straight, smiling weakly to show her appreciation for Pri's comfort and support.
"Maybe I should drive the rest of the way. You know; give you one less thing to focus on for a bit." Pri returned Willow's smile and a chuckle escaped her lungs. "We've only just met a few hours ago and I'm worried like hell about you. Maybe if you're scared of your magick again you should start off slow like you did after the whole almost bringing the apocalypse thing. Just get used to the flow of things. I could help if you want."
"Ok, yeah, you drive. You driving is good. I'll just…rest. Resting is good too." Willow unbuckled her seat belt, got out the door, and walked around to the other side of the car. When she got there she met Pri getting out of the passenger door. "And, yeah, it'd be great if you could help me get back on track with the good mojo. If it's not too much trouble, that is. I'm really sorry for breaking down like this…it's like the emotion suddenly took over me; like-like a wave of sorts."
"The aunts and I would be glad to help out. We've got plenty of time on our hands. And, Mom works at the Magic School now. I'm sure there's some kind of class there for older, more practiced Wiccas." Pri lightly rested her hand on Willow's shoulder. "We're just a mile or so away, then we can get this over with and get you back to Angel."
Willow watched as Pri walks around towards the driver's side of the car and smiled shyly. "No rush. I'm interested in seeing the home of the legendary Charmed Ones."
"It's not that impressive. Tis a normal, everyday, house. Unless you count the countless demon attacks, round-the-clock book checks, and orb-full babysitting." Pri smirked. "You're welcome any time. Us Wiccas have got to be there for each other eh? If ever you're in town, feel free to stop by and stay a while." She gingerly got into the driver's seat, closed the door, buckled her seatbelt, and started the car; waiting for Willow to get settled before driving towards 1329 Prescott.
A few minutes later the two new friends were parked outside the Halliwell Manor and Pri was wondering what will happen when she walks in the door. What will her mom say? Will she even talk to Pri? Will she even look her in the eye? She had just told her mother the worst thing a mother could hear: that her own child would die before she did. As devastating as that information was, Paige Matthews would just have to deal. As cruel a thing to say to someone expecting to lose a child, it's just how it is. But, no matter what, Pri was determined to talk things out with her mother. She removed the key from the ignition, unbuckled her seatbelt, and stepped out of the open car door. "Willow…" she said to the young woman as they walked up the front steps. "If my mom seems a bit…conflicted when we get in, it's because of what I told her."
"I understand it must be hard for her. It must be hard for you, knowing that her knowing that grim part of the future is paining her so. So, shall we?" She gestured to the door and smiled, finally relaxed and back to her normal self.
Returning Willow's smile, Pri turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. "Home sweet home," she said with a sigh and walked in: stepping aside to let Willow follow. "Voila! The home of the legendary Charmed Ones; Over here, to your right, you will see the wall through which the demon Shax sent my aunts flying, killing my aunt Prue. To your left you wi-"
"Pri! What the hell do you think you're doing! You can't just go around giving magickal tours of our house! What do you think you're doing, exposing us like th-a-at…" Piper cut herself off when she saw that the woman she had tried to freeze was still moving. "Why is she moving? She should be frozen."
Pri smirked and looked from Willow to her aunt Piper. "Willow, this is Aunt Piper, the eldest of the Charmed Ones. With the power to freeze things and blow things up…except for other good witches and some powerful demons. Auntie, this is Willow Rosenburg. She's a kick ass witch. We've come to check the book for some evil nasty that might show up, unless she has been time-warped and raised already. Then we're in trouble." Pri took Willow by the hand and began tugging her toward the stairs so that she would have less of a chance of running into Paige. "Oh, and she thinks you and Mom and Aunt Pheebs are legendary."
Piper watched as the two young women who just entered the house go up the stairs and she called after them. "Are you staying for dinner?" Then she recollected herself. "Wait…what! If there's a new evil nasty in town, I think I should go with you!" Piper rushed after them.
When Piper reached the attic she saw Pri explaining something to Willow. "Now, since she's from the future, she may not be in the book. But since she's been warped here by Wolfram and Heart, we have a chance of finding her and getting her back to her own time before Mom and the aunts decide to vanquish her sorry ass." Pri looked down to see she was still holding Willow's hand and she quickly let go. "I…um…sorry."
"No, it's okay. I don't mind. Now, you're saying you don't want Sini to be vanquished? If she's evil why would you even think to set her free in your time?" Willow took Pri's hand in her own and gave her a questioning look. "I know she's your sister, does that have anything to do with it?"
"If she dies in this time it could alter the future…most likely for the worse. She may be a sister, but evil runs through her veins: pure evil. I will travel back to my time and kill her there, when the time is right. For now we will just send her back to her resting place on the sun." Pri grimly smiled at Willow, and then her face softened. "We'll talk to Mom soon about getting you into an adult class at the magic school. If there is none, we can always help."
"Ahem…" Piper cleared her throat. "What's this about a sister? Perhaps we should call your mother in on this one. You told her you were her only daughter, or at least your past life told her." Piper, annoyed, raised a questioning eyebrow, as she so often did.
"She meant a sister witch. The big evil nasty that we're up against is a sister witch. But, as I said, she is pure evil. Born of a witch and a fire demon. She has powers to rival mine, which means we need to get her back to her own time before she damages the present too much to fix the future." Pri explained this neglecting to mention that she had not indeed told them that she was an only child of Paige, but the youngest. And, even so, she had only told them what the Elders had told her, so there could be another daughter she, herself, did not know about. Pri smiled weakly at Piper, hoping that this explanation would pass.
"Oh, I see." Piper lowered her eyebrow, relaxed, and smiled warmly. "Willow, I, as would my sisters I'm sure, would be delighted to help you with anything magickal if there is nothing at the school. You're welcome here any time, as I hope my young niece has made clear. Make yourself at home." Piper turned to walk back downstairs when she looked back over her shoulder. "If you need any help with the book, just give a shout."
"Will do, Auntie Dearest," Pri replied with a smirk as she watched Piper walk down the staircase. She then turned back to Willow. "So, my good new bestest buddy ole' pal, where should we start on this demon-hunt?"
Willow grinned and glanced down at the book. "Maybe we should start-" Suddenly the pages started flipping by themselves and stopped at a blank page. "Oh…wow. Um…does it normally do that?"
"It's just Grams lending a hand. But normally the page is full with useful info." Pri's quizzical expression transformed into a furrowed brow and a pout. "Grams must be losing her touch."
"Or not." Willow was now staring in shock at the Book of Shadows.
Pri followed her gaze to see a picture forming and words writing themselves out on the piece of yellowed paper. "Nice one, Grams. Thanks a mil." The two Wiccas scanned the page. "It seems that this spell will undo whatever the hell Wolfram and Hart did."
"Oh…but look." Willow said with dismay. "It says that only a very powerful Wicca, that does not have a direct blood link to the demon in question, can cast this spell effectively. And the Wicca must meet certain requirements…like overcoming inner emotional torment tied to magick…and light and dark magicks warring within. Basically whoever casts this whopper has to be an extremely unstable, insecure individual." Willow's eyes widened in realization. "Which means whoever casts this spell is in danger of losing him or herself to the dark side, opening up a can of worms. The whole world could be put in immediate danger, even if we send this hell-bitch back to her humble abode, the caster of the spell could bring life as we know it to ruin."
"Looks like we've got ourselves a lot of hard choices to make. Should we take this info back to Angel or maybe I could orb out there and get all of them here. Either way, this needs to be discussed before we decide this spell is worth it." Pri furrowed her brow in thought as she contemplated the possible choices. "We don't even know a Wicca that meet the requirements for the spell. We should at least have someone prepared to cast it if we choose to take the risk."
"Perhaps you should bring Angel here. It would be pointless to leave here without knowing for sure if we have all the information we can get. I mean, yeah you could orb here from there, but it would be easier if everyone was here, right where the source of our information is." Willow dropped Pri's hand from her grasp. "I could stay here and keep looking, if that's okay I mean. If you don't trust me with the book I'd understand since we only just met."
"No, that's actually a good idea. Just flip through a bit if you want. See if you can find anything useful." Pri prepared to orb out then reconsiderd. "Thanks a lot for coming. You've been a big help. I really appreciate you doing this. I'll be back shortly with the others."
Willow watched as Pri began to disappear in a swirl of orbs. "Wait, Pri!" She called out, wondering if the dark haired Wicca would be able to hear her.
Pri stopped orbing out and looked questioningly and concerned at Willow. "What? Is everything okay?"
"Why did you ask me to come?" Willow said. "I mean, I know you needed some help with the research, but why me? You had known me less than ten minutes and I was the first person you asked."
"For the very reason you gave me, that's why." Pri replies earnestly. "I hardly knew you, and since we were obviously gonna be working together with Angel on this case, and possible cases in the future, I wanted to take the opportunity to get to know you better. You of all people know that witches work together better when their bond of trust is strong. We don't have much time before this big bad arrives and I wanted to make our bond as strong as possible if we have a chance of sending "her" back to her time." Pri smiles warmly. "Besides, I like you. I thought maybe if we spent some time together we could be good friends some day."
"You were right. We could be good friends. Probably sooner than you would think. And you totally hit the nail on the head with that whole magickal bond of trust thing. But, since we need a Wicca that meets certain requirements, I guess our personal strength wouldn't matter."
"Actually," Pri countered. "If we find a willing Wicca, and decide to do the spell, the Wicca could tap into our powers and use that strength to help the spell along."
Willow smirked in response. "And the more power we have, the more he or she can use to send this evil to whence it came."
"Yes, indeed. I'm off. Good luck finding spells. Anything about demon-rising reversal or solar time warp is good." Pri once again began to disappear in a swirl of orbs and Willow began the search.
Paige sighed and put her brush down. She had been painting nothing in particular, but was only trying to let out her emotions in a way that would not result in a magickal mess. Her heart felt heavy and her mind spun with confusion; she didn't know what to feel or what to think. She orbed up to the attic to do some random searching of the book, just to give her something to do. When she arrived in the attic she was shocked to see a strange red-haired woman leafing through the book as if it were her own. "Crystals!" She said, with a wave of her hand, and the crystals surrounded the woman, creating a magickal cage. "Who do you think you are, demon, to think you could get away with stealing this book? What are you to be able to leaf through it without it protecting itself from your evil?"
Willow looked up from the page she was scanning. "I-I…Pri, what do you mean I-oh shit. You're not Pri are you? You're her mother." Her shock resided a bit and she continued calmly to explain. "I'm Willow. Willow Rosenburg. I'm a friend of Angel and the others. I happened to show up when Pri was explaining about a new big evil nasty that may be arriving and I agreed to come and help her search the book. She just left for a while to get Angel and the others. If you'd just wait, she'll be here shortly. She'll tell you who I am. But I am no demon, I assure you. I'm a witch, just like you and your sisters. A-and Pri, of course." Willow blushed slightly. "I'm sorry for my rude language-I was just so…you caught me off guard."
"That's a pretty damn good story you've told me. Most demons aren't so clever." Paige raised a mild potion and prepared to throw it at the redheaded Wicca in the cage, thinking that she was a lower level demon and that the potion would take care of things. "But do you really expect me to believe that Pri would leave the book with a total stranger unattended? And furthermore, do you think she would neglect to inform us of something apocalyptic?"
"Piper knows. Pri told her when we came in. My car is parked outside. I have a license. I could show you if it would prove to you I am but a human." Willow's fear heightened once more as she saw the potion in Paige's hand. "Just don't hurt me, wait until Pri comes home. Or, better yet, call Piper. She'll vouch for me." Beginning to believe that all attempts at explanation were futile, Willow began to call; "Pri! Pri, help! Please, can you hear me? Help! Help…"
Pri Halliwell arrived at the Hyperion lobby and looked around to see which of Angel's gang she could find without much of a search. Surprisingly enough she found everyone there, plus a few more. There was a quirky athletic looking blonde woman, of about five-feet three-inches, who was chatting with a tall man with bleached blonde hair. She turned to find Angel conversing with a man of about his own height with a face that almost couldn't be taken seriously, every few seconds a goofy expression would pop up, then would disappear just as fast. Next to Fred and Lorne was a young woman of about eighteen and slightly taller than the blonde woman: less athletic looking but with a great smile, high cheekbones, and a slender figure. Wesley was off by himself indulging himself in far too many books, clearly going to great lengths to find some useful information. Gunn was behind the counter, carefully polishing a strange weapon of sorts.
Clearing her throat, Pri made her presence known. "If you would all join hands, please, Willow and I have found some useful information. For those of you my aunts, mother, and I have not met, formal introductions will be made once we arrive at my house." Her face was grim as she continued. "We need you all to meet with us and discuss what our next move should be. To send this evil back where she belongs, we may need to take a risk that could end up not being worth it." As they began to all move into a circle and join hands, Pri addeds: "Oh, and make it a tight, tight circle; there's not very much room in the attic." She stepped into the tight circle and joined hands with the athletic looking blonde, and the darker haired girl. Making sure that everyone was holding another's hand, Pri orbed them all into the attic; remembering too late that she had neglected to warn them of the side-affects of orbing.
When they arrived in the attic, the first sight to greet their eyes was a glowing cage of magick, and a woman threateningly raising a potion at it. Whoever-or whatever- was in the cage was blocked by the woman, but Pri feared she knew who it was being trapped. She rushed forward, paying no heed to the group of people doubled over from their orbing experience, and saw what she feared: Willow shaking in fear, obviously worn out from a vast amount of screaming for help. "Mother! What the hell do you think you're doing!" Pri vigorously waved both hands, "crystals," and the crystals exploded in tiny puffs of smoke. Pri pushed past her mother and fell to her knees, carefully embracing Willow's crumpled form on the floor. "Are you alright?" she whispered in the other's ear, all the while gently running her fingers through the young Wicca's hair.
Willow managed a weak nod and allowed Pri to help her up.
Angrily, Pri turned on Paige. "How long were you planning on doing this? If I had been gone for more than the short hour I had, then what? Were you going to continue to ignore her pleas? Were you going to kill her?" Pri saw the potion in her mother's hand. "Whatever happened to "innocent 'til proven guilty" huh? Were you going to kill her based on your own selfish beliefs? You could have gotten Aunt Piper; she's met Willow. She trusts her. She trusts you! She trusts you to think rationally before doing what you may regret!" She held up her right hand palm up in front of herself and, slowly, raised the index finger; levitating the potion high over Paige's head so that everyone in the room could see. "And here you are; about to destroy our best alliances; our best friends. In exchange for what? Your own safety? Well, guess what! You would have denied yourself exactly what you had hoped to gain! You would have turned ones we love, who love us in return, into our enemies. What have you to defend yourself now? What have you to say?" With that, Pri sent the potion flying against the far wall. Then, turning swiftly, she returned to Willow's side, and wrapped a comforting arm around the red-head's shoulders, and hugged her to her side.
All of Angel's LA gang, and friends, had taken a defensive stance; both in body language and facial expression. The athletic blonde spoke first. "We come here, with you in our complete trust, and we find one of our best friends quivering with fear? Not the best way to make a first impression."
"Piper went to the magic school. What was I supposed to do: to think? Seeing a strange woman leafing through our family heirloom and power source?" Paige looked first to Pri and Willow, then to the other group; feeling like she's being cornered. "She did have a good alibi, but, Pri, this-she-could have been the cause of your future death. I got paranoid."
"I'm not even born yet, Mother! And your paranoia is exactly why my death was kept from you! See you now why you should have acted more rationally? Evil is on it's way, and we need all the friends we can get. Now more than ever." Pri waited for a reply, and when none came, she continued. "Please, go get Piper and Phoebe-I mean Aunt Piper and Aunt Phoebe. I need to talk to these guys before we all discuss our next move." As Paige silently orbed away, Pri sighed deeply. "I know "sorry" isn't enough-especially coming from me-but you have my deepest apologies." She looked to Willow. "Are you sure you're alright? I could try healing you if that would help."
"I'm fine, thank you." Willow rest her head on Pri's shoulder. "Earlier, I called you, a-and you came. How come, w-when I tried calling you about your mother, you didn't?" There was hurt in the Wicca's green eyes. "Were you too far to hear, or d-did you just n-not c-care?"
"The first time, when I returned, I was still-in a sense-in the room. So I heard you. But you're not yet an official charge. For you to be able to reach me from every corner of the globe, I need to discuss it with the Elders." Pri took Willow's hand and gave it a friendly squeeze. "I was going to right after we got the formalities out of the way. Because, if ever you are in danger, I want to help. I do care: with all my heart and soul. I mean that is what friends are for right?"
Willow smirked. "Definitely."
The slender, dark-haired girl in her late teens cleared her throat. "Formalities? What formalities?"
"I'm more interested in why we should trust these blokes. Red, over there, could have been bloody killed." The tall man with the platinum-blonde hair, and thick English accent, pulled out a cigarette and he let it hang loosely from his lips as he fumbled for his lighter. "Who the hell are you buggers anyways?"
"The Charmed Ones." Pri angrily glared at the man. "And we don't allow smoking anywhere near the house." Suddenly the cigarette vanished: just as he brought the flame up to light it.
"Aw, bugger! You couldn't have just asked me to put it away, could you?" The man sulkily looked down at his feet.
"Once my mother returns, with my aunts, we can make former introductions and discuss how we'll deal with my sister." Pri guided Willow to a couch and they sat.
"What makes you think we'll do as you say?" The athletic blonde woman moved threateningly towards Pri. "Last time I checked, there's only one of you a-"
"You may be the Slayer, but I have the power. I don't want to hurt you, but if you even try to attack me; I'll have no choice." Pri met the woman's blank stare. "Yes, I know who you are. I trust you, so, please, return the favor. My family is your ally, not your enemy. And, Angel, Fred, Lone, Gunn; what's with the lack of support?"
The vampire with a soul shrugged his shoulders in response. "I thought you were handling things pretty well on your own."
"Yeah." The others replied in unison, nodding their heads in agreement. "Pretty much."
The blonde athletic woman that Pri had called "The Slayer," and her group, remained silent. Looking from one to another, they didn't know what to say.
"Wow…what kind of meeting is this-a mime convention? Let's get discussing, people!" Phoebe walked in and turned to Pri. "Piper and your mother will be here soon. They're just taking the kids to magic school."
"Thanks, Aunt Pheebs. Much appreciated." Pri Smiled. "Hey, um, I was a bit harsh on Mom, earlier, for the whole torturing Willow thing. How did she seem when you saw here?"
"Oh yeah, she explained the whole thing." She smiled and waved her hand as if to shrug off the importance of the matter. "She says you were right to react the way you did. She's just a bit…sensitive now. What with your death at such a young age."
"That's to be expected. I just hope I can talk things out with her. We can't let her paranoia get so out of hand again." Pri shook her head with a sigh. "Maybe I shouldn't have come here. Who knows what the future's like, now that I've revealed so much?"
"If you hadn't come, we'd have never met. Perhaps that did the future good." Willow smiled.
"Future? As in time travel? Are you saying that your family travels to the future then returns to the present to change the future? What kinda mojo are you doing!" The tall dark haired man babbled.
"Actually I'm from the future. You actually think my mom and the aunts are old enough right now? I'm practically their age in this time." She nervously looked at Phoebe. "Not that you're old or anything, that is."
"Okay, we're here." Piper said, being orbed in by Paige. "How're we gonna deal with this sister witch?" She looked around and sees some new faces. "Oh, what have we here?"
"Buffy Summers. I drove to LA from Sunnydale to lend Angel a hand." The Athletic blonde said as she turns to face the eldest Halliwell. "I'm the Slayer."
"I'm Dawn, Buffy's sister." She hurriedly added; "I'm younger even though I'm taller."
Scowling, the blonde man spoke. "The name's Spike. And I want my bloody cigarette back!"
"Xander Harris," the dark haired man said. "And the next time any of you try to threaten Will, there'll be hell to pay."
"Nice to meet you too." Piper remarked: with a slight hint of sarcasm. "I'm Piper Halliwell, currently eldest of the Charmed Ones."
"I'm Pri, future daughter of Paige; whom you've already met; unfortunately the circumstances under which you met her could have been more pleasant." Pri stood and walked to be next to Piper and Paige.
"And I'm Phoebe." The middle sibling of the three Charmed Ones joined her sisters and niece.
Willow, too, stood and joined her new friend; and linked her right arm with the other's left arm. "They are ones of power, ones of legend; we can trust them, they are indeed our friends. Ms. Matthews made an innocent mistake that anyone could have made if faced with what she faced. It's something easily forgiven, and, in times like these, easily forgotten as they should be." She breathed deeply before continuing. "We're up against an evil force of another time; an incredible power. Killing this Sinistra is not an option. It could seriously mess up the future. So we need to undo what Wolfram and Hart have done. We got just the spell to do that b-"
"How fascinating! Sissy's got herself a gang!" The window sprung open and in floated the owner of the voice that had just filled the room. "And, more fascinating yet, she has a spell to send me home."
"Sini!" Pri took Willow's hand in hers and muttered a word of Latin. "You cannot kill us Halliwells!" She exclaimed as a large energy shield formed, separating Sinistra from the others. She then looked to her mother. "Get everyone to the magic school; hurry!"
"I may not be able to kill you, but your friends are fair game." Sini flashed Pri a devilish grin. "You can't keep that shield up much longer; and once I break it down they're gone."
The door to the magic school was now open and Paige was ushering Angel's group inside. "Please, trust me when I say this, you're only hope of living lies beyond this threshold. Let my daughter fend this evil off; she's the only one able." Suddenly the room filled with terrific wind and a barrage of large energy balls slammed against the shield with such force that the house quaked from its foundation. "Hurry!"
Pri was using one hand, palm out against the shield; sending large tendrils of power into it; giving it support. Realizing she needs to use both hands, she reluctantly released Willow's hand; allowing her fingertips to linger on the other's before bringing that hand up in front of herself to aid in keeping the shield stable. "Willow! Take the book and follow the others into the door. I'll follow once you're-everyone's safe." Once those words were said, the dark-haired Wicca brought her full attention to the shield and turned to her part-demon form.
As Willow felt Pri's lingering touch finally leave her hand, she wondered to herself; what luck, have I, to have made a friend such as this? So selfless, generous, and kind: gentle as the scent of a rose, with the power of an Atlantic current. Truly she is all one can hope for in a friend…perhaps even more. During the eternity it took for her to think these thoughts-and for Pri's instructions to reach her ears; Pri had thought the same of Willow. Finally the redhead snapped to attention; she turned and snatched up the book before even realizing she had thought to. Then she turned back to Pri.
Paige watched; waiting by the open door; hair blowing in the winds, and saw Willow's hesitation. "Save it, Red! Whatever you have to say can wait until we're safe inside. Come on; in!" She gestured to the door that Piper and Phoebe had just passed through. Then, after waiting for the young woman to pass, she walked through as well.
"Sini, this isn't the end. You will be sent back home." Pri struggled to keep the shield up: arms quivering from the effort, not daring to look back at the door to see if everyone had safely left. I have to time this. If I stop the shield too soon, I might endanger anyone who's still here. If I stop it too late, my energy will be gone and I'll pass out: leaving myself vulnerable. I wonder why I feel so connected to Willow…no, I must focus at the task at hand. "My friends are safe. You will not hurt them. I guess I'm stronger than you thought: the shield's still up." She took it down by lowering her hands. "And now it's not." She turned and ran full out to the door, once again not daring to look back; trusting her instincts she was glad to see everyone had passed. She dashed over the threshold and closed the door behind her with a wave of her hand.
"Dear god…Piper, Phoebe, Paige…Pri…" Darryl stood just outside the front door of the manor; observing the noise coming from inside; feeling the ground shaking. Suddenly he heard a scream of anguish and frustration. "What the hell is happening…" He continued to whisper to himself as he questioned himself; contemplating what he should do. He looked up to see a strange woman float out of the attic window, cursing with a passion. "That can't be good." He pressed himself flat against the front door, momentarily forgetting he can orb, so that she won't see him. Once she'd left, he orbed up to the attic to see it in ruins. "Chris! I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can…get your ass over here now!"
"Darryl, what's wrong I-holy crap. The book; where's the book?" He ran to where the book once was and began to search through the debris. "What the fuck happened here, man? Where's Mom? The aunts? Pri? Wyatt? Are they alive…wait; yes. I sense them." His heart's pounding slowed. "Do you have any idea of what went down?"
"Demonic attack. I was just about to knock on the front door when I heard all this noise. The house shook then there was some screaming. I saw a strange woman float out of the window. Now that I think about it she did look a bit like Pri. But…at the same time…not like Pri." His brow furrowed. " I'm confused."
Sinistra. Chris thought. "That's odd. Darryl, get out of here. It's not safe for anyone not directly related to us by blood. I'm going to check the magic school. Perhaps they went there." He orbed out without waiting for a reply.
"Sometimes I think that's just a whitelighter thing. But, then again, I'm a whitelighter and I have the decency to wait for an answer before running out." Darryl, too, orbed away.
They sat in the magic school library, Piper, with baby Chris on one knee, and Wyatt on the other; she sat on the couch next to Pri and Willow. Phoebe was looking through a bookshelf and Paige was observing some paintings. Angel was standing hand in hand with Buffy, Gunn was comforting Fred, and Xander and Lorne were conversing about nothing in particular.
"So, everyone, listen up!" Pri clapped her hands to demand attention. "As Willow was so kindly explaining before we were so rudely and violently interrupted; we have a spell to send this hell-bitch back to the hell she was risen and time-warped from." She stood. "The only problem is that the caster of the spell must meet certain requirements; if you can call them that. A Wicca that is not connected to her by blood must chant the spell. That means it can't be a Halliwell." Pri looked around to see everyone staring at her quizzically. "Yes, she's a blood relative of us. I do not know whom exactly she descends from. But I do know that if we kill her in this time the future will be changed for the worse, and my mission will become futile."
"No blood relatives eh? Looks like a job for our Willster. Let's see the sp-" Buffy was cut off by Pri.
"No, she can't." Pri continued. "The Wicca must not only be unrelated by blood, but must also be emotionally and magickally unstable."
"Wait a moment…no, never mind." Willow decided against what she was about to say.
"If we do find a Wicca that meets those requirements, we may not be able to use the spell anyway. Not without endangering the world any further." Pri took Willow's hand again, for some reason needing comfort, and for some reason finding it in only her new friend.
"The warring magicks within the Wicca may…the dark magicks most likely will take over. And the Wicca will set out to destroy the earth." Willow sighed. "So, either way, the world may not survive. We could end up having to fight two big-bads instead of just one. That's why we need to carefully think this over. It may not be worth the risk."
"Willow, you have magicks warring within you. Or at least you did. That may have changed after the Hellmouth went kablooey," Xander's brow furrowed in thought. "But even if you do qualify we still have the chance of you going all dark again. And you're perfectly emotionally stable. You've been so happy lately."
Pri looked into Willow's eyes and concentrated on sending her a message telepathically. Wills, if you can hear this, try answering. While I have the connection up you can send me messages as well as hear them.
I hear you…but…Pri, I-I want to be able to do the spell. I want to say that I can handle it-that I'm the right Wicca for the job but…
Sweetie, I have faith in you. Just tell them whatever you want. If you don't want to explain in detail how you've been feeling, then don't. Just say you'll give it a try. And don't worry about the magicks taking over. You're light side is larger than your dark side, and you have complete control.
Willow nodded silently. Okay, I'll do it. "I-I think I might qualify actually."
"What just happened here? Did you just have some kind of weird conversation that we couldn't hear?" Buffy's confusion showed. "What was with the whole looking into each other's eyes thing?"
"Telepathy. Though I had no idea it was one of your powers." Chris stood in the doorway. "So, I was right, the mess in the attic was caused by Sini." He looked around and saw the book open on a nearby table. "That's a relief, cuz'. You finally manage to do something that'll help the future. I mean, telling Aunt Paige about your death sure didn't help."
"Chris, you fuckwit." Pri retorted. "You coming from the future in the first place caused a mess of things. And bringing that demon to scan Wyatt during the whole Headless Horseman deal: wow, even I would know not to allow evil near him. But, I did get us the LA gang as our allies. Now I even got a kick ass Wicca on our side. So, not only does our family have more power in the fight against evil than we did before I came: we also have friends with whom we can share everything magickal. We have friends that we don't have to keep things from; which is something we seriously lacked and needed. If I hadn't warned them about Sini, and if Willow hadn't shown up and supported me in convincing Wes that something was coming: we would have many deaths to take responsibility for. So, believe it or not, I've got more good deeds on my record than you do." The dark haired Wicca smirked. "As for the telepathy: not my power. It's Willow's. It's an active power of hers that she just hasn't found yet. I just tapped in there and opened it up for her."
"M-my active power?" Willow stammered. "I can't have an active power. It's not possible."
"How is it not possible?" Pri asked. "You're a powerful practicing witch are you not? You've got nearly as much power as all of the three Charmed Ones combined. It would be strange for you to not have an active power. You just need to practice controlling it and accessing it at will. It will take time and effort, but sooner or later it will take nearly no energy at all."
"Ok, so Wills has a cool power. Now back to the more imminent situation at hand." Buffy said and held Angel's hand closer. "We may have found someone who can return this thing back to its time and place; Wills could totally do it. Maybe because she once had those qualities what with the warring magicks and whatnot; but then there's the whole darkness taking over the caster of the spell and the possible inevitability of the apocalypse, so the spell may not change a thing. S-"
"Sini can't bring the apocalypse. Not in this time." Chris interrupted. "It would prevent her future birth which would wipe out her future family and she never would have existed meaning she never would have come to the past and never would have caused the apocalypse. She would trigger an alternate reality that will sprout off from this one. A world where perhaps the whole thing will repeat itself over and over: she'll keep coming to the past and killing everyone then she will prevent her birth in the process, therefore undoing the apocalypse she had brought re-allowing her birth from taking place and then she would not remember killing everyone the first time so she would come back and do it again. She knows that that's what could happen and therefore would not do it. It would be a waste of her time. She's looking for the book so she can get herself back to her time to bring the apocalypse then. So what we need to do is send her back and trap her back where she was before. That will prevent a future apocalypse. But we'd still have to worry about a possible current apocalypse."
"Ok, fine. Evil-chick won't kill everyone in this time. But Wills isn't battling those inner demons anymore so the darkness probably won't take her over." Xander pointed out. "So if she qualifies for the spell we won't have to worry about her going all evil."
Willow inhaled deeply, trying to relax before saying what she was about to reveal. "You're wrong. You do have to worry." She looked up and met the confused looks of her friends. "I'm battling more inner hell-beasts than you know. I'm so unstable I-I've not cast a spell since Kennedy died. I didn't cause her death…I know that now. But I'm still scared. I'm scared. I admit it. I'm scared of my magicks. I'm scared that if my love for my friends, new and old, grows too strong I'll end up hurting them with my magicks."
"New and old? Will, we're all your old friends here. Who here is new?" Xander looks around confused. "I don't see any new friends."
"The Halliwell's, Xand. They're my new friends." Willow explains, exasperatedly. "I had an episode in the car. I couldn't stop shaking and crying and Pri just took the wheel and brought the car into a parking lot and comforted me and she's a true friend. They all are. And I don't want to hurt them. I almost did by driving the car into swift moving traffic."
"They tried to fricken' kill you, Will! How are they your friends?" Buffy persisted.
"Paige made an innocent mistake. I've explained that already. But if it weren't for Pri I'd be dead now. She saved me from killing us both. She brought me from an emotional all-time-low and raised me high. She stole my pain away." Willow sighed. "Slowly, yes, but in the end she helped me more than anyone has in a long time. I want to do this spell if we decide on doing it."
"All in favor of doing the spell say fish tacos." Xander said.
"Fish tacos?" Everyone said in unison.
"Well, it's settled then. We do the spell." Chris looked at the open book. "Where'd you get this spell anyway?"
"Grams." Pri said.
Everyone looked at her in confusion except Willow, Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and Chris. They just nodded to show they understood.
"Willow, do you want to take a look around the school? I can show you where there may be a class you can join." Pri offered her hand to the redhead.
"I'd love to." She smiled and took Pri's hand and warmed to the touch: relaxing a bit. "Thank you." The pair walked from the room side by side, hands holding: and for the first time their fingers interlocked as if a completion were being made; as if they were perfectly fitting pieces in a puzzle.
Once they were out of earshot, Fred spoke up. "I think more than a friendship is forming. That, over there, is a bond strengthening faster than any I've seen before. It's sweet, really. I was worried that Willow would never be as happy as she once was."
Piper's face suddenly changed as she turned to face the young woman. "No, you couldn't possibly think…"