Chapter 5: Alcatraz Part 2
Alcatraz
"You don't seriously plan on spending the rest of eternity around here, do you?" The soul collector taunted. She flicked a piece of her fiery red hair away from her face as she smirked at the ghost in front of her.
The ghost didn't respond or turn his head in acknowledgement for a long moment. "I'll find a way off this rock on my own, don't worry," he finally offered, pacing the long prison hallway.
The soul collector laughed mirthlessly. "Who are you kidding, Jackson? You've been stuck here since they executed you. Thirty-six long years trapped between life and death."
"Big deal." Jackson snapped. He suddenly kicked out against an empty soda can and it crashed into the wall on the opposite side of the jail. "I've learned how to do things in that time…" Jackson started toward her and stepped through the bars into the cell that he often occupied. "… break the physical plane. Prepare for my revenge."
"Revenge. How mortal," she scoffed with a roll of her eyes.
"Go to hell." Jackson cursed, striking at the soda can a second time with his foot.
The soul collector shrugged nonchalantly. "That's what I do. Only never alone. I ferry souls there. Everyone I can get my little hands on so to speak."
Jackson cast her a dangerous glare. "Yeah, well, you're not going to get your little hands on this one, lady, so just forget it."
"Don't worry, Jackson. I don't want your soul. I want a witch's. They're prize catches. Trophies." She soothed with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
Jackson suddenly appeared intrigued. "What does that got to do with me?"
"If you let me get you off the island, get your revenge, witches will try to stop you and the only way to do that is to become vulnerable to me…" The soul collector replied eagerly. "…then I'll have them right where I want them…" She trailed off at the sound of the gate opening as a group arrived. "…speaking of witches…"
Buffy, Phoebe, Prue, Piper, Kayda, Aurora and Shannon walked down the row of cells. Buffy was shaking her head. "The prison itself will need a lot of renovation to make the cells into livable apartments," she said.
Jackson spotted the group and moved right up next to the bars.
Shannon's head snapped up in surprise as her eyes narrowed as she saw the ghost and the soul collector. "Master Naberrie," she said as she moved towards the cell. "Who are you?"
"Shannon back away from the cell." Buffy said as Shannon moved to stand next to her. "You didn't answer her question."
"You can see me?" Jackson asked in surprise.
An hour later
Shannon paced in front of the cell that Jackson was in, guarding it. He and the soul collector watched her.
The soul collector was waiting for just the right time. She clenched her fist at Shannon. Shannon suddenly dropped to the ground mid-sentence. "There's your ride off the island. Hop in."
Jackson stepped out of his cell and possessed Shannon's body.
Halliwell Manor
The doorbell rang and Prue immediately went to answer it. She smiled faintly when she saw Andy at the door. "Andy, hi," she greeted, leaning casually against the doorframe.
"Hi." Andy returned.
"So, what brings you here?" Prue wondered.
"I'm here because one of the Jedi was found dead," Andy said. "And since you know Master Naberrie I thought you might know how to get in touch with her."
"Actually she's here," Prue said. "Come on in." She closed the door behind Andy and led him into the living room. "Master Naberrie!"
"Prue?" Buffy asked as she came into the living room a moment later. Confusion instantly was etched on her face. "Inspector, what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"
"I'm afraid I am the bearer of bad news, we found a member of your Order, dead."
Buffy frowned, the only Jedi not currently in San Francisco but were not currently in the Manor were Shannon, Willow, Angel and little Padme. "Who?" she asked suddenly worried.
Andy produced a photo and handed it to her.
Buffy had seen enough of the CSI and NCIS television shows recently to recognize a crime scene photo. She looked over the photo, first she knew it was Shannon, second Shannon had not been found at Alcatraz. "Her name is Shannon Thomas, she is or was a Padawan in the Jedi Order. I'll notify her family myself. How did she die?"
"We're not sure," Andy said with a shrug. "We lucked upon her. We were responding to a call that the son of a former district attorney was brutally murdered when we found her."
"So, she wasn't at Alcatraz?" Buffy asked as Andy shook his head. "Do you think Shannon's death and your case are connected?"
"It's possible." Andy replied. "Either that or it's an extreme coincidence that she was found just outside his home."
"Was there any evidence?" Buffy wondered.
Andy was about to object that this was a police investigation, but he had also been told that the Jedi Order were consider like the FBI or Interpol. They were part of the New Republic's peace keeping force. So he decided to trust her. "The only quote-unquote evidence for the son of the former district attorney points to the last man executed on Alcatraz before it was closed down," he briefed her.
"Jackson Ward." Phoebe said as she walked in with Piper, Kayda and Aurora.
Andy turned a curious glance at Phoebe. "How did you know that?" he inquired.
"We've been looking into something we saw while at Alcatraz today." Buffy stated before looking at Phoebe and Aurora. "So he was the ghost we saw?"
Phoebe nodded. "It's possible. He was the last man to be executed at Alcatraz."
"Ghost?" Andy repeated, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully and more than a little in surprise.
"How much does he know?" Buffy asked Prue, Phoebe and Piper.
"Not much." Prue answered. "We kept him in the dark about our secret to protect him."
"Tell him." Buffy said. "It will make things go smoother." She looked to Andy. "Inspector Trudeau by the order of the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, me, you are hereby given clearance to know classified information."
Andy blinked; he had never been let in on classified information before. That meant what he was about to learn had to be big. "Okay."
Prue smiled as she looked at Andy. "This is going to be hard for me to explain and even harder for you to believe," she started. "Piper, Phoebe and I are Jedi Witches. We're not your everyday Jedi Witch as we have magical powers that we use to fight off..." she paused and looked to Buffy who nodded, "demons and warlocks. You know all the family emergencies that I always have? Um, I never told you before because I didn't want you to be hurt because of it."
"And the Jedi?" Andy wondered how they fit into it.
"Master Na … Buffy," Prue said. "Along with her sister, Dawn, her nieces," she motioned toward Aurora and Kayda, "Aurora and Kayda, are our cousins several generations removed. Buffy and Dawn were born right here on Earth. We all had the same ancestor, the Jedi named Revan. He came to Earth eight hundred years ago."
"Wow," Andy said shocked at the revelation.
"Padawan Thomas was not only a Padawan in the Jedi Order," Buffy said taking over the explanation. "She was also a Slayer. A girl endowed with mystical powers to fight vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness." She looked to Aurora. "We really should move away from that word. Maybe Guardians instead."
Aurora nodded in agreement. "Kind of like how I, Prue, Phoebe, Piper and Willow are known as Jedi Witches. Slayers would be known as Jedi Guardians."
Buffy smiled and nodded as she looked back to Andy and noticed the picture of the knife he was holding. "Hey, what's that?" She asked, pointing at the photo of the knife and fingerprint.
"Ultraviolet fingerprint. Although, technically, there's no such thing." Andy answered.
"Could be the ghost's ectoplasm. It's outside the visual spectrum." Phoebe suggested thoughtfully.
Andy nodded slightly to himself. "Ectoplasm…" he repeated uncertainly.
"The ghost's skin." Phoebe offered helpfully though it only resulted in Andy looking more hesitant to further the conversation. "Hey, do you have a picture of this Ward guy?"
Andy flipped through the pictures until he found the picture of Jackson Ward.
Buffy took the photo carefully and scanned over it. "That's the ghost we saw on Alcatraz," she announced. "What about this former DA's son. Did Ward know him?"
"Ward knew his father. He was the prosecutor who convicted him." Andy explained, slowly turning away.
"Coincidence? I think not." Phoebe decided eagerly as she turned to face Buffy.
It was then that Buffy noticed Aurora and Kayda had moved to the window and were looking outside. "Aurora, Kayda?" she said as she moved over to her nieces. "Are you two alright?"
"I don't know." Aurora and Kayda said simultaneously as they glanced at their aunt.
"I think we both mean," Aurora said, "it's a lot you know to take in all at once."
"You're telling me," Andy said with a sigh.
"We've both been on patrol, Aunt Buffy," Kayda said, "We've seen vampires and demons. But we never thought things like ghosts exist."
"You mean, ghosts that aren't one with the Force," Buffy said.
"Right," Kayda said. "We've both seen Revan, but this is different. This ghost is not one with the Force. He's trapped on this plane or one that shares this plane of existence."
"Okay," Buffy said.
"Anyways if you're right, if it is the ghost of Jackson Ward who is the killer," Andy said, "how do I stop him from killing again?"
"You don't." Buffy said as she turned back to Andy. "We do, this is Jedi business. The San Francisco police department doesn't have the capabilities to deal with this. That said, Inspector how would you like another job?"
"Another job? Are you going to train me like Prue?" Andy asked.
"Prue, Piper and Phoebe were special cases," said Buffy. "Being my distant cousins and descended from the same Jedi that I am naturally made it so they likely had inherited some Force sensitivity. Without knowing for certain if you have any Force sensitivity, I don't know if you could be trained. No, what I am offering you is the ability to act as a liaison between the San Francisco Police Department and the Jedi Order."
Andy thought about it and nodded. If this was the kind of thing they dealt with on a daily basis, he knew that they could need help from the San Francisco Police Department and vice versa. "I'd be happy to," he said.
Just then Andy's cell phone rang and he excused himself for a few minutes. "There has been another murder," he said when he returned.
"Prue," Buffy said. "What did you find in the Book, anything?"
"There are quite a few references in the Book," Prue said. "There's ghosts, poltergeists, evil spirits, phantasms. We're not dealing with a typical demon here."
"We're not dealing with a demon at all," Buffy said, "but a ghost. Is there a way to vanquish a ghost?"
"Well, actually there is one spell…" Prue started. "…But I don't think we want to use it."
"Why not?" Buffy questioned.
"The problem is an evil spirit can't be vanquished on the Physical Plane. Only the Astral Plane… his plane," answered Prue.
"Okay, so then how do we say the spell?" Piper wondered aloud.
"Our spirits would have to say it." Prue answered.
"Meaning one of us would have to die for it to actually work," Aurora said as Prue nodded.
"That's not all," said Prue. "I think the other being we saw was a Soul Collector. If one of us was to die to say the spell the Soul Collector could capture our soul and take it to Hell…"
Buffy sighed; this was getting worse by the second. "We should keep looking," she said.
"I've always believed there was another world behind or beyond this one," Andy said. "And I don't mean life on other planets. I meant the world within our own. I even sort of believed in demons. But I have never in my wildest dreams... I could never have imagined that this all existed."
Kayda nodded. "Believe me when I say, neither did I," she said as Andy looked at her confused. "I wasn't born on Earth. I was raised to be a Sith Lord. Magic and demons never came into the equation. Not till I met my family. Not till I became my sister's Padawan learner and came with my family to Earth."
"Master Naberrie," Phoebe said. "Since we don't know how to vanquish the ghost, shouldn't we try to stop him from killing his next victim."
"What do you mean stop him killing his next victim?" Andy asked. "How do we do that?"
"Phoebe's magical power is the power of premonition," Buffy said. "If you gave her an object she might be able to get a premonition off it." She looked to Phoebe. "This might be a good time for a lesson. We're going to have you receive a vision given to you by the Force."
Phoebe followed Buffy's instructions and moments later sat cross-legged on the floor of the conservatory, her eyes closed.
"Be calm," Buffy instructed Phoebe, echoing the words she had heard Yoda say to Luke. "Through the Force things you will see: other places, other thoughts, the future, the past, old friends long gone."
Phoebe was losing herself as she concentrated on Buffy's words. She was becoming unaware of her body and letting her consciousness drift with the words of her cousin.
"My mind fills with so many images," Phoebe said.
"You must learn control, Phoebe," Buffy instructed. "Not easy, not fast. I too had to learn this lesson. When I was first called as the Slayer, while I slept the Force showed me visions of my destiny. In the beginning it was hard to tell what was what in what I was seeing. So many images would flash through my mind. When I started training with Master Yoda then I finally learned to control what I was seeing."
Phoebe relaxed, and began to free her mind, began to control the images.
An elderly woman screamed in terror as Jackson Ward advanced on her. Jackson pulled his arm back, ready to stab her with a long knife and the woman fell back to the ground.
"Oh my God…" Phoebe finally mumbled. "I, uh, I didn't just see it. I felt it. Her pain, her terror."
San Francisco Police Department
Andy led Buffy and Phoebe through the crowded police station toward his desk.
"Did you get that list of potential victims yet?" Andy asked, coming up to stand next to his partner, Darryl Morris.
Darryl cast a look over his shoulder at Andy. "Still working on it. It's a lot of names. Especially when you add in the descendants," he answered, pointing down at the file in front of him. "Where you been?"
"With the Jedi," Andy told him. "Bringing them up to speed on the investigation of their Padawan. Let's see what you got so far."
Morris glanced at Buffy and Phoebe and sighed as he handed Andy the files.
"Do any of these look like the woman you saw in your vision?" Andy asked as he handed Phoebe the files.
"Vision?" Darryl asked skeptical.
"A Jedi has the ability through the Force to see the future, and the past," Buffy said.
Phoebe took a moment to flip through the pictures before passing one of them to Buffy. "This one, Master Naberrie."
"Iris Beiderman. The foreperson on the jury that convicted him." Buffy read.
"Convicted who?" Darryl asked.
"Jackson Ward," Buffy replied as Darryl looked at her skeptical. "That's right Inspector Morris, we are dealing with a ghost. And before you dismiss this out of hand. This is Jedi business, you are not required to believe ghosts are real or not."
Iris Beiderman's Home
Iris Beiderman's eyes followed the knife that was poised in front of her, seemingly of its own accord. She let out an ear-piercing scream of terror and she fell back to the floor in her haste to scramble away from death. Jackson prepared to strike the elderly woman when Andy kicked the door open. The door slammed against the wall with a loud crash, temporarily distracting Jackson from his kill. Andy pointed his gun, his eyes scanning the room though he only saw Iris and a floating knife. Buffy and Phoebe pushed by Andy into the room. Phoebe kicked the knife from Jackson's hand with a well-placed karate kick while Buffy dashed by the ghost and toward Iris.
Jackson's eyes trained on first Phoebe and then Buffy. "You two again," he hissed with a look of scorn.
"Buffy!" Phoebe screeched in warning as Jackson reached for the knife. Buffy was easily the closest to him.
Andy's eyes scanned frantically over the room in response to Phoebe's warning. "Where is he? Is he still here?" he demanded.
Using the Force, Buffy telekinetically pulled the knife to her hand just before Jackson could get a hold of it. "Yeah, he's right there," she pointed at Ward.
Jackson was ominously silent for a tense moment as his gaze flickered over Buffy, Iris, Phoebe, and Andy. "You can't keep saving her forever…"
"What's going on?" Andy questioned gruffly in his frustration.
"… Or the others. Or yourselves." Jackson warned with a sneer at them before he spun around and walked through the wall and disappeared.
Halliwell Manor
Iris Beiderman followed Buffy and Phoebe through the front door "Don't worry, you are under the protection of the Jedi order, Mrs. Beiderman," Buffy said. "We'll put you up at my apartment. Aurora! Kayda!"
Aurora and Kayda walked into the foyer seconds later. "Yes, Aunt Buffy," they said.
"I called Angel," Buffy said. "He's coming to pick the two of you up and Mrs. Beiderman and going to take you back to my apartment. You are tasked with keeping her safe."
"Of course, Aunt Buffy," Aurora said.
Buffy and Phoebe turned and walked up the stairs to the attic to find Prue and Piper looking through the Book of Shadows.
"Any luck?" Phoebe wondered.
"It's the same story. One of us would literally have to die in order to vanquish the evil spirit." Piper insisted, pointing down at the book.
"Before we do that," Buffy said, "We should find a way to locate Ward first. Using the Force to get a premonition on where Ward is going next is good, but it doesn't tell us where he is now."
"Actually," Piper said. "Prue and I found something about luring evil spirits. A potion." She began flipping through the book until she found it. "To lure an evil spirit. Mix equal parts of mercury and acid with the blood of one of the spirit's victims, pour it over his grave." She read.
"Okay, that's disgusting," Phoebe said.
"The blood isn't a problem," said Buffy. "We can get that from Inspector Trudeau."
"How, Buffy," Prue asked.
"Shannon," Buffy said. "Of course, I am assuming she is one of his victims and not the soul collector's."
"What about the letter opener?" Phoebe suggested. "The one Andy showed us with the ultraviolet fingerprint from the first victim. It should have one of his victim's blood on it."
"Alright, Prue. I'll leave that task to you," Buffy said.
Prue nodded as she walked over by the door grabbed her keys and left.
"Now any idea where his grave is?" Buffy asked.
"I read on the web that his ashes were interred at his family mausoleum in Palo Alto." Phoebe announced.
San Francisco Police Department
Prue walked into the precinct and toward Andy. "Prue," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here on Jedi business," Prue said. "We need the letter opener."
"Alright, give me a second," Andy said as he left the room. He casually threw open the door to the evidence storage warehouse and stepped up to the desk. "Excuse me." He called for the officer on the other side of the desk. The officer turned around to face him with a questioning look on his face. "Inspector Andrew Trudeau." Andy flashed his badge before continuing. "I need the murder weapon for case R-13658."
The officer passed a clipboard across the desk to Andy. "Sign that. I'll go get it." He turned away again and searched through the folders in an adjoining room before coming back out with the correct one.
"Thanks." Andy appreciated. He made a quick check inside the folder and left with a faint nod back at the officer. He quickly left and returned to Prue. He handed her the letter opener in its clear plastic baggy.
"Thanks," Prue said as she turned and left.
Ward Family Mausoleum, Palo Alto
Buffy led the way down the dark and abandoned hall with Piper a step behind.
Piper glanced around the mausoleum. "After telling us that vampires do exist and all and where they make their homes."
"They won't make their home in this one," Buffy said. "It's still being used. Vampires tend to go for ones that haven't been used in a while. That way there is no worries someone will find their lair during the day. Of course vampires don't mind a snack wondering in once in a while either. But it's safer to use a mausoleum that has not seen use say in a hundred years or more." She motioned toward a plaque on the wall. "There it is, Jackson Ward. Do you have the picture?"
Piper dug through her purse for a moment before pulling out a picture of herself, Prue, Phoebe and Buffy. "Can Phoebe be tackier," she said indicating what Phoebe had written: Hey, Jackson, let's party?
Buffy smiled. "You know Phoebe reminds me at times of Dawn when she was younger before we had been enslaved on Mustafar."
Piper looked at Buffy for a moment. "I wish I knew you and Dawn back then," she said.
"I wish you had too to tell the truth," said Buffy as she dug out the potion from her own purse. She threw the potion onto the plaque and it began to sizzle and melt. She glanced at Piper. "What was in that potion?"
Somewhere in San Francisco
Jackson Ward advanced quickly on an unsuspecting truck driver when he suddenly doubled over in agony. He pulled his hand away from his chest to find his skin seemed to be melting. "What's happening?" he yelled at the Soul Collector when she flamed in next to him.
She casually leaned back against the windshield of a large truck. "Witchcraft. Sucks, doesn't it? You should've helped me get them before when I asked," she answered.
"How do I get to them now?" Jackson Ward demanded through the excruciating pain.
The Soul Collector smirked in reply. "Visit your grave," she suggested before flaming out again.
Jackson limped off in the corresponding direction, his eyes glowing with a dangerous light.
Halliwell Manor
"Maybe it didn't work. Maybe he's not coming," Phoebe rambled as she paced back and forth through the kitchen.
"There's no reason why it shouldn't have worked," Prue argued.
Phoebe shrugged. "Well, he's not here yet. It's been five hours."
"Well, at least if he is coming, we are definitely ready for him," Prue offered. She held up the potion that she had been working on.
Phoebe raised her eyebrows at it. "What exactly is that?" she asked, uncertain if she really wanted to know.
"A killer cocktail… literally. Little bit of Oleander, some jimsonweed, bloodwort, among other things. Stops the heart immediately," Prue explained casually.
Piper's mouth had dropped in disbelief. "That's morbid," she exclaimed.
Phoebe had a look that mirrored Piper's. "Uh, okay, you're scaring us. Where did you learn that?" she demanded.
Prue smiled slightly. "Book of Shadows," she answered with a nod in the direction of the book.
"Where? Under Dr. Kevorkian?" Phoebe quipped, earning a laugh from Prue.
"This is not funny." Piper snapped. "What the hell are we going to do once one of us is dead?"
Prue raised her hands in a sign of peace. "Relax. Whoever takes it can be revived with C.P.R. The only catch is it has to be done within four minutes to avoid brain damage."
"Okay, Prue, that's a pretty big catch," Phoebe commented.
"Yeah, well, it's the only way to say the spell. It's the only chance we have of sending Ward where he belongs," Prue countered gently.
"Wait, what about the Soul Collector? She could be hanging around," Piper retorted.
Prue hesitated and bit her lip nervously. "I'm hoping that the soul is safe within those four minutes and that she'll decide to take Ward's soul instead."
Phoebe exchanged a glance with Piper. "Okay, fine, but who's doing it? How do we decide that?" she asked.
"It should be one of you," Buffy said. "While I do share Warren blood. We don't know if I have the ability to do magic or not. So it will have to be one of you three."
"I'll do it," Prue offered immediately.
Phoebe shook her head quickly and Piper readily agreed with Phoebe. "No," Phoebe said as she ran to the drawer where she cut a straw into uneven thirds. Prue sighed loudly but was ignored by both her younger sisters. Phoebe threw the straw pieces into a bag and came back. "Whoever draws the shortest straw does it. No powers."
All three sisters reached inside at the same time and pulled out their straw piece. "I win," Prue announced after a moment of comparing.
"You mean you lose," Phoebe corrected while toying with her straw piece.
"Oh well only if you guys don't revive me." Prue joked.
"Phoebe," Buffy said. "That will be your job. Piper and I will try and keep Ward off the two of you."
"I'm scared. I mean, I'm really scared. I think we've gone too far this time," Phoebe admitted softly.
"Now you understand how I felt as the Slayer. Especially after my mom died," Buffy said with a sigh. "Even though I was set to die for Dawn on that tower. I was scared for her at the same time because it meant I would be leaving her to face the world alone. Death should never be taken lightly. Even when you're a Jedi."
Behind them Jackson walked through the wall and smashed a vase. He threw his arm back ready to throw the broken piece of glass at the sisters. "Look out!" Prue screamed as he threw it at them.
Piper and Phoebe had to duck to avoid it. Prue waved her hand and telekinetically threw it into the wall where it shattered.
"Okay, Prue, we got him," said Buffy as she and Piper moved between Ward and Prue and Phoebe.
Prue quickly ran to the counter and began downing the cocktail as fast as she could.
Jackson Ward grabbed a heavy candle piece off the kitchen table and advanced on Buffy. Buffy deftly ducked the blows but was knocked unbalanced and she hit the ground. Piper ran up behind Jackson and grabbed his arm to stop him from hitting Buffy while she was down. He backhanded her and she hit the table and fell unconscious.
Behind them, Prue's eyes widened in fear before she dropped to the ground. Jackson Ward laughed manically as he approached Prue and Piper. "You're making this too easy, lady." He told Prue, grabbing a metal cake server. He paused when Prue's spirit floated up in front of him. "What the hell's going on?"
Buffy smiled as she stood up. "Magic."
Prue's spirit glanced back down at her body before she turned her attention to Ward. "Ashes to ashes, spirit to spirit, take his soul, banish this evil."
"No!" Jackson Ward yelled defiantly as he felt the spell take effect. The cake server clattered to the ground beside him.
"Ashes to ashes, spirit to spirit, take his soul, banish this evil." Prue chanted while Jackson began to fade away despite his cries of protest. "Ashes to ashes, spirit to spirit, take his soul, banish this evil."
Ward yelled in agony before disappearing completely. The soul collector flamed in at that moment and grabbed at his soul. "Who are you?" Buffy demanded as Phoebe began CPR to revive Prue.
"I was hoping to take you or one of your cousin, but it looks like your souls are safe… for now," she explained.
"Did you take, Shannon's?" Buffy asked.
"I caused her death, for Jackson to use to escape the island. But no, I did not take her soul," she said as before flaming out.
Phoebe continued C.P.R. as Prue's spirit slowly floated back into her body and her eyes shot open to find her sister above her. She coughed lightly as she regained her breath.
"Slow breaths," Phoebe advised in relief.
"Am I alive?" Prue asked, a little confused as Buffy checked on Piper.
Phoebe chuckled softly. "Yeah, you are, thank God." She wrapped hers arms almost protectively around her big sister.
Piper groaned as she recovered consciousness. "What happened? Is the ghost toast?" she wondered. She rubbed her aching jaw before being helped up by Buffy.
"The three of you have a long way to go," Buffy said. "But I have to say you all passed your first test on your way to becoming Jedi."
Prue, Piper and Phoebe looked at each other and smiled.