Author's Note (1/22/2016): I am trying to put spells in italics to try and distinguish them from normal dialogue. So if you see something in italics, it could very well be a spell.
Eros-Blane: Yes, Buffy's powers will evolve, no they will not evolve like Piper's. Buffy's next power will be revealed during A Witch's Tail. And it will be one she actually has had since the beginning of the story, it was actually one of Prue's powers.
Duff Jessica: Abrupt? Maybe a little. But it does lead a little into this chapter. As the first scene with Buffy, Dawn and Willow does address what was left unanswered at the end of the Prologue.
Amelousen: Yeah Tara shouldn't have froze, she should have been a gifted witch. I forgot her backstory, that her mother was also a witch, when I did the prologue. If or when I get around to rewriting the prologue I will change that.
Janus God of Possibiltiies and Rockstar Marie: I'm leaning more toward Sam, myself. Have been since I started working on this story last year. But I would be remiss if I didn't consider Victor also, given the fact Patty and Victor had been married and there would have been some feelings even now. Especially from what we have seen in canon Charmed, they both are on very good terms, despite Patty being dead.
Author's Note (8/9/2022) - I finally got around to editing this chapter and the prologue. I have fixed what Amelousen had reminded me, that Tara was a gifted witch. She no longer freezes in the previous chapter. Also if you are re-reading this you will notice in Pairings listed on the Prologue that I mention that Buffy's is now Sam. Also I have added in some additional backstory to both chapters. Dawn has always had Prue's power, with no real explanation of why that is other than being created from Buffy. Which is why I added the scenes with Grams and the Source and saying Prue had been reincarnated. Dawn is now Prue reincarnated. Don't expect a Power of Four thing when (or if) Dawn should start getting Prue's memories. I'm done Pour of Four thing in more than one story now and I am not going to do that again for awhile. Also I added in a scene of Buffy telling Dawn instead of Spike. This is to kind of explain away the differences of Dawn before and after Tabula Rasa pretty much.
Chapter 1: Charmed Part 1
October 4, 2001 – Thursday
Halliwell Manor
Piper Halliwell was in tears as she flipped through the Book of Shadows stopping on a page titled: Power of Three. Her older sister was dead and she refused to let Prue remain so. She desperately needed her big sister back. She looked around her briefly at the lit candle that sat before her amongst the herb jars, chalices and other ritualistic items. "Hear now the words of the witches, the secrets we hid in the night. The oldest of Gods are invoked here, the great magic is sought," she chanted. The candle flicked, but nothing else happened. "In this night and in this hour, I call upon the ancient power." She looked up and closed her eyes. "Bring back my sister. Bring back the Power of Three."
She kept her eyes closed for a prayerful beat, then she opened them and looked at the candle, but nothing had changed. Blindly determined, she starts flipping through pages until she landed on another page titled: To Call a Lost Witch. She gather the needed herbs for the spell; rosemary, cypress and yarrow root and mixed them together. "Power of the witches' rise. Course unseen across the skies. Come to us, we call you near. Come to us and settle here," she chanted. Then, she grabbed an athame and sliced her index finger of her left hand so that blood could symbolically spill directly from her heart and into the mixture. "Blood to blood, I summon thee. Blood to blood, return to me."
A faint gust of wind flickered the candle, but not much else. She buried her face in her hands in defeat.
"Piper?" came a voice as Piper looked up, hopeful.
"Prue?" Piper said as she looked back at the candle.
It was at that moment Phoebe Halliwell walked through the attic door. "Sweetie, it four o'clock in the morning. What are you doing?" she asked with no response. She noticed the cut on Piper's finger and grabbed a towel. "You're bleeding."
Piper didn't notice, didn't even care as her sister found a clean cloth and took Piper's hand wrapping the cloth around the wound. "I don't understand why magic can't fix this," Piper said. "And why we can't bring Prue back. It's not like we haven't cheated death before. I don't understand why this time isn't any different."
"Because Leo can't heal the dead, Piper. You know that," Phoebe said.
"There's other magic, magic that we've used before," Piper said as she flipped through the pages. "Scrying, calling a lost witch, reversing time. It's like the book just deserted us and deserted Prue, and I don't understand why."
Phoebe took Piper's other hands and held them both, sharing her sister's pain. "We lost our sister. How can we ever understand that? We've tried every magical way to bring her back … but we can't. She's gone," she said as she and Piper fall into each other's arms at the realization of the harsh reality. "I just—I thank God that I didn't lose you too." She gave Piper a little kiss before breaking the embrace and sighed. "We have to get some rest. Prue will never forgive us if we look bad at her funeral."
Piper couldn't help but smile through the tears. She closed the Book of Shadows and then she and Phoebe walked out of the attic arm-in-arm.
As they shut the door behind them they don't notice a mysterious wind blowing through the attic as the triquetra, on the cover of the Book, began to glow. The mysterious wind re-opened the book to the To Call a Lost Witch spell...
Summers Residence
It was six in the morning and Buffy sat with Dawn watching a little TV. Neither of them spent much time just enjoying each other's company. For Dawn her day was spent at school, then doing homework till dinner, then after dinner going out and patrolling with Buffy, which was also used as the time that Buffy taught her about magic. Buffy's day was spent reopening Joyce's gallery and getting it ready for its first showing since Joyce passed away. Then at five o'clock in the evening rushing home fixing dinner before she and Dawn would go out to patrol.
A mysterious wind softly blew through the living room as the television flicked. Buffy and Dawn looked at each other and then back at the television which had returned to normal. Mysteriously the obituary page from a newspaper landed on the coffee table and caught Dawn's attention.
"Buffy," Dawn said.
Buffy followed her sister's gaze to the coffee table and the obituary page. She glanced at her sister before picking it up. The first obit that caught her eye was Prue Halliwell's. The obituary read:
PRUE HALLIWELL
Funeral Services will be held today at Memorial Cemetery
3:00PM.
Dawn watched as her sister stared at the obit. "Penny for your thoughts," she said. Ever since Willow's spell her sister had remembered more and more of Patty's life.
"Patty's daughter, Prue died." Buffy answered.
"Are we going?" Dawn asked.
Buffy looked at her sister and sighed. She didn't have an answer. On the one hand she did indeed remember Prue, being hers, or rather Patty's, daughter. On the other hand Prue was no relation to them, after all that wasn't how reincarnation usually worked. "I don't know, Dawn," she said. "They're not our family. They are hers."
"They might be ours, too," Dawn argued. "You have the power you had in Patty's life. Doesn't that mean somehow you're related to them?"
"That's not how reincarnation usually works," Buffy explained as she pulled on Patty's memories for the details. "Sometimes yeah you can be reincarnated into the same family, but most of the time your not. Besides Patty was an only child. And I am too young to be one of her daughters having been born about three years after she passed away."
"Hey, Willow," Dawn said having heard Willow's footsteps coming down the stairs.
"We didn't wake you did we?" Buffy asked motioning toward the TV that was still on in the background.
Willow shook her head. "No. I just … I have trouble sleeping without Tara beside me. So what's going on?"
"We were thinking about going to a funeral." Dawn blurted out before Buffy could stop her.
"Really? Whose?" Willow said as she looked down at the obit that Buffy still held. "Prue Halliwell?" She noticed that obit was in the Bay Area Mirror, which mean it was a San Francisco newspaper. "In San Francisco? I didn't know either of you knew anyone in San Francisco."
Buffy looked at Dawn for a second and then let out a sigh. She patted the couch and Willow sat down beside her and Dawn. "Will, your spell that wiped everyone's memories," she said. "Had a side-effect."
"What?" Willow asked obviously confused. "What side-effect?"
"Buffy lied to us. Well to everyone except me and Tara," Dawn explained. "Buffy had memories while the rest of us truly had our memories wiped."
"Memories of a past life," Buffy added.
"Past life?" Willow said as she looked at the obit again. "You think you were this Prue Halliwell?"
Buffy glanced at her sister who nodded encouragement. Even now Dawn was still being supportive, even though she didn't need the support as much anymore. "No," she said looking back at Willow. "I was her mother."
"But…" Willow said her eyes wide in shock.
"It's true, Will," Buffy said. "I'm still remembering parts of Patty's life. But what I do remember I remember because I lived it. Patty after she died was given the chance to go on to heaven or return and continue to fight evil. You see she was a witch. She chose to return and was reborn as me. When you cast your spell last week it awakened her memories as well as unlocking her power."
"Power?" Willow asked.
"As I said she was a witch," Buffy said continuing the explanation. "Which means I am one now, because I have her power. Which given the fact that the monks used my blood in Dawn's creation, means she too is a witch and probably because she is my sister."
"But you've never done magic before," Willow objected.
Buffy flicked her wrist freezing the room and Willow. She looked at Dawn. "Switch with me," she said as Dawn nodded in understanding. She was proving to Willow what she had said was true.
Once they had switched places Buffy smiled as a further way of proving it came to mind. She flicked her wrist and only Willow's head unfroze. "So…"
Willow looked around, the first thing she noticed she couldn't move the rest of her body. The second thing she noticed that in the blink of an eye that the sisters had swapped places. "Okay two question. Why can't I move and how did you move so fast?" she asked as she looked down at her immobile body.
"Because I can freeze time," Buffy said. "It's actually called I think the term is molecular immobilization. So I'm not actually freezing time but the molecules that make up the world around us. And why you can't move anything but your head. Is because I can selectively freeze and unfreeze things. I unfroze only your head."
"Can you see that Buffy is telling you the truth?" Dawn asked the redhead.
Willow nodded as Buffy flicked her wrist unfreezing her completely. She looked at her friends. "So the memories and the power came back when I cast my spell?" she asked as Buffy and Dawn nodded. "Buffy, is that why you seem a lot better than you were before my spell when we…"
"When we were all singing?" Buffy said and Willow nodded. "Yeah. The memories of being Patty helped me put things in perspective. I'm still remembering things but what I do remember so far has helped me." She paused for a second as she looked at the obit and then at Dawn. She had realized Dawn had been right in asking if they were going to go the funeral. She knew that now. She looked back at Willow. "Would you like to go to the funeral with Dawn and I, Willow? It will help you get your mind off Tara for at least a day or two. And it could possibly help me further in maybe trying to figure out why I remember her life."
Willow sighed. "I don't know," she said. She thought about it for a few moments and then finally nodded. "Alright. When's the funeral?"
"Nine hours from now. We have just enough time for each of us to shower and pack a day or two worth of clothes," Buffy said.
And so Buffy, Dawn and Willow each took turns in the single bathroom of the Summers home. They were packed and ready by 9am. With travel time down the coast on the 101 they could arrive just with a few minutes to spare.
South Bay Social Services
A young brunette woman, Paige Matthews, was seated at her desk. She popped a CD into her computer before turning her attention to the screen. She briefly looked up from her screen to notify her co-workers, "Printing!"
A mysterious wind softly blew through the office just then and blew out the lit candle on her desk. Giving the candle a weird look she stood up and started making her way over to the printer. Mysteriously the obituary page from a newspaper landed on the floor next to her and caught her attention. Curiously she looked around before picking it up. The first obit that caught her eye was Prue Halliwell's.
"Paige, you find that study yet?" Paige's boss, Mr. Cowan, emerged from his office and saw her reading the article, "Paige, did you hear me?"
"Yeah." Paige continued to keep her eye on Prue's obituary as she grabbed her jacket, "It's in the printer." She quickly turned and headed for the door, "I'm sorry, I have to go."
"What do you mean go? Go where?" He scoffed when she didn't turn around or answer him. "Paige! Hey, Paige!"
Memorial Cemetery
Buffy, Dawn and Willow made their way inside the mausoleum where the ceremony was to be held. Willow and Dawn sat at the back as Buffy walked up to the front to the ivory-colored casket that sat on a pedestal amongst the flowers. "Hello, my darling," she whispered so no one would hear her. "I wish I was there to welcome you with open arms."
It was at that moment the youngest Halliwell stepped up next to Buffy causing the blonde Slayer to wonder if she had spoken too loud after all. "Hi," Phoebe said.
Buffy looked at Phoebe and smiled. "Hello."
"Did you know Prue?" Phoebe asked.
"Only in passing," Buffy said. "At least in this life," she thought. "You're her sister… Phoebe, right?"
Phoebe nodded. "Yes, I am. "
"I'm sorry for your loss." Buffy said as she held out her hand and Phoebe shook it.
Phoebe reeled back as she was thrust into a premonition.
April 5, 2001 – Thursday
Glory's Tower
Buffy untied Dawn smiling at her sister.
"Buffy, it hurts ..." Dawn whispered.
"I got you... You're gonna be okay ..." Buffy said.
"Oh, God, Buffy ..." Dawn said as she looked back over her shoulder at something.
October 4, 2001 – Thursday
Memorial Cemetery
"Are you okay?" Buffy said having, thanks to Patty's memories, recognized the signs of a premonition.
Phoebe blinked as she looked at Buffy recognizing her from the premonition. Unlike most premonitions she received where she knew they were of a future event. This one she instinctively knew was of a past event. "Yeah," she said. She walked toward her sisters confused on why she would see a past event. As she sat down saw Buffy sitting back at the back of the mausoleum next to a redheaded woman and the girl that Buffy had been untying in the premonition. It was definitely not a premonition she had to worry about if they were both alright.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"Who was that, Buffy?" Dawn asked as her sister sat next to her.
"Phoebe." Buffy said. "She is Patty's third child just after Piper." She remembered that Patty had a fourth child that Patty and her Whitelighter Sam had given up at birth for fear that the Elders would find out. "I don't even know the name of her fourth daughter. Sam and I gave her up for adoption shortly after she was born."
"Why?" Willow asked.
"Kind of two-fold reason," Buffy admitted. "The first was because of a prophecy that Prue, Piper and Phoebe would become the Charmed Ones. The other reason was because the fourth child was the daughter of Patty and my Whitelighter, Sam. Witches and Whitelighters were supposed to get romantically involved let alone have children together, it was forbidden. To have a daughter after falling in love with Sam would have just been the icing on the cake. We feared that the girls wouldn't be allowed their powers if the Elders knew about her so we gave her up."
"So what's a Whitelighter?" Dawn asked.
"A Whitelighter is a person who did extraordinary good in life and after death they are allowed to continue by guiding witches and future Whitelighters." Buffy explained. "And the Elders are their bosses.
"How come I don't have one?" Willow asked.
"Because you're not a gifted witch." Buffy said as Willow looked at her confused. "When I say gifted I mean with powers like mine and the ones Dawn more than likely has. You're what is considered to be a witch progenitor. You can cast spells but don't have a power. Your children will develop powers. And they will have a Whitelighter."
Buffy looked toward the front row where the family was seated. She saw two men she didn't recognize. A third man she was sure Patty had seen growing up at the Manor a time or two and was a Whitelighter. She wondered what a Whitelighter would even be attending the funeral for. She saw Piper and Phoebe and smiled at her daughters. Then she saw the last man… "Victor," she said.
"Who's he?" Willow asked as she and Dawn followed Buffy's gaze. .
"Patty's ex-husband." Buffy explained "We got divorced around the time I fell in love with Sam. I don't really remember yet which came first. Falling in love with Sam or the divorce."
"Buffy," Dawn said drawing her sister's attention to her. "Did you notice you slip between talking about Patty as if she is another person and then referring to yourself as her."
Buffy looked at Dawn for a long moment as she replayed her memories of the last few minutes. She nodded in understanding. She knew of course who she was, Buffy Summers. But at the same with Patty's memories, didn't that also sort of make her Patty Halliwell too? "I guess since I got Patty's memories I have been coming to the conclusion that I am her. Just as much as I am me. Maybe sort of a melding of the two."
"I just hope that melding doesn't take my sister that I know and love…" Dawn said unable to finish the sentence.
Buffy nodded in understanding. Her sister was afraid as Patty's memories awakened more that she would begin to slip away to be replaced by Patty. "I won't let that happen, Dawnie. I promise. I will always be your sister."
Dawn smiled as she placed a hand on her sister's arm. She looked down at the funeral program in her hands. She saw that it bore the symbol of the triquetra above the name which read:
Prudence Halliwell
1970-2001
Forever in our Hearts.
"They did what I wanted to do with yours," Dawn said as Buffy looked at her quizzically. "With the tombstone."
"We put that you saved the world a lot," Willow explained. "Dawn wanted something more personal."
"I had wanted to add something you said to me on the tower," Dawn said as Buffy nodded. "I love you, I'll always love you"
Buffy smiled as she wiped a tear from her eye. "That would have been perfect, Dawnie," she said as she wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders.
Just then an ivory-dressed, Wiccan Priestess walked to the front of the mausoleum and stood before the blue silk covered altar table that was adorned with a ceremonial chalice. A tied, silver cord laid before the chalice with three lit candles surrounded it.
"That which belongs to fellowship and love," the priestess said. "That which belongs to the circle, remains with us. The wheel turns. As life is a day, so our sister has passed into night. Nothing is final, and we who remain behind know that one day, we will once again share the bread and wine with our sister. O' blessed spirit, we bid you farewell, for you await a new destiny."
The Priestess then untied the silver cord and gently laid it into the chalice. After she blew out the candles the mourners stood to shake hands and pay respects to the family.
Paige, who was in line just ahead of Buffy, Dawn and Willow shifted over in front of Phoebe. "I'm so sorry for your loss."
"Thank you." Phoebe nodded as she dabbed her eyes but called out to the woman curiously as she turned to leave. "How did you know Prue? Work?"
"Oh, no. Just..." Paige shrugged, "Just from around, you know."
Curiosity and familiarity kept picking at Phoebe the longer she stared at Paige, "Have we met before?"
"No. I don't—I don't think so." Paige cleared her throat, "Anyway, my condolences."
Phoebe nodded, "Thank you." When she shook Paige's hand she was immediately thrust into her second premonition of the day.
"She's having a premonition," Buffy whispered to Willow and Dawn.
"You mean she's got powers like you?" Willow asked.
Buffy nodded. "There are three powers that have been handed down through the descendants of the Warren line. The power to freeze, the power of telekinesis and the power of premonition."
After the premonition ended Phoebe suddenly stumbled into Dawn from the power of it, gasping for air.
"Are you okay?" Dawn asked as Phoebe looked at her. For a split second Phoebe could swear she was looking at a younger version of Prue.
"Yeah thanks," Phoebe said as she watched Dawn, Buffy and Willow turn and follow Paige out of the mausoleum.
Holiday Inn
Because it was getting late, Willow decided she didn't want to drive back to Sunnydale that night. So they got a hotel room and stayed in San Francisco.
Halliwell Manor
Piper was angrily placing five lit candles in a loose circle on the floor in front of the Book of Shadows.
"I'm a witch, damn it. I've summoned people before and I'm going to summon Prue now whether you like it or not! No more games, no more playing the good witch." She hurried over to the Book which was already opened to the spell, "I want to talk to my sister. I need to talk to my sister. At the very least, you owe me that." She took a soul-cleansing breath before glaring at the Book, "'Here these words. Hear my cry, spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee. Cross now the Great Divide.'"
Inside the circle, white magical lights, ever-so-slowly began to appear. Piper looked up and nearly immediately her anger was replaced by hopeful wonder. She stepped closer, anticipating Prue's appearance, but was instead surprised to see the ghost of someone else.
"Grams?
"Hello, my darling." Grams smiled sadly. "How are you?"
"How am I?" Piper asked, she couldn't believe her grandmother didn't know. "Are you kidding? Do you guys not get the news up there?"
"I meant, how are you holding up?"
Piper sighed "Not very well. I'm a little lost. Why didn't you come before? When I called after..."
"I couldn't, Piper. I was..." Confliction filled her, "Busy."
Piper rose a brow, "You were busy?"
"I was with the Elders."
"You were…" Piper said confused. "I would have…"
"I'm technically not supposed to tell you this, because knowing even this could keep Prue alive for you. But she's not here, Piper," Grams sighed. "I had expected to welcome her with open arms. But apparently she opted for immediate reincarnation instead."
"She was reincarnated," Piper said in obvious shock.
"Yes, dear," Grams said. "Don't let this knowledge keep you from moving on with your life, to continue with your destiny."
"What destiny?" Piper scoffed.
Skyscraper
After getting two coffees Cole shimmered back to the observation tower where Phoebe was waiting. "Any luck?" he asked as he handed Phoebe a cup.
Phoebe frowned after putting the binoculars away. "Not yet."
"Actually..." Cole pointed having spotted what they had been watching for. "Looks like your instincts were right."
Phoebe looked over with her binoculars to see Paige enter the rooftop across the way with Shane. She hurriedly grabbed Cole's arm. "We've got to shimmer over there!"
"And tell her what?" Cole shook his head. "That a demon's going to attack? I think we should stay right here."
Phoebe sighed and nodded as she looked back through the binoculars to watch Paige, who was oblivious to a looming danger, lead Shane to the center of the helipad. Paige let go of his hand, spun around with her arms out wide, and looked up at the stars before taking her jacket off and moving in for a kiss,
Phoebe turned to a still watching Cole. "Any ideas?"
He smirked, "A couple."
Phoebe smacked him causing him to laugh. "I meant about what we do now. I mean, we can't just keep watching, it's not right."
"You're right." Cole took the binoculars from Phoebe and took another look, nodding all the while. "We shouldn't just keep watching."
Phoebe sighed as she took the binoculars back just in time to see a moving tornado materialize out of thin air and race toward the unsuspecting lovers. Shax appeared from it and fired a concussive blast. Paige opened her eyes just in time to see it at the last second over Shane's shoulder. She screamed as the blast sent Shane flying backwards, knocking him unconscious. Another scream left her throat as Shax threw a concussive blast directly at her. The attack terrified her enough to orb out momentarily, missing the fatal blow, and then orb back in. Paige shook off her own confusion and immediately turned to run to the roof access tower. Shax, also surprised at her ability to orb, turned back into a tornado and followed.
October 5, 2001 – Friday
Halliwell Manor
"Well, they don't know anything about her, so she's definitely not a Whitelighter."
"Then how can she orb, Leo?" Phoebe asked.
Leo shrugged, "They can't explain it."
Phoebe scoffed, "How is it possible that they don't kn—" She was cut off by Cole shimmering back into the room.
"Whew." He chuckled. "Sorry I took so long. I had to dodge a couple of bounty hunters."
Leo sighed. "Did you find anything out?"
"You have no idea what I found out. Turns out the Source doesn't think she's a Whitelighter at all." He took a seat on the arm of the chair, "In fact, he thinks she might be another... Charmed One. That's why he put Shax on it. He thought he ended the Power of Three. Now he's worried that this girl may somehow reconstitute it."
"No, but that's not possible." Phoebe shook her head as she turned to Leo. "Is that possible?"
Leo shrugged.
Piper immediately took off upstairs startling Phoebe. "Piper?" Phoebe immediately followed her sister up to the attic, "Piper!" They watched her storm over to the book in confusion. "What's going on?"
"I'm going to ask Grams what's going on, actually."
"Grams?"
"Mm-hmm. Your destiny still awaits, she says. There's a reason for everything, she says. So, it's time to summon her transparent butt back here and find out exactly what that reason is," Piper said. "'Here these words. Hear my cry spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee. Cross now the Great Divide!'" She let out a semi-satisfied sigh when Grams appeared in a bright light.
Grams looked rather confused to be summoned twice in twenty-four hours. "Piper? Why are you calling?" Her eyes fell on her other granddaughter. " P- Phoebe? Wha—what's going on?"
"Grams..." Piper raised a brow at her. "Why does the Source think that the Charmed Ones can be reconstituted?"
"I do—" Her voice went out so she cleared her throat, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You know what, Grams?" Piper said, obviously visibly upset. "You were a lousy liar when you were alive, and now as a ghost, you're worse."
"If you know something, Grams, you have to tell us." Phoebe stepped closer, "We deserve to know."
"I cant." She quickly shook her head, "I'm sworn to secrecy."
"By who?" Phoebe asked.
Holiday Inn
Buffy, Willow and Dawn were in the midst of packing to return to Sunnydale when suddenly Buffy felt dizzy.
"Buffy?" Dawn said noticing that Buffy was having trouble staying on her feet all of a sudden.
"I'm," Buffy started and then she collapsed to the floor unconscious.
"Buffy!" Dawn called out as she tried to wake her sister.
"I'll go get help," Willow said as Dawn nodded. She noticed that Dawn had moved Buffy just a little so that Buffy's head rested in Dawn's lap.
Halliwell Manor
"By me." A voice sounded before Buffy appeared right next to Grams in a swirl of bright light. She glanced down at herself and realized that her astral form did not mirror her physical self. Which made sense otherwise Prue, Piper and Phoebe might not have recognized Patty if she had come looking like Buffy.
"Mom?" Piper said clearly as stunned as her sister was.
"We didn't tell anybody because we were afraid that there would be reprisals, afraid that, you girls would be denied your powers," Buffy explained as she pulled on Patty's memories. "Your birthright. It happened after your father and I were divorced, when Sam and I were together."
Cole turned to Leo. "Sam?"
"Her Whitelighter," Leo answered.
"Hmm." Cole chuckled. "Apples don't fall far from the forbidden tree, I see."
"Shh!" Piper demanded before turning back to Buffy. "Go on."
"The three of you were toddlers. You just thought Mommy got a little fat." Buffy smiled. "You never knew I was pregnant."
Gram nodded, "I was the only one who knew."
"And Sam, obviously," Buffy corrected.
"Right. Well, yes, of course."
"We wanted to keep the baby, of course. But mother—" Buffy said.
"Well, I—I knew it would be disastrous," Grams hurriedly interjected. "You know, before you and Leo, Piper, it wasn't just forbidden. It was unthinkable for witches to be with Whitelighters. I mean, let alone have children with them."
Buffy glanced at Grams and then at Piper and Leo. She understood now why Leo had been at the funeral. Piper and Leo had obviously done what Patty and Sam could not over twenty years earlier. "So, that's why we had to—why we decided … to give the baby up," Buffy said. "Sam and I took her to a local church as soon as she was born. And we asked the nun there to find a home for her, and she found one. A very, very good home."
Grams nodded again. "Yes."
Leo looked at the sisters. "Explains why the Elders didn't know about her."
"Alright, hold it. Wait just one minute," Phoebe said. "Are you telling me, that that girl, our innocent, is really our sister."
Buffy smiled. "Your baby sister."
Grams raised a brow as she corrected her own daughter. "Their baby half-sister."
"But by my half, which makes her a sister witch," Buffy explained. "Well, actually, not yet anyway. Not until all three of you are here together by the Book. Just like before."
"Charmed." Grams smiled. "Again."
Cole spoke to himself and Leo but earned a glare from Piper, "And I thought my family was screwed up."
Just then Inspector Cortez barged into the attic, Darryl right behind him, and stopped to gawk at the two ghosts standing there. Everyone looked over at him mirroring their own shock.
"Well..." Cortez scoffed. "I'll be damned."
"Darryl," Piper yelled, "do something!"
"He's a cop, Piper," Darryl answered. "And he's got a search warrant."
"And believe me..." Cortez motioned with his head. "I've found what I've been searching for." Cole moved slightly towards Cortez causing the Inspector to take out his gun and aim it directly at him, "Ah, ah, ah. Don't move. I'll shoot."
Cole stretched out his hands. "Then so will I."
As Cortez's face became confused Leo admonished the half-demon. "Cole..."
"Okay Inspector, just put the gun down." Phoebe laughed tightly. "There is a very good explanation for all of this." She looked at Grams, Buffy, Leo and Piper. "Feel free to chime in anytime, guys."
"My whole life..." Cortez moved the gun around. "I suspected evil magic was real. That there was something more. I've seen too many horrible things in the job to suspect otherwise, not the least of which are the two murders that happened here."
Piper scoffed. "Are you accusing us?"
"I've just begun to accuse you, lady!"
"Alright, fine. You caught us." Grams looked at him with a shrug. "Congratulations. So what are you going to do about it? Shoot us?"
"Easy, mom," Buffy said with a glance at Grams. She looked toward the gun and wondered if her astral form was shot, would she die or just wake up back in her body? "They're not dead, remember?"
"All right, look, you can't arrest us," Leo said as he motioned towards Buffy and Grams, "especially not them. Nobody will ever believe you."
"Maybe not at first. I'm putting this whole place under constant surveillance. I'm taping your every move. Sooner or later, I'll catch you doing something uh, supernatural, and then…" Cortez said.
Darryl hit Cortez out with the butt of his gun causing him to fall to the floor in unconsciousness. He took a breath before looking to the sisters. "I think you've been through enough today, huh?"
Piper nodded gratefully. "Thank you."
"Darryl, go, get out of here." Phoebe walked over to him. "We don't want you to take the fall for this."
He shook his head, "No, it's okay."
"No, it's not. This is our problem. He wants to expose us, not you. Let us take care of this, please?" Phoebe said.
Darryl nodded, "If you need me, you know where to find me, huh?"
They nodded and watched him leave, Cole looked from the unconscious inspector back to the sisters. "This doesn't solve your problem," he said. "He's going to wake up eventually. You've just bought yourself some time."
Leo agreed. "What you're going to need, especially if you want to save your..."
Pain flashed across Phoebe's face. "Sister?"
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Gram asked. "Just write a spell. Get rid of him."
"Uh, get rid of him?"
"Well, you know what I mean. Dump him somewhere. Anywhere." Grams motioned with a chuckle. "With all the witches in this room, we ought to be able to do something with him. I mean, just start rhyming. Uh, take him back, take him away. Remove him now. Don't let him stay." She gestured to Phoebe quickly,
"Oh. Uh. We call the spirits to help undo and send him off to... Timbuktu." Phoebe smiled triumphantly as Cortez vanished from the floor. "Whoa. It worked."
"Timbuktu?" Piper admonished angrily. "You sent him to Timbuktu?"
Phoebe sighed. "Alright, well, it was the only thing I could think of that rhymed with undo!"
"Don't worry." Cole waved them off. "Uh, I'll find him."
Once he shimmered out Piper shook her head. "This is way too much for me to handle. Way too much."
Buffy looked at Piper sadly. "Nobody can blame you for being angry, sweetie."
"Angry? Yeah, I'm angry. Um, I'm confused and you know what? This—this is just crazy. You cannot float in here after all these years and go, 'Oh gosh, I forgot, by the way, you've got a sister," Piper yelled. "Especially not today of all days!"
"I know it's a lot, sweetie," Buffy said. "More than anybody should have to deal with, but you're going to have to deal with it the best way you know how. Losing Prue, learning about another sister ... this is your, path. This is your destiny. Get angry at it, cry about it, but don't fight it. Or it'll consume you."
"Come on, Patty. The rest is up to them." Grams said as she and Buffy disappeared.
Holliday Inn
Buffy's eyes blinked opened. The first thing she saw was Dawn's face looking down at her worried. She glanced down at her body and realized she was back in her own body.
"Buffy are you okay?" Dawn asked.
"How long?" Buffy asked.
"Half an hour," Dawn said. "One of the longest of my life."
"Sorry, Dawnie," Buffy said as her sister helped her to her feet. "Where's Willow?"
"She went down to the lobby to get help," Dawn said. "I think as long as she's been down there. They might have called an ambulance."
"We'll worry about that when it gets here," Buffy said. "For now we need to renew the room. We're not leaving."
"Rest, I'll go find Willow," Dawn said as Buffy nodded. She made sure her sister was comfortably in the bed and then she raced out o the room. She found Willow standing beside the front doors of the hotel. "Willow!"
"Dawn," Willow spun to look at her friend.
"She's awake," Dawn sighed. "I got her in bed and came down here to let you know. She said we're not leaving, and we need to renew the room."
"I'll do that while I'm waiting on the ambulance," Willow said.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
An hour later after the paramedics had checked Buffy over and left after giving her a clean bill of health and telling her if she has another fainting spell to seek immediate medical attention. Buffy still sat on the bed Dawn had helped her into. "I think what happened is I astral projected out of my body." She noticed that Dawn was looking at her as if asking her to explain. "Astral projection is the ability to project one's consciousness outside of their body. I believe anytime Prue, Piper or Phoebe summoned me that is what happened. I would astral project to them as Patty. During that time I would have full access to my memories and when I returned to my body I would forget."
"So you astral projected to them while you were unconscious here?" Willow asked.
Buffy nodded. "And I looked like Patty. I don't know if there is a spell on me or if the summoning spell forces my astral form to look like Patty. Anyways I told them about their baby sister. The one I mentioned giving up for adoption. Something is going on. I think she's in trouble. And Piper and Phoebe need to find her so they can reform the Power of Three."
"Then where do we start?" Dawn said.
"The church I left her at." Buffy said.
Oracle's Chamber, Underworld
"My assassin failed," The Source said as he appeared before the Oracle. "The witch is alive."
"Yes, I know.
"You told me her future was short-lived." Anger laced his voice. "You told me—"
"I told you only that it appeared to be short-lived. Seeing into the future is not always exact. Especially when magical forces are at play."
"The Power of Three is strong. She'll be almost untouchable now that she's reunited with her new sisters."
"Once the bond is formed, perhaps, but it has yet to, which means she's vulnerable, easily swayed." She carefully walked over to the Source. "48 little hours. The window of opportunity agreed to eons ago by both sides to protect free will." Her voice fell to a whisper, "The great flaw in the grand design."
"She hasn't chosen the other side yet?"
"Well, she's young, confused, doesn't know which way to turn. You must seduce her into using her powers for evil. Then she will become evil. And that's even better than killing her, which, of course you could still do." The Oracle smiled as The Source caressed her chin. "You need to get close to her, read her soul, corrupt it, and she's yours."
"And you... you need to see the future more clearly, Oracle... for your own future."
"There is one more thing."
"What?" he said anger once again entering his voice.
"Patty and Prue Halliwell are alive."
"WHAT!" he screamed.
"They both have been reincarnated. Their powers only recently became unbound thanks to a very powerful progenitor by the name of Willow Rosenberg. On top of that Patty Halliwell was reincarnated as the Slayer."