Chapter 39: The Day the Magic Died Part 2
February 2, 2003 – Sunday
Halliwell Manor
"Okay, sorcerers don't just drop by our house," Paige said looking at the sorcerer in question. "What makes you think we're not going to vanquish you?"
"Because you can't," he told them. "Didn't you get my message? My apprentice was supposed to drop by this morning."
"Oh, that guy?" Phoebe said nodding in understanding. "He's dead in our closet. But he didn't give us a message."
"Who's this?" Buffy asked as she stepped through the doors into the backyard.
"Cronyn," Paige answered.
"Because he was the message," Cronyn told them. "To demonstrate the dire nature of our situation."
"So you're saying demons don't have power either," Phoebe said.
Cronyn nodded. "Down to the last imp," he replied. "There's fear and panic everywhere. Demons stuck in the underworld with no way up. Others stuck topside with no way down. I bet your resident Slayer here can attest she is now powerless."
"Actually, no," Buffy answered. "My witch powers are gone. But my Slayer powers I still have. Their more physical attributes than magical abilities so magic doesn't really affect them."
"I hate good magic, fairy tales, wishes on stars, and children who believe in Santa Claus," Cronyn went on. "Mortals don't know it exists, but magic infuses all their hopes and dreams."
"Stand back, I think he's going to break out in song." Buffy quipped. "Do you know Sweet?"
"Oh, hardly. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to watch it all ripped from the world." Cronyn said before looking specifically at Buffy. "And yes I actually know Sweet. Heard he had some fun with you and your friends in Sunnydale a while back." He chuckled in amusement. "Almost took your sister as his bride before it was revealed your friend had summoned him instead."
"Which friend?" Paige wondered.
"Xander," Buffy answered her daughter before turning her attention back to Cronyn. "So why not just sit back and watch the show? Why come to us?"
"Because I want my power back," he admitted. "Magic must be saved and it's up to us."
Paige frowned. "Us? We're us, you're them. We don't help them. Sorry."
Cronyn sighed. "You can't fix this by yourselves," he told them. "That's why you invited me here to your backyard. But together, together we can interpret the signs."
Phoebe nodded as she looked to Buffy and Paige, "You were right about the signs, Paige." She looked back at Cronyn. "Okay, so what do you propose that we do?"
Cronyn smiled. "A summit between good and evil to discuss the crisis," he explained. "Of course, there'd be certain rules. No guns, no knives, etc., you know."
"The exit's that way, so if you want to just..." Paige whistled.
"We don't have much time. The longer magic is down, the harder it is to restore." Cronyn said as he pulled out a business card which read: 'Cronyn, Sorcerer - Evil Magic For All Occasions' and handed it to Phoebe. "My cell phone's on the back in case your sister changes her mind."
"Since when do sorcerers have cell phones?" Buffy asked having looked over Phoebe's shoulder at the business card.
"You think that's bad?" Cronyn asked. "I've got a taxi waiting out front. Call me." He walked through the house and left out the front door.
Phoebe laughed as she, Buffy and Paige walked in to the conservatory.
"I don't trust him," Buffy said.
Paige nodded. "I have to agree with Mom."
"Yeah," Phoebe agreed, "but I kind of liked his whole world without magic speech. It was very crappa."
Paige nodded in agreement. "Pure crappa. I don't want to help evil."
"What evil?" Leo said as he walked into the conservatory.
"A sorcerer wants to arrange peace talks for the whole magic crisis," Buffy answered.
"Oh, yeah, and Phoebe is actually considering it," Paige added glaring at her sister.
"Well, of course I'm considering it," Phoebe admitted, "the future of magic is at stake here, not to mention the future of my nieces. And what else do we have right now? There are no powers, no book, no Elders."
"Phoebe's right, "Leo said. "Without magic, Piper, Dawn and the babies are vulnerable, with only Buffy able to protect them."
Paige sighed. "Okay, fine, but if there's a meeting we're going in heavy, in case it's a trap."
"Okay, but Cronyn said no weapons," Phoebe reminded her sister.
"And you trust him?" Buffy asked with a roll of her eyes. "Just because he doesn't have magic, doesn't mean he's going to be powerless."
"Mom's right," Paige agreed. She looked at her brother-in-law. "Leo, I'm going to need some saltpeter and some cayenne pepper from the kitchen."
"For what?" Phoebe wondered.
Paige smiled. "A homemade arsenal. Phoebe, would you kindly get an aerosol can."
"I have some in the hallway bathroom upstairs," Buffy told Phoebe who nodded. She wished she could go with her daughters for their protection. But Leo was right. Dawn and Piper were the most vulnerable. If Phoebe and Paige were walking into a trap, then she needed to be here in case of a sneak attack.
"Ladies and gentleman, it's time to lock and load," Paige told them excitedly.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy walked into her room and smiled at her sister. "How would you like to spend time with Piper?" she asked. "That way your not in here part of the time alone."
"I'd like that," Dawn replied as she returned her sister's smile.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"I knew this gift basket would come in handy," Doris said as she unpacked a gift basket she brought. "And lucky for you I am always ready for emergencies."
"You should've seen our first date." Victor told Piper.
Doris smiled. "Oh, your father spilled steak sauce all down the front of his shirt."
"And Doris pulls out a bottle of stain remover from her purse," he added.
"Of course I licked it off your chin first." Doris said as Victor kissed her.
Piper turned her head away from the sight of her dad and his new wife kissing. "Oh, that's so sweet," she said as Buffy and Dawn walked into the room. Hi, Maaa … err … Buffy…Dawn what are you two doing?"
"I thought Dawn might like some company," Buffy admitted as she helped Dawn into Piper's bed. She noticed that Leo was walking past carrying some spices. "I will be back, I'm going to check on Paige, she's supposed to be making homeopathic remedy to help you both relax." She walked out into the hall. "Leo?"
"Buffy?" Leo turned around looking at his mother-in-law.
"How is Paige's homemade arsenal coming along?" Buffy asked.
"This should be the last thing she needs," he told her. "Are you going with them or staying here?"
"Here," Buffy answered. "As much as I want to help the girls. Dawn and Piper are the most vulnerable because of their pregnancies. If Faith were here that would be different. But she's trapped in Sunnydale till magic returns."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"Homeopathic medicine? You're into homeopathic medicine?" Doris said excitedly. "I knew I was going to love this family. This is unbelievable. My first husband passed away a couple of years ago, heart attack. And the first thing I did when we got home from the cruise is put your father on a low fat, high fiber diet."
"And a monthly colonic." Victor added as Piper glanced at Dawn as Buffy returned.
"Oh, honey, you know what?" Doris said addressing her husband. "There's no cheese knife here. Would you mind going downstairs and getting one."
"Absolutely, baby doll." Victor said as he kissed Doris. As he headed for the door he looked at Buffy. "Buffy why don't you show me where it is?"
"Okay, dad," Buffy said with a sigh. She stood and followed Victor out the door.
"Patty you don't have to spend time with us if you don't want," Victor said as they reached the top of the stairs.
"It's not so much whether I want to, Victor," Buffy admitted. "We have a magical problem that Phoebe and Paige are taking care of. With Piper and Dawn on bed rest I'm staying with them just in case they need any protection."
"Oh." Victor said. "Nothing serious I hope."
"Don't know, but I hope not." Buffy said as she watched Victor head on downstairs. She turned and headed back to Piper's bedroom.
"Uh, girls?" Doris said upon Buffy's return. "I just wanted to let you know how I feel about your father. I, I just feel so lucky. He's the most special man I've ever met.
"Thank you," Piper said. "That's the sweetest thing you could ever say to us," she reluctantly admitted.
Doris smiled. "Well, it's true, you know," she said. "He's so, he's so kind and he's so sensitive. And, oh, he's the most exciting lover. Oh! I mean, girlfriends, he can go all night. I'm not kidding," she squealed.
Piper, Dawn and Buffy all plastered fake smiles on their faces.
Summers Home, Sunnydale
In the living room, preparations for siege were underway.
Xander was in the loop, finishing boarding up the living room window. Giles was pacing. Tara and Willow were selecting weapons from the chest.
The Potentials sat together, looking useless and scared.
"This day's almost over," Giles said, looking at his watch. "And the sun will go down in seventeen minutes."
"Hey, junior Slayers, don't look so worried," Xander piped, smiling at the three young girls. "I mean, sure, we don't know where Spike is, or how to fight The First, or when the super-style vamp is going to attack us all. However, the house"—He tapped his hammer on the wooden panels he had installed—"boarded up. Now all we gotta do is trap this Ubervamp in the pantry, and it's game over."
Willow raised a brow at him. "Xander? Newbies. Let's ease them into the whole 'jokes in the face of death' thing."
"Who's joking?" Xander shot back in mock innocence. "Are you saying M. Night Shamalayan lied to us?"
Faith said to the Potentials, "You'll be okay."
Coming up to Faith, mace in hand, Willow said encouragingly, "Okay, or even better. It's like our guarantee." To Faith, she added, "Um, Faith, I just, I want you to know that I'm really sorry for letting you down. You know, here before with the magic going all 'aah' and me going all 'eee' and everything getting all 'rrrr.'"
Faith smiled. "It's alright, Red. Seriously it could have happened to me or Tara," she then pulled Willow aside. "Just so you know. We have magic, literally. Magic is down. I can't orb or anything. So it's just us."
"What are we going to do?" Willow asked. "You need help, Faith."
"I know, but without being able to orb, there Is no help," Faith said. "We'll get through this, Willow. I promise."
Willow blinked as she stared at the brunette Slayer. "Your scared. The only time you actually use names is like with Piper, Phoebe and Paige or when your scared."
"Yeah, I am," Faith admitted. "My wife is in San Francisco, possibly about to go into labor at any moment. Then there is this Ubervamp. Yeah I'm scared. I'm scared my daughter may never get to meet me."
Willow nodded as she placed a hand on Faith's arm, comforting the woman she had come to call friend in the last year and a half.
Then Kennedy approached, bordering on agitated, as she said, "Hey, are we getting weapons? Trained fighters, badness coming? I've heard worse ideas."
Annabelle said primly, "We'll be armed when the Slayer feels we're ready."
"I feel ready," Molly volunteered.
"You're frightened," Annabelle insisted. "You must learn to control your fear."
Kennedy said huffily, "Hey, you know what would help with that?" She looked at Faith. "Weapons. We're sitting ducks without them."
Annabelle countered, "We're with the Slayer. Safe as houses."
"Do you see the house we're in?" Kennedy scoffed.
And Annabelle's balloon of courage pfffted . . . revealing a very young girl, filled with very pure dread.
Faith saw it and said, "We should load them up, G-man."
Halliwell Manor
In the attic Leo was in the process of making a candle as Paige walked into the attic, phone in hand. "That was Cronyn," she said as she set down the phone. She picked up a bottle and poured a red liquid into it. "He says, uh, he'll meet us in an hour. He suggested one of his, you know, dark chambers, I suggested Manny's Pizzeria."
"Nice, public venue, way to go," Phoebe said appreciatively. "What is that?"
Paige smiled, "This would be a pipe bomb, dear," she told her sister. "I was good at chem lab in high school. How's the candle going?"
"Fine, it just needs a few minutes to set," Leo answered. "Are you sure it's going to give us smoke?"
Paige nodded. "Total whiteout, as long as you put six parts of saltpeter in there."
"Okay, we have one flammable spray can, one lotion bottle bomb, a smoking candle, two sharpened nail files, four cayenne pepper spray straws, and assorted rings and bracelets?" Paige said as Phoebe showed her hands to reveal her fingers covered in rings. She smiled. "Well, it kind of makes you appreciate your powers, doesn't it?"
"We don't need any stinkin' powers to kick some demon ass," Phoebe objected playfully.
"Well, maybe you, Mom and Aunt Faith don't," Paige admitted. "You three are a little bit better with your mono-e-mono stuff. Speaking of, I have some extra gifts for you." She led her sister over to a chest. "These were mine and now they're yours." She pulled out a chain mail top. "Chain mail top from my club days." She pulled out a pair of boots. "Steel toed boots from my mosh pit days." She pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "Handcuffs, from last Friday."
"Hey, do you think we're making a huge mistake by not telling Piper and Aunt Dawn about this?" Phoebe asked as Leo tested the candle and a big cloud of smoke rose from it.
"No, absolutely not," Paige disagreed. "I think they need to relax." Paige said.
"They don't need the stress right now," Leo agreed. "Piper and Dawn are not just carrying the next generation of Halliwell, they're carrying the next generation of magic."
"Then let's go save them." Phoebe said.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
In Piper's bedroom, Buffy sat in a chair next to the bed watching as her daughter and sister both nibbled on a packet of crackers. On the bench by the window Doris sat in Victor's lap as they did a magazine quiz.
"Okay, the last question is, what is your lover's favorite article of clothing?" Doris said as she gave Victor a sly smile. "Hm. Oh, it has to be your grey cardigan. Am I right?"
"As always, baby doll," Victor said as he kissed Doris.
Buffy let out a sigh as she watched Piper lay back and hide herself under the covers. She leaned over and whispered to her daughter and sister. "I know how you feel, Piper. This is just awkward."
Dawn and Piper looked at Buffy and nodded in agreement.
"Okay, that's nineteen out of twenty," Victor said counting the number of answers Doris had gotten right. "That makes our romance rating jalapeno hot." He growled at his wife as Doris giggled in response.
"Buffy," Piper said having spotted Phoebe, Paige and Leo walking past the room. "What are they doing?" She looked at her mother pointedly. "Dawn and I maybe stuck in bed, but neither of us is stupid."
"Piper's right, Buffy," Dawn agreed. "We know that something's going on. We know you are hiding something from us? All the strange noises and weird behavior. Why don't you just tell us what's going on?"
"Okay." Buffy said reluctantly. She looked at Victor pointedly. "I'm sorry, you guys, we need to speak privately." She then mouthed to her ex-husband, 'Magic related.'
"Of course." Victor said as he and Doris got up and left the room as Buffy closed the door behind them.
"I don't want either of you to panic," Buffy said. "There is another reason Faith called. A reason that we already knew about. Magic is gone. Neither Faith or Leo can orb. My powers are gone, so are Phoebe and Paige's. If you two tried you would see that yours is gone as well. There is currently no magic in the world whatsoever. And Phoebe and Paige are going to have a summit meeting with evil to see if they can fix it."
"I take it that's why your in here, Buffy," Dawn said. "Your Slayer powers since their more physical than magical are not affected. It's why you moved me in here, so you could protect us both easier?"
"Exactly, Dawn," Buffy agreed. "Despite the fact that seeing Victor and Doris together turns my stomach. I'm the only one who can protect you both."
"Buffy!" Dawn cried suddenly as her eyes widened.
"Your water broke?" Buffy asked as Dawn and Piper both nodded. Her eyes went wide. "Yours too, Piper?"
"Yeah," Piper answered.
Summers Home, Sunnydale
Faith joined Giles at the window. Sunset was imminent. Their time was at hand.
"You have all my faith," Giles told her. "No pun intended." Faith rolled her eyes. "And they're depending on you."
Faith gave him a wry look. "G-man, that's not exactly what I needed to hear right now."
Then Molly came into the room. "Guys? Annabelle split!"
Manny's Pizzeria
Phoebe and Paige walked into the crowded restaurant. They looked around and spotting Cronyn sitting at a table with two other men.
"This is Merrill, our highest ranking wizard and personal mentor," Cronyn said as Phoebe and Paige walked up to them. "Kane, top advisor to the warlocks."
"Check their bags for weapons," Kane ordered.
Paige rolled her eyes. "Like we'd attack in front of civilians. That's why we chose a public place."
"You can't be too safe, you know," Cronyn told them as Phoebe and Paige hand over their purses and he and his companions looked inside. "What's with the candle?"
Phoebe smiled. "We thought we'd try a Wiccan ritual or two to try to bring back magic," she lied.
"Let's get down to business." Cronyn said as they hand back the girl's purses.
"Okay, well, wait a minute, bubs," Phoebe interjected. "How do we know you guys aren't packing weapons?"
"You mean like this?" Kane stood up and pulled out a big knife.
Paige frowned. "Hey, now."
They noticed the room suddenly was instantly quiet. "Did it just get very quiet in here?" Phoebe asked.
"You don't think we'd pass up the opportunity to take out the Charmed Ones now do you?" Cronyn asked with an evil smirk.
Everyone in the room chose that moment to stand up; as Phoebe and Paige looked around they saw that everyone was holding weapons as they surround the two of them. Someone grabbed Phoebe and Paige from behind. Phoebe was thrown and crashed through a window and landed behind a table. Paige went flying through the room, landing on the table and falling to the floor.
"How did you do it?" Phoebe asked. "This place must've been crawling with customers."
Cronyn smirked. "We paid them to leave," he answered. "Of course, the owner wanted to stay but he's browning in the pizza oven."
Paige moved beside her sister. "What about magic?" she asked. "Who's going to fix it?"
"I got that covered," he told her. "Which is more than I can say for you two."
"If you don't think we came prepared for this moment, you are sadly mistaken." Phoebe said as she pulled out Buffy's hairspray can and held it up as the demons moved closer. She sprayed the can as she held a lighter underneath it. The demons ducked as the ball of fire headed for them.
Paige lit the lotion bottle bomb and threw it at the demons, she and Phoebe ducked for cover. One demon caught the bottle as it blew up, taking most of the room with it. All around the sisters demons groaned in pain.
"We've got to fight our way out of this or die trying. You ready?" Phoebe asked as she lit the smoke candle and threw it into the middle of the room as thick smoke filled the room.
Cronyn grabbed Kane. "Don't let 'em out alive," he said as he turned and headed for the door.
Phoebe and Paige ran into middle of the room, Paige held a baseball bat, and started attacking the demons as Cronyn left the Pizzeria.
Halliwell Manor
Dawn and Piper were panicking. "What are we doing?" Piper asked her mother. "Why are we sitting here? Aunt Dawn and I need to get to the hospital now."
"Relax, Piper," Buffy instructed. "Yours and Dawn's water broke. It looks like your daughters want to meet the world early."
"No, you are wrong," Piper objected. "My due date is six weeks away," she reminded her mother. "My baby is not ready to come out. Please, take me to the hospital."
"Mine is two weeks," Dawn reminded her sister. "I maybe about to go into labor. Without Phoebe and Paige here. We need to get to the hospital. There is no way you can handle two births at the same time."
Buffy nodded. "Okay," she agreed as she turned to her son-in-law. "Leo, they both made excellent points. We better get them to the hospital."
Doris walked in having just gotten off the phone with someone. "I just got off the phone with your doctor and she said don't move until she gets here."
"Eva's on her way?" Piper asked with glance at Buffy in confusion. She thought Eva had surgical rotation today at the hospital.
Buffy was just as confused as Piper. She wondered who had given Doris Eva's number.
Doris smiled. "She's on her way now."
"There. See? Everything's going to be okay," Victor told Piper and Dawn with a smile. .
"I need Phoebe and Paige, they've trained so hard for this with Maaa…Buffy, they should be here now," Piper begged.
"I called Phoebe's cell phone," Leo told his wife, "there was no answer."
"Well, can't you just, you know, pop over there and get them in that special way you do?" Victor asked.
"Dad." Buffy said. "It has to do with that matter I told you about earlier."
"Oh." Victor said in realization. "Right."
"Ooh!" Dawn said as she held her stomach.
"Contraction?" Buffy asked as Dawn nodded. "Breathe, Dawnie."
"Piper needs all the love and support we can give her right now, Leo…Buffy," Doris said looking at Leo and Buffy. "Go and get them."
"I…" Buffy said.
"Please." Piper said as Leo kissed her on her forehead. He looked to Buffy who followed him out the door and down the stairs. At the front door Buffy grabbed Leo's arm stopping him.
"Did you give Doris Eva's number?" Buffy asked.
"No," Leo said. "I thought you had."
"No," Buffy said. "Go get Phoebe and Paige. I have a bad feeling and without our magical powers I need all the backup I can get. I'll try and stall till you get back."
Manny's Pizzeria
Merrill crawled along the floor, wounded as Phoebe and Paige stood above him. "Where's Cronyn?" Paige asked.
"He had business to attend to," Merrill told her.
"Yeah, I'll bet," Phoebe said as she pulled the handcuffs that Paige had given her out of her back pocket and cuffed Merrill to a chair. She then held a dagger at his throat. "Did Cronyn bring down magic?"
"He doesn't have the power," Merrill told the sisters.
"No, but you do," Phoebe said with a glance at her sister.
"Of course, you're his mentor," Paige said as she remembered how Cronyn had introduced Merrill. "What happened to magic?"
Merrill sighed knowing there was no way he would getting out of this alive without telling them the truth. "Centuries ago, I unearthed a quatrain from the tomb of a wise apothecary," he told them. "When three planets burn as one over a sky of dancing light, and magic will rest for a holy day to welcome twice and thrice blessed children."
"Those are the signs that we saw," Paige said looking at her sister. "The Aurora Borealis, the planetary alignment, the wiccan Sabbath."
"Twice and thrice blessed!" Phoebe said as she began to put the pieces together. "Cronyn is not after us... He's after Piper and Aunt Dawn's babies. Oh my god." She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the manor.
Paige frowned. "That's why he led us here to our slaughter so the Power of Three couldn't find him." She glared at Merrill. "When do we get our powers back?"
Merrill smirked. "When it's too late to use them. Magic won't return to the world until the babies are born, which should be any minute."
"The house line's dead," Phoebe said as she and Paige rushed out of the restaurant.
"Leo took it off the hook, remember," Paige said. "Try mom's cell."
Streets of Sunnydale
It didn't take Faith long to find Annabelle's body. She didn't have a chance to gather the body up as the Ubervamp rushed up behind her and slammed her to the ground. Faith crawled around the Dumpster, crouching, and then she launched her attack.
It took her only seconds to realize that she was doomed to repeat the battle in the underground cave: she kicked, and he ducked. He blocked her fists.
Then he launched his counterattack, giving her far worse than she gave. She wound up on the ground, face first; he yanked her up and started to choke her, and the only thing that saved her was when she spit blood at him, startling him into dropping her.
In the instant she had while he savored the taste of Slayer's blood, she limped away into the bowels of the building where their battle had led them, all pipes and machines and pieces of gigantic tubing.
Like the Terminator, the Ubervamp came after her, and Faith was given no chance to rest. As before, she went on the offensive, hitting him over the head with a large piece of pipe, but it did no damage at all. He wrested it from her and they fought bare-fisted . . . and as before, he had the upper hand.
Punching, kicking, maiming. She was in pure defensive mode. She backed up, he came forward. She weakened, he gained his stride.
Her ribs were broken. Her head rang as he backhanded her, sending her at least thirty feet across the vast interior of the room.
As she lay gasping, he ran toward her. Then she saw a block and tackle holding up a pallet of metal rods. Three tons, she estimated. She followed the line to a rusted lever and pulled it.
The Ubervamp looked up just as the crate of metal rods came rushing down upon him. The impact was thunderous. He was buried beneath dozens of rods, beneath thick wood.
Silence.
She sagged with relief, her pain flooding into her consciousness now that she was safe. Slowly, painfully, she rose.
Then she heard the horrible sound of twisting metal crashing.
She turned.
Impossible.
The Ubervamp was rising from the wreckage.
She couldn't believe it. Nothing could have survived . . . and yet here it came, loping after her in long strides.
She ran, but it was no use. She was far too wounded. "I'm sorry, Dawn, sorry I'm about to make you a widow," she whispered as he blocked her way as she nearly made it out, grabbing her, assaulting her with killing blows.
He threw her into a concrete wall, then crawled up the wall to gain force as he kicked her. She went down, hard. He kicked her in the head and grabbed her arm. Then he threw her through the wall.
Down it all came, chunks of rubble and bricks and concrete, slamming down on the Slayer, on the doomed, unconscious Slayer.
Halliwell Manor
"Now, the doctor said I need to keep you warm, so I'm going to change all the sheets and all these wet blankets, alright?" Doris said as she looked at Victor who nodded. She followed her husband out into the hall.
"Hey, what if the babies come before the doctor gets here?" Victor asked. "Do you know what to do?"
Doris smiled as she kissed her husband. "I know exactly what to do," she answered, She pulled out a knife and went to stab Victor when a hand suddenly grabbed her and spun her around to face Buffy.
"Thought so," Buffy said. "I knew when you said you called Eva something was up. Because neither Leo or I gave you her number."
Doris lunged at Buffy, shooting her arm out, the dagger straight at Buffy's face.
Buffy slammed her palms together over the blade and smiled. "I learned this trick years ago fighting Angelus," she said as she jerked the dagger backwards, knocking the hilt into Doris face while kicking the woman in the chest. Doris gasped out with the loss of breath as she dropped the dagger. Buffy scooped it up and plunged the dagger into Doris' chest, killing her. She looked toward Victor who stood in the corner away from the fight. "Sorry."
"It's alright," Victor said as he smiled at her. He watched as Buffy hid Doris body in her bedroom.
"Come on," Buffy said. "I have a plan." She led Victor through the house and down into the basement where the unicorn was.
"A unicorn?" Victor asked surprised to see it there.
"Yeah it was a baby gift," Buffy said. "Probably sent by the Elders. And if my memory is correct its horn is pure magic." Using the dagger she scrapped some of the unicorn horn and then proceeded to sprinkle the dust over herself. "I call upon the ancient powers to mask me now and in future hours. Hide me well and thoroughly, but not from those I call family." Orbing lights surrounded Buffy and when they disappeared Victor could tell she looked the same.
"How do you know it worked?" he asked.
"I'll check on my way back upstairs," Buffy said. "For your safety I suggest waiting down here. I expect Doris was in league with the sorcerer that came to the house earlier. He is likely who she called, so he's likely on his way."
Buffy walked back up the stairs and into Piper's bedroom. She looked in the mirror of Piper's vanity and smiled. She looked at her daughter and sister, both of whom had changed into a fresh nightgown. "Piper…Dawn, I need you both to pretend I am Doris. She was a demon. I think they're after the babies."
Piper and Dawn looked at Buffy with confusion till Buffy pointed toward the mirror. "How?" Dawn asked in confusion upon seeing Doris reflected in the mirror. "You said there was no magic."
"The unicycle Leo mentioned wasn't a unicycle," Buffy told them. "It's actually a unicorn. Unicorn horns are pure magic. I shaved some off and using it was able to cast a glamour on me."
It was then that they heard the front door open and close. Buffy quickly changed the bedsheets. She looked up as Cronyn walked into the bedroom.
"They're both fully effaced and dilated. It won't be long now," Buffy said as Cronyn looked at her and then at Buffy and Piper as she hid a smile. The glamour was working he couldn't see the real her.
"You can't have our babies, we won't- Aahh!" Piper screamed as she felt a contraction.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Downstairs Phoebe and Paige walked in through the back door as they heard Piper scream. Phoebe started to go to Piper and Dawn in worry. "No, no, he's not going to hurt her while she's in labor." Paige said stopping her sister.
"Okay, well, what if Leo's hurt, or mom or dad?" Phoebe asked looking at her sister. .
"There's only one way to save them," Paige said as they headed for the basement. They found Victor there where Buffy had left him.
"Dad?" Phoebe said surprised to find her father in the basement.
"Your mother has a plan," Victor told the girls. "Doris was a demon, Patty killed her. Using shavings from the horn, she cast a glamour on herself to make herself look like Doris. She's upstairs with Piper and Dawn now."
Paige grabbed the dagger Buffy had left behind and started shaving the unicorn's horn. "Did she have time to write a spell for Cronyn?" she asked.
"No," Victor answered.
Paige poured the unicorn dust into a satchel as Phoebe quickly wrote a spell.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Upstairs Piper and Dawn were breathing heavily as Buffy wiped their foreheads. It was then that they heard the unicorn neigh.
"What was that?" Cronyn asked.
"The witches?" Buffy suggested as the unicorn neighed again.
Cronyn grabbed a knife. "You stay here," he said to Buffy as he walked out the bedroom door.
"Stay here," Buffy said as she followed Cronyn out the door. She stopped on the stairs, cursing herself for forgetting about Victor. She had to distract Cronyn or he was surely going to find her ex-husband. She hurriedly went back into Piper's room. "I need your help. We need to distract Cronyn or he will find your Victor who is hiding in the basement with the unicorn."
Dawn and Piper nodded as they left and hurried down the stairs. Near the bottom they made a convincing thud. Cronyn rushed back into the foyer and saw Piper and Dawn laying on the floor. After making the thud noise they had laid down to make it look like they had fallen down the stairs.
Cronyn frowned, "Stupid witches," he admonished. "You could've killed the both of you and your babies."
Buffy ran down the stairs holding the back of her head. "OH, they caught me off guard." She walked to the bottom of the stairs as Cronyn walked up to Piper and Dawn.
"Get away from us!" Piper shouted as she tried to fight off Cronyn.
It was then that a contraction hit Dawn. "Oh, god, please not now," she begged. She glanced at her sister. "She's coming," she whispered as Buffy nodded.
Just then Phoebe and Paige came around the corner.
"Step aside, bastard!" Phoebe said.
Cronyn pulled out a knife and held it up against Piper's neck. He still thought that Buffy was Doris. "Move, even breathe and they're dead."
"No they're not," Buffy said as Cronyn looked her. "I'm not who you see."
Cronyn frowned. "The Slayer! But how, there is no magic!"
"That's right," Buffy said. "And the Elders were smart they sent us a unicorn." She looked at her daughters. "Now!" She threw Cronyn off Piper.
Paige threw a handful of unicorn dust over Cronyn. "Beast of legend, myth and lore, give my words the power to soar, and kill this evil evermore," Phoebe chanted as Cronyn ran for the door but was vanquished before he could get there. Doris and Stanley vanished as well.
"Is everybody okay?" Paige asked.
"I feel like I'm dying," Piper and Dawn cried out.
Summers Home, Sunnydale
Xander, Giles, and Willow found Faith and brought her back to the Summers home. Her face was battered, both eyes blackened. She sat in a chair in a fetal position, beaten and injured, and listened to their conversation in the next room.
"We could make plans as we always do," Giles said, "but the truth is, Faith was our plan. The only backup is Buffy, and without magic she is several hours away."
"Giles," Willow ventured, "she looks bad."
"She does," Giles replied, sorrow in his voice. "I'm afraid there may be internal bleeding."
"What do we do if she can't fight?" Willow asked.
"We hope that magic comes back and that Leo can orb here and either heal Faith or Buffy when she can comes to pick up where Faith left off," Giles stated flatly.
Halliwell Manor
Phoebe raced into the dining room carrying Cronyn's bag. "Both babies are coming!" she shouted excitedly. She put the bag down and covered the dining room table with a sheet. Buffy came down the stairs carrying pillows from hers and Piper's beds and placed them on the dining room table. Paige brought Victor from the basement as Buffy and Phoebe helped Piper and Dawn onto the table leaning on the pillows back to back.
"Okay, you're doing great, sweetie. Yes, you are. Let's see what we have here." Phoebe said as she pulled up Piper's nightgown. "Oh! I see a head of dark hair."
"You do?" Piper said, crying.
"What'd you expect? A blonde?" Paige said. "No offense to Mom."
Buffy moved to her sister's feet and she pulled up Dawn's nightgown and smiled. "Brunette just like her mothers," she told Dawn who smiled.
It was then the Leo returned home. "What'd I miss?" he asked.
"A lot!" Piper called out to her husband.
Leo ran over to his wife and took her hand in his own. "I'm right here, baby."
"Okay, breathe. Keep breathing, keep breathing," Phoebe instructed.
"Breathe, Dawnie, just breathe," Buffy said with a smile.
"Very good. Okay, relax, relax, you're okay." Phoebe said.
"So are you, Dawn," Buffy added.
"Dawn," Victor said as he moved beside the young woman. "Since Faith is not here…"
Dawn smiled as she offered her hand to Victor who took it.
"Dad?" Piper said looking over her shoulder at her father.
"Yeah, honey?" Victor said looking at his daughter.
"I'm sorry about your demon wife." Piper cried apologetically.
Victor glanced at his ex-wife who was between her sister's legs delivering Dawn's baby before looking back at Piper. "Oh, hush. Don't think about that."
"Okay," Buffy told her sister. "I need you to push, Dawn. Okay one last, push."
"Okay. You okay?" Phoebe told her sister. "You're alright. Okay. You're doing great, you're doing great. Push, okay? Last push."
"I can't," Dawn and Piper groaned.
"You can do it, Dawnie," Buffy said as she smiled at her sister. "After all you are the strongest woman I know."
"You have to," Phoebe told her sister. "A big one. Big one! Push!"
"You can do it," Paige agreed.
"Okay, push," Phoebe and Buffy said in unison as Piper and Dawn leaned forward as they pushed.
Piper and Dawn squeezed the edge of the table with their free hands as a blue light shone down on them.
"Oh, I guess magic's coming back." Paige said excitedly.
"Here we go, here we go." Phoebe said as Piper cried. "Oh, I see a shoulder. Oh, and another shoulder. And an arm." She helped the baby out.
"I see a shoulder," Buffy said as she smiled at her sister. "And another…and an arm." She helped her niece out.
"Oh, and something else, something else." Phoebe picked up the scissors from the bag and cut the umbilical cord.
Buffy held up her hand and Phoebe passed Buffy via Leo and Victor the scissors to Buffy who cut Dawn's umbilical cord.
Phoebe picked up Piper's baby which was glowing in orbing lights. "Hi, baby. Hi." She used suction and cleared the baby's mouth as the baby cried.
Buffy picked up Dawn's baby which like her cousin was glowing in orbing lights. "Hey, my little niece." She used the suction that had been handed to her to clear the baby's mouth as the baby cried.
Phoebe turned Piper's baby around and showed the baby to everyone. "Look!"
"Oh. Is that what I think it is?" Paige asked as she looked at what was between the baby's legs.
Phoebe nodded, "Uh, if you're referring to Mr. Winkie between the legs, yes."
Leo smiled, "You mean, I got a boy?" he said as Phoebe handed his son to his wife.
"Here you go, Dawnie, meet your daughter," Buffy said as she handed her niece to her sister.
Dawn looked at her daughter and smiled. "Hey my little pum'kin belly," she said excitedly handing down the nickname her mother had given her. "She looks beautiful."
Piper let out a scream as Buffy moved from her sister to her daughter in concern. "Contraction?" Buffy asked as Piper nodded. She looked at Leo who took his son from his wife. She then moved down between Piper's legs. "It looks like you're having twins."
"What!" Piper said shocked.
Buffy smiled up at her daughter as she slowly worked Piper's second baby out. Once all the way out she cut the umbilical cord. She picked up the baby, this one too was glowing in orbing lights. She smiled. "It's a girl." She handed the Piper's baby girl to her daughter.
Piper smiled, "Hi. Hi, what are you two doing?" She looked up at her husband who held the boy and smiled. "Look what we did."
"I see." Leo said.
"It's a miracle." Paige said.
"Three little miracles," Buffy said having moved back next to her sister.
Phoebe smiled. "Their beautiful."
Buffy looked to Victor and smiled. "Their safe, their loved and they are wise. Don't you agree Victor?"
Victor nodded, "You are right, Patty. They are beautiful grandbabies and niece."
Dawn blinked. "Niece?" she asked in surprise.
"Yes, niece," Victor answered. "While yes, Patty and I are not married. I would still like to consider you my sister-in-law, Dawn. Which means your daughter is my niece."
"I would like that," Dawn said.
Leo held out his son to Phoebe. "Take him. Willow's calling for me. Faith's in trouble."
"Help me off the table, Buffy," Dawn said as Buffy looked at her. "If Faith is in trouble…"
Buffy nodded as she took Dawn's daughter and handed her to Paige. She then helped her sister off the table and they took Leo's hands and orbed out.
Summers Home, Sunnydale
Leo orbed into the living room with Buffy and Dawn. "Where is my wife?" Dawn said.
"Giles!" Buffy said in surprise upon see her Watcher.
"She's upstairs," Giles said looking at Leo. "She's badly hurt."
Leo nodded as he rushed up the stairs followed by Dawn.
"What happened, Giles?" Buffy asked.
Giles sighed as he began relating the days events to Buffy, culminating in the battle with Turok-han that he was sure had taken place.
"She took it on with only her Slayer powers?" Buffy asked in surprise when Giles was finished.
"She had no choice, one of the Potentials had runaway, frightened," Giles explained with a regretful sigh. "She had to try and rescue Annabelle. Would you have done any different?"
"No," Buffy replied.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Leo removed his hands from Faith when he finished healing the brunette Slayer. He stepped back as Dawn rushed in and wrapped her arms around Faith.
"I'm both proud of you and angry at you," Dawn said having heard the whole story from Faith while Leo healed her of what had transpired in Sunnydale. "Proud that you tried to save that girl. Angry that you almost died."
"I know, babe," Faith replied as she rested her head on Dawn's shoulder. She looked down at Dawn's stomach and then up at Dawn's face. "Did you?"
Dawn smiled. "Yes," she said. "Want to go meet your daughter?"
Faith smiled as she orbed out with Dawn.
Author's Note (9/6/22): Since I added the First Evil stuff to the story. I am going to add in a couple of chapters that I had originally skipped so that the First Evil is wrapped up before I go into Oh My Goddess. So as it sits right now Cat House will not be the next chapter to be uploaded. It will be Baby's First Demon which will also feature the BTVS episode Showtime. When I get to Necromancing the Stone, there will likely be one or two BTVS episodes standalone chapters after that with nothing going on in San Francisco, likely End of Days and Chosen. We'll see how things fall when I get there.