Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy: The Vampire Slayer or Charmed.

"Before I tell you anything, we should take this somewhere safe." Melinda said before she waved her hand. "Home!"

Next thing Willow, Buffy, Dawn, Xander and Faith knew, they were surrounded by a swarm of blue orbs and were teleported away.

Willow's and Melinda's apartment

Willow, Buffy, Dawn, Xander and Faith appeared back in Willow's and Melinda's apartment before Melinda orbed in.

"We'll be safe here, this place is warded from demons." Melinda said.

"Demons?" Xander asked.

"What are you? A witch?" Willow asked.

Melinda sighed and nodded. "Yes. I wanted to tell you, alongside a lot of things, although I'd hoped it'd be under more pleasant circumstances. I think you should sit down. It's a long story. I understand you might not trust me right now, but I'm trying to help you all, OK?"

The Scoobies eyed Melinda warily, not sure what to think, though decided to give her the benefit of the doubt for now. Melinda then approached the kettle and poured tea on the cups before placing them on a tray and then on the table before she took a breath.

"It's a long story, so I'll give you the CliffNotes version. You know about the Salem witch trials from 17th century?" Melinda asked and they nodded.

"Yeah." Willow said.

"We did pay attention in history class." Buffy said.

"It does come to mind, vaguely." Xander admitted.

"One of my ancestors and my namesake, Melinda Warren, after whom I was named, by the way, was burned at the stake during the trials. And she prophesized that our family line would grow stronger until the arrival of three sisters. These sisters would be the most powerful witches pretty much ever, and would have Melinda's powers. One sister would be telekinetic, one would be able to see the future and one would have the power to freeze objects." Melinda said.

"Wait. I think I read about this in a book once." Willow said as she straightened herself, her interest piqued now. "You're talking about…"

"…the Charmed Ones, yeah. My mom and her sisters, Phoebe and Prue. My Mom had the power of freezing, Aunt Phoebe had premonitions, Aunt Prue had telekinesis." Melinda nodded.

"Wow." Dawn said, impressed.

"Though Prue had died long before I was born and then their half-sister Paige came, my grandmother had her with her Whitelighter. Long story." Melinda said and they felt some sympathies towards her.

"Whitelighter?" Buffy asked.

"A guardian angel who protects good witches and other people and potential Whitelighters and guides them to fulfill their destinies. Grandma and grandpa didn't have the best relationship and she then had an affair with her Whitelighter, that's a different story for another time. But I am a Whitelighter too. Well, to sum it up, my mom and her sisters fought tons of demons and warlocks and Mom met and married my Dad, he was also their Whitelighter and he and Mom fell in love. She got pregnant, with what they assumed was a daughter, since our family was entirely made up of women.

They soon discovered that the baby Mom was carrying was a Twice-Blessed child, and would be super powerful all on her own. Only, that baby turned out to be Wyatt, my oldest brother. Imagine the shock and surprise, especially from my Grams." Melinda said, letting out a humorless laugh. "Oh, she had a field day with that one. And eventually Dad fell from grace and became mortal, since the Elders, senior Whitelighters, the ones you'd call 'The Powers That Be', even though they act more directly than the actual ones, frowned upon my Dad falling in love with my Mom and stripped him of his powers as Whitelighter eventually, since he chose his family over them. Jerks." She rolled her eyes and the Scoobies nodded in understanding, it started reminding them of what the Powers That Be had put Angel and Cordelia through.

"Whitelighters aren't allowed to be in love with their charges?" Faith inquired.

"There are some rare exceptions but in general romantic relationships between a Whitelighter and their charges are frowned upon and the Elders screwed my parents a lot over that." Melinda said in disgust before she sighed. "I don't like them, but if my Dad hadn't become mortal, I wouldn't have been born."

They considered and processed what they had they been told.

"Wow. So, you're from a bloodline of powerful witches. And your family was through quite a lot." Xander said.

"And from what you're telling us, well, I can see why Angel and Cordy were often frustrated with the Powers That Be." Willow said, remembering how often Cordelia used to complain to her on the phone about the visions she would get or how she was unsure of her and Angel's mission at times.

"I know a little about them, but I heard the stories. I'm sorry about Cordelia." Melinda said and the pain the Scoobies had felt about learning about Cordelia's death resurfaced.

"Just wondering, your Mom and aunts have powers, right?" Dawn asked and Melinda nodded. "What exactly can you do?"

"Well, I can cast spells, obviously, and also orb, which is Whitelighter version of teleporting and, well…" Melinda then pointed at the glass of water on the desk behind them as they turned their heads. Melinda then reached out with her hand and the glass disappeared in a swarm of blue shimmering orbs before it materialized in Melinda's hand. "Combination of witch's telekinesis and Whitelighter orbing. My aunt Paige has the same power, since she's half-Whitelighter like me. Asides from that, Whitelighters can heal injuries with their magic, change forms with glamour, manipulate light and heat and they are telepathic and empathic and can sense when their charges need them, if they call for help."

"Cool." Faith said, fascinated, though Willow looked like if she was processing what she had just learned.

"Were you ever going to tell me, if not for tonight?" Willow asked and Melinda sighed.

"I would've eventually, but obviously I'd hoped the circumstances were going to be different and more pleasant." Melinda said. "I'm sorry I kept this a secret from you, but I wasn't trying to string you along, I swear. Whitelighters get called to their charges, when the Elders decide that it's time. Despite everything, I'm still your friend."

Willow considered for a moment. While she didn't like that her friend had lied to her and kept that kind of secret from her, she had good intentions in mind and it wasn't like any of the mess that had happened tonight was her fault. "I guess I can't hold it against you that you've been keeping this secret from me, since you meant well and you had your reasons. I'm not happy that you didn't tell me but if I'd been in your position, I'm not sure what I would've done differently."

Melinda relaxed, relieved. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you in the beginning, but that doesn't make our friendship a lie."

"It's not like it's your fault that we're in this mess and you had good intentions in mind and you've been helping us every step of the way however you could, so as far as I'm concerned, we're good." Buffy said and Melinda nodded gratefully.

"So you're my Whitelighter?" Willow asked.

"For now. They have someone else in mind, but they wanted to be sure you were ready to return back to the world of magic and supernatural." Melinda said as they got up.

"So you're only my Whitelighter temporarily?" Willow asked and Melinda nodded. "For how long? Who are they going to assign to me?"

"I'm not sure, but I won't be for you there for long. As for who will be my replacement, I'm sorry, I can't tell you, it's not my place to say it." Melinda said.

"But—" Buffy began.

"All I can say is that the Whitelighter assigned to you is a good person and can be trusted. Beyond that I can't tell you anything more." Melinda said.

"Melinda…" Willow asked pleadingly.

"I'm sorry, Willow, but there are rules that I must follow. And my family's broken these rules since before I was born, which rarely ended well. There are certain affairs even I can't meddle with and if I will, it might not end well for anyone." Melinda said.

Buffy, Xander, Faith, Willow and Dawn sighed in frustration. They knew Melinda meant well, but keeping secrets rarely ended well.

"OK. Maybe we should try to find out who's trying to kill us." Xander said.

"We've made a lot of enemies over the years." Dawn nodded.

"And my family doesn't have a short amount of them either." Melinda nodded. "Maybe they just wanted to get to me and my family or it's likely that the demons here may not have been targeting you, specifically, but Buffy and Faith, considering that they are Slayers. If they wanted to kill Willow, they had three months to do it."

"Or maybe someone wants to kill us all and was just waiting for us to be in town." Faith said and Melinda nodded.

"Right now we can't rule anything out, the real question is who sent these demons after you and why." Melinda said.

"Is there a way for us to find out?" Xander inquired.

"If at least one of the demons was alive, maybe, but right now we'll have to wait for whoever sent them after you to try something else." Melinda said as they all looked frustrated.

"So we're supposed to be a bait?" Dawn grumbled.

"I don't like it either, guys, but it's the best plan we've got right now." Melinda said. "But, hey, you won't have to take those demons on alone, my family will help and we may be able to get some leads on who's after you. That reminds me that it might be best if we went to our family manor. We'll be better protected there. Just take my hand."

Buffy, Willow, Xander, Faith and Dawn looked reluctant before they got up, knowing that Melinda was their best chance right now at fending off whatever was going after them as they took Melinda's hand and she orbed away with them.

Halliwell Manor

They materialized in the manor as they looked around.

"This place seems nice." Xander said.

"Your family home?" Buffy asked and Melinda nodded.

"For five generations." Melinda said as she looked around and called out. "Mom? Aunt Paige? Aunt Phoebe?"

A moment later, a woman with long dark hair appeared as she walked down the stairs. "Melinda?"

"Phoebe." Melinda said, relieved before turning to Willow. "This is Willow."

Phoebe looked at Willow, recognizing her. "You work at Piper's restaurant in the morning, I recognize you."

Willow nodded.

"Someone sent demons after her and her friends. Willow's a witch and her friend Buffy is a Slayer and we need a place to be safe." Melinda said and Phoebe nodded.

"Yeah. Of course. You'll be safe here." Phoebe said as they went upstairs, following her into the attic. "Was it any specific demon or—"

"The usual type, though they knew who Buffy, Willow and the others were, they were targeting them specifically." Melinda said and Phoebe nodded.

"So the real question is who sent them and why." Phoebe said.

"Aunt Phoebe, did you get any visions lately?" Melinda asked.

"Vision? You mean she's a psychic?" Willow asked and Melinda nodded.

"Yes." Melinda nodded.

"I have premonitions, when innocent, good people, are in danger and need protection. Though lately I haven't gotten anything." Phoebe said and Melinda sighed. "I know."

"I just hate being in the dark. Right now we don't know who's after us or why and who knows what else will they try." Melinda said.

"Well, whoever is after us, we'll face them and find a way to beat them. We always do." Buffy said.

Elsewhere

Two people in robes, a man and a woman, with a hood were in a dark cavern, when in front of them was a pyre of fire that materialized into a shape of a man as the man in robe spoke.

"The Slayer and her friends escaped. They had a Whitelighter." The man said.

"A temporary setback. There are other plans in motion. I just need the blood of one of the Charmed Ones and then I will be restored." The man in the flames said with a hoarse voice. "It took me years to recover my form after the last time… but my revenge will be complete…"

"I restored you in exchange for your help. You haven't forgotten our deal, have you? Or is the Source of All Evil all bark and no bite?" The woman taunted.

"You dare question me?!" The Source snarled and the man and the woman shuddered. "I will help you kill the Slayer and these so called… Scoobies… if you will help me destroy the Charmed Ones once and for all…"

"Oh, we will…" The man lowered his hood to reveal the face of Ethan Rayne. "Though, if you want to be evil…"

"…you need to be prepared to unleash chaos." The woman said, lowering her hood to reveal Amy's face.

Yup, the Source is back, with Ethan Rayne and Amy working for it. While the return of the Source was interesting in Season 8, I didn't like how it did it, alongside the follow-up comics, so I'm trying something different.

So, what do you guys think?

Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this so far.