Chapter 9: The Witch is Back
April 14, 1692
Salem, Massachusetts
Two men entered the town's jail, heading toward the infamous cells holding the witches during this time of trouble. One man was the turnkey who led the way in and opened the cell holding one of the young witches. The other was an acquaintance to the woman. He was allowed in by the turnkey and the door closed behind him.
The young woman, accused of being a witch, turned at the sound of approaching footsteps. Her blue eyes focused on the man, recognition and betrayal shining. "Matthew," she breathed, hoping against hope that he would save her from this fate.
"Hello, Melinda," Matthew greeted, slowly approaching the woman.
Melinda recognized in his eyes that he held no remorse for his actions. He wasn't going to help her so she pushed for answers. "Why? Why did you betray me?" Melinda asked, her voice soft with despair and defeat.
Matthew smiled and looked her over as if the reason was obvious. "You got what you deserved." Was his simple answer.
"So, you've never loved me? All the passion, all the heat?" she whispered in disbelief. She couldn't believe that it had all been a lie. Their meeting, all those nights, the way he had loved her daughter… or so she had thought… it never meant anything to him. Melinda's heart nearly broke at the thought of her young daughter, now alone in a world that wouldn't accept her.
"I had to make you trust me. It was the only way to share your powers," Matthew answered mildly. He crossed his arms, rather enjoying the spectacle before him.
Melinda shook her head, running a hand through her long blonde hair at the revelations. "And so now you have them. So why would you turn me in? You know I'll burn," she pleaded one more time, her hand traveling up to the locket around her neck. The one that Matthew had given her.
"I had to keep my secret," Matthew replied simply with a quick shrug of his shoulders.
Melinda clenched her hand around the locket and broke the chain around her neck with a quick tug. "Well, you can keep your trinkets too," she snapped coldly, tossing the locket at him.
He deftly caught it and looked over it with amusement shining in his eyes at her really was beautiful when she was angry. "I'll find another witch to give it to," Matthew decided, opening the locket and pulling out a small piece of paper that was kept within it.
"Maybe not." Melinda smiled as the piece of paper Matthew was holding caught fire.
Matthew tossed it quickly to the ground in surprise. "What magic is this?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing dangerously at Melinda.
"I'm taking back the powers you stole from me," Melinda explained harshly as a steady wind picked up and encompassed Matthew.
"Outside of time, outside of gain
Know only sorrow, know only pain."
She finished chanting, watching as Matthew vainly tried to fight through the windy barrier. She smiled when he was sucked into the locket with no escape unless someone of her ancestry opened it.
April 14, 1997 - Monday
Bucklands Auction House
Rex Buckland carefully carried a jewelry tray into Prue's empty office and sat it down on her desk. His eyes rested on the locket, which he picked up and fought to open. After a moment of struggling, Prue, came into the office.
"Rex," Prue greeted in slight surprise as she approached her desk.
Rex hastily dropped the locket back where it had originally sat and turned toward Prue. "Ah, good morning, Prue. I've, uh, left a few things for you to catalogue. A marvelous shipment from an estate back east," he explained quickly, pointing towards the jewelry that was laid out on Prue's desk.
Prue nodded in understanding as she pulled her jacket off and threw it over her chair. "I'll get right on it," she promised.
"Thanks," Rex offered, turning to leave.
Prue turned her to the jewelry in front of her. Her eyes focused on the locket. She reached out, picking it up, and it easily opened for her prying fingers. The locket in her hands glowed, a fierce wind picked up in her office, slamming her door shut. Prue jumped slightly, her eyes wide with surprise as Matthew appeared in front of her amidst the wind.
Matthew held his arms out and took a deep refreshing breath. "At last, freedom," he observed with relief. He looked around at his surroundings curiously. "And the world has changed…" Matthew turned to Prue whose eyes kept flickering from Matthew to the locket and back again. "What time is this?"
Prue laughed nervously at the question. "Excuse me?" she asked in confusion.
"Where am I?" Matthew replied, his eyes not leaving Prue.
"Who are you?" Prue countered, beginning to overcome the original shock.
"Matthew Tate," Matthew answered as if it was obvious. Prue still stared at him in confusion and he continued. "… and if you freed me from that locket you are a descendant of Melinda Warren," he added, quickly approaching Prue.
Prue watched him approach and reach out for her. She panicked and used her power to push him away from her. He flew across the room, hit the wall, and fell to the ground.
"Thank you," Matthew responded, taking a moment to catch his breath before pushing himself back to his feet.
Prue bit her lip slightly and nervously backed up a step. "For what?" she demanded softly, her eyes narrowed.
Matthew smiled and took a few steps back toward her. "I tricked you into using your power on me. Now I have it," he explained. Matthew narrowed his eyes and the chair next to Prue, flew up against her, pushing her up against the wall.
Prue gasped as she was flung against the wall and struggled to get away from the chair and the man before her.
Matthew laughed at her vulnerability and 'blinked' out. Prue felt the release and pushed the chair away from her before bolting for the door. She stopped when Matthew blinked in behind her and called out to her. "Behind you, witch."
Prue spun back around to face him, trying to back up toward the door. "How did you do that?" Prue questioned as he once again approached her.
"I can share your powers but you can't share mine," he answered cryptically.
"What do you want?" Prue demanded.
Matthew leaned slightly toward her. "I want what Melinda took from me. I want all three powers back," he replied harshly. Matthew grabbed Prue by the arm, forcing it none-too-gently behind her back. His other arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her up against him. "Defend yourself, stop time," he whispered in her ear.
"I can't," Prue breathed, her voice barely more than a whisper. She felt his grip tighten on her arm as he pulled it back farther causing a sharp pain to shoot through her. She flinched and he, apparently, decided he believed her.
"Ah, so you're not alone. There are others…" Matthew realized. He blinked over to Prue's desk and picked up her name plaque. "And the family name is now Halliwell…? I'll be seeing you later," Matthew warned. He used Prue's power to break the glass of her window and jumped out.
Prue ran to the edge of the window to see what happened to Matthew. He had fallen the twelve stories and landed neatly on both feet, amongst some people sitting around and drinking coffee. Several people cast him surprised glances as he walked by, grabbing food off plates as he passed. Prue, carefully massaged her sore arm as she turned and ran out, needing to get home fast.
The Halliwell Manor
"So I suggested we add crab sauté to the, uh, lunch menu and it was great. Sold out. Do you like crab, Leo?" Piper wondered as she paced around the kitchen where Leo was under the sink trying to fix a busted pipe.
"You know what I'd love, Piper?" Leo replied from under the sink.
Piper smiled and leaned forward eagerly. "What's that?" she asked sweetly.
"Is the, uh, ratchet extension. Could you hand that to me?" Leo questioned. He held his hand out for the tool as Piper kneeled down next to his tool box and looked over everything.
"Sure," Piper agreed, but began nervously biting her lip when she realized she had no idea what he was talking about. Phoebe came up behind Piper and kneeled down beside her. She pulled out the ratchet extension and helpfully passed it to Piper. Piper was relieved, but decided to cover it up in case Leo was paying attention. "I know that," she whispered, before dropping the tool in Leo's hand. "Here you go," Piper told him cheerfully.
Leo smiled to himself. "Thanks," he responded gratefully.
Phoebe pointedly nudged Piper in a silent order to make a move already, but Piper stubbornly refused and vainly tried to make Phoebe leave. Eventually, both sisters got up and Piper began to push Phoebe out of the kitchen. "Be right back, Leo," Piper called as she pushed Phoebe out and followed.
"No problem," Leo answered, continuing his work on the sink.
"Stop it," Piper whispered as soon as Phoebe and she had made it into the dining room. They stopped back to Buffy who was doing homework.
Phoebe turned to look at Piper with a half-smile. "My sentiments exactly. Stop hinting around and ask him out already. Give him some of your crab," Phoebe suggested, trying to push Piper into making the move since she should already know how he would respond. Not to mention she had made the first move before and it had turned out fairly well.
"Don't be disgusting," Piper snapped with a roll of her eyes.
"Yeah, Pheebs," agreed Buffy as she looked up at Piper and Phoebe.
"Don't be so shy," Phoebe countered with a look that clearly said she thought Piper's shyness was infuriating to work with.
Piper shook her head nervously. "What if he says no?" she demanded, hands on her hips.
Phoebe laughed at the thought. "Yeah, like that'll happen."
"No, I'm serious."
"Piper," said Buffy as she realized she wasn't getting her homework done right now, not while they stood there bickering. She stood and looked at her cousins. "You will never know if you don't try."
"I'm very serious. I've never… you know…" Piper trailed off pointedly, a little embarrassed to admit it.
Buffy and Phoebe couldn't help but laugh a little. "You're kidding, right?" Buffy asked, raising her eyebrows. She hadn't realized how shy Piper apparently was.
Piper shook her head, blushing slightly. "No."
"You've never asked a guy out before?" Phoebe repeated, appearing stunned at the revelation.
"Not on a real date, no," Piper admitted, shifting from foot to foot in her nervousness.
Phoebe rolled her eyes and looked away for a moment. "I don't understand. Am I the only person in this family who's inherited the take-a-chance gene?" she wondered as she looked at Buffy, who shrugged.
"Probably because if I remember my biology correctly, it's attached to the can't-mind-my-own-business gene," Piper replied sarcastically.
Phoebe narrowed her eyes playfully. "Ooh. Go!" she ordered, spinning Piper around and pushing her back into the kitchen where Leo was just coming out from under the sink.
"Well, part of the pipe is stuck. I'm almost finished here," Leo explained, putting a few of his tools back in his toolbox.
Piper nodded slightly. "Terrific. Can I get you some tea?" she offered, pointing toward the refrigerator.
"Yeah, that'd be great," Leo allowed with a smile.
Piper turned away to the refrigerator as Buffy and Phoebe came into the kitchen. "You know what would be great?" Phoebe questioned, leaning against the counter casually.
Piper took the tea out and placed it next to Buffy on the counter. "Nothing," she breathed, sending a glare at her little sister and her cousin. She reached up for a glass when Buffy jumped up on the counter and accidently knocked the tea off. Piper jumped and threw her hands out, freezing the drink before it spilled all over Leo, who had gone back under the sink.
Phoebe was frozen in shock as Piper looked quickly around for something to catch the tea in. "Leo?" Piper called, hoping he was frozen and wouldn't notice anything.
"Frozen," Phoebe pointed out helpfully. "Quick, have your way with him," she suggested with a short laugh at the thought.
"Pheebs, you have a dirty mind," Buffy said.
"Do you never stop?" Piper said, agreeing with Buffy. She grabbed a bucket and held it under the tea.
Phoebe laughed and brought her hands up as if she was holding a camera. "Looks like a Kodak moment to me," she teased, causing Piper to blush even more.
"Phoebe, you're such a help," Piper commented, the sarcasm evident in her voice.
"Smile!" Phoebe joked, clicking an imaginary button.
"You're embarrassing Piper," Buffy said as she swatted at Phoebe's hands.
Piper glared impatiently at Phoebe as the room unfroze and the tea fell into the bucket. Leo didn't notice anything until Prue came walking into the kitchen.
"You guys we are in serious trouble," Prue announced immediately, not realizing Leo was in the room.
Buffy, Phoebe and Piper exchanged a glance and furiously pointed to Leo under the sink as a warning to Prue. Prue halted and forced a smile. "Uh, hi Leo," she greeted politely.
"Hey, Prue," came Leo's response.
"Hey, uh, sisters and cousin upstairs now," Prue ordered with a slight nod to Leo and a point toward the next floor. Buffy jumped down from the counter, quickly following. Piper placed the bucket of tea on the counter before she and Phoebe dashed after them.
Bucklands Auction House
Rex closed the door to his office and turned to Hannah with a satisfied grin. "I thought that went exceedingly well, didn't you?" he asked. Their plan was going exactly as it was supposed to at this point.
Hannah shrugged from where she sat on the couch. "We may have proven the legend of the locket true and that the little witch is Charmed, but now we have a seventeenth century warlock running around. I think he'll stick out," Hannah commented as Rex sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her.
"Yep, but then again if the legend does hold true, Matthew's got a one track mind. Just like we do. He won't be difficult to find," Rex pointed out while Hannah rolled her eyes and looked away, not as confident in that as her partner. "Stop worrying, Hannah. You're gonna get wrinkles on your horns," he laughed, rubbing a finger along the top of her head. Hannah joined his laughter and leaned back into him.
Halliwell Manor
Piper immediately began to pace back and forth around the attic as Prue filled her, Buffy and Phoebe in about Matthew. Phoebe had sat down on the couch. Buffy was flipping through her book.
"What did you say his name was?" Piper asked, continuing her pacing while casting nervous glances toward her sisters and Buffy.
Prue was pacing in front of her sisters while playing with the locket in her hand. "Matthew Tate and somehow he knows we're related to Melinda Warren," she replied, raising her eyebrows as she looked down at the locket.
Buffy was silent for awhile in thought. "You said Melinda Warren? Book of Shadows Melinda? Our ancestor?" she questioned in surprise.
"The one who burned at the stake and started this whole mess," Piper commented while Prue gave a slight nod.
"Uh, he came out of the locket. And he has strong powers. Stronger than mine, I mean, he did the weirdest thing. One minute he was in front of me, the next he was behind me, and then twelve stories down he landed right on his feet," Prue added as a warning.
"If it walks like a warlock and talks like a warlock," Phoebe muttered with a roll of her eyes.
"Yeah, well, he's powerful and he means business. And he wants all four of our powers," Prue warned.
"Can Buffy or I see the locket?" Phoebe asked, holding her hand out to Prue.
Prue nodded and dropped the locket in Phoebe's hand.
Buffy slammed her book shut. "Nothing in mind, I will try yours." She moved over to the other book and began flipping through it.
"We have to figure out who he is before he finds the three of you," Prue decided quickly.
Phoebe flipped the locket open and was pulled into a premonition.
Melinda Warren smiling as Matthew was sucked into the locket.
She hesitated a moment before speaking while three pairs of eyes turned to look at her expectantly. "You said Matthew came out of the locket? I think I just saw Melinda put him in," Phoebe explained.
"You saw the past?" Prue asked curiously.
"But both of us have only seen the future," Buffy pointed out.
Phoebe shrugged in response. "Not anymore," she decided, glancing down at the locket suspiciously.
"With the fact that Buffy's powers grew an exponential rate," Prue said. "It was only a matter of time before ours did as well."
Phoebe frowned in disappointment and pushed the locket back into Prue's hand. "Yes, but somehow I thought I was gonna get to fly," she lamented, dropping her head in her hands.
Prue and Piper stared at her and chuckled softly while Buffy moved from the books to wrap her arm around Phoebe's shoulder. "Don't worry, Pheebs. You gotta start somewhere," Buffy offered cheerfully.
Halliwell, Rossen and Haas Attorney's Office
A middle-aged man dressed in an expensive suit sat at his desk on the phone. "They want to countersue? Fine, bring it on, I'll eat 'em alive. Plus we can double bill and get away with it." He was saying to the person on the other line.
Unnoticed by the man on the phone, Matthew blinked into his office, holding a piece of paper tightly in his hand.
The man finally noticed the door open of its own accord and looked to see Matthew in front of him. "Excuse me," he told the guy on the phone before hanging up and turning to Matthew.
Matthew looked down at his paper, silently reading the names off the list. "Are you Arnold Halliwell?" he asked, pointing to the name around the middle of his paper.
"Yeah, and who are you? Robin Hood?" Arnold guessed sarcastically as he looked Matthew over in his seventeenth century clothing. He leaned back comfortably in his chair.
Matthew narrowed his eyes and Arnold's seat flew up against the wall. "Tell me where your sisters are," Matthew ordered, using telekinesis to tighten Arnold's collar around his neck.
Arnold's eyes widened in fear as he reached up and tried to loosen his suddenly tight collar. "What sisters? I'm an only child. Let me go or I'll sue you…" Arnold warned but was cut off when Matthew twisted his hand, breaking Arnold's neck.
Matthew allowed the seat to fall back to the ground with a shrug. "Lawyers… have not changed," he remarked before blinking out.
Halliwell Manor
Phoebe was flipping through an old photo album trying to identify the woman in her premonition. Buffy was looking over her shoulder, Piper was reading a book that contained the legend of the locket, and Prue was sitting in the middle of them flipping through the Book of Shadows.
"I was right. It was Melinda in my vision," Phoebe announced, pointing to the picture of Melinda in the album. She looked up at Buffy. "Isn't she beautiful?"
Buffy looked closer at the old picture in surprise. "That's her? She looks like mom," she commented, passing it to Prue who was looking at them curiously.
Prue smiled at the picture, she had to agree that Melinda Warren did indeed look like Joyce. "She does kind of look like Aunt Joyce," she agreed.
"Listen to this," Piper called, effectively gaining everyone's attention. "'And because the warlock had stolen her love, she cursed him into the pewter heart, where he could spend eternity feeling the sting of betrayal,'" Piper read, glancing up at her family.
"That must be what I saw," Phoebe replied.
Prue frowned and passed the photo album back to Buffy. "And I let him out early. Great," she muttered, crossing her arms and inwardly cursing at her luck.
Buffy handed the album back to Phoebe. She moved over to Prue and wrapped and arm around her. "It's not your fault, Prue. There is no way you could have known."
Piper glanced over the rest of the passage and raised her eyebrows at Prue's comment. "You're not kidding. The legend says the warlock must never be freed or he will destroy the Warren line. That'd be all of us, including you, Buffy."
"Yes, well, he's going to have to pick a number and get in line behind the other warlocks," Phoebe joked, though she appeared a little worried by the revelation.
Prue shook her head in frustration. "We've never been up against anyone like him before," she reminded them.
"So what do we do?" Buffy asked, glancing between Phoebe, Prue and Piper for an answer.
"I say we hide," Piper suggested, shutting the book in her hands.
Prue narrowed her eyes slightly and disagreed. "No, we have to find out exactly what we're up against. And we start with the locket and how it wound up on my desk," she decided, getting to her feet.
They made their way down the stairs and passed through the Conservatory to find Leo eating lunch and watching the news. "Hey, Prue. Your work's on the news. Check it out," he called, pointing toward the television.
Buffy, Prue, Piper and Phoebe stopped and crowded around behind the couch to look at the report. "This morning witnesses claim they saw a man fall twelve stories. Twist? He apparently got up and walked away unharmed," the reporter was saying on the news.
"We've gotta find him before he hurts somebody else, especially an innocent," Prue whispered to Buffy, Phoebe and Piper so that Leo couldn't hear their conversation.
"There's that 'I' word again," Phoebe responded.
"Look, Andy's on TV," Buffy spoke up, pointing toward Andy and Darryl walking across the television screen.
The doorbell rang and Phoebe glanced out the window, biting her lip slightly. "He's outside too," she announced with a frown. Buffy, Piper, Prue and Phoebe exchanged glances, silently agreeing that Phoebe would take this one since Prue was probably wanted for questioning and Piper wasn't a good liar at all.
Phoebe hesitantly opened the door to find Andy on the doorstep. "Andy, what a surprise. How you been?" she asked, feigning surprise as she stepped onto the threshold and closed the door behind her.
"I need to talk to Prue, Phoebe," Andy replied, ignoring the question. He always could tell when the Halliwells were hiding something and Phoebe was sending off all the signals.
"Prue? Wow, how out of the loop am I? And here I thought you guys broke up," Phoebe remarked, holding her façade of surprise and ignorance.
"It's not about that. It's police business," Andy countered, crossing his arms expectantly.
Phoebe frowned and shrugged. "Oh, well, uh, she's not home. She's at work."
"No, she's not," Andy retorted harshly with a slight shake of his head.
"Well, then, I don't know where she is, but I'll tell her you stopped by, okay? Ciao!" Phoebe replied, turning away to walk back inside.
Andy narrowed his eyes and grabbed hold of her arm, keeping her from leaving. "A man fell out of Prue's office window, which is suspicious enough. But then a man matching the same description went and killed a lawyer down the street. A lawyer named Halliwell. Now, I know she knows who he is. One more time, Phoebe, where's your sister?"
Phoebe narrowed her eyes coldly. "Where's your warrant?" she retorted, knowing full well he didn't have one. She raised her eyebrows pointedly and turned back into the house, leaving Andy on the doorstep. With no other choice Andy turned and walked back to his car.
"Great, so now I'm being hunted by a warlock and the San Francisco P.D." Prue muttered, pacing back and forth around the Conservatory.
Buffy glanced at her sympathetically from where she sat on the couch next to Piper. "Nobody ever said you led a boring life, Prue."
"Maybe Andy could help," Piper offered hopefully.
Prue rolled her eyes at her comment. "Yeah, you want to have that conversation with him. 'Hey, Andy, I hate to bother you, but this seventeenth century warlock is trying to kill me and my sisters and my cousin.' Any thoughts?" Prue asked sarcastically.
"Okay, Prue. Sit down and let us think about this. Your pacing is driving me insane," Buffy muttered, successfully pulling Prue down beside her in the huge armchair across from Piper and Phoebe.
"Alright, it was a bad idea, but the point is we need help," Piper conceded as soon as Prue had sat down.
Prue sighed softly. "Yeah, well, unfortunately more than Andy can give."
"What we need is someone who has done this before, someone like Melinda Warren," Phoebe decided thoughtfully.
Buffy glanced over at Phoebe as if she was crazy. "Uh, last I checked she was kinda dead," she pointed out mildly.
"Yeah, what would you want us to do? Reach back in time, grab her and tell her that we need her help?" Prue added sarcastically.
Phoebe leaned forward with a slight nod. "Yes. And I know exactly how to do it. As long as you three don't mind losing a little blood…" she trailed off with a half-smile.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Up in the attic the Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Buffy formed a circle around the Wiccan altar where they performed spells. Prue sat next to Phoebe, who sat next to Piper, who sat next to Buffy, who sat next to Prue, completing the circle.
"Am I the only one having second thoughts about this?" Piper wondered, nervously playing with the end of her jacket.
"Yes," Phoebe answered at the same time Buffy said "No."
Phoebe cast a glare toward her cousin who usually wasn't one to back out of a spell. Piper was a nervous person, thus was expected to have second thoughts, but Buffy wasn't usually.
Prue glanced from Phoebe to Piper and to Buffy, around the circle. "We don't really having any other options," she pointed out, not sounding too happy with the plan herself, but realizing they had limited choices.
"But aren't we like raising the dead? What if she comes back all…" Piper trailed off with a shudder as her imagination ran away with the idea.
"Ewww…" Buffy responded with a look of disgust.
"I read the Book of Shadows very carefully. She will come back as a real live person, flesh and blood. And she will have her powers too, our powers," Phoebe reassured them, reaching out and picking up the knife that sat before her.
Piper's eyes landed on the knife that Phoebe picked up. "What's that for?" she demanded, glancing at Prue with a worried look.
"Well, the spell works by blood calling blood, so it shouldn't hurt… much," Phoebe replied, poking her finger with the knife. She gasped as it cut through her skin. "Oh! I lied, I lied!" she admitted dramatically.
Around her Prue frowned, looking worried, Piper glanced away and rubbed her arms as if she was cold, and Buffy tried to ignore the thought and focus on her breathing.
Phoebe glanced over them recognizing their reluctance. "Okay, come on guys, it'll be just like the summer by the lake. Remember when we made the blood oath to be friends forever, not just sisters?" she reminded them pointedly.
Prue carefully took the knife from Phoebe as Piper shook her head at the thought. "I remember my finger got infected," Piper countered, biting her lip.
Prue stuck her finger with the knife quickly. "Ow. Yeah, but the oath worked," she pointed out, handing the knife toward Piper while Buffy's eyes widened as she realized it was going to come around to her next.
"And I couldn't go into the water for three weeks. Don't hand me that knife…" Piper pleaded, pulling away from the alter slightly.
Prue glanced toward Buffy who also shook her head defiantly. "No, I vote for another plan," said Buffy. "If you don't want to have the conversation with Andy, I'll go do it, just don't poke my finger…"
"What is your problem?" Phoebe asked, her eyes flickering from Buffy to Piper, the question meant for both of them.
"I can't stand the sight of blood," Piper replied, hugging herself in an attempt to keep calm. Everyone's eyes swiveled to Buffy.
Buffy hesitated a moment her eyes on the knife that Prue was still holding out for her or Piper. "Think for a second about what I face nightly. Then you will understand."
Prue, Piper and Phoebe glanced at each other in understanding. The knowledge that Slayers usually died young coupled with the sight of blood reminded Buffy she was mortal, that she could die at any time before she had a chance to live.
Prue narrowed her eyes slightly. "Evil beings have blown up in our attic…"
"Disintegrated before your very eyes…" Phoebe continued.
"Athames have even been thrown in our faces and you two are afraid of poking your finger?" Prue finished with a roll of her eyes.
Piper took a deep breath and held her finger out to Prue. "Okay, just cut my finger," she relented, looking away and closing her eyes.
Prue frowned slightly and passed the knife to Phoebe. "You do it," she ordered.
Phoebe nodded and quickly poked Piper's finger before she could change her mind. "Ow!" Piper yelled, jumping and pulling her hand away.
"Do you want me to poke yours too?" Phoebe asked, all eyes turning toward Buffy.
Buffy hesitated a moment before narrowing her eyes in determination. "I can poke my own finger," she snapped, pulling the knife out of Phoebe's hand and poking her finger before she could think about it too much. She hissed in pain, immediately dropping the knife back on the altar with a sigh.
"Okay, here," Prue responded, bringing out the opened locket so that everyone could reach it. All four of them squeezed their fingers, allowing a few drops of blood to fall into the locket. Phoebe took it from Prue, closed it, and dropped it in the Wiccan bowl.
"Melinda Warren, blood of our blood…" Phoebe began the chant
Prue, Piper and Buffy joined hands with Phoebe and chanted together. "…Our great, great, great, great, great, great, grandmother…"
"…We summon thee," Phoebe finished with a wide smile.
White orbs filled the room and disappeared to reveal Melinda Warren. Piper's mouth dropped in surprise, Prue exchanged a glance with Buffy, while Phoebe smiled.
Melinda took a deep breath of air and her blue eyes flickered over the four young women in front of her. "Oh, blessed be."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy and Phoebe had led Melinda into Phoebe's room where Phoebe was pulling out a dress for Melinda to change into.
Phoebe pulled the zipper down, about to hand it to Melinda when she spoke up. "No, don't-don't rip the dress to make it fit me," Melinda exclaimed suddenly, causing Phoebe to jump slightly in surprise.
Phoebe smiled as she realized what Melinda was thinking. "Oh, no, no. I'm not ripping it. It's called a zipper, see?" Phoebe explained, showing Melinda how a zipper worked.
Melinda's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, a wise witch made this," she decided with a smile as she zipped and unzipped the dress.
"Yeah, and wise witches in this century keep a low profile. Slip that dress on, you'll blend right in," Buffy assured her.
"It's so odd to be here again. To breath and feel," Melinda commented as she stepped into the dress. "What sheep has wool so soft?" She asked as she ran her hand over the material.
Phoebe laughed softly at the question. "A synthetic one."
"Oh!" Melinda giggled while Phoebe zipped up the back of her dress. "So did it, did it take you long to make the dress?" Melinda wondered curiously.
"Make it? No, no, I bought it," Phoebe explained.
Melinda nodded slightly. "Oh, you must be rich," she replied in understanding.
"I wish," Buffy said with a sigh.
Prue and Piper came in in time to catch the end of their conversation. "No, she's got credit cards," Prue corrected pleasantly as she led the way in.
Piper's eyes widened a little as she caught sight of Melinda. "Wow, Melinda, you look great," she complimented, pushing a strand of her hair away from her face.
"Gorgeous. You sure would pick up the guys," Buffy added, earning a light slap on the arm from Prue. She glanced innocently at her eldest cousin who cast her a playful glare.
Melinda laughed softly, watching the sisterly exchange. "Thank you. Oh, but how do you keep your legs warm?" she wondered curiously.
"We drink coffee," Prue replied with a smile.
"It's a god-send," Buffy elaborated in response to Melinda's look of confusion.
Leo approached the doorway only to halt upon seeing the five girls in the room, obviously getting ready for something. "Oh, sorry, I let myself in and it didn't occur to me…" he apologized quickly.
"Leo, it's, uh, okay. This is, uh…" Piper began but trailed off, glancing nervously toward Prue, who appeared to be trying to think of something quickly.
"Our cousin, Melinda," Phoebe saved.
Buffy put a friendly arm around Melinda as if they were close. "Yep, this is my big sister," she said.
Melinda smiled at Leo in greeting. "It's nice to meet you."
"Leo's fixing our plumbing," Piper explained for Melinda's benefit.
Melinda frowned in confusion. "What's that?" she asked innocently, tilting her head to the side.
All four of the Halliwells looked stunned at the unexpected question and Prue hurried to cover up her ignorance. "Uh, we've got to go now," Prue spoke up, motioning for everyone to follow her out of the room.
Phoebe nodded and began to lead Melinda to the door, but she stopped and looked up at Leo. "To work with one's hands is a great gift," Melinda commented with a wide smile.
"Well, I am a true laborer. I earn that I eat, get that I wear," Leo replied, seeming flattered.
"Owe no man hate, envy no man's happiness," Melinda quoted, recognizing the words of Shakespeare.
"Shakespeare," they both said at the same time, causing Melinda to giggle softly.
Prue and Buffy exchanged a glance while Piper giggled and Phoebe just held her wide smile.
"Well, wasn't that fun? Okay, let's go now," Prue ordered, again motioning for everyone to follow her. Prue grabbed Buffy's hand, who grabbed Phoebe's hand as Prue pulled them out the door. Piper let Melinda go out before her as Leo passed them through the door.
Melinda turned to watch Leo leave before turning to Piper with a knowing look. "He's a treasure, Piper," she approved.
"Why you telling me?" Piper asked as they followed Prue downstairs.
Halliwell Hardware and Appliance
Matthew glanced over his handy work with pride despite his frustrations of still not having found any of the sisters. The owner of the store, by the name of Halliwell, was hung up on the wall by some of the garden tools, obviously dead. Matthew turned to leave when Rex and Hannah met him at the door and he stopped out of curiosity.
"Hello, Matthew," Rex greeted as Hannah glanced over him.
"We have got to do something about his clothes," Hannah remarked before Matthew had time to respond.
Matthew narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Who are you? How do you know me?" he demanded.
"Well, the short answer is we're the ones who gave the witch the locket to have you freed. I suppose you could say we're partners," Rex explained simply.
Matthew shook his head in disagreement. "I work alone."
Rex frowned and narrowed his eyes. "No, not in this century you don't. You're new in town, new in time, you need our help," he argued. His eyes flickered to see the shop owner hooked to the wall. "Hmm… I see you've been shopping. Find what you're looking for?"
"I want Melinda Warren's children," Matthew stated.
Hannah smiled and her eyes flickered from the shop owner's dead body back to Matthew. "Ooh, talk about your coincidences," she pointed out, looking pointedly at Rex.
"You see, we have the means to find him for you. And you have the ability to take their powers. Come," Rex ordered, turning to leave the shop before the police arrived. He glanced back when Matthew didn't immediately follow. "What?"
"How'd you find me?" Matthew asked.
Rex laughed and rolled his eyes. "Prue Halliwell, a Halliwell attorney, now here. You are leaving a trail, my friend, and that has got to stop," he warned.
The Halliwell Manor
Piper, Phoebe, Buffy, and Melinda all sat down at the dining room table while Prue helped place the locket around Melinda's neck.
"Once Matthew had what he wanted, he told the town council I was a witch, and they arrested me. Then they burned me at the stake," Melinda explained how Matthew was involved in the events leading to her death.
Piper lowered her eyes in thought as Prue made her way to sit beside Phoebe at the table. "Why didn't you save yourself?" Piper asked curiously.
"Yeah, why didn't you use your powers to escape?" Phoebe spoke up, not understanding.
Melinda smiled faintly as the conversation began to head toward her daughter. "I had a daughter. Her name was Prudence," she began, glancing with a half-smile toward Prue
"Awwww…. That's so cute," Buffy couldn't help but blurt out. She blushed a little when everyone looked over at her and nervously began playing with her hands.
"… She meant everything to me. If I had used my powers I would have proven Matthew's charge and Prudence would've burned too. So I thought, I'll accept this and pray that some kind soul would take pity on my daughter and raise her in a safe home. Only then could the Warren line continue. And it must have worked because here you are," Melinda continued with a bright smile as she looked over her descendants.
Phoebe frowned slightly noticing a parallel between Prudence's life and theirs. "Why do Warren witches lose their moms so early?" she asked softly.
"Yeah," Buffy said just as softly as she too noticed the parallel.
Melinda hesitated trying to think of the best way to phrase the answer. "Phoebe, Buffy, I can't change the past, but I think I can protect the future."
"How?" Prue spoke up for the first time. "Matthew is so strong and he has this wild power. He can be at one place and then another," she responded.
"In the blink of an eye?" Melinda wondered, having a vague memory of that power when she had been alive.
"Exactly," Prue agreed.
Melinda nodded in understanding. "It's called 'blinking.' He must've copied it from another warlock. I stripped him of all the powers he copied from me, but who knows what other powers he still has."
"What do you mean copied?" Buffy questioned, raising her eyebrows slightly.
"Matthew's gift is to copy the power of a good witch when it's used against him," Melinda explained.
Prue sighed audibly. "Then he definitely has mine," she muttered.
"Once he's copied a power, it has no effect on him. Should he gain all four powers, he will be impossible to vanquish," Melinda warned carefully.
"It would probably be a good idea he not get one of mine," Buffy said.
"What power do you have, Buffy?" Melinda asked as she looked at the youngest of her daughters.
"I have more than one actually," Buffy admitted. "I get premonitions like Phoebe. That was handed down from my mom who got them also. My mom was Prue, Piper and Phoebe's sister. My other powers come from being the Slayer."
"The vampire Slayer?" Melinda asked.
"Yes," Buffy said. "I'm the one you called the Charmed Slayer," said Buffy. She held up her hand and a fireball formed in it.
Melinda looked at Buffy shocked. "The Slayer gave you a fire-based power?" she asked, clearly surprised.
"Yes," Buffy said. "I can also do this with it. "Pen!" A pen appeared in her hand in a flurry of flames.
"Yes," Melinda said. "You are correct, Buffy. The powers gifted to you by the Slayer should not be gained by him at any cost."
"So what do we do?" Prue asked, glancing hopefully toward Melinda.
"We curse him back into the locket," Melinda decided.
Piper was the only one bring up the nagging thought in the back of their minds. "And if we can't?" she whispered.
Melinda fell silent which was indication enough that they would probably all be killed. Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Buffy exchanged worried glances with each other, not knowing what to think of that.
Bucklands Auction House
"Are these pants meant to be so tight?" Matthew questioned, as he forced the zipper of his jeans up. He looked up at Hannah, who casually had her back to him though every now and then her eyes would flicker to check him out.
Hannah slowly peeked over her shoulder at him before looking away again. 'Wow,' she mouthed to herself though she spoke with a more neutral. "Absolutely."
"No wonder your men frown all the time, it's a wonder they can even walk. So is this right?" he asked Hannah who once again glanced over her shoulder at him.
"Oh, yeah," Hannah replied, nodding to herself.
Matthew didn't miss the not-so-subtle glances toward him. "If it pleases you to look, look," he allowed with a shrug.
"I wasn't looking..." Hannah argued. "…much," she conceded after a moment.
Matthew slowly approached her, looking a little confused. "Why the false modesty? I, I don't understand," Matthew admitted, leaning against her chair and coming level to her face.
Hannah hesitated a moment as he came so close to her. "Well, it's a very complex issue these days. I mean, there's political correctness, sexual harassment, um, don't get me started…" she laughed softly, looking away from him.
"Hmmm… what a strange time this is. So open, yet so closed. Where even a warlock feels shame," Matthew commented.
"Hannah…" Rex began as he suddenly entered his office. His eyes focused on Matthew and Hannah so close together and he narrowed his eyes. "… What the devil?"
Hannah laughed casually in an attempt to hide her slight embarrassment. "Rex, I told you I'd get him dressed," she reminded him.
Rex irritably closed his office door behind him. "Yeah, ten minutes ago."
Hannah began to say something else, but Matthew beat her to it. "Well, we tried on many things. She said it is difficult to choose," he explained.
"Playtime's over big boy. You have a job to do," Rex snapped, causing Matthew to move away to grab a shirt. Rex quickly approached Hannah and whispered in her ear. "Remember, he goes back from whence he came once his task is completed."
The Halliwell Manor
"I can't believe I can't remember all the ingredients," Melinda commented as she followed the Halliwells' directions up the stairs to the attic. She pushed the door open and led the way to the pedestals that held both Book of Shadows.
Melinda looked surprised there were two books. "Someone at some point created a second book?" she said.
Phoebe followed after Prue, chuckling at the truth of the statement. "Yeah, like three hundred years," she laughed.
Buffy was right behind Phoebe while Piper brought up the rear. "Whatever you don't remember should be in the book," Piper added, crowding around the Book of Shadows with her sisters and Melinda.
"The Book of Shadows… Oh my, it's gotten so thick!" Melinda whispered happily as she picked up the familiar book and flipped around randomly. It was then that she noticed a second book with a slightly different cover. "A second book?"
"We don't know exactly why there is two but that one is mine," admitted Buffy. "We have theories of course but nothing concrete. Mine is nearly identical. Some pages in Prue, Piper and Phoebe's book are missing from mine. Others the spells are just plain worded different. All the spells in mine are geared for me alone." She turned and looked at Melinda. "So your book wasn't always that big?"
Melinda smiled and turned to the middle of the book. "It used to be much smaller, but obviously each generation of Warren witches has added to it over the years and has made it so. Have you added anything?" she wondered curiously, her eyes flickering over the four of them.
"Us? Are you kidding? We're new at this. We can't just make up our own spells…" Phoebe laughed before she suddenly thought through the question. "Wait, can we?" Prue narrowed her eyes at Phoebe in a teasing way at her little sister's sudden enthusiasm.
"No," said Buffy. "We haven't added anything to either book."
"All things in time. Both books will grow as you grow. Sometimes you add to it, sometimes it teaches you," Melinda explained as she searched for the curse in the book. "Oh, here's the curse," she announced, pointing toward the page in the Charmed Ones book.
Buffy flipped through her book and found a matching page. "Got that one word for word," she said.
"Very likely because the curse only needs to be spoken by one of us," said Piper. "After all Melinda cursed Matthew by herself."
"I would say that is a reasonable assumption," Melinda agreed. "Some spells will not require the Power of Three, the curse is one of them."
Prue passed Melinda the piece of paper and pencil. Melinda glanced over the pencil in confusion. "Just start writing," Prue responded simply.
Melinda was still looking doubtfully at the pencil. "No ink?" she asked.
Prue shook her head. "No." She smiled and watched as Melinda began to write with the pencil.
"Ha!" Melinda exclaimed in surprise.
Prue smiled and giggled at her reaction before Phoebe caught her attention. "Hey, guys. Check this out," Phoebe called, laughing softly with Piper. Both of them were staring at the page next to the curse.
"Grams must have added this one," Piper elaborated a little as Prue and Phoebe walked forward for a look.
Melinda leaned over and quickly read over the page. "Too increase patience," she read with a hint of a laugh in her voice.
"I bet she used that spell a lot raising us, huh," Phoebe guessed, nudging Prue with her elbow pointedly.
Buffy flipped through the book and saw that spell was missing, which meant it was likely written by Grams and her mother likely didn't see a reason to copy it. "I don't have that one." She closed her book and walked over next to Phoebe.
"We weren't all troublemakers, Phoebe," Prue countered, narrowing her eyes playfully at her little sister.
Piper nodded in agreement and pointed at both Phoebe. "I'd bet you were the inspiration for that spell," she agreed with Prue, flashing her sister an innocent smile when Phoebe looked over at her.
"I was not a troublemaker. I was just…" Phoebe trailed off trying to find the right words.
"A pain," Piper finished teasingly.
"A free spirit," Phoebe corrected.
"A handful," Prue countered with a laugh.
"You see what I have to put up with?" Buffy asked as she looked at Melinda.
Melinda grinned at Buffy. "A Warren," she decided for all four of them as Phoebe and Prue cast teasing glances at each other. "It's a family trait. So are the short tempers, the great cheekbones, the strong wills, and, of course, the powers. All blessings, all signs of where you came from. These books are your connection and it began with me."
Prue looked from Melinda to each of her sisters and Buffy in turn. "Well, let's make sure it doesn't end with us. We need to get going," she ordered, hurrying Buffy, Piper and Phoebe along after her.
Bucklands Auction House
Rex had a folder on the table in front of Matthew that contained pictures of the four sisters and files of information about them. He pulled out a picture of Prue followed by a picture of Buffy. "Now, this is Prue, who you've already met. This is Buffy, she's still a descendant of Melinda Warren, but she is Prue, Piper and Phoebe's cousin," Rex explained, pointing to each Halliwell in turn. Rex next took out the picture of Piper and passed it to Matthew. "This is Piper…" He pulled the last picture out. "And this is Phoebe."
Matthew curiously ran his hands along the pictures. "Such marvelous paintings. You can not feel the brush strokes," he commented in surprise.
Hannah smiled slightly at his ignorance. "Yeah, remind us to take you to the movies when this is all over," Hannah replied, causing Matthew to look at her curiously.
"And this is the address to Quake. Piper works there. May I suggest that you go there next and take her power? Hannah will drive you," Rex instructed after he pulled out another small piece of paper and passed it to Hannah.
Hannah rolled her eyes at the command from Rex, but nonetheless nodded in agreement.
The Halliwell Manor
"The curse is really simple as long as you have the ingredients I need," Melinda was saying as everyone dispersed throughout the kitchen.
Piper had the paper with the ingredients list and was quickly looking over it. "Okay, Buffy lay out the materials, Phoebe can do the spices and I can chop the scallions," Piper decided, passing the paper to Buffy so she could see the list of materials.
Buffy looked over it before passing it over to Phoebe. "Here," she called, grabbing Phoebe's attention as she made her way around the kitchen, getting out the various silverware, pots, ingredients that were here in the house.
"This is so cool. We've never done a curse before," Phoebe commented eagerly, her excitement shining through her words.
"After what Amy's mom did to me I really don't want to do one ever," Buffy said.
"Oh, I'm glad. They're not to be taken lightly," Melinda responded, a hint of a warning in her voice.
Buffy's eyes flickered from where she stood next to the counter. "What I think is cool is having someone to actually help us with all this," she remarked with a half-smile toward Melinda while making frantic hand motions around the busy kitchen.
"I know! I feel like there's so much we could be learning or doing if we had the right teacher," Phoebe agreed with a pointed glance toward Melinda.
Melinda smiled at the compliments. "Well, I'd savor my first gift before I move onto the next one," she advised.
"I really hope your not saying being the Slayer is a gift," Buffy said. "Cause having a destiny that says I could die before I'm eighteen. Well let's just say that's not fun."
Phoebe frowned at the thought. "Buffy and I see pictures. What's to savor?" she asked in frustration.
Melinda smiled at Buffy. "Being the Slayer is a gift, Buffy," she explained. "Just as being a witch is. Don't let what happened to previous Slayers cloud that. Just because they died before they were eighteen doesn't mean you will." She looked Phoebe. "You and Buffy see visions of the future and the past. That'll allow you both to protect and to heal."
Phoebe looked up thoughtfully. "Hmmm… Did you hear that, Prue?" she called with a pointed glance toward where Prue was silently staring out the window, obviously searching for Andy.
"Prue, stop looking for Andy, he should be long gone by now," Piper pointed out, pulling her eldest sister from her reverie.
Prue sighed and glanced behind her to her sisters and Buffy. "Yeah, he'll be back. Probably with a warrant," she muttered with a frown.
Phoebe laughed lightly at the thought. "Yeah, like Andy would ever arrest you," she giggled.
"I'm in agreement with Pheebs," Buffy said. "Andy would never arrest you."
Prue turned away from the window and walked up to Melinda. "So do we have everything?"
"Actually there's a few herbs we don't have, but I can get them at the restaurant," Piper replied confidently.
"The only problem is the feather… from the spotted owl," Phoebe answered, looking over the list again.
Melinda appeared confused by their sudden negativity. "Is that a problem?"
"Well, they're an endangered species," Prue explained, but elaborated when Melinda still looked confused. "Um, certain animals from your time aren't really around anymore."
"Why?" Melinda questioned sadly.
Buffy was the first to attempt to answer. "Deforestation, pollution…"
"Um, it's a long story," Phoebe broke Buffy off when Melinda just began to look more confused and they didn't really have time to get into the whole complex issue.
"Do you think they have one at the zoo?" Piper suggested with a shrug.
"What's a zoo?" Melinda wondered aloud.
Buffy again was the first to attempt an answer. "In theory it's this big garden kind of place where all the animals are caged and…"
"You know what? I'll work on the feather. Piper, can you handle the herbs?" Prue took charge before Buffy could terrorize Melinda any further with her explanations.
Piper hesitated a moment, thinking her situation over. "Uh, yeah, after I get to Quake though I might have a problem getting out because I'm supposed to work the night shift," she explained uncertainly.
"Well, I'll come with you and bring back the stuff if you get hung up," Phoebe suggested.
"And I'll go with you, Prue," suggested Buffy. "Safer in pairs."
"I don't think you three should leave. You are the three Matthew needs," Melinda added, frowning slightly at the plan so far. "Especially you, Buffy. While he can get the premonition power from Phoebe, your fire power would make him that much more invincible."
"We'll be fine. How could Matthew even know about Quake?" Piper reassured Melinda, not appearing too worried.
"And how would know to look for me and Prue at the zoo?" added Buffy.
Quake
Hannah and Matthew waited in a car outside the restaurant, waiting for Piper to come in. "I've waited over three hundred years for my revenge. As soon as Piper gets here, I shall have it…" Matthew remarked eagerly.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Phoebe led the way in with Piper closely following, revealing her plan to Phoebe about how to get out. "You go ahead into the kitchen, I'm gonna cough on Martin and tell him I'm highly contagious so I can go home," Piper explained hastily as they maneuvered around the crowded room.
"Love the plan," Phoebe allowed, heading on into the kitchen even after a waitress stopped Piper.
"Hey, Piper. Did your sweetie find you?" the waitress asked curiously.
Piper looked at her in confusion. "My what?" she countered, a feeling of dread washing over her.
"That guy with the English accent. He called earlier to see if you were working today," the waitress replied.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
In the kitchen, Matthew was pushing Phoebe back into a corner. Phoebe grabbed a rolling pin from a nearby counter that she passed and attempted to hit him with it. Matthew deftly blocked the blow and tossed it to the floor. Phoebe was backed up against the wall and he grabbed tight hold of her and she jerked into a premonition.
Matthew had Melinda cornered against a wall in the Manor. He grabbed hold of her neck, which she was defenseless against without being able to use her powers.
Matthew smiled as he felt the familiar flow of power through him. "Now I have your power and I see Melinda's here. Good. She will die at my hand," he remarked, tossing Phoebe to the ground and blinking out.
Piper ran in just after he had left to find Phoebe on the floor. "Are you okay?" she demanded, running forward and helping Phoebe to her feet.
"Yeah. It was Matthew. He's gone, but he copied my power," Phoebe answered, worry evident in her tone.
The Halliwell Manor
Down the street outside the Manor, Andy waited in his car for Prue to come out. He knew she would eventually leave somewhere and he was determined to find out what was going on. The only way to do that was to confront Prue directly, but if she knew he was around, she wouldn't leave.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"Alright, I found a spotted owl at the museum where I used to work. Stuffed," Prue explained as Buffy and Melinda followed her down the stairs.
"But we only need one feather," Melinda pointed out.
"Good, maybe that'll keep it down to a misdemeanor. Look, I'll be back as soon as I can," Prue promised, pulling Melinda into a quick hug followed by Buffy.
After offering to go with Prue, Prue had agreed with Melinda. So the plan now was that Buffy would remain with Melinda for Melinda's protection. "You sure you don't want me to come with you?" Buffy pressed.
Prue nodded and smiled faintly at her cousin. "I'll be fine, I promise. You have to stay with Melinda," she decided, heading towards the door. Prue turned at the door and waved before leaving Buffy and Melinda alone in the house.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Prue pulled out of the driveway in her car, unaware that Andy was following her as she made her way to the museum.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Melinda curiously walked into the kitchen, checking out some of the appliances while Buffy paced around, having nothing better to do. Melinda's eyes flickered to the blender that she had seen Piper use earlier. She warily approached it and pressed the large 'on' button. The blender began to spin loudly, causing her to jump in surprise away from it.
Buffy's head snapped up at the unexpected sound and the sudden gasp from Melinda. She immediately ran forward and pressed the 'off' button with an amused smile toward Melinda. She was about to say something when the phone ringing echoed through the house.
Quake / Halliwell Manor
Piper and Phoebe were sitting at the bar in Quake, using the restaurant's phone to call their home number and warn their other sisters and Melinda about Matthew.
"Come on, answer," Phoebe ordered the phone, nervously slapping the edge of the bar.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
As Buffy ran toward the phone, the answering machine picked up. "Hi, we're not home. You know the drill," the answering machine called before it clicked off for the message.
"Prue, Buffy? Pick up," Phoebe's voice ordered through the machine.
Buffy hastily reached up and grabbed it. "Hey, Pheebs," she greeted, a little breathless from the run.
Melinda glanced warily at the machine. "Phoebe?" Melinda asked, into the machine, not understanding that she was actually on the telephone.
"You guys need to be really careful. Matthew was here, he could be on his way," Phoebe explained hastily.
Before Buffy could reply, Melinda pressed a button on the answering machine and it clicked off, effectively ending the conversation.
"Uh oh…" Buffy muttered over the answering machine's 'machine is off.'
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Phoebe slammed the phone down on the counter and jumped up, pulling Piper along after her. "Line went dead," she replied to Piper's silent question
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy jumped as the door slammed open and she was suddenly grabbed from behind. Matthew, who had blinked in and grabbed hold of her, pulled her back down with a grin of triumph thinking he had the final sister the one with the power to freeze.
"Matthew," Melinda stated coldly in greeting.
Buffy tried to pull away from his grip. "Melinda, get out of here!" she ordered, knocking her elbow into Matthew's stomach in an attempt to break his grip.
Matthew glanced over at Melinda. "We meet again," he commented with a satisfied smile at his accomplishments thus far. He looked at Buffy. "Freeze me, witch!"
"I can't," Buffy said. "You likely already have my power. I have the power of premonition. I share it with one of my cousins." She refused to tell him that she had more than one or even to try and use her fire powers on him knowing he would copy them.
"Then you are no use to me," Matthew said. He tossed her to the ground and then narrowed his eyes, sending her flying back into the wall before he turned to face Melinda.
Melinda nervously glanced toward the unmoving Buffy, but figured it best to keep his attention focused on her. "Yes, and the sight of you still makes me ill."
"Funny, the fact that I could now destroy your line forever, makes you so much more appealing," Matthew responded, slowly closing the distance between them.
"You think I won't stop you," Melinda snapped, her eyes narrowed.
"How? You made your curse before and you still burned," Matthew pointed out, stopping just in front of her.
Melinda crossed her arms defiantly. "And yet I'm here now, aren't I?" Melinda countered.
"You're nothing more than a dead witch watching over stupid girls who are about to die themselves," Matthew retorted, smiling slightly as he watched his words effect the woman before him.
"You won't touch them!" Melinda warned dangerously.
"Too late. I already have two of their powers. I just need the third. I believe the name of the last sister is Piper. Unless…" Matthew trailed off as he grabbed Melinda by the throat and roughly pushed her up against the wall. "… You want to freeze me."
Melinda gasped softly as she was pushed back. "Go to Hell where you belong."
As he held her, Matthew was thrown into a premonition.
Melinda, Buffy, Prue, Piper and Phoebe added the feather into the bag of ingredients for the curse and added it to the smoking Wiccan pot.
Matthew smiled in understanding. "So that's why they brought you back, isn't it? You think you can curse me again. Hell, I might just kill you now," he threatened, tightening his grip on her throat.
"Go ahead. I've already given them the curse," Melinda replied.
Matthew narrowed his eyes dangerously. "You're lying," he guessed.
"Am I?" Melinda challenged, raising her eyebrows slightly in a dare.
"The one with the feather… where is she now? Where is Prue? Tell me!" Matthew demanded, slamming her back against the wall again.
Melinda hesitated. "She's at…" she began but trailed off.
"Yes?" Matthew prompted.
"Zoo," Melinda answered, feigning reluctance.
Matthew nodded to himself. "Then that's where I'll kill her. And then I'll come back for the last one. That way you can watch them die and I can watch you suffer," he explained harshly. Matthew watched her reaction for a moment before kissing her roughly. "And then, you'll be next," he warned. He turned to where Buffy was still unconscious on the floor. With a grin he turned away, narrowing his eyes at the pieces of a broken vase which had been knocked over when he had thrown Buffy to the floor. The sharp pieces flew toward Buffy just before he blinked out.
Melinda gasped and threw her hand out, using her power of telekinesis the pieces stopped and fell to the floor before she hurried to Buffy.
Bucklands Auction House
Rex was casually spread across the couch in his office when Hannah walked in, appearing as if she dreaded to start the conversation.
"You lost him," Rex stated without opening his eyes to look at her.
Hannah narrowed her eyes at him in exasperation. "We've had this conversation before, Rex. Please stay out of my mind."
Rex finally looked up to meet her eyes. "Well, did he copy Piper's power?" he asked hopefully.
"I have no idea. Something happened in that restaurant though because he just took off. And so did they," Hannah explained, pulling her glasses off in her frustration.
"Then why didn't you follow him?" Rex questioned angrily, flipping around so that he was sitting up against the couch.
Hannah threw her hands up dramatically at the expected shift of blame. "I tried. Why don't you just follow him right now?" Hannah demanded.
"Because I… Haven't mastered that ability yet unfortunately," Rex admitted with a frown while Hannah rolled her eyes at his answer. Rex narrowed his eyes and quickly approached Hannah. "We need Matthew to provide us with the sisters' powers otherwise we don't stand a chance in Hell. Find him," he ordered.
Hannah glared at him and reluctantly left in an attempt to find Matthew.
Halliwell Manor
"Prue? Buffy? Melinda?" Piper called as soon as she and Phoebe had opened the door to the Manor. They quickly looked around and found Buffy pacing in the Foyer, holding an ice pack against her head.
Buffy glanced over with wide eyes. "Melinda's in there," she replied, pointing into the Conservatory.
Piper's eyes flickered around the room taking in the broken furniture and the obviously hurt Buffy. "Oh my God, are you okay?" she demanded, rushing forward and gently pulling Buffy into a tight hug.
Phoebe looked over at Melinda who, hearing Piper and Phoebe's return, had come into the Foyer as well. "It was Matthew, wasn't it?" Phoebe guessed, glancing from Melinda to Buffy and back again.
"Yes, but don't worry. He's gone," Melinda assured them, though she glanced nervously toward Buffy.
"I had to lie to him," said Buffy. "I told him, without knowing if he had copied yours, Phoebe, that he already had mine since we shared the same Charmed power. I tried to keep from using my fire powers so he wouldn't get them. I've never been so afraid. I was afraid he was going to kill me right there. Melinda said he tried as he left."
Piper comfortingly stroked Buffy's hair. "Shhh… it's okay."
"He found us at the restaurant and he did copy my power. He said he was going to kill you and I was sooo …" Phoebe began to explain only to be cut off by Melinda.
"It's alright. But we've got to hurry before Matthew gets back. Did you get all the herbs?" Melinda asked, looking toward Piper for an answer.
Piper nodded quickly. "Yeah, all we need now is the feather," she responded, biting her lip slightly.
"Good, Prue's taking care of that," Melinda remarked thoughtfully.
Phoebe frowned in confusion. "How?" Her eyes flickered to Buffy only to find her avoiding her eyes. She deduced that whatever Prue was doing to fix the situation, probably wasn't good.
Outside the Museum
Prue waited just inside the door of the museum as a security guard passed by. She sighed in relief as his flashlight disappeared around the corner allowing her to exit the maze of guards. Prue hastily descended the stairs, clutching the feather tight in her hand when her eyes caught sight of a man approaching her. She jumped back slightly until she recognized Andy. Her relief was short-lived as she realized the consequences of that fact.
"Uh, Andy. What are you doing here?" Prue asked, biting her lip guiltily.
Andy grabbed her by the arm and pulled her after him. "You're gonna have to come with me, Prue," he ordered, leading the way to where he had parked his car. With no other choice, Prue allowed him, desperately trying to think of a way out of this.
Bucklands Auction House
Rex's head snapped up as he heard screaming, followed by Hannah flying through the door of his office. He sighed, dropping some papers back down on his desk as Hannah pushed herself to her feet and tried to act casual.
"I found Matthew," she stated, dusting herself off to hide her embarrassment.
"I can see," Rex replied shortly, glancing over at Matthew, who had come to stand next to Hannah in front of Rex's desk.
"I need to find Prue and stop her," Matthew explained quickly.
Rex shook his head in confusion. "You're supposed to be after Piper, Phoebe, and Buffy. I don't under…"
"I got the power of premonition from Phoebe, Buffy said she shared that power…"
"She does but that is not the only power she has," answered Rex. "She has a fire power as well. Something given to her by the Slayer side of her."
Matthew had been sure Buffy was holding back information. Now he had it. After he dealt with Prue, he would get Buffy's power when he went after Piper. "With the premonition power I saw the eldest working on the curse. Help me find her first," Matthew stated.
Rex continued to shake his head. "No, no, no. There's no time to be distracted. You must stay on track. You must obtain the last two powers," he argued, slamming his hands down on his desk.
"But the curse will end me. They brought Melinda Warren back from the dead to do it," Matthew retorted, losing his patience.
"They did what?" Hannah asked in disbelief.
"I will not go back to oblivion!" Matthew yelled, his voice rising steadily in his anger.
"Listen! Just listen to me…" Rex ordered, forcing himself to lower his tone of voice. "If they're planning to send you back, they'll have to cast the spell at their home," Rex explained, gaining Matthew's attention again.
Matthew shrugged, not understanding the significance in that statement. "So?" Matthew pressed.
Hannah smiled, following Rex's train of thought. "So, Prue will have to return there to do it."
"Which is where you can thwart her and then gain the power to freeze and the power of fire," Rex finished with a smirk of satisfaction.
"I've already tried everything. They'd rather die than give me those," Matthew snapped, causing Hannah to sigh loudly.
Rex glanced down at his desk thoughtfully and opened one of the drawers, revealing a gun. He smiled and passed it over to Matthew. "Try again," he ordered, pointedly tapping the gun.
Outside The Museum
Prue was sitting in the passenger seat of Andy's police car, nervously glancing out the windows as Andy questioned her about the feather.
"Now for the last time, Prue. Why the feather?" Andy asked, holding the feather in his hand so that she could see it.
Prue narrowed her eyes defiantly. "I told you, I already had it from before," she insisted for what felt like the umpteenth time.
"Before what?" Andy questioned casually, receiving a look of disbelief from Prue. "No, go ahead, you can say it. Before breaking and entering the museum, which of course you did after you obstructed justice," he listed, his eyes never leaving her.
"How did I obstruct justice?" Prue demanded, her voice rising. Partially angry, partially worried.
Andy rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Prue. Don't play dumb with me. I know you too well. You're in a lot of trouble here. Trouble in which I can't help you out of unless you help me," Andy continued beginning to lose his patience.
"Maybe I should talk to a lawyer," Prue countered stubbornly.
"You really wanna go there? You really want me to arrest you, is that it?" Andy challenged. Prue bit her lip and looked away, unable to keep the eye contact as she felt her eyes begin to tear up. "What's the matter with you, Prue? This isn't a game, this is very serious."
Prue took several deep breaths, her thoughts flying to her sisters who needed her to get home. "Andy, please, you have to let me go," Prue pleaded.
Andy shook his head. "No. I can't look the other way anymore, Prue," he told her.
"This isn't just me. It's Piper and Buffy and Phoebe," she insisted in desperation.
Andy slammed his hand against the steering wheel of his car in his frustration. "Just tell me what's going on. For once in your life will you just trust me?" he yelled before taking a long deep breath to calm himself. "It's your only choice, Prue."
Prue's eyes narrowed in determination. "Andy, I'm sorry, but I really have to go," Prue stressed, snatching the feather from his hand and starting to push open the door.
"No, Prue, you can't. Prue," Andy ordered, leaning forward to grab her by the arm. Prue spun around in her seat and narrowed her eyes at the airbag, causing it to inflate and trap Andy in his seat. She hastily pushed the door open and slammed it shut while Andy struggled to break free of the airbag. "Prue, get back here. You don't know what you're doing!" he called after her to no avail.
Halliwell Manor
"We're ready now. All we need is the feather," Melinda announced as she spooned the rest of the ingredients into a small pouch that would go along with the chant.
Buffy was worriedly playing with the edge of the table. "And Prue. How come she's taking so long? You don't think…" she trailed off fearfully.
Phoebe shook her head in disagreement to Buffy's worry. "No, she should be fine. Matthew's already copied her power," she offered as reassurance.
"Besides, I sent him to the zoo," Melinda chuckled softly.
"She's probably stuck in traffic," Phoebe added. Buffy still didn't look convinced, but fell silent.
Piper came in from the Conservatory and placed the phone back on the counter before walking over to Buffy, Phoebe and Melinda. "Nobody panic. Prue's almost here," Piper spoke up, having heard the end of their conversation.
Melinda nodded and looked from one sister to the next. "When she returns, we'll add the feather and seek out Matthew," she explained the plan to them again.
"Do you think he's gonna be hard to find?" Phoebe asked nervously.
"Not at all," Matthew answered from where he had been silently listening in the doorway of the back door. Piper jumped in surprise while Phoebe and Buffy quickly moved protectively around her and Melinda stepped in front of all three of them. "I've waited too long for this moment to hide," he added, approaching the sisters and Melinda.
"This is our battle, Matthew. Leave them alone," Melinda snapped, passing the pouch to Buffy for safe-keeping.
Matthew smirked at her fire. "I will have what I came for," Matthew countered, using Prue's telekinesis to bring Piper away from her sisters and into his arms. "Your powers and your death," he laughed as Piper desperately tried to break his grip on her. "Then I will take your cousin's power before I kill her. He looked at Buffy, it was wise to lie to me. But it will not save you."
"Piper!" Phoebe and Buffy both screamed. Phoebe ran forward, but was stopped by Melinda who held her arm out.
Matthew looked down at the young woman in his arms. "Freeze me, witch," he ordered.
Piper flashed him a furious glare. "In your dreams," she retorted, refusing to move.
"I said freeze me!" Matthew ordered again, pulling out the gun and pointing it at Piper's head. "Save yourself… No? Then save your sister," Matthew moved the gun away from Piper and pointed it toward Phoebe. His eyes focused on Melinda with a grin of triumph. "You may have saved her…" he nodded toward Buffy "… but you won't be so lucky this time," he warned.
Buffy looked at the gun in Matthew's hand and debated summoning it to her. She decided it would be better now to, because then it would mean he would have her fire power.
"Phoebe!" Piper called, beginning to panic until she felt the familiar presence of her big sister.
Prue heard the last bit of the exchange and charged into the kitchen, still gripping the feather tightly. "Save yourself," Prue snapped.
Matthew's eyes flickered to Prue and he tossed Piper away from him, pointing the gun straight at Prue. "Give me that feather," he ordered.
In response, Prue narrowed her eyes at the gun, sending it flying out of his hands. "Buffy," she said as she motioned toward a chair." Buffy nodded as Prue squinted at one of the kitchen chairs, As she sent it it flying into a stunned Matthew, a fireball formed in Buffy's hand and she threw it catching the chair on fire. Prue ran forward and handed the feather to Melinda, who placed it into the pouch. Buffy threw the pouch into the Wiccan pot while pulling Prue back toward them.
"Piper, now!" Melinda called over the noise of the fight as the pouch was tossed into the pot. Piper threw her hands out, freezing Matthew as Melinda opened the locket and chanted.
"Outside of time, outside of gain. Know only sorrow, know only pain."
The wind picked up, engulfing Matthew as it had done over three hundred years before. "It is what you deserve," Melinda yelled over his cries.
"This is not the end!" Matthew shouted as he was sucked into the locket and it slammed shut.
"Yes it is. This is for eternity," Melinda promised softly with a triumphant glance toward the four sisters that were huddled together behind her.
Buffy smiled. "Nicely put, Melinda.
Bucklands Auction House
"I followed him, he failed," Hannah announced as soon as she had stepped into the door of Rex's office. "What do we do now?"
Rex shook his head as he paced back and forth. "I don't know. We're gonna have to think of something fast, though. He's gonna be none-too-pleased to learn that we have failed," Rex admitted.
"It wasn't a complete failure, right? I mean, we outed them, proved they're the Charmed Ones, that has to count," Hannah pointed out hopefully.
"It'll buy us a little bit of time, but precious little," Rex countered, desperately trying to pull a plan together.
Hannah jumped to her feet in her frustration. "You should have listened to me, Rex. We should have taken care of them ourselves," she snapped, letting her frustration out.
Rex narrowed his eyes dangerously at her and advanced quickly. "You're right, Hannah. We should've done," he agreed, harshly grabbing the back of her hair and pulling it back.
April 15, 1997 - Tuesday
Halliwell Manor
Hearing the front door close from the attic, Piper was sent to check on who it was and get rid of them in order to have privacy when sending Melinda back. She pulled to a halt halfway down the stairs when she saw Leo in the Foyer.
"Leo. You're here. Why're you here?" Piper asked nervously.
Leo smiled slightly at her reaction to his presence. "I thought I'd work on the plumbing in the downstairs bathroom," he reminded her, having told the Halliwells the previous day of his plan.
"Oh, now's not really a good time. We're getting our cousin, Melinda, ready to go away. Can you come back later? Like, tomorrow?" Piper pleaded politely.
"Sure, no problem," Leo allowed, turning to head out the door with his tools.
Piper bit her lip slightly before taking a deep breath and calling after him. "Uh, Leo?" He turned curiously back to face her. "Would you like to go out sometime? With me, that is?" she asked hopefully.
"I'd love to. Give me a call," Leo answered enthusiastically.
"Okay," Piper breathed, barely believing her luck. She waved one last time before running back up the stairs.
"Who was it?" Buffy immediately questioned from where she sat around the small altar. Phoebe sat next to her, who sat next to Prue, who sat next to where Piper would be sitting, and lastly Melinda on Buffy's other side.
Piper turned around to close the attic door before answering. "It was Leo."
"Is he gone?" Prue prompted, leaning against the alter.
"We're perfectly safe," Piper assured them, taking her seat between Prue and Melinda.
Melinda reached out to grab the dress that she had been wearing while she was here. She now had on the seventeenth century dress. "Then let's begin," she decided, handing Phoebe the dress they had let her borrow.
"Oh, we can't take those back," Phoebe began sadly.
Melinda looked at her in confusion. "Why not?" she wondered.
Buffy smiled sadly, following Phoebe's train of thought. "Because that means you're leaving," she finished for her cousin.
"But I have to go," Melinda replied gently.
"Why? Why can't you stay here and have the life that you should've had?" Phoebe asked with a frown.
"Because this isn't my time. This is your time and Prue's, and Piper's and Buffy's," Melinda explained, with a glance at each of the sisters in turn.
Piper's eyes had unshed tears in them. "We don't mind sharing."
"Yeah," Buffy agreed.
Melinda smiled softly at each of them. "You four give me great joy. I've seen the Charmed Ones and the Charmed Slayer. Good witches, women of strength and grace," Melinda stated proudly.
Buffy reached out and grabbed Melinda's hand, gently pressing it against her heart. "Tell me what you see?" she whispered.
Melinda closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again she had tears in her eyes as well. "I see the future. Many more generations of my beautiful daughters. And that you will become the longest living Slayer in history." She held out her hand to one of the sisters and Phoebe took it. "I see again more generations of my daughters. With the four of you I see my dreams fulfilled. Oh, thank you for that." She reached out and grabbed the locket, placing it around her neck before, a little reluctantly, joining hands with her daughters.
Everyone's eyes turned to Buffy, who had agreed to say the releasing spell. "Melinda Warren, blood of our blood, we release you," Buffy breathed.
"Blessed be, my daughters, I love you," Melinda called as the white orbs swirled around her and she disappeared.
There was a moment of silence between the four of them as they all thought about their ancestor. Phoebe slowly pulled her hands away. "I'm gonna miss her," she admitted.
"Me too," Piper agreed.
Buffy wiped her eyes where a stray tear had fallen. "She was so cool…" she added.
Prue's eyes flickered sympathetically from each of her family. "We can always bring her back," she reminded them. All four of them smiled at the thought before working together to clean up the evidence of the ritual.