Chapter 42: How to Make a Quilt Out Of Americans
April 6, 1998 – Monday
Halliwell Manor
Phoebe sat on her bed squinting as she tried to read one of her textbooks. With a sigh she put on a pair of glasses and looked in the mirror. "Ugh," she groaned at the way she looked.
It was at that moment Phoebe heard a knock on her bedroom door. Afraid of being discovered wearing glasses she quickly hid them under the her pillow.
"Hey," Prue greeted when she opened the door and walked into the room.
"Hey," Phoebe returned.
"Have you, um, made an appointment to see the optometrist yet?" Prue questioned, her voice taking a tone she seldom used except with Buffy.
"Prue, I keep telling you I do not need glasses," Phoebe instantly countered. She was embarrassed to reveal that the optometrist had prescribed reading glasses for her.
"Oh, well, then..." Prue said as she turned Phoebe's book around, "…this might help."
"Unrelated," Phoebe dismissed.
"Mmm hmm," Prue said not believing Phoebe for a second. "Look, I really need your help. I already have Buffy on the way down. Piper's throwing our her boots. The tan ones."
"What?" Phoebe said in surprise. "She loves those boots."
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Piper's in the kitchen putting her boots in a paper bag. Buffy walks in.
"Piper," Buffy said as she entered the kitchen to find Piper putting the boots in question into a paper bag. "What are you doing? Those are your favourite boots."
"I know," Piper answered as Prue and Phoebe entered the kitchen behind Buffy and moved to flank their cousin. "Demon blood from one of our vanquishes and I can't get it out and I can't exactly explain it to the shoe repair guy now can I? It's the third damn pair this month."
"What's the matter, honey?" Phoebe questioned knowing whatever was wrong wasn't just about the boots.
"Nothing," Piper dismissed. "I've gotta get to the club. Dan's waiting for me."
"Are you really gonna break up with him?" Prue wondered in surprise.
"Well, I have to," Piper told the the three of them. "I mean, I love him but I love Leo more." She glanced briefly at Buffy, the one person she hid nothing from, all because of their new dynamic. She had yet to tell Prue or Phoebe what she was about to reveal. "Not that I'm any closer to figuring out how that's gonna work either. Sometimes being a witch sucks." She turned and walked out the back door, leaving the three of them looking after her.
"Wicca PMS?" Phoebe quipped.
"No," Buffy disagreed. "It's a lot more than that." She saw Prue and Phoebe looking at her with raised eyebrows. "You guys know the way my sister and I see each other now. We talk, okay. And sometimes what we talk about is something I would rather she reveals when she is ready. This is one of those times."
Prue nodded in understanding. "You know it's still a little weird hearing you call Piper, my sister," she told her cousin.
Buffy shrugged, to her it felt right to say it. "It's not to me," she told them. "It's actually feels right. Like I'm making it up to her. I know Piper is not Payson well not anymore. Just like I'm not Primrose anymore. But for some reason it just I don't know feels right to think of her and I as sisters even if were not. You two don't mind do you? I still consider you both like sisters also. It's just different…"
Prue glanced at Phoebe who nodded. "Yeah we don't mind," she said looking back at her cousin. "If you feel this is something you have to do. Then by all means do it. After everything we've been through this last year we all know that everything happens for a reason. Maybe there is a reason for this as well." It was then the doorbell rang. The three of them rushed through the house with Prue the first one to the door. "Aunt Gail," she said when she opened the door.
"My beautiful girls," Gail said as she pulled first Prue and then Phoebe into her arms. She then turned and looked at Buffy. "Well you are not Piper. Which means you must be Patience's daughter."
Buffy smiled at the older woman. "Yes," she answered. "I'm Payson, but my friends call me Buffy."
Gail smiled with a nod. "Buffy Anne if I remember right."
Buffy frowned as they moved into the living room. She glanced at Prue and Phoebe with a raised eyebrow. She looked back at Gail. "How did you know? Mom and/or Grams cast a spell that stripped…"
"Your memories of each other," Gail answered as she sat down in a chair. "Patience invited me to Los Angeles for your birth. I was a line of communication between her and her mother, your Grams." She smiled. "I take it since you are using the Payson name that…"
"We changed Buffy's name in honor of Aunt Joyce after she passed away last year, at Buffy request," Prue explained. "So her name is now…"
"Payson Patricia," Gail finished for Prue. "Named for both your mother, Prue, Phoebe, and for your great grandmother."
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"I knew we had an old picture of you and Grams somewhere," Phoebe said as she carried in a photo album. She sat down between Gail and Buffy and showed Gail the photo.
"Oh my God, look how young we were," Gail gushed looking at the photo of her and Grams. "I remember when this was taken. Right outside our sorority house. We'd just met."
"A couple of hotties." Buffy complimented as she looked at the photo.
"That was then," Gail said as she waved her hand to indicate her current appearance. "This is now."
"Hey, now looks pretty good," Prue complimented.
Gail smiled at Prue for the compliment even though she knows its not true. "Believe me, the golden years are anything but," she told them. "Mostly it's regret. I miss your Grams. I still can't believe she is gone." She looked at Buffy and smiled sadly. "If I may ask, Payson. How did…"
"Mom die?" Buffy replied as Gail nodded. She glanced at Prue and Phoebe. They had long come up with a lie for anyone who didn't know the truth. She looked back at Gail. "She had a tumor in her brain. She died from an aneurism a few days after she was released."
"Oh that must have been horrible," Gail said looking at Buffy with sympathy. "You just never know when it's your time, do you?" she asked as Buffy nodded. She returned her attention to all three of them. "Anyway, you all sound like you are doing very well." She looked at Prue. "You and Piper and your careers and…" she then turned and looked at Phoebe, "…you back in school. Good for you…" she then looked at Buffy. "…and you only a year from graduation from high school, congratulations a year early."
"Thanks," Buffy said as she smiled at Gail.
"Yeah," Prue agreed. "We're doing alright."
"What about men?" Gail questioned looking at the three of them. "Anyone special in your lives?"
Buffy shook her head. "No I went through a bad breakup, on my birthday, no less. While I'm over it. I'm taking a break from dating."
Gail nodded in undstanding as she reached across Phoebe and patted Buffy's arm comfortingly. "First loves," she said. "Are always the hardest to get over." She turned and looked at Prue and Phoebe. "What about the two of you and Piper?"
"Nope," Phoebe answered.
"No for me as well," Prue added. "But Piper's got someone, sort of."
"Funny thing is it's my birth father. Which depending on how you look at it. If they got married I would either be Piper's step-daughter or my dad's cousin-in-law," Buffy said as they all chuckled at the thought.
"Anyways," Phoebe interjected. "I think we're all just picky. We don't wanna go through all the husbands that Grams went through."
"Don't be too picky," Gail countered as she coughed. "You don't wanna end up like an old spinster like me."
Buffy looked at Gail with concern at the sudden coughing fit. "Are you okay?" she questioned.
"Here, have some of this." Phoebe said handing Gail a glass of water.
"Oh, thank you," Gail said as she took a sip. "Damn allergies."
"So what brings you to San Francisco?" Prue wondered.
Gail smiled at the three of them as if she had a secret they didn't know about. "Well, my dears, you do," she started looking at Prue and Phoebe. "Do you two remember the Bridge club your Grams hosted here every other Saturday?" Prue and Phoebe both nodded. "Did you actually see any of us play any cards?" she wondered.
Phoebe thought about it and then shook her head. "No," she answered. "Grams always sent us outside to play."
"Of course you knew mom kept me away," Buffy added. "I didn't even know about Piper, Prue or Phoebe till last year."
"That's not true, Payson," Gail said as she looked at three of them pointedly. "You were always playing with your cousins when Patience would bring you to visit. Though it was rare that she did bring you." She sighed as she decided she had stalled enough. "It wasn't a Bridge club," she told them. "It was her coven. Your Grams was the most skillful witch any of us ever knew."
"Witch?" Phoebe and Buffy questioned with mock surprise.
Gail nodded. "I still practice craft myself every now and then," she admitted. "I don't have any real powers, mostly I just play around with it."
"Wow," Prue said putting on a look of shock on her face. "You and Grams, witches, who knew?"
Gail shook her head as she looked at the three of them. "You three don't have to pretend with me," she told them. "Your Grams and Patience told me everything. Including what you all would become when they died. The Charmed Ones and the Charmed Slayer."
P4
"Hey," Dan greeted as he approached Piper who stood at the bar.
"Hi," Piper returned. "You're um, you're late."
"Sorry, a little jet lag," Dan explained as he leaned over the bar and kissed Piper on the cheek. He then pulled out of his pocket a small box and placed it on the bar. "I was walking by a store window on Fifth Avenue and I couldn't resist."
"Oh, no," Piper groaned as she flicked her wrist freezing Dan. "Please," she begged as she opened the box. "Don't be a ring." She looked inside and saw a pair of earrings and let out a sigh of relief. "Okay." She closed the box and then flicked her wrist again unfreezing him.
"I hope you like them," Dan offered.
Piper smiled as she opened the box. "They're beautiful," she complimented. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Dan replied, though he was sure that Piper was about to say she didn't like them. "If you don't like them... "
"It's not that Dan, it's..." Piper started.
"Did you think it was a ring?" he asked already expecting that was what was wrong.
"No, of course not," Piper immediately objected. "Don't be silly. Um, it's just that..." she was interrupted when the club's phone rang.
"Don't you need to answer that?" Dan asked glancing at the phone when Piper didn't move to answer it.
"No, um, the machine will pick it up," Piper told him. "Dan we have to talk."
"Talk about what?" Dan questioned as the answering machine when through its speel in the background.
"Well, to be honest..." Piper started.
"Piper, it's me. Your Aunt Gail is in town and guess what?" came Buffy's voice from the answering machine when it started to take the actual message. "She knows we're, you know what."
Piper groaned as she hurried over to the phone.
Halliwell Manor
Buffy paced in the kitchen, her cell phone to her ear. "Come on, my sister, pick up." She sighed when she heard P4's voice mail answer instead. She debated just flaming to Piper but knew that Gail would find it odd when she disappeared, so she left a message. "Piper, it's me. Your Aunt Gail is in town and guess what? She knows we're, you know what."
"Whoa, I'm not alone here, remember." Piper's voice came suddenly from the other end when she finally answered the call.
"I thought that that would get your attention, my sister." Buffy said with a roll of her eyes.
"Buffy, this is a really bad time," Piper reminded her.
"I know," Buffy answered. "And I apologize, my sister. But it's important."
Buffy could picture Piper's mind clicking into place as she waited for Piper to answer. "Wait, how does Aunt Gail know that we're... you know what? Never mind, you can tell me later. I have to go, Dan is here."
"I understand that, Piper," Buffy told her, using Piper's name instead of the nickname she and Piper used for each other to get Piper's full attention. "Your Aunt Gail is in trouble, she's need our help. So make it quick…"
"What do you mean?" Piper interjected suddenly concerned. "What kind of trouble?"
"The kind of trouble you can't talk about with Dan right there, demon trouble," Buffy answered.
"Of course, why not," Piper sighed. "Alright, I'll just put my life on hold one more time and I'll be right there."
"I know, my sister. Remember, I'm the one you've talked to about this," Buffy reminded Piper. "I know how you feel about having a normal life, free of magic. And you know how much I would love that for you too."
"I know, Buffy," Piper replied. "I know I've said this quite a bit in the last month. But thank you."
"No, problem, my sister," Buffy answered. "When your ready to come home. Give me a call."
"I will, Buffy." Piper said as she ended the call.
P4
"No, problem, my sister," Buffy told her as Piper looked toward Dan. "When your ready to come home. Give me a call."
"I will, Buffy." Piper said as she set the receiver down on its cradle. She turned back toward Dan.
"More trouble at home?" Dan questioned.
"When isn't there," Piper answered apologetically.
"Well, you wanna talk about it on the way to your car?" he asked hopefully.
"Buffy is going to come get me," Piper interjected. "But thank you for the offer. Uhm, how about dinner tonight?" She thought for a second and then changed her mind. "Actually, let's make it tomorrow night just to be safe. I don't wanna have to cancel on you."
"It's a date," Dan agreed as he kissed her. He watched her walk out of the club before noticing she left the earrings behind.
Halliwell Manor
Buffy walked back into the living room and sat down next to Prue. "Piper's will call when she is on her way," she told them.
Prue and Phoebe nodded in understanding at the subtle hint what Buffy meant when she said call.
"How come you said, my sister, when you were talking to Piper?" Gail questioned.
"We could hear you in here, Buffy," Prue said with a sigh.
Buffy sighed as she looked at Gail. "It's kind of complicated. Do you believe in past lives?"
"Sure," Gail said with a shrug.
"What do you know about, Payson, Grams' mother?" Buffy questioned.
"Other than you were named after her, not much," Gail stated. "Why?"
"Piper was Payson in her past life," Buffy explained. "And I was her sister."
"You were Primrose in your past life?" Gail questioned in surprise. "Your Grams mentioned her once, She told me that she had been named after her."
"Her name is Primrose," Buffy said in confusion. "Not…"
"Her middle name was Penelope," Gail answered the unasked question. "Primrose Penelope. You think you were the only one to have a double P name? Anyways she mentioned that Primrose had died in the 1920s, before she was born."
Prue glanced at Phoebe and Buffy before looking back at Gail. "If not for Buffy and Phoebe visiting their past lives, we wouldn't have known their names. For some reason Grams didn't write down her mom or her aunt or her cousins full names. They are only listed by first initial and last name."
"I think it's nice Payson gave her daughter, her sister's middle name," she said with a glance at Prue and Phoebe. It means she likely forgave her." She suddenly glanced up and nodded. "I need to use the bathroom. I will be right back." She hurried out of the room and up the stairs.
P4
Piper stepped into the alley beside the club and let out a sigh. "Buffy!" she called out. She watched as a swirl of flames appeared heralding Buffy's arrival.
"How did it go?" Buffy questioned.
"Sadly not well," Piper admitted. "He gave me a pair of earrings, which I forgot and left on the bar." She then noticed a smile on Buffy's face. "What is it? You look happy."
"You forgave me," Buffy answered.
"What?" Piper asked clearly confused.
"Your past life…Payson," Buffy explained looking Piper in the eyes. "She forgave her sister When Grams was born, Payson gave Grams her sister's middle name. Primrose's middle name was Penelope."
Piper smiled as she embraced Buffy.
"With Gail there I made the excuse of going to the bathroom," Buffy said. "So I will flame you outside and then flame back into the upstairs bathroom."
"Okay," Piper said as she took Buffy's hand and they disappeared in a swirl of flames.
Halliwell Manor
"Have you contacted the police yet?" Prue wondered as she looked at Gail as Buffy came down the stairs and sat beside her.
"Prue, Phoebe, Buffy, I'm home," called Piper as she walked through the front door.
"And tell them what?" Gail questioned looking at Prue.
"In here, Piper," Phoebe called back.
"That I think there's a demon running loose in our streets?" Gail continued as Piper walked into the room. They'd think I was crazy."
"Try getting your boots cleaned," Piper interjected as she walkd over to Gail and gave the older woman a hug. "Hey, Aunt Gail," she greeted before sitting down in an empty chair.
"Still," Prue said bringing them back to the original topic of discussion. "You said that corpses have been found dug up and skinned. I mean, what'd the police think about that?"
Gail shrugged. "I don't know."
"Maybe it's just some sicko grave robber," Phoebe suggested.
"Well, it's, uh, it's more than that," Gail told them. "I may be wrong but I think I remember seeing in the family's Book Of Shadows that..."
"Wait," Buffy interjected, holding up a hand to silence Prue, Piper and Phoebe. "You know about both of them?"
"That your Grams had one handed down to her and that her mother copied it and even reworded spells for you, yes I do," Gail anaswered. "Both your mother and your Grams showed me both books, at different times of course." She waved her hand as if to say they had gotten off topic. "Anyways I think that I remember seeing something about a skinned demon or something, who made people young again."
"Young again?" Piper questioned curiously. "Why, what's so bad about that?"
"There's gotta be a catch," Buffy added glancing at her cousins. "There's always a catch." She looked back at Gail. "Are you sure the book said it was skinned?"
"I think so, but maybe we better go look," Gail answered.
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Buffy stood watching as Phoebe, Piper, Prue and Gail looked through the family's book. Something didn't seem right to her, she wasn't sure what. And as Prue, Piper and Phoebe's Whitelighter, she knew she had to figure it out.
"Here's something. Cryto, the demon of vanity," Phoebe said looking at a page on said demon.
"Cryto, that sounds vaguely familiar," Gail admitted. "What does it say?"
Buffy noticed that Phoebe was squinting trying to read the book. She narrowed her eyes as she moved beside her youngest cousin. "In the 16th century," she read. "Cryto traveled from dukedom to dukedom, praying on people's vanity, bestowing youth and and beauty in exchange for their souls."
"Youth for souls?" Prue questioned with a frown. "Why would anybody make that trade?"
"Believe me, I know a lot of people who'd consider it," Gail told them. "Age, disease. Uh, that's why I'm so worried. I know so many potential victims in Santa Costa. Friends."
"Are you squinting?" Piper asked noticing that Phoebe was squinting.
"No," Phoebe countered, sounding appropriately offended at the suggestion.
"Cryto was found out and skinned alive by a group of witches who believed it would keep his spirit from ever being resurrected again," Buffy continued to read before looking up at Gail. "You were right."
"Yeah, but those witches obviously weren't right, otherwise there wouldn't be a vanquishing spell in the book," Prue told her cousin.
"Didn't say they were, Prue," Buffy retorted.
"So someone is skinning people to give him a new skin?" Piper questioned as her gaze traveled from one person to the next.
"Well, giving their bodies somebody's spirit makes sense," Prue admitted.
"Well, at least it's an easy vanquishing spell," Phoebe commented. "I mean, if Cryto really does exist, it shouldn't be a problem getting rid of him."
"Goodness, you must be very powerful witches," Gail cheered.
"Ah, rub it in," Piper sighed as Buffy pulled her into her arms.
"It's okay, my sister," Buffy whispered into Piper's ears.
"Uh, how soon can you come to Santa Costa?" Gail asked looking at the sisters and Buffy.
Piper shrugged as she looked at the rest of her family. "Buffy, Prue, Phoebe, can I talk to the three of you for a sec?" She motioned toward another room. "Out here."
"Take your time," Gail called after them as the four Halliwells walked ut of the room.
"Piper, Gail is like family," Phoebe reminded her sister. "You love her, we all do."
"Well I don't," Buffy said as Prue and Phoebe looked at her. "I don't know her. How can I love someone I don't even remember."
"You didn't remember us either," Prue countered.
"Prue, I grew to love you guys over time," Buffy reminded her eldest cousin. "Or did you forget that despite Piper being the only one I call, my sister, that we all look each other as sisters."
Prue nodded. "I guess I can see your point," she admitted. She then turned her attention back to Piper. "Piper, as far as you concerned Aunt Gail was like a second Grams to us."
"Yeah, only a nice one," Phoebe agreed looking at her middle sister. "One that never said no."
Piper sighed. "I know that, but something about her story, it's just, it's not right," she admitted. "I mean, bodies are being dug up all over town and she's the only one who's noticing?"
"I'm in agreement with Piper," Buffy said. "I've had this feeling that something doesn't add up. And as your guys Whitelighter. It's my duty..."
"We know, Buffy," Prue said as she glanced at her cousin.
"I admit, it's funky but what are we supposed to do?" Phoebe questioned looking at the other three Halliwells. "Tell her that we're not gonna help her?"
"No, of course not," Piper countered. "It's just, it's never ending. I mean, we have no lives. I don't even have time to break up with Dan properly."
Buffy sighed as she pulled Piper into her arms again.
"Look, honey, Santa Costa's right over the bridge," Prue told her sister. "Alright, we'll leave early, go check things out, be back by tomorrow night," she explained as Gail came downt he stairs. She turned and smiled at Gail. "Hi. So, we'll be there at 9:00 tomorrow morning, okay?"
"Would you like to stay here?" Phoebe questioned. "We have plenty of room."
"Yeah you can have my room I can sleep with Piper," Buffy added.
"Oh, no, thank you," Gail apologized. "I have to get home. Cats to feed, you know." She noticed Buffy's eyes narrowing. "Thank you. You'll never know how much this means to me."
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"Pheebs," Buffy said as she stepped into her cousin's bedroom, closing the door behind her. ""When are you going to tell them the truth?"
"What are you talking about?" Phoebe wondered, not that she didn't know.
"You were squinting earlier," Buffy answered as she sat down on the end of the bed. "Don't say you weren't because I saw it and you know being the Slayer I have pretty good eye sight. Besides I wasn't the only one, Piper saw you squinting also."
Phoebe sighed as she pulled her glasses out from under her pillow. "Don't tell them," she begged. "I will do it when I'm ready."
"I wouldn't of anyways," Buffy admitted. "It's not my secret to tell. That said as your Whitelighter, you need tell them. Secrets can hurt. I know that better than anyone."
April 7, 1998 – Tuesday
Streets of Santa Costa
Piper pulled her jeep into a gas station with a sigh. "Nice work, Pheebs, only a couple of hours late," she said as the four of them got out of the car.
"Yeah," Prue agreed as Phoebe spread the map over the hood of the car. "Next time I'll navigate."
"It's this map," Phoebe told them as Buffy cast a knowing glance her way. "It's messed up. There is no connector road at Highway 28."
"No?" Prue said pointing at a connector road for Highway 28 on the map. "What is that?"
"That little squiggle?" Phoebe questioned. She sighed as she glanced at Buffy. "I didn't see that." She looked back at Prue. "And don't tell me I need glasses, okay, because anybody could've missed that."
"Phoebe, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wearing glasses," Prue told her sister. "I mean, I wear them."
"I know, but you're older," Phoebe countered as Piper laughed. "Well you are."
"Right, well, you know," Prue said as she shook her head. "I really hope that demon of vanity is after you because your soul would be toast."
"I'm just gonna ignore that comment and go ask for directions." Phoebe said as she walked off toward the entrance to the building.
"Cute, huh." Piper motioned to an elderly couple as they walked past. "Still holding hands."
"That could be you, my sister," Buffy said with a sly wink. "You and dad Leo in like fifty years."
Piper glanced at Buffy and shook her head. "Me, maybe, but not your father. Whitelighters don't age, remember?"
"I age," Buffy countered.
"Your part Whitelghter," Piper reminded Buffy. "Anyways they're not supposed…"
"You know how much I don't care for their rules, Piper," Buffy interjected before Piper finished her sentenance. "After all their stupid rules kept me and dad apart when you and I had Oroya fever all because Prue and Phoebe cast that spell that had consequences."
"I know. I'm sorry, my sister," Piper said as she wrapped an arm around Buffy. "I've been a drag lately but I've just been confused and frustrated. I mean, nothing's changed really since your father and I met except that I'm a year older and still have no idea what we're doing. Sometimes I worry we're all gonna end up like Aunt Gail."
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"Then you take Hotsmen to the lights," an elderly man told Phoebe trying to give her directions. "You then turn right past the fire station to Sycamore."
"Yeah-yeah, then straight up the hill and there's a big Victorian on the left," the other elderly gentleman added. "Well, you can't miss it, it's not far."
Phoebe smiled. "Okay, straight up the hill, great, thanks," she appreciated.
"Pheebs, come on," Buffy called from beside the car.
"Okay, okay." Phoebe called back as she put her pen and paper back in her bag as her glasses fell out.
"Oh, excuse me, honey," said the first elderly man as he picked up her glasses. "Are these your glasses?"
Phoebe looked at the glasses and then toward Buffy. "Uh..." she started when she noticed Prue and Piper staring at her. "No, no, those aren't mine." She turned and hurried toward the other three Halliwells and the car. "We are all set. All words, no squigglies."
"Glasses!" Buffy whispered and Phoebe's glasses appeared in her hand. She got in the car beside her youngest cousin. "Why are you hiding thes from them?" she asked handing the glasses to Phoebe.
Aunt Gail's House
"More tea, girls?" Amanda, a friend of Gail's asked the Halliwells who sat on the couch.
"No, thanks," Buffy replied as Amanda poured the tea into her glass anyway. She glanced at Piper and rolled her eyes. "I'd love some, thank you."
"How about you?" Amanda asked as she turned to Piper, who shook her head.
"It's better to humor her, Piper," Gail instructed the second eldest Halliwell. "She won't take no for an answer."
Piper sighed with a glance at Buffy. "Well, then, by all means, fill her up."
Amanda smiled as she filled Piper and then Phoebe's glasses as well.
"So, Aunt Gail, who else knows about Cryto than us?" Prue wondered as Amanda went to pour more tea into her glass. She was quick to cover it with her hand.
"Well, I hope you won't be too upset, I had to tell Amanda and Helen," Gail answered looking at her friends. "Actually, they were the first to tell me about the dug up corpses."
Buffy's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Really?" she questioned.
"Don't worry," Helen placated. "We won't tell a soul about you being witches and all. Our little secret."
Prue exchanged glances with Piper, Phoebe and Buffy before turning back to Helen. "That's good to know," she remarked as Piper took a sip of her tea.
"Is something the matter?" Amanda asked Piper who had a look of disgust on her face.
"Uh, it's just..." Piper said wondering how to be diplomatic about the fact she didn't like the tea. "What kind of tea is this? It's... different."
"It's a special blend," Gail answered. "Uh, listen, maybe you had better get going to start to look for whoever might be trying to summon Cryto."
"Gail..." Amanda started.
"Two of the corpses were found in that old furniture warehouse on Route 10, weren't they Helen?" Gail asked as she glanced toward Helen.
"Yes, I think so," Helen agreed.
Buffy looked at the two women that had been informed about the fact she and her cousins were witches. They weren't setting her Slayer senses off, so that had to mean they weren't evil. So why did she get a bad feeling from them and Gail? "That's not really a lot to go on," she admitted.
"Well, you have to start somewhere," Gail told the Slayer. "Uh, you just go out Route 10 and then turn up Willow and it will be right there."
"Okay, so, um, I guess we'll be back later." Prue said as she, Piper, Phoebe and Buffy started for the door.
"Yeah, we'll, we'll be here," Gail answered as she watched them leave.
Warehouse
"Do you guys see anything?" Prue asked as the four of them got out of the car.
"No," Buffy answered as she looked around. "My spidey senses aren't tingling."
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Piper questioned her baby sister.
"Don't look at me," Phoebe countered. "I didn't navigate this time."
"Now that we're here. I am going to tell you guys something," Buffy said.
"Let me guess," Prue said. "You've had a feeling they were sending us on a wild ghoose chase."
"Pretty much," Buffy agreed.
"Why would Aunt Gail send us out here for no reason?" Piper questioned looking at the three of them.
"I don't know but she seemed in an awful hurry to get us outta th..." Prue started when she felt dizzy. "Whoa."
Buffy reached out to steady the eldest Halliwell. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern.
"No," Prue answered with a shake of her head. "I'm kind of feeling light headed all of a sudden."
"I'm not feeling so hot myself," Phoebe agreed.
Piper and Buffy looked at each other and they could see that they felt about the same as Prue and Phoebe.
Gail's House
Gail, Amanda and Helen are chanting the spell stood around Cryto as they chanted, "Powers of the witches rise, course unseen across the skies, come to us who call you near, come to us and settle here."
"It's not working," Cryto snapped at them.
"It will," Gail told him, silently begging him for patience.
"Powers of the witches rise, course unseen across the skies, come to us who call you near, come to us and settle here." Gail, Helen and Amanda chant.
Warehouse
Unseen by Buffy, Prue, Piper and Phoebe they glowed as they lost their powers.
Gail's House
"Aunt Gail!" Prue called out as she, Buffy, Piper and Phoebe walked through the front door.
"Anybody home?" Piper added looking around.
"I don't understand what the hell is going on," Phoebe said.
"I told you something wasn't right." Buffy reminded them.
"Yeah, well, what's not right is I have the feeling it's Gail and her friends who summoned this demon," Prue told them, voicing her suspicions.
"That would make sense," Buffy agreed. "Given what I've been feeling around her."
"Yeah, but if that were true," Phoebe countered as they walked into the kitchen. "Then why would Aunt Gail want us to come to Santa Costa?"
Prue wrinkled her nose at a smell that assaulted her nostrils. "It stinks."
"This is what I'm saying," Piper agreed.
"No," Buffy interjected with a shake of her head. "Prue's talking about the smell. I think it's coming from here." She led them to the basement door and downstairs.
"What is that smell?" Piper asked wrinkling her nose at the smell. It was then that they saw two piles of clothes on the floor.
"Wait a minute, what are those?" Phoebe questioned pointing at the clothes.
Prue took a look at the clothes and realized she recognized them as what Amanada and Helen had been wearing. "Oh, I would say by the looks of things, that's Amanda…" she pointed at Amanda's clothes before pointing at Helen's clothes, "…and that would be Helen."
"Oh my Goddess!" Buffy said in realization.
"I hope that didn't happen from drinking the tea." Phoebe hoped.
"Yeah," Prue replied. "That must of happened when they tried to summon Cryto. Although, I don't see Aunt Gail here. That's a good sign I hope."
"I'm going up there and see what the Elders know about Cryto and how to get rid of him," Buffy said as Prue, Piper and Phoebe nodded. She tried to flame out but nothing happened. She frowned as she looked at the three of them. "I can't flame."
"What?" Prue said in surprise.
Piper spotted a rat running across the floor and tried to freeze it, but again nothing happened. "I can't freeze that rat thing," she told them. She looked at her eldest sister. "You try move it."
Prue looked at the rat and waved her hand, trying to telekinetically move it. Again nothing happened. "Okay, what the hell is going on with our powers?" she questioned.
"Maybe we oughta ask Aunt Gail." Phoebe suggested.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Piper sat looking at a photo as Buffy and Prue went through several pages of paper. It was then that Phoebe came out of the kitchen holding a hemlock root. "Well, they were definitely making a potion," Phoebe told the three of them. "Hemlock root."
"No wonder the tea tasted funny," Piper admitted looking up from the photo. "How did we let her do this to us?"
"Because we trusted her," Prue admitted with a sigh.
"I kind of wish I had listened to what I was feeling," Buffy admitted with a sigh of her own. "I just followed your guys lead since you all knew her."
"Yeah, well, she just got crossed off my Christmas list," Phoebe half joked.
"Aunt Gail was Grams' best friend," Piper said looking at Prue and Phoebe. "She used to bake us cookies."
"And now she's spiking our tea," Buffy reminded them.
"But why?" Piper questioned as she looked at her cousin. "Just to be young again? I mean, she had to know she'd be giving up her soul in exchange."
"Maybe it wasn't just for youth," Prue said thinking of reasons why Gail would agree to Cryto's deal. "Maybe it was for health. These are all doctor bills. Recent ones. Radiation treatment, chemo therapy. I don't think she has very long to live."
"That still doesn't excuse what she did," Phoebe countered. "What she did to us. I mean, you can't use magic to save yourself." She looked at Buffy and Piper. "We know that better than anyone."
"Phoebe's right," Buffy agreed. "There is always consequences. Just like when you two tried to keep me and Piper from dying from Oroya fever."
"I just don't understand," Phoebe said a slight tone of confusion in her voice. "Why steal our powers?"
"Cryto must of wanted more out of the bargain," Prue reasoned. "Aunt Gail was desperate enough to give it to him."
Piper sighed. "We shouldn't of left her alone in the attic."
"Okay, well, we have the potion, if we can find the spell then we should be able to transfer our powers back," Phoebe suggested.
Buffy glanced at Piper knowing how Piper felt about that. One thing Piper had always wanted was a normal life. She was sure that Piper would find an excuse to not get their powers back.
"Are you kidding?" Piper stated confirming Buffy's suspicions. "We won't be able to get near him."
"Well, he has our powers but that doesn't necessarily mean he knows how to use them," Phoebe countered. "Besides, do you have a better idea?"
"Go home and call it a day?" Piper hopefully suggested.
"Funny," Prue chuckled as if Piper was joking. "Come on."
As they headed out the door Buffy pulled Piper into her arms and held her. "It's okay, my sister," she whispered into Piper's ear.
Streets of Santa Costa
They were stopped at a stop sign as two young men pulled up along side of them.
"Hiya, toots," one of them men called before they drove off.
"Wait a minute," Phoebe said recognizing the car and the men, despite their useful appearance.
Buffy glanced at Phoebe before realization dawned on her. "Tell me those aren't the same guys you asked for directions," she questioned.
"I can't," Phoebe admitted.
"Uh, okay, Cryto's close. Let's drive," Prue ordered.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
They pull up at the gas station just as a very youthful Gail ran outside. "Prue, run, hurry!" she yelled as the four of them got out of the car.
"Aunt Gail?" Prue questioned in surprise as Cryto exited the gas station.
With a flick of his hand he sent a crowbar telekinetically flying toward them. As they ducked out of the way it hit the window of Piper's Jeep shattering it. "So much for him not knowing how to use our powers," Piper told the other Halliwells.
"And hopefully he hasn't learned how to use mine," Buffy said suddenly worried for her father. "Or he could flame up there."
"I've got one power he doesn't have." Phoebe told them as Cryto pushed Gail on the ground. He then sent her telekinetically flying through the air.
"Phoebe." Piper and Buffy yelled.
"Well two can play at that game," Buffy snarled as she stood up.
Prue pulled Buffy down behind a gas pump with her and Piper. "No, no, okay, wait. It's just way too dangerous," she told her cousin sternly.
"I'm still a Slayer, Prue." Buffy said as she glared at her eldest cousin.
"Yes and how are you going to reach him," Prue countered. "Sure you can fight him one on one. But he can fling you away just like he did Phoebe before you can reach him."
"Nobody's sending me back." Cryto cried.
"But we can't just sit here," Piper told her eldest sister.
"No," Prue agreed. "We have to think. Alright, what do we know about our powers that he doesn't?"
Gail ran behind Piper's Jeep where Phoebe had hidden herself. "Oh, thank God," she said in relief.
"Stay away from me." Phoebe snarled at the woman. She looked around the car at Prue, Buffy and Piper. She put her hands up and nodded at them.
"Alright," Prue said as she smiled at Phoebe. "Phoebe's thinking what we're thinking."
"Great, what are we thinking?" Piper and Buffy questioned.
"You can't hide from me." Cryto called toward the four of them.
"I didn't want to die," Gail told Phoebe trying to explain. "It was wrong. Here, you'll need this." She pulled out of her pocket the spell to summon their powers.
"The spell." Phoebe said in realization as she took it from Gail.
"Just follow my lead," Prue told Piper and Buffy. "You ready?"
"Ready," Buffy agreed though she saw Piper hesitate. She reached over and squeezed Piper's hand in comfort. "We're ready," she told Prue as they stood up and moved around the gas pump.
"Alright, we give up." Prue called out as she raised her hands.
Buffy raised her hands in surrender. "Yeah we give up."
"Excuse me?" Piper asked looking at the two of them in surprise.
"No, no, no, Phoebe, wait, he'll freeze us." Prue called out as Phoebe snuck up behind Cryto.
Cryto turned around and flicking his wrist. "That's a marvellous power," he said thinking he actually froze Phoebe. He turned back to face Prue, Piper and Buffy seconds before Phoebe kicked him.
"Good witches don't freeze." Phoebe informed him as the four of them ran away, leaving Piper's Jeep behind. They darted around the next building over out of sight of Cryto.
"Okay, what do we do about Gail?" Phoebe questioned looking at the other three Halliwells.
"Well, without our powers there's nothing much that we can do," Prue stated. "Buffy is the only one with any kind of power at the moment because of the Slayer half of her. Her abilities are physical instead of magical."
"And you didn't want me going after Cryto at the gas station," Buffy said as she glared at Prue.
"Because there was no tactical advantage, Buffy," Prue countered. "It would have been suicide. The only reason I let Phoebe do it was so we could get away."
"Okay, so we have to get back our powers and then find Cryto before he finds us," Phoebe reminded them.
"Agreed. Alright, let's go." Prue agreed as she and Phoebe started down the street.
"Are you sure, Piper?" Buffy questioned when Piper didn't move.
"Piper, what's the matter?" Prue asked looking back at her sister.
"I've had it." Piper admitted with a glance at Buffy, the only person till now who knew how she felt.
"What do you mean you've had it?" Phoebe question in confusion. "Had it with what?"
"With being a witch," Buffy answered for Piper.
"This is what you were talking about yesterday wasn't it," Prue stated looking her cousin in the eye. "You said you and Piper had talked. And that you refused to break her confidence."
"Yes," Buffy answered as they started down the street. "And I know how she feels. The only difference between me and Piper is I can't quit. Vampires will continue to seek me out since I will be the Slayer till I die, this time permanently. But Piper, she can, and she has been thinking about it hard. And as far as our witch powers go, I will side with what she wants. Yes it puts me on a more even playing field as the Slayer with vampires. But I am willing to give up my powers for Piper, for my sister."
Gail's House
"We can't just leave your car." Phoebe said as the four of them walked through the front door.
"We'll call a cab," Piper told them.
"That'll cost a hundred bucks," Prue scoffed.
"I'm not going back to town," Piper told Prue and Phoebe. "I'm through with demon hunting."
"Piper, come on," Prue pleaded
"There's really nothing more to say," Piper interjected.
"Well, if it's getting back our powers that you're worried about, I can do that, I have a spell that can do that," Phoebe reminded her sister.
"She doesn't want her powers back," Buffy reminded them.
"I think it may be my solution to all of my problems," Piper added.
"Piper, wait a second," Prue interjected looking at the middle and youngest Halliwells. "I know exactly what you're going through. Remember when Andy died? I didn't want to be a witch anymore either."
"That's different," Piper countered.
"How?" Prue wondered.
"Because not wanting to be a witch isn't a symptom of something else like it is for you, Prue," Buffy told her eldest cousin. "For my sister it's the problem."
"It's the cause, it's the problem of everything," Piper added as she wrapped an arm around Buffy, silently thanking Buffy for her support. "I just, I want a life that hasn't got a lot of death in it. I don't think that's too much to ask."
"You can't do this." Phoebe interjected.
"Phoebe, we're all gonna do it sooner or later," Piper told her sister. "I'm just doing it first."
"Technically second," Buffy said as they all looked at her. "You guys do remember when I moved in, right? If not for mom dying I was going to be kicked out of school for burning down the gym. I had already lost my friends when I became the Slayer. Then just before the divorce, dad had me institutionalized for mentioning vampires. I of course recanted. But the damage was done. I wanted out. It is thanks to you three that I didn't quit entirely. And that wasn't even the first time I thought about quitting either. When I learned of the prophecy that he Master would kill me, I wanted to quit then too."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Piper headed over to the phone and started dialing. Phoebe took the receiver out of her sister's and hung up the phone. "What are you doing?" she questioned.
"Piper, you can't do this," Phoebe told her. "It effects all of us."
"Phoebe, I love you, but I don't wanna give up having a life." Piper told her sister.
"We're not asking you or Buffy to," Phoebe countered.
"Yes you are," Piper objected. "Just by asking me to be a witch."
"Piper, you were born a witch," Phoebe reminded her. "It's not a choice, it's a fact."
"Says who?" Buffy wondered. "Up until a year and a half ago. None of us knew were born witches."
"We were perfectly happy then with perfectly normal lives," Piper added. "I miss that, don't you?"
"Yeah, well, sometimes," Prue admitted as she looked her younger sister in the eye. "But look, I've accepted the fact that I can't just turn back the clock and pretend that it never happened and neither can you," she told Piper as Phoebe nodded in agreement.
"I don't wanna end up like Aunt Gail, old and alone and wishing I was young again so I can do all the things I missed out on," Piper admitted.
"I know how, Piper feels," Buffy added. "While I will still be the Slayer, will still be in this fight. I would love for dad to actually be around and not have to break the rules to be around."
"What do you mean?" Phoebe questioned looking at her cousin.
"He said he was supposed to train me remember, that I was now your Whitelighter," Buffy said. "I don't believe any of that is true. I'm not your Whitelighter. Why give me such an important charge when I don't know what I am doing. Better to let me get my feet wet than to throw me into the deep end and watch me sink. Dad is still your Whitelighter. I think the training part is right, but that was for a future charge not for the three of you. I'm almost sure that once I am trained, he won't be allowed to be around."
Prue pulled Buffy into her arms as Phoebe pulled Piper into hers. "We won't let that happen to either of you."
"Just help us get our powers back," Phoebe pleaded. "Please? We can't do it without the two of you."
"We won't do it without the two of you," Prue added.
Piper and Buffy looked at each other and then nodded.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"How do we know Cryto will even come here?" Piper wondered as they entered the basement.
"If he's gonna look for us, he's gonna start here," Prue stated hopefully as Piper put the iced tea on the table.
"Well, we can try summoning him like Gail and her friends did." Phoebe suggested.
"I think that only works with spirits, Pheebs," Buffy countered with a shake of her head.
"I still don't understand how we're gonna get him to drink this without having any powers," Piper suggested.
"We have to get him to use one of the powers he doesn't know how to use yet," Prue suggested.
"Astral projection?" Buffy wondered with a smirk.
Prue tapped her nose before pointing at Buffy. "Exactly," she said. "If we can distract him long enough to be in two places at the same time..."
"We might be able to trick him into thinking that I'm still looking for the potion," Phoebe said.
"Alright, I'm only doing this for you guys and if I get killed, I'm gonna haunt the both of you forever." Piper says.
Buffy smiled as she embraced Piper. "I don't know about these two. But I would be grateful to have you haunting me, my sister," she said and Piper chuckled as she returned the embrace.
"Got the spell?" Prue questioned looking at Phoebe.
"Yes. I got it," Phoebe answered as she handed Prue the paper with the spell on it.
"Anybody home?" Cryto called from upstairs. "I know you're here and I know where you are."
Phoebe and Buffy rushed upstairs and hid till Cryto passed and then with her Slayer increased strength Buffy kicked him sending Cryto down the stairs into the basement.
"Buffy, Phoebe, the potion." Prue said as she and Piper pushed a set of shelves on top of him.
"No!" Cryto cried as he crawled out from under the shelves. He waved his hand sending Prue and Piper telekinetically flying across the room and they landing on the ground hard.
"Ow." Piper and Prue groaned.
"We got it!" Buffy called from the top of the stairs.
"Buffy, Pheebs, get the potion." Prue called back.
"Start chanting the spell." Phoebe told her sisters.
"We need the potion first," Piper countered.
"It won't work." Cryto smirked.
"Just start, we've got a plan." Buffy called down with a glance at Phoebe. She was beginning to doubt their plan would work.
"Powers of the witches rise, course unseen across the skies, come to us..." Piper and Prue began to chant.
The was a red flash as Cryto astral projected into the kitchen and his body fell to the ground.
"Get the potion," Prue called.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
In the kitchen Astral Cryto appeared in a red flash. "Pretty nifty power, huh?" Phoebe smirked as she and Buffy in tandem punched and kicked him, knocking him to the ground.
"Go! I will stay here and let you know when he's coming back," Buffy ordered as Phoebe rushed down the stairs.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
In the basement Prue opened Cryto's mouth and Piper got ready to pour in the potion. "Give him all of it," she instructed as Piper poured the potion in his mouth.
"He's coming back!" Buffy called out as she hurried down the stairs. She moved beside Prue, Piper and Phoebe just as Cryto projected back into his body with a red flash.
"Powers of the witches rise, course unseen across the skies, come to us who call you near, come to us and settle here," Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Buffy chanted. Unseen by them their powers left Cryto and returned to them. .
"Wanna see what does freeze?" Piper said as she flicked her wrist, freezing Cryto.
"Pheebs," Prue said with a glance at her youngest sister.
"What witches done and them undone, return this spirit and back within, and separate him from his skin," Phoebe chanted as Cryto unfroze. He screamed in pain as he exploded. "Ouch. That look liked it hurt."
"Yeah, well," Prue said sadly thinking about Gail who Cryto had killed. "I hope so for Aunt Gail's sake."
Buffy nodded as she motioned toward the pile of clothes. "And Helen and Amanda's."
April 8, 1998 – Wednesday
Halliwell Manor
Piper looked at Buffy for a long moment before opening the gift wrapped box in front of her. She found a new set of boots. "Very nice," she said.
"An advance on my allowance," Buffy admitted. "That said Prue and Phoebe did chip in."
"We thought you might appreciate a pair without demon blood," Prue added.
"I do, very much," Piper said appreciatively. "Thank you."
"So, my sister." Buffy said looking at Piper with a smile. "Prue and Phoebe were kind of wondering..."
"Because we want you to be happy," Phoebe interjected.
"Very happy," Prue added.
"They were wondering if we should be budgeting for more shoes or not," Buffy finished.
"Well, I wish," Piper said as she looked at the three of them, "I could tell you getting my powers back made me appreciate what I lost. But I feel like I'm back we're I started. I mean, I understand what you two…" she looked at Prue and Phoebe, "…are saying and everything but I can't change the way I feel."
"So are you and I quitting?" Buffy questioned as Piper looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Whatever you decide, I stick by. If you want to quit, so will I."
"I want to for all the reasons we already talked about but, um, I'm only gonna do that if and when all three of you want to also," Piper replied as she wrapped an arm around Buffy.
"Well, I'm always gonna wanna be a witch," Phoebe replied as she smiled. "That's for sure."
Prue chuckled. "She's young."
Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Oh, give me a break."
"I'm like, Piper. I will quit when the three of you do. I won't be able to get away from it entirely, because of the Slayer half of me. But someday maybe, we can get away from the witch stuff. After all I would love to have a normal life someday."
"Alright, I gotta go," Piper said reminding them about her breakup date with Dan.
"Good luck," Buffy called after her.
"Oh, poor Dan," Phoebe said sympathetically. "So do you think we should worry?"
Prue shook her head. "No, he'll be alright."
"I mean, about Piper…" Phoebe started as she glanced at Buffy. "And Buffy, quitting."
Prue looked at Buffy for a long moment. "Maybe," she said. "That said though, Buffy. You can still have a normal life, witch, Slayer or Whitelighter stuff aside."
"I hope your right," Buffy said with a sigh just as Phoebe pulled out her glasses. "About time."
"You knew she was lying?" Prue questioned her cousin.
"Yeah," Buffy answered. "I wouldn't be a good Whitelighter if I didn't see the signs now would I?"
Prue shook her head as she looked at Phoebe. "So you did go see the optometrist."
"Yeah, well, let's just say I'm not as concerned with my vanity anymore." Phoebe admitted as she put on her glasses.
"They look good on you," Buffy admitted. "Now I have somewhere I need to be. I'll be back in a little bit." She disappeared in a swirl of flames.
The Heavens
Buffy appeared amongst the clouds. "Where is my father?" she asked a passing Whitelighter who pointed behind her. She turned and saw Leo walking toward her. She smiled as she ran into his arms. "I have to know something, dad. I'm not their Whitelighter, am I?"
"No you are not," said a voice behind Leo. Father and daughter turned and saw an Elder approaching. "But you needed to make that realization yourself. But the training that Leo is to give you to prepare you for the time when you are ready for your first charge is very much real."
"I think she might be ready," Leo admitted looking at the Elder. "Does she still have things to learn, yes. But I do believe she is ready."
The Elder looked at Leo for a long moment and then nodded as he closed his eyes and spread his arms wide. Buffy closed her eyes and instantly felt the feeling she hadn't felt since she had briefly took on her father's charges. When they both opened their eyes the Elder smiled. "You would know your first Charge. She is a witch just now coming into her powers. Her name…Willow Rosenberg."