Charmed: Another Halliwell

by Brenna's Urbangirl Projects

Summary: Buffy Summers is the daughter of Joyce and Hank Summers. Joyce was born Patience Joyce Halliwell she was Prue, Piper and Phoebe's aunt. When Joyce dies Buffy is left in the care of her cousins. Pairings: Prue, Piper, and Phoebe (and later Paige) canon pairings. Buffy/Dawn (Yes, Forbidden Sibling Love). A/U Set during and after Charmed Season 1 and Buffy season 1.

56. Chapter 56: Primrose Empath out Earshot

Authors Note: This chapter is a combination of two different episodes. Charmed: Primrose Empath and BTVS: Earshot.

Also, I'm now working on season 4 which places me about 20 chapters ahead.

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Chapter 56: Primrose Empath out of Eartshot

November 17, 1998 – Tuesday

Golden Gate Park

Buffy and Phoebe ran enjoying the feeling of their hearts beating faster as they worked to pump their blood through their veins feeding oxygen to their working muscles. Buffy threw a glance behind them, her hair whipping around her face from under the beanie she had on, looking to make sure their pursuers were still following them. No point leading them on a merry chase if they things lost interest in the sport.

Phoebe threw a look over her shoulder, and she quickened her pace with a gasp, forcing back the smile that wanted to curve her lips. She glanced at Buffy before they ran off the road and onto the grass.

Buffy recognized the park immediately and her lips twitched upwards at the corners as she nodded in its direction to Phoebe. They headed for the playground, more than ready to put an end to their charade. They'd done their job, after all, leading the demon away from populated areas.

Running into the playground Buffy allowed herself to trip over the edge of the swing set, falling face-first into the dirt, her arms breaking her fall. Phoebe, who had raced past Buffy, stopped in mock concern and turned back toward her cousin.

Buffy turned slightly to look behind her the anticipatory smile that had wanted to grace her lips broke through as she saw her mark standing over her. She snapped her leg out catching the scabby demon in the knee, sending him stumbling back into the pole of the swing set she had tripped over. She rolled to her feet as the demon regained himself, she sent a roundhouse kick to his face knocking him to his feet again.

She wrinkled her nose at the demon's appearance, the blue-greyish skin that covered its entire body, her eyes rested for a moment on the skin where its mouth should be. To little horn-like things that were 0coming out of its head. Buffy pulled the knife she had hidden on her. She kicked the demon in the chest forcing it to stumble backward, losing its footing as it stumbled over the pole to the swing set. The demon hit the ground, before rolling onto its back.

"You demons can't resist a run and stumble, can you?" Buffy quipped as she moved to deliver the killing blow. Only for her blade to be kicked out of her hand, by a demon that looked like the identical twin of the one she had just knocked to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Phoebe beginning to move in to help her. "I got it, Pheebs," she insisted.

"Are you sure?" Phoebe wondered.

Buffy nodded as the demon on the ground caught the knife as it flew at him. The second demon grabbed her from behind trying to hold her still for his companion. She twisted out of his grip, before grabbing his arm and swinging him into the pole of the swing set.

Both demons scrambled to their feet, one standing in front of the other as they squared off with her. The one in front ducked squatting low to the ground just as the other one threw her commandeered knife at her. With a quick movement, Buffy caught the knife by its hilt. Hoping to catch her off guard the demon stood up from its squat and rushed at her.

Buffy kicked it swiftly in the stomach stunning the demon, before grabbing hold of it she swung it over her shoulder to land harshly on the picnic table. Before the demon could regain himself she brought her knife down easily penetrating the demon's flesh, the blade piercing its heart. She drew out her knife, and the demon made a pained groan in the back of its throat as it died.

Buffy and Phoebe turned to face the other demon, only to see that the playground was empty. "One down, one… gone," she muttered as they searched the area with their eyes. They spotted the demon running out of sight as it turned a corner.

Buffy and Phoebe sighed in annoyance as they looked after the demon not noticing that the light blue of the demon's blood had splattered up onto the back of Buffy's hand, where it absorbed into her skin and her bloodstream, leaving no trace of its presence behind.

November 18, 1998 – Wednesday

Halliwell Manor

Buffy frowned turning over to lie on her side in her bed, her left hand coming up to scratch the back of her right hand as an itch irritated her skin. She sighed as the itch subsided, her frown disappearing as she settled back down. Only for her eyes to open a moment later as the itch returned with a vengeance. She scratched at the itchy patch of skin on the back of her hand roughly, the burning itch doing nothing to help her sleep.

Closing her eyes again, Buffy attempted to fall into a deep slumber where the itch wouldn't disturb her rest.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Prue sat in the kitchen trying to move a fork using only her powers, but no matter what the fork refused to move.

"Look at me. I'm a fashion blunder. A mademoiselle don't," Phoebe said as she and Buffy walked into the room. She was trying to tie the halter straps of her top and failing miserably due to the straps being tangled. She looked at Prue wide-eyed when she noticed what Prue was failing to do. "Oh my god, have you lost your powers?"

"Can't lose what you never had" Prue answered.

"Astral?" Buffy questioned as Prue nodded before disappearing in a red flash.

"I hate it when she plays astral games," Phoebe sighed.

"Well it can come in handy," Buffy reminded her cousin. "Like last week when I faced Lurconis."

"Guess so," Phoebe agreed. "Marco."

"Polo," Prue called back.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Phoebe and Buffy followed Prue's voice to its source in the attic. They found her sitting in a chair reading a book on telekinesis. "What were you doing down there?" Phoebe asked.

"Practicing," Prue answered. "Trying to use telekinesis in astral mode. Like Buffy surmised."

"Hmm, witch exercises. Since when?" Phoebe wondered.

"Since I studied up on Belthazor," Prue explained. "The Triad couldn't have sent us the worst demon."

Phoebe moved beside her sister and looked at the picture of the demon in the family's Book of Shadows that was open next to Prue. "Or one with worse skin," she stated. "I would hate to find myself alone with this guy."

Buffy moved over beside Phoebe and then shook her head as she looked at the picture. "The ones we fought last night looked worse than that," she stated with a shiver.

Phoebe thought back to the no-mouth demons and then nodded. "Yeah, now that you mention it. They did look worse than him."

Prue looked at them both with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, either of you wants to clue me in?"

"Scaly, and no mouths," Buffy told her. "Just the no mouth thing made them creepy."

"Anyways, none of us would last long against him," Prue said motioning toward the book as she brought the conversation back to Belthazor. "That's why I'm trying to teach my astral self how to fight."

Phoebe flopped down into a chair next to her eldest sister. "I have a date with Cole."

Buffy looked down at her watch. "And I better get to school. I need to report to Giles about those demons anyways."

"Have a good day, Buffy," Prue said before looking back at Phoebe. "And you say that like it's a bad thing."

"It's a lunch date," Phoebe answered as she waved at Buffy. "Bye, Buffy."

Buffy waved before disappearing in a swirl of fiery flames.

"So?" Prue questioned.

"So, it's not a good sign," Phoebe answered. "Lunch is a cheap imitation of dinner. That's why it has its special menu. And, you know, we kissed. We should be onto dinner and candlelight by now."

"Well, may—oh!" Prue cried as she held her hand against her jaw.

"I can't believe you haven't taken care of that tooth," Phoebe said shaking her head.

"That's what I get for eating Ethan Rayne's cursed chocolate," Prue groaned.

"Talking about that. Did you and Giles actually…?" Phoebe wondered.

Prue nodded. "On the hood of a police car," she said.

"You go girl," Phoebe chuckled. "Did you tell Buffy?"

"No. Not with the way she looks up to him," Prue answered matter-of-factly. She decided to turn her sister away from the fact she had sex with Giles. So she returned to the topic of her tooth. "I have a dentist appointment in an hour," she informed her sister.

Phoebe smiled. "Good. I hate to see you so miserable."

"Me too," Prue agreed.

Gateway High School

"So, Scabby Demon got away?" Willow asked as she and Buffy walked through the school corridors.

"Scabby Demon Number Two got away," Buffy corrected. "Scabby Demon Number One, big check in the slay column."

"I don't like this whole no-mouth thing," Willow said, recalling Buffy's description of the pair. "It's disquieting." She considered the matter for a moment. "Unless they have them somewhere else…"

As they turned to head into the library Buffy scratched her hand where the demon's blood had soaked into her skin.

Streets of San Francisco

Prue was driving her car heading for her dentist appointment when she approached some road construction.

"Stop right there please," a worker said holding up a stop sign. Prue hit the brakes bringing her car to a stop. Unseen nearby by either the worker or Prue stood Cole. "Come ahead," the worker said motioning a bus to go.

Cole flicked his fingers and a 'Save the Innocent' banner magically appeared on the bus just before it passed Prue. He then flicked his fingers again and the detour arrow that originally pointed left magically changed to point right.

"That way," the worker said motioning the way the sign now pointed.

Prue pulled out and made the turn. As she drove on, more signs appeared on buildings, vehicles, or signs seemingly directing her to go somewhere other than the dentist. She pulled out her cell phone and hit the speed dial button for the Manor.

"Halliwell residence, Phoebe speaking," came Phoebe's voice from the other end of the phone.

"Hey, did you cast any give-me-a-sign spells lately?" Prue wondered.

"No, why?"

"I don't know," Prue shrugged. "It just seems like somebody's dropping signs right in front of me... literally."

"Prue, you need to ignore the signs and get yourself into a dentist," Phoebe insisted.

"Yeah, I know," Prue said as she approached another construction worker holding a stop sign.

"Uh, hello, Prue?" Phoebe said when the silence stretched on for a moment.

"Uh, I'll call you back," Prue said as she ended the call. It was then that she noticed a sign painted on the sign of a building that said, 'Final Stop.' As soon as the construction worker let her pass she pulled her car over to the curb and parked before getting out and approaching the construction worker. "Excuse me."

He turned slowly to face her after making sure no cars were coming. "You're with social services, right?" he asked.

"No," Prue answered with a shake of her head. "Why?"

"The guy won't come out of his loft up there and we're supposed to start demolition today," he answered motioning toward where the apartment in question resided.

Prue followed the motion of his hand and looked up at the building. "Someone still lives here?" she asked in surprise.

He nodded. "Well, if you can call it that," he admitted sadly. "Poor guy says he hasn't stepped outside in four years." He went back to his job as a car approached.

Once the car had passed Prue walked into the building. She walked up the stairs till she knew she was on the right floor. "Hello?" she called out as she knocked on the door. She tried to open it but found it barred by the door chain.

"Close the door," someone inside called. "Go away."

Prue shook her head as she called through the crack in the door. "I just want to talk."

"Please, go away," he begged.

Prue closed the door and then waved her hand telekinetically unchaining the door. She opened the door and walked into the loft. She found him crouched on the other side of the room.

As he looked up and saw Prue he tried to get as far away from her as possible. "No! Don't, don't, don't come any closer," he pleaded.

"Are you hurt?" Prue wondered.

"My head, it's exploding," he explained with a nod. "The pain, you're letting it in."

"What pain?" Prue questioned confused.

"Everyone's pain, from the city, the streets," he stated. "I feel it, I feel all of it."

Prue held up her hands to show him that she wouldn't hurt him. "I won't hurt you," she insisted.

"You are hurting me," he cried. "Your pity. It's like razors inside."

"Please..." Prue pleaded as she slowly made her way closer to him. "I can..." she said as he put his hand to his jaw.

"Oh, your tooth. I feel your tooth," he said wincing from the pain he felt. "All your pain. I can't stand it. Why didn't you just go when I asked?"

Gateway High School

Giles examined Buffy's hand. "You touched one of the demons?" he asked.

"A good touch," Buffy clarified, worried about how it sounded. "Not a bad touch. Anyway, it's been itching like crazy. No big. Just another problem for the good people at Lubriderm, right?"

Giles picked one of his volumes off the shelf and showed her a picture of the demon she and Phoebe fought. "Is that the demon in question?"

"In the disgusting flesh," Buffy confirmed.

Giles examined the text. "Hmm, it says they can infect the host…" He trailed off.

"Infect?" Buffy asked anxiously." Infect?!" Giles, oblivious both to her panic and the fact he'd left the thought unfinished, was engrossed in the book. "Giles!" she cried desperately. "Infect?!"

Giles looked up. "Oh, um, infect the host with an aspect of the demon," he informed her. "That's all it says."

"An aspect of the demon?" Buffy asked.

"It's rather terse, isn't it?" Giles agreed.

"You mean, like a part of it?"

"Well, there could be any number of explanations for your hand," Giles offered consolingly. "A new fabric softener can irritate. In any case, I would advise you, Prue, Piper, and Phoebe not to attempt to track the one that got away. Let's minimize your exposure and not get your cousins infected as well."

"Part of the demon," Buffy considered, not sounding at all happy at the prospect. "I hope it's not the outside part."

Halliwell Manor

"I just can't believe you introduced me as a friend," Leo said as he and Piper walked into the living room.

"Okay, social malfunction," admitted Piper. "I hadn't seen the woman in years. I'm sorry."

"I lost my wings for you; I've hurled my body in the path of oncoming demons. You wanted heaven; I took you there literally. I'm more than a friend," said Leo.

"I know, but if I had introduced you as my fiancé, she would've asked how we met, when we are getting married, and where the hell my ring is," said Piper. "Questions that I can't answer, now can I?"

"I suppose that's how I became a doctor," Leo said.

"Leo, that's what you were," explained Piper. "Look, what am I supposed to tell people? That I'm engaged to a Whitelighter? Sometimes being magical kind of takes the magic right out of things."

"I'm sorry you feel that way."

"Oh, come on. Don't you sometimes?" said Piper. "Now and then I just want to feel what it's like to live in the real world."

"Hey," Prue called as she and Cole walked through the front door.

"What are you two doing together?" Piper questioned, she was surprised to see Cole and Prue together.

"Uh, Cole pulled up behind me," Prue answered.

"Good timing," Cole said as Phoebe joined them.

"Hey, look, my lunch date," said Phoebe happily as she bounced over to Cole.

"Sorry, I'm late," Cole said as he kissed Phoebe. "But I got held up on a case. You look amazing," he said admiring Phoebe's outfit.

"It's all part of my master plan," Phoebe told him.

"Okay, Phoebe, I wanted to talk to you about the signs…" Prue trailed off as she glanced at Cole. "Uh, the assignment we were discussing on the phone."

"Where did it lead?" Phoebe asked.

"To this incredibly tragic guy who's scared to leave his own home," Prue answered sadly. "Which might be okay if it weren't about to be torn down."

"Was there a social worker there?" Cole wondered knowing there wasn't. He had used some magic to make sure the social worker never showed up.

"No," Prue admitted. "But I was told that a deputy was going over there this afternoon if he didn't leave to evict him. He has no place to go."

"Let me, um, make a call and see what I can do," he said.

"Kitchen," Piper said motioning toward the kitchen. Cole nodded appreciatively and walked in the direction of the kitchen.

"Based on everything you said, Prue," Leo said once Cole was out of earshot. "It sounds like your shut-in's a future empath."

"An empath?" Prue asked. "And me without my dictionary," she quipped pulling one of Buffy's blonde moments.

"They're mortals who can feel what other people feel," Leo explained. "It's a rare gift. When they die they often return to earth as empaths. Where they blend into society as counselors, elders, and teachers. They use their sensitivity to guide mortals, ease their pain, even heal them."

"No," Prue countered with a shake of her head. "I don't think this guy would look at it as a gift. He's one big raw nerve ending. You should've seen how he reacted to my toothache."

"Well, it could be he's rejecting his gift," Leo suggested. "Fighting the emotions he feels instead of embracing them."

"Well, he sure sounds like innocent to me," Piper admitted looking between her sisters and boyfriend.

"It'd be a shame to lose a future empath and all the good he'll do," Leo stated.

"I care less about his afterlife than his current one," Prue informed her brother-in-law. "I know what it's like to receive a power that you just do not understand."

"What I don't understand is who sent the signs that you followed," Phoebe wondered.

Leo shrugged. "It's hard to say," he admitted. "Could be the Elders, could be…"

"Cole," Piper said suddenly as Cole walked back into the room.

"I got a guy at Housing Authority who will relocate your shut-in if he leaves voluntarily," Cole said as he wrote a phone number on his business card. He then handed it to Prue. "Here's my card. Have him page me."

Prue nodded appreciatively. "Thanks. Alright."

"Uh, Prue, do you want us to go with you?" Piper wondered.

Prue shook her head. "No," she stated. "This guy can barely deal with one person let alone three. If the situation does eventually call for someone else I will call for Buffy. But thank you." She turned and headed out the door.

Unseen by any of the sisters or Leo, Cole smirked as he knew Buffy would be of no use to Prue soon. His plan to infect Buffy with the Aiglese demons had gone off without a hitch. Now all that was left was for Prue to cast a spell allowing Vince to give her the empath power. (A/N)

Gateway High School

Cordelia was leading the cheerleaders at the pre-game rally, the quadrangle filled with several students. "H! O! G! A! N! It's Hogan! Go, Hogan!" As she and the other cheerleaders waved their pom-poms Hogan joined them to cheers and applause.

"Is it me or is this lame?" Buffy asked as she, Xander, Willow, and Oz stood to the side.

"I don't know," Oz mused. "I usually enjoy lameness and this is leaving me kind of cold."

Willow was looking through the school newspaper, The Sentinel. "Well, according to Freddy's latest editorial, the pep rally is a place for pseudo-prostitutes to provoke men into a sexual frenzy which, when thwarted, results in pointless athletic competition."

"And the downside being?" Xander asked, probably only half-jokingly.

"The school paper is getting pretty depressing lately," Willow remarked. "You guys notice that?"

"I don't know, I always go straight to the obits," Oz answered.

Willow looked at Buffy, who was running her fingers through her hair, not so much in a seductive manner but the way a nit nurse might. She nudged her friend over to the edge of the crowd where they could talk in semi-privacy. "What are you doing, Buffy?"

"Nothing," Buffy hesitated, then looked pained. "Checking for horns," she admitted.

"Oh, Buffy," Willow said sympathetically. "You know, I don't even think Giles is right about you becoming like a demon. Between you and me, he's not doing his best work."

"But what if he's right?" Buffy wondered, worry in her eyes. "I'm suddenly going to grow a demon part and I don't even know which one. It could be scales or claws, or…" She noticed Willow was looking at her pointedly. "What?"

"Was it a boy demon?" Willow questioned.

Buffy grimaced as she looked down at her pants. She didn't like the thought of getting any male equipment. She looked back up at Willow. "I'm just… I'm really scared, Will. There's something in me and I can't stop it, I can't find it, and what if it changes me, not just the way I look, but… I could be something that's not me anymore."

"I understand," Willow said sympathetically. "I would be frightened too. But—"

"Let's keep it between us for now, okay?" Buffy asked as the rally began to break up, everyone heading toward their next classes.

Willow nodded. "Okay," she agreed as Xander and Oz walked over to them.

Apartment Building

"I'm sorry, ma'am," a deputy said looking at Prue who stood in front of him trying to get inside the building. "I know he's scared but I handed him a final eviction notice two weeks ago."

"Officer, please," Prue pleaded. "Cole Turner, assistant district attorney, he knows the case and he wants to help but only if I can keep this guy out of jail."

The deputy glanced behind him at the building and then back at Prue. "You've got three minutes," he informed her.

Prue smiled. "Thank you." She walked around the officer and into the building and up the stairs to Vince's apartment. With a wave of her hand, she removed the chain again. "Hello?" she said as she walked in. She spotted Vince sitting on a mattress that lay on the floor. "Hey. It's me again, Prue. Took a pain reliever for my tooth. The deputy downstairs told me that your name's Vince. What's your last name?"

"Misery." Vince quipped.

"Well, in that case, would you like some company?" Prue asked with a chuckle.

Vince glared at Prue for attempting to make light of his situation. "That's not funny."

Prue nodded, she knew he was right. It wasn't funny to be in his situation. "Yeah, neither is your situation," she admitted. "Vince, you know that deputy's here to arrest you for civil disobedience."

"I'll die," Vince informed her. "If they put me in jail."

"I believe you," Prue said as she smiled at him. "That's why I came back, to find you a new home. But you have to leave here with me now."

"I can't, I can't go outside," he said glancing toward the window.

"Vince, I know what it's like," Prue admitted with a sigh. "I know what it's like to have a gift that you can't control, that you never asked for. And living with that is hard, really hard."

Vince looked back at Prue and shook his head. "Don't tell me what's hard. You avoided your pain and I feel it."

"Right," Prue sighed. "Then let's talk about the blessings, three words that come with having that gift," she admitted. "I mean, you can't even begin to..."

"Words, just empty words," Vince said cutting her off. "You don't feel them in your heart, I know. You feel fear, panic because something's coming for you, something you're afraid you can't stop. Are these the blessings you want me to be thankful for?"

"I'm sorry," Prue apologized sadly.

"Yes, you are," Vince said feeling her sadness at his situation. But he also felt other things as well. "You are sorry. And confused and afraid and it's drowning me alive."

"Deputy," the deputy cried from the other side of the door as he knocked. "Time's up, open the door."

"Can't you see this is not a gift," Vince cried. "This is a curse, I am cursed. To feel everything all the time from everyone. I can't go outside that door. Not now, not ever."

"I'm coming in," the deputy instructed as Prue held up her hand at the door. She telekinetically held it closed. "Hey!"

"How'd you do that?" Vince wondered with wide eyes.

Prue smiled. "I was sent here to help you and that's what I'm going to do," she said. "Free the empath to release his gift," she chanted as he grabbed her hand, "let his pain be cast adrift." When she stopped she lowered her hand allowing the deputy to finally open the door.

"What's the hell's the matter with you people?" the deputy questioned looking at them.

Prue shakes her head, "Sorry, deputy, that door stuck on me too. He's ready now."

"But how?" Vince wondered as he stared at Prue, realizing he no longer was cursed with the empathic gift.

Prue smiled "We'll talk later. Um, this is the DA," she informed him as she pulled out Cole's business card and handed it to Vince. "Page him. He'll find a place for you to go."

Vince nodded. "Thank you," he said sincerely. "You don't know what you just did for me." He smirked as he watched her leave.

Gateway High School

Buffy stepped into the school corridor nearly colliding with one of the teachers when he emerged from a classroom. "Ooh, woah there, you watch where you're going now," he told her in a kindly tone.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Beach, I will," Buffy apologized. But as he walked away, she heard what he was thinking. 'Students. If we could just get rid of all the students.'

Buffy focused on a boy nearby. 'When I'm a software zillionaire and you're all flipping burgers, who's the loser then?' he thought. She turned her attention to a depressed-looking girl at a drinking fountain. 'Maybe I'll take French, I said. How hard can it be? French babies learn it! Idiot.' Another boy seemed to be wearing trousers several sizes too big for him. 'I swear, someday my pants are going to fall right off.'

As she carried on, she picked up the thoughts of one of the boys she was passing. 'Payson is so beautiful.' Buffy stopped and smiled. 'I mean, look at that body.' She struck a pose for the benefit of her silent admirer. 'God, I would love to shove her against that locker right now and just…'

Buffy's smile abruptly vanished and she hurried away, her arms crossed protectively over her chest. She so did not want to hear the end of what he was thinking.

Sotto Mare

"So how about those Niners?" Phoebe asked breaking the silence that had descended on her, Leo, Piper, and Cole at what had turned into a double date.

"What?" Cole questioned.

"The Niners. The 49ers. The football team?" Phoebe said trying to make small talk. "You don't follow football?" she asked as Cole took a drink of his beverage. "He isn't human," she stated as Cole choked spitting up the beverage. "You okay?"

"Check!" Cole cried deciding it was time to get out of there.

"Um, we're gonna be right back," Phoebe said as she and Piper glanced at each other. They stood up and walked off toward the restroom.

"Phoebe, I know you're upset Leo crashed you're lunch date but…" Piper admitted.

"No, it's not that," Phoebe admitted sadly. "Cole is pulling away from me again, I can see it."

"Premonition?" Piper instantly assumed.

Phoebe shook her head. "Intuition," she corrected.

Gateway High School

"Is this the thing? The aspect thing?" Buffy asked once she reached the library and Giles. "Because I got to say, it is way better than a tail. I mean, I have a hard enough time finding jeans that fit right."

"Buffy, slow down," Giles counseled. "I'm not even convinced that this is genuine mind-reading. You're most likely projecting your own…"

"When I walked in a few moments ago, you thought 'Look at her shoes. If a fashion magazine told her to, she'd wear cats strapped to her feet.' And I so would not wear cats on my feet. You do remember I have a cat at home, right?"

Giles' expression told her she was right. "I…um…" He looked thoughtful. 'The demons are telepathic. I should have known. That's why they didn't need mouths.' "Of course, demons are telepathic…"

"I know, you just told me," Buffy interrupted. "That's why they don't need mouths. And you should have known."

Giles looked at her in astonishment. "This is astonishing!"

Buffy nodded. "It was happening out in the hallway. Principal Snyder has Walk Like an Egyptian stuck in his head. And the boys at this school are seriously disturbed. It's weird but, Giles, think about it. Think what I could do."

"It could be very useful," Giles agreed. "You could anticipate your opponent's every move, turn his plans against him. I wonder why the demons didn't do that to you. Maybe they're only telepathic with their kind…"

Buffy dismissed his musings with a wave. "Oh, way better than that."

Sotto Mare

"Look, Cole, before the girls get back, I need to tell you something," Leo said looking at the attorney pointedly.

"Do I have spinach in my teeth?" Cole questioned.

"Huh?" Leo said confused about the question before shaking his head. "Oh, no, no, it has to do with Phoebe. Um, I just feel very protective of her. And it's not just because she's Piper's sister or my daughter's cousin. You know, she's a sweetie. She's been through a lot, a lot of loss."

Cole nodded as he glanced briefly at the ladies' room. "I sense that," he said before looking back at Leo.

"Well, she's into you, I can tell," Leo informed him. "Whatever your intentions are I just want you to be straight with her, okay? I don't want to see her get hurt.

"Heaven forbid," Cole said just as Phoebe and Piper returned and sat down.

"What did we miss?" Phoebe wondered.

Cole smiled at her. "Leo was just giving me investment advice."

"He was?" Piper asked in surprise looking at her boyfriend.

"Yeah," Cole said.

"Really?" Piper asked looking pointedly at Leo.

"Oh," Cole said as a waitress walked up to him and handed him the check. "Why don't we split this?" he suggested looking at Leo, who reached into his pockets for a wallet that didn't exist.

"Oh, honey, did you forget your wallet again?" Piper asked as she reached for her purse.

"I guess so," Leo said sheepishly.

"I got it," Piper informed him as she pulled her credit card out of her purse and handed it to the waitress just as Cole's pager went off.

"I have to take this," Cole said after looking at the pager to confirm it was Vince. "Forgive me." He stood up and walked off.

Gateway High School

"Jealousy," Buffy announced confidently using her newfound telepathy to cheat.

Ms. Murray looked at her approvingly. "Buffy, right? Very good," she said as Willow and Xander looked at Buffy in surprise.

'I knew that,' Nancy Doyle thought to herself as she glared at Buffy.

Buffy was aware of that, of course, since she'd got the answer from reading Nancy's mind.

"Jealousy is the tool that Iago uses to undo Othello. But what's his motivation? What reason does Iago give for destroying his fellow officer?" Ms. Murray asked.

'Cassio has my place,' Nancy recalled silently. 'Twixt my sheets, he's done my office.'

"Well, he was passed over for promotion," Buffy answered. "Cassio was picked instead and people were saying that Othello slept with his wife." She noticed she was beginning to get curious looks from the rest of the class.

'Buffy did the reading?' Willow wondered. 'Buffy understood the reading?'

'When did she study?' Xander wondered. 'Was I supposed to study? Ms. Murray's kind of hot.'

'I was going to say Cassio,' complained Nancy. 'Uh, I hate her.'

"Any other reason?" Ms. Murray asked.

"Race!" Nancy blurted out, before giving Buffy a triumphant look.

"Uh, good, Nancy, can't overlook that," Ms. Murray agreed.

'Look at them, scrambling for the teacher's praise like pigeons for thrown bread crust,' taunted a boy dressed in black, who was slumped in his desk with a dark and brooding look.

Buffy nudged Willow. "Will, who's that guy?"

"That's Freddy Iverson," Willow explained. "He writes those editorials for the school paper. He's sardonic."

'Bread crusts,' Freddy mused. 'That's deep, I should write that down.' He got out a pen and started scribbling.

"There's something else at work here," Ms. Murray continued.

Buffy sensed that Ms. Murray was looking for a specific answer and searched the teacher's mind for it. "Well, he sort of admits himself that his motives are…" —she listened intently translating Ms. Murray's thoughts into actual words— "…spurious. He does things because he enjoys them. It's like he's not a person, he's the dark half of Othello himself."

Everyone stared at her, too stunned to even think.

Ms. Murray recovered first. "Very astute, Buffy. I said something quite like that in my dissertation."

"I know," Buffy replied," I mean…I agree. With that."

"And doesn't that also explain Othello's readiness to believe Iago? Within seconds he turns on Desdemona. He believes she's been unfaithful, "Ms. Murray continued. "And we're all like that. We all have the little internal Iagos that tell us our husbands or girlfriends or whatever doesn't love us. But you never really see what's in someone's heart."

Buffy suddenly felt a lot less triumphant.

San Francisco Dental Care

"Look," Prue said to the receptionist as a couple behind her cuddled and made googly eyes at each other. "I am sorry that I missed my appointment this morning, okay, but I couldn't get out of work. Is there any way that Dr. Timmons can fit me in?"

"We are pretty booked up," the receptionist told her.

"Alright, but my tooth kills," Prue groaned holding her hand to her jaw. "I need to—" she said as the guy behind her punched the girl next to him on the rear. She gasped and turned around to look at the couple as she realized she had felt that.

"Are you okay, Miss Halliwell?" the receptionist questioned.

Prue nodded as she turned back around to face her. "Yeah, uh, that was my tooth," she said. "I'm having a bad day because it hurts a lot."

"Let me see if I can do anything," the receptionist said sympathetically.

Prue smiled. "Thanks. I mean, I appreciate it," she said as she started to chuckle. "I think that it's abscessed. I'm so sorry, I don't… My tooth has been hurting for a long…" she burst out into laughter. She looked around the waiting room. "Which of you guys is laughing?" she asked.

The dentist's assistant opened a door as she stepped out of the room. While the door was open Prue could see the woman sitting in the chair was laughing her head off.

"That's just the nitrous oxide at work, Mrs. Freeman," the dentist said as the door was closed.

"Nitrous oxide, laughing gas?" Prue asked as she chuckled. "Uhh."

"The best I can do is fit you in at 4:15," the receptionist informed Prue as she looked up from the appointment calendar.

"No, no, no, no, that's okay," Prue stated. "I have to go." She walked past the guy and pinched his butt angering the girl next to him.

Crawford Street Mansion

Buffy pushed aside the black drape at the door of the mansion and Angel flinched away from the light she let in. "Ooh, sorry!" she apologized. "Sorry about the daytime. I just ducked out of school and that's when they have it."

She sat down, Angel sitting next to her. "You look good," she told him. "I mean, I know I only saw you last night but sometimes things can change quickly. I mean, quick. Listen to me, I'm talking like Faith." She paused, waiting to hear his thoughts… but she heard nothing. "Not that she's bad to have around." She paused but still nothing happened. She stared hard at Angel's head as if expecting the words to suddenly appear there.

"You can't get into my mind," Angel told her simply.

Buffy was confused. "How did you..?" She abandoned all attempts at pretense. "Why not?"

"It's like the mirror. The thoughts are there but they create no reflection in you. You got the aspect of a demon?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, Giles doesn't know how long it's going to last. It's okay, a little headachey but..."

"Buffy, be careful with this gift," he said seriously. "A lot of things that seem good and strong and powerful... they can be painful."

"Like, say, immortality?" Buffy asked.

Angel nodded in agreement. "Exactly. I'm dying to get rid of that."

Buffy chuckled. "Funny."

Angel smiled. "I'm a funny guy."

Halliwell Manor

Phoebe opened the door to let Cole out and then suddenly closed it before he could leave. "Uh, you know what?" she asked. "Is there something wrong?

"No," he answered.

Phoebe shook her head, she wasn't sure she believed his one-word answer. "It's just you haven't said anything since we left the restaurant."

"A lot on my mind, I guess," Cole admitted.

"Work?" Phoebe wondered.

Cole nodded. "Yeah, sort of," he informed her. "I don't know how to say this."

"Uh-oh," Phoebe sighed assuming the worst of that one sentence. "Don't ever start a sentence like that with a girl. You don't want to see me anymore, do you? Right. I never accept a lunch date."

"It's got nothing to do with you," Cole explained. "I mean, you know how I feel about you."

Phoebe looked at him confused. Was he breaking up or not? What was going on? "I don't understand," she admitted. "I think that I deserve to know."

"I promise you'll understand soon," Cole stated knowingly. Like when Prue and Buffy were both disabled to the overwhelming empathic and telepathic powers they were both about to receive if they hadn't started to receive them already, he could do what the Triad had tasked him to do, kill the Charmed Ones, and the Charmed Slayer and take their powers. "Maybe more than you'll want to," he informed her as he opened the door.

Prue walked through the door right then just as Cole left. She stopped looking back at him. "Oh…" she said feeling his love for Phoebe as she closed the door.

"Are you okay?" asked Phoebe who was instantly concerned for her sister.

Prue nodded. "I haven't felt anything like that since Andy was alive," she answered.

"Anything like what?" asked Phoebe.

"Spinning into infinity," Prue stated remembering how she had felt when she had fallen for Andy. "You know, that headlong spiral that steals your breath and stops your heart."

"Prue, what the hell are you talking about?"

Prue smiled. "Falling in love."

Phoebe frowned. "Falling in love?" she said confused. "Prue, I just got dumped, okay, I'm trying to experience a breakup here. Who's falling in love?"

"Cole."

Phoebe shook her head. "Okay, you're so off track."

"Oh! Oh!" said Prue as she smiled at her sister. She had felt Phoebe's pulse quicken at the mention of Cole's name. "Wait, I felt that too. Your heart just jumped, and I felt it. You're falling in love too." She grinned.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"We've got a problem," said Phoebe as she and Prue walked into the kitchen where Piper and Leo were. "Prue cast a spell to remove Vince's pain."

"Who's Vince?" asked Piper confused.

"The shut-in," answered Phoebe. "But I think, and call it a hunch, that it backfired and made Prue an empath."

"What kind of hunch?" asked Leo. He watched as Phoebe pinched Piper.

"Ow!" Piper and Prue said simultaneously as Phoebe pinched Piper.

"Ooh," Phoebe and Prue said as Piper turned around and pinched Phoebe back.

"Uh-oh," Piper groaned realizing that Phoebe was right.

"Oh, okay, I don't know how it happened," Prue explained. "Alright, all I was trying to do was help an innocent. What is that I'm feeling?" She looked at Leo sensing his fear. "You. You're feeling fear. Spill it."

"I'm afraid that you're in danger," Leo admitted. "You weren't meant to receive this gift, you can't handle it."

"No, okay, you're looking at it all wrong," Prue informed him. "Okay, I was guided to Vince, remember? Maybe I was meant to have this gift."

"But Prue, you're not an empath, you're just a witch," Piper insisted, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Right, a witch whose power comes from her emotions," Prue agreed. "Alright, look. I was looking for a power boost to fight Belthazor, maybe this is it." She frowned as she looked at her sisters feeling their emotions. "Will you guys please stop being so negative?"

"We didn't say anything," Phoebe insisted.

"Yeah, but I can feel all of your—" Prue started just as the television on the counter blew up startling Piper.

"What was that?" Leo asked looking around.

Prue sighed. "I think I did it," she admitted. "It's just all your doubts are screaming in my head. I've got to get control of this."

"In the Book Of Shadows, maybe there's something about empaths," Phoebe suggested as she started for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Prue wondered as she and Piper followed their sister.

"To help you," Phoebe said stopping at the base of the stairs.

"Yeah," Prue agreed, feeling that Phoebe would rather be doing something else. "But you're dying to see Cole."

"Stop that," Phoebe groaned. She was beginning to hate that her sister could feel what she was. "I did not say that."

"Phoebe, go to him," Prue said, her tone suggesting she wouldn't take no for an answer. "Alright, tell him what's in your heart. I think you'll find him receptive."

"Prue, I can't," Phoebe said shaking her head. "I need to stay here with you." Then she stopped and looked at her eldest sister wondering if Prue was right. "Do you think he'll be receptive?"

Prue smiled as she nodded her head. "Yes," she answered. "Now go get your man. He wants you."

Phoebe pulled Prue into her arms before rushing out the door.

"We'll help you out," Leo informed her.

Prue shook her head. She wasn't sure she could take their emotions right now. "No, I'll hit the book alone," she stated. "Your guys' couple issues are starting to hurt my head."

"Wait, we have couple issues?" Piper wondered as Prue started up the stairs.

Prue nodded as she pointed at Leo. "Resentment," she said before turning toward her sister. "Denial. Be nice." She then resumed her trek up the stairs.

Gateway High School

"She can read our minds?" Xander asked. He, Buffy, Giles, and the rest of the Scoobies had assembled in the library to discuss this new development. "Our every impulse and fantasy?"

"Every single one," Buffy confirmed.

'Oh god,' Xander concluded.

'I don't see what this has to do with me,' was Cordelia's response. "I don't see what this has to do with me. "

"Well, I think it's great," Willow suggested. "Right? I mean, you enjoy your other powers. You know, Slayer, witch, and Whitelighter."

"Well, Whitelighter can be a buzzkill sometimes," Buffy admitted as Willow looked at her in surprise. "More has to deal with the Elders. I do love being your Whitelighter though. Anyways, yeah you're right. It'll be fun. Did you see Nancy Doyle's face in English class?"

"Yeah, she's super competitive and you showed her," Willow enthused. But Buffy heard what she was thinking. 'She's hardly even human anymore. How can I be her friend now? She doesn't need me.'

"No, I do need you," Buffy insisted.

"OK, what are you talking about?" Cordelia asked. "Because you're are so creepy right now."

"I think there must be some precedence for occurrences such as this," Giles suggested. "I'll research it."

Oz was staring into space. 'I am my thoughts. If they exist in her, Buffy becomes everything that is me and she becomes me. I cease to exist.' "Hmm," he mused out loud.

'What am I going to do?' Xander was thinking. 'I think about sex all the time. Sex! Help! Four times five is thirty. Five times six is thirty-two. Naked girls. Naked women. Naked Buffy. Oh, stop me!'

"God, Xander, is that all you think about?" Buffy demanded.

Xander thought for a moment. "Actually… bye." He ran out.

"Xander has just illustrated something," Giles observed. "Chances are you're all going to be thinking whatever you least want Buffy to hear. It's a question, of course, of mental discipline."

"What's it like, Buffy?" Willow asked.

"I don't know," Buffy said, unsure how to describe it. "It's a little weird. But, please, don't for a second think that I don't need you because I do. I want to share this with you. It's like all these doors are opening to all these little worlds and I can just walk right inside."

Oz continued his musings. 'No one else exists either. Buffy is all of us. We think, therefore she is.'

Willow noticed Buffy looking at Oz. 'She knows so much. She knows what Oz is thinking. I never know that. Before long, she'll know him better than I do!'

"No, don't think that," Buffy urged her friend.

"I can't help it, Buffy," Willow replied helplessly. "I'm sorry, I just can't." She hurried out.

Oz got to his feet. "If you don't need me, I'm going to follow the redhead." He sauntered after his girlfriend.

Buffy sighed. "Guess I won't be writing that book, Gaining Friends Through Telepathy."

Cordelia was the only other teen left and the least interested. 'Whatever. I wonder when I can go.' "Whatever. Can I go?"

Buffy sighed. "You know what? You stay. I'll go. I'm getting a headache," she turned and headed for the door. She walked out into the corridor and was instantly hit by all the thoughts of the other students.

'She is so hot!'

'I hate my body.'

'No one is ever going to love me.'

'What if I never get breasts?'

'I can't believe the test is today.'

Buffy clapped her hands over her ears to try and cut out the onslaught of noise. But the noise was in her head.

Cole's Apartment

Cole was in the middle of packing a suitcase when he heard a knock come at his front door. "Phoebe, what are you doing here?" he asked when he opened the front door.

"I, um, I came to tell you something. Actually…" Phoebe said as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately. "I was always better at the show than tell."

As they continued to kiss, Cole picked up and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into," Cole said as they leaned back against the door.

"Neither do you," Phoebe admitted.

Gateway High School

Buffy stood still in the cafeteria as the lunch lady spooned out her meal. She thought she heard the lunch lady think 'All you do is eat,' but it was getting harder and harder to determine individual voices among the noise.

'It's going to get better. Please tell me it gets better. I hate school.'

Jonathan Levenson was next in line. "Are you through with the mashed potatoes?" he asked as Buffy stood still. She looked at him, thrown. 'She doesn't even know I'm here,' he thought.

Halliwell Manor

Prue had long since abandoned any research and was now crouched in the basement holding her head as she felt everyone's pain. Piper and Leo come down the stairs.

"Prue?" Piper said as she and Leo came down the stairs. "What's the matter? What are you doing in the basement?"

Prue stood as tears glistened in her eyes. "I'm just trying to escape the emotions, they're everywhere. I can't get away," she explained sadly.

Leo frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"It's not just you and Piper," Prue told him. "I'm picking up things from other people's houses. They're… these people and they're in my head and they're in my heart and it just hurts." She backed away as Prue tried to move toward her to comfort her. "No, just stay away, Piper, no contact."

"Okay," Piper stated as she back up beside Leo.

Prue knelt back down in the corner of the basement as tears fell from her eyes. "God, it is just so hard to concentrate, to even talk, I just want it to go away," she admitted. "I feel like it's going to—"

Suddenly a light bulb popped and the roof of the basement cracked.

"What was that?" Piper questioned looking at her boyfriend.

"Empathic ability," Leo informed her. "The more she feels, the more powerful she becomes."

"Alright, this is a gift, we are returning it," Piper insisted as she returned her gaze to her eldest sister. "It was not meant for you. Come on, we're going to find this Vince guy. Come on," she said as she and Leo helped Prue to her feet. "I know, you're going to be okay."

Gateway High School

Buffy moved through the cafeteria as everyone's thoughts continued to flood into her mind.

'Come on! Come on!'

'She's a loser.'

'She has the sweetest face I've ever seen.'

'Oh my god, quiet down.'

'If I stand in just the right spot, I can probably see into the armhole of her top.'

Buffy held her ears in pain, dropping her tray. The mocking thoughts of her classmates hit her, adding to the noise.

And then, just for a moment, there was silence. And piercing through that silence she heard a single, hate-filled voice.

'This time tomorrow, I'll kill you all.'

Buffy looked wildly around the cafeteria. A sea of faces, any one of whom could have made that pronouncement, all of their thoughts were now echoing in her head.

She grabbed people at random, trying to see the hatred and murder in their eyes, but all she managed to get was a mental cry of 'She touched me!' from Jonathan.

But most of the thoughts were about her. 'She's gone nuts. That was so funny.'

Unable to stand the cacophony, she clutched her ears in silent pain. 'Dad,' she thought and collapsed to the ground.

Apartment Building

Prue sat in Piper's jeep alone while Piper and Leo stood on the sidewalk waiting on Phoebe to show up. "Buffy," she whispered feeling Buffy's pain and collapse.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Phoebe, where were you when we called?" Piper asked as Phoebe stepped out of a taxi.

"Cole's," Phoebe answered.

"You could've changed," Piper said taking in her sister's clothes. "Did you...?"

Phoebe smiled and nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Was he...?" Piper asked hopefully.

"Uh-huh!" Phoebe echoed as her grin grew wider.

"Okay, can we talk about this later?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, where's Prue?" Phoebe said looking around for eldest sister.

"Waiting in the car," Piper informed her as paramedics pushed a stretcher past them.

"Oh, this does not look good," Phoebe said spotting the body on the stretcher.

Gateway High School

When Buffy opened her eyes, she was outside, at the far end of the school football field. A group of concerned faces was looking down at her: Xander, Willow, Cordelia, Giles, and Oz.

'I think she's waking up now,' Willow thought.

'She's okay,' thought Oz.

'Thank god,' thought Giles.

'Her eyes are opening,' thought Xander.

'I'm cold,' thought Cordelia.

"You all right?" Giles asked out loud.

"I told them not to move you," Cordelia interjected. "They probably severed your spinal column."

"I'm okay," Buffy insisted, struggling to her feet.

Giles didn't seem convinced. "Buffy…"

"No, really, I'm okay," Buffy insisted. "Listen, there's a killer in the cafeteria."

"See, I've been saying for years that the lunch lady's going to do us all in with her mulligan stew," Xander remarked.

"Xander!" Cordelia snapped reproachfully.

Xander was undeterred. "I mean, what the hell's a mulligan?"

"Someone was thinking about it," Buffy insisted. "They thought 'This time tomorrow I'll kill you all.' I have to find them."

"Well, did you recognize a voice?" Giles asked.

"No," Buffy admitted.

"Boy or girl?" Willow checked.

"I don't know. It was hardly human. It was full of so much anger and pain." Buffy took a few steps toward the school but even from that distance the sea of mental voices was loud enough to make her knees buckle.

"Buffy, come on," Giles said, trying to guide her away.

"No, I have to find them," Buffy persisted.

"Yeah," Xander interjected dismissively. "I mean, who hasn't just idly thought about taking out the whole place with a semi-automatic?" Everyone looked at him. "I said idly."

"I know the difference," Buffy insisted. "He… she… whoever, they meant it. They're going to do it."

'She looks so tired,' thought Giles.

'How horrible!' thought Willow.

'I'm not getting any warmer,' was Cordelia's contribution.

'I bet it was Hogan,' Xander decided.

'Who could it be?' Oz wondered.

"Shut up!" Buffy snapped desperately as her friends recoiled away from her. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "It's just can you guys not think so loud? Or so much."

"Buffy, you should go home. I'll take you home," Giles insisted.

"Yeah, okay…" Buffy started to agree and then remembered the killer in the cafeteria. "No! Look, I need you guys to go to the cafeteria and make a list of everyone that was there. We have to find that killer before lunch tomorrow."

"We'll do it, Buffy," Willow agreed. "A list of all the students."

"Nancy was there," Buffy said thinking back on who she remembered seeing in the cafeteria. "She's scary. And teachers too. Mr. Beach, he thought something about getting rid of all the students."

"Come on," Giles insisted. He helped Buffy to his car as Willow gestured for Xander, Cordelia, and Oz to follow her back toward the school.

"I can't shut it out, Giles," Buffy admitted. "It's like this invasion of my head. It's like these strangers is walking around in there. Look at this, I can't even be around people anymore. Not that they're clamoring to be near me anyway. Even you."

"I'm sorry, Buffy, it's hard for all of us," Giles said reassuringly. "I am looking for a way to help. And once we get you home I will ask Leo if he can ask the Elders if they know anything."

"It'll be okay, right?" Buffy asked. "Even if you can't get rid of it?"

"You'll be fine, I promise," Giles told her soothingly. But she heard what he was thinking. 'If it doesn't go away, she'll go insane.'

Apartment Building

"Cole said that Vince never called," Phoebe said as she, Piper, and Leo climbed the stairs.

"I'm starting to smell a demon," Piper stated looking at her baby sister who nodded.

"If you're right, it would explain why the empathic gift didn't kill him," Leo informed them.

"I think we should stop calling this a gift," Piper stated giving her boyfriend a pointed look.

"Okay, so how did the demon, formally known as Vince, become empathic anyway?" Phoebe wondered looking between her sister and their Whitelighter.

"Well, I'm guessing he got the power from a true empath," Leo said as he and Piper walked into Vince's room. "It would act like a curse on the demon, make him feel the pain that he inflicts."

Phoebe hesitated at the door as she was instantly pulled into a premonition of Vince killing people.

"Phoebe?" Piper said as she turned back to her sister. "Okay, come on." She and Leo led Phoebe back out of the room.

"Okay, we're right about the demon theory," Phoebe informed them.

"That was a premonition?" Piper asked in surprise. "But you didn't touch anything."

"This room must be dripping with psychic remnants," Leo suggested.

Piper nodded as she looked at her sister. "Well, what did you see?" she asked.

"Uh," Phoebe said thinking back over the details of the premonition. "Murders and lots of them. Kind of disjointed slightly like Buffy's when she faced the Master. It was like a big demon-killing spree."

"Just random?" Piper wondered.

Phoebe shook her head. "No, more like he was on a mission."

"Could be he's looking for revenge on the empath who cursed him," Leo suggested.

"Well, if we're going to help Prue, then we got to get there first," Piper suggested. "What was the last murder you saw?" she asked her sister.

"A man at a mental hospital. Crest Hills. But I don't know if it happened already," Phoebe told them.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Piper stated as they headed down the stairs.

Halliwell Manor

Buffy opened the door letting herself and Giles inside. "Prue, Piper, Phoebe?" he called out. He received no response. "Buffy, I know this may be difficult. But can you…?"

"I'll try," Buffy said as she closed her eyes trying to sense the rest of her family. After a moment she opened them and shook her head sadly. "I can't concentrate."

"Alright," Giles said. "Hand me your cell phone and I will see about trying to call them while you go upstairs and rest."

Buffy slowly nodded as she pulled her cell phone out of her purse before handing it to Giles.

Crest Hills Psychiatric Hospital

"And who are you here to visit today?" the nurse at the front desk asked.

Phoebe smiled as she signed her, Piper, Leo, and Prue's names to the visitor log. "Um, we came to visit our father," she stated.

"What's his name?" the nurse asked pointedly.

"Dad?" Phoebe said unable to come up with a valid name since her premonition didn't reveal his name.

The nurse frowned knowing that the quartet wasn't here to visit their father. "This is a psychiatric facility. We can't very well let every—"

"Okay," Piper said cutting off the nurse. She flicked her wrist and the nurse froze.

"This place is a minefield for you," Leo said as he walked alongside Prue. "You should wait here," he suggested.

Prue shook her head. "No, if Vince comes in I need to be there to reverse the spell," she said as they walked into the main common area.

"That looks like the guy from my premonition," Phoebe said as Leo sat Prue down in a chair. She and Piper walked over to the man. "Hi, excuse me, um, I know this is probably going to sound crazy but are you an empath?"

The man rolled his eyes believing the sisters were more hospital staff. "You people don't have to humor me, you know," he informed them. "I know you don't believe me."

"No, uh, we're not doctors or patients, we're, we're witches," Piper explained as her cell phone chirped at her. "And we're looking for the empath who cursed a demon." She pulled out her phone and looked at the caller ID. "Leo," she said handing him the phone. "It's Buffy."

Leo nodded as she walked away. "Buffy?"

"I was working as a priest," the man explained. "I was helping people when it came after me."

"You mean Vince?" Piper questioned.

"Is that what it calls itself?" he wondered shaking his head. "Vinceres is a demonic assassin. Timeless, unstoppable."

"But you stopped him. How?" Piper wondered.

"When the demon took my throat to kill me, I laid my hands on him as if to heal him," he answered.

Phoebe nodded in realization. "And you gave him your power."

"Yes," he confirmed. "I didn't know if I could but I did. I cursed Vinceres and myself."

"How did you curse yourself?" Piper wondered.

"I'm staring at eternity on earth with no gift and no reason to be," he answered sadly.

"Well, I can't help you with the eternity part but I can give you a reason to be now," Piper informed him.

"Yeah, I know, I know, I read the paper," he said motioning toward a newspaper on the nearby table. "We have to get to that building and safely relocate the demon."

Phoebe grimaced. "Uh, it's funny you should mention that because when Prue met Vinceres she thought that he was a shut-in and..."

"You didn't cast a spell?" he asked already knowing the answer.

"She did but..." Piper stated.

"I gave up everything to prevent that beast from killing again," he informed them angrily. "If it's free you can't stop it." Prue felt his anger as the furniture started to move telekinetically. "Nobody can," he said as the whole room started shaking.

"I can't take it!" a patient cried as he and his fellow patients began running around in panic.

"In the walls! Can't you hear it?" another patient stated.

Prue groaned as she grabbed her head in pain.

"Piper," Leo said as he walked over to her. "We have to get home."

"Why?" Piper asked looking past her boyfriend to Prue. "You're right," she said.

"That's not the only reason," Leo said as they gathered Prue up.

Piper noted the worried look on Leo's face. "What is it?"

Leo looked at Phoebe as he, the sisters, and the priest headed for the front doors. "The demons that you and Buffy fought had no mouth, correct?" he asked.

"Yeah," Phoebe said as she held open the front door. "Why?"

"They're called Aiglese, and they are telepathic," Leo informed them. "It seems that Buffy was infected by the blood of the one she killed. Its blood can infect a person with an aspect of the demon. According to Rupert Giles, Buffy has become telepathic."

Halliwell Manor

Buffy stood looking out her bedroom window. The telepathic power, much like Prue's empathic power, had far surpassed simply those around her. Even from this distance, even when she wasn't in the same building, maybe even not in the same street, their thoughts assaulted her.

'Look at him smiling, like he thinks I don't know about her...'

'She doesn't know a thing. I can't believe I'm getting away with this.'

'I should've just quit. No job's worth that crap.'

'One more drink. That'll do it. Just one more and I can sleep...'

Buffy shuddered as she heard footsteps walk away from her bedroom door and she knew that Giles had left his perch.

'Twenty years with that company.'

'Does he think I can't smell her perfume?'

'It's just a little drink.'

'He shouldn't even be the boss.'

'The bottle's almost empty anyway...'

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

In the basement, Prue was crouched down in the corner shaking.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Here he is, Vinceres," Piper said looking at the family's Book of Shadows. "Pretty much lives up to his gloss. Unstoppable hit man just keeps going until he gets his target."

"Great," Phoebe scoffed. "The energizer demon. So what do we do?"

"Nothing," Father Thomas answered. "There's nothing you can do. It will find us and when it does we're all dead."

"Well, you're just a ray of sunshine now aren't you?" Piper said as Leo and Giles joined them. "Hey, anything?"

"No, she won't say a word," Leo answered.

"Buffy simply stands at the window staring out it," Giles said. "I think she can't hear anything but our thoughts anymore. "I'm going to get back to the school," he informed them. "Try and find how to get these powers out of Prue and Buffy."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy lay curled up on her bed, a pillow pulled over her head as she willed the thoughts to stop. Suddenly like the 'killer' at Gateway, her wish was briefly granted as all but one thought was silenced. That remaining thought came through crystal clear.

'Please make it stop.'

Buffy sat up suddenly instantly recognizing the voice. "Prue?" she whispered. As she sat there in her bed she could hear Piper and Phoebe's thoughts as they talked to Father Thomas and Leo. And she began to understand what was happening to her eldest cousin. That she and Prue had both been targeted. Take the two strongest out of the four and all four of them would become vulnerable.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"We've got to snap them both out of this at the very least or else Prue won't be able to reverse the spell when the demon attacks," Piper stated.

"You can't reverse the spell," Father Thomas informed them. "Vinceres is immune to witches' magic."

"Hold on, Prue's spell worked," Phoebe said confused.

"Because the demon allowed it. To its advantage," the priest said. "You'll find your spells useless now."

"Maybe we don't need to reverse the spell," Phoebe suggested an idea coming to her mind.

"What are you thinking?" Leo wondered.

"Well, Prue's getting hit by emotions, all emotions and her powers are tied to these emotions," Phoebe explained. "So maybe if she can figure out a way to channel them, then she'd be pretty unstoppable herself don't you think?"

Leo turned and looked at Father Thomas with a raised eyebrow. "Is that possible?"

"From what I've seen your sister is too far gone," Father Thomas stated sadly. "I think your cousin may be too far gone as well. I'm not sure either of them will live through the night."

"Alright, that's it!" Piper cried in anger.

"Piper…" Leo started.

"No," Piper said looking her boyfriend in the eye. "They are my sisters and Buffy is your daughter. You should be just as angry as I am simply because of Buffy." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but this man has experienced the entire rainbow of human emotions and the best he has to give us here is self-pity? I don't think so. Look, you used this power to stop this demon. Now my sister has your power. Deal with it and then help us."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy slowly made her way down the stairs, her head pounding from all the voices. "Prue?" she said spotting her eldest cousin in the far corner of the basement.

"Go away!" Prue cried as Buffy walked over to her.

"Prue, I know… I know," Buffy said trying to organize her thoughts as she knelt next to Prue. "I know how you feel," she finally managed to get out as Father Thomas and Leo came up behind her.

"Go away!" Prue cried again.

"I know how you feel," Father Thomas said as he knelt next to Buffy. "Your instinct is to pull away. Don't. Try to find inner calm," he told her before looking toward Buffy. "I don't know much about Telepathy but I would say the feeling is quite similar."

Buffy simply nodded. "I think… I think…" she said, the more of other people's thoughts she heard the harder it became to organize her own.

"I can't," Prue sobbed. "The pain."

"You both are carrying a cross neither of you was meant to bear," Father Thomas informed the eldest and youngest Halliwell. "I'm sorry for both of you."

"Your sorrow," Prue cried. "I can't, I can't take it. Please..."

Buffy sat down and closed her eyes trying to find an inner calm in the storm that was everyone's thoughts everywhere.

"You both have been fighting what you feel and hear, that's natural and it's wrong," Father Thomas explained looking at both Prue and Buffy sympathetically. "To find your strength as an empath, you must embrace your emotion," he told Prue before turning to face Buffy. "And as a telepath, you likely have to embrace your emotion. Focus on me, the feelings and thoughts are ripping you both apart because you both are fighting them like the demon that cursed you, Prue, did. A demon can't handle human emotions, you can." He then looked back at Buffy. "As far as I know the Aiglese is the only telepathic demon known to exist."

"They're not," Leo stated. "There are others. But they're the only ones who are born with the power."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Anybody home?" Vince asked as he strolled through the doors that he had knocked off their hinges.

"Piper, now!" Phoebe cried as Piper flicked her wrist freezing him. It was obvious he was fighting through it. "Okay, I guess this is the unstoppable part."

"Where's Father Thomas?" Vince demanded.

"Plan B, plan B!" Piper cried as she picked up a vase and smashed it over his head.

Vince pushed Piper across the room just as Phoebe kicked him in the head knocking him back into a table. She kicked him a few more times before he managed to grab her and threw her across the room to land next to Piper.

"Okay, uh, do we have a plan C?" Phoebe asked her sister.

"Uh, whoa," Piper said flicking her wrist and freezing Vince again. "Leo, hurry!" she called.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Prue, Buffy take my hands," Father Thomas instructed and both the eldest and youngest Halliwells slowly reached out to him. "My power to ease human suffering lay in my hands. That's how I cursed the demon. You must channel the empathic and telepathic gifts into your powers."

"I can't," Prue stated remembering the last time she used her powers, at the psychiatric hospital, and even then she had no control over them. "I can't control my power."

"I don't… I don't think I can right now," Buffy said her eyes still closed. Due to these thoughts, she was having trouble finding any calm in the storm.

"Prue, Buffy, you both can do it," he informed them. "You both have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to feel the world's emotions and thoughts. All it means to be human. The good and the bad. Don't be afraid."

Buffy and Prue looked at each other and in that instance, they knew what they had to do. Not for themselves, but for each other and those they loved. For love was not only just felt in your heart but also within your mind; in your memories and your thoughts.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Just tell me where the empath is and I won't kill you," Vince demanded as he held Phoebe by the throat.

"You want him?" Prue asked as she and Buffy led Leo and Father Thomas into the room. "Come and get him." She glanced at Buffy. "You ready?"

"Ready," Buffy said as she closed her eyes and centered herself. She channeled all the thoughts into her powers, into her augmentation. And then she channeled that improved augmentation into Prue.

Prue instantly felt the power boost not just from the emotions she had been feeling but also from Buffy's thought-infused augmentation. She waved her hand sending Vince flying into a wall and falling to the floor.

"How'd you do that?" Vince questioned as he stood up.

Prue smirked. "If you want the empath, you're going to have to go through us," she informed him before looking at Piper and Phoebe. "This is mine and Buffy's fight. Stay back."

Buffy hit Vince hard spinning him toward Prue, who was holding onto the stair railing. The eldest Halliwell walked on the wall before leaping at Vince kicking him in the face.

"You can't hurt me, witches. I can handle your powers," Vince snarled as he hit Buffy knocking her back only a couple steps. He then grabbed Prue by the neck and lifted her off the ground.

Prue grabbed his hand and forced it away from her neck with a smirk before flipping over him.

Buffy spun into a roundhouse and kicked Vince in the chest knocking him to the floor.

"I can handle your powers," he snarled at them.

'Buffy, I have an idea. Augment my astral projection. I am going to force him to feel everything I feel and everything you hear,' Prue thought toward her cousin. She then smiled at Vince. "What about pain?" she asked. "Human pain. Or thoughts? Human thoughts." She looked at Buffy who nodded.

There was a red flash as Astral Prue appeared before her body. She ran at Vince and then leaped, astral projecting herself within his mind. Buffy telepathically projected everything she was hearing straight at Prue who used it and the emotions she was feeling to force Vince to feel and hear everything.

Vinceres screamed out in pain seconds before he exploded.

Prue looked up at her astral form and smiled as Astral Prue disappeared in a red flash. It was at that instance she realized she was no longer an empath as Piper and Phoebe walked over to her and Buffy.

"So you're not an empath anymore," Piper questioned.

Prue nodded as she looked at Father Thomas. "I'm sorry," she said. "I was hoping that we could return your gift."

"But you did," he said as he smiled at the eldest Halliwell. "It appears I can understand what people are feeling even without a magic assist."

"You two kicked ass," Phoebe said excitedly.

Prue smiled as she looked at Buffy. "We did, didn't we?" she asked her cousin.

Instead of answering Buffy collapsed to the floor and into unconsciousness.

"What happened?" Phoebe asked.

"She's still a telepath," Leo answered sadly. "She may no longer be fighting it, but by helping you she is now hearing more and more by the second, and it's overwhelmed her. I think the only way for her to wake now is to find a cure. That means I better go see the Elders." And with that, he orbed out.

November 19, 1998 – Thursday

Golden Gate Park

Prue and Phoebe had tracked the demon down and were now engaged in fierce combat with it, hurling the creature around the area. Prue exchanged punches with the demon. Phoebe levitated up and kicked the demon sending it flying backward. Prue was right there as she kicked the demon knocking it to the ground. The demon's tactics hadn't changed. It knew it was facing two witches, both of whom had trained alongside Buffy. It backhanded them, knocking them down, and then ran.

But the sisters were fighting to save the sanity of the youngest member of their family. Someone who they both considered a sister when in reality she wasn't. And they weren't going to let the demon getaway. They ran after it.

Halliwell Manor

Buffy was once again lying curled on her bed, her hands clamped over her ears. Her every muscle was tense and tortured. On the other side of her door stood Prue, Phoebe, and Leo.

"I can't stand this," Piper admitted sadly. "I keep wondering if I'm hurting her, with my thoughts."

Leo shook his head with a sigh. "You're not. Not anymore," he admitted sadly. "She likely can no longer pick one thought out of the many."

"I'd like to know why the telepathy power didn't leave her when Prue lost the empathy power," she wondered as she looked at her boyfriend who was also Buffy's father.

"Because Buffy is infected," Leo answered. "Prue was cursed. When they both fought Vinceres. Prue was able to force the curse back on him by forcing him to feel and hear everything that Prue and Buffy were feeling and hearing. But like any virus, Buffy is still infected. The only way for her to be free of the power is to be cured."

They heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. "Piper! Leo!" Prue said as she and Phoebe stepped up on the second-floor landing. "It's done!"

Piper grabbed the potion from her sister and rushed into Buffy's room.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy woke from her semi-conscious state to find Piper sitting with her. Her cousin produced the flask with the serum Prue and Phoebe had prepared and lifted it to her lips. "Uh, no," she protested.

"It's going to help you," Piper replied.

Buffy looked at Piper trying to make herself recognize Piper. "Who?" she asked.

"It's me, Piper," Piper answered before forcing the contents down Buffy's throat. She settle Buffy back down in the bed and kissed Buffy lightly on the forehead. "Come back to us, my sister."

For a moment, Buffy relaxed. Then she began convulsing.

"Prue!" Piper shouted in panic.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy slowly opened her eyes to find four people grouped around her.

"Buffy?" said one of them.

Buffy focused on them till they slowly moved out of the realm of fuzzy and into firm reality. She could see the relief on the faces of her cousins and her father, even though she could no longer hear their internal voices. "Prue," she said softly. "Piper… Phoebe… Dad."

"Thank god," Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Leo all breathed in unison.

"Are you all right?" Phoebe questioned. "Do you hear thoughts?"

"No," Buffy answered. But then Buffy's mind snapped back to important matters. "Did the guys find the killer?"

"What killer?" Prue questioned suddenly worried that Vince hadn't been the only thing they needed to defeat.

Gateway High School

Freddy got up from his desk and headed for the door when Willow and Cordelia strode into his office. He turned to head for the other door only to find Xander and Oz coming in that door. "Okay, Oz. You got me," he sighed. "What are your friends going to do, hold me down?"

"You'd better believe it, buster," Willow snapped. "You can't threaten a big murder without getting us pretty darned ticked."

"Murder?" Freddy asked. "What murder?" He looked at Oz. "You're not here about the review?"

Oz was equally confused. "The review?"

Freddy leafed through back issues of The Sentinel. "Last Thursday." He selected the edition he wanted and handed it to Oz, gesturing to the right column.

Oz read the piece on his band's latest performance. "'Dingoes Ate My Baby play their instruments as if they have plump polish sausages taped to their fingers. Hmm."

Xander patted him on the shoulder. "Sorry, man."

Oz thought long and hard. "No, it's fair," he decided at last.

"I get a lot of hate mail," Freddy explained. "I thought you were going to come and deliver some personally."

Cordelia perched on the edge of the desk and started idly opening and reading the mail from the inbox.

Something suddenly occurred to Xander. "Hey, if you find any tasteful announcement about me from Larry…"

"Xander, we have to figure this out," Willow realized.

"We have no shot," Cordelia argued. "The killer could be anyone. We lose."

"We've still got a few minutes," Buffy corrected her as she and Prue entered the office.

"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed in delight.

"You're okay!" Xander realized, "Can you still hear thoughts?" Buffy shook her head. He sagged. "Just when I wasn't thinking about sex."

Prue looked at her cousin with a raised eyebrow.

"I would rather not embarrass Xander," Buffy informed her. "Okay, here's the new plan," she decided. "We're going to get Snyder to evacuate the school. I just hope the killer's not waiting outside."

Cordelia had picked up a letter from the desk. "'By this time tomorrow, you'll all know what I've done," she read. "I'm sure you'll understand why I had to do it and that, although death is never easy, it's the only way. God, doesn't anyone write in to praise the cheerleaders? We are so unsung."

Willow snatched the letter from her and read the signature. "Jonathan! Oh, I had him in my grasp. Slippery weasel."

"Split up," Prue ordered. "Find him."

They all ran out of the office. Apart from Freddy, who was still wondering what was going on.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

The group ran through the school. Oz checked the classrooms. Cordelia checked the student lounge.

Willow ran into the library. "Jonathan! Are you in here?" She received no answer. "Nope."

Xander ran into the still-empty cafeteria. "Jonathan! Jonathan!" he shouted. Then his gaze was drawn toward the food on display. "Ooh. Jello."

And throughout it all, on top of the watchtower, Jonathan methodically assembled a rifle, ready for use.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy and Prue were crossing the quadrangle when Prue caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked up at the watchtower and glimpsed him. Jonathan, hefting a rifle. "Buffy," she said motioning toward the watchtower.

"Too many witnesses to flame up there," Buffy said as she ran leaving Prue to watch. She headed for the stairs, jumping onto the banister and running up it, building momentum. When she reached the top, she leaped, catching hold of the overhang and flipping herself up so she landed on the roof.

From next to Prue, Nancy watched the athletic display and then snorted dismissively. "I could have done that."

Prue rolled her eyes. "Would like to see you try," she muttered to herself.

Buffy smashed through the boarded-up window of the watchtower and Jonathan swung the rifle around to cover her. "Get away from me!"

Buffy did her best to appear as non-threatening as possible. "Okay, Jonathan, you want to point that somewhere else?"

Jonathan pointed the gun slightly away from her but didn't lower it. "Don't you try and stop me."

Buffy did her best to keep her tone measured and casual. "No, no, no stopping. Just here for the view." She pretended to glance out the window. "Hey, look, city hall!"

"Go away," Jonathan insisted.

Buffy dropped the pretense, her voice was soft but firm. "Never going to happen."

"You think I won't use this?"

"I don't know, Jonathan, I just…" Buffy took a step forward but he moved back, bringing the gun up defensively.

"Stop doing that!" Jonathan shouted.

Buffy was confused. "Doing what?"

"Stop saying my name! Like we're friends. We're not friends. You all think I'm an idiot. A short idiot."

Buffy felt the stirring of sympathy. "I don't," she said quietly. "I don't think about you much at all. Nobody here really does. Bugs you, doesn't it? You have all this pain and all these feelings and nobody's paying attention."

"You think I just want attention?"

Buffy looked at him pitifully. "No, I think you're up in the clock tower with a high-powered rifle because you want to blend in." Jonathan sagged at the cutting remark and she switched back to empathy. "Believe it or not, Jonathan, I understand about the pain."

Jonathan looked at her scornfully. "Oh, right, because the burden of being beautiful and athletic is such a crippler?"

Buffy felt her sympathy evaporate. "You know what? I was wrong. You are an idiot." He stopped and looked at her. "My life happens to, on occasion, suck beyond the telling of it. Sometimes more than I can handle. And it's not just mine. Every single person down there is ignoring your pain because they're too busy with their own. The beautiful ones, the popular ones, the guys that pick on you. Everyone." She turned to look out the window, looking down at the quadrangle full of people whose innermost thoughts she'd heard so recently and whose emotions Prue might have recently felt. Jonathan came to stand beside her, curious. "If you could hear what they were feeling," she said quietly. "The loneliness. The confusion. Looks quiet down there. It's not. It's deafening." She glanced at the rifle, hanging limply at his side. "You know, I could've taken that by now."

Jonathan looked completely drained. "I know."

"I'd rather do it this way." Buffy placed a hand gently on the weapon.

Jonathan let go and she quickly removed the clip. "I just wanted it to stop," he said quietly.

"Yeah, well, mass murder's not doctor recommended for that type of pain. Besides, prison, you know, it's a lot like high school, only instead of noogies…"

"What are you talking about?" Jonathan asked, astonished.

Buffy paused. She thought the speech was going well. "Actions having consequences, you know, stuff like that."

Jonathan gaped at her. "I would never hurt anyone! I came up here to kill myself!"

Buffy looked at the weapon in her hand. "With a rifle?"

Jonathan shrugged. "It's my dad's. I didn't have enough money for anything smaller."

Then Buffy realized. It wasn't Jonathan she'd heard. The real killer was still out there. She leaned out the window. "Prue, it's not him!" She watched as Prue took off before she turned back to Jonathon. "Promise you won't tell?"

"Promise what?" Jonathon asked in confusion as Buffy disappeared in a swirl of fiery flames.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Xander followed the lure of his stomach into the school kitchen and there he was rewarded with the sight of several bowls of jello, just waiting to be eaten. Smiling, he picked up a bowl and scooped out the contents, preparing to devour them. And then his gaze drifted up to the lunch lady, pouring a large amount of rat poison into the meals intended for the students. She froze momentarily, realizing she'd been caught.

Xander dropped the bowl and ran, the lunch lady pausing only to scoop up a meat cleaver before following him. He ran out into the cafeteria where people were already assembling for lunch and began overturning tables, knocking plates on the floor, desperate to stop the students from eating the poisoned food. "Rat poison! Rat poison!" he shouted.

The lunch lady came charging at him with the cleaver. Xander dodged but lost his footing and sprawled on the ground, a sitting target. The lunch lady loomed over him, preparing to bring the cleaver down…

…and Buffy caught her arm, arresting the movement. "Okay, let's calm down," she said firmly.

The lunch lady looked at her with eyes full of hatred. "Vermin. You're all vermin. You come in here and you eat and you eat and you eat. Filth!"

Buffy sighed as Prue came running into the room. "I don't see this one being settled with logic."

She knocked the cleaver out of the lunch lady's hand. The lunch lady swung a punch at her but Buffy ducked and responded with two of her own, catching her in the face both times. Then she followed it up with a kick to the chest, which sent the would-be murderer toppling over a table and landing in a heap on the floor.

Buffy turned to Xander and Prue and the three of them breathed a sigh of relief that it was finally over.

Payson's

"Hey," Prue said as she, Buffy, and Phoebe all walked up to the bar opposite Piper.

Piper smiled. "Hey."

"You know, I cannot wait for this Novocain to wear off," Prue admitted as she stuck out her tongue. "Can you unfreeze my tongue?"

"You're lucky that dentist even saw you," Piper informed her eldest sister.

"Okay, there's one thing I don't get," Phoebe said looking at the eldest and youngest of their family. How did you two vanquish Vinceres?"

Prue glanced at Buffy and smiled. "Well, it was something that Father Thomas said to us. Vinceres was trying to fight off the feelings of an empath because demons cannot handle human emotion."

Buffy nods, "And so I channeled all the telepathic thoughts into my augmentation power. And then augmented Prue."

"And so Prue, you astral projected into his body," Phoebe said with a nod.

"Yes," Prue confirmed. "Carrying the emotional baggage of half of the city as well as all the telepathic thoughts Buffy was receiving. We forced him to feel and hear everything and he couldn't take it."

"Hey," Leo said as he walked up beside his daughter.

"Hey," Buffy said as she hugged him.

"I just left Father Thomas," he told them. "I got connections at the archdiocese. They're going to let him return to his church."

Piper smiled. "Thank you. You're an angel."

"Well, not technically," Leo countered.

Buffy chuckled as she leaned her head against her father's side. "You are to me, Dad."

"So I guess the only other question is who sent the signs that lead Prue to the demon?" Phoebe wondered. "And who sent the demons after Buffy?"

"Well, probably the Triad," Prue suggested. "Or Belthazor. Which means we have to be careful the next time we get a sign."

"I couldn't agree more," Buffy agreed.

"Yeah, but, Prue… Buffy," Piper said looking at the two in question. "You two got quite the power boost there. Are either of you going to miss it?"

"Well technically I already had a power boost over you guys," Buffy reminded them. "Since I am a witch, Slayer, Whitelighter. But yeah, I'm going to miss it a little. Having that power boost though made me want to work for it."

"Yeah," Prue said as she smiled at them. "But we did get to stop an unstoppable demon. Got a little taste of what my future powers are going to be like. I'm on the right path," she said as she turned toward Phoebe. "Ooh, speaking of paths... what's up with you and your Cole dependency? Where do you guys stand?"

"Oh, I have no idea," Phoebe admitted reluctantly. "I think I'm going to go find out right now. Yeah."

November 20, 1998 – Friday

Gateway High School

"Morning," Giles called out as he approached Buffy and Willow.

"Hi, Giles," the two girls reciprocated.

Willow scowled suddenly. "Oh, I should get to the yearbook office. I'm going to give them the murderer profiles. They're a good read." She hurried away.

"How are you?" Giles asked Buffy quietly.

"Loving the quiet." She tapped her head. "Nobody in here but me."

"Jonathan, how's he?"

"Not so good. His parents are freaking out. He got suspended and toting a piece to school, not exactly winning him a place with the in-crowd. But I think he's dealing."

"It's good of you to check on him," Giles told her.

Buffy shrugged. "I never thought I would use what my Dad taught me about being a Whitelighter to help and guide anyone but Willow. But it was nice to help him out. Except he's starting to get that look like he's going to ask me to the prom."

Giles considered the matter. "Well, it would probably be good for his self-esteem if you…"

"Oh, come on!" Buffy protested. "What am I, Saint Buffy? He's like, three feet tall!"

Giles smiled fondly at her. "I'm glad to see you've recovered from your psychic encounter more or less intact. How is Prue, has she recovered from her encounter?"

"She's doing good feeling only her feelings," Buffy said as she smiled.

"Good," he said. "Do you feel up to some training?"

"Sure," Buffy agreed. "We can work out after school. You know, if you're not too busy having sex with Prue." And with that parting shot, she walked away.

Giles stared after her. And walked into a tree.

---

Author's Note: In canon, the demons I called Aiglese were not given a name. They were simply known as unnamed telepathic demons or scabby demons.