Chapter 89: Trial By Magic
In the kitchen Piper and Paige are there making breakfast as Buffy and Phoebe rushes in.
"Okay, move it or lose it, people, coming through." Phoebe says as she takes Paige's coffee cup from her.
"Hey, I was using that." Paige says.
Phoebe pours some coffee in the cup. "Yeah, well, I'm late and I need caffeine, so sue me."
"Two weeks of jury duty and suddenly she's lawyery." Piper says.
Buffy grabs a coke out the fridge, "Yeah I would just love to understand how I managed to get picked also. I thought it was supposed to be against court procedures to have more than one family member on a jury."
"Now, normally I would have a way to come back for that but I am too tired." Phoebe says.
Piper shrugs, "Who knows, Buffy."
"I'd be tired too if I had to decide whether or not someone lived or died. What's your decision?" Paige says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "Paige, you know Buffy and I can't talk about the case. Besides, that's not why I can't sleep. I can't sleep. I can't sleep because I miss Cole too much. If he doesn't come home soon, I'm gonna turn into a vampire."
"Jokes like that in this house, not so funny." Paige says. "Especially with who Buffy is because then she would have to Slay you."
"Unless we could curse her like, Angel." Buffy says.
"So when do you think he's gonna come back?" Piper asks.
"Who knows? He said he needed some time to find himself and figure out who he was without his demon side." Phoebe says.
"What does that mean? He's off banging on drums in the woods somewhere?" Paige asks.
Phoebe shakes her head, "God, I hope not." She looks at her watch. Ugh, come on Buffy we gotta go." They turn and head for the front door.
"Wait!" Piper says as she and Paige follow them. "Who's testifying today?"
"Nobody, it's closing argument." Buffy says. "The nightmare is finally about over."
"Already? That was fast." Piper says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "Oh, no, not you too."
"Oh, Phoebe, it's only natural to be curious." Paige says.
"Forget it." Phoebe says.
"Listen, nobody keeps secrets better than us. We are the mistresses of secrets." Paige says.
"Well..." Piper says.
"Well, let's just say it would be my supreme pleasure to send that murdering bastard straight to hell. By legal means, not magical." Phoebe says.
Buffy nods, "Everything does point to him."
Buffy and Phoebe heads for the front door.
"You might be the first person who enjoys jury duty." Piper says.
"You know what it is? It's just, it might be nice for a change to get some kudos from vanquishing the bad guy. I mean punishing... you know what I mean." Phoebe says as she grabs her bag and opens the door. "Okay."
Glen walks onto the porch. "Hey."
"Hi." Buffy and Phoebe says.
"Is Paige home?" Glen asks.
Phoebe nods, "Yeah, she is, but we're not. Bye!" They head for Buffy's car.
Later in the court room a female lawyer is doing her closing argument. Phoebe amd Buffy is sitting with the jury.
"There is no excuse, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the defendant has no alibi, no credible explanation for how he was able to lead the police directly to his ex-wife's body. Other than his, how did he describe it... psychic vision? No, premonition, that's it. That was his alibi. That's what Mr. Prevosoli expects you to believe. To counter the overwhelming evidence against him, including with the court's permission," she picks up a dagger, "people 1, the murder weapon. One that he had admitted to using in his own magic show. And then he used it to rob Angela Prevosoli of her life." She hands the dagger to the jury. They pass it along. "Return the verdict, you know you must. Murder in the first degree."
Buffy takes the dagger and has a premonition of the real murderer killing Angela. He has a tattoo on his arm. The premonition ends and Buffy drops the dagger.
"Are you alright, ma'am? Ma'am, are you alright?" Judge asks.
"Buffy are you okay?" Phoebe asks.
Buffy looks over at Mr. Prevosoli. He lifts his arm and she sees he has no tattoo. "Yes your honor I'm fine. Thought I had cut myself there for a second, my apologies." She looks to Phoebe and mouths, 'Premonition, innocent.'
Later the jury walk into a room and sit down at the table.
"Hey, hey, I just got a premonition. We'll be outta here in time for lunch." Man says, laughing.
"Uh, okay, uh, well, I think the proper procedure is, uh, that first we review the evidence." Man #2 says.
"Well, we heard the evidence, so let's just take a vote and get outta here." Man says.
"Still, as the foreman..." Man #2 says.
"All votes in favor of guilty?" Man says as he raises his hand. So does everyone else except Buffy and Phoebe. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten..." He spots Buffy and Phoebe. "Come on, ladies, what's it gonna be?"
Phoebe looks to Buffy and mouths, 'Are you sure?'
Buffy nods, "I have to go to the bathroom." The jury sighs. Buffy gets up and walks into the bathroom. She flames out.
Moments later in the Manor Piper, Buffy, Paige and Leo walk into the living room.
"I thought Phoebe said it was an open and shut case." Paige says.
Buffy nods, "Everything pointed that way. But the killer in my premonition was definitely not Stan Prevosoli." They sit down. "Okay, now, I didn't see his face but he had this tattoo on his arm like a medusa's head with snakes."
"What are you gonna do?" Paige asks.
"Well, Phoebe and I are gonna stall, while you guys try to get Darryl to get you in to see Stan. Describe the tattoo, maybe he knows the real killer. I don't know, he must not have seen him in his premonition otherwise..." Buffy says.
"Wait, he had a premonition?" Leo asks.
Buffy nods, "Yeah, that's how he claims to have known where the body was."
"And you and Phoebe of all people did not believe him." Piper says.
"Piper, he's just a club magician. We both assumed that he was a fraud. Believe me, I feel horrible about this." Buffy says.
"Alright, we'll fix it, somehow." Piper says.
"Do we hunt killers that aren't demons?" Paige asks.
"Well, I had that premonition for a reason. Just because the killer isn't supernatural..." Buffy says.
Piper makes a noise as Glen walks in.
"Hey, there, Glen!" Leo says.
"What did you hear?" Piper asks.
"Excuse me?" Glen asks.
"She said what are you doing here?" Buffy asks.
"Oh, I was just looking for the kitchen. Didn't you leave already?" Glen says.
Buffy nods, "On lunch break. But I better get going again before somebody wonders what happened to me." She stands up.
"I'll uh, just take Glen to the kitchen and show him where to make a sand-witch." Paige says as she and Glen head for the kitchen.
"Is he staying here?" Buffy asks.
Piper nods, "Mm-hmm."
"I think you need to talk to her." Buffy says.
"I did, and apparently I was the only one paying attention." Piper says.
Buffy sighs and flames out.
At the court building. The man bangs on the door to the bathroom. "What the hell's going on in there? Open the damn door!"
"Maybe something's wrong. I'll call for the bailiff." Woman says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "Just give her some privacy. Do you like being interrupted while doing your business?"
The man continues to bang on the door ignoring Phoebe. The door swings open and Buffy walks out. "I am so sorry. That time of the month."
"Ugh. Look, the rest of us finished voting, Ten guilty. What's it gonna be, you two?" Man says.
"Well, before I cast my vote, I think we should all consider the possibility that the defendant might actually be a psychic." Buffy says.
"What?" Man asks as the jury groans.
Phoebe nods, seeing where Buffy is going, "And all he is guilty of is having a special gift."
"You're the foreman, make them vote." Woman says.
"Not until I review the evidence." Buffy says as she grabs a pencil and paper. "Every single piece."
The jury groans.
Later the jury is looking hot and restless.
"Okay, um, haven't any of you ever known who was calling before you answered the phone?" Phoebe asks.
"That's not magic." Woman says.
"Oh no? Then what is it? Look, just because you don't understand magic, doesn't mean that you have to be afraid of it. It's around us all the time, like a friend, guiding us, giving us inspiration, helping us fall in love. Giving our lives meaning. And I'm sorry but I think that we all need to believe that magic exists. Tanya, why are you wearing an angel pin?" Buffy says.
Tanya shrugs, "I don't know, just because my mother gave it to me."
"But why did she give it to you?" Phoebe asks.
"To watch over me." Tanya says.
Buffy nods, "That's magic. Something that you can't see, you can't quite put your finger on it, but you know it's there."
"The man killed a woman, period. End of story." Man says.
"All those in favor of another vote." Foreman says.
They all raise their hands except Buffy and Phoebe. Leo orbs in the bathroom.
Phoebe sees the light under the door. "Oops, nature calls." She heads for the door, mouthing to Buffy as she passes, 'Leo.'
"Oh, oh no you don't. No-no-no-no-no way." Man says.
Phoebe runs into the bathroom.
You two are stalling." Woman says.
"We've gotta do something about this." Man says.
Inside the bathroom…
"Hi." Piper says.
"Hi." Phoebe says.
"We found the real killer." Piper says.
Leo nods, "The owner of the magic club. A guy named Andrew Wike."
"Can you prove it?" Phoebe asks.
"That's our next step." Piper says.
Phoebe nods, "Okay, well, you gotta hurry because Buffy and I are dying in there."
"It'd be so much easier if we could just vanquish him." Piper says.
"You can't do that but you might be able to use your magic." Leo says.
"Well, there's one guy I would love to turn into a warthog." Phoebe says.
"Not on the jury, on the killer. You and Paige could use your powers to scare him into confessing." Leo says.
"And show our powers to Wike? I do not think so." Piper says.
"Do you think anyone's gonna believe him if he says anything?" Leo asks.
"Not this jury." Phoebe says.
The man bangs on the door. "Hey, come on!"
"Uh, sorry! Uh, can somebody find me a plunger?" Phoebe says.
"Oh, great." Man says.
Piper looks in the toilet, confused.
"What? I've gotta buy some time somehow. And you gotta call Paige. Maybe there's a spell in the Book of Shadows we can use? Okay, go, go, go!" Phoebe says as they orb out. "Okay." She goes back in the room.
Later…
"Actually, the origin of magic dates back to prehistoric times. People from all cultures believed-" Buffy says.
"Let's vote now." Foreman says.
"Wait." Phoebe says.
"No, no, no, we vote. Okay, if we can't agree we declare a hung jury. All in favor of a guilty verdict." Foreman says.
The jury raises their hands.
"Wait! There is magic in the world. There are angels. Tanya, you can tell your mother that she's right, they're real." Phoebe says.
"And there are fairies. They're real too. I mean, just think back to your childhood before you were too jaded to believe in them. And-and-and Cupid. Not a myth. I mean, he doesn't actually use arrows but-but he's real too." Buffy says.
"Bailiff!" Foreman says.
"What are you doing?" Phoebe asks.
"We don't have to declare a hung jury after all." Foreman says.
"We don't?" Man asks.
The bailiff opens the door. "Foreman?"
"Tell the judge that we have two jurors that's um... not quite right. We're asking that they be dismissed and that you bring in two of the alternates.
"Are you kidding me?" Buffy asks.
The foreman shakes his head.
"And you all agree?" Bailiff asks.
"Yes."
"Okay." Bailiff says.
"No, wait-wait-wait. I have an idea. If we can convince you, all of you, that magic really does exist, will that be enough reasonable doubt for an acquittal." Phoebe says.
"Ladies, you two are late for your shrinks. Like two years late." Man says as he laughs.
"Well, what do you mean magic? Like Siegfried and Roy stuff?" Tanya asks.
Buffy shakes her head, "No. She means real magic. No trap doors, no smoke, no mirrors, just real supernatural magic."
"Come on, they're stalling." Man says.
"What's the matter? Are you afraid we might actually be able to pull it off?" Phoebe asks.
"Well, we've been here this long. I say we let them take it all home." Tanya says.
"Alright, but if you two fail, you vote guilty with the rest of us." Foreman say as Phoebe and Buffy hesitates. "Call the judge."
"Okay, okay, okay, okay, it's a deal." Buffy says.
"Alright, show us some magic." Tanya says.
"We're gonna need a few things. A sage stick, five white candles and..." Phoebe says.
"A magic wand." Man says.
Buffy shakes her head, "No, incense. We're gonna summon the dead."
"Ooooh." Man says.
Later Buffy and Phoebe are trying to summon Angela.
"Beloved spirit Angela, I ask that you commune with me and move among us." Buffy and Phoebe chants as Nothing happens. "Beloved spirit Angela..."
"That's enough. Bailiff!" Foreman says as the bailiff comes in. "Tell the judge that we've reached a verdict."
"Yep! A deal's a deal. Those in favor of guilty." Man says.
"I'll get the lights." Tanya says.
"Beloved spirit Angela, I seek your guidance, I ask that you commune with me and move among us." Buffy and Phoebe chants.
The bathroom door opens and Piper sticks her hand out, freezing the room. Piper, Paige and Leo come out of the bathroom.
"Phoebe, Buffy, ten jurors." Piper says.
"We know, we know, but this guys innocent, and he's being persecuted for having the same gift Phoebe and I have. SO if you guys aren't here to help us summon Angela..." Buffy says.
"We are." Piper says.
"We are?" Paige asks.
Piper nods, "Yes. If Leo will help us clean up after we're done."
"No." Leo says.
Piper frowns, "What do you mean no? You've done it before."
"No, it's completely forbidden, except in cases of dire emergencies." Leo says.
"What's forbidden?" Paige asks.
"Using memory dust on people." Piper says.
"Oh my god, this is brilliant. We'll erase their short term memories after they vote not guilty." Phoebe says.
"Wait a second, Whitelighters can erase people's memories with some sort of special dust? Why don't you just use it all the time?" Paige says.
"Because you don't know what you might be erasing. Doctors' appointments, children's birthdays..." Leo says.
"Leo, this is an emergency. I cannot live with these people knowing our secret, knowing that at any minute we could relive the hell we went through after Prue and Piper were exposed." Buffy says.
Leo sighs, "Okay."
They girls join hands.
"Hear these words, hear my cry, spirit from the other side, come to me, I summon thee, cross now the great divide." Phoebe, Buffy, Piper and Paige says.
"Beloved spirit Angela, I ask that you commune with us and move among us." Phoebe and Buffy chants.
A breeze blows through the room.
"Cold wind, that's our queue." Leo says.
Piper nods, "See you later."
"Okay, thank you, thank you." Phoebe says.
Piper, Paige and Leo go into the bathroom. Piper unfreezes the jury and they orb out. A mist appears above the table. The jury look frightened.
"Are you all seeing that?" Tanya asks.
"Dear god!" Foreman says.
Angela's spirit appears. "What happened? Where am I?"
"We summoned you, Angela. We need your help. Actually, your ex-husband needs your help." Buffy says.
"Stan? Why?" Angela says.
"He's on trial for your murder." Phoebe says.
"Stan? Are you kidding? He couldn't hurt a fly. Even his gift terrified him." Angela says.
"His gift?" Buffy asks as the man waves his hand through Angela. "What are you doing?"
"I'm looking for wires. This is some sort of trick." Man says.
"Did you find any?" Phoebe asks. "What about his gift?"
"Stan could see things. The past, the future... It scared him, he hated it. That's why he never nurtured it. All the good he could've done, wasted." Angela says.
"So he didn't kill you?" Buffy asks.
Angela shakes her head, "No. The club owner did. Andrew Wike. I found out he was laundering money from some company at pier 86. Stan warned me to keep it to myself. But I didn't. He, he's a good man. He's an innocent man. Blessed be."
"Blessed be." Buffy says as Angela disappears.
The jury sit there in awe.
"Shall we vote?" Phoebe asks.
Later the jury is back in the courtroom handing out the verdict.
"Not guilty." Foreman says.
"Unbelievable." Stan's lawyer says.
"So say you one? So say you all?" Judge asks as the jury nods. "This case is dismissed. The defendant is hereby released, and this court is adjourned."
Everyone stands up.
"Dust them now." Piper says.
Leo heads for the jury.
"Don't forget the bailiff." Paige says.
Stan walks over to Piper and Paige. "I don't understand. How'd you do it?"
"We didn't. Angela did." Piper says.
Buffy and Phoebe walks over to Stan.
"Hi." Phoebe and Buffy says.
"Hi." Stan says.
"You have a very special gift. And you did the right thing about going to the police. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, all that matters is you used your gift to help people. And that's a beautiful thing." Buffy says.
Later Buffy, Piper, Phoebe, Paige and Leo walk into the foyer at the Manor.
"So you guys have told people about being witches lots of times." Paige says.
Piper nods, "Yes, innocents, but only when we didn't have any other choice."
"Our secret is never more important than saving somebody's life." Phoebe says.
Leo nods, "Can't you guys just enjoy saving this innocent for a minute and a half before getting back to the great debate."
The rat crawls down the stairs.
Buffy shakes her head, "Well, it's not over yet. The killer is still out there somewhere."
They hear a noise and gasp when they see Glen on the stairs with a glowing ring around his neck.
"Glen!" Paige says.
The rat turns into the demon. "You have one hour to deliver the tape. Or stretch here is dead." He grabs Glen and bolts through the front door, smashing it into a million pieces.
Moments later…
"Paige, it's gonna be okay, just try to breathe." Piper says.
"Oh my god, if anything happens to him." Paige says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "We won't let it."
"When did this demon become involved? I thought this killer was supposed to be human." Paige says.
Buffy nods, "He was. But apparently he was fronting for demons."
"Since when do demons give a rats ass - no pun intended - about laundering money?" Piper asks.
"Because they need money to insinuate themselves into our world. To buy clothes, rent apartments, to fit in with us." Leo says.
"It's probably the same way they made Cole legitimate when he was a demon. I mean, they put him through law school." Phoebe says.
"Which put him in a position to hurt us." Piper says as Phoebe touches Piper's knee with her foot. "Water under the bridge."
"How is any of this gonna help get Glen back ? Even if we give that rat demon thing the tape, what's to stop him from killing Glen? We have no leverage." Paige says.
"Okay, do we have to call him the rat demon? Because it's very hard to be appropriately frightened." Buffy says.
"We could go over his head. Look, I guarantee you that this club is just the tip of the iceberg. I mean, if we went to rat demon's... What are we supposed to call him?" Leo says.
"One hour, Leo. We have one hour." Paige says.
Leo stands up.
"Right, look, so if we go to their bosses and we threaten to expose their entire operation, they're not gonna be very please with him." Leo says.
"So we offer him up for exchange for Glen. It might work." Piper says.
"Might work? It has to work." Paige says.
"Okay, so the only question is where is demon central?" Piper asks.
"Angela said something about pier 86." Buffy says.
Piper nods, "So did Wike. So we split up. Phoebe, since you and Buffy have stalling down to a science, you and Paige go to the club and buy some time. Leo, Buffy and I will go to..."
"No. I wanna go." Paige says.
"Well, Piper and Buffy have more fire power, and if they get hostile..." Phoebe says.
Paige shakes her head, "I'll just have Leo orb me or Buffy flame me out of there if it gets too hairy. I'm the one who put Glen, my best friend, in massive amounts of danger. So I'm gonna get him out." She grabs her coat. "Just do me a favor and keep him alive at the club until I get back."
Leo orbs out with Paige. Buffy flames out after them.
At Pier 86 Leo and Paige orb in as Buffy flames in.
"I don't know if this is the right place." Paige says.
"Shh, listen." Leo says.
They hear and see rats crawling all over the place.
"Rats." Buffy says.
Leo nods, "Lots of them. Time to go."
"No." Paige says.
"Paige, I really think that we should..." Leo says.
Paige shakes her head, "No, Leo, they've got Glen. Listen up, we know what you're doing and we're prepared to tell everyone. And just so you know killing me won't help. My sisters will take you down. Maybe you've heard of us. The Charmed Ones. Now who am I talking to?"
The rats turn into demons and surround Buffy, Paige and Leo. One steps forward. "We're listening."
At the magic club the rat demon appears in front of them. "The tape."
"Where's our friend, mouse man?" Piper asks.
"After I get the tape." Rat demon says.
"No, before." Phoebe says.
"I can take it from you." Rat demon says.
"You could try." Piper says.
The curtain opens and Glen is standing there with the ring around his neck.
"Just so you know, if anything happens to me, anything at all, the ring will decapitate him." Rat demon says.
"That's new." Piper says.
"So much for a quick getaway." Phoebe says as she hands him the tape.
"Are there any copies?" Rat demon asks.
"No." Phoebe says.
"Now let him go." Piper says as the rat demon tightens the ring. "Hey, what are you doing?"
"I'm a rat. What did you expect?" Rat demon says.
Piper goes to blow him up.
"Don't, it might chop off Glen's head." Phoebe says.
"Well, what am I supposed to do?" Piper asks.
"Enjoy the show." Rat demon says.
Suddenly, the rat demon is engulfed in flames and disappears.
"Did you just do that?" Phoebe asks.
Three rat demons appear, Paige and Leo orbs in, and Buffy flames in. Paige races over to Glen.
One of the rat demons picks up the tape. "Only copy?"
"Yes." Leo says.
"How do we know?" Rat demon #2 says.
"What do you mean how do you know? You've just gotta trust us. We're the good guys for crying out loud." Piper says.
The rat demon releases the ring around Glen's neck. "Guess we'll call this one a draw."
The rat demons disappear.
Back at the manor Leo is fixing the front door. Piper is standing there watching.
"Almost done." Leo says.
"This is taking too long. Can't you just use a little magic?" Piper says.
"Don't you think we've used enough magic lately? Besides, I like working with my hands." Leo says as he goes over to her.
"Yeah, I kinda like a guy in a tool belt." Piper says as they kiss. Paige and Glen walk in. Paige clears her throat. "Oh, leaving so soon?"
Paige nods, "Yeah, Glen's gonna go stay with a friend of his across the Bay."
"Huh, I can't imagine why he wouldn't wanna hang around here." Piper says.
"Yeah, well, I like adventure, just not that much adventure." Glen says.
"So you're gonna stick around a while?" Leo asks.
"Yeah, keep an eye on noogie here." Glen says.
"Noogie?" Piper asks, curious.
"Glen, I think it's time for you to go." Paige says and they laugh and head for the door.
"Thank you for saving my life." Glen says as Piper shakes his hand.
"I reversed the spell." Paige says.
"Just checking." Piper says as she releases Glen.
"Goodbye." Glen says as he kisses Paige.
"Bye, you." Paige says and he leaves. "Okay, do you want it now or should I email it to you?"
"What?" Piper asks.
"My apology. You were right. Keeping our secret is the most important thing, I should've listened to you. Do you want more? Should I keep grovelling?" Paige says.
"As fun as that would be. I'm sorry too, I can be a little harsh, but it's part of my charm, you'll learn to love me for it." Piper says. "Just ask Buffy."
Buffy and Phoebe walks in through the front door.
"Just ask me what?" Buffy asks.
"Wow, we actually have a door, imagine that." Phoebe says.
"That I can be a little harsh." Piper says.
Buffy nods, "Sometimes. I think it comes with being the oldest. Prue was too. But you know what I still love you."
Piper smiles.
"So how's the jury?" Paige asks.
"Fine. We knocked on Tanya's door and she thought we were the Avon lady. So good job, Leo." Phoebe says.
"Uh, thanks, but I don't wanna think about it, ever." Leo says.
"Can ever wait for a minute or so?" Paige asks.
"Uh-oh." Leo says.
"I'm thinking maybe we should use some of that dust on Glen. I don't want you guys to have to be nervous." Paige says.
"Well, do you think he's gonna tell anybody?" Piper says.
"No." Paige says.
"And you trust him completely?" Phoebe asks.
Paige nods, "Yes."
"Then so do we." Piper says.
"Thank god." Leo says.
"And whether we think it's smart or not, at least you have one person outside the family that you can talk to." Phoebe says.
"Yeah, let's keep it to one."
"Hey," Paige says. "Why do I have to keep it to one when Buffy has as many as she does who knows."
Buffy smiles, "Actually I told no one. Xander overheard Giles and I talking, that's how he found out about my being the Slayer. As you know Giles was my Watcher, that's how he knows. Willow saw me use my power and told Giles, and later when she came into her powers I started teaching her. Oz was hurt while the Order of Taraka was trying to kill me. He was bound to ask questions and it was decided it might be a good idea for him to know. Willow told him. Cordelia helped us out for a while and she just put two and two together. So she was eventually let in on it. Faith knows cause she's the other Slayer. That's why so many know about me. But they have kept the secret. "
"What about your award?" Paige asks about the umbrella award Buffy had received at prom.
Piper smiles, "Well her graduating class suspected of course. But none of them knew how she did some of the things she did. And none of them have told anyone."