Chapter 48: Rewitched Part 2
Halliwell Manor
Dex paced the foyer waiting for Phoebe. Behind him the front door opened and Piper walked in closing the door behind her.
"Hi!" she said.
"Hi," he answered.
Piper smiled. "Dex, right?"
Dex nodded. "Right."
"I'm Julie. Jenny. Julie's cousin," Piper said introducing herself. "Uh ... where's the lucky bride?"
Dex turned and looked upstairs where they could hear Phoebe's muffled voice.
"Excuse me," Piper said as she headed for the stairs.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Piper stormed into the attic. "Are you out of your mind? What did you do now?" she yelled.
"Do I have to start from the beginning again?" Billie griped.
"I can't believe you did this, with Agent Murphy watching our every move!"
"Skip down. I already went through that with her." Phoebe said.
"I still don't know what I did was so bad." Billie said.
"This…." Phoebe held up the ring on her left finger. "This is what's bad!"
"How do you know?" Billie asked. "How do you know it wasn't supposed to happen exactly like this? She foresaw it, right? She knew it was going to happen."
"That is completely beside the point!" Piper said.
"I don't think so," Billie objected.
"Well, I do, and I'm older, so what I think counts more," Piper said in a voice she generally saved for her children.
"Uh…. maybe she's right," Phoebe said. "I mean, maybe this is how it was supposed to happen. How else would you explain Dex and I getting married so quickly?"
"I'm confused. Are we mad at her or not?" Piper asked.
"We're not," Phoebe answered.
"Oh! Yes! Good. Now can I go back to looking for the Imp Demon?" Billie asked.
"No!" Phoebe and Piper said.
"No? What about the next innocent?" Billie wondered. "What we have learned about this specific demon is if we don't get him, he's going to keep going after these people!"
"Billie, if we get exposed, we may never be able to help an innocent again," Phoebe said. "Do you understand that?"
"Yeah, but don't…."
"Billie, she's right," Piper said. "You gotta pick your battles, and right now, this is not one of them."
P3
The office door opened as Paige and Buffy, in a lip-lock, stumble into the room. Buffy reached behind her and slammed the door shut as Paige giggled. Buffy then reached toward the desk clearing part of the desk behind Paige, she then proceeded to lift her girlfriend up on the desk as they started kissing again.
"Buffy," Paige said as she took a breath.
"What?" Buffy asked as she looked her girlfriend in the eyes.
"Nothing," Paige said as she grabbed Buffy and started kissing her again.
"You know, Paige, you are the most beautiful woman in the world," Buffy said seconds before Paige broke the kiss again. "What's the matter?"
Paige let out a resigned sigh. "This," she said. "It's not that we're in love or anything like that. It's…" she waved her hand at herself to indicate her alias. "I can't do it anymore, Buffy. I love you; you know I do. That's not the problem. Even though it would mean going back to sneaking around. I want what we had back before Piper, Phoebe and I faked ours and Leo's deaths. I want to be able to take you out someplace and everyone see that you are with me and not her."
"Are you sure about this, Paige," Buffy asked as Paige nodded. "Then I stand beside you. The question is how do you go back? We know you can reverse the spell that part is easy. But it's the rest. I could be mistaken but I think its illegal to fake your own death."
"I know," Paige sighed.
Halliwell Manor
Billie knocked insistently on Phoebe's bedroom door. "Phoebe! Are you in there? Phoebe, Phoebe," she called out.
The door opened a crack, wide enough for Phoebe to stick her head out. "What?" she asked.
"I think I found out who the Imp Master is working for," Billie explained.
"Shh!" Phoebe said as she glanced behind her into her bedroom before stepping into the hall and closing the door behind her.
"No, no, you don't understand," Billie explained. "I cross-referenced all the demons that go after Good Samaritans and then the ones that typically recruit others—came up with a high level demon."
"Billie—"
"Then I narrowed it down to one demon," Billie continued. "His name is Antosis, but unfortunately, we need the power of three to vanquish him. So, I have a plan."
"Forget it," Phoebe ordered.
Billie frowned as she looked at the middle sister. "What do you mean, forget it?"
"I mean forget it. We are not doing this," Phoebe said angrily.
Billie sighed. "But that was before I found the demon!"
"A Power of Three demon," Phoebe said shaking her head.
"So?"
"So, we can't take that risk!" Phoebe said.
"But what about the greater good and everything you taught me, what you guys were about?" Billie questioned.
"Okay, Billie, you have to understand this is hard for us also," Phoebe explained. "We're not doing this, and we'll talk more about it in the morning, okay?"
"No. It's not okay," Billie said as she turned and walked away.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Later Phoebe sat on the floor, staring at the fire in the fireplace as she thought about everything that had happened.
It was at that moment that Buffy orbed in with Paige. "Hey," they said.
"Hey," Phoebe echoed.
"What are you doing?" Paige wondered.
"Oh, just sitting here thinking," Phoebe said.
"Yeah?" Paige said. "Mind if we join you?"
"No, of course not," Phoebe said as she took out two pillows and placed them next to her before patting them invitingly. "Pull up a pillow," she said as Paige and Buffy sat down. She noticed that Paige looked a little down. "What's the matter?"
"Oh, it's just been a very interesting day," Paige said as she looked at Buffy.
Phoebe sighed. "Tell me about it."
"What?" Paige and Buffy asked.
"I take it Dex didn't like not being able to go away?" Paige said as she looked at her sister.
Phoebe sighed and shook her head. "Boy, are you both behind in the news."
"Like Paige said …" Buffy told Phoebe who nodded.
Phoebe raised her hand to show off the diamond ring on her finger.
"Oh, my gosh," Paige said shocked. "He asked you to marry him?"
Phoebe sighed. "No," she answered. "We're actually already married."
"Huh?" Buffy said clearly confused. She looked at Paige and saw a similar reaction.
"It's not what you two thinks," Phoebe said having seen Paige and Buffy's reactions. "Billie cast a spell."
"She did what?" Buffy said shocked.
"I know, I know, and we already yelled at her," Phoebe explained. "Besides ... I actually don't think she did anything wrong. In fact, I think, she and you Buffy are the only ones doing anything right around here."
"Am I the only one that is confused?" Buffy asked looking at Paige who shook her head.
"You ever wonder that ... maybe we made a mistake faking our own death?" Phoebe asked looking at her sister.
"Funny you should ask," Paige said as she looked at Buffy. "I've been thinking about it all day." She looked back at her sister. "I'm tired, Phoebe. Tired of everyone seeing Buffy with someone else. Even though we know she's with me. I'm kind of jealous of my alias. I would rather everyone see Buffy with the real me. Then there is the pledge I made, Phoebe. Remember when Buffy put back the Sorrows? I'm technically unable to do that anymore because of …" she left the sentence unfinished but Phoebe didn't need her sister to finish, for it was the same way with her.
"I know what you mean," Phoebe agreed. "It's not just about guys, or in your case girls. It's everything. It's about who we used to be, the whole greater good thing."
"Right." Paige agreed.
"And I'm just worried that the more we ignore it, the more we're just not going to be able to," Phoebe said.
"So, what are we going to do?" Buffy asked.
"I don't know. But thanks to Billie, we're going to have to come up with a plan pretty soon." Phoebe answered.
Paige blinked in confusion as she looked at her sister. "I—I'm sorry. What do you mean, 'thanks to Billie'?" she asked.
Phoebe sighed. "She made me feel pretty guilty about not helping her with this demon. And she was right."
"Then let's go help her," Buffy said as she stood and held out her hands. "Where is she?"
"I don't know." Phoebe answered. "She stormed out of here. Maybe she went to her dorm."
Paige and Buffy looked at each other, they knew exactly where Billie had gone, after the demon.
P3
Agent Murphy tossed several photos of recent victims on Piper's desk. The victims were cut-up, beaten, and dead. "Uh…. I'd really like to help you, Agent Murphy, but I have an interview," Piper said.
"You know, if I showed these photos to most people, more than likely they'd be shocked or repulsed. But not you," he said.
"I internalize a lot," Piper admitted.
"Or you're more used to seeing these kinds of victims than you're letting on," he said looking at Piper gauging her reaction.
"Agent Murphy, I'm Buffy's manager while the club is held in trust till for her, she turns twenty-one," she explained. "That's all."
"So, you run it just like Piper used to, right?" he asked.
"That's what Buffy and Uncle Victor wanted," Piper answered.
"You know, I've been watching you ever since she and her sisters disappeared."
"Don't you mean since they 'died'?" Piper asked.
"You tell me. Look…. I'm not the hard-ass Agent Keyes was, all right? He left me behind because he didn't believe the Halliwells were really dead. Even though we both think you know exactly what really happened, the difference is, I don't want to bust you or them. I just want help. I need it. For the past month, people have been showing up dead for reasons no one can really explain, but I think you, Buffy and your cousins know exactly who or what is responsible."
"By 'what' you mean…." Piper started.
"You know exactly what I mean," he answered. "Things beyond normal. Powerful things like yourself. Of course, like everything else, there are good things and bad things. But if you're not doing anything to stop this, then…. as far as I'm concerned, you're on the wrong side. And I don't know how you can live with yourselves."
Piper looked down at the text message. It said 911- CALL HOME. BILLIE IN TROUBLE.
Streets of San Francisco
Billie helped a man out of the alley as she hailed a taxi. "Taxi! Taxi," she called out as a taxi pulled up to the curb. She put them man in the back seat. She pulled out some cash and handed it to the driver. "Here. Get him to a hospital fast, okay? Hurry up. Go."
Billie watched as the taxi drove off. Then she sighed and headed back into the alley.
Off to the side, the Imp Master stepped out from the shadows as Antosis shimmered in behind him. They both watch as Billie ran into the alley.
"One is better than none. But it's only a matter of time before the flame attracts both moths," Antosis said as he and the Imp Master took off after Billie.
Halliwell Manor
The crystal swirled around over the map as Paige and Buffy scryed the old-fashioned way for Billie. "Any sign of Billie?" Piper asked as she joined her sister and Buffy. She noticed that Buffy's hands were cupped over Paige's.
"Well, just that she's in the area," Buffy said.
"What do you mean, she's 'in the area'?" Piper asked.
"She's moving around so much, that even with Buffy's help, we're having a hard time getting a lock on her," Paige said. "You know, we should upgrade to her GPS scrying system."
Phoebe was standing over the open Book of Shadows with a pad and pen in her hand. "Well, if she survives this, we'll ask her how. At least we know what we're up against. She left the Book open to the demon. Problem is, only the Power of Three spell is going to vanquish him."
"I don't understand why she would go up against a demon she can't vanquish," Buffy said.
"Well, I'll make sure to ask her that if she's still alive. I can't believe we're doing this again," Phoebe said.
"Agent Murphy thinks all of us never should have stopped," Piper reluctantly admitted.
"Wait. Does he know who we really are?" Phoebe asked.
"No, but he's getting warmer," Piper said.
The crystal hit the map just as the downstairs door slammed shut. "Guess who."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Piper, who was closest to the door, rushed out. The others followed closely behind. She saw Billie walking through the foyer when Antosis shimmered into the house behind her. "Looking for me, are you?" he asked.
"Antosis. I'm flattered," Billie said.
"And of course, you've already met my friend," he said as the Imp Master appeared next to him. "Or rather, his friends."
"What do you want?" Billie asked.
"I wanted you and the Slayer alone. And out of my way. But I will settle with just you for now." Antosis headed over to her as the Imp Master lurched and the Imps appeared out of his body, red and swirling around him. He smiled as he walked toward her. Buffy, Piper, Paige and Phoebe hid away from view on the stairs. Piper started to motion to blast Antosis, but Phoebe stopped her.
"No! Wait."
"Are you kidding me? There's demons in the house," Piper whispered back.
"But she said she has a plan," Phoebe explained.
"I am curious," Antosis said. "What made you think you could take me out all by yourself?"
"Oh…. I know I can't take you out." She held up a potion vial filled with red liquid. "But I can take them out." She threw the bottle at the Imp Master. It smashed at his feet and started to destroy the Imps. He convulsed and screamed with each tiny explosion. Finally, he exploded as well. "Only the Charmed Ones can vanquish you."
"Too bad they're dead."
"Are they?" Buffy said causing him to turn around. She smirked as she led her mother, her girlfriend and Phoebe down the stairs.
"Hear us now, the witches' call, he who makes Samaritans fall, we speak as one, the sisters three, and banish you to eternity," Piper, Phoebe and Paige chanted. A powerful wave surrounded Antosis and swirled around him. He started screaming and finally exploded, the power receding back into the floor.
"I want to learn how to do that!" Billie said.
"Are you crazy?" Piper asked. "Really, you could have been killed."
"Well, yeah, I would have been if you guys would have gotten home earlier," Billie said. "I've been walking around outside for like an hour!"
"You took a huge risk," Paige said.
"For all of us," Piper said.
"Thank you," Phoebe said.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
The next morning Phoebe sat on the edge of her bed and looked at her wedding ring. She turned and looked at her mirror. In the reflection, she saw a face - not her own.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy and Paige stood side by side brushing their teeth. Paige turned closed the cabinet door, seeing a reflection of a face - not her own.
"Still wanting to go back?" Buffy asked as she rested her head on Paige's shoulder.
Paige glanced at Buffy and nodded. "Yes. I want people to see us, not them," she said motioning toward the mirror.
"Then we need to persuade mom and Phoebe to reverse the spell and then find a way for you to resume your old life without consequences," Buffy said.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Piper sat in front of the vanity mirror looking at her reflection. Leo came up behind her and smiled. In the mirror, they saw reflections of two other people. Piper looked up at Leo, reached up and touched his face.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy sat next to Paige, who like Phoebe, was toying listlessly with her breakfast.
"Morning," Leo said as he and Piper joined them.
"Morning," Phoebe, Paige and Buffy echoed.
"What's the matter?" Piper asked looking at her sisters and her daughter.
"Paige and I want things to go back to the way they were," Buffy said.
"Basically, I don't think this whole thing is working for any of us anymore," Paige explained. "Not just me and Buffy."
Phoebe sighed. "I don't think it ever worked."
"Well, it helped you find a new life outside of fighting demons," Leo offered.
"Which is something we need to keep trying to do," Piper said.
"Well, we've got Billie, so that's gonna make it easier," Paige said. "And Buffy and Dawn."
"Yeah, but it doesn't solve our bigger problem which is how we're going to get out of this mess," Phoebe said. "I'm with Paige…"
Piper looked at her baby sister.
"I'm tired of pretending to be someone else," Paige admitted. "I'm tired of my girlfriend not being with … with the real me."
"I too am tired of pretending to be someone else," added Phoebe.
"Well, maybe that's what your premonition was for," Buffy suggested. "Maybe you wouldn't have realized that if you hadn't married Dex."
"Yeah, but I didn't marry Dex. Julie married Dex."
"That's my point, Phoebe," Buffy said. "In fact, that is everyone's point. You all want your old identities back. For me it doesn't matter as much because I see you. It is the same with Dawn and Mama Joyce. But for you…"
"Are we sure we really want to do this?" Piper asked.
"Positive," Paige said.
"Absolutely," Phoebe agreed.
They looked at Leo and he nodded. "All right then," Piper said. "Are you sure you can rework the spell?"
"Oh, I already have," Phoebe said as they moved in front of a mirror. She pulled out a piece of paper. "I call upon the ancient powers to unmask us now and in future hours show us well, and thoroughly reveal ourselves so the world can see." The mirror flashed and their old images were back.
"Whoo. That's more like it," Paige said as she turned and pulled Buffy into her arms as she kissed her girlfriend passionately.
"It's good to be back. Although Dex is gonna freak out," Phoebe said.
"Everyone's going to freak out, because technically, we're still dead." Paige said. "How, exactly, are we going to explain this?"
"Actually, I've got an idea on that one." Buffy said as she smiled. "Dad you just chill here. Mom, Phoebe, and Paige, you guys need to get dressed. I'm going to make a call."
Homeland Security
The elevator doors opened and Buffy stepped out into the hallway with Piper, Phoebe, and Paige right behind her. They walked over to the receptionist who saw them and stood up, her face full of surprise. "Hi." Buffy said brightly. "How's it going? We have an appointment with Agent Murphy."
"Who... who should I say is asking?"
"Tell him Buffy Summers-Wyatt is here with three…" Buffy started. "You know what. We'll just surprise him." She opened the door and she walked in. Agent Murphy looked up from his work and stopped as he saw Piper, Phoebe, and Paige walk into his office behind Buffy.
"What the hell?" he cried.
"What's the matter, Agent Murphy? You look like you just saw a ghost," Buffy said.
"Keyes was right."
"So were you," Piper said. "Did you mean it when you said you just wanted our help, that you weren't here to bust us?"
"How…."
"Because you weren't talking to Jenny Bennet," Piper explained. "You were talking to me."
"We were all magically disguised," Paige added.
"Come on. Don't look so surprised." Piper said. "You yourself said we were these powerful things."
"Powerful witches, to be exact," Phoebe said. "And a Slayer slash witch."
"Who did exactly what you wanted," Paige said. "Getting rid of that bad, bad demon who was hurting those good, Good Samaritans."
"Demons?" Murphy asked.
Paige looked at her girlfriend. "You know, he seems awfully shocked for a guy that claims to know about the supernatural."
"You're right. Maybe we should go," Buffy said. They turned to leave.
"Wait, no, no, don't. Please. Look, it's just…. it's one thing to believe in the stuff but another to actually…. see it."
"Fair enough," Paige said.
"Ok, here's the deal," Piper said. "You want to know more about who we are and what we do, we'll tell you."
"And help you out with a few cases along the way," Phoebe said. "If you help us."
"And you don't get too greedy," Buffy said.
"And if you protect our secret," Paige said.
"Or else what?" Murphy asked. "What, is that some sort of threat?"
"You don't want to know," Phoebe said.
"Ok. What do you want me to do?"
They laid everything out for him and he agreed to all of it. When Buffy, Piper and Phoebe had finally walked out of the room that left Paige.
"There is one more thing I would like," Paige said. "I intend to ask my girlfriend's parents their permission of course and then I have to propose. If Buffy says yes, I want to marry her. So, it would help if we could have a judge ready to sign off on it."
"If you get their permission," he said. "I will see what I can do."
Halliwell Manor
Two days later Buffy had orbed back to Sunnydale and returned to the manor with Dawn, Joyce, Willow and Xander so they could all watch together the reveal that Piper, Phoebe and Paige were alive.
Agent Murphy was on the TV talking to a group from the media. "I can't talk about the specifics of the case the sisters are involved in, ok? All I can say is it involved a threat to national security and that our agency got involved to protect them. That's it."
The reporters started shouting their questions. "What kind of threat, sir? What kind of threat?"
"I already said they were a witness to a crime; an attempt was made on their lives. We only falsified their deaths in order to flush out the perpetrators."
"What about Piper Halliwell's step-daughter? A Buffy Summers?"
"Buffy Summers-Wyatt and Piper Halliwell's other step-daughter, Dawn Summers-Wyatt, volunteered to remain in the open to help us along with their biological mother to catch the perpetrators. All right? No more questions." Agent Murphy left and the newscaster came back on the screen. "And more late-breaking news…."
Buffy shut the TV off. "They're back."
"Are you sure they're ok with it?" Joyce asked.
"More than," Buffy said. "It's going to be hectic, but we'll all get through this."
"We?" Dawn asked.
"You too," Buffy said as she smiled at her sister. "Or did you not catch what Agent Murphy said?"
Dawn thought back over his speech and then her eyes went wide. "I kind of thought of Piper as a second mom, but…"
"Piper came to me a couple weeks ago, Dawn," said Joyce as Dawn turned to look at her. "At the time she officially could not adopt you because of being dead to the world and a distant cousin on Victor's side would have no claim to do so. But she asked for my permission to think of you as her daughter. And I consented. Now with their 'resurrection' I believe Piper wants to acknowledge that you are her daughter also."
"One of Piper's conditions was that on paper at least, there would be official record that showed what both Piper and mom agreed to in private," Buffy said. "We both now have two moms officially. Now Xander, Willow, mom. If you will excuse me and Dawn. We have to be at P3 for the big reveal."
Dawn looked at her sister as Buffy stood up and she smiled as she stood up as well and took Buffy's hand and they orbed out.
P3
Piper was looking at her reflection in the mirror in the office. "How do I look?" she asked.
"Not bad, considering you've been dead, mom," Dawn said, standing behind her.
"Do you know how wonderful it is to hear you call me that, Dawn?" Piper said as she turned and looked at her youngest daughter.
"About as wonderful as I like saying it?" Dawn suggested. "That said, I want to thank you. It is nice to know I have two wonderful women both of whom think of me as their daughter."
"Your welcome, sweetie," Piper said as she pulled Dawn into her arms.
"That said," Dawn said when Piper had released her. "I just hope all of that out there will blow over sooner rather than later."
"Don't count on it," Paige said as she and Buffy stepped into the doorway. "We're not that lucky. All right. We can do this. We are back and better than ever."
"I'll hold you to that," Buffy said as she leaned her head against her girlfriend's shoulder.
"Ready?" Piper asked.
"As I'll ever be?" Paige, Buffy and Dawn said simultaneously.
Buffy opened the door, she and Dawn allowed Paige and Piper to step out into the club ahead of them. One girl cried, "There they are!" And cameras started flashing and the crowd that had gathered began applauding them.
Buffy and Dawn moved to stand beside Paige and Piper. Buffy took Paige's hand in her own as Dawn took Piper's. The four of them nervously faced the crowds.
Paige glanced at her girlfriend and then shrugged. "We're back."
Author's Note: When it came to the marriage thing. I did some research before adding the discussion between Murphy and Paige. While most states have a minimum age that a minor can be married (12 to 17) with parents permission, California has no minimum age. So legally speaking with parents permission Buffy and Paige could get married when Buffy was say seventeen. All that said I thought in the beginning of just doing a promise/commitment ceremony that would say they promise to love each other and wait till Buffy turns eighteen before officially getting married. Problem there is stuff tied in to Season 8 story arc related to Paige being married. So that's why I decided I'm going to go ahead with them getting married. That said don't expect the wedding for awhile (around 20 chapters). It's one of a few things that are planned out but not written in yet though (this chapter I just uploaded is the last chapter currently done). I have the Dawn/Faith pairing actually planned out to start in BTVS season 4 when Faith wakes from her coma (I know with Paige replacing Angel that the reasons Buffy attacked Faith are no longer there, don't worry I have plans for that).