Summary: Phoebe has a premonition of The Battle of the Black Thorn. Will they help everyone, or will they stay home and let it happen? Read to find out.
San Fransisco, Haliwell Manor, 5:30 p.m.
The Haliwell sisters and Cole Turner were in the kitchen. Piper was at the table with Pru. Both had a cup of tea they were finishing off. Phoebe and Cole were by the counter kissing and holding hands. Leo had gone again to do some Whitelighter job. Whatever it was.
The couple looked at each other.
"So, it this the part where you go home?" Phoebes asked.
"If you want me to. I can stay longer if you wish."
"I'd love that."
Pru and Piper set their cups down, pretending to ignore them.
Suddenly, Phoebe gasped and images came to her. Pru and Piper heard her, which meant she was having a premonition. They got up and went to her.
Phoebe gasped and looked at them, when it ended.
"What did you see?" Pru asked.
"A fight. We have to go to LA."
"What kind of fight?" Piper asked.
"There were people fighting against a lot of demon-y things. They knew what they were doing. It was like they've been doing it for a while now."
"They may not all be normal people," Cole said.
They looked at him.
"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked her boyfriend.
"Do you know something about this?" Pru asked.
"There's a rumor that something is going to go down in LA and Sunnydale. There's a Slayer in Sunnydale. It's her job to kill demons and other evil things. It's also her job to protect people. She'll figure out that I'm a demon and then, well, you get the picture."
"But LA doesn't have one?" Pru asked.
"Exactly. It doesn't have one, but there is a vampire there with a cursed soul named Angel there. He fights for the people of the cits and his redemption. He's good."
"So, are we going or not?" Piper asked.
"We're going," Phoebe said.
So they all got into the SUV and Piper drove.
LA, Hyperion Hotel, 9:20 p.m.
"So, you expect to win this war?" Gunn asked.
"One that you've created?" Wesley asked.
"I didn't create a war. They started it," Angel replied to his friends.
"We can at least try," Fred implied.
"You have to trust me," Angel responded.
"How can we?" Gunn asked.
"You have to earn it," Wesley said.
"I do. I trust you," Harmony assured Angel.
"Good. Anybody else?" Angel said.
Just then, a very familiar scent wafted over the vampires.
"I'll go," Harmony replied, leaving the Hyperion.
Harmony followed her scent to find her BFF. It didn't take long at all. She saw her walking towards the Hyperion in the cold weather, arms around herself, mud all over her, with nothing but blue jeans and a red tank top on that they had buried her in. She looked a little lost and confused.
"Cordelia?"
She stopped and let her catch up.
"Harmony."
"You're alive. How? Why? Not that i'm not glad to see you or anything. I am."
"The PTB."
"Let's get you to the Hyperion and cleaned up. We have a war to win. Come on."
"Two, actually. One here. One in Sunnydale."
"Something's going down?"
"Yeah. The First Evil."
"What is that exactly?:"
"Pure evil. It's the essence of evil. It's the first ever evil. It's like a ghost, though. You can't see it unless it shows itself to you. When it does, it'll look like someone that has died. Nobody knows its true form. It wants to kill off the Slayer line. One by one. First the Potentials. Then Buffy. Then Faith. I was watching everything while I was, um, gone. Oh. And we're gonna be having some help come our way. Three witches and a good demon. I don't know them, but they're good."
Sunnydale, CA, Summers Residence, 9:45 p.m.
"We have to find a way. There had to be a way to defeat it," Buffy said.
"We can try research again," Willow suggested.
"It's not going to be any different. Face it. For once, we're doomed," Anya said.
"We're not doomed," Xander assured his ex.
Suddenly, the phone rang.
"I'll get it, " Dawn said.
"Hello?" Dawn answered.
She held it out after a few minutes and looked at Xander.
"Someone that I'm not supposed to say wants to talk to you. It's LA."
Xander got up from the couch and took the phone from her.
"Xander," he answered, as Dawn sat back down.
"Hey, it's me. Have you guys found anything out yet?"
"I thought you were dead."
"I was. The PTB brought me back to life."
"No snarky comment? I'm surprised."
"The snarkiness died when I became a Seer. Now can you answer the question?"
"Sure thing. We haven't found anything yet. We need to locate Caleb and defeat the First."
"Don't concentrate on The First. It can't be defeated. As long as there's evil in the world, it won't and can't be killed. Just don't get yourself killed, Xan. Please. I'm begging. I don't want you guys to die. I'll be there as soon as I can. But we have our own war here to fight first."
"Wait. You're coming here?"
"Yeah. Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Fred, Harmony, Darla with a soul, me, and a few witches. Cole is afraid to come over there what with a Slayer living there. It'll probably just be the witches. Cole is a good demon. Anyways, we're coming over to help after we defeat the Circle of the Black Thorn."
"Glad to have you back on board. Tell me. Are they taken?"
"Xan, don't think about it."
"Why? Jealous?"
"No. One can freeze you and the other can throw you across the room."
"Oh. Those kind."
"Yeah. They're called the Charmed Ones."
"Nice. So I'll see you in a while?"
"Yeah. You will. Probably early or late tomorrow. Be prepared."
"We will."
He hung up.
He grinned at his friends.
"Cordy's back. She's coming home."
"When?" Buffy asked.
"She's thinking early or late tomorrow. They're all coming with her. Including the Charmed Ones."
"Interesting," Buffy commented.
"Five by five," Faith implied.
LA, Hyperion Hotel, 10:00 p.m.
The witches and demon got out of the SUV and walked up to the Hyperion Hotel from across the street.
"What are we going to say?" Pru asked, as they walked.
"We just tell them everything," Phoebe told them.
"Are you sure about all of this?" Piper asked.
"I'm sure," Phoebe replied.
They entered the Hyperion.
Cordelia Chase stood up from her desk.
"About time. I knew you'd show up, though. I'm Cordelia Chase. Human. You three are the Charmed Ones and the guy is Cole. A good demon."
The Charmed Ones looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"Sorry about the confusion. I"m not very good at starting at the beginning. I was a Seer. That means I had visions. I died from them six months ago, but the Powers brought me back tonight. We have a lot to go through. You can sit on the couch if you want. Standing is okay, too."
The girls sat.
Cole stood by the couch.
Cordelia looked at Fred.
"Fred. Start the introductions."
She obeyed, introducing herself. Gunn, Wesley, Harmony, and Angel went next. All in that order.
The former Seer looked at their company. "It's your turn to introduce yourselves. All I know is what you are. They other know nothing."
"I guess I'll go first. As Cordelia said, we're the Charmed Ones. We were born Charmed. It's our destiny to kill the demons and protect innocents. I'm Pru. I have the power to move things with my mind and hands. I was the first one to be born."
"I'm Piper. I have the power to freeze and blow things up. I was the second one born. I"m married to a Whitelighter named Leo. He can heal people."
"I'm Phoebe. I'm the last one to be born. I can levitate. Cole here is my boyfriend."
"I'm Cole. I'm a good demon."
"Now that we've all been introduced to each other, let's get cracking. We have two wars to win. Here in LA and in Sunnydale," The former Seer announced.
LA, Alley, 10:25 p.m
Everyone stood in the alley and waited, as creatures came towards them. Some flying.
"I don't know about you, but I personally wanna slay the dragon," Angel announced, as he stared at it.
As the Charmed Ones, Cole, Darla, and his friends fought on the ground with the grounded demons and vampires, Angel leapt onto the flying dragon and used his sword to stab it right through its heart.
It wasn't long until the fight was over. All creatures were dead, but with a price. Wes, Fred, Connor, and Gunn had died. Angel and Cordy were okay, as were the sisters and Cole. Harmony and Darla had been injured.
"Angel, you help Harm. I'll help Darla. We're going to Sunnydale," Cordy said.
"I'll see you girls around," Cole said to the sisters. "Nice to meet you guys," he said to the others. Cole and Phoebes kissed before he shimmered away.
Sunnydale, Summers' Residence, 11:30 p.m.
They were all about to head off to bed, when there was a knock on the door. Xander opened the door and stepped to the side to let them in.
"Invitation much?" Cordy said.
"Oh. Right. I guess you two are invited in too."
Willow, Anya, and Andrew got up from the couch, seeing a few injured vamps.
"Angel, take Harm to the couch. I'll get Darla to the recliner."
He strode over and gently layed a weak and injured Harmony Kendall on the couch.
As the brunette got the kit out and the gauze out of it, Darla looked at her through the pain. She applied pressure to Darla's stomach wound with gauze. Darla hissed in pain.
"You did good. Great, actually. I'm proud of you. You're doing some good."
"It doesn't matter."
"Darla..."
"No, Cordy. Please. It's not right. I'm alive but my only child is dead. Tell me how fair that is."
"You're right. It's not fair. But guess what? Life isn't fair. I never had a perfect life like everyone thought."
"But i'm not human. You are. I"m a vampire. My life is supposed to be fair. It's not supposed to be like this. Angel won't even go near me. He can't stand it. He doesn't want me. I understand that. But can't he help me? I'm hurting and he hasn't done a thing to ease it. You're the only one that cares. Why is that?"
She finished with Darla's wound and took her hands in hers, looking at her.
"Because I understand what it's like. I was used as a vessel for Jasmine. I almost died. I lost my own daughter. I didn't get to grieve for her death, though. I knew Connor had to kill her to save mankind. Nobody knows what it's like to lose a kid of your own. But for your own daughter or son to be born to you evil...it's more to bear than anything else. A person can't imagine the loss of their child until it happens to them. Believe me Darla. I may not share your same exact pain of losing him, but I loved him as if he was my own son. I raised him with Angel. I helped. I was his mother when you were gone. I can't count how many times that I comforted him when had had a bad dream. I was there for him every step of the way. I pushed aside my own pain to help him when he needed me, or when he got hurt. I was there when Angel wasn't. While everyone else was busy, I was right there. I changed his diapers. I stayed with him when he couldn't sleep. I sang him lullabies. I even told him what his real mother did for him. You weren't there for him like I was, but you did something that no other pregnant vampiress could or would ever do. You killed yourself with my stake to save his life. You knew what would happen once he was born. You knew you wouldn't have your soul once he was taken out of you. You were the greatest mother he could have had. You were in so much pain, but you still held onto hope. And the best thing ever was that he knew you before he died. I promise you that he's being taken care of. Whether he be with the PTB or in heaven. I have faith in that."
"And you took care of me against your own instincts that told you not to."
"Yeah. I did."
She let go and smiled at her.
"Now rest. You need to keep up your strength. It's important. Tell me if you get hungry. I have a few bags for you guys."
She picked her kit up and walked over to her bestie. Angel was standing there looking at the weak vampiress.
"You hungry brood boy?"
She opened her kit up and waved a blood baggie in front of him.
He took it from her.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Go eat in the kitchen. Some people aren't used to it."
He left for the kitchen.
Xander followed the sisters into the living room.
"How can you do that?"
"Do what, Xan?"
"The blood. How can you give it to them so casually. You used to give a face when you saw it."
"That was high school. We're all grown up now."
She sat by her friend.
"Hold on for me, okay Harm? I know you're weak. I"m gonna take care of your and then you can have some blood. As much as you need."
And that's exactly what she did.
"Thanks," she said to the brunette after she was done.
"You're welcome."
Cor went into the kitchen to throw the empty bag away.
When she came back, the sisters were seated on the coffee table.
"Now that we're all taken care of let's get started."
She paced back and forth in front of the coffee table as everyone watched her.
"I assume they've told you everything. What we need to do is is grab the scythe from the vineyard. It's a powerful weapon. We can use it to kill Caleb. He'll most likely come following us. He won't want us to get a hold of it. He'll fight for it, but we have vampires, Slayers, and four witches on our side. We have all the power that evil doesn't have right now. The First can't be killed, but his followers can. Like Caleb. There's something else. We need to go down to the storm sewers. Here's the plan. Anya and Andrew. Stay here and tend to Harm. Buffy, Faith, Angel, Willow, Phoebe, and Spike. You guys go to the vineyard. Darla, Dawn, Xander, Pru, and Piper. You guys are with me. We're gonna go to the storm sewers to kick some ancient vampire asses. Let's go."
She looked at Buffy.
"We'll take very good care of her. We won't let anything happen to her. I promise."
Sunnydale, Storm Sewers, midnight
It was dark in the sewers, as the Drama Queen's team fought the vampire things. It wasn't hard with two witches and a vampire on their side.
It wasn't long until the creatures were killed.
Sunnydale, Vineyard, around the same time
Buffy and her team fought against Caleb, which wasn't much of a match. Caleb was split in two by the scythe by Buffy within minutes.
Sunnydale, Next Night, Cave, 9:40 p.m.
It was a dark night, as the battle between the ancient creatures roared on. Buffy and Faith kept sharing the scythe, tossing it back and forth to whomever needed it the most. They were working together again.
Pru, Piper, and Phoebe were doing great. They were working together as usual. Pru did the throwing, Phoebe did the kicking, and Piper did the blowing up.
Angel and Harmony fought side by side, while Darla and Dawn fought likewise.
Cordy and Xander fought side by side, while Andrew and Anya did the same.
While her friend were fighting, Willow was using the power from the scythe to make all girls in the world like a Slayer. From now on, every girl would be bale to literally kick ass. Minus the healing, of course.
Suddenly, it all started collapsing.
"It's collapsing! Everyone get out!" Faith yelled.
Buffy touched her hand with Spike's. Their fingers met. He smiled at her before bursting into flames and then dust.
"Buffy, come on!" Faith yell from the stairs.
Buffy ran after Faith, as the others followed in pursuit, ignoring her weakness from her gut wound.
Xander stood in the midst of it all. He only had one eye left, so he couldn't see very well like he used to.
"Anya! Anya!" he yelled out to his second ex. "Cordy!" he yelled out to his first ex.
"To your left!" Cordy was able to yell out through her pain.
He ran towards and knelt by them.
"Get her out of here. I'll try and follow."
"No. Stay here. I'll come back for you," he replied.
He quickly rushed through the cave towards the bus.
"Deadboy, take her. I gotta get Cordy outta there," he said urgently.
Angel did.
Xander ran full speed towards his Secret Eyes and knelt beside her. He gently picked her up and walked quickly out with her.
"Let's go."
As Darla drove the bus at top speed, everyone crowded around Anya, Cor, and Buffy.
"Should we get Leo?" Piper asked.
"Go for it," Willow replied, not wanting to lose anyone.
"Leo!" Piper called.
A moment later, he orbed in.
"Heal them," Angel told him, knelt on the floor with Buffy in his arms. She was his whole world.
Leo knelt down and put his hand over Buffy's gut wound from being hurt earlier in the fight.
Buffy came to when the healing was finished.
Leo knelt down beside Anya next. He put a hand over her stab wound.
As Anya was slowly healed, Xander was on his knees with his Secret Eyes in his arms, praying that she would be okay.
Once she was healed, Leo went to the May Queen. He placed a hand over her stomach wound.
It wasn't long before she was healed. They had him to go home and he orbed out.
So everybody lived happily ever after as they could, and Cor and Xan got back together again, as did Buffy and Angel.
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