Author's note: This is it! I'm about to go out of town for a couple weeks, so I really tried to get this finished before then, and I'm actually happily surprised with how fast it all came together. I loved writing this, and definitely plan to write more Wayhaught fics. Let me know what you think of this one and what you might want to see from more stories in the future. I always appreciate creative ideas and feedback. Thanks for joining me on this crazy ride. Enjoy! :)

"Knock knock, your majesty," Wynonna said as she removed the wooden cover from the well.

Bobo growled as he emerged into the partial light. "What do you want, Earp?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Wynonna said. "Do you have some other pressing engagement we're interrupting?"

"Who's we-" Bobo paused when he saw who the heir had brought with her. "Well, well, well. Miss Waverly. I've been waiting a long time to see you again. To what do I owe this honor?"

"I need answers from you, Bobo." Waverly hesitated. "Bobby."

Bobo tilted his head. "Now that's a name I haven't been called in a very long time. In fact, there's only one person who did."

"Your sister," Waverly said. "Maggie."

"You remember," Bobo said with a grin.

"You've known this whole time?" Waverly asked.

"I never knew for sure, but I've been fairly positive for a long time now. I knew Maggie was destined to come back before Bulshar. Once he returned, I examined the population of the Ghost River Triangle much more carefully. Part of why I stepped up to lead my fellow revenants was so I could use them to find you. But why the hell were you born to the Earps?"

"I'm glad I was," Waverly said. "We were close to Wyatt, Bobby. It makes sense that I would come to his family."

"Baby girl," Wynonna said hesitantly. "Are you more Maggie or Waverly?" This was the first time the disconcerting thought occurred to her.

"She's Maggie," Bobo said. "My Maggie. She lived that life twice as long as she's lived this one."

"I can answer for myself, thank you very much," Waverly replied. "I may have been Maggie twice as long, but that was a long time ago. I remember a lot about that life, but this one is much more vivid and real to me. I'm Waverly Earp."

"Not an Earp," Bobo said.

"Regardless. You know what I mean." She turned to Wynonna. "I'm still your Waverly. I just have these memories of knowing what Wyatt was like and practicing magic and Bobby being a brat."

"Hey, I was a good brother to you," Bobo said.

Waverly sighed. "You were the best. The kindest, gentlest man. But look at you now. You're not my Bobby."

"Don't you judge me, sis," Bobo spat. "You know the only thing I got from being that man was screwed over. Look at me now indeed. I'm at the bottom of a fucking well, forever doomed to damnation."

"Hey, can we get back on topic?" Wynonna asked. "You can resume this weird sibling feud another day. Assuming we survive."

"Bulshar?" Bobo asked.

"Yes," Waverly said. "He's coming for us and I need you to tell me about his ring and my powers."

"Now you come for my help. What do I get in return?"

"Your freedom," Wynonna said.

"Get me out of here first and I swear I'll tell you everything you want to know."

Wynonna looked to Waverly. She nodded. "He'll help us."

Wynonna threw down a rope and soon Bobo resurfaced.

He took a deep breath. "Ah, that's much better. So, what first?"

"The ring," Wynonna said. "Why does Bulshar need it?"

"Where is it now?" Bobo asked.

Waverly answered. "Nicole has it."

"Ah. She's special, you know."

"Yeah, she's my Protector or whatever," Wynonna said.

Bobo's eyebrow raised. "I'm impressed. I thought that knowledge might have died with Ward."

"So you knew about her too?" Waverly asked.

"It was another guess. She seems to enjoy hovering around you Earps, plus she reminded me a lot of the ginger kid who survived the massacre a while back. Just made sense."

Wynonna got up in his face, grabbing the front of his shirt. "Did you have anything to do with that slaughter?"

Bobo put his hands up in defense. "No way. That was cult of Bulshar mumbo jumbo. I know better than to mix with that crowd. But I have eyes and ears everywhere."

Wynonna released him. "So, the ring..."

"Right," Bobo said. "Bulshar needs his ring because with it, he's invincible. Peacemaker and the ring were forged from the same metal and have a connection. If Bulshar has it, he can't be killed.

"Super," Wynonna said. "Just super."

"But we have his ring, and we'll make sure we keep it," Waverly said, trying to reassure her sister. "And what can you tell me about my powers, Bobby?"

"What do you remember?" he asked.

"Well, Mama said all witches have their own special power, their occult propensity, she called it."

Bobo nodded. "What do you think yours is?"

"That's just it. It's a little fuzzy to me. But it seems like it's something to do with manipulation - not of people necessarily, but maybe images?" She sighed. "That doesn't even make any sense."

"No, it does," Bobo said. "You're close. You were able to manipulate images in a way. You can conjure illusions."

"Illusions?"

"Yes. Make people see or think things that aren't part of reality."

"Well, that's certainly not terrifying," Wynonna said, eyes wide. She looked to her sister. "So you can probably literally drive people to insanity. Walk them right off a cliff. Make them think whatever you want them to." She gasped. "Is that why I coughed up half the money for that stupid hamster when we were younger? Did you do some mind control voodoo?"

"What? Of course not!" Waverly said. "I just thought you were being nice. And Pikachu wasn't stupid."

"I swear something must have possessed me to be that nice."

"She wouldn't have been able use her powers to then," Bobo said. "Not without knowing how to wield them. It has to be done intentionally, with practice. And that kind of power is terrifying - if used for nefarious purposes. Lucky for all of us, Maggie was good. A white witch, as they would say. Waverly has the same kind heart."

"The thought of manipulating people that way makes me sick," Waverly said with a shudder. "I could never do that. But you're right..." She drifted off as other memories became more clear. "I used those abilities to help people. I remember convincing several assholes that instead of beating their girlfriends and wives, they would be much better off packing their bags and getting the hell outta Dodge. And I could hide Wyatt's whereabouts from those who were trying to harm him." She paused for a moment and smiled. "Then there was the garden party at our house that I ended when I was tired of hosting by making everyone think it had started pouring rain."

"That was you?" Bobo said. "I remember thinking it was strange that the massive storm cleared not long after the people did."

Waverly laughed. "That was the one time I used it selfishly, I swear!"

Wynonna cleared her throat. "Can you two come back from your neat little trip down memory lane? What do we need to do now?"

"Can my powers help us take down Bulshar?" Waverly asked.

"Certainly can't hurt," Bobo said. "You'll need to practice first. Your power won't be what kills him, but it can maybe buy you some time. And one more thing: If you're going to use your powers on another person, it helps to have some token of theirs. This will make your power over them more influential."

"So Bulshar's ring," Wynonna said.

Bobo nodded. "Exactly."

"Okay then," Waverly said. "Time to practice."

"You sure you're ready for this, baby girl?" Wynonna asked. "It's only been three weeks and I don't think you're at peak Hocus Pocus status yet."

Waverly nodded. "I'm sure. The longer we wait, the more damage he'll do and the more lives he'll take."

"Okay," Wynonna said, addressing the group. Before her stood Waverly, Nicole, Doc, and Jeremy. "You all know the plan. Let's go put this son of bitch down in the ground for good."

An hour later Waverly stood partially hidden in the trees at the edge of a clearing where an ill-fated music festival had occurred twenty years before. She twisted Bulshar's ring around and around in her hand, waiting. He would be drawn to its power. It wasn't long before she could sense the darkness surrounding her. He was coming.

Waverly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and cleared her mind, focusing solely on the mirage she wanted to project. She was pleased. He was a perfect likeness of the real deal.

Moments later Bulshar walked into the clearing, then stopped short, mouth agape. Before him stood none other than Wyatt Earp.

"Earp," he growled. "This isn't possible."

"You sure?" Wyatt said, a grin spread across his face.

"What are you doing here?" Bulshar asked. His body tensed and he looked ready to kill.

"I'm here to finish what I started a century ago." Wyatt removed Peacemaker from its holster. "I'm here to end you."

The two foes started circling one another.

"Impossible!" Bulshar shouted. "Your bones are rotting in the earth!"

"Which is where yours belong," Wyatt said. "Sheriff Clootie, your reign of terror over Purgatory has finally come to and end. Time to make your peace."

"Where is my ring? I can sense its power near. You must have it."

Wyatt pulled the ring out of his pocket and placed it on his own finger. "And I'm going to keep it."

Bulshar stretched out his hand, summoning the ring back to its owner.

Wyatt laughed when nothing happened. "It seems as if your powers aren't what they used to be, old man."

"No, this isn't real," Bulshar said, his voice lowering to nearly a whisper. "That ring is bound to me and must return when it's within my sight." He looked Wyatt in the eye, his lips curving into a smug smile. "You aren't real, but I'm impressed with the resemblance. Down to the tone of his voice and mannerisms. This is sorcery, and only one witch knew Wyatt that well." Bulshar projected his voice louder to reach unseen ears. "You may have protected Wyatt at one time, witch, but I'm afraid he can't do the same for you now."

Bulshar thrust out his arms and a force rippled out from him throughout the clearing. Sensing now where she was, Bulshar turned to face Waverly. He lifted his hand, and as if he held an invisible rope tied to her, when he yanked his hand back, Waverly immediately fell forward into the clearing.

Waverly gasped as her spell was broken and she fell to her knees.

"So you returned after all." Bulshar started marching toward her. "I see you remembered who you once were, witch. But this time when you die, I will send you straight to hell where you can never reincarnate."

A loud voice spoke from behind Bulshar. "You just forgot one little thing, Clootie. Baby girl's got people watching her back this time." Bulshar spun around and out from the trees emerged Wynonna, Nicole, Doc, and Jeremy, all with weapons raised. "And you're the one who's all alone."

With that, Wynonna aimed Peacemaker between Bulshar's eyes, pulled the trigger, and...

Nothing.

Wynonna recocked the gun, pulled the trigger again, and..

Still nothing.

Bulshar started laughing. "An admirable attempt, but I made sure no Earp would ever be able to kill me again."

Bulshar lifted his hand, palm facing Wynonna, and a force knocked her back thirty feet into a tree, which immediately started twisting its branches around her. Peacemaker fell to the snow where she had been, the impact knocking it out of her hands.

Doc and Jeremy simultaneously started running toward him. Bulshar merely gave a flick of his wrist and they crashed into the trees, both crying out in pain once they hit, then fell to the ground, unconscious.

He then turned his attention to Waverly. All he had to do was snap his fingers and the ring flew out of her hand and into his open palm. A wide grin spread across his face as he put the ring on. "I've waited so long for this moment. Now I am invincible."

Once Bulshar's attention was back on Wynonna, Waverly and Nicole moved toward each other, but he sensed their movement and immediately spun back around.

"I can't have you trying anything again, witch," Bulshar said, practically spitting out the last word. Again he lifted his hands, this time causing Waverly and Nicole's bodies to completely stiffen and they fell to the ground. Bulshar laughed and once again moved toward Wynonna.

Nicole groaned. She could move her head, but her arms and legs were completing immobile.

"He totally just petrificus totalus-ed us," Nicole said. When Waverly didn't reply, Nicole moved her head around until she could see her, just about ten feet away. Nicole found she could move ever so slightly and started rocking back and forth little by little until she was able to gain momentum and rolled so she was right in front of her girlfriend.

"Nice log roll, babe," Waverly said. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth but faded just as fast. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I wasn't strong enough to keep you all safe."

"Don't you dare apologize," Nicole told her. "You were incredible. Looks like it wouldn't have done us any good anyway. Wynonna couldn't even kill him." She sighed. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm the Protector and can't even do my job."

Tears started coming down Waverly's face. "So what now? We're just stuck here until Bulshar kills us all."

Nicole shivered as her face started turning numb from lying in the snow. "The cold might beat him to it."

"Why didn't Peacemaker work?" Waverly asked. "I don't understand."

"Peacemaker..." Nicole said, an idea starting to form in her mind. "Where is the gun?"

"Behind you," Waverly said, gesturing with her head. "Maybe thirty feet."

Nicole nodded. "Okay. Hold tight, babe. I'm going to try something."

Waverly shook her head. "Nicole, no. Please don't leave me. I can't lose you."

Nicole looked her straight in the eye. "I love you, Waverly Earp. You're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me."

Waverly smiled. "I love you too, beautiful. The day you walked into Shorty's was the first best day of my life. And they've only gotten better since."

Nicole smiled back, wishing she could take Waverly in her arms. If all went well she would get to again. That's what she was fighting for.

Nicole managed to flip herself over and could then see Peacemaker just where Waverly had said. Again she started rocking back and forth until she could roll. Nicole really wasn't even sure what she was doing, but she felt drawn to the gun, so she decided to trust her gut.

In her mind she kept repeating Bulshar's words: "I made sure no Earp would ever be able to kill me again..."

Nicole gasped as she felt the cold sting of the metal, and as soon as she touched the gun she was free from Bulshar's binding hold. Nicole stood and picked up Peacemaker. She immediately felt a pulsing power surge through her body unlike anything she had ever felt before. Throwing caution to the wind, she started sprinting toward Bulshar. A yell burst from her lungs. A war cry.

Bulshar whipped away from Wynonna, who was being held firm by the tree and now had deep cuts all over her body. He had been torturing her.

"You foolish girl," Bulshar snarled.

Nicole stopped just ten feet in front of him, pointed Peacemaker at his head, and the gun suddenly turned a blinding blue.

Bulshar's eyes opened wide and Nicole saw something there she hadn't seen before. Fear.

"You're the Protector," he said.

Nicole could suddenly feel the gun being pulled from her. She had to wrap both hands around the grip and hold on with every ounce of strength she had.

Bulshar's clenched fist came forward, the ring on his finger being pulled toward Nicole as he tried to hold it back. Some force was pulling the two metals together. Or maybe they were pulling each other.

"Nicole!" Waverly screamed from behind her.

Nicole could feel Peacemaker slipping from her grasp. There was no way she was going to let that happen, but she was nearly at her breaking point. Both the gun and the ring were fully extended from their handlers' arms, both vying to win the struggle.

Nicole leveled her gaze with Bulshar's. "You couldn't kill me in the forest. You couldn't kill me on the cliff. And you sure as hell aren't going to kill me now."

Nicole yelled and gave one final pull with everything she had left in her. When she jerked Peacemaker back, Bulshar howled in pain as his finger was ripped from his hand. Both finger and ring landed at Nicole's feet.

"Impossible," he said, his eyes even wider than they had been before.

Nicole planted both feet firmly on the ground and raised Peacemaker again, aiming between his eyes. The gun glowed brighter than she had ever seen. "You said no Earp would ever be able to kill you again. Well, I'm no Earp."

Nicole pulled the trigger and Peacemaker aimed true, striking Bulshar between the eyes. He screamed in agony and anger as the flaming jaws of hell opened to suck him back down.

And just like that, he was gone.

Nicole looked to Peacemaker and smiled. "Thanks, buddy." The gun gave a brief blue flicker and sent a tingling surge of warmth up her arm.

Immediately Bulshar's hold on the group released.

Wynonna gasped for air as the tree's constricting grip let her go.

Doc and Jeremy slowly came to consciousness in the distance.

Nicole turned just as Waverly came crashing into her. They embraced tightly and just stood there holding each other, both with tears in their eyes.

Wynonna came up and wrapped her arms around them both, and when Doc and Jeremy finally reached them, they did the same.

Wynonna looked to the ground where Bulshar had last been. "Good riddance, shithead."

Waverly couldn't help the huge smile that spread across her face. She leaned into Nicole's arms and tilted her head back, kissing her on the cheek. She dug her toes deeper into the sand and looked over the roaring ocean waves in front of them.

Nicole kissed her forehead. "This is nice, babe. Amazing, actually, since you've never been to the beach before. I mean, I can actually feel the heat of the sun and hear seagulls in the distance. You're getting really good at this."

"Are you sure? I mean I've watched a lot of movies with beaches, but it's hard to know for sure what's real."

"You know, there is one thing missing." Nicole closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "The air. There's a kind of saltiness you can smell and almost taste when you're at the beach. Someday soon we're gonna go and you'll see for yourself."

Waverly turned to face Nicole and straddled her lap. "Deal. As soon as we finish the revenants."

Nicole smiled and brought her lips within centimeters of Waverly's. "Deal. But how about we not talk about them right now? The point of a fake beach getaway is to get away from reality."

Their lips connected for a moment, but they both pulled back at the sound of pounding, almost like someone knocking on a door. At the beach.

Nicole tilted her head, listening. "Is that...?"

"Wynonna," Waverly groaned. "Sorry, babe. I'm not quite at the point of being able to tune out every aspect of reality. I swear I'll get there as soon as possible."

Nicole laughed as she took Waverly's face in her hands and kissed her again. "Don't be sorry," she whispered. "This was perfect." She pulled back just enough to look her in the eye and smiled. "I love you, Waverly Earp."

"And I love you, Nicole Haught."

Another round of door pounding started.

The girls both laughed, rolled their eyes, and shouted, "Coming!"

Suddenly the illusion broke and they were back sitting on the plush carpet in Waverly's room.

The door slowly opened and Wynonna poked her head in. "Everyone decent?"

"Yep, wish we could say the same for you, Earp," Nicole deadpanned.

"Ouch, Haught. I should be offended, but well played. Now get dressed, losers. Time to go."

Wynonna left and Waverly and Nicole laughed again.

"She's really got a knack for that," Nicole said.

"Yep," Waverly agreed. "It's definitely one of her better talents. Now let's get ready and then I have a surprise for you when we get back."

"First the beach and then another surprise? This wouldn't have anything to do with that Santa getup in the box under your bed, would it?"

Waverly gasped and smacked her arm. "Nicole Haught, you should know better than to go snooping through things right before Christmas!"

Nicole threw her hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry! But you know how curious and impatient I am." She leaned in closer until their noses touched. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I always go after the things I want."

"Let's go, lovebirds!" Wynonna bellowed from downstairs. "We need to get our tree before all the Purgatory pricks take the best ones!"

Nicole gave Waverly a quick peck on the lips and helped her to her feet. "And we better go before what I want is to kill your sister."

The girls got dressed and walked out of the room and down the stairs where Wynonna, Jeremy, and Doc were waiting.

Jeremy cheered when he saw them. "Yay, Wayhaught is ready! Let's go get our coniferous decor!"

"It's called a Christmas tree," Wynonna said. "Don't make things weird, Chetri. I can still uninvite you."

"But I couldn't miss being here to help... spruce things up a little bit." He looked around the room for validation. "Oh, come on. That was a good one."

"Chetri!"

"Fine."

"Did you know," Waverly said as they followed Wynonna out the door, "ancient peoples would hang evergreen boughs over their doors and windows to keep away evil spirits and illness?"

"Then would decorating our tree with ammonite be overkill?" Wynonna asked.

Waverly ignored her. "And Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition in the 16th century. Then Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are really the ones who made it popular in Britain in more modern times. Then it came over to North America, but it did take some time before..."

Nicole smiled to herself as she listened to Waverly. This was their first Christmas together, and Nicole knew in her heart it would be the first of many - of a lifetime of Christmases. She imagined all the special occasions they would share together. More holidays, vacations, anniversaries... even someday a wedding and children. And growing old together. Nicole's smile widened at the thought, then she looked to Waverly and kissed her on the cheek.

Waverly stopped mid-sentence and smiled. "What was that for?"

Nicole shrugged. "Couldn't help myself."

And if that was their destiny, she was pretty darn stoked.

THE END