Disclaimer: Angel and his respective adversaries belong to Joss Whedon and Co., and all of 'Charmed' belongs to Constance M. Burge; I'm just using them for the moment
Feedback: I'd like that, believe me
AN: This storyline takes place between 'Lost and Bound' and 'Charmed and Dangerous', so Cole's still human and the Source has been absent since the events of 'Brain Drain', although his lackeys have been as active as ever
Sent to the Witch
As she walked down the stairs of Halliwell Manor, already dressed and ready for another day at work, Piper was surprised to hear a sound coming from the kitchen.
Specifically, the sound of both someone humming and someone preparing breakfast.
The first wasn't a complete surprise, Piper had to admit. After all, she and her sisters were all adult women in the prime of life, each of them in healthy, happy relationships, so a little humming now and again when one or the other of them was in a good mood wasn't that strange a thing to have taken place…
It was more the fact that it was taking place at this time of day that surprised Piper. Normally, she was the first one up in the Manor, mainly because she enjoyed the chance to get a head-start on breakfast for the others after a relaxing night without anything needing vanquished. The idea that someone else could be awake first…
Then she turned the corner into the kitchen, and she finally saw who was singing.
It was Paige, a broad smile on her face and already dressed for work as she prepared herself a couple of pieces of toast, humming what Piper now identified as 'I Could Have Danced All Night' as she spun around the kitchen, a knife in one hand and a plate in the other as she waited for the toaster to finish.
"Uh… hey," Piper said, breaking her momentary confused silence, prompting Paige to stop and look at her sister with a slight trace of embarrassment.
"Oh… hi," she said, smiling brightly as a faint blush crossed her cheeks. "Just… woke up feeling a bit happy this morning, I guess. I mean, it's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, work's going well, we haven't had any demons for a while now… what's not to like?"
Piper smiled slightly at that. She may still not know Paige as well as she would have liked, but she liked to think she had formed a close bond with her new little sister in the few months or so since she'd joined the Charmed Ones, and she knew for a fact that there was another reason for Paige's attitude…
Specifically, the reason was a certain cursed vampire with a taste for black clothes who could have won the brooding championships if such a contest had ever been declared.
"Have a good night with Angel?" she asked teasingly.
"What?" Paige said, actually managing to look genuinely offended as she looked at Piper incredulously. "Why do you always assume that Angel's the only reason that I could be in a good-"
"Because it's been like this for all of us the past week or so- well, good weather and non-demony, that is; work kinda varies for all of us- and you've always only been particularly… cheery, shall we say?… when you've spent the night out with a certain vampire we all know and- if not love- like or tolerate?" Piper replied, grinning teasingly at Paige. "Where was it this time for you two? Went to a movie, danced a bit at a club, what?"
For a moment, it looked like Paige was going to continue to try and protest, but, after a moment's pause, she sighed and sat back down, looking at Piper critically as she did so.
"You know, you have no right to be so… right all the time," she said, before she sighed and nodded. "Actually, it was both; we checked out The Count of Monte Cristo at the cinema- not bad, really, even if it does miss some bits of the original book- and then headed off to this nightclub."
"Not P3 as usual, I take it?" Piper replied, already knowing the answer; when it came to dating, Paige was often reluctant to spend time with Angel at P3; the only exception to the rule was when it was Angel's turn at the bar. Piper had once asked Paige why this was, and Paige had explained that she just wanted to keep some parts of her time with Angel away from the world of demons and magic that they normally inhabited. P3 may have been more of a positive part of the sisters' lives, but Paige would still prefer it if she and Angel had fun somewhere else than just hanging out there all the time.
"Yeah, it was some other club near the city centre; can't recall the name, but I think it was commonly used for raves or stuff like that," Paige said, smiling wistfully as she looked up at the ceiling, as though examining some picture only she could see. "God… what a night…"
Piper's eyes widened slightly.
"Uh… when you say 'What a night'…" she began, trying to conceal her hesitancy at discussing this topic; somehow, she found it harder to talk about Paige's romantic life than she'd ever had with Phoebe, even when she and Prue had learned that Cole was still alive. "Do you mean that you two… y'know…?"
"No," Paige said, shaking her head as she looked over at Piper, a slightly regretful expression on her face once again. "I tried to make it go that far, believe me, but Angel… he just didn't seem to want to go any further than a few dances."
Groaning in frustration slightly, Paige slumped back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling once again, her initial 'happy mood' now gone. "God… what is up with that man?"
Piper didn't bother to answer that question; she, along with everyone else in the house, knew that it was a rhetorical question. Paige had already discussed this with Piper and Phoebe- she'd been slightly frustrated by the apparent lack of progress she and Angel were making in their relationship- and Phoebe had suggested that Angel's guilt over his past meant that he didn't think he deserved Paige.
"After all," Phoebe had explained, when the three of them had first had this discussion, "as far as he's concerned, even if he didn't do it, he's got countless memories of committing several brutal murders over the course of about a hundred and fifty years. Taking into account that you're both part-witch and part-Whitelighter- you could say that you almost personify good, really- coupled with the fact that you've accepted him without any reservations, and… well, maybe Angel hasn't made the final step because he doesn't think he deserves to make love to someone as 'perfect' as you?"
Paige had accepted Phoebe's reasoning at the time, and had promised not to push Angel about it- according to Phoebe, this kind of thing could only be dealt with when Angel himself was ready to take the final step- but it didn't take a genius to see that Paige was getting frustrated about it all.
As much as she loved Angel as a person, Paige clearly wanted the whole package; mind, body and soul, rather than just the first and third of those.
"Hey, don't worry about it, OK?" Piper said, leaning over to pat Paige reassuringly on the arm. "You'll get through to him in the end, I'm sure of it; just… give him some time, OK?"
"Yeah… I know…" Paige said, nodding wistfully as she glanced over at her sister, a slightly dejected expression on her face. "I just wish I knew when…"
The sound of footsteps on the stairs distracted the two sisters from their conversation, and, glancing up, they watched as Phoebe came into the room, still wearing her pyjamas and looking slightly bleary-eyed.
"Cole already left?" Piper asked, looking inquiringly at her sister. Since he became human, Cole had alternated between staying with them and roaming the city to try and find an actual job. Of course, he had also been given the offer to share Angel's apartment- Phoebe in particular had thought it might help Cole adjust to the changes in his life if he was with someone who had a better idea what he was going through- but Cole had preferred to stay with Phoebe for the moment, although he often left early to spend some time alone each day.
Personally, Piper thought he was just trying to figure out how he could be useful to them without his demon powers, but she hadn't actually voiced her opinion yet; she didn't see how Cole's decisions about his life were her concern.
"Yeah, he said he was going to see about taking a few self-defence lessons; you know, learn how to fight now that he doesn't have Belthazor's strength to fall back on when the going gets tought," Phoebe explained, as she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down beside her sisters, looking casually over at the two of them. "Anyway, what's up with you guys? Anything interesting at work and/or personal lives?"
Paige shrugged dismissively.
"Not much on either front, really; everything's pretty much the same," she said, once again attempting to sound casual as she spoke; somehow, she didn't feel like discussing her relationship with Angel with her sister at the moment.
"Pretty much the same over here; pretty quiet, really," Piper said casually as she looked at her sisters, before a thought seemed to occur to her and she leaned forward. "Actually, that's not totally true; there is something else going on, and, actually, I'd appreciate your help with it."
"What's up?" Phoebe asked, looking curiously over at her sister.
"Well, given the whole thing with the vampires breaking into the club last night, it occurred to me it might be an idea to see if there's some way of blocking them from coming in; you know, making P3 a not-quite-so-public-access building as it is at the moment, or at least making it less accessible to a certain group of blood-drinking walking dead guys…"
"And you'd like our help in checking that out?" Phoebe asked, smiling over at her sister. "Sure, no sweat; when do you want us there?"
"Just as soon as you can be; I'm closing the club for the night to give us time to find a way to deal with the problem," Piper explained, as she looked at her sisters. "Feel free to bring your significant others as well, by the way; Angel and Cole could be able to provide some suggestions."
"Yeah, sure thing," Paige said, before glancing eat her watch and sighing as she stood up. "Sorry, but I've got to go; I'm nearly late."
"Oh, sure thing; see you tonight," Piper said, as Paige got up and headed for the door.
As soon as their sister was out of the room, Phoebe turned a critical glance onto Piper.
"She's a bit frustrated at how things are going with Angel, huh?" she asked, smiling slightly at her sister.
"Yeah, you got that right," Piper said, sighing slightly as she looked at her sister. "I mean, just because she understands why he's got issues doesn't make it any easier for her."
Phoebe sighed slightly as she glanced at the door Paige had just departed by before looking back at Piper.
"You know, this is definitely one of those occasions where the personal gain rule's a bit of a pain in the neck," she said, shaking her head in annoyance. "I mean, we go to all this trouble to save the world, and they can't let us cast a little spell to help Angel get over his issues?"
Noting her sister's confused expression, Phoebe raised her hands defensively. "Hey, I'm not saying counselling isn't effective; it's just that I don't see Angel wanting to talk about his issues with the sister of the girl he's dating, and a professional psychiatrist is definitely not a possibility."
Piper had to admit, Phoebe had a point; after all, how were they going to find a psychiatrist who'd actually believe Angel's story about being a two hundred and fifty year-old vampire? Even if they did find one, they'd probably have to wipe his memories of the whole thing afterwards to keep the magic thing secret, which could just get inconvenient if Angel needed to talk to them again…
"Ah well," Piper said, shrugging slightly as she looked back at Phoebe. "Life wasn't made to be easy, I guess."
Standing up, Piper stretched slightly and then looked back at Phoebe. "C'mon, let's go; I've got a few things I'd like to check out at the club before we get on with figuring out a way to block vampires from the place."
Miles away, in a darkened warehouse, a vampire entered via the main door, a large wooden box in his arms as he looked around for the people who had asked him to fetch the box in question.
"I have your package," he said, looking around himself as though anxious to get this over and done with.
"Just put it on the table," a voice said from off to the side, a slight smirk evident in its tone. "Near the other… gifts."
As the vampire walked over to the table in question, Spike and Drusilla watched him from off to the side, a smile on both their faces as they studied the box. In general, the two of them were much the same as they had been during their previous visit to San Francisco, even wearing the same clothes; the only difference was that Spike was now in a wheelchair.
He wasn't sure how, exactly, but in the Battle of P3, when Spike had been kicked away from Angel and attacked by Piper, her last attempt to blow him up had damaged something in his spine, and he could no longer move his legs. Sometimes Spike felt that more than the nerves for his legs might have been damaged- he was pretty sure he wouldn't have been able to breathe any more if he was still human- but, as he wasn't he'd put that aside.
Glancing up at Drusilla, he casually raised an eyebrow as he studied the boxes in front of them.
"Are you dead set on this, pet?" he asked, indicating the boxes before the two of them. "Wouldn't you rather have your party in Vienna?"
"But the invitations are sent," Drusilla said, pouting slightly as she looked back at Spike.
"Yeah…" Spike said, sighing in frustration as he looked back up at his sire. "It's just… I've had it with this place. Nothing ever comes off like it's supposed to…"
Drusilla just smiled sweetly at her briefly paralysed lover as she leaned in and put her hands on his chest.
"My gatherings are always perfect," she said, as she grinned lightly at him, crouching beside him. "Remember Spain?" She walked her fingers up his arm. "Hey... The bulls?"
"I remember, sweet," Spike said, sighing slightly as he looked at her. "But San Fran's cursed for us, thanks to Angel and the sodding 'Power of Three' bitches; you know that I still can't sodding walk after what that one did to my back."
"Shhh..." Drusilla said, as she leaned in to whisper into his ear. "I've got good games for everyone."
Leaning in, she licked his cheek, and then leaned back to speak to him directly. "You'll see."
Walking over to the table, she casually inspected the roses and other red flowers that she had been woven into the high backs of the chairs, stepping up to one with a small, sad smile on her face as she did so.
"These flowers..." Drusilla said, looking critically at them for a moment before shaking her head critically. "… are wrong. They're all... wrong!"
As she moaned in frustration, Spike swallowed anxiously; given that he was currently unable to even walk independently, he wasn't really eager to have Drusilla suffer a temper tantrum.
"I can't abide them!" Drusilla yelled, as she screamed and ripped at the various flowers.
"Let's try something… different with the flowers then?" Spike asked, unable to conceal the slightly hopeful tone of his voice; he really didn't want Drusilla to start attacking him as well. Oh, he loved her, and knew that she wouldn't hurt him, but it always became hard to really remember that second fact when she was in one of these moods…
Fortunately, she still retained enough of her mind even in these moments; even as she looked up at him, she already seemed to be calming down a bit.
For a moment, there was silence, then, as Spike watched, Drusilla's eyes turned to the boxes that lay on the table, the newest box slumped on top of the small pile. Slowly, almost reverently, she walked over to the table and, reaching out, softly stroked one of the boxes as she looked back at Spike.
"Can I open one?" she asked, once again looking like the child she had ceased to be centuries ago. "Can I?"
Spike smiled softly back at her, as though he was a father granting his child a much longed-for present.
"Just a peek, love," he said, enjoying the delighted grin that spread across her face at his words.
"Remember, they're for the party," he added, as she excitedly reached for the latch on one of them.
As he wheeled himself over to her, Drusilla lifted the lid of the box, softly inhaling in wonder as she smiled over at her lover.
"Do you like it, baby?" Spike asked, as he positioned his chair beside her.
"It reeks of death," Drusilla replied, grinning over at him once again as she knelt down in front of Spike's chair, still staring at the box.
"This will be the best party ever," she said, as she stared at the box before her.
"Why is that?" Spike asked, looking curiously at her. He knew why, of course, but he liked to hear her say it.
"Because..." Drusilla said, as she stood up and leaned towards the box, taking the lid in her hands.
"It will be the last," she said in conclusion, as she slammed the lid shut.
Spike chuckled slightly at that comment, flexing his fingers eagerly in anticipation; his abilities may be limited right now, but he was still eager to get at least some of the blood and bodies that would result from this little scheme of theirs.
He had to admit, this was going to be very good…
A few hours later, Paige was driving through the streets of San Francisco, heading for Angel's apartment and, from there, P3. Despite it already being dark, Paige had only just managed to get off work- an important case of some kind, apparently- so Piper had been unable to shut the club to get to work on the spell research until now; she wasn't doing something this elaborate until she had all of her sisters with her. Phoebe had apparently gone out to pick Cole up from wherever he had ended up on his walk- even after nearly a month, the man still had trouble remembering that he needed change for the bus these days- but Paige had volunteered to pick Angel up herself.
As she pulled up outside his building, she glanced up at the window to his apartment, and smiled slightly as she saw his silhouette, crouched over something at the window. Although Angel hadn't showed her any of his pictures yet, Cole had told her all about them, and had been highly complimentary of the vampire's work; judging by the faint movement of his arm that she could see from her current position, Paige was prepared to bet that Angel was sketching something at the moment.
However, a brief glimpse was all she had; a few seconds after her arrival, Angel's silhouette had vanished from the window, the lights had gone off, and, a couple of minutes later, he was sitting in the passenger seat of the car, smiling slightly at her as he got in.
"Hi," he said casually, the gleam in his eyes as he looked at her making it clear that he was pleased to see her; a part of him still seemed to find it hard to smile at her, probably tracing back to the time when he grinned to bear his fangs before attacking his victims, so he always had to 'smile' with his eyes alone. "What's up?"
Paige shrugged apologetically as she started driving once again, making sure that the road ahead was clear before she glanced back at Angel.
"Nothing major, really; we're working on making P3 vamp-proof, and Piper thought you might have a few ideas on that front, so we're all pretty much occupied," she explained, glancing over at Angel with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that; I was kinda hoping that we'd manage to have a dinner or something this time around, but this thing'll probably take up most of our time."
She knew that, as a vampire, Angel didn't actually need to eat- he'd mentioned a couple of times that his taste buds were kind of 'dulled'- for lack of a better term- to normal human tastes, but she was still determined to convince him to at least try and have a dinner date at some point. If they were going to do the couple thing, they were doing to do it properly, regardless of Angel's own particular 'limitations'…
"Don't worry about it," Angel said casually, as they approached the junction for P3. "As I've told you before, I'm always happy to help; just sitting around in my apartment certain isn't helping anybody."
"Yeah, I know," Paige said, shaking her head slightly as she began to slow down upon approaching the junction, grateful that the streets were quiet. "I just sometimes wish that…"
Then Paige rounded the corner in question- P3 was just a bit further down the street- and she stopped driving for a moment, her eyes falling on a truck in an adjacent loading area with two men standing around it.
All thoughts of what she wished had taken place right now were forgotten.
Two men who set off something almost primal about Paige's still fairly newly-acquired Whitelighter instincts (In her book, if she hadn't had something like this for a year or more, it still classified as 'new').
If they weren't demons of some kind, she didn't know what they were.
Glancing over at Angel, she wasn't surprised to see that he seemed to feel the same way about the men; as a supernatural creature himself, he had often seemed to show a certain 'awareness' of the presence of supernatural creatures when the time came. Of course, in his case it was mostly his supernatural sense of smell that made it possible rather than some more subtle supernatural instinct
"What are they?" she asked, looking inquiringly at Angel; she may have been able to sense when something was evil, but Angel's enhanced senses made him perfect to pick out exactly what the something was, or at least give them a better idea what they were dealing with on short notice.
"Vampires," Angel said, looking back at Paige with an inquiringly expression. "Do we investigate now, or would you prefer to get some back-up?"
For a moment, Paige left the sentence hanging- she knew how much Angel preferred it when the two of them were dealing with something alone, no matter what it was, but she liked seeing him squirm slightly- and then nodded.
Her sisters were just a simple yell away if they were needed in the end, but, right now, since Angel was still denying her what she really wanted in the way of 'physical activity', she'd make do with this.
"Let's go," she said casually, as she and Angel stepped out of the car and walked over to the truck, Paige making sure to lock the car before they walked up to the cab of the truck before them. As they walked up to the truck, its lights till out, they noticed the figure sitting in the truck's driving seat as another vampire stood at the back of the truck with a large wooden box in his hand.
Paige recognised him at once; the last time she'd seen him, he'd been one of Spike's minions, raiding the bar during the Battle of P3 for reasons she'd never been able to establish (She'd never actually asked Angel whether vampires could get drunk; given her own unwillingness to touch alcohol after that darker phase of her life, she would never again allow herself to be in a position where Angel would be required to drink alcohol, so it had never struck her as being important enough to ask).
Trying to conceal her initial unease- despite Angel's lessons, vampires always made her feel a little uneasy- Paige just smiled and shook her head slightly as the vampire behind the truck stared back at her in what looked like shock mixed in with a slight degree of anger; Angel, dressed in his customary darker colours, had instinctively remained in the shadows. Some might have put it down as cowardliness, but Paige knew the truth; Angel had once admitted to her that, on some level, he enjoyed seeing her fight using skills he'd taught her, and he always gave her the chance to get her punches in before taking part himself.
"Every time I see you, you're stealing something," she said pityingly, trying to sound casual as the vampire growled at her. "You really should speak with someone about this klepto issue; I'd volunteer, but I'm still only an assistant at work- not really authorised to do something like that- and I don't think vampires are in my remit."
No sooner had the sentence finished, than the truck's engine started. Instinctively, Paige turned to grab for the door handle, determined to do something about stopping this guy before he could get away…
Before she could reach it, however, the vampire she had been facing had already begun to run away from her, and the door had swung open, allowing the vampire to lash out at her arm with a powerful, rapid kick aimed directly for her wrist.
It might have hit her if she'd just been a witch with no training in the more physical side of combat with the forces of evil.
But Paige was a witch who'd received training from a vampire with two hundred and fifty years of experience at doing what he did best. As soon as he had come close enough to her, she grabbed the leg and turned his momentum against him, hauling him out of the cab and onto the ground.
As soon as he'd landed, the vampire had already started to get up from the pavement, only to result in his nose- still human, gratefully; their vampire faces made it remarkably hard for Paige to get a decent blow in- being struck by Paige's fist, sending him crashing back down to the ground. She vaguely registered someone standing up behind her- it sounded like there was a third vampire in this stupid truck- but then she heard a low growl and a thud from behind her and allowed herself to focus in the vampire in front of her.
She may still be new to the supernatural world, but, as far as she was concerned, she knew one thing for sure; demon or vampire, Angel could handle himself in a fight with pretty much anything. Turning her attention back to the vampire before her- now staggering to his feet, but still disorientated from his earlier nose injury- she lashed out with a powerful kick to his stomach, knowing that her only chance of victory right now was to keep him disorientated. If it came down to a fair fight, a vampire would always be able to outpace and overpower her, but, if she could keep it off-balance, she should have a chance to win this one on her own.
Behind Paige, Angel was currently struggling with the vampire that had been in the truck, the two of them rolling on the ground briefly where Angel had knocked it to the ground. Glancing off to the side, Angel noticed another vampire- the first one he'd seen, as he recalled- launching a kick in his direction.
Just in time, Angel launched himself back onto his feet as he forced the other vampire into the path of the kick, watching with grim satisfaction as the first vampire struck his ally in the back. Before either of them could realise what had just happened, Angel had grabbed the first vampire in a headlock, and, before the vampire could escape, had twisted its neck around a complete one hundred and eighty degrees. The vampire screamed in agony as Angel twisted, but the scream was sharply terminated as Angel rammed its neck into the nearby truck with such force that it severed the already-fragile spinal chord, causing the vampire to collapse into dust.
No sooner had the first one died than Angel found himself struggling with the other one, now back on his feet and evidently annoyed. For a moment, Angel was intending to just knock his new foe out, but then he changed his mind; whatever these vampires wanted with this truck, experience had long taught him that it would be best in the long term if he and Paige just killed them now, rather than try and keep them 'prisoner' to get more answers.
Fortunately, the means of doing so was close by. Vaulting into the back of the van next to them, Angel kicked out at an empty-looking box that was lying on the floor- only one box actually seemed to contain anything, he noted- and watched with satisfaction as it shattered before him. Grabbing one of the larger pieces of material, he lunged towards the vampire in front of him- he'd forgotten for the moment to 'pack' his wrist-mounted stake launchers, thinking that he wouldn't need them for this brief jaunt- and plunged it into the chest of the vampire that was just about to punch him in the face, watching with grim satisfaction as his foe turned to dust.
Back down on the street, Paige had, so far, managed to stay ahead of the vampire she'd ended up fighting. He was fast enough to be difficult, sure, but he didn't see to be particularly old compared to some of the vampires she'd encountered to far. He also wasn't a very skilledfighter, if his current performance was what he usually did in combat; his method of fighting just seemed to consist of punching at her a lot and hoping he connected.
Even after only a couple of months of lessons with Angel, Paige was more than a match for this guy.
Of course, that wasn't to say she was enjoying this fight; as far as she was concerned, it had gone on for more than enough by now. Since her initial surprise attack, the sucker hadn't even been that much of a challenge; she just kept on hitting him and he was always too dazed to strike back effectively.
Time to end this.
Grabbing his arm as he tried to punch her again, Paige hauled him over her shoulder and through the nearby door of P3 (Fortunately kept unlocked; at least Piper wouldn't be billing her and Angel for a new lock when this was over). As soon as the vampire was inside her sisters' club, Paige heard a brief explosion, and then there was silence; Piper had, as expected, taken care of their unexpected 'guest'.
Glancing over at the truck, Paige smiled as she saw Angel examining something in the truck as the others joined them from the club; Cole looked a bit flustered by what had just taken place, but, seeing as how he'd looked like that ever since he lost his powers, and thus lost the powers that he'd previously been able to contribute in the fight against evil, that was nothing new.
"What was that?" Phoebe asked, indicating the floor behind them in annoyance. "I just finished dusting that, you know!"
"Well, there were these vamps outside the club…" Paige said, shrugging helplessly as she indicated the truck, before noticing Angel haul something out of the truck and carry it towards the others, a curious expression on his face as he studied the box in question.
"What's that?" Leo asked, indicating the box in question.
"I don't know…" Angel admitted, staring at it in confusion as he walked into P3, followed by his friends as he placed the box on a nearby table. "All I know for sure is that it was the only box in that truck with anything in it; the vampires must have wanted it for something, but I just don't know what."
"What is it?" Phoebe said, looking in confusion at the box as she glanced over at Cole and Leo; seeing as Angel had no idea, their other two supernatural experts were the logical candidates right now.
"I've got no idea," Cole said, looking over at Leo. "You?"
"Nothing," Leo said, shaking his head apologetically before turning his attention back to the box. "Can it be opened?"
"Yeah," Piper said, indicating something on the side of the box. "This looks like a release right… here…"
Curiously, Piper worked the latch, opening the box, but no sooner had she raised the lid, then a blue arm clad in elaborate, medieval-looking armour, apparently severed from the main body, leapt out of the box, grabbed her neck, and began to choke her.
"PIPER!" Leo yelled, lunging forward to grab the arm, followed closely by Angel and Paige. Between the four of them, they had soon torn the arm off Piper and stuffed it back into the box, Angel sealing the box shut once again as Paige and Leo made sure that Piper was all right, aside from her coughing and gasping for air.
"OK; that was new," Phoebe said, staring at the box in surprise. "We've never had to deal with an arm before; what the hell was that?"
"'Hell' may be the word," Cole said, walking forward to look at Angel and Leo. "Are you two thinking what I'm thinking?"
Angel and Leo nodded grimly.
"Trust me, I wish we weren't," Leo said, as he looked over at the vampire. "Do you think…?"
"Oh, it's her," Angel said, nodding as he looked back at his friend, a gleam of fear in his eyes as he looked at the box. "Nobody else would be insane enough to try it."
"Uh, can we have an explanation for those of us who haven't spent at least the last five decades in the supernatural creatures club?" Paige asked, looking anxiously between her brother-in-law, her boyfriend, and Cole.
The three men looked at each other for a time, and then Angel sighed and started to speak.
"It's a legend," he explained, as Leo and Cole continued to glance nervously at the box, "way before my time, of a demon brought forth to rid the Earth of the plague of humanity."
"Ah," Piper said, looking up at the vampire as she continued to take deep, filling breaths. "That… that doesn't sound good."
"It's not," Cole put in, taking up the story for Angel. "It was called 'The Judge', and his goal was simple; separate the righteous from the wicked... and to burn the righteous down."
"No offence, but how's an arm that dangerous?" Phoebe interjected, indicating the box.
"True, but he's not just an arm," Leo explained, as he looked over at Phoebe. "He was so powerful that he couldn't be killed, so, eventually, an army was sent against him. Most of them died, but finally they were able to dismember him; that couldn't actually kill him, but he was rendered powerless."
Angel then began speaking once more. "The pieces were scattered, and buried in every corner of the Earth, but, if this arm's here…"
He trailed off, as though unwilling to say what everyone else knew he was about to.
"All the other parts are being brought here," Piper said, as she stared at the box that had come shockingly near to killing her. It was the only thing that made sense;
"By Drusilla," Angel said. The sisters looked at him in shock, and Angel nodded regretfully. "I know it's a stretch, but we did never find out what happened to her after the Battle of P3. Besides, I know her; she's just crazy enough to do it."
"To… what?" Phoebe asked, seeking clarification for the thought that was now lurking unpleasantly close to the front of her mind. "Reassemble the Judge?"
Angel could only nod. "And bring forth Armageddon for the human race."