Chapter 67: Sin Francisco
"Alright, it should be around here somewhere." Prue says as she and Phoebe walk down the street.
"And you can't be more precise about what it is?" Phoebe says.
"Okay, I told you, it's some sort of evilly thing." Prue says.
"Why'd I let you talk me into this? I should be at home encrastinating my delinquent ethics paper, not chasing some wild goose." Phoebe says.
Prue shakes her head, "Wild demon, okay? And I was scrying for unnatural activity and this place came up loud and clear."
"Wait a minute, are you telling me you're actually looking for trouble now? Prue, what happened to putting more balance in your life? You know, less Wicca wonder, more Prue." Phoebe says.
Prue sighs, "Listen, I shot a magazine cover yesterday, I had a date last night, and then this morning I am searching for evil. You can't get more balanced than that."
"Right, just your typical everyday cosmo girl." Phoebe says.
"Well, you and Piper don't need me anymore, so that leaves me plenty of time to help those who do. " Prue says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "Is that what you think? That we don't need you anymore?"
Prue nods, "Well, I mean, it's just that ever since Piper got married and you moved up with Cole, I feel like I don't really have to watch out for you guys as much anymore. Even Buffy has been busy lately. She's been training Willow and taking her on patrols with her where Willow can use her powers."
Phoebe smiles, "Prue, this is a good thing."
Prue nods, "Yeah. You know I've been wondering about Willow."
"About what?" Phoebe asks.
"About if she isn't more like us. You know if her family hasn't been witches like ours was." Prue says. "You know we just always assumed she was a witch practioner like Charlotte Warren, Melinda's mother. Charlotte didn't seem to have powers but we know Melinda did. So what if she just came into her powers late. What if her powers like ours was bound at some point and just came unbounded around the time she cursed Angel with his soul."
Phoebe nods thinking, "It would be a big coincidence." Buffy flames in. "But if your right then what is her power."
"Who?" Buffy asks.
Prue glares at Buffy, "Buffy you could have exposed us."
Buffy shakes her head, "I've been working on sensing the location I've been going to trying to make sure it's deserted. Only people I sensed were in the general vicinity were you two. Anyways who are you two talking about?"
"Willow." Prue says.
"Oh. I think I know what power she has. She seems pretty good at levitating objects. So she may have telekinesis like you, Prue." Buffy says.
"She can move things with her mind?" Phoebe asks.
Buffy nods, "She has to work on her control. If she gets distracted she looses control."
Prue looks over at a dumpster. "I think that's it."
"Good." Phoebe says. "We'll finish this conversation about Willow later."
Prue nods, "Alright, on the count of three. One, two..."
Buffy powers up a fireball.
Prue uses her power to open the lid of the dumpster.
"Oh my god!" Phoebe says and runs over to the dumpster. "It's the coffee maker I wanted." She pulls out an empty box.
"Phoebe, it's just a carton." Prue says as Buffy extinguishs her fireball.
Phoebe nods, "Oh, right, of course. See, I need you. You just protected me from making a fool out of myself."
Prue smiles, "Now there's a full time job."
"Uh now what are we talking about?" Buffy asks.
"Thank you very much." Phoebe says. "Prue doesn't think we need her anymore. Piper has Leo, I have Cole. You have been training Willow and taking her on patrol."
They continue walk down the street.
Buffy shakes her head, "Prue of course we need you."
Prue nods, "Hey, so, how's Cole? I haven't seen him in a while."
"Oh, he's been dodging demonic bounty hunters. You know, but he still manages to shimmer into the bedroom when he has a chance. Pops in and then pops right back out if you know what I'm talking about." Phoebe says.
"Huh, I vaguely remember." Prue says.
Phoebe nods, "Even though I'm really happy to see him, it's starting to raise old issues for me. Like, does he really love me or is he just interested in my... charms?"
Buffy shakes her head, "Oh, Phoebe, come on, you know that for a magical fact that he loves you. Alright, and think how many times he's risked his life to save you. I don't think that's just sex."
"Yeah, but what about if it was really, really great sex." Phoebe says.
Prue nods, "Well..." They hear voices coming from an alley. "Seek and you shall find."
In the alley, two men are there arguing. One man is holding a small crystal box.
"Please, just one more." Man #1 says.
"I told you!" Man #2 says and pushes Man #1. "What you want is no longer in this box."
Man #1 shakes his head, "I need more! Won't you understand? I've gotta have more!"
Man #2 frowns, "You can never get enough greed, can you?" He a fireball at Man #1 and he flies against a dumpster.
Buffy, Prue and Phoebe run over to them.
Prue frowns, "Hey!" She uses her power on Man #2. He drops the box.
"The box." Man #1 says.
The two men both dive for the box. Prue uses her power and the box slides across the room.
Man #2 tries to get up and Phoebe kicks him in the face. "That box belongs to Lucas."
Buffy powers up a fireball, "Yeah, well, tell Lucas it's been impoun..." Man #2 disappears, "…ded."
Prue goes over to Man #1. "Hey, it's okay, it's over."
Man #1 shakes his head, "No, gotta have more. Don't you understand? I've gotta have more!" He pushes Prue out of the way and runs onto the road.
"No!" Prue says as the man is hit by a bus.
Some time later the police are questioning witnesses. Darryl goes over to Prue. Phoebe and Buffy are being interviewed by a cop.
"In your opinion, was there anything the bus driver could have done to avoid him?" Cop asks.
Buffy shakes her head, "No, it happened too fast, he didn't have time to react."
"Alright, I think that's it. If I could just have both of your home phone numbers in case I have any other questions." Cop says.
"It's the same as my sister's. We live together." Phoebe says.
"Really? Just out of curiosity, what would you say if one of my other questions was, can I take you out to dinner?" Cop asks.
Buffy rolls her eyes. Is the cop really hitting on Phoebe?
Phoebe laughs. "Ooh, you caught me off guard with that one."
"That's my job." Cop says.
"Uh, well, you're very good at it. Um, but I-I think that it would be best if those numbers stayed in the report. I'm seeing someone." Phoebe says.
Cop nods, "I'm not surprised."
"Officer." Darryl says.
"Excuse me." Cop says.
Buffy and Phoebe walks over to Prue.
"Are you okay?" Buffy asks.
Prue shrugs, "Um, I don't know. I keep on thinking about what we could have done differently to try and save him but he ran into the street so fast, and..."
Phoebe shakes her head, "We couldn't have saved him, Prue. Not without knowing more about the demon who did this to him."
The coroners take the body away.
"Lucas. To find him we have to find out what's so special about this box." Prue says.
Later Prue, Buffy and Phoebe walk inside in the front door of the Manor. Prue gets the box out of her bag.
"Don't open that. Let me go get Piper first." Phoebe says.
"Why?" Prue asks.
Phoebe sighs, "Oh, gee, Prue, I don't know. Maybe so you don't go running in the street and get hit by a bus too." She goes in the kitchen.
Prue looks to Buffy, "How long have you know Willow might have a power?"
"A few days. She just started levitating stuff." Buffy says.
"And you didn't think to mention this, because." Prue says.
Buffy sighs, "Because I am training her. I didn't want to thrust that onto someone else. I took on that responsibility and till I feel she nolonger needs a teacher I will continue to train her."
Prue nods, "I understand. But you should consider letting me help at least. If she has a power like mine I can help her to learn control."
Buffy nods, "Your right, Prue. I'm sorry for not asking you to help train her. I'm also sorry you felt like I didn't need you."
Prue sighs, "It's okay, Buffy."
Buffy smiles, "Besides I will always need you. Your my big sis. Who else will I turn to if I need help with something?"
Prue nods and smiles. She moves to open the box as Phoebe and Piper walk into the room.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you doing?" Phoebe asks.
"Uh, opening the box." Prue says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "You're supposed to be waiting for me and Piper."
"Okay, so you're here. I'm gonna open it." Prue says.
Phoebe takes it off her. "What if you unleash some huge abomination?"
Prue sighs, "Whatever it is, I'm sure that we can handle it."
Buffy nods, "I think at least we should call Leo and ask his opinion first."
Prue nods, "Okay, but we didn't need his opinion before."
Leo orbs in. "You called?"
Prue shakes her head, "No."
"But as long as you're here. Box. Intercepted from a demon. Open it? Yay or nay?" Phoebe says.
Leo nods, "Have you checked the Book of Shadows?"
Piper shakes her head, "No. But that's a great idea. Leo, you're a genius. What would we do without him?"
Prue frowns, "Oh, I don't know. I guess our lives wouldn't be this smooth running, carefree existence that they are today."
"Oh, uh, Phoebe, your ethics professor called about your meeting today at 2:00." Piper says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "Well, obviously I can't make it now."
Prue shakes her head, "No, no, no, you should go. I mean, you're too close to graduating to mess up now. The four of us can handle the box."
"Are you sure?" Phoebe asks.
Buffy nods, "Yes, go. Although, you might want to change into, oh, I don't know, clothes. Actual shirt."
Phoebe looks down at her open vest, showing most of her bra. "Okay."
"Okay. That's very... let's go." Prue says.
Prue heads upstairs.
Buffy looks to Piper, "We need to find time to spend with Prue. I got the tail end of a conversation about her thinking we don't need her anymore."
"That's ridiculous." Piper says.
"I know it is." Buffy says. "But that's what Prue thinks."
Later Buffy, Prue, Piper and Leo are in the attic. They have both Book of Shadows opened up to a page on 'The Seven Deadly Sins'.
"Bottled at the Source by the Source. So what, it's a box of sin?" Prue says.
"Good thing you didn't open it. It would have been Pandora all over again." Piper says.
Leo shakes his head, "Not quite. But this may be how the myth got started. Only it's much more specific type of attack. According to this, the box contains seven balls of sin used to corrupt paragon's good."
"If you're a paragon of good, how do you get corrupted?" Buffy asks.
"Because no one is immune to sin. Whether it be pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed or sloth. Whichever one you're predisposed to, is the one that attacks you."
Prue nods, "Well, the business man must have been attacked by greed, that's why he kept on wanting more."
"Only his greed was magnified a thousand times." Piper says.
Buffy nods, "And it explains why Prue's scry worked."
Prue nods, "I felt the unnatural activity was the demon courier. But it must have been the sin working against the businessman's good nature."
"Okay, so what do we do now?" Piper asks.
"Well, the infector appears to be the link. Destroy Lucas and the sins lose their power." Leo says.
"Do we know anything about these infectors?" Buffy asks.
Leo shakes his head, "Only that they were humans consumed by sundering life and in death."
"So what we need to do now is find a spell to remove the sin from the infected human incase Lucas strikes again, right?" Piper says.
"You can't remove sin magically or otherwise. It's apart of all of us." Prue says.
"Even you?" Buffy says.
Prue nods, "Yes, even me. Just a teeny little bit. Nothing that anyone would notice but me."
Downstairs Lucas appears and picks up the box.
Phoebe comes down the stairs. "Okay, you guys, wish me luck." She sees Lucas. "Hey."
Lucas smiles, "It's okay. I think you're gonna like this one."
A sin ball hits Phoebe. Prue, Piper and Leo come down the stairs. Three more sin balls hit them. Lucas disappears.
Buffy comes down the stairs and notices the box is gone, "Where's the box?"
"What was that? What just happened?" Phoebe asks.
"Oh, no, don't tell me we got infected with the sin thingy." Piper says.
Phoebe frowns, "What do you mean? What is she talking about?"
"Someone tell me what's going on?" Buffy asks.
Prue nods, "Okay, nobody panic. Buffy I think we got hit by the sin balls. Does anybody feel different?"
Leo shakes his head, "No."
"Me neither." Piper says.
"Uh-uh." Phoebe says.
"No." Buffy says.
"Alright, so maybe we're immune because we're magical." Prue says.
Leo nods, "I don't know, I better orb up and ask."
"You do that. Buffy, Piper and I will go recheck the books, and you missy, you get your butt to that meeting and charm the pants off of your professor. Go, and get home as soon as possible." Prue says as she pushes Phoebe out the door. Phoebe tries to protest. "No, I'm sure, go!"
Later in the kitchen Piper is sitting at the table talking on the phone, and flipping through a magazine.
"Ah, no, that'll be it. Just the two Armani suits size 42, the Donna Karan dress, the three pairs of Stuart Weitzman shoes, the Wong Gucci jacket and the Prada bag. What's the total?" Piper says.
Buffy and Prue walks in.
"Alright, we don't have much time..." Prue says.
"Shh! I'm on the phone with Bloomingdales." Piper says. "Oh, okay, um, well, then I'm gonna have to split that on two credit cards. You can put $5000 on the card that's on file, and the re—" Buffy hangs up the phone. "What are you doing?"
Prue smiles, "Uh, saving your life or at least your credit rating, which is your life."
Piper frowns, "Excuse me, Leo needs suits. But that doesn't answer why Buffy did it."
"Leo doesn't wear suits." Prue says. "And think of Buffy as a designated driver. She is the only one that didn't get hit by those sin ball things."
"Yet." Piper says. "And how do you know she didn't get hit?"
Buffy smiles, "Because I wasn't in the room when the rest of you got hit."
Piper picks up a wine glass and has a sip.
"A-a-are you drinking in the middle of the day?" Prue asks.
"I was a little bummed about this sin thing, so I thought I deserved a little indulgence. Would you like a bit of bubbly?" Piper says.
Buffy shakes her head, "No, we would like a little bit of help. We are supposed to be tracking down Lucas."
"Sorry. Catch me up." Piper says.
Prue sits down. "Alright, so it turns out that those sin balls work a lot faster than we thought. Once infected, the victim only has a few hours before it drives them to a total self destruction."
"Well, good thing we weren't infected then, huh?" Piper says as she picks up a chocolate and takes a bite.
Prue nods, "Right."
"Wrong," Buffy says. "Till we can prove you weren't infected we should be assuming you are."
Prue nods, "Anyways now that Lucas has the box, the question is who will be. I mean, I tried scrying for unnatural activity but it just kept pointing back to the manor."
Phoebe runs in. "Guess what? My ethics professor kicked me out of class."
"What? What happened?" Buffy asks.
"I don't know, I don't know. One minute I was telling him why my paper was late, the next thing I knew was... unzipping his pants with my teeth." Phoebe says.
Prue shakes her head, "Oh, Phoebe, you do know that charming the pants off someone is just a figure of speech, don't you?"
"I don't know what came over me, Prue. I'm just glad that I realised what was happening before I... eww!" Phoebe says.
Buffy sighs, "Sounds like lust. As in the sin of. Phoebe has been infected which means likely so have you two."
Piper frowns, "So you think we were infected?"
Prue nods, "Hello? Gluttony, table for one."
"Leo!" Piper says.
Buffy shakes her head, "Oh, no, no, no, Leo's not up there. He's in the living room watching TV."
Buffy, Prue, Piper and Phoebe walk into the living room to see Leo laying on the couch watching TV.
"What are you doing?" Piper asks.
"Just kicking back." Leo says.
Piper shakes her head, "Something is wrong with this picture. You need chips. I'll go get some." She heads heads for the kitchen.
"Oh, turn on MTV, I wanna see Carson Daily, he is so hot." Phoebe says and sits on the couch beside Leo.
Buffy sighs, "Okay, uh, excuse me, sins in a box. Demon hunt, real life. Can we please focus here? Now, what did 'they' say about Lucas' sneak attack?"
"I don't know. I didn't make it up there. I orbed half way up and I got tired." Leo says.
"What?" Prue asks.
"Hey, after sixty years of constant vigilance, I think I deserve a little down time." Leo says.
Piper walks in carrying a bowl of chips. "Here you go, honey."
Leo smiles, "Oh, thanks, honey. I'm gonna probably be thirsty soon."
"Oh, I'm gonna be ill soon." Prue says.
The doorbell rings.
Buffy sighs, "I'll get it." She opens the door and a flower delivery guy brings in bunches of flowers. "Who are they for?"
Delivery Guy looks at his invoice, "Piper Halliwell."
Buffy shakes her head, "Can't refuse since their flowers I'm guessing?"
Phoebe walks in the foyer. "I love a man in a uniform."
Prue follows Phoebe, "Hey, who sent the flowers?"
Delivery guy shakes his head, "Sorry. Their already paid for."
Buffy nods, "Ok I'll sign." She looks to Prue, "Their for Piper. I bet she ordered them for herself."
"I did order them for myself." Piper says walking into the foyer.
"Oh, this is just too much." Prue says.
"I bet you're too much." Phoebe says to the delivery guy and she places her hands on his chest.
Buffy shakes her head, "Alright, that's it. That's enough." She pushes the delivery guy outside. "Nothing to see here, nothing to respond to, get out. You! What are you smiling at, buddy?"
Delivery Guy leaves.
"Why did you do that?" Phoebe asks.
"Because unless you guys want those flowers at your funeral, you had better get a grip, okay? You've been infected. Gluttony, lust, and that in there..." Prue says as they walks back in the living room. Leo burps. "Is sloth."
"How did I get gluttony? I don't over eat." Piper says.
Buffy shakes her head, "No, but you over do. The sins are drawn to our predispositions and lately yours has been excess."
"What sin did you get hit with, Prue?" Phoebe asks.
"Well, I didn't get hit." Prue says.
"Oh, I saw you get hit." Phoebe says.
"Well, I must be strong enough to fight it off, I'm not showing any symptoms, am I? And thank goodness, alright, one of us has to keep our wits about us." Prue says.
Buffy shakes her head, "Prue, I think it would be safe to say that you are infected. It's why we agreed for me to be the one to look out for you guys till we fix this."
Prue sighs and nods, "Ok Buffy." She sees the news on the TV. "Hey, turn that up, lazy."
Leo turns up the TV.
"The SWAT team just arrived at Bay City Motor Cars. A further signal that police are taking seriously. Pastor Roger Tremble threatens to shoot and kill his hostage if his demands are not met."
"Do you have any idea what exactly the Pastor's demands are?"
"Well, actually, yeah, they're a little bazaar but he claims he wants a Jag. Specifically a XK convertible in British racing green."
"That's a new one." Piper says.
"That news caster's kinda cute." Phoebe says.
Buffy nods, "Alright, what do you wanna bet that the demon infected the Pastor with envy."
"Buffy, out of all the people in San Francisco..." Piper says.
"Still, he does fit the profile. Paragon of good, driven to an act of self destruction." Leo says.
Prue nods, "Yeah, especially with a SWAT team outside. Alright, we can not let this demon steal anymore of our innocent souls." Prue drags Phoebe away from the TV. "Piper, are you coming?"
"Uh, I was gonna stay here with Leo and hold down the fort." Piper says.
"More like hold down the couch." Phoebe says.
"I'll come if you want me to." Piper says.
Buffy shakes her head, "No, it's fine, I'll just do all of it myself if I have to. Come on, Prue, Phoebe." Prue and Phoebe grab Buffy's hands and she flames out.
At Bay City Motor Cars, the SWAT team have surrounded the building. Buffy, Prue and Phoebe are there talking to Darryl.
"Look, Darryl, just let me handle this." Prue says.
"Look, Prue, it's a highly charged, highly public situation. I can't just ask SWAT to let you handle it. I get enough flak from these guys as it is." Darryl says.
"Alright, would you rather me astral project myself in there?" Prue asks.
"Come on, Prue, you're not being reasonable." Darryl says.
"I have something to say. I see that cute officer from this morning." Phoebe says and she gets all excited.
Buffy shakes her head, "Hey, stay on point, we still have an innocent to save."
"You're right, we all do, cops included. Look, just let the hostage negotiators handle it, please?" Darryl says.
"Fine." Prue says.
"What's the plan?" Buffy asks.
"The plan is to talk the Pastor down, wait him out." Darryl says.
"Okay." Buffy says.
"It works in most cases, trust me." Darryl says.
"Okay, well, if he's been infected it will not work in this case, trust me, alright. The Pastor's only gonna get worse." Prue says.
"What would you do to resolve it?" Darryl asks.
"There's only one thing to do." Prue says and she walks towards the building.
Buffy frowns, "Prue!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait!" Darryl says. "Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" He notices Phoebe is gone. "Buffy where did Phoebe go?"
Buffy looks back at where Phoebe was standing and frowns, "Ok you find Phoebe, I'll go deal with Prue."
"How are you going to deal with Prue?" Darryl asks.
"I'm going to flame inside." Buffy says and she runs off towards a secluded spot and flames out.
Inside the building, the Pastor has a gun up to the salesman's throat.
Prue walks in just as Buffy flames in behind a desk out of sight.
"Pastor Tremble?" Prue says.
The Pastor turns around and points the gun at Prue. "Who are you?"
Buffy stands up from behind the desk and moves over next to Prue.
"Whoa, okay, hold on, I'm – We're here to help, but we can not do that until you put the gun down." Prue says.
"Get outta here." Pastor says.
Buffy shakes her head, "We just wanna talk."
"I just want my Jag. Do you want me to shoot you too? I swear I will." Pastor says.
Prue shakes her head, "Okay, no, no, no, wait. We know what's happened to you, okay? You've been infected with sin."
"I warned you." Pastor says.
"No." Buffy says as Prue uses her power but the gun doesn't fly out of his hand. He shoots at Prue.
"Prue, you alright? Talk to me, Prue." Darryl's voice comes over the microphone.
Prue finally comes out with the salesman. "Everything's under control, don't worry a thing. I've got it all under control. Hi, he needs medical attention. The Pastor's inside, I kicked his ass. He needs attention too, he's knocked out."
Everyone applauds and news reporters rush up to Prue.
"Hi, can I just ask a few questions?"
"The name's Halliwell, Prue Halliwell." Prue says.
"What made you run in there?"
Buffy flames in out of sight of everyone and frowns at what she sees, "Great, exposure."
"Well, my job is to protect the innocent." Prue says.
"Do you work for the police?"
"No, actually, I don't." Prue says.
Darryl pulls Prue away. "No, she's a good Samaritan, very good Samaritan. No further questions."
Buffy walks over to them, "Thanks Darryl."
"Why did you do that? I was just getting started." Prue says.
Buffy shakes her head, "Prue you were about to reveal you were a witch to everyone."
Darryl nods in agreement, "'Cause you were about to hang yourself. You shouldn't be talking to the press."
"Why not?" Prue asks.
"Why not?" Buffy says, concerned. "Do you remember the future we went to the one where Phoebe was burned at the stake? If you revealed who we are it would destroy us."
"What's the matter with you?" Darryl asks.
"Nothing can destroy me, Buffy." Prue says.
"Prue, you're bleeding." Darryl says.
Prue looks at her arm. "Whoa, I am, oh my. That bullet must have grazed me."
"And you didn't even feel it?" Buffy asks concerned.
Prue shakes her head, "No, no, you know, the adrenalin, it's no big deal."
"No big deal? You almost got yourself killed. I've never seen you runaway from danger before, but I've never seen you run toward it either. What, have you got a death wish or something?" Darryl says.
Buffy's eyes go wide, "I was right Prue, your infected."
Prue's eyes go wide, "I think your right, Buffy. That must be why I can't control my powers."
"Buffy, Prue, what's going on?" Darryl asks.
Buffy shakes her head, "Darryl, we don't have time to explain. Can you get Pastor Tremble to a safe place? Some place where he won't hurt himself, like a psychiatric hospital."
Darryl nods, "Yeah, sure, shouldn't be a problem in his case."
"Okay, good, but nobody can know that he's there, okay? Because if so, the demon will find him and kill him." Buffy says.
Darryl nods, "Okay, I don't know how long I can keep it a secret though."
Buffy nods, "Well, we don't really need that long. Just long enough for us to find the demon and vanquish him, okay? Okay. Did you find, Phoebe?
Darryl shakes his head, "Not yet."
Inside a SWAT truck Phoebe is there making out with the officer from before. She starts undressing him, then pulls out a strip of condoms from her bag. "It's a good thing I came prepared." She rips one off with her teeth.
Darryl opens the door. "Officer!"
"Phoebe!" Prue and Buffy says.
"Wait, I can explain." Officer says.
"The hell you can. Get outta there!" Darryl says and pulls him out of the truck.
Buffy pulls Phoebe out of the truck. She grabs her coat. "Here, put it on. Are you out of your mind?"
"Um, yeah, I think so. But if you two are gonna go crazy..." Phoebe says.
Prue sighs, "Yeah, well, my sin's not nearly as much fun as yours."
"Wait, you're sin? I thought you didn't get hit." Phoebe says.
Buffy shakes her head, "Oh she got hit alright with pride and it almost got her killed already."
"Pride? You don't seem all that different." Phoebe says.
"Really? Well, back atcha. We need to get home and try and track down this demon, okay?" Prue says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "No, I don't think so, I'm having too much fun, so I'll just see you later."
Buffy sighs, "If I don't get both of you home, there won't be a later."
The walk over to a secluded spot and Buffy flames out with Prue and Phoebe. They flame into the Manor and find Piper's purchases fill the foyer and living room.
Piper walks in. "Good, you're here. The pashminas have arrived and they're to die for. Come see." A delivery man walks past carrying long metal strip things. "Whoa, hey, hi, almost decapitated."
"Hello." Phoebe says as they walk into another room filled with stuff. Piper pulls a pashmina out of a box. "Wow, Piper, you really put the glutt in gluttony."
"Okay, how did you get this stuff so fast?" Prue asks.
"Oh, I just let my fingers do the walking and the clicking and the... flipping." Piper says.
Buffy frowns, "Flipping as in the pages of the Book of Shadows? You used magic?"
Piper nods, "Well, yeah, I couldn't wait six to eight weeks for delivery."
"That is so personal gain." Prue says.
"No, 'cause we need all of this stuff." Piper says.
Phoebe leaves the room.
Buffy shakes her head, "Okay, Piper, this isn't you. You're being consumed by your consumption and it will only lead to your total misuse of magic."
Piper turns on a water fountain. "Soothing, isn't it?"
In the living room Leo is laying on the couch watching a big screen TV. Phoebe moves over to him. "Hey, Leo."
"Shh, watching TV." Leo says.
Phoebe sits down next to him. "I know something more exciting than television." She unties her top. "Me." She turns off the TV.
"What the hell are you doing? Come on, give it back." Leo says and he reaches for the remote but falls on Phoebe.
Piper walks in. "Phoebe!"
"What? Buffy won't let me leave the house, so I have to make do with what I have." Phoebe says and she strokes Leo's chest.
Buffy walks in and frowns, "Phoebe!"
"Get your slutty hands off of my husband!" Piper says.
Phoebe stands up. "Make me."
"Gladly." Piper says and she picks up a statue of a head and gets ready to throw it.
"Watch the remote!" Leo says.
Buffy frowns, "Piper, put down the statue!" She grabs the statue out of Piper's hands.
Prue runs in just as Buffy grabs the statue. She turns to Piper and Phoebe, "Alright, you guys, the last I checked we still had a demon to vanquish and an innocent to save."
"I thought you said Morris hid the Pastor some place safe." Phoebe says.
Buffy nods, "Yes, he did, but envy is only the sixth sin. Which means there's still an innocent out there infected with anger." She puts the statue down looking at it like it's about to spring to life and attack her.
"What would you like us to do about it?" Piper asks.
"Leo, I would like for you to orb up there and ask the Elders what they know, okay?" Prue says.
Leo shakes his head, "I'm too tired."
Buffy shakes her head, "Leo," she hits him on the arm, "get up there right now! You're a Whitelighter, that is your job."
"Why? You guys never listen to me anyway." Leo says and yawns. "I think I'm gonna orb upstairs and take a nap." He orbs out.
Phoebe picks up a magazine and starts to read it.
Prue frowns, "Fine! Fine, orb, who needs you anyway?" Piper puts on a pair of boxing gloves. "We still have the power of three augmented." She looks at Piper, Buffy and Phoebe.)
Buffy sighs, "Maybe."
Moments later in the attic Buffy and Prue are looking through both Book of Shadows, Piper's got her feet in a foot spa, and Phoebe is lying in a chair.
"There is nothing, there is nothing in the book. Why did only lame witches precede it?" Prue says.
Buffy sighs and shakes her head.
"Because nobody is as good as you, Prue." Piper says.
Prue nods, "You know, at least I'm trying, Piper. Instead of getting a foot massage, or sleeping."
"I'm not sleeping. I'm just having the best premonitions of my life." Phoebe says.
"Of what?" Buffy asks.
"It's a button off Officer Cutie's shirt. Let me tell you, if the movie's anything like the previews... whoa." Phoebe says.
"Alright, is that all that you care about?" Prue asks as Phoebe nods. "Fine. Buffy and I'll save the innocents, Buffy and I'll vanquish the demon, and if we feel like it, maybe when we're done, we'll save you guys."
"Oh, don't do us any favours." Phoebe says.
Piper nods, "Yeah, Prue, worry about yourself."
Piper knocks a lamp in the foot spa and gets electrocuted. She falls over the back of the chair.
"Piper!" Prue and Buffy says and they run over to her.
"You alright?" Buffy asks.
"Oh, what happened?" Piper asks.
"Uh, you were shocked." Prue says.
"I feel strange." Piper says.
Buffy nods, "Yes, well, if you had both feet in the water you wouldn't feel anything." Prue helps her up. The doorbell rings. "Who is that?"
Phoebe looks out the window and sees the officer standing on the porch. "Oh! Oh! It's Officer Cutie from this morning." She opens the window. "Hey! Hey, up here! I'm gonna come down, okay?" She leans out the window and nearly falls out.
"Phoebe, watch out!" Prue says and pulls her back in. "Do you see what's happening?"
"That was close." Phoebe says and runs out of the attic.
"Prue, we just have different priorities than you and Buffy do. You two need a little pick me up. How about I buy you two some shoes?" Piper says and she heads for the door.
In the foyer Phoebe opens the door. "I knew you'd come back for me."
The officer walks in. "This isn't a social call." He grabs Phoebe.
"Whoa, are we roleplaying? Did you bring your handcuffs?" Phoebe asks.
The officer gets out his gun and points it at Phoebe. "Where's the Pastor?"
"I don't know, I swear." Phoebe says.
The officer shakes his head, "You're lying!" He pushes her into a box full of stuff. "You're something else, you know that?" He throws boxes around the room. "I got suspended because of you! You think you can ruin somebody's life and not pay for it?" He points the gun at her. "You're gonna pay."
"No." Phoebe says.
"You're gonna pay right now." The officer says.
"Please, don't shoot." Phoebe says.
Piper walks down the stairs and screams. "My stuff!" The officer points his gun at Piper and she freezes him. He unfreezes and shoots at her. She ducks. "Why are my powers not working?"
"Where's the Pastor?" The officer asks.
"I don't know." Piper says.
Phoebe knocks the officer down and he shoots up in the air.
Piper falls down the stairs and knocks over all the stuff. A large wooden box falls on top of her. Piper tries to climb out from under the box. She looks over at Phoebe and sees her unconscious on the floor. "Phoebe?"
The officer stands up. Buffy and Prue comes down the stairs.
The officer yells and points the gun at himself. Prue uses her power and some of Piper's stuff is thrown at him. He falls back onto some furniture. They look at the unconscious Piper and Phoebe.
Lucas appears behind Prue and Buffy and grabs them. "You can't save what's already lost."
At Lucas' place Buffy and Prue are tied up. Prue is struggling to get free. Buffy looks at Lucas knowing she can't flame out without risking Prue's life.
"You think you can break free, but you can't. See, that's what makes pride the deadliest of all the sins. It makes you think you're invincible. Above it all..." Lucas says.
"My powers..." Prue says.
Lucas shakes his head, "Are useless now. Corrupted. You have only a small window of opportunity to save your life before it's too late. Though it does surprise me your little friend here isn't trying to free herself. I would have gotten you with the anger instead. Oh well."
Buffy shakes her head, "Well first off I don't need to work on the ropes because I can get out of them anytime I like. Second I'm not going to risk it because I don't want to risk you hurting Prue."
"No demon has defeated me. And you won't be the first." Prue says.
"You see, but I don't have to defeat you, you're gonna defeat yourself. In mere minutes you'll be so far gone you will self destruct just like all the rest. And if I'm lucky take her with you. However, I am willing to make you two a deal."
"We don't make deals with demons." Buffy says.
Lucas nods, "Do you two listen to them? Look, we all know that you safe guarded the Pastor, which means that I can't deliver his soul. But this late in the game I am willing to pay for it." He looks to Prue. "Tell me where the Pastor is and I'll remove your sin."
"Go to hell." Prue says.
Lucas nods, "This is my hell. Every rotten day of it. Listen, I am giving you a chance to save your life, Prue. To save her life. To end your hell."
"If you remove her sin, you'll still be one more soul short." Buffy says.
Lucas nods, "That's true, but once it's sponged, I can use the sin again. You see, it'll just pop right back into my box."
"And let you infect another innocent? I don't think so. Screw you." Prue says.
Lucas picks up a stick and taps it on the floor. A large hole in the floor opens up. "Witness the bottomless pit of ever lasting torment. Pride goes with before the very long fall, Prue. So what's your decision? Remember, if I lose you lose."
"Alright, alright, untie me." Prue says.
"Prue!" Buffy says. "No!"
"Tell me where the Pastor is first." Lucas says.
"Oh, untie me first. If I self destruct, you will never get a soul." Prue says.
Lucas unties her. "Alright, where is he?"
"Ha, you lose I win, ha!" Prue says.
Phoebe, Piper and Leo walk in. Prue jumps in the pit.
"No!" Lucas says.
"Prue!" Phoebe and Buffy says.
Buffy flames out and into the hole
"Why did she have to have pride? Pride is the one sin you can't beat." Lucas says.
"Beat this." Piper says and freezes him.
Buffy flames out with Prue.
"Let go, I can handle this." Prue says and elbows Buffy in the chest.
"Ow! I was saving you." Buffy says.
"Saving me? I had it under control, I didn't need your help." Prue says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "Right."
"Uh-oh, it looks like the only way to get the pride out of Prue is to vanquish him." Piper says.
Phoebe picks up the sin box. "Oh, who ordered the sweet sin balls?"
"I think he did." Piper says.
Phoebe throws all the sin balls at Lucas.
Lucas unfreezes. "What did you...?" He falls into the pit. The pride sin comes out of Prue and lands in the box.
"Okay, whoa, what just happened?" Prue asks.
Buffy smiles, "I think you just lost your pride." Two more sin balls float into the box. "And these must be envy and anger. Which must mean the Pastor and cop are okay now."
Phoebe throws the sin box in the pit.
Prue taps the wand on the floor and the pit closes. "Okay."
Piper picks up a crystal. "Oh, wait a minute, is this another?"
"I don't think so." Leo says.
"Maybe it's the business man's soul." Phoebe says.
Piper nods, "Oh, well, then you should release it some place nice." She hands it to Leo.
"I know the perfect place." Leo says and he orbs out.
"Wow, we sure showed that demon." Prue says as Phoebe and Buffy smirks. "Okay, you guys sure showed that demon."
Piper smiles, "Thank you."
"So I guess I needed you guys a lot more than you needed me." Prue says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "No, we all needed each other. Buffy got me back at the house, you saved the innocents..."
"Yeah, but..." Prue says.
"Uh, stop it, I don't like this humble Prue, I want my real sister back." Piper says.
Phoebe nods, "Me too."
Buffy laughs, "Yeah the real Prue was much more fun."
"Well, I mean, I did save that cop from killing himself and I was strong enough to tell him..." Prue says.
Buffy holds out her hands as Piper and Phoebe take hold. Prue looks at them and then nods as she takes Piper's hand and Buffy flames out.
Later at Payson's, Orgy is playing. Piper is at the bar.
Buffy and Prue comes up to Piper
Prue offers Piper a glass of wine. "Here you go."
"Oh, no, no, no." Piper says.
"Piper, it's okay to indulge, just don't over indulge." Buffy says.
"I guess we can thank Lucas for teaching us anything in moderation." Piper says.
"Hey, there was nothing that Lucas could teach me." Prue says.
Buffy shakes her head, "Oh, really?"
"I'm doing it again, aren't I? That whole pride thing. I swear, I'm working on it." Prue says.
Piper nods, "It's a constant struggle."
Buffy nods, "Piper's right. It will always be a work in progress."
"Here's one thing that I'm willing to admit I don't understand. You, Phoebe and Leo were able to get rid of your sins with a selfless act. I committed many selfless acts yet why did I have to wait for Lucas to be vanquished to get rid of my pride?" Prue says.
"Well, Lucas said that pride was the one thing you can't beat. I think what he meant was there's no such thing as a selfless act to pride." Piper says.
"I threw myself into a pit for the Pastor and Buffy." Prue says.
Buffy nods, "Yeah, but you did that to win. So any good you did during your prideful state was for the greater glory of Prue."
"Alright, fine, then here's to Buffy, for saving me from eternal torment." Prue says.
They clink their glasses.
"Mm-hmm, and to me for not trying to be the perfect couple. If it isn't good enough for them, then screw 'em." Piper says.
Buffy smiles, "I'll drink to that."
Phoebe pushes past some people. "Excuse me." She goes over to Buffy, Prue and Piper. "Hi, I am so excited, and not in any sexual kind of way. Uh, recent events inspired me to write a paper on sexual politics, claiming that my indiscretion with Professor Kass was an ethical experiment. So I handed the paper in yesterday and... pause for dramatic effect..."
"So, did he buy it?" Prue asks.
"I got a B." Phoebe says.
Prue smiles, "Yay!"
"Minus, but I got it fair and square which means I will be able to graduate. And no man, not even Cole, is going to stand in my way." Phoebe says.
"Congratulations." Piper and Buffy says.
"I am very proud of you." Prue says.
"Oh, and coming from you." Phoebe says.
"Hey, be nice, I don't even wanna think about the sin tonight." Prue says.
"Me neither." Phoebe says.
"So this is a pretty interesting band. What's their name?" Prue asks.
"Orgy." Buffy and Piper says.
Prue gives Piper and Buffy a funny look.