Chapter 15: Blind Sided
May 3, 1997 – Saturday
Golden Gate Park
"So what are you so afraid of?" Phoebe asked, turning her attention away from the birthday party plates to look up at Piper, who was standing at the end of the table preparing the napkins.
Piper thought about ignoring the question but knew she'd never hear the end of it so she reluctantly glanced back at Phoebe. "I'm not afraid," she replied. Phoebe narrowed her eyes, as she wore a sign of disbelief that Piper noted. "I'm not!" she insisted. "I'm just not sure." Piper clarified, her voice trailing uncertainly.
"Not sure of what?" Buffy wondered as she and Prue came to join Piper and Phoebe around the table.
"Josh wants to have 'The Talk' with Piper," Phoebe answered with a teasing glance over at Piper.
Prue tilted her head in confusion. "What talk?"
Phoebe smirked and turned to face Prue. "Three dates, no sex. There could only be one talk he's talking about. You know, 'The Talk,'" she elaborated. "Safe sex, prior partners, standard dating protocol," she added in which Prue nodded in realization and cast Piper a look of sympathy.
"And sex equals relationship," Piper continued their train of thought.
"And why, again, do you not want to be a couple?" Buffy inquired.
"She's still thinking about Leo." Prue teased her younger sister, Prue's smile faded slightly when she tossed several rolled up napkins at her eldest sister.
Buffy smiled in understanding before laughing softly. "That's sweet," she gushed.
Piper sighed dramatically when Phoebe waved her hands in a sign of elaboration. "It's just that I thought Leo and I were a couple and then we 'coupled' and he took off," she explained.
"Yeah, well, men seem to have a different definition of coupling than women do," Prue pointed out mildly.
"I do not think that's why Leo left." Phoebe offered cryptically, earning curious gazes from Prue, Buffy and Piper. She didn't offer any more on the topic and neither Buffy, Prue or Piper had time to ask before another woman joined their group.
"Hey, Prue," The woman greeted cheerfully.
Prue smiled sincerely, turning to meet her. "Hey, Dee. How are you? Have you met our cousin, Payson?" she asked, her gaze flickering to the young boy, David, that followed.
"No I haven't," Dee said as she smiled at Buffy. "It's nice to meet you, Payson."
"It's nice to meet you as well," Buffy greeted waving at Dee.
Piper leaned down toward David. "Hey, how's the party going?" she wondered.
"Great, we're playing squish and squash and no one's been able to catch me," David gloated, receiving laughs from the four sisters. "Is the cake ready?" He questioned the same time Prue's phone jingle went off and she stepped away to answer it
"Uh, yeah, give us about five minutes." Piper replied.
David nodded eagerly. "Awesome." He suddenly turned and ran back to his friends. "Hey, guys, five minutes until the cake!" he announced.
Dee watched him leave before turning back to Piper. "Thanks for doing all this, Piper. I never would have been able to afford…" she trailed off gratefully and offered Piper a small smile.
"Hey, what are friends for?" Piper asked rhetorically. "Besides, it's worth it to see the look on David's face."
Buffy's gaze followed David as he played with his friends. "He's a great kid," she complimented to Dee.
Dee smiled. "Yeah, I know," she whispered in delight.
Prue sighed in irritation, closing her phone and dropping it into her purse dramatically. "Well, so much for my Saturday off. That was Claire. Something at the auction house needs to be appraised, so I gotta go," she announced. "I'm so sorry," she apologized to Dee.
Buffy, Piper, Phoebe, and Dee frowned sympathetically. "Bye."
Prue waved one last time and started down the path that would lead her to her car.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
The kids took turns throwing the ball back and forth between each other until one of them accidently threw the ball too hard. It rolled into a surrounding brush and David chased after. "I'll get it," he called to his friends. David picked it up and started to turn away when he heard a soft 'meow' from behind him. He turned around only to have a pale-skinned, red-eyed demon grab him. "Help! Let go of me!" David yelled. The grimlock struggled to keep his hold on the child.
Buffy took off at a run having heard David's cry for help.
Prue who spotted Buffy running toward David took after Buffy. She ran forward and threw her hands out. The grimlock and David were suddenly pulled apart and suspended in air. Prue stared in stunned silence before looking down at her hands in wonder. The grimlock and David dropped to the ground and the grimlock charged forward, grabbing David and running off.
Buffy who was a few steps ahead of Prue and thanks to her Slayer speed was quickly out of Prue's sight. That could have been a good thing if she had not gotten lost in the process of trying to save David. But it was sadly a bad thing as she ran into a second grimlock that grabbed her. She tried to use her Slayer strength to fight the demon off to no effect, he was stronger than her.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
The police had arrived on the scene, questioning anyone that had any involvement. Piper and was with Dee trying to comfort and assure her that David was going to be okay while Prue had just gotten done with being questioned herself. She joined Phoebe, not quite ready to face Dee yet.
"What did you tell them?" Phoebe asked gently.
Prue had her arms crossed and appeared dejected at her inability to save David. "That I saw a creature with whirling eyes take David and that Buffy may simply have gotten lost in the woods," she answered.
Phoebe looked surprised. "And what did he say?" she wondered.
"On Buffy he said they would do a search of the woods. On David what do you think he said?" Prue returned with a loud sigh. "He thought I was nuts," she replied to her own question while running a hand through her hair in frustration.
Phoebe nodded as if that was expected. "Yeah, well, it turns out David's not the first one to be taken. An inspector told me that another boy disappeared yesterday in the exact same spot."
Prue frowned thoughtfully. "A demon who steals kids? Does it get any worse?" she groaned.
"Yeah, apparently it also happened twenty years ago. Same park, three kids," Phoebe answered.
"Did they ever find the kids?" Prue inquired.
Phoebe shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted softly.
Prue sighed again and glanced back to where Dee was standing with Piper. "You know, Buffy and I could have saved him," she lamented.
"Prue, don't go there…" Phoebe pleaded.
"No, I was just so surprised and I looked down at my hand…" Prue rambled. "It was just enough hesitation for me to lose sight of both the demon and Buffy."
"It was the first time you channelled your power through your hands," Phoebe said as she smiled at her sister. "Give yourself a break. Your power's growing. Now Buffy's not the only one whose powers have grown."
"I guess. I just hope no one saw me," Prue mumbled. She turned around as Piper came up to join them.
Phoebe smiled faintly in greeting. "So how's Dee doing?" she asked.
" Not good. It's very frustrating not being able to tell her who we are and how we can help…" Piper started.
"Well, the sooner we get to the Book of Shadows the sooner we can get David and Buffy back home," Prue cut off Piper's train of thought before she started feeling guilty.
"Buffy?" Piper said confused, she had been too busy consoling Dee that she had yet to have been told Buffy was missing.
"Yeah," Prue sighed not wanting to be the bearer of bad news. "Buffy's missing."
"What!" Piper yelled. "Did you tell the cops that?"
"Yeah, they need a photo so they can start looking. I told them we'll get them one as soon as we get home." Prue said as her cell phone jingle went off again. She sighed loudly, irritably searching her purse for her phone. "I forgot about the appraisal." She groaned.
"You should just go. I can get the police Buffy's photo," Piper decided as Phoebe took Prue's cell phone from their elder sister. "And Phoebe and I can look in both books and we'll let you know if we find anything."
Phoebe pressed a button and then hung up the phone before passing it back to Prue. "Don't you just hate cell phones? Always out of range," she quipped, winking at Prue mischievously.
Prue smiled faintly. "Call me," she pleaded before heading for her car for the second time that day. "And definitely call me if you find Buffy," she called over her shoulder.
Storm Drain
"Help! Help me! Let go of me!" David yelled as his grimlock captor held him down on the floor. The second grimlock passed by the cage, that held Buffy, on his way to David. As one grimlock held him down the other held his hand over David's eyes. An electric blue light shot back and forth between David's eyes for several seconds. The grimlock's reddish eyes became David's soft brown color. David opened his eyes which were now white and clouded. "I can't see… Why can't I see? Mom? Mom!"
The grimlocks walked from David's cage to Buffy's. One of them grabbed her and held her down. The other held his hand on Buffy's eyes. An electric blue light shot back and forth between Buffy's eyes for several seconds. The grimlock's reddish eyes became Buffy's blue color. Buffy opened her eyes which were now white and clouded just like David's.
Halliwell Manor
Piper slammed the Book of Shadows closed. "Nothing," she hissed in frustration, suddenly getting to her feet.
"Did you check under whirling eyes?" Phoebe asked.
Piper headed for the cabinets and began pulling stuff out. "About an hour ago. I found demons with no eyes, demons with four eyes, eyes that grow legs, but no whirling eyes," she listed irritably. "And there are way too many demons that would be strong enough to subdue a Slayer to narrow it down. Did you find anything?"
"I found some news clippings about the kidnapping twenty years ago," Phoebe acknowledged. "Ah, all three boys were taken in the same place as David and Buffy. And two of them were never seen again."
Piper rolled her eyes. "Oh great," she muttered worry for Buffy filtering into her voice. "What about the other one?"
"He was found. His name was Brent Miller." Phoebe read, pointing to the name on the laptop screen. She glanced up and noticed all the food Piper was pulling out. "Um, Piper, I've found that ice cream works the best when you're upset," she offered, she was sure that Piper was grabbing food because she was upset about Buffy.
Piper paused and suddenly realized what her sister was thinking. "Well I will definitely each some ice cream later, preferably when we have Buffy home and I can share it with her. This isn't for me. It's for Dee. I'm making her a care package," she defended. "Keep reading," she ordered.
"Brent Miller was discovered two days after he was taken, roaming the streets. He was fine… except he'd gone blind," Phoebe continued, trailing off uncertainly.
Piper stopped as her eyes went wide with fear for their cousin. "Blind?" she said as he lip trembled. "Buffy's going to be blind?"
Phoebe stood and pulled her middle sister into her arms and held Piper tightly. "We'll find her," she said. Piper nodded her thanks as Phoebe released her and returned to her laptop. "Anyways, he claimed that some storm drain monsters stole his eyesight and of course the authority's believed he just caught a parasite."
"We can't tell Dee that her son might be blinded." Piper whispered. "In fact I don't think we should tell Prue that Buffy might be blind either. I'm having a hard time dealing with her being taken, now to find out she's maybe blind. Prue will go ballisitic."
"I know how you feel, Piper," Phoebe said with a sigh. "She maybe our cousin. But I think of her more as a sister. Anyways, maybe if I can find this Brent Miller guy on the web he might know something that could help us."
"I hope you're right," Piper sighed, dropping back into one of the chairs.
"Piper, we're gonna find David and Buffy," Phoebe promised gently.
Bucklands Auction House
Prue sat at her desk, filling out appraisal paperwork on the expensive glass bowl that was in front of her when a reporter pushed the door of her office open.
"Prue Halliwell?" he asked.
Prue glanced up from her work. "Yes?" she prompted professionally, her eyes flickering back to her work.
The reporter slowly approached her while pulling out a business card. "Hi, Eric Lohman," he introduced himself. "Bay Weekly. Alternative press. Maybe you've heard of us?"
Prue politely shook his hand. "Sorry," she apologized.
"Oh, well, you will," Lohman promised with a shrug. "Listen, I was hoping you might be able to help me with a story I'm working on."
"On the auction business?" Prue guessed, though mildly surprised.
"No, actually, on magic," Lohman replied.
Prue quickly turned her gaze back on her work so as to hide her surprise. "Magic? Why would you come to me?" she wondered, forcing herself to keep nonchalant about the topic.
"I don't know, maybe because I saw you levitate two people in the park with just a wave of your hand," Lohman answered, smirking triumphantly. Prue didn't respond and Eric continued. "I take that as a 'no comment.'" He paused, waiting for her reaction. When she still didn't say anything, he just shrugged and started walking around her office, casually looking at things. "So, what are you anyway? Some kind of David Copperfield, Lance Burton, a freak of nature?" Lohman inquired, laughing at his own joke.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Prue lied emotionlessly, eyes unblinking.
Lohman sighed and turned back to face her. "Look, Prue, your friends call you Prue, right?"
Prue carefully stood up from her seat. "I'd like for you to leave…" she started.
"Well, tough, get over it," Lohman interrupted harshly as he advanced toward her. Prue's eyes flashed and she sent a dangerous glare at him. "I had my police sources check you out. It's interesting how your name keeps popping up in all these unsolved murder cases, don't you think?"
Prue rolled her eyes. "What does that have to do with anything?" she snapped.
"Maybe nothing, but if I wrote an article on it… it might look like something," he answered. He grinned when Prue had no argument. "Does your boss subscribe to my paper?" Lohman asked pointedly.
"Don't threaten me," Prue warned.
"What are you gonna do? Make me fly into a wall?" he laughed, openly mocking her. Lohman slyly pushed the glass bowl that Prue had been appraising off her desk. Prue jumped but forced herself to let it drop. She flinched when it shattered into pieces. "Oops, how clumsy of me," Lohman apologized, not sorry in the least. He leaned down and picked up the remnants of the bowl and placed them back on Prue's desk. "I bet that took a lot of self control, huh? Not to use your powers."
Prue took a deep breath to control her rising anger before responding. "You're a real credit to your profession."
"You know, that kid saw what I saw too…" Lohman pointed out as Prue picked up the phone on her desk. "… Cops get him, he's all the corroborating evidence I need."
"Security!" Prue said into the phone.
Lohman rolled his eyes and irritably hit the 'hang up' button on the phone receiver. "Prue, be smart. Work with me…" Prue slammed the phone back down and crossed her arms defiantly. "… I'm gonna break this story one way or the other. And when I do, I can either make you sound like wonder woman or the devil incarnate. Okay? Think about it," he ordered, pointing down at his business card before leaving without another word.
Brent Miller's Apartment
"Mr. Miller will be in shortly," the housekeeper promised, glancing back behind her to Phoebe, who was following close behind. She led Phoebe to the main room and stopped, allowing Phoebe to take a look around.
"Wow, what a great view," Phoebe breathed. Her eyes on the beautiful balcony that overlooked the ocean. "You can smell the ocean," she realized while the housekeeper nodded in agreement.
Mr. Miller walked in, in time to hear Phoebe's comment. "And hear the traffic," he agreed, stopping when his service dog did just in front of Phoebe.
Phoebe glanced down a little nervously at the dog as the housekeeper left back to the front. "Uh, Brent Miller?" she asked.
"That's what they tell me," Brent replied casually.
Phoebe smiled and held her hand out to shake. "Hi, I'm Phoebe Halliwell," she introduced herself, quickly pulling her hand back when she remembered he couldn't see it.
"Phoebe, allow me to introduce you to Helmeth," Brent continued, waving his hand at his dog.
"He's beautiful," Phoebe complimented with a smile down at the dog. "And so is this place," she went on, her eyes scanning the room around her.
"Yeah, well, didn't think a blind guy could live so well, huh?" Brent quipped.
Phoebe's smile turned to horror at his words. "Oh, no, that's not what I meant at all," she exclaimed desperately..
Brent chuckled softly. "I know you didn't," he assured her. "I design software for the visually impaired. Life has been good to me," he explained quickly. "So, how can I, how can I help you, Phoebe?" Brent wondered politely.
Phoebe nervously glanced behind her to make sure the housekeeper had left them alone. "Um, actually, I wanted to talk to you about when you were kidnapped as a child," she answered.
"I'm sorry, uh, I'm not very comfortable talking about that," Brent declined, his voice colder than it had been at first.
Phoebe nodded hastily in understanding despite him being unable to see her. "I understand, but I read a lot about it…"
"I said I'm not interested in talking about it," Brent stated firmly.
"Okay, but this just isn't for me…" Phoebe began again.
"I said no!" Brent yelled. His dog barked a warning and Phoebe immediately stopped talking.
The housekeeper came back from the front of the house. "Is everything alright, Mr. Miller?" she asked, eyeing Phoebe with suspicion.
Brent took a moment to compose himself. "Yes, Lucy, just, uh, show this lady to the front door," he ordered lightly. He turned away and took a seat on the edge of a nearby armchair.
Phoebe started to follow Lucy out, but suddenly stopped and turned back to him. "No, you know what? I'm not leaving," she argued defiantly. "It's happening again. In the last twenty-four hours two little boys and a sixteen year old girl were kidnapped from the same park you were… Maybe by the same monsters that took you."
There was a tense moment as Brent thought about what she said before he turned to face her. "It's alright, Lucy." Brent allowed Phoebe to stay. He let Lucy take Helmeth with her when she went back to the other side of the house. "You believe my story about the monsters?"
"Yes, I do," Phoebe answered softly.
"Why?" Brent demanded. "When everyone else has always laughed at me?"
"Well, maybe it's because I've seen my fair share of monsters and I haven't told anyone about them because I didn't want them to laugh at me either," Phoebe replied slowly. "Mr. Miller, I know you wouldn't want what happened to you to happen to these two little boys or that girl, who happens to be my cousin. Please."
Brent sighed softly and leaned against the nearby chair. "There were three of them. I mean, terrifying creatures really. They dragged me into a storm drain to a junction of some kind. They… held me down. I remember blue sparks hitting my face. My eyes felt like they were on fire and, uh, that's the last thing I ever saw."
"Why do you think they took your eyesight?" Phoebe inquired.
"I don't know," Brent admitted. "But I remember them saying something about auras," he offered. Phoebe narrowed her eyes thoughtfully at the mention of auras.
Halliwell Manor
"Auras? I think I read something about that before," Phoebe admitted as she sat down next to Piper on the landing with the Charmed Ones' book. She began flipping frantically through the pages. When she found the the page she was looking for she pointed it out to Phoebe.
Piper read the passage over her shoulder. "Grimlocks?"
"Yeah, demons that roam from city to city and take out powerful forces of good by seeing the unique auras that surround them. Aura eyesight is stolen from innocent children." Phoebe continued. "See, it all fits."
"How does that fit with Buffy?" asked Piper. "She isn't a child. And I don't think with all we've seen she can be considered innocent."
"As far as the innocent goes," Phoebe said as she looked at her middle sister. "Depending on their definition of innocent, Buffy could still be innocent. After all she's still a virgin isn't she?"
"I have no idea," Piper shrugged. "She's a teenager, you really think she's going to tell us about her first time?"
"Probably not," Phoebe shrugged. "But let's assume for a second that's what innocent means in Buffy's case, though it probably would mean that in David's. But if it does in Buffy's case then she's passed one of the two criteria. The other is age. We don't know what demon's consider the age of maturity. Under California law that's eighteen. But the demons may not consider someone, especially a girl, an adult till she or he has sex for the first time."
"I guess that makes sense," Piper agreed. "So what else does it say?"
Phoebe turned back to the book. "The stolen eyesight will last for twenty four hours as long as the children are still alive," she finished, turning her wrist over so she could read the time on her watch. "Which means we have less than fourteen hours. Okay, we need Schisandra root and thyme for a vanquishing potion."
"Piper! Phoebe!" Prue's yell shook Piper and Phoebe from their thoughts and the two hurriedly ran down the rest of the stairs to meet Prue at the bottom.
"Uh oh, I know that look." Phoebe pointed out with a glance at an obviously upset Prue.
Piper took in Prue's expression with a frown. "What's wrong?"
"A reporter saw me use my powers in the park and he's threatening to write an article about it," Prue exploded as soon as she had her sisters attention. She then spun on her heel and marched over to the window to make sure Mr. Reporter wasn't watching them or something.
"What?" Phoebe asked in surprise. "Does he have any proof?"
Prue shrugged, turning away from the window. "Just what he saw," she assumed.
Phoebe didn't appear too worried. "So it's your word against his?" she pressed.
"Yeah, the difference is, his word is delivered to a half a million homes each week," Prue pointed out mildly.
"Well, everything happens for a reason, maybe it's time to let the world know about us," Piper suggested.
Phoebe and Piper's mouths dropped while Prue just shook her head, "No, being outed would only make our lives worse," she insisted.
"We don't know that. At least we could tell Dee what we were doing and give her some hope," Piper argued defiantly.
"No, Prue's right. If we're exposed we're gonna have every crazy hounding us day and night," Phoebe disagreed.
"Not to mention the media circus on our front lawn," Prue added.
Piper quickly threw her hands in the air. "Well, we can't worry about that right now, we have to find those boys and Buffy. I'm gonna go see Josh and see if he has a map or something of the storm drain system," she decided, grabbing her jacket off the hook by the door.
"Storm drains?" Prue asked, completely confused.
"It's where these demons live," Phoebe explained. "Sadly though I remember when Willow hacked into the city computers when we were trying to find out where the vampires took Jesse. There are hundreds of miles of storm drains and electrical tunnels in the city. I guess I'll go talk to Brent..."
"Brent?" Prue repeated.
"I'm gonna go ask and see if he knows where the grimlocks took him." Phoebe answered.
Piper suddenly came back from the Foyer. "Prue, the Book of Shadows says the only way to kill a grimlock is to blind it with a potion made of Schisandra root… can you find some?"
Prue nodded hesitantly. "I'll try as long as that reporter isn't following me." She agreed.
"Alright then, I'll be back soon." Phoebe announced as she and Piper headed for the door. "Hey, what if Josh wants to have the talk?" she wondered to Piper.
"I'll tell him I have a headache," Piper replied shortly.
"Uh guys," Prue said as she followed her sisters. "Do we think these Grimlocks took Buffy?"
Piper and Phoebe looked at each other. Piper sighed. "We should tell her, Phoebe," she asked her younger sister. Phoebe resignedly nodded.
"Tell me what?" asked Prue in confusion.
"We do think the Grimlocks took her," Piper said as she turned toward her elder sister. "We read in the book that the Grimlocks steal the sight of innocent children so they can see auras. Buffy could be blind."
"But Buffy isn't a child or innocent," Prue said as her confusion became even more evident.
"By society, no she's not, she's a teenager," Phoebe told Prue. "By California law she is, she won't be an adult till she turns eighteen. Anyways we don't know exactly how these demons see what a child is or isn't. I kind of thinking its possible they see a child become an adult the first time the child would lose that innocence… in another words…"
"When she would have sex," Prue finished for Phoebe as she realized what her baby sister was getting at. "When she would lose her virginity." She let out a resigned sigh. "We have to find her."
"We will," Piper said as she and Phoebe went to Prue and wrapped their arms around their sister.
Josh's Office
Josh carefully rolled out a map over the table as Piper watched on eagerly. "Why exactly do you need this?" Josh asked curiously, his voice echoing his mild surprise.
"Uh, uh, a client at Quake is thinking of throwing an underground rave and we might cater it." Piper replied, thinking quickly and smiling mysteriously up at Josh.
"A party in a storm drain?" Josh repeated the basic idea in disbelief.
Piper nodded a little too enthusiastically and turned her gaze back to the map. "Yeah, he, uh, runs a roto-rooter-type company. It's kind of a theme thing." Piper fabricated.
Josh just let it go. He'd learned by now that she was quite keen in keeping her secrets to herself. "Yeah, well, sounds dank," he joked while Piper continued nodding and staring at the map. "Anyway…" Josh's voice forced her to look up at him. "… as long as you're here. Can we talk?"
Piper's eyes widened and she snatched for any excuse. "Uh, maybe later. I have to go…" she started, reaching out for the map, but Josh blocked her way and she was forced to stop.
"No, Piper. It cannot wait." Josh insisted.
"Somebody's a little anxious, huh?" Piper laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
"This is important, it could affect the rest of my life," he responded seriously.
Before he could speak again, Piper jumped in. "Well, not if we take precautions."
Josh simply looked confused at her interruption. "What?" he inquired.
"I… I'm not saying I'm ready for that. In fact, I'm not ready for that, but when I am ready, I will be taking precautions," Piper hastily continued.
Josh carefully leaned against his desk in front of Piper. "Piper, what are you talking about?" he questioned with a faint smile.
"Uh, having… sex," Piper answered hesitantly. She paused when Josh didn't respond. "You're not talking about that are you?" she realized. He shook his head. "Uh, what are you talking?" Piper mumbled, sounding embarrassed.
"My leaving," Josh replied.
Piper's forced smile faded as his words sunk in. "Leaving?" she exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yeah, I got offered a job down in Beverly Hills. I mean, it's not exactly my dream job, but it's a good opportunity. Look, my point is if I thought we had a future…" Josh began.
"Josh, this is all happening a little too fast," Piper interrupted.
"Yeah, I know, I know, and I'm sorry. But like it or not, you are the swing vote. Now, if you don't want me to go. I won't," he continued softly. Josh fell silent awaiting her answer.
Piper was completely silent for several agonizing moments before throwing her hands out in frustration and freezing him. She immediately spun around and began pacing. "Okay, we need to talk about this. If I ask you to stay then we're a couple and I'm not sure if I'm ready to be a couple, but if I tell you to leave and we could have been a good couple then, then I'll never know," she rambled before dropping her hands in defeat and pulling out her cell phone. "I need more time. I need lots and lots of time," Piper hissed, dialing a number as she returned to her position. She hid the phone under her jacket just as Josh unfroze.
Right on cue, Josh's office phone rang. "Uh, hold that thought," he told Piper, moving to answer the phone. "Yeah, hello?" Josh answered.
As soon as Josh had turned his back, Piper grabbed the edge of the map and took off out the door with it. Josh hung up and turned around to find Piper gone and the door of his office open.
Brent Miller's Apartment
Brent led the Phoebe sisters to his couch where he took a seat with Phoebe next to him. "I remember their faces. It's like a nightmare that never ends…" he admitted when she asked him about the area. He took a moment to try and remember. "… They took me into this big area and there were a lot of pipes… I'm sorry, that's really all I remember."
Phoebe sighed softly. "That's okay, Brent," she soothed though her voice radiated disappointment.
"You're disappointed," Brent realized.
"No, not at all," Phoebe assured hastily.
Brent laughed and shook his head in disagreement to her comment. "Now, someone that can see your face might believe you, but your voice tells another story."
"Gave me away, huh?" Phoebe joked. "I guess I am a little worried about Buffy."
Brent nodded and smiled at Phoebe. He took a moment, seemingly staring straight at Phoebe, but, of course, he couldn't actually see her. "You have a beautiful smile," he complimented.
Phoebe tilted her head curiously. "How do you…?" she started but trailed off as Brent began to speak again, anticipating her question.
"I can hear it in your voice. See it in my mind." Brent explained. Phoebe gratefully reached out and took his hand, but whatever she was going to say was interrupted as she was pulled into a premonition.
Brent as a young boy, feeling his way through the storm drains after he escaped from the grimlocks. He passed over a sign that read 'SF PUC N̊˚ 12.'
Phoebe jerked out of the premonition to Brent's worried voice. "What's the matter? Are you okay?" he demanded, having felt her sudden tense.
"I'm fine." Phoebe assured Brent. "Um, Brent, when they took you, were you wearing a sweat shirt with jeans and black high tops?" she asked, squinting her eyes as she tried to remember the details of her premonition.
"Yeah, I think I was…" Brent allowed, turning a curious look to Phoebe. "How did you…?"
"And when you escaped were you running through water?" Phoebe interrupted eagerly.
Brent nodded quickly. "Yes, I remember that… in the tunnel." He responded.
Phoebe smiled triumphantly. "Okay, Brent, I need you to think really hard. Do you remember anything, anything at all about that location? Did you hear anything or feel anything?"
"All I remember is this, uh, sound of this enormous generator… and maybe some cable cars," he realized thoughtfully.
"Cable cars?" Phoebe repeated. She nodded slightly. "Hey, do you have a map?" she asked Brent before realizing what she had asked. "Oh, I'm sorry, that was so stupid," she apologized immediately.
"No, no, I actually do have map of that area. It's over here." Brent carefully stood up from the couch and felt his way across the room to his desk with a surprised Phoebe following. He pulled out a large book. "What are we looking for exactly?" he questioned.
"I don't know. Cable car turnaround maybe," Phoebe suggested. "Or a power plant. That could have been the generator you heard."
Brent opened the book and started flipping through the pages of small-area maps. His hands moved methodically over one of the pages. "Let's see… On this map, okay, there are two turnarounds on this page and, uh, right, here it is. There's a power plant here on Verick."
Phoebe's gaze flickered from the page to Brent. "How can you tell?" she wondered softly.
"Here, give me your hand," Brent replied, taking Phoebe's hand and running it over the page. "Now feel these three horizontal bumps followed by the two vertical. On this map, that's the sign for power plant," he explained, earning a smile from Phoebe.
Phoebe carefully pulled her hand out of Brent's gentle hold. "I better go," she told him.
Brent quickly turned and called to stop her. "Phoebe, how'd you know what I was wearing and where I was running? Are you some kind of psychic or something?"
"Uh, like, only different," Phoebe answered cryptically.
Brent nodded in understanding. "Right. That's how you've seen all these other monsters that you mentioned, isn't it?" Phoebe didn't respond which was answer enough for him. "You, you're a good person. That probably means that you have a strong aura. Please, be careful with these monsters," he pleaded.
"Don't worry, I will." Phoebe promised as she reached out and took Brent's hand.
"I hope you find the two boys and your cousin."
Storm Drain
Buffy crawled blindly to David and the other boy that was trapped with her in the linked cage. "Don't worry, Billy, we'll be alright," she said.
"My mom has a friend who's got supernatural powers. She'll get us out of here," David added.
Buffy turned her sightless eyes in the direction David's voice came from. She wondered if he had seen Prue use her powers.
One of the grimlocks pounded on the fence that held the boys. "Shut up!" the grimlock ordered before stalking off to join his companion.
Buffy looked around using her Slayer enhanced hearing to get her bearings.
Bucklands Auction House
Prue leaned back against the chair at her desk, the phone held up to her ear as she conversed with Piper. "Did you hear about that philanthropist that was mysteriously strangled?" she asked pointedly.
"It's gotta be the grimlocks. That's how they kill," Piper answered from the other end, careful to keep her attention on the road as she drove. "We're running out of time. We have less than three hours, did you get the Schisandra root?" she demanded nervously.
"No, but I'm leaving now to pick it. Um, look, did Phoebe get anything out of Brent that might help us?" Prue inquired.
Andy was casually leaning against the door to Prue's office (unbeknownst to Prue), listening to her side of the conversation. "Who's Brent Miller?" he questioned, announcing his presence to the oblivious Prue.
Prue jumped at the unexpected intrusion, her eyes flickering up to meet Andy's. She vaguely heard Piper's, "I'm not sure," answer. She didn't immediately respond and thus Piper called, "Prue?" through the phone.
"I gotta go," Prue replied to Piper and quickly hung up. She turned her attention to the patiently waiting Andy. "Andy, hi, what are you doing here?" Prue asked with a hint of forced innocence.
Andy casually strolled forward. "Working on the kidnappings. Thought we should talk," he explained.
Prue glanced up at Andy, acutely aware of how he was staring at her and she didn't know why. She nervously dropped her gaze to her desk as she grabbed several books together. "If you're here about the kidnappings, I've already told the police everything that I know," she lied smoothly as she walked to the bookcase where she began returning the stack in her hands. "Or are you here with news about Buffy?"
Andy arched an eyebrow as he studied Prue's actions. She seemed to be focusing really hard on something and he highly doubted that it was the books in her hands. He let it go. They would be getting into that soon enough and he didn't want to scare her into silence. "It's not about Buffy, we haven't found her yet. I'm sorry. And according to Eric Lohman, you didn't tell us everything. He stopped by the station, we had an interesting chat."
"Yeah, well, he's a reporter trying to make a name for himself. You can't believe anything he says," she returned, still avoiding his gaze.
"Normally, I don't. This time I do," Andy replied, stepping closer so that Prue had no choice but to meet his eyes. "We've been down this road too many times, Prue. I know you have a secret and I've had to accept that fact that you can't tell me or you don't want to tell me. Either way, it's not just me anymore. Lohman's onto you and he's not going to let go," he insisted as if willing her to understand. Prue sighed, dropping her gaze to the floor. Andy ran a hand through his hair in frustration at her continued silence. "Prue, I can't help you if you won't talk to me."
Prue hesitantly raised her eyes again. "Andy, I'm just never sure if it's better for you to know or not to know," she admitted softly.
"I remember a time when we could tell each other anything," Andy sighed. "There's nothing Lohman won't do to get this story. Watch your back," he warned before turning around and heading for the door.
Prue hesitated but a moment longer. "Andy…" she called. Andy paused at the door and turned back to her. "Thanks," she said. Andy smiled faintly and nodded in acknowledgment. She watched him leave before Prue turned away and grabbed her bags. She had some Schisandra root to pick up.
Verick Street
Phoebe walked up to the end of the uninhabited street. She took hold of the huge map she had gotten from Brent and held it open, trying to make sure she was in the right spot. Phoebe finally just shrugged and walked up to the storm drain entrance in front of them. With a tug, the door swung open with a deep creaking sound.
"Bingo," Phoebe exclaimed in triumph. "Hold on, Buffy, we're coming!" she called out though she was sure her cousin couldn't hear her. "We're coming!" She turned and hurried back down the street.
Halliwell Manor
Piper pulled up to the walkway and stepped out of her jeep. She grabbed her bags and ran up the steps where she met Prue, whom had parked in the short driveway. "Did you get it?" she demanded.
"Yeah, I got it," Prue assured her, holding up the small bag. She started for the door without even looking at Piper.
Piper frowned and reached out to stop Prue. "What's wrong?" she asked in concern.
Prue didn't immediately respond and reluctantly turned to face Piper. "Andy stopped by my office after Lohman stopped by his. I think he told Andy about my powers," she admitted wearily.
"Uh oh…" Piper mumbled, her eyes widening slightly. "What did you do?" she wondered.
"Same as I always do. I danced around the truth. It just doesn't feel right anymore," Prue sighed.
"Look, maybe you should…" Piper trailed off as she caught sight of a baby carriage rolling across the road… right in front of an 18-wheeler. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands out and freezing the street.
Prue immediately spun around and dashed toward the scene as soon as she'd comprehended what had happened. "Where is the mother?" she snapped, glaring around the street, trying to find the parents of the baby.
Piper reached in and moved the blanket to find that the carriage was empty. "Oh, thank god," she breathed in relief.
Prue's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Wait a second, since when did the Johnson's get a baby?" she realized, her jaw dropping as she saw Lohman perched next to the driveway with his camera pointed where the sisters had been standing moments previous. "That damn reporter," she cursed. "Look!" Prue pointed in the corresponding direction for Piper's benefit.
"Alright, that's Lohman. This is a set up. We need to get back to where we were before everything unfreezes, go!" Prue ordered, leading the way back up the steps to the Manor. Prue stopped in her spot while Piper turned to face her, exactly as they had been before. "Don't forget to put your hands up," she reminded her sister. Piper nodded and tossed her purse over her shoulder. She got her hands up just in time for the street to unfreeze. The 18-wheeler blew the horn as it just barely missed the carriage which slammed into the curb at the side of the street. Neither sister responded.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Prue peeked out the window almost twenty minutes after going inside, to find Lohman waiting in his car and watching the house with an eager expression. Prue let the curtain go and it returned to blocking the window just as Piper's irritated voice sounded.
"I cannot believe he's still out there!" Piper exclaimed, throwing her hands up dramatically as she paced back and forth around the room.
"Tell me about it," Prue sighed. She leaned back against the wall next to the window, her eyes following Piper's movements.
Both sisters jumped as Phoebe walked through the front door. "Hey, you guys. I think I found the entrance to the storm drain," Phoebe told her sisters when she joined them. It was then she noticed something had them on edge. "What's going on?"
"Didn't you see that guy parked out front in his car?" Prue inquired, pointing back behind her at the window.
"Yes," answered Phoebe.
Prue sighed. "That's the reporter I told you about. He's staking us out."
"What?" Phoebe demanded.
"He tricked us into using our powers and nearly caught us," Piper continued in a very subdued voice.
"But fortunately we figured out what he was doing before he got any proof," Prue finished.
"Oh thank god," Phoebe said with a sigh of relief.
"The only problem is how are we gonna be out looking for David and Buffy when he's camped outside," Piper told her younger sister. "We have less than two hours."
The Halliwell sisters fell silent as the doorbell rang, echoing through their house. The youngest two looked at Prue, who acknowledged them with a faint nod. With a look of annoyance dancing in her eyes, Prue squeezed past them to the door where the cause of her annoyance waited.
As soon as the front door opened, Lohman stepped over the threshold. "Hey, how's it going? Mind if I use your bathroom?" he asked, a little too enthusiastically. Lohman threw his hand out to stop the door as Prue attempted to slam it in his face. "Hey, don't bother using your magical powers on me. I've already hid the video tape," Lohman openly mocked.
Prue didn't appear phased by his comment. "What videotape?" she inquired emotionlessly.
"Yeah, you know, best I could guess is somehow one of you stopped time…" he started. In the background, Piper and Phoebe tensed as they looked at each other. "… Or rewound it. I don't know. What I do know is that I got the whole thing on tape," Lohman announced triumphantly.
"You're bluffing," Prue stated.
"Am I?" Lohman challenged with a grin. "How do you explain your sister's purse magically jumping from her right shoulder to her left shoulder instantaneously? You screwed up and I got the proof." He laughed, rubbing his hands eagerly. His gaze never left Prue. "Okay, now here's the deal. I already got my story ready to print, but all I really want now from you is a tell-all exclusive. I'll write the book, we can share in the movie rights, foreign sales, distributions…" Lohman trailed off as Prue harshly pushed him back out the door. "… It'll be a good thing," he insisted just before the door slammed. "Okay, I'll just wait outside until you're ready to talk." His voice carried through the door.
Prue turned back to her sisters, obviously barely restraining her anger. Phoebe was the first to dare break the ensuing silence. "What are we gonna do?" Phoebe questioned, completely at a loss.
"Alright, look, I will stay here and finish the potions. You guys, go try and find Buffy and the boys. Buy us some time. Just keep on freezing those grimlocks, okay, until I get there," Prue decided. "If we're lucky and Buffy's not blind, or even if she is, have her try and throw some fireballs at them."
"What about Lohman?" Piper demanded with a glare back at the door.
"Don't worry about him. I will stop him from following you," Prue assured them. She quickly ushered them toward the back door. "Go, I'll meet you there." She waited until they had disappeared into the kitchen before walking out the front door to find Lohman sprawled across their steps. "Lohman, I've been thinking about what you said. Maybe we can work something out," she called feigning thoughtfulness.
Lohman was on his feet and staring at Prue in disbelief. "Why don't I believe you?" he asked rhetorically.
Prue returned his smile, inwardly cringing at the act. "Oh, I don't know, maybe it's your reporter instincts," she offered flirtatiously. Lohman was easily buying her distraction. Over his shoulder, she could just make out her sisters sneaking to Piper's jeep. The doors shut the same time the engine roared and Lohman, immediately realizing the trick, spun around in time to see the jeep drive off. "Oops, busted," Prue mocked with another grin.
"Nice try," Lohman returned, dashing down the steps toward his car.
Prue narrowed her eyes and flicked her wrist at a garden tool that telekinetically flew through the air and punctured one of the tires of his car. The tire went flat and Lohman pulled to a hasty stop before spinning accusingly back to Prue. "You did that! I know you did that!"
"Really? Prove it," Prue challenged with a look that said just that.
Storm Drain
Piper and Phoebe left Piper's jeep outside the storm drain entrance at the end of Verick Street and climbed down the ladder into the dark tunnels. Piper led the way and jumped off the last few rungs and landed in a puddle. She screwed her face up in disgust.
"Ew… I'm not wearing the right shoes for this," Piper complained, turning her gaze upwards where Phoebe was coming down. "Okay, talk about all roads leading to hell. Which way?"
Phoebe pulled out the map and quickly scanned over the area. She followed a highlighted line that she drew for the most probable location of Buffy and the boys. "Uh, light, light," she ordered lightly and Piper's flashlight swiveled over to illuminate the map. "The pipe junction is… that way," she pointed in the corresponding direction.
Piper took the lead with Phoebe just behind her.
"So Piper, is this a good time to talk about how it went with Josh and the talk?" Phoeb wondered as a distraction from the really disgusting storm drains.
"No, it's not," Piper answered shortly. "Who knew anything could smell so bad," she muttered in disgust.
Phoebe pulled to a stop as she saw a sign on the wall. "Now that's a good sign," she commented.
"Meaning?" Piper said as she looked at her sister in confusion.
"I saw it in a vision that I had of Brent…" Phoebe started but was cut off as Piper jumped back upon seeing a rat in the beam of her flashlight.
"Ew!" Piper exclaimed, backing away while Phoebe tensed but otherwise didn't move.
Phoebe glanced over at Piper just in time to see her elder sister slip over the edge of a vent in the floor. "Piper!" she screamed in warning, but Piper had already fallen in and was knocked unconscious as she landed against the bottom of the vent. "Piper! Oh my god!" she yelled, running to the edge and peering over.
Phoebe's frantic voice carried through the storm drains, alerting the grimlocks, Buffy and the two boys to their presence. "Okay… um, I'm gonna go get help," she said, nearing panic. She dashed for the entrance where she would gain signal on her cell phone.
Halliwell Manor
Prue was in the kitchen stirring the finished product of her potion that would kill the grimlocks. "I feel like I should be cackling," she joked to herself, thinking of the many witches she had seen on television brewing potions. Her thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing and her eyes flickered to the phone that was on the counter. "Oh…" Prue mumbled, turning off the stove top before running over to the phone. "Hello?" She answered.
Phoebe paced on the other end of the phone. She hesitated when she heard Prue's voice. "Prue? Uh, Piper's hurt and I can't get to her," she admitted as calmly as she could.
Prue tensed at the thought. "Uh, okay, where are you?" she demanded after a quick moment.
"At the end of Verick Street. Hurry, okay, and don't forget the potion," Phoebe replied hastily.
"I'm on my way," Prue promised, hanging up and running back to the counter to grab the potions that she already had ready. She only paused long enough to pull her jacket on before shooting out the door with the potions in hand. She stopped when she saw her car with the hood up and obviously having been tampered with.
Before she could think about it too hard, Lohman came out from behind it with his camera pointed at Prue. "I didn't want you to leave me behind like your sisters did," he explained.
"Fix it now!" Prue ordered her anger rising just at the reporter's presence.
"Or what? You're gonna hurt me?" Lohman mocked before zooming in on his video camera. "Go ahead, just let me get you in focus."
"Look, I don't have time for this, all right? Piper's hurt and my cousin and two boys' lives are at stake," she snapped in frustration.
Lohman didn't turn his camera away. "Do you know where they are?" he asked pointedly.
"Yes," Prue hissed shortly. She sighed when he didn't appear to back down or even consider it. She couldn't risk anything happening to her sisters. So she just hoped giving in to Lohman wouldn't ultimately be worse off. "All right, you win," she whispered.
"I win?" Lohman repeated eagerly. "What's my prize?" he questioned with a grin.
Prue sighed again, avoiding looking at the camera. "I'm a witch with magical powers," she admitted.
"A witch? Witch?" Lohman laughed while Prue cast him a dangerous glare. "Oh, this is great. Great. Terrific. Let's go," he decided, pulling some cables out of his pocket and moving to fix Prue's car.
Verick Street
Prue drove to the end of Verick where Phoebe had told her and parked next to Piper's jeep. She could just see Phoebe waving for her to hurry up. Lohman was out of the car before Prue had even put the car in park. When she finally stepped out, Phoebe was glaring daggers at Lohman who had the camera pointed at the younger sister.
"What is he doing here?" Phoebe demanded, fixing her glare on Prue.
"Making my career," Lohman answered lightly. He almost looked like a child on Christmas day.
Prue rolled her eyes and stomped up to Phoebe. "I didn't have a choice," she mumbled dejectedly. "Where's Piper?" She asked, deciding it best to get on to business and worry about Lohman later.
"She's in through this way. Come on," Phoebe insisted, leading the way to the storm drain entrance after taking one of the potions from Prue.
Lohman quickly followed but Prue spun back to face him. "You just stay here all right? It's too dangerous," she ordered.
Lohman glared, obviously not taking that order too well. "No, no, no, I'm coming with you," he argued. He was so not going to let them do everything without getting any proof.
"No!" Prue snapped. Her glare was enough to stop Lohman in his tracks. "Look, there are too many lives at stake including my cousin and my sisters. I'll not have you risking them. Stay where you are, you'll get your story," she promised, following Phoebe inside.
Lohman put his hands up innocently and backed away as Prue disappeared. "Okay, I'll just wait out here," he agreed. He waited several moments for the sisters to get farther into the storm drain before smiling slyly and following them inside.
Storm Drain
A grimlock turned the corner behind Piper. He stopped and stared at her in mild surprise before recovering and using his aura sight on her. The oblivious Piper was clothed in a golden light and the grimlock reached his hands out and pulled at the aura, effectively choking her. The weakened Piper dropped immediately to her knees.
Prue and Phoebe dashed around the other corner. "Prue!" Phoebe screamed, her eyes widening at the scene in front of her. Prue ripped the top off of the jar of potion in Phoebe's hand before Phoebe tossed it on the grimlock. Prue and Phoebe held tightly onto each other as they watched the grimlock screech and disintegrate before their eyes. "Nice!"
Prue's jaw had dropped while Phoebe looked mildly disgusted. "Great, just what we need. More toxic waste in our sewers," Prue joked, replacing the top on the jar. "That worked well," she remarked as she telekinetically lifted Piper out of the hole.
Piper forced herself to her feet with Phoebe's help. "Ow, ow, ow!"
"We've gotta get you outta here," Prue said as she looked at her injured sister.
"No," Piper objected. She had to help them find Buffy.
"Look, Piper, just up to the street," Prue said trying to be soothing. "Okay, Phoebe and I will come right back for Buffy and the boys."
"Come on, lean on me, honey." Phoebe said.
Verick Street
Andy parked his police car next to the jeep and Prue's car. He didn't even bother turning the blue and red emergency lights off as he ran for the open door to the storm drain. He easily recognized the two cars already here and that meant the sisters were inside. Pulling out a flashlight and his gun, Andy walked cautiously, yet quickly, inside.
Storm Drain
Lohman had his camera pointed at himself and he hastily flattened his hair so not to look unclassy on video. "This is Eric Lohman, reporting live…" He started, turning the camera so that it could take in the surroundings. "… I'm in a storm drain, underground, following three sisters, all of them witches. As they search for two children and their cousin is also a witch, who may have been abducted by a strange kind of…" Lohman trailed off as a grimlock approached him.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Andy carefully continued his trek through the empty storm drain alleys. He paused when he saw Lohman's lifeless body on the ground. Andy's eyes scoured the area for the attacker but didn't see anyone. He kneeled down and felt for a pulse before pulling back and continuing to look around at his surroundings.
A grimlock came upon Andy from behind him. Andy saw him and jumped to his feet. He wasted no time in firing his gun. The bullets pierced the demon's body, but the holes filled in and he looked as if nothing had happened.
"Andy!" Prue screamed, bolting around the corner without a second thought. Her eyes quickly took in the scene and she threw her hand out against the demon. He flew back away from Andy down the tunnel. "Uh, you okay?" she asked softly.
"Yeah, thanks." Andy said as Phoebe led Piper around the corner. "So what Lohman saw you do was true?"
"Oh my god, Andy!" Phoebe exclaimed loudly. "What are you doing here?"
"Confirming my suspicions," he answered.
"He knows," Prue said with a reluctant sigh. "A grimlock tried to kill him."
"What the hell's a grimlock?" Andy wondered looking between the sisters.
"It's a demon," Prue answered.
"A demon."
"Yeah, um, look, Andy, I need you to get Piper up on the street, okay?" Prue pleaded with their friend.
"No, Prue, I want to stay, I need to help. I need to find Buffy," Piper objected.
"No, you are far too weak to use your powers," Prue objected giving Piper a look that said she would not take no for an answer.
"Her too?" Andy asked a little shocked.
"Look, Andy, will you please just get her out of here," Prue asked as she returned her attention to him.
Andy didn't appear receptive to the plan. "Prue, I'm not leaving the two of you alone."
"Do I have to use my power on you?" Prue interrupted, a warning in her eyes.
Andy's gaze flickered to the direction the demon flew and he thought better of his argument. "I'll meet you up on the street," he agreed.
Prue turned to her middle sister and smiled. "You'll be okay," she told Piper as Andy led her toward the street. She cast a quick glance over Lohman's body and noted the remains of the camera. She took picked up the table and slid it into her pocket. She then pulled out the map as she led the way while Phoebe pointed the flashlight so that they could read it.
"Okay, so we should be coming up on feeder drain right about now…" Prue read. A grimlock jumped out of the shadows in front of them and they both screamed, hastily backing up. Phoebe ripped the top off of the second jar of potion and tossed it on the grimlock. The grimlock screeched and disintegrated just like the first.
They pushed open a door into another section of the storm drain system and they split up to cover ground. "David?" Phoebe called. "Buffy?"
David slowly sat up at the sound of his name. "Please help me," he responded pleadingly.
Phoebe followed his voice and froze when she found the fenced in area that held Buffy and the two little boys. "Buffy!" she recognized excitedly, but her smile faded when she took in her cousin's clouded eyes. "Oh god… Prue, I found them!" she yelled.
"Pheebs?" Buffy said as her head whipped around in search of Phoebe's voice.
Prue spun around at her sister's voice only to find the last grimlock right there. Before she could do anything, the grimlock pulled at her aura, choking her. Prue dropped the potion and her hand flew to her neck before she dropped to her knees. "Prue!" Phoebe screamed.
"Phoebe," Buffy said as a fireball formed in her hand. "You have to be my eyes, aim me!"
Phoebe nodded as Buffy held up her hand. "A little to the left. A little more. There."
Buffy threw the fireball narrowly missing Phoebe but hitting the Grimlock sending it flying backwards away from Prue and releasing her eldest cousin.
Prue glared at the demon and she looked desperately at the potion that lay broken on the ground in front of her. She focused and threw her hand at the grimlock. The potion flew from a puddle on the ground right into the grimlocks face. He shrieked and disintegrated.
"Are you okay?" Phoebe asked, slowly getting Prue to her feet.
"Yeah, where's Buffy and David?" Prue asked.
Phoebe pointed toward the cage. "Over there," she led the way and the two sisters stopped just outside it. As they watched, David and Buffy's eyesight was restored.
"I can see! I can see you!" David exclaimed in excitement and Prue and Phoebe smiled at each other. "I knew you had magic powers."
Prue and Phoebe's smiles faded to a look of concern. "Oh…" Prue mumbled, biting her lip slightly.
"Well good news is that I can see you also," Buffy added.
Prue and Phoebe's smiles returned briefly as they looked at their cousin happy to know that Buffy was okay. "Um, come on, get your friends, Buffy, and let's get out of here," Prue ordered gently.
San Francisco Police Department
Darryl walked up to Andy's desk where his partner sat appearing deep in thought over something or another. Andy had come in with the two boys, Buffy, Prue, Piper and Phoebe with hardly an explanation. He was acting suspicious. Cryptic, pleased and yet worried. It was all un-Andy-like.
"Exactly how did you know Ms. Halliwell and the kids were down there again?" Darryl finally asked, stopping next to Andy's desk.
Andy suddenly appeared very interested in getting the file and paperwork taken care of and done. "Anonymous tip," he answered casually without a glance at Darryl.
"And what about the kidnappers?" Darryl wondered.
"Kidnappers? There weren't any kidnappers. Kids followed a kitten into the storm drains. Got lost. Buffy followed them down there intending to bring them back out and sadly she too got lost," Andy explained forcing a hint of amusement into his tone.
Darryl nodded, obviously not believing a word of it. "Really? How do you explain finding Lohman down there with a broken neck?"
"Must have slipped when he went down there after them," Andy replied, glancing up at Darryl for the first time. "You know, anything for a story. That's too bad." He added nonchalantly.
"Yeah, real shame." Darryl went along with it. He glanced around them to make sure no one was paying them any attention as he leaned against Andy's desk. "You don't really expect me to believe all this, do you?" Darryl lowered his voice to keep the question private.
Andy nodded slightly. "For now," he responded and Darryl nodded in understanding, both silently agreeing to just go with it until another time.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Phoebe traversed through the crowded lobby of the station, trying to get to her two sisters. Her eyes lingered on the reunited mothers and their little boys for a moment before joining Prue and Piper. "Have they said anything?" Phoebe questioned nervously as she joined them in leaning against a desk.
"No, they and Buffy just got back from the hospital, but who knows what they'll say once the police start questioning them," Prue groaned softly.
"So much for our secret," Phoebe lamented.
It was at that moment Buffy joined them. They pulled her into their arms not truly wanting to let the teenager go. After a moment they took a step back from one another. "Boy am I glad to see you guys, you know," Buffy told them and they smiled. "Being blind was no picnic."
"Yeah I bet it wasn't," Prue laughed and then she smirked as she decided to teach her cousin. "Still it would have been nice to have a dog around the house."
Buffy laughed as she turned to look at Piper. "Hey, you okay?" she asked.
Piper glanced up at Buffy and smiled. "Yeah, I was just thinking when I was in the storm drain I was kinda out of it and I kept thinking about Leo," she said. "That's weird."
"Maybe you miss him," Phoebe suggested.
"Maybe."
"What are you gonna do about Josh?" Prue wondered.
"I'm gonna call him and tell him I think he should take the job in Beverly Hills." Piper told them having come to a decision about her relationship with Josh.
"But sweetie, you can't hold out for Leo," Phoebe said feeling sad for her older sister. "I mean, who knows of he's ever gonna come back."
"I know. He may not. But if I'm thinking about Leo, then I'm definitely not thinking about Josh," Piper explained looking at her sisters and cousin.
"That's too bad," Buffy said with a sigh.
"He had really nice glutes," Phoebe agreed.
The four of them started for the door where Andy was when Phoebe caught sight of Brent in the doorway. "There's Brent," she realized. "Um, I'm going to talk to him. You guys go on," she allowed. "Hey, Brent!" Phoebe called enthusiastically. She paused when she remembered he couldn't actually see her. "Um, over here!" Brent turned in the direction of her voice and approached while Prue and Piper went to the other section of the station leaving Buffy standing next to Phoebe. "Hi." Phoebe greeted when he was in front of them.
"Hi," Brent repeated.
"Where's your dog?" Phoebe wondered after noticing that it wasn't with him.
Brent smiled and took off his sunglasses. His eyes were no longer cloudy as he beamed down at Phoebe. "He's, uh, retired," he explained.
Phoebe smiled but stared at him in wonder. "You can see?" she demanded excitedly, earning a nod from Brent. "But how did that…" she trailed off uncertainly.
"I don't know. I mean, you tell me. I mean, someone must have slayed those monsters. Do you know anything about it?" Brent asked curiously. Phoebe made a motion of zipping her mouth closed which was answer enough for Brent. He laughed softly. "That's all right. If anyone understands the danger of telling amazing stories, I sure do," he assured her. Phoebe smiled gratefully. "I was right, you do have a beautiful smile," he complimented and then turned his attention to Buffy. "Is this your cousin?"
Phoebe smiled as wrapped an arm around Buffy. "Brent I would like you to meet, Payson Halliwel, or as we call her, Buffy."
Brent reached out to shake Buffy's hand. "I am glad to see your alright."
Buffy smiled as she shook his hand. "Thank you, for the help you gave Phoebe."
"You have as beautiful a smile as your cousin does," he complimented her. "I am just happy that everything turned out alright," he said as he smiled at her. He then turned his attention to the little boys with their mothers. "Are those the boys? Maybe I should have a little talk with them." Brent offered.
"That would be so great," Phoebe whispered. "Thank you."
"No, thank you," Brent said. He smiled one last time at Buffy. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Payson."
"Please," Buffy said. "Call me Buffy."
Brent nodded in understanding. For his help she was saying that she would like to consider him a friend. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Buffy," he said. He turned away from Phoebe and Buffy and walked toward the children.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Andy saw Prue and Piper come in and he quickly read the silent question in their eyes. He left the report half-finished and joined them in the doorway. "You're allowed to leave," he told them softly after glancing around and ensuring no one was listening in on them.
"No statements?" Piper asked curiously.
"No statements," Andy answered. "I took care of it." His gaze flickered away from Piper and to Prue.
Piper seemed to take the hint and she started to back away. "Um, I'm gonna go get Phoebe and Buffy. We'll, uh, meet you at the house," she decided, spinning around and leaving Prue with Andy.
Prue smiled slightly and watched as Piper left before turning her attention to Andy. "So now you know…"
"Yeah, it's still sinking in," he admitted.
"Where do we go from here?" Prue wondered, tilting her head to the side questioningly.
"That's a good question…" Andy started but trailed off as the sound of many reporters (footsteps, cameras clicking, and questions) advanced on them. He saw Prue shift uncomfortably. "Go, be with Buffy. Tell her that I saw I'm glad she's okay," he suggested before turning around to meet the reporters. Andy strategically blocked the path to Prue, just in case they wanted an outside opinion. They would have to find someone else.