Chapter 140: Vallhalley of the Dolls Pt. 2
The thug is still in the back of the police car where Darryl had put him. He's braced himself at the back of the seat and uses his legs to kick at the grid to the front seat. He continues to kick at the grid and grunts in frustration when he can't get through. He hears something, turns around and sees the greenish light of the vortex opening at the back of the alley.
The vortex opens and everyone steps through. Phoebe warns them to be cautious. "Be careful of Darryl's body."
"Thank you." Darryl looks down worriedly at his body. "Is he - I mean, am I still alive?"
"Barely." Buffy said.
Darryl frowned, "Barely?"
"We got to go back and get Piper." Leo said.
Phoebe shook her head, "How? By force? She won't come. She's withdrawn."
"Besides, we can't go back now." Paige said.
Leo sighs, "But we can't just leave her there."
"Leo, they're not gonna hurt her. They need her to get to us." Dawn said.
"Listen, about my body ..." Darryl said motioning towards his body.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Buffy said. "You can just step right back in."
"That's it? I mean, even though I'm solid?" Darryl said skeptically.
Buffy nodded, "You're still a spirit. Trust me."
Phoebe smiled, "We got to go and figure out what to do. Thanks again."
Leo orbs out with Phoebe and Paige as Buffy flames out with Dawn and into the conservatory at the Manor.
Chris hears them and walks up to them. "Jeez, it's about time. I was starting to get wor-" He pauses and looks at them. "- where's Piper?"
"Son of a bitch." Leo steps forward and punches Chris in the face. He grabs Chris and pushes him up against the wall. "Why'd you do it?"
"Do what?" Chris asked.
Leo throws Chris across the room. Chris flies over the couch and hits the table where he falls to the floor.
Dawn shook her head, "Leo, stop it!"
Chris orbs out and Leo rushes over grabbing him through his orbs and throws him across the room against the wall where Piper and Leo's framed wedding picture falls and cracks.
Phoebe steps up between Leo and Chris as Leo takes a step forward toward him. "Leo, enough! This hostility is killing me."
"What is wrong with you?" Buffy asked. "You've been playing gladiator too long?"
Chris gets to his feet.
Leo glares at Chris, "You didn't tell them, did you?"
Phoebe frowned, "Tell us what?"
"That he was the last one to see me. Right afterwards, I was mysteriously trapped in Valhalla." Leo said.
"Oh, so what? That makes me responsible? Is that what you're saying?"
Paige sighed, "Ok, why would Chris do that?"
"Why else? To get rid of me." Leo said.
Dawn shook her head, "It doesn't make sense."
"Doesn't it? He manipulated things so I'd become an Elder. Forced me out of the house, didn't he?" Leo said.
"So you could save the world." Chris said.
"All right, Leo, I know how upset you are and by "know," I mean I literally know. But you're way off base here. Chris has been the model Whitelighter since you've been gone. He's done nothing but good." Phoebe said.
Paige nodded, "He sent us after so many demons. If anything, he's been too good."
"He's the reason we were able to save you." Dawn said.
"You're welcome." Chris said mockingly.
Leo frowned, "Where'd you get the pendants?"
Chris spreads his arms out, as if he's going to answer that question.
"Leo!" Buffy said.
Leo lets it go, "All right. All right. I'll let it go for now. So where's Wyatt and Celia? Can I see them?"
Dawn shook her head, "No, you can't. They are staying with Sheila until we can figure out how to rescue Piper."
"Which is gonna be hard because she doesn't want to be saved." Phoebe said.
Paige sighed, "Well, if we're gonna save her, it's gonna have to be as witches, not as Valkyries."
Phoebe, Buffy, Dawn and Paige take the pendants off and immediately transform back to their former selves.
Dawn smiled, "Book of Shadows?"
"You got it." Phoebe said as she, Buffy, Dawn and Paige head upstairs.
In the attic Paige and Buffy move to both Book of Shadows and begin flipping through them as Chris and Leo come upstairs.
"I don't understand. Why don't we just storm the place and find her? It's not like we don't know where she is." Chris said.
Leo sighed, "Because they would be expecting it, that's why. It'd be suicide."
"We got you out safely, didn't we?" Chris asked.
Leo nodded, "But it cost us Piper."
As the discussion heats up, Phoebe channels their emotions. "Ok, you guys, would you knock it off? I'm still reeling from Piper's emotions. I don't need this."
"Sorry." Chris said.
Dawn smiled, "So how's it going?"
"We're almost done. I don't mean to burden you with my emotions, but I don't quite see how reversing the memory spell is gonna help." Paige said.
"Piper needs to believe she's a Valkyrie because it's too painful for her to be herself. Way too painful. Believe me; I almost passed out back there." Phoebe said.
"Well, then believing she's a Valkyrie is the perfect option. To serve the greater good, they're always in control. And they don't have to deal with pain or loss." Chris said.
"Well, that's why we have to make Piper believe she's Piper again. Because if we don't get her back mentally, it won't matter if we get her back physically." Dawn said.
Buffy shook her head, "Ok, but Piper wasn't exactly back before the spell either."
Leo frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Well, that little magical whammy you performed on her kind of, um, backfired." Paige said.
"Yeah. You see, after you left, Piper was really..." Phoebe said.
"...chipper. Yeah, incessantly, increasingly ... annoyingly chipper." Dawn said.
Buffy nodded, "What she said."
"Well, it was supposed to make her feel less pain. I guess with me not around to pull it back a little bit she got happier and happier." Leo said.
"Uh, no. Psychotically chipper." Paige said.
Chris claps Leo on the back, rubbing it in. "Way to go."
"Chris..." Phoebe said, annoyed.
Chris sighed, "What?"
Phoebe puts her hand to her forehead. "I swear my new power is gonna drive me crazy."
"I know how you feel. Remember when Prue got empathy and I got telepathy? It was driving us both insane. Luckily for me at least Giles found a cure. Lucky for Prue when we vanquished the demon she was no longer an empath."
"You'll get the handle of it. Just be patient." Leo said trying to reassure Phoebe.
Phoebe looked to Leo, "Are you sure? Because I remember when Prue was an empathy and Buffy was a telepath and it almost destroyed them."
Leo nods, "Well, Prue wasn't supposed to become an empath. Just as Buffy wasn't supposed to become a telepath. Anyways Phoebe you are. Maybe all this with Piper has made it happen a little sooner. But you can handle it. I know you can."
Phoebe sighed, "I just wish I knew how to turn it on and off. I feel like I'm at the mercy of everyone else's feelings. And it sucks, especially with Dawn's teenage hormones. Sorry Dawnie." She looks at Buffy. For some reason out of all of them Buffy is the only one she can't read.
Dawn shrugged, "Its ok Phoebe."
"Bright side? Maybe you can actually find out how Jason feels about you." Paige said.
"Yeah, but what if it's not good news?" Phoebe said.
Paige smiled, "Ha! Then you dump him before he dumps you." Phoebe can't help but smile at that. Even Chris smiles a bit. Paige looks to Buffy who nods. "Uh, I think we got the spell finished."
Downstairs, the doorbell rings as Oscar the dog barks before he runs into the attic heading straight for Paige.
Paige rolled her eyes, "Oh, great."
"You got a dog?" Leo asked.
Paige shook her head, "No, I got a career."
"Sore subject. Don't ask." Chris said.
Oscar barks twice.
Paige sighed, "All right, I'm coming." She heads for the door. As she passes Phoebe, she holds out her hand. Phoebe grabs it, stands up and they as well as Buffy and Dawn head out the door and down to the foyer.
Buffy opens the door and they stare at Darryl in shock. His face is cut up and bleeding and he appears exhausted.
"Oh, my god. Darryl, what happened?" Phoebe asked.
Darryl sighed, "I think I just got attacked by Attila the Hun."
They lead Darryl into the conservatory and sits him in a chair as Leo and Chris come down the stairs. Leo moves over to Darryl as he leans back against the sofa as Leo heals him.
"Feeling better?" Leo asked.
Darryl smiles, "Yeah. Thanks, man. It's good to have you back."
"Thanks for helping me get back." Leo said.
"Ah, don't mention it." Chris said interrupting.
Leo glared at Chris, finding his interruption not funny at all.
Phoebe reaches out and whacks Chris on the leg. "Would you ..." Chris shuts up as she turns to look at Darryl. "How long after we left did the warriors show up?"
"Not long. Maybe a couple of seconds." Darryl said.
Dawn frowned, "They must have followed us from Valhalla."
"Great. That means they're after us now." Paige said.
"Except they didn't hang out long enough to ask me where to find you. Granted, I was looking through swollen eyes, but they just seemed lost and confused." Darryl said.
Chris frowned, "So what? They just took off?"
Darryl nodded, "Thank goodness they did because—"
"We should have never put you in that situation. We should have come up with another way." Buffy said.
Darryl shook his head, "Forget it. You know, it worked."
"Yeah, for you maybe. What about the next poor guy that runs into those warriors? They're trained killers." Chris said.
Oscar the dog barks and jumps up to sit with Paige.
Paige glares at the dog, "Yeah, but they only kill evil."
Chris points to Darryl, "He's not evil."
"Chris is right. Not everything is black and white in this world. And warriors can't always tell the difference between good and evil." Leo said.
Dawn sighed, "What do we do?"
"We need to find them fast." Leo said.
"That shouldn't be too hard. They're gonna stand out ... even in San Francisco." Darryl said.
"Which is why we need to move fast. If they're exposed, so are the Valkyries." Leo said.
"You're awfully forgiving, considering everything they put you through." Paige said.
Buffy rolled her eyes.
"They still have a noble purpose to perform. Keeping their secret is key to them fulfilling it. Besides, it's not the Valkyries' fault that I ended up there." Leo glared pointedly at Chris.
"Which brings us back to the warriors." Chris said.
Buffy nodded, "And let's not forget about Piper."
"Maybe we should split up." Leo turns to Darryl, "You should go to the police station. They're gonna show up on the radar screen in a big way."
Darryl's pager goes off and he glances at it. "You know what? Office is paging me anyway." He gets to his feet and heads for the door.
"Make sure you're the first cop on the scene. We might need you to buy us some time." Leo said.
"Ok. You got it." Darryl leaves the house.
Phoebe gets to her feet. "Uh, maybe I should go to the newspaper and do the same thing."
Leo smiled, "Good idea. Paige -"
Paige stands up. "I should take Oscar home before I get fired."
Leo frowned, "You're kidding, right?"
"No. I promised the temp agency I'd have him back in the morning and, huh, it's the morning." Paige said.
Leo sighed, "Uh..."
Paige smiled, "Before you say anything, you've been gone, some things have changed, and one of those things is that I'm determined now more than ever to have a life separate from being a witch."
"Fine, but now?" Leo asked.
"Yeah. Buffy and I've already done the reversal spell. Can't do it without Piper, and we don't know how to get her, so... I'm just an orb away if you need help." Paige leaves the room.
Leo tries to stop her, but Phoebe stops him. "Paige-"
Phoebe shook her head, "Let her go. It might seem silly to you, but it's important to her, I know."
"See? It helps to be an empath." Chris said.
"No, it helps to be a sister. And while we're on that subject, we have to come up with another plan to get Piper out of Valhalla." Piper said.
Dawn nodded, "She's right."
Phoebe and Buffy turns to leave the room.
Leo nods, "Dawn would you be kind enough to go over to Darryl and Sheila's place and check in on Wyatt and Celia?"
Dawn nodded, "Sure Leo." She shimmers out.
"And Buffy…" Leo said but noticed she's gone.
In an alley across town, a vortex opens and four Valkyries step out. The vortex closes behind them as they walk out to the mouth of the alley and see the activity at the nearby crime scene where there is several dead bodies.
"This is the last place they were before they turned off their locators." Kara said.
Freyja shook her head. "Why did they do this? This is not what we're training them for."
"Maybe they were confused by all the evil in the city. It's everywhere." Piper said.
"Then how will we find them before they hurt anybody else?" Mist asked.
"I could scry for them." Someone said behind them and they turn to see Buffy standing there.
"One of the witches." Kara spat as she took a step towards Buffy.
Buffy powered up a fireball, "You don't want to kill one of your own do you?"
"What are you talking about?" Freyja asked. "You are not a Valk…"
"I'm the Slayer." Buffy said.
Freyja puts out her hand and stops Kara. "I should have recognized you. Greetings sister."
Kara looks confused at Freyja, "Sister?"
Freyja nodded, "She is a daughter of Sineya."
Kara's eyes go wide. "The one the Elders made a god to help defeat the Titans?"
"The very same. Before she gave up her god powers she bestowed a portion of it in the creation of the First Slayer." Freyja said. "She saw the world for what it was filled with demons and knew the world would need a Champion now instead of in the future when the final battle comes." She looked to Buffy. "Again greetings, sister. What do you need?"
"Something of the warriors'." Buffy said. "The knife."
Freyja holds out her hand and the knife disappears from the victim's body and reappears in her palm.
"Anything else?" Freyja asked.
"Well!" They turn around to see a Biker walk out of a bar. "Hell's bells. What have we got here? Ha ha ha ha! What, is there a Xena convention in town or something?"
Kara steps forward. "On your knees."
"Excuse me? I got a better idea. How about you get on your knees instead?"
Kara steps forward and with a wave of her hand, 'forces' the Biker to his knees. "Who are you to speak to us that way?"
"Kara." Freyja warns.
"You don't command us. We command you!" Kara said as Piper steps forward and pushes her arm down, letting the Biker go. She turns to Piper. "How dare you!"
"This isn't Valhalla. You don't have dominion over men here." Piper said.
Buffy nodded, "Piper is right."
The Biker gets back up to his feet and runs into the bar.
"Then how do you train them? How do they take orders?" Freyja asked.
"They don't. They do what they want." Piper said.
Buffy nodded, "Men in women here are equals. Though in years past we took orders from men."
The Biker comes back out to the alley with reinforcements, about a dozen others from his gang. He spreads his arms out as if in challenge to the Valkyries and Buffy.
Buffy, Mist, Piper, Freyja and Kara stare at the group, unperturbed by their numbers.
"You know, I have an idea of how we can blend in better." Piper said.
Moments later Piper settles herself comfortably on a bike as Buffy does the same. They are now dressed in leather and jeans. They put on their sunglasses and glances over at the other girls, also dressed in leather and jeans. They each command their own bike.
Leading the way, Piper and Buffy rides off.
At the Bay Mirror Phoebe's on the phone talking with Darryl. "A motorcycle, Darryl? Are you sure? That is just so not Piper. Or Buffy either. Leo did say that Piper might be back and that Buffy had disappeared. All right. Well, I'll call Paige and Dawn, and you keep an eye-" Phoebe glances up and sees Jason walk out of his office. "Oh, my god." Phoebe holds up her phone trying to hide behind it, but he definitely sees her. "Let me call you back. Let me call you back." Phoebe hangs up and looks at Jason. "Jason, hi. What are you doing here?"
Jason smiled, "Who, me? I own the place."
"Right. And I work here. That's why I'm here. Hmmm ..." Phoebe said.
Jason steps forward and kisses her. The other staff members watch them as they kiss. He pulls away.
"Oh ... I ... Wh-what was I saying?" Phoebe seems to be a bit disoriented and completely out of it.
"Did you forget I was flying in today?" Jason asked.
"No. Of course I didn't forget that you were flying back today. I'm just a little scattered, that's all. Is the air conditioning not working in here or what?" Phoebe starts fanning herself with her hand.
Jason smiled, "Uh, it feels fine to me. Phoebe, you look great. Really. I like your hair."
"Thanks. I like yours, too." Phoebe said.
Jason turns and leads Phoebe back to his office. "Uh, listen. I was gonna go home, unpack, take a shower, but I was hoping that maybe later we could get together and have some dinner. You know, I know we don't have anything planned officially, but I was thinking that because ..."
Once inside the office, Phoebe grabs Jason by his shirt and pulls him into another kiss. She really gets into it, completely carried away by what she's feeling.
"I'm gonna take that as a "yes," then?" Jason said.
(Phoebe starts backing away from him. "Oh, no, no, no, no." She backs away and trips over the chair in front of his desk. "No, no, no, no. No."
Jason moves forward toward her as Phoebe continues to back up moving behind his desk, trying to put some distance between them. "No? All right, uh ... I just really missed you, Phoebe."
"Oh, I know. I can tell." Phoebe said. "Uh ... it's just, uh ... it's very hard - I mean, I mean ... hard to explain. That kind of hard, you know. Not the other kind of hard. Am I making any sense?"
Jason shook his head, "Phoebe."
"No, no, no, no." Phoebe maneuvers herself around the desk and back toward the door. "Don't come any closer. It'll just get harder. Phew." Jason follows her and leans forward to kiss the back of her neck. "Oh, god." Jason continues to kiss her. "Oh, god. I ju ... I ca ... I ca-ca ... I can't. Say bye- ye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. B..." She whirls around and grabs Jason.
They start to kiss oblivious to the audience staring at them through the open door. Jason raises his eyes and notices the office staff staring at them with interest. He reaches out and shuts the door.
At a car chop shop, the Warriors have just finished killing more men. The Swordsman turns to look at the entrance when he hears motorcycles outside. Piper, Buffy and the other Valkyries ride into the warehouse. The Warriors line up side-by-side, preparing themselves to fight again.
Freyja takes off her sunglasses and gets off of her bike. "No, wait. It's me." She steps up toward them as the other Valkyries follow. "You're making a mistake. This is not the final battle. We've come to take you back to Valhalla."
The Warriors look at each other.
"What do you think?" Swordsman asked.
"I think the enemy wears many masks." Magi Warrior said.
Swordsman nodded, "Hmmm."
Giving out a loud battle cry, they raise their weapons and charge toward the Valkyries.
Back at the Bay Mirror Phoebe reaches up and grabs the desk. She pulls her self up. Her top has come undone and she's panting. "I am so sorry." Jason also sits up from behind the desk, pulling his shirt on. He's also panting. "I didn't mean for that to happen."
"Why not? Why are you apologizing? You were unbelievably—" Jason said.
"Oh, please don't say it. Just don't." Phoebe said interrupting him.
Jason starts buttoning up his shirt. "Well, it wasn't just you, you know?"
"Oh, yeah, I know. I just-I, uh, I wasn't myself that's all." Phoebe pulls the straps to her blouse up over her shoulders.
Jason shook his head, "I don't understand."
Phoebe stands up and walks over to the sofa. "Yeah, I know you don't, and that's ok. As long as you stay on that side of the room, everything should be fine. It's the only way that I really know what I'm feeling." She sits down on the sofa, well away from Jason.
Jason takes a step forward. "Phoebe."
Phoebe holds up a hand to stop him from coming too close to her. "Please, please. Don't. Don't."
"Hey." Jason said concerned. "What's the matter? You can talk to me. We like each other, Phoebe. You don't have to be afraid of that. I'm not gonna hurt you."
Phoebe smiled. "Really?"
"Really. Come here." Jason holds out his hand. She stands up and he holds her in his arms as she rests her cheek against his chest. All fine for about a couple of seconds and then he starts kissing the back of her neck.
Phoebe's eyes snap open. "Oh, no. Not again." She pushes herself away from Jason and out of his arms.
"What?" Jason asked, puzzled.
Phoebe glances down at him. "What do you mean, what? Don't think I don't know."
Jason shrugs as there's a knock at the door. Phoebe turns to answer it and find Dawn and Paige standing there.
"Hi." Paige said.
"Hi." Phoebe said.
"He." Dawn said.
Paige looks past Phoebe to Jason, "Excuse us." She looks to Phoebe. "You got a minute?"
Phoebe turns around to look at Jason who nods. Paige grabs Phoebe and pulls her out of the office as Dawn shuts the door behind them.
"What is the matter with you? Weren't you both supposed to be—" Paige said.
Phoebe sighed, "Ok, but you don't have to yell at me, because I can sense how mad you are."
"Ok, just because you can sense doesn't mean I can't vent." Paige said.
"Where are we going right now?" Phoebe asked.
"To find Piper and Buffy." Dawn said.
"I hope." Paige added.
Phoebe nodded, "You two know where they are?"
"Yeah. A little doggie told me." Paige said as she led Phoebe and Dawn out of the office.
At the chop shop Buffy, Piper and the other Valkyries fight with the Warriors. Piper fights with the Swordsman, Buffy and Freya fight with the Magi while the Barbarian stands on the catwalk above holding Kara and Mist high up above his head. Piper turns and sees him throw them down on the car below.
Kara watches as the Barbarian jump down to the car below. Piper sees it also as she quickly jumps onto the car, grabs the chain and rides the pulley toward the Barbarian just as he pulls out his sword to finish Kara and Mist. He pulls his sword back when Piper kicks him in the back and knocks him off of the car. She lands on the car in the spot where he once stood overlooking Kara. Kara turns to look at Piper who has just saved her life.
"Come on. Get up." Piper holds out her hand and pulls Kara and Mist to their feet, who looks at Piper gratefully.
The Barbarian gets to his feet. The Swordsman also gets to his feet. Mist, Piper and Kara go to continue the fight. This time, Kara and Mist faces the Swordsman while Piper fights the Barbarian. The Swordsman charges toward Kara and Mist. Kara hits him and knocks him onto the nearby car as Mist grabs a tire iron.
Piper and the Barbarian fight. He swings at her, she does a back flip out of the way. She holds out her hand and pulls a hubcap to her. The Barbarian swings down on her. Piper blocks the blow with the hubcap.
Kara and Mist continues to fight the Swordsman.
Buffy and Freya continue to fight with the Magi.
Piper holds her own with the Barbarian as she manages to hit him in the abdomen, knocking him back to the ground.
The Swordsman jumps over Kara and Mist and kicks Kara in the back.
The Barbarian gets to his feet and continues to attack Piper. She uses the chain to block the sword's blows.
Just then Paige, Dawn and Phoebe orb in and they look around and see the fighting Then they see Piper just as she kicks the Barbarian in the groin.
"Ooh! Way to go, Piper." Phoebe said as Paige taps Phoebe on the arm and glares at her. "What? She's good."
"There's Buffy." Dawn said pointing towards Freyja, Buffy and the Magi.
Paige, Dawn and Phoebe wait for Piper who finishes with the Barbarian knocking him out. She looks around the chop shop and sees them at the other end. She looks over at Freyja and Buffy who has also noticed Paige and Phoebe. "I'll take care of them."
Buffy gives a subtle nod and turns her attention back to the Magi as Piper starts walking toward Dawn, Phoebe and Paige.
Phoebe sees her and quickly motions for Dawn and Paige to say the spell. "Reversal spell! Reversal spell!"
"All right, uh," Paige said.
"Spell was cast. Now make it pass. Remove it now. Don't ask me how." Paige and Dawn chant but nothing happens.
Piper swings her arm and sends first Paige and then Dawn into the wire cage behind them. Dawn and Paige hits it with a force that sends them crashing to the ground.
"Well, it serves you two right. What kind of spell was that?" Phoebe said before she turns around to look at Piper. "Ok, Piper, I know why you would rather be one of them. It's because you don't want to feel pain. But you have to feel the pain, because if you can't feel the pain, then you can't feel the good stuff either, you know?" Piper stops and stares at Phoebe. "Right?"
Piper whirls around and kicks Phoebe sending her down to the ground also. "Hyah!" She tosses her hair back.
Paige scoffs, "Oh, and that was so much better."
Paige and Dawn both get to their feet as Piper starts walking toward Phoebe.
Phoebe sighed, "Oh, well, uh, you-it..."
Outside, tires screech as a police car arrives at the scene. Darryl gets out of the car, gun drawn. Piper squints at him as she recognizes him. Buffy glances from the Magi at Darryl for only a moment.
Darryl rushes into the warehouse. He raises his gun at the fighting in front of him. "Police! Drop your weapons!"
Behind Darryl, the Barbarian comes to and stands up. While his attention is on the people in front of him, Darryl is unaware that the Barbarian has just taken out a knife. He gets ready to throw it.
Phoebe shouts a warning, "Piper."
Piper watches as the Barbarian throws the knife at Darryl's back. Piper freezes the throw.
The Barbarian stares at the knife, surprised as Darryl slowly turns around and finds himself staring at the knife in mid-air. He glances up at the Barbarian and then turns to the side and sees Piper.
Taking the opportunity to show the Warriors, Freyja touches her pendant and opens the vortex. The Magi, the Barbarian and the Swordsman look at the vortex. "Now do you believe me?" The Magi lowers his eyes. "Go. Get in."
One by one, they head for the vortex. The Barbarian steps forward and takes his knife out of the air in front of Darryl's face. He turns and leaves with them. One by one, they enter the vortex.
"Piper, Buffy, let's go." Freyja said.
Dawn shook her head, "Piper, Buffy, don't go."
Buffy and Piper turns and looks at Dawn.
Kara nods, "Piper. Buffy." Piper and Buffy turns to look at Kara. She motions for them to come "Hurry."
"Please." Phoebe said.
"Please, Piper." Paige said.
"Please, Buffy." Dawn said.
Piper and Buffy don't turn around as Kara looks at them and silently urges them to join the other Valkyries. Buffy and Piper steps forward and rushes toward the vortex. Without a backward glance, they enter the vortex and It closes behind them.
Phoebe turns to look at Paige and Dawn who stares at the empty space where Piper amd Buffy used to be.
Dawn is the first to speak. "What was Buffy doing with them. I understand Piper. But why Buffy?"
Phoebe shook her head, "I think she like Piper is trying to hide from the pain."
They orb back to the manor.
Later Dawn, Paige, Phoebe, Leo and Chris have gathered to discuss how to get Piper and Buffy back.
Phoebe sighs, "There's got to be a way to get Buffy and Piper out of there. I know it."
"Unfortunately, the reversal spell, as you so kindly pointed out, didn't exactly help Piper remember who she was." Paige said. "And it's not going to fix why Buffy joined them in the first place either. She joined them of her own free will. No memory spell caused that."
"What do the Elders think?" Dawn asked.
"They think it had to be a demon who stuck Leo in Valhalla." Chris said.
Leo frowned, "But they're not sure."
"Still, it's their leading theory." Chris said.
"Hey, this is about Piper and Buffy." Phoebe said.
Leo nodded, "Actually, the Elders believe your new power is key to helping save both of them."
"My new power? How do they figure? All it's done is make things worse." Phoebe said. "And all I feel from Buffy is absolute nothing. She has completely disconnected herself from her feelings. And if my guess is right she has been that way since she was brought back."
"There's a reason you received it, and they - we believe it's to help save Piper and Buffy. So what exactly did you feel the last time from Piper?" Leo asked.
"Ah, not much." Phoebe said.
Dawn nodded, "And yet you said you felt something familiar - little things."
Phoebe nodded, "Well, I mean, obviously I felt pain ..." Suddenly she realizes something, "...and desire... to help."
"Ok, well, Piper helped Darryl, and that wasn't with her Valkyrie powers. That was with her Charmed powers." Paige said.
Chris nodded, "The witch within must still be alive."
Leo smiled, "And that's how you're gonna reach both of them."
Phoebe frowned, "But how? I mean, just because I could feel some glimmer of Piper's feelings doesn't mean she can. She like Buffy is completely cut off from them."
"Wait. Wait. Wait. Hold it. Isn't there a spell in the book that allows somebody to feel what you feel? Which, in this case would be Piper feeling what you're feeling Piper should be did that make sense?" Chris said.
Paige smiled, "Um, frighteningly, it did. What about that spell I used on Cole last year, the one to make him sense whether or not you loved him? I could reword it for Piper and maybe even Buffy."
Dawn smiled, "Actually, that's worth a shot."
"The problem is, you still have to get close to them to try it, and that's not gonna be easy." Chris said.
"Yeah, especially with Piper and Buffy's powers." Phoebe said.
Leo nodded, "Maybe I could orb you—"
Phoebe shook her head, "No. Leo, you're the reason Piper's in this emotional cocoon. You need to stay far away from her. No offense."
"Then the question is, how do we get close enough to her without them kicking our butts?" Dawn asked.
"Maybe I could use my new power to counteract theirs." Phoebe said.
"How do you figure?" Chris asked.
Phoebe smiled, "Well, our powers are emotion-based, right? If I can channel Piper's feelings, why can't I channel her powers and then use them against her and Buffy?"
A short time later Piper and Buffy walks along a path in Valhalla as Paige, Dawn and Phoebe step out from the foliage directly in front of them.
"What are you doing here?" Piper asked.
Phoebe smiled, "We're here to take you two home."
Piper and Buffy stares at them for a moment, they swing their arms sending Paige and Dawn into the brush.
"Why does she always pick on us first?" Paige asked as she and Dawn get up.
Phoebe gears up to face Buffy and Piper as they swing at her. Phoebe absorbs the blows as they swing again. Again, Phoebe absorbs the blows.
Phoebe swings and sends Piper and Buffy backward with the force of Piper's own power. Buffy and Piper gets to their feet ready to swing again at Phoebe, but Phoebe's quicker. She swings and sends Buffy and Piper backward again. "Dawn, Paige, now."
Paige holds up the paper so Dawn can read it as they chant together, "Open Piper's heart to reveal that part which only Phoebe feels. Send it back from whence it came, but don't protect her or Buffy from the pain."
Yellow orb lights come out from Phoebe's chest and travel toward Piper and Buffy. Fast. Buffy and Piper gets to their feet just as the yellow orb lights hit them square and full in the chest.
Paige and Dawn move to stand next to Phoebe.
Several Valkyries rush and surround them.
Piper shakes her head, "No! Wait."
Freyja nods, "Did they harm you?"
Piper shakes her head, "No. They helped me." Piper looks to Buffy and wonders if the spell helped her also. She steps forward and looks at Freyja. "Buffy and I know what you do here. We understand its purpose, so you can trust that your secret is safe. But I think it's time for us to go home."
Phoebe, Dawn and Paige smile.
Buffy sighs and nods in agreement.
Freyja smiles as she turns to Buffy, "Sister. I was going to gift you with this pendant tonight. But since you are leaving." She hands Buffy a pendant. "Remember us fondly and should you ever need us in your war. Do not hesitate to call."
Buffy nods and looks down at the pendant. "Thank you."
Later that evening…. Dawn and Buffy walks down the stairs. They see Chris cleaning up the mess in the damaged living room.
"Hey, Chris, what are you doing?" Paige asked.
Chris smiled as he looked at Paige, "Wow. You look amazing."
"Thank you. Um. Leave it. I'll help you clean it up tomorrow." Paige said.
"Its ok. I don't mind. It's the least I can do." Chris said.
Dawn frowned, "What do you mean the least you can do?"
"Oh, you know, for fighting with Leo." Chris said.
"Oh, he attacked you." Paige said.
Chris shrugged, "Don't worry about it. Yeah, I know. Like I said, it's cool."
The front door opens and Phoebe walks into the house. "Hi."
"Hey. Guess it didn't go that well with Jason." Paige said.
"Well, I went all the way down there to talk to him, and then I figured maybe it wasn't such a good idea that I even see him, at least not until I can control my new power." Phoebe said.
"Judging by how it's been going, it might be just a little bit." Dawn said.
Phoebe nodded, "I know, but what am I supposed to do? I'm gonna have to figure out how to use it sooner or later. And until then, I'm just gonna stay away from horny men."
"Huh. Good luck." Paige said.
"At least your new power helped save Piper and Buffy. That's got to be a good thing, right?" Chris said.
Paige nodded, "Yeah. It won't help them with what either of them is going through, though."
"But at least they are both going through it. And that is a good thing." Dawn said.
"Well, I'm off to see Oscar." Paige turns to rush out the door.
Chris gets to his feet to stop her. "Whoa. Wait." He's confused, "Oscar the dog?"
Paige turns around. "Yeah. He's having a bit of a tough time adjusting. I don't really want him roaming the streets by himself, especially since I'm the one who rescued him. You know, I was having trouble with the whole idea of that temp agency thing. But I'm kind of digging it now. It's all right."
Phoebe shakes her head, "Wait, wait. About Oscar-"
"Bye." Paige opens the door and leaves.
Dawn, Chris and Phoebe stare at each other, their confusion evident.
Upstairs in Piper's bedroom… Piper is in her room sharing a moment with Wyatt. He's sitting on her lap and she's playing with him. There's a knock on the door. "Who is it?"
Leo calls out from the other side of the door, "It's me."
Piper sighed, "Come in." Leo opens the door and walks into the room. "Hi."
Leo smiled, "Hi."
Piper puts the rattle down and stands up with Wyatt. "Want to hold him?"
Leo walks toward them. "Are you kidding?" Piper hands Wyatt over to Leo. "Oh, he's gotten so big."
"Yeah." Piper said.
Leo puts Wyatt down in his playpen. "Yeah." He turns to talk with Piper. "Look, Piper, I... want to say I'm sorry for taking away your feelings."
Piper shakes her head, "Leo, you don't have to apologize. I know that you were just trying to help me. I do. And it wasn't your fault you weren't around to take the spell away."
Leo nodded, "Well, it's somebody's fault. And I want to find out whose. The other Elders want me to stick around until I do to make sure nobody's targeting us again."
"So you're still an Elder, then." Piper said.
"Yeah." Leo said.
Piper walks past Leo. "Um, I need to ask you a favor."
Leo smiled, "Anything."
Piper sighed, "I need some space from you. I mean, who knows? This might actually turn out to be a good thing for me in the long run. I might be able to live some semblance of a normal life, not being married to an angel." Leo chuckles sadly. "I get why you have to leave, Leo. And I understand that you can't ignore your calling. But I do have to deal with it somehow - with being alone ... with being a single mother ... and I can't really do that with you hanging around the house." Leo doesn't say anything. "I'm sorry." Leo still doesn't say anything. Both of them reeling from the hurt. "Leo, please... I need this."
Leo turns around and kneels down to look at Wyatt. "I won't be far." Leo straightens and turns to look at Piper. "You deserve a normal life, Piper. I really hope you find it."
Piper nods.
Leo orbs out of the room.
Piper takes a couple of steps forward and stands in the middle of the room, her arms crossed protectively in front of her.
In Buffy and Dawn's room she is sitting in a chair rocking Celia. The spell that Dawn and Paige cast opened her up to the fact she had been cut off from her emotions. It brings to mind a question of why can't she feel.