Chapter 141: Forget Me Not
Paige orbs in with Phoebe and Piper, who's carrying Wyatt as Dawn shimmers in with Buffy, who's carrying Celia into the foyer.
"We don't have much time. They're gonna follow us." Paige said.
"How are we supposed to stop them?" Dawn asked.
"Well, we have to think of something. We can't just let them take Wyatt and Celia." Piper said as the air in the foyer starts to waiver as something is coming into the house.
Paige and Dawn sees it and steps forward as they say together. "Incoming."
Two extremely pristine-looking Men dressed completely in white appear in the foyer.
"It's pointless to run."
"You can't have them." Buffy said.
Piper waves her hand and sends a blast at the men as one of them raises his hand and easily catches the blast in his fist and they stare at him in shock.
"You're only delaying the inevitable, I'm afraid. Now, if you don't mind, we have a lot of cleaning to do." The first man waves his hand and Wyatt disappears from Piper's arms and into his and Celia disappears out of Buffy's arms and into the second man's waiting arms.
"No!" Buffy and Piper said.
Piper and Buffy steps forward to attack them and reclaim their children. The first man waves his hand and sends them all flat on the floor and back into the next room.
Piper screams for help. "Leo!" Leo orbs into the room as Piper points to the men as she and Buffy scrambles to their feet. "Wyatt and Celia!
"An Elder. Good. Perhaps you can explain it to them." The first man said.
Leo looks at the men as Dawn, Phoebe, Paige, Piper and Buffy step up toward him.
"Explain? Explain what?" Phoebe asked.
Leo glances from the men to them.
"Well, do something. Don't just stand there." Dawn said.
Leo shook his head, "I can't. Nobody can."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Buffy asked.
Leo looks back at the men.
"Please. They are just babies. It won't happen again. Buffy and I won't let it happen again." Piper said.
"Sorry. We can't take that risk." The second man said.
The first man nodded, "Don't worry. You won't remember any of this anyway."
Paige and Dawn looks at him perplexed by what he says, but it's too late. The first man waves his hand and lights flash and tingle. Things start to change. Little things are erased from existence to erase Wyatt and Celia from their lives. The toy carousel on the wicker table vanishes. The play pen in the middle of the conservatory disappears and changes into a wicker table. A lamp appears in the spot where the toy carousel used to be.
In the Piper's bedroom, the entire nursery disappears and changes back into the closet it was before Wyatt was even born. A framed photograph on the bedroom wall of Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Buffy, Dawn standing behind Wyatt and Celia in their strollers changes as Wyatt, Celia and the strollers are completely removed from the picture.
In Buffy's room the bassinet and changing table disappear and the picture of Dawn with Celia, taken during the time Buffy was dead, becomes just Dawn as Celia is removed from the picture.
Back in the foyer, the lights tingle. When everything is completely "cleaned", the men vanish ... with Wyatt and Celia.
Paige and Dawn blinks.
Piper turns and looks at Leo. "What are you doing here?"
Paige, Buffy, Dawn and Phoebe busy themselves.
Leo shook his head, "I don't know. I'd better go." He orbs out of the room.
"What were we talking about?" Buffy asked.
Dawn sighed, "I don't know."
"I'm beat. I'm gonna go up to bed." Phoebe heads for the stairs.
"Ditto." Dawn said as she heads for the stairs also.
"Yeah. I'm tired, too." Paige walks past Piper and Buffy. She turns around to look at them when they don't move. "You two all right?"
Piper nodded, "Yeah. I just feel like I'm forgetting something."
"Ditto." Buffy said.
"Like what?" Paige asked.
Piper shrugged, "I don't know. Must not be very important."
"Yeah not very important." Buffy said.
Paige turns and heads up the stairs.
Despite their words, Piper and Buffy continues to look around the room, trying to get an inkling of what they're forgetting. Finally, they shrug and turn to head up the stairs.
The next morning Piper is in the kitchen putting together a breakfast tray while listening to the television set on in the background. She puts a plate of eggs on the tray.
Paige walks into the room via the utility room and heads for the refrigerator. She opens the door and grabs a bottle of water. "Any infomercials for stain remover on there?"
"You have a stain that needs removal?" Piper asked as Dawn walks into the kitchen.
Paige nodded, "Yes. I spilled coffee on my blouse yesterday. So, that dork walking around the office with the big old stain on her shirt? That'd be me."
"Have you tried baking soda?" Piper asked.
Dawn grabs a bottle of water from the fridge as Paige pours hers into a glass.
"No, it's dry-clean only, so it's gonna eat up a half-a-day's pay." Paige said.
Piper heads for the refrigerator as Paige drinks out of the glass.
"The pay is lousy. Your boss is a sexist pig. Why don't you just quit? The job sucks, and it's just a temp job, anyway." Dawn said.
Piper grabs a large bottle of applesauce and heads back to her breakfast tray as Paige heads for the sink.
"Because ... if I want a life outside of magic, I can't just quit every time a job starts sucking. Besides, I stuck around at the dog-walking job, and hey, I wound up helping somebody." Paige said.
Piper starts spooning applesauce into a bowl as Buffy walks into the kitchen.
"Yeah, ok, but that was once. What are the odds of something like that actually happening again?" Piper said.
Paige shrugged. "I don't know, but sometimes they say you've got to ride a lot of different horses on the merry-go-round before you find what you're looking for."
"Carousel." Buffy said, automatically.
"Sorry?" Paige asked confused.
Piper heads for the cupboard to get a drinking glass.
"Well, a merry-go-round has lots of animals. A carousel only has horses." Buffy said.
"Ok. Why do you even know that, weirdo?" Dawn asked.
Buffy stops and thinks about it. "I have no idea." Suddenly she and Piper hear a baby crying.
"Did you hear that?" Piper asked.
Dawn and Paige listen and hear nothing. "Hear what?" Paige asked.
Buffy shook her head as she looked at Piper. She is sure they heard something. "Now it's gone."
"Now what's gone?" Dawn asked looking between Piper and Buffy.
"I know this may sound crazy, but I think Buffy and I just heard a baby." Piper said as she is also sure they both heard it.
"Yeah. You're crazy." Paige said.
"Piper!"
Piper fills the glass with milk.
"Oh, my god. I heard something." Paige said.
"Oh, be quiet." Piper said. "Coming!"
"How long do you think she's going to spend down there, anyway? The rest of her natural life?" Dawn asked.
Piper puts the milk down on the counter and picks up the breakfast tray. "Yeah. Long enough to be sure she doesn't shove her tongue down the throat of the next delivery guy."
"I heard that!" Phoebe said.
Piper, Buffy, Dawn and Paige head down to the basement.
In the basement Phoebe has set up a small work station down in the far corner of the basement. "And for your information, we're lucky that that guy didn't sue me for sexual harassment."
"You were channeling his emotions." Paige said.
Phoebe looks up and sees Buffy, Dawn, Paige and Piper walking down the basement stairs. "That's not the point. The point is, I have to figure out how to work my new power, or I'm going to have to lock myself down in this basement for the rest of my life." She sees them reach the bottom and stops them from taking another step closer to her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Stay behind the yellow line." Buffy, Paige, Dawn and Piper look down and find that their feet are mere inches away from the yellow line. "I might channel what you all are feeling."
"So, would you like me to toss you your breakfast?" Piper asked.
"What happened to your head?" Dawn asked.
Phoebe motions towards the band-aid on the right side of her forehead. "This? I don't know. I've been so scattered lately, I must've bumped it or something. Now, are any one of you feeling any strong emotions? Anger? Sadness?"
"Annoyance?" Buffy asked.
"You may proceed." Phoebe waves them forward.
"Thanks." Paige said.
"Wait a minute. One of you is feeling insecure." Phoebe looks at them and none of them confesses.
Finally Piper admits it. "What? I'm just feeling a little off today. That's all. Stop looking at me like that." She puts the breakfast tray on Phoebe's desk.
Phoebe glances down at the tray. "And you cut the crust off my toast and cut my eggs into little bits. And, look! There's applesauce and milk. Piper, I'm not in second grade."
"I just thought maybe you'd like some milk for some strong bones." Piper said.
"Ok, what is going on with you and Buffy? Buffy knowing about carousels, you both hearing babies, and now milk for strong bones." Paige said.
"Wait. You two were hearing babies?" Phoebe asked looking between Buffy and Piper.
"Forget it. I'm sure it's nothing." Piper said. "Forget it."
Phoebe's cell phone rings and she picks it up and glances at the caller ID. "Hmm." She answers it. "Hey, Elise! How'd you like that –" She pauses for a second. "What? No, I can't come in today, because I am very sick." She starts coughing. Through the phone, they can hear Elise yelling at Phoebe.
"W-wait, but I didn't come in yesterday. Oh, I did?" Phoebe said. "Oh. Ohh. Ohh ... ok." She hangs up.
"What was that about?" Dawn asked.
"That was Elise. She wants me to come in to work A.S.A.P, or it's my job." Phoebe said.
"Your job? Why would she say that?" Piper asked.
Phoebe shook her head, "I have no idea. Something about yesterday. Must have bumped my head pretty hard, huh?"
"Well, looks like you're going to have to brave the big bad world. Want me to give you a ride?" Paige said.
Phoebe stands up. "No. I'll drive. So I can get in and out fast." She, Dawn and Paige head for the stairs out of the basement.
"Hey! Don't forget your coats. It might rain." Buffy said.
"Would you stop mothering us, please?" Paige said.
Later outside a store a dad carrying a crying baby, a bag full of groceries and a package of diapers steps out from the store and onto the sidewalk. "All right, now. Come on, Sweetheart. No, no, don't be fussy. What's the matter? Are you hungry? Don't be fussy."
Piper, Buffy and Dawn stands behind Piper's car looking at a slip of paper. They hear the baby and the struggling dad and is momentarily distracted. They pause to watch them.
The dad tries to get a better grip on the crying baby and winds up dropping the bag of diapers. "No - oh! Ow!" Piper, Buffy and Dawn rushes forward to help him. "Do you want a bottle?"
Piper picks up the diapers as Dawn offers some advice on the baby.
"You know, if you bounce a little and make a little shushing sound, it just may help." Dawn said. Though why she knew that she wasn't sure.
The dad tries it and the baby quiets down. "Shh-shh-shh."
Piper, Buffy and Dawn smile at the baby as they all say, "Hi."
The dad looks gratefully at Dawn. "Wow, that was amazing. How did you calm him down so fast?"
Dawn just shrugs unsure herself. But luckily Buffy steps in with an explination. "Well, the shushing sound supposedly reminds them of the womb."
"Amazing. You must be a terrific mothers to know all this stuff."
Piper shakes her head, "No. Actually, we don't have kids. And Dawn here is still in school."
"Really? Guess I just assumed –"
Piper nodded, "Oh, well, I always wanted them. I baby-sat a lot, but ... we should go." She, Buffy and Dawn turn to leave.
"Um ... m-my diapers?"
They stop and looks down at the diapers in Piper's hands, surprised to find that Piper is carrying the diapers.
"Oh! Sorry. Here." Piper puts the diapers on the dad's packages.
"Thank you."
"Got it?" Buffy asked.
He nodded, "Yep." He looks to his baby. "You ok, sweetheart? Want some chips?"
Buffy, Piper and Dawn turns to leave. The dad turns to leave also. As they head back to the they turn around to glance back at them.
In the car as they head back to the Manor… "How come I know about the sshing?" Dawn asked.
Piper and Buffy look at each other. They had been wondering the same thing. Why would a fifteen year old girl know anything about taking care of babies. A fifteen year old girl who never once babysat for anyone.
Buffy looked over her shoulder at Dawn, "You must have learned it in health class?"
Dawn sighed and nodded, "Maybe."
Back at the Manor Piper heads up to her room when the phone rings. Buffy goes to answer it. "Halliwell residence, Payson speaking."
"Buffy?"
"Angel?" Buffy asked. "Is everything alright?"
"I'm fine. It's just ..." Angel said. "Never mind. I don't know why I'm calling."
"What were you gonna say?" Buffy asked.
"This is gonna sound a little weird, um – have you been hearing things lately?" Angel asked.
"Like a baby?" Buffy asked.
"You, too?" Angel asked.
Buffy sighed, "Pretty strange, huh? You think it means anything?"
"I don't know." Angel said. "It's weird why would I be hearing a baby crying."
"I know what you mean. What's weirder still is Piper has been hearing it also. Add on top of that Dawn, Piper and I seem to know thins about babies that we have no idea how we even know. For example we were at the store and this father had his kid and Dawn told him how to quiet her down. Dawn's only fifteen and never babysat how would she know that?" Buffy said.
"I don't know." Angel said. "I'd say you need to look in to this if you and Piper are hearing it also. Let me know what you find out? And I will do the same from this end."
"I will." Buffy said as she hung up the phone as she hears Phoebe yell from up in the attic.
"Buffy! Piper! Dawn! We need you upstairs!"
"Be right there." Buffy called up. She and Dawn headed upstairs and passed Piper as she came out of her room and followed them up into the attic.
In the attic Phoebe and Paige are sitting in the attic. They both have noticed something is going on and are trying to figure it out.
"So, you're saying you started a riot, but you don't remember it?" Paige asked.
"Yeah. It must've been how this happened ..." Phoebe points to her band-aid "... and why Elise was so mad at me."
Piper, Buffy and Dawn walks into the attic.
"I thought Elise was just like that." Paige said.
"Well, yeah, she kinda is." Phoebe said before looking at Piper. "Hey. You ok? I'm feeling a very emotional vibe from you right now."
"I'm fine. Stop that. What I don't understand is if you don't remember the riot, how do you know you started it?" Piper said.
"I had a premonition. And, by the way, the vision occurred yesterday." Phoebe said.
"Maybe you were channeling somebody else's anger." Dawn suggested.
"Probably. I just don't remember." Phoebe said.
"So you both have events that you can't remember from yesterday?" Buffy said.
Phoebe nodded, "Yeah, there was the riot and Paige's blouse."
"This thing with this girl Flo from work. Did you all forget anything?" Paige asked.
Piper shook her head, "You're asking us to remember what we've apparently forgotten? I don't know. I remember getting up, I remember going downstairs, but the rest is kind of a blur."
"Ditto." Buffy and Dawn said.
"I think somebody's messing with us." Phoebe said. "Making us forget."
"But these all seem like such random moments to forget. Where's the connection?" Piper said.
"Well, that's why we wrote a spell –" Paige takes out a slip of paper and stands up. "... to fill in the blanks."
Phoebe sighed. "Piper, we know you might be reluctant because of what happened the last time we cast a spell on your memory –"
"No. You're right. Let's do it." Piper interrupted.
"Really?" Dawn asked surprised.
Piper nodded, "Something's going on. The only thing we don't know is what."
"I have to agree with Piper." Buffy said. "In fact just before we came upstairs Angel called. He's been hearing a baby cry also."
"Really?" Piper asked. "That's interesting because Leo said the same thing when I found him in my room staring at the closet."
"Yeah." Buffy said. "That means we need to find out what is going on."
"All right. Here we go." Paige said. "Moments lost make witches wonder, warlock's plot or demon's plunder? If this is not a prank, help us to fill in the blanks."
The spell takes effect. The room swirls around and when everything returns to normal, they are all in yesterday's clothes. Outside it's daylight and it's raining outside.
"It's raining." Piper said.
"Hey, your band-aid's gone." Paige said.
Phoebe nodded, "And you're wearing that blouse."
Paige looks down at her blouse. "Except for I've got no coffee stain."
Downstairs, they hear two babies cry.
"Oh, my god." Piper said and she rushes out of the attic.
"Oh, my goddess." Buffy said and she too rushes out of the attic as Paige, Dawn and Phoebe follows the both of them downstairs and into the conservatory.
Piper picks up Wyatt as Buffy picks up Celia from the playpen.
"Ohh ... I remember now!" Piper said as she and Buffy carry Wyatt and Celia back to the others standing at the bottom of the stairs. "I'm a mom!"
"So am I." Buffy said.
Moments later Phoebe throws a copy of 'The Bay Mirror' down on the wicker table. "Today is Yesterday."
"Well, the spell didn't return our memories. It just rewound the day." Dawn said.
"Yeah, but why?" Phoebe asked.
"What else? To help us remember what somebody obviously wants us to forget." Paige said.
"Ok, but how could I have possibly forgotten about Wyatt?" Piper said. "What could've happened to make that happen?"
"And how could I have forgotten about Celia." Buffy said.
"Piper, Buffy, it's not just the two of you. We were all made to forget about them." Dawn said.
Paige nodded, "Yeah, and a whole bunch of other things."
"But I'm Wyatt's mother. And Buffy is Celia's mother. It's our jobs to protect them, and we failed." Piper said.
Paige shook her head, "Don't be ridiculous. Neither of you failed."
Wyatt and Celia start to cry.
"Ok. Now they're both fussing." Buffy said. "Come on, sweetie. It's ok. And now I can't get Celia to stop fussing."
Piper nodded in agreement, "I can't get Wyatt to stop either."
"Well, you both are just feeling insecure, and Wyatt and Celia are feeling ..." Phoebe said as Wyatt and Celia turned to look at her. "... very, very sad right now. Poor little ones." Piper and Buffy look at Wyatt and Celia. "See, this is why I lock myself in the basement. I am a wreck!"
"Ok, guys, we're kind of against the clock right now. Maybe, we should just, you know, take it into the other room." Dawn said.
Buffy nodded, "I think that's a good idea." She goes to put Celia back in the playpen. "Here you go my little pum'kin belly."
"Ok, bud, here we go. Here we go. Ok." Piper puts Wyatt down next to Celia. She turns around to get him and Celia a toy. She picks up a stuffed bear and shows him to Wyatt and Celia. "Here, looky! How about this? You like this? Hello! No?"
Neither Wyatt nor Celia shows any enthusiasm for the toy.
Phoebe watches them, and scrunches her face as she knows exactly what Wyatt and Celia's feeling.
"Pheebes, a little help here." Buffy said trying to figure out what's up with her daughter and nephew.
"We hate that toy. It's yucky and crusty and gross." Phoebe said.
"Ok, then what do they want?" Piper asked.
Wyatt and Celia both look at the TV.
Phoebe turns and points to the TV. "That."
"Yeah. See? I am a failure." Piper said.
"So am I. Did I forget to be a mommy after being in he… ll?" Buffy said.
Paige shook her head, "No, neither of you are. We just happen to have more pressing concerns right now than the media's influence. Ok?"
Paige, Dawn and Phoebe stand up and head into the next room.
"Ok." Buffy and Piper said as Buffy picks up the remote and turns the TV on to a children's program. The screen is red and the word "RED" is being spelled out in the center.
"Ok, sweeties, mommy will just be in the next room, ok?" Piper said but Wyatt and Celia have only eyes for the TV. She looks to Buffy. "Ok!"
Buffy sighs and nodded. They put a hand to Wyatt and Celia's heads and then leaves the room to join the others. Wyatt and Celia watches them go. They turns and looks at the screen which is now green and spelling out the word "GREEN". It moves on to the word "BLUE".
Wyatt blinks and the channel changes. Now they are watching some old Olympic gymnastics footage. Celia blinks and the channel changes to a program about flying dragons.
Oh, yeah. They like this one better.
Piper clutches the rejected teddy bear and walks into the living room. Buffy looks at the teddy bear and sighs. She wonders if her being unable to feel has made her a bad mother.
"Ok, we remember everything that happened before today, right?" Dawn asked.
Phoebe nodded, "Yeah, but, uh ..."
"And we know we're not gonna remember everything unless we do something about it, right?" Dawn said.
"Dawnie, don't be impatient with me. I'm feeling so much today. I don't need this, too." Phoebe said.
"Ok, all I'm saying is whatever caused us to forget is what's gonna happen next, so we just have to relive this day and see where it leads us." Dawn said.
Buffy nodded, "Yeah, but if we're not careful, where it leads will be right back where we started without Wyatt and Celia."
Paige nodded, "Ok, except for we know something is gonna happen to them, so all we have to do is look for clues, keep our eyes open, and stop it."
"How are we supposed to know what's important and what's not?" Phoebe asked.
"It's all important, because it's all connected to Wyatt and Celia, so we just have to see what the connection is." Dawn said.
"So, what—Paige is supposed to go to her temp job and wait for coffee to be spilled on you?"
"Yeah, exactly. So much for my life outside of magic." Paige said as she looked at Phoebe. "Now, you, you have got to go to work and –"
"Start a riot and get a cut on my head and lose my job? No, thank you." Phoebe said.
"You have to. It's the only way to save Wyatt and Celia." Dawn said.
"Oy. Whew." Phoebe said.
In the concervatory Wyatt and Celia are watching the program about flying dragons. Deciding that they really likes what they're seeing, Wyatt blinks and one of the dragons on the television set orbs out from the program… Orb lights come out from the television set, through the conservatory and out the door where it rematerializes out in the back yard. Celia blinks and the other dragon on the television set flames out from the program. Flames come out from the television set and join the first dragon where it rematerializes into the second dragon.
The dragons looks into the house through the windows and growls. Their hot breath pushes the conservatory doors open, knocking over a flower vase on the table. It teeters on the edge deciding whether to fall or not fall.
The dragons growl then fly away.
In the living room…
"So I guess Dawn, Buffy and I are supposed to stay home." Piper said.
Thunder rumbles as there's a crash in the next room as the vase falls to the floor and breaks. Piper stops and she and Buffy heads to the Conservatory to check up on Wyatt and Celia.
"Wyatt?!" Piper said.
"Celia?!" Buffy said.
In the conservatory Wyatt and Celia turns from the tv to look at their mothers. Piper and Buffy walks into the room and takes it all in. The conservatory doors are wide open, the flower vase is in pieces on the floor.
"How did those open?" Piper asked.
"Must've been the wind." Dawn said.
Paige heads over to the doors.
"But they were locked." Buffy said.
"Could be a clue. Let's remember it." Phoebe said.
Paige closes the doors. "You three gonna be ok here by yourselves?"
"Do we have a choice?" Piper asked.
"Wanna switch with me?" Phoebe asked.
"Ok. Just call us if anything weird happens." Paige said as she and Phoebe leave the room.
Buffy, Dawn and Piper turns and notices the television program about flying dragons. They turn and looks down at Wyatt and Celia in the playpen watching the program.
Later Wyatt and Celia start to cry as Piper and Buffy gets up from their seats and heads toward Wyatt and Celia.
"Oh, Wyatt, sweetie, come on. Mommy's gonna find something to make sure nothing happens to you. Here." Piper said.
Buffy sighed, "Celia mommy's here. Don't you worry nothing's going to happen to you." She grabs the crusty, yucky teddy bear and shows it to Wyatt and Celia, trying to stop them from crying. "Look, look, look."
Wyatt and Celia scrunches up their faces and continues to cry.
"Buffy." Dawn said. "Remember Phoebe said they hate that teddy bear."
"Right." Buffy puts the bear aside.
Piper picks Wyatt up as Buffy picks Celia up. "We're sorry. Did we forget how to be mommies, too?"
Wyatt stops crying and orbs as Celia stops crying and flames.
"Wyatt, what are you doing?" Piper asked as Wyatt orbs both him and Piper out of the room.
"Celia?" Buffy said as Celia flames both her and Buffy out of the room.
Dawn closes her and Buffy's Book of Shadows and stands up as she shimmers out of the room.
Outside the Presidio tunnel a car zooms into the tunnel as Wyatt and Piper orb to the side of the road. Celia and Buffy flame in next to them followed by Dawn who shimmers in also. They look around the area.
"Wyatt, Celia, you're making your mommies very nervous." Piper said. "What are we doing here? What is it?"
Dawn's cell phone rings. She answers it. "What's up?"
"Where are you? Are you with Buffy and Piper? We tried calling them with no answer." Phoebe asked.
"Yeah they are with me. We're standing outside of the Presidio Tunnel where Celia flamed Buffy and Wyatt orbed Piper. And I shimmer after them to make sure they were alright." Dawn said.
"Wait. What did you just say?" Paige asked.
Wyatt orbs Paige as Celia flames Phoebe in behind Buffy, Dawn and Piper.
"They did what?" Paige asked.
Piper, Buffy and Dawn hears them and turns around.
"Are you out of your mind? Aren't you afraid of exposure?" Buffy said.
"Yeah, that's why we called." Paige said.
"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Piper asked.
From inside the tunnel, there's an explosion. A car zooms out of the tunnel, its tires screeching as fire and smoke follows it in its wake.
"I think she's talking about that." Phoebe said.
Two large dragons fly out of the tunnel following the car. They hurl fire directly at the girls who duck as the dragons fly by overhead leaving fire and scorch marks on the road.
Later back at the Manor in the conservatory… "Police here at the tunnel are saying it's a miracle no one was hurt, although three cars were destroyed. They haven't ruled out terrorism, of course but at the moment, they are focusing on some rather bizarre reports of a ... "giant bird," which one witness went on record as saying ..."shot fire out of its mouth at cars like a dragon.""
Paige turns the television set off. "Well, as far as clues go, I'd say that's a pretty huge one, wouldn't you?"
Piper puts the band-aid on Phoebe's cut.
"Ow." Phoebe said.
Piper sighed. "Sorry."
"No, it's not my pain I'm reacting to. It's your pain." Phoebe said to Piper. She looked at Buffy and still felt nothing from her. She wondered why Buffy was so cut off from her feelings. Had being hell been that traumatic for her?
"Oh. Well, then, you should be feeling a little irritated then, too." Piper said.
Phoebe shook her head. "Piper, why are you blaming yourself? It's not your fault."
"Ok. Number one, I haven't actually verbalized guilt yet, so in the future, let me confess before you analyze." Piper said.
Phoebe nodded, "Right."
"Secondly, it is mine and as much as I hate to say it Buffy… your fault, because we're the ones that plopped Wyatt and Celia in front of the electronic baby-sitter." Piper said.
Buffy sighed, "I know Piper and I agree with you it is as much mine as yours."
"Do you have any idea what they're talking about?" Phoebe asked.
Paige shook her head, "No, not a clue."
"You want some clues?" Dawn said. "Try this one on for size. Before you left, Wyatt and Celia were watching a tv show about-wait for it - dragons."
Phoebe shook her head, "No, they were watching a kid's show."
"Well, apparently, one or both of them magically changed the channel. Of course, that was before they magically transported me and Buffy to the tunnel to find their new friends." Piper said.
"They did all of that?" Phoebe asked.
"Wait a second. So, you're saying Wyatt and/or Celia conjured two dragons?" Paige asked.
Buffy nodded, "Yep, right out of the TV."
"Oh, you two must be so proud!" Phoebe said.
"Yeah, or a little irritated." Piper said.
Phoebe nodded, "Right."
"Ok, if this is true, both Wyatt and Celia are developing some serious powers." Paige said.
Dawn nodded, "Yeah, the kind that unleashes Godzilla on an unsuspecting city."
"How are we supposed to handle this?" Buffy asked.
"Well, at least now we know how we lost our memories. I mean, obviously, anything connected to the dragons, no matter how remote, was erased. You know, what? Coffee stains. Riots." Paige said.
"But the question is by whom?" Piper asked.
"Come on, you guys. So Wyatt and Celia made a little magical mess. We've dealt with worse. We'll fix it." Phoebe said.
Someone magically appears in the manor.
"Perhaps we can help."
They turn to look at the two men dressed completely in white standing in their main hall. All five girls step forward.
"Who are you?" Dawn asked.
"We're known as the cleaners ... and we're here to help." The first Cleaner said.
"The cleaners?" Paige asked.
The first Cleaner nodded. "When magic is exposed, we're the ones who cover it up, remove all evidence, erase any memories, whatever is necessary."
"You're the ones who are going to take Wyatt and Celia." Piper said.
"Well, we won't have to if you can eliminate the exposure risk." The first Cleaner said.
"Exposure? You're here to take my son and my neice away, you son of a bitch!" Piper waves her hands and blasts the Cleaners. As they did before, the first Cleaner raises his hand and "catches" the blast.
"I understand your anger. Now you need to understand our position. We're a neutral party. We exist only to protect magic. To that end, Wyatt and Celia have become ... a problem."
Neither Piper nor Buffy likes it. Piper motions to strike out again, but Phoebe stops her.
"Easy." Phoebe said.
However, based upon your past success in covering up your own magic, we've decided to give you a chance –" The first Cleaner said.
The second Cleaner nodded, "One chance only –"
"To take care of the problem yourselves before it gets out of hand." The first Cleaner said.
"And if we can't?" Dawn asked.
"Then we'll have to take care of it for you." The first Cleaner said.
"You can't make us forget everything." Buffy said.
"There may be some distant echoes that remain, maybe a sense of déja vu here and there, but like most people, you'll just pass it off as absentmindedness and move on." The first Cleaner said.
Piper shook her head, "Well, we're not like most people."
"Won't matter. Clean it up ..." The first Cleaner said.
"Or we will." The second Cleaner said.
The Cleaners disappear from the manor.
"At least now we know what happened. Too bad we just won't remember any of it." Paige said.
Phoebe nodded, "All right. I think we have the upper hand on this one, don't we? I mean, we know that we're recalling the same day. They obviously don't."
"Yeah, well, none of it's gonna help unless we can figure out how to eliminate Wyatt and Celia's dragons." Dawn said.
Piper walks toward the stairs.
"Piper." Phoebe said.
Piper turns around. "Go to the books. Work on the dragons. Do not take your eyes off Wyatt or Celia."
"Where are you going?" Paige asked.
"To call a higher power." Piper said. "Buffy…"
Buffy nods and follows Piper up the stairs and into Piper's room.
"Leo? Leo, I know you can hear me." Piper said but there is no response. "I know I told you to go away, but I really need you. Both Wyatt and Celia are in trouble."
Leo orbs into the bedroom. "What do you mean? What happened?"
"There's no time." Buffy said. "Just tell us how to stop the Cleaners."
"The cleaners? Are they after them?" Leo asked.
Piper nodded, "Yeah."
"What the hell happened?" Leo asked.
"Well—they conjured two little dragons." Buffy said.
"Buffy, Piper, how could you two let that happen?" Leo said.
"How could we let that happen?" Piper said. "You take off, and suddenly, we're responsible for every little thing?"
"This is not a little thing." Leo said.
"Yeah, well, where the hell were you? Why weren't you watching over his or Celia's every move up there on your lofty perch?" Piper said.
"Ok, that's not what I meant." Leo said.
Piper sighed, "Well, then, don't say it, because…" she looked to Buffy "…we're beating ourselves up enough already about this, and we don't need you beating us up, too."
"I'm sorry. I'm just scared for both of you and Celia and Wyatt."
"Yeah, so are we." Piper said. "That's why I called you, because I'm about to lose our son and Buffy is about to lose her daughter, and we don't know what to do, so, please, help us."
"Please." Buffy said.
Leo sighed, "Buffy, Piper, if I could –"
"No, don't say it. Don't say anything about Elders or rules. Because you know what? He is your son, Leo. And Celia is your niece. There are no rules."
"I'm telling you both. The Cleaners are empowered by both good and evil. You can't stop them." Leo said.
"There has to be a way." Buffy said.
Leo shook his head, "You both don't understand. There isn't. Cleaners have the power to rewrite history. You can't fight that."
"No, you don't understand!" Piper said. "We can't do this! I cannot lose Wyatt, too!"
"And I can't lose Celia." Buffy said.
"Buffy, Piper, you both weren't put in this position to lose Celia or Wyatt, which means there is a way. You both just have to find it." Leo said.
"But how?" Piper asked.
Leo shrugged, "I don't know, but if anybody can find it, you two can. Maybe it's not a magical solution. Maybe it's ... maternal. Deep down inside, you can find it. I know you both can."
In the attic Phoebe is making a potion while Paige and Dawn scours through both Book of Shadows for a solution. Celia and Wyatt are in the playpen.
Piper and Buffy walks into the attic and they look towards Wyatt and Celia.
Phoebe looks between Buffy and Piper. "Hey, you two all right?" For the first time since she got her empathy power she feels something from Buffy. Buried deep down but it is there.
"I don't know." Piper said. "Ask me again when this is all over."
Buffy nodded in agreement, "What Piper said."
"Was Leo any help?" Dawn asked.
Piper shrugged, "We're not sure yet. Anything on the dragons?"
Paige closes the Charmed Book of Shadows as Dawn closes her and Buffy's Book of Shadows. "No. Dragons predate the book. One thing I do know is that we're gonna have to get a tooth, scale, some piece of them, in order to make the vanquishing potion even work." Paige said.
"Yeah, we're just kind of winging it, making the most powerful potion that we can." Phoebe doubles over in pain.
"Phoebe?" Buffy asked.
"What happened? Are you all right?" Piper asked.
Phoebe nodded, "I am, but someone's not. Actually, a bunch of people aren't."
"People? Like people out there people?" Dawn asked.
"I don't know. All I know is I've never felt such pain and fear before in my life." Phoebe said.
"Is it the dragons?" Paige asked.
"Grab the potions." Piper turns to pick Wyatt up from the playpen as Buffy picks up Celia. "Wyatt, sweetie, come on. Remember your friend mister dragon? What do you say we find the dragon?"
"Celia honey do you want to see your friend?" Buffy said.
Somewhere in town thunder rumbles and lightning strikes. The streets below are a complete mess. Cars are being abandoned, people are fleeing and dragon fire scorch marks are everywhere.
Wyatt orbs Piper, Phoebe and Paige as Celia flames Buffy and Dawn to the street.
"What was that?"
"Forget it. Let's get out of here."
"God, it looks like a war zone." Phoebe said.
Right in the middle of it all, two dragon's tails stick out from a pile of burning rubble.
"Oh, my god. Looks like they made a nest. Let's hope they're not laying any eggs." Paige said.
Wyatt and Celia sees the dragons and giggles.
"Think you can steal a scale for the potion?" Piper asked.
"Uh, I'll try." Paige holds out her hand. "Scale!" A piece of each of the dragon orbs into Paige's hands. The dragons feels the magic and they fly off. "Ugh. I think I woke them up.
"Oh, no, I think you pissed them off." Dawn said.
The dragons get up and look straight at them as Wyatt and Celia giggles. Piper and Buffy watches their response.
"Ok, if you're sensing any fear, it would be mine. I think we should go." Paige said.
"Wait." Piper and Buffy said as they look from Wyatt and Celia to the dragons.
"Wait for what?" Paige asked.
Buffy and Piper get the same idea at almost the same exact moment.
"Wyatt." Piper said.
"Celia." Buffy added.
Piper hands Wyatt over to Phoebe as Buffy hand Celia over to Dawn.
"Wha-Piper, Buffy, what are you two doing?" Phoebe asked.
Piper looked to Buffy who nodded. "We don't have time to explain. Just make sure they see us." She and Buffy walks toward the dragons.
"Buffy, Piper, come back!" Dawn said.
Piper and Buffy stops in front of the growling dragons.
"Ok! Come on, you fire-breathing lizards. Come and get us!" Buffy yelled out.
With a screech, the dragons push off into the sky.
"Buffy, Piper, are you both nuts?" Paige asked.
Piper motions for them to stop. "Stay there!"
"We have to stop them." Paige said.
Phoebe watches Piper and Wyatt as Dawn watches Celia and Buffy. The dragons circle around and heads for Piper and Buffy.
"I think I know what she's doing." Phoebe said.
"Ditto."
"Come on. Don't let mommy down." Piper and Buffy mutters to themselves.
The dragons heads straight for Piper and Buffy opening their mouths to breath out fire. Paige watches as Phoebe and Dawn's eyes widen at the sight. Wyatt and Celia waves their arms and both dragons disappear.
The force of the air moving toward Buffy and Piper knocks them off of their feet and back toward the others.
"Piper!" Phoebe yelled.
"Buffy!" Dawn added.
"We're ok!" Piper said. "We're ok."
Piper and Buffy gets to their feet and they turn around and smile at Wyatt and Celia.
"Hi, little man." Piper said as Phoebe hands Wyatt to her.
"Hey my little pum'kin belly." Buffy said as Dawn hands Celia to her.
"You did it!" Piper said. "I knew you could do it. Good job."
"Ok. I'm confused. What just happened?" Paige said.
Dawn smiled, "That was the greatest power there is: A mother-and-child bond. Especially when that child is Wyatt or Celia."
"So you're saying they vanquished the dragons, and you two knew they were gonna do it." Paige said.
Buffy nodded, "Well, we were hoping they wouldn't want anything bad to happen to us."
"Ok, well, that solved that problem. Now what do we do with this mess?" Dawn said.
"We'll figure it out." Phoebe said.
"No, actually, you won't."
They turn around to find the Cleaners standing there.
"Wait, we did what you asked. We got rid of the dragons." Piper said.
"But not the exposure risk." The first Cleaner said.
"The children." The second Cleaner demanded.
The Cleaners hold out their hands for them.
"No. You can't." Paige granned Piper and Phoebe's hands and orb them out as Dawn grabs Buffy's hands and shimmers them out and to the Manor.
"We don't have much time. They're gonna follow us." Paige said.
"How are we supposed to stop them?" Phoebe asked.
"Well, we have to think of something. We can't just let them take Wyatt and Celia." Piper said.
The air in the foyer starts to waiver as something is coming into the house. Paige and Dawn see it and step forward. "Incoming!"
The Cleaners appear in the foyer.
"We will not lose them." Buffy said.
The first Cleaner waves his hand and Wyatt and Celia disappears from Piper and Buffy's arms. They reappear in the Cleaners waiting hands.
"No!" Piper and Buffy said as they step forward to attack, but the first Cleaner waves his hand and sends them flat on the floor and back into the next room.
"Don't worry. You won't remember any of this anyway." The first Cleaner said as he waved his hand.
Things start to change. Little things are erased from existence to erase Wyatt and Celia from their lives. The toy carousel on the wicker table vanishes. The play pen in the middle of the conservatory disappears and changes into a wicker table. A lamp appears in the spot where the toy carousel used to be.
In the Piper's bedroom, the entire nursery disappears and changes back into the closet it was before Wyatt was even born. A framed photograph on the bedroom wall of Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Buffy, Dawn standing behind Wyatt and Celia in their strollers changes as Wyatt, Celia and the strollers are completely removed from the picture.
In Buffy's room the bassinet and changing table disappear and the picture of Dawn with Celia, taken during the time Buffy was dead, becomes just Dawn as Celia is removed from the picture.
Back in the foyer, the lights tingle. When everything is completely "cleaned", the Cleaners vanish ... with Wyatt and Celia.
The girls slowly sit up.
"Do you remember?" Piper asked.
"Absolutely everything." Phoebe said.
"Spell must have worked." Paige said.
"But not for Celia or Wyatt. They're gone." Dawn said.
Moments later Piper and Buffy stares out the attic window completely removed from the others. Phoebe and Dawn frantically flips through both Book of Shadows searching for anything that will help them.
Paige stands near the table scries for Wyatt and Celia as Phoebe and Dawn closes both Books.
"Ugh. Nothing. I can't find the Cleaners anywhere." Paige said.
"Well, they have to exist somewhere, don't they?" Phoebe asked.
Dawn shook her head, "Not necessarily. Not even in our dimension and not even in our time."
Paige nodded, "Maybe we should just summon them."
"And then what?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't know. Maybe we should call Leo again." Paige said.
Buffy shook her head, "I don't think he can help any more than he already has."
"How'd he help last time?" Dawn asked.
"By reminding us that we can do this." Piper said as she and Buffy turns away from the window. Obviously, they've been thinking about this.
"You know, maybe we are going about this all wrong. Maybe instead of trying to stop them, we should be trying to get them to stop us." Buffy said.
"You lost me." Phoebe said.
Piper smiled having thought of the same thing, "Well, when magic is exposed, it's their job to clean it up, right?"
Paige nodded, "Yeah. So?"
"So why can't we expose our magic and force them to deal with us?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah, but if we do that, what's to stop them from erasing us?" Dawn asked.
"They wouldn't dare. So ... let's give 'em something to clean up." Piper looks at them.
At KLMV-6 News Studio Wayne, the weatherman, is giving his nightly report. "Doppler radar for the bay area shows us that storm is already on its way out, so looks like San Francisco is finally gonna get some good news: Those scattered showers overnight turning partly sunny by morn—" Paige and Phoebe orb into the newsroom directly in front of the green screen right next to the Wayne. "Whoa! What the –"
"Hi. How you doing?" Phoebe said.
Kinesha, sitting at the anchor desk, gasps as Paige smiles and waves gleefully at her.
"Why don't we get a skycam view of that, shall we?" Phoebe grabs Wayne and flies him up.
"Aah! Aah! Help! Get me down from here! Don't let go! Don't let go! Don't let go!" Wayne said, panicked.
Kinesha laughs. "I don't know what's happening here—"
"Well, it's called magic, Kinesha. Witchcraft, specifically. I really love your ... jacket!" Paige holds out her hands as Kinesha's jacket materializes in her arms.
Behind Kinesha, Wayne falls down to the floor. "Whoa!" Wayne said.
Phoebe lands next to Kinesha. "Wanna see more magic? Let's check in with Piper, Buffy and Dawn at the Golden Gate Bridge. Take it away, Piper, Buffy and Dawn!"
With a flourish, Phoebe points to the next camera as the monitor shows Piper, Buffy and Dawn standing in front of a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. They smile for the camera. They turn to face the bridge and recite together. "Let the object of objection become but a dream as I cause the seen to become unseen."
The entire bridge and all its contents disappear from sight.
Buffy, Dawn and Piper turns to look at the camera.
"You might want to…" Piper said.
"…take an alternate route…" Dawn continued.
"…to work in the morning." Buffy finished.
Moments later Piper, Paige and Phoebe orb back into the attic as Buffy and Dawn shimmer in.
"Oh, not so bad. You should get out more often." Paige said to Phoebe.
Piper nodded, "Yeah, Pheebes. Time to come out of the basement."
"Mm-hmm. Maybe you're right." Phoebe said.
"What do you think you're doing?"
They turn to see the Cleaners in the attic walking toward them.
"Are you out of your minds?" The first Cleaner asked.
"Oh, hey, hi. Did you see our little magic act?" Dawn said.
The second Cleaner frowned. "How is it you still have your memory?"
Buffy smiled, "Oh, I think we still have a few surprises that you don't know about."
Paige nodded, "Yeah, and if you don't return our nephew and niece, you might find out about just a few more."
"This is pointless. Whatever you do we'll simply erase." The first Cleaner said.
The second Cleaner nodded, "Or we'll erase you."
Piper shook her head, "You can't. Not if you're truly neutral, that is. 'Cause, you see, if you get rid of us, you tip the balance of power from good to evil. Now, that's hardly being neutral, now, is it?"
The first Cleaner turns to glance back at the second Cleaner. She has them.
"You will give me back my daughter and my nephew, or I swear to you, the only thing you will be doing for the next fifty years is cleaning up after us." Buffy said.
"If we do return them, how do you know you'll be able to control them?" The first Cleaner said.
Piper smiled as she motioned to Buffy and herself. "We're their mothers. If anybody can, we can."
The first Cleaner waves his hand and Wyatt and Celia in their playpen materializes in the middle of the attic behind them. Piper and Buffy turns around and smiles as they goes to pick them up. Phoebe, Paige and Dawn smile with relief.
"Oh! Hi." Piper said.
"Hey pum'kin belly." Buffy said.
"Everything is as it was. We've erased all evidence of Wyatt and Celia's magic. We'll leave them ... in your care." The first Cleaner said.
"For now." The second Cleaner said.
The first Cleaner waves his hand to leave but Phoebe steps up and stops him.
"Oh! Oh! One more thing, please, if you could just do me a little teensy-weensy little favor and erase that whole riot I caused at the office. You know, 'cause I don't want to lose my job. That would really suck. Might throw off that balance thing, 'cause I'd be distracted, you know?" Phoebe said.
The first Cleaner closes his eyes and waves his hand. "It's done."
Phoebe smiles at him in thanks.
"There is another thing we would like to know if you can help with." Dawn said. "A friend of ours brought my sister Buffy back from the dead. Legally speaking we filed the necessary paperwork declaring her deceased…"
The first Cleaner nodded, "That situation was cleaned the moment Ms. Rosenberg cast her spell by the request of the Elders. Only those directly or indirectly involved with her death know that she died. The world at large has been cleaned of that information."
"Oh." Dawn said. "Ok then, nevermind."
"Good luck. Because believe me ... you're going to need it." The first Cleaner said as he and the second Cleaner disappear from the attic.
Phoebe and Dawn turn around to hold Wyatt and Celia.
"You both are ok. I'm so happy to see the both of you." Phoebe said.
"As am I." Dawn said.
"Don't smash them." Piper said.
Phoebe smiled, "I'm so happy to see you both. I can't-I can't help it. This is just very exciting. They're back. We're back."
"Coffee stain and all." Paige said.
"Yeah, what are you gonna do about your job? Are you gonna keep it?" Phoebe asked.
Paige nodded, "Yeah, I think I will, just so I can see what happens next."
The next day Piper and Buffy sits quietly in the conservatory in the wicker rocking chairs holding Wyatt and Celia in their arms. Piper is obviously enjoying the moment as she simply holds him and smiles down at Wyatt. Buffy gently rocks Celia as she thinks back to the day before. She felt something she's sure. Now the question is how can she get that feeling back.