Chapter 167: Bad, Bad, Bad World Pt 3
Halliwell Manor
"Don't let them out of your sight." Leo said to Dawn and Buffy as he tried to heal Phoebe.
"We're not," Dawn answered. "What's taking so long?"
Leo shook his head. "I don't know," he answered.
"Damn it, Leo, you should have just healed her outside," Paige said.
"Right, and risk you getting shot, too? I don't think so."
Chris walked down the stairs. He saw Dawn and Buffy with Celia and Wyatt in the playpen. "Ok, so I just sent our evil twins through the portal, although…." He stopped dead when he finally saw Leo and Phoebe. "What happened?"
At that moment Phoebe gasped and woke up.
"Thank god." Paige said relieved. She rushed over to Phoebe and pulled her sister into her arms.
Buffy and Dawn took a step forward as Leo held out his hand to stop them. "Stay with Wyatt and Celia," he ordered.
"I got them," Chris said looking at Buffy and Dawn who smiled at him gratefully. The two youngest Halliwells walked over to Phoebe and Paige joined in on the embrace.
"You ok?" Paige asked.
"I thought our family was done with the dying thing," Dawn muttered.
"So did I," admitted Phoebe as she looked at her youngest sister. She let out a sigh. "Remind me to never park on Mrs. Noble's driveway again."
"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?" Chris asked.
"The neighborhood patrol shot her point blank and nobody so much as blinked an eye." Paige said.
Dawn sighed as she met Phoebe's eyes. "I felt it," she whispered into Phoebe's ear.
"What? Why?" Chris asked.
Phoebe's eyes went wide in realization. "You're an empath?" she whispered back as Dawn nodded.
"Because by getting us all to the evil world, Gideon screwed up the balance, messed with the grand design." Leo said.
"Well, if you ask me, the grand design is pretty messed up in the first place." Paige said.
"Wait, so are you saying because of what he did, our world is bad now, too?" Buffy asked.
"No, on the contrary." Leo said. "It's good. Too good. Where every little infraction is a capital offense and everyone just accepts it."
"Oh, so we're starring in a little movie called 'Pleasantville'?" Paige asked.
"Ok, how come we weren't affected?" Dawn asked.
"Because we must have been crossing over when the shift occurred." Leo said.
"Well, that must mean Gideon's not affected, either." Buffy said.
"No, he wouldn't be because he's an Elder."
"How do we know he's not using the situation to his advantage and coming after Celia and Wyatt again?"
"Because I'm going to find him first," Leo admitted.
"No, you can't hurt him, Leo, not until he shifts the balance back, and you know he knows how to do that," Phoebe said trying to reason with her brother-in-law.
"Oh, my god!" Paige said. "We totally forgot about Piper. We have to get to the hospital."
"Who's going to watch Wyatt and Celia?" Leo asked.
"I will. Look, I didn't come all the way from the future just to lose Wyatt now, all right?" Chris said as he fingered Celia's Carolingian cross that dangled around his neck. "Nor to watch Celia follow his path when she originally didn't."
"No," Dawn objected. "I will stay with you. Between my new empathy power and my energy balls…"
Leo nodded as he looked at her sister-in-law and his son. He then orbed out.
"I think we should drive," Phoebe said as Buffy and Paige helped her to her feet. "I don't want to risk orbing or flaming.".
"Hey, just watch your speed, ok?" Chris said as he and Dawn watched Buffy, Paige and Phoebe leave.
"This has you worried," Dawn said.
"Yes," Chris sighed as he looked toward his aunt. "The future is changing because of Gideon. Celia wasn't even attacked, but now she is. And I am like what other changes are going on. And are they going to be worse or better?"
Underworld
In a wall of fire and flames, Barnas appeared, his sleeve on fire. "Oh, give me a break!" he said as he blew the fire out and whacked the smoldering sleeve with his other hand.
"You're lucky. It could have been worse."
Barbas looked around and didn't see a thing. "Well, well, well, well, well, well. The new Peeping Elder. How the mighty have fallen, so to speak. Show yourself."
"Only if you agree to a truce. I promise, it is in your best interests."
"Why not?" Barbas shrugged. "This particular day couldn't get much worse."
Gideon shimmered into view standing next to Barbas. "Actually, it could. You could die. The world has changed, my friend, as you've obviously just witnessed."
"If you're referring to the witches constantly hunting me, that wouldn't happen to be some of your doing, now would it, ... friend?" Barbas asked.
"Not by intent, but it's why I'm here," Gideon admitted. "If I'm to shift things back to the way things were, to give evil a fighting chance again, then you and I must work together."
"Now why would you want to give me a fighting chance?" Barbas asked skeptical of Gideon. .
"To restore the balance, the grand design, as I am honor-bound to do," Gideon answered.
"Just out of curiosity, how is it this, uh, imbalance happened to occur?" Barbas said. "Come on. You can say it. I know you can. I made my move on the both the girl and the boy, and I screwed up."
"I took a calculated risk," Gideon admitted.
"You screwed up," Gideon said shaking his head. "Now you want to hide out down here with me, and just hope that the girl's parents and the boy's aunties don't know how to find you. Isn't that about right, friend?"
"Believe me, you don't want these children growing up any more than I do, Barbas," Gideon explained. "Their powers are too great. Both of them are an enormous threat to both of us."
Barbas raised his palm near Gideon's cheek as he always did when reading a person's fears. He looks at his palm. "I see."
Gideon took a few steps away from Barbas as he continued to explain. "Any shift between good and evil is supposed to happen naturally over time. By intervening, I've allowed too much good to corrupt the other world, and the only way to get it back is for a Great Evil to corrupt ours."
"Oh, and you just naturally thought of me?" Barbas said. "I'm very flattered."
"I have to complete what I started, for everyone's sake. Help me distract the sisters ..." Gideon said as he turned and walked toward Barbas, "... and I will help you get your world back."
Golden Gate Bridge
Leo stood at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge tower facing the sun trying to sense Gideon's location.
"You won't find Gideon that way."
Leo turned around to find Kyle Gwydion orbing onto the tower. He looked at the Elder who had been rewarded for defeating Tuatha. "We've already tried," Kyle admitted.
"What are you doing here?" Leo asked.
"I owe a debt to your sister-in-law," Kyle answered. "If not for her I would not have defeated Tuatha or be standing before you now. Which is why I am here to remind you of your responsibilities."
"My responsibilities right now are to protect my son and my niece," Leo said.
"How, by taking revenge on one of our own?" Kyle asked.
"Gideon stopped being one of us when he went after Wyatt and Celia," Leo told Kyle.
"I agree with you," Kyle admitted. "But you and I are in the minority. We are but two voices in a chorus. They won't allow you to take matters into your own hands."
"Gideon did," Leo admitted.
"I know," Kyle sighed. "They look at what he's wrought," Kyle told Leo. "They see world spiraling out of control. Innocents being hurt - killed - all because Gideon acted alone."
"So what is it your suggesting?" Leo asked. If Kyle was truly on his side. He had to have thought through everything.
"The problem is, Leo," Kyle explained. "Gideon is not alone in his thinking. Some loped Celia with Wyatt. Others are afraid of Wyatt alone. They think your union with Piper. And Buffy's brief union with Angel might have created too great a concentration of power. As I said I owe Buffy a debt. I have been very vocal for both Wyatt and Celia."
"So what do you suggest?" Leo asked again.
"Be quick. There will be repercussions," Kyle admitted. "In time you will be brought before the Elders to answer if you go after Gideon. If I could help I would. I would even recommend asking for help from Dawn. It might lessen the impact. And before you say anything I have a reason for your asking Dawn instead of Buffy, Paige or Phoebe."
San Francisco Memorial
A smiling man was escorted out by a smiling police woman as Paige, Buffy and Phoebe walked past them into the hospital.
"Wow, it's, uh ... just as creepy in here as it is out there," Paige said looking around.
"Actually, creepier," Buffy said as they head for the reception desk.
"Ah, welcome to San Francisco Memorial," the nurse said cheerily. "How can I help, help, help you?"
"Well, you could take it down a notch," Paige said.
The nurse's smile flatered a bit as Phoebe and Buffy both plaster a smile on their faces.
"Ohh, she's kidding," Phoebe intervened as Buffy chuckled. "She's a kidder. Uh, just out of curiosity, what happened here? Was it a freeway accident?"
"Oh, heavens, no! It's always like this around here," the nurse answered before lowering her voice to a whisper. "Lawbreakers, you know."
"Right," Buffy said with a glance at Phoebe and Paige.
"You visiting?" the nurse asked.
"Uh, yes," Phoebe answered. "Piper Halliwell?"
The nurse typed Piper's name into the computer. "Halliwell, Halliwell ... uh, what was her offense?"
"Oh, no, no offense. She's having a baby," Buffy corrected.
The nurse squaled in delight. "Ohh, a baby! Ohh, why didn't you say so?!"
"'Cause we were just too excited," Paige said.
"Oh, of course you are! There's nothing more exciting than a baby!" the nurse said as she looked at her computer monitor. "Uh, room 1402, but don't dawdle. Visiting hours are almost over. You have a wonderful day, now, ok?"
"Day?" Paige said in confusion. She grabbed Phoebe's wristwatch to check the time. "It's almost eight o'clock. It should be dark now."
The nurse frowned. "Dark? Why on earth would anyone say such a depressing thing? Imagine the sun going away, not having sunshine all the time! Anyone who'd want that should be, well - well, shot!"
Suddenly, everyone's attention was turned to the front desk. An officer standing in the lobby with two women looked up at them.
Phoebe and Buffy turned around and laughed loudly. They quickly guided Paige toward the elevators. "She's joking!" Phoebe said as Buffy pushed the call button. "That's my sister the jokester! We're going to go see our other sister now. She's having a baby." She made a big round tummy motion in front of her as she smiled. "Yeah." When the doors opened they stepped into the elevator. "Ok. Have a good day ... everyone."
Buffy pushed the floor button and the elevator doors closed. "All that faux smiling is hurting my face," she said. "The quicker we get this fixed the better."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Piper sat on her bed eating out of a jello cup as Buffy, Phoebe and Paige peer into the room. She smiled as she noticed them. "Oh, there you guys are. Where is Dawn? And where have you three been?"
"Dawn's at home with Wyatt and Celia," Buffy answered.
"She seems normal," Paige said looking at Buffy and Phoebe.
"Come on, come in, come in," Piper instructed.
"Piper ... are you ok?" Phoebe wondered.
"Of course I'm ok," Piper answered. "I'm having a baby, for crying out loud." She held out her jello cup and plastic spoon as she smiled at them. "Jell-o? It's really yummy."
"No, thanks," Paige and Buffy said simultaneously.
It was at that moment an orderly walked in. "Excuse me," he said cheerily. "How'd you like your dinner?"
"Are you kidding?" Piper asked as the orderly reached out to take her tray. "The frozen peas and processed turkey? It was to die for." She reached forward intending to hand him the tray. "Oh, here, let me give you a hand." It was then she noticed one of his hands was missing and the end of his arm was wrapped in white gauze. "Oops!" She smiled at him and they both share a laugh.
"Piper, that's not funny," Buffy said.
"Oh, that's ok," the orderly said. "It's my fault it even happened."
"Why is it your fault?" Paige wondered.
"Oh, I used my cell phone in the hospital. Talk about your big no-nos. Hey, good luck with the little one," the orderly explained.
"Thanks," Piper called after him as he left with the tray. "He really should've known better."
"Piper, snap out of it! This is crazy-making!" Phoebe said looking at her elder sister.
"What is?" Piper asked confused.
"Give it up, Phoebe," Buffy said with a sigh. "She was affected when the world shifted."
Phoebe sighed as she turned away from Piper.
"Ok, Piper, you have to listen to me," Paige said. "Celia and Wyatt are in danger."
"What do you mean?" Piper asked as a frown creased her face. "What kind of danger?"
"It's Gideon. He's trying to kill him," Paige explained as Piper started laughing with disbelief. "It's not funny! I'm being serious."
"That's ridiculous!" Piper said as she continued to laugh. "He's an Elder. He couldn't hurt a fly."
"As I said, she's affected," Buffy said with a sigh as she walked over to a chair and sat down.
It was at that moment that Piper's doctor walked into the room. "What's so funny?" he asked.
"Oh, don't ask," Piper said as she was hit with a contraction. In pain, she grabbed her stomach. "Ohh!"
"Whoopsy!" he said. "That's not good."
"What's not good?" Phoebe asked turning back around. "What's going on?"
"Those darn contractions," Piper explained. "They're a lot more painful than they should be."
"What does that mean?" Buffy asked as she stood back up.
"It means visiting hours are over," the doctor answered as he pointed to the door. "Buh-bye now."
"No, we're not leaving her," Phoebe objected.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but rules are rules," he told them. "Did you want to keep your legs?"
"We're going," Buffy said as she grabbed Phoebe and Paige. She looked at Piper and smiled. "We'll call you." She turned and led Phoebe and Paige out the door.
"Okey-dokey," Piper called after them as another contraction hit. "Ouchy!"
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy, Paige and Phoebe step out into the hallway and make their way back to the lobby. "Are you sure we should leave?" Paige asked. "I'm worried about her."
"We all are," Buffy answered. "But sadly we have to."
"We can't wait for Leo," added Phoebe. "We have to fix this. This isn't the world we want Chris to be born into."
"Ok, but how?" Paige asked looking at her sisters. "Ok? Especially now that we're down technically two sisters."
"Two?" Phoebe said confused.
"She means Dawn being protection for Wyatt and Celia," Buffy reminded Phoebe. "We can't rely on Dawn since she needs to be there for them."
"Maybe we should have another little talk with ourselves," Phoebe suggested as they walked past an orderly with his back to them.
As the orderly turned around he smiled. He then walked over to Gideon. "You were right," Barbas said. "Piper's the only one of the sisters affected."
"And therefore the only one that can affect her sisters," Gideon answered. "She can cast a spell on them, make them think as she does so that they won't be concerned about me either."
"And your theory ... is that I'm going to make her do this. How, exactly?" Barbas asked.
"By doing what you do best, tapping into her fear of losing her sisters," Gideon answered.
"I don't know. She's out in cloud cuckoo-land someplace," Barbas said clearly unsure of Gideon's plan. "She's in a place where she doesn't even fear her own affliction. What makes you think she's going to fear losing a sister?"
"Family means everything to Piper, in any world," Gideon explained. "The sooner you hit that nerve, the sooner we both get what we want." He motioned toward Piper's room as he vanished.
Barbas sighed as she walked toward Piper's room and looked inside. He saw the doctor with Piper, they were obviously timing her contractions.
"Okay?" the doctor asked.
Halliwell Manor
Chris stood at the scrying table waving the crystal around in a circle above the map. Dawn sat on the couch with Celia in her lap. Leo walked into the room with Wyatt in his arms. "Anything?" he asked.
"Yeah, I thought I had him for a sec, but then I lost him," Chris said.
"Well, keep looking. Gideon's bound to surface again," Leo said as he walked over to the playpen and put Wyatt down inside it.
"Well, maybe you should ask the other Elders for some help."
"No."
Dawn stared at Leo surprised by his response. "Trouble in paradise?" she asked.
"With the exception of one of the other Elders, let's just say we're not seeing eye to eye," Leo admitted.
"Well, then maybe you should…. I don't know…. Quit." Chris suggested innocently. "Look, the girls are going to need another Whitelighter the moment I'm gone anyway."
"First they are going to have a Whitelighter," Leo said. "Tara is going to be their Whitelighter along with Willow's. Second, that's not why you want me to quit, Chris."
"Ok, fine, I admit, I would like to go back to a future where my parents are still together, all right?"
"It's just like I said when I was making the potion…." Leo stopped mid-sentence. "The potion…."
"What about the potion?" Dawn asked.
"Well, Gideon didn't want it to work, right?" Leo said looking at his sister-in-law. "But he did want us in this other world, which means it probably does work, which means we can get Chris home."
Chris shook his head. "No," he objected. "I'm not going back."
"Chris, you have to."
"Not until I finish what I came here to do, and that's to save Wyatt from tur…" Chris paused as he began to realize something. "Turning evil."
"What?" Leo wondered.
"Well, what I don't understand is, if Gideon always viewed Wyatt and now Celia as a threat, why did he turn Wyatt evil in my future?"
"He didn't do it intentionally," Dawn said.
"What?" Chris said confused.
"I think Gideon tried to kill Wyatt in your future…" Dawn explained, "only just like in this time, he found out that Wyatt can protect himself. So, he probably had to get him away so he could figure out how to do it."
"You mean kidnap him."
"Imagine being taken away from us for weeks, maybe even months," Dawn continued. "Constantly fending off Gideon's attack."
Chris slapped himself in his stupidity. "I had no idea."
Leo walked toward Chris, his voice firm with both determination and reassurance. "We're going to change that future, Chris," he vowed. "For your sake as well as Wyatt's and now Celia's."
Suddenly, Celia orbed out of Dawn's arms and into the crib with Wyatt.
"Since when does Celia orb?" Dawn said in confusion.
"It wasn't Celia," Chris answered. "It was Wyatt. In my future I heard stories growing up that when the two of them were together he would do that a lot. As they got older it became a game they would play. She would flame someplace and he would orb her back. I think when I came back that was the reason I came instead of her. Because she knew that Wyatt would look for her."
"You better get back to scrying," Dawn suggested.
Magic School
Buffy led Phoebe and Paige into Gideon's office.
"The Power of Eight worked before," Phoebe said her voice echoing. "Maybe the Power of Six will now."
"Yep, but that was when we were in the same world," Paige said, her own voice echoing. "We can't even contact them now."
Buffy who had moved to to the desk looked at a telephone. "Why would a telephone be in a magic school?" she wondered, her voice also echoing. She picked it up and put it to her ear. "There must've been a way that Gideon contacted his evil counterpart." She hung up and picked up a paperweight.
"Hey ..." Phoebe said clearly irritated. "... do you hear an echo?"
Buffy and Paige looked around and listened. The only sound they heard was the ticking of the clock.
As Phoebe looked around she noticed the white chess piece on the floor near the portion of the wall hidden by the curtain. She walked over to the curtain her sisters following. When she pulled the curtain aside she revealed the mirror and the chess table. In the mirror evil Phoebe was doing the exact same thing.
"I knew it!" Phoebe and evil Phoebe said simultaneously as they smiled.
"Nice to see you," both Paiges added.
"So, is your world as messed up as ours?" Buffy asked.
"I've never seen everybody so miserable," evil Buffy answered. "It's, like, every little good thing that happens ..."
"Gets punished," said Paige.
"Limbs get cut off for saying gesundheit," added evil Paige.
"I never thought I'd say this, but I would kill for some daylight right now," evil Phoebe admitted.
"Oh, we got plenty of it in our world," Phoebe said.
"It sucks," both Buffys admitted.
"So what do you think happened?" evil Phoebe asked.
"I think we did too much good together when we were trying to get Gideon in your world," Phoebe answered.
"My thoughts exactly," evil Phoebe agreed.
"Maybe we need to do some serious evil on your side to shift the balance back," evil Paige suggested.
"Right," Paige agreed.
"The problem is, I don't know if our collective powers will work with us in different worlds," evil Buffy said.
"Well, we better think of something fast, because Gideon's still after Wyatt and Celia in both of them," evil Phoebe said.
"The Power of Four," both Paiges said..
"What?" both Buffys said.
"If we can cast a spell on our respective Pipers ..." Paige suggested.
"We're back to full power again," evil Paige added.
"And bring us to your side so we could shift the balance back ..." evil Phoebe said.
"And then kick some ass," Phoebe added.
"I like it!" all six of them said simultaneously.
San Francisco Memorial
The doctor held and ultrasound photo in one hand while gently pressing on Piper's tummy.
"Security, to the prison floor. Security to the prison floor," came a voice over the P.A.
"Does it hurt when I touch here?" the doctor asked.
"Yeow!" Piper said in pain. "Boy, that smarts."
"Huh," he said. "Well, we might be looking at a c-section here, Piper. Might be the only way to get the baby out safely."
"Safely?" Piper asked concerned.
The doctor smiled. "Oh, let's get another ultrasound, shall we? I'll be right back." He turned and walked out of the room.
Piper took several deep breaths while holding her tummy with both hands.
Invisible and undetected, Barbas flashed in next to Piper's bed. "Ooh ... it would be so sad if your sisters weren't here to help you through all this. You heard what they said about Gideon. Imagine saying such ugly lies about such a nice person." He took a step back as Phoebe, Buffy and Paige walked into the room.
"Gideon is trying to kill Wyatt and Celia," Phoebe said hoping to get through to Piper.
"We have to stop him," Buffy added.
"No, no, no, no, no," Piper objected. "Stop it. He's an Elder."
"No, Piper, he's evil," Paige said insistently.
"No, he's not," Piper said, not believing a thing they said. "Now, shush, before someone hears you." It was then that three Elders orb into the hospital room, "No, no, no. Don't hurt them." She shook her head. "They didn't mean it."
The Elders raised their hands, palms down, at Buffy, Phoebe and Paige and a stream of fire shot out from their fingertips. The fire hit the three of them incinerating them where they stood.
Piper gasped as the three Elders disappeared from the room.
Barbas leaned in close to Piper, who was stricken silent by the vision. "You have to help them conform," he suggested. "Save them from themselves before it's too late and you lose them ... forever."
Piper picked up her pen and journal off the tray table. She flipped to a clean page. As Piper started working on a spell, having done his job, Barbas vanished. "Call now ... the powers blessed be, to make my sisters happ – happy," she mumbled.
Halliwell Manor
Paige, orbed in with Buffy and Phoebe into the attic. "What are you three doing here?" Leo said. "Is Piper ok?"
Buffy, Paige and Phoebe hurried to the Charmed Ones' book. "No, but she will be, thanks to us and our evil twins," Phoebe said.
"Wait, you saw them? Where?" Chris asked.
Phoebe opened the Book and started flipping through it as Buffy said, "In Gideon's office. Talk about your vanity mirrors."
"We have a plan," Paige said.
"Yeah, we're going to shift the world back from Gideon so he can't use it to his advantage," Paige said.
"How?" Dawn asked.
"We're going to use a spell to…." Paige started as a white glow washed over her, Buffy and Phoebe.
For a moment the white glow seemed to wash over Dawn and then a green glow washed over her instead.
"What just happened?" Chris asked as Phoebe chuckled and Buffy and Paige smiled goofily.
"I don't know," Leo said.
Dawn stood up. "Are you guys all right?"
"Yeah. Yeah. I've never felt better," Paige said.
"Ok, so back to the plan," Dawn said. "You were saying?"
"Yeah, the plan was just to go see Piper in the hospital," Phoebe said.
"That's a really good plan," Buffy said.
"I know," Phoebe agreed as she, Buffy and Paige walked out of the attic leaving Leo, Dawn, and Chris perplexed with what just happened. Leo grabbed Wyatt and Dawn grabbed Celia and they trailed behind them. "No time to dawdle. There's a baby on the way."
"This is crazy. You can't leave like this," Dawn said.
"Well, we can't very well ignore Chris' birth. We have to celebrate," Paige said.
"I'm the baby. I give you permission not to," Chris said.
"What?" Buffy said. "And miss all the excitement? Seeing you for the first time, burping you, picking out a name?"
"I already have a name."
"Oh, gosh," Paige said in an exaggerated gasp. "You do, don't you? Well, now would be the perfect time to change."
"How did you get your name? It doesn't start with a P." Phoebe said.
"It was Leo's father's name."
Dawn looked at Leo for confirmation and he nodded.
"Aww…. That is so sweet," Buffy gushed.
"I can't wait to tell Piper," Paige gasped. "I'm going to get her bag."
"It's in the kitchen, all ready to go," Buffy told her sister.
Paige giddily turned and left the room, heading for the kitchen. Phoebe and Buffy turned to Chris and pinched his cheeks. "Oh! You are going to be so cute!" Phoebe gushed.
"Yes, you are. Ooh!" Buffy added. "Yes, you are. Doo-doo, doo doo-doo doo." She and Phoebe finally turned and walked away.
"Ok. We need to snap them out of this…. fast." Chris said.
"Piper must have cast a spell," Dawn said. "She's the only one who could do this to them. But my question is why didn't it affect me?"
"And why would she do that?" Chris added.
"She wouldn't." Leo said. "Unless…. Gideon wanted her to, to distract them and you, Dawn, like he did before. so he can go after Wyatt and Celia."
"Again why wasn't I affected?" Dawn asked.
"I think I may understand," Leo said. "I did talk to the Elders. The one I talked to hinted at my asking for your help and only your help with Gideon. He was the only Elder who apparently sided with us against Gideon. Anyways I think I know why he was hinting at your help. It's the monks spell. The monks' spell is holding in place your memories and your personality. Everything that makes you, who you are."
Leo paused to take a break before continuing on. "While Piper is a Charmed One, I don't think the Power of One could do it alone. Since the monks had the ability to rewrite reality, that means they were powerful, very likely nearly as powerful as the Charmed Ones, in this case the Power of Four as that was what was in existence at that point in time. So nothing less very likely than the Power of Four could make what happened to Buffy, Paige and Phoebe just now happen to you."
"So because of the monks spell I'm immune to having my mind tampered with?" Dawn asked.
"With anything but the Power of Four or the Power of Five, yes," Leo answered.
"All set!" Paige sang as she, Buffy and Phoebe walked back in with Piper's bag.
Phoebe held up the car keys. "Let's go."
"Wait. You guys can't leave yet," Leo said. "Gideon might be coming for Wyatt and Celia any minute."
"Oh, is he baby-sitting?" Buffy asked.
"No, he's trying to kill Wyatt. Don't tell me you don't remember," Chris said. They burst out laughing. "You're laughing. That's great. Wyatt and Celia were almost killed, and you're laughing."
"You're silly! Yes, you are," Phoebe cooed as Chris looked down and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Ooh, yes, you are."
"Like an Elder would ever, ever do that," Paige said.
"It must be the spell," Leo said. "They don't remember because Gideon doesn't want them to."
"A spell? What spell?" Phoebe asked.
The doorbell rang. "Visitors." Paige headed to the door to answer it. Phoebe and Buffy smiled and followed her.
Dawn and Leo turned to follow, but Chris stopped them. "Hey, stay with Wyatt and Celia," he told them. He turned and followed Buffy, Phoebe and Paige.
Dawn looked at her daughter and sighed. "Why do you think he targeted Celia when he didn't in Chris's future?"
"It has to be that she's a Damphir," Leo shrugged. "Maybe he was afraid despite the fact that we know otherwise that she could be turned by Wyatt."
"Now she could be turned for the same reason Wyatt would have been," she said with a sigh.
"Yes," Leo agreed.
"So, we've got to figure a way to get to Gideon. And quick. Because I don't think Buffy could survive Celia being killed and I know after finally being in love with Buffy I couldn't survive if Buffy …"
"I know," Leo said as he placed a comforting hand on his sister-in-law. He sighed knowing exactly the chain reaction of events of Celia being killed would cause. First Buffy would become as angry as she was when she and Piper had almost transformed into furies. He was sure at that point Buffy would likely beg for death and Dawn in her sorrow would seek any means at her disposal to follow Buffy just to be with her. "I know all too well, Dawn. In fact I know more than you think."
"What do you mean?" Dawn questioned.
"I remember when Buffy died the last time. How withdrawn you were," Leo explained. "I think what kept you going then was Celia. Take away Buffy and Celia…"
Dawn sighed and nodded in agreement, she would wish for death just to be with Buffy and Celia in the afterlife.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Chris rushed over to intercept Buffy, Phoebe and Paige before they reached the door. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," he said. "Wait. Stop, stop, stop, ok? You cannot open that front door. What happens if it's the patrolman?"
"That's a good point," Phoebe agreed. "I forgot to move my car."
Chris closed his eyes and sighed. "Finally."
"Well, I'll just have to take whatever's coming to me," Phoebe said as Paige and Buffy smiled and nodded in agreement. She brushed past Chris on her way to the door.
"What?!" Chris said clearly worried as Phoebe opened the door to reveal Darryl.
Darryl smiled at them. "Hi, ladies. Chris," he said as he stepped into the house.
"Hi," Phoebe said as she shut the door behind him.
"We thought you were the patrol guy come to shoot Phoebe," Paige said.
"Sorry," Darryl said. "Actually I'm here to get Chris. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take him into custody for assaulting me."
"Dude, I didn't assault you," Chris said confused.
"No, but Evil Chris did," Buffy explained to her nephew.
"That wasn't me," Chris said.
"You're still a fugitive anyways," Phoebe explained.
Chris sighed. "Ok, you're not helping, thanks."
"You know, I'm only giving you this chance because we used to be friends," Darryl told him.
"That is so sweet, Darryl," Buffy said as she smiled at the inspector.
"And, evil double or no, someone has to do the time," Paige said and then gasped. "Take him away, Darryl."
Buffy, Phoebe and Paige turned and left the house leaving the door open behind them.
"So, what? You're just going to leave?" Chris called after them.
"Listen, young man, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," Darryl explained. "Your choice."
"I don't have time for this," Chris said. He motioned with his arm telekinetically pushing Darryl backward and out of the house. Darryl landed hard on the front porch. He walked up to the inspector and looked down at Darryl through the open door. "Have a nice day." He gestured and magically shut the door in Darryl's face.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Chris walked into to the sitting room where Dawn and Leo were silently staring into space. "What's going on?" he asked.
"We're thinking of a way to get to Gideon," Dawn answered.
"If Gideon did get to Piper," Leo said. "Maybe he left a trail I could follow."
"We could follow," Dawn corrected as Leo looked at her. "There had to be a reason why your Elder friend hinted that I would be the one to help. Right?"
"Right," Leo agreed as he took Dawn's hand and they orbed out.
Underworld
Gideon paced the cavern, thinking out loud. "If I know Leo, then right around now, he'll be figuring out that I made Piper cast the spell."
"A little correction: I made her cast the spell, remember?" Barbas reminded the Elder.
"The point being, he'll go to Piper next to see if he can't find any magical clues to find me," Gideon explained.
"Find me, you mean," Barbas corrected.
"Actually, yes," Gideon agreed. "But then again, that's what we want."
"Oh, really?"
Gideon nodded. "With the sisters sufficiently distracted, Leo is the last powerful being in my way, one who you should easily be able to distract, whilst I make my move on Wyatt and Celia.
"Well, now, this all is starting to sound very interesting, but, uh, you know, it seems to me like I'm the one doing all the heavy lifting here," Barbas said. "Have you noticed that?"
"Barbas!" Gideon shouted.
"While you-you're hiding out down here, relaxing in my lair, all safe and sound," Barbas continued. "What could possibly be wrong with that picture?"
"Leo is the last impediment, I promise," Gideon reminded the demon. "Paralyze him with his greatest fear. Keep him occupied, and we'll be one step closer to returning the world to a place where evil at least has a chance again."
Barbas chuckled softly. "Oh ... you're such a tease. Ok ... but, Gideon ... just so you know, I'm starting to lose my patience."
"I understand," Gideon told him.
"Oh, good," Barbas said. "Ok, now ... have you any ideas on what a particular Elder's greatest fear might be?"
"Don't think of him as an Elder. Think of him ... as a father," Gideon offered.
San Francisco Memorial
Leo and Dawn orbed into a closet and walked out into the confusion. Leo stopped a nearby candy striper. "Excuse me?" he said. "Uh, do you know where the maternity ward is?"
The candy stripped smiled. "Are you kidding? That's everyone's favorite hangout. Just go in that elevator and—"
Dawn nudged Leo, he followed her gaze and they saw Paige walk into the hospital carrying a large stuffed animal and a bouquet of balloons.
"Thanks," Leo said.
"You're welcome," the candy striper said as she walked away.
"Paige," Dawn said as she and Leo walked over to Paige.
"Leo! Dawn!" Paige said as she smiled at them. "Well, it's about time the nervous father made an appearance."
"Where are Buffy and Phoebe?" Leo asked. "Are they with Piper?"
"Of course," Paige answered. "We would never leave Piper alone at a time like this."
"Good, because we want to ask her if she's seen Gideon," Dawn said.
"Gideon?" Paige said with confusion. "No, silly, not with the complication."
Leo and Dawn glanced at each other as they said, "Complication?"
Paige gasped. "Oh, dear. You two don't know?"
"Know what?" Dawn asked suddenly worried. "Is something wrong?"
"Well, I'm sure the doctors are going to find out any minute, and everything is going to be just peachy," Paige answered.
"I gotta go see her," Leo said as he and Dawn turned to go find Piper.
"No!" Paige said stopping them. "That's against the hospital rules."
"Screw the rules," Dawn said as she glared at her sister. She turned and followed Leo down the hallway.
"Ok ..." Paige said in a sing-song voice, "but you're going to get in trouble."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Dawn walked out into an empty corridor and frowned. "Leo?" she called out. Then she saw Celia standing in the center of the hallway. "Celia?"
Barbas, invisible, appeared next to Dawn, prompting her to indulge in a few fears. "Watch as the thing you fear most comes to life and the future is lost." He then vanished.
As Dawn watched Celia glowed white and grew rapidly into an adult.
"Celia?" Dawn said.
Celia started walking toward her mother. "What's the matter, Mama Dawn? Don't you recognize me? I'm the Celia you're trying to save, the one from the altered future you are now trying to prevent." She gestured with her hand and struck Dawn across the face, sending Dawn upward and to the side where Dawn hit the wall hard before falling to the floor.
Barbas appeared next to Dawn fed her fear again as she Dawn scrambled to her feet. "You fear that there is no way to save her, that she is lost to evil and that she killed your wife and sister, Buffy."
Dawn watched as Celia called her sword to her, "Chrysaor!" The sword flamed into her grasp. "You know the last time I used this sword. It was on Mama Buffy. It's only fitting that …" She left the sentenance unfinished as Dawn got the gist that Buffy had died at Celia's hand and that she would be next.
"And it's your failure as a mother." Barbas said.
"This isn't right," Dawn said. "You're good. You're the Damphir, you are destined to save mankind not leave it in darkness. I will save you, Celia."
"I don't think so," Celia answered as she took her sword and ran it through Dawn's gut.
Dawn fell to her knees, a look of surprise and disbelief on her face.
Celia twisted the sword for good measure, then pulled it out of Dawn.