DISCLAIMER: It's annoying but necessary. I don't own anything except the plot and Steve, so don't sue me. I'm just a poor college student.
We begin in Halliwell manor. The kitchen is a mess with dishes everywhere. Yelling can be heard. Phoebe enters the kitchen with Prue hot on her heels. Prue, of course, is the source of the yelling. Phoebe rolls her eyes at almost all of her oldest sister's words.
"What do you mean she didn't leave a number?" Prue asks angrily. "Didn't you ask?"
"No, Prue, I'm not your personal secretary," Phoebe says sarcastically. "Besides, you work with the woman. Don't you have her number?"
"Claire is at a convention in Los Angeles," Prue replies sharply. "I don't know what hotel she is staying in and I have no way of calling her back."
"Sorry, Prue. Maybe she'll call back," Phoebe says. She is frustrated with Prue's angry fits.
"Oh, she'll call back," Prue says as she takes a soda out of the refrigerator. "She'll call back and yell at me for not calling her back. This is so like you Phoebe. And what is the deal with the kitchen? I thought you were going to clean this up." Prue gestures to all the dishes.
"Well, I'm sorry. I got side tracked." Phoebe is ready to burst. "And what do you mean, 'This is so like you'?"
"You are so irresponsible sometimes," Prue says growing more upset with Phoebe. "It drives me nuts!"
This throws Phoebe over the edge. They both start yelling at each other at the same time and can barely be understood. Piper struggles through the door with two bags of groceries in her arms and the strap of her purse clamped between her teeth. she kicks the door shut and stumbles into the kitchen.
"A -ittle -elp," she says with her purse strap still clenched between her teeth. Prue and Phoebe don't even notice her. They just continue yelling at each other. Piper grunts in frustration and struggles to get the bags on the kitchen table. She lets her purse fall to the table. Piper turns to her sisters and thinks that this is one of the times she wishes she could freeze them.
"Hey, there's more groceries in the car," she says, trying to be cheerful. "Could you help me with them?"
Yet again they don't notice her. Piper remembers the constant fights Prue and Phoebe had when Phoebe came back from New York. And who got stuck in the middle? Piper, that's who. The peacemaker. The voice of reason. 'Well not this time!' Piper thinks growing angry with her sisters. That's when she looks around the kitchen. She is close to horrified by what she sees. Being the chef in the family, the kitchen is her place, her sanctuary. She smacks her keys on the table.
"That's it!" she screams louder than she thought she could. "Both of you shut up!"
Prue and Phoebe finally stop arguing. They are completely shocked. Neither of them have ever heard Piper yell like that. She had always been the timid, shy sister. She never really got angry. Unknowingly Prue and Phoebe think the same thing. 'She's snapped and it's our fault.'
"What's wrong with you two? Huh? I thought you both had gone past this crap," Piper yells angrily. Phoebe steps away from her. She feels like Piper might suddenly spit fire at them, and with all that they had been through over the past year, she isn't completely convinced it won't happen. "it seems like ever since Andy died you have constantly been at each other's throats. And who gets to clean up the mess? Me, of course, as always. Piper the Peacemaker. Piper, the timid, mousy, middle child. Well, not this time. I'm sick of getting stuck between you two."
"Piper," Prue begins. Piper glares at her angrily.
"Stuff it, Prue!" she yells. She grabs her purse and her keys. "I'm not going to deal with this. I'm leaving. I'm getting a hotel room for the night and I am going to relax. When I come back tomorrow I want you two smiling and getting along. And this kitchen better be clean!" With that Piper storms out the door, not letting her sisters get a word in. For a moment the stare at the door in disbelief. 'Was that really Piper?' they think. Then Phoebe speaks up.
"My God," she says. "We totally deserved that, but wow!"
"No kidding," Prue agrees. "She reminded me of Grams. Except Grams yelled at us more often."
"Should we go after her?" Phoebe asks. "I mean, why let her waste her money on a hotel room?"
"No, we should let her go," Prue says. "I think she needs to be alone." Prue heads over to the table to unload the groceries. Phoebe joins her. Prue hands Phoebe a box of crackers and suddenly Phoebe is overcome with a familiar feeling. she closes her eyes and shrugs her shoulders, as if it would keep the vision from coming. Her ears are ring and the usual wave of nausea fills her body. She sees a black and white image of Piper sitting in her car. She is waiting for the stoplight to change when a man jumps in the passenger seat. Phoebe doesn't hear what the man is saying, but she guesses that it's somewhere along the lines of "Do what I say or I'll blow you brains out." Piper is terrified. The light turns green but Piper doesn't go anywhere. The man yells at her and shoves the gun against her head. Then, as quickly as it came, the vision ends. Phoebe's eyes slowly focus, and she sees Prue looking at her with concern. Her ears finally catch up with her eyes and she can hear Prue now.
"Phoebe, what did you see?" Prue asks. She has begun to notice the signs of Phoebe's premonitions. At first Prue had been scared when Phoebe's premonitions came. They were always so sudden. The first time, she had thought Phoebe was having some kind of attack. But after the power switching mishap, where she had the power of premonition for a short time, Prue had come to understand Phoebe's power more. She possibly even respected it.
"Piper," Phoebe finally says. "And a man with a gun. In her car."
"Did you see what the guy looked like?" Prue asks. this question had come to mean more than just facial features. It also meant, "Was he a warlock or a demon?" Phoebe shrugged her shoulders.
"Yeah, but if he was a warlock he was still hiding it," Phoebe answers. "But warlocks really don't use guns all that often."
"He was probably just some crazy person, right?" Prue asks. "Not much of a problem, so Piper could freeze him and shove him out of her car."
"Maybe, but she didn't," Phoebe says. A look of fear has spread across her face. "Why didn't she freeze him?"
"I don't know Phoebe," Prue says. "We just need to find her. Did you see where she was? Street signs, maybe?"
"Uh. I don't know," Phoebe says with frustration. She closes her eyes and tries to remember what she saw. Unknowingly she calls the premonition back and she is caught off guard. She jerks and drops the box of crackers. Prue is startled and jumps back.
"Phoebe?" Prue asks with concern. "Are you okay?"
"I'm seeing it again," Phoebe explains. "The clock says 4:30. I can't see the street signs completely. Oak is the one she's crossing." Then Phoebe cocks her head in confusion. "She tried to freeze him, but it didn't work."
Phoebe opens her eyes and sees that Prue is as confused as she is. "What do you mean it didn't work? It had to work."
"Well, it didn't," Phoebe says in frustration. She looks at her watch. "It's almost 4:30. Oak is ten blocks away. We've gotta try and catch her.
Prue hands her keys to Phoebe. "Here, you drive faster than I do."
* * * Piper is still prickling with anger when she stops at the light on Oak street. 'The nerve of those two. They better be getting along by tomorrow, or I'm gonna-'
Piper doesn't get to finish her thought. Suddenly a man gets in the passenger seat of her car. She is startled and tries to freeze him, but it doesn't work. That's when she sees that he has a gun.
"Do what I tell you or I'll blow your head off witch," he yells at her. Piper is stunned. 'Did he say witch?' she wonders.
"That's right, I said witch," he yells at her. "I bet you're confused why your power didn't work on me. Now drive and I'll let you in on my little secrets."
He jabs the barrel of his gun into the side of Piper's head and laughs. Piper makes a right turn. What she doesn't notice is that Prue and Phoebe are only two block behind her.
* * * Prue digs her fingernails into the passenger seat as Phoebe presses the accelerator. Phoebe glances over at Prue.
"Am I making you nervous?" she asks.
"I don't care. We have to help Piper," Prue responds.
"We will Prue. Relax," Phoebe says. Then she points ahead of them. "That's Piper's truck, isn't it?" she asks.
Prue squints. "Yeah, that's her. Hurry."
With that Phoebe floors the accelerator. Prue closes her eyes, but Phoebe doesn't notice. She races down the street. She sees Piper making a right and glances at the speedometer. 'Come on, catch her!' Phoebe thinks. She reaches Oak and makes a fishtail right turn just as the light turns red. But Piper is nowhere in sight. Phoebe slows down to look down the intersecting streets.
"She's gone," Phoebe says, disappointment filling her voice.
Prue finally opens her eyes. "We'll find her, Phoebe. Don't worry," Prue says, but she does not convince Phoebe.
* * * Piper is in a large empty room. The only light comes from the small windows lining the ceiling. Her wrists are tied together and the rope is hooked over a large metal rod that extends all the way across the room above her head. Her captor has been gone for the past half hour and she has passed the time by walking back and forth across the room, trying to think of a way out of this. She has been unable to think of anything and is starting to panic.
"I'm going to die here," she says aloud. "And Prue and Phoebe won't even know I'm in trouble. I'm going to die." Tears start to roll down her cheeks. She realizes that the last words she said to her sisters were in anger. 'I can't believe this.
Then her captor returns. He is carrying a large black duffel bag with him. He smiles at Piper. "You're in luck, Piper. Do you know why?" he waits for an answer but doesn't get one. "I'll tell you why. Because you won't have to go through the pain of watching your sisters die."
"Who are you? How do you know so much about me?" Piper asks quickly.
"Oh, you can call me Steve," he says with a quirky smile. "My brother-in-law told me about you shortly before you and your sisters killed him. Or should I say, banished him to hell for eternity. You might remember him. His name was Jeremy."
Piper is unable to hide her surprise. "I see you do remember him. He told me all about you and your family. He said he would steal your powers and then kill you. Seems he failed."
"You're a warlock, and you want to steal my powers," Piper suggests.
"I don't want to steal your powers and I'm not a warlock. I'm just a normal guy," he says. He reaches into the duffel bag and pulls out a whip. He walks around behind Piper. "Well, not totally normal. You see, after I met Jeremy I got this urge to torture witches. It gave me great pleasure. Of course, afterward, I had to kill them. I didn't like that part, but it was necessary. Well, Jeremy was a good friend to me, and I thought that I should avenge his death. And I get to have a little fun while I'm at it." Suddenly, he cracks the whip across Piper's back. She yells in pain. "Oh, yeah and you can scream all you want. No one will hear you and it makes it even better for me."
* * * Phoebe and Prue decide to call the police. Prue is just getting off the phone with Inspector Morris, Andy's old partner. She sits on the living room couch next to Phoebe, who is watching the news.
"He said he'd do everything that he could," she tells Phoebe. "I wish there was more we could do."
"I've tried calling on my power, but I'm getting nothing," Phoebe says in frustration. Then her attention is diverted by a late breaking news story. She turns up the volume.
"The sole surviving victim of the recent serial killings has come out of her coma this evening. Police have released this composite sketch based on the victim's description," the reporter says. The sketch is flashed on the screen and the reporter does a voice-over. "Police ask anyone who has seen this man to please call the number on the screen. Do not approach him. He is considered armed and extremely dangerous."
"Oh my God! That's him," Phoebe says with complete terror in her voice. "That's the guy who took Piper!"
"Are you sure?" Prue asks.
"Positive," Phoebe answers as she jumps up from the couch and starts pacing. "Prue, we gotta-" Phoebe is suddenly taken over by a premonition, except this time it's different. She can see Piper being whipped repeatedly by the man from her previous vision, but now Phoebe can feel Piper's pain, too. Phoebe clutches a nearby arm chair and cries out in pain. Prue quickly jumps up and grasps Phoebe by the shoulders.
"Pheebs, what's wrong? Snap out of it," Prue says worriedly. Phoebe comes out of her premonition and falls into the arm chair. A look of shock has spread across her face.
"Prue, I felt-" Phoebe says in a shaky voice. She is trying to comprehend what just happened. "I felt Piper's pain. He's beating her. We have to do something."
"We'll find her. I promise."
* * * Piper's entire body is filled with pain. She can't open her eyes, it hurts so much. She has been slipping in and out of consciousness since Steve took a break a half hour ago. She can feel the blood flowing down her back from where he has beaten her. She lost track of how many times he whipped her when he got to thirty. At that point she tried not to think about the pain. Piper decided to try something she had read in the Book of Shadows. She hoped it would help Prue and Phoebe find her. She cleared her mind and thought only of Phoebe. For a moment she felt different and she thought it was working, but she couldn't be sure. She hoped it had worked.
Now, she is having trouble dealing with the pain. Piper can't remember any time in her life when she had hurt this much. She opens her eyes for a moment and sees Steve approaching her.
"Would you like to say anything before we start?" he asks Piper. In his hands he is holding a metal rod and a blowtorch. Steve takes the blowtorch and starts heating the end of the rod. It quickly starts to glow with heat.
"Why didn't my power work on you?" Piper asks weakly. Her voice hoarse from screaming.
"Oh, I found a spell among Jeremy's things. It was a spell that protects me from your powers. I just have to wear this necklace," Steve explains, holding up a necklace he is wearing, "and your powers are useless."
"Kinda like you, right?" Piper asks. She seems to have found the strength to confront Steve. "You had to start torturing witches to impress Jeremy. And now you're avenging his death. Chivalry is not dead."
Steve is angered by this remark. He backhands Piper with the hand that is holding the metal rod. He leaves a large gash above her left eye. "Don't try me, witch!" he yells. Then he starts to laugh. "I see what you're doing. You want me to kill you now, save you from the pain. Nice try." Then he takes the hot metal rod and presses it against Piper's side. Piper screams in pain.
* * * Prue and Phoebe were able to get Inspector Morris to tell them the name of the surviving victim of Piper's kidnapper. Somehow they managed to sneak into the girl's hospital room.
"Hi, Anisa," Prue says to the girl, who looks to be about 18. "My name is Prue Halliwell and this is my sister Phoebe. We were wondering if we could ask you a few questions."
"Are you reporters?" Anisa asks weakly. She is pretty badly beat up. "How'd you get in here?"
"We're not reporters, we're-" Phoebe stops and thinks of what to tell Anisa. "We think the person who hurt you has taken our sister."
"Then you're witches," Anisa says, suddenly perking up. Prue and Phoebe are speechless. "It's okay. I'm a witch. The reason I assumed that is because he told me he only does this to witches."
"Okay, you're right Anisa. We are witches," Phoebe says deciding it's pointless to lie. Prue just looks at Phoebe in shock. "Do you have any idea where he could have taken our sister?"
"I'm not sure," she answers. "He took me to some old warehouse. I think it was on 54th street, but I'm not sure."
"Okay, do you know anything else that might help?" Prue asks.
"Um...one other thing," Anisa replies. "You're powers won't work on him. He has a necklace that protects him from our powers."
"Is he a warlock or something?" Phoebe asks. "What's his deal?"
"He's not a warlock. He's human. He said his brother-in-law was a warlock named Jeremy."
Prue and Phoebe exchange a worried glance.
"What is it?" Anisa asks.
"Well," Prue begins. "Our sister dated Jeremy until we found out he was a warlock. Then, we vanquished him to hell."
"Oh, wow," Anisa says. "Well this guy is nothing special without that necklace."
"All right, thanks, Anisa," Prue says. "We really appreciate it."
"I hope your sister is okay," Anisa says. Suddenly, Phoebe is overcome with another premonition. She clutches her side and doubles over in pain. Anisa asks, "Should I call a nurse?"
"No, not yet," Prue replies. She kneels next to Phoebe. "Pheebs, what's happening?"
"I can feel it again, her pain," Phoebe explains. "He's burning her."
"He has a specific order," Anisa explains. Phoebe finally comes out of her premonition and Prue helps her to a chair. "He starts with the whip, then the burning, then he will carve designs on her body with a knife."
"We've gotta find her now, Prue," Phoebe says having recovered from her premonition.
"All right, Phoebe. Let's go," Prue says. She and Phoebe head for the door. "Thank you so much Anisa."
"No problem. Just go get your sister," Anisa says as Prue and Phoebe leave to find Piper.
* * * Piper can only stay conscious for a couple minutes at a time. She has no idea how much time has passed since Steve jumped in her car. She can feel blood trickling down her arms. Without the strength to stand she simply hangs by her wrists. The rope cuts into her wrists, but Piper can't tell if it hurts. She hurts all over and can't distinguish one pain from another. She wonders what Prue and Phoebe are doing right now. 'Even if they don't know what's happened to me, I hope they're at least getting along,' she thinks. She decides to try to reach out to Phoebe again. 'Maybe it has been working all this time.' Piper closes her eyes and concentrates on Phoebe. She lets only one thought run through her mind.
PhoebehelpPhoebehelpPhoebehelpPhoebehelpPhoebe-
"Are you ready, Piper?" Steve asks, throwing off Piper's concentration. She opens here eyes and sees Steve holding a large knife. "It's almost over. It's time for me to let my artistic side go."
* * * Unknowingly, Prue and Phoebe are only a block away from the warehouse where Steve is keeping Piper. The sun has set and Prue and Phoebe are walking nervously down 54th street. They had parked Prue's car on Oak and decided to go south on foot. They have just finished searching another warehouse when Phoebe feels another premonition coming on. But this time she sees nothing. She hears Piper calling for her. "Phoebe, help. Phoebe, help." Phoebe is stunned for a moment. Then she looks at Prue.
"She's reaching out to me with her mind, asking for help," Phoebe says. "She's gotta be close."
"All right, let's check this next warehouse," Prue says. She and Phoebe run up the loading dock of the next warehouse. They try the door, but it's locked. Prue then sees a high window. She points it out to Phoebe.
"Uh, Prue, last time I checked we can't fly," Phoebe says. "That's just a witch myth, remember."
"Sure, we can," Prue says. "Well, at least you can. Now, stay calm."
Phoebe starts to float in the air. She's nervous at first, but she eventually relaxes. "This is cool. Ever since we became witches I've wanted to fly," she says with a smile. That's the first time she has smiled all day. She reaches the window, easily pushes it open, and pulls herself halfway through. She sees Piper's truck parked inside. Trying not to lose her grip on the window, she looks down at Prue. "It's Piper's truck."
Prue tries to suppress her excitement for the moment. "Can you get down on the inside?"
"Yeah, there's crates and stuff, but it'll take a minute," Phoebe says before she boosts herself the rest of the way through the window.
While Prue waits for Phoebe to open the door she calls Inspector Morris on her cellphone.
"Hi. It's Prue. We found Piper's truck. It's in an old warehouse on 54th and Pine. I have this feeling she's here too. Of course, we won't try to take this guy on," Prue lies. Phoebe finally opens the door of the loading dock. "Thanks," Prue says as she hangs up the phone. "Darryl is on his way," she tells Phoebe.
"Okay, let's go," Phoebe says. They walk down the room that Piper's car is parked in to a door. Phoebe tries it, but it's locked. "Prue, would you care to do the honors?"
Prue quickly opens the door with her power and they enter a room to see Steve standing in front of Piper with a knife. "Piper!" Prue yells as she tries to use her power on Steve.
"The necklace, Prue," Phoebe reminds her. "I'll take care of him. You get Piper."
"Stupid witches!" Steve laughs, turning his attention away from Piper. "Your powers won't work on me."
Phoebe runs up to him and kicks the knife out of his hand. "Yeah, but I'm an old-fashioned girl. I'll settle for kicking the crap out of you."
While Steve is distracted Prue runs over to Piper. She finally gets the rope untied and Piper falls limply into her arms. Prue lays her sister on the ground and kneels next to her. Prue watches as Phoebe fights with Steve. Phoebe kicks Steve in the stomach and he doubles over. She sees this as her chance to grab the necklace. She grips the necklace tight just as Steve tosses her into a stack of crates. The necklace breaks, but he doesn't notice. He simply smiles when he sees Phoebe lying motionless on the floor. He turns to Prue and Piper.
"Nice try," he says as he approaches them, picking up the knife on the way. Prue looks up at him nervously. Then she sees it. The necklace is gone. She quickly does a backhand motion with her right hand and a very stunned Steve goes flying across the room. He smashes into the concrete wall and falls unconscious to the floor. Phoebe is just starting to pick herself up from the floor. A knot is forming above her left eye, but otherwise she is fine. She looks over at Steve.
"You're not so tough without your necklace are you?" she yells mockingly at the unconscious man. Then she runs over to Prue and Piper.
"Is she?" Phoebe manages to ask.
"I don't know," Prue says in a shaky voice. She grabs Piper's hand. "Piper, sweetie, talk to us. Come on."
"Piper," Phoebe says worriedly, afraid that they are too late. But then Piper starts to open her eyes. She looks up at her sisters for a moment and then says weakly, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."
With that Prue and Phoebe burst into tearful laughter. They are still laughing when the police arrive.
