Faithfully Yours Part 7: There are no strangers.   Chapter 55 "The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means."   Oscar Wilde

As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular. Oscar Wilde

With no other options available to them, the Minions of Good left the magic pole to stagger across the plains and the steep ridges of Burvjara, wanting only to find somewhere they could use some magic to remove themselves from a place most now heartily wished they never knew existed. The shorter way out that Glock recommended promised not to be an easier route than they had followed coming in. Many of the Minions of Good blanched when they saw the height of the mountains but faced with the alternative; that they would be unable to leave Burvjara, they determinedly started the climb.

As they had on the way into the magic pole, the witches and other minions helped each other as best they could. Those who were able to walk more easily helped those who were footsore and injured. Some carried their companions and some offered arms on which to lean, or offered hands of support to ease their companions way as best they could.. As they trudged along through the barren orange and blue land the witches discovered the pain of going out was worse than coming in.

At the head of the minions, several Burvjarians strode on ahead, showing the way but otherwise refraining from offering assistance. They frequently showed impatience at the slowness at which the minions climbed, and demonstrated a strong sense of superiority in their own dextrousness and agility to travel over the rough ground. It was not an attitude that endeared Burvjarians to the minions or helped ease the pain of the aliens who feared they were trapped  in the land of Burvjara.

Each troop was once again accompanied by its warrior whitelighter, many of them with grim and uncomfortable expressions, subdued but determined not to leave their charges. Most of the whitelighters carried those to injured or battered to walk. The whitelighters and the Minions of Good carefully ignored the two elders that Cole had spared. The elders walked in front of the groups, shoulders hunched, their robes appearing to have lost their translucency and taken on the dirty orange hue of the Burvjarian dust.

Phoebe, miserably cold despite wearing all the clothes Cole had given her, and doing her best to levitate her bare feet over the acid earth and rock whispered to her sisters that she had no doubt the elders were consumed with thoughts of their actions, and their accountability and the reasons they had gone to war. And what it would now cost them, and for their sake she hoped the repentance they had shown would translate into leading a new beginning for the side of good.

"Premonition?" asked Paige, trudging along beside Phoebe and huddling in her parka.

Phoebe shook her head "Psychology" she replied.

Piper, her head down watching where she walked so she did not break a leg on the treacherous ground snorted. “Depends on what the new beginning is” she said. “It could be the start of something worse.”

“Live in hope“ said Paige “Always the possibility it could be better.”

Piper snorted again.

The way out was just as dangerous as the march in to the pole and the expedition was not without it casualties. There were more broken limbs, falls and bleeding bodies as the sands and rocks of Burvjara took their toll. A few witches were reporting that injuries received on the way in were starting to fester and the whitelighters grim and without the promise of battle as a justification for the pain, told them bluntly they would have to hold it together for the walk until it was safe to use magic to heal them. News not welcome to witches who faced a long, dangerous and painful trek up unforgiving hills and passes.

A grim silence overcame the Minions of Good as during their long march, they contemplated the events that happened and tried to make some sense of them. They considered their choices to go to war and their choices at the pole of Burvjara. Some of them claimed they were glad they had faced the deepest places in their souls. Some wondered if they could ever explain their mutiny, and others wondered if they could ever explain their willingness to fight.

The walk out was particularly hard on Phoebe, who was cold and in agony from burnt feet.  She was not helped by the reaction of her companions who gave her a deferential space. She imagined, could feel, words like heroine and legend forming in their heads and she cringed away from their looks and confusion.

Phoebe huddled in the remains of Piper's wool coat and her seriously singed parka and barelegged half way up her thighs from where Cole's sweater hung, was feeling the cold despite Pookie. She was also sporting two huge black eyes from where the Ogre had 'hit' her and her cheek bone was badly swollen. She also had a huge and ugly red weld across one arm and another near a breast where an Elder's sword had been deflected at the last minute by Cole and she had severely sprained her other arm in her efforts to protect Pookie as the witches had caught her when he flung her out of harm's way.

When they first left the pole, Phoebe swas able to use its power to levitate instead of walk, merely by contemplating the idea, as she had done when close to the pole on the way in. She was therefore able to protect her bare feet from the acid ground to some extent. However as the company made it up the second ridge from the pole she regretfully found that she actually had to contact with her magic to levitate and lit up the air into huge fire balls.  She therefore had to try and walk after they reached the top of the ridge above the pole.

Paige and Piper watched her with concern, wondering how Phoebe would ever make it out

"Don't ever say Cole won't hurt you again" snarled Piper as Phoebe swore when she caught her toe on a huge rock, managing to clutch onto Piper to ease the severity before actually falling. Then to the surprise of all around her she lowered herself to the ground and indulged in a hissy fit, beating and thumping the blue ground, and screaming how she hated being magic and it wasn't fair.

Her sisters just watched her. They knew Phoebe but the other minions were confused and uncertain how a witch who had faced, without flinching, the wrath of Elders, demons and Burvjarian warriors could get so upset with a rock.

Phoebe slapped her hand on the ground. She cursed Cole. She cursed Glock. She cursed magic and she cursed every fate that had ever brought her to Burvjara, her anger rising almost into hysteria. She finally subsided her hysteria, sitting in the middle of the blue and orange ground of Burvjara, surrounded by rocks, and crying in impotent anger.

Pipe tapping her foot, watched Phoebe while Paige assured concerned and amazed witches that Phoebe was all right.

Finally temper tantrum over, Phoebe scrambled go her feet and stoically made her way over the ridge, She hit her foot again badly and after inspecting her badly cut and blistered feet, she bit her lip but shook off witches offers to help her.

Piper seriously concerned managed to keep quiet when Phoebe flatly refused to allow any witches to carry her and then bit back tears as a whitelighter took matters in his own hands and despite Phoebes objections, lifted her so he could carry her out on his back.

"You shouldn't. I'm all right" Phoebe muttered.

"Do not deny me an honour" said the whitelighter politely and Phoebe swallowed convulsively as she hung in to him, her arms around his neck. She passed the time by planning ways she could blame Cole or every uncomfortable second of the long march out.

During the long journey, the witches huddled together in the cold Burvjarian nights, not quite as miserable as the nights coming in because the Burvjarian escorts took some pity on them and rather contemptuously used their magic to warm stones. The witches generally grateful tried to say thank you and the Burvjarians snorted through their trunk like noses and turned away.

During these stops, the minions murmured about the Burvjarian leader who had walked unarmed into battle. Some were convinced the leader knew that the Ogre would throw the fireball so he was not completely unarmed and some were convinced he did not and it was the bravest thing they had ever seen. One of the Burvjarians in a gruff snort informed them that Glock was a great leader, always had been.

"Glock is a great Burvjarian" another told the minions defying anyone to argue. No-one did.

Piper felt a warm glow of pride for Glock and then pushed away a tear. "I guess this is how the messiah thing happens" she told Phoebe. "Glock will hate it."

"Yes" said Phoebe as Paige put a comforting arm around Piper.

Leslie shook her head concerned. "Hard to believe it happened," she said.

“It happened,“ said Piper grimly

 "You know,“ Leslie said “I’ve been thinking about it all the way out. The Ogre. That one who threw the fireball. He seemed familiar. The way he moved.” She shook her head. “I’ve never seen an Ogre before and I’ve never seen a Burvjarian before, so it’s a bit odd but I am so sure I knew that the Ogre was not Burvjarian."

Piper glanced and Phoebe who caught her breath.

"It was an Ogre Leslie," Phoebe said "Coming after Elders. Maybe you have seen an Ogre before but did not recognise hi...it for what it was because you were of no concern to it.”

“Maybe” said Leslie doubtfully.

“Maybe it was justice you were familiar with, not the Ogre” suggested Paige.

Leslie nodded "You know the Ogre was scary. He was the most frightening thing I've ever seen, the most frightening thing of it all. More than all the fighting, more than the blood and the demons, more than anything" she shook her head clearly at a loss

 "That Ogre.'" Edna sighed. "Dressed up like a Burvjarian. Didn’t look like a monster to me. You’d think something as scary as the Ogre would look ..more like a monster” she said"

"No reason to think Ogres look like monsters” Phoebe said sadly. "The Ogre was after Justice and justice is not a monster. Its just … justice can be the most frightening thing of all. Because in the end you can’t escape it" she said.

"The thing I hate about justice" said Tisha passionately "Is that it damn well waits until the deed is done before coming. Does not try to stop the evil deed."

"No "said Piper quietly "the one who knows right from wrong, does that and when  …evil doers don't listen to that they face justice".

“You know a lot about Ogres” said one of Matilda's group as she huddled in the dark.

The Charmed Sisters looked at each other nervously.

“Don’t know much” said Paige as Phoebe sucked on her lip. “Just .. a bit.”

“If there is an Ogre that knows right from wrong why didn’t that one do something about the Elders before all this?” demanded Tisha.

“Because when it comes to it, the elders had to choose” said Piper firmly “And they chose wrong. And met Justice with a sword.”

“Seems like they could have saved a great many lives if the accursed Ogres had acted”  said Edna “if there is one who knows right from wrong and they bloody elders ignored it, we all would be better off if the damned creature had smited them to flames, as soon as they ignored it."

“Maybe, maybe not“ Piper answered carefully.

 “What do you mean?” demanded one of Matilda's group.

Paige looked at Piper, "Because if they smited the elders, maybe they would have had to smite all the people here who wanted to fight as well, and “ she swallowed hard ”I am proud to be part of a company  that when faced with … righty and wrong at its most basic level, chose what is right,

“And would not have got the chance to make their choice, if the Ogres had ..acted…in the beginning” Piper said carefully

"Well I hate justice" Tisha said passionately "and the ones who died coming here have not got much to thank the damned Ogre  for either."

"No" said Matilda was listening to the conversation "Justice didn't do Sara any good. Those damned Elders got her killed and not all the justice in the universe can bring her back."

Paige looked at her sisters. They shrugged helplessly so she put her arm around Matilda who sobbed for a few minutes then stoically and determinedly sniffed back the tears.

When the minions began to march again, someone murmured that the Ogre was not as terrifying as they had been led to believe but others said they never wanted to see such fearful creature again. There were a few like Leslie who kept contemplating that the figure of the Ogre seemed familiar. Phoebe listening carefully was left wondering if some had encountered Cole in his guardian role or as Belthezor and a few with grim humour said they would not mind getting familiar with the hooded figure they saw welding the archangel's sword.

“I think that Ogre is going down in legend” whispered Phoebe to her sisters. “And I’m scared the Ogre’s witch might too” she added as yet another Minion of good respectfully took a harder path so the whitelighter carrying her  could pass.

“Premonition?” asked Paige.

“Psychology” said Piper before Phoebe could.

Occasionally on the long march out they passed Burvjarians, combatants, females and offspring who were making their way toward the pole, apparently having heard of the events in the stones. Some greeted the Burvjarians who accompanied the Minions of Good, some ignored them. Some openly pointed weapons at the weary and battered Minions of Good, others stood back silently watching them, their noses twitching, resistance in every line of their bodies. It was clear that whatever the messages in the stones had been, they were not ones of gratitude to the Minions of Good.

Some Burvjarians did stop to let the minions pass, the odd one offered a hand to help those struggling over the difficult terrain and a couple actually stepped in to point out an easier path. But for the most part the Burvjarians and Others passed each other in stony and uncompromising silence as the Minions of Good made their way to a place where they could leave the hostile realm, all noting the irony that such a miserable and inhospitable place was the magnetic centre of all their magic.

It was a sad and bedraggled army that finally reached the vicinity of the large forest where Glock and Cole had entered Burvjara. They were footsore, hungry and cold. Many of the injuries were now infected, broken bones were agonising for some, and relatively minor injuries such as sprains and bruises were causing those who had managed the long walk relatively unharmed, total discomfort.

They had to walk further into the forest than they hoped because the whitelighters found it was simply were too risky to create the shields at the edge. Each shield they raised sent the air crackling and caused shooting flames and there was always a long slow walk to where the next one could be used. And they lost 5 witches when one shield s failed and exploded round them. The loss of the witches was greeted by the grim silence which was known only to those who had seen to much pain and evil. Several of the witches who saw their colleagues die glanced viciously in the direction of the two remaining Elders but then shrugged. It was too late to blame.

It was only the sheer misery of Burvjara that made the next groups brave enough to risk it the orbing bubbles while those left watching watched in fear. The Burvjarians, who had accompanied the Minions of Good, watched the loss with a grim disinterest, far more concerned about gathering what was left behind by the departing minions, backpacks, water bottles, knives, clothing and batteries.

The Charmed Ones and their group were among the last to go, bravely and quite untruthfully saying that they were happy to wait while the more badly injured witches and Others were moved away. Several witches started to insist they owed it to the Charmed Ones to allow them to leave first, their deference so reverential that Phoebe found herself shrinking behind her sisters.

"We need to know everyone who could get out, got out” Piper told them firmly.  “Otherwise … we need to know” she said her voice rasping and meant it.

Phoebe shuddered even more as the word 'Heroine' was whispered amongst the witches and then 'noble and brave'.

“I’m not a heroine” Phoebe whispered “I’m not noble, I’m just me. I wish Cole was here. He knows I’m just me” she whimpered pathetically

"I know you’re just you,“ snapped Piper “and I think they were talking about all three of us, not just you."

“Not everything is about you Phoebe” said Paige primly.

Eventually though the army of the Minions of Good was finally orbed away from Burvjara, the last thing all of them saw of Burvjara was the exploding fireballs in the Burvjarian air as their magic took them away. The Charmed Ones with Leslie and Tisha and Edna who refused to leave until the Charmed Ones did, left in such spectacular fireball, it seemed the bubble was bursting in flaming red light before it seared into the spirit winds.

Once again the witches found the method of moving their numbers from realm to realm a nauseating painful experience waiting and wondered as the dematerialisation started whether they would ever materialise again. All of them held their breath until they came out of it in the lower levels of 'up there'.

………………………………………..

In the ‘up there, they found a sombre group which seemed submerged by the rainbow light as they came out of the orb. Several witches fell on the ground gasping what seemed the first breath of clean air their lungs had breathed since they left.  As the realisation came to all those arriving that they had survived, they found themselves awkwardly staring at each other. The Charmed sisters in a group with Leslie and Edna and Tisha saw Matilda and her small group close by, Matilda looked particularly grim.

She saw Paige watching her and nodded, then shook her head as tears ran. "Sara was so excited to come up here" she said. "Be here and still alive."

"She's here somewhere" said Paige putting her arm around Matilda.

"She's not here and alive" said Matilda sniffing the tears back determinedly.

As they materialised in the misty rainbow light, warrior whitelighters who had guided and supported the witches throughout the long  Burvjarian march faded slowly away, becoming once again fantasy creatures from a level of magic that most of the assembled witches never expected to see and for many never wanted to see again. To Phoebe's total embarrassment, and Paige and Piper’s amusement several of whitelighters came to the Charmed Ones to bow, before fading into the rainbow light. One of them thanked the Charmed Sisters for making it possible for it to return with an unsullied conscience and for showing it the path of light.

Piper sucked her breath. "You would need to have refused to go in the first place to be completely unsullied."

Paige punched her in the ribs to stop her saying more as the whitelighter, with a certain rigidity of bearing, faded away, bowing politely.

“They don’t really get it even now” Piper said sadly.

“They get some it” said Phoebe still struggling for breath “Just hope they remember how bad the bad parts were when they start planning wars in the future. Maybe next time they will be really sure that the cause justifies the pain."

“Psychology?” asked Piper.

“Premonition” said Phoebe sighing.

Almost as soon as the warriors left, the 'normal' whitelighters appeared to move around the witches, healing wounds, broken bones and bodies. Most of the whitelighters wore robes and few wore ordinary street clothes. There was a noticeable awkwardness between the whitelighters and their charges, the whitelighters clearly having heard some of what happened in Burvjara and many kept taking surreptitious glances at the Charmed Sisters. The situation was so uncomfortable that Paige asked her sisters if they wanted to leave but a whitelighter nearby rather pompously asked witches to wait a while until the whitelighters accounted for all who had gone and healed the injured.

Piper sucked her breath. “Fighting is over and the hierarchy is back in place:” she said through her teeth. “Do you think they will be offering us good advice soon?”

“Yes” said Phoebe.

Paige was miserably wondering if she should not just ignore them and go home anyway when she saw Mark appear out of the mist. His face contorted with relief when he saw her and she had to struggle not to run to him.

Tisha had no such qualms. She saw Mark and all but threw herself at him. He gave her the hug she needed and then gently moved himself away, while Paige stood watching, fighting to swallow her resentment that Trisha could be comforted by her Mark and she could not. The rainbow light gave her away as it flashed in response to her negative emotions.

Mark unable to help himself grinned, clearly recognising what Paige was feeling.

"Jealousy is a sin. You're not supposed to feel that up here" Phoebe whispered to PaIge sweetly.

"Shut up" snapped Paige.

Before Mark could ask any questions Piper winced and said "Don't ask."

"I know some of it" he told them and frowned. "Let's have a look at the injuries" he said softy, and then he saw Phoebe's face. "OMG "he said softly. "What happened?"

“The Ogre saved Phoebe” Piper told Mark sweetly.

"The Ogre hit her" said Edna explained not quite as disapprovingly as she should have.

Mark started to say the word Cole

Phoebe interrupted quickly. "It was hit me out of the way or let me get t killed or destroy every living being within a hundred yards" she explained.

Mark grinned. “Getting to close to Ogres is a dangerous business. But I don't suppose that counts much with you" he said to Phoebe with a small smile.

A soft androgynous voice came from an almost translucent being who appeared near Mark. “The Ogres are not a jest” it said severely “Have respect for those who have faced them."

Mark raised his eyes.

“You in trouble for being right” Paige whispered and he nodded

"Let me fix your …wounds Phoebe” he said “unless you want to wear them as a badge of honour

"Hardly” snapped Phoebe “Lot of other witches hurt worst than me" she said and winced at the pain from both black eyes.

"Phoebe is such a heroine” whispered one of the witches in Matilda’s group

Mark grinned  and to Phoebe’s annoyance he took her at her word and gently healed Matilda's broken bones and two others witches in the group who had a variety of bleeding and seriously infected wounds. Piper and Paige exchanged amused glances.

“It must be an honour to be the whitelighter who advises Phoebe and the Charmed Ones” one of the witches said in an awe struck voice.

“I’m mostly overwhelmed” said Mark softly.

An elder typed passed and clucked disapproving. “Guard your tongue and respect your charges” it told Mark in whitlighterese which the Charmed Ones understood and then faded into the mist.

Mark half nodded then attended to the wounded witches.

“That’s not fair” hissed Paige to Phoebe. "Mark was right and they were wrong. Mark was honourable and they didn’t have the guts to go against their warmongering colleagues.”

"Being right and being honourable is about the most dangerous thing you can be” said Phoebe. "When they start asking why and looking for scapegoats."

Piper and Paige looked at her.

“It’s a premonition and its psychology” said Phoebe. ”They have to blame someone to appease the Ogre.”

“I could easily appease that Ogre” one of the witches in Matilda’s group said "that Ogre was sort of… he was something ... well..."

"How do you know... he was something... how do you know it was a he. He was wearing a Burvjarian robe?'' asked Edna

"Just the way he moved" said the witch. "You just know there was something under that robe that was worth....pheromones" explained the witch "you could sniff them at a hundred yards. You know, there's' something magic about pheromones and that pole amped magic and pheromones." She sighed wistfully.

"It was with the sword" a witch said giggling suddenly "Just the way he swung it, you could see the muscles. Especially at the back. It was... it was so sexy. The way his bum moved when he swung the sword" she said "and you know the hood just made it "she giggled again.

“Sexy” said another

Phoebe ground her teeth. The rainbow light shuddered.

"Jealousy is a sin. You're not supposed to feel that up here" Paige whispered to Phoebe sweetly.

Mark grinned, shut his eyes, then finished healing the witches, noting but not saying anything, that Phoebe was crying from her pained feet, sprained body black and bruised face. She sucked her breath in relief as his hands moved over her, the tears silently falling. Phoebe sniffed and wiped them away with back of her hand. "You need to fix those spites" he told the Charmed sisters in a very patient voice.

"We fixed the Geztalt" said Paige her voice rising in anger  "We solved a big problem. We just saved Good.”

"Good" said Mark very softly. "Now you need to fix the spites and save good again. Because odds are that most of the witches up here have been infected by someone and if they get down into the real world."

“Not good” groaned Paige.

"I wonder if I did something you know that ...well needed justice" pondered Edna "if I could get to see the Ogre without the hood and maybe a few of the muscles"...she caught the expression on Mark's face and her voice faded

"Fix the spites" Mark said gently as he healed Paige's bruises.

He moved onto Piper.

"The Ogre was tall" said one of Matilda’s friends "You could tell. He must have been about 6'4."

'“6'2" muttered Phoebe under her breath and the rainbow really shuddered, much worse than when she swore.

"We need to fix the spites" Piper hissed at Paige. "This is goddamned bloody ridiculous. We're all 'up there', we've been to a war and they're all drooling over "and she lowered her voice "Cole's bum. Shut up" she added as the light flashed.

"They didn't see his bum" Paige whispered back.

"I bet the Ogre had a great bum" said Leslie with a big sigh. "You know it from the way he moved. Like Mr Turner's, I mean Cole's, bum. You just." she glanced apprehensively at Phoebe "You don't mind me saying Mr Turner, I mean Cole, has a great bum do you?"

"No" said Phoebe through her teeth. The light positively crackled.

"Fix the spites" said Mark ever so softly.

Piper winced then looked at the rather dreamy faces of the witches around her. "Mark’s right" she said "It’s a good time all these witches here" she told Paige.

"We're going to look like fools" answered Paige shuddering at the thought "Anyway I left the chant back at the manor." She added a little too tritely.

"Sara would have enjoyed seeing the Burvjarians" said Matilda suddenly." she like big sexy magic creatures. I mean any one would, wouldn't they Piper?"

Piper visibly winced.

"Fix the bloody spites" said Mark and for once he was not gentle. The rainbow light crashed and he looked at Piper and grinned.

Pipe crossed her arms and glowered at Paige.

Paige looked around behind her, she looked to the side, she tried staring into the mist, then she caught sight of Piper's expression again.

And pretended she didn’t.

“The Ogre scared me badly” said Tisha. She looked at Mark her eyes bright. “I find kind and gentle far more sexy.”

Paige sucked her breath. The air crackled. The rainbow shone brightly.

“Jealousy is a sin” said Piper sweetly.

Very slowly, ever so reluctantly Paige pulled a bit of paper from the inside pocket of her mostly destroyed parker.

"It's only a spell "said Phoebe brightly, just relieved that Mark had fixed all her injuries. She looked over Paige's shoulder and read the paper "Oh shit "she said.

All around her the clouded light of 'up there' shuddered in a rainbow burst and many witches looked at them in surprise.

"We need to do it before the witches leave" said Piper firmly.

"We have to dance" said Phoebe her tone totally disgusted.

"And sing" added Paige unhappily.

Phoebe started to shake her head then bit her lip as Matilda started musing on how that robe made the Ogre so exciting and how much Sara would have liked seeing it.

"Fix the damned spites" said Mark

"Why doesn't the light start flashing when you say damn?" Phoebe asked and the light started to shake.

"I say it reverently" Mark said softy but betrayed himself by laughing.

"I wouldn't go evil or anything "said Edna pondered "If I did something that needed justice. Just sort of enough ...get to know him. I'd listen to him."

Phoebe let her breath out hard. "Let's fix the damned spites" she said standing up on still tender feet.

"We're going to look like idiots "said Paige standing up.

"Suck it up" said Mark.

"The more who do this the better" said Piper reading the paper. "Leslie" she ordered.

"What?" said Leslie.

"We need to fix the spites" said Piper giving her the bit of paper. “We need to fix all this fantasising, we need to stop it before it spreads to other countries. There are witches from everywhere, we need to fix it before they leave."

'"No" said Leslie shuddering as she read the paper "I don't ever want to use magic again" she pleaded “I went to Burvjara” she said. “That was brave. That was doing what I owed magic.”

"Well you needn't use magic after this" said Piper firmly.

“Í am going to look like an idiot" said Leslie all of 17 and horrified at the thought.

"We all are going to look like idiots" said Paige turning her nose up. “You want to destroy all the good that happened in Burvjara”

“They’re only spites” sniffed Leslie. “Harmless little runts”

“No they aren’t“ said Phoebe “You saw the runty little Geztalt. How harmless were they?”

Lesley shuddered “I’m going to look like an idiot “she said.

“We're all going to look like idiots” said Phoebe

Matilda wiped her hand around her eyes and took the paper form Leslie. She read it, then Matilda caught Leslie's arm. "I knew if there was a way to stop of all these crazy hormones going around the Charmed Ones could do it." She said "and you're going to help, Leslie. Sara would help if she was here" she said. “And if a witch as brave as Phoebe doesn’t mind looking like an idiot to save magic, we all can.”

Paige started to say something and Piper hushed her.

"We will help our sister witches" said Matilda. “What do we have to do?”

'"You say the words and dance .In the order on the paper" said Piper.

"Oh hell and damnation" said Leslie taking Paige's arm.

The rainbow light shuddered.

Edna could not resist reading the paper. She giggled "'How many witches do you need?" she asked.'

"The more the better" Paige explained.

"Oh hell" said Edina and she smiled as the Light shuddered. "If we can't dance a little magic together what the hell was the point of marching through Burvjara" She held out her arm to Tisha who sucked her breath and nodded.

"It's the right thing to do." Tisha told Mark earning a gentle smile from him as Paige frowned.

Matilda took Paige's hand. Paige, with a big sigh held her other hand to Phoebe. Piper took Phoebe's hand; and Edna with a giggle took Piper's dragging Tisha after her. All seven witches stood, their with arms linked.

"Okay ladies now I, 2, 3" called Matilda and with a little hesitation the seven witches started to dance.

Mark watching started to laugh. A hooded whitelighter appearing behind him murmured "There is no power in the realm could make me guide the Charmed Ones."

Mark barely in control watched as seven bedraggled dirty witches, holding hands and singing and dancing, made their way through the startled witches and whitelighters many of whom stopped healing their changes in disbelieving amusement.

"Sometimes" Mark, laughing out loud, told the whitelighter behind him without bothering to turn, "it's almost worth it."

...................................................................