Charmed: Rewitched.
Season 4 Episode 1
Prue Calling
Debris, shattered glass, and blood; failure. Shax had, once again, made his mark. Succeeding in more than what he was sent to do. The Halliwells lay, through the remains of what used to a wall of their manor, unconscious. While, on the other side, their innocent was dead. Dr. Grffis' body was hanging out their window; glass shards sticking through his body. An ominous breeze began to blow through the broken window of the manor, casting some air onto the bodies of Prue and Piper. Blood lay dripping onto the ground from the back of Prue's head and out of her ears. Piper's woulds appeared more serious; her face appearning completely broken with blood pouring out of her face profusely. How could things have gone so wrong?
And then, a faint moan escaped Prue's lips. The first one was subtle, and then it became louder. She struggled to open her eyes, a combination of pain and the blinding it light of sun didn't make it easier. She began breathing really hard; the pain her body was in began reaching her semi-conscious state and her moans then turned into a solid scream as she tried to sit up. She couldn't. The gash in the back of her head was excruciating, and she had a sinking feeling that if she moved any further, she would only go back into a comatose state, or even, die. She was able to turn her head slightly where she saw her sister and her wounds.
"Piper..?" she said faintly. She was able to lift her left hand and manuevered it the best she good to touch her sister's hand. "Piper!" she was nearly inaudible. Her voice cracking with the tears of her pain and the worry that her sister might be dead. "Piper, please wake up." Nothing. Her hand became stiff, with all of the blood loss it became very hard to control her movements; and it became increasingly difficult to stay conscious. She knew the only one who could help them. "Leo! Leo!" her voice was now hoarse, but he would be able to know it was her. Moments seemed like ages and he still didn't come. "Leo, please!" still nothing came, the bright blue and white lights that would usually appear before them was no where to be seen.
Tears began to run down her face more and all she could do was lay there. She remembered Shax bursting through the doors of the manor, knocking her and Piper away and appearing before their innocent, Dr. Griffis, ready to kill him. And then Prue pushed him out of the way of an oncoming blast and all she could remember after that was hitting the wall and then blacking out. Evidently, Piper was hit too. But where was Pheobe? Their sister, who she believed to be upstairs getting the vanquishing spell was no where to be found. Which only meant that Dr. Griffis was killed. Did that mean that Pheobe was too?
"Leo! Please if you can here me, LEO!" she couldn't even make sense of her own words before she felt her eye lids forcing themselves shut. Out of the corner of her eyes, a cascade of bright lights began to appear and solidify in a male form.
"Oh no!" he roared. Prue had already blacked out.
Moments later, she felt herself moan again, her pain - nearly all of it - lifted. More importantly, she heard Piper groan too, which meant they were okay. Prue's eyes opened and she saw Leo standing before them, looking both extremely afraid and relieved.
"What happened?" Piper bellowed, both frustrated and confused. She looked at her husband boldly and held out her hand for him to help her up.
"You almost died that's what happened!" Leo explained bluntly, helping Piper to her feet.
Piper then turned around helped Prue, who was still feeling extremely sore despite being completely healed of her gashes and bruises. "Yeah, noted. But where is Shax?" she demanded.
Leo hesitated before answering, "He's gone...but he's not your biggest concern right now." Prue and Piper looked at each other. And then, it dawned on them that Dr. Griffis wasn't in front of them and Phoebe was still missing.
"Uhh...Where's Phoebe? And --" Prue paused, turning to her right and gasped. "Oh my god. Leo! Leo!" she ran towards the broken window where their innocent's body lay with Piper and Leo quickly behind her. Prue tried to lift his body but he wouldn't budge. He was stuck on the glass. They needed to heal him. She lifted her hands in front of her and concentrated her power, slowly lifting him off of the glass shards and out of the window, setting him carefully on their dining room table behind her.
"Leo, can you heal him?" asked Piper who looked completely frantic.
"His heart is still beating..." He placed his hands over Dr. Griffis' body and golden luminescence shone from his finger tips, repairing the doctors body and healing him completely. Yet, he didn't wake up.
"Leo...he isn't a awake? Is he..."
"No Piper, he's unconscious. His body isn't used to being hit by demonic attacks like you guys are. He'll be out-cold for awhile." he explained. The three of them stood in silence before the previous notion that Phoebe wasn't with them became obvious.
"Uhh. Leo, where is Pheobe?" Prue asked, looking around making sure their sister wasn't also unconscious somewhere else.
"Here..." he began disdainfully. "Let me return him to his house, I'll put the memory eraser on him so he won't remember this. I'll be right back." He placed his hands on Dr. Griffis' body and together they took off in a shimmer of lights.
"But Leo, wait - ugh." Prue shook her head defeatedly and turned to her sister. "He could have at least answered our question first." her tone became frustrated.
"Yeah, that is odd..." Piper agreed. "Maybe we should look for her." as if thinking it before Piper said it, Prue took Piper's hand into hers and led her around the first level of their manor quickly, trying to find a trace of her.
"Phoebe?!" they both called in unison every few or so seconds. Once they realized she wasn't on the first floor, they ran up the stairs to the second and split up. Piper went to look in her own bedroom and the bathroom while Prue searched in her own bedroom as well as Phoebe's. Minutes later they met up and shook heads. Where was their sister?
"Okay this is wierd. She couldn't have just...disappeared." Prue deduced. "I mean," she began, leading Piper to the attic to check there. "When we got into the manor, she ran up here to find a vanquishing spell." Trying to make sense of it in her head, Piper interrupted her.
"Maybe she just didn't hear us yelling...and then Shax got her..." Piper folded her arms and began to allow fear of the possibility consume her.
The two sisters entered the attic and still there was no sign of their sister. The shock wasn't as intense as it was in the earlier floors. Surely by now Phoebe would have heard them if she was there. The Book of Shadow's however was still open. Prue and Piper walked over to it and it was open to a page about Shax which also contained his vanquish. A pen also lay next to it. Prue and Piper both knew that Phoebe was there and she wrote down the spell. But then, where was she?
"The pieces just down seem to fit..." Prue sighed, reading more about shax.
"What do you mean?" Piper asked.
"Well, Shax would never actually take a victim, it says here that The Source would only send him to kill and not leave a trail. With Phoebe missing, it leaves a trail." she explained.
Just then, Leo's orbs came flying through the window and form his appearance. A noticable emotion of hurt lingered in his eyes. Prue and Piper took notice to this immediately.
"Dr. Griffis is fine, I - "
"Leo, we're sure he is. What's wrong?" Piper demanded.
He didn't answer.
"Where's Phoebe, Leo?" Prue said, slamming shut the Book of Shadows and approaching him furiously.
"...She's in the Underworld." he hesitated. Prue and Pipers eyes widened in shock. They looked at each other in disbelief, without words and then looked back to Leo.
"Uhh, why would - why would she be there?!" Piper began to approach him as well.
"Look, a lot of things have happened. This reality that you're in right now, isn't what is was before."
"What does that mean?" Prue began shaking her head, angry that the exposition was still coming instead of concrete answers.
"Well," Leo began and walked over to the couch, Prue and Piper followed, and he sat down. They didn't. "Phoebe made a deal with The Source, the reset time. Now she's in the Underworld, and The Source has a plan for her, I fear he's just going to kill her."
There another few moments of silence. Piper and Prue didn't look at each other, but yet, at seperate spots, starring, thinking within themselves, trying to process the little information Leo gave them that didn't make any sense.
"Why would Phoebe do that?" Prue asked. Piper looked up at him.
"Because, in the other reality, before she made the deal, the same thing happened to you and Piper - Shax blasted you guys through a wall and Phoebe was there and fought him off while I healed you. And then you two ran after Shax, almost destoyed him but you two were exposed. The whole saw you on the news."
"No, that couldn't happen." said Prue, hardly convinced.
"It did." Leo continued. "And Phoebe was in the underworld during it to use a new potion on Cole. To take the evil out of him."
"Oh, of course Cole is involved." Prue spat out, rolling her eyes.
"Prue, not the time." Piper interrupted. "Go on." she instructed Leo.
"Well, while it happened, you guys asked me to go to the Underworld and keep an eye on her. But, I couldn't hear you if something happened to one of you guys and you needed me. But, you guys were sure nothing could get any worse. And then, when I went to the Underworld and told Phoebe and Cole, Cole tried to reason with The Source but he believed Cole was only trying to reason with him to help the sisters. And he said he would allow Tempus to reset time if Phoebe would stay in the underworld and be his servant."
"Why would Phoebe agree to that?" Piper asked, seeming more confused.
"To save your life Piper." he hesitated. "You died."
Piper looked like she almost had a stroke.
"What?" Prue choked out.
"Piper was shot. And I arrived back up too late to save her. The whole world freaked out about the exposure."
"This is all our fault." Piper sighed. Prue didn't say anything, but she felt the same.
"So..." Prue had trouble talking, tears were swelling up in her eyes. "Are you telling me that Phoebe sacrificed herself to save our lives, only to have her die?"
Now Leo didn't say anything. His gazed looked downward.
"Look, okay we can't just sit here and let her die. We have to get down there and save her before that bastard hurts her." Piper was fuming.
"Piper, try to stay calm..."
"No Leo, I am beyond staying calm. Our little sister is down there trying to protect us, when it should be the other way around. We need to get to her and bring her back up here."
"If Phoebe escapes, then he'll just send Shax again to kill her. And probably you guys as well." Leo retorted.
"Then we'll fight back. Honestly Leo, why are we even entertaining this argument. Phoebe is going to die if we don't do something! Okay?! That is not an option." Prue's tone was angry and serious. She pushed her hair out of her face and turned to her sister. "I have an extra vainquishing potion downstairs in the cabinet for a high level demon. It might help. Can you get it? I'm going to go search the Book of Shadow's as fast as I can to see if there is anything in there about the Underworld and anything we'll need to know. And then we're leaving." Prue instructed walking back to the book. Piper nodded and without hesitation she walked out of the attic and out of sight.
Leo stood in front of Prue as she searched through the book with burning dedication in her eyes.
"Prue.."
"Leo, don't. We're going to save her. No matter what it takes. If I kill every god-damn demon down there I will to save my sister." Her glared prompted Leo to turn away and he didn't speak again once. She used her index finger to flip through the Book of Shadows faster but came up with no results. Maybe none of the other witches in their line had ever been to the Underworld before. That thought made Prue feel anxiety, they didn't know what to expect. But she knew she couldn't leave her sister down there, especially after her sister saved their lives. Without Phoebe, Piper wouldn't there, and maybe Prue wouldn't either.
Moments later, Piper came running into the attic with the potion in her hands. "Got it."
"Good, okay, now Leo." Prue turned to Leo who was already on his feet, but he seemed indifferent.
"What?! What is it Leo? Is there more?" Piper demanded, responding negatively to his attitude. Prue's eyes narrowed. Why was going to Phoebe such an issue. She would have thought that Leo would have been up for it as much as the others.
"I just think we should consult the Elder's first. See...what they think."
Piper and Prue's starred blankly.
"Leo, you're kidding right?" Prue mused.
"No. Maybe going down in the Underworld with all of you is exactly what The Source wants. All of the Charmed One's together, at his mercy." Leo's explained. His point was valid, and something that the sister's hadn't taken into account.
"Leo, it makes sense. But we don't know how much time we have...we don't even know if she is alive right now." Prue started tearing up. "We have to find her, Leo. We can't wait. And if you won't help us, then Piper and I will write a spell that takes us there ourselves."
Leo didn't say anything. He let out a sigh of disagreement and held out his hands for the two girls. Prue tried to compose herself but was only about to mouth 'thank you' before they orbed.
Darkness, pain, agony - pure evil was all that could be felt from the depths of the Underworld. Even before they fully appeared in the Underworld, Piper and Prue felt the dark strain. Leo had taken them to where he was with them previously. Where Phoebe had met with Cole, but neither could be found. The Sisters looked around frantically and began searching everything within their range of sight, hoping to find their sister.
"Leo, where is she?" Piper was growing more worried.
"I'm not sure." he responded.
"Can you sense her?" Prue pressed.
"I don't know." He closed his eyes for a few moments and cast all of senses out around the Underworld. "I can, but it's very faint..." he didn't sound very convincing.
"Okay, that mean's she is here. We just need to figure that out. Evidentally, she's not in this spot so we have to keep searching." Prue said.
"Approved!" Piper agreed.
"Wait!" the girls stopped and turned to Leo, "You guys, we're in the Underworld. We have to be a little more inconspicuous than just charging into it." Leo said.
"Well, we need to find her. And no demon is going to get in our way." Prue replied, determined.
"Yes, but if word gets to the Source that we're down here, he might kill Phoebe faster." Leo pointed out.
Prue and Piper froze in their steps. Leo was right, whether or not they wanted to admit it. In defeat, Prue lowered her arms and then turned back to Leo once again. Piper walked over to her husband and held his hand.
"He's right Prue..." she said, not wanting to admit it.
"Yeah..." Prue silently agreed. "So what do we do then?"
Leo's lips formed onto a half smile, knowing it took a lot for Prue to admit she was wrong. "Let's go this way." He said, pointing to a cavern behind them. "Maybe we can trap a demon and convince him to tell us where Phoebe is."
This was still very uncertain. Prue, Piper, and Leo were only going on chance - Phoebe couldn't be dead. Prue knew she would never forgive herself. The Underworld had gained it's dark and scary reputation. The walls had various demonic symbols and blood painted all over it. The ground had limbs from what seemed to be several - and different - bodies laying around. No doubt the victims of humans that couldn't survive. Piper placed her hand over her mouth and nose, not trying to breathe in the putrid air that wafted around. Prue, more driven, tried not to let it get to her. The only thing on her mind was finding her sister.
Still, the obvious stigma of being in a place that represented death and darkness did eventually take it's toll on them. Prue could feel body getting weaker, though her determination refused to falter. What was only an hour traveling felt like days. Piper was breathing incredibly hard the deeper they got. Leo held her, healing her back to normal when she needed it, but he too seemed to be suffering from the same thing.
"Leo, I don't understand. Why are feeling this way?" Piper stopped moving and leaned back against her husband.
"Because, continued exposure to the Underworld does take it's toll on mortals." Leo said, matter-of-factly.
"But you seem to be suffering from it as well." Prue had stopped walking as well and knelt down to the ground, as if to calm her nerves; resting for a bit.
"Well, over exposure could do damage to anyone, including...me."
"Great. Have sensed her?" Prue said, looking up?
"Not any more than I have already noticed. But, I think we're getting closer. I hope we can find Cole..." Leo said.
Prue, almost looking furious opened her mouth widely in protest, "Uhh, why - why would you want us to find Cole?" the emphasis she put on his name was almost venomous. It was no secret that Prue didn't like him and he was the last person she wanted helping them.
"Well, because, Cole was the last one with her. Maybe if we found him, he would know where to find Phoebe too."
Piper who seemingly agreed with Leo with a slight nod walked over to Prue, placing her hand on her sister's shoulder "Prue, it might be the only way."
Prue didn't say anything. She stood up and continued walking the same direction that they had been heading in previously. And almost instantly as they progressed a demon came in from around the corner and paused in front of them. Prue looked up, startled and stepped back. The demonw was wearing a long, leather coat, no shirt, and grayish, undefinable material for pants. He stepped forward with a burning rage in his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" he yelled, recognizing Prue as a mortal.
"Uhh." Prue was at a loss for words. The demon closed his eyes and began to sniff. A low growling sound howled in his throat, and when his eyes opened, they were a pitch black.
"A Witch?" His question was more of a statement, and a lecherous grin curved on his lips. He extended his hand and a flame appeared, being concentrated into a ball, ready to be thrown.
"You might not want to do that." Prue said, looking back and forth between the ball and him.
"HEY!" Piper yelled running to her sister's side. She eyed the fireball in the demons hand and before he could throw it, Piper thrusted her arms forward causing the wall behind the demon to blow up, knocking the demon down.
"Good job, Piper." Prue said.
"Damn it. I tried to freeze him. Damn this new power!" she cursed.
The demon got to his feet and howled louder, Prue swung her arm in front of her and sent the demon flying into the wall to the left of him. Prue took Pipers hand and ran over to the demon, which was laying on his stomach. Prue kicked the demon over on his back and pressed her heel on his chest.
"Where is Phoebe?!" Prue demanded. The demon just looked puzzled.
"Who?"
"Phoebe, our sister. Where is she?" Prue continued the interrogation.
"Witch, I don't know where your sister is! Get off of me before I really hurt you." This prompted Prue to dig her heel father into the demons chest, causing him to cry a bit louder.
"Wrong answer!"
"Prue, stop." Leo interrupted, walking over to them, looking very nervous.
"Leo, no, he's a demon, all demons work for the Source. And because of that, he must know where he is keeping our sister."
"You think I know what the Source's agenda is because I'm a demon? The hell I don't!" The demon spoke up angrily. "I have heard rumors that the Source had acquired a Charmed One. And he plans to kill her on the next full moon, when his power is the strongest."
"The next full...moon." Piper gasped. "Oh my god, Prue, that's tonight!"
"I know." Prue then stomped on the demons chest causing him to yell in pain. "Now, I'm not going to ask again, where is he keeping her?!"
"I told you I don't know. If it's the Source, he probably has her locked up in his chamber." the demon began to plead, spilling out answers.
"Where is his chamber then?" Piper asked.
"I don't know..."
"Yeah, right. Liar. Piper, the potion." Prue instructed.
"Wait!" Leo shouted, "he might be telling the truth. The Sources Chamber is only accessible to really powerful, upper level demons." Leo explained. "Which means that we need to find Cole."
"Why do we need to find Cole?!" Prue shouted, almost outraged.
"Because, he talked to the Source. Tried to plead with him. Which means that Cole knows where Phoebe is." Prue still didn't sound satisfied. Leo continued, "Look Prue, we only have until full moon tonight; we don't have a lot of time to interrogate random demons, we need results. He wouldn't have killed Cole. For all we know Cole could be trying to find a way to save her too."
"Yes, Leo. And for all we know he could be dead, too." Prue shot back. Leo exhaled and looked to Piper for support.
"Prue..." Piper began.
"No, Piper. Cole is what got Phoebe in this mess. Tricking her to fall in love with him when he tried to kill us. Then he tried to redeem himself, and then he killed that witch that we worked so hard to save, claiming he didn't mean to do it."
"But he saved Phoebe from becoming a Banshee." Piper pressed on.
"Uhh, what the hell kind of twisted family do you have going on?!" the demon interjected.
"SHUT UP!" Prue and Piper yelled in unison. The demon didn't talk, just tried to subtly escape.
"Prue, it's our only shot. We don't have a lot of time right now. If the Source kills Phoebe, we're all dead. At least with Cole, it's a straight shot." Prue looked like she had just lost a great battle. "Come on Prue. It's two against one." Prue looked up at Piper, shocked. Almost offended that she played that card. Prue grunted and stepped off of the demon and towards Leo.
"Fine. Okay. Fine. Let's just get this over with." Unbeknowist, the demon got up and growled.
"You think you guys can just get away from me?! I hate witches!" He yelled, throwing a fireball towards them.
"Oh!" Prue swung her arm towards it just in time to send it flying back, hitting the demon and causing him to explode with a deadly scream. "I hate demons." she sighed before Leo grabbed them and orbed them back to the manor.
They had found it exactly as they had left it. Still a gaint whole in the wall where Prue and Piper were blasted through. The shattered window behind the dining room still was exposed, and the glass in the front doors of the manor were also shattered. Prue looked around in disbelief. Their home was a demonic battle ground. How were they going to get it cleaned up? This wasn't their priority though. Prue knew that Leo and Piper were right about Cole, as much as she didn't want to admit it. She also knew that they had a vainquishing potion from his flesh remaining, which also proved useful in case something happened for the worse.
Stepping over some of the exposed debris, Prue walked up the staires, up the second floor and to the attic, where she grabbed the Book of Shadows and returned to the first floor. When she returned, Piper had a broom and dust pan in hand, trying to clean up as much as she could by herself. Leo tried to pick up the glass by the dining room. Prue walked over to the dining room table and opened the book, flipping through the pages.
"What are you doing?" Leo asked, taking obvious notice to Prue's search in their magical tome. Piper also took notice to this, sat down her cleaning tools, and walked over to her sister.
"Hold on, there is a spell in here, that would clean everything up." Prue said.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Piper and Leo look at each other, communicating without talking.
"Umm, Prue...is that such a good idea?" Piper asked.
"Piper, personal gain doesn't even matter right now. They have taken so much from us already the least they could leave us with is a clean house." Prue argued. She felt justified and blocked out Piper and Leo's cautious words until she finally found it. The Vanishing Spell. A spell designed to clear any problem or impurity. "Let the object of objection become but a dream as I cause the scene to be unseen." Piper placed a hand over her face, not watching the result of Prue had just done. White sparkling light shimmered out of the book and all around the house, restoring the wall with no mess on the floor, the glass from all of the windows repaired itself and blood stains removed themselves from the floor. Prue then closed the book and turned to Piper. "Happy? Now we can focus on what needs to be done." Prue narrowed her eyes and carried the book to the front room, where she lay the book open on the table and began searching.
Piper followed. "Prue, was that necessary?" Prue ignored her.
"Do you think we should just try the Belthazar summoning spell?" Prue asked. Piper's eyes widened.
"Prue? Are you listening to me?" Piper demanded, frustrated.
"Yes, Piper. I am. You wanted to find Cole, I was out-voted, so we're trying to find Cole."
"Prue, are you listening to yourself? What is the matter with you?"
"I want our sister back Piper! Don't you understand? We can't lose her Piper. We just can't!" Tears started swelling up in Prue's eyes. "We're the Charmed Ones. The Power of Three. So many innocent lives count on our family to help them. Grams and Mom left us with this destiny and left me to make sure this family stays together. I can't...I can't..." she couldn't even talk. Everything she was bottling up was now resurfacing.
"Oh...Prue..." Piper walked over to her sister, sitting down next to her, completely taken off guard by her older sister's responce. She wrapped her arms around Prue and pulled her close to her chest. Prue was still crying, Piper felt her own tears coming.
"Our whole lives, Piper - everything that we've ever worked for - can be destroyed one simple mistake. Our entire future, our entire destiny can be wiped out just like that; I can't get Phoebe back I swear to god..."
"Prue. This isn't your fault. This isn't anyone's fault except evil. Evil has been trying to tear our family apart forever." Piper began. "We can't break down and fight each other now. We need each other. And I need my big sister."
Prue leaned up and wiped the tears off of her eyes. She felt her eyes swollen. She mouthed 'sorry' to Piper and hugged her again. "Well, look who turned into the big sister." Prue laughed. Piper smiled, wiping her own tears out of her eyes. Prue turned to the open book and flipping a few pages until they arrived at Cole's summoning spell.
"Are you ready for this?" Prue asked.
"Wait." Piper stood up, walked over to her bag that she lay down next to the once broken wall and pulled out a vile filled with a dark pink potion. "Vainquishing Potion. Just in case..." she said, walking back to her sister. Leo walked over and stood next to them. The sisters took each other hands and together read the chant.
"Magic Forces, Black and White, Reaching out through space and light, be he far or be he near, bring us the demon Balthazor here." They repeated the chant three times, a large wind like vortex appeared in front of them, causing the book's pages to flip back and forth. Prue's hair was blowing in her face, but she didn't break concentration. They continued to speak it over and over again, and yet, nothing appeared. The vortex calmed and disappeared altogether. Prue and Piper looked around, as if they missed something.
"Okay...I'm confused. Shouldn't that have worked?" Piper said, irritated.
"Yeah...uhh." Prue was just as confused.
"Did you guys do it right?" Leo asked. Prue and Piper glared at him. Was he serious? Leo raised his hands, signaling his backing off, "Alright, sorry."
"This isn't the first time he's resisted the spell." Prue said. "What if, we reworded it, so that we go to him. He can't prevent that, can he?" Piper didn't know the answer any better than Prue did, but it was a shot. Prue took out a piece of paper from under their table and a pen and began to rearrange the words.
"Leo, can you sense her? Maybe the Source has moved Phoebe to the surface?" Piper asked, hopeful. Leo shook his head. "Of course." she muttered under her breath.
"This should do it." Prue said. Only the last two lines were rewritten.
Together, they chanted, "Magic forces black and white, reaching our through space and light. Be he near or be he far, bring us to the demon Belthazor." the parchment set aflame and shimmered into white lights that began swirling around the sisters.
"I guess this is it?" Prue asked, the lights getting bigger.
"Leo, find us!" Piper yelled, her voice echoed in the manor and they vanished. Nervously, Leo began to look around, making sure it didn't back fire. He shook his head and orbed out of the manor, in an attempt to find them.
Prue and Piper appeared in a bright flash of light in an alley outside a local club. They looked around extremely confused. There was no sign of struggle, panic, and certainly no sign of life; even Cole. So why where they there? Prue tossed her hair out of her face as she turned her head frequently. They remained quiet, trying to hear for something, but no noise - except cars in the distance, came. Prue and Piper began walking father down the ally in an attempt to understand why there brought to where they were.
"Anything look suspicious?" Prue asked.
"Nothing.." Piper replied.
Then, suddenly. The sisters froze. A sound so terrible came from the distance. A womans cry of fear echoed through the ally. But where was it? Prue and Piper spun around in circles trying to place it, but nothing came.
"Uhh. Prue, which way?" Piper asked, hopeful.
"This way." Prue made a decision on instinct, hopefully they were right. Was Cole trying to hurt someone? Prue only feared. She could sense that Piper feared that too. They were approaching a turn where a the same scream of terror was coming from. They sisters felt relieved they were heading the right way but afraid of what they would fine around the corner. They turned and froze. Cole was standing in front of woman who had a blue forcefield holding him back. Another witch, no doubt. Cole, with a black robe on and insanity as well as desperation covered all over his face was approaching her, with an energy ball in his hand.
"Cole! What are you doing?!" Piper yelled. He didn't seem to hear her. "Prue, the energy ball!" Prue swung her arms and the energy ball flew out of his hand and into a wall, creating a scortch mark. Cole noticed this and turned, looking shocked to actually see the sisters standing in front of him.
"Help me, please!" The woman cried, crawling back in desperation. Prue swung her arm once again and sent Cole flying back a few feet. Piper ran towards the girl and helped her up from the ground.
"Hey, it's okay. It's alright. It's over. Run." Without a further invitation, the girl took off behind Prue and further down the ally. Piper walked over to meet Prue who was standing behind Cole as he got up from the ground. "Cole, what the hell was that?" Piper roared.
"Why did you do that?" Malice and anger was in his voice.
"Ummm, excuse me? You were just about to kill an innocent woman. We weren't going to just let you do that!"
"Prue, stop trying to be a saint. I was trying to save your sister."
Taken off guard, Prue said nothing.
"What do you mean? Killing another witch would have saved her?" Piper asked, furiously.
"No, not killing her. But taking her. The Source has Phoebe." Cole said.
"Yeah. We know. We already know this, we were trying to find you to take us to his chamber and save Phoebe." Prue said simply.
"Are you kidding me?" Cole's eyes widened, knowing something they didn't. "One doesn't just walk into his chamber. The Source threatened to kill her unless I could find another witch just as strong to trade."
"Cole!" Prue was now furious. "Are you serious? You were just going to take an innocent witch to the Source?"
"I had no choice, Prue. We can't beat him, not without the Power of Three. And since he has one of you guys, there is no way in hell you two are going to see Phoebe again." Cole turned away from them and began walking off.
"Hey! Wait! Where do you think you're going?!" Prue demanded.
"To find that witch. It's the only chance we got." Cole said, waving them off dismissivly.
"Like Hell!" Piper thrusted her arms forward and Cole froze instantly. Prue's mouth dropped.
"Uhh, Piper, you could have just killed him!"
"I took a chance." said as they approached him. "Look, we need him. So, LEO!!! LEO!!" She began to yell. "We need to take him back to the manor and think of a plan." Leo's bright blue and white orbs appeared before them and solidified into his form. "Leo, orb us back to the manor. Quickly, quickly!" Piper instructed.
With no protest, Leo placed a hand on Cole, Piper took his and Prue took Pipers hand. They all orbed out.
An hour went by after they returned to the manor. By some miracle, Cole remained frozen while the witches, and Leo formed a plausible plan to save their sister. Piper had brewed nearly a dozen potions in viles. Prue was writing down some counter spells and charms. Hopefully their plan would prove successful. Piper finally twisted her hands in the air, releasing him of her power. Cole fell forward. He took in his surroundings, knowing exactly where he was. The only question was how he got there. And then he saw Piper walk by him. His eye's narrowed and he slowly approached the sisters with an indifferent expression on his face. They seemed to have something planned, they were handing each other potions and spells and stuffing them in their pockets.
Cole stopped in front of them. The sisters knew he was there but didn't awknowledge his entrance.
"Uhh, what is going on?" Cole asked, abruptly, confused.
"Well, we brought you back here." Piper replied.
"Obviously," Cole became frustrated, not getting the answer he wanted. "And?" he pressed on.
"And, you're going to help us get our sister back. Our way. You're not going to sacrifice an innocent witch." Prue said.
"Prue, that is the only --"
"I know, Cole." she interrupted. "We have taken that into account. Which is why you're going to offer me as a trade. One sister for the other. While he begins to trade us, You, Piper, and Leo will cause a distraction, we'll break Phoebe out of there and escape."
Cole shook his head. "You think it'll be that easy?" he walked over to a chair and sat down.
"No Cole, this won't be easy at all. But I think this plan could work." Prue corrected.
"This is crazy. We could all be killed." Cole yelled.
"Well, what difference does it make? If we do nothing, Phoebe will die. The power of three will be broken, and in turn, Piper and I will probably die anyway. So, if death is our only option in the end, what more do we have to lose?" Prue said. Piper didn't look at either of them. She didn't agree that Prue was going to be the one for trade, it just put her life more in danger, but their choices were slim pickings. Prue knew that Piper was taking it hard and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Come on."
Surprisingly enough, Leo was quiet, though it was known he didn't support the plan either. He knew arguing with them was pointless. The risk of losing Phoebe was too great.
"If we do this, we have to be precise. The Source will detect deception immediately. He's not stupid." Cole pointed out.
"I know Cole. But like I said...what more do we have to lose?" Prue sighed.
Returning to the depths of the Underworld, Prue and Piper held their breath, still not used to the darkness they were breathing in. Their plan was precise, Cole would take Prue and offer an exchange, while Piper and Leo stayed close behind to help cause a distraction long enough for Prue to get Phoebe. If the plan worked, they would be able to get out fine. If not...
None of them thought of that result.
Cole carried Prue in his arms, under the pretense of capturing her himself. The doors to the Sources Chamber were very tall and wide, covered in dark chains. Cole closed his eyes and concentrated his demonic energy on the door which immediately caused it to open. Cole took his time entering, allowing Piper and Leo time to orb in there before him and hide. The atmosphere was relatively different than the rest of the underworld. Instead of looking like a cave, it appeared to be a more open space - almost like a beach. Red water surrounded the out edges of the Chamber. There was sky that was also a dark red, with deep purple clouds; lightning flashed nearly every second. Demonic guards stood side by side the closer Cole traveled in, arriving only feet before the Source himself, who was covered in a dark red robe and sitting on a throne. His face was cloaked by darkness.
"Ah. Belthazor." He said, his voice echoing through the chamber. The Source took notice of the other sister and waved his hand behind the guards, revealing a cage that had Phoebe in it. She was sitting against the back of it, with her hands around her knee's pulled to her chest. "Did you find another witch?" The Source asked.
"I have." Cole responded. Phoebe looked up, saw Prue in his arms and stood up immediately.
"Cole! What are you doing?" She yelled. Cole didn't look at her.
"Present her." The Source waved his arm and a table appeared in front of Cole. He lay Prue down on it for all of the guards and the Source to see. "Another Charmed One."
"Yes. You asked for another Witch just as powerful. Prue is the strongest of the three." Cole said in a pleading voice.
"So it seems." The Source replied simply. Cole became very nervous internally, the Source hadn't said anything, just observed. Cole feared that the Source saw through their plan.
"My Lord." Cole began, "I have done what you have asked of me. Will you now give me back Phoebe?"
For moments, the Source still didn't say anything.
"Damnit Cole! What are you doing?!" Phoebe shouted in protest. "Get Prue out of here! Now!" tears were forming in her eyes. She was becoming very angry, all she did was seeming pointless. She wanted her sisters to be saved, and still it wasn't happening.
"Very interesting Belthazor. Trading one Charmed One for the other. Interesting indeed."
Cole was hesitating, feeling like he was giving himself away, however, fortunately, the Source waved his hand at his cage which prompted it to unlock. "Guards. Remove the captured one and place her in the others place." Two guards walked over to Phoebe's cage, pulled it open and grabbed her. She struggled, kicking both of them away. Finally one of them grabbed her by the hair and tossed her to the ground.
"No, don't do it. Prue! Wake up! PRUE!" Phoebe shouted, struggling as one of the guards grabbed her and carried her towards Cole. Another guard picked Prue up and began walked her to the cage.
"How could you do this, Cole?" Phoebe muttered, falling to her knee's sobbing.
"Let this be a lesson to you Witch. The power of evil always wins." The Source began to gloat.
"Hardly." Prue opened her eyes and squinted them, send the guard that was holding her flying back.
"What is this?!" The Source roared. The lightning in the sky began to strike the clouds faster and a loud, monstrous thunder roared above.
Prue stood up and began swinging her arms onto oncoming guards. "Piper! Leo! Now!" Out of the darkness, the other two caming running into the scene. Leo orbed behind two guards and struck them down. Piper threw a potion at a group of guards causing them to combust. Cole lowered his arm to Phoebe helping her up.
"What is this?" Phoebe asked in disbelief.
"You didn't think I was really going to let them have one of your sisters, did you?" Cole said with a faint smile. Phoebe, who looked completely relieved reached up and pulled Cole's face down to hers and kissed him passionately.
"Thank you." She whispered.
"Pheebs. not the time for this." Prue yelled from behind her, sending a demon flying into the dark waters behind the Source.
"What is this folly?!" The Source was now outraged, his voice echoing all through his chamber. More demons began to appear.
Piper thrusted her arms forward trying to freeze or blast as many away as she could, not noticing a demon behind her; Phoebe did however. She ran towards her sister and jumped in the air, levitating across and kicking the demon square in the face. She turned around and kicked another demon away before Cole threw an energy ball it and vanquished it.
Prue was trying to break through the demons charging at her. They seemed to be their primary target. Prue seemed to be gaining some ground, and then the Source stood up from his throne. He waved his arm at Prue and sent her fly back to the ground, hard, knocking the wind out of her.
"Oh my god. Prue!" Piper yelled, trying to get to her, blasting demons out of her way. "Leo!" Piper gestured her arms towards her sister and Leo made an attempt to orb towards her. The Source opened his hand and a bolt of lightning struck Leo's orbs and sent him crashing to the ground.
"This isn't good." Cole said, standing next to Phoebe. vanquishing as many as he could with Energy balls. Prue struggled to stand up and held her left arm in pain with her right. She looked up at the Source with fury painted on her face.
"You misrable coward!" She swung her right arm trying to send the Source flying back. The Source held up his hand as if to block it and sent it right back, sending Prue flying back once more. He began to approach the fallen sister, with the intent to kill her right then and there. Cole stepped up and threw large energy ball at the Source, pushing him forward a little bit. The Source turned.
"That wasn't wise, Belthazor." This distraction was long enough for Leo to quickly orb in and take Prue, orbing back to where the other sisters were. The Source turned and saw Prue gone. "What? No!" He turned to face all of them. Leo had already healed Prue enough for her to stand up. The Three Sisters took each others hands and began to chant.
"The Power of Three will set us free. The Power of three will set us free. The Power of three will us free." Together in unison. The Source threw an energy ball them which deflected off. The demons remaing around them began to combust in flames. Then, the Source himself began to fall to his knee's. He waved his arm, sending a bolt of lightning at them, but Cole sent one of his own, causing it fly in another direction.
"You Witches have just made a grave mistake. You may have won this time, but I assure you, it won't last!" The Source himself began to catch on fire, the Halliwells didn't stop chanting. "AH! No!" The Source yelled, shimmering out of his Chamber.
"The Power of Three will set us free..." They stopped. The chamber was now vacant. Without waiting for another moment, Leo touched the sisters and orbed out, back to the manor. Cole shimmered out and followed.
Once in the manor, Prue and Piper latched onto their little sister, hugging her tight.
"Oh Phoebe!" Piper exclaimed. "Why did you do that? Do you know how dangerous it was?"
"I just couldn't lose you guys. I had to. Either one of you would have done the same." Phoebe replied back, her voice inaudible due to tears of relief and joy.
"I was worried I would see you again." Prue said. She kissed the side of Phoebe's head and hugged her tighter.
"Well I know we're having a much better day than the Source right now." Phoebe muttered.
The three sister's laughed.
A combination of loud music and people talking amongst themsevles filled the air of P3. Piper was handing out drinks from behind the bar. It seemed more crowded than usual, she didn't mind. The business was good. She looked over and saw Cole, Phoebe, Prue, and Leo sitting in an area of chairs that they usually did in the back of the bar. She smiled, knowing that is where she wanted to be.
"Hey Michael." Piper said, addressing the bartender next to her. "I'm taking fifteen." she said. Her employee nodded. Piper grabbed a tray of drinks to bring to them and walked out into the crowd, shuffling through.
The people were really into the music, making it harder than usual for Piper to manuever around them. And then, someone bumped into her, causing her fall back, however, she was caught and the girl behind her helped her gain composure.
"Woah, easy there." said the girl.
"Oh, no problem." Piper looked back at her savior. She had fair skin, dark hair and eyes. Rosy cheeks and lips - someone who she hadn't seen in her club before. "Oh hey, you're the owner, right? Piper...Halliwell?" the girl asked, hoping she was right.
"Yeah. I am." Piper replied simply.
"Oh, nice to meet you. The club is great. My name is Paige." she said with a smile.
"Well Paige thank you for helping me not make a fool of myself." Piper smiled. "Michael!" She turned towards her bartender. "Get this girl whatever she likes, on me." Piper turned and smiled. Paige looked shocked.
"Oh you don't have to do that!"
"I insist. Now go, take advantage of bad habits." Piper laughed.
"Thank you. See you around." Paige said. Piper nodded and waved her off, returning to her sisters. Piper set down the tray and handed out the drinks.
"We saw your almost casualty." Prue laughed.
"Yeah. I can always count on you to say the right things, can't I, Prue?" this caused Prue to laugh. Piper sat down next to Leo, kissed him and turned to the rest of them. "What a day."
"I know it. I mean honestly, hour ago when I imagined what was going to happen to me tonight, I never thought I'd be sitting here, with you guys again." Phoebe said. Cole wrapped his arms around her, tighter.
"One thing I still don't understand though." Prue started.
"One thing?" Piper mused.
"Yeah, I mean, in the other reality, one of us died. Whenever we were down there, I was sure the Source was going to kill me. Not to put a damper on our victory here, but wasn't one of us supposed to die in the end?" Prue's question provoked sad reactions from all of them. They had all been thinking it, just didn't choose to bring it up.
"Well, not necessarily. I mean, you guys rewrite the future all the time. It wouldn't be the first time you prevented something from happening before." Leo tried to lighten the mood.
"Yeah. But I think, now more than ever, we need to be more cautious. We didn't see today coming...and today might not even be the worst of it." Piper chimed in. The mood had significantly changed. They were all worried about what was in store - now the Source was really angry. Before, he only sent Shax after an innocent. Now will he send him after the sisters?
"Thank you guys again. For saving me. I don't know where I would be without you guys." Phoebe said. Prue and Piper smiled, Cole kissed the top of her head.
"Well be fine. We'll just have to stick together now more than ever." Prue said. Phoebe smiled. Prue placed her hand on Phoebe's, "Witches forever?"
"And proud of it." Phoebe replied. The girls continued in a laugh, basking in their temporary glory. They had tonight, and tonight, they would enjoy themselves. Whatever the Source had in store for them would be tomorrow's problem.