Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed- I just love it way too much.

Chapter One- Regaining a Lost Identity

It was dark; but then again it almost always was in the underworld. And the darkest most evil place of all was in the very heart hell, sunken far beneath the rest of demon activity. The darkest place was in the cells, the cells of hell

Prudence Halliwell had been in the cells for four years. Four years without light, four years without life, four years without her sisters. Life, or rather death, was hell.

Prue could remember her death clearly, Shax sweeping through the door, her desperately trying to protect the doctor, worrying about Piper beside her and Phoebe in the underworld with Cole. Prue remembered leaving her body, watching as Leo rushed down, watching as Piper cried over her lifeless form.

Suddenly, her location had changed, she had no longer been floating in her ancestral home, she instead had been surrounded by the whiteness of 'up there' and her Grams and her Mom were in front of her, holding her hands, crying and shaking their heads. Their eyes said it all- no words were needed. "It's over Prue." Their gazes said. "It's over. You are gone. You have left your sisters. Forever."

Prue lost it then, for the first time in years she finally let go of all control. She screamed, she sobbed, she struggled. Yet nothing changed, there was no going back.

An elder, Odin, took her hand and led her away; Prue gazed back at her mother and grandmother before they disappeared from sight. Prue looked at the elder in contempt, she had never liked them in life and death wasn't about to change that.

The elder's face altered, no longer was his expression one of calmness but one of hatred as he lifted his palm. Prue had only time to register a flash of light emitting from the elder's palm and that something was very, very wrong before everything went black

***

Prue had woken up in a small concrete cell that smelt like urine and death. The walls were splattered with dried blood and the floor was scattered with small bones, which had looked to Prue like they were either from a rat or a human foot. The air felt thick and repressing. Prue felt her magic sink down inside of her and shrink away from her horrible surroundings. Magic did nothing, Prue tried over and over to create spells and to use her powers, and although she was still in possession of her Charmed magic, it was no comparison to the strength of the power that entrapped her in the dark space.

Time meant nothing in that place, keeping count of the days, the months and the years only made it all seem like longer. The only thing that broke up the hours in the cell was the occasional visits from various evil entities, Prue dreaded such occurrences- a demon of sort would stand outside her cell door, outstretch their claws and pull. Pull Prue's magic from her body, extract her soul and tear her magical core. It was agony.

For what seemed like a millennium to Prue nothing changed, although in reality only four years had passed. For this length of time Prue had not had any contact with another human being, everything had become a bit muddled for Prue. Who she was and whom she had been seemed irrelevant, after all there was no one to tell. Things became lost in Prue's mind, everything was inside out and back the front, but she didn't really mind. If anything, insanity made things a little more bearable in the cells.

Then, out of the blue, there was another. Another person had come to the cells, she was no longer alone.

The new man was thrown into the cell to the left of Prue's. He landed with a thump on the concrete before rolling expertly to his feet.

Prue squinted at him and tried to recall details of her life before the cells. She knew this man, she was certain of it. She examined his dark hair, his dancing, bright dark eyes and his mischievous expression, yet still his identity was foreign to her. He was so familiar, but she couldn't quite grasp it, the intricacies of her real life escaped her. All she new was that her name was Prue, that she had two sisters that meant the world to her and of the magic in her blood.

"Well hello Prue." The man said with a smirk, and then it clicked. Prue would recognise that smirk anywhere, memory or not.

"Cole." She gasped.

***

For a long time after, Cole and Prue talked, after all they were both very much desperate for a companion. And slowly, as Prue talked, her old life began to trickle its way back into her mind. She remembered. Every now and then a small gasp would escape Prue's lips as a part of her identity trickled back.

"Rasputin." Prue said, her eyes on Cole's. "My sisters and I had a dog as children called Rasputin." Cole would smile and nod in encouragement.

"What else do you remember?"

And so it went on, Prue and Cole would sit side by side, separated by the steel bars that created their cells and talk. Two and a half weeks had passed when Prue suddenly looked up and stared at Cole.

"I remember you hurting my sister, I remember you trying to kill us." Prue glared at Cole. "I remember hating you."

Cole nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Prue. "Does it truly matter now?"

Prue went to open her mouth and paused, considering. "No." She said firmly. "No, it doesn't matter."

The next day was something they had both been dreading. It was draining day.

A demon stood before Cole's cell, it's claw outstretched. Prue and Cole sat watching it, waiting. And then it happened, with the closing of its claw Cole's chest heaved as his magic was wrenched from his body. A look of excruciating pain crossed Cole's face as he tried desperately not to show the pain he was in. But Prue knew, after all, she had been there many times and in a week or two she would be there again. She knew the pain of having her magic drained, and all she could do was watch as her only friend went through hell beside her.

In a minute it was over, and the demon leered down at them before striding back down the hall, energised by his power burst.

For the next two days as Cole recovered he told Prue all he knew about draining demons, drawing on his knowledge from his many years as Belthazar.

"They are low level as they themselves don't possess much power." Cole began. "They have the ability to drain a good or neutral magical being of his or her magic."

"So they can't drain other demons?" Prue queried.

"No" Cole replied, wincing as he sat up.

"So why aren't I dead? They've drained me dozens of times since I was put here but I'm still…" Prue pauses, not sure if the word 'living' applied to her. "Existing." She finished.

"They replenish your magic to allow for them to feed off you until your body can't take it any more. They run through the magic they drain fairly quickly making it necessary to constantly drink more." Cole replied, knowing what Prue's next question would be.

"How long can the body last?" She asked quietly, not sure if she really wanted to know the answer.

"There's no set amount, it depends on the core strength of the individual… but I'd guess about five years." Cole said trying not to sound harsh.

"How long have I been here?" Prue whispered. "How long?" Her eyes looked up into Cole's, searching for answers.

"About four years." Cole replied. Slowly Prue nodded; accepting his answer as tears gradually began seeping out of her eyes.

"My sisters have been without me for four years. They've been witches for seven years now." Prue's eyes looked imploringly up into Cole's. "Tell me about them."

And Cole talked; he talked of how Piper had taken on the role of the eldest sister and become lead witch. How she and Leo now had two children- Wyatt and baby Christopher. Of Phoebe and how she had finally found the right career. And of the youngest Paige, of whom Prue had never met, how she had fully embraced her life as a witch and a Halliwell.

There was silence for a minute as Prue absorbed this information. She thought about all she'd missed out on, about how she had missed her baby sisters growing up. Prue looked up at Cole, a newfound determination in her eyes.

"We're going to get out of this hell hole." Prue said, her eyes ablaze. "We're going to break out of this hell and I'm going to be with my family once and for all." She looked to Cole. "Are you in?"

All Cole could do was nod in reply. For the first time since he had arrived it seemed like the Prue Halliwell he once knew had returned.

And she wanted out.

A/N: How was it? Did you like it? Are you a bit confused? Tell me all! I love getting feedback! More will be explained in the next chapter about how both Prue and Cole ended up in the cells, so don't worry if you're a bit confused.

Please review!