So, here goes my first venture into the world of Charmed fan fiction! First off, this story will be an AU take on season 4 onwards and will begin in the final minutes of AHBL. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the story. I own absolutely nothing; please R & R!

Chapter 1: Grave Danger

From it's front view along Prescott street, the large Victorian manor was just like any of the other marvelously designed turn of the century houses within the quiet suburban neighborhood of San Francisco. A close enough view through the parlor windows, however, would reveal to any voyeuristic individual that the charming façade of the manor was exactly that—a disguise that masked the supernatural heritage of its inhabitants as protectors of the innocent. Enter the middle aged doctor currently cowering in front of a window.

In spite of his title, there was nothing very extraordinary about Dr. Griffiths. He had no children to speak of, he'd been married and divorced four times, he was cynical, and his studies in the field of medicine had smothered what remained of his lapsed Catholic faith. He was a purely scientific thinker who, moments ago, thought he'd been set up for a candid camera tv show. Now he trembled as a beast who may as well have been Lucifer towered over him. Before the strange women had been thrown by this…this demon, Griffiths had felt utterly bewildered, terrified, and astounded that this thing could actually exist.

Going to the media with this story had been a fleeting thought across his mind before one of the witches was thrown through a wall and it became apparent that this towering demon was going to get who he came for…

"Wh-What are you?" It was in this moment that he truly began to realize just how little meaning his life really held as it flashed before his eyes.

"The end."

With that simple statement, it was all over for Dr. Griffiths as everything he knew went black and he was blasted away. Shax took only a moment to survey his handiwork and then he was gone in a violent whirlwind just as quickly as he had arrived. The doctor was left to the same fate as his would-be saviors; laying battered and broken over an equally disastrous looking window frame as his life faded from existence.

"Cole! Leo!" Phoebe fled from the horde of demons that the source had set on her and was momentarily relieved when she rounded a corner to find that her demon had managed to escape his fate as well, with some aid from the whitelighter.

Phoebe and Leo ducked out of the way of the fight as Belthazor emerged from beneath his human skin and let out an enraged roar at the demons who had tried to kill Phoebe.

"Leo!" Phoebe yanked him behind a rock near Belthazor and out of the path of an oncoming energy ball. There was panic in her voice. "You have to get to the manor; they'll die if you stay any longer."

Belthazor punched, kicked, and blasted through the fight, but was still careful to pay attention to his witch and the whitelighter. As he deftly dodged a couple of fists, he could see the exchange going on between the pair out of the corner of his eye. Leo knew he had to leave, but when he offered his hand to orb Phoebe out with him, she refused.

"No. I won't go without Cole. Just go heal my sisters." The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach was growing and she was certain at this point that Shax had already attacked, but she found herself unwilling to leave Cole.

"Phoebe…"

Leo was interrupted by a familiar demonic voice, "Get out now, Phoebe!" He shouted to be heard over the din of combat, struggling against the scaly arm sliding around his neck and the energy ball that had narrowly missed his head.

"Get out!" He growled, this time emphasizing his words by throwing the nameless demon behind him into the cavern wall behind Phoebe so hard that she felt it shake before finally taking Leo's hand. Belthazor's monstrous crimson features were briefly split by a satisfied smirk as he watched the pair fade away in a swirl of bright blue orbs.

"Now," He turned to what remained of the attacking demons and allowed his smirk to take on an ominous twisted look as a large energy ball formed in either hand. "Where were we?"

Back at the manor, Phoebe and Leo reappeared in the middle of the main hall. Leo didn't even wait to finish orbing before he dashed toward the fallen sisters. The remaining Charmed One only managed a couple steps after him before she was overcome with a heavy feeling unlike one she had ever experienced before; so powerful, in fact that she found herself forced back against the staircase. She had no idea what it was—if she had to compare it to something, she would describe it as some kind of dread, or a brokenness of some sort. What was certain was that it was definitely foreboding.

The feeling continued to consume her, but she could just make out Piper's confused and pained mutterings from mere feet in front of her as Leo's healing touch worked it's magic, and then, the heavy feeling made sense when the shrieks of her middle sister reached her ears.

"Leo!? Why isn't it working?" The frantic question was enough to jar Phoebe from the weight she felt and she sharply lifted her head from the palms of her hands to look in the direction of the smashed conservatory before making a wild dash toward her sisters. Leo, for his part offered no answer. They all knew why it wasn't working, it just couldn't be true. Not Prue! Not another loss in the family! The two remaining sisters collapsed into each other's arms with grief as their whitelighter ceased his futile efforts and gazed solemnly at his fallen charge.

As she lost herself in the anguished sobs she released into Piper's shoulder, the youngest sibling's insides churned with guilt. If she hadn't gotten so wrapped up with Cole in the underworld, then Leo wouldn't have felt compelled to stay with her and they would've gotten back in time to save both sisters; maybe even vanquish Shax and save their innocent. Neither sister had noticed at this point that Leo had been called away.

"It should've been me!" Piper latched onto Phoebe even tighter as another round of sobs wracked her thin frame. They both knew that she was talking about the botched vanquish attempt that led to their exposure.

"Honey…"Phoebe relinquished her hold on Piper, sensing a sudden need for some distance. "It's not your fault, alright? How could you have known?" Her voice began to break again, "If anything it's my fault. I let myself get too worried about Cole in the underworld, and Leo wouldn't leave me." Phoebe couldn't keep herself from staring at the surreal image of her lifeless sister on the floor; close enough to reach out and touch, but a realm away in spirit by now. It was just like her death at the hands of the dragon warlock, except there was no genie to wish her back this time.

After what seemed like an eternity of sitting, crying, hugging, and staring off into space, Piper finally gathered enough willpower to compose herself and stand up from the spot where she'd flown through the wall.

"I should…I should go call Morris." She stated morosely, in a dull voice that wasn't quite her own.

Suddenly as she turned to head toward the phone, a swirl of orbs appeared immediately in her face. "Wait, Piper." Leo grabbed his stunned wife by the shoulders. She honestly hadn't noticed until this moment that he was gone.

"We need to keep Prue's body."

Alright, that's Ch.1, I know it's nothing new until the end. It's just meant to show a little of the details of what we didn't see on the show. Also, in case I didn't quite make it clear enough, the middle part of the chapter where Phoebe is being overcome by a negative feeling is meant to imply that she is somehow sensing the power of three being severed by Prue's passing. Anyway, more to come! Please R & R!