Charmed
Season 3, Episode 1
'Underworld Calling'
Prue Halliwell stood in the Manor's sunroom. It was the middle of the night and she stared at the clear starry sky through the glass, wondering if her younger sister could see her from all the way 'up there'. Piper had been gone for a month after leaving with Leo to see the Elders and Prue was starting to worry. Piper hadn't orbed in with Leo to check up, hadn't given Prue or Phoebe a phone call to make sure they were handling the demonic load okay. Prue knew that these were things Piper would do, being the responsible middle sister.
"Prue. Are you okay?" Phoebe asked as she walked in wearing a long black dressing gown, her blonde hair tied in a ponytail. "It's two o'clock in the morning"
Prue turned to face her sister and looked at the wall clock, realising how long she had been standing in the same exact spot. "Sorry Pheebs, I'm just worrying".
"Piper?" Phoebe guessed.
"Yeah" Prue sighed.
The youngest Halliwell rubbed the side of her face to keep herself awake. "Well, Piper wouldn't just leave us Prue. Maybe she's just been really busy up there… for the last month"
"What if they didn't give her a choice. What if she and Leo broke too many rules for them to be allowed back down here?" Prue's voice grew more panicked.
"The Elder's may be strict, but I can't see them sacrificing the power of three just to keep Piper and Leo under their control".
Prue smiled at her sister's calming words. "Did you hear from Darryl today?"
"Yes. Three victims, two female, one male, all mauled to death by what looks like an animal" Phoebe explained.
"What, are we thinking wendigos, shape shifters?"
"I don't know. But whatever it is you're not going to be able to kick its ass if you're half asleep" she pointed out.
Prue nodded, took hold of her sisters hand and the two siblings left the room.
Three hours later the phone rang and Prue sprinted down the stairs as fast as she could. She grabbed the receiver: "Piper?"
"No Prue it's Darryl"
Prue's heart sunk ever so slightly. "Yeah, Darryl what is it?"
"Sorry to wake you at this time, but I think I know where the next attack is going to be!" Darryl panted, he was obviously rushing. "Whatever this thing is it picks it's picked a new park to attack its victims in every night for the last three days in the early hours of the morning. There's only one park that it hasn't been in now, I just hope I'm not too late"
"Okay me and Phoebe will meet you there. Which park?" Prue asked.
"Alder… Alder Park. you sure you'll make it?"
"We'll be as fast as we can" Prue promised hanging up the phone straight after.
Prue and Phoebe, arms linked, power walked through the dark and damp woods of Alder Park.
"Where did Darryl say he'd meet us?" Phoebe questioned.
"He didn't, he was in a hurry" Prue answered.
Phoebe let out a tired and sarcastic laugh. "Oh well that's just gr…"
Suddenly the sound of a gunshot interrupted Phoebe and the two sisters started to run towards the sound. After a good minute of full on sprinting they finally found Darryl, arms outstretched and gun in hand. He was pointing his weapon at a man stood completely still. The man wore a long beige rain coat and top hat, his eyes were completely white. He held a glowing lead in his hand and on the end of the lead was an animal… an animal of the unmistakably demonic variety. It looked like a dog, pitch black fir and eyes furiously red, all six of them!
Phoebe and Prue slowly drew closer to Darryl. Phoebe leaned in towards Prue. "Am I really tired or does that dog have three heads?" she quipped.
"Bullets don't work" Darryl whispered.
The mysterious white eyed man suddenly opened his mouth and let out a bone chilling screech that echoed through the woods. The lead disappeared. The beast saw this as a signal to attack and charged at the three mouth salivating.
Prue waved her hand and knocked the beast back with her power. But it wasn't enough to keep the monster down for long. It snarled and growled, clearly running on hunger and rage. He charged again and Prue waved her hand a second time, this time moving a rock and pummelling it on the forehead. It collapsed to the floor once again but was obviously not giving up.
"What are we going to do?" Phoebe panicked.
"I don't know, and I can hardly concentrate with that screeching!" Prue yelled.
Phoebe had a moment of realisation. "That's it, knock out the dude in the raincoat!"
Just as the beast was about to attack again, Prue thrust her arm in the direction of the stranger and sent him hurtling backwards into a tree, knocking him out cold.
Once the screeching had ceased, the creature stood stock still as if it wasn't real.
Darryl, with gun still ready and aimed, edged closer to inspect the two culprits. But before he could they faded into nothingness. Darryl turned to the sisters, completely taken aback.
Phoebe looked at Prue. "Yeah, we need Piper back"
[Opening Credits]
Starring:
Shannen Doherty
Holly Marie Combs
And Alyssa Milano
Brian Krause
Dorian Gregory
Prue scoured the scene for a residue that the beast and it's guide may have left behind.
"I can't find anything, not a trace" she dismayed.
Darryl turned to Phoebe. "Do you think your power might be able to pick something up?"
Phoebe shook her head. "Not without something the touch. It's times like this that make me want an active power"
Prue returned to the group. "Well mine may have scared them off, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't enough to make them quit for good"
Darryl glanced at his watch. "I'd better get home or Sheila might start to panic and I'll be in the dog house again" Darryl paused. "Ignore the pun, it's too late for comedy"
"Early technically" Phoebe corrected. She patted Darryl on the shoulder but quickly jolted back when she felt a sudden rush of energy. Darryl lost his balance ever so slightly but managed to keep himself steady.
"Premonition?" Prue asked.
"No, think it was just static electricity or something" she answered.
Darryl held the palm of his hand against his forehead. "I don't feel so good"
"Well you're tired. Like you said you should probably get home, especially after that argument you had with Sheila about the kids" Phoebe said.
Darryl and Prue both looked at Phoebe confused. "Did I tell you about that?" Darryl enquired.
Phoebe thought for a moment. "Erm… you must have"
Darryl breathed heavily. "Okay I'm gonna go before I collapse" he said.
"Okay honey, take care" Prue said as Darryl walked away. She gave Phoebe a suspicious look, "Come on, let's get you to bed before you freak anyone else out"
Darryl stepped through the front door of his home to find Sheila looking straight at him with an icy glare.
"Where have you been?" she asked sternly.
"Sorry baby I've been working on a case"
Sheila folded her arms. "Did you remember to get the cake?"
Darryl looked confused. "Cake?"
"Birthday cake!" Sheila snapped.
Darryl continued to look blank. "Who's birthday?"
"Our son's Darryl! I told you to get the cake this morning! The party's tomorrow!"
Darryl shook his head. "No… no I'd remember that!"
Sheila sighed. "Well maybe if you weren't working so hard on these mysterious cases that you can't tell me about, you'd have time to keep your son in mind" Sheila walked away upstairs.
Prue and Phoebe stood in the attic behind the open Book of Shadows.
"Luckily, their aren't too many three headed dogs in the book, that was a time saver" Phoebe smiled.
"Yeah you're not going to miss one of these things are you?" Prue said looking at the illustration in the book".
"Hell hounds and the Abyssus Rector?" Phoebe read. "Sounds nice and demony to me". Phoebe continued: "Hell hounds, similar to vampires are the result of earthly creatures being infected by demonic blood and magic. Bred by only the highest level demons in the Underworld, these savage beasts will stop at nothing to feed on their prey"
"Okay, how about the screechy guy?" Prue asked.
Phoebe looked at the rest of the page. "That's what the Abyssus Rector is, it means 'Hell Guiders'. They're a group of humans magically stripped of all emotion. The demonic hierarchy use them to control the dogs because of the whole 'man's best friend' thing"
Prue flipped through a few pages before and after the entry. "There's no vanquishing spell or potion."
Suddenly the attic door swung open to reveal Piper and Leo storming in arguing. "I can't believe this, just when I get my relationship with you in order they decide it's not good enough!" Piper barked.
"Erm hi guys" Prue waved.
"Hi" Piper quickly said.
"We both knew this could be an issue, we both knew the rules" Leo told Piper.
Piper threw up her hands and Leo froze. "I can't do this right now"
Phoebe approached Piper. "Aww honey" Phoebe said with her hand on Piper's shoulder. Phoebe's look certainly turned angry and she slapped Piper on the arm. "Where the hell were you!"
"Okay, first of all ow! And you know where I was, you were there when I left" Piper defended. "And what was that spark I felt, are you electrically charged with anger now?"
"Spark? I didn't feel anything" Phoebe answered. "And don't change the subject, I understand that you've had a hard time with the Elders saying you and Leo can't be together anymore but you could have still called!"
"What are you talking about?" Piper looked puzzled. "I've never even met the Elders!" Piper took a deep breath "Wow I feel queasy"
Prue chimed in. "Sweetie, you've been gone a month. That's where you went, to see the Elder's. Remember?"
Piper thought for a moment. "Oh right yes, now I remember!" she looked at Phoebe perplexed. "How could I forget that? And how do you know the details"
"Well, you must've mentioned it when you stormed in with Leo" Phoebe suggested.
Prue shook her head. "No Pheebs she didn't"
Leo unfroze and glared at Piper when he realised she'd changed places. "Did you freeze me?"
Piper was about to shout but Prue interrupted. "Forget that for now, Leo go up the Elders and ask if they know anything about how to vanquish hell hounds and while you're there ask them what's going on with Phoebe"
"Okay" Leo said and orbed out.
Piper turned to Prue. "Hell hounds?"
"Yeah, me and Phoebe ran into one and I fought it off but we don't know how to kill it" Prue explained.
"What's worse is they're linked to these humans known as hell guiders and although they are under the influence of demonic magic, they're still mortals so we can't vanquish them" Phoebe inserted.
"And they're only bred by the highest level demons, probably the Triad seeing as we know they're after us but then again who isn't?" Prue finished.
Piper sighed.
"Are you going to be okay to do this?" Prue asked.
"What the heck maybe beating up some hell beasts will lighten my day!" Piper said.
Phoebe went to put her arm around the middle sister. "That's not disturbing at all".
Piper shrugged Phoebe off. "Oh no, you don't touch me until your de-charged"
Phoebe stuck out her tongue at Piper.
Prue closed the book. "We think they'll attack at the same park again tonight since it missed its feed". Prue looked at Phoebe, then looked at her watch. "Don't you have college in like half an hour?"
"Oh my God, I completely forgot!" she panicked.
The demonic Triad stood around their magic circle in the Underworld. Within the circle stood the Hell Guider that Prue had fought off the night before.
"You were one of the first mortals recruited for the Abyssus Rector, you've had the longest time to train your hound, so you understand our disappointment at your failure" Asmodeus said.
The hell guider looked blank. "It…will…be…better…next…time" he droned.
Baliel sighed. "It's pointless to lecture him, he no longer has the capacity to be apologetic, we stripped them of that!"
Candor spoke up "We knew one hell hound wouldn't be enough to take on the Charmed Ones, the objective was to grab their attention, draw them into the line of fire. Now that they're in place, we can send our army"
Baliel had a look of disbelief on his face: "The entire army?"
"It's what we've been training them for isn't it?" Candor pointed out.
"Not just for this Candor" Asmodeus corrected. "But I agree we need to send a considerable fraction to attack next time, I doubt they'll risk another run in without the power of three in their corner"
Candor and Baliel nodded.
Piper walked into P3 and heard a voice coming from one of the back rooms. Nervous that she was about to face a thief, Piper clenched her firsts ready to freeze the scene. She swung the door open and found Leo looking in the mirror.
"Leo? Were you just talking to yourself?" Piper asked.
"Erm, me? I was just going over a little speech I might have to do" he answered.
"What kinda speech?" she continued to quiz.
"Well…"
"Never mind, that can wait. Did you find out anything about the hell hounds?" Piper interrupted.
Leo grimaced. "Well, it turns out the only way to vanquish them is to completely destroy the link between the beast and its guider"
"How do we do that?" Piper enquired.
"Basically take away all traces of the demonic spell from the guiders mind"
"What, with a spell?" Piper suggested.
"Spells won't work"
"Well then what?"
Leo scratched his head. "They think Phoebe might be able to do it"
"Phoebe? Why? How?"
"Well you know the strange sparks she's been giving off recently… the knowledge she's been gaining and the memories people have lost?".
"Yeah"
"Well according to the Elders that's Phoebe's power evolving. Now when she touches things she doesn't just see information she absorbs it. Phoebe could use her power to wipe the guiders minds clean of all the demonic influence" he explained.
"Well that's a great suggestion from the elder's Leo, apart from the fact that Phoebe doesn't even realise her powers advancing and apart from the fact that she's so far only been able to do it unintentionally!" Piper reminded.
"Yeah, well the Elder's were hoping she's be a fast learner" Leo shrugged.
"Well I hope so too if she's our only hope of defeating these things without killing any mortals" Piper dismayed.
Night had started and Prue and Phoebe sat in the Manor's living room waiting for Piper and Leo. The couple orbed in and Prue wasted no time in getting down to business.
"Okay Leo do we have an idea of how to beat these things?" Prue requested.
"Phoebe's new power" Piper pitched in.
Phoebe turned round confused. "What?"
"The elders told me your powers are advancing. You have the ability to absorb information like memories and character traits through your hands. The Elders think you may be able to use it to take all demonic influence out of the Guiders' minds and sever the link, vanquishing the hell hounds" Leo told the youngest sister.
Phoebe looked overwhelmed.
"But wait a minute, if she's absorbing this… mental energy or whatever, doesn't that mean her mind will be infected by the hypnotism" said Prue.
"The spell cast to hypnotise Abyssus Rector recruits is specifically for mortals, it shouldn't effect Phoebe at all" Leo ensured.
"Shouldn't?" Piper snapped.
"It's irrelevant anyway" Phoebe cut in, "I don't know how to use it!"
Leo braced himself. "Practise on me"
Piper's eyes widened and her voice grew more high pitched. "What?"
"The guider won't have anything other dominant thoughts other than those planted by the demons, if I focus on a single thought you should be able to extract it without any real difficulty" Leo instructed.
Phoebe took a deep breath and drew closer to Leo. Leo closed his eyes. Phoebe looked at the palms of her hands. "Through my hands?" Phoebe double checked.
Leo nodded.
Phoebe slowly raised her hands and held them at either side of Leo's head. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, focusing her mind. Suddenly a wave of energy surged through her body and two small streams of electricity flickered from Phoebe's hands into both of Leo's ears. Leo gasped for air and Phoebe quickly retracted.
"Your mother's birthday: 18th February" Phoebe stated.
Piper looked at Leo who was catching his breath back. "Is that right?"
"I can't remember, so I'm thinking yes" Leo smiled at the success, but Phoebe had an expression which was quite the opposite. She stared at the palms of her hands again: This power, I remember this, she thought.
"Okay, we have an hour before they strike" Prue said. "Phoebe, Piper and I will back you up every step of the way"
Phoebe, still shaken nodded unenthusiastically.
To Phoebe the woods seemed darker than they did the night before, though she knew deep down that there was only one shade of pitch black. Prue and Piper followed her, unaware that the nerves Phoebe felt were more than just being gun-shy with a newly discovered power.
"Okay so we have a plan? I mean more detailed than the Elder's 'let Phoebe deal with it' version?"
"Well, I'll fight off the hound with my power, you freeze the scene and hopefully they'll stay frozen long enough for Phoebe to work her magic" Prue said.
The trio came to a sudden stop when a hell hound and its guider materialised before them. The guider started its screech and the beast salivated at the sight of its prey and lunged.
Prue quickly waved her arm and sent the beast flying back followed by a wave of Piper's hands which froze the hound in mid air and silenced the guider.
"Okay Phoebe!" Prue said with supportiveness in her voice.
Phoebe closed her eyes, took a moment, then walked around behind the guider. She placed her hands either side of his head and felt the energy surge in the form of electrical streams. The guider unfroze and rather than screech just gasped as if being strangled. The hound burst into flames and exploded into a shower of ash. Phoebe removed her hands and stumbled backwards a few steps as the guider collapsed unconscious. "He'll be okay right?" Phoebe asked.
But before Prue or Piper could answer, their thoughts we interrupted by the sound of more snarling hounds edging in from behind with their guiders close by, four to be exact.
"Oh dear" Piper said, swiftly throwing up both hands in an attempt to freeze the ambush, but she only managed to make them move in slow motion. "Too many to freeze!" Piper said.
One of the slowly moving hell hounds leaped for Prue, almost floating due to its reduced speed. Prue held up her hand and threw the beast in the direction of it's guider, knocking them both out but reverting them back to normal speed.
A second later, the three remaining hell hounds unfroze along with their guiders and with the guiders screeching in the background charged at Prue, Piper and Phoebe. The sisters turned round and ran in the opposite direction. Prue repeatedly flailed her arms throwing fallen tree braches and rocks at the hell hounds with her mind. Once she saw this was getting her nowhere, Prue separated herself from Piper and Phoebe and hid behind a tree.
"Prue?" Piper yelled still running.
Prue closed her eyes and went into a trance. Her astral form appeared behind the three guiders, still screeching for their beasts to attack. Prue picked up a near by branch off the ground and struck each guider over the head with it, knocking them out cold.
Piper and Phoebe realised that the screeching had past and the creatures had frozen and stopped running. Prue came out from behind the tree. "Phoebe you need to finish these things off" she said.
The three sisters walked towards the three unconscious guiders and Phoebe knelt down, preparing herself to absorb their psyches like she did with the last guider, she felt the energy pulsate though her. After wiping all three guiders, the hounds vanished in a fiery blast, covering the woods in black smoke. Phoebe stood and took a moment to breathe. "Well, this power might take some getting used to but I must admit it's quite a rush" Phoebe admitted. She looked at the palms of her hands a final time and this time found the energy within them to be a blissful feeling and smiled.
Piper woke up in her bedroom to find Leo stood at the foot of the bed with a nervous look on his face.
"Are you okay?" Piper asked.
"I think I might have found a solution to our problem with the Elders" Leo said.
"Really? That's great, what is it?" asked Piper.
Leo got down on one knee. Piper's face turned white. "Piper Halliwell, will you marry me?"
Phoebe sat in her bedroom looking in her mirror combing her hair, when suddenly she noticed a drop of blood forming from the end of her nostril. The blood trickled down her top lip and down the corner of her mouth. She wiped the blood away and got up off her chair. Suddenly Phoebe was overcome with a feeling of dizziness and collapsed to the floor, unconscious with a small puddle of blood next to her head on the floor.
(End credits)