Despite the restored calm, it was a sleepless night at Halliwell Manor. The pestilent rain of toads had ended, but its effects were still being felt all over the city. The thickest ring had fallen in the neighborhoods surrounding the Charmed Ones' home - but in the immediate area, scarcely a single toad had arrived alive and intact on Prescott Street. When Leo arrived at the restaurant - discreetly orbing himself into a private, screened-off area - he quickly ushered the sisters away and took them home. Piper glanced out the front window, and marveled at the fact that their street was almost entirely clear of demonic frogs - and for the first time, wondered to herself if she and her sisters might have been the real reason for the street's protection.

Leo had to orb away again almost immediately. The rest of the city hadn't been nearly so fortunate, and there were many people still in need of rescue. As he turned to leave, Leo gave Piper a pained look.

"I'm so sorry," he sighed dejectedly. "I guess our next date will have to wait."

Piper similarly felt a distinct and bitter sexual disappointment; but she was a practical woman and not given to selfish demands.

"I get it, I get it, go," she shooed him away as best she could, even though that was absolutely the last thing she wanted. "I understand. I'm dating a first responder. Just… come home as soon as you can."

Leo raised an eyebrow hopefully. "You want me to come back here tonight?"

Piper managed a lustful smile. "You know where my bedroom is. It's where I expect to see you, when the crisis is over." Her smile dissolved into a frown of worry. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Gather your coven," Leo answered, without the slightest trace of irony. "Darryl and I will be out there fighting the symptoms. You and your sisters have to discover the cause."

Piper sighed heavily. "I think Phoebe already knows."

"Yeah. I'm getting that too. See what you can do to calm her down. Maybe when I get back, she can share what she knows."

"Hey." Before he could orb away, Piper pulled Leo close into a passionate kiss. "Be careful out there," she whispered.

"I will," Leo assured her. "See you soon."

After a long embrace, the young couple reluctantly released each other; and then Leo vanished in a diffuse cloud of tiny white lights.

Sighing again, Piper hurried into the kitchen, where Paige had just brewed some chamomile tea for Phoebe; the youngest Halliwell sister was gently rubbing Phoebe's shoulders, trying desperately to comfort her. Phoebe was no longer wailing aloud, but hot tears were still spilling down her cheeks. Piper took the time to pour herself a cup of tea before settling herself at the nook table across from her sister. She regarded her somberly.

"Phoebe? Is there something you want to tell us?"

With an effort, Phoebe composed herself, wiping her nose and drying her eyes before taking a long sip from her teacup. "Yeah. There is," she admitted.

"I guess you know what's really going on here." Piper was trying desperately to keep her tone of voice as calm and neutral as she could manage. Phoebe's emotional state was already fragile enough as it was.

"I think so. Yes." Phoebe set her teacup and looked up at her sisters. "I think this was a demonic summons."

"Well, I think we all kind of figured that, Phoebe," Paige said.

"No, I mean, I think I know the demon responsible."

"You know demons?" Piper was finding it extraordinarily difficult to keep her voice calm.

"Well. Just one." Phoebe wrung her hands anxiously. Displacement activity, Paige noted. "I met him in New York. I never really told you guys the whole truth about what happened to me there. I'm sorry. I wanted to. I really did. I just - I couldn't bring myself to do it."

Piper had to literally bite her tongue before answering. "Well, if tonight is really the result of a demon you know, he's sent hundreds of people to the hospital, and caused millions of dollars worth of property damages all over the city. I think now's a good time to tell us everything."

"Yes. It is. But - I want to tell you when Darryl and Leo are here, too."

Piper and Paige exchanged a quick, dubious glance with one another. Sensing their reluctance, Phoebe added quickly: "Please, you guys. We're going to need their help. And frankly, I'm not going to be able to tell this story more than once." Fresh tears began welling in her eyes. "You guys are probably going kick me out of the house for good, once you hear what really happened."

"Why don't you let us be the judge of that," Piper answered mildly.

Paige took Phoebe's hand and squeezed it gently. "Honey, whatever you've done, whatever it is you think you've done, we'll fix it. We'll find a way. Somehow."

Phoebe gave her sister a broken-hearted smile. "I really wish I could believe that."

"Believe it," Paige answered fiercely. "There's good in you, Phoebe, I know that. I'm not just saying it. And that good is stronger than any other part of you. Trust me when I tell you, that's the truth."

"The truth is actually pretty ugly," Phoebe warned her sisters.

"Truths usually are," Piper answered simply. "All right. Call Darryl. Ask him to come straight over to the house first thing in the morning - assuming he's done with toad patrol by then. Leo will be back later tonight. Then we'll all set down together and figure this out."

"Is it okay if Glen listens in, too?" Paige asked hopefully. "I, uhh, sorta invited him to spend the night. If he can get here safely, that is."

Piper shrugged. "I don't mind. If Phoebe doesn't."

"It's fine," Phoebe nodded. "You guys are my circle of trust. Glen too. And - I really need you. All of you." She choked back a sob, and was forced to bury her face in her hands for a few moments.

Paige began to rub Phoebe's shoulders again, trying to comfort her.

"Glen's been spending a lot of time here lately," Piper observed quietly.

Paige gave her sister a somber smile. "Yeah. He's kinda been keeping me sane, ever since we vanquished the demon at the lake."

Piper digested that news silently. Paige always seemed so happy, and so serene; but she had been possessed - temporarily - by a demon, and Piper reflected that the experience couldn't have been anything other than deeply unpleasant. At best. She nodded her assent.

"If he's contributing to your health and well-being, then fine," she declared.

"Oh, he is."

"Okay, then."

Piper placed a quick call to the restaurant owner, Martin, who reluctantly agreed that Quake should remain closed for at least the next two days - and that no one should attempt to come to work while the police and city crews were attempting to restore order.

"It will probably take me at least a week to get a new set of doors for the entrance anyway," he sighed morosely.

Phoebe had a very terse and short call with Darryl Morris, who agreed to come over as soon as possible. Piper couldn't overhear what Darryl was saying, but the detective's voice sounded strained. Piper reflected, with sympathy, that all the police, fire crews and first responders were dealing with an emergency on the scale of a large earthquake. That Darryl had taken time enough to answer Phoebe's call showed what high regard he had for her.

Paige managed to reach Glen's phone, and he confirmed he would also be staying the night, but because most roads were blocked, it would take him some considerable time to arrive.

So, reluctantly, the sisters retired to their bedrooms, but none of them slept. Phoebe paced the floor anxiously for the better part of an hour - then, deciding she might be keeping her sisters awake, padded downstairs and continued pacing in the atrium, where her stomping was much less likely to be overheard.

Paige could barely sleep, either. Her powers of empathy were growing, and she was aware not only of the anxiety of her sisters, but she was also beginning to sense all the fear and pain from her nearest neighbors, all of whom were terrified by what had happened, and not knowing if the horror was over. Even worse, Paige now had a new, mysterious power she had never seen before. She wondered if the healing power belonged to witchcraft or if it was an ability of the White Lighters, about whom she still knew next to nothing. The light seemed similar to when Leo orbed, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. How many other powers did she possess, and in what form would they manifest? One more thing she needed to ask Leo - assuming all of them would have the time.

Piper thrashed in bed restlessly. She was already suffering acute disappointment that she and Leo were not continuing their romance. But she was also deeply troubled about the implications of the evening's events. Was Phoebe the target of this attack - or its source? Her younger sister claimed to have a past relationship with a demon. What kind of relationship? And how did Phoebe know for certain that this man was, in fact, a demon?

Sighing with disgust, Piper threw off the bedcovers and quickly shrugged herself into her heaviest bathrobe and fuzzy slippers - and then slinked out of her room, quietly heading up the steps to the attic. Maybe there were some answers that could be found in the Book of Shadows. And even if there weren't - well, she obviously wasn't going to sleep any time soon, anyway.

Piper entered the attic carefully, knowing that the door still creaked. She sighed gratefully when it opened silently. She reached inside along the wall, and, finding the light switch, flicked it on. She closed the door behind her, and stepped as gingerly as she could over to the large chest which held her family grimoire. Kneeling beside the chest, Piper opened it carefully and drew out the huge, heavy volume.

"Ugh. We really need to get a stand for you," Piper said to the book, not bothering to wonder why she was now talking to inanimate objects. Or how inanimate was it? Piper remembered her sisters insisting that the book was able to open itself and find the spells they were searching for. At the time, she had dismissed those claims out of hand. But in this instance, she had no idea where to even begin to look. Was it completely out of the realm of possibility to ask the book directly?

Piper set the book gently on the floor, its front cover with the embossed triquetra pointing upwards, and sighed.

"Okay," she addressed the book. "Let's say that my sisters aren't crazy, and you really do have some sort of magical indexing system. What have you got about poisonous toads falling out of the sky?"

Piper stared at the book for a long moment, feeling utterly foolish. Of course this was ridiculous. Solid objects, like books, didn't just move about by themselves. It was a stupid idea even to consider. But then, Piper gave a yelp of surprise as the book actually began to move. The cover lifted slightly, wavered for a moment, and then more forcefully flipped over, opening the book - and then the pages inside began to flutter.

"Ohh, damn." Piper felt almost dizzy and was glad she was already kneeling. Her knees might have buckled underneath her otherwise. After a few moments, the book settled open to a particular page. Heart pounding, Piper leaned over to read the larger script at the top of the brittle, aged paper.

"Belthazor." Piper frowned. The page contained not only a description of a demon, but also contained a likeness of him, a coarse, ugly picture rendered in red and black ink. The face was horrific to look at. But this didn't seem to be what Piper had asked for.

"Uhh, no. I was asking about toads," she said, somewhat hesitantly. "What have you got that deals with toads?"

As if impatient or angry with her, the pages flipped around violently, and then returned abruptly to the same spot.

Piper felt her heart beating fast. She knew that as a witch, she would now be seeing a lot of weird things that would take a lot of getting used to - but that still didn't make it any easier. A glimmer of an idea formed in her mind.

"Wait, you mean - this demon here - he's responsible for what happened tonight?"

The book slapped its leather cover hard against the floor, as if to say, "Duh!"

"Okay, okay," Piper relented, trying to mollify what she regarded as the book's ire. "I'll read it. Keep your cover on."

She bent over the page again and carefully read aloud the description that followed: "Beware of this demonic soldier of fortune. Both powerful and dangerous, Belthazor has destroyed countless witches, innocents, and other demons. As sinister as he is intelligent, he is not to be trusted. Belthazor's known abilities include throwing energy balls, and shimmering from place to place - shimmering?" Piper frowned; she knew what the word "shimmer" meant, but she suspected that here it had another, more explicitly magical context of which she was unaware. She continued reading: "His powers are not likely limited to these abilities. There is no known way to defeat him. Because of this, Belthazor should be avoided at all costs."

Piper leaned back on her heels and exhaled slowly. "You mean, this is what we're up against?" She asked the book. "This is demon responsible for what happened tonight?"

The page fluttered slightly and settled back in its original position.

"Ohh, that's just great," Piper groaned in vexation. "Now what are we supposed to do? If no witch in history has ever stopped him, how are we supposed to vanquish him?" She sighed heavily. "And you don't know the answer to that, do you?"

The book stayed motionless. Piper shook her head in irritation. "I'm going mad," she muttered. "I am. I'm sitting up here, in a cold dirty attic in the middle of the night, talking to a grimoire. I should have my freakin' head examined."

She sighed again and looked back down at the book. "Okay, thank you," she said politely. "At least if we know what we're up against, that will help." She paused. "I, uhh, don't want to leave you sitting out," she said awkwardly. "But I don't want to lose this page, either. If I close you, can you open back up to this page later, when my sisters can see, too?"

The book gently tapped its leather cover against the floor as if responding in the affirmative.

"Okay. I'm going to put you away now. Thanks for your help."

Piper gently closed the book, and carefully placed it back inside the chest. As she shut the lid, she felt an icy fist of fear slowly closing around her heart.

"Leo, hurry home," Piper murmured softly. "I don't think we're gonna be able to fix this without you."