"Sleuthing with the Enemy"
Sorry for the long wait. My laptop is messed up and won't let me play my DVDs anymore and I had a difficult time trying to find the episode on the internet. Please enjoy and review!
In the kitchen, Prue was looking over the ingredients for the vanquishing potion while Piper and Daina were brewing the vanquishing potion.
Using the tongs she held, Piper picked up one of the herbs that resembled weeds and placed it in the pot filled with violet colored liquid.
Once the herb was in the brew, it burned; the flames making the sisters flinch back in surprise since they didn't want to get burned.
"Okay, even if this works, we still have to find Belthazor." Piper reminded as she walked around the island.
"Well, I have an idea how to do that, but first thing's first; cockles." Prue said as she looked at the page in the Book.
"Cockles?" Daina asked with a raised eyebrow.
"They're over by the crickets." Prue pointed behind her.
"And what are they exactly?" Daina asked as she walked over to the table to grab the bowl.
"Small, leaping insects that chirp." Prue grinned.
Grabbing the bowl, Daina sent her eldest sister an unamused look as Piper looked at Prue disapprovingly.
"That's funny." Piper said sarcastically to the grinning raven haired woman.
"I meant the cockle shells. What the heck are they?" Daina asked as she picked up one of the shells that felt rough and were a pink and white color.
They felt and even looked a bit like sea shells so perhaps that's what they were; a different type of shell.
"I'm not really sure, but as long as they help vanquish Belthazor, that's all I really care about." Prue said.
"It would be nice to get back to our lives such as they were." Piper sighed.
"Yeah, well, even without Belthazor, we still live a pretty interesting life." Daina commented.
After all, they were witches and they had to constantly hunt down demons to protect innocent people from being hurt.
It wasn't exactly normal, but they found a way to live with it.
Also, it was a way better life than what the Keeper had when she used to live with her mentally abusive parents.
"Pig's feet." Prue read from the Book.
Looking over the table, they found the bowl filled with the raw pigs' feet which was slowly tainting the room with the scent of blood since they were freshly purchased.
"Yech!" Piper groaned in disgust.
"Yech?" Prue repeated questioningly.
"Yech!" Piper repeated as confirmation.
"I raise your yech and give you a blech!" Daina scrunched her face up at the scent.
She really wasn't fond of the fact that there were dead animal parts on the kitchen counter where they cooked and ate.
"So, you can slice off a chunk of demon flesh, but you can't touch a pig's foot?" Prue asked in disbelief.
"I'm a vegetarian." Piper stated.
"Since when?" Prue asked.
"Since now." Piper retorted.
"And I'm against animal cruelty." Daina nodded firmly.
Picking up the tongs, Prue snapped them at the molecular freezer and the Keeper in a teasing, yet disapproving manner.
"Now is not the time to get squeamish, okay? This recipe is very important. We have to follow it to a T." Prue scolded as she used the tongs to place the pig's foot in the brew.
It caught on fire making the three sisters gasp as the bone and flesh melted into the magenta colored brew.
"Poor piggy." Piper grimaced.
"That is weird on so many levels." Daina commented on what she had just seen.
"Uh, everything's in there, we just need to get the slice of Belthazor flesh and we're good to go. Pheebs!" Prue called for their missing sister.
"Something tells me she's not in the vanquishing mood." Piper said as Daina stirred the brew.
"Why not?" Prue asked.
"She's worried about Cole. She hasn't heard from him in over a week." Piper told her.
"And that's a bad thing?" Prue asked.
"Prue." Piper scolded.
"You know what? I don't like him and I don't trust him and it has nothing to do with him being a greasy liar either." Prue retorted as Phoebe walked into the room.
"Greasy what?" Phoebe asked as she walked over.
"Uh, greasy layer. There's a greasy layer on this potion." Piper quickly covered.
"Too much mandrake." Prue said.
"What they said." Daina smiled innocently.
Phoebe then stared at them, not seeming to believe the three females and an awkward silence flitted through the air.
"Okay. Um, what do you say we do this incantation?" Piper asked as she broke the silence.
The Charmed Ones stepped over to the Book while Daina stood behind them, near the fridge as she watched the women work.
She wanted to be a safe distance away from the bubbling brew in case there was an incident.
"Anything to get rid of Belthazor before Cole gets back. And he is coming back." Phoebe said trying to convince herself.
Her three sisters then looked at her, unsure of how to respond, so they decided to brush the comment off for now.
"Okay." Piper brushed her hair back as she, Phoebe and Prue began chanting.
"Spirits of air, forest and sea.
Set us of this demon free.
Beasts of hoof and beasts of shell.
Drive this evil back to hell!"
The brew bubbled, but it wasn't the reaction the girls were expecting as they stared at the pot in confusion.
"Uh oh. It didn't work." Phoebe commented.
"No, you forgot the Belthazor flesh." Prue reminded.
"Oh yes." Piper nodded.
"I'm on it. I got it." Daina offered as she opened the fridge and picked up the container that had the piece of red flesh inside.
"How could we forget about the Belthazor flesh?" Phoebe joked.
"Such a slacker." Prue teased.
"Really." Piper clicked her tongue.
"Oh, shut up." Daina retorted as she looked down at the flesh in the container as she walked over.
"Hey, do demons usually bleed red?" she asked as she observed the color of the flesh and the blood.
"Uh, no. They usually bleed green or blue sometimes. Why do you ask?" Piper asked with a furrowed brow.
"No reason." Daina shook her head as she picked up the flesh with her fingers and held back a gag of her bile.
She then tossed the flesh into the pot and a wave of flames blasted up from the pot, an explosion surging forward and sent the mahogany haired girl flying back.
The Charmed Ones gasped in shock as the girl fell on the floor on her back, groaning in pain from the surprise blast.
"Ow!" Daina whined.
"Daina!" Phoebe called.
"Oh my god!" Prue gasped.
"Honey!" Piper yelled.
The three women rushed over, Piper and Phoebe grabbing onto Daina's hands as they pulled her up onto her feet.
"Are you all right?" Prue asked the girl.
"I'm good. I'm okay." Daina groaned.
"Attack of the killer pig's feet." Piper commented.
"No kidding. Remind me to step back next time." Daina said as she coughed and the four females stared at the brew as smoke cloaked the pot.
"Shake it off." Prue said as she rubbed the girl's back.
"Okay, well, I gotta go. I'll be back later." Phoebe said as she walked out of the room.
"Phoebe?" Prue called curiously.
"Wait, what about the kitchen?" Piper asked as she gestured to the mess.
Prue then followed after Phoebe while Piper and Daina shared a look before they then started cleaning up the herbs and other ingredients off the table.
"Um, where do the pigs feet go?" Daina asked as she grabbed the bowl.
Piper groaned in disgust again as her face scrunched up at the sight of them.
"Wrap them up with plastic and store them in the freezer. The one in the basement." She said.
"Okay. Ugh, I'm going to never stop washing my hands." Daina groaned as she got to work grabbing a pig's foot and wrapping it up in plastic wrap.
Piper shuddered in disgust as she continued to clean up and Daina carried the bowl of wrapped pigs' feet down into the basement.
Glancing around, she found the white freezer in the corner hidden under a box filled with Christmas decorations and walked over to it.
This was the first time she had been in the basement alone when there was no danger around, so she took her time to take in the room.
It appeared to be just like any other basement filled with old decoration and boxes filled with toys from the Halliwell sisters' childhood.
Walking across the floor, the Keeper felt a strange energy from below which made her pause and bend down, placing her hand on the ground.
As her hand touched the cement floor, she saw a bright blue colored aura emitting from beneath her hand and gasped when she saw her hand was covered in golden light.
Her eyes were glowing a golden amber color as she stared at the two different auras, amazed by the two different powers she felt.
Through the blue aura, she could feel metal in her hand, grass beneath her feet, and was warmed by the sunlight on her face and could smell the fresh ocean spray.
Lifting her hand away, the sensations she felt faded away and she stood up, confused by what she had experienced.
"What is this?" She whispered.
"The Nexus..." A kind woman's voice echoed around her.
Jerking her head up, the girl looked around for the owner of the voice, but didn't see anyone.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" She called.
No one answered back and as she glanced around curiously, she wondered if she imagined what she had heard.
"Daina, what's going on down there?" Piper yelled.
"Nothing!" The girl called back as she shook off the memory of the voice and aura.
Walking over to the freezer, she took the boxes off the top and then opened it up as she then placed the pigs' feet inside with the other frozen food.
Finished with her work, the girl headed back up the stairs and walked into the kitchen to see Piper using a turkey baster to fill the potion vials.
"Hey, what happened down there?" Piper asked the girl.
"Um, nothing. I think." Daina brushed her bangs back.
"You think?" Piper asked as she gave the girl a look.
When the girl didn't answer, Piper handed one of the vials to Daina who took it to observe the magenta colored liquid.
"Come on. Let's go make sure our sisters don't kill each other." Piper joked.
Smiling at that, Daina followed her older sister out into the living to see Phoebe holding her books and had her school bag on as she spoke with Prue.
"It doesn't help that you never liked Cole." Phoebe told her oldest sister.
"Yeah, well, you never liked any of my boyfriends either." Prue said as the two women laughed.
"I'm sorry, okay? This is your call, not mine." Prue held Phoebe's hand.
"Thank you." Phoebe gave a small grin.
"Okay, are we gonna do this or what?" Piper asked as she and Daina walked over to their sisters once they were sure they weren't going to argue.
"Uh, we are. Phoebe's not." Prue said making Piper, Daina and Phoebe look at her curiously.
"Are you sure?" Phoebe questioned the raven haired woman.
"Yeah. Yeah. Go to Cole's. It's fine, uh; we don't need the Power of 3 to vanquish just the potion." Prue assured.
"Yeah, go on. We'll be fine." Daina smiled.
"Okay, why don't you take this in case?" Piper handed one of the potions to Phoebe.
"Okay, just, you guys, no more whispering, okay? It's hard enough for me to know that Cole's keeping secrets from me. I can't take it from you too." Phoebe patted Prue on the arm before she walked out of the manor.
Piper and Prue stared at each other which made Daina feel awkward at the small amount of tension.
"So, we doing this?" Daina asked as she walked off with a bounce in her step.
The two witches shared amused looks as they followed after the Keeper to get ready for the vanquish.
(A few minutes later…)
"This is gonna be messy." Piper complained as the three sisters turned the table over.
"That's why we scotch guard. You ready?" Prue asked as she handed a vial to Piper and Daina.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Piper nodded.
"Chant away." Daina said.
"All right." Prue sighed.
The three sisters then kneeled behind the table that would be used as a shield for them in case the demon attacked before they had a chance to vanquish him.
"Magic forces black and white.
Reaching out through space and light.
Be he far or be here near.
Bring us the demon Belthazor here." Prue and Piper read the spell from the paper.
A miniature tornado then formed in the center of the room catching their attention as they stared at it.
"It's working." Piper noted.
"All right. You ready?" Prue asked.
"Uh huh." Piper nodded.
"Yeah." Daina said.
"On three. One, two, three!" Prue called as the sisters ducked down and threw their potions when the tornado stopped to reveal the demon.
There was a tiny blast from the three potions, but there was no screaming or large explosion which confused them.
"Something's wrong." Daina frowned.
"There's no boom. Why is there no boom?" Piper asked when they heard someone coughing.
"I don't know." Prue said.
Poking their heads up, the three witches found that it was a man who was staring at them in annoyance.
"Stupid witches." The man sneered.
Hearing this, the three sisters knew then that the man was a demon and he was not in a good mood.
"He's not…" Prue shook her head as Daina whimpered as she clung to Piper, knowing this wasn't going to end well.
The man then shot a bolt of lightning from his hand making the three witches scream as they ducked down and a hole was blasted into the table.
"Oh, you know what? That is an antique!" Prue stood up and flung her arm sending the man flying back.
"Wait! Not the clock!" Piper held her hands up to freeze the man.
"We can't afford to keep fixing that thing." Piper sighed as the three females then stood up.
"Unless Belthazor can morph, that is definitely not him." Piper stated.
"All right, that doesn't make any sense. How did we get the wrong demon?" Prue asked.
"Did we-Did we mess up the spell? How did we mess up the spell?" Daina asked feeling confused.
"I don't know. Hey, do you think maybe you can just unfreeze his head? Then we can ask?" Prue asked the brunette witch curiously.
"His head?" Piper questioned with a thoughtful expression.
"Yeah, his head." Prue nodded.
"Why not?" Piper mused.
Waving her hand in front of his face, the demon's head moved as he looked at the three sisters, angered and confused.
"That's different." Piper said.
"That's cool." Prue said as the three sisters chuckled at the new use of Piper's power.
"It's new." Daina commented.
"What did you do to me?" The demon demanded.
"Uh, hi, you know what? You're sort of frozen in mid-air. Therefore, we'll be asking the questions, okay? Who are you?" Prue asked.
"Someone who's going to butcher you if you don't unfreeze me right now!" The demon growled loudly.
"Okay!" Piper chirped.
Waving her hand, she unfroze the demon and he continued his path towards the clock, the impact destroying it as the wood and glass shattered to the ground.
"Oh, come on! Really?" Daina whined at the mess.
"What? It was worth it." Piper smiled in amusement.
Making their way over to the demon, Prue rolled him over with her foot and held him down as Daina and Piper stood beside her to watch.
"All right, you start talking or we'll start the bonus round." Prue warned.
"I am Krell, a zoltar." The demon introduced in defeat.
"Hi, I'm Prue, a Scorpio. Where's Belthazor?" Prue asked.
Rolling over, Krell stood up as Prue backed away with her sisters as they clung to her and prepared to be attacked.
"Wait, don't. I won't attack if you don't." Krell panted as he held his hands up.
The sisters stared at him in confusion and suspicion, but remained silent as they waited for him to explain himself.
"I'm a bounty hunter. I track fugitive demons and it looks like we're after the same one." Krell said.
"You're after Belthazor?" Daina asked.
Krell then moved his eyes over to the girl, taking in her appearance and sniffed the air around her which put the two older witches on edge.
"You're the Keeper of the Golden Radiance? I expected someone more...grand. Not a little girl." Krell scoffed.
"Just answer the question, creep. We can still vanquish you." Daina glared as her eyes glowed gold to warn him off.
Piper placed a hand on her little sister's shoulder to try and calm her so she didn't anger the demon.
He sneered at the mahogany haired girl as he then crossed his arms and started his explanation to the three sisters.
What his explanation consisted of was him complaining on how he allowed the evil red skinned monster to slip away from him constantly.
Krell had been tracking him all over the city, picking up the scent and then losing it which proved how sneaky Belthazor was.
"I should have known better than to underestimate him. I thought because Belthazor couldn't shimmer, his other powers were useless as well." Krell finished.
"So, you don't have the power to vanquish him?" Piper asked.
"Obviously not otherwise I wouldn't have needed to intercept your little calling card now would I?" Krell sneered.
"Hey, you know what? How about next time I just freeze your head and then maybe I can kick you in the-"Piper was cut off as Daina bit her lip to hold in her laughter and Prue stopped her from finishing the sentence.
"All right, uh, so... Belthazor was sent by the Triad to kill us. How do we know that you weren't sent by them too?" Prue asked.
"You're joking, right?" Krell scoffed.
Seeing the serious expressions on the faces of the three females, a look of disbelief and annoyance formed on Krell's face.
"I don't believe this. You really don't know? Your White Lighter must really be sleeping on the job." Krell commented.
"Hey, now wait a minute, pal." Piper spoke up in defence of her boyfriend.
"Piper." Prue scolded making the brunette go silent.
"What don't we know?" Prue asked Krell.
"Belthazor killed the Triad." Krell told them.
Daina's jaw dropped at this while her two sisters were also stunned by this news, but didn't have much of a physical reaction like her.
"That's why he's on the run. That's why he's here." Krell said.
"Wait a minute! You mean to tell me that one demon-one who was badly injured and weak-killed a group of ultimate evil power while the forces of ultimate good couldn't do it? God, our bosses suck!" Daina exclaimed.
The forces of good had been battling the Triad for 3000 years and had never once found a way to defeat them, but a demon who was barely 200 was able to kill them with ease?
It was unbelievable!
Prue sighed at her youngest sister's rant while Krell simply smirked at the Keeper's annoyance.
"Why would he do that?" Prue asked.
"Probably because they were going to kill him. For failing to kill you. Hmph. Ironically, his inability to shimmer saved him from you killing him." Krell scoffed.
"So, instead, we got you." Prue said.
"Believe me, just the thought of working with you turns my stomachs," Krell spat in disgust.
"Stomachs?" Piper asked as she looked at her sisters who were just as confused.
"But...right now, I'm more interested in killing Belthazor than witches" Krell smirked.
Piper scoffed at that.
"Like it or not, we need each other. You can't find him without me. I can't vanquish him without your potion." Krell said as he paced in front of the three witches.
"So then you know where he is?" Prue asked.
"Prue, you can't be seriously considering this." Piper said.
"Answer the question." Prue stared right at Krell.
"I can track his scent, his blood. When he's in his demonic form, not his human one. Fortunately, he can't maintain his human self for long, especially wounded. It drains him." Krell explained.
"Human form?" Daina questioned.
"Uh, hi. Could you come here? Over here? Please." Piper called to Prue who walked over.
"We've tried working with demons before. It was a bad idea then and it's definetly a bad idea now." Piper whispered.
"You've worked with demons before?" Daina asked in surprise.
They didn't answer that which made the girl pout.
"We'll let you know." Prue told Krell.
"No, you'll let me know now!" Krell snapped as he stepped up to the three witches.
They stood their ground, uneffected by his threatening attitude which made him scoff.
"Think fast. Belthazor won't stop trying to kill you. Only the heads of the Charmed Ones or the Keeper can convince the Source to spare him." Krell said.
He made a slicing motion with his hand as he moved it close to the three Halliwell sisters' necks as he spoke and then stepped back as he then faded away in a flash of coral light.
Once he was gone, the three females shared a look before they turned their eyes to the ceiling.
"Leo!" They all yelled together as they then headed for the attic to check the Book for any information on zoltar demons.
A few minutes later, Leo had orbed back down to the manor and was faced with the three angry witches who started yelling at him for keeping the secret of the Triad's murder from them.
"I don't understand. How can you not know that the Triad is dead? Don't you think that's kind of important since, oh I don't know, they've been trying to kill us for the past two years?" Piper ranted.
"And have been making plans of taking me down to the Underworld my entire life." Daina added.
"We've heard rumours, talk, but that's it. Nothing substanciated." Leo explained.
"Well, you can substanciate it now can't you? Geez, have you been sleeping on the job or what?" Piper sniped.
"So, Leo, don't mind her. She's just a little cranky." Prue grinned in amusement as she sat in front of the Book of Shadows.
"Well, I get that way when demons are trying to kill us." Piper said.
"So you're cranky all the time?" Daina questioned making her sister give her a look.
"I don't think Krell is trying to kill us or else he would have tried by now." Prue tried to reason.
"Oh yeah? Tell that to the dinning room table." Piper shot back.
"Is there anything in there on zoltars?" Leo asked the eldest witch.
"Yeah, everything he said about them which makes me think everything else he said might be true too." Prue said.
"Including the part about how he likes to kill witches?" Piper asked.
"Don't all demons like doing that?" Daina shrugged.
"Including the part about all of us working together." Prue interjected.
"Are you willing to bet our lives on it?" Piper questioned.
"Are you willing not to?" Prue questioned back.
"We really don't have many options do we?" Daina sighed as she walked over to Leo who had moved off to the side.
"Look, Piper, if we do nothing and Belthazor somehow gets all of his powers back, then we are going back to looking over our shoulders. Again. Personally, I'm tired of that." Prue said as she walked over to face her sceptic sister.
Piper glanced over to where Leo and Daina were standing as they stared at her.
"I know, I know, okay. I-I know you think she's right and..." Piper trailed off.
"I-If you don't vanquish him now, you may not get another chance." Leo told her.
Everyone was silent as they thought this over before they then came to a conclusion to call for Krell and tell him their decision.
Leaving the attic, the group went downstairs and grabbed the summoning spell.
Daina and Leo stood together as they watched the two older sisters recite the incantation on the paper they held.
"Magic forces black and white.
Reaching out through space and light.
Be he far or be here near.
Bring us the demon Belthazor here." They chanted.
Smoke then appeared in the room just as Phoebe finally walked through the front door and saw the demon being summoned into the room.
"Demon!" Phoebe squealed as she then ran at Krell who appeared stunned.
"Phoebe, no no no! Phoebe!" Piper called.
Levitating upwards, Phoebe then kicked Krell in the face and he fell to the floor and knocked over a vase that was on a pedistal in the middle of the room.
"What-What is going on? Who is that?" Phoebe asked as she pointed at Krell.
"That is a bounty hunter who is here to help us find Belthazor." Prue told her.
"You would've known that if you had come home after school." Daina chirped.
"Why don't you go sniff something while we fill her in?" Piper said to Krell who was rubbing his sore jaw.
"There's no time. I just picked up Belthazor's scent again." Krell informed.
"Oh goodie." Daina sighed.
"All right, give us a minute. Come here, honey." Prue said as she pulled Phoebe off the the side while Daina grabbed her heavy mauve sweater to keep warm from the fall air.
"Listen, here's-here's the deal. Belthazor killed the Triad and now the Source wants him dead. Krell is trying to suck up to the Source, so he wants to kill Belthazor." Prue said.
"Belthazor wants to kill us so the Source won't kill him." Piper added.
"If you work with Krell, you can vanquish Belthazor before he kills you." Leo spoke up.
"And that's pretty much it in a nutshell." Daina said as she pulled her sweater on and pulled the potion out of her jeans' pocket and moved it into her sweater pocket.
"Works for me. Leo, I have to talk to you for a minute." Phoebe turned her attention to the curious White Lighter.
"How do you witches get anything done?! If we're working together, we need to move now!" Krell snapped.
"All right, we're ready!" Prue frowned.
"Do you have the potion?" Krell asked.
"Do you have the scent?" Piper sniped.
"I said I did didn't I? You three come with me. The others should go to the old cemetery." Krell ordered.
"Wait, split up, why?" Leo questioned.
"Because he might be hidding there that's why. Evil frequents cemeteries. Makes it difficult for me to track his scent there. Belthazor knows that." Krell explained with surpressed anger over not being able to track the demon.
"Okay, so why don't Leo and I go to the cemetery and you guys go with him?" Phoebe suggested.
"Are you sure?" Piper asked.
"Positive." Phoebe breathed.
Daina raised an eyebrow at this as she felt like Phoebe was keeping something secret from everyone and wondered over what it could be.
"All right, let's go, we're ready." Prue said.
"Are we taking the car or are we walking?" Daina asked.
"It would be easier to track him without a car. Being inside an inclosed space would make it difficult to track the scent." Krell stated.
"Why, ya can't stick your head out the window to pick up the scent like a blood hound?" Daina smirked at the demon who gave her an annoyed look.
"You're making it very hard to resist the urge to tear you apart." Krell snarled lightly.
"I'm a kid, what do you expect?" Daina commented.
"Uh, oh, hey. I almost forgot to ask. Did you find anything about Cole?" Prue asked Phoebe.
"Uh, no, nothing at all about Cole." Phoebe shook her head.
Daina picked up the lie in her voice and wondered if the reason Phoebe needed to speak with Leo had anything to do with Cole.
She didn't say anything though as she followed Prue, Piper and Krell out of the house as the older witches grabbed their coats on the way outside into the chilly night.
Krell then sniffed at the air as he led the three females through the city, rushing down the streets as he tracked the scent down to the alleys.
Piper was holding Daina's hand as she pulled the girl along, wanting to keep her by her side in case Belthazor suddenly jumped out at them from the shadows.
The alley they were currently standing in was near a club and the neon red lights from the sign made it a bit easier for the group to see.
"I can smell his blood. He's close." Krell spoke up.
"Where?" Prue asked as she glanced around.
"Get your potions." Krell told them as he stalked forward.
"You know, it's too bad that he's such a bad guy because he could really come in handy." Prue commented.
"Don't push it." Piper said.
"Yeah, hopefully when this ends we won't ever have to see each other again." Daina muttered.
Walking down the alley, the sisters watched as Krell turned his attention to where a pile of gargbage was located and he pulled a carboard box away to reveal a homeless man sleeping under it against the side of a building.
"Huh?" He questioned sleepily.
"Vanquish him!" Krell ordered.
Staring at the confused and helpless man, the witches were hesitant to do anything since he didn't appear to be very threatening at all.
"Hey, what's going on? Who are you?" The man asked fearfully as his gaze moved between them.
"It's a trick! He's in his human form. Throw the potion!" Krell pointed at him.
"I don't know, Krell, don't you think he would have picked a better human? Oh, no offence, honey." Prue gave a sympathetic look down at the scared man.
"Oh, none taken." He said in a soft voice.
"Hey, easy!" Piper called as Krell stole the potion from her hand and threw it at the man.
There was no explosion and no form of reaction from the potion at all which made them all realize that the homeless man was not Belthazor.
"And you call yourself a zoltar." Piper sighed.
Stealing the familiar beige coat from the homeless man, Krell spotted the blood stain on the inside of the coat and breathed in the scent from it.
"Where did you get this coat?" Krell asked as he placed it on top of the garbage container.
"I didn't do anything." The man said.
Krell then grabbed the man and shoved him against the wire fence.
"Tell me!" The demon demanded.
"I just found it!" He cried.
"Leave him alone, he doesn't know anything." Prue glared.
"Yeah." The man nodded.
Holding up his hand, Krell was about to electrocute the man before Daina raised her hand and created a barrier around the human.
The electricity bounced off the golden barrier and hit Krell which made the demon cry out as he was thrown back from his own attack hitting him.
"Are you okay?" Daina asked as she rushed over to the man and helped him up from his slumped over state.
"Thanks kid." The man said softly as he then ran off as Krell stood and glared at the Keeper.
"Do that again, witch, and I'll kill you." Krell said through gritted teeth.
"You had no reason to hurt that man." Prue told him.
"I'm a demon. It's my nature to hurt people." Krell stated.
"Yeah, it's in our nature to protect them." Prue said.
"He's a pathetic wretch. His life means nothing. If you'd let me torture him, we'd have known where he found the coat." Krell explained.
"Whatever it takes." Prue shook her head.
"That's right." The demon nodded.
"Well, from here on out, it's gonna take doing things our way." Prue informed.
"Then we will fail because your morality cripples you. It blinds you from doing what must be done." Krell admonised.
"There are better ways of getting answers out of people, Krell." Prue said as she then grabbed the coat to look it over.
"We'll see if Phoebe can get a premonition off this thing." Prue said.
"Or maybe we can use it to scry for Belthazor." Daina suggested.
"Well, at least we know Belthazor has very expensive taste." Piper commented as she looked over the coat.
Frowing in thought, Prue then lifted a sleeve of the coat and looked it over as Daina and Piper watched her and Krell stood with his arms crossed as he waited for the witches to come up with a new plan.
"What? What is it?" Piper asked.
"How long ago did the Triad send Belthazor?" Prue asked Krell.
"Two months ago, why?" Krell asked as the wheeles began to turn in Prue's head.
"What cha thinking?" Daina asked.
"Does this look familiar to you?" Prue asked as she tugged at the coat.
"I don't know, why?" Piper asked as she turned the coat over.
"Because Cole has one exactly like it." Prue stated.
"Cole?" Piper questioned.
"You think Cole is..." Daina trailed off.
"Belthazor's human form." Prue confirmed.
Krell's eyes went a bit wide at being told the identity of the elusive demon's human form and knew that they would finally be able to locate him.
After the revelation, the group rushed off to the apartment building where Cole lived to check if he was hidding from Krell at home.
"What are we going to do?" Piper asked as they walked through the lobbey.
"We're going to vanquish him." Prue stated.
"We're going to vanquish Phoebe's boyfriend? That's going to cause some problems." Piper commented.
"If you hesitate, he'll kill us all." Krell spoke up.
"Excuse me, I'm having a private conversation here." Piper said.
"This is so not going to end well." Daina complained.
"You know, I can't believe I let him out of that demon trap when I caught him. What was I thinking?" Prue asked.
"You didn't know. None of us did. But I should have! My eyes always do a glowy thingie when a demon is around. Why didn't they glow around him?" Daina ranted in disbelief.
"We don't know anything for sure yet." Piper tried to reason.
They were cut off from walking up to the floor Cole lived on when Leo then orbed in behind them and the group turned around to face him.
"Leo, what are you doing here?" Piper asked him.
"I didn't want to get between you guys, but I didn't know what to do." Leo said as he walked up to them.
"What?" Prue asked him.
"I think Cole is-"
"Belthazor's human form. Yeah, that's why we're here." Prue cut him off.
"How did you know?" Leo asked in surprise.
"Long story." Daina held a hand up.
"Where's Phoebe?" Piper asked when she noticed her sister wasn't with him.
"She's upstairs with Cole, apartment seven." Leo informed.
"Tell me you didn't heal him." Krell demanded.
Leo gained a guilty look which made the sisters' eyes grow wide in realization while the demon grew angered.
"Well, not completely." Leo confessed.
"You idiot!" Krell snapped as he, Prue and Daina rushed off.
"Leo!" Piper scolded.
"Phoebe begged me. I didn't know what to do." Leo told her.
"You stay here, we'll fix it." Piper pointed at him as she then followed after the others.
Running up the stairs, the group quickly made their up towards apartment seven and Prue flung the door open which caught the attention of Phoebe and Cole.
"Krell." Cole greeted as the demon growled at him.
Right before everyone's eyes, Cole grew taller as he took on the form of the demon everyone had been hunting.
Heartbreak fell across Phoebe's face as she watched the transformation take place.
An athame then appeared in Belthazor's hand as he grabbed Phoebe and pulled her close to him and Krell went to blast the red skinned demon.
"No!" Prue cried as she grabbed his arm.
The blast hit above Belthazor's head as he and Phoebe ducked down to avoid the hit before he then shimmered out of the room.
"Phoebe!" Piper cried.
Daina's hands flew up to her mouth as she felt worry weigh down on her as Piper and Prue stared off at the space where their sister had once been before she was kidnapped.
Walking over to the cabinet where Belthazor and Phoebe once stood, everyone stared inside to see the weapons and amulets that were hidden inside and Krell hit the cabinet in his anger.
"You let Belthazor escape!" Krell glared down at the witches.
"You almost killed our sister." Prue justified.
"Your sister is dead anyway. He only needed her to get away." Krell stated.
"I don't think Cole will hurt Phoebe." Piper spoke up.
"No, but maybe Belthazor would." Prue said.
"But why hasn't he? He's had so many chances." Daina reminded.
"He just used her until he could get all three of you, the Charmed Ones. The little Keeper here was just an added prize when she appeared. Why he couldn't follow through I'll never understand." Krell scoffed.
"Maybe he fell in love." Piper commented.
"Yeah or maybe that was just a trick. Demons will do whatever it takes, remember?" Prue reminded.
"Glad to see I've had a positive influence over you. I can save your sister. If it's not too late." Krell said.
"Why would you want to?" Prue asked.
"I wouldn't, but I'll do it if it's the only way to kill Belthazor. Give me the potion. I can find him and get to him faster alone." Krell informed.
"Nice try, forget it." Piper shook her head.
"You already said you can't track him if he can shimmer." Prue reminded.
"But he can't shimmer well. He needs time to re-charge. Your White Lighter only healed his human half." Krell explained.
"Okay, back it up. His human half? You mean he's a half-demon?" Daina asked in confusion.
"That's why the Triad sent him. He understands you. He can blend in. A full blooded demon could have never gotten so close." Krell told them.
This made the sisters share a look with each other and it then made Daina realize why her powers weren't able to detect that Cole was a demon.
Her powers were confused because of the human blood that flowed through Cole's veins and the two different bloods made it difficult for the Radiance to differentuate.
"Give me the potion." Krell held up his hand.
Sharing a look with the other two witches, Prue then walked closer to Krell with the vial she had in her hands.
"If you hurt her, we'll track you down." Prue warned as she placed the potion in his hand.
Clasping the vial in his hand, Krell then teleported away to search for Belthazor and Phoebe.
"Do you really trust him?" Piper asked.
"No. Come on." Prue said as she started walking out of the room.
"Where are we going?" Daina asked her.
"Oh, to where demons hide." Prue drawled.
Racing out of the aparment building, the three witches then made their way to the cemetery as they hoped that they would be able to find their missing family member before Krell did and killed her along with Belthazor.
"Phoebe?" Prue called.
"Phoebe! Phoebe!" Piper cried.
"Phoebe, where are you?" Daina cupped her hands around her mouth.
They continued searching around the graveyard, their eyes roaming around as they tried pick up any trace of her.
An explosion was then heard which made the three witches freeze as they turned their attention towards the mausoleum where the sound had come from.
"Phoebe." Piper said.
"There." Prue added.
"Let's go." Daina called as the trio rushed off.
"Phoebe!" Piper cried once again as they ran down the steps of the mausoleum to see what had happened.
"Down here!" Phoebe's voice sounded from inside.
This urged the sisters onwards as they ran down the steps.
"Pheebs?" Prue called.
Turning the corner, the three sisters then found Phoebe standing in the center of the room panting lightly as she stared at them.
"Phoebe, thank god you're okay." Piper said.
"What happened in here?" Daina asked.
A fire was burning on the ground while an athame was lying beside it which indicated that Belthazor had been vanquished.
"He killed Krell." Phoebe informed.
"And you did what you had to do." Prue told her.
She then pulled Phoebe into hug, relieved that she was safe and was able to protect herself from Belthazor.
"I know." Phoebe answered.
(The next day...)
Daina walked into the living room with Prue and Piper as they found their depressed sister sitting on the couch holding Belthazor's athame in her hands.
"Hey, there you are." Daina spoke up making the blonde look up.
"We brought you some comfort food." Piper announced.
"Thanks, I'm not really that hungry." Phoebe shook her head.
Piper set the plate on the coffee table while Prue sat in front of Phoebe and Daina took a seat on the couch beside the heartbroken witch.
"You wanna talk?" Prue asked.
"I don't know what there is to talk about. You were right. As usual." Phoebe gave an unamused grin.
"I didn't want to be right." Prue said.
"I know. Believe me, Prue, you have nothing to apologize for. But I do. What I did was..." Phoebe shook her head.
"Phoebe, he fooled us all. Not just you." Piper stated.
"That's not what I mean. I don't know. I just feel so..." Phoebe trailed off as she licked her lips as she tried to find the word.
"Ashamed." She chose.
"Phoebe, don't be so hard on yourself." Daina comforted.
"You didn't do anything wrong you know." Prue told her.
"Didn't I?" Phoebe asked.
It was silent between the four sisters as they thought over how Cole had manipulated them all into liking him and wormed his way into Phoebe's heart.
"Well, the important thing is that it's over. We can get on with our lives now." Prue said.
"At least until the next Belthazor attacks." Piper spoke up.
"Thanks for that reminder." Daina sighed.
"We'll leave you alone now." Piper said as she stood up.
"Let us know if you need anything." Prue told Phoebe.
She then leaned over and kissed Phoebe on the head.
"Thanks." Phoebe said.
As they left the room, Daina paused over the thresthold as she turned back to stare at Phoebe who was lying down on the couch and the Keeper couldn't help but feel like the seer was hidding something.
Sighing, the girl then walked off to the kitchen to get something to eat when Kit came down the stairs and walked over to the young witch.
"Hey, Kit, where have you been?" Daina asked as she scooped the cat up.
Kit mewed as she cuddled up into the girl's arms, enjoying the feel of the fingers that carressed her ears.
"Come on, let's go get some breakfast." Daina said as she kissed Kit's cream colored head before she then walked towards the kitchen.
To be continued...
