Author's Note: I can't believe it's been two weeks since the last update, and I'm still racing to finish this story by the end of August, since I have an entire new "season"/story to post covering season six when this one is completed. I apologize for the delay, and promise I really, really am working on the next chapter. Unfortunately, since this chapter is 4000+ words, covering details left unmentioned from the previous one, I will have to break this episode into three parts. It's worth it, I promise.

In response to previous reviews:

Highlander348: I'm still working on those last two ideas (Prue's reaction and Paige's powers); I don't know what Piper's reaction will be yet.

Reina Valeria Nox: Actually, I'd forgotten his name was Glen, but I'm glad I went with Jesse. Also, for Jesse, I'd cast James Franco in the role instead of the actor the show used for Glen.

Larlb: That was really encouraging.

Thanks also to ObsessedwReading and dragon matt blue for reviewing the previous chapter. Continue to review, follow, and favorite!

Chapter 22, Episode 4x11

Lost and Bound, Part Two

Paige dropped to the floor face-first. She started rolling on the floor of the office. Someone was beating her back with a blanket or coat. 'Not like Mom and Dad! Not like Mom and Dad!' The swat of the blanket or whatever it was hurt, but the pain was nothing compared to the threat of being burned alive. 'Not like Mom and Dad!' When her blouse no longer felt like it was melting off her back, Paige opened her eyes.

Lila and Mr. Davis, along with most of her co-workers, stared down at Paige. Lila held a lime-green raincoat in her hands. Mr. Davis was on his cell phone.

"Paige, are you ok?" Lila asked.

"What happened?" Mr. Davis asked.

Paige sat up and looked around the office. There was no sign of Tyler anywhere. "Where's the kid, the one who was just here?"

"Do you mean Tyler?" Mr. Davis looked around the office, frowning. "Did he do this to you? That kid is troubled, but…"

"I've got to find him!" Paige grunted painfully when she stood up and ran to the door, ignoring the scorch marks on her blouse. 'Where would I go if I were a twelve year old kid who could set people on fire with just one look? Probably out the front door but not very far, unless my adopted parents gave me a lotof spending money.'

She scanned the parking lot and the busy San Franciscan street in front of it. There was no sign of Tyler. 'He's twelve and he's scared. How far could he have gone?'

From the corner of her right eye, Paige spotted a hank of blond hair peeking from behind a red Toyota. "Tyler?" The blond hair ducked down. Paige approached the spot from the rear end of the car. "Tyler, it's okay. I'm not mad and I'm not hurt. Nobody else got hurt." She caught Tyler as he tried to creep away. "Please, come back into the office with me."

The blond boy stood upright. "Leave me alone!"

Paige put her hands on her hips. "I saw what you did back there. I know you set my shirt on fire."

"You don't know anything, lady." Tyler began to back away from her. "Just-just leave me alone! Get out of here! Before you get hurt too."

'This kid might sound threatening, but I've dealt with demons bigger and badder than him in the last six months. He's just a scared kid with powers he doesn't understand.' Paige held out her empty hands. "Look, Tyler, I'm not going to hurt you. And you're not going to hurt me."

"I hurt everyone around me. So just…just go away, for your own good!"

"No. I know what you're going through. You're a witch, just like me, just like my sisters."

"A-a witch? I'm a witch, like flying around on a broomstick?" Tyler grinned in his best effort to not laugh outright.

"Yeah, or the male version, whatever that is," Paige corrected herself. Tyler laughed finally. 'That's a good sign; he's laughing at me. He must trust me a little bit.'

"Look, Tyler, I know it's not easy to be a witch. And it's not easy to have these powers. We—my sisters and I—can teach you about being a witch, if you want."

"Will you teach me not to hurt people?"

Paige nodded.

Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

Prue pedaled to a stop, causing gravel to fly up and rattle the spokes of her bike. She laughed as Bane, dressed in a yellow cycling jersey, black spandex bike shorts, and black low-top sneakers, skidded to a stop just behind her. "Are you finally ready to admit that you can't keep up?"

"I think you have the unfair advantage of wearing a dress." Bane took off his helmet and shook loose his wavy jet-black hair. It fell simply and perfectly into place.

"I also had the benefit of not carrying the food. So I'll give you some points for that."

"So we pretty much tied for first place?" Bane dismounted from his bike at the same time as Prue.

Prue stood on the tip of her sandal-clad feet and pressed her lips to his. "Oh yeah, it's a tie." She pressed another kiss to his lips. "Thank you for this date." Bane wrapped his arms around Prue's body. His brawny arms pulled her flush against his body with an ardent hunger. "Whoa, slow down, cowboy. Your stallion is starting to get frisky."

Bane laughed. "Well, I wanted to treat you to a great date. You had a hard week at work because of that picky supermodel, and I had a really busy one too. So we needed this time together, just the two of us, alone."

Prue followed Bane as he carried their woven picnic basket to a clean spot of grass. They spread out the red-and-white plaid blanket together. "It might have been agony, but that cover with Alicia Foster is going to get Four-One-Five on the map. The editors are talking national—maybe even international—publication."

"Are you serious, Prue? Didn't you say that's always been a dream of yours?"

"Until now, that's all I thought I could do: dream about being a prize-winning, internationally known photojournalist. Now I'm taking a step in that direction."

Bane set the picnic atop their blanket and sat with crossed legs. Prue sat with her legs folded to one side. 'This spot is almost exactly like the one Andy and I had.

'It was a balmy, breezy day in May, but Prue wasn't at the park to have a pleasant afternoon stroll. Neither was Andy, even though she wanted to simply be there with him and reminisce about the times they used to go to the park and hold hands. "Andy, I'm serious: Stay away from the Manor today. Phoebe had a premonition, and she saw you die in it."

'"Prue, I'm a cop. It's my duty to protect and serve."

'"This isn't something you can handle." Prue folded her arms, suddenly feeling a chill. "I'm not even sure if the three of us can handle it."

'"Let me help you then!"

'"No, Andy! I am not going to stand aside and watch you die! I don't know if I could handle something happening to you." Prue didn't want to say it, but it seemed inevitable. Phoebe had warned her about the time loop, and that they had probably failed to live in the past time loops. If Prue was going to die, she had to say it while there was still time.

'"Andy, I love you."'

"Hello, earth to Prue: Please return to me." Bane snapped his fingers, stared at her, and grinned as Prue exited her memory. "I'm really proud of you, Prue. And I actually forgot to tell you how gorgeous you look in that dress?" He opened the basket, reached in, and offered her a small paper plate with a slice of Brie cheese and three multi-grain crackers.

"No, you didn't. But it's nice to hear it again and again. That's the power of the dress. How is the urban development program going?"

Bane took a bite from one of his own crackers. "Thanks to that new homebuyers' act, I'm actually seeing…"

Prue's phone rang from her clutch. "Hold that thought for one moment." She retrieved the phone and walked around a bush to indicate her need for privacy. "Hello?"

"Prue, where the hell are you right now? I've called your office and I've called the house, and you weren't there."

"Daryl, I'm on a date with my boyfriend. What's wrong? Why do you sound like that?"

"I need to speak with you, Piper, and Paige right now. This is very important."

Prue sighed and peeked through the bush at Bane. He sat with one arm propped on his crooked right leg, gazing around the park in a pose that could have come directly from a magazine cover. "Daryl…."

"Look, Prue, my job is on the line!"

"Ok, ok, I'll meet you at the Manor in about fifteen minutes." Prue hung up and returned to Bane. He cocked one eyebrow in an unspoken question. "Um, Daryl wants to talk with us—Paige, Piper, and me—back at the Manor. He says this is urgent. I have to cut our date short."

Bane shrugged his shoulders and stood up to pick up the picnic blanket. "I'll come with you to the Manor. Did Daryl say what the problem was? Is there anything I can do?"

"He didn't say anything except that it was urgent and his job was at risk."

"I know something of how the police department works, Prue. This sounds like the department is investigating him. Most investigations are routine, but if Daryl has covered up some big events and left gaping holes, it will arouse more questions than other officers."

Prue's face fell and she concentrated on clearing away their picnic. 'Daryl had to cover up Andy's murder, the demon that backed Dishwalla, the fake cousin we created to vanquish the Succubus, Cole's disappearance, and Phoebe's murder, to name just a few things. Any of that would be suspicious. But all of it together would be enormous. And there was that Lieutenant, Lieutenant Martinez I think, who was investigating us.'

Bane snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Prue? Were you listening to me?"

"Sorry," Prue laughed, "it's just…I thought about all the times Daryl's helped us. If the department is investigating him, like you said, there's just so much stacked against him, against us." She walked with Bane back to the bikes. "What were you saying?"

"I wanted to talk about taking the next step in our relationship."

"Moving in? I don't think there's much more room at the Manor…"

"I don't want to move in, Prue. I want to marry you."

Prue dropped the picnic blanket she carried in her arms.

The Underworld

Shrouded in a heavy dark wool cloak, the Oracle walked quickly through the sinuous pathways of Underworld private chambers. For once, discretion was in her best interest. Any demon could accost her without the Source present to protect her. And there were always spies to consider: chameleons, Power Brokers, and Darklighters, all of whom would want to gain notoriety with the Source. The Oracle kept her head bowed until someone suddenly hissed, "In here! Quickly!"

The Oracle rushed into the chamber. It was brightly lit in stark contrast to the shadowed halls outside the Seer's chamber. She let her eyes roam over the Seer's collection of prophetic artifacts: an astrological wheel painted in black charcoal on an aged sheet of calfskin; a yellowed human skull with a single black candle inside it; and a deck of well-used tarot cards on a well-used table in the center of the room. From another part of the chamber, somewhere in the recesses of shadows, the Oracle heard a man's tortured voice crying out, "Please, forgive me! I'm sorry! I am so sorry!"

The Seer stood beside the table with her hands folded before her. "Thank you for considering my request."

"I have few other options, Seer." The Oracle pushed back her hood. "As you have pledged your allegiance to my cause, I am likewise pledged to yours."

"I made no such pledge. I simply stated that I saw the same future and invited you to a discussion, a tête-à-tête."

"You have wasted my time, Seer! This is merely an entrapment!"

The Seer laughed her scornful laugh. "Are you so naïve in your little golden cage that you believed I would waste my time with such a useless enterprise? I wish to discuss with you the destruction of the abomination that reigns still and a prophecy that we have both seen."

The Oracle began to pace the width of the Seer's chamber. The Seer began to pace in the opposite direction. "How do you intend to remove the reigning Source from power?"

"Does he not listen to your advice?"

"At his own discretion, he does," the Oracle said mockingly.

The Seer chuckled. "For too long, the Source has been steeped in his own arrogance. He will be blind to the course of action you will suggest. Only a mind as irrational as the Source would follow it. The Source desires greater and greater power, when such a thing is unattainable. He desires immortality, when it is the way of the world to face destruction and die. Because of his greedy ambitions, you will convince him to use the Hollow against the Halliwells."

"But it is forbidden!"

"So it is, and with good reason." The Seer's eyes misted over as she slipped into a prophetic vision. "When he uses it to try to kill the Charmed Ones, he will be at his weakest."

"What shall we do with the Hollow?"

With her eyes still clouded over, the Seer strode into the darkest regions of her chamber. The Oracle followed. The sound of an agonized man's cries increased with each step, echoing off the walls until she felt surrounded by his tortured screams. "Forgive me, please! I didn't mean to kill you! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

The Seer stopped before an ancient bronze cage dangling from the ceiling. A solitary figure crouched inside, illuminated by the torchlight surrounding him. The Oracle gasped at his appearance. Cole Turner was sweaty, unkempt, and reeked of urine, sweat, and grime. His hair had grown longer and his face was unshaved. His fingernails were broken, bitten to the quick, and bloody. There were bruises on his torso, scratch marks on his back, and welts on his arms and legs. Except for a pair of grimy, urine-stained black boxer briefs, Cole was naked.

"Is this Belthazor?"

"No, it is his human half, Cole Turner. When the Source appointed him to slaughter the Charmed Ones, he chose Belthazor because he is unique among demons for that reason. All other upper-level demons have a human appearance, but Belthazor has a human half. Or rather, he had a human half."

"What have you done to him?"

The Seer chuckled and tapped on one of the bars of the cage. Cole flinched and screamed as another cut appeared on his right forearm. "Please, please, don't kill me," he sobbed. "I never meant to kill you, any of you! Forgive me!"

The Seer smiled at her work. "Some months ago, I received a vision of the breaking of the Charmed Ones' circle and of Belthazor's role in doing so. As all of demondom knows, Belthazor was seduced by one of the Charmed Ones, bringing his humanity into greater strength and causing him to fail the Source's appointed mission to kill the Charmed Ones. He would not have killed the witch. He would have aided in her escape, and another destiny would have unfolded, one that was far less beneficial to both you and me. The witch would have to die.

"So I manipulated some of the Source's guards loyal to my cause…"

"You have spies among the Source's guards?" the Oracle asked, aghast.

The Seer's eyes cleared. She nodded solemnly. "Many are tired of his failures. Many are exhausted with his shortsighted behavior. It was easy to acquire loyal spies, provided I could give them a leader to follow. I gave the best of them a spell used by an ancient order of demons, dedicated to the honing of their mercenary skills, one that would bring Belthazor's demonic half to its full power. It was enough to aid him in the slaughter of the Halliwell witch and to make him open to my persuasions.

"But Belthazor's demonic half is too strong. He could gain the respect of the Underworld, but to become the Source of All Evil, he needed more powers and less of his ego. To do this, I told Belthazor of the one other demon who posed a threat to his rise to power: Malator."

"Malator has been dead for months."

"And so has Belthazor. I invoked ancient magic from the Order of the Brotherhood, which would cost any of their number his demonic powers if he ever slaughtered another in combat. Malator was the last of the Brotherhood with any allegiance to their order, and also the last threat to Belthazor's ascendancy. It was an easy decision."

The Oracle walked around the cage, tapping on its bars at intervals. With each tap, another cut appeared on Cole's body, until blood dripped from wounds on his right forearm, both legs, and his back. "Don't…Please…Stop! Stop! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Cole whimpered, like an agonized animal, and curled into the fetal position on the floor of the cage. "Please forgive me, please."

"What have you done to him?" the Oracle asked.

"Without his demonic half, the human Cole can absorb the Source's powers and nature, which are much greater than his own. But, for this plan to work, for the Source of All Evil to have full reign over the human half of the demon, the human half must be made weaker. So I cast a spell to induce guilt on the human's mind and placed him in this cage to exacerbate his torture.

"Once the Source of All Evil has taken over the void left from his demonic half, Cole Turner will present no obstacle to our plan." The two prophets stared down upon Cole's writhing form.

"Forgive me, please. Please," Cole wept.

"And what exactly did the Guilt Spell do to him?" the Oracle asked.

"In his mind, he is seeing over and over the one thing he regrets most: killing the witch he loved."

Halliwell Manor

When Paige unlocked the back door, she immediately heard Piper mutter, "Oh God, Jesse, this is so good!"

Paige stopped just inside the back door and held up a hand. Tyler stopped in his tracks outside the door. She listened carefully. "Do you want more?" Jesse asked.

"Oh God, yes, please!"

"If you ask nicely, I might."

"Please, Jesse? Leo doesn't do it like you."

'Oh God, Piper's sugar sweet baby doll voice makes me want to vomit. Like right this moment,' Paige thought. 'There's no way they're doing what I think they're doing.'

"When was the last time he…"

Forgetting that Tyler was with her, Paige stormed into the kitchen. The savory aroma of marinated meat, herbs, and spices assailed her nose. Jesse and Piper looked up at her with hardly an iota of surprise. Both were fully clothed in blue denim jeans and T-shirts (a green one for Jesse and a pink one for Piper) and cotton aprons (a white one for Jesse and a pink one for Piper). "What exactly are you two doing in here?"

"Jesse was showing me how to make a lamb stew he learned to make in the Himalayas," Piper explained. "After I smelled those strawberry-banana pancakes this morning, I asked if he knew how to cook anything else. He told me what the needed, and we stopped at a store before coming home from the club."

"And Piper was just telling me how long it's been since a man last cooked for her," Jesse added.

"Yeah, Leo doesn't cook very often…Wait," Paige turned to Jesse, "did Paige already tell you everything she knows about Whitelighters?"

"Yeah."

"Good; Leo is one."

"Oh," Paige said.

Before anyone could say anything else, Tyler ran into the kitchen. "Hey, that smells really good! What is it?"

"It's a lamb stew I learned to make while mountain-climbing in the Himalayas this summer. Would you like some?" Jesse held up the pot.

"Sure!"

"Have a seat, kid." Tyler hopped onto one of the stools in front of the kitchen island. "What's your name, kid?"

"Tyler."

Piper approached Paige around the island and led her to the dining room area. "Why is there a teenaged boy sitting in our kitchen?" she hissed.

"He's twelve, so he's not a teenager."

"Paige, it's the same difference!"

"It's a long story, but he ran away from home and came to Social Services. I decided to bring him home."

"You were that girl who took home every stray puppy you found on the side of the road, weren't you?"

Before Paige answered, there was the sound of keys tumbling the lock of the front door. "Paige, if that's another one of your guests, I'll tell him to come by next week."

The two sisters reached the front door as Prue entered the house, followed closely by Bane and Daryl. "Daryl, I've told you I don't know how many times that we don't know what happened to Lieutenant Rodriguez!"

"And I don't know how many times I've told you, Prue, but I don't believe that any more than I believe that the sky is blood red!"

Prue kept her stride through the foyer and into the main hall of the first floor. Piper and Paige followed her into the living room. "What's going on, Daryl?" Piper asked.

The police officer sighed and glared at the three sisters. "A few months ago, Lieutenant David Rodriguez disappeared from San Francisco: no forwarding address, no mention of any destination, nothing. Then he gets arrested in the Caribbean for embezzling over four hundred thousand dollars from the secure police lockup."

"Maybe Lieutenant Rodriguez wasn't as honorable as you thought?" Paige suggested.

"Rodriguez was the most honorable and decoration-worthy officer I've met since Andy Trudeau. He lived a frugal lifestyle. I've known him for years. Something doesn't add up."

"Do you have anything to back up your suspicions?" Prue asked.

"No, not yet; since I'm not part of the investigation, I can't access his personal files. I…" He stopped as Jesse and Tyler walked into the living room.

"Hey, Piper," Jesse said flippantly, "we're out of flour, and this kid here thinks that banana nut bread doesn't need yeast to rise."

"I said I've never seen banana nut bread rise before. I didn't say it was impossible."

"When did you three get a teenager?" Daryl asked. "And who are you?"

Jesse walked up to Daryl and offered his right hand. "Jesse Roberts; I'm a friend of Paige's."

"And Tyler is a kid from work," Paige said brightly.

"You wouldn't happen to be the Tyler Hancock who ran away from his parents' home, are you? Half of this city's police force is looking for this kid."

Prue and Piper turned to Paige with quizzical expressions. 'Uh-oh, I'm busted.' Paige shrugged her shoulders. "He followed me home from work?"

"You're about fifteen years too old to use that excuse, Paige. His parents are probably worried sick."

"I doubt it. He ran away for a reason, and he needs our help. I've seen the things he can do."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Paige saw the same flash of red in Tyler's eyes that she had seen before he set her blouse on fire. She instinctively ducked, but Tyler turned his gaze from everyone a split second before an entire wall caught fire. Piper flicked her wrist and Immobilized the flames.

"Whoa! How'd you do that?" Jesse and Tyler asked in perfect symphonic unison.

"Is it just me, or did Prue have something she wanted to say?" Piper asked.

The Heavenly Realms

When he Orbed into the meeting of the Elders to which he had been summoned, Leo sighed wearily. In the last four hours, he had helped one of his charges escape from Italian gangsters who were chasing him through the streets of Florence, Italy; then he had Healed a charge whose ability to walk through solid objects was compromised during a fight with a Hydra demon. Leo Sensed Piper's anger toward him all day, but before he could Orb to the Manor, the Elders had intercepted him.

The entire space in which he stood was occupied by the Elders communing with each other. Leo felt impatient. He wanted to be at Piper's side. He wanted to go home. But they continued to commune with each other and ignore his presence in their midst.

Finally, as minutes trickled by (which Leo knew would translate into hours on earth), Leo cleared his throat. "What is it now?"

They answered with one voice that penetrated Leo's head. It felt like a sonic boom inside Leo's head, the power of their combined telepathy. "The Charmed Ones have had recollections of Andrew Trudeau."

Leo's knees buckled. He knelt before the Elders. "Yes."

"They believe the memories are dreams, and you have encouraged this lie."

"Yes." Leo gritted his teeth. The pain of so many thoughts in his head at the same time made Leo dizzy. His head pounded.

"You were tasked to erase their memories. You have failed."

"I'm sorry. Please." Leo's eyes watered.

"Make the error correct. Erase their memories again. The will of the Charmed Ones is powerful, but so is the will of the Elders."

"I will."

"Do not defy us, Leo. Or will you endure worse torture than you could imagine. That which you love will be taken from you."

Leo saw something drip from his nose. It was bright red and viscous; it was his blood. "I will obey."