4x04: Witch Switch
Prue Halliwell stood in her bedroom looking at outfits in her closet, she hadn't felt this nervous in a long time, today was her return to work since the death of her younger sister and she really hoped she was ready, in the days and weeks since Pipers death she'd discovered a half-sister, a long kept family secret and the fact that the Angel of Death had intended for her to die and was now working with mysterious others in order to find out why this had changed. She finished getting ready as she sat on her bed and put on a pair of boots and grabbed her camera equipment before heading out of the room.
As Prue reached the bottom of the stairs she noticed Phoebe sat in the sun-room with the Book of Shadows and a notepad. "Please don't tell me we need to vanquish a demon, this is my first day back at 415 and I really don't need a demon messing it up" she stressed as she walked into the sun-room; Phoebe looked at her eldest sister and smiled. "No silly, I've got Paige coming round today for some lessons, I'm trying to get her used to writing spells so she's ready for more demon attacks" Phoebe told Prue. "Kind of a stress head today aren't you, it's not like it's your first day at 415" she added as she got up and followed Prue into the kitchen as her sister grabbed some coffee. "I know, I know but I've been gone for so long I'm nervous you know, the photography industry's very competitive and I'm thankful to Gil for letting me pick up from where I left off, he's even letting me do the Golden Gate in summer spread which is a big deal for the magazine" Prue told Phoebe as she grabbed a bagel and wrapped it up to take with her, "So I really need a normal day today just to crack on and settle back into my life" she added as she grabbed her keys off the hook and headed out the kitchen and through the foyer to the front door as Phoebe followed her. "Comment noted, today will be a normal day for you I'll be here with Paige and you can just do what you do so well and take some great photos" Phoebe said as Prue picked up her equipment and opened the front door, "Although related to that normal note, the contractors still want to meet with us about P3 it's still totaled after the whole Shax fiasco" Phoebe added as Prue was going out the door.
"Neither of us want to run a club Phoebe you know that, and before you say, I know we can't sell it in that state or because of what it means to us so could you do me a favour and just try to buy us a little bit more time with them?" Prue asked her.
"Ok I'll phone them later and let them know" Phoebe replied, "Best of luck" she said to Prue as she watched her walk down the front steps to her car.
XXX
In the underworld a group of demons were sat around a fire in a cavern, chatting among themselves completely oblivious to The Seer glistening into the cavern behind them, she let out a small cough as the group of demons turned to face her. "Seer what brings you to this part of the underworld?" one of the demons questioned her.
"I need your groups' services for The Source" she replied to the group.
"Pfft, The Source everyone knows he's in hiding since The Charmed Ones were reconstituted" another of the group spoke up.
"I suggest you hold your tongue, unless you'd like me to hold it for you" she retorted, "I've had a vision that's shown me the sisters will be distracted soon, a perfect opportunity for a group, such as yourselves, to attack them" she informed the group.
"This is suicide, you can't be taking her seriously, any demon that goes up against The Charmed Ones gets vanquished" The demon who had spoken up before interjected, The Seer looked over at him before she released an energy blast from her palm, the attack hit the demon vanquishing him on contact so just a pile of ash remained by the fire as his comrades looked on as The Seer wiped her hand as if it was covered in dirt. "You have our attention Seer, what is it we need to do?" the leader of the group asked the she demon. "I shall tell you when the moment to attack is perfect" The Seer replied, "Just follow my instructions" she added before activating her power and gazing into the future.
Opening Credits
Instrumental music plays as we pan around San Francisco, cars travel over the Golden Gate Bridge and through the city, cable cars can be seen running before the traffic is followed again leading to a residential area, the camera then shifts to outside the Halliwell manor before zooming into the sun-room window and focusing on Phoebe.
As Phoebe sat in the sun-room she was trying to work out the best way to teach Paige about the craft as she flicked through The Book of Shadows and made notes in her notepad, as she was writing down Cole shimmered in behind her. "Phoebe" he said breaking the silence in the room as the young witch turned around suddenly and ran to her boyfriend. It had been a couple days since she'd seen Cole with him being on the run from demonic bounty hunters who all wanted the price on his head. "I've missed you so much" she told him as she embraced him, "Next time you have to dodge bounty hunters try not to stay away for so long ok" she told him as she sat back down at the table.
"What's going on here, I haven't seen you working this hard since you were in school" Cole asked Phoebe, "I was hoping I'd be able to shimmer in and convince you to play hooky for the day" he told Phoebe.
"As much as I would love to, I've got Paige coming round soon for some magic lessons and I really want to get her situated in the craft" Phoebe let him know as Cole smiled at her, "What are you smiling at?" she asked him as she put her pen down.
"I just never imagined wild child Phoebe Halliwell becoming the sensible grown up middle sister" Cole told her, "But I'm glad you're making attempts to bond with Paige, if you get time later for me let me know" he said to her before leaning in and kissing Phoebe, Phoebe savored the kiss off Cole before he shimmered back out of the room. Phoebe stared at his empty seat before the front doorbell pulled her out of her thoughts. Phoebe got up and headed to the front door and opened it to see Paige on the front porch. "Paige hey thanks being able to come round today" she said to her as she gestured for her to come into the manor.
"It's cool I'm on a half day at work today anyway so I'm ready to learn some stuff before I head in" Paige replied as she followed Phoebe into the sun-room and sat down at the table. "Now just remember this won't all be fun and games" Phoebe told Paige as she was making sure she was taking it all in, "The things I'm going to teach you today are all going to be important for the rest of your life now" she added as she turned her notepad back to the first page.
"I know I get it I really am grateful for you giving up your free time like this" Paige replied.
"To tell you the truth it's good to keep busy, I don't really have a lot going on anymore since I graduated, Prue's back at work and Cole's off dodging all sorts of bounty hunters and I'm just here" Phoebe told Paige, a slight sense of upset in her tone that Paige picked up on.
"I know it's hard getting back into a groove after a death, have you thought about hitting the want ads and getting a job, a college grads a sought after thing out there you know" Paige said.
"Yeah but I'm not entirely sure I just want to be a graduate, there's something I've been thinking about but it will mean a lot of time and right now Prue and I barely have time to get P3 sorted and with The Source still out there I'm slightly worried" she told Paige, "Anyway enough about my career life, let's get on with some spell training shall we" she added.
XXX
Prue had been at Golden Gate park for most of the morning working on finding the perfect shots for her spread in the magazine, she stood against the trees as she focused her camera getting shots of all the flowers in bloom, she took a couple more shots focusing on the contrast of the park with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background of her shots. "Prue?" a male voice shouted pulling Prue out her concentration as she looked at her shots, "Prue hi, I thought it was you" the man said as he walked up to Prue. "Kevin, hi how are you, how was New York?" Prue responded as she looked up at the man and offered him a hug, Prue had met Kevin a couple of months prior when she'd been transformed into a dog to track down a banshee, he'd hit her with his car and they'd gone on a couple of dates after she'd transformed back. "New York was awesome, I got some great shots of the city while I was there" he told Prue, "I heard about your sister, and I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am" he said to her giving her another hug, "How are you holding up after it all?" he asked her.
"I'm hanging in you know, I had a rough couple of weeks afterwards, but I had my family to look after me, in fact today's my first day back at 415" she told Kevin.
"Ah of course the magazines Golden Gate in summer spread" Kevin replied looking around at the park and then noticing the camera in Prue's hand, "Do you mind if I take a look at your shots?" he asked her as she offered up the camera to him, "Wow these are really good, I like the contrast you got with the bridge in back ground" he told Prue as he looked at her shots before passing back her camera, Prue smiled as she brushed her hair back, suddenly she felt a sense of panic as she looked up at Kevin taking back her camera from his hands, she'd liked Kevin a lot before he'd had to go to New York for three months and now he was back she felt they'd have to address where they both stood. "Um Kevin, I'm sorry I've just got to go back home quickly, I've left some lenses there that I want for my shots, will you be here much longer?" she asked him.
"Yeah I've actually got a meeting at the de Young museum; I'm doing an article on their structural repairs for The Bay Mirror" Kevin told Prue.
"Ok great I'll meet you outside there in a round about an hour" she told him as she quickly turned and headed back to her car leaving Kevin stood alone.
XXX
Back at the manor, Phoebe and Paige had moved up to the attic as the pair sat around the table in there looking through the Book of Shadows. "How come there are spells in here that look like they totally go against that whole personal gain rule?" Paige questioned as she looked at pages of the book.
"Well not everyone who had access to the book was completely good" Phoebe replied, "The book's been passed down for generations and some of those generations had some bad apples in them" she carried on saying as Paige continued skimming through the book.
"You're telling me I mean this love spell looks pretty much like personal gain if you ask me" Paige said as she looked over the page as Phoebe laughed.
"Yeah that one really was a doozy" Phoebe told her.
"Really, you've cast this one before?" Paige asked her.
"Yeah Piper and I cast it when we first regained our powers, like I told you we had to learn the hard way about personal gain and this was one of the ways we learnt a lesson" Phoebe told Paige. "Wow, there really is a lot to learn" Paige said as she carried on looking through the book.
"Yeah and there's not just spells, there's potions and learning to control your power and orbing" Phoebe told her as Paige looked up from the book at her.
"Do you think I'll be able to learn it all fast enough?" Paige questioned, "I mean you and Prue have had three years to develop, learn how to do all these spells and potions and you're both pretty kick ass with your powers" she said to Phoebe.
"I know this is all pretty stressful Paige but you will get it, it's in your blood plus Prue and I will do everything we can to help you out, and I wouldn't worry about your power if I were you it's a pretty kick ass one already, I wish I'd had a cool power like yours from the start" Phoebe told Paige.
"Really, you seem so happy with your powers" Paige replied.
"Yeah I am, but when we first got our powers back, Prue and Piper both had these pretty cool active powers and all I could do was have Premonitions, but now my powers have grown and I got my active power in the end" she told Paige. "But sometimes I still wish I could use a power like yours and Prue's for a bit" she added as she stood up, "Right I think we should have time to go over some potions basics, I'll get some ingredients from the kitchen" she told Paige, who gave her a nod of approval as Phoebe headed out the attic and down to the kitchen.
XXX
As Phoebe came down the stairs into the foyer; Prue came through the front door dropping her equipment by them. "Phoebe thank god I need some advice" she said to her sister as she walked towards her. "Sure what's wrong honey?" Phoebe asked her.
"So I was at the park getting my shots when Kevin turns up out of the blue" she told Phoebe.
"Kevin, as in Kevin who ran you over when you were a dog Kevin?" Phoebe asked.
"That's the one" Prue told her.
"But I thought he was in New York working?" Phoebe asked her.
"He was, for three months remember, that times passed and now he's back and I'm worried he's going to want to talk about us and if we're picking back up where we left off" Prue explained.
"And what's wrong if he does, this isn't like you Prue you don't stress over men like this you never have" Phoebe said.
"I know, but so much has happened since he's been gone I'm not sure what I want anymore, I did like him, but our lives are so complicated right now I don't know if a relationship will fit into it" Prue told Phoebe, "Besides he probably thinks I'm crazy now anyway I had to get away quickly so I just told him I needed to grab some lenses and ran" she added.
"Oh honey, it'll be alright, just go and meet him and try to tell him as much as you can I know it sounds cliché but just listen to your heart you know" Phoebe told her, "Plus Kevin's a cutie, it be nice for you to keep him around" she said to Prue before she gave her a cheeky grin as Prue playful smacked her arm.
"I suppose your right, I better grab my lenses and head back out to see him" Prue said.
XXX
Back in the attic Paige was writing on the notepad Phoebe had been using, she flipped though the book looking at different spells as she wrote her own down, she put down the pen as she looked over the spell she'd written and then grabbed a candle from the nearby dresser along with a box of matches. "Well here goes nothing" she said to herself as she ripped the page with spell from the notebook and lit the candle before she started chanting. "From twenty four, to twenty four. That's how long I cast this spell for. I offer up my gift to share, and swap all powers through the air. For all who dwell within this place, switch all powers in this space" Paige burned the paper in the flame of the candle, the paper slowly burned and when the last bit was gone Paige began to glow as her power left her body.
XXX
Back downstairs Prue and Phoebe were back in the foyer, Phoebe had grabbed some potion ingredients and Prue was picking up her photography equipment and adding the lenses to the bag. "Now remember just try to act normal with Kevin don't freak out" Phoebe told Prue.
"I'll try my best" Prue replied as both of them began to faintly glow, both unaware as their powers left their bodies and floated upwards, Paige's power came cascading down the stairs and mixed with the other two sets around the chandelier, two sets of powers then floated down and went back into Prue and Phoebe as the last set rose back up to Paige in the attic. Prue said goodbye to Phoebe as she headed back out and Phoebe headed back up to the attic both unaware of what Paige had just done.
XXX
Phoebe came back to the attic and saw Paige standing up as she walked into the room, "Hey what's going on I thought we'd have time for some potions?" She questioned as she saw Paige grabbing her bag. "I thought so too but I should really get ready to head into work, but I'll drop in tonight don't worry" Paige told her, she really wanted to get out of the house she knew Phoebe might be mad if she found out about the spell she'd just cast, besides she didn't even know if the spell had worked. Phoebe looked at Paige feeling slightly doubtful about her honesty. "Are you sure this about getting to work Paige? The last time you had to rush off like this you had the Book of Shadows in your bag" she said to her sister.
"Look the books still right there, I just let time get the best of me honest" Paige replied feeling even worse the longer she stood in the attic. "Ok I'm sorry for doubting you I'll see you tonight then" she said to Paige as she smiled and headed out the attic.
XXX
The Seer stood in the cavern with the leader of the demonic group she'd got to work for her. "Well Seer is it time yet?" the demon questioned.
"Yes" The Seer replied, "I warn you though the Charmed Ones powers are still strong even if they're not in the correct sister, you have twenty four hours to break the charmed circle before the witches powers are returned to the rightful place" The Seer told the demon.
"Don't worry Seer me and my men will not fail you or The Source, but just remember the power you've promised us once the job is done" the demon replied to The Seer, "Just don't let your confidence get the better of you, you and your men will have the reward once the charmed ones are no more" she said to him before she glistened out of the cavern leaving the demon to plan an attack with his comrades.
XXX
Prue pulled her SUV into the car park of the de Young museum as she saw all the work being done on the building, she turned off the engine and exited the driver's seat, grabbing her equipment out of the trunk of the car and headed towards the building. She spotted Kevin stood outside and walked towards him. "Hey you actually came back" he said Prue as she approached him, "You didn't think I would?" she questioned as the pair started walking into the park.
"Well can you blame me you left in a hurry earlier" Kevin replied.
"Yeah I know, I'm sorry I was just really surprised to see you here, so much has changed for me since you've been gone and I wasn't really sure where we stood now" Prue told Kevin not wanting to make him feel bad.
"I can understand that, you've lost your sister after all, I should've probably phoned you beforehand rather than just turning up here, but I stopped by 415 and Gil told me I could find you here so I thought it be cool to turn up and surprise you" Kevin told Prue.
"That's sweet of you" she told Kevin as the pair continued their walk through the park, "How was New York anyway?" she asked him.
"It was great I got to learn so much there met some amazing people, but I'd have cancelled it all in a heartbeat to come back and help you" he replied as they stopped walking and looked into one another's eyes. Kevin leaned forward and slowly took Prue's hand into his, Prue kept her gaze on him as her knees suddenly buckled and her head started spinning.
Prue and Kevin are stood on the manors front porch as both of them look into each other's eyes, Kevin leans forward and begins slowly kissing Prue passionately.
"Oh god" Prue uttered as she quickly let go of Kevin's hands.
"Are you ok?" Kevin asks her seeing how pale Prue's now gone.
"Yeah I think so; I just really don't feel too good all of a sudden. Can we have a rain check?" she said to him.
"Of course, you go take care of yourself and we'll arrange something. You still have my cell number right" Kevin told Prue.
"Yeah I've still got it, I'll call you later" Prue replied as she headed back towards her car.
XXX
Prue pulled her SUV into the manors driveway and quickly got out her car and hurried into the house. "Phoebe!" she shouted as she looked in the lounge for her sister and then headed into the sun-room. "Phoebe this is urgent!" she shouted again as Phoebe came running down the stairs into the foyer.
"What is it? What's wrong?" she asked Prue seeing the worry and stress all over Prue's face.
"A lot, I was at the park with Kevin and when he took hold of my hand I'm pretty sure I had a Premonition" she told Phoebe.
"What" Phoebe responded shocked, "A Premonition are you sure that's what it was?" she asked her older sister.
"I'm sure all right, after our power swap fiasco two years ago I remember what it feels like to have Premonitions" Prue told Phoebe as the pair walked into the lounge and sat down on the couch. "But how can you have my power when I have my power?" Phoebe questioned.
"Are you completely sure about that" Prue answered her; "Because I've tried moving things I've tried Astral-Projection and neither's working for me" she carried on saying. "Well there's only one way to find out" Phoebe said as she got up off of the couch, she stood trying to Levitate to no avail. "Well you're not the only one I can't Levitate so maybe you do have my powers" Phoebe said as she sat back down next to Prue.
"That begs more questions than it's answered though, how have our powers been swapped it seems like some pretty powerful magic" Prue mused she then suddenly looked over at Phoebe, "You and Paige didn't actually cast any spells during your magic lesson did you?" she asked her sister.
"I certainly didn't, and I'm pretty sure Paige wouldn't after the Book of Shadows swipe" Phoebe told Prue hoping that Paige hadn't done anything.
"Hmmm I'm not so sure" Prue said as she stood up, "I assume your notes and things are still in the attic?" Prue asked as Phoebe nodded her head, Prue then walked off towards the attic with Phoebe following her.
XXX
The pair walked into the attic and Prue headed straight over to the table with Phoebe's notepad and the Book of Shadows on it. "Well everything looks normal no spells on here" Phoebe said as she flipped through her notepad.
"Let me see that" Prue said as she took the pad off Phoebe, her ears began to ring as she was pulled into another Premonition.
Paige is sat at the table reading her spell before she burns it in the flame of the candle and her powers leave her body.
"What did you see?" Phoebe asked her sister.
"Paige sat here casting some sort of spell; one that I'm guessing has swapped our powers around" Prue told her as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. "Time to phone little miss spell and she what she has to say for herself" Prue said as she began dialing.
XXX
Paige is sat working at her computer when the phone on her desk begins ringing. "South Bay Social Services Paige Matthews speaking" Paige said as she answered the phone.
"Cast any spells lately?" Prue asked her bluntly.
"Prue hi what's up?" she asked her.
"You know perfectly well what's up, what kind of ass backwards spell have you cast Paige?" she asked again.
"I don't know what you mean Prue, can we talk later I'm kind of busy here at work" Paige replied to her trying to dodge her questions.
"No Paige we need to talk now, because all afternoon I've been having Premonitions and surprisingly enough Phoebe can't even Levitate anymore so could you explain that to me" Prue said to her getting agitated.
"I'm really sorry Prue but I can't help you there" Paige replied.
"Paige just get to the manor now!" Prue shouted at her.
"Prue I can't I'm swamped here" Paige replied wanting the conversation to be over.
"Now Paige this is serious" Prue said to her, Paige held onto the phone as she felt the pull of wanting to do the right thing but the fear of being scolded by Prue, as the want to stay at her desk or go to the manor got so strong her head suddenly fell limp as orbs left her body.
XXX
Prue stood in the manor's kitchen pacing back and forth with her cell to her ear. "Paige, Paige what's going on?" she questioned as she could just hear Paige breathing slowly on the other end of the line. Suddenly a set of orbs came cascading down from the sky into the kitchen and then formed into Paige. "Paige" Prue said as she looked at her sister with some shock. "How did I get here?" Paige questioned as she looked around the manors kitchen.
"Astral-Projection, a pretty cool power right" Prue said to her, "My power in fact which just confirms what I thought, you've swapped all our powers" she told Paige.
"That's not possible, my spell should've only swapped mine and Phoebe's powers" Paige said before she gave Prue a guilty look, "I'm sorry I thought I was doing something for Phoebe" Paige tried to explain.
"Whatever Paige, just get your astral ass back into your body and get back here so we can sort this out" Prue told her.
"And just how do I get back into my body?" Paige asked.
"Just focus on where your body is and feel the pull to return to it" Prue told her, Paige closed her eyes and felt her body back at work before she turned back into orbs and disappeared.
XXX
Paige walked up the steps to the manor feeling really nervous of how Prue would treat her when she saw her again, she hesitated at the door before she rang the doorbell, she waited anxiously before Phoebe opened the door. "Phoebe I'm so sorry for lying to you" she said as she walked through the door.
"Then why did you Paige?" she asked in response, "I told you how important it was to take magic seriously and this is how you respond" she added as the pair joined Prue in the lounge. "What I don't get is why Paige, wasn't stealing the book bad enough now you're just casting spells for personal gain that you make up" Prue said to her.
"It wasn't just for fun or personal gain ok I was trying to do something nice for Phoebe" Paige told the pair.
"For me, how was this for me?" Phoebe asked her.
"Well during our lesson you were talking about how you sometimes wish you had a more kick ass active power, so I thought I'd make up a spell to give you my power for a day" Paige explained to her.
"A day!" Prue shouted out, "This spell lasts for a whole day" she said.
"Well I wanted Phoebe to have some fun with it, I thought she'd find out when I was at work and then I'd explain when I came back, but it should've only done it to people in the house which was me and Phoebe" Paige tried to explain her thinking.
"She must've cast it when you came back for those lenses earlier" Phoebe said looking over at Prue.
"Great" Prue replied as she rolled her eyes, "And I'm guessing the consequences of this spell will be that we can't reverse it" she said.
"Which means we've got another twenty something hours like this" Phoebe added.
"Ok well that doesn't sound too bad" Paige said hopefully.
"Oh no, that doesn't make this ok Paige, we are all vulnerable now" Prue shot back.
"From what?" Paige questioned just before five of the demons the Seer had contacted smoked into the foyer.
"This" Phoebe and Prue said simultaneously as they all jumped to their feet. Two of the demons threw energy balls at the sisters, Paige orbed out in a panic as Prue and Phoebe dodged behind the couch as the attacks collided with it causing fabric and feathers to go flying. Paige orbed back into the room and saw the damage. "Paige use my power on them" Prue said as she pushed herself up off the ground and helped Phoebe up, Paige threw her hands out hoping to use Prue's power but nothing happened. "I don't know how" she shouted as Prue and Phoebe moved to engage the demons in hand to hand combat, both sisters took two each as Paige tried to avoid the last demon who was left by running into the foyer. Phoebe landed a punch on one of the demons before she spun and kicked the second square in the chest causing him to stumble; the first demon summoned an athame into his palm before attacking again, Phoebe grabbed his arm twisting it causing him to release the athame, she quickly grabbed the blade off the floor and stabbed the demon in the stomach causing him to scream before he exploded into black particles.
The second demon then stuck her sending her flying into the coffee table and breaking it. Meanwhile Prue was trying her best to attack the two demons she had without her active powers, she kicked one of the demons in the chest knocking him further into the foyer, the other demon summoned an energy ball and aimed it at Prue, as Paige saw this behind Prue she shouted to warn her. "Prue, the energy ball" the attack was suddenly consumed with orbs and orbed away from Prue, the attack then reformed in Paige's hand who threw it at one of the demons vanquishing him on contact. Prue advanced on the demon she'd knocked back, as she went to kick him, he grabbed her leg stopping her kick, he went to push her back but to both their surprise Prue levitated into the air. "Woah!" Prue exclaimed as she just floated in the air. Phoebe slowly came to and looked into the foyer and saw Prue floating in the air as two of the demons started advancing on her. "No leave her alone" she said as she lifted up her hands, her palms began glowing white as she activated Paige's power the two demons began screaming before their bodies dispersed into atoms, the remaining demons smoked out quickly as Phoebe collapsed back to the floor and Prue landed back on the ground. "Ouch" she said as Paige came and helped her to her feet. "And that's the consequence" she said as the pair went over to Phoebe. "Come on Pheebs" Prue said to her sister as she opened her eyes.
"That power really takes it out of you" Phoebe said groggily as she sat on the couch that was still intact.
XXX
In the underworld cavern the two demons left from the manor smoked back in. "What happened, where are the others?" the leader asked.
"The witches slaughtered us, there powers were all messed up and they still managed to take out three of us" one of the pair told the leader.
"Damn it, this is what the Seer mentioned we need a new plan" the leader replied, "And this time we aren't pulling any punches" he added.
XXX
Back at the manor Prue, Phoebe and Paige are all sat among the damage from the attack. "They're more than likely going to come back" Prue told her sisters "And with the way there last attack went we'll be sitting ducks unless we can learn to adapt and fast" she said.
"How?" Paige asked her, "These powers are completely different to mine, how do we even stand a chance against them".
"Well we managed to take out three of them last time, and that was just a fluke, if we know how to use each other's powers better we should be able to take out whoever's left" Phoebe said.
"Paige how did you activate my power last time? It wasn't how I use it" Prue asked her youngest sister.
"I don't know. I just saw the energy ball in his palm, called out to warn you and it just orbed to me" Paige told her.
"Ok then" Prue said as she placed the demons athame on the couch, "Try it again with the athame" she told her.
Paige outstretched her arm and opened up her hand, "Athame" she called, the blade was covered in orbs before it orbed from the couch into her palm.
"Because of your whitelighter half it must effect how my power works in you" Prue explained.
"Well at least that's one offensive power under our belt, but I really don't think I'm going to get Paige's down because it really took it out of me last time" Phoebe told them, "Which leaves you Prue, if you can Levitate at will then it should help with your fighting. That should give us a slight upper hand" Phoebe said to her.
"Well last time it kind of just happened, the demon pushed me and there I was floating" Prue replied to her, "I don't get how you do it, there doesn't seem to be a trigger liker anger or fear" she said trying to understand her sisters' power.
"I've never really thought about it" Phoebe told her, "I just feel free when I Levitate, relaxed, safe I think because it's defensive" she let Prue know.
"Ok relaxed and safe got it" Prue replied hoping Phoebe's advice would help her out. "Maybe I should make up some more explosion potions just in case" Prue said as she stood up and headed to the kitchen. "Paige can help" Phoebe chimed in looking from her to Prue.
"Ok I suppose you can learn" Prue responded as Paige awkwardly got up and followed her into the kitchen.
XXX
Prue and Paige stood in the kitchen mixing potion ingredients together on the stove. "So you made this potion up on your own?" Paige asked as she looked over the handwritten page in the Book of Shadows. "Yeah" Prue briefly replied as she added ingredients into the pot, she looked over and noticed how rejected Paige looked. "I made it after Piper died and our powers had been weakened. It replicates Piper's combustion power" she told Paige as she added a milky liquid into the pot.
"That's kind of cool" Paige replied as she read the page and then picked up the bowl of owl feathers near her. "Here you wrote that this is the last part of the potion" she said as she handed the bowl to Prue. "How about you add them" Prue told her as she moved aside from the pot and let Paige add some of the feathers into the bubbling pot, a small explosion occurred in the pot before the whole liquid changed to a light purple. "That means it's done right?" Paige asked.
"Yep, you catch onto potion making quick" Prue told her as she grabbed a handful of vials to put the potion in.
XXX
Meanwhile Phoebe was sat cleaning up in the front lounge when the remaining demons and there leader smoked into the manor. "Paige, Prue!" she shouted as she looked up and noticed them before the leader flung her into the grandfather clock rendering her unconscious. Prue and Paige rushed into the room just as Phoebe collided with the clock. "Phoebe" Paige let out in shock as Prue threw one of the vials vanquishing one of the demons. "Athame!" Paige shouted calling for the blade from the couch, it orbed into her hand and Paige threw at one of the demons causing him to burst into black particles. Prue was fighting off two more of the demons; she got one with a spinning kick knocking him to ground before she vanquished him with another potion. "No!" his comrade shouted as he glared at Prue and got ready to advance on her.
"Ok relaxed and free" she said to herself before she took a deep breath, she ran at the demon and rose into the air colliding a kick with his face knocking her down to the ground at the same time. Paige saw Prue and the demon land on the foyer floor from their fight, the demon slowly pushed himself up and looked down at Prue, Paige tried to think of something to do when she saw one of the potion vials on the floor. "Potion" she called orbing the potion into her hand before throwing it at the demon and vanquishing him, she moved over to Prue and got ready to take on the leader. "She said you'd be easy to attack" he said looking at Prue and Paige, he then looked past them and saw Phoebe still unconscious in the remains of the grandfather clock. "Guess I'll need some leverage" he added before he smoked out, he briefly smoked back in beside Phoebe and grabbed her before smoking out with her leaving Prue and Paige alone and in shock.
XXX
In the demons cavern the leader of the pack smoked in with an unconscious Phoebe. "Seer!" he bellowed, The Seer glistened into the cavern and looked at the demon.
"Who do you think you are to summon me this way?" she said to him.
"A pissed off demon that's who, The Charmed Ones took out all of my men, you said they'd be easier to attack without their own powers, you…" the demon spoke.
"I warned you to be careful, I told you there powers were still strong" The Seer interrupted him, "And now you've failed The Source" she told him.
"Not quite" the demon replied looking down at Phoebe on the floor, "I got the sister who broke his bond".
"I suppose The Source can reward you for this" The Seer told him as she moved forward.
"Not so fast" the demon told her stepping in her path, "I have some good leverage here for the other sisters, this is my game now" he said told her before he grabbed Phoebe and smoked out of the cavern.
XXX
Prue and Paige are sat in the attic of the manor trying to find Phoebe. "Damn it I can't find her scrying" Prue told Paige as she placed the crystal down on the map, Paige looked through the book trying to find some way of getting Phoebe back. "I warned you something would happen" Prue snapped at her, "demons have a way of knowing when we're weak and vulnerable and now Phoebe's been taken" Prue looked over at Paige and saw the guilt and sorrow on her face, as much as she wanted to yell at her she couldn't lose it fully with her, she was her sister after all. "I know you tried to do something good, but this is why we work as a unit" Prue told her, "You just need to remember the Charmed Ones come first, we do things as a sisterhood, it's how we're strongest" she carried on saying.
"I am truly sorry, now Phoebe's lost and we don't have a way to find her" Paige replied.
"Never say never" Prue replied. "Leo" she called looking up at the ceiling, orbs cascaded down and formed into Leo.
"What's wrong?" he asked Prue.
"Phoebe's been kidnapped by a demon" Prue told him.
"How, how did a demon get enough strength to take Phoebe?" Leo asked her.
"It's all my fault" Paige spoke up, "I cast a spell that switched all our powers" she told Leo.
"You did what?!" Leo said in mix of shock and anger, "How could you be so careless Paige, magic isn't a game" he said to her.
"Leo cool it, she feels bad enough and I've already scolded her enough" Prue intervened, "Can you sense Phoebe for us?" she asked him, Leo turned away from Paige and closed his eyes activating his sensing power, he sighed and opened them again. "I can't get a read on her" he told Prue.
"What does that mean?" Paige asked them, "Is she dead" she worried aloud.
"No" Leo replied sharply, "She's my charge I'd feel it if she'd been killed" he told her.
"This probably means he's taken her to the underworld" Prue said hoping Paige would worry a little less, "Can you take us down there?" she asked Leo.
"No that's not the best plan right now, the underworld's vast and your powers are weakened down there" Leo told her, "You need to find a way to bring her back to you somehow" he said them.
"Wait, I've got an idea" Paige said as she flipped through the book and stopped at the to call a witch's powers spell.
"How will this bring Phoebe to us?" Prue questioned.
"When you were turning into a demon of pain, me and Phoebe cast a spell to summon you by changing some words around" Paige explained, "If we swap the word witches with sister it should work right?" Paige asked.
"It should do, but you'll need a stronger pull like blood to blood" Leo said.
"Ok we can do that" Prue said as she grabbed the notepad and rewrote the spell onto it, "Paige grab a knife from the case over there" she said to her as Paige grabbed the knife Prue lit the candle. "Ok let's hope this works" Prue said as she took a hold of Paige's hand before they both began casting the spell. "Powers of the sisters rise, course unseen across the skies. Come to us who call you near, come to us and settle here." The pair chanted, Prue then slit her finger with the knife and let the blood drip on the candle, Paige winced as Prue handed her the knife, Paige slit the tip of her finger and dropped her blood on the candle flame. "Blood to blood we summon thee, blood to blood return to thee" they chanted as the flame on the candle rose higher into the air.
XXX
In the underworld the demon had moved Phoebe to another cavern to try and avoid The Seer, Phoebe still unconscious was laid on a slab in the cavern, the demon paced back and forth as Phoebe started to stir. She slowly opened her eyes and noticed the demon, "Where am I?" she questioned as she tried to slowly pull herself into a seated position.
"You're back in the underworld, my leverage to use against your sisters" he told Phoebe.
"They won't fall for it, they'll never listen to a demons demands" Phoebe told him.
"I'm sure they'll be willing to listen to me when there sisters' life's on the line" the demon replied. Unbeknownst to the pair of them a small wind started forming around the slab Phoebe was sat on, Phoebe was then surrounded in Wiccan orbs before she disappeared. "What!" the demon shouted looking at the empty slab before him.
XXX
In the attic Prue and Paige stood waiting to see if they're summoning spell had been successful, Wiccan orbs formed before them forming into Phoebe, Prue moved forward and hugged her sister. "Thank god you're ok" she said to her sister.
"Yeah but that demon won't be far behind and he's going to be pissed" Phoebe said to them just before the demon smoked into the attic.
"I won't be made a fool of by the likes of you" he said to them forming an energy ball in the palm of his hand and sending it towards the sisters.
"Energy ball" Paige called orbing the attack and sending it back at the demon stunning him, Prue ran at the demon levitating into the air and knocking the demon to the ground, Phoebe saw the left over potion vials on the table and grabbed them, she passed one to Paige and Prue. "Now" she called as the three of them all chucked the potions at the demon who burst into flames when the potions made contact before he exploded before the sisters eyes. "Well at least he's out the way now" Paige said looking at the scorch mark on the floor.
"But there might be more" Leo said, "And with your powers all messed up you're still going to be vulnerable" he added.
"I'm sorry I wish I could change what I did" Paige said to Leo looking upset.
"Well there's no point dwelling on it anymore, what's done is done and there's still twelve hours left till this spell of yours wears off" Prue said looking at her watch
"Well as long as the three of us stick together through the night we should be fine" Phoebe added, "Are you ok to stay here?" Phoebe said to Paige.
"Yeah that should be fine, it's the least I can do after all this" she replied.
"I can't believe you two, Paige was reckless with magic and you're just going to drop it" Leo said getting wound up.
"Leo I said drop it, I've spoken to Paige she knows what she did was wrong but we can't change the past" Prue said to her brother in-law.
"Don't I know it" Leo said before he orbed out of the attic leaving the sisters alone.
XXX
Time shifts through the city as night passes into morning, the sun rises over Golden Gate Bridge gaining height in the sky. The morning light shines through the manor windows onto Paige asleep under a blanket on the couch in the manors foyer.
"Paige sweetie are you up?" Phoebe asked her sister as she came down the stairs into the foyer, Paige slowly woke up pushing the blanket off her and stretching.
"Yeah I'm up" she replied as she stood up stretching some more.
"Sorry about you having to spend the night on the couch, Piper's rooms still unsorted" Phoebe said as the pair walked into the kitchen, "It's no worry it's my fault I had to stay here anyway so I'll live with the bad back" Paige replied as Phoebe gave her a smile. "Do you think Prue and Leo will stay pissed at me for long?" Paige asked as she sat down at the kitchen table. "I think Prue's got everything out now she'll be fine once the spell wears off" Phoebe replied as she started brewing a pot of coffee, "As for Leo I'm not sure what's going on with him right now, I think losing Piper's hit him really hard and he's not dealing with it to well" she said to Paige as she grabbed a mug for each of them as Prue walked into the kitchen. "Morning" she said to them as she placed her camera back on the counter.
"Are you heading into work already?" Phoebe asked her as she handed Paige her coffee and sat down beside her.
"Well it's nearly ten and Paige's spell should wear off then, so I'm heading into the magazine as soon as I can after" Prue replied as she poured her own coffee and sat at the table with her sisters. "Now I hope you've learned a lesson here Paige" she said to her before she took a sip from her mug.
"I have really, and having this cool power for a day has made me want to learn a lot faster" Paige replied, the hand on the kitchen clock moved to signify ten o'clock and all three sisters began to glow, there powers separated from each of them and swirled in the air above the sisters before they returned to their respective sister. "Woah" Phoebe said as she felt light headed as her powers returned to her, "I think the spells worn off" she said, Prue looked at her and flicked her finger causing Phoebe's mug to slide across the table. "It sure looks that way mine are back" she said as she stood up from the table, Phoebe did the same and lifted up her arms slowly levitating into the air before floating back down to the ground. "Ah feels good to do that" she said.
"I'm going to miss having a power I can use" Paige said with a pout.
"You'll get yours down with practice and patience Paige" Prue told her as she grabbed her camera bag, "Oh and Paige" she started saying as she looked at Paige before she left the room, Paige was worried Prue was going to yell at her again so she looked down at the table. "Maybe sometime you could stop by and go over potions with me I think you might just have a knack for them" she told her smiling at her as Paige looked up with relief, "Right I'm off to work" she added before heading out.
"I should go into work too" Paige told Phoebe as she got up from the table.
"Ok sweetie, well don't forget you can come round whenever you want" Phoebe said to Paige as she walked her out.
XXX
Prue was sat at her desk at 415 going over the few pictures she'd take at Golden Gate Park the day before. "Knock, knock" Kevin said from the doorway getting Prue's attention. "Kevin hi, what brings you back here?" she asked him putting down her shots.
"Well I didn't hear from you again yesterday, I just thought I'd see how you were doing" Kevin told her.
"That's sweet" Prue told him as she flashed him a smile.
"I can go if you're busy" he said to her.
"Yes, I mean no. I'm just swamped with the shoot can we schedule something say dinner this week?" she asked him.
"I'm sure I can find time for dinner" he replied smiling at her, "How about café bleu, Friday night at eight?" he asked her.
"Sounds perfect" Prue replied.
XXX
Phoebe' was sat in the manors sun-room going through college prospectuses when Cole shimmered in behind her. "Phoebe" he said to her making her turn round and try to hide the prospectuses she had in front of her. "What's that?" he asked looking at the book Phoebe had tried to hide.
"Nothing" she quickly replied jumping up to give him a kiss.
"Really" Cole said after the kiss as he picked up one of the prospectuses, "Are these for colleges, I thought you already graduated why'd you need this?" he asked her.
"I have but I've been thinking a lot lately about going back" Phoebe told him as the pair sat back down at the table. "Going back for what?" Cole asked as he looked through the prospectus. "For my masters, in psychology" she told him.
"Really, are you sure you'll have time with your other work" he said to her.
"I think so, I just need to talk to Prue about it, about a few things actually" she said as the front door opened and Prue walked into the manor. "Speak of the witch" she said.
"Prue can I see you in the sun-room!" she shouted as Prue headed towards her and Cole.
"Make it quick Phoebe I'm only here for lunch" she replied as Cole stood up.
"I'll leave you two alone to talk" he said kissing Phoebe on the cheek before he shimmered out.
"Talk about what?" Prue questioned as she stood behind the chair opposite Phoebe.
"I've been thinking about the future a lot, and what with Piper dying and us dodging death so much and The Source lurking about I think we should go for things in our personal lives" Phoebe said to Prue causing her to look at her in confusion.
"Ok Pheebs I'm not really following" she told her sister.
"I've been thinking about going back to school, to get my psychology masters and I'll only do it if you're cool with it" Phoebe told her.
"Of course I'm cool with it Phoebe. I think it's very brave of you to go for it, and we shouldn't let being witches rule our lives, we worked out you being in school and being a witch before we can do it again" Prue told her
"About being witches ruling our lives, that's the other thing I want to talk about" Phoebe said.
"Ok I'm lost again" Prue told her.
"I think you should take P3" she said to Prue.
"I told you Phoebe, neither one of us wants a club, how will me taking it over have anything to do with my future?" Prue asked her.
"Because you shouldn't take it over as a club, the place is totaled anyway so why not renovate it into something else. Into a photography studio" Phoebe explained to Prue.
"Wait, what a studio why?" Prue asked.
"Because Prue, you're always so stressed at the magazine and it's just one side of photography that you wanted to do, if you have a studio you can do events and personal photography, and still work freelance for any magazine in the city" Phoebe explained as Prue thought about what her sister was saying.
"Are you sure, P3's half yours too" Prue asked Phoebe.
"Of course, I'm fine with it Prue, go for it it's time we followed our dreams" Phoebe replied as she stood up and hugged Prue.
Credits:
Starring Shannen Doherty as Prue Halliwell, Alyssa Milano as Phoebe Halliwell and Rose McGowan as Paige Matthews with Brian Krause as Leo Wyatt and Julian McMahon as Cole Turner.
Guest Starring: Debbi Morgan as The Seer and Matt Battaglia as Kevin Michaels