"Phoebe, you know this demon?" Wyatt asked.
"We go way back. Right Pheebs?"
"He's my ex-husband," Phoebe said.
"Of course, she still has a soft spot for me. She just can't show it with the rest of you around."
"Why can't you just stay dead?" Phoebe said, still glaring.
"You know, I think it was all that spirit that made me fall in love with you." Cole said. "That, and those little chipmunk sounds you make when you get really excited."
"Don't you get it?" Piper asked. "She doesn't want you. She will never want you. So why don't you just leave us alone?"
"What makes you think I want her back? Until a few minutes ago, I thought she was dead." The smile faded from Cole's face. "And I hate being wrong."
Cole punched the shield surrounding them, and it wavered under the force of the blow. Wyatt's eyes widened. He tried to stabilize the shield, but it was too late. Cole struck again, and the shield collapsed.
Wyatt waved his hands to bring the force field back, but Cole threw an energy ball before it full reform, and Wyatt was thrown back into the living room, unconscious. Another energy ball began to form in Cole's hand.
"Get down!" Phoebe shouted, dodging the blast.
"Paige!" Piper called.
Suddenly, one of the darkened windows exploded inward as Jill leapt through. Light filled the room, destroying the two vampires. The demons began throwing energy balls at anything that moved.
Paige orbed in. "Energy ball!"
The magic sphere orbed into her hand, and she threw it at Cole. He paid no attention to the attack.
"Paige!" Piper shouted again, taking cover on the other side of the wall. An energy ball flew past. "Paige! Wyatt's hurt!"
"Oh no." Paige orbed into the living room next to Piper.
"He's over there." Piper pointed. "Hurry!"
A warlock blinked in between them, and drew a knife. His explosion nearly threw Paige off her feet as she ran over to Wyatt. Piper began blasting demons with even greater ferocity as Paige attempted to heal Wyatt.
Jill dodged a pair of energy balls, seemingly unafraid of the demons trying desperately to kill her. She kicked a demon in the chest hard enough to vanquish it. Her dagger found another before it had a chance to realize what was happening.
Maggie was crawling along the floor with her knife in one hand, hoping to remain unnoticed in the chaos. Her target was a warlock, writhing in pain from the mental attack being focused on it. A stray energy ball struck the wall above her, and the warlock blinked out while Maggie was distracted. She began focusing her powers on the next nearest demon.
Prue's knife seemed to fly on its own, vanquishing demons and warlocks with frightening speed. She crouched behind the counter, watching carefully and directing the knife with her eyes. A demon saw what she was doing and shimmered to her. It threw an energy ball, but she deflected it. Her next arm movement sent the demon flying.
"Energy ball!" Paige called. Another ball came to her, and she threw it at a demon that was attempting to corner Phoebe near the basement stairway.
"Maggie, coordinate!" Wyatt shouted. Energy balls immediately began to pelt his shield, but they were not strong enough to take it down.
Jill leapt over the counter, drawing fire away from Prue. She dodged easily, and reached Cole. Jill spun and lashed out with her foot, but Cole blocked the attack with his arm. She lunged with her knife, but Cole sidestepped, and knocked it out of her hand. She began kicking and punching furiously, but he always seemed to be ahead of her. Cole saw an opening in her defenses, and attacked. His punch threw her into the wall, smashing through it like cardboard. Jill slowly began to get back up, but an energy ball from another demon struck her before she could stand. She didn't move again.
"No!" A male voice shouted. A knife, held by an invisible hand, buried itself in Cole's back. Cole laughed, and spun around to face his attacker. He blew a massive blast of fire in front of him, and Kevin fell to the floor.
"Hey!" Prue shouted. Cole turned again, only to see her knife flying at him. He tried to throw an energy ball, but there was no time. The knife struck his heart.
Cole winced and grabbed his forehead. Maggie was now bearing down on him. Piper threw her dagger at him, striking his abdomen. He shouted in pain. Cole began throwing energy balls blindly, trying to stop the wave of pain that was crashing in his mind.
Paige orbed in near Cole, crouching to avoid the crossfire. Her dagger lodged in Cole's thigh before she went to heal Kevin.
A warlock realized what was happening, and blinked behind Maggie. It grabbed her arm, and evil magic began to flow into her. She fell to the attack a moment later.
Cole's head cleared. He opened his eyes again just as Phoebe planted her dagger in his chest. Smoke began to pour from his wounds. Cole looked down at the knife.
"No, wait… this can't be. Phoebe-" Cole exploded, creating a shockwave that knocked Phoebe to the ground and destroyed what was left of the kitchen. The remaining demons shimmered out.
Paige finished healing Kevin, then moved on to see if Maggie would be all right. Wyatt was already helping Jill to her feet.
Jill looked around. "We won."
"Barely," Piper said.
"Maggie?" Paige asked.
"I'm fine, thanks to you," Maggie said, sitting up.
"Can you scan the house?" Wyatt asked.
Maggie closed her eyes for a long moment. "We're alone."
"Is anyone else hurt?" Phoebe asked.
"No, not anymore," Maggie said.
Kevin stood up, brushing off debris from the explosion. "Jill, you scared me back there."
"Hey, what are sisters for?" Jill smiled.
"I'm just glad I could make it in time to heal you," Wyatt said.
"My hero," Jill said.
"We should be thanking Paige," Wyatt said. "Without her, half of us wouldn't be here now."
Kevin reached over and pulled open the dented and charred refrigerator. The handle came off in his hand. "Looks like they left us some wine. It probably won't stay cold very long in this broken fridge…"
"In that case, we'd better open it," Prue said.
"My thoughts exactly," Kevin said, popping the cork.
"Hey, housewarming party," Paige said.
Prue laughed, and started looking for undamaged glasses in the cupboards. Piper joined the search, and they quickly found enough assorted cups for everyone. Before long, nearly everyone was celebrating.
"So, think we finally vanquished Cole?" Paige asked, sidling up to Phoebe.
"I doubt it."
"Yeah, me too," Paige said. "But we can hope. After all, this is the first time we've had the power of four to stop him."
"You're right." Phoebe seemed to perk up. "Now that's a reason celebrate."
The witches stood around in the demolished kitchen, drinking and talking through most of the morning. The party began to break up slowly, as each of them drifted off to get a shower, or to look around the house, or to start fixing the damage done in the battle.
Wyatt had been the first to leave. He had gone into the basement to see if anything had been done to the nexus, though it still appeared to be protected by the cement floor. He had then gone back up, and asked Prue to show him the Book of Shadows. Phoebe went with them.
"Right where we left it," Phoebe said, walking around the pedestal that held the book. Wyatt stood next to her, and opened the book. He began glancing at the pages, looking for any demons that he might recognize.
"Amazing," Wyatt said. "Even after being here for all this time, they couldn't find a way to touch it."
"There," Phoebe said. "Look."
"The shadow demon," Wyatt said. "The one that would have killed you."
"I wish I knew what went wrong," Phoebe said, looking at the spell that had been used against it. "It looked like a simple vanquish."
"I'm sorry we couldn't tell you anything else," Wyatt said.
"I know." Phoebe started to pick up the book. A premonition came to her as soon as she touched it.
Phoebe saw the attic, with the Book of Shadows sitting open. Piper came into view, and a child was following close behind.
"Is it gone?" The boy asked.
"Yes, it's gone," Piper said, starting to close the book. "Chris!"
Phoebe suddenly saw the book as it was closing, and realized that they hadn't been looking at the shadow demon's page. From the picture, it appeared half human, with the face of a jackal. Her premonition ended as the book fell shut.
"Did you just have a premonition?" Prue asked.
"Yes." Phoebe paused, trying to understand the vision. "I think we should talk to Piper."
"What was it?" Wyatt asked.
"Nothing," Phoebe said. "We can handle it."
"You're sure?"
"Yes," Phoebe said.
"Don't worry," Prue said as they headed back downstairs. "We used to do this kind of thing all the time."
Wyatt sighed as the door closed behind them. He went back to thumbing through the book. Before long, he was shocked by what he found. One of the pages had a picture that was all too familiar.
Wyatt shut the book immediately. He looked away for a moment, then turned back to the page he had just seen. "Oh god."
"We go way back. Right Pheebs?"
"He's my ex-husband," Phoebe said.
"Of course, she still has a soft spot for me. She just can't show it with the rest of you around."
"Why can't you just stay dead?" Phoebe said, still glaring.
"You know, I think it was all that spirit that made me fall in love with you." Cole said. "That, and those little chipmunk sounds you make when you get really excited."
"Don't you get it?" Piper asked. "She doesn't want you. She will never want you. So why don't you just leave us alone?"
"What makes you think I want her back? Until a few minutes ago, I thought she was dead." The smile faded from Cole's face. "And I hate being wrong."
Cole punched the shield surrounding them, and it wavered under the force of the blow. Wyatt's eyes widened. He tried to stabilize the shield, but it was too late. Cole struck again, and the shield collapsed.
Wyatt waved his hands to bring the force field back, but Cole threw an energy ball before it full reform, and Wyatt was thrown back into the living room, unconscious. Another energy ball began to form in Cole's hand.
"Get down!" Phoebe shouted, dodging the blast.
"Paige!" Piper called.
Suddenly, one of the darkened windows exploded inward as Jill leapt through. Light filled the room, destroying the two vampires. The demons began throwing energy balls at anything that moved.
Paige orbed in. "Energy ball!"
The magic sphere orbed into her hand, and she threw it at Cole. He paid no attention to the attack.
"Paige!" Piper shouted again, taking cover on the other side of the wall. An energy ball flew past. "Paige! Wyatt's hurt!"
"Oh no." Paige orbed into the living room next to Piper.
"He's over there." Piper pointed. "Hurry!"
A warlock blinked in between them, and drew a knife. His explosion nearly threw Paige off her feet as she ran over to Wyatt. Piper began blasting demons with even greater ferocity as Paige attempted to heal Wyatt.
Jill dodged a pair of energy balls, seemingly unafraid of the demons trying desperately to kill her. She kicked a demon in the chest hard enough to vanquish it. Her dagger found another before it had a chance to realize what was happening.
Maggie was crawling along the floor with her knife in one hand, hoping to remain unnoticed in the chaos. Her target was a warlock, writhing in pain from the mental attack being focused on it. A stray energy ball struck the wall above her, and the warlock blinked out while Maggie was distracted. She began focusing her powers on the next nearest demon.
Prue's knife seemed to fly on its own, vanquishing demons and warlocks with frightening speed. She crouched behind the counter, watching carefully and directing the knife with her eyes. A demon saw what she was doing and shimmered to her. It threw an energy ball, but she deflected it. Her next arm movement sent the demon flying.
"Energy ball!" Paige called. Another ball came to her, and she threw it at a demon that was attempting to corner Phoebe near the basement stairway.
"Maggie, coordinate!" Wyatt shouted. Energy balls immediately began to pelt his shield, but they were not strong enough to take it down.
Jill leapt over the counter, drawing fire away from Prue. She dodged easily, and reached Cole. Jill spun and lashed out with her foot, but Cole blocked the attack with his arm. She lunged with her knife, but Cole sidestepped, and knocked it out of her hand. She began kicking and punching furiously, but he always seemed to be ahead of her. Cole saw an opening in her defenses, and attacked. His punch threw her into the wall, smashing through it like cardboard. Jill slowly began to get back up, but an energy ball from another demon struck her before she could stand. She didn't move again.
"No!" A male voice shouted. A knife, held by an invisible hand, buried itself in Cole's back. Cole laughed, and spun around to face his attacker. He blew a massive blast of fire in front of him, and Kevin fell to the floor.
"Hey!" Prue shouted. Cole turned again, only to see her knife flying at him. He tried to throw an energy ball, but there was no time. The knife struck his heart.
Cole winced and grabbed his forehead. Maggie was now bearing down on him. Piper threw her dagger at him, striking his abdomen. He shouted in pain. Cole began throwing energy balls blindly, trying to stop the wave of pain that was crashing in his mind.
Paige orbed in near Cole, crouching to avoid the crossfire. Her dagger lodged in Cole's thigh before she went to heal Kevin.
A warlock realized what was happening, and blinked behind Maggie. It grabbed her arm, and evil magic began to flow into her. She fell to the attack a moment later.
Cole's head cleared. He opened his eyes again just as Phoebe planted her dagger in his chest. Smoke began to pour from his wounds. Cole looked down at the knife.
"No, wait… this can't be. Phoebe-" Cole exploded, creating a shockwave that knocked Phoebe to the ground and destroyed what was left of the kitchen. The remaining demons shimmered out.
Paige finished healing Kevin, then moved on to see if Maggie would be all right. Wyatt was already helping Jill to her feet.
Jill looked around. "We won."
"Barely," Piper said.
"Maggie?" Paige asked.
"I'm fine, thanks to you," Maggie said, sitting up.
"Can you scan the house?" Wyatt asked.
Maggie closed her eyes for a long moment. "We're alone."
"Is anyone else hurt?" Phoebe asked.
"No, not anymore," Maggie said.
Kevin stood up, brushing off debris from the explosion. "Jill, you scared me back there."
"Hey, what are sisters for?" Jill smiled.
"I'm just glad I could make it in time to heal you," Wyatt said.
"My hero," Jill said.
"We should be thanking Paige," Wyatt said. "Without her, half of us wouldn't be here now."
Kevin reached over and pulled open the dented and charred refrigerator. The handle came off in his hand. "Looks like they left us some wine. It probably won't stay cold very long in this broken fridge…"
"In that case, we'd better open it," Prue said.
"My thoughts exactly," Kevin said, popping the cork.
"Hey, housewarming party," Paige said.
Prue laughed, and started looking for undamaged glasses in the cupboards. Piper joined the search, and they quickly found enough assorted cups for everyone. Before long, nearly everyone was celebrating.
"So, think we finally vanquished Cole?" Paige asked, sidling up to Phoebe.
"I doubt it."
"Yeah, me too," Paige said. "But we can hope. After all, this is the first time we've had the power of four to stop him."
"You're right." Phoebe seemed to perk up. "Now that's a reason celebrate."
The witches stood around in the demolished kitchen, drinking and talking through most of the morning. The party began to break up slowly, as each of them drifted off to get a shower, or to look around the house, or to start fixing the damage done in the battle.
Wyatt had been the first to leave. He had gone into the basement to see if anything had been done to the nexus, though it still appeared to be protected by the cement floor. He had then gone back up, and asked Prue to show him the Book of Shadows. Phoebe went with them.
"Right where we left it," Phoebe said, walking around the pedestal that held the book. Wyatt stood next to her, and opened the book. He began glancing at the pages, looking for any demons that he might recognize.
"Amazing," Wyatt said. "Even after being here for all this time, they couldn't find a way to touch it."
"There," Phoebe said. "Look."
"The shadow demon," Wyatt said. "The one that would have killed you."
"I wish I knew what went wrong," Phoebe said, looking at the spell that had been used against it. "It looked like a simple vanquish."
"I'm sorry we couldn't tell you anything else," Wyatt said.
"I know." Phoebe started to pick up the book. A premonition came to her as soon as she touched it.
Phoebe saw the attic, with the Book of Shadows sitting open. Piper came into view, and a child was following close behind.
"Is it gone?" The boy asked.
"Yes, it's gone," Piper said, starting to close the book. "Chris!"
Phoebe suddenly saw the book as it was closing, and realized that they hadn't been looking at the shadow demon's page. From the picture, it appeared half human, with the face of a jackal. Her premonition ended as the book fell shut.
"Did you just have a premonition?" Prue asked.
"Yes." Phoebe paused, trying to understand the vision. "I think we should talk to Piper."
"What was it?" Wyatt asked.
"Nothing," Phoebe said. "We can handle it."
"You're sure?"
"Yes," Phoebe said.
"Don't worry," Prue said as they headed back downstairs. "We used to do this kind of thing all the time."
Wyatt sighed as the door closed behind them. He went back to thumbing through the book. Before long, he was shocked by what he found. One of the pages had a picture that was all too familiar.
Wyatt shut the book immediately. He looked away for a moment, then turned back to the page he had just seen. "Oh god."