Disclaimer- I do not own anything to do with charmed, though the wyvern is sort of mine. Wyverns are real things, so it's not an original idea., Well there not real things, but you know what I mean.

Piper mashed the mandragora root, which looked like a pussy orange lemon, and the onyx together. It made a disgusting coloured green gray paste. She listened intently as Cole relayed what he knew of Wildray.

"Wildrays a pretty high level demon. I mean last time a he fought a witch he turned her into goo- I mean, he beat the last witch he fought. He's got energy balls, not to mention the whole earwax thing..."

"Earwax?" said Piper, voice cracking slightly. Cole grinned rather slyly. "Yeah, what he does is-"

"Found a vanquishing potion!" said Phoebe, sounding blocked up. She sneezed wetly into a handkerchief. Sniffing richly, she showed it to them.

"Not very complicated. Just a bit of egg, chilli, bacon, and rat eyes."

"Sound's more like an omelet to me," said Paige grumpily. She was sitting on her hands to stop herself scratching the rash that patterned her skin like a tapestry. They ignored her.

It didn't take long before the vanquishing potion was finished. Filling three vials, Piper pocketed one, then handed one to Phoebe.

"Um..."

"What?" said Piper grouchily.

"Not to put the pressure on or anything..." said Phoebe hesitantly.

"I don't think any of us are in good enough health to go demon hunting." finished Cole. Piper stared at him. "I'm not going on my own!"

"I'll think you'll have to." Said Leo weakly. He had been dozing in a chair. "I can't orb."

Silence. Piper gaped at him.

"How is she supposed to get there then?" asked Paige anxiously, scratching at a raised bump on her skin. No one said anything. Phoebe turned to Cole and tried to speak, but only a faint croaking came out. "What are you trying to say, Pheebs?" asked Piper anxiously. Phoebe tried to speak again, the sighed in exasperation and pointed at Cole. Cole looked confused, then realization dawned.

"Oh, you want me to take Piper down there?" Phoebe nodded enthusiastically. "Are you up to it?" Leo sounded worried. Cole shrugged. "If we go now, yes." Piper nodded, though she wasn't to sure about the situation. Cole staggered to his feet (With help from Phoebe and Paige), and he grasped Pipers arm. She had time to notice how damp it felt, then everything faded.

The first thing she noticed was the smell. It was fetid rank of something that has been left to rot under the sun. Piper gagged as she and Cole shimmered into a large cave. Piper breathed through her mouth as she looked around. She had been expecting to see the demon, or at least some sign of it. But there was nothing, just a couple of rocks. And the smell, of course. "Cole, where are we?" she asked, her voice sounding slightly nasal. Her nose had rebelled and was beginning to block up. Cole was gasping, his skin a sort of pale yellow. Piper could see him trembling. "You...can't shimmer...into his...cave...This is...the nearest place..." he fell to his knees. Piper knelt beside him, worry gnawing at the pit of her stomach. She patted him awkwardly on the back. He shook her off. "Don't worry about...me...Just go through that opening...follow the smell...Oh, and when you get there, don't...look up."

"Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"It's just a bad idea. Go on, hurry. I'm not sure I'll be able to shimmer us back if you don't hurry it up."

"Ok. Ok" Piper stood up and crept through the opening Cole had indicated. It led into a large and equally identical cavern. There was an opening in front of her, but the smell lessened as she walked towards it. The disgusting stench of rotting filth was coming from her left. She turned and looked, but could see no entrances, just an indent in the wall. She strode over for a closer look, and to her surprise found that the indent was actually the start of a corridor. The angle she had been at had prevented her from seeing the rest (A/N- what a stroke of luck). She hurried down it, her eyes beginning to water from the smell. She slipped her hand into the pocket and grasped one of the vials.

The rock corridor turned, and Piper entered a cave, the smell so foul she could barely stand to breathe. Around the walls were cages, filled with the weirdest things she had ever seen, even in a sci-fi movie. The cage closest to her held what looked like a toad. As she stepped forward the toad shot out it's tongue. Normally, Piper would not have cared, except the toad's tongue looked (and sounded, from the angry hissing) like a snake. The snake hissed, and opened it's mouth wide to revel three sharp fangs, the ends a sick looking green. Piper nearly fell backwards, and the snakes' teeth snapped a bare two inches from her leg. She walked in a large radius around the cage, the snake watching her sullenly. Her heart beating hard, she turned and looked in the other cages. A spider as big as a dog sat in one cage, and Piper shivered as it's cold metallic gaze bored into her. She swallowed her fear and revulsion, looking quickly at the other monsters. All were things you would not want anywhere near you on a dark night. Then, near the back of the cavern, she saw a glint of yellow. She narrowed her eyes.

It was the wyvern all right. It was sleeping (thankfully), and there was no mistaking that shade of pus yellow. Piper was struck by a sudden and ill timed though: How the hell was she going to get a tooth out? Cursing inwardly, she searched her pockets for anything useful, then came to one conclusion. She was going to have to rip it out.

"Oh this will be fun." She muttered as she knelt beside the cage and reached through the bars, bracing herself inside. She grasped it firmly by the neck. The wyvern woke up, and it didn't look pleased. Squalling, it's screech like nails being drawn across a blackboard, it snapped at her with two sharp fangs. Piper yelped as two teeth sunk into the web of skin between her finger and thumb. After trying and failing for five minutes to rip out a tooth, she gave up and froze it. It did, with a surprised squeak. She reached in and, after tugging hard, managed to rip out one of the wyvern's teeth. It unfroze, and spewed foul smelling yellow fog into her face. She coughed hard, and was reminded forcefully of the Furies' smoke. Still spluttering, she crawled away from the cage and stood up. The little wyvern was screeching as blood poured from it's mouth. She headed for the exit, swearing angrily under her breath, when she heard footsteps clumping from just behind the bend.

Piper froze. Then leapt behind a cage. Unfortunately for her, it was the one with the spider in it. Sweating fiercely, she crouched down, the spiders alarming bulk screening her from view. A demon entered the cavern. Piper bit her lip to stop from yelping. It was grey colored skinned, with eyes like a fish. Teeth jutted upwards from it's mouth, and it had six fingers on each hand. But that wasn't what had alarmed Piper. It was the human leg under its arm. Piper scrambled for the potion in her pocket, getting ready to throw it and run. The demon, however, veered away from her hiding place, to a ladder Piper hadn't noticed before. It hoisted the leg under one arm and began to climb. Piper, forgetting Cole's warning, looked up. Her eyes widened in fear, and she strongly wished she hadn't.

The ceiling of the cavern was held up with wooden beams. On these beams were nails, which were holding up countless body parts. Arms, legs, hands, heads. And they weren't just human. Piper identified a demon claw and a satyr foot before she could rip her eyes away from the hideous sight. Her stomach churned, and she wondered if it was possible to throw up quietly. It was then she decided she had had enough; she was getting out of there, bugger the stupid demon. She readied herself, then lunged towards the exit. The cage she was behind went flying, the spider's shriek like a file being drawn along a bone.

Piper was just through the stone door when an energy ball vaporized the wall above her head, making her hair stand on end and throwing sharp splinters of stone at her face. One sliver sliced open her cheek as she rocketed down the corridor. She burst into the cave, just as another energy ball exploded behind her. Piper twisted as she was running, and threw the vial in her hand. The demon got hit on the arm, and it was ripped off. The demon howled in pain and fury, and Piper made it to the second cave. Cole was sitting against a rock, looking ashen faced. "Cole! Need to go now!" yelped Piper as she ducked an energy ball.

"Why didn't you vanquish it?" Cole asked in annoyance, ducking as the energy ball did an impersonation of the big bang to a boulder next to him. Cole leaped forward and grabbed Piper around the ankle. The world began to fade, and Piper caught a last glance of the bellowing demon-

-Then it was replaced by the kitchen. The sunlight that drifted in through the window was deep orange. It was obviously afternoon. Cole wobbled, then sank to the floor. He was unconscious. Piper sighed; she was sick of looking after people. She pushed him half-heartedly onto his side, then went to check her sisters and husband. A/N- Okay, where's the damn medical dictionary?!?!).

Paige was asleep on her mattress, brown hair fanned across her face. Phoebe was coughing weakly into a handkerchief. She smiled a relieved smile when she saw Piper, and waved sleepily. Leo dozed in a chair. He looked as though he was having a very bad day in the skin department. It was covered in hundreds of pimples. Piper stared at his skin in disbelief. "What the-"

"Smallpox" said Leo shortly. He looked grumpy. Piper reached into her pocket and pulled out the bloodstained tooth. "Look, I got the tooth. I hope you don't get to pimply before I make the potion." Leo looked at her rather coldly. "Very funny".

Piper went to rouse Paige, and tell her the good news. She shook her gently. "Paige Honey, wake up for a sec." Paige didn't stir. Piper shook harder. Still nothing. Piper abruptly had a very bad feeling. "Paige? Paige!" she was practically yelling. Phoebe tried to get up, but collapsed in a fit of coughs. Leo was beside Piper in an instant. He checked Paige's pulse and breathing. "Paige." He called. She slept on.

"She's in a coma."

"What! She can't be in a coma!" Piper was on the verge of panic. Phoebe coughed hard into her handkerchief, a trickle of blood running from the corner of her mouth. The fist of cloth in her hand was stained red.

Mwaha! There's a chapter. It's longer than usual cause I'm not going to be writing for a week. I'm going on band tour! (I'm third trumpet, which says a hell of a lot about my playing skills.) THEN I'm going on history camp to Canberra. But I promise I'll keep writing. Girls guides honour!