"Come back to get your butt kicked again?" Prue asked facing Damonculous. "Isn't twice enough for you? I guess some people are just a glutton for punishment."
"This time you have no demon to protect you," said Damonculous.
"Oh, Prue, he's right," said Piper in exaggerated mock fear. "Whatever shall we do?"
"Insolent wench," Damonculous snapped. "You think I am unaware that you have broken the blocking I have put on good magic? But it will do you no good. Do you think your paltry skills are a match for the power I wield? I was ancient when your race first began to walk the Earth. Your power was granted to you from my kind. Do you honestly believe that you are a match for me?"
"We're sure going to give it that old college try," said Phoebe defiantly.
"You're more arrogant than even your demon lover," said Damonculous. "You believe you can deplete my power while protecting your Elder. If he were my target, that might be true. But I have learned that it is not only the Elders' power which I can utilize."
"What are you talking about?" Leo asked.
"It would take a great power to break the blocking I have instilled on good magic," said Damonculous. "And even if they are human, these three appear to have such a power. But they have not realized that power to its fullest potential. If they had my blocking would not have affected them.
"But the power they possess is not yet fully harnessed. It has taken them time to draw sufficiently on it to break my blocking. Which means only a part of that power is available to them. I can use that power. I will be able to utilize it to its fullest. That power rivals that of even your Elders. This time I shall not waste my time or power trying to get to the Elder. I shall take your power. And when I am finished, your Elder will be defenseless."
"Bring it on, big boy," said Piper. "We've vanquished some pretty powerful creatures. You'll just be another one to add to the list."
"Powerful for you," said Damonculous. "Has your Elder not told you of the Gray Council? Of the power that my kinsmen and I wield? Do you think you can hope to withstand such power? I am eternal. I cannot be vanquished like some lowly demon."
"You talk big," said Prue. "But as I recall you've been here twice. Both times you went running away with your tail tucked between your legs. And you haven't faced the Power of Three yet. As for you not being able to be vanquished..."
Prue's voice trailed off as she raised her hands. Damonculous was cast back against the wall of the entryway and fell to the floor. As he started to rise, Piper brought her hands up and he froze instantly in place.
"We'd better think of something fast," said Piper. "My freeze seems to have affected him better than the potion did but I don't think it's going to last long."
"I haven't had a chance to write a Power of Three spell yet," said Phoebe. "And I don't think I'm going to get the time before he comes out of it."
"Jeremy," said Piper suddenly. "Remember when we vanquished him? We didn't have any spells then. All we had was that saying mom had written on the back of the spirit board. 'The Power of Three shall set us free'. It's worth a shot."
"Come on," said Prue. "Let's do this while he's still frozen. Maybe we can end this before he gets another chance."
The sisters moved next to each other and took each other's hands. They concentrated hard as they focused all of their magic against Damonculous. As they began to recite the incantation, Damonculous suddenly broke free of Piper's freeze.
"The Power of Three shall set us free," incanted the sisters. "The Power of Three shall set us free."
Over and over again they incanted the spell that had once saved their lives. As they recited the spell over and over again, the magic from it began to envelope Damonculous. He struggled against the magic as it wrapped itself around him, threatening to consume him. For a moment it appeared that the spell had worked. Damonculous howled in rage and pain as the magic closed in on him.
Just as suddenly the magic exploded outwards. The force of the blast caught the girls by surprise knocking them back into the living room. They all fell to the floor but were up on their feet in an instant, once again facing Damonculous. Leo pulled Percy back into the living room trying to shield the Elder from an attack.
"Your power is very impressive," said Damonculous facing the sisters. "But as I said, it is nothing compared to the power I command. If you had full access to it you might well be able to defeat me. But three years is barely enough time to learn how to use it, let alone to command it to its fullest.
"When we first created the Graylighters it required them years of intense study and training to properly utilize their powers. Did you hope that you could equal such mastery in the paltry time you have had your powers? Their powers came from us. It was a mere shadow of the power the Gray Council commanded. A power we commanded for millennia before the first Gray Lighter was chosen. Now you shall witness that mastery firsthand."
Damonculous began to move toward the sisters. There was little they could do. Their greatest weapon - the Power of Three - had done little to actually harm Damonculous. They had come closer to vanquishing him than even Cole had. And yet he seemed all but impervious to their power. Damonculous advanced on the sisters knowing that there was nothing they could do to stop him.