NINE

"You're crazy," said Sherry looking at them in fear.

"Sherry, look," said Piper shooting an angry glance at Katrina, "I know this is a lot to take in. The truth is that my sisters and I are witches. Leo is a White Lighter, sort of a guardian angel so to speak. And Cole is half demon but he's one of the good guys.

"Now it's obvious you have a crush on Cole. We know you didn't mean to cause him any harm but Katrina is right, even if she doesn't have a whole lot of tact. Whatever you put into those brownies is effecting him badly. Katrina is a doctor and if she knew what it was you gave him she'll be able to counter it."

"You're all crazy," said Sherry. "Witches and demons? This is ridiculous. They don't exist. And I didn't put anything into those brownies. They're just brownies."

"Maybe she needs proof," said Paige. She reached out and grabbed Sherry's hand. "Come on, sister. Let's go get you the proof you need."

They all followed as Paige nearly dragged Sherry upstairs. When they got to the attic they saw Cole still trapped in the crystal cage. He looked at them as they all entered the room.

"Well now," he said. "Just how long to you plan to keep me in here? What's she doing here?"

"She wants to join us," said Paige. "Only she's more interested in Belthazor than Cole Turner. We told her you would probably be okay with that."

"Yeah, sure, anything," Cole agreed his frustration evident in his voice. "Let's just get the party started. I'm raring to go. Just get me out of this prison and we can have a lot of fun together."

"What's wrong with him?" Sherry asked. "I've never seen him acting like this."

"That's what we've been telling you," said Phoebe. "Whatever you've given him is causing him to act like that."

"That's impossible, it shouldn't have…." Sherry clapped her hand over her mouth as she realized what she had nearly admitted.

Before anything more could be said Cole suddenly changed. Belthazor stood in the middle of the crystal prison looking at them.

"Is this what you wanted?" Belthazor asked leering at Sherry. "I must say I always did like younger women and seems you, darling, have been hiding some tasty charms. Now, let me out and I'll show you some real demon monkey love."

Sherry screamed and backed away from Belthazor. She backed against a wall and stood quaking in abject terror.

"It's true," she shrieked. "He really is a demon."

"That's what we've been trying to tell you," said Paige. "You see how he is. And he's getting worse. Tell you what. Why don't we let him out of his cage and leave you two alone for a while. I'm guessing whatever you gave him was supposed to make him a little 'friendlier' toward you. Well, sister, you got your wish. Might as well take advantage of it while you can."

"No, no you can't," Sherry pleaded. "I never wanted this. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I've never heard of it affecting anyone like this before. My uncle said it worked great. I just thought he might see me a little differently. Besides, I only gave him half a pill. That's all."

"Half a pill of what?" Phoebe asked.

"Viagra," Sherry confessed shamefacedly.

"Viagra!" the group exclaimed in unison.

"My uncle uses it. He said it works wonders. So I borrowed one of his pills and cut it in half. I figured that if I only gave him half a pill it would just make him more approachable. It didn't even seem to be working; he seemed more distant than ever. That's why I left the party early. I never dreamed it would do this," she finished in a miserable rush.

"I see," said Katrina. "Well apparently you didn't read the directions. Half a Viagra pill is the normal dosage. On some occasions a full pill is warranted but it is normal to cut the pill in half. So you inadvertently gave him a full dosage."

"Oh my," Sherry said. The look on her face was reminiscent of fear.

"Well, now that I know what it is," said Katrina, "let me see if I can find an antidote to it. I'll need to consult my book to see if this has ever happened to another demon before."

Katrina turned and left the attic as the others looked at Belthazor. He kept pushing against the energy barrier of the prison testing its limits. Then they turned and left the attic.

"Don't worry, Cole," said Phoebe. "We'll find an antidote for you, sweetheart. It shouldn't be much longer."

Belthazor changed back to Cole and stood looking at Phoebe. She couldn't tell from his expression what he was feeling. It was an expression she had never seen before.

"Just let me out of this prison," said Cole. "If I don't get out of here soon I'm going to bust. Come on, sweetie. I'll do that thing you like so much."

Phoebe just shuddered. He was getting steadily worse. She just hoped that Katrina could find an antidote to the Viagra in Cole's system. If they couldn't, she didn't know what they were going to do.

"Well," said Katrina, looking in a book as the others entered the living room, "the good news is he's not in any serious danger. Yet. According to this, sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, has an unusual affect on demons. Initially inhibits any emotional response in them. Causing them to sort of shut down so to speak."

"That's how Cole was acting for a while," said Phoebe. "Like he had no interest whatsoever."

"After that it kind of sends them into demonic overdrive, so to speak. Actually enhancing their libido well beyond normal functions. And it also effects their reason and judgment centers. Releasing any inhibitions they have. It's almost like he's being controlled by the drug."

"You said that was the good news," said Leo. "What's the bad news?"

"The longer it's in his system the worse he gets. Eventually it will become so strong he won't be able to control himself any longer. He'll loose all reason and rational thought and his emotions will totally take over. When that happens anyone he comes across will be in danger of his, uh, advances shall we say. And for a demon of Belthazor's strength and stamina someone could get seriously injured."

"So, just give him an antidote," said Phoebe. "It must list one in that book of yours."

"That's just it," said Katrina. "There is no antidote for this. Viagra is designed for one purpose. Once it gets in a demons system it just continues to build. There's only one way to counter what he's going through."

"How's that?" Phoebe asked.

"You have to use it for the purpose it was created," said Katrina. "That's the only known way to get it out of his system."