The television show "Charmed," including the characters of the Piper Halliwell, Phoebe Halliwell, Paige Matthews, Leo Wyatt, and Cole Turner, is copyrighted by Spelling Television, Inc., a subsidiary of Spelling Entertainment Group, Inc. The character of Dr. Charles Eppes is copyrighted by someone who owns the television show "Numb3rs," which I would know if they didn't mutilate the closing credits of television shows.

"How would the Seer even knowthat Stoneexists?" Paige asked.

"How does she know anything?" Cole said impatiently. "She has visions. She casts runes. She inhales the fumes of potions. You know, magic."

"She told the demons that she had too much to do to worry about finding crystals," Piper said. "Maybe finding a sorcerer who deals in alternate realities is one of the things on her to-do list."

"All right, let's go," Paige said energetically. "Leo, do you have his address?"

"I can easily get it. But I'm not sure you should go, Paige. I don't know if he'd be receptive to anyone that closely associated with Magic School right now."

"Actually, who would he be receptive to?" Piper asked ungrammatically. "He doesn't sound like the type to respond to, 'Hi, I want to appeal to your better nature.'"

"How about, 'Hi, I'm half demon and I need to get back to my alternate reality?'" Cole asked.

There was silence while everyone's distrust of even a good Cole Turner was written on the air in fireworks.

"Sounds like a plan," Phoebe said abruptly. "I'll go with you."

"Phoebe?" It was both a question and a warning from Piper.

"What? I can be a counterbalance. If the guy is scared of Cole, I'll be his best friend; if he's hostile, I'll gush admiration."

"What if he's just greedy?" Paige asked.

"Oh, I passed a spell in the book just now that could help. Everyone give me your spare change."

Amazingly, Leo had more than any of them. Since he'd become mortal, he'd taken to walking around with money in his pocket like everyone else.

Having assembled $1.79 in coins in a small cauldron (including 47¢ from behind the sofa cushions), Phoebe lit a yellow candle and let the wax drip over the coins as she read from the book:

"Though this be no alchemy,

Gold ye may appear to be,

Not for any gain to me,

But to fool dishonesty."

And when she emptied the cauldron, a shining stream of gold Napoleons, Krugerrands, and doubloons clattered onto the table.

"Wow," Paige said.

"It only retains the appearance of gold until after we leave Stone's presence. And if we try to spend it with anyone who has good intentions, it reverts back to small change immediately."

"All right," Piper said. "While you're seeing Stone, I'll go work on the alternate reality transporting spell. Leo, you had an idea of how to scry for the Seer?"

"Yes, I'll work with Paige on that."

Paige turned to Leo and Piper headed for the door, and Cole said, "Wait! Before we split up – Have you come up with the Protective Object spell yet?"

The sisters looked baffled. Cole indicated the sofa. "Each of you, put a hand on that," he said, and after a moment's hesitation they did.

"Now repeat after me: Strength of Earth, tempered with Fire."

"Strength of – " Piper and Paige began, then glanced at Phoebe.

She swallowed, nodded. "OK." And they all repeated it. Then they all jumped as the sofa suddenly glowed.

Cole lobbed an energy ball at the sofa. The white sphere caromed off without leaving a mark and fizzled out against the ceiling.

"I used low voltage because I didn't want to do any damage in here, but it'll stand up to high-voltage energy, fireballs, bullets – damn near anything, as far as I can tell. It'll even work on objects with gaps in them – staircase railings, broken windows, one solid wall of protection. It does require the Power of Three, and it only lasts a few minutes. But you know how it is. In the middle of a demon battle, even a few seconds can be – "

" — time enough to save a life," Piper said.

Cole smiled at Paige. "Our Paige came up with that."

Paige darn near preened. Phoebe scraped the "gold" off the table and handed it to Cole. "Here you go, big spender. Leo, how about that address?"

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It was across the bay in San Leandro, where there was a little more room to spread out – a small house with a big double garage, just well maintained enough to avoid attracting attention, somewhat isolated on a rise of land with only a berm separating it from a busy strip mall.

"Wow, this is perfect," Phoebe said, looking it over. "Any unexpected lights or noises, the neighbors will assume it was the shopping center."

"Do you suppose he created this himself?" Cole asked, as they walked up the driveway to the door. (They had tactfully not shimmered directly into the house.)

"I don't think he has the power. I think he's just a very talented sorcerer." She was raising her hand to the doorbell when a car that had been coming down the street rolled into the driveway and was turned off.

The driver got out and said, "Can I help you?"

"If you're Professor Stone, I'm hoping you can," Cole replied.

The driver hesitated a moment, closed the car door, and came up to the porch jingling his keys. He was gaunt, and his face looked overbalanced: receding hairline emphasizing an already high forehead and large eyes over a narrow mouth and little pointed chin. He looked them both over for a moment, smiling, then unlocked his door and let them in as he said, "It's not often that I get the honor of a visit by a witch and a demon both at once. Who referred you to me?"

"I have visions," Phoebe said. "One of them led us to you."

"Coffee?" Stone said, tossing his keyring and a program onto a table by the door. His living room was as messy as might be imagined, books lying open and shoes on the floor mixed with fast-food wrappers and half-full drinking glasses.

"No, thanks," Cole said, as Phoebe glanced down at the program. The cover said:

SAN FRANCISCO ACADEMIC UNION

PRESENTS

THE ANNUAL INNOVATORS LECTURE

And then, underneath a photo of a pleasant looking young man:

PROFESSOR CHARLES EPPES

CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

"MATHEMATICS, SPACE, AND TIME"

"How was the lecture?" Phoebe asked.

Stone, scraping newspapers off of a chair onto the floor, snorted. "I went for the laugh. Mortals who think they understand – anything, about the nature of reality. I left at the beginning of the question period, when some geek started ranting at the speaker about how a mathematician could presume to speak to a question that is at its essence a matter for physicists."

-- Oh, God, I hope that wasn't Leonard, Phoebe thought.

Stone dropped into the cleared chair and smiled up at them without offering them a seat. "How can I help you?"

"I'm from another reality," Cole said. "A demon, one of my enemies, cut a portal and sent me here, but the spell backfired on her. I know the basics of what she did, but I'd like to get back to my own reality without a backfire. I'm hoping you can give me some ideas."

"Well, for one thing, I wouldn't 'cut' a portal. I'd use one that already exists."

"There are portals that already exist?"

"Oh, yes. They're not obvious, of course. It takes a lifetime's study to discover them, probe their exact nature. But they're around, sometimes right under people's noses." The thin-lipped grin broadened. "Sometimes right over them."

Cole took three of the gold coins out of his pocket and dropped them on a coffee table in front of Stone's chair. "Where?"

Stone only glanced at them. "Pretty measly payment for decades of work."

"I have more. How much do you want?"

"Well, I'll tell you." He looked directly at Phoebe. "Why don't you come over here and sit on my lap and stick your tongue in my ear, then I might talk."

And after a moment he roared with laughter. "If you could see the looks on your faces! Priceless!" He stood, his expression hardening. "Did you think I wouldn't recognize one of the Charmed Ones? What is your brother-in-law trying to do to me?"

"Nothing," Phoebe said calmly. "He gave us your name and address, but everything else we told you is true."

"Really. You're Mr. Alternate Reality. How about your demon enemy? Did Leo hire someone to play her too? Ooh, maybe I can get a bidding war going."

Cole looked at the floor, with a little laugh. When he looked up at Stone again, his tone was controlled and amused. If Stone had glanced at Phoebe, he'd have seen that she was watching Cole with near-terror.

"Look," Cole said. "It doesn't matter if you believe me or not. I desperately need to get back to my reality, and you know one of the major steps to putting me there. Now. Either you can let us pay you for services rendered, or we can start extracting the information in other ways. It's really up to you."

"You don't scare me. I've dealt with demons before. I wear an amulet at all times that protects me against fire."

"Really?"

Cole shot an energy ball at Stone. It blew him across the room and he collapsed on the floor, gasping in shock. "How about energy balls?"

With two quick strides, Cole grabbed the sorcerer and threw him across the room physically. He smashed into a bookcase, and a bronze bookend fell on him with a thud. Cole picked him up, slammed him into a wall, and put his hand around Stone's throat. "How about flesh-eating demons in Hell? Huh? Got an amulet for those?"

"Cole!" Phoebe screamed. "Please stop!"