The vampire handmaidens, in spite of their harsh transportation techniques, carefully bathed Prue, washing the blood from her wounds and applying oils. They cut her long, long black hair just below her chin; it hadn't been that short since before Piper died. The handmaids dressed Prue in a more modest version of their gauzy red dresses. Instead of dragging her, they placed Prue on a carrying bed and led her to the Queen's throne room.

The Queen was perched on her throne, positively glowing from her ritual purification. On either side of her were Leo and Rowan. Piper and Paige were dressed in the garments of the handmaidens, who stood opposite the Queen. The ceiling was positively teeming with bats: the Queen's loyal brethren, excited to watch her rise.

"My darlings!" said the Queen, rising from the throne. "My time to walk the surface of the earth has come again. There shall be no power greater than us in this city!"

The chorus from above squeaked, those in human form clapped. Leo put his fingers in his mouth and whistled, before giving Prue what could only be described as a shit-eating grin. He stepped out from behind the throne, carrying a leather bag. The handmaidens placed Prue in the center of the room and stepped aside.

Leo sprinkled herbs and salt in a sacred circle, encapsulating Prue within it. "Looking good," he murmured as he passed her. "Nice haircut."

Damnit Leo, thought Prue, I hate you. I'll hate you in this life and the next. She tried to take some comfort in the fact that she'd finally be able to see Grams and her mom again. Maybe an eternity in Heaven would be enough to repair her relationship with Phoebe. Prue almost laughed: they could certainly spend a few decades talking about what the hell had gone wrong tonight.

Leo finished sprinkling the powder, and stepped back. The Queen stepped into the circle, followed by Rowan, holding the Armai'ach with two hands. He started reciting from it; an energy filled the room that set the hairs on Prue's arms on end.

Above the sacred circle appeared a sphere, blue-gray and moving rapidly like clouds. As Rowan spoke, bolts of red lightning started to thread through the sphere, followed by rolls of thunder that set the throne room rattling. The room began to hum, but this time with anticipation.

The Queen stepped off of her throne and descended towards Prue. Piper and Leo met eyes. I love you, she mouthed. He barely nodded, but his response was in his eyes.

Cole sat helplessly in the prison cell when a cluster of blue orbs appeared in the corner. "Phoebe?" he said when the orbs reformed. "What are you–"

"We're almost out of time, and I need a distraction," said Phoebe. She grabbed Cole's bonds with both hands; they fell off in a hale of blue sparks. "If you can help me, I won't make my sisters vanquish you."

Cole blinked. "Good trade."

The Queen eyed Leo and nodded her head: come here. He obeyed and followed her into the sacred circle. Leo picked up Prue, ignoring her cries, and tilted her head back for the Queen.

The air behind the handmaidens shimmered. Cole tossed an energy ball at the ceiling, taking out a few bats. "Over here, Your Majesty," he said, waving to her.

The Queen bit back a ferocious growl. "Bind him or kill him!"

The bats on the ceiling descended upon Cole in a swarm; he kept throwing energy balls, long enough for Phoebe to orb in behind Piper and Paige with a stake in her hand. She forced it into Paige's heart.

Paige screamed. She tried to grab at the protruding wood in her chest, but flames immediately began to spread from the stake over her entire body. In moments, she was nothing but ash.

"You bitch!" spat Piper, backhanding Phoebe into the wall.

One of the bats swarming Cole abandoned the group and shapeshifted. Gary knelt on the floor, sweeping his fingers through what was left of Paige. The look he gave Phoebe as she fell to the ground was one of pure rage.

Prue was highly aware of the chaos going around her, but the Queen, Rowan and Leo were pushing through with the ritual. Rowan raised his voice above the din, and the sphere of light over the Queen's head became more and more threaded with red.

Cole shimmered out of the swarm of bats, just behind Rowan. He hit the vampire in the back with an energy ball. Rowan cried out in a ball of sparks and was gone. The Armai'ach hit the ground with a thud.

The Queen looked at Leo, panicked. "What do we do?"

Leo heaved Prue aside like he was bailing hay. "You do nothing, my Queen," said Leo. "Your time is up."

Cole shimmered to her side. "Prue!" Prue's body was limp, her eyes half-closed; he couldn't tell if she'd hit her head.

Many of the vampires began to flee, flying out through every open crevice. Piper had Phoebe in a headlock, but Phoebe grabbed at her sister's leg, sending them both to the ground. Gary ripped a chunk of rock from the wall and hurled it at Phoebe– but she was able to use her ability to freeze time to stop it from slamming into her head. It fell harmlessly to the ground.

The Queen's eyes widened. There was an emotion there Leo had never seen before: shock. "What's the meaning of this, Leo?"

Next to the Armai'ach a figure glistened in outline. The Seer knelt down to pick up the tablet. "Good luck," she said to Leo, before disappearing.

"No!" cried Phoebe. Piper and Gary stopped in place warily, watching Phoebe.

Leo punched the Queen square in the chest, using all of his strength. He broke her breastbone and wrapped his fingers around her heart, before pulling it out in a bloody spray. Doing just as the Seer had said, he forced the organ down his throat. It was too big to eat whole, so Leo swallowed it in three huge bites before the Queen's body burst into flames.

Cole watched it happen with his jaw open. Now I've seen everything, he thought, dazed. The remaining vampires stopped what they were doing, either freezing in place or flapping their wings in the air, waiting to see what happened next. "Phoebe!" he shouted. "Prue needs help!"

Phoebe shook her head; she was in tears. "It's too late," she said, as her body dissolved into orbs from above. "It's over. I'm sorry."

Leo cried out and fell to his knees. Piper rushed over to him. "Leo!"

He leaned back on his heels and howled in agony, grasping at his shirt. Piper could see Leo's heart protruding through his shirt, pulsing outward. His fangs were extending and growing longer, almost like knitting needles. Leo's howls continued, studded with what sounded like– laughter… until his heart receded. He continued to laugh giddily, as he rose to his feet and pulled Piper into a long kiss that left her panting.

"Baby, I'm better than alright," he said. "I'm the Vampire King."

There was relative silence in the throne room. The bats shapeshifted and took their human form to gaze at Leo.

Piper put her hands on her hips, her face flushed with desire. "What are you all staring at?" she asked the room. "The King walks the earth. Long live the King."

"Long live the King!" shouted Gary.

"Long live the King," the crowd murmured. It was a broken hum at first, but the momentum built. "Long live the King!"

Cole put his arms around Prue and shimmered away. He didn't want to stick around and see how King Leo spent his first evening surveying his territory.

Cole brought Prue back to the manor, to the attic, and laid her down on the couch. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I wish there was something I could do."

Prue couldn't move; Cole thought she might be paralyzed. But her lips parted just enough for him to hear her murmur something. "Y'sv'm."

You saved me.

Then Prue's eyes closed. Cole gripped her good hand. "Prue? Prue!"

She didn't respond. Her hand was limp.

Prue found herself at the waterfall of golden light. "Hi, Prue."

She turned. "Phoebe?"

Phoebe had on the clothes she'd worn the night she died, crusted with dried blood. There were fang marks on her arm and neck. "I'm sorry, Prue."

"Am I dead?"

"Not yet," said Phoebe. "Belthazor is with you, but I'm not sure how much time you have."

Phoebe wrapped her arms around Prue. Prue could feel her hug, even in this dream world, and Phoebe's tears wetting her shirt. "I should've done this the second I saw you tonight."

Prue hugged her back. "It's okay. There wasn't a lot of time."

Phoebe pulled back from Prue, sniffling. "I know, but… it really sucks to die at twenty-two. You know?" She laughed at the absurdity of her words. "I've been holding onto that anger for a long time, and once I was back… that's all I could feel. I just wanted to do what the Elders told me needed to be done. I'm sorry."

Prue shook her head. "I should be the one apologizing to you. All I wanted was to kill Leo, avenge you and Grams… and maybe Piper, too. And I failed."

"You did everything you could," said Phoebe. "I've watched you, since I died. I know everything you did, you did it for us."

A dam inside of Prue's chest burst open, and her eyes filled with tears. "Thank you."

A cluster of blue orbs appeared beside Cole. He jumped at the sudden light, not sure who to expect… "Paige?"

Wearing the clothes she died in, her hands shaking nervously, Paige knelt down beside Prue. She held her palms over Prue's body. "It's about love," she whispered to herself. "My sister, my sister, my sister…"

Golden light emanated from her hands.

The golden waterfall around Prue began to fade. "Oh God," she said. "Is it happening?"

Phoebe shook her head, smiling through her tears. "No, it's the opposite. You're going to be okay." She grabbed Prue's hands, squeezing them. "I know that you're an amazing witch and you've done so much good for San Francisco… but it's okay to have a life, too, honey. You're the only sister who's still alive. You should enjoy it."

Phoebe's face faded from view. "Say hi to our sister for me."

Cole watched as the bruises faded from Prue's face, the cuts and scrapes disappeared. Prue's eyes flew open with a gasp, and she sat up as if nothing had happened. "Are you okay?" asked Cole.

Paige stepped back, looking at her hands in awe. "Whoa."

"Never better," said Prue, exhaling deeply. She looked at Paige. "How did you– I thought Phoebe–"

"Put a stake in my heart?" said Paige weakly. "You thought right. I'm dead. But– well, to make a long story short, it sounds like nobody 'up there' had Leo becoming the Vampire King on their Bingo card. The Elders were freaking out. Then I saw Mom and, and Grams–" Paige paused to take a deep breath and wipe her eyes. "We didn't have long, but they said while everything was a mess, I should see if I can come back down here and help you."

"Thank you," said Prue. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out her hand to Paige, who took it. They clutched onto one another for a moment.

Prue looked at Cole. "So Leo became the Vampire King? That wasn't a pain-induced hallucination?"

"I wish," he said. "Yes, he killed the Queen and became the King. And I suspect we'll be hearing about a new Source anytime now."

"What does that mean for us?" asked Prue.

Cole shook his head. "I have no idea."