King Leo observed his territory from his favorite perch: the top of the Golden Gate Bridge. He picked at his teeth; something… sinewy had gotten caught there over the course of the evening. Leo could admit he'd been a little more ruthless and careless than usual; but after all, this night could be considered his coronation.

Dozens dead, hundreds wounded, and many new children to join them in Čachtice; and judging by the overwhelmed, yet under enthusiastic reaction of the San Francisco Police Department, the celebrations could continue unfettered for some time. Leo felt a surge of power every time a new child tasted blood for the first time, and joined his line.

Piper came up behind him, wrapping her arms around Leo's torso and kissing his neck. "Surveying your kingdom, my liege?"

"Our kingdom, my queen," he said, turning and kissing her. Becoming a Vampire King had not only made Leo's powers stronger, but his emotions as well: he didn't just love Piper. He burned for her.

Leo and Piper may have gone beyond kissing, if Gary hadn't abruptly cleared his throat. They both turned to look at him. "May I help you?" said Leo.

"My King, I had a premonition," said Gary. Leo had offered his condolences after he learned that Paige had died, and had kept an eye on the fledgling vampire that night: he had fed as heartily as the rest of the vampires, but there had been no pleasure in it. "There is a new Source."

"You had a premonition?" said Leo. "How? I've never heard of a vampire who kept their witch powers."

Gary shrugged. "Neither have I, until now. Then again, I've never heard of a vampire killing a Monarch without killing their entire line."

"Good point," murmured Piper.

Leo pulled her closer. "We don't need to worry about the Source– for now," he said, responding to Piper and Gary's stricken looks. "We've agreed to a seven-day truce. Think about how many vampires there will be a week from now. Until then, let's enjoy ourselves. This city is ours."

Prue showed Paige to a small bedroom. "This was Piper's room," she said. Prue attempted to turn on the overhead lights but the bulbs appeared to have burnt out. "I haven't come in here in awhile. I'm sorry if it's dusty."

"It's fine," said Paige. "I mean, really, I can go home."

"Only if you want to," said Prue. "But I'm not asking you to crash for the night. You should move in." Off Paige's shocked look, she continued, "It would be great to have an in-house healer… and another witch to talk to."

"I'm not much of a witch yet."

"I'll teach you." Prue hesitated, having trouble expressing all of her feelings at that moment. "I think I need a sister most of all."

Paige nodded, giving her a tiny smile. "Me too."

Prue left Paige to get settled in, expecting to find Belthazor in Phoebe's room; but the moment she stepped into the hallway, she heard a crash. She rushed towards the bedroom, where Cole narrowly sidestepped a fireball by a demon dressed in black. "It's no use, Belthazor," said the demon. "It would be better to submit, and ask for her mercy."

Prue waved her hand, sending the demon flying back into the bedroom wall. Cole hurled an energy ball at the demon, who disappeared in a crackle of electricity. He turned to Prue. "Good timing."

"Who was that?"

"Bounty hunter," said Cole. His tone was cool, but the look in his eye was uneasy. "Looks like the new Source thinks I've defected."

"Haven't you?" said Prue. "I mean, shacking up with a witch–" Cole raised his eyebrows and Prue blushed. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah," he said softly. "Everything is different now. I can't go back."

"Good," she said bluntly. "You're powerful. With Leo in charge, I'm going to need all the help I can get."

Cole took a step closer to her. "That's why you want me here? Because I'm powerful?"

Prue was suddenly very warm, and very aware of how blue Cole's eyes were. "Because we… we make a good team, you and I."

The distance closed between them. Cole wrapped his arms around Prue's waist while she took his face in her hands, kissing him. It had been years since someone had held her so tenderly. Prue felt him move to pull her closer– then pull away instead. "What are we doing?" he asked, breathless.

Prue's heart pounded, her breathing heavy. This is what it felt like to be alive. "It's a rough world out there, Cole. If something feels good and isn't hurting anyone… why not?"

Cole didn't need more convincing than that, fully embracing Prue as she pulled him back towards the bed.

Paige was tired, but not fully asleep. She could feel herself drifting off…

She found herself on the Battery Bluffs. Her parents had taken her for picnics there as a child. It was night, but the Golden Gate Bridge in Paige's mind's eye was literally golden, as were the bay waters. Standing at the edge of the cliffs, someone approached her. "Hello, Paige."

"Hi, Gary." She looked him up and down. "I know you think you're better off as a vampire, but I'm sorry this happened to you."

A hint of a smile graced his lips. "I'm sure you genuinely feel that way."

"How are you doing this? Is this a spell?"

Gary shook his head. "You're a seer now. We share that in common."

Paige grew uneasy. Did that mean Gary could enter her head whenever he wanted? "That's the only thing we have in common anymore."

"I don't know how you came back, Paige, but if it means I can sire you again, I will." Gary's tone was as cold as his voice. "I saw our future, Paige. We were together."

"I thought we were trying to prevent that future from coming true. A future where the Queen walked the earth."

Gary shrugged. "King Leo walks the earth now. He's going to come for you and Prue. I might be the only one who can save you from having to be identified by your dental records in the morgue."

Paige scowled, more angry than afraid. "Don't threaten me. Wait until you see how powerful Prue and I can be when we work together."

He grinned. "I expect quite the show, then–"

–and Paige woke up to the sound of banging from downstairs.

Prue woke up to knocking at the door. She was naked, wrapped in musty sheets, with Cole lightly snoring beside her. "Prue?" she heard Paige call. "Are you up?"

"Yeah," she said, coughing to get the croak out of her voice. "What's going on?"

"Uh," Paige said, "I think you should come downstairs and just see for yourself."

Prue rubbed her eyes. "Okay. Five minutes." She gave Cole's shoulder a gentle shake; his eyes slid open. "Time to get up."

"Good morning to you, too." He kissed her; she accepted.

"None of that downstairs," said Prue as she got out of bed.

Paige stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching Prue and Cole descend with a giant smirk on her face. "Well, rise and shine has a new meaning this morning, doesn't it?"

"What's going on?" said Prue, not awake enough to make zingers.

Paige's lighthearted expression grew concerned. "There are some people in the living room that want to meet you."

When Prue entered the living room, there were more people than she expected: six humans looking worse for wear– dirt on their faces, scorch marks on their clothes– and a woman Prue recognized in white-and-gold robes. "Natalie?"

She nodded. Her short red hair was mussed, and there were three long scratches, like claw marks, on her face. Stepping closer to her, Prue could see those white robes were flecked with blood. "Hello, Prue. I'm sorry to just come without any notice… but there was really nowhere else for us to go."

"Who is this?" murmured Cole.

"My former Whitelighter," said Prue, loud enough for everyone to hear. "We didn't play well together–"

"Prue consistently disobeyed orders to focus on fighting the vampires," added Natalie.

"The Elders revoked her," said Prue. "Gary's healing potions worked just fine. I did a damn good job of protecting this city without you."

Natalie inclined her head respectfully. "That you did. Which is why we've come to you now."

Paige glanced at the other people in the room. "Who are you all?"

"Witches," said a woman. "Survivors."

"Let me explain," said Natalie. "The rise of the Vampire Queen was a line in the sand for the Elders. All of our divination told us that good magic would never recover from such an event. In order to prevent this, certain rules were… temporarily nullified, like sending Phoebe here. These magical works required a lot of power. More power than the Elders had access to."

"So where did they get it from?" said Cole.

Natalie looked at her hands as she spoke. "You know that there are many parallel worlds that exist, as each choice we make creates a subset universe of his own."

Paige looked at her blankly. "Translation?"

"There are other dimensions," said Cole. "The Elders stole magic from another universe?"

"I wouldn't use the word 'steal'. It wasn't intentionally done, and once magic was reset in this world, they assumed the balance–"

"Thanks for reminding me why I was grateful to be done with the Elders in the first place," Prue said flatly. "Just tell us what happened."

Natalie met Prue's eyes and nodded. "They drew power from a dimension where you and your sisters became the Charmed Ones, just as Melinda Warren foresaw it. But because they– we– failed… our magic has become unstable. When the new Source came to power last night, she took advantage of our weakness. Warlocks were ordered to hunt witches, but not to get their powers: to get to their Whitelighters. Once they gained the ability to orb, most of us were defenseless."

Paige settled shakily into a chair. Cole scrubbed his face with his hands. "Is everyone dead?" asked Prue.

"We're tallying the survivors," said Natalie. "But… many were lost. And with the Elders and most Whitelighters gone, good magic is totally unprotected. Those of us who survived are tracking down our charges and bringing them to safety."

Prue looked at Natalie's charges. "So you brought them here? This was the safest place you could think of?"

"Honestly, yes," said Natalie, exhaling deeply. "You and Paige are all we have left of the Charmed Ones. This home sits on the Nexus. If there's anyone who I would trust to defend my witches against the Source and the vampires… it's you, Prue."

Night fell. Prue sat on the manor steps, the only quiet place she could find. The day had been spent preparing the house for the magical refugees. Now that everyone was fed, bandaged and had a place to sleep, Prue felt like she could take a breath.

She saw a large bat descend from the sky and land on the path before her. Leo transformed, shaking his head. "My, my," he said, sounding amused. "I really thought I killed you this time."

"What can I say?" said Prue. "I'm tougher than I look, Your Highness."

He chuckled. "You've been a worthy opponent, I'll give you that. Sometimes I wonder what kind of a vampire you'd make."

Prue did her best to suppress a shudder. "I'd rather die."

"Don't worry, you'll have the opportunity soon enough." Leo gave her a fanged smile. "Witch versus vampire– nothing new there. Now Charmed One versus Vampire King? Now that sounds like something I'd watch."

Prue heard the front door open. "Charmed Ones," said Paige. "Two out of three ain't bad."

Leo's eyes narrowed. He took a step back. "I watched you burn into ash."

"It sure did tickle," admitted Paige. "Like my sister said, we're tougher than we look."

Leo blinked, overcoming his shock, before rubbing his hands together. "I do like a challenge," he said. "I'll tell Piper and Gary you said hi. See you around, girls." He shape shifted and flew off into the night.

Paige extended a hand to Prue, pulling her to her feet. "You okay?"

Prue shrugged, letting out a little laugh; in comparison to what? "I might be," she said.

The front door opened again. Cole popped his head out. "Natalie's threatening to make an upper-level demon vanquishing potion and asked where you keep your knives," he said dryly. "Any chance you can come and mediate?"

Prue and Paige followed him inside. The sound of voices in the living room was louder than it had been in years. Maybe there's something positive in all this, thought Prue. It's hard to feel lonely when you've got a small army living in your house…