"Argh!" Paige grunts as she kicks the demon in the abdomen. When he laughed and disappeared, she tripped and falls on her side. "Oof."
"Hold still!" Piper was starting to get pissed off. She kept trying to freeze this thing to no avail. "You have to slip up sometimes." She was tempted to blow him up but knew she couldn't, not in public anyway.
"Missed!" Paige taunts as she orbs away from the clone who nearly threw a fireball at her.
"You are all dead." The demon taunted. "You are only three, while I am many!" He made more clones.
"Then we'll keep going!" Piper couldn't blow up the demon, but it didn't mean she couldn't physically hurt him. She held up her hands, and one of the clones disappeared. "I got one."
"Garbage can lid!" Paige orbs a lid towards another. "Gotcha." The clone vanished.
"Take this!" Jenna throws a potion at another.
Piper took out her paper and stood next to her sister.
"To rid of the duplicate, make him abdicate."
The demon screams as he smokes out, his clones disappearing.
"I think you should stick to Latin." Piper was talented in lots of areas, but rhyming wasn't one of them.
"I didn't have time to write a proper spell." Piper dusts herself off. "Paige, Jenna, you alright?"
"I'm fine, but he ruined my hair." Paige was sweaty and sticky from the fight. "Is that the fourth demon we fought this week?"
"Fifth." Jenna was watching from the sidelines.
"You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous." Piper scolded. Shame Phoebe wasn't here, she had a talent for hand-to-hand combat. "Especially with your pregnancy." Jenna wasn't big yet, but she was definitely showing.
"I know, but I'll figure you'll need help. Plus it gives me an excuse to get out of the house." Jenna was getting bored at home, so she left her daughter with Victor and Nina and followed the sisters to the alley where the demon was. She was holding a bag with a few potions. "With Phoebe gone, you need numbers."
"Sam and Dean will be here tomorrow. No demons will dare show up with our talents combined." Sam and Dean fought demons on a daily basis. "Besides Phoebe will be back tomorrow." Her and Coop's wedding was this weekend.
"Wonder why Coop insisted she go to LA?"
"To meet his family?" Jenna missed the city, Kansas was like a frozen wasteland in the winter. LA winters weren't too bad. "Do cupids have families?"
"Duh. Coop did mention he had a mom, his dad died when he was a baby." Piper checked her watch. "It's time for Mel's nap. I gotta get home." According to Victor, Mel was talking more and more. She and Laura often played together.
"Well, if we're done for the day, I gotta go. My shift starts in an hour." Paige orbs away.
"You couldn't give us a lift?" Personal gain, but still.
"That's okay, magic travelling makes me car sick." Like Dean, Jenna preferred travelling the old-fashioned way. "We can call a cab."
"Sounds good to me." Piper walks out of the alley with her sister-in-law.
Coop was nervous as they got out of the taxi.
"Why did you bring me here? I thought you were taking me to see your mom." She met Coop's mom a few times, Mrs Webster was a very nice woman. "Is this a cupid thing?" She looked around, but she didn't see anyone Coop could fix up.
"You'll see." Coop held her hand as they walked through the cemetery. "I should have told you before, but I didn't know how to begin." He led her up a walking path. "I didn't become a cupid by chance, I was chosen."
"Instead of infants?" Phoebe read the Book of Shadows. There wasn't much info about cupids, but the Book said they were raised from infants and toddlers after they died. Phoebe found it disrespectful, children needed to rest, even in death. "I'm just surprised they chose a living man." She never thought mortals could work for Heaven.
"That's why I brought you here." Coop was nervous when they got closer to their destination. "The part about the living part." He led her to his grave. "I should have told you sooner."
Phoebe stares at the tombstone. Coop's birth and death were written on the stone as well as a heartfelt message.
"Phoebe?" Phoebe's face was blank.
Phoebe stared at the tombstone for a full minute. She didn't know what to say.
"Just to let you know, I was cremated. There's no body in there." Coop always thought that once the body was gone, so was the soul from Earth. "Honey?"
Phoebe lets go of Coop's hand. She heard Coop's words but wanted to see things for herself. She touches the tombstone.
She saw Coop in a bus full of children, they were coming back from a school trip. Coop was talking to another teacher, telling her he was thinking about resigning. What they didn't expect was the bus' front tire bursting. Coop sprang into action when he saw the bus losing control and desperately tried to help the driver hold on to the wheel. When the bus swerved in the heavy traffic, and then flipping on its side, Coop died trying to save the bus from crashing. His actions saved everyone, except himself, he was killed when the bus crashed.
"You saved everyone." She felt the fear and relief of the kids and employees. "Why didn't you tell me?" She didn't know what to think.
"I didn't know what to say. I woke up in Cupid's Temple. There I met Kama, one of the leaders of Cupids. I wasn't the only one there, there were a few others. Phoebe?" When she turned around and hugged him, Coop was surprised.
"You died a hero." She didn't know why she wasn't mad, Coop held a big secret from her. But she didn't care. "You're alive now, and that's enough for me." She squeezes him closer.
Coop breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry."
"Leo was a whitelighter, but Piper loved him anyway. He died sometime in World War Two." True love had no boundaries.
"But he died eventually." Phoebe told him how he sacrificed himself to save her life in the astroplane. "There's no guarantee I won't be killed again." He knew immortal beings weren't invincible.
"I know." She had those visions. "But let's not worry about that right now."
"And what about later? You always dreamed about being a mom." He heard her sigh.
"I know." She dreamed about that little girl again. She was so beautiful. "But I have my two nieces, plus we can always adopt." That girl probably existed in another timeline. "I'm still marrying you." She let Coop go. "We gotta head back, I have to pick up my dress, plus find someone to marry us." She was so glad she didn't get a minister, it would be hard to find someone to marry a cupid and a witch.
"I can find someone. We won't be the first supernatural couple to marry." When Coop heard that call, he sighed. "Honey?"
"Just be back before the wedding." Cupid Agents hardly got time off.
"Let me give you a lift anyway. My new assignment is in San Francisco."
"Sounds good to me."
Paige was with her partner taking pictures of the latest crime scene.
"What psycho did this?" Ramirez was surprised when he and Paige were allowed to look at an active crime scene. Usually, only senior patrolmen and detectives worked in homicide.
"Vampire?" Paige saw a bite mark on the victim's neck. "Or a kitsune." She never encountered one, but read it in the Book. The bite was directly where the brain stem was.
"A vampire and kitsune? Man, you really like this supernatural stuff do you." He heard stories on how weird things happen in this city.
"More than you know." She needed to take a closer look, but couldn't disturb the crime scene. She looked at their boss, Inspector Davidson who was talking to a witness. "He's more laid back than Sheridan." True Sheridan worked in another precinct, but she did come by occasionally to assist other districts with unusual cases.
"Yeah, he is." Davidson seemed laid back, but he expected his officers to be professional. "He probably asked us to shadow the detectives to train us for the future." He knew it wouldn't be a while, becoming a detective wasn't easy. "In a few years, we'll have our own rookies to train."
"Detective Matthews." Paige liked that sound of that. But before she could fantasize about it, their boss called them over.
"Whoops. Big Boss is calling for us." Ramirez and Paige walk to where Davidson is standing. "Sir." Ramirez says respectfully.
Paige nods.
"Ramirez, I want you to go to head back to the precinct with Detective Watts." Detective Watts was one of the newest detectives.
"Yes sir." Ramirez didn't know much about her, but she seemed nice.
"Officer Matthews."
"Sir." She couldn't help but be excited. What detective will she shadow? There were Simpson and Warrington, they've been around for years, and only came after Andy 'died.'
"Cole Turner. I'm sure you know the name."
"Cole?" Oh no.
"Yes. You called it in when the landlady was found. I looked in his background, he was married to your sister?"
"Was. It wasn't a happy marriage, Phoebe filed for divorce after a few years. As for that call, I heard the 911 call on my radio and drove there to check it out." Paige saw how that landlady was killed. It was almost identical to this one. However, she believed Cole had nothing to do with it.
"Hmm."
"Sir?"
"Matthews, return to the station, I want the paperwork done by the end of your shift."
"Yes sir." Great more papers. However, she still had her own investigation to do. "I'll catch a ride with Ramirez and Watts." She drove with Ramirez. She had to talk to her sisters, this was definitely demonic in nature.
Once she was gone with her partner and the detective, Davidson calls for a warrant.
"Can you call Judge Stanford? I need him to order the arrest of Cole Turner." Davidson was sure Cole was a serial killer, he was also the main suspect in the attempted murder of businessman Frank Pirelli, his driver witnessed his attorney throwing a lit Molotov cocktail at his SUV. "Thanks." He wasn't sure where Cole was, he hadn't been at work since Pirelli cancelled the merger. He already interviewed the lawyers at Cole's firm, they all seemed shocked that Cole was a criminal. But none of them saw Cole since he left. He already checked out all of Cole's acquaintances, and none of them panned out. As for Matthews, he only put her in this case to see if she recognized Cole's handiwork. He left the lead detective in charge, he had to interview another of Cole's acquaintances.
Phoebe was looking over at her reception menu when the doorbell rang. She was alone, Jenna and Piper went for lunch with their kids, and Paige was working. When she answered the door, she was surprised to see who was on the other side.
"May I help you? If you are looking for Paige, she's on duty." Why was Inspector Davidson here?
"Miss Halliwell? Phoebe, I assume."
"Yes. That's me."
"Inspector Davidson. I'm looking for Cole Turner." He holds up his badge.
"Cole? I hadn't seen him since the divorce." She lied.
"Really."
"I was in college, he was much older. I didn't know any better." Phoebe always regretted getting involved with him. "The day we signed the papers, Cole left the country." She remembered vanquishing Cole, or so the Sisters thought. She had no idea how Cole kept coming back from the dead. Whenever anyone asked where Cole was, they played dumb. "What's this about." She had a feeling why he was talking to her.
"Another victim was found dead. The murder was similar to the one in Cole's apartment."
"That's terrible." Phoebe figured Paige could fill them in later.
"Yes, it is terrible. Another senseless death! A life, taken away for no reason! The man you were married to, did you leave because your life was in danger?"
Phoebe kept her face blank, he was close to the truth.
"Like I said, the marriage was a mistake." She looked into his eyes, he looked frustrated. "I went on with my life." Davidson and she just looked at one another. After a few seconds, Davidson spoke.
"You sure you don't know anything about Turner?" He knew when someone was hiding something. He had a feeling Phoebe Halliwell knew where Cole Turner was.
"Just that he was Pirilli's lawyer. Excuse me." She shuts the door in his face. "Dammit Cole." She needed an aspirin, she was getting a headache.
Davidson wondered how she knew about Pirilli, he was well known, but not many knew about his attorney's identity. He picked up his phone, he had to find out what Phoebe Halliwell was hiding.
"Piper. C'mon, answer the phone." Phoebe listened to it ring again and again. "Fine. I'll go to you instead." She wasn't an expert on tech, but she knew how to track a phone thanks to the apps she insisted everyone have. "Ami, find me Piper."
"Finding Piper now." The robotic voice says. Once Phoebe got the location, she grabbed her car keys.
Outside, Davidson was watching the Manor. Seeing Phoebe rushing out, he waits till she pulls away before starting his car engine.
"For your sake, you better not send me on a wild goose chase." He drives away, keeping her at a distance to not draw suspicion.
At the beach, both Piper and Jenna were making sandcastles with their daughters.
"I'm surprised you came to join us." Jenna refused to eat in the seafood restaurant, she felt queasy with the smell of fish. Instead, she and Laura ate from a vegetarian food truck across the street. Piper was helping Mel build a castle with her baby bucket.
"Cooked fish makes me sick, but the beach is fine." Jenna stopped to take a selfie. She and Dean agreed to keep Laura out of the spotlight, she was way too young.
"Mommy. When's daddy coming back." Laura missed Dean like crazy.
"Soon." She hated Dean not being home.
"Sam said they'll be back by tomorrow. Any cases they come across they're going to pass to other hunters."
"Good." She holds Laura. "See, Daddy will be home soon."
"Yay!" Dean promised to take them to Disney after Phoebe's wedding.
"What about you, excited to see your daddy?" Piper asked Mel. As usual, Mel stayed silent.
"Still not talking?" Jenna heard Mel say a few words, but only to Nina and Victor.
"Not to me. I wish she'll open up." Mel was definitely old enough to talk, she was only a year younger than Laura. "She babbles to Sam though, but never to me." Piper couldn't help but feel hurt.
"Give her time, soon she'll be begging for toys." Jenna saw a woman taking pictures of the beach but didn't think much of it. "Picked out your dress?" Phoebe told all three to choose whatever dress they wanted, just as long as it wasn't white. Jenna chose to wear a sage green dress, she and Paige figured green would bring luck.
"Green right?" Piper had her eye on another dress, it was a pretty shade of brown. "Since she didn't pick a theme, guess earthy colours would work since she and Coop are having a magical wedding." She already picked out Mel's flower girl dress, she and Laura were walking down the aisle in matching yellow dresses. "You know what Paige is wearing?"
"I think hers is champagne, she said blue will wash her out." She took a picture of the finished castle. "What should we call this."
"How about Castle HW."
"HW?"
"Halliwell-Winchester. Or Halliwell-Warren, or think of the W as an upside down M." Naming Jenna's maiden name.
"Sounds good to me." Jenna and Piper stand up with their kids. "Here ye, here ye. Make way for our princesses, Princess Melinda and Princess Laura!"
Piper couldn't help but laugh. Both girls were giggling.
"They're legacies, so it's kinda true." Both families were well-known and respected in magical circles. Piper saw a woman taking pictures of them. "Is she a fan?" Jenna was still popular on social media, she occasionally had fans take pictures of her.
"Maybe. Wouldn't be the first." She waves. The woman standing on the hill looked startled, but she waved back. "I just hope she doesn't put the kids online."
"Yep." Piper was tempted to freeze her and delete any photos of them, but she didn't want to draw attention, she remembered that time when she froze a whole street and started a witch hunt. She was not losing her sister again. Instead, she took out her phone and took a photo of the woman. "Huh?" There was a shadow beside the woman. "You see that?"
"See what?" Jenna saw the woman looking startled. "Her? Maybe she's not a fan, but a stalker." Jenna saw her hurrying away. "I had a few weirdos follow me around recently, Dean almost shot one that tried sneaking in our yard." She and Dean installed more security, their house was heavily warded, but not against humans.
"I don't think we're the ones being stalked." She had to talk to her sisters. "There's Phoebe, maybe she changed her mind and wants to spend time with us." She waved her over.
"Auntie!" Laura held out her arms when Phoebe joined them.
"How's my little munchkins." Phoebe hugs her two nieces. Mel and Laura both squeeze her back.
"We made a castle. The girls did, we just followed directions." Jenna missed the California beaches, she wasn't looking forward to another cold winter in a few months.
"You see a shadow?" Piper took out her phone to show Phoebe. "Huh? It's gone?" She swore she saw something.
"Let me see." Phoebe took her phone and studied the picture. "Recognize her Jen?" She hands the phone to Jenna.
"Nope. But we think she could be a stalker." The old her would have been worried, but after becoming a hunter, Jenna felt more comfortable being alone. "Just don't tell Dean, I don't want him shooting anyone." Dean was very overprotective of his family.
"No, I could have...Never mind." Probably the light. "It's getting late. We should pack up." The tide was starting to rise, their sandcastle was starting to wash away. She picks up Mel.
"A stalker? Could be connected to the latest murders." Phoebe remembered what Davidson said.
"Not here. Not in front of the girls." Piper wondered about the latest killings herself. "We'll wait for Paige."
"Is this about Cole?" As curious as she was, she knew she'd be sitting this out. "I'm not going to Magic School again." Last time she went there, there was a swarm of leprechauns that were yelling about protection. "Laura and I will be staying at our hotel. I can ask Nina to watch the girls." She didn't like how Nina got her memory erased after Magic School, poor Nina was wondering how it got to early morning so quickly.
"Fine. Let's go home. Jenna, we'll drop you and the girls off, call Dean. We'll be at the Manor, I'll call Sam, let him know what's up."
Once they return to the Manor, Phoebe fills Piper in about Davidson.
"You lied about Cole." Piper understood why, but it was a big risk. "Hope you know what you are doing."
"Just till I figure out why Cole is doing this." Paige admitted she thought Cole was innocent, while Piper was naturally suspicious. As for herself, she didn't know what to think. "If Cole is innocent, we'll find the demons that did this."
"And if he's guilty?"
"I have my spell ready to go." It was the hardest spell she had ever written. "Whatever happens, no more innocents get caught in the crossfire." Cole's prison will be impenetrable this time around, but only as a last resort. "After this, I can move on with my life with Coop." She still had so much to plan. "Our wedding is in a few days, and I still haven't finalized the menu."
"Don't worry, the dishes will be vegan. I'm sure Dean could live without beef and bacon for one day." Piper already ordered her wedding cake. "Sit, we'll worry about Cole later."
Davidson didn't bother following the Halliwells home, he knew one of them would slip up eventually. Instead, he returns to the station to wait for his subordinate.
"Find anything?" As his newest detective climbs into his car. He waited till her shift ended, even though she was on an assignment from her boss, she still had her regular duties to do.
"Other than following Jenna Winchester and her family, nothing much." She shivered from the cold rain, it was pretty chilly outside.
"I meant Piper Halliwell." He was looking at her camera shots.
"Cole Turner wasn't there with them. I did what you asked, and sent Ramirez to interview Mr Pirilli." Detective Watts cleared her throat. "You really believe they are protecting Cole Turner?" She already looked over Cole's files. "Phoebe and him had no contact since their divorce. No emails, bank transfers, or even snail mail."
"What about her sisters. Paige was seen going into Cole's old penthouse a few years ago." Davidson asked around. "Witnesses say he was seen at a pier."
"You believe Matthews would ruin her career for a wanted criminal?" She met the rookie a few times, Paige was as professional as they come. "Sir, with all due respect, what's this about?"
"All I know is Turner needs to be behind bars. The Halliwells, one of them knows where Cole is. And I'll be there when they contact him." He drove back to the station. "Andrea." He looks at Detective Watts. "Submit your report on my desk before you go home."
"Yes Sir." Watts gets out of his car. "Don't forget about yourself. You're only human. Night."
"Good night." He was off duty now but didn't want to go home. As tempting as it was to burn the midnight oil, he decided to call it quits for the night.
"Done." Paige felt foolish thinking being a police officer was easier than being a social worker. The amount of paperwork is almost identical. "Can't wait for a promotion." She says out loud. Her own rookies can do this. Seeing Detective Watts walking in, she nods to her, not really paying attention to the shadow following her. She wondered if her partner was still on duty, she was going to ask him if he wanted to join her for a late night donut run.
Watts took off her coat, it was soaked with the rain. She didn't close her door, she wasn't staying long in Davidson's office.
"Enjoy your night!" She tells two patrolmen who were walking past the doorway. She was exhausted, she was looking forward to going home and unwinding for the night. But her reports needed to be done first, Davidson gave his orders. "I get a promotion and still have to do paperwork. Beats doing traffic stops at least." She was only a detective for a week. She boots up the computer, typing was a lot faster than by hand.
What she didn't know there was someone in the room with her. Hungrily, the figure opens their mouth and spins her chair around.
Paige was putting on her jacket when she heard a scream.
"Detective Watts." Since it was late, only a few officers were on duty, unfortunately, most were on a coffee break down the hall. She runs towards Inspector Davidson's office. "Hey! I heard a scream!" She shouts to no one. When she opened the door she saw a reaper taking the soul of Watts away. "What happened here?" She saw the blood, it was obvious that she died almost immediately.
"It was her time. Come." The reaper known as Betty takes Andrea Watts away. They both disappear in a white light.
"Damn. And I was right here." Guess she and her sisters had to do another investigation. She had no choice but to close the crime scene, when her fellow officers came running in, she told everyone she saw Detective Watts lying in a pool of blood, but had no idea why.
Back at the Manor, Piper and Phoebe were talking to Paige who snuck away for a quick minute to fill them in.
"That shadow I saw was a reaper?" Piper should have known. "We could have saved the innocent." She knew it was moot, Death followed a list. However, they could have found who was behind her murder. "Did you see the killer at least?"
Paige shook her head.
"I didn't, I'm sorry. I don't know how she died, all I saw was blood." She felt awful. Watts was a few feet away. "I gotta get back, Davidson will demand answers." Her fellow cops said the Inspector was on his way. "See you." She orbed away.
"Stabbing? Or was it more, supernatural?" A human killer wouldn't dare murder a woman in the middle of a police station.
"Maybe?" Piper was just as puzzled. "We may have to check out Cole's apartment for clues." Cole's landlady was stabbed, however, the killings started there. "The police should be done by now. But be careful not to leave anything behind." Hair, fingerprints, they couldn't chance getting traced.
"What if Cole is there?" Phoebe really doubted it, but she wanted to make sure.
"Then we'll demand answers. Let's go."
"I can't believe you picked the locks." They could have used magic, but other than Piper freezing the hallway, she used a lock pick to open the apartment.
"I'm trying to perfect my skills." She remembered when magic went away, Sam and Dean were sitting ducks at that monster arena. Piper took a shady class on how to pick locks from a common criminal. She justified it was for a good cause. "Can you get a premonition?" They carefully sneak inside.
"I'll have to take off my gloves." They were wearing hats and gloves, they were being careful. "I'll use the back of my hands."
"While you do that, I'll look around." Piper whispered back. They were risking everything being here, if they were caught, they'd lose more than their freedom.
Phoebe only took off part of her glove to touch the fading bloodstain on the floor. She gasped.
She felt the fear of the landlady who was begging for her life. The last thing she felt was the knife going into her heart.
"Poor woman." She didn't see a face, unfortunately. But that didn't mean the apartment had more clues. She walked around the apartment touching various objects.
Piper was in Cole's bedroom. Like Cole, the room was neat and tidy.
"I doubt Cole ever slept here." She saw dust on the closet's handles. She slowly and carefully opened the doors, wondering what was inside. Nothing but suits and expensive shoes. Once she checked everything, she closed the doors. "There has to be something." Even while Cole was still married to Phoebe, he had several hiding places. She went to fetch her sister.
"The graveyard, makes sense. Cole spent his time hiding there." The mausoleum, that's where they always met. "He could be there." A graveyard was the only place Cole could hide from his enemies. "Can we sneak back out?" They drove here but parked down the street.
"I'll freeze the hallway."
"Ugh. I forgot how creepy a graveyard is at night." Phoebe shivered. It took them a while to drive here, they were afraid of being followed.
"You dated a demon, and are scared of a graveyard? Grow up." Piper had a headache.
"Meh." Phoebe stuck out her tongue. "Just because you are married to a hunter..."
"Sam and I dug up a few graves. Just be careful of ghouls." Piper hated those things.
"Yes Mom." She been here several times with Cole, and even alone waiting for him. "His father, even in death Cole liked being with his family." She sighed. "Mom, you ever miss her?"
"Everyday." Piper was a very small child when Patty died. "What was she like in Heaven?" Piper couldn't be there during the fight with Neena, the First Witch, she was in labor with Mel.
"Beautiful. Her and Grams said hi and to give Mel a huge kiss." Phoebe missed them terribly.
"That's good." Piper hoped to meet them again someday. "Cole, did he have any other places he could have ran into?"
"His old penthouse, but it's been converted to a storage unit for the building's residents." Phoebe already checked it out online. "I looked into his tax records, he didn't have any other places to live."
"He is over a century old, look into Benjamin's." Piper saw his name on the stone there.
"Right. Cole mentioned he left him a trust fund." She took out her phone. "Paige is back, she's asking where we went."
"Tell her we're on our way back." They leave the mausoleum.
Paige was really depressed, she lost her job. She was home, what else could she do? She thought about what happened earlier.
"As I said, I was on my desk when Watts walked in. She said hello to everyone, and went to your office. A few minutes later I heard her scream. When I ran in to see if she was okay, she was lying in a pool of blood. I couldn't save her, it was so fast." She omitted the part of the reaper. "I didn't see what happened."
"Everyone! This is now an active crime scene! All officers on duty! Check the premises and cameras! The killer couldn't have gone very far! Matthews!"
"Yes?" She wondered if she'd be on this case.
"You are hereby suspended."
"What! I didn't do anything!" Paige couldn't believe it. She saw her fellow officers looking away, they were out of their desks while Watts was getting attacked.
"You were the only witness." Davidson read Sheridan's old files, how she was always suspicious about the Halliwells. "Where were you all this time."
"Doing my reports, as you asked." She was so busy, that she must've missed someone sneaking in.
"Zeke!'
"Yes sir." He was one of the graduates that was in Paige's class.
"I want you to call IT, I want you to search Matthews' computer."
"Right away."
Paige felt her face turning red. She was innocent.
"I'm sorry about Detective Watts, but I have nothing to hide." She was stupid to think Davidson wouldn't pick on her as much as Sheridan.
"Until we figure this out, you are a private citizen. Hand over your badge and gun." Davidson ordered.
Paige felt her eyes burning, but she silently handed over everything.
"Have a good night sir." She felt everyone's eyes on her.
She was sitting in the dark holding a whiskey bottle when her sisters came home.
"Paige?"
"In here." Paige only had one sip, she didn't care for hard liquor.
"Paige? Why are you still in your uniform? Aren't you afraid of getting your clothes dirty?" Phoebe always knew Paige kept her uniform clean. She turned on the light. "What's wrong?" Paige looked so sad.
"I've been suspended. Remember I told you about Watts? I'm getting blamed for it." She felt awful.
"What! Spill." Piper demanded.
"The new detective? The back of her neck was ripped out." If only she checked out if Davidson's office was empty if only she looked up to make sure the coast was clear. She took another sip. "What kind of cop am I?'' She was a witch/whitelighter, and she couldn't save her.
"Just like the others." Definitely demonic. "Paige, you know this wasn't an ordinary murder."
"I know Piper. Here is her picture." Detective Watts liked posting on social media, her last post was her bragging she got a promotion. She handed her sisters her phone.
"Hey! That's that girl on the beach!" Piper saw her earlier. "Jenna said she was probably a stalker."
"A cop taking pictures?" Phoebe looked at Piper's phone. "Of Jenna? Or us." She told them about Davidson's visit.
"And once again Cole is causing trouble." Piper sighed. "Phoebe. You know we have an obligation."
"I know." This was going way too far. "We have to stop Cole before more people get hurt." She wondered what exactly was Cole up to.
The Underworld
Two demons were standing over an unconscious Cole. One of them was reading his mind.
"Well? Can we trust him?" The demon was waiting for his orders, he was dying to start his new assignment.
"Hmm." What Raynor saw, he didn't know what to think. "The witch, he still cares about her. His human side anyways." He holds his hands back.
"Belthazor? The greatest demon that ever lived?" Belthazor was a 'young' demon, a half-human no less, but was admired by the evil citizens of the Underworld and Hell. "Has a weakness? Well then, let's kill him." He rubs his hands together.
"So young and foolish." Raynor shakes his head. "You cannot kill a demon like Belthazor. He is way above us now." Belthazor wasn't the first demon to become an Avatar. "You still have a lot to learn."
"But he betrayed us." Belthazor turning his back on Demonkind was a sin.
"Yes, but he also gained knowledge. Knowledge we can use." The Charmed Ones. "I sent my best demons to fight the witches. Speaking of, there's one of them now."
Charon was covered in blood, he didn't expect the Charmed Ones to be so strong.
"You told me my new power will kill the witches!" The cloning power was new, he just got it. "They nearly killed me!" He was panting hard.
"It was a test." Raynor yawned. He ordered the other demon to leave.
"Is it time for me to test my luck? Finally." He shimmers away.
"A test? I was nearly killed!" He groaned as he felt his vessel's injuries. "You promised me dozens of clones, I only had a few!" Six. A measly six mirages.
"You misunderstood me. I promised you many, I never said dozens." He needed Belthazor to awaken, not Cole.
"Then how do you expect me to win?" One of the tests to get acceptance was to kill the Charmed Ones.
"Maybe sending you back for extra training will help." He sent the demon back downstairs, the black smoke leaving the dead body. When he hears Cole waking up, he quickly sends the corpse away.
Cole groaned as he woke up, he felt like he was hit by a fireball.
"Raynor? What happened?" He was in Raynor's hideout.
"An enemy of ours tried to kill me. You threw yourself to protect me." Raynor lied. He asked his demon to hit Cole's human form, he needed to weaken it.
"And I'll do it again." Raynor was his mentor, he trained Cole in everything he knew.
"Easy there." Raynor slowly helps him sit up.
"Ugh. My head. Whoever that demon was, knew how to hit."
"Which is why they needed me dead." He handed Cole a small bottle to drink.
Cole polishes off the healing potion.
"Thanks." Already the pain was subsiding. "How long was I out?"
"A few days. Your injuries needed time to heal, I brought you here to make sure your enemies wouldn't take advantage of the situation."
"Hmn." Cole was rubbing the back of his head.
"Anyways since you're here, I have an assignment for you. Two amulets, I need you to get them from two witches."
"I have to assume they're not ordinary amulets." Cole felt like he slept longer than a few days.
"You're the only one to get close to them." Raynor couldn't use them, they were immune to evil. However, Cole's human side could easily grab them. "It is the only way to prove to everyone that you are loyal to demonkind."
"Not a problem." Cole had to do something anyway, he shimmered out.
Once he was gone, Raynor closed his eyes. Thinking what he saw in Cole's head.
"So what are you going to do now?" Phoebe and Paige were drinking coffee in the kitchen.
"I have all this free time, maybe I can check out Magic School, see if there are any students that need mentors." Paige liked working with people, especially troubled kids.
"What about Cole? And my wedding?" Phoebe still had a lot to do.
"I won't be long, remember I'm half whitelighter as well, I hear the calls sometimes." Paige wondered about the other whitelighters that were now on Earth. "See ya." She orbed away.
"Morning Phoebe." Jenna walked in holding Laura. "Did you eat yet?" Jenna was glad Phoebe was vegetarian, she was going to cook a vegan breakfast.
"I'm not hungry." She smiled at her niece. "You looking forward to being a flower girl?" Phoebe saw their dresses, both girls looked adorable.
"Yea. Auntie Phoebe?"
"What is it munchkin?" She looked at her list, she was pretty much done, all she needed was a minister. She wondered if Jophiel would be available.
"Can you show me how to do magic?"
Jenna smiles at Phoebe.
"You can see why I don't want us to go back to Magic School." She saw the hunter class, they were teaching kids how to spot monsters. She and Dean were still deciding if Laura needed to be trained as a hunter when she got older.
"Magic huh." She pulls Laura in her lap. "Remember Spiderman and Superman? How great power comes great responsibility? Magic isn't a toy."
"But Mel uses magic. How come I can't?" Laura felt jealous that she couldn't do what her cousin could.
"Mel's using magic?" She knew Mel was a witch, but she was so young. "Well, she is different from you, Jen?" Phoebe didn't know what to say.
"I tried telling her that people are born different, but she's at that age. Since you're her aunt, maybe you can explain it better."
"Okay. Remember how there are different people in the world?"
"Yea, witches and fairies." Laura saw a few fairies at Magic School, they were so nice.
"Well, some are born with gifts, like your cousin. She is a witch."
"What about me? Can I be a witch too?" Laura asked innocently.
Both Phoebe and Jenna knew anyone could use magic, but Laura was far too young.
"Well, everyone is different, you have a gift yourself. You," She tickles her niece making her laugh. "You are a wonderful girl. Us, your parents, we all love you as much as Mel."
"Okay." Laura didn't understand, but smelling the food asked her mom for some.
"Morning." Piper walks in with Mel. "Smells good."
"Tofu scramble. Want a plate?"
"Sure." Piper was starving. "Mel?" As usual, Mel didn't say a word. Piper looked at Phoebe for help.
"At this rate, I'll have to start charging." She trained in psychology but didn't specialize in very young children. "Mel, how was your day?"
Mel didn't say a word, she pointed to the window. Instantly their houseplant grew a few inches. Piper immediately grabs her hand, making her cry.
"Piper." Phoebe remembered them going to the past and seeing their younger selves use magic.
"I won't do what Grams did." No way will Piper ever do that to her daughter, Penny and Patty had no choice but to bind their magic to protect them. "Melinda, remember what I told you, only use magic when I tell you. What if something happens?"
Mel didn't say a word, instead she buried her head in her mom's chest.
"See? Why doesn't she talk to me?"
"She'll talk soon. Trust me." Phoebe heard stories that Piper didn't talk till she was about Mel's age. "I changed my mind. Mind making me a plate as well Jen? I'll do the dishes."
The witch stared up at the demon that appeared in front of her.
"What do you want?" She tried to sound brave but was unsuccessful. Seeing the athame, she tried not to tremble.
"Nothing personal." The witch gasped as the blade plunged into her belly. Once she was dead, the demon carefully removed her necklace and placed it beside her. Seeing a payphone, he calls for help.
"Nine, one, one. What's your emergency."
"I like to report a dead body." Seeing a man walking into the alley, he gave the operator the address. "Hurry."
The guy stops dead in his tracks.
"What the..." He didn't have time to react before the fireball hit him. His scorched body flies across the alley.
"What a mess." He shimmered away.
"Whatcha doing Paige?" Piper was holding Mel, she was determined to make her talk, by reading her a children's book.
"Scrying." She had a map of the town open, she was holding a crystal. "Since I have some free time on my hands, might as well find Detective Watts' killer." It's been a few days since Paige's suspension, she was determined to solve the murder and get her job and reputation back.
"Don't blame you. But, can you do this somewhere else? She's a little young for this." Mel was watching her with fascination.
"Fine." She puts her map and crystal away. "I have to get ready for the funeral anyway." Detective Watts' funeral was this afternoon.
"You're going to the funeral? After what happened?" Piper heard how Inspector Davidson unfairly blamed Paige for her death.
"I was suspended, not fired. Besides, maybe her killers would show up." Hearing the door open, they look up. "Hey, Jenna. Hi Laura."
Jenna and her daughter walked in, Jenna was holding a shopping bag.
"How was your shopping trip?" Piper pulled Mel onto her lap.
"Good. Found a dress. You think Phoebe will approve? I don't want to draw attention away from the bride." It was tough to find a maternity bridesmaid's dress that wasn't frumpy or tight. "I don't want to overshadow her with my gut."
"You'll look fine. Besides it will just us." Phoebe's first wedding was packed with a church full of people before it was cancelled for the demonic one. "If you excuse me, I have a funeral to attend." Paige orbs away.
"Aunt Piper, can you read me a story too?" Laura sees the book in Piper's hand.
"Sure. The more the merrier." She scoots over on the couch to allow Laura to sit down beside her. "Once upon a time, there was a girl named Cinderella."
"I'm going to try on this dress, hope it fits." Jenna goes upstairs.
Piper was halfway into the story when Phoebe rushes in.
"Piper? Paige?"
"In here!" Piper didn't look up. "Cinderella waves goodbye to her fairy godmother, she was heading to the Ball." Both girls were leaning on her shoulders, they were lost in the story. "Paige isn't here, she went to a funeral." Detective Watts' police funeral was today. "Can't this wait, I'm kinda busy."
"Two innocents were found in an alley." Piper looked up.
"Let me finish this first." Her daughter and niece were more important.
"Fine. Jenna? You here?" Seeing Jenna walk downstairs in a green dress, Phoebe whistled. "Nice dress."
"Thanks." Jenna picked up a knee-length one. "I did my best to hide everything." She didn't mind how she looked during her last pregnancy, but she didn't want to overshadow Phoebe's big day.
"You look great." She waited till Piper finished the story. "We have a case." Coop and her were at Magic School trying to find someone to marry them when she overheard someone saying a witch and innocent was found dead in an alley this morning.
"A case? Sweet. I mean, that's terrible." Jenna shouldn't be happy, but she always was left out of things. "What happened?"
"Where's Nina?"
"It's her day off." Jenna felt awful having her put in the middle of supernatural stuff, so Jenna gave her a day off with extra pay to make up for her memories getting erased.
"The end." Piper closes the book. "Let me call Dad." Since Mel was already talking, she placed her on the floor. "Honey, draw me Cinderella. You too."
"Okay." Laura and Mel start drawing. Once they were distracted, Piper asked what was going on.
"A witch was found dead, same with a man." Phoebe wasn't sure about the details, but she overheard her whitelighter sounding distraught.
"Do you know who?" Any time a witch was found dead, the magical community found out about it, especially if it was a violent kill.
"And the man?" Jenna knew a lot of hunters didn't trust witches.
"I called Ian." Ian was the Chief of Police, after hearing the gossip, she called him on his cell. "He agreed to let us see the scene, but only for a minute. Jenna, you'll have to wear a disguise."
"Easy." Dean and Bobby gave her lessons on how to make a mask. "Give me an hour."
Ian was at the alley since Inspector Davidson was at the funeral, he was overseeing the crime scene with a few cops. Seeing a car pulling up, he nodded at the three women getting out of the car.
"Where's Paige?" He knew Paige was suspended, but that wasn't his call, even as the Chief.
"Busy." Piper was looking at the alley. "A stabbing, and a burn victim?" She saw the scorch marks by the dead guy's body.
"You know I'll get into a lot of trouble letting you three in." He didn't know Jenna Winchester well but knew she was a hunter. "Especially you." She was a well-known influencer.
"I never mix business and my work." She thought her disguise was good, she made herself look older with a wig along with her mask. "We'll be quick." Just when she was about to walk under the police tape, Ian stops her.
"The new D.A. is here." District Attorney Andrew Sykes was looking over the crime scene. "He thinks Cole Turner was responsible."
"Cole?" Phoebe looks over at the scene. The woman had a necklace lying beside her. "Dammit." The guy was dead, his body had evidence of an energy ball hitting him.
"Whatever you do, don't try anything. I'll tell him you two are assistants, and..." He wasn't sure what Jenna's role was.
"Agent Love." She held up her fake FBI badge. "These two are my trainees." To be extra careful, she and Dean made the witches fake FBI badges with various aliases just in case.
"Just don't flash those around too much." He lifts the tape. "Don't take too long."
Once all three go under the rope, Piper and Jenna check out the burn victim, while Phoebe looks at the dead witch.
"Dammit." She saw the necklace. Three crescent moons were joined up. 'This wasn't a random kill.' She thought. She looked over at Piper and Jenna who were looking at the dead body of the guy. 'He must've been a witness. Why Cole?' Being careful not to leave fingerprints on the necklace, she touches the moons to get a vision. She gasps.
She sees a woman wearing the same necklace getting stabbed with what she assumes was the same athame that killed the last witch. She didn't see her killer's face but saw a familiar hand.
"Can I help you?" Phoebe jumps hearing a voice. She immediately jumps up and greets the District Attorney.
"Hi. I mean hello. I'm, ah." Before she can make up a believable excuse, they are interrupted by Jenna and Piper.
"FBI. You have to excuse my trainees, they are here assisting me." Jenna held up her badge.
"I don't recall calling the Feds."
"I did." Ian rushes over. "We could use the help." Hopefully, the new DA didn't call the Santa Rosa Division.
"Fine. You have a warrant?" Usually, crime scenes didn't need a warrant, but Cole Turner was the number one suspect in the newest murders.
"Yes." Jenna was so glad Bobby was smart. Just as she was about to hand him her forged papers, she saw Sam and Dean pull in. "Son of a bitch." She promised Dean to stay out of hunting.
"Maybe Jenna took Laura to Victor's." The brothers went to the Manor to see their families, but no one was home.
"With the latest murders?" They heard about that lady cop who was murdered in her office, they couldn't see her body but managed to see the coroner's reports as well as the autopsy photos. "I know Sis and her sisters fight evil, but they could use our help." Dean and Sam get out of the car. They overheard on the radio that two dead bodies were found and were checking out the crime scene.
"True." Sam and Dean flash their badges at the cop standing by the entrance to the alley. Once they got in, they went to check out the crime scene. "Dean?"
"Son of a... She's dead." Dean was looking at a pale-faced Jenna.
"Can you freeze the alley?" Jenna had never seen Dean looking so mad.
"Why?" They were checking out the burn victim, Phoebe was looking over at the body of the dead witch.
"Just do it." Dean and Sam were coming closer.
"Oh." She cautiously waved her hand. Once the entire alley froze, they both waited for their husbands to come over. Normally most mortals would freeze in place, but since Sam was a good witch, he gave Dean a spell that made him immune to freezing.
"Dean, I can explain." Even with a disguise, Dean recognized her instantly. "Laura is fine, she's with Victor." She babbled.
"Save it. We'll talk later." Dean was leaning down looking at the body. "I assume a demon?" The demons he encountered usually didn't throw fireballs.
"Plus a stabbing." Phoebe was holding the witch's necklace. "This woman was targeted."
"And the guy?" Sam knew that an ordinary fireball didn't kill him alone.
"Collateral damage. He most likely saw something he wasn't supposed to." Piper hated it when innocents got crossed in the crossfire. "Just to let you two know, the new D.A. is on the crime scene. He already doesn't like our presence here, especially FBI, so I suggest you skedaddle."
Jenna was trying not to smile seeing Dean's annoyed expression, he wasn't used to being bossed around.
"Fine. But as Agent Love's supervisor, I have to take her off this case. Agent, sorry what names are you using?" He asked Piper and Phoebe.
"Ford and Simon." Piper pulled out her fake ID, same with Phoebe. "The street will unfreeze soon, so we have to get back to work."
Jenna gave Dean a dirty look. Dean just smirked.
"Laura misses her dad, c'mon." Once the street unfroze, she leaves with Dean.
Sam stayed behind to check out the scene with the others.
"A Triple Cresent." Sam knew his Wiccan symbols. "It's a cousin to the Triqutra."
"A coven." Phoebe sighed. "This wasn't a random murder, this was an assassination." Covens were targeted, but only if they were seen as a threat. "Cole must've been under orders."
"By who? He is hardly on evil's side anymore, not since his promotion." Avatars were neutral. Piper didn't trust Cole, but she had to admit this looked like his handiwork. Being careful not to let anyone see them, Piper holds Sam's hand. "I'm so glad you're home." She missed her husband like crazy.
"Same here. Can't wait for the tea party." Sam promised Mel he'd spend his time with her. He squeezed her hand back.
"I'm going to check out the rest of the coven, the others are in danger." Phoebe saw the dagger from the victim's POV.
"You need help, Agent?" She knew Phoebe never liked playing FBI.
"I'll be fine. If I need help, I'll call Paige or Coop. Go spend time with Mel."
"Okay. See you." They didn't hold hands walking away but walked closely together. When Ian and the District Attorney Sykes came walking over, Phoebe smoothed her coat.
"Where's Supervisor Love? Isn't she your boss?"
"She went back to the main office with her partner, I'll be leaving as well." She nodded to Piper and Sam who were waiting by Piper's rented SUV. "The killer will face justice. I promise."
"Move along, we'll take it from here." Ian shoos Phoebe away.
Once they were out of earshot, all three exchanged notes.
"Cole? You sure?" Sam heard stories about the half-demon. "I thought he retired?"
"Evil never will, Cole is back to his old ways." Piper felt disappointed, she thought he was dead for years.
"I know." All those years meant nothing to him. Phoebe sighed. "Can you drop me off at the park?" She needed to think.
"Sure. You okay?" Phoebe looked so lost.
"I'll be okay. Tell Coop I'll meet him at home." She watched the scenery going by, wondering how to entrap Cole.
Meanwhile, a group of women were having a meeting in the woods, giving prayers and blessings to their lost sisters and friends.
"Mother Goddess, Father God, guide those that are departed from this Plane to the Otherside, where they will watch over us as well as protect the new souls to their new journey to Earth. Let us pray. Bless it be."
"Bless it be." The others echo.
Cole was watching the coven silently. He was invisible, he was using his powers as an Avatar to stay hidden.
"It's risky being here."
"I don't care." He prayed silently with them, he always found the Wiccan faith fascinating.
"If only modern religion knew how old wiccan is." Patience was a witch but didn't practice any form of religion. She watched the ceremony till her alarm went off. "Oops." She saw the women looking up and waved an apology. "I have to get back to work." She got a job at a local gift shop.
"You staying in town?" Cole saw the meeting was about to end. He was waiting for one of them.
"Just for a while." Patience got a new assignment, a new witch needed guidance. "For your sake, be careful." She didn't approve of Cole's methods, but she was staying out of things.
"Take care." Once Patience left, he took out his dagger.
"I'm sorry about Carrie." Janna gave Susan a hug. "She will be missed."
"I know. She helped me when my dad died, she gave me the strength to go on." She and Carrie weren't close but shared an apartment together. "May the Spirits watch over her."
"Amen." Janna's necklace was different from Susan's, instead of the triple crescent, she was wearing an amulet. "What's your plan this afternoon?"
"I have an interview with the District Attorney, he wants to know more about Carrie."
"Good luck then. I'm heading home, I have to start preparing for the funeral." Since Carrie was a member of their coven, they gave her loved ones many blessings before her remains were returned to Earth in the form of a cremation. "Take care."
"You too." Once Janna was gone, Susan turned to walk away, not realizing the danger she was in.
Phoebe always found this section of the park peaceful, she always came here whenever she needed to think. Seeing someone coming in her direction, she moved out of the way.
'What spell can I use to seal Cole away?' It obviously needed the Power of Three, Cole in his demon form was too powerful for an ordinary spell. 'I may have to brush up on my Latin.' She wondered if Sam had Rowena's number.
"HELP!"
All thoughts of Cole forgotten, she ran towards the screams.
"What do you want with me?" Susan was backing away from the monster that appeared in front of her.
"It's nothing personal." The demon holds up the dagger. Before he can plunge it into Susan's heart, he grunts as he is shoved to the ground.
"You alright?" This demon looked like Balthazar, but a darker form of him.
"I'm fine." Susan was terrified.
"We gotta go." Whoever this was, Phoebe couldn't take him herself. She threw her potion at the demon, making him scream as his flesh burned. Just before they could run away, a blonde woman came out of nowhere and threw an athame at the demon, narrowly missing him as he shimmered away.
"Dammit!" She was so close.
"Hi? Are you a hunter?" Phoebe met a few over the years. She picked up the dagger that was lying flat on the ground. "Where did you get this?" This wasn't an ordinary athame.
"Not exactly." The mystery woman grabs the dagger out of Phoebe's hand, not answering her question about the knife.
"Hey!" Luckily the dagger didn't cut her.
"Your coven. Take me to them." The woman ordered.
"Uh, sure. I'm Phoebe."
"Susan."
"Name's Emma. We'll talk later, but we have to go before that demon comes back."
"My car is at the parking lot, but I have an appointment soon."
"After. We have to go now." Emma ordered.
"My sisters. They'll want to talk to you." Phoebe wondered if Sam and Dean would know who she was.
"Welcome back." Paige was wearing her cadet uniform, she just came back from the funeral. "How was the hunt?" She couldn't keep up with the amount of cases Sam and Dean got.
"Nothing major, same old, same old." Little Mel was clinging on to Sam. "If you're looking for Dean, he and Jenna took Laura out for the day." Sam heard his brother and his wife arguing upstairs, Dean was angry at Jenna for breaking her promise. They both left with Laura, Dean told Sam he promised to spend time with his family. "Piper is taking a shower, we're going out for dinner with Mel." Sam was starving. "I heard about your job. I'm sorry."
"Yeah. But once they figure out my innocence, I'll be back at work." She knew she had a job, finding Andrea Watts' killer. "I'm sure Piper told you about what's going on?"
"We figured you'd need our help. Plus, make sure nothing goes wrong at Phoebe's wedding."
"I hear that." Their talk was interrupted by the door slamming.
"Piper? Paige?"
"In here!" Paige and Sam were wondering why Phoebe brought home two strangers.
"Sam? Good. Is Dean home?"
"He went out with Jenna and Laura. Hi. I'm Sam."
"Paige. And you are?"
"Oh. Sorry. This is Susan. She's a witch." Phoebe points to her right.
"Emma. I'm a dermatologist."
"A hunter. Are you a witch as well?" Sam saw the athame on her hip.
"I guess. But I'm only after one demon." She takes out the dagger. "Any of you recognize this?"
"Whoa. Not here. Not in front of my niece." Mel was watching them with fascination. "Sam, mind taking her upstairs?"
"Sure." Sam was disappointed that he wasn't part of the conversation. "I'll tell Piper." He picks up Mel and goes upstairs.
"Okay. I'm kinda lost, mind filling me in?" Paige wasn't sure what was going on.
"We'll wait for Piper, this is big." She wondered what exactly they were dealing with.
"I'll make coffee." Phoebe gets up to make a pot.
"I'll be right back. I'll just have to change." Paige orbs upstairs.
"Whoa." Emma jumped seeing Paige orb away. She never got used to seeing magic.
"It's a surprise, isn't it? I miss my whitelighter, she's somewhere in Paris with her other charges." Since most whitelighters were gone, the remaining few were in charge of guiding new witches. "That Paige, she'll be hearing the calls soon, if not already." Susan sighed. "You lost someone didn't you."
"My husband. He was killed by a demon." Emma sat down next to Susan. "I started hunting to get revenge." She pulled out her athame. "This was the weapon that killed him."
"May I?" Once Susan takes the knife from Emma's hand, she takes a good look at it. "It looks identical to the one that nearly killed me this afternoon. The etchings, these are demonic."
"I figured." Emma looked up seeing Phoebe walking in with a tray.
"Fresh coffee, help yourselves."
"Thanks."
Piper's hair was damp from her shower, she wasn't happy that her plans were once again cancelled.
"Alright. Which one of you is the hunter?" When she saw Emma raising her hand, she asked what was going on. "You were hunting, but you had a target in mind."
"And this was the target of the demon." Phoebe nods at Susan. "Her fellow coven member was murdered in that alley." Susan's necklace was identical to Carrie's.
Piper had a headache.
"You two know why he is hunting witches?" She was rubbing her temple.
"We fight demons occasionally, maybe that's one reason." Janna was the Head Witch, she wore her amulet to protect herself since she was the most powerful.
"Sorry I couldn't save your friend, I didn't know when he'll strike." Emma was following him for years.
"Was it, him?" Piper didn't dare say Cole's name out loud.
"I don't think so." Phoebe wondered if Cole evolved backwards. "Emma. You knew when that demon would strike."
"Phew. What did I miss?" Paige was wearing her casual clothes, she was wondering if they were going to fight demons.
"I knew he'd be targeting your coven, I've been at that park for hours." Emma knew that demon's routine well. "I knew he'd be after one of you, I figured he'll go after Janna." She spent weeks watching that coven, Janna was obviously the leader.
"By yourself?" Even as a whitelighter, Paige knew she couldn't take demons alone.
"You'll be surprised how powerful vengeance is." Emma used her anger to hunt.
"And my father-in-law paid the price eventually." John Winchester was an enigma, Piper wondered what kind of man he was.
"I'll quit when that demon is dead." Emma lost count of how many close calls she got.
"Then what do you want from us?" Phoebe needed to keep an eye on Susan.
"To lure him." Emma looked down at her hands. "You three, he'll be after you next, I just need Susan out of the way."
"Fine." Piper hated to leave Mel behind, but she needed Sam's help. "Phoebe, you have a spell ready?"
"I just have to write it."
"I'll take Susan to Magic School." Paige held out her hand.
"Tell Mikelle to keep an eye on Janna."
"Sure." Mikelle was Paige's former charge, guess she answered the whitelighter calls. They orb away.
"I'll get my husband, he'll help you with the hunting part, while we do the magic side."
"Fine." After this, Emma was looking forward to starting over, she hated hunting.
The District Attorney was pacing back and forth.
"Where is the witch?" Susan Coleman was late.
"I don't know. We were looking for Belthazor." Usually, kitsunes didn't work for demons, but they were getting sick of being hunted by hunters. The demons promised to protect them by giving them the power to absorb memories by eating the brain stem of their victims.
"Then keep doing your jobs. I'll do the job myself." Once the kitsunes left he ordered his shadow to appear. "You, find me the witch." The shadow nodded and faded into the gloom. He sat down hearing a knock on his door.
"Sir? I have the FBI on the phone." His secretary peeked inside the doorway.
"Patch them through." He wasn't dumb, he knew right away those were hunters he saw earlier.
"Yes sir." She closes the door behind her.
"District Attorney Sykes."
"You scry?" Sam was watching her, they were sitting in Piper's rented SUV waiting by the park Emma was in earlier.
"Don't you?" She didn't just hunt, she studied magic as well from her husband's books.
"Most hunters don't, magic is usually a pain to learn." Sam didn't mind learning about magic, even back then.
"It is." Emma said honestly. "I wasn't really interested in hunting, even while married. My husband was always hunting evil, he always said why have all these gifts while so much evil is going on? He and his whitelighter, they took off every few weeks."
"Who was his whitelighter? Maybe I knew him." Sam met a few, Paige, Mikella, plus a few others.
"Danny. He was his best friend. He died a few years ago, rumors were an archangel cleaned house."
"You're not wrong." Sam knew what Michael did. "What exactly are we waiting for?"
"Susan's coven. That demon will be coming by, if not him, his minions."
"Got your weapons?" Sam had his favourite blade, Ruby's knife on him.
"Yep." She knew this athame didn't discriminate what to kill. "You're a witch, the coven will accept you, they need more members. I'll say I'm your partner."
"Sounds good to me." Sam was wearing his clothes, however was wearing a special necklace. "Looks like people are starting to show up." Women were walking across the field.
"Not yet. We have to keep an eye on anyone suspicious. This demon will wait till someone is alone."
Emma was warned to stay away, but she needed to avenge her husband by killing that demon. His minions will make good practice though.
"Sam." She points to a lone woman walking alone, two men were following her. "Are they, floating?" The two men were gliding on the path.
"Evil comes in many forms." Sam gets out of the car. "Fight fast, I don't want to spook anyone."
"Duh." Emma opens her car door. Today it will end, she can finally move on.
"Mandrake root?" Piper was boiling water, their ingredients were boiling on the stove.
"Already added." They must have used every ingredient they had, even obscure ones. "This won't just vanquish the demon inside Cole, it will turn him completely human." It was the perfect way to seal Cole away. "Even when his life ends, he won't ever be able to escape his fate, I already made arrangements." Phoebe had to summon a reaper who assured her Cole wouldn't ever be coming back to Earth, even as a ghost.
"Dying a mortal. That way everyone wins." Piper stirred the pot. "And his Avatar side?"
"Remember those bottles Kyle gave us?" The Avatar Vanquishing Potion was the only thing that could kill an Avatar. "I managed to recreate it. The ingredients are already in that pot."
"Huh. You thought of everything." Piper was impressed.
"It will probably make Cole happy as well, he always desired a mortal life." Phoebe hated what Cole did, all those people. "Whatever his judgment is, he'll have to face it when his time comes."
"Yeah." Piper didn't know what to say. When the pot went POOF, she turned off the stove. "Now what."
"We wait till the potion cools down. Once it turns red, it's ready." This potion was the most powerful potion she ever brewed. "It will kill almost any upper-level demon, but we only have a limited amount." The herb Phoebe used was from an extinct plant, it was kept in storage at Sacred Meadows for years. Shame she only had enough for one batch.
"Then save the rest. We'll probably need those in the future." Who knows what's out there? "If this works, what are you going to do about Cole?"
"I don't know. He obviously needs to face justice but in the right way. I'll call Davidson myself."
"Good." Once the potion turned red they packed up.
"Argh!" Sam kicked the kitsune in the stomach, while Emma grabbed his partner by the jacket.
"Run!" She screamed at the young woman. The woman didn't hesitate, she took off. "Sam!" She grabbed her blade and stabbed the creature in the heart, killing it instantly.
Sam was struggling to get away from his partner, it was a lot stronger than Sam anticipated. It had Sam by the shoulders and was trying to bite the back of his neck.
"Em...Ack!" He was losing consciousness. When he heard the thing behind him grunt in pain, he used his knife to stab the creature in the leg.
"Argh!" The creature yelled.
Sam didn't hesitate to stab the creature to death.
"What, was that?" Emma was shaken up.
"You sure you want to be a hunter because this is what you get." Sam needed to get rid of the bodies. "What kind of monsters are those?" He never encountered anything like it.
"A kitsune hyped up on demon power." Emma studied her husband's books.
"I heard of monsters hyped up on Angel Mojo, but I never thought I'd see one working for a demon."
"Probably a seeker." Seeker demons worked as bounty hunters. "They probably looking for someone, they targeted certain people."
"Cole." Sam heard about all those murders.
"Who's Cole?"
"Someone that my wife knew from back in the day." Sam picked up his cell. "Piper, those monsters Emma and I killed. I think they were looking for Cole."
"They're probably the ones that killed that detective." Piper should have known. "But that doesn't explain the other murders." The landlady, the guy in the alley, those witches. "I don't know." Sam asked if Cole committed those murders. "Honestly? I, I'm not sure." She and Phoebe had their potions ready to go, but was Cole really the killer? "Whatever happens, keep an eye on the park. Those seekers aren't the only killers of witches out there. Uh-huh. I'll be careful. Love you too. Bye."
"Seeker demons?" Kitsune weren't demons, but since they were working with a demon, might as well lump them together. "What exactly were they looking for?"
"Cole probably. That cop that died had bite marks on the back of her neck."
"Plus that guy Paige found." Paige told them about that crime scene with a dead guy.
"Did she say anything anything who that guy was?"
"A John Doe."
"Figures. He was probably just some poor sucker who bumped into Cole one time." Piper sighed.
"What is it?" Piper had this look on her face.
"What are we going to do once Cole becomes human? We can't hide him, or help him."
"He's been around for decades, as for justice, we'll have to let the police do their jobs." She only had one job, vanquishing a demon. She was thinking about her next move when she saw a shadow moving about. "Piper." She whispered. She pointed at it.
"On it." Piper blew it up.
The shadow disintegrated into dust.
"That thing belonged to someone." Phoebe wished Piper didn't destroy it.
"Too risky." That thing can easily spy. "Since Sam and Emma killed those Seekers, we can start finding Susan's wannabe killer."
"True. But how can we find this guy?" Phoebe wondered if it was Cole.
"We'll set a trap. Paige!" It took a minute for Paige to appear.
"If you are asking about Susan, she is safe and sound." Paige stayed behind in Magic School to ask if they needed a security guard. "What's up?"
"The neck biters are dead, Emma and Sam took care of them."
"Also known as Seekers." Phoebe added.
"Seekers? That explains the missing pituitary glands." Paige read the coroner's reports. "But how will I explain this to my boss?" She was suspended.
"Worry about that later. Susan is still in danger." Piper wondered how they were to find this demon.
"From Cole?" Paige asked.
"I'm not sure. But, I have an idea to draw him out." Phoebe had a plan.
"Argh! Where are you, witch!" The demon Sykes was furious to find out his minions were dead. "Your hunters can't protect you, not even the Charmed Ones!" He was in the Manor, he figured the bitch came here for protection.
"Hey!" The demon turned around to see Piper. Before he could react to her, he froze. "Paige!"
"How will this help?" She had the unfortunate task of taking a piece of flesh off his arm. "Ugh." The guy was in his demon form. "What do I do with this?" Gross.
"Put it in here!" Phoebe opened her bottle.
"Yuck. And I thought hunting was messy." She throws the flesh inside.
"Hurry." He was about to unfreeze. "Phoebe!"
Phoebe shook the bottle, she had to make sure it was well mixed. She then threw the potion at Sykes and chanted with the sisters.
"This imposter here
Take the horror
Banish it!"
The demon screams as his demon form blows up. In his place, his vessel collapses in a faint.
"Check his pulse." Piper ordered. She wasn't sure if Sykes was evil, other than Cole, she never saw a demon form in person.
"He's alive." Paige called 911. "I like to call rush for a bus. Plus call Inspector Davidson. This is Officer Paige Matthews calling. Hurry."
"What will we tell the cops?" Phoebe was glad her nieces weren't here.
"We bring Susan from Magic School, she'll tell them she was getting stalked by this guy. Plus he's carrying the weapon that killed her roommate." Paige heard sirens. "I'll go get her."
Later that night, Sam, Dean, Jenna, Coop and Emma were getting filled in on what happened during the fight with Sykes.
"I never heard of a demon that showed his true form on Earth. Usually, it's just black smoke." Dean encountered several demons over the years. "Except that guy you were married to." He was disappointed he missed all the excitement, but he needed to make sure his family was okay by taking Jenna and Laura out for the day.
"Ancient history." She squeezed Coop's hand. "Guess this guy was the one behind the murders."
"Only an upper-level demon has the power to throw fireballs. But what I don't understand is why frame Cole?" Piper was under Sam's arm cuddling on the couch.
"Revenge probably. The Underworld doesn't like losing." Paige was glad Cole wasn't involved.
"Will you get your job back?" Sam asked. He and Emma kept an eye on the coven, the members there were grateful to have two hunters around, especially Sam who was a witch.
"It'll take a while, but Davidson is already building a case on the D.A. Sykes will be in jail for a long time." Paige was looking forward to getting her job back, Magic School only paid minimum wage.
"Except, the demon that murdered my husband is still out there." Emma went to check out the hospital posing as an FBI agent, she needed to see if Sykes was her husband's killer. When she got there, she knew that guy wasn't him.
"We'll find him." Dean promised.
"How do you know Sykes wasn't responsible?" Phoebe asked with curiosity.
"I just do." Emma studied her husband's books intensely. "And when I do, I'll hand him back his dagger, through his heart." Emma used that dagger to hunt. "I'll love a beer though."
"I'll go for a quick drive, anyone want anything?"
"Junk food." Jenna felt her baby kicking. "And a pie. Coconut." Laura loved apple while she was in the womb.
"Got it."
"I'll come with." Paige needed fresh air.
"The wedding, how many days do we have left?" Piper still had to finalize the menu.
"This weekend." Coop heard a work call and sighed.
"Now?" Phoebe wanted to relax with her family and friends and spend as much time with Coop as possible.
"My job is never done. Besides the Head Cupid said I can take a long vacation after the wedding." He uses his ring to disappear in a pink light.
"Hopefully it's a long one." Phoebe knew her own career would keep her busy.
Cole was horrified seeing the dead witch.
"It was an accident." He didn't mean to kill her. "I just needed her amulet. He was about to take it, till her amulet stopped him. Raynor then magnified Cole's visions, making him scream. He then ripped the amulet out of her neck before killing her with a fireball.
"Your witch will need the protection more than her." What Raynor saw, he had to make sure the Charmed Ones stayed alive. "As I promised." He hands Cole one half of Benjamin Turner's soul.
Cole gripped his father's soul that was trapped in a ball, then carefully placed the ball in his pocket, but not before stealing Raynor's knife out of his sheath.
"Mmph." He grunted in pain as Cole stabs him with his own athame. "All this time, you had him."
"Elizabeth needed you strong." Raynor gasped. "With Benjamin, you'd be human." He felt himself dying. "See you in the Empty." He gasps as he dies.
Two demons watch from the shadows.
"Look at him, how pathetic." They watch as Belthazor carries the witch away. "And to think we followed him."
"Forget about him. We have bigger issues. The Charmed Ones. We kill them, then we'll be freed from Hell." He hated the new Queen, she was worse than Lilith and Lucifer.
Cole placed Janna's body where she could easily be found. He then prayed over her soul.
"I'm sorry, but it was either you or Phoebe." He then shimmered away to his hiding place. "Dad." Cole carefully puts Benjamin's soul into his magic safe. He used his Avatar side to seal the vault from evil. Sensing a cupid, he didn't turn around.
"I cannot fix you up, you're not human." Demons weren't allowed to use love. Coop came here hearing his call.
"I didn't call you for that. But thanks." He hands Coop a key.
"What's this for?" He looked at it, this was magical in nature.
"Insurance. This vault has two amulets, it will protect any good soul from the fires of Hell. Use that to protect your loved ones." Cole sighed. "I'm going to show you something..."
"I came here under orders." Why the Head Cupid ordered Coop here he had no idea.
"You don't have to trust me. But please. You have to be prepared."
Coop was hesitant, but the Head Cupid told him to trust Cole.
"Fine." He allows Cole to touch his head. "Argh!" He screamed.
"It will only last a minute." What came after, Coop stopped screaming.
"Oh my god." Coop didn't know what to say.
"Did you see it?"
"I lived it." Coop had no words. "I promise you, I'll keep my word."
Once he was gone, Cole sat down. He knew what needed to be done. Phoebe and her sisters, he hoped were ready when the time came.
"I thought you left."
"I will, flight's tomorrow." Salem, how ironic. "You ready?" Patience already knew.
"Just as long as Benjamin is safe. I owe him that much." Cole will make sure Benjamin gets a first-class ticket upstairs.