Author's Note: Hi. To start, I'd like to apologize for the long wait. It's been a while. First there was the fire, then the move, then the computer breaking down, and even though I've had my computer back again for over a month, I just haven't felt the inspiration to write. I realize I probably lost some readers due to all that, but it couldn't be helped. Hopefully, some of you will return.

Secondly, I'm going to start answering any future questions through the review reply if there are any instead of posting them here. It's a time saver really and it's supposed to be done like that anyway - that's what the feature is for.

Third, thanks to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter. Welcome to those of you who are new and reviewed.

Lastly, this new chapter is definitely my longest so far. It's probably equal to two chapters in length but I couldn't break it up so I'm giving it to you in one. Hope you enjoy and that it makes up a little bit for the long time away.

So, here we go ...

Chapter 37: When Other Worlds Collide

Any sounds were quickly becoming a nuisance to Prue.

Phoebe passed by, nervously pacing.

Prue lifted her head to look. Closing her eyes, she brought her hands up to the sides of her temple. She had been sitting with her head in her hands just wanting it all to stop. Back and forth, back and forth, the sound of footsteps all around her kept repeating like they were on some kind of constant loop. It was stuck in her head. On the verge of panic and barely containing it, her only wish was for the last few hours to completely rewind. What she also perceived as her own utter lack of uselessness was grating on her.

Shortly after the successful abductions of all three Halliwell children, everyone had migrated to the attic, desperate for any solution to the current crisis. Piper had taken immediate control over the situation, and she now stood in front of the podium, making an emergency list of what needed to be done to remedy what had just occurred.

Quickly, Prue assessed her sister's ability to effectively jump into a take-charge mode when dealing with the seriousness of such a situation. She found herself both admiring and envying Piper for it. Proud, because her younger sister had been able to step in and fill her shoes so successfully sometime during her prolonged absence, perhaps, maybe even doing it better? However, she also felt a sadness creep in with the thought that at one time that would have been her: jumping in, taking control, doing her damn hardest to put all emotion on the backburner until they succeeded. Instead, she sat here pondering the cruel odds of a universe allowing her daughter to be snatched away from her again.

"How is this happening?" Prue muttered to herself.

Paige was seated next to Leo on the couch. She kept herself busy and distracted with the minor task of healing Leo's leg, a deep gash still gushing blood after their grisly encounter with the demonic doll. She was also trying to keep a safe distance from Prue. The visible strain shared between the oldest sister and her husband had not gone lost on anyone. Paige didn't want to become anymore a part of that strain than she already was.

Prue remained seated and hadn't said much while Andy did the complete opposite. His own growing agitation was quite apparent in the pacing spree he was engaging in near the glass-stained windows. Conveniently, he was located further across the attic just behind Piper and away from Prue. Neither one had really said much to the other since finding out their daughter had gone missing again.

Paige glanced between the two and momentarily felt a pang of guilt for what she perceived as possibly helping to make their separation worse rather than better. Hoping to push off another confrontation, her eyes darted around nervously, seeking another distraction.

"Anything yet?" Andy broke silence. "Anything at all?" he sounded impatient.

"Potion bottles?" Paige jumped up unexpectedly, finding her distraction and startling everyone in the process. "I know we're running really low on potion bottles," she gestured towards the table with frantic movements of head and hands. She began backing away towards the door. "I'll go downstairs and see if we have anymore stocked up somewhere. We're probably going to be needing a lot of them."

Speechless, everyone turned to stare.

Leo spoke out. "Um, Paige?" He tried to sound calm, but it came out a little strained regardless. "I really think that's the least of our worries right now. We really need to be able to find the kids first. Potions aren't going to matter much if we can't even do that."

"Right," she agreed hastily, a small feeling of stupidity washing over her. She sighed for dramatic effect. "Well, hey, there's got to be something we can do," she flung her arms into the air. Crossing her arms, she shuffled her feet over to the podium beside Piper. "I hate feeling so darn helpless," she pouted.

"I think we all do," Piper mumbled. Her concentration returned to the task of focusing on the Book of Shadows.

"So what do you think it is?" the sound of Phoebe's strained voice inquired as she twirled the mysterious stone around in the palm of her hand.

Piper looked over to her sister while flipping through the pages. "I don't know, Phoebe, I still haven't really found anything on it yet."

"Well, it's got to be one of those stone thingies that Billie told us about before, right?" Paige offered her input next. "The ones Gideon supposedly had, I mean, what else can it be? Billie thought she heard what they were called, does anybody remember what she said?"

"No, but maybe if we can figure it out for ourselves, then we might be able to use it to help us find the kids," Phoebe readily volunteered. "It's got to harness some pretty powerful magic especially if it was able to give life to a doll."

Leo listened. "Yeah, but I'm also thinking that if it was inside the doll this whole time, then maybe the stone didn't just give life to the doll. Maybe it was used to create a portal, some type of magical doorway directly to the Underworld."

Piper looked up. "To the Underworld?" she questioned, thinking about it. "Right," she stammered, glancing at the stone still in Phoebe's hand. "That would probably also mean the portal is tied to a specific location so if we can find a way to reopen it using the stone ourselves, then it might take us to the exact place the kids are at?" she queried.

"Maybe," Leo looked to his wife as they both shared a forlorn look. They were trying hard not to lose it. "But we need to be careful. Something tells me it's more than likely a trap to lure the four of you to them." He shared a look around the attic with all four Charmed Ones.

Phoebe agreed. "Right. Getting rid of us means also getting rid of them too. Even with the possibility of us gone, Molly, Wyatt, and Chris would still pose a threat in the future. They're the next generation."

"It makes sense," Piper sighed wearily. "The kids are our biggest vulnerability to exploit; they know we'll do just about anything to get them back."

Paige shook her head, thinking hard. The idea of using the stone bothered her. "Hey, guys, I'm really not so sure I feel right about using the stone though."

"Why?" Phoebe shook her head in confusion, not understanding her reluctance. "It's the best option we got right now that can lead us exactly to where the kids are."

"Except we don't know where 'where' is and if we can get ourselves out once we get there," Paige argued.

"True," Phoebe stammered, "but I think it's a risk we're going to have to chance, right?"

Paige sighed. "Well, somebody or something," she stressed, "obviously enchanted Molly's doll with it. You know they'll be waiting for us."

"It's got to be the Triad," Phoebe supplied. "Who else?"

"What about that darklighter?" Paige pressed.

"Uh, yeah, probably the middleman working for them" Phoebe shrugged. "He's the same one who took Billie before, right? And the one who shot Prue and Piper?" She thought back to the very close call when Prue had been shot by the poisoned arrow before Piper.

"Exactly, he's been back to the Manor a lot. He just took Chris. He practically gloated over fake Christy's vanquish," Paige reminded them.

"Lana."

"Excuse me?" Paige took on a confused look.

"Lana," Phoebe repeated. "That's her real name. I think Billie mentioned it in passing," she shared a bit downtrodden. She was second guessing her decision to vanquish on sight. There was just something about the pleading look inside the girl's eyes which Phoebe caught before her demise. Phoebe had been in full offensive mode, but she couldn't shake it off and it was bothering her.

"Well, whatever," Paige brushed that information to the side. "Good riddance either way."

"Yeah," Phoebe uttered, eyes downcast. "Besides, it doesn't really matter who actually did it," she jumped back in, pushing her feelings aside. "Darklighter, Triad, we know it all leads back to Gideon anyway."

"My point is using the stone can be a bad idea if it leads us straight into a trap," Paige shrugged. "Maybe they are counting on us using it. Leo, you said it yourself," Paige reminded her brother-in-law. "It could be a trap."

Leo sighed heavily.

"No, I don't think so," Piper countered, walking over and retrieving the stone from Phoebe. She examined it carefully. While she understood her sister's concern they were at a serious roadblock. "The darklighter didn't look like he wanted to leave it behind; he just had no choice. Besides, we have nothing else to go with and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get them back," she declared firmly. "Even if it means taking a leap of faith so if all it takes is using some of our own magic to open this thing back up, well, then I'm all for it."

"I agree," Leo nodded. "It's something."

"Even at the risk of getting lost?" Paige protested some more. "How will that help getting them back, we'll just be wasting more precious time."

Frustrated that they appeared to be getting nowhere with all the debating taking place back and forth, Andy spoke up for the second time. "Look," he stressed, cutting into the discussion. "Can someone here please just come to an agreement on something? Anything? All these theories you've got going back and forth sound great but every second we sit around debating the right course of action is another minute ticking away and putting my daughter's life in even more danger. If this goes on much longer, I'm about to say screw it. I'll figure out a way to get down there myself."

Prue looked over and shot her husband a scornful look. "Andy, could you just stop? We need to be serious here!" she scoffed, her irritation from earlier in the day seeping through. "This isn't a game. We're trying to find a way to get our daughter back alive, not go and get you killed in the process."

Piper placed the stone down on the podium. Her attention had gone to Andy and his declaration; however, that declaration was about to turn into another marital spat.

"Hey, I'm dead serious here," Andy snapped back, walking in his wife's direction. "Prue, I've stood by listening to a discussion on this for the better part of an hour and nobody has gotten anywhere."

"And give us a break, will you? Sometimes it takes a little time to come up with a plan that will actually work," Prue challenged his accusation.

"I already have an idea that might work," he fired back. "It just so happens that I have your powers right now, so it's something to bargain with. We can bait them or offer a trade with me or something, I don't know, but let's do something now."

"Okay, that is so not an option," sardonic laughter filled Prue's words.

Leo tried to intervene. "Andy, it's not that simple."

"Hey, they want the powers, right?" Andy folded his arms, looking between Leo and his wife.

Prue stood up to confront him. "Yes, and you don't know how to use them!" her voice hitched.

Phoebe rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. "Hey, can we please not do this now?" She blew out an exasperated sigh sharing a brief look with Piper.

"Guys, lets zip it," Piper held up her hands to intercede. "This isn't getting us anywhere. I'm going to suggest we hold off on the marital discord until we get this resolved. If the two of you can't find it in you to give it a permanent rest; then give it a vacation."

Paige's brows arched. "A long one," she muttered under her breath.

Prue and Andy were still visibly tense but conceded.

Andy addressed everybody next. "Okay, so I don't know how to use them," he acknowledged, referring to the powers. "All the better; I'm not a threat to them," he countered.

Prue felt a migraine beginning to take on a life of its own. She didn't have the energy left to throw him another one of her 'hell no' rants to challenge his flawed reasoning or to receive any more backlash from her sisters.

Leo sighed. He could understand the other father's frustration completely and the desperation fueling him. "Andy, you mean well, really, but it just wouldn't work," he attempted to reason again. "We've been at this longer and we know how the game is played. The Triad doesn't work like that. They'd kill you without a second thought and they're not going to hand Molly back over to you, to any of us for that matter, just because you've experienced a power switch with Prue. Gideon and the others want the Ultimate Power, which means all the girls and all their powers."

"Yup," Piper grounded out in agreement. "How very equal opportunity of them."

Andy threw both hands up in the air. His smile masked the sarcasm he intended to deliver through his next words. "Sure. What do I know," he relented. Turning around, he made his way back towards the windows, staring outside.

Phoebe resumed her pacing just a few feet away from Prue.

"Phoebe, do you think you can give it a rest?" Prue found herself snapping at her sister, although instantly feeling regret over it. Her frustration was getting the better of her, but it certainly wasn't Phoebe's fault she now sat by on the side-lines like some useless sap, without her powers, while her daughter desperately needed magical help, help she wouldn't be able to give. Paige on the other hand? Well, Prue had a few more choice words for her that she was struggling to bite her tongue with.

Phoebe stopped. "What?" she threw up her hands defensively. "Excuse me, but some of us may need to do a little more than just sitting around, okay?" she retorted. Although, she hadn't meant for it to imply what it obviously did as Prue sprang to her feet. Phoebe realized the mistake in her choice of wording too little too late.

"Well, some of us could have been a little more prepared to deal with this problem if someone else," Prue took the opportunity to glare at Paige, "knew how to mind their own business," she spat. "So, you'll just have to excuse me if my options are a bit more limited at the moment."

Paige caught Prue's glare.

Piper immediately shot her head back up as the arguing escalated all over again while Andy stopped pacing to stare back and forth between the bickering sisters.

"Prue, that's not what I meant," defended Phoebe. All she had meant to get across was that they were all dealing with the stress of the situation differently. She really hadn't meant for it to come out sounding like a personal dig. "I don't want to fight."

Paige; however, became defensive. Just as Prue had done seconds before, she sprang to her feet. "No, wait a minute. I think there's something Prue wants to get off her chest," she bit out. "What exactly are you saying?" she ignored Phoebe while countering Prue's inference. "That all of this is now my fault?"

"Well, gee, Paige, I don't know," Prue mocked with heavy sarcasm and turned to face off with the youngest sister. "You certainly aren't the one standing over there exhibiting any performance problems," she snidely referenced the use of their powers. "I think it's a safe bet Leo can vouch for!" she spouted off, reflecting back on how Paige just healed him. "How is the leg by the way?" she threw at Leo.

Paige huffed. "Look! I said I was sorry. What part of that didn't you get? Let's try this again. I'm sorry," she stressed even louder. "What else do you want me to say? I shouldn't have gone to Coop and interfered with your stupid marriage. Okay?"

"No, actually, I'd say everything about my stupid marriage is pretty far from okay, wouldn't you?" came Prue's retort.

Phoebe sighed in frustration. "Prue, c'mon. We don't need any trips down ego lane right now," she countered in defense of Paige.

"And I don't need a lecture coming from you!" Prue threw back.

Andy watched and listened in stunned amazement, completely appalled with where the priorities seemed to be. With his hands at his sides, he closed his eyes; he rolled his head back, his face meeting the ceiling. "Unbelievable," he mumbled.

Piper slammed the Book of Shadows closed. "Hey!" she shouted. "People, we've already been through this, this is so not the time for any of this! We've got a lot of work to do here. Nobody's at fault. Got it?"

Although heard, Piper went ignored.

"No, you don't need the lectures, Prue; you're just use to giving them!" Phoebe retorted over Piper's plea.

"Oh, because like you've never needed any?" Prue kept her ground. She stood back up and crossed her arms. "Save it. I could stand here all day and detail the finer points of a Phoebe Halliwell I used to know so why don't we do each other a favor and drop this before one of us says something we can't take back."

"Agreed," Phoebe stressed, bringing her hands to the sides of her temple. "So let's focus on pulling ourselves together so we can get this done. Our first concern is getting the kids back safely and then we'll worry about all the other stuff later. Molly isn't the only one gone, you know," she argued. "So are the boys. Or are you forgetting that?"

A quick glance was thrown in Piper's direction to drive home the point.

Guilt washed over Prue. Her intention had never been to imply in the slightest that this was any harder on her than it was for Piper; of course, this was just as difficult for her sister. But the big difference seemed to be that Piper appeared to be doing a much better job with holding herself together as a Charmed One, a wife, and mother while she was just falling apart. Prue didn't know whether to blame it on being out of touch with her Charmed life for so long or if the nightmare of losing Molly from the previous year was just coming back to haunt her.

Piper sighed, looking sullen. "Are we done?"

"No, I haven't forgotten. But thanks for the reminder; however, unnecessary. Yeah, we're done," Prue answered her sister in a lower tone of voice, then turned around to leave through the attic door.

"Prue, don't!" Phoebe went to follow but Piper stopped her.

"No, just wait here, I'll go," Piper volunteered, although it came across more as a directive rather than an offer to intercede. She made quick strides past Phoebe and out of the attic while everyone watched her depart.

Leo turned to Paige with an idea. "Paige, maybe you can go up there and check with some of the Elders? I'd do it if I could but with my powers still bound - I can't. See if they can be helpful with anything."

Paige snorted. "Doubt it. But at least it gets me out of here for a little while." In a quick flurry of orbs, she disappeared.

Scurrying off after Prue, Piper left the others behind to try and calm down as much as the situation would allow for. Everyone was highly on edge, Piper knew that - hell she was standing on the tip of that edge herself, but this was just getting ridiculous. The lives of her own children were at stake, and they really couldn't afford to play the blame game when they all needed to work together to save the kids. She made it down the attic stairs just in time to round the corner and find Prue walking at a steady pace.

"Prue, wait!" she called out.

Prue kept walking down the hallway. "What?" Her tone carried a stubborn quality which was very Prue.

Piper stopped by one of the bedroom doors. "Prue, I know what you're thinking, don't do this to yourself. Just because you don't have your powers doesn't mean you can't help or that you're failing Molly in some way."

Shutting her eyes to fight back the tears, Prue also stopped and let out a harsh breath trying to calm herself down. She turned around, taking a few steps back in Piper's direction, coming face-to-face with her sister. "Piper, look, I'm sorry. I hope you didn't think I was being selfish or implying that Wyatt and Chris aren't just as important in all of this ..."

Prue's apology and an attempt at a not-so-subtle change of subject was cut off by her sister.

"Prue, you don't need to finish that sentence, it never even crossed my mind," Piper denied vehemently, her head shaking back and forth.

"I know, but still," Prue insisted.

Piper narrowed her eyes at her sister. "And nice try there but you're trying to change the subject. Don't ignore what you're feeling."

"Piper, there's nothing to say," Prue refuted stubbornly.

"Prue, witch or not, you're just doing what any mother in your position would do in a situation like this which is freaking out. You're allowed that, okay? Phoebe and Paige will understand that one day." Piper tried to offer some reassurance.

"Yeah, except Phoebe and Paige aren't the ones cracking under the pressure. I may have my old life back, but I feel like a far cry from what I used to be."

Piper sighed. "Prue, believe me, you're not the only one on the verge of losing it here. And for the record, I have been around doing this for the last five years if that happens to count for anything, which it doesn't. No amount of time predicts how you'll react when it comes to your children."

Prue let herself smile. It helped to release some of the built-up tension she was feeling only moments ago. "Oh, I don't know about that," she teased lightly, crossing her arms in front of her. "You seem to be doing pretty good with keeping your sanity in check."

"You're getting way ahead of yourself, sister," Piper teased. "Appearances can be deceiving, especially mine. Prue," she sighed, "it's taking all my energy up there just to keep it together for Phoebe and Paige's sake let alone mine." There was a brief pause and then a heart-felt admission. "It's not an easy job, I don't know how you did it all those years," she confessed, sharing a brief bonding moment that they hadn't shared in a long time.

Prue's smile returned, an appreciative smile. With her arms crossed, she shuffled her feet and glanced in the direction of the floor. "Well, as long as both you and Phoebe were okay, I guess that's all that really mattered to me back then. Even if we were the Charmed ones."

"Hey, I didn't mean only after we found out we were witches," Piper tried to clarify, thinking back to their earlier years when they were just sisters. "But it mattered to us that you were okay too," she stressed. "So please keep that in mind the next time you think it's a good idea to make life changing decisions on your own that will affect all of us," she reminded gently. "But back to what's important now." She took in a deep breath. "A piece of sisterly advice. Phoebe's got her own worries. I'm sure you and I can take a good guess at what that is so I wouldn't take anything she says or does too personally right about now."

Their thoughts immediately went to Coop and the recent demise of Lana.

"And Paige?" Piper continued on quickly. "She just really needs to feel reassured that she fits in. And I don't mean just as a Charmed One. I'll admit, that's partially my fault, I had a hard time accepting her in the beginning after you left. But when she helps, even if she screws up, she does mean to help. And she's pretty damn resourceful. If there's a way out of a mess, believe me, she'll be the one to find it. She's a lot like you in that way."

Prue narrowed her eyes playfully. "Oh, that's so not fair. Buttering me up like that?" She sighed once again, recollecting her thoughts and re-evaluating her feelings. "So now I guess I'm stuck doing the big sister thing and making nice." She rolled her eyes.

Piper smirked. "Well, when you finally manage to suck it up, you happen to do that really well too," she grinned wide. "And nobody said anything about playing fair."

Prue closed her eyes. "Point taken," she smiled and shook her head.

Piper's next words turned a little more serious. "We really need to do this together. We're at our strongest when we stick together, powers or no powers. We'll find them and bring them back home."

Prue nodded. "Yeah." Then another faint smirk crossed her lips. "And just for the record, even without this little pep talk, I was never planning on sitting by and doing nothing. Powers or no powers."

"Uh-huh, point taken," Piper reciprocated, rolling her eyes playfully.

Confirmation from her sister brought out a smile.

"See, now there's the big sister I know and love," Piper joked. "And still do by the way." She reached out to pull her big sister in for a supportive hug. "We're going to find them," she tried to offer more reassurance while Prue forced another smile for her sister's benefit, accepting the hug.

"Right, sure," Prue agreed for her sister's sake. "We're going to find them," she repeated in a gentle whisper, while hugging back. Although, she felt anything but reassured. In fact, everything felt all wrong and she silently prayed that it wasn't too late. She placed a quick kiss, more of a peck, at the side of Piper's head in an affectionate and sisterly fashion before the two broke apart. "Let's go."

The two of them headed back upstairs to the attic to rejoin the others.

X

It was an oddly familiar sensation: dying, death.

The last thing she remembered were a horde of angry faces. Accusatory eyes flashing in her direction, although a reaction once deserved had it been bestowed on her not that very long ago. These were supposed to be good witches, the Charmed Ones and then one angry face in particular had come into view: Phoebe Halliwell. However, before she even had the chance to try and exonerate herself, she felt it, the searing pain of the flames consuming her until she finally burst into nothing. Then she was suddenly floating away, completely prepared for her final destination.

The Wasteland.

The last and only time she could remember this experience was right after Billie had vanquished her. Although, the emotions hadn't really been present with her at that time. The dark void had immediately sucked her in, and she had accepted it for what it was because she had been completely powerless against its grasp before finally being plunged head-first into the dark and lonely depths of the Wasteland. Her soul had managed to struggle in maintaining its survival; however, it had become easier once she had found and rejoined the others. Their combined power as the Triad and the high level of dark magic they shared allowed them the unique privilege of being able to resurrect and finally rejoin the Underworld in full physical form. This time she knew she would be completely on her own. Was it sadness that accompanied her on this doomed journey the second time around? Guilt? The desire to be given another chance? These feelings of a more human nature plagued her entire being as she was pulled towards somewhere.

As Lana felt herself plummeting, she prepared herself for the inevitable sight of flowing lava in the form of small rivers, the vast expanse of dead earth blowing with the uncontrollable and unexpected gust of winds that would come out of nowhere. There were fires that would sprout up from the ground whenever they deemed fit and also present were the peaking cliffs that gave off the illusion of offering some type of hope or rescue. However, their deceptive quality didn't stop thousands of desperate demons from inching up towards the top only to discover that the walls of stone would close in on them, shifting and sending them spiraling back down into the waiting clutches of the Death Seekers below.

Death Seekers. They roamed beneath the hardened earth, waiting with an unfathomable hunger, to obliterate any foreign entity unfortunate enough to encounter its final end. Any demon vanquished and banished to this literal hell for eternity had the dubious honor of playing a cat and mouse game for survival. Of course, most upper-level demons stood a much better chance at remaining around longer but the struggle for survival wasn't any less of a struggle.

After she crash landed onto a hard surface, she slowly opened her eyes and encountered surroundings that resembled anything but the Wasteland. If Lana hadn't known any better, she would have believed she had been whisked straight back into the mortal world. Momentarily stunned, she allowed the question to cross her mind.

"Where am I?" she whispered, cautiously looking around.

Yes, where in hell was she exactly? Was this hell?

As she pulled herself to her feet, she realized she was now standing in the middle of an apartment in the city. The sound of beeping horns and busy traffic could be heard from outside on the street below. It was an apartment she was sure she had never laid eyes on before. Stretched out before her, the entrance to the small kitchen was close to her. She could make out the marble countertops laid out in an "L" shaped pattern; the sink positioned in front of cabinets. The white-tiled flooring looked almost perfect, not a speck of dirt or dust reflecting off of it. A small kitchen table with three chairs sat off to the side not too far from the box-shaped refrigerator. Actually, no, with some back-tracking, she decided she made out two chairs. One of them looked different somehow. Smaller, almost as if it had been created for a tinier person. Suddenly, an odd feeling of familiarity washed through her while she looked around the small living space. The familiar energy saturated her with an almost homey feel, a calming presence. Deja Vu maybe?

Quickly, Lana turned her attention away from the kitchen area focusing now on the small window found to the right side of her. She was standing in what she learned to call a living room. The rays of sun light were streaming in through the window shades. She found herself wondering, have I been here before?

She reached her next conclusion.

I must still be alive.

However, that hope was dashed almost instantly. Lana smirked but the relief was short-lived; her eyes widened in shock as her hands slipped through the top of the reddish-brown upholstery that made up the living room couch. Instantly panicking, she pulled her hand away and brought it up near her face for observation before making a bolt for the door leading out of the apartment, only to find that it was of no use. Her hand repeated the prior encounter, slipping through the matter composed of a doorknob. Her mind went into a complete frenzy. If she wasn't still alive, had she already begun resurrecting again? She quickly recalled the last time she resurrected; her spirit form had been limited to the confines of the Underworld. At least that had been the case until the resurrection had completed itself and she had her full physical form returned to her. This place didn't look like the Wasteland nor the Underworld.

"There's no use in trying to understand it," a voice broke in, completely startling her, almost sounding as if it had heard her rambling thoughts. "Not yet anyway."

She jumped around in response to the unexpected intrusion.

"You're not here because of some unvanquishable demon status," the voice, that she now identified as a man's, informed her.

Lana was now in the company of a strange man who seated on the couch, one leg crossed in a masculine fashion over the other one. "Who are you?" she demanded, trying her best to sound unafraid. "How did you get in here; you weren't there before?"

The man gave off an intimidating air of self-confidence, a cross between cockiness and charismatic charm. "Who I am is not important," he answered, while getting up from the couch. He began walking in her direction. This caused her to take a few instinctive steps backwards, so he stopped. "But what I'm about to offer you is what matters."

"Offer me?" she repeated, her facial expression contorting with disbelief. "Why would I take anything you have to offer me?" Her skepticism and mistrust were blatantly obvious to the stranger. "I don't even know you. You can be anyone. Or anything!" she spat through clenched teeth, her brows furrowing.

He chuckled in response to her misgivings about him; the shrilling sound full of sarcasm and amusement as it passed from his lips. "Actually, I think we understand each other more than you can possibly imagine," he smirked. "But fair enough." He straightened himself out, preparing himself for an introduction. "I'm Cole Turner," he nodded his head slightly, extending his hand.

A few seconds passed and she glared down at his hand, refusing to take it. Finally, he pulled his hand back and folded both of them behind his back. "Okay. Well, if you're turned off by Cole, I used to be better known as Balthazor in my demonic form."

Confusion swept across her face, but her eyes reflected curiosity. "Demonic form?" she repeated. "But how ..."

Cole put up a hand to halt her inquiry. "It means that you and I share something that other demons never will," he jumped right to the point so he wouldn't get side-tracked with the current task at hand. "A soul."

"A soul?" Lana repeated.

"That's right. It's the one thing that makes us unique, gives us a second chance if you will," he hurried on with the explanation. "Unfortunately, I lost mine," his eyes reflecting a sudden distant look, a sadness that Lana picked up on, something she normally wouldn't have bothered to pay any mind to until recently in her life. "But, fortunately for you, it's not too late yet," he quickly recovered.

"I don't understand ..." Lana stammered, her head beginning to shake back and forth.

"You. Your soul is here," Cole went on to explain further, crossing his arms in front of him. "It's why you're standing here with me instead of wasting away in the Wasteland," he cracked. "Your human half is what gives you a soul, a chance at being redeemed."

"Are you telling me that you were a demon before? And a human at the same time?" Lana asked for clarification on the bits and pieces of information she was pulling together from him. Although, she was still not quite sure on what to make of him or whether or not she should believe him.

"Yes, that's what I'm saying," he confirmed. "Right now, you're standing in a middle realm of existence. A limbo. It's also referred to as purgatory. I may have lost my chance in the mortal world of ever attaining a shot at the afterlife, but you still have it. The choice is yours," he laid it out on the line for her.

"Well, if it's too late for you then why are you even here?" Lana accused.

Cole could tell she was going to be a tough one to crack. "Because I can't ever enter the afterlife," his voice raised a notch, not liking this part of the story-telling. "I have mortal blood on my hands - a lot of it - something that you're lucky enough not to have acquired just yet," he explained. "You were sheltered, hidden away for a specific purpose which in a strange way offered you a reprieve. You don't have to answer for the same things I do. But make no mistake, all that can change in a heartbeat if you allow your demonic side to control you or any of your human feelings. Revenge will only serve to stand in the way."

Lana stood perfectly still, absorbing everything he was trying to tell her. When it was clear to him that she was waiting for him to continue, Cole did just that.

"I've been appointed to remain in this realm and act as a type of guide, if you will, to lost souls such as yourself," he offered. "You're actually the first of our kind that I've been assigned to in this place, so I feel like I have somewhat more of an extra personal stake here. A special task presented before me."

"A guide? Are you serious?" she challenged him.

Cole contemplated it. "Well, I'll be honest. It certainly doesn't rank anywhere up there like another chance with Phoebe would, but I figure the job's got to be better than out running Death Seekers in the bottomless pits of the Wasteland. Been there, done that," he cracked. "Any demon worth its reputation would enjoy the challenge for a while but for all of eternity?" He shook his head. "Nah, not worth it. But you already know that." He flashed her a grin. "So, I guess I stand corrected. My second chance wasn't completely in vain since I've found myself standing here with you?"

Lana mocked him by repeating the action and throwing a grin back in his direction.

"So let me get this straight," she finally spoke. "You think that by saving me, it somehow helps to resolve you, is that it?" she countered mockingly. "Sorry, but this freaky half-breed isn't looking to be anyone's next project," she spat at him, thinking back to her days with Dumain and all the training practically forced upon her until she had no choice left but to comply. "So, if you'll excuse me, I don't need your kind of help. Actually, let me make it a lot clearer than that. I don't want your help. Bye!"

"A lot of spirit, I like that. It could work in your favor."

Lana rolled her eyes at him, while moving to walk past him. Suppressing the strong urge to retort, she began scanning for another room located down the small hallway, desperately seeking to just escape into it somewhere and disappear.

Cole moved to turn around and follow her, not phased in the slightest by her reactions or her reluctance to listen. "Hey, like I said, I've got all of eternity to wait around. I'm not going anywhere."

"Just leave me alone!" she shouted over her shoulder, as she stalked down the hallway and finally turned into one of the rooms, a bedroom.

Amused, Cole followed closely behind, smiling the entire way.

X

Prue, Piper, and Phoebe sat at the table. There were scrying tools, various ingredients for potion-making, and potion bottles scattered everywhere in front of them.

The girls had begun to engage in any talk that would take their minds off the abduction, at least until they were prepared to confront the problem head on. They wanted to avoid any further confrontations that could erupt into personal attacks born out of individual panic. Andy, on the other hand, remained silent, standing off on the far end of the table. He had been given some scrying supplies, just for something to do; however, there was a flickering of hope that Prue's powers might surface in him enough to allow him some control and just maybe a location. He held the stone in his possession to assist him.

"Rag weed root," Piper began to read from a list as the sisters attempted to put the clutter in order.

"Got it," Prue raised it into the air.

Piper checked it off the list. "Sunflower seed?" she called out.

"Here," Phoebe repeated Prue's actions.

"Alright. Lavender, castor oil, beetle juice, aloe extract, salt water and chili powder," Piper listed off as she pointed out each item laid out in front of her.

"Uh, chili powder?" Phoebe raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, most of the ingredients for the potion match up against the natural elements, you know, earth, air, fire, and water?" Prue reminded her. "Chili, spicy hot - like fire, get it?"

Phoebe looked bored with the information.

"All we're missing is the acidic compound for our ... flesh," Piper passed on a look of distaste.

"Which we haven't got yet either," Prue reminded with a smile.

"Rah-rah, that should be a blast, can't wait," Phoebe rolled her eyes, "not!" she groaned. "Does the Book really say we need to get a sample of flesh from each individual member? If they're a collective, I don't see why one piece of flesh coming from one of them won't work?"

"Nope, sorry, we're not getting off that easy," Piper teased. "We're the Ultimate Power now, remember? We've moved on to bigger and way more complicated."

"Okay, but let me be the first to say, that when I think of quality sister bonding time, four switch blade knives and a slice and dice didn't even make the bottom of any list of things I never intend to do in any lifetime whatsoever," Phoebe cracked.

This earned her a huge smirk coming from Prue.

"Hopefully Leo can retrieve the compound from the Magic School and then the only things left are an inflated balloon and some honey dust," Piper added.

"An inflated balloon?" Phoebe laughed. "So are we throwing a party for these demons or are we vanquishing them? Never mind, I get it. Helium, a gas compound. Similar in an air-like quality sort of way, right, yada yada ..."

Prue cheesed. "Very good, Phoebe. It looks like that junior year of chemistry paid off after all."

"Watch it, you," Phoebe threw up her index finger as a mock warning, teasing her sister right back. "Anyway, I take it that thing will deflate in that potion mix, right, not pop and explode all over us? I mean, how big are we talking here anyway, carnival sized? Birthday party style?"

"I'm thinking water balloon," Prue volunteered, "Maybe Leo won't mind going back out to get it after he gets back with Paige. If I'm not mistaken, Birthday Bash for Cash was always open until around six. Is that place still around?"

"Of course, absolutely, it's still around," Phoebe's voice became playful. "I mean, we were only able to throw Piper the best surprise birthday parties ever courtesy of their party favors." She paused, rethinking it for a minute. "Well, actually, they worked out a lot better for Wyatt and Chris's birthday parties. A few conjuring sessions were in order to make Piper's a little more interesting," her laughter filled the attic.

"Oh. Details, please?" Prue ordered, amused. She turned to Phoebe.

"Don't you dare!" Piper threw Phoebe a warning look.

"Hey, it couldn't have been any worse than the ones you use to throw for me," Prue referenced those yearly attempts at surprise parties she abhorred.

"And what was so bad about them?" Piper asked Prue, slightly offended. "At least yours were ... semi normal," she settled on. "If only you knew all the work I put into those by myself, what, with Phoebe always flaking on me."

Phoebe broke out with more laughter. "What, who needs normal - anyway, it's not like you and Leo were still actually together when we conjured him."

"Who?" Prue inquired.

"Piper's dream guy," Phoebe volunteered.

"He wasn't my dream guy," Piper quickly negated, turning to Prue. "He was a convoluted mess created out of Phoebe and Paige's over-active imaginations. With a little use of magic."

"Hey, I didn't see you complaining after we managed to convince you to jump in and take advantage," Phoebe laughed again.

"That's not the point," Piper released a sour laugh of her own. "See what I had to put up with after you left," she accused her big sister in a teasing fashion.

Prue held back a laugh. "Of course, Piper, I know. There's only one dream guy and you've already got him." She couldn't help but take a glance over at Andy when the words left her mouth, a shadow crossing over her face and the smile fading.

"That's right, you got it," Piper acknowledged. Looking up, she caught her sister's change in mood and then followed where her gaze fell. Piper inquired gently, "Hey, how's it going over there, Andy?"

"It's going," he answered dejectedly, without looking up.

Prue sighed and got up from her chair. She walked over to where Andy was seated, engaged in the middle of a task that was as foreign to him as another country she's never laid eyes on would be to her. Glancing him over, his own weariness mirrored her own. For the first time, she took in how defeated he actually appeared, sagging shoulders, lines surrounding his eyes. She regretted how they had gotten to the point where they were, barely talking and snapping irritably when they finally did have something say.

"Here," she reached out slowly, her voice softer, offering her assistance. "Let me show you."

He didn't turn to look. "Why, am I doing it wrong?"

His tone bordered on defensive to her. "Temporary truce, okay?" she offered. "Maybe if I'm doing it with you - it'll help."

Prue's strands of dark hair swayed over her shoulder as she bent slightly just a few inches in front of him. The scent of her perfume overtook his senses, a tingling energy traveling through both of their hands after they made physical contact. She was happy to note that he didn't jerk his hand away like she half-expected to see him do. Slowly with her hand guiding his, their hands moved as one over the map.

A few moments passed by in complete silence.

"Prue?" he hesitated, finally breaking it. He stole a quick glance at her. "I ..."

"What?" her voice came out in a low even tone. Prue didn't look up.

Andy observed that all of her concentration was poured into what they were trying to get done together. He couldn't help but smile a little. Her determination to follow things through to the very end, refusing to accept failure, had been one of the many qualities he had always loved about her. However, at this very moment, he just wished it would offer him the guarantee he sought but finding any comfort at all was difficult.

"Nothing," her voice broke. She sighed, closing her eyes and dropping their hands, feeling completely discouraged when the scrying still didn't work.

Their hands fell to the map; however, Andy didn't let go. "I hope you know that I would never do anything to intentionally put our daughter in harm's way," he offered.

Prue made a face. She turned her head to look him straight in the eyes. "Of course I know that, Andy. Why would you even suggest it?"

Piper and Phoebe shared a look with each other, not meaning to eavesdrop but being so close by that they were unable to prevent overhearing the discussion. Both instantly communicated through their eyes the same thing the other was already thinking. They both got up to give Andy and Prue a little privacy. After all, there wasn't a whole lot more they could really do until Paige got back with Leo and they acquired the missing potion ingredients they would need. After Paige had gotten back from checking in with the Elders earlier, she and Leo took an orb to Magic School.

"Um, listen you guys?" Phoebe interrupted, addressing Prue and Andy. "We'll be right back." She stood up from her chair, Piper mirroring the same action. "But don't rush anything on our account, talking things out is good. All the better for us - you." Her grin was wide, and she dipped in closer to Piper with a whisper intended only for her to hear. "And with any luck, maybe Prue will get her powers back," she gritted out.

Piper shook her head, smirking a little bit. She gave her sister a slight nudge in the direction of the door along with her instruction. "Okay, Phoebe, go!"

Prue and Andy acknowledged the departure with small nods and waited as both sisters departed from the attic. Prue cast her gaze down at the table and smiled. This was the first talk they were having in a while that didn't break out into a yelling match with someone walking out.

"Subtle, aren't they?" Prue smirked.

Andy smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

"I'm sure they can use the break away from us anyway, I don't think we've been making it easy for them," Prue acknowledged sullenly.

"Look, Prue, I'm just trying to help bring her back home like you are," Andy was the first to jump back into the discussion. "It's really hard for me being forced to stand by on the side-lines, not doing anything at all, when I should be doing something. I mean, I'm her father. What good am I if I can't even protect her?"

Prue released a deep breath. "Andy, you are a good father," she stressed to him. "This has nothing to do with that."

"It has everything to do with it," he negated. "Which is why I knew this kind of life wouldn't be for me. And why I wanted to avoid it after I found out about you," he confessed. "But I also knew that would be near impossible to do because I still loved you," his voice cracked a bit, and he avoided looking directly at her. He understood that his inability to stay away, to cut all ties, is what ultimately lead to his death.

Prue wouldn't meet his eyes. "I know that, and I was willing to let you go," she reflected sadly, remembering how Andy shared his wishes to one day have a normal family life.

"This life is ... " he hesitated with what he really wanted to say: Too dangerous. This life was too dangerous.

"It's what?" Prue pushed for his honesty. "You can say it, Andy."

Andy let out a deep sigh. "Dangerous, Prue," and this time he looked into her eyes as he spoke. "This life can get you killed. It can get any one of us killed at any moment. Is this really a life for kids? Hell, it already got me killed and I wasn't even the target," he thought about how Rodriguez used him to get to Prue and her sisters years back.

Prue didn't argue against his point.

"Your world is filled with things most people will never know about. Demons and these magical battles that never end," he continued on. "I mean, we can just be sitting here and then, boom, out of nowhere, you're facing another death match, or our kids become the pawns in the conflict. I don't know, Prue, in this world it just seems like I'm even more powerless to stop things I may not be able to stop."

"Andy," Prue began, "I'm not going to deny it. Everything you're saying is true. But what I need to know is what it all means for you."

"It means I don't want to stick around and watch you die," he confessed to her. "The truth is, I'd rather it be me than you. Like it was," he thought of his own death.

"Well, I don't," she refuted quickly. The words came out fast; seeds of anger burning beneath them. "So let's drop this and not go there."

"See, that's the thing, I think we do need to go there," he countered her.

"Andy ... " Prue attempted to protest.

"I'm not afraid of dying, Prue," came his stern rebuttal. "In fact, I was meant to. I DID die," he reminded her again. "Just because we found a loophole around it doesn't change that."

"I'm not afraid to die either but that's not the point," she argued back. "If it's my time and not yours, I don't want you dying in my place."

"Your time? Are you sure about that?" he looked at her with a lot of skepticism.

"What are you getting at?" Prue challenged.

He then sighed. "What if it's not your time? What about your sisters, Prue?"

"What about them?" her face wore a mask of confusion.

"Be honest with me here. They're prepared to take the same risks as witches. Are you telling me that you wouldn't try to interfere and take their place even if it was their time to die? That you wouldn't try and stop it, by force if necessary?"

"Andy," Prue pleaded, looking away from him.

"Prue, be honest," his voice became stern.

"Yes!" she finally shouted back, feeling cornered. "Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear? I would do whatever it took to make sure my sisters were safe. How could you even ask me that?"

"Well see, Prue, that's the thing. You just made my point."

"Which would be what exactly?" Her stare was intense.

"Dying. You're too willing to sacrifice yourself and bring it to you before your time," he countered. "Especially when it comes to me and guess what? I'm not okay with that."

"Just stop, okay? I do not bring death to me before my time," Prue flat out denied his allegation. "It's my job to protect innocents."

"This isn't about innocents," he challenged her. It went further than that and he knew she knew it.

"There are risks in what I do, Andy," Prue attempted to argue. "Innocents are meant to be saved which means I do what it takes to see it through to the end and, yes, that includes you. I won't apologize for that."

"Prue, nobody is asking you to apologize for doing what you do," he sighed, his frustration growing. "But not everybody is meant to be saved. And that might include me, or one of your sisters, or even the next innocent."

Prue shook her head, refusing to accept what he was saying to her.

"You're shaking your head at me," Andy challenged her, "yet just months ago when we were in New York, you risked your life on a hunch over our daughter," his voice rose another notch, reminding his wife of the time she was lured to an abandoned alleyway by a shapeshifter pretending to be Darryl Morris. "No evidence she was still alive, no proof, on a hunch."

"She was still alive!" Prue fired quite heatedly.

"But you couldn't have known that!" he fired back.

Prue huffed. "If I hadn't followed that hunch," she spat, "we may have never seen her again." From Prue's perspective, her abduction by Gideon is what ultimately reunited them with their daughter.

"And if you had gotten yourself killed, you wouldn't have either."

Prue tried to calm herself down. "Andy, if there's even the slightest possibility that someone can be helped, or things can be changed, I can't just ignore that. I have to try," she tried to get him to understand.

"Well, then that's the difference between you and I," Andy met her refusal head on. "I can accept what is meant to be. Everything happens for a reason and for whatever reason, you can't accept that. Or won't."

"Andy?" Prue protested, still shaking her head. "That's not fair."

"Not fair?" he parroted. "No, what's not fair is that, as a mortal, I'm more of a liability than a help to you in your world. I can be a dangerous distraction and as a mortal I will never completely fit in. It's just the truth."

"Andy, Henry is mortal too," Prue stressed. "My own father was mortal, well, one of them anyway," she amended. "What matters is that they are alive in spite of that. So please stop trying to sell me this idea that you were meant to die or that you don't belong here. You're not a liability."

"Your parents divorced," Andy reminded her. "There was still a cost for them in the end too," he reflected sadly.

"We're not my parents," she refuted.

"What about your mother?" Andy treaded on sensitive ground next. "If you're not careful, the same thing can happen to you."

Prue looked down and began fiddling with her fingers. "Andy, if it's my time before yours, there's nothing you'll be able to do about it anyway." Her eyes were misting over when she looked back up at him.

"Maybe not," he sighed. "But I don't want your death to ever be in place of mine. No repeats like what happened with Dr. Griffiths?" he challenged gently, the details that had led to their former arrangement inside of a "normal life" very much alive inside the knowledge he now held. "Isn't that exactly how you got here to begin with - how we got here?" he stressed as a reminder.

Prue felt herself growing angry. "He was an innocent," she fumed, becoming more frustrated by the fact that she couldn't seem to make him understand. "Are you suggesting I should have just stood on the sidelines and let him die? And Gideon's the reason we're where we are now so what exactly are you trying to accuse me of here?"

"No, Prue, Gideon took advantage of a situation you helped to provide him with," Andy retorted. "Maybe Dr. Griffiths was meant to die. Like I already told you, you're not always meant to save everybody, not your sisters, not every innocent, and certainly not me! But I really don't think you seem to get that. Sometimes I just get the feeling - " he paused, letting his voice trail off.

He had hit a nerve within her. "You what?" she pushed, holding her anger back.

"You seem to see death as something you feel you need to win against and then you hide behind who you're protecting to do it," Andy accused. "It's like you're challenging it on purpose, no matter what the cost may be for you in the end. Which then creates consequences for others."

Reluctantly, she thought back to her encounter with the Angel of Death as his words struck a chord deep inside her, an experience she had years ago when she was forced to confront her repressed feelings surrounding the death of her mother. Hadn't Death virtually tried to express the exact same sentiments? She shook her head, trying to forcefully push the memory back into the dark corner of her mind it had managed to escape from.

"So you DO blame me," she didn't know what else to think.

He shook his head. "I didn't say that."

"Yes, you did, you think it's my fault you're back and stuck with this life," were her conclusions, despite his earlier assurances to the contrary that he didn't hold her accountable for what Gideon or the other Elders did.

"You're putting words in my mouth. That's not what I meant," his voice rose a notch.

"Andy, in all this time that you've known me, have you really seen me as being that selfish? That what I do, what I did in the past, it's really been all about me instead of the people I'm actually trying to protect?"

"Prue ... " Andy started but she cut him off.

"No, Andy, you know what - forget it," she vented. "The truth is that I don't know what to say to you anymore, I'm sick of the fighting, and obviously you feel like you've been dragged back into this. So, I'm sorry for whatever part I may have played in making that happen, directly or indirectly. But if you need to walk out the door - go. Just do it. I promise I won't stop you." She stood up abruptly. "The door is always open, the kids will always be here when you want to see them, and actually maybe it would all just be for the best."

Andy stood up and reached out to stop her. "I didn't say I was leaving."

"Then what are you saying?"

He sighed. "That I'm trying to come to terms with what I need to," he explained. "And I'm hoping that you'll do the same. But I'm not leaving."

Their eyes locked and some of tension left but the moment was cut short when the orbs of Paige suddenly appeared in the attic, bringing Leo along with her. Averting their attention to the two arrivals, they knew they would have to put the rest of the discussion on hold until the current problem around rescuing the kids could be resolved.

"Alright, Leo found the compound and I found some books," Paige announced happily, the sound of them slamming onto the table echoing throughout the attic. Stopping abruptly, she looked between her sister and brother-in-law catching the deer in headlights expressions. "Oh no. And we didn't just interrupt anything, did we?" she stammered through clenched teeth, her gaze shifting back and forth between both of them.

Prue had tried to apologize earlier, attempting to reassure her that she hadn't meant to take her frustration out on Paige. Paige accepted the apology; however, the truth was that a part of her felt guilty all on its own with or without Prue laying into her. She was hoping that she hadn't disturbed an intimate moment of some kind especially if it would help the current state of their marriage.

"Nope," Prue brushed off. "Books?" she questioned, walking over to the table. She picked one of them up from the table to scan over the cover. Opening it, she skimmed through it.

"Yup," Paige nodded. "I'm going to try looking through some of these texts on ancient magical artifacts and see if I turn up anything on our stone. It's the best the Elders were able to give me when I went up there so," she rolled her eyes, giving Prue the 'you know what I mean' message. Looking around, Piper and Phoebe's absence was suddenly noticeable to her. "Hey, where's Piper and Phoebe?"

"Here," Piper announced, walking back in with Phoebe behind her. "Uh, honey?" her attention shooting straight to her husband. "Big favor? We've got one more errand if you wouldn't mind. The potion calls for an ingredient that falls in line with one of the main elements on air, so we were thinking maybe some small helium balloons. That and we're also going to need some honey dust which we definitely don't have stocked anywhere in the house. Think you can handle it?"

"Sure."

"I'll go with you," Andy volunteered, moving away from Prue. "I need to focus on doing something I can actually do for a while, or I'll drive myself crazy. "

"Yeah, sure, no problem," Leo accepted his offer to help.

Andy took a few steps to join Leo on his way out before he decided to do something else. He turned back around, re-approaching Prue. He pulled her into an embrace, which she accepted, planting a gentle kiss on the side of her head.

"I love you," he muttered, before pulling away. "Please be careful. If you won't do it for me, or for yourself, at least do it for our kids."

"Yeah," she offered a little strained, before breaking apart. "I'll be careful. I promise," she stressed when he gave her one of his looks. "Love you."

Prue and the others watched as he and Leo exited the attic to leave.

"Okay, ladies, let's get down to business," Paige inserted. "What exactly is the plan?"

X

Billie sat on the old wooden chair located at a small round table with enough room for two students. However, she currently sat by herself near the wall in the back of the school library.

She had committed to some studying so she could catch up on work that she had fallen behind on. Luckily, she had been able to talk a few of her professors into allowing her some extra credit assignments, using a desperate plea for sympathy that was masked behind a multitude of lies and half-truths. A bit dishonest, sure, but she really needed to make up for some of the bad grades earned by simply not showing up to classes. A ten-page term paper was due in three days and another fifteen page one was due a week from that. She silently wondered if she'd ever make it out of college at the rate she was going.

The shrill ringing of her cell phone suddenly broke into her study session, breaking her concentration, and alerting other nearby students of the intrusion; an intrusion which only earned her their disapproving glares. She had forgotten to switch the stupid thing over to vibrate.

"Sorry," she whispered.

Reaching into her blue backpack hanging over her chair, Billie quickly pulled the phone out of the bag. Rising from the chair and darting down one of the aisles, aisles housing stacks of books, she hoped to garner a little more privacy.

"Hello?"

It was Phoebe and the desperation in her voice, combined with the nature of the current crisis, let Billie know that passing Psychology was definitely going to slip through her fingers this semester. Damn, she hated the freaking subject with a passion and cursed herself for just not getting it over with her first term in college. It was a university requirement though, so most students in any major were required to complete it before graduation. Her eyes widened in panic as she was filled in with the details over the phone.

"Yeah, okay, no problem. I'm on my way right now," she reassured Phoebe. "Just give me ten minutes to get back to my dorm room, if the coast is clear, have Paige orb in and grab me." She hung up.

Turning around, her anxious steps began to carry her back in the direction of her table to retrieve her books and other belongings. However, something else unexpected happened before she had the opportunity to make it back. Suddenly, the lights overhead shut off, throwing the whole library into a shadowy darkness. Shocked, Billie stopped in her tracks inside the aisle she was still walking down.

"Uh oh."

The only light visible was streaming in from the windows. Billie released a nervous intake of air, slowly resuming her cautious steps back down the aisle. It was too quiet, deathly silent, she noted, the kind of quiet that if a pin were to drop, it would probably echo for miles around. The creepy feeling continued to invade her senses. When she reached the end of the aisle, the sight that greeted her was alarming. Everything stood completely still, as if frozen in time. Students sitting at tables were frozen like popsicle sticks in whatever position or activity they were engaged in prior to the unexplained incident.

"Uh, hello?" she shouted out, realizing it was most likely in vain. "Can anybody here still hear me?" Billie's eyes darted around.

A row of book aisles positioned directly across from some tables showed one student in the middle of pulling a book out of place, giving off the illusion that it was somehow eerily suspended in air. A librarian at the main desk was frozen, posed with her mouth open. She was in mid-talk with some other student across from her. People were lined up at the copier machine, students were sitting motionless at computers, but the last thing Billie noted before running to grab her stuff was the big old clock positioned just above the library entrance, where other students stood frozen between the metal detectors. The hands were completely frozen in place, time completely suspended. It was freaky; like Piper's power working in reverse. It was the freezing of all time itself instead of just the freezing of people or magical beings held within time.

"This is so not good!"

Billie grabbed for her stuff quickly, shoving books into her bag, and then finally darted for the exit while at the same time, attempting to use her cell phone in the process. Unfortunately, that decision distracted her long enough to make contact with a foot sticking out from beneath one of the square tables, where another student sat frozen in place. She completely lost her footing and toppled over onto the floor with a loud curse.

"Crap!"

Her cell phone went sliding across the same floor. From the corner of her eye, a quick shadowy figure appeared to breeze behind her, almost too fast to notice, but still enough to catch her attention in her peripheral vision. She spun her head around over her shoulder, while still sprawled out flat on her stomach.

"Hello?" she called out. Fear crept inside, into the pit of her stomach, where the dancing butterflies already resided. "Who's there?" Without wasting time, she used both of her palms to quickly hoist herself back onto her feet.

Throwing the strap of her backpack over her shoulder, she spun around in a hurry, intent on leaving for good. She reached down to retrieve her cell phone; however, upon straightening herself back up she slammed straight into a figure who appeared to manifest in front of her from out of nowhere. Quickly, he grabbed her and with the other hand stifled a scream before she even had the chance to release one. Then, the power of his push thrust her backwards until her head hit the floor with a loud thud, sending Billie's backpack falling along with the cell phone.

Everything went black as she lost all consciousness.

The figure shimmered below the surface with her, completely disappearing from sight, as time itself unfroze. Everything else returned to normal.

X

Lana sat on a bedroom floor, huddled in a corner while she rocked back and forth, covering her ears against the disturbing noise she wished would just disappear. Cole, leaning patiently against the wall that was located just outside the bedroom in the hallway, whistled to the tune of a few songs he had picked up during his time spent in the mortal world.

"Go away!" she drawled out between gritted teeth.

Lana had been trying desperately to ignore him and prove he couldn't have any effect on her. She was determined not to allow his presence to have any influence on her whatsoever, but she was failing miserably at it.

The whistling halted during mid-song and Cole smiled.

"Uh, just say the word and whenever you're ready we can get on with this," he baited her with heavy sarcasm. "I have all day. You on the other hand? Not so much. It's just a matter of time before the Triad part of yourself resurrects you completely and then you won't see what I'm supposed to show you. Then it really will be too late."

"What?"

Cole had gotten the reaction he had hoped for. "Yes, this may come as a surprise to you, but I know all about the Triad," he supplied confidently. "And their history. Which means I know about you too. Not all the specific details, of course, like Dumain's little back door deal during his time, but I did come across enough stories connected to your birth. And for what it's worth, your father didn't kill your mother."

"It isn't worth a thing to me because I don't care!" She was a little unnerved by the fact that this perfect stranger seemed to know so much about her.

"Understandable. I felt the same way about my father," he made another attempt to try and gain her trust. "He was human by the way and when it came to his death, it didn't really matter to me who was responsible for it. My mother, another demon, fate," he listed off. "All I cared about was making someone pay. Looking back, allowing that to consume me was the beginning of the end."

"Stop twisting my words," she accused. "I didn't know my mother or my father, so I meant I don't care either way."

"Maybe not," Cole countered. "But you do know the Triad. Which means you know that their loyalties certainly aren't with you anymore. Which means you can decide to sit there, and I can stand here while debating all of this information back and forth with you or you can help me to help you."

"To take down the rest of the Triad? Why should you care anyway?"

"I've had the honor of taking them down before," he shared with her. "By myself, actually."

He heard complete silence for the better part of a couple passing minutes until the sound of movement finally replaced it. Then to his surprise, she appeared from the bedroom into the hallway, her arms crossed defiantly while sending him a glare. He quickly composed himself, standing up straight and plastering on a triumphant smile in place.

"Will this get you off my back long enough to make you leave?" she practically hissed at him.

"Certainly," he pacified her. "Follow me," he instructed.

He walked back down the slender hallway and into the living room. Lana reluctantly followed behind and watched as he preceded to pick up what was a TV remote from the small coffee table in front of a couch.

"What is your job anyway?" she asked. "As a guide or whatever it is you said you were?"

"To get you in touch with your humanity," he answered. "Or if you've already hit on it yourself, which I suspect you have, to keep you in touch with it."

Cole aimed the TV remote in the air. He pressed one of the buttons on it and suddenly all of their surroundings appeared to jump into a fast-forward motion. It almost made her dizzy as she continued to watch it go by in such a quick flash.

"Ha, here we are," he pressed another button on the remote to make everything stop.

Everything looked practically the same except now they were greeted by the sight of a man opening the door and entering the apartment. Lana almost felt the urge to run and hide until she remembered that they couldn't be seen inside limbo. The man was distracted, leafing through the mail he had retrieved before coming inside. He quickly walked into the kitchen, scanned the contents, and then discarded unwanted pieces of it onto the kitchen table. Reaching for the refrigerator door, he opened it and grabbed for a beer bottle. Lana then watched as he effortlessly popped the lid with his hand against the counter-top's edge. What bothered her was that there was something about the man that pulled her in. That strange feeling of familiarity began washing over her again and just as it struck her, her attention was grabbed away by the sight and sound of a woman calling for him.

"Richard? Good, you're home. I'm going to put Lana down for a nap while I run to the pharmacy down on the corner. Would you mind watching her for a minute? I think she's coming down with a fever."

"Sure," he had answered. "Whatever." He took another swig from the bottle.

The woman came from down the hallway with a baby in her arms. Her face appeared to shift and take on a sour expression after noticing his choice of beverage. However, Lana was distracted, completely taken in by the sight of the woman in front of her rather than the reactions of either participant. It was in this moment that everything fell into place. The scene playing out in front of her answered her questions on why those familiar feelings of the unknown were stirred up when she first got here. Of course, she would have been too young to remember anything, but she had been here before; she had lived here before. The woman she was staring at was her mother, or she would have been had she lived long enough. They shared the same golden shade of honey-colored hair and the same big brown eyes. A whirl of emotions, ones she had never quite felt before, came to life as she watched the young mother interact with her child. There was a sudden unexpected urge to run over and embrace the woman, to just cry in her arms and voice words to a feeling that she had never dared to allow herself to feel before. A feeling that told her this is the connection she had been missing out on all along. A buried feeling of belonging, being a part of something bigger that just herself, craving what she wanted for such a long time before the iron wall came crashing down to squash those human wants and desires.

A family. At one time she was actually a part of one. Her family.

"It's a powerful emotion, isn't it?" Cole finally broke in from beside her.

Still captivated and a bit dazed from the rush this sudden revelation had caused, she questioned him in a distracted manner. "What is?"

"Love," he answered simply.

"Love," she parroted under her breath as she felt the feeling of loss settle over her. Her eyes watered and her heart suddenly ached for what had been lost to her, denied to her. "Right, love," she repeated as she used her forearm to wipe at her eyes, forcing herself to regain her composure. "But what does it matter now?" she stubbornly asserted, trying to push back the throbbing in her throat, caused by the sudden rush of emotion. "The past is the past. It's all over and done with."

"It's never over," Cole countered. "We can always learn from the past."

"Are you telling me we're standing in the past?" Lana queried, hoping to distract herself with subject matter that was a little more personally detached. "That we've somehow gone to the past?"

"No," he quickly corrected her. "Time has absolutely no bearing anywhere expect in the mortal realm. Here, we don't go to the past, present, or future," he tried explaining. "We bring it to us. But we can only watch it play out. We don't have the power to influence or change the outcome of anything we see. That's not our purpose."

"Then what is?" she asked a bit annoyed.

"For you?" he addressed her head on. "To connect with the part of yourself that can ultimately save you. But to do that, you will also have to confront the part of yourself that can ultimately destroy you too," he explained. He saw the questioning look coming from her. "You'll understand what I mean in time. And it'll be your choice. It may not be an easy choice, but it will be your choice, the path you decide to take."

"I know him," she turned back around. She pointed in the direction of the man who was called Richard.

"I know you do," Cole answered a bit despondently. "So do I." He sighed, closing his eyes, as the admission was about to part from his lips. "Phoebe loves him. A lot. And it's because of him that I get to see a glimpse of who Phoebe used to be. In love, happy, looking forward to the future. So, I owe him for that." It came out tense, he couldn't help it, some of the jealousy was still alive and would always be there no matter how hard he tried to suppress it. A part of him would always remain selfish when it came to Phoebe. "He'll give her exactly what I tried to but couldn't do in the end; the happiness she rightfully deserves. A family. And I don't want her getting hurt in this, so you better make the right decision," he admonished with a harsh edge, a bit stronger than he had originally intended.

Lana growled. "Phoebe's one of the Charmed Ones. And isn't the former love of your life," she mocked, "the reason I'm standing here right now to begin with?" she accused.

"Phoebe serves the greater good," he quickly came to her defense. "I'm here, too, because of her but that's irrelevant. It's no less than what I deserved," he chose to take responsibility. "Do the right thing and you'll find that Phoebe is an easy ally to make."

"What if I can't make the right choice?" she voiced. She almost sounded like a vulnerable child scared of the consequences. "What if I'm too weak and give in?"

"Like I said, it won't be easy," he suddenly was back to sympathizing with the young girl standing next to him. "That struggle from within is always with us. Good and evil. Both sides are constantly waging a war with each other inside of us, battling for supremacy. "But" his tone changed, offering some light at the end of the tunnel. "If you succeed in conquering what you need to, I think you'll find you've triumphed for good. Quite literally."

"But how? Billie said she looked and couldn't find any potion that stripped someone from being evil, from their evil nature," argued Lana. "It's just how someone like me is born. Which means it will always be there no matter how good I try to be." There was a hint of regret and a far-off gleam of sadness in her eyes.

"Hey, I'm just the middleman here," Cole attempted to lighten the mood. "I only know what gets passed on to me. But here's my last piece of advice and maybe it will help. I think it's important to remember that the true victory over evil comes from within. Powers, and where they may or may not come from, don't innately make you evil, Lana. It's how and what purposes you intend to use them for. The rest I would just leave in the hands of a higher power."

Lana was silent as she absorbed and contemplated everything she had heard and seen. Suddenly, the scenery shifted until the apartment was no longer their source of refuge but instead, they were surrounded by a never-ending gray void of mist taking its place. A small drafty sound could be heard through the mist while Cole scanned the area sullenly before turning to address her one final time.

"Well, I think that's my cue to go now," he announced. "Duty calls, I can hear the cries of other lost souls roaming close by." He sighed. "It shouldn't be much longer for you. Take the time you have left to aim all your strength, all of your focus, into the right direction. Before you go back. The Ultimate Power will take care of what you can't."

Lana offered an uneasy smile.

"Bye Lana. And good luck."

Cole faded into nothing in front of Lana before she wandered off into the huge expanse of purgatory, bidding her time until her return.

X

Phoebe paced impatiently in front of the podium. She was waiting for an answer on the opposite end of her cell phone. It just continued to ring, four times, five times, until voicemail picked up.

Prue and Piper observed their sister's restless behavior, waiting to react. Leo and Andy were still gone, retrieving the remaining ingredients needed for a few spells the girls intended on using as back up.

Finally giving up, Phoebe slammed the phone shut. "Okay, no answer, I don't like it!" she stopped her pacing, placing both hands against her hips. "She said ten minutes, we've been waiting for over thirty. We can forget the plan without her."

Prue sighed, not liking the sound of it either and getting worried about the amount of time slipping by in finding the kids. Still, she decided to remain calm and in control. "Right, it doesn't sound good but why don't we wait until Paige gets back first before we jump to any conclusions, okay? Besides, I'm in some desperate need of good news today; I don't care how small," she cracked, holding onto the small glimmer of hope that there was nothing to worry about as far as Billie was concerned. Shutting her eyes, she rested her head in the palm of her hand to gather her thoughts.

"I agree," Piper volunteered. "It really wouldn't be the first time Billie showed up when she felt like it or tried to intervene on her own. Of course, we'll just kill her later if it's the latter. Speaking of which, what do you think is taking Paige so long?"

Prue's eyes shot open, and she sent her sister an incredulous look. "Oh please, not you too?" she threw her sister a half smirk.

Piper grinned but noted her sister looked tired. "Sorry but worrying and assuming the worst is force of habit in this house."

"Uh-huh," Prue nodded, closing her eyes again.

A few moments later, Paige orbed back. A blue backpack in hand, a cell phone in the other, she threw the bag to the ground.

Phoebe momentarily looked relieved and then she wasn't.

There was no Billie.

"Okay, people, not good news. This," Paige demonstrated the cell phone, "and this," she then pointed to the discarded bag, "were the only things left of Billie. She wasn't at the dorm, so I checked the library where she was when we first called her, and these were dropped off at the front desk. I asked around but no one could say they saw her leave," she informed them.

Phoebe turned to Prue. "Okay, like I said before, totally screwed. So who wants to be the first one to push the panic button?"

Catching the worry bug, Prue shook her head in frustration and bolted upright. "Consider it pushed," she vented. "Alright, assuming the worst," she briefly glanced at Piper, "Billie is somewhere in the Underworld with the kids. Hopefully, they're all together in the same location. We need to go right now."

"Prue, wait, unprotected ... not a good idea" Piper hesitated, not liking this new shift in plan. "If we're not going to wait for Leo and Andy to return with what we need for the other potions then maybe it should just be the three of us this time."

"Hold up, no sitting around and doing nothing, remember?" Prue made it a point to stress that sentiment back at Piper, forcing her to recall their earlier discussion together. "And we still won't have everything we need until we get the demon flesh."

"And Prue, no life altering decisions that will affect all of us, remember?" Piper reminded her in return. "We'll worry about getting the demon flesh if we get the opportunity, Phoebe, Paige, and I. If you go down there and get killed, that's something we won't be able to reverse this time and then we won't be able to stop the Triad. We have to be smart on how we go about doing this. Even if it means changing the plan."

"Piper, I will be smart about it. I'm not going to die," refuted Prue, suddenly frustrated that she appeared to be re-living a similar argument she just had with Andy.

"Prue, without Billie, there's no way to even perform the power switching spell," Phoebe jumped in to back Piper up. "Hers were the most identical to yours and something tells me we're probably not going to be getting yours back from Andy any time soon."

"Hello, what's really changed here? We weren't even sure the power switching spell would work. Just because I have magical blood doesn't necessarily mean it would have worked." She paused to take a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. "Look, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," she asserted strongly. "The three of you just have to make sure you handle things from your end. I'll handle things from mine."

"No way, Prue," Phoebe rejected her argument. "I still agree with Piper; it's way too dangerous and not worth the risk."

Getting angry again, Prue rebutted her. "It's worth the risk for me when we're talking about my daughter's life. I stand corrected, it's actually two of my daughters now. I refuse to just sit around and wait when I could be doing something."

"No, putting yourself in the line of fire without any fire power, just to prove that you can do it, is plain stupid. Not to mention selfish," Phoebe was quickly becoming emotional.

Prue flinched at Phoebe's reference to being selfish.

"You're no good to us, or the kids, if you go and get yourself killed," her sister continued to argue. "We have a much better chance of saving the kids without you being there and isn't that what this is supposed to be about? How can we fully concentrate when we'll be more concerned about you?"

Paige struck up the courage to add her own thoughts into the mix. "Prue, look, we're not trying to gang up on you. This isn't about who you are as a witch, it's about who you are as a sister - a wife, a mother. And what would happen to this family if they ever lost you again, if we lost you," she corrected to include herself in there. "Everyone here knows you could save them and would do anything in your power to save them. That's why you're being asked to stay behind. If you stay here at the manor and wait, it's not doing nothing. It is helping out."

Piper lifted her eyebrows. She was actually pretty impressed with the speech her youngest sister had just given.

Maybe it was the calm and collected way that Paige delivered the message, but Prue not only listened, she also absorbed the context of what the youngest Halliwell was actually saying which was just the truth. She had no powers. They were already minus one as far as the Ultimate Power was concerned so the best back up plan would be the Power of Three. Quickly, she glanced from face to face and her defenses began to break down. They weren't really leaving her out. It wasn't that they didn't need her. They were just scared. Scared to lose a sister again at the expense of a hasty judgement call, which in all likelihood, could result in getting more than one of them killed.

"You should stay behind," Piper nodded in agreement, her voice firm but calm.

Prue briefly glanced at her and then turned to Phoebe.

"Definitely," Phoebe repeated the sentiment, her voice lower but on the verge of cracking due to the raw emotion she felt.

Prue sighed, casting a last look in Paige's direction.

Nodding her head, Paige reaffirmed it one more time. "I third it," she shrugged and made a face.

The vote was in. Her promise made to Andy not that long ago also managed to cross her mind and convict her even more. A lot of anxiety-filled anticipation was heavy in the air, so heavy it almost stifled Prue for she knew all eyes were on her waiting to see how she would decide to react. Therefore, it was of no surprise to her when she heard the heavy sighs of relief when she agreed to relent.

"Fine. I stay behind." She caught the reactions.

Phoebe approached her first. "Thank you," she announced happily, water shining behind her brown eyes, but the relief evident in her body language. She pulled her big sister into an appreciative hug. It had always been a small victory during the rare occasions they could get Prue to give in for her own good.

"Yeah," Prue cracked, pulling back from her. "Just don't go and get used to it. This is a one-time deal," she teased.

Smiling, Piper offered her a quick hug next, followed by Paige. "Oh, we wouldn't expect anything less," Paige quipped in response, getting to know the ins and outs of Prue better the more the time passed.

Prue ran her hands through her hair. "Alright," she sighed. "Then I guess I'll wait for Andy and Leo to come back and start on some of the potion. I'll also keep on the lookout for Billie, just in case. You guys should hurry though. We don't know exactly what the Triad has planned and I for one just want this to be over with."

"Amen to that," Piper chimed in, sighing, and reaching for the mysterious stone. "Phoebe, Paige, let's give this a try. According to this one spell I found in the Book, it should open up a portal. I altered it a bit to include the use of an object, so hopefully we can open one up with this stone, or whatever it is."

"And hopefully it takes us to the right spot," Paige added on.

"Well, here's to a little luck being on our side for a change," Piper cracked. "Hopefully our spell hits the same destination."

"It's unlikely they were actually expecting us to get our hands on it. We should hurry because after giving it some more thought, we still don't know exactly how the darklighter plays into all this," came Phoebe's input.

"Well, still working for the Triad like you said earlier, what else do we really need to know," Piper shook her head.

"No, I'm referring to his connection with the stones," Phoebe clarified. "If he infected the doll with one what if he has more?"

"Well, the stones certainly explain the weird powers he shouldn't have had all this time," Paige surmised. "But that would mean Gideon, or one of the other Triad members, had to give them to him. They probably want them back."

"Yeah, but guys, this is more of a rescue mission not a search and destroy," Prue interjected anxiously, grinding on her teeth. "If something doesn't seem right or if anything goes wrong, just promise me you'll get out of there."

"Yes, mom," Paige cracked, rolling her eyes and suppressing the urge to laugh. She reached over and picked up a limited supply of potions from the table that they already had access to and would be using for the trip.

"Also, if you happen to find her, try and make sure Billie doesn't do anything to put herself in any unnecessary danger while she's down there with you," Prue added.

Piper grinned, preparing to recite the spell over the stone with the others. "So, make sure she doesn't pull a you? Got it," she cracked.

Prue narrowed her eyes. "Funny."

Phoebe laughed and Paige broke with a smile. They both stood flanking Piper.

"Oh, and just one more thing?" Prue blurted. All three sisters looked up to face her. "Don't piss the Triad off any more than you have to. We're definitely not ready for any surprise attacks here at the manor."

"Alrighty, Prue, you can ease up with the instructions over there. We've confronted the Triad on our own before, you know?" Paige teased. "We promise to be careful."

"Right, sorry," Prue crossed her arms.

However, before the other three sisters had the opportunity to get the spell recited, they were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. All the sisters shared a questioning look with each other. Billie had her own key so she would walk right in if she needed to. It couldn't be Leo and Andy.

Annoyed, Piper dropped the stone into the back pocket of her pants. "Not now, go away," she hissed, hoping whoever it was would just give up and leave.

No such luck. Next, there was some loud banging followed by the doorbell ringing repeatedly.

"Are you kidding me? I swear, someone up there gets a kick out of watching us squirm over and over again. What are we, the entertainment?" Piper started in the direction of the attic door while sharing a look with Prue, who stepped into a walk with her.

Phoebe and Paige followed.

"Perfect timing as always," Paige hummed on her way out as all the sisters made their way downstairs because they were curious about the distraction.

Phoebe and Paige waited in the background with Prue as Piper went to answer the door. Prue stood in the foyer, a few spaces closer to her sister. After opening the door, they were greeted by the last person they were expecting to see.

"Inspector Richardson?" Prue announced, feeling a bit alarmed.

"Ms. Halliwell," the Inspector nodded in her direction.

Piper took a quick glance over her shoulder at Prue, taking note of the introduction her sister had provided. After all, she had heard enough about the man but had never confronted him in person. Phoebe and Paige were instantly on alert, making their way closer to Prue and Piper. All concern shifted to Leo, Andy, and Billie, hoping that the intrusive Inspector's presence had nothing to do with them. Piper finally turned to look back at him, unsure of what to make of the visit.

"Can I help you?" she inquired.

"Actually, you can," he announced cryptically, while pulling out his badge. He produced it and flashed it at her. "Are you Piper Halliwell?" he asked.

She glanced at the badge. "Yes? What's this about?"

Nobody expected what happened next.

The Inspector produced two pieces of paper that looked identical to the other. "Prue and Piper Halliwell, we have warrants for your arrests." He quickly nodded his consent to the two men waiting behind him, clad in uniform, officers who had accompanied him to the residence. "Read them their rights. Cuff them."

"Wait, what?" Piper's eyes bulged. She barely had time to react as the first officer in blue grabbed for her arms, placing them behind her back. "Uh, Prue?"

Phoebe and Paige shared shocked expressions, neither knowing how to react to the unbelievable and unexpected turn of events.

"Wait a minute, are you joking?" came Phoebe's reaction.

"What the hell are they under arrest for?" Paige demanded to know; her arms crossed in a defensive stance.

The Inspector ignored the questions coming from the other two sisters as he pointed out and directed the other officer in Prue's direction.

"What are you doing?" Prue narrowed her eyes in at the Inspector. The second officer came at Prue and shoved her up against the wall as she too had her rights read and was cuffed from behind.

"Hey, take it easy," Phoebe scolded in response to Prue being shoved roughly. She took an instinctive step forward to intervene but was stopped by the Inspector as he placed himself squarely between her and Prue.

"I can have you brought in on a charge for interfering with an arrest," he threatened, almost enjoying it and daring her to cross that line.

"Phoebe, don't," Prue warned, giving her sister a look. Phoebe backed off but she wasn't happy about it.

"Call Murphy, see what this is all about," Piper instructed over her shoulder as she was being hauled out the front door.

"Call Agent Murphy?" Inspector Richardson laughed. "I'd say this matter is a little out of his jurisdiction, wouldn't you? You're both being brought in on charges of negligent homicide," he announced proudly, a little too proudly they all noted. "Calling your lawyer may be the better bet, but that's just me."

Phoebe and Paige watched helplessly as Prue was hauled away next, each sending the imposing Inspector fiery death glares that they secretly wished would burn him. His choice of dress was old-fashioned and somewhat creepy. It almost made him resemble Perry Mason, the P.I., instead of Richardson, the heavy-handed Inspector. Before finally making his departure, he turned and tilted his hat.

"Ladies," came his parting remark, a self-satisfied smirk in place filled with so much cockiness they just wanted to slap it off.

He wasn't even all the way out of the manor when Phoebe rushed up from behind, forcing the door closed, which practically shoved him outside. She turned back around, resting her body against the door, sharing a very concerned look with Paige.

X

"Hey, watch it, buddy?" Piper scolded, as both she and Prue were practically thrown into the first available holding cell. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's bad for your health to man-handle a pregnant woman?"

Prue remained observant. As soon as the two arresting officers were out of ear shot, she leaned in closer beside her sister. "Okay," she whispered, "something about this set up doesn't make sense."

"Oh?" Piper's eyebrows rose. "Do you mean like how it's even possible for a comatose woman to be involved in a negligent homicide relating to a club fire when she wasn't even awake at the time? What did I do, set fire with my mind from the hospital bed?" her voice rose, thrown over at the officers who had just locked them up.

There was a moment of silence that passed.

Prue gave her sister a look.

"Or did you have something else in mind?" Piper cracked.

"Piper, relax," she scolded gently against her tone. "No, I mean besides the obvious. Like, why haven't we been booked? And look around you. Where is everyone else? Every other holding cell in here is empty."

Piper's eyebrows shot up after glancing over at the other cells. "That wasn't obvious to you?" she looked back at her sister.

"No, I'm thinking about what you and Paige found out," Prue brought up. "Maybe Paige was right, maybe Richardson is a demon, or if not that, in league with one."

Piper thought about it. "But he didn't arrest Phoebe or Paige?"

"True," Prue acknowledged, "but if we're divided, we're also more vulnerable," she pointed out.

Piper contemplated it. "He did have that file on Coop which we know is connected to Lana and the Triad. I just don't understand what he can possibly be getting out of it?" she wondered.

"No idea. But maybe it connects back to that Sheridan person?" Prue suggested.

Piper nodded. "Yeah, maybe, but one problem at a time. How are we getting ourselves out of this mess?"

"If you mean getting out of here, I think I have an idea," offered Prue.

Piper was now distracted and staring at what had caught her attention. Prue furrowed her brows, following her sister's line of sight leading directly to the two men seated by the large steel framed door, the same men responsible for locking them up. They were sharing a pint-sized carton of ice cream and passing it back and forth.

Prue made a face. "Guess it's a slow day for making arrests."

"Actually, I was thinking that ice cream looks really good right about now," Piper commented.

Prue swatted against her sister's arm. "Piper?" she scolded. "Focus."

Slowly, Piper turned and then made a face at her sister. "What?" she defended. "It does!"

"Okay, priorities, Piper. Freeing ourselves first, ice cream later," Prue nodded.

"Right, we need to get the hell out of here before I can even think of enjoying it anyway," Piper pulled herself back into focus. "So, where's Andy when you really need him?" she scowled, joking but also very serious.

"I don't think Andy can help on this one," Prue sighed. "But I am curious about the babysitting detail of Ben & Jerry over there," she nodded over at the two officers and began to shake the bars as a demonstration. "Do they actually think we're going anywhere if they don't know who we really are?" she stressed with an urgent nod, driving the point home.

Piper was now resting her head against the bars. "Meaning what exactly?" she mumbled.

"They might know who we are?"

Piper sighed. "Well, then that would put us at a disadvantage."

"Or maybe not," Prue countered.

Suddenly, Piper felt her sister grabbing for something inside her pocket after reaching over. "Hey! Personal space," she attempted to back away, swatting her sister's arm away until she realized what it was Prue had reached over for.

Prue was careful to make sure the stone was kept hidden out of sight as it remained balled up inside of her fist. "I remembered seeing you stuff it into your pocket before we went downstairs," she informed her sister.

It had completely slipped Piper's mind.

"Do you remember the spell you were going to recite?" Prue inquired.

"Prue, not a good idea," Piper objected strongly while glancing back at the two officers.

"Piper, what other choice do we have? We need to get ourselves out of here and we need to do it soon."

"Prue, we don't know if they're demons. And even if they are demons, how are we going to distract them long enough so they don't figure out what we're trying to do?"

"It won't matter what they are if what I hope works ... works."

Piper followed Prue's line of sight down towards her mid-section. Immediately, she knew what Prue was thinking. "Forget it, Prue. You do it!"

"Hey, you're further along and showing more. It'll be more believable if you do it."

"Like they're even going to care if they are demons?"

"They won't risk exposing themselves to us if they are," Prue countered back. "Richardson's gone out of his way to keep this low key and make it all appear as normal as possible."

"I don't know about this," Piper hesitated, still doubting the effectiveness of the plan.

"Piper, you can do it," Prue pushed. "Now, come on. Ready?"

Releasing a groan filled with irritation, Piper went in for clutching her stomach. Prue immediately shoved the stone back into her own pocket. Piper faked a loud wail, leaning over, and feigning an experience of deep pain."

"Ow! Oh no. Ouch, ouch."

Prue jumped in to play her role. Bending down to assist her sister in her perceived moment of agony, she shouted out for the two officers very close by. "Hey, we need some help over here. I think she might be going into labor!"

The cries had both men on their feet in an instant.

"What's going on?" one asked full of suspicion.

"What's going on?" Prue parroted his words. "She needs medical attention!" she shouted at the men. "What's wrong with you, don't just stand there, go and get someone. Now!"

There was a slight moment of hesitation from the two men who were on the verge of borderline panic, staring wide-eyed on how exactly to handle to situation. However, the second set of cries carried an even more agonizing sound then the first ones, as Piper made it a point to hunch over more.

"Go!" the first man instructed to the second one. "Go get the Inspector!"

Prue watched as the other man did as he was instructed. Piper peered out from underneath her uncomfortable position to witness his hasty departure. The remaining officer watched him leave but before he had the chance to turn back around and face them, Piper immediately stood back up and acted.

"Ah, screw this!" she announced.

"Huh?" the one-word syllable, filled with confusion, left the other man's mouth as he attempted to turn back and face them. However, Piper was much quicker, and had immediately thrown her hands up into the air, freezing him.

Prue grinded her teeth. "Well, one out of two wasn't so bad?"

"Whatever," Piper rolled her eyes. "Let's just get this done before the one we did get out of here comes back."

This time Prue pulled the stone from her own pocket and presented it to Piper. She reached out to touch it and both women kept physical contact with it while Piper closed her eyes to concentrate, reciting what she could remember of the spell from memory. Suddenly, a bright light burst forth from the stone and the sisters watched as a slight breeze picked up around them. It became heavier, and on a spur of the moment decision, Piper reached out to snatch the ice cream carton held in the remaining officer's hand. Prue went to playfully swat at her sister, but they were instantly pulled off their feet and sucked inside, the stone and ice cream disappearing along with them.

X

They were scared and tired.

Molly held onto the bars tightly, kneeling on the dirt floor and peering through, making out the group of darklighters in the distance. The children had made futile attempts at tapping into orbing; however, their efforts were wasted against a contraption protected against their magic. Little Chris, the youngest, already lay curled up in a ball, fast asleep and sucking his finger for comfort.

"I want mommy," Wyatt cried rubbing at his tired eyes. His own eyes were drooping as he fought off sleep. "I want to go home."

Molly's eyes darted around the dark enclosure, where very little light dwelt, except the small amount coming from the torches surrounding the cavern. The sight frightened her because it reminded her of the last time. The shadows dancing against the walls were like a mirage, allowing her to believe that they were coming to get her. The air had a funny smell to it and the ground was like hard rock, sore and uncomfortable, if you sat on it for too long. She wanted to go home too. However, something suddenly caught her attention and she gasped, crawling away quickly on her arms and legs to where Wyatt was now sitting down.

"Shh," she warned him. "It's the bad man."

After sitting down beside him, Molly huddled into Wyatt closely, throwing her arm around him in a protective manner. Two other men dressed in black, and the bad man Molly had referred to, entered the cavern and approached the cage housing all three of the children. The children watched as an insidious smile crossed the man's face. He peered inside, taking his time to glance over all three of them.

Molly turned her head away refusing to look at the former Elder. "We don't like you!" she asserted quite boldly. Her face looked angry. "Go away!" she demanded balling up her small fists.

Gideon chuckled. "Courage, little one, is an admirable quality. Especially in the face of certain danger," he instructed. "But I'm afraid it won't be saving you today."

"My mommy said she won't let you hurt me!" the defiant four-and-a-half-year-old did not waiver.

Gideon's smirk fell away. He shared a look with the darklighter, Jarad, who rolled his eyes then turned his back to the cage.

"We'll see about that. Mommy," Gideon spat "will be too late. Your aunts will be too, for that matter, especially if they're already dead like I hope." He sneered when the little girl hid her face in her hands.

"Very good," Gideon turned back to face the darklighter. "I can take this from here," he informed the others with him.

The darklighter Jarad questioned him. "Um, here, my lord?" he looked around.

"Yes!" Gideon almost spat. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"Um, no," the darklighter stuttered. "No, my lord."

Jarad glanced over his shoulder to the darklighter in charge, Dahilel, knowing full well that he wanted any darklighter connection to this over and done with. He glowered back at Jarad but Jarad tried to ignore it, instead returning his focus back to Gideon. Crate had remained in the background, questioning nothing at all. However, he too, had seen the looks their supervisor had thrown in their direction.

"But what of the others?" came Jarad's next inquiry.

Gideon's menacing sneer widened at the mention of his Triad colleagues. "Taking care of other matters," he informed the two darklighters beside him. "That's all that you need to know. It's not any concern of yours."

They watched as Gideon pulled out a box and a bag of what appeared to be the remaining Vicarian Stones. He placed the box on the ground before the cage, taking his time to also position the stones around the box.

"Now," Gideon's attention returned to Jarad. "All that remains is the last stone. Give it to me and our business is over. You can go."

Jarad swallowed nervously. This was the part he was not looking forward to having to report back and he had hoped to avoid it, as crazy as the idea seemed. He had returned the others except the one from inside the doll, pretending to hold onto it for himself. Gideon was about to inquire about his hesitation when they were all suddenly alerted to a disturbance coming from the main quarters inhabited by the other darklighters.

Gideon, Jarad, and Crate all turned in the same direction to face the cause of it.

X

"What do you mean he arrested them?" Andy demanded. He was furious with the news. Granted, he knew he never liked his new partner and he long suspected there was something darker and more sinister lying beneath the surface, but Andy's mind kept running in circles. What was he getting out of all this?

"Andy, we don't know any more than you do," Paige reiterated. "He showed up, arrested them, and took them out of here. Just like we said."

Leo was pacing across the living room where everyone had gathered to after the two men had returned home, only to learn of the disturbing news. Phoebe had removed herself to the kitchen, attempting for a third time to get into contact with Agent Murphy. Paige did her best to update the others, trying to figure out a way out of the mess they found themselves in.

Andy, wanting answers, went to grab for his jacket. "Well, I'm going down there to find out," he spat. "Richardson told me the investigation into the club fire was closed - that it was ruled out as accidental. There's got to more going on here," he concluded.

"I agree," Leo joined back into the discussion. "But we're going to need to think of another way to get them out of this if we can't do it the mortal way."

"Well, can't you guys come up with something from your end if it comes to that?" Andy looked between Paige and Leo.

"We can try," Paige shrugged, sounding less than confident. "We've gotten Piper out of jail before, I'm sure it could work again."

"Still can't get him," Phoebe's voice made its way to the others as she came back into the living room. "I must have been transferred at least five times while some secretary gave me the run around," she reported. "You know, I can't believe it. Any other time he's available, he makes surprise visits to our house; he calls and needs a favor from us for god knows what out of the blue. It looks like we're on our own for now."

Paige sighed. "Great, looks like we're onto plan B."

Andy made his move for the door. "Well, good luck with it. I'm going to the precinct. I'll let you know what's going on when I get there."

"No, Andy, wait," Phoebe stopped him. "I've actually got a better idea," she announced, as the rest of them turned to her anxiously. Looking up to the ceiling, she shouted out. "Coop?"

"Huh?" Paige watched her - dumbfounded.

The small group waited. Finally, the sight of a pink flash signaled Coop's answer as he teleported into the manor. He located the source of the call which happened to be Phoebe; however, as he took a quick look around the room, he noticed the despondent looks staring him down. Quickly, he brought his attention back to Phoebe, already knowing what to ask.

"What's wrong?"

"Everything," she answered him. "Coop, listen to me. This is a big emergency; one of the biggest. We can't wait, you need to reverse whatever it is you did and give Prue her powers back."

Coop began to protest. "Phoebe, I can't ..."

"No, Coop, you don't understand," Phoebe cut him off. "The kids have been taken by the Triad and we need the Ultimate Power to deal with this. Prue needs her powers; this is a matter of life or death."

Andy locked his gaze with Coop. With the news, Coop suddenly felt bad that he couldn't do something to help the situation.

"Phoebe, it's not that I don't want to, I literally can't. What I did can't be reversed, it's out of my hands now."

Running her hands through her hair, her agitation caught fire. "Great! Well, that's just great because Prue and Piper are sitting in a jail cell right now. We don't have the Ultimate Power to defeat the Triad and the kids have been missing for hours now since around the time your demon niece," she spat the word out like it burned her tongue, "tried to kill them. Luckily, she won't be a problem anymore."

"What?" Coop questioned defensively, crossing his arms.

Phoebe was prepared for the confrontation, to tell him the truth. She had vanquished Lana, sending her to the depths of the Wasteland. Although a part of her knew that this wasn't the time or the place, it had still slipped out and she was vaguely aware that Coop had picked up on the meaning behind her words. However, instead of a confrontation, something entirely different greeted her as Coop and her surroundings seemed to completely freeze.

"Coop?"

Phoebe spun herself around to meet the eyes of a very confused Paige. She, like Phoebe, were both unfrozen; however, they discovered that both Leo and Andy were in the same predicament as Coop. All three men stood in place, appearing completely lifeless. The feeling was eerie, for while on the surface it seemed similar to Piper's freezing power, it was also different. One look at the grandfather clock showed the sisters that time wasn't just frozen; it had stopped all together.

"Uh-oh. This can't be good," Paige voiced, cautiously looking around them. "What the hell is going on?"

"Good question," Phoebe rushed to join Paige's side. "But we can't just stand here. Come on," she pulled her sister along as they both went in search for a source of the unexplained phenomena.

"Uh, go where?" Paige hesitated as she followed.

The sisters left through the foyer, cautiously making their way into the dining room. When nothing seemed amiss, they turned in the direction of the conservatory. That's when it happened fast. In a quick flash, three figures materialized, shooting up from the conservatory floor. Phoebe and Paige entered the area just in time to witness it happen. With widened eyes and shocked expressions, they came to face the one evil they knew they were still unprepared to defeat. Three satisfied smirks met their own reactions.

"Ah," Phoebe looked to her sister. "There's our answer now," she acknowledged sarcastically.

Paige didn't even bother to respond, instead, she thought to react. They weren't anywhere near ready for this confrontation alone and she knew it. Grabbing onto her sister's arm, she attempted to orb out. However, it immediately failed as soon as the Triad member standing at the lead pulled his hand down through the air, mimicking the gesture of pulling them down from the air without touching them. They both landed flat on their bottoms with a hard thud.

"Oh yeah," Paige finally remarked snidely, both of them getting up from the floor. "A perfect ending to a perfect day."

"Please don't say ending," Phoebe cracked. "Not unless it involves a happy ending. A VERY happy ending."

"So, we meet again," the FIRST Triad remarked snidely. "I'm Asmodeus."

"Okay," shrugged Paige, baiting him. "And I'm Paige. What is this - Demon Ethics 101?"

"No. We just thought we'd provide you the honor of knowing who it was when you met your final end," the SECOND Triad spat, throwing up his hands unexpectedly.

Using what clearly appeared to be Prue's form of telekinesis, the Triad member aimed at Phoebe and hit her full force, lifting and throwing her through the air. Paige, barely having time to react, watched in horror as her sister was instantly catapulted across the room and flung straight through the glass windows. Shattering glass sounded and fell everywhere.

"Phoebe!" Paige shouted.

"I'm Candor," he mocked with pride, after finishing.

All three Triad members proceeded to lift their hands towards Paige, which caused her to instinctively react. While she orbed out of sight, this time successfully, the power being directed at her had ricocheted off the wall; the explosion causing the destruction of the wall and sending pieces and splinters of material flying everywhere. The surrounding plants caught on fire. Paige orbed outside of the manor onto the lawn, kneeling beside Phoebe's broken and unconscious body.

"Oh god, please be okay," she pleaded, grabbing a hold of Phoebe and orbing out again.

X

Prue and Piper felt helpless.

Like seeds being spit out from the center of a fruit, both sisters were thrown and deposited in the center of an occupied cavern. A loud crashing sound of tables breaking could be heard as both Prue and Piper landed on them.

"Oh! Ow!" Their simultaneous grunts and groans could be heard as Prue and Piper rolled around in the debris, both struggling to their feet as fast as they could.

"Portal jumping should definitely come with instructions," Prue held her back as she stood up first straightening herself out.

"Just help me!" Piper shoved her hands out to receive assistance from Prue.

Prue helped her sister to her feet.

"Ew, so much for the ice cream," Piper made a face and wiped her ice cream-stained hands against her shirt. The crushed ice cream carton lay squashed by her feet.

"Honey, you're sticky," Prue could feel the remnants on her own hands after helping her sister off the ground.

"Yeah, well, now so are you," Piper cracked. "Snacking and vanquishing while you're pregnant certainly don't mix, now does it?" she snidely admonished herself.

Their unplanned arrival had grabbed the attention of the occupants, both of them realizing they were about to encounter an immediate confrontation.

"Darklighters," Piper gritted, as she and Prue looked around. "Lots of them. Crap."

The group started to encircle and then close in on them.

"Um, hey there. Sorry to crash the party like this but I want my kids," Piper reacted instantly, throwing up her hands, sending explosions into the crowd. She hoped to distract them long enough to think of something. There was nowhere for them to run; though, they were trapped. "You know we're in big trouble here, right," she clenched her teeth - addressing Prue.

"Well, we sure do know how to make an entrance," Prue returned.

"Not helping," Piper sneered, feeling the panic grow. She backed up until she met a stone wall, Prue retracting the same way. "That's the last time we bust out of the joint using one of your ideas."

"Uh, Piper, focus," Prue instructed, scanning the crowd of darklighters.

"Witches!" one of them shouted. "Take a wrong turn somewhere?" he sneered. His mocking helped to stir laughter amongst the others.

"Here goes nothing!" Piper exclaimed.

Flinging up her hands, Piper began aiming at the crowd of darklighters again. Explosions and flaming darklighters resulted from her attempts, causing enough damage to maim just not kill. Prue scanned the area with her eyes until they fell upon an entrance into a much smaller cavern hidden within this bigger one, her thoughts clearly running with the possibility that the kids could be inside there, mere inches away from them. Hopefully, the stone had taken them to the right location and that's where they were.

"Piper, there!" she pointed.

Piper glanced over to see what Prue was looking at, immediately understanding what her sister was thinking. "Got'cha. Go!" she nodded.

The sisters took advantage of the chaos and confusion and darted around the huge group. The darklighter in charge, Dahilel, remained in the background when he noticed who the intruders were. Quickly, he thought of himself and orbed out, along with a few other darklighters who had the sense of mind to do the same exact thing.

As they came to the entrance of the smaller cave, Prue and Piper were greeted by the sight of a former Elder they both despised. However, more importantly, Prue's hunch had been correct. Located in the cage behind him, were all three children. Prue overheard Gideon questioning the darklighter about the last stone just as she and Piper made their way inside to confront them.

"You mean this?" Prue shouted out, walking in. She held out the stone in full view.

Gideon and the other two darklighters turned to face them.

Prue and Piper met Gideon's heated glare head on when he understood what was in their possession. The momentary satisfaction that was felt by them was replaced with the growing anger directed at the newest Triad member, the former Elder responsible for most of their misery and hardship.

"You idiot!" Gideon seethed at the darklighter, Jarad. "You lead them straight here."

"That's not the name I had in mind," Piper retorted against him, her icy stare fixated on the man who was now responsible for taking her son away twice. "But it'll do for now."

Gideon's eyes darted between the two sisters.

"Why couldn't you just stay dead?" Piper fired.

Gideon sneered. "Ah, yes. But then you wouldn't have your sister back, now would you?" he nodded in Prue's direction. "After all, it was I who knew where to find her. And I hope the reunion was everything you hoped for because it was never going to last long."

"Yeah, remind me to kick your ass for that stunt you pulled at the manor five years ago," Piper retorted, thinking back to how Gideon took Prue away and then left an illusion in her place. "Leo's going to have to wait in line."

"Witty as ever, I see," mocked Gideon, glaring at Piper. "But perhaps there is something to be said for that mistake of mine after all. I should have just left your sister to die."

Piper made an angry move towards him, but she was stopped by Prue.

Gideon laughed.

"The only thing you ever had in mind was playing God," Prue shot back at him, a glare full of accusation hitting him. "So you can spare us all the greater good rhetoric."

"The greater good no longer concerns me!"

"Interesting way of remembering things," spat Piper. "I don't think it ever concerned you. I want my children back right now," she demanded, clenching her teeth.

"Hmm, two sisters short, are we?" The Elder-Triad mocked, noticing the absence of Phoebe and Paige. "I take it you're alone, otherwise, we wouldn't even be having this exchange. You'd act. Or could it be that you're still a certain power short?" Out of nowhere, Gideon produced what appeared to be a scroll.

Prue and Piper's eyes widened when they realized what they were looking at. It was the missing incantation for the Ultimate Power. The Triad did have it. How had they gotten it?

"I wouldn't be too sure about that!" Prue challenged, not eliciting any of the fear she felt. She was powerless at the moment, but he didn't need to know that.

"Give it to me!" Gideon demanded in a harsh tone, eyeing the stone in her hand.

"Give them to us!" Piper countered, nodding her head in the direction of the children.

"You're in no position to bargain or make any threats!" he shouted. He began to circle them.

Molly noticed her mother almost immediately and moved. "Mommy!" she cried out, her small hands flying to the bars on the cage again.

Distracted, Prue and Piper looked behind the Elder - demon. Prue instinctively took steps forward but was stopped by Piper. "No, wait," she warned her sister. "The cage is probably protected by magic."

"Your last warning!" Gideon threatened, reaching out for the remaining stone.

"You're going to wish you had stayed dead once we get done with you," Piper threatened back.

"So be it." Gideon was not deterred and had no intention of giving into them.

Prue was suddenly aware that there was no sign of Billie anywhere. It worried her; however, how Gideon had reacted worried her even more. His facial expression darkened into what one could only describe as stark raving madness while he began to chant in another language. With his arms raised in the air, the sisters watched as more stones, centered around a box, began to glow furiously.

"Prue?" the worry in her sister's voice saying everything.

"C'mon. There's no more time," Prue made a mad dash for the cage with the children inside.

Piper followed but within inches of the bars there was an electrical charge that immediately sparked, blocking their rescue attempt. It shocked them and sent them flying backwards.

"Like I said, magic," Piper looked over to her sister after landing on her bottom just like Prue had done.

"Remind me again why I used to like being a Charmed One?" Prue bit down against the pain while attempting to get back up.

The chanting continued. Words flew from Gideon's mouth as everyone watched the opening to the box in the center fly open. A green mist exited from inside, lifting into the air, filtrating everywhere. Gideon accepted he was taking a chance without the last stone in place to full-fill the ritual; however, the chant continued on anyway. The two sisters weren't even supposed to be here; the others were supposed to be taking care of the situation.

Both Prue and Piper had their attention drawn back to Gideon but were at a loss on how to handle the dilemma they now found themselves in.

Suddenly, a heavy wind picked up in every direction. Both sisters had to put their arms up to be able to see anything. The green mist traveled over to the cage and surrounded the three children, now huddled closely together. At the same time, a second stream of green mist had gone in the direction of the sisters which they noticed circling around them. The two darklighters, glancing around themselves nervously, made an impromptu decision to orb out before they were caught in something they couldn't get out from.

"What is that?" Prue shouted through the mayhem.

Piper thought she recognized the box but wasn't sure. "It looks like Pandora's Box."

Before they had time to react to anything else, a huge bolt of green flashed everywhere in the cavern, blinding everyone. In the blink of an eye, Prue, Piper, and the children were snatched, transformed into energy, carried and deposited into the box. However, a few seconds later, the same light carried an exchange of energy from the box. With another flash of green bright lightening, the energy reformed back into seven people.

The lid to the box slammed shut.

To Be Continued:

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