5x22: The Cole Nine Yards

[The Virtual Series]

CHARMED: RESET REALITY (A new Alternate Universe series brought to you by Daniel, 4Ever, Drama, Xenith, and a host of others!)

STARRING:



SHANNEN DOHERTY...Prue Halliwell
HOLLY MARIE COMBS...Piper Halliwell
ALYSSA MILANO...Phoebe Halliwell
ROSE McGOWAN...Paige Matthews

CO-STARRING:



BRIAN KRAUSE...Leo Wyatt
JULIAN McMAHON...Cole Turner
DORIAN GREGORY...Darryl Morris

CHARMED: RESET REALITY is a concept conceived and copyrighted by Daniel Taylor and cannot be copied without his permission.

Based on the television show "Charmed" created by Constance Burge and featuring characters created by her and Brad Kern.

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If we owned Charmed, the last few seasons would be more like this! All characters and locations are fictitious or are used fictitiously. We only own the characters listed as "Original characters" within the credits. All others are products of the old WB and the new CW and belong to them and Aaron Spelling Productions. This work was not written for sale and is meant only to be read by visitors to websites for the fans of the television show, Charmed.

5.22 THE COLE NINE YARDS

GUEST-STARRING:
KRISTA ALLEN
BILLY ZANE
JANE SEYMOUR
JOHN ASHKER
JESSE WOODROW

Script written by...CAMILLE (FOUREVER CHARMED)

Script edited by...DRAMA (ASSASSIN WITCH)

Script proofread by...CAMILLE (FOUREVER CHARMED), DRAMA (ASSASSIN WITCH), DTAYLOR (ASTRAL ECHO)

Executive Producer...DTAYLOR (ASTRAL ECHO)

Produced by...DRAMA, FOUREVER CHARMED, XENITH

Directed by...Julian McMahon

[The Virtual Series]

The Cole Nine Yards

Teaser

[Scene: Night. Drake’s penthouse. Cole’s room. COLE TURNER is sleeping peacefully in bed as ABIGAIL PERRY shimmers in. She looks around frantically, then turns and shakes COLE.]

ABIGAIL: (urgently) Cole! Wake up! (She digs her fingers into his arm.) Cole, I need you to get up!

(COLE awakens with a start. He pops up like a spring, almost disoriented at first, then as he realizes who is looking back at him, he blinks rapidly.)

COLE: Abby? (He notices her distraught face and his face grows serious.) What’s wrong?

ABIGAIL: I need your help.

COLE: What happened?

ABIGAIL: There’s no time to explain-

(COLE grabs ABIGAIL’s wrist and forcefully sits her down on the bed.)

COLE: What did you do?

(ABIGAIL looks away.)

ABIGAIL: It’s Brucas.

COLE: No, (he tightens his grip on her wrist) I thought you’d gotten him out of your head!

ABIGAIL: He double crossed me!

COLE: (raised voice) That’s what demons do, you know that!

ABIGAIL: Not to me they don’t!

COLE: What did you take from him?

ABIGAIL: My payment. (She meets COLE’s blazing look.) Plus interest.

(COLE grabs her by the sides of her arms and shakes her.)

COLE: What was it? (ABIGAIL hesitates, then reaches into her pocket and produces a notebook-sized brown leather book with a black leather strap and tarnished silver lock. COLE reaches for the book, but ABIGAIL snatches it back.) The Necronomicon! Are you crazy?!

ABIGAIL: It’s not “The Necronomicon.”

COLE: Don’t play semantics with me. The original Necronomicon may be lost, but because it is, every existing copy is just as valuable!

ABIGAIL: Precisely.

COLE: You have to return it.

ABIGAIL: And now who’s crazy?

COLE: You think they’re not going to come after you?

ABIGAIL: Of course they will…which is why I need your help to unlock The Vault, so I can hide this.

COLE: Abigail, we swore last time would be-

(ABIGAIL takes COLE’s hands in her own.)

ABIGAIL: Cole, please! You know how much this book means to me; how I’ve been searching for one since before we even met…you have to help me. Just this one last time.

(With a weighted sigh, COLE drops his head.)

COLE: This will be the last time.

ABIGAIL: I know.

(COLE pulls his hands away.)

COLE: I mean it! This will be the last time anything ever goes into The Vault. (ABIGAIL nods. COLE grabs her wrist and they shimmer out.)

Clickable Credits.

[The Virtual Series]

{SCENE: The song “The Reason,” written by Douglas Robb and Daniel Estrin and sung by Hoobastank, is heard as stock shots of San Francisco are shown while the Guest Credits are rolled.}

Act One

[Scene: Morning. Drake’s penthouse. Elevator. PHOEBE HALLIWELL is shifting anxiously between the balls of her feet when the doors finally open. She walks out and heads up to DRAKE’s front door and knocks. She starts to tap her foot, then knocks again. She looks at her watch.]

PHOEBE: Oh come on, you guys can’t still be in bed. (She raises her hand to knock again, when the door opens, revealing DRAKE DE'MON.) Drake!

DRAKE: Phoebe! (He smiles and opens the door.) Come on in! (She walks inside.) I was just making breakfast. (An orange appears in his hand.) Care for some fresh squeezed orange juice?

(PHOEBE laughs lightly.)

PHOEBE: Uh, no thanks.

DRAKE: It’s really good…

(PHOEBE looks around.)

PHOEBE: Actually, I just looking for Cole.

(DRAKE frowns as he walks towards the kitchen.)

DRAKE: Oh, well I’m afraid I can’t help you there, he’s not here.

(PHOEBE’s brow creases in confusion and she follows him.)

PHOEBE: He’s not?

(DRAKE shakes his head.)

DRAKE: He hasn’t been here since I woke up. (He sets down his orange and moves to a frying pan, where two eggs are cooking. He lifts it and flips the eggs. PHOEBE watches him, half amused.) I figured he’d probably just gone to work early.

(PHOEBE shakes her head.)

PHOEBE: That can’t be right. He’s been working on some case for about a month now and he was supposed to tie it up yesterday and have this next week off.

(DRAKE scratches his head as he slides his fried eggs onto a plate.)

DRAKE: Well then, I don’t have a clue. (He shrugs as he grabs his orange and slices it in half. He sniffs the air.) Mmm, that’s a fragrant one! (He looks over his shoulder.) Well, you’re welcome to wait around for him if you like.

(PHOEBE slides her purse off her shoulder.)

PHOEBE: I suppose. (She glances towards the bay window. DRAKE walks out and holds out a glass of orange juice to PHOEBE.)

DRAKE: While you’re waiting?

(PHOEBE rolls her eyes.)

PHOEBE: Thanks. (She takes a sip and clicks her tongue.) Oh my gosh! That is good!

DRAKE: I told you. (He winks.) Now, what about breakfast?

(PHOEBE’s stomach growls.)

[Scene: P3. A young woman appearing to be in her early twenties with long, thick blonde hair, is sitting alone at one of the tables in the empty room. She’s tapping her foot anxiously in time with her fingers, which are strumming the table. The sound of rushed footsteps causes her to look up and see PIPER HALLIWELL running down the stairs. She stops her nervous strumming and stands up as PIPER reaches her.]

PIPER: I’m so sorry I’m late! (She puts her hand to her chest, coughing a little because she’s out of breath.) I had drop my kids off with their grandfather on the way over.

(The blonde shakes her head.)

BLONDE WOMAN: No problem.

(PIPER sets down her purse and a manila folder down and holds out her hand. The blonde woman shakes it.)

BLONDE WOMAN: It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Halliwell.

PIPER: Likewise, Miss…Beatus, right?

Miss Beatus: Oh, please, call me Tricia.

(They sit down. PIPER reaches for the manila folder and extras a single resume. She quickly looks it over.)

PIPER: I’m surprised with your resume that you’re applying for a temporary job here.

TRICIA: Actually, it’s perfect. You see, I won’t be here long, so a temporary job is like...fate. (She shrugs.) Plus, I’ve been coming here for years, so when I saw the sign up about needing temporary help, I figured, what the hell? I come here enough anyway, so it would seem logical to get paid for it, right? (She laughs. PIPER looks TRICIA up and down.)

PIPER: Years? How old are you? (She looks at the resume again.)

TRICIA: Twenty-four. (She smiles.) Your club was actually the first one I got into, so I kind of just got into a habit of coming here.

(PIPER shakes her head.)

PIPER: Well, now that you mention it, you do look rather familiar.

TRICIA: You know, I get that a lot. (She rolls her brown eyes.) I think I just have one of those faces…

PIPER: Well, I think you’re more than qualified for a serving position.

(TRICIA frowns.)

TRICIA: But?

PIPER: What? (She shakes her head.) Oh, no, no, the job is definitely yours. (She nods.) I was just…

TRICIA: You have a question, I can tell. (She tilts her head.) What?

(PIPER puts the resume back in the manila folder.)

PIPER: It doesn’t have any effect about the job, but you mentioned you were leaving…I was just wondering-

TRICIA: Why? (She looks away.) Greater pastures, I guess. I think I might try my hand at college. (She shrugs.) I didn’t quite get a chance when I should have…family business and all. (She looks back at PIPER.) My goal is really to just better my life, you know?

(PIPER nods.)

PIPER: I can understand that. I remember thinking the same thing back before I went off to college. (They stand up and shake hands.)

TRICIA: So when do I start?

PIPER: Can you start tonight?

(TRICIA grins.)

TRICIA: Absolutely!

PIPER: Perfect. (She shakes her head.) The timing couldn’t have worked out better.

TRICIA: I couldn’t agree more.

[Scene: Courthouse. PAIGE MATTHEWS walks out with a large folder tucked under her arm. She starts to rifle one-handedly through her purse as she walks into the parking lot and when she’s not paying attention, GLENN BELLAND jumps out from behind a car and grabs her. She drops her purse and folder and elbows GLENN in the gut, causing him to groan. PAIGE realizes it’s GLENN and puts her hand to her mouth in shock.]

PAIGE: Glenn! Oh my god! I’m so sorry! (She reaches for him, but GLENN pulls back, groaning.)

GLENN: Oh man… (He clutches his stomach.) I knew you hit hard, but I didn’t know you could do that… (He leans against a car, groaning. PAIGE winces.)

PAIGE: Eh, sorry…Phoebe’s been taking me to her old taekwondo instructor. (pause) Lucky for you, I haven’t quite gotten the hang of actually throwing someone to the ground yet.

GLENN: (grumbling) Yeah…luckily.

PAIGE: Are you okay?

(GLENN rubs his stomach and lifts his shirt, revealing a red mark.)

GLENN: Yeah, but I’m gonna bruise.

PAIGE: Sorry. (She bends down and starts to pick up her fallen belongings.) Is there anything I can do?

(GLENN bends down, winces, but ignores it and also helps her to collect her things.)

GLENN: Kiss it and make it better?

(PAIGE grins.)

PAIGE: Maybe later…

(GLENN feigns a pout.)

GLENN: Fine…then go to brunch with me now? (He hands her a stack of papers which she sticks into her folder. They both stand up.) You have a couple hours, right? By the way, how did your case go?

PAIGE: Great, actually. I think Kirsten has really turned herself around. She’s sure to get her kids back next month if she keeps it up. (They walk to PAIGE’s lime green VW Bug and PAIGE gets out her car keys to unlock the driver’s side door.) I’m really proud of her, she’s just come so far.

GLENN: She’s not the only one. (PAIGE smiles and opens the door. She presses the lock button and the passenger door unlocks for GLENN, who climbs inside in time with PAIGE.)

PAIGE: So, where to?

GLENN: How about that place we stopped at last week?

PAIGE: Benny’s?

GLENN: Yeah!

(PAIGE starts her VW Bug.)

PAIGE: Sounds good to me. (She pulls out.) But we do need to make a quick stop at the Manor. I need to swap my papers for the second court appointment I’ve got today.

GLENN: The Manor. (He shrugs.) I still don’t get why you guys call it that.

PAIGE: For the same reason women do anything we do, (she winks) because it’s just classier that way.

[Scene: Drake’s penthouse. PHOEBE is sitting in the table with a half eaten onion egg white omelet in front of her. She reaches into her purse and pulls out her cell phone to check it, but she hasn’t missed any calls. She dials COLE’s number and places the phone to her ear, but it goes directly to voicemail.]

PHOEBE: Cole, it’s me again. I’m still at Drake’s, please call ASAP. (She hangs up. DRAKE wonders in, wiping the corners of his mouth with a napkin.)

DRAKE: Is it bad?

(PHOEBE looks up.)

PHOEBE: What?

DRAKE: Your omelet? (He looks at it.)

PHOEBE: Oh! No, not at all, I’m just… (She wiggles her cell phone.) Wondering where Cole is, that’s all. (pause) Uhm, can I go look in his room? (She shrugs.) Maybe he left something that might-

(DRAKE laughs.)

DRAKE: You don’t need to ask to go in there, Phoebe. (He rolls his eyes.) You’re practically live here.

(PHOEBE smiles.)

PHOEBE: Thanks.

[Cut to Cole’s bedroom. PHOEBE walks in.]

PHOEBE: Alright, if I were a clip to Cole’s whereabouts, where would I be? (She gives the room a once over, then notices COLE’s cell phone plugged into it’s charger on the dresser. She tilts her head to the side.) That’s not right… (She walks over to the dresser and picks up the phone, then she notices COLE’s brief case on the floor.) He wouldn’t have gone to work without these. (She spots COLE’s keys on the dresser.) And he definitely didn’t leave without those! Which means he either shimmered out…or he was taken out. (She spins around, her face transforming into a swirl of worry. She looks at COLE’s bed, which hasn’t been made. She squints, then moves towards it and grabs a fistful of the black satin sheets. She runs her hand over the bed, then touches the pillow. She eyes his brief case again.) Maybe you got someone mad at work? (She moves around the bed and over to the briefcase. She picks it up off the floor and tries to open it, but it’s locked. She shakes it in frustration.) “Briefcase unlock…no encrypted block!”

(The locks on the briefcase glow, followed by a short clicking noise, and then the briefcase pops open. PHOEBE picks up the top folder and opens it. She starts flipping through the papers in a rush. Without any results, she sets it aside and grabs the next folder and repeats the process. Again, she gets nothing. When she continues to get nothing, she just reaches in and pulls all of the folders out at once and holds them. Nothing. Frustrated, she sets them aside. She turns around and walks to COLE’s cherry wood dresser. A framed picture of her and COLE is sitting on it. She picks it up and stares at COLE’s face.)

[Premonition: A fireball streaks across the air and punches COLE in the back. His face twists into a surprised pain and then his lips seem to move as if to say something, but flames erupt around him instead and then he explodes, leaving only a pile of ash to settle on the floor.]

[Cut back to the present. The picture drops from PHOEBE’s hands and shatters as she literally trembles coming out of her vision.]

BREAK

[The Virtual Series]

Act Two

[Scene: Drake’s penthouse. Cole’s bedroom. DRAKE runs in.]

DRAKE: Phoebe, I- (He sees her shaking and pale, with the shattered photo at her feet. His face turns serious as he moves to her, taking her hands in his.) Phoebe, are you alright?

PHOEBE: (breathing heavily) Cole. He’s going to die if we don’t find him!

[Scene: P3. PIPER is sitting on a barstool with a laptop, typing something into the computer while simultaneously clutching a cell phone to her ear.]

PIPER: Well, I gave her a half teaspoon of Calprofen before I brought her over. (pause) Her fever went up? (She presses a few number keys, each time followed by “Enter.”) No, no, I already called Ava and set up an appointment. She couldn’t get her in until this afternoon, though.

(PRUE HALLIWELL walks down the stairs, but PIPER doesn’t see her. PRUE takes off her jacket as she walks over to the bar.)

PIPER: No, I’ll be over in an hour or so to pick her up. (pause) Thanks, Dad. (pause) Love you too. (She hangs up.)

PRUE: I take it Mel isn’t getting better then?

(PIPER jumps as she turns around.)

PIPER: Hey.

(PRUE takes a seat on the barstool next to PIPER.)

PIPER: And no, Dad just called to say that her fever went up again. (She glances at the ceiling.) And of course Leo is still at his “mandatory meeting” and I’m still behind on this week’s order (she motions to her laptop) and-

(PRUE places her hand to PIPER’s shoulder.)

PRUE: Calm down. Breathe.

(PIPER takes a breath and breathes out slowly.)

PRUE: Those aren’t the things that are really bothering you, are they?

PIPER: No…I just keep thinking about what happened with Melinda and the whole hidden evil side of our family tree. We’ve already got the Queen of the Underworld with a price on ours heads and now…now it’s like a two-front war.

(PRUE reaches for PIPER’s hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze.)

PRUE: But in the end, we’ll come out the victors. We always do.

PIPER: That’s been against demons…we haven’t been fighting our own before.

PRUE: She’s not our own, Piper. She’s evil, and just like all other evil we’ve dealt with, we will overcome her too.

(PIPER shakes her head.)

PIPER: I don’t know…I just have a bad feeling, Prue, and it scares me. I’m afraid for you and Phoebe and Paige and my children and…yours.

(PRUE instinctively glances down at her stomach.)

PRUE: If it makes you feel any better, I spent all day working on spells and going over potions in the Book of Shadows.

PIPER: Was anything successful?

PRUE: I don’t know yet. (pause) But what I am sure of, is that just like with The Source, I think we’re going to need the power of the Warren line to vanquish her.

PIPER: Yeah, because that vanquish worked out so well last time.

PRUE: That was only because the Power of Four was too strong. That’s not a problem anymore.

(PIPER looks away, as if unconvinced.)

PRUE: Just trust me on this; I know it’s all going to work itself out. (She tugs at PIPER’s hand.) Come on, why don’t I go with you to pick up Mel? I’ll tell you about what I found in the Book.

[Scene: Perry Mansion. Underground cellar. COLE and ABIGAIL are there. They look around and as far as the eye can see, the cellar looks like any normal dark and dank cellar. ABIGAIL sniffs the air, then turns to a blank cement wall and produces a miniature ruby encrusted pocket knife from the bust of her dress. She flips it open and cuts her palm. As the wound begins to heal, she presses it firmly to the wall, which absorbs the blood and glows red, revealing a giant golden vault with a ruby encrusted Phoenix emblem on the front. She stretches her arm and punches the pocket knife into the place where the heart of the Phoenix would be. The eyes on the ruby emblem glow and then she steps back as the vault door slides open. Inside, a glow of gold and riches sparkles back at ABIGAIL and COLE. She steps inside, and after a moment, COLE follows. ABIGAIL purposely strides forward across a path through the treasures, seemingly without noticing them. Contrastingly, COLE takes his time to look as he passes.]

COLE: I still feel like Aladdin walking in here.

ABIGAIL: (smirking) You say that every time.

(COLE treks up the path ABIGAIL just used, but as he reaches her, he notices something sitting on a gold table that looked like it should be on display in some palace in Europe. He leans forward and plucks a sepia toned photograph in an antique and very tarnished silver frame. As he holds it up to his face, it’s revealed to be a picture of himself and ABIGAIL. In the picture, COLE is stone-faced with a cigar in his right hand and a stream of smoke sailing from his mouth; he is staring forward as ABIGAIL, with her hands delicately in her lap and her hair piled softly on her head, sits on his lap.)

COLE: I didn’t know you still had this.

(ABIGAIL turns around, noticing him with the picture.)

ABIGAIL: Why wouldn’t I?

COLE: But down here?

(ABIGAIL shrugs nonchalantly.)

ABIGAIL: The frame is valuable.

COLE: It’s tarnished.

ABIGAIL: I think it looks better that way.

COLE: Do you remember when this was taken?

ABIGAIL: (offended) Of course I remember! (She rolls her eyes.) It was, after all, one of the worst birthdays I ever had.

COLE: Well, it wasn’t my fault you’re picky.

ABIGAIL: Nor is it mine that you’re unoriginal.

COLE: I thought you’d appreciate something romantic.

ABIGAIL: I don’t do romantic…I never have.

(COLE sets down the photograph.)

COLE: Too bad I didn’t realize that sooner.

(ABIGAIL looks away.)

ABIGAIL: Is there anything else you need to look at before we do this?

(COLE shakes his head.)

COLE: No. (He pulls back his sleeve.) I’m ready.

(ABIGAIL produces, again, the ruby pocket knife she used to enter the vault. She takes COLE’s hand and slices his palm, then she opens up her hand and slices her own. Quickly, before her wound can heal, she clasps their hands together and begins to chant in a dead language. Her voice echoes in the vault and then a white burst of light bursts from between the cracks of their fingers. A single drop of blood squeezes out from the bottom of their palms and falls through the air, which slowly quivers and expands before hitting the ground. From the blood, a portal springs forth, suddenly revealing an enclosed room with a small handful of artifacts within it. ABIGAIL and COLE look at each other, then walk inside.)

[Scene: Manor. Entry way. DRAKE and PHOEBE shimmer in. PHOEBE breaks away from him.]

PHOEBE: Cole! Cole, are you here? (She walks into the living room.) Cole!

(DRAKE also walks into the living room.)

DRAKE: Are you sure it took place here?

PHOEBE: Yeah, (she walks back to the entry way) right here. That’s all I saw, the fireball flying through here and hitting him and then him just… (She turns and begins to run up the stairs. DRAKE heads after her.) Do you know what kind of demons have that power?

DRAKE: Obviously only very powerful upper level demons. Cole is a Power of Three vanquish and there’s very few demons that can match that kind of power with a single fireball. (They walk into the attic. PHOEBE heads for the Book of Shadows.) What are you doing?

(PHOEBE turns the page to the Belthazor Summoning Spell.)

PHOEBE: “Magic forces black and white,
Reaching out through space and light,
Be he far or be he near,
Bring me the demon Belthazor here!”

[Scene: Perry Mansion. Underground cellar. Vault. Blood portal. ABIGAIL is eagerly flipping through the pages of the Necromicon as COLE looks impatiently towards the portal that reveals the vault on the other side.]

COLE: Hurry up, I don’t have all day.

ABIGAIL: I’m almost done.

(ABIGAIL turns towards the back of the book. A whirling tornado-like wind begins to suck up COLE. ABIGAIL looks up as the wind causes her hair to begin flapping in her face.)

ABIGAIL: Cole!

(COLE growls and disappears. As he vanishes, ABIGAIL is forcefully thrown back through the portal into the vault. The portal closes, leaving the Necromonicon inside.)

[Cut to the Manor. The same whipping tornado wind forms in the attic, depositing COLE in front of PHOEBE and DRAKE.]

PHOEBE: Oh thank god! (She runs to him and throws her arms around his neck.)

COLE: Phoebe, Drake, what’s going on.

PHOEBE: I had a premonition. Someone’s after you and they’re powerful enough to…vanquish you.

COLE: Who?

DRAKE: That’s what we were hoping you might be able to help us figure out. (He folds his arms.) Piss off any of The Queen’s henchmen lately?

[Scene: Underworld. An inverted pentagram has been drawn on the floor. Five black vials are hovering above each point. Each of the black vials fall simultaneously and shatter on their specified points. A black, tar-like substance begins to seep from the vials and expand along the lines of the inverted pentagram. Heavy black smoke begins to rise from the goo and whirl into a gyrating mass. From each of the five black plumes, five vicious demons appear. One is tall with talons for hands and no eyes, one has a diamond marking his forehead, the third has rows of razor teeth, the fourth is an eight foot tall beast with arching back legs and an elongated face similar to a hyena’s, and the last has pulsating eyes. The demons look amongst each other and emit growls and sneers.]

DEMON WITH TALONS: (demonically echoing) Who summons me?

(The hyena-like demon twists its snout, sniffing the air. A small stream of steamy breath escapes its nostrils. The diamond marked demon notices the pentacle on the floor and points to it. His eyes widen in alarm.)

DIAMOND MARKED DEMON: This is no summons! (He attempts to escape the pentagram point, but flames rise up around him and he explodes in a hot vanquish.)

DEMON WITH TALONS: Sacrifice!

(The flames from the diamond marked demon’s vanquish spread diagonally to the hyena-like demon and consume him, then spread upwards and devour the taloned demon, then to the demon with razor teeth, and finally they reach the demon with pulsating eyes which the fire reflects in before reaching and vanquishing him. As the last demon explodes, a swarm of black lights remains in the aftermath of the flames. As if a vacuum is pulling them, the black swarm is sucked to the center of the inverted pentagram and disappears into the floor.)

BREAK

[The Virtual Series]

Act Three

[Scene: Manor. Entry way. PAIGE and GLENN walk in, talking.]

GLENN: By the way, that reminds me, my mom wanted me to ask you if you’d be interested in coming over for a barbeque next weekend. (He follows her over and up the stairs.)

PAIGE: Is she making her chicken barbequed steaks with her secret sauce?

GLENN: Always. (They head into the hallway. PAIGE grins.)

PAIGE: You know I can’t pass that up. (She opens the door to her bedroom and walks in with GLENN right behind her.)

[Cut to the attic. PHOEBE, COLE, and DRAKE are talking. COLE lifts his hands in confusion.]

COLE: I haven’t been in the Underworld for weeks! I’ve been focusing all my attention on the firm.

DRAKE: And you haven’t dealt with anyone particularly demonic there, have you?

COLE: Aren’t lawyers really just demons without powers?

PHOEBE: Cole! This is serious!

(COLE sighs.)

COLE: No, none of them were demons that I’m aware of.

DRAKE: Maybe this doesn’t have to do with him at all then?

PHOEBE: How would you figure that?

DRAKE: What if he’s a casualty of something that’s after you? Or the Power of Three?

(PHOEBE looks a little taken aback.)

PHOEBE: (quietly) Like Andy…

DRAKE: Who?

(PHOEBE shakes her head.)

PHOEBE: If that’s the case, I need to let Prue and Paige know. And you (she points to COLE) need to go somewhere safe. (She spreads her hands through the air.) Stay away from entry way at all costs. In fact, (she snaps her fingers in DRAKE’s direction) you take him somewhere. Anywhere but here, and don’t come back until I’ve given you the green light. Understand?

COLE: Phoebe-

(PHOEBE raises her finger.)

PHOEBE: No, don’t say it. I’m not being overprotective here, Cole. I’ve been in this situation before and I’m not about to let history repeat itself. You have to leave. (She stands her ground, looking him right in the eyes. She touches his cheek.) Please, Cole, trust me.

(COLE touches her hand.)

COLE: Fine. (They share a quick kiss. DRAKE places his hand on COLE’s shoulder. PHOEBE and DRAKE share compassionate looks.)

PHOEBE: Don’t let anything happen to him.

DRAKE: I won’t.

(DRAKE and COLE shimmer away. PHOEBE touches her forehead tiredly, then she grabs the Book of Shadows and heads out of the attic.)

[Scene: Inside Piper’s jeep. PIPER is driving and PRUE is in the passenger seat.]

PRUE: By the way, how did that interview go?

(PIPER nods.)

PIPER: Great, actually. I think it’s one of the few things that actually went well today. She’s like a godsend.

PRUE: A godsend? Exaggeration much?

PIPER: No. With Melinda sick, the recent family drama, and then Joe breaking his ankle and being out on worker’s comp for two months, she really is a godsend. (She parks the car.) Alright, I will be right back. (She gets out and heads up a walkway.)

[Scene: Manor. Hallway. PAIGE and GLENN walk out of PAIGE’s room. PAIGE is shaking her head.]

PAIGE: I could’ve sworn I’d left them in the room.

(PHOEBE comes walking up behind them.)

PHOEBE: Paige! I’m glad you’re here, we’ve got a problem.

(As PAIGE and GLENN turn around, PAIGE’s face falls.)

PAIGE: And by the look on your face, I’m guessing it’s not that we just forgot to pay the gas bill.

(GLENN makes a scrunched face.)

GLENN: (to PAIGE) Is this one of those moments where you turn to me and say, “Uh, Glenn, can I take a rain check on that brunch?”

(PAIGE smiles sheepishly.)

PAIGE: Can I?

GLENN: Have I ever told you that it amazes me that you literally have the ability to control time-

PAIGE: To reverse it, and only up to a minute or so at that, technically.

GLENN: Well, the point is, it’s ironic that you can do that, but you still can’t find the time for small things.

PAIGE: (guiltily) I’m sorry.

(GLENN shakes his head.)

GLENN: Do what you have to do…saving people is what you do best. (They kiss.) Besides, we’ve still got dinner. (pause) Just don’t forget, (he touches his stomach) you still owe me that kiss that’s going to make it all better.

(PAIGE laughs.)

PAIGE: I’ll see later, then. (She tosses him her keys.) Just leave my car at the courthouse and the keys in the glove box, I’ll pick it up later. (GLENN leaves. PAIGE turns to PHOEBE.) Okay, hurry up, what’s the plan of attack?

PHOEBE: Uh, well…I’m not entirely sure yet. (She points.) I was just on my way to call Prue.

PAIGE: Well, then who’s the demon?

(PHOEBE makes a face.)

PAIGE: You don’t know? (She folds her arms.) Well, pre tell, who do you know?

[Scene: Inside Piper’s jeep. PRUE looks up to see PIPER walking towards the car, carrying a pink baby carrier in one hand. A moment later, PIPER rounds the car and opens up the passenger side. She begins to strap the car seat in, which contains MELINDA HALLIWELL. MELINDA keeps alternating between sneezing, coughing, and whimpers.]

PIPER: It’s okay, baby girl, (she strokes MELINDA’s hair) hopefully Dr. Ava’s gonna make you all better, okay?

(PRUE’s cell phone rings and she digs it out of her purse to answer it.)

PRUE: Hello? (pause) Phoebe?

[Scene: Arts theatre. COLE and DRAKE are seated at the back of the theatre, watching an amateur production of “Romeo & Juliet.”]

COLE: (whispering) I can’t believe you took us to a play.

DRAKE: (whispering) What? (He shrugs.) It’s the last place any demon will ever look for you.

ABIGAIL's VOICE: “Demon,” being the operative word.

(COLE and DRAKE look to DRAKE’s left to see ABIGAIL sitting in the formerly vacant seat next to them with one leg folded over the other and her hands placed neatly in her lap.)

DRAKE: Abby! (He looks between COLE and ABIGAIL.) We weren’t expecting you, how ever did you find us?

(ABIGAIL pats DRAKE’s shoulder in a faintly condescending way.)

ABIGAIL: I’ve been able to read you like a book for years, Drake. (She smirks.) You’re not all that hard for an assassin to find. (She eyes COLE.) Cole, (she purses her lips tightly) might we have a word?

BREAK

[The Virtual Series]

Act Four

[Scene: Arts theatre. Hallway. COLE and ABIGAIL walk out of the auditorium. ABIGAIL raises her pointer finger accusingly.]

ABIGAIL: Who do you think you are to just leave like that!

COLE: I’m sorry; did it look like I left willingly to you? (He tosses up his arms.) Phoebe summoned Belthazor! I had no choice!

(ABIGAIL snaps her fingers.)

ABIGAIL: We need to get back to the Vault so I can finish looking at the Necromonicon.

COLE: What? (He motions his hand.) You’ve already seen it! I told you, the last time was the last time.

ABIGAIL: You got “summoned,” remember? I didn’t get the time I needed to process the information in the last few chapters.

COLE: No. (He shakes his head definitively.) We’re not doing it. You had you chance. Opening it again is too risky, I already have a demon on my tail today, I don’t need anymore.

MALE VOICE: (booming) Phoenix!

(ABIGAIL and COLE turn their heads. Standing a few feet down the hallway is a very red faced looking BRUCAS.)

BRUCAS: You stole from me, Phoenix, and I want it back! (He growls and transforms into his demonic form; a seven six foot tall, chiseled demon, with a ring of orange horns on the top of his bald head and charcoal black skin.)

COLE: (hissing) Are you happy now?!

BRUCAS: (demonically) Belthazor! (He sneers.) Infamous traitor. I should’ve guessed you’d be involved in this.

(BRUCAS propels his hand forward, expelling a string of cantaloupe sized fireballs at COLE and ABIGAIL. One of the fireballs hits ABIGAIL and she explodes. COLE summons two energy balls and cancels out two of BRUCAS’ fireballs with them. He leans to dodge the fourth, but is grazed by the fifth, leaving a smoking and bloody wound on his arm. ABIGAIL reconstitutes. DRAKE runs out of the auditorium.)

DRAKE: It sounds like you two are getting pretty rough out (he sees BRUCAS) here. (He smiles politely.) Oh…I didn’t know we had company. (He suddenly arches his arms and two jet-streams of fire impel from his hands and hit BRUCAS. BRUCAS is thrown off his feet. DRAKE turns back to COLE and ABIGAIL.) I don’t know about you, but I’m not feeling too encore-ish tonight. (He claps his hands.) Exit stage left, everyone! (DRAKE, ABIGAIL, and COLE shimmer out.)

[Scene: Manor. Kitchen. PHOEBE and PAIGE are sitting at the table going through the Book of Shadows. PHOEBE’s making a point to touch each individual page of every demon she finds with the ability to create fireballs. LEO WYATT orbs in, startling PHOEBE.]

PHOEBE: Leo! Thank goodness you’re here, I was-

LEO: (urgently) Have you been attacked?

PHOEBE: Attacked? By who?

LEO: I’m not sure. (He looks at the ceiling.) They aren’t sure. But during the meeting, They sensed some kind of power oscillation.

PAIGE: Power oscillation?

LEO: A temporary shift in power that eventually equalizes itself.

PHOEBE: But if it evens out, isn’t that good?

LEO: Power oscillations can happen frequently which is normal, kind of like waves in the ocean; they’re constant but usually nothing to worry about.

PAIGE: But this time it was a tsunami?

LEO: Precisely. The meeting ran over because of it. Everyone’s on edge.

PHOEBE: You wouldn’t happen to know if these power oscillations involve fireballs, do you?

(LEO shakes his head.)

LEO: They didn’t specify that. Only that it occurred on the side of evil.

PAIGE: Naturally.

PHOEBE: This has got to be what’s after Cole.

LEO: Someone’s after Cole?

PAIGE: Or us.

PHOEBE: Or both.

LEO: Why?

PHOEBE: I don’t know; I just saw him attacked and killed in a vision. (She looks at her wrist watch.) In fact, Piper should be dropping Prue off any minute so she can help us figure out what’s going on.

LEO: Where’s Cole now?

PHOEBE: With Drake, but I’m not sure where. Drake’s staying with him until we can fix this.

(The sound of the front doors opening is heard.)

PRUE's VOICE: Phoebe? Paige?

PAIGE: In the kitchen!

(PRUE walks in. She looks surprised to see LEO.)

PRUE: I thought were at a staff meeting?

PHOEBE: Cliff notes? He was, not anymore, and there was a power oscillation.

PRUE: A power what?

(PAIGE motions to a nearby chair.)

PAIGE: (to PRUE) Sit and we’ll explain. (to LEO) Orb to Piper and fill her in. She should be in the know just in case whatever’s is potentially after us and/or Cole is also after the Twins.

LEO: Alright. I’ll be back soon. (He orbs out.)

PHOEBE: Oh my god.

PRUE & PAIGE: What?

PHOEBE: Fireballs! (She throws up her hands.) It must be Red. She has the ability to create fireballs. She wants to hurt us the way we hurt her…it makes sense. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this earlier!

PRUE: I’m not so sure-

PAIGE: But it does seem to make sense. She seems to have an obsession with good and evil, and since Cole is kind of both, and someone Phoebe cares about, it would make sense she’d want to kill him if her goal is to make us suffer before trying to kill us.

(PRUE shakes her head.)

PRUE: But how would she have the power to kill him in the first place? Belthazor is a Power of Three vanquish. She may be a Warren witch, technically, but that doesn’t make her a Charmed One, let alone three of us.

PAIGE: That’s where the power oscillation thing comes in.

PHOEBE: I’m guessing she killed demons and stole their power to enhance her own? If she was able to kill the right ones, that could make her powerful enough to vanquish Cole on her own.

(PRUE doesn’t look sold on the idea.)

PRUE: I’m still not entirely convinced.

PHOEBE: Do you have any better theories? (Silence.) Well, then I vote we go with this one. (She raises her hand.) Paige?

(PAIGE also raises her hand. PRUE sighs.)

PAIGE: So how do we find her?

(PHOEBE purses her lips.)

PAIGE: Summoning spells obviously don’t work; we tried that after she tried to steal the Twins and we couldn’t locate her.

PHOEBE: But we also didn’t know she was a Warren witch at the time.

(PAIGE narrows her eyes.)

PAIGE: Are you suggesting a blood-to-blood spell?

PHOEBE: You read my mind. (She walks over to one of the cabinets and pulls out a metal bowl, then moves to the herb cupboard and pulls out a few ingredients.) To the attic?

(PAIGE gathers up the Book of Shadows and follows PHOEBE. PRUE glances over her shoulder as her sisters leave.)

PRUE: I hope you know what you’re doing, Phoebe. (She walks out.)

[Time lapse. PHOEBE, PAIGE, and PRUE are seated in a circle with PHOEBE’s metal bowl of potion ingredients centered within their human circle. PHOEBE scrapes pestle into the silver pot and then joins hands with her sisters.]

PHOEBE, PAIGE, & PRUE: “Powers of the Warrens rise,
Course unseen across the skies,
Come to us who call you near,
Come to us and settle here.”

(PHOEBE picks up an athame laying beside her and slices her finger over the pot, then passes the athame to PAIGE. PAIGE also slices the tip of her finger with the blade and winces as she squeezes her finger to shake off the blood.)

PAIGE: You’re positive this vanquishing spell will work? (She glances over her shoulder as a spell scrawled down on a piece of notebook paper.)

PHOEBE: It should. I reworded the spell that Patience and Phoebe used to curse my past life into dying, but with my version, combined with the Power of Three, it should vanquish her completely, once and for all.

(PAIGE passes the athame to PRUE. PRUE hesitates, but under PHOEBE’s expectant gaze, she also cuts her finger, taps the athame blade on the side of the pot, and then sets the blade down. The three sisters take hands, forming a three arched symbol with their arms.)

PHOEBE, PAIGE, & PRUE: “Blood to blood,
We summon thee,
Blood to blood,
Return to the Power of Three.”

(A loud pop explodes from the pot. The sisters shrink clutch each others hands instinctively. They each look around, waiting. After several minutes, PRUE pulls her hands back.)

PRUE: I don’t think it worked.

PAIGE: But how? It’s the Power of Three we’re talking about! How can she avoid a call like this?

(PHOEBE touches her lips in concentration.)

PHOEBE: Maybe she’s able to resist because of the power oscillation?

PAIGE: So, what should we do then?

(PHOEBE grabs her writing tablet and gets up.)

PHOEBE: I write another spell, a more powerful spell, and you go gather ingredients. (She motions to the door and PAIGE follows, but looks back.)

PAIGE: Prue? You coming?

PRUE: Uh, (she grabs the Book of Shadows) Book duty.

(PAIGE nods.)

PAIGE: Good idea. (She and PHOEBE leave. PRUE strums her fingers over the cover.)

[Scene: Perry Mansion. Basement. ABIGAIL, COLE, and DRAKE are there. ABIGAIL is in the middle of speaking.]

ABIGAIL: …well you have to admit, it’s safer than staying in a mortal theatre. Did you not realize how fast you were tracked?

COLE: And if Brucas is intent on getting the Necromonicon back, how long do you really think it’ll take him before he gets through the charms on this basement?

ABIGAIL: Cole, have you forgotten how old these charms on? They’re rooted in legacies of Phoenix witches. It would take a form of highly unprecedented magic to sense someone in here.

COLE: Like, oh, I don’t know, a centuries old family of demons?

(ABIGAIL throws him a heated glare. DRAKE quickly steps between them.)

DRAKE: Look, (to ABIGAIL) we know about the strength of Phoenix magic (to COLE) and we know how important self preservation is to you. (He motions his hands as if to wipe something off a table.) So now that we understand each other, why not agree to just lay low for a bit. I (he emphasizes himself with his hand) will drop by the Manor in say…an hour to check on the progress with whatever demon is after (to COLE) you and then come back here to fill you in. (He looks between his old friends.) Deal?

(ABIGAIL and COLE turns away from each other.)

COLE & ABIGAIL: Fine.

(DRAKE smiles smugly.)

DRAKE: Fantastic!

COLE: What do you propose we do in the meantime? (He glances around the mansion basement.)

DRAKE: I was so hoping you’d ask that! (He snaps his fingers and his clothing transforms into an obscene plum colored Romeo Montague costume.) Since we didn’t get to finish the play, and it just happens to be one I plan to audition for in a few weeks, I’ll practice for you… (He drops to one knee and suddenly two chairs appear behind COLE and ABIGAIL, which slap them in the back of their legs, forcing them to sit down. DRAKE stretches out his arm dramatically and gazes into a dark corner of the basement. Suddenly, a mystical beam of light appears out of nowhere, shining down at him from the dark corner.) “What light from yonder window breaks…”

COLE: (whispering to ABIGAIL) I hope you’re just as happy as I am right now.

(ABIGAIL glares, but refuses to look at COLE.)

[Scene: Manor. Kitchen. LEO orbs in with PIPER. PAIGE is throwing various herbs and pinches of ground potion ingredients into a new copper pot. PHOEBE is at the table, carefully scribbling something onto a notepad. PAIGE notices her sister and brother-in-law.]

PAIGE: Hey. (pause) Where’re the Twins?

LEO: With Victor.

(PIPER walks over to PAIGE to see how her ingredients for their spell are coming together.)

LEO: Since Phoebe said you might need Piper to enhance your next summoning spell, we didn’t want the Twins near any possible danger by being here.

PHOEBE: How did Mel’s doctor’s appointment go?

PIPER: Ava said it was just a cold. Infant immune systems aren’t fully developed, so she said it’s fairly common within the first year, so I just needed to keep doing what I’ve been doing. It shouldn’t last more than a few more days, but she said that if it continues into next week, to bring her back in. (She grabs a pinch of thyme and a miniature bundle of sage from the cupboard and tosses them into the pot.) Sage and thyme enhance psychic energies and since we know she’s well versed in her psychic powers, it’ll help to strengthen the summoning connection.

(PAIGE nods.)

PAIGE: Nice to know.

PIPER: (to PHOEBE) How’s the spell coming?

PHOEBE: Almost done.

PIPER: And where’s Prue?

PAIGE: Book of Shadows.

(PIPER points her finger up towards the attic.)

PIPER: I’m going to go check on her. Meet us up there when you’re ready?

(PAIGE picks up the pot.)

PAIGE: Actually, I’ll just come with. I think I’m done with this. (She nods to PHOEBE as her and PIPER head to the attic. LEO leans over PHOEBE's shoulder.)

LEO: Are you having trouble?

(PHOEBE looks up.)

PHOEBE: (defensively) Why would I be having trouble?

(LEO sits down in the chair next to PHOEBE.)

LEO: You usually don’t take this long with spells. (pause) And your hand is shaking. (PHOEBE stops writing.) This premonition’s really distracting you, isn’t it?

PHOEBE: I saw Cole turned to dust right before my eyes, Leo. You don’t really expect me not to be distracted, do you? (She cringes.) I mean, I know he’s been hurt before, but this was different. It was so vivid… (LEO takes PHOEBE’s hand in his. PHOEBE closes her eyes.) It reminds me of Andy’s death.

LEO: Cole isn’t Andy.

PHOEBE: But we tried to save Andy and he died too.

LEO: Just focus on protecting Cole.

(PHOEBE takes a deep breath and nods.)

PHOEBE: Thanks, Leo.

(LEO smiles.)

LEO: You know I’m always here for you.

(PHOEBE nods. She eases her hand out from under his, finishes her spell, and stands up.)

PHOEBE: I think I’m ready. (They walk out of the dining room and LEO starts to climb the stairs in front of PHOEBE. Unbeknownst to her, BRUCAS appears behind her and grabs her around the neck. She gasps, causing LEO to turn around.)

BRUCAS: Ah-ah, whitelighter. (He shakes his head.) You can have her back when I have the Phoenix, (an athame appears in his hands and he stabs PHOEBE in an jagged upwards motion into her stomach) and apparently the only way to get to her is through Belthazor.

PHOEBE: (rasping) Cole… (She frame falls limp in BRUCAS’ arms.)

BREAK

[The Virtual Series]

Act Five

[Scene: Perry Mansion. Basement. DRAKE is still performing for COLE and ABIGAIL when COLE suddenly doubles over in his chair, clutching at his chest. ABIGAIL jumps up, instinctively placing her hands to COLE's shoulders.]

ABIGAIL: (worriedly) Cole?

COLE: (gasping) Phoebe!

(DRAKE’s costume disappears as he moves to his best friend.)

DRAKE: What is it? What’s going on? What’re you feeling?

COLE: She’s-she’s hurt… (He shakes his head.) I can’t explain…

(DRAKE notices COLE grasping his heart. His hand moves to his mouth.)

DRAKE: She’s dying.

ABIGAIL: What? But how would Cole-

DRAKE: Her soul is calling out to his and he his heart is feeling her pain.

COLE: I have to save her! (He starts to shimmer out. ABIGAIL grabs for him, but her hands uselessly wash through his shimmers.)

ABIGAIL: It’s a trap! It has to be Brucas, he wants Cole to give me up to save Phoebe.

(DRAKE grabs ABIGAIL’s arm.)

DRAKE: Then we’ve gotta help them. (They shimmer off.)

[Scene: Manor. LEO is on the steps, curling over in pain as PHOEBE dies right before his eyes. BRUCAS has the athame he used to stab her placed at her throat.]

BRUCAS: One word from you, whitelighter, and I’ll end her life immediately. I don’t want her sisters involved. (He glances around.) This is becoming inconvenient. Perhaps Belthazor doesn’t love you as much as you think? (He suddenly arches his back and drops PHOEBE to the stairs.) Agh! (He transforms into his demonic form and whips around to see COLE at the bottom of the stairs.)

COLE: Leave Phoebe out of this!

BRUCAS: Then give up the Phoenix! I know you know where she is and I want her. I want my Necromonicon back!

(Behind BRUCAS, LEO lunges at PHOEBE, grabs her by the hand, and orbs her out. COLE sees it from the corner of his eyes and launches another energy ball at BRUCAS. This time BRUCAS cancels out the energy ball with a fireball.)

COLE: You won’t get either of them.

(ABIGAIL and DRAKE shimmer in. COLE waves his hand.)

COLE: Get out of here, Abby!

(BRUCAS clenches his black jaw.)

DRAKE: Is Phoebe-

COLE: She’s fine.

(BRUCAS looks behind him to see PHOEBE and LEO gone. He growls and then shimmers behind ABIGAIL, grabbing her by the neck. He positions the still wet blade he used to stab PHOEBE at ABIGAIL’s heart.)

BRUCAS: The Necromonicon! (He leans close to her ear and breaths into it.) I know Phoenixes aren’t invincible.

(COLE runs at BRUCAS, who forms a fireball with the hand not holding the athame and throws it at COLE. At the top of the stairs, the CHARMED ONES, PIPER, and LEO appear.)

PHOEBE: (screaming) Prue!

(PRUE waves her arm, deflecting the fireball away from COLE with her powers.)

ABIGAIL: (sneering) If you kill me, you’ll never get that book!

BRUCAS: Then I’ll kill each of your legacy until you give in. (ABIGAIL’s eyes stretch in fear. DRAKE tackles BRUCAS, knocking all three of them to the ground.)

PRUE: Phoebe, the spell!

PHOEBE: I don’t have one for-

PRUE: The one you were going to use on Red, we’ll use it on him! (She points to BRUCAS.)

PHOEBE: It’s for a witch-

PAIGE: Then we’ll change it to demon. (She grabs her sister’s hands.)

PHOEBE: “Evil demon in my sight,
Vanquish thyself,
Vanquish thy might,
For us and every future life!”

PRUE & PAIGE: “Evil demon in my sight,
Vanquish thyself,
Vanquish thy might,
For us and every future life!”

(BRUCAS starts to quiver and he loses his grip on ABIGAIL. COLE grabs her and pulls her away as DRAKE's hand ignites in a fiery fist and he punches BRUCAS right in the jaw.)

DRAKE: You don’t treat women like that!

PRUE, PHOEBE, & PAIGE: “Evil demon in my sight,
Vanquish thyself,
Vanquish thy might,
For us and every future life!”

(As DRAKE clambers back from BRUCAS, over to COLE and ABIGAIL, BRUCAS’ quivers turn into heavy convulsions and he then explodes in a bright flash, leaving only small fiery embers to fall to the floor and burn out. PHOEBE breaks away from her sisters and runs down the stairs into COLE’s arms. They hug each other fiercely.)

PHOEBE: How did you know to come?

(COLE shakes his head.)

COLE: You called me. (He strokes the side of her cheek as PRUE, PIPER, PAIGE, and LEO decent the stairs.)

ABIGAIL: (softly to DRAKE) I think I should go.

PRUE: (to ABIGAIL) That would be wise. (She narrows her eyes.) And by the way, don’t involve my sister - or Cole - the next time you want to piss of a powerful demon.

ABIGAIL: Cole’s choice to help me was his own. (She looks PRUE up and down distastefully.) He doesn’t need a witch telling him what he can and can’t do. What he does is none of your business.

PRUE: And because of you, that demon almost killed my sister to get to him; that makes it my business.

(DRAKE steps between PRUE and ABIGAIL.)

DRAKE: We’ll leave. (He nods to PIPER, LEO, and PAIGE. He takes ABIGAIL’s hand.) Come on, Abby-

(ABIGAIL pulls her hand away.)

ABIGAIL: I can leave on my own. (She shimmers out.)

PIPER: (sourly) Good riddens.

(DRAKE looks around awkwardly.)

DRAKE: Well, I’m uh, (the grandfather clock chimes in the background) it’s getting late. (to COLE) I’ll see you at home later.

COLE: Drake?

DRAKE: Huh?

COLE: Thanks.

(DRAKE bows his head in a gentlemanly fashion.)

DRAKE: Anytime, friend.

[Cut to a misty image of DRAKE shimmering out of the Manor in THE QUEEN's crystal ball. PRUE and PIPER head upstairs while LEO and PAIGE walk around COLE and PHOEBE, heading for the kitchen.]

[Cut to The Queen’s lair. She pulls her eyes away from the crystal ball and sets them on a darklighter, who is bowed before her with his crossbow in hand.]

THE QUEEN: Rise.

(The darklighter pulls to his feet.)

THE QUEEN: In approximately three minutes, I want you to enter the home of the Charmed Ones and attack their whitelighter. He’ll be walking out of their dining room which is when you’ll strike.

(The darklighter bows his head.)

DARKLIGHTER: Yes, my Queen. (He smokes out. THE QUEEN turns her head back to her crystal ball, watching with perverse pleasure.)

[Cut to the Manor. PHOEBE is in her bedroom. She moves to her dresser drawer and opens it. She pushes her socks aside and digs her hand far into the back and then pulls out a small ring box. She opens it, revealing the diamond engagement ring COLE presented her with twice.]

[Flashback: PHOEBE and COLE are standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower.]

COLE: Well, I’ve been thinking a lot lately, Phoebe. (He takes a deep breath.) About how much you mean to me. I thought I lost you and it nearly killed me, and since then, everything has been put into perspective…

[Cut back to the present. PHOEBE closes the box and clutches the box in her hand. She leaves her room.]

[Cut to the dining room. COLE is sitting at the table, strumming his fingers. He hears footsteps and looks to see PHOEBE walk in.]

COLE: Hey. (He studies her.) Is something wrong?

PHOEBE: Why would something be wrong?

COLE: You’re just acting so serious.

PHOEBE: Yeah, and there’s a good reason for that. (She takes a deep breath.) A lot of stuff’s happened lately, you know…

COLE: Yeah, it’s been intense to say the least.

PHOEBE: And I think I finally learned something from it all.

(COLE smiles curiously as he wraps his arm around PHOEBE’s waist.)

COLE: And what would that be?

(LEO walks out of the kitchen, distracting PHOEBE’s attention momentarily. At that moment, the darklighter appears in front of the stairs. He aims his crossbow at LEO as PAIGE walks out and shoots, hitting LEO in the chest. COLE forms an energy ball and aims it at the darklighter as LEO falls backwards. PAIGE instinctively throws up her hands and all movement comes to a momentary halt before LEO begins to stand up, COLE’s energy ball vanishes, the darklighter's arrow moves backwards out of LEO’s chest and into the crossbow, and LEO and PAIGE move backwards into the positions they were just after they came out of the kitchen. Time resumes motion as the darklighter shoots his crossbow at LEO.)

PAIGE: (yelling) Look out!

(PAIGE tackles LEO to the floor as the darklighter shoots his crossbow. The crossbow lodges itself into one of the chairs at the dinner table. COLE summons an energy ball to his palm and throws it at the darklighter, vanquishing him. COLE looks back at LEO as PHOEBE moves to her sister and brother-in-law, holding out a hand to help them up.)

COLE: (to LEO and PAIGE) Are you alright?

(LEO dusts himself off.)

LEO: Yeah, I’m fine. (He glances back at the arrow stuck in the chair.) But just barely.

(THE QUEEN flames in.)

THE QUEEN: It’s not ideal, but it’ll do. (With an assertive wield of her arm, a telekinetic ripple washes across the room. Glass shatters, chairs overturn, LEO, PAIGE, PHOEBE, and COLE all go flying into opposite directions. THE QUEEN looks down at her arm impressively.) I was expecting a power boost from my minions, but this is far better than I imagined! I can only wonder how their powers have strengthened my other powers.

(The sound of footsteps is heard coming down the stairs. THE QUEEN begins to summon a massive fireball as PHOEBE stirs from her place in the wreckage. She aims her fireball at PHOEBE, but as it nears her, it suddenly takes a sharp ninety degree turn and blasts a hole through the wall. THE QUEEN rotates to see PRUE and PIPER at the bottom of the stairs, the former with her hand poised defensively. PRUE makes a move to use her power against THE QUEEN, but THE QUEEN quickly summons a basketball sized fireballs to her hands and thrusts them at PRUE and PIPER. PHOEBE screams as PAIGE blearily looks up from where she landed via THE QUEEN’s power. PIPER and PRUE's bodies dissolve simultaneously into ashes. PAIGE’s eyes bulge and her hands shoot up once more and time comes to a halt. The ash piles reform into PRUE and PIPER, the fireballs fly back into THE QUEEN's hands and vanish. Time resumes motion and THE QUEEN begins to summon her fireballs again, but this time, PAIGE orbs in beside PIPER, throwing herself into her sister, and consequently throwing PIPER into PRUE. The three fall as the fireballs rip over their heads, blasting giant holes in the banister and walls.)

PHOEBE: Piper! Prue!

(PHOEBE jumps to her feet and runs at THE QUEEN, levitating into a spin kick and pounding her feet into THE QUEEN's back, only for THE QUEEN to grab her by the ankle and fling her onto the stairs with a loud crunching sound.)

PIPER: Paige. Paige!

(PIPER gingerly touches her youngest sister’s pale and sweaty face as PRUE rises to her feet. PAIGE murmurs something unintelligible and then her eyes roll back in her head as she passes out with her head in PIPER’s hands. Meanwhile, PRUE extends both of her arms, expelling intense amounts of telekinetic energy into the air. The sisters’ hair begins to whip around their faces, the front doors fly open, the mini table in the entry way blasts off the ground and into the wall, and finally, THE QUEEN is pounded into part of the wreckage she created in the dining room. PRUE’s arms drop exhaustedly. From her position on the ground, THE QUEEN sees PHOEBE still limp on the stairs and PAIGE passed out with PIPER. She begins to laugh sickly.)

THE QUEEN: You’re no match for me! Look at you, (she levitates back to her feet) two down, (she eyes PRUE who is breathing raggedly and makes a stiff gesture with her hand, casting PRUE into the living room with a loud crash) make that three down, (to PIPER) and the last one without any useful power whatsoever. (She grins as she saunters towards PHOEBE, who’s eyes are opened but she’s having trouble moving. THE QUEEN lazily holds out her hand, summoning a cantaloupe sized fireball that she bounces in her hand.) This is easier than I thought.

(THE QUEEN throws the fireball at PHOEBE. The fire reflects in PHOEBE’s eyes as it nears her, until a shadow cuts it off. PHOEBE stares into COLE’s eyes as the fireball hits him from behind. His face twists into a surprised pain and then his lips seem to move as if to say something, but flames erupt around him instead and then he explodes, leaving only a pile of ash to flutter on the floor in front of PHOEBE’s eyes.)

PIPER: Oh my god!

(ASTRAL PRUE appears.)

ASTRAL PRUE: “Patricia, Penelope, Prudence, Melinda,
Astrid, Helena, Laura, and Grace!
Halliwell witches stand strong beside us,
Vanquish this evil from time and space!”

(An explosion discharges off THE QUEEN.)

ASTRAL PRUE: Piper, say the vanquishing spell!

(ASTRAL PRUE runs at THE QUEEN and literally jumps into her. THE QUEEN begins to shake. PIPER’s eyes roam over to PHOEBE, whose mouth is drawn open into an “O” and she seems to be in such a state of shock that the only thing she’s focusing on is the pile of ashes she’s now kneeling over. She digs her hands into the pile of ash.)

PIPER: “Patricia, Penelope, Prudence, Melinda,
Astrid, Helena, Laura, and Grace!
Warren witches stand strong beside us,
Vanquish this evil from time and space!”

(THE QUEEN howls as she explodes in a flare of red light. The explosion is so strong that COLE’s ashes fly into the air and PIPER shields PAIGE’s unconscious body with her own as red streaks of power fly in every direction, accompanied by ripples of magic. Some of the ripples knock pictures down as they pass through the entry way, cause PIPER’s hair to gust, and at the end of the entry way, blast into the doors causing the stained glass to shatter as the doors crash shut.)

[The Virtual Series]

End Credits

Co-Starring
Chelsea Brummet --- Tricia Beatus
Brody Jo Hamilton --- Melinda Halliwell

Featuring
Robert Madrid --- Darklighter
Roger C. Cross --- Demon with Talons
Robb Derringer --- Diamond Marked Demon
Keith Sellon-Wright --- Hyena Demon
Timm Sharp --- Demon with Razor Teeth
Cameron Park --- Demon with Pulsing Eyes

Production & Design
Daniel (Astral Echo) - Co-Casting Director
Camille (Fourever Charmed) - Co-Casting Director
Alex (Criminally Vulgar) - Video Editor (Credits)
Alex (Criminally Vulgar) - Set Designer