6x19: Fatal Mattraction

[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
DORIAN GREGORY...Darryl Morris
CHELSEA BRUMMET...Melinda Halliwell
DREW FULLER...Chris Halliwell

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.

6.19 FATAL MATTRACTION

GUEST-STARRING:
MARISOL NICHOLS
SOPHIA BUSH
SHAWN CHRISTIAN
MATTHEW WOODWARD
LISHA BROCK

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...Noel Nosseck

[The Virtual Series]

Fatal Mattraction

Teaser

[Scene: Present. Manor. Attic. PHOEBE HALLIWELL, LEO WYATT, and MELINDA HALLIWELL are gathered around the miniature table each with cards in their hands. PHOEBE narrows her eyes and points to LEO.]

PHOEBE: (grinning) Off with your head!

(LEO grunts and surrenders his Queen of Hearts to his sister-in-law, who giggles excitedly and snatches up the card. She pairs it with her Queen of Diamonds and lays them onto the table, along with her other three pairs. MELINDA has two pairs and, so far, LEO has none.)

LEO: I knew I should’ve asked you.

PHOEBE: Snooze and lose! (She narrows her eyes, examining her cards, then glances up at MELINDA, who has a faraway look on her face. PHOEBE frowns.) You don’t look like you’re having any fun.

MELINDA: This isn’t fun anymore. (She drops her cards onto the table and shoves her chair back.) I can’t stand this-

(PRUE HALLIWELL flies through the door, causing PHOEBE and LEO to jump from their seats simultaneously. PHOEBE yelps as she bangs her knee against the table as PRUE stomps past her towards the Book of Shadows.)

PHOEBE: What the hell. (She rubs her knee.) First your daughter thwacks me in the kneecap and then you come barreling in and cause me to hit it on the table? (She rubs her knee painfully.) What gives?

PRUE: (seething) Matt!

(MELINDA’s jaw drops.)

PHOEBE: (shocked) Matt?

MELINDA: Is he-

PRUE: (seething) Here! (She flips open the Book in a rage.) Can you believe it? He had the audacity to show up at our house! And on today, of all days!

MELINDA: (anxiously) Where is he?

PRUE: (seething) I sent his ass out the door. (She holds her hand above the Book and the pages begin to turn via her power.) But I have a feeling he won’t stay there which is why I need…

(PHOEBE limps over to her sister, while MELINDA makes a bolt for the door. PHOEBE notices her niece and frowns.)

PHOEBE: Where do you think you’re going?

MELINDA: To take care of something.

(She promptly leaves. PHOEBE shakes her head.)

PHOEBE: (muttering to herself) One crisis at a time. (to PRUE) What are you looking for? Maybe I can help?

(The pages of the Book stop turning and land on the Prohibition Spell. PHOEBE’s brows knit together.)

PRUE: (triumphantly) This!

PHOEBE: Is that like a spell to ban alcohol or something? (She leans in to get a closer look at the page.)

PRUE: No, it’s a spell that prohibits distance. (PHOEBE blinks, still confused.) It keeps someone - or something - from coming around a specified place.

PHOEBE: (shocked) We have a spell like that? Why aren’t we using it on demons all the time then?

PRUE: It doesn’t work on demons, at least not on high level demons. Maybe low level parasites or something of that nature, (she shrugs) but I believe it was written for mortals. I found it a couple months ago when Drea decided to try her hand at being nocturnal.

PHOEBE: And you plan to use it on-

[Cut to the kitchen. MELINDA stomps in and her eyes blaze.]

MELINDA: Matt!

(PIPER HALLIWELL and BIANCA PERRY both look up from what they’re doing; BIANCA is bottling the potion while PIPER is tending to the gash on MATT CAPIELLO’s forehead. MATT blinks.)

MATT: (surprised) Melinda.

(MELINDA curls her fist as she walks over to PIPER and snatches the wet cloth PIPER is using to blot MATT’s gash.)

MELINDA: I can take it from here. You should go upstairs with Bianca and-

PIPER: I’ve been through this already. If you’ve seen Prue, you already know that me going up there will be volatile. And besides, you and Bianca are the ones with firepower, not me.

MELINDA: All the more reason for me to be down here protecting Matt.

MATT: No! Nobody should be protecting me, I can take care of myself. We should be focusing our efforts on Drea.

PIPER: He’s right. Time is too valuable to be wasting like this. (She nods.) Go!

(MELINDA flexes her fingers and swiftly leans in towards MATT’s ear.)

MELINDA: (whispering) I know who you really are.

Clickable Credits.

[The Virtual Series]

{SCENE: The song “Numb,” written by Christian Machado, Dave Chavarri, and Lazaro Pina and sung by Linkin Park, is heard as stock shots of San Francisco are shown while the Guest Credits are rolled.}

Act One

[Scene: Present. Manor. Kitchen. MELINDA quickly turns away from MATT, whose eyes are massive. He watches as she moves to leave the kitchen. BIANCA looks aghast.]

BIANCA: (disbelievingly) Melinda!

(MELINDA nonchalantly glances over her shoulder.)

MELINDA: What?

(BIANCA nods her head in MATT’s direction. MELINDA smiles sweetly.)

MELINDA: Mom’s right, we’re more useful upstairs.

(MELINDA winks and walks out. BIANCA glances at MATT and tilts her head, smiling slightly.)

BIANCA: Okay then…

(BIANCA grabs a couple of potion vials and waddles out of the room. PIPER squints her eyes, confused by MELINDA’s and BIANCA’s strange behavior. Strangled grunts begin to rise from MATT, causing PIPER to turn her attention back to him.)

PIPER: What’s wrong? (PIPER pulls the bloody cloth back from his head, but she can still hear the frustrated grunting. Then she notices that MATT’s lips are pressed firmly together.) Are you okay? (MATT shakes his head and puffs air out of his nose making hissing sounds like a baby dragon. PIPER’s mouth drops open in realization.) She froze your mouth!

[Cut to the hallway. MELINDA is walking briskly as BIANCA shimmers in beside her.]

BIANCA: (worriedly) What if she unfreezes his mouth?

MELINDA: Then she’ll have to deal with the fact that his voice box has been put into super slow mo. She’ll never get anything out of him. (She shrugs.) Not in a timely manner anyway. By then we’ll be back to make sure he keeps his mouth frozen.

BIANCA: I saw the look on his face. Did you tell him what I think you told him?

MELINDA: I let him know that we know his secret and that we’re not willing to let him go through with his plan.

(BIANCA heaves a short sigh of relief as the attic door comes into view.)

[Scene: December 2027. Manor. Attic. PAIGE MATTHEWS is biting her lip at ADULT VOLAC recites the spell to open the portal. CHRIS HALLIWELL, who is standing beside his aunt, lets out a guttural grunt when the potion fails. ADULT VOLAC spins around and raises his fist, firing a blue energy ball at the crystal cage. It hits the force field and sparks a miniature explosion. PAIGE jumps and accidentally bites her lip too harshly, drawing blood.]

ADULT VOLAC: (thunderously) You failed!

(CHRIS steps in front of PAIGE.)

CHRIS: She’s from the past! You can’t expect her to get it on the first try. (He glances over his shoulder at PAIGE.) You have to try again.

(PAIGE clicks her tongue against her mouth, tasting the blood. She moves her finger to her lip and touches the split, then looks down at the blood on her fingertip. Her eyes widen.)

PAIGE: I think I have another idea!

(CHRIS looks anxiously at her.)

CHRIS: What?

(PAIGE lifts her head, eyeing ADULT VOLAC warily. CHRIS follows her gaze and glares.)

CHRIS: (to ADULT VOLAC) Well, what are you standing there for? We can’t work with you eyeballing us all day long!

PAIGE: (warningly) Chris. (She lightly touches his arm.) Weren’t you the one who was just telling me to be careful?

(CHRIS inhales deeply.)

CHRIS: (calmly) We’ll need another pot for the potion.

(ADULT VOLAC keeps his cold eyes on CHRIS a beat longer, and then leaves the attic. PAIGE exhales.)

PAIGE: (shaking her head) I can’t wait to see his sorry ass go up in flames. (pause) No pun intended.

CHRIS: (curiously) What’s your new idea?

[Scene: Present. Manor. Kitchen. PIPER raises her hand and slaps MATT across the cheek. She winces as his jaws pop open.]

PIPER: Did it work?

(MATT moves his mouth, but only garbled, low sounds like a tape that’s been played too many times come out of his mouth. PIPER gawks.)

PIPER: I can’t believe this! (She stands up and storms over to a drawer where she pulls out a pencil and a piece of scratch paper. She moves back to MATT and holds them out to him.) Whatever it is she doesn’t want you to tell me, write it down.

(MATT doesn’t take the paper and PIPER starts to get angry until she notices that his hands are barely moving.)

PIPER: Oh for the love of god! She slowed your hands too! (She notices that MATT seems to be trying to mouth something to her, but she shakes her head in dismay.) I can’t read lips.

(In frustration, PIPER rises to her feet and begins to pace. As she’s strutting back and forth, her eyes light up and she clicks her fingers. In a flash, she snatches up the paper and pencil she’d tried to give MATT and begins to scribble on it, then she looks up with a proud grin on her face.)

PIPER: “Hands and voice,
Stuck in slow motion,
This predicament,
Need not require a potion,
With my words undo this deed,
I grant to Matt the power of speed!”

(A glow washes over MATT and suddenly he jumps out of the chair and begins to run around the kitchen in a blur. PIPER gulps as her hair whips up around her face as MATT moves by her and the spell she was holding flies out of her hand from the gust of air. PIPER stumbles and catches herself on the edge of the counter as she tries to keep track of MATT, but instead, napkins flip off the table and notes from the refrigerator rip out from under the magnets.)

PIPER: (muttering) Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all…

(In her distraction, she doesn’t notice a telltale blue glow from behind her. Her eyes follow MATT’s blur around the room as he knocks into LEO, knocking the whitelighter to the ground by the force. The twins’ blue force field rises up around their playpen just before MATT can run into it, blasting him backwards onto the floor. He slides into the cupboards, splintering them, and then jumps up and begins running again. PIPER hurries over to LEO and helps him up. LEO looks alarmed.)

LEO: Is that a-

PIPER: Matt.

LEO: (shocked) What?

PIPER: I…kind of cast a little spell on him and now he seems to be the Superman that can’t stop.

(As MATT’s blur races towards them again, LEO pushes his wife into their children’s force field.)

LEO: (urgently) Well don’t just stand there, reverse it!

(PIPER presses her fingers to her temples in anxious thought.)

PIPER: “I bestowed on Matt a dreadful plight,
And he now moves at the speed of light,
Magic has cursed him with an unnatural shift,
With these words I take back my unwitting gift!”

(A glow streaks across the blur and instantly, MATT becomes visible again. He stumbles forward and drops to the ground, looking spent. The force field vanishes and PIPER rushes towards him. She bends down and pushes him to his side and hears that he is still trying to speak, once again in dumbed down slow motion. She groans.)

PIPER: Matt, I’m so sorry!

LEO: What’s this?

(PIPER glances over her shoulder at her husband, who is kneeling on the ground as he examines something in his hand. He holds it up for PIPER to see, revealing MATT’s photograph of PRUE, DREA, and MITCH PERKINS.)

PIPER: It’s uh-

LEO: There’s something on the back-

PIPER: Yeah, I know. (She struggles to haul MATT off the ground.) Come help me.

(LEO moves to PIPER's side and helps her pick MATT up.)

LEO: We need to go. (He shifts the heavy diaper bag from one shoulder to the other.)

PIPER: Go where?

LEO: Somewhere safe while they’re performing the spell up there. (He cocks his head, listening.) Come on, you can explain everything to me once we’re there.

(He and PiIPER hobble over to the twins’ playpen containing BABY MELINDA HALLIWELL, BABY CHRIS HALLIWELL, and DREA HALLIWELL. He lays his hand on the edge of the playpen and orbs the whole group away.)

[Scene: December 2027. Manor. Attic. PAIGE has her hands stuffed anxiously in her pockets as she watches ADULT VOLAC finish the time portal spell.]

ADULT VOLAC: “What I wish in place and time!”

(The outline of the portal glows a deep red and then the triquetra lights up with red light. PAIGE lets out a small yelp.)

PAIGE: We did it! (She yanks her potion vial out of her pocket.)

CHRIS: Yes we did!

(CHRIS suddenly backhands PAIGE across the face, knocking her to the ground. CHRIS’ form shifts and transforms into a grinning ADULT DREA HALLIWELL. She throws down the vial from her pocket, causing a cloud of smoke to shroud up around PAIGE as she moves quickly to the edge of the crystal cage. ADULT VOLAC waves his arm, sliding one of the black crystals out of place allowing ADULT DREA to slip out. She runs into his arms and kisses him deeply.)

ADULT VOLAC: The Charmed One’s blood is the active ingredient.

ADULT DREA: Who knew? (Her eyes twinkle.) Let’s go finish what we started!

(ADULT DREA steps towards the portal, only for an arm to appear out of it and blast both her and ADULT VOLAC off their feet. PRUE steps out, looking furious. Behind her, PHOEBE jumps out and immediately crouches into an offensive stance. PHOEBE notices the smoke clearing inside the dark crystal cage and spots PAIGE.)

PHOEBE: Prue, over there!

(PRUE squints her eyes at two of the crystals that she sees and they shoot across the room, deactivating the force field. Meanwhile, PHOEBE leaps into a levitating scissor kick, landing several rough assaults into ADULT VOLAC’s chest. ADULT VOLAC grabs PHOEBE by the ankle and spins her around in a dizzying circle before flinging her towards the wall. PRUE’s hand jets out, slowing PHOEBE down with her power, though she wasn’t fast enough to completely stop PHOEBE’s trajectory. PHOEBE hits the wall, shoulder first, and slides to the ground in immense pain. She forces herself back to her feet, but she’s clearly damaged as she tries to resume her fighting stance while sheltering her right arm at the same time. ADULT VOLAC thrusts out his arm, charging up a blast of umbrakinetic energy to aim at PRUE, while ADULT DREA aims a powerful electrical blast at PHOEBE.)

PRUE: (to ADULT VOLAC) You know, you should really get a parent’s blessing before courting someone’s daughter.

(ADULT VOLAC lets loose his umbrakinetic blast and PRUE throws up her hands, holding it back with all her telekinetic strength.)

PRUE: And you’re sure as hell not getting mine!

(PRUE grits her teeth and a dribble of sweat runs down the side of her face as she musters up all her strength to send the dark energy back at ADULT VOLAC. It strikes him in the chest and he howls like a wounded animal. The energy incinerates his clothing and leaves a large cauterized scar on his bare chest. As PRUE handles ADULT VOLAC, PHOEBE levitates over a series of sparking attacks by ADULT DREA, and as ADULT DREA puts her energy into attacking PHOEBE, she doesn’t notice the string of orbs entwining themselves around her feet like a sparkling rope. Suddenly two hands glide out from the orbs and grab onto ADULT DREA’s ankles and jerk her off her balance. The orbs vanish as ADULT DREA falls, landing painfully on her left side. PAIGE orbs in next to PHOEBE and wraps her arm around PHOEBE’s shoulders.)

PHOEBE: We need to get you out of here before-

PAIGE: Not without Chris.

PHOEBE: Where is he?

PAIGE: I don’t know. They tricked me, I thought Drea was Chris. (pause) Where’s Melinda? She could connect with him telepathically.

PHOEBE: She and Bianca are making sure the portal doesn’t close on the other side. (She and PAIGE glance at the pulsating red portal.)

[Cut through the portal to the attic in the present. MELINDA and BIANCA are standing on the other side. MELINDA has her hands raised defensively and BIANCA has two energy balls at the ready. MELINDA is looking increasingly anxious.]

MELINDA: Where are they? How long does it take to grab Aunt Paige and Chris and get the hell out of dodge?

BIANCA: Maybe I should go in-

(MELINDA raises her hand.)

MELINDA: No! If anyone goes, it’s me. You can’t risk-

BIANCA: I’m pregnant, Mel, not fragile.

MELINDA: Sounds the same to me.

BIANCA: I have to cross over anyway. You realize I can’t stay here, right?

MELINDA: Sure. You’ll cross back once the threat’s been neutralized, when Drea and Volac aren’t ruling the world anymore. When it’s safe for all of us, including my niece. If you go back before that, who knows what Drea and Volac will do? They already nearly killed you - and my niece - once already, or have you forgotten?

(Suddenly, a foot pokes through the portal and MELINDA jumps. PHOEBE and PAIGE emerge from the portal, but when no one else follows, MELINDA’s breath hitches.)

MELINDA: Prue and Chris? Where are they?

(PAIGE grabs MELINDA’s hand.)

PAIGE: Come on, you have to come find him.

(She tugs MELINDA through the time portal before she can protest. BIANCA notices PHOEBE cradling her shoulder.)

BIANCA: It’s broken.

(PHOEBE winces.)

PHOEBE: Leo!

[Scene: Massachusetts. Salem. Perry Crypt. PIPER, LEO, MATT, and the playpen with the children are there. LEO and PIPER are examining MATT’s photograph and PIPER is talking a mile a minute. LEO looks up and PIPER stops speaking.]

PIPER: (worriedly) Is something wrong?

LEO: Phoebe’s calling.

(PIPER shoves the photograph at him.)

PIPER: Go to her and take her this.

(LEO takes the photograph.)

LEO: I’ll be back as soon as I can.

(LEO kisses his wife as he orbs out. PIPER glances at MATT, who is propped up against the wall. She places her hands on her hips. A low rumbling noise is still coming from his mouth as he tries to speak. She sighs and kneels down next to MATT.)

BREAK

[The Virtual Series]

Act Two

[Scene: Present. California. San Francisco. Manor. Attic. LEO is standing next to PHOEBE with his hands over her shoulder. She has her eyes closed as the healing glow from her brother-in-law's hands washes over her.]

LEO: There. (He pulls his hands back and PHOEBE looks relieved.)

PHOEBE: Thank you.

(LEO reaches into his pocket.)

LEO: I need you to look at something for me.

(PHOEBE blinks.)

PHOEBE: What?

LEO: Piper gave this to me. (He produces the photograph and hands it to his sister-in-law. PHOEBE examines the picture.) There’s writing on the back.

(PHOEBE turns the picture over.)

PHOEBE: “Time’s up”? (Her body jerks.)

[Premonition: A hand with long, dark red nails is holding the photograph. The hands flip the photograph over and write, “Time’s up!” on the back and then lays the photograph face up on a T-shirt.]

[Cut back to the present. PHOEBE opens her eyes.]

PHOEBE: Where did Piper get this from?

(LEO hesitates.)

LEO: Matt.

(BIANCA’s head bobs up.)

PHOEBE: And where did-

LEO: He found it. (pause) What did you see?

PHOEBE: A woman wrote this. (She tilts her head, thinking.) A woman with long red nails.

(LEO glances over at Bianca, discreetly eyeing her hands which do not have long red nails at the end. He turns back to PHOEBE.)

LEO: Drea?

PHOEBE: Why would she want anything to do with him? He’s the one who left her and Prue.

LEO: Why did you want anything to do with your father?

(PHOEBE looks down.)

PHOEBE: Touché.

(LEO scratches his head.)

LEO: Did Drea have long red nails?

PHOEBE: To be honest, I was more focused on her lightning strikes than her fingernails. (She spins around.) Speaking of, I should probably get back through-

(MELINDA and CHRIS step out of the portal, followed by PAIGE and PRUE. The portal promptly closes behind them. CHRIS has his hand over his nose and blood is gushing between his fingers. MELINDA waves her arm to LEO impatiently.)

MELINDA: Dad, over here!

(LEO moves to CHRIS, who pulls his fingers back as LEO places his healing hands over CHRIS' broken nose.)

PHOEBE: (aghast) What happened?

CHRIS: Drea and Volac were just getting their kicks after they’d separated me from Paige. (The blood from his broken nose vanishes and his nose moves back into place. The light from LEO’s hands vanishes.)

MELINDA: Speaking of kicks, (she lightly touches CHRIS' chest and he groans) I think he’s got a few broken ribs too.

PAIGE: And after you’re done with the broken and bruised over there, do you think you could wonder over this way and take care of a few electrical burns for me?

PHOEBE: (curiously) Not that I’m complaining, but where are Drea and Volac?

PRUE: We managed to trap them in their own crystal cage.

CHRIS: But with their magic, who knows how long that will hold.

(PAIGE reaches into her pockets and proudly holds up the potions she was forced to make.)

PAIGE: And I snagged the rest of my time travel potions so they can’t get back.

(LEO finishes healing CHRIS and moves to PAIGE and begins to heal her wounds.)

LEO: Just out of curiosity, did any of you happen to notice if Drea had…red nails?

PAIGE: (confused) No, why?

PHOEBE: No she didn’t or no, why are you asking?

PAIGE: Second one.

PRUE: No she didn’t. And I reiterate, why?

(LEO and PHOEBE glance awkwardly at each other.)

PHOEBE: Well-

(PRUE notices the photo in her sister’s hands.)

PRUE: What’s that?

(PHOEBE shoves the picture into her pocket.)

PHOEBE: (innocently) Nothing.

(PRUE holds out her hand and the picture wriggles out of PHOEBE’s pocket and floats into PRUE’s hand. She looks confused at first, then her jaw slackens.)

PRUE: Did you get this from who I think you got this from?

PHOEBE: And who would that be?

PRUE: (angrily) That miserable bastard!

PHOEBE: Well that describes more than half the city-

PRUE: I can’t believe this! (to PHOEBE) First Piper and now you?

PHOEBE: It’s not what you think.

(PRUE ignores what PHOEBE said.)

PRUE: And this was taken last week! That means he’s been spying on me. Unbelievable!

PHOEBE: You don’t know that Matt was the one who even took it.

PRUE: Who would’ve taken this?

PHOEBE: Maybe the same woman with the long red fingernails from my premonition? (She wiggles her finger.) The same one who wrote the little comforting note on the back?

(PRUE flips the photo over and sees the writing. MELINDA, CHRIS, and BIANCA are sharing worried looks that no one else seems to notice.)

PRUE: You think he’s in league with someone trying to harm my daughter?

LEO: That’s not what she said. And no, I don’t. I think in his round-about way, he’s trying to help protect Drea. Maybe whoever sent that is trying to threaten him?

PRUE: Why him and not me? I’m the parent.

PAIGE: Maybe they thought distracting you with Matt’s return would allow whoever wrote that better access to Drea?

PHOEBE: Lillith.

(Everyone looks at PHOEBE.)

LEO: (nodding) That would make sense.

(PAIGE slaps her leg in disbelief.)

PAIGE: Does that witch ever give up?

LEO: Revenge is a powerful motivator.

PAIGE: It seems like an awful lot of work for revenge.

LEO: Emotions are complex, whether they belong to good, evil, or neutral.

PRUE: (shaking her head) Doesn’t matter. She’s not getting her red-tipped claws on my daughter. Not now. Not in the future. Not ever! This ends today. I’ll vanquish her myself if I have to.

MELINDA: (telepathically) This is not going well. Not well at all! What do we do?

CHRIS: (telepathically) We need to stash him somewhere.

MELINDA: (telepathically) Can you sense him yet or is Lillith’s cloak still on him?

CHRIS: (telepathically) He’s still cloaked.

MELINDA: (telepathically) Wait…if Dad got the picture from Mom, that means he’s probably still with her.

(CHRIS nods to BIANCA.)

CHRIS: (whispering) Go check on Mom. Make sure Mel’s powers haven’t worn off.

(MELINDA glares at her twin.)

MELINDA: (whispering) As if.

BIANCA: (whispering) I wish we could just kill him and get this over with.

CHRIS: You know as well as I do that would only cause problems. (He nods.) Now go.

[Scene: Massachusetts. Salem. Perry Crypt. PIPER is pressed up against the wall, sitting beside MATT.]

PIPER: My girl sure did a number on you, didn’t she? (She strums her fingers on the ground.) What I don’t get is what’s so important that she wants to keep me in the dark about. First I believe that you’re just this man who happens to be dating my sister, then I find out you’re a witch, then I find out you’re sent from the future and working with one of my long dead ancestors to protect my sister and my children, then you leave and I hear you’re dead and now…now I have no idea what to believe.

BIANCA's VOICE: Oh the tangled webs we weave.

(PIPER looks back to see BIANCA there. She glares.)

PIPER: Whatever it is my daughter’s hiding from me, I know you’re in on it too. I’m not stupid.

BIANCA: Far from it. (She walks over to MATT and kneels down and begins to rifle through his pockets.)

PIPER: What are you doing? (She grabs BIANCA’s hand and pushes it away.)

BIANCA: I need to find something that he has.

(PIPER narrows her eyes suspiciously.)

PIPER: Why? And what?

BIANCA: I’m sorry, I can’t divulge that. (She picks up one of MATT’s barely moving hands and examines it, then drops it back into MATT’s lap. She rises and walks over to the playpen, peers in, and then nods.) It looks like everything’s fine right now.

PIPER: Fine? (She picks up MATT’s limp hand.) I don’t know what your definition of “fine” is but-

(BIANCA shimmers out. PIPER blinks in disbelief.)

PIPER: Unbelievable!

[Scene: California. San Francisco. Ballmark. Matt’s hotel room. BIANCA shimmers in. The room looks fairly normal. The laptop and the spirit board are no longer on the table though, but the bed has been neatly made. BIANCA moves to one of the dressers and opens up the drawer, which she discovers to be empty. She closes it and opens the next drawer. Inside, she sees a couple of neatly folded shirts and pulls them out. Underneath, she finds MATT’s laptop. She picks it up and looks under it, but finds nothing. Irritably, she stuffs the laptop back into the drawer and shuts it, not bothering to return the shirts. She moves around the bed to the other dresser and opens the bottom drawer first. She finds a few pairs of pants and throws them onto the bed, but other than that, there is nothing else in the drawer. She pulls out the top drawer, only to find some underwear and a book about Wicca. She slams the drawer shut and looks around. In frustration, she grabs pillows on the bed and tosses them to the floor, finding nothing. Then she grabs the edge of the bed and struggles to lift it up. Under the mattress, she spots a bit of wood poking out. She grabs at it and pulls out MATT’s spirit board.]

BIANCA: Under the mattress? There are so many more original places this could’ve gone. (She tosses it haphazardly onto the bed.) Where did you hide the damn the potion?

[Scene: Manor. Attic. PRUE is seated on the sofa with the Book of Shadows in her lap. PHOEBE and PAIGE are sitting on either side of her, while CHRIS and MELINDA are standing over by the windows. MELINDA unlatches one of the windows and pushes it open a few inches, allowing a fresh breeze to waft in and the sound of chirping birds to cloak the sound of rustling pages.]

PHOEBE: We still have the problem of how we’re going to get rid of Lillith and Volac. We’ve already tried using the Power of Three on Lillith and it had no effect. And Volac’s immortal.

PAIGE: And we’re fresh out of auger shells.

PHOEBE: And the idea of trapping him for eternity is out of the question. At least not without Georgia and-

PRUE: (somberly) I know.

(PAIGE’s bites her lip.)

PAIGE: I still can’t believe we lost an innocent to eternity.

PHOEBE: You mean to Lillith and Volac.

PAIGE: Well, she’s got to have some weakness, right? Unless she’s immortal too.

PHOEBE: She could be, but I don’t think so.

PRUE: (to PHOEBE) Her whole thirst for vengeance is because of what happened to her family, right?

PHOEBE: Mhmm.

PRUE: And you saw them die?

PHOEBE: (curiously) Yes…

PRUE: So - ignoring the possibility that she somehow attained the power of immortality - it would stand to reason that perhaps whatever killed her family would kill her too, right?

PAIGE: That’s a sound theory to me.

PRUE: So what killed them? What do you remember from your vision?

PHOEBE: They were…stabbed.

PAIGE: That’s all?

(PHOEBE nods.)

PRUE: But that doesn’t make sense. If it was that easy than the Power of Three should’ve killed her a hundred times over.

LEO: Maybe it’s where she has to be stabbed?

PAIGE: (to LEO) You mean how vampires gotta have the wood through the heart or how zombies need their heads blown off?

LEO: Exactly. (to PHOEBE) Do you remember any similarities in their deaths?

(PHOEBE chews her lip.)

PHOEBE: I don’t remember…that vision was a while ago, you know.

PRUE: Maybe you need a refresher?

PHOEBE: And what? You just expect me to walk up to Lillith and say, “Hi…We’re kind of at a loss for how to kill you, so can I shake your hand and relive your family’s deaths please?”

PRUE: No, but maybe there is another way. (She closes the Book and hands it to PAIGE.) I have an idea.

(PRUE gets up and leaves the room. PHOEBE, LEO, and PAIGE exchange looks and then PHOEBE hops up to follow her sister.)

BREAK

[The Virtual Series]

Act Three

[Scene: Present. Manor. Phoebe’s bedroom. PRUE, PAIGE, and LEO are waiting around by PHOEBE’s bed as PHOEBE digs around in her closet. She emerges with a plastic tub and sets it down on her bed and begins to pry off the lid.]

PHOEBE: I already told you guys what I found out, which isn’t a whole lot more than we already knew, so I don’t know what you’re expecting to find in here.

(PHOEBE sets the lid down and PRUE immediately leans over the edge of the bed and pulls out the contents of the tub. She lays out several folders on the bed and then sits down and begins to open them up and take out the papers.)

PAIGE: (to PRUE) Maybe if you told us what exactly you were looking for we could all pitch in?

(PRUE pulls out an official-looking document. PHOEBE points to it.)

PHOEBE: That’s a copy of the Philadelphia marriage record for Charlie and Jane; 1709, I think.

PRUE: (nodding) December 18, 1709.

PHOEBE: And Caleb’s birth record should be under that.

LEO: And Caleb was the one who demonstrated warlock powers when Trina took you to view the past, right?

PHOEBE: Right.

PRUE: (muttering) November 20, 1710.

(PHOEBE glances up.)

PHOEBE: Caleb’s date of birth.

PRUE: (muttering) Right… (She sets aside the marriage record and the birth record.) Jacob Edmund Thomas…April 1, 1714…

PHOEBE: Both Charlie and Jane died not long after Jacob’s birth.

LEO: That seems a little suspicious.

PHOEBE: I think the records listed their causes of death as Scarlet Fever.

(PRUE holds up a paper.)

PRUE: Yeah, right here.

PAIGE: Too bad we don’t have any stray strands of Scarlet Fever hanging around to infect Lillith with.

LEO: If that’s really what killed them.

PHOEBE: It wasn’t uncommon for that time period. In fact, I think Scarlet Fever may have even been one of the top five rampant diseases for the 1700s.

(LEO frowns, still not convinced.)

LEO: What happened to the children?

PAIGE: They had a grandmother, didn’t they? I think I remember you saying something about that.

PHOEBE: They did, Sarah, on Jane’s side. But she also died.

LEO: (suspiciously) When?

PHOEBE: Before Jacob was born. About a month or so, I think.

PAIGE: Cause of death?

(PRUE holds up another paper.)

PRUE: Smallpox.

LEO: That seems awfully suspicious.

PHOEBE: (frowning) I guess. Maybe. I really hadn’t thought about it before.

LEO: It wouldn’t seem so strange if this was just a typical 1700s’ family, but they’re not. They’re your ancestors. And Matthew Tate’s offspring. They’re anything but typical. (pause) Phoebe, were you able to track the boys after their parents’ deaths?

(PHOEBE shakes her head.)

PHOEBE: My trail ran cold, there. No matter how many times I searched their names, I couldn’t find records on them.

LEO: And that didn’t strike you as odd?

PHOEBE: Not with records from the 1700s. It’s not like finding the ones I did was a walk in the park, ya know.

PAIGE: Well, we know that at least one of them must’ve lived, because Lillith got here somehow.

LEO: Maybe they were adopted?

(PHOEBE and PRUE lift their heads curiously.)

LEO: Their surnames could’ve been changed and that could be why you hit a roadblock.

(PHOEBE nods.)

PHOEBE: That’s possible. Maybe I’ve been looking in the wrong place? Maybe I should be looking for adoption records instead of marriage, birth, and death records? If they have adoption records that old, that is.

PRUE: You should call up Trina and see if she’d be willing to take you on another few trips to the past. If Leo’s hunch about the adoptions proves true, maybe you could uncover their adoptive names? Which brings me back to my original idea; you should also see if Trina can take you back to the day Lillith’s family was killed so you can re-watch it in 3D.

(PHOEBE grins and points to PRUE.)

PHOEBE: And that’s why you’re the Big Sister.

(PRUE playfully rolls her eyes.)

PRUE: I know.

(PHOEBE snatches up her cell phone which is charging on her dresser.)

PHOEBE: I’ll see what I can do.

[Cut to the attic. BIANCA shimmers in and she looks angry.]

BIANCA: The potion’s not in his hotel or on his person.

MELINDA: Well that’s ridiculous; it’s his only safe return…and our only hope to haul his ass back to where he should be. He’s got to have it somewhere.

BIANCA: Well I can’t just flat out ask him in front of your mother.

CHRIS: We could take her away.

MELINDA: She’d become suspicious.

BIANCA & CHRIS: She’s already suspicious. (They look at each other.)

MELINDA: Well it wouldn’t help things.

CHRIS: It would be for her own good. And ours.

(MELINDA twirls a strand of her long brown hair nervously.)

MELINDA: Maybe you should check his car first?

BIANCA: Where is it?

(MELINDA pushes the window open all the way and sticks her head outside. She doesn’t spot MATT’s silver Toyota Corolla, so she pulls her head back inside.)

MELINDA: My guess would be somewhere on the next block, so Prue wouldn’t see it.

BIANCA: (relenting) Fine, I’ll go look. But if I don’t find the potion, you both had better have a Plan B by the time I get back.

MELINDA: You are the Plan B, B.

(CHRIS lightly punches his sister in the arm.)

CHRIS: Not funny.

(MELINDA rolls her eyes.)

MELINDA: To you, maybe.

(BIANCA shimmers out. MELINDA wanders towards the door.)

CHRIS: Where do you think you’re going?

MELINDA: To see if the aunts have made any progress.

CHRIS: Do you really think they’re going to?

MELINDA: It’s what we want, isn’t it? I have a good feeling about this. I think they might be onto something that’ll help them defeat Lillith, which would instantaneously change our history.

CHRIS: As long as we keep him away from Prue and Drea.

MELINDA: (somberly) Yeah, that too.

(She leaves. CHRIS glances at the window again, watching the blue sky. The sound of singing birds can still be heard.)

CHRIS: (whispering) Please let us go back to a world like this one. (He leaves.)

[Scene: Contra Costa. Contra Costa College. Hannah Wilbur’s Medieval Culture’s class. TRINA WATSON is sitting in the middle row taking notes as PROFESSOR HANNAH WILBUR lectures with her back to the class, writing on the whiteboard. A buzzing sound comes from TRINA’s pocket and a few of her classmates glance back at her, but the professor doesn’t seem to notice. TRINA smiles politely and continues to write with one hand, while she fishes for her cell phone with the other. A moment later she pulls out her phone and discreetly flips it open under the desk, to find that the name “Phoebe Halliwell” is flashing as her incoming call. She groans and clicks “Ignore.” As she starts to fold her phone up, a new voicemail icon pops up on her screen and the cell begins to vibrate in her hand. She shuts the cell as the people who looked at her the first time turn around to look at her again. She smiles, this time with annoyance, rises from her seat, and leaves the room. Once she’s safely down the hallway, she brings up her Recent Call List and presses “Talk” on PHOEBE’s name. As TRINA enters the women’s bathroom, she presses the phone to her ear.]

[Cut back to Phoebe. She sets her cell phone back onto her dresser and takes a seat on the bed next to PRUE.]

PHOEBE: It’s the middle of the day, she’s probably in class right now. (Her cell phone begins to ring.) Or not. (She snatches up her phone and it the caller I.D. reads “Trina Watson.” PHOEBE gives a thumbs up to her sisters and flips open the phone.) Hello?

[Cut to Trina. She’s now standing inside a bathroom stall, locking the door.]

TRINA: Phoebe, hey. I just got your call…in the middle of class.

[Cut to Phoebe. She frowns instinctively, despite that TRINA can’t see her.]

PHOEBE: Sorry. It was kind of an emergency.

(MELINDA slips into the doorway. She folds her arms across her chest and leans against the doorframe.)

[Cut to Trina. She fiddles with her ponytail.]

TRINA: An emergency? What do you mean? What’s wrong?

PHOEBE's VOICE: (sheepishly) Uh, well, it’s kind of a long story…

[Cut to Phoebe. She’s chewing her lip.]

PHOEBE: It’s about that branch of the family tree I wanted information on back when we met at the Lammas festival. We’re kind of having a bit of a family crisis and I was wondering if there was any way you could help me out by taking me on another one of your retro projection trips?

(CHRIS appears behind MELINDA. PHOEBE nods to him and presses her finger to her lips.)

[Cut to Trina. She’s absently fiddling with the roll of toilet paper, unrolling it and then rolling it back up again.]

TRINA: Uh…well, I guess. (She scratches her head.) I have two essays due tomorrow, but I suppose I could squeeze you in tonight. My last class gets out at 7, so I should be home by 7:30.

[Cut to Phoebe. She’s giving her sisters an upsetting look.]

PHOEBE: Seven-thirty? (PRUE shakes her head.) I was actually hoping maybe you could do it A.S.A.P.

TRINA's VOICE: You mean like right now?

PHOEBE: (sheepishly) Like I said, it’s a bit of an emergency.

[Cut to Trina. She’s shifting nervously on the balls of her feet.]

TRINA: Like I said, I’m right in the middle of class. I really shouldn’t even be on the phone right now. (She hears PHOEBE sigh on the other end and nervously scratches her nose.) I do have a thirty minute break in between my current class and my next one though…if you could get down here that is.

[Cut to Phoebe. She grins.]

PHOEBE: Are you kidding? I have a sister, a nephew, and a brother-in-law who are all just an orb away. I can be there, if you’re willing.

[Cut to Trina. She’s running her hand over her ponytail again.]

TRINA: If it’s an emergency, then I’ll do it.

[Cut to Phoebe. She’s nodding to her sisters and LEO.]

PHOEBE: You’re a lifesaver. Literally. Thank you! I’ll see you…when does you class get out?

TRINA's VOICE: Twenty minutes.

PHOEBE: Great, see you then! Bye! (She flips her phone and sets it back on the table.) Plan Retro Travel is a go.

BREAK

[The Virtual Series]

Act Four

[Scene: Contra Costa. Contra Costa College. Cafeteria. PHOEBE is standing in front of a vending machine. “$1.00” reads on the screen above the buttons. PHOEBE has her fingers pressed to her chin. She turns her head to face LEO, who is turned away keeping an eye out for TRINA.]

PHOEBE: You like Starbursts?

LEO: I’m more of a Skittles person myself.

PHOEBE: Berry or Tropical?

LEO: Regular?

PHOEBE: Out.

LEO: Tropical.

PHOEBE: You read my mind. (She punches in “D2” and the vending machine begins to push the turquoise bag of Tropical Skittles out, but it gets stuck at the end and won’t fall. PHOEBE glares at the machine.) Is anyone watching me?

(LEO looks around.)

LEO: No, why?

PHOEBE: Because I’m about to educate this machine on giving people what they pay for.

(PHOEBE gets into an offensive stance and then hits the machine twice in two blinks of an eye with the edge of her hand like a blackbelt. The vending machine rattles and the Tropical Skittles fall into the tray below. Happily, PHOEBE bends down and collects her reward. As she tears off the edge of the package with her teeth, she reaches into the coin slot to retrieve her change, only to find it empty. LEO starts to snicker as he points to the sign on the wall, warning people not to hit the machines.)

LEO: Karma?

PHOEBE: I’ll karma you! (She stuffs a handful of Skittles into her mouth and pouts, then she shoves the bag at LEO.)

LEO: Thanks. (He shakes a few Skittles into his hand and pops them into his mouth. PHOEBE impatiently looks at her watch.)

PHOEBE: Shouldn’t she be here by now? She was supposed to get out five minutes ago.

LEO: She said she’d be here, so I’m sure she will.

(On cue, TRINA comes running up to LEO and PHOEBE with her backpack bouncing on her back.)

TRINA: Sorry I’m late; the traffic in these halls is insane!

LEO: (to PHOEBE) Told you.

(PHOEBE wrinkles her nose and shakes her head at him childishly.)

TRINA: (confusedly) What?

LEO & PHOEBE: Nothing.

(PHOEBE leans in and gives TRINA a quick hug.)

PHOEBE: Thanks again for coming. How’ve you been?

TRINA: Good. (She nods.) Great. I actually just got straight A’s last semester and I’m hoping for a repeat performance. (She motions her hand.) Come on, I know just the place where we can get this thing done in private. (She turns and heads out, with LEO and PHOEBE at her heels.)

[Cut to a closed door marked “Pilates.” A few chatty students walk by and then TRINA, PHOEBE, and LEO walk up.]

TRINA: The Pilates instructor just got her first grandchild this week, so she canceled classes to head up to Utah to see her daughter and the baby, (she swings open the door) which means this room is perfect for our needs.

(PHOEBE and LEO look around as they walk in. The room has a hardwood floor, covered in blue mats and a television and stereo in the corner. There is a board on one side of the room covered with flyers, many of which are Pilates related, and the walls are painted a soft blue with fluffy white clouds. Several Pilates inspired posters are also pinned up around the room.)

PHOEBE: Wow. I guess real colleges must go all out for their students nowadays.

(TRINA laughs.)

TRINA: ‘Fraid not. They’re as picky about expense as any college is, which is why the décor in the room came out of Ms. Welch’s own pocket…but she’s so into the class that it was nothing. Anyway, (she drops her backpack and sits down on one of the mats) are you ready? I’ve only got so much time and I still have to stop by the restroom before my next class.

PHOEBE: Oh, sure. (She pulls a mat up to TRINA’s and sits down.) Leo, guard the door, just in case anyone gets any bright ideas about coming in here.

LEO: Sure.

(LEO steps outside. PHOEBE and TRINA take hands.)

TRINA: Are we viewing Charlie again?

PHOEBE: No. I found out he died shortly after the birth of his second child, but that was what spurred on my interest in finding out about what happened to his children and their offspring. Leo thinks their deaths may not have been an accident.

TRINA: We can try to view his death if you’d like.

(PHOEBE ponders the idea.)

PHOEBE: Only if we have time. I’d like to see what became of Caleb and Jacob first, and I also need to see the death of Lillith’s family.

TRINA: Lillith?

PHOEBE: The daughter of either Jacob or Caleb. I had a premonition of the scene once before, but I can’t remember the details and Prue thought maybe you could help me out with that. (pause) Would it help if you saw it for yourself?

TRINA: (nodding) Probably.

PHOEBE: Close your eyes.

(TRINA does as she’s been requested and PHOEBE also shuts her eyes.)

PHOEBE: As silly as it sounds, I can’t repeat premonitions myself - yet - but I can apparently send visions to other people. (pause) Well, other people who are psychically inclinded anyway. Good thing we both share the power of premonition, right? (She concentrates, then feels TRINA’s hands grip hers. A few moments later, TRINA opens her eyes.) Did you see it? (She notices goose bumps on TRINA’s arms.) Scratch that. Can you take me back to it?

(TRIA nods. She sucks in a breath and keeps her eyes closed. Her head falls limp and a moment later, so does PHOEBE's.)

[Scene: July 13, 1749. Massachusetts. Boston. Forest. A blue flare appears in the kitchen depositing TRINA and PHOEBE. The sound of crying can be heard, prompting the two witches to turn towards the sound. On the ground near a fallen tree, a young girl with thick auburn hair, about 12 or 13, is sitting in some mud, moss, and leaves. She has her hand wrapped in her white apron, but the apron is smeared with blood. The sound of crunching leaves and twigs can be heard in the distance.]

BOY's VOICE: Lillith!

(The red haired girl, YOUNG LILITH, looks up. She doesn’t stop crying.)

YOUNG LILLITH: (whimpering) Edmund! Edmund, help me! Please come find me! (She continues to cradle her wounded hand as the sound of hurried footsteps through leaves and branches becomes louder.)

EDMUND: Lillith, keep talking to me so I can find you!

YOUNG LILLITH: (crying) Over here, behind the fallen trunk!

(EDMUND appears from the trees and jumps over the tree trunk and slinks down into the muck next to YOUNG LILLITH. EDMUND doesn’t look much older than LILLITH, maybe 15 or 16 at the most, with handsome brown eyes and a full head of glossy, brown hair, much like CHRIS'. EDMUND grabs YOUNG LILLITH around the waist and scoops her into his lap.)

PHOEBE: This wasn’t part of my vision, are you sure this is the right time? (She studies EDMUND and LILLITH.) I recognize them both, but-

TRINA: It may have taken you to what happened just prior to what we saw in your premonition.

(PHOEBE nods as she watches EDMUND carefully wipe the tears away from YOUNG LILLITH’s pale, freckled face.)

EDMUND: Oh little sister, what have you done to yourself this time?

(YOUNG LILLITH sniffs as EDMUND unwraps her hand and sees a blood gash in her palm.)

YOUNG LILLITH: I fell over the rocks over yonder. (She points with her good hand and her eyes tear up again.) It hurts, Edmund. It feels like fire!

EDMUND: You are being silly, Lillith. Fire feels much worse, I would know. (He holds up his hand, summoning a fireball to his palm. He winks at her and YOUNG LILLITH giggles despite her tears.)

YOUTH LILLITH: Well it hurts something awful then and you do not know that! (She sticks out her bottom lip in a pout.)

(EDMUND reaches into his boot and pulls out a long silver athame with an intricately designed handle, topped with a smooth blood colored ruby. YOUNG LILLITH stares at it with wide eyes.)

YOUNG LILLITH: Edmund, you know father does not want you to play with that.

EDMUND: I am not playing. (He holds out his hand and with a swift slash, cuts across his own palm. His face turns red as the skin around his eyes wrinkles as he scrunches his face in pain. YOUNG LILLITH gasps.)

YOUNG LILLITH: Why did you hurt yourself?

EDMUND: So I can know just what you are feeling…now you cannot say I that I do not.

(YOUNG LILLITH smiles slightly. EDMUND slides his athame back into his boot and ruffles his little sister’s hair with his good hand. He examines his cut, then examines YOUNG LILLITH’s.)

EDMUND: I have an idea. We should make a blood oath.

YOUNG LILLITH: A blood oath?

EDMUND: I will vow to always protect you and you will vow to always protect me.

YOUNG LILLITH: How?

EDMUND: By joining our hands. (He holds out his bloody hand.) It is a promise, but sealed with our blood. It is the most powerful of promises.

YOUNG LILLITH: O-okay. (She lays her hand down against EDMUND’s, allowing their blood to mingle. They squeeze each other’s hands.) I promise I will always protect you, Edmund.

EDMUND: And I will always be there to protect you, forever. (He kisses the top of her head. He glances up to see the sun beginning to set.) We need to get you home and take care of our hands.

(He slides YOUNG LILLITH off of his lap, stands up, and picks his sister up and begins to carry her out of the forest. PHOEBE and TRINA disappear in blue flares.)

[Cut to kitchen of a small cottage. A blue astral-like flare deposits TRINA and PHOEBE into the kitchen. A WOMAN wearing a white bonnet, gray dress, and white apron is filling a homemade pie crust with thick, juicy homemade cherry filling. A MAN strolls into the kitchen, carrying a heavy resemblance to EDMUND, and wraps his hands around the waist of the WOMAN. The WOMAN giggles as the man kisses her neck and she struggles to resist him and not drop her bowl of cherry filling.]

WOMAN: Jacob, stop! (She twists her head to the side as he continues to kiss her.) Jacob!

(JACOB THOMAS laughs and nuzzles the WOMAN’s cheek with his stubbly face.)

JACOB: A man cannot be happy to be home with his wife?

WOMAN: Not when she is trying to make pie for supper. (She sets her bowl down and turns in his arms, giving her husband a sweet kiss on the lips.)

JACOB: What about after she is finished with supper?

WOMAN: Mmm. (She closes her eyes.) I am afraid that will not be for a while yet, I still have potato stew and biscuits to prepare.

JACOB: A pity. (He kisses her nose and releases her from his grasp.) Where are the children?

WOMAN: Out playing in the woods again. (She rolls her eyes as she begins to scrape the sides of her bowl for the last remaining bits of cherry sauce.) They should be back any time now; I told them to be home by sundown. (The sound of a door opening from the next room can be heard.) That is most likely them now.

(The WIFE drops her spoon into her bowl and rubs her fingers against her apron, then moves to peer into the next room, but as she does so, a glass jar flies in and shatters at her feet. Smoke rises from the jar and combusts, sending the WOMAN flying into the table. The pie she was making slides off and falls upside down onto the ground, while her bowl falls off the other side and shatters. JACOB pounces at his WIFE’s side. She’s moaning and a trickle of blood is running from the corner of her mouth.)

JACOB: (whispering) Dinah!

(PHOEBE winces as she watches the chaos unfold. Two women, one barely into her early 20s with dirty blonde-brown hair and blue eyes and one with pale blonde hair and bright emerald irises who looks like she’s still a teenager, march into the kitchen. The TEENAGER looks frightened and unsure, but the YOUNG WOMAN appears confident as she digs into her pocket and retrieves a small piece of parchment. She grabs the younger girl’s hand, which is shaking. JACOB begins to shake with fury. He handsome face morphs into a sluggish, wart covered skin and his teeth grow long and sharp like razor blades. The TEENAGE GIRL screams and fades from view, though the YOUNG WOMAN’s hand still seems to be clenched around something, but nothing is there.)

YOUNG WOMAN: “Upon Mother Earth’s ground so pure and chaste,
Wicked warlocks we lay thee to waste!”

(A small explosion ricochets off JACOB’s chest, but does no more damage than that. The YOUNG WOMAN's eyes widen in disbelief. JACOB growls, sounding like a feral bear. He holds out his warty hands, tipped with jagged yellow and black nails and forks of red electricity stream towards the YOUNG WOMAN. She squints her eyes and the strikes reverse and impale JACOB in the chest, sending him sprawling into the wood burning stove. He staggers, then reaches for his belt and unsheathes an athame identical to EDMUND’s. He blinks out. The YOUNG WOMAN gasps and spins around, looking for JACOB. The latter blinks in behind her and wraps his hand around her throat, digging his animalistic nails into her flesh and drawing blood. His pupils are dilated and he’s still growling like a wild animal. He raises the athame to stab the YOUNG WOMAN, but she squints and it flies out of his hand and lands on the floor. She stomps on his foot and he throws her to the ground, causing her head to thud violently. JACOB doesn’t notice that his athame seems to pick itself up from the ground and move hastily through the air as he crouches down and prepares to dig his claws into his wife’s attacker. As his nails near the YOUNG WOMAN’s throat, a shrill voice comes out of nowhere.)

TEENAGE GIRL's VOICE: Leave my sister alone, you evil devil!

(The athame impales itself into the warlock’s back and he splays his arms and his head falls back. Red smoke streams between his lips and from his nostrils as he falls forward, on top of the girl he was about to attack. The TEENAGE GIRL becomes visible again, shaking as she watches JACOB’s body shimmer with silver swirling beams of light, then fade into clear ripples as the ruby on the athame glows and explodes. Both JACOB and the athame then vanish into oblivion. The TEENAGE GIRL’s sister shivers and sits up.)

YOUNG WOMAN: Pamela, you saved my life.

(PAMELA drops to her knees and hugs her sister.)

PAMELA: Astrid, take me home, please! I never want to vanquish a demon ever again!

ASTRID: Warlock. He was a warlock, there is a difference. (She pushes her sister away and stands up.) Warlocks are evil witches who have turned their backs on good magic.

(PAMELA nods numbly.)

PAMELA: (begging) Can we please leave? Pleeease, Astrid?!

(PAMELA’s eyes start to tear up. ASTRID takes her sister’s hands and they step out into the living room. TRINA and PHOEBE follow them. They see that the front door is wide open and as the sisters move towards it, EDMUND walks in with YOUNG LILLITH in his arms. EDMUND, ASTRID, and PAMELA stop cold in their tracks. YOUNG LILLITH’s body tenses up and she inadvertently squeezes her brother’s neck as a premonition overtakes her. When she comes out of it, she’s crying. She points her bloody finger right at ASTRID and PAMELA.)

YOUNG LILLITH: (screaming) They killed them! They killed them! (She starts to hyperventilate.) They killed Mother and Father!

(EDMUND sniffs the air.)

EDMUND: Blood… (He starts to shake like he’s suffering from convulsions. He sets YOUNG LILLITH on the ground and pushes her behind him. He voice sounds stern, despite his shuddering breaths.) Run. Run, Lillith! (He raises his trembling arm and summons a fireball to his palm.) You murdered my parents. (His eyes dilate and the pupils turn white.) I smell my mother’s blood here!

(EDMUND’s skin morphs and becomes speckled with warts and wrinkles, while his teeth yellow and turn piranha-like. He casts the fireball at the sisters. ASTRID pulls PAMELA into her arms and levitates them towards the ceiling as the fireball careens below their feet. PAMELA shrieks and they both turn invisible. EDMUND twists his head around, looking for the sisters. He sniffs the air, then reaches into his boot and retrieves his athame. He flips it the air and catches it by the blade, then points the ruby end outwards. A red shine beams from the ruby and he sweeps it across the room like a laser. The light bends, revealing the invisible sisters’ position as it sweeps over them. EDMUND snarls and casts another fireball at them, hitting PAMELA in the shoulder and knocking the girls out of PAMELA’s invisibility cloak. ASTRID squints her eyes and the athame in EDMUND's hand shoots into his heart like a bullet and he drops to his knees and screams.)

[Cut to Young Lillith. She is running down the dirt road, but as she hears her brother’s scream, she stops and turns to see him on his knees, though she can’t see his face because his back is towards her. Her breath hitches.]

YOUNG LILLITH: (screaming) Edmund!

[Cut back to Edmund. The red smoke rises from his nose and mouth, just like his father, and he falls forward, causing the athame to rip clear through his chest. The tip pokes up from his back as his body is engulfed in silver shimmers and clear ripples, before disappearing as if he was never there. PAMELA is crying as she clutches her burned and bleeding shoulder. ASTRID tears off a piece of her apron and presses it to her sister’s shoulder.]

ASTRID: Keep the pressure there. (She moves to the doorway to see LILLITH in the distance. She squints her eyes and hesitates, then LILLITH suddenly blinks out of view. ASTRID grips the doorframe angrily, then moves back to her sister.)

PAMELA: (frightened) What about the girl?

ASTRID: She has escaped. (She grabs PAMELA by the hand.) We need to get you home and dress your wound, you needn’t worry about her. We shall vanquish her in due time.

(As ASTRID and PAMELA leave, TRINA and PHOEBE exchange dreadful expressions.)

BREAK

[The Virtual Series]

Act Five

[Scene: July 13, 1749. Massachusetts. Boston. The Thomas family cottage. PHOEBE and TRINA are still standing there in the empty living room. TRINA is shuddering.]

TRINA: They seemed…

PHOEBE: (whispering) Good.

TRINA: Like a normal, non-warlock family.

PHOEBE: And then my ancestors just barged in and murdered them.

TRINA: But they were warlocks. (She shivers again.) Probably the most hideous ones I’ve ever seen, too.

PHOEBE: But that didn’t make them evil. (She shakes her head.) I know firsthand that not everyone who can turn into something like that is evil. Sometimes people can fight the pull; fight their blood. (whispering) Like Cole.

TRINA: Who’s Cole?

(PHOEBE shakes her head.)

PHOEBE: A good man. (pause) Was a good man. (She presses her hand to her forehead.) This just makes me sick. I didn’t see all of this in my premonition, just flashes of their deaths. (Her eyes start to tear up.) I don’t understand; were they just scrying for random “evil” to kill? Why would they choose Lillith’s family.

TRINA: They could’ve seen them using destructive magic somewhere else.

PHOEBE: (disbelievingly) Maybe.

(TRINA grabs PHOEBE’s hand.)

TRINA: I have an idea. (They vanish in a cerulean flare.)

[Scene: July 10, 1749. Massachusetts. Boston. Forest. A cerulean flicker projects PHOEBE and TRINA in. They find themselves standing next to a small stream. The sound of humming can be heard and then PAMELA skips through their un-solid forms. She’s swinging a wooden pail as she skips, then stops and fills up the pail at the stream. Once she’s finished, she turns and skips back through TRINA and continues back through the woods. TRINA tugs PHOEBE, urging her to follow PAMELA. PAMELA ducts between some berry bushes which PHOEBE and TRINA walk through like ghosts and then PAMELA slows her pace to chomp on some of the berries she snagged from the bush. As she’s walking, she stops and cocks her head to listen to the repeated thumping sound of something being hit. She cautiously moves forward and peers around a couple of trees, where she spots JACOB with an axe in hand, copping up firewood on a tree stump. She watches him for a beat, then is about to carry on her way when he suddenly misses the wood and strikes himself in the leg with the axe. She gasps as JACOB begins to curse out loud. He rips the axe out of his flesh, which is bleeding yet he doesn’t seem to be wounded, and then angrily throws the axe to the ground. PAMELA shivers as she watches his fingernails grow long, jagged, and yellow and then a bolt of red electricity singes from his fingers and hits the axe, blackening the blade. PAMELA gasps again and turns invisible. The noise prompts JACOB to turn around, revealing his warlock transformation. He looks for the source of the gasp, but sees nothing. He seems to have an inner struggle with himself before transforming back into his human-looking form, then he grabs his axe and blinks out. When she’s sure he’s gone, PAMELA becomes visible again, now with her hand over her mouth. She scurries off, heading for her home.]

PHOEBE: (quietly) He seems to transform under stress or anger. (She shakes her head.) But that’s not evil. That’s-that’s an inner battle. He’s fighting his warlock nature.

TRINA: But Astrid and Pamela didn’t know that. All Pamela knew was that she’d stumbled across a warlock and feared for her life.

PHOEBE: And so they ended up taking innocent lives. (She clutches her stomach.) I feel sick.

(TRINA lays her hand on PHOEBE’s arm.)

TRINA: We should go.

[Cut to the present. PHOEBE and TRINA awaken. PHOEBE still looks woozy. She pulls her hands back from TRINA and spots a water fountain in the corner of the room and runs to it. She leans on the lever and begins to splash her face with the cool water.]

TRINA: Are you alright?

PHOEBE: No.

TRINA: Did you need a break before we try to see anything else?

(PHOEBE shakes her head and points to the clock.)

PHOEBE: One, you don’t have time, and two, I wouldn’t be ready to go back even if you did.

(TRINA pales as she eyes the clock.)

TRINA: Crap! (She slides her backpack over one shoulder.) Call me tonight, alright? Let me know how you’re doing, and if you need me to show you anything else, I will.

(As she walks towards the door, it opens. LEO looks surprised to see TRINA and PHOEBE conscious.)

LEO: Oh, you’re already back. I was just about to let you know what time it was.

TRINA: Thanks, Leo. See ya later!

(She flies out the door. LEO notices PHOEBE and tilts his head sympathetically.)

LEO: You don’t look so good.

PHOEBE: You’re healing powers don’t treat nausea, do they?

LEO: Sorry.

PHOEBE: That’s what I thought. (She sighs and pushes her hair behind her ears.) Let’s get back home; I think I got what I needed. More than I needed.

[Scene: California. San Francisco. Manor. Phoebe’s bedroom. PAIGE and PRUE are still seated on PHOEBE’s bed, mulling over the family ancestry files that PHOEBE had mailed to her.]

PAIGE: We really need to update the family tree.

PRUE: With warlocks?

PAIGE: With blood relations. (She shrugs.) It might actually be useful for future generations to know there’s an entire other side of the tree that they didn’t know about. (She glances up at MELINDA and CHRIS, who are still hovering in the doorway.) Was there ever a time when it would’ve been useful for you?

(CHRIS and MELINDA share a look. Before either can say anything, PHOEBE wedges herself between them.)

PRUE: (to PHOEBE) That took longer than expected.

PHOEBE: Tell me about it.

MELINDA: (curiously) What did you find out?

(CHRIS elbows MELINDA’s side and she glares at him. PRUE notices that PHOEBE has a drawing pad and a pencil in hand and she’s sketching something.)

PRUE: Whatcha doin’?

PHOEBE: Drawing the athame I saw in my vision.

(She shoves aside some of the papers on her bed and sits down next to PAIGE. PAIGE leans over and watches as her sister diligently applies herself to the drawing. She begins to nod.)

PAIGE: That’s really good. And here I was thinking I was the family artist.

PHOEBE: You still are. I just happen to be good with a pencil. Nowhere near what you can do, though. (She shrugs.) With all the subjects I failed miserably at in school, I had to find something I was acceptable at.

PRUE: So you think her weakness has something to do with this athame?

PHOEBE: Yes. Both Jacob and Edmund seemed unfazed by spells and their own powers being used against them, but they each wielded an identical athame and that was what vanquished them. Problem is, both athames were destroyed during the vanquishes.

PAIGE: But you think we might be able to find another one?

PHOEBE: If we’re lucky, it could be in the Book of Shadows. If not, I’m going to have to turn to more drastic measures.

PRUE: E-bay?

PHOEBE: E-bay has everything, don’tcha know.

(PHOEBE shades in the ruby on the end of the athame and sketches in a few details on the handle, then lightly chews on the eraser of her pencil as she examines her finished work. She frowns a little, flips her pencil over, and erases the tip of the athame and redraws it ever so slightly longer, with a finer point. Then she tosses her pencil onto the bed and holds it up for her sisters to see.)

PAIGE: I can’t say I recall seeing it in the Book before, but on the other hand, I don’t do midnight reading, so… (She stands up.) I’ll go check.

(PRUE seems intently curious of the drawing though.)

PRUE: Are you sure that’s the athame you saw?

PHOEBE: One-hundred-and-ten percent, why? Have you seen it in the Book?

(PRUE snatches the drawing and holds it close to her face, then she throws it onto the bed just as quickly and shoves past her niece, nephew, and brother-in-law to leave the room.)

PAIGE: Someone’s in a hurry. (She folds her arms suspiciously.) I wonder what that was about?

(PAIGE slips out of the room and looks down the hallway, where she hears PRUE ravaging around in her room. Within moments, PRUE emerges from her doorway with a blue velvet pouch in her hands and hurries down the hallway. She breezes past PAIGE, LEO, CHRIS, and MELINDA again as if they aren’t even there and tears into PHOEBE’s room, where she drops onto the bed and proceeds to unwrap what she’s holding. As she peels back the layers of blue velvet, she reveals a silver athame with a ruby topped handle, identical to the one in PHOEBE’s drawing. LEO looks surprised.)

LEO: Where did you get that?

PRUE: (to PHOEBE) Does this look familiar?

(PHOEBE leans in, staring at the athame.)

PHOEBE: How did you- (She blinks.) Where did you- (She runs her hand through her hair.) I cannot believe you had this and didn’t say anything!

PRUE: I cannot believe you don’t remember this!

PHOEBE: Should I?

(PRUE grabs her sister’s hand and places it against the handle of the athame. PHOEBE’s form goes rigid.)

[Premonition: PRUE, PHOEBE, and PIPER are standing in a church corridor behind BRENDAN ROWE, who is facing his warlock half-brothers, GREG ROWE and PAUL ROWE. PAUL has his hand raised and a blue, electromagnetic field is shielding him.]

PHOEBE: Aaagh!

(PHOEBE raises the ruby tipped athame and hurls it at GREG, but he holds up his hand and turns as PAUL’s electromagnetic field extends to him, blocking the athame and causing it to bounce and fall to the ground with a clatter. PRUE squints her eyes, shooting a telekinetic blast, but GREG raises his hand and a pale orange light emanates from his hand, absorbing her telekinetic attack.)

GREG: No! Not this time. I’m ready for you. (He swoops down and picks the athame up and points it at BRENDAN.) But family first!

BRENDAN: (tauntingly) Yeah? (He wiggles his fingers invitingly.) Come and get me!

PAUL: (yelling) Greg! (He jumps in front of GREG and holds up his hand in a stopping motion.) Wait!

PRUE: (warningly) Brendan. Don’t let them turn you, don’t use your powers!

PAUL: (to GREG) Give him a chance! (He turns to BRENDAN.) It’s not too late, Brendan, you can still join us.

GREG: (yelling) You are either with us, or you are against us!

BRENDAN: (nodding) Then I’m against you.

GREG: (yelling) Then you will die!

(He throws the athame at BRENDAN, but PAUL jumps in front of him and the athame impales itself into PAUL’s chest. PAUL wheezes and gasps as he collapses into BRENDAN’s arms while PRUE lets out a sharp gasp behind them. GREG stares at PAUL as he suffers from the athame.)

GREG: Damn you, Brendan!

PAUL: No Greg, (he wrenches the athame from his chest and staggers) damn you!

(PAUL throws the athame into GREG’s chest and as PAUL falls to his knees, a puff of red smoke filters out of his mouth. At the same time, red smoke begins to plume from GREG’s mouth as he too drops to the ground and falls onto his back. The ruby on the athame begins to glow and then GREG’s body begins to ripple and vanish, leaving begin a shower of sparks from the athame. Then PAUL’s body begins to shimmer too, before disappearing completely.)

[Cut back to the present. PHOEBE awakens from her premonition and pulls the athame into her hands. She starts to shake her head.]

PHOEBE: I can’t believe I didn’t recognize this before. (pause) But how? In my vision, this was destroyed.

PRUE: Greg and Paul’s athame was destroyed, but not Brendan’s. Do you remember after the ordination when Brendan said he wanted to show me something in private? (PHOEBE nods.) It was that, (she touches the athame) it had been given to him by his father as a child and he’d kept it…he said it reminded him of the generations of evil in his family and it made him work that much harder to be good. But after he became a Priest and his brothers were dead, he wanted to get rid of it and so I offered to take it for him. (She shrugs.) I thought it might come in handy some day.

PHOEBE: But if this is the Rowe Coven athame used to kill Rowe Warlocks…then what was it doing killing Lillith’s father and brother? Unless…

PRUE: Unless they’re part of the Rowe Coven?

(PHOEBE shakes her head.)

PHOEBE: But that’s impossible!

PRUE: Is it?

PHOEBE: They’re already related to Matthew Tate. And the Rowe Coven dates back to the tenth century! It doesn’t make sense.

PRUE: But the fact that their line could produce Evil Charmed Ones does, if it came from the same line that can produce Good Charmed Ones.

(PHOEBE covers her mouth.)

PHOEBE: Oh. Oh! (She hands the athame to PRUE and jumps up to turn on her laptop. Her sisters eye her with curiosity.)

PAIGE: O-o-kay, I’m not entirely sure what you two are talking about and I’m going to guess it was before my time, but I do know realization when I see it. (She slides in behind PHOEBE and watches at PHOEBE’s background turns on.) What are you looking for?

(PHOBE types in “FindYourAncestors.net” and waits patiently as the site comes up. She types in her username and password and presses “Sign In,” then she brings up the search box and types in, “Gregory Rowe” with the record search designated for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A few moments later, a list of names with the last name “Rowe” pops up, including a “Rowe, Gregory” at the top. PHOEBEe clicks the link and begins to scour the information as PRUE slinks up behind her to stand next to PAIGE.)

PHOEBE: Unbelievable. It was right under my nose this whole time and I never even realized it!

PAIGE: I am so lost…

PHOEBE: During the first time I went on that reto projection thing with Trina, I saw Caleb use his powers on his mother accidentally. It was the same power that Paul Rowe had, (to PRUE) that shocking force field thing. (And stabs the screen with her index finger.) And Jane’s mother, Sarah, worked as a maid for a man she called “Master Gregory.”

PRUE: (understanding) Like Greg Rowe.

PHOEBE: Exactly!

PRUE: So you think-

(PHOEBE scrolls down the page, her eyes flitting back and forth as she skims the contents of the records.)

PHOEBE: No, (emphasizing) I know. Look! It says that Gregory Rowe legally adopted two orphans by the names of Caleb and Jacob Thomas in 1714. (She shakes her head disgustedly.) I think “Master Gregory” wasn’t just their adopted father, but their biological grandfather! It was quite popular at the time for maids to be taken advantage of…and if the Rowe Coven if really the reverse of the Warren line, then perhaps good ol’ “Master Gregory” didn’t bat an eyelash when his lowly maid gave birth to a daughter who would never possess Rowe magic.

PRUE: But then when Jane’s son turned up magical, he wanted control of the children.

PHOEBE: (to LEO) And I bet your hunch was right. I think he conveniently got Sarah, Charlie, and Jane out of the way so he could adopt the boys and induct them into the Rowe Coven without suspicion. (She folds her arms and leans back into her chair.) But at some point, I think Jacob rebelled against the warlock heritage that had been thrust upon him and tried to start his life over in Boston, where he met Dinah and had Edmund and Lillith, both of whom turned out magical, one with Rowe magic and the other with Warren magic.

PAIGE: I was with you until the end. If Lillith was only a Warren witch, then why does she have warlock powers? Why can she blink?

PHOEBE: Just because she didn’t get warlock magic doesn’t mean she could never get the power to blink or become a warlock. There is more than one way to turn into a warlock. You can start out a good witch and turn evil or-

PRUE: You can be born a warlock, like Brendan.

PHOEBE: Or, (she rolls her eyes) you can be a familiar and turn on your mistress. (She holds up her hand.) But that’s a story for another day. My point is, she could’ve gotten warlock powers from a plethora of other places.

PAIGE: But if Rowe magic is tied to the athame, then how did she get its immunity – if indeed you’re right about that – if she didn’t inherit Rowe magic?

LEO: (nodding) Paige’s got a point there.

PHOEBE: (chewing her lip) The blood oath.

PAIGE: Come again?

PHOEBE: Lillith and her brother made a blood oath. It stands to reason that by mingling the blood of their open wounds, she could’ve accidentally contracted Rowe magic, and along with it, their immunities and weaknesses. (pause) But if we knew how to vanquish them all along, why did the Book say there wasn’t a way? (She blinks, then types “Jacob Rowe” into search bar for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When the name comes up, she clicks it and scrolls through the records for the name.) It says he wed Dinah Baker in 1732 and then… (She scrolls to the end of the page.) The record ends.

PRUE: Why don’t you try looking up Jacob Thomas?

PHOEBE: I already told you, I did, and I got nowhere.

PRUE: Narrow down the search to Boston.

PHOEBE: Boston? (Her eyes light up.) Wait, you think maybe he went back to his birth name?

PRUE: What better way to start over than with a new name in a new city and state?

(PHOEBE types “Jacob Thomas” into the search box for Boston, Massachusetts. A few moments later, several listings pop up.)

PHOEBE: The name’s too common.

PAIGE: Narrow it down by searching only records listing Dinah as the wife’s name.

PHOEBE: Good idea. (She starts typing.)

PAIGE: Thanks. I guess I got kind of good at this back when I was searching for my birth parents.

(PHOEBE holds up her hand.)

PHOEBE: Score!

(PAIGE high fives PHOEBE and then so does PRUE.)

PHOEBE: Here it is. Jacob and Dinah Thomas…two children, Edmund and Lillith Thomas…They lived in Boston until July 1749 when Jacob, Edmund, and Lillith “disappeared” and Dinah was discovered dead in their home. She was buried in a small town cemetery on July 20 of the same year.

PRUE: I can’t believe it’s this simple. (She cradles the athame.) All we have to do is use this and it’s over.

MELINDA: Half over. You’ve still got the all-power Immortal Child to contend with too.

LEO: One problem at a time, Melinda.

BREAK

[The Virtual Series]

Act Six

[Scene: Massachusetts. Salem. Perry Crypt. DREA is wailing from the playpen as PIPER leans over the edge.]

PIPER: Hey there, Sweetheart. (She slides her hands under her niece and picks her up.) What’s the matter? (She rubs DREA’s belly, but DREA continues to scream. PIPER frowns.) Are you wet? (She unbuttons DREA’s onesie and checks the wetness indictor line on the diaper.) Nope. (She snaps the onesie up.) Hungry?

(PIPER kneels down next to the diaper bag and begins to unzip it. Inside, she pulls out a room temperature bottled water and a can of formula. One handedly, she twists the cap off the bottle and pours in the water, then she uses her nails to pry off the plastic lid on the formula can and ends up snapping one. The sound echoes in the crypt, causing DREA to cry harder. PIPER tries to rock DREA with one arm, but it proves too difficult, so instead she focuses on measuring one scoopful of formula. DREA’s face begins to turn the color of a beat as PIPER twists on the bottle cap and starts to shake the bottle, then she stands up triumphantly and wriggles the nipple of the bottle into DREA’s mouth. DREA seems to calm for a moment and PIPER sighs with relief. As she paces back and forth with her niece, she doesn’t notice MATT behind her, who is slowly wiggling the tips of his fingers. With each moment, more and more of his fingers wiggle at his command. A weak smile forms on his lips as he watches his success.)

[Scene: California. San Francisco. Manor. Attic. MELINDA, CHRIS, and BIANCA are there.]

BIANCA: It’s not in his car. Believe me, I looked (emphasizing) everywhere!

(MELINDA childishly stomps her foot.)

MELINDA: We can’t send the little future wrecker back without it!

BIANCA: We could try a spell.

CHRIS: Like?

MELINDA: (pondering) The Lost-and-Found Spell?

(CHRIS and BIANCA shake their heads.)

CHRIS: Too much of a chance for backfire. Besides, the potion isn’t lost, we just don’t know where it is.

MELINDA: Truth Spell?

BIANCA: Again, heavy chance for backfire.

CHRIS: I don’t think I ever remember a story about someone using that spell where it worked out well. Excluding Grandma, of course, who originally wrote the spell.

MELINDA: Possession Spell?

BIANCA: Possessing him won’t do us any good without the knowledge of where the potion is in the first place.

(MELINDA strums her fingers on the windowsill.)

MELINDA: How about the spell to hear secret thoughts? That way we could probe his mind without making Mom too suspicious.

CHRIS: That spell only allows us to hear surface thoughts, not probe someone’s mind.

BIANCA: But it could still work if we were to ask him the right questions and get him thinking about the potion.

(CHRIS rubs his chin.)

CHRIS: If we can do so without letting Mom know what we’re up to.

MELINDA: But we’d be able to hear her thoughts too. If she got too suspicious, we could change course.

(CHRIS nods.)

CHRIS: Okay, fine, I’ll agree to that one. (He eyes his fiancé.) Are you both going to cast the spell?

BIANCA: Well you obviously can’t.

(CHRIS shoots MELINDA a dirty look.)

CHRIS: (to BIANCA) You have no idea the trouble you’re in for with my sister being in your head all the time.

(MELINDA smirks.)

MELINDA: (to BIANCA) Just don’t think anything of the hot and sweaty nature about my brother and we’ll be on the up and up. (She and CHRIS shiver in disgust at the same time.) The first time I started hearing Chris’s dirty little teenage boy thoughts was more than enough for a lifetime!

CHRIS: Hey, you weren’t the only one scarred for life! I couldn’t go to gym for a week after I heard your fantasies about Coach Cullen. (He makes a little gagging noise while MELINDA bats her eyelashes wistfully.)

MELINDA: Ooh, Coach Cullen…I’d forgotten about him. He was yummy-

(CHRIS holds up his hand.)

CHRIS: Oh, okay! Focus. We have work to do. We need to go get the Book away from the aunts. (He storms out of the attic. MELINDA and BIANCA share looks.)

MELINDA: If you think Coach Cullen was squicky, you should’ve been there when we both realized we thought Miss Mallory was hot. (She holds up her hand.) Talk about (high pitched) awkward! (She leaves. BIANCA stands there a minute longer, then snickers and leaves as well.)

[Scene: Massachusetts. Salem. Perry Crypt. DREA spits out the bottle, which has only been half finished, and begins to wail again. PIPER paces back and forth and pokes at her niece’s lips with the nipple of the bottle, hoping to get DREA to accept the bottle again, but she refuses.]

PIPER: (pleadingly) Come on, Drea. Be a good girl for Auntie Piper.

(PIPER dabs DREA’s lips with the bottle again and a few drops of formula run down her chin and pool on her neck. DREA gets louder and PIPER begins to dab off the formula with the edge of DREA’s blanket. Behind them, MATT is moving his fingers in full force now. His jaw is also moving, but no words are coming out yet. He keeps flicking his attention between PIPER and his fingers. A pale sound escapes his throat, but PIPER doesn’t hear it over DREA’s crying. MATT tries again, this time slightly louder, but PIPER still doesn’t hear him. He grits his teeth and manages to curl his hand into a fist.)

MATT: P-P-Piper!

(PIPER jumps at the noise and turns, seeing MATT staring at her.)

PIPER: Did you just-

MATT: P-Piper.

(DREA’s crying ceases. PIPER looks down at the baby with a mixture of interest and relief. She slides onto the floor next to MATT and notices him moving his hands.)

PIPER: Careful, take it slowly. Get the blood flowing at a normal speed again.

(PIPER reaches over and lightly massages MATT’s hands with her fingers. MATT isn’t paying attention to PIPER, however; he has his eyes locked onto DREA. PIPER notices. She brushes her thumb over DREA’s tiny hand.)

MATT: A-A-And-rea.

(PIPER smiles as DREA stares at MATT.)

PIPER: (to DREA) Is that your daddy?

(DREA sticks her tongue out of her mouth and yawns. She eyes MATT cautiously.)

PIPER: Would you like to hold her?

(MATT manages to nod his head and begins to move his weak arms into position. PIPER gently lays DREA down in MATT’s arms and then scrambles over to the diaper bag, where she pulls out an extra blanket and folds it up to place under MATT’s arms for support.)

MATT: H-h-ey th-ere.

(DREA yawns. PIPER holds up the bottle and taps DREA’s lips with it again. This time DREA opens her mouth and begins sucking on the bottle. MATT appears serene as he gazes at his infant daughter.)

PIPER: (to DREA) This is what you’ve been missing, haven’t you?

(MATT slides his finger under DREA’s hand. She grips it with her miniature fingers. PIPER exhales.)

PIPER: You can’t stay, right?

(MATT stares forlornly at his baby girl.)

MATT: No.

PIPER: You can’t keep doing this. (Her eyes become glassy.) You can’t keep coming back here. Just when Prue is recovering, you show up again to hurt her.

MATT: I-I was o-only trying to h-elp.

PIPER: And you have. But at some point, you have to leave it up to us. You have changed the future, haven’t you? More than once. You saved Phoebe, you gave this family this beautiful little girl, and now-now you have to just go back and leave it to us. And believe me, that’s not easy for me to say, not after knowing how hard it is to grow up without a father. But the thing is, you obviously can’t be around, whereas my father chose not to be. (She sighs.) And with that being the case, it’s just better if you make a clean break so as to not hurt them anymore than you already have. Drea’s too young to be hit by the ramifications, which is why I’m going to ask you to make this the last time we see each other, okay? I’ll continue to protect yours and Melinda’s secret as promised, but I won’t allow you to bring anymore harm - emotional or otherwise - to my sister and my niece.

(MATT rubs his throat.)

MATT: I know I’ve hurt her. (He coughs.) I know I’m hurting her-

PIPER: You don’t. You really don’t, Matt. You haven’t been with her every day since you left…twice. You haven’t been with for throughout this entire pregnancy. (She shakes her head.) You chopped her heart into these miniscule pieces and then you ground them down and scattered them so many places that I really don’t know if she’ll ever fully recover from it. Especially not when she’s got this beautiful little girl that will forever be a reminder of what you had.

MATT: (painfully) I’m sorry.

PIPER: I’m not the ones that need an apology.

MATT: (looking down) I wish I could help.

(DREA finishes the bottle and her lids fall across her little blue eyes like the veiling of curtains. PIPER gently pulls back the bottle as she studies MATT.)

PIPER: (whispering) “Open Prue’s heart to Matt,
Reveal the secret that it holds back,
Bring forth the passion of love’s fire,
That he may feel her true desire.”

(A swirl of red light creates a halo above MATT’s head, then it shoots into his heart. MATT’s face contorts in pain and his hand moves to clutch his chest as if he’s having a heart attack. Tears forcefully spring to his eyes and he begins to cry out, unable to withstand the pained love that PRUE feels for him. And then as quickly as it came, the red light flees from his chest and vanishes into the air. MATT gasps as he looks at PIPER, who nods sympathetically.)

MATT: I-I didn’t know…

PIPER: I know, that’s why I wanted to drive the point home. Prue holds so much back that the rest of us would never be able to stand, and I just wanted you to understand what you’ve put her through.

(MATT continues to clutch his heart.)

MATT: P-pen. Pen. I need a pen.

(PIPER digs into the diaper bag and pulls a blue gel pen out of the side pouch. MATT pulls back the flap of his coat, revealing an inner breast pocket on his jacket. He pulls out a yellow fast food napkin and begins to write something on it, then he scribbles it out and rewrites. PIPER’s eyebrows furrow as she studies him. MATT flips the napkin over and writes something else, then he taps the edge of the napkin with his pen and seems satisfied.)

PIPER: What is that?

MATT: It’s something I need to do.

PIPER: You’re…writing a To-Do List?

(MATT shakes his head.)

MATT: I’ll leave like you asked, but there are two things I need to do first.

[Scene: California. San Francisco. Manor. Phoebe’s bedroom. MELINDA is walking out of the bedroom with the Book of Shadows tucked in her arms like a newborn.]

LEO: Mel’s right, you know. Once you take out Lillith, Volac will be coming after you for killing his mother.

PRUE: (stubbornly) She’s not his mother.

PAIGE: She might as well be. She saved him from eternal entrapment, didn’t she? And she’s been taking care of him ever since. Blood or not, she’s the kid’s mom and he’s gonna want revenge.

PHOEBE: We might not even be able to get near her with him around.

PAIGE: It’s too bad we can’t just bind his powers.

PHOEBE: Like that worked well last time with Drea. Volac might actually kill one of us.

PRUE: Well, I say we take our chances with Lillith and then work on the Volac predicament when it comes.

LEO: Look, I know you always work on instinct and generally don’t plan ahead, but in this situation it might be wise to do so. If one of you dies, Lillith’s death will have been for nothing anyway. There will be absolutely no way to stop or contain Volac at that point-

PRUE: (stubbornly) There already is no way.

LEO: Maybe not that you can see at this moment. But with the Power of Three, there’s always hope. Without it-

(PHOEBE gets up and lays her hand on LEO’s shoulder.)

PHOEBE: Maybe you should go fill Piper in on the new developments, okay? Knowing Piper, she’s probably fretting and some information is better than none. We’ll continue working on a plan of attack here.

[Cut to the living room. MELINDA and BIANCA are seated on the couch with the Book of Shadows opened to the spell to hear secret thoughts. Two candles are seated in front of them, which CHRIS is lighting with a match.]

MELINDA: So once we find out where the potion is, I’ll slow mo his ass, (to BIANCA) you dump it into his mouth, (to CHRIS) and you give it a nice telekinetic shove down his throat. Sound good?

(CHRIS and BIANCA nod in agreement. MELINDA grins.)

MELINDA: I love teamwork!

(BIANCA and MELINDA take hands.)

BIANCA & MELINDA: “As flame lights shadows as truth ends fear,
Open locked thoughts to my mind’s willing ear,
May the smoke from this candle into everywhere creep,
Bring inner most voices to my mind in speech.”

BIANCA: (thinking) Did it work?

MELINDA: (thinking) Like a Charmed One.

(BIANCA notices CHRIS staring at her stomach.)

CHRIS: (thinking) Perry is a “P,” we could use it as a middle name like Mom and Prue did for Melinda and Drea.

(BIANCA glares at her fiancé.)

BIANCA: (defensively) Perry has been my family’s last name for generations. We’re not changing it now.

CHRIS: (blinking) And Halliwell has been my family’s last name for generations!

BIANCA: Three, starting with your grandmother. That pales in comparison to Perry dating back to the Salem Witch Trials.

(CHRIS opens his mouth to rebuttal, but MELINDA raises her hand and CHRIS' mouth freezes wide open.)

MELINDA: You guys can continue this debate after we have a future to raise my niece in. (She grabs BIANCA’s hand.) To Salem! (BIANCA grabs CHRIS by the ear, pinching it between her thumb and index finger causing him to wince as they begin to shimmer out.)

BIANCA: (whispering) Your family’s tradition has been to pass on the (emphasizing) maternal name, and that would be (emphasizing) mine!

(They shimmer out completely. From upstairs, the sound of shattering glass can be heard.)

PRUE's VOICE: (yelling) Get out! (The sound of stomping can be heard, followed by a flurry of frantic footsteps.)

[Cut to the attic. PRUE storms through the door, with PIPER and MATT right on her heels.]

PRUE: I’m warning you, Matt!

MATT: I will. I promise. (He holds up his hands in a surrendering motion.) I just need you to listen to me one last time, okay?

PRUE: Give me one reason why I should.

(PAIGE and PHOEBE and Phoebe run in, both wearing shell shocked expressions on their faces and looking like neither one of them knows what to do.)

MATT: Because, (he touches his heart) I know what’s going on inside you. Piper cast a spell to allow me to feel your feelings for me. I’ve never felt anything more raw and painful in my life, Prue. I can honestly say I know how you feel and before I go, I want to you to know that I never meant to hurt you-

PRUE: You can preach that until the cows come home and it will never make it true. You lied to me!

MATT: And you never lied to me? I lied to you to protect you Prue, same as you did with me. Everything I’ve done has been for you. You and now our daughter.

(PRUE shakes her head.)

PRUE: Save it. (She motions her hand and the Book of Shadows opens to the Prohibition Spell.)

MATT: Piper! (He reaches into the inner breast pocket of his coat and pulls out the napkin he wrote on earlier. He thrusts it at PIPER.) Read it.

(PRUE eyes the paper suspiciously.)

PRUE: What is it?

MATT: (simply) A spell.

PRUE: Is this some kind of joke? You must be insane if you think she’s actually going to read it!

MATT: (begging) Piper, please.

PIPER: What will it do?

MATT: It’ll reveal everything.

(A cloud of orbs descends from the ceiling, taking shape into MELINDA and CHRIS. Beside them, BIANCA shimmers in.)

PIPER: “Who you are,
Return the other,
Bring back the face of,
Prudence’s lover.”

(A magical sheen washes over MATT and a few magical sprinkles of dancing light flutter around MATT’s face, concealing it. As the lights fade away, the thick, slightly curly brown hair that PRUE had become accustomed to had shrunk to short, black hair and the California tan had faded away. PRUE staggered back as her hand moved to her mouth.)

PRUE: (gasping) Andy!

[The Virtual Series]

End Credits

Special Guest Appearance
T.W. King --- Andrew Trudeau

Co-Starring
Brody Jo Hamilton --- Baby Melinda Halliwell
Jackson Phillip Deveraux Kaufman --- Baby Chris Halliwell
Megan Hope Sanov --- Andrea Penelope Halliwell
Erica Amatori --- Young Lillith
Peter Mercer --- Edmund Thomas
Quentin Kerr --- Jacob Thomas
Susan Walters --- Dinah Thomas
Taylor Brooks --- Pamela
Allison Munn --- Astrid

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