X Files/Charmed:- Hubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble
Created | Updated Sep 23, 2004
Hubble Bubble Toil and Trouble
San Francisco Railway Station, May 15th 2003, 8.30pm
The handsome blonde haired man looked at his watch for the umpteenth time and sighed, she was late and he was getting impatient, he'd been standing at the San Francisco railway station for about 30 minutes making sure nothing could upset his plans, he looks at his watch again, if she didn't hurry up the time would pass and he'd have to start again. A woman with long dark hair runs up the steps of the railway station, why oh why did it have to be tonight that the Con-Ed had decided to dig a hole in the middle of the road, she ran into the station and spotted him under the clock her face broke into a smile thank the Gods and Godesses he was still here she hadn't had a date for months and didn't particulaly want to loose this oppotunity especially with this guy. He looks up and see's her running towards him he smiles, the stereotypical wicca devotee he thinks, long hair, long skirt, beads,
"I am so so sorry I'm late the Con-Ed have the road up, thank you for waiting, I'm Holly by the way, blessed be" she blusters, he takes her hand
"Blessed be Holly I'm Ashton, I'm glad I waited, are you hungry I know this great place not to far from here" he replies, he moves towards the exit.
The couple are walking towards an allyway down the side of a nightclub, Holly is just finishing a quick description of her life and how she came to join the wicca,
"............so when I realised that I could sense people's emotions I decided to see what good use I could put it to, so a friend of mine put me in touch with a friend of her's who was a wicca and I finally found somewhere I belonged but it tends to put a cramp in my dating schedule, no one wants to date a witch" she finishes, Ashton stops in the alley and looks to the sky he sees Venus pass into the Moon's shadow and feels and a familiar pull, he bends towards Holly as if he is going to kiss her, she turns her face to his as it morphs into a sickly green, scaley, version of his handsom features with long vampiric fangs, she screams as he bites the back of her neck, she carries on screaming as she feels her life force slipping away, the demonic Ashton looks up as three women come running into the alley
"Stop!!!!" yells the youngest "Iron bar" a large iron bar forms in her hand and she swipes at the demon's leg, it misses but the demon trips
"Quick, the spell" shouts the middle one, she joins hands with the other two and they start to chant
"That which was formed below, here may you no longer dwell......" the demonic Ashton shimmers and dissappears
"Damn I knew I should have frozen him" says the oldest woman, the others are leaning over Holly
"She's in a bad way, can you call Leo" asks the youngest woman, some small balls of light start to swirl around them and they form into a man, another man appears in a shimmer the same way the demon dissappeared
"Cole, did you find out who he was" asks the middle woman, the man nods
"I'll tell you later" he says, the first man who appeared first is bending over Holly with his hand on her chest
"I can't do it, something's stopping me healing her, can you help" he says to the youngest woman, she also puts her hand on Holly's chest, her hand glows faintly
"It's no good, there's got to be some reason for this" says Leo, they all look up as a police car pulls into the alley, a hispanic man and a stout coloured man get out
"Well what d'you know, the Halliwell sisters, why am I not surprised" says Lieutenant Cortez
J Edgar Hoover Building, 17th May 2003, 9.30am
Agent John Doggett is sitting behind his desk leafing through the paperwork that's appeared over the weekend he looks up as his partner Agent Dana Scully comes in
"Hi, how was the week at Quantico" he asks, she smiles back
"The usual, I was teaching a bunch of trainees how to dissect a body, usual run of the mill stuff, anything interesting happen while I was away" she replies, he shakes his head
"No, all the ghoulies and ghosties must be taking a holiday" he laughs, the phone starts to ring, Scully picks it up "guess they've gone back to work"
".......yes Sir we're on our way up" says Scully into the phone
"Well vacations over" she says as she puts the phone down " AD Skinner wants to see us.
AD Skinner's Office
"Come in" says Skinner, the door opens and Doggett and Scully walk in, "Sit down" he gestures at the chairs
"What can we do for you Sir" asks Doggett, Skinner hands over a file,
"The San Francisco field office handed this to us yesterday, they think it's out of their league" he starts, Doggett hands Scully a series of photos of the victims who have a large portion of the back of their neck missing
"Ouch that's one hell of a hickey" remarks Scully, Skinner nods
"They're calling him the Witch Finder as all his victims practised wicca, he's attacked five women and killed four of them, he was disturbed by a group of people from a near by nightclub last time so the victim Holly Martin survived but she's in a coma which the doctors can't find a cause for" he replies Scully's interest is piqued by this
"There's always a reason for a coma" she retorts "trauma, oxygen deprivation the list goes on"
"Maybe you can explain it while you're there" says Skinner "you'll need to contact the local PD and work with them, a Lieutenant Cortez", Doggett and Scully get up to leave "good luck out there".
On the way back to the office they meet Agent Monica Reyes
"Hi what's up" she asks
"We're going to San Francisco to catch a witch hunter" replies Doggett
"Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair" Reyes says grinning
"Oh ha ha very funny" he retorts, the air conditioning is causing Scully's nose to run, she begins to sniff
"Sorry to break this up but have you got a tissue Monica" she asks, Reyes searches her pockets, pulls out a small packet and gives them to Scully
"Keep 'em I've got plenty more"
Halliwell Manor, San Francisco, 18th May 2003, 12.30pm
Piper, Phoebe and Paige Halliwell are sitting in their front room with Piper's husband Leo and Phoebe's boyfriend Cole all of them are looking troubled after their encounter with the demonic Ashton
"So Cole what do them downstairs say about this neck-biting-blood-sucking fang face" asks Phoebe, Cole sighs
"He's called Azrael but he's been bound for decades, he was once a powerful demon he could control the emotions of weaker beings, i:e humans, he'd use strong emotions like hate, anger, jealousy to his own ends, create havoc and what have you, anyway from what I understood a witch bound him years ago but didn't have the power to kill him, so how did he get free" he says
"The witch must have died, like when Grams bound our powers as kids, to hide our identities, the spell was broken when she died" replied Piper,
"So this Azrael is going around absorbing the empathic powers some humans have to.....what......recharge the old batteries" states Pheobe, Cole shrugs
"Could be, he was extremely powerful, rumor has it he was challenging The Source for supremecy so he's not going to be too happy to see him back" he remarks
"I'll see what the Elders have to say" says Leo, as he dissappears in a swirl of bright light
"And the rest of us will take the stairs to look at the Book of Shadows" yells Piper at the ceiling, the phone starts to ring
"I'll get it" says Paige.
In Halliwell Manor's attic a large leather bound book was propped up on a stand, a lot of candles and herbs covered the tables, Piper, Pheobe and Cole gathered around the book and started to flick through it,
"Where do we start, if Azrael's been bound for decades he might not be in here" says Phoebe
"Well the Book of Shadows hasn't let us down yet, I swear it writes it's self I've looked for information we've used before and not been able to find it" remarks Piper, she holds her hands over the book "Azrael Azrael find me Azrael", the books pages begin to flip over faster and faster until they suddenly stop, she quickly scans the page and frowns,
"Uh oh I don't like that look, I've never liked that look" groans Pheobe
"This is a warning not a spell, it says that if Azrael is released he will need to replenish his empathic powers, but can only do it by sucking it literally from a witch during the time Venus is in the shadow of the moon, it also says that no one witch has ever been powerfull enough to destroy him last time it took 3 witches just to bind him" sighs Piper
"Yeah but this time he's got the Charmed Ones to contend with you're the most powerfull witches on Earth" says Cole
"Who don't have have a spell to vanquish him with or nearly enough information on his alter ego" retorts Phoebe
"That's the least of our problems" says Paige coming through the door "that was Darryl Morris on the phone he says Lieutenant Cortez has called in the FBI, not the local guys but the big guys from Washington" she shakes her head "we're doomed Darryl's managed to keep the PD off our tail but we can't expect him to deal with the bureau too he's got too much to lose"
"Don't worry we'll deal with them when we come to it right now we've got a spell to write and a demon to vanquish" says Piper
"You should have let me leave Cortez in the underworld" snickers Cole "he'd have been at home there", Phoebe has been sitting in the corner thinking
"Do you think he'll try and finish Holly off, just think if she recovers she'll be able to identify him and his alter ego or he may want the rest of her empathic power" the others stare in amazement at her "it was just an idea, the hospital called me today remember I did some volunteer work there a few years back well they want me to do some holiday cover for them and they're going to pay me, so I thought I could see if I got.....you know.......a vision of her attacker" she says, Piper nods
"Ok, it's about all we've got to go on at this point"
San Francisco Police Department, 18th May 2003, 1.00pm
Inspector Darryl Morris is sitting at his desk with his head in his hands thinking that if Cortez ever found out what he'd just done he could kiss his badge goodbye, he'd just warned the Halliwell sisters that the FBI were becoming involved in the Witch Finder case, he'd taken on the role of their Earthly protecter after the death of his partner who'd been the boyfriend of their eldest sister Prue, he thought back to the moment when Cortez had informed him of the FBI's involvement.
Cortez had come over to his desk
"I just want to let you know that the FBI are sending two agents from Washington to help with the Witch Finder case" he'd said
"Why" Darryl had asked
"They've got the resorces to deal with serial killers and weird cults and a lot of weird things surround the Halliwell sisters, I know you think you owe Andy something by keeping an eye on them, but is it worth protecting them if it's going to cost you your job and to tell you the truth I never trusted Prue she always seemed to be hiding something and I'm damn sure her sisters are involved in a lot of the unsolved cases in this department" Cortez had replied, Darryl had protested his innocence , the Halliwell's were good friends and he didn't want to see them come to any harm
"Andy's dead and so is Prue, her murder is still unsolved and what ever killed her is still out there, if she was involved in some cult might they not come back for the others, why don't you tell me what they are into" Cortez had asked, Darryl had told him he had no clue what the sisters were into but he trusted them completely, Cortez had grunted and stalked off shaking his head.
Now Darryl was watching him talking to the two FBI agents in his office, a man and a woman he had a nasty feeling about this.
Lieutenant Cortez's Office
Cortez is going through the Witch Finder case with Doggett and Scully,
"........so this woman hears screams outside the P3 nightclub and calls 911 thinking it could be another Witch Killing we get there and find a group from the club already there trying to help" he explains
"And these are their statements Piper Halliwell, Pheobe Halliwell, Paige Matthews, Leo Wyatt and Cole Turner" asks Doggett, Cortez nods
"Piper Halliwell owns P3, Pheobe is her sister, Paige her half sister, Leo is Piper's husband and Cole is Pheobe's boyfriend" he replies
"A family affair" remarks Scully, Cortez lets out a deep sigh
"You don't know the half of it, there is something I don't trust about the Halliwell women and their men, anything weird happens in this city and you can just bet that one of them is not far away" Scully's head goes up
"Weird how" she asks
"No you'll think I'm crazy" he replies
"Go on" says Doggett "the X Files deals with crazy" Cortez sighs
"I was dealing with some unexplained deaths including their eldest sister Prue, Morris's former partner was Prue's boyfriend, he's a little too close to them for my liking, anyway I knew evil was behind it not just evil men but real evil, Inspector Morris and myself went to their home to question them and...........well this is where it gets a little hazy I think I saw Piper and Pheobe talking to two ghosts I get hit from behind then I find myself in the desert, a little later Cole Turner shows up and I find myself in Hell and then.......I don't know but there is something not right with those women" while the Lieutenant has been speaking Doggett notices Morris keeps looking into the window studying them, he looks back at Cortez as he finishes
"So are you saying the Halliwell sisters maybe involved in these killings and may have been involved in their sisters murder, how so" Doggett asks
"Well it's been rumored that Prue Halliwell was a practicing Wicca" Cortez replies
"That's not a crime" says Scully "Wicca's a recognised religion"
" I know but where there's good there's bad too" he replies "anyway you're here to help us catch a serial killer not to hear my paranoia, come with me and I'll introduce you to Inspector Morris"
"Does he remind you of anyone" whispers Doggett as they leave the office.
In the main office Darryl Morris is trying to look busy
"Inspector Morris I'd like you to meet Agent Doggett and Agent Scully" says Cortez, Morris shakes hands with the two agents "I'd like you to bring them up to speed on the latest developements on the Witch Finder case" Doggett and Scully sit down with Morris
"Look I'm not really the best person to ask about this" says Morris
"But you're leading this investigation" replies Doggett
"Is it you're involvement with the the lieutenant's main suspects" asks Scully with a smile, Morris lets out a sigh
"So he's told you about his paranoia then" he says "look just because Piper and her sisters we're first on the scene doesn't make them the killers, Cortez has had it in for them ever since he investigated Prue's death, he's convinced they had something to do with it virtually accused them of black magic at Prue's wake"
"So how did you get to know them" Doggett asks
"Prue was my late partner's girlfriend I kinda took it upon myself to keep an eye on her and her sisters, I know Andy would have done the same for me, I mean you two know what it's like your partner is like a member of your family" Morris says, Doggett and Scully look guiltily at each other, realising they know nothing about each other, each one is too wrapped up in their own problems to bother about the other,
"Yeah.....well I guess you're right" Doggett says quickly "so now we've indulged everyone's paranoia how about we get down to the real reason we're here" Morris is sure he can see something flash between them, not for the first time he wished he had Pheobe's gift of premonition
"Well he's targeting pracising Wicca's, he kills between 8 and 9 o'clock at night and takes a large chunk out of the back of their necks that's the bit we can't understand" says Morris
"When we were given this file we were told that his last victim was still alive but in a coma, have the doctors been able to determine the cause" Scully asks
"Not as far as I know" replies Morris "they're baffled, as far as they can see she suffered no trauma they way the others did"
"Is that because he was disturbed" asks Doggett, Morris nods "have you got men posted at the hospital just in case he tries to finish the job"
"Sure have" Morris replies "Cortez says you have a profile of this guy" Doggett hands it over
"We reckon it's some religious zealot who thinks that Wiccan practices are evil and that the witches should be eliminated, sounds a lot like your boss" he replies.
San Francisco Hospital, 19th May 2003, 10.00am
Pheobe is in Holly's room changing the water in her vase of flowers, she looks at the Wiccan symbols placed there by Holly's friends, with all the magic in this room surely she should be able to see something but no, nothing, she'd touched Holly and her possesions not a flicker of a vision, the sound of the door opening makes Pheobe turn around she sees a red haired woman coming through the door, not one of Holly's friends that's for sure she thinks noting the severe suit,
"Are you here to see Holly" she asks
"I'm Special Agent Dana Scully from the FBI" Scully pulls out her ID and drops the packet of tissues on the floor, both she and Pheobe bend down to pick it up
"I'm Pheobe Halliwell" as she touches the tissues Pheobe gets that familiar dizzy sensation when a vision is on it's way.
Pheobe sees the alley outside P3, she sees a dark haired woman and a handsome blond man talking, the man is smiling the woman is backing away suddenly the man turns into the demon Azrael and sinks his teeth into her neck, Agent Scully comes running into the alley with a man who Pheobe assumes is her partner, the man calls out a name, Monica, Azrael drops the body to the floor, he starts to grow and pulsate his skin glows sickly green, he has obviously regained his powers.
Pheobe groans and sinks to the floor
"Miss Halliwell are you ok" asks Scully, Pheobe gives a faint smile
"Yes I just bent down too quick that's all" she replies, Scully helps her too her feet and realises that this is one of the witnesses to Holly's attack
"Pheobe Halliwell, you were one of the witnesses weren't you, what are you doing here" she asks
"I work here, I'm just doing some holiday cover, I just wanted to see how she was doing there's no harm in that is there" she states, Scully shakes her head
"No of course not, could you tell me what happened we're helping the police catch her attacker" Scully replies, Pheobe thinks carefully trying to remember what she'd said in her statement
"Well we were in P3 my sister's the owner, we heard screaming so we went out and found her on the floor"
"You heard her scream over the crowd in the club" remarks Scully
"It wasn't busy then it was still quite early" blusters Pheobe "the walls are pretty thin"
"Lieutenant Cortez says you were there trying to help" Scully says
"Umm my brother in law Leo is a medic.....ah paramedic I know basic first aid, that's one of the advantages of working in a hospital you pick these things up" she smiles innocently, Scully is not convinced
"The hospital report says there were no scars on her body just a couple of scratches on her neck yet this woman is in a coma and you swear your brother in law attended to her" Scully retorts
"She was like that when we found her, you know Leo said that was odd, her being unconsious like that but he kept on trying to revive her, he's an angel our Leo" Pheobe says, she knows she's digging herself in deeper she'd always been a terrible liar "so why the interest in the coma"
"I'm a medical doctor, Holly's condition is intreguing, I'd like to get to the bottom of it, maybe her attacker has some kind of medical knowlege maybe he used drugs to induce the coma" admits Scully
"Wouldn't the tests have shown something" asks Pheobe, Scully gives her a questioning stare
"A lot of natural remedies are undetectable" she remarks, as are a lot of spells and potions thinks Pheobe
"Well I guess you're right now if you'll excuse me Nurse Robinson will be on my back if don't get moving with my chores, I guess I'll be seeing you around the hospital" Pheobe says smiling
"You can count on it " replies Scully noticing the pentegram necklace
"I was afraid you were going to say that" mutters Pheobe as she leaves the room
P3 Nightclub, 11.30am
Piper is sitting at the bar going through the stock sheets and writing up her weekly order, her barman is cleaning up after the previous night, Piper looks up and sees a man coming through the door, salesman on the offchance she thinks no he hasn't got that I-can-do-you-a-great-deal look on his face, in fact his face says law enforcement, Piper sighs, Pheobe had called her an hour ago and told her about the FBI agent at the hospital she'd also told her about the vision she'd had and would tell her about it when everyone was at home
"Can I help you" asks Piper
"Yeah I'm Agent Doggett from the FBI" Doggett replies he fumbles in his pocket for his ID, Piper sees small balls of white light swirling around, that meant Leo was about to orb in
"Ohh eek" squeaks Piper she raises her hands and time freezes, she turns to face a now fully formed Leo "why can't you use the door like everyone else", Leo smiles
"Sorry I did check it was safe, he must have appeared when I was in mid orb, what does he want" he says,
"He's with the FBI investigating the attack the other night Pheobe's already had a run in with one at the hospital" replies Piper, Leo looks Doggett up and down
"Hmm he's got that G-man look about him, could have stepped off of one of J Edgar Hoover's recruitment posters" he says, Piper frowns then smiles, sometimes it was easy to forget her husband had been dead for sixty years, Leo had been killed in 1942 during the battle for Guadalcanal after that the Elders had decided to make him a guardian angel, now he was her husband she had often wondered what marrage guidence councillers would make of her situation, she smiled again
"Honey they're not called G-men anymore" he grins sheepishly "he's going to unfreeze any minute get behind the bar and pretend you're fixing the tap or something" she says, Leo ducks behind the bar as Doggett unfreezes
".........I'd like to ask you about the attack the other night" Doggett continues as Leo stands up from behind the bar
"All fixed" he says as he looks from one to the other "umm have I missed something"
"No honey this is Agent Doggett, he's with the FBI, this is my husband Leo" says Piper "so how can we help" Doggett looks suspiciously at Leo
"I'd just like to know what happened here the other night" he replies
"Well we heard screams and went out to investigate, we found a woman lying on the floor, Leo administered first aid then the cops turned up" Piper shrugs "that's about it not much more I can tell you" Leo nods
"That's about all that happened" Leo adds, Doggett is still eyeing him suspiciously
"You heard a woman scream outside a busy nightclub" he states, Piper and Leo look at each other
"It was early so it wasn't that busy" she replies
"You said you husband administered first aid how badly injured was she" Doggett asks
"Erm well she was unconsious when we got there I checked for injuries to the head but couldn't see any other than that just a couple of scratches on her neck" Leo replies
"You checked for head injuries, bit advanced for basic first aid did you know what you were doing" muses Doggett
"Leo's a former army medic" Piper adds quickly
"You must have seen action in the Gulf then" he says, Leo nods cautiously "where were you" Leo looks to Piper for help
"He was right up there in the front line weren't you honey" he nods again, she leans over to whisper to Doggett "he doesn't like to talk about it not even to me" Doggett can't help noticing the pentegram on her necklace, maybe there is something in what Cortez had said about these sisters
"Ok, I'll be in touch later" says Doggett as he turns to leave, Piper leans her head on the bar and groans
"He's going to be difficult to put off, he's got that I-don't-believe-a-word-you're-saying look about him", Leo puts his arm around her
"Maybe you should start brewing a memory erase potion" he laughs
South Bay Social Services, 12.30pm
Paige is sitting at her desk, the two people in Mr Cowens office made her nervous, she'd had phone calls from both Piper and Pheobe about their visits from the FBI and she was sure that these two were them, Mr Cowens opens the door and beckons
"Paige could you come into my office for a moment" he says, Paige tries to stay calm, her orbing powers tended to go a little haywire when she was nervous, she comes in and closes the door
"What can I do for you" she asks
"This is Agent Doggett and Agent Scully, they'd like to ask you some questions about the attack outside P3 the other night" Cowen replies
"Miss Matthews can you tell us what happened that night" says Scully
"Well we went out after we heard screaming, we saw a woman lying on the ground Leo went over to help, Cole went to look to see if the guy was still about but he wasn't the police turned up, end of story" she says
"So as the club was quiet you heard the screams for help" Doggett remarks, Paige nods "and your brother in law managed to diagnose head injuries, how'd he do that"
"Umm I think he dropped out of med school, I.......erm......... haven't been in the family long, Piper and Phoebe are my half sisters we kinda met after Prue's funeral, it's a long story that you dont want to hear" she states firmly
"For now" he replies, he notices the pentegram on her necklace "pretty, where'd you get it" Paige smiles
"Present from my sisters" she replies "is that all"
"Not quite, where did your brother in law go to medical school" Scully enquires
"I have no idea you'll have to ask Piper" says Paige
"I intend too" mutters Doggett "how many jobs has this guy had"
Halliwell Manor, 2.00pm
Piper, Pheobe, Paige and Leo are in the kitchen discussing their visits from Doggett and Scully, Pheobe has just finished telling the others about her vision
"........so he calls out her name as Azrael drops the body and starts to grow......and glow" finishes Pheobe, she hands over a picture of Azrael's alter ego she's drawn
"And this is the guy who turned into Azrael" remarks Piper "what I can't understand is why you should get a vision of this Monica person from Agent Scully's tissues" Pheobe shrugs
"Who knows how it works all I know is we have to save this woman or Azrael gets his powers back" she says
"How do you propose we do it, go up to Agent Doggett and say 'oh by the way do you know someone called Monica, cos if you do tell her to stay away from San Francisco or she'll be a demons lunch and the said demon will regain all his power and if you'll forgive the pun all hell will be let loose', he'll tie us to the stake personally" retorts Paige "I don't think he believed the story I told him about hearing screams outside P3, he seemed more interested in Leo"
"What did he want to know about me" asks Leo
"Where you got your medical skills from, I told him you'd dropped out of med school, did I do wrong" she says noticing the faces
"I told him he was an army medic" cries Piper
"Ah I told Agent Scully he's a paramedic" admits Pheobe, noting the look of anguish on Page's face she smiles "don't worry sweetie, we've never had a cover story for Leo's medical knowlege, we all dropped a clanger today" Paige smiles weakly
"He's not going to be put off easily, he's got that determind look about him" remarks Piper "so what's the plan, write a spell to vanquish Azrael,
"Find someway to get the FBI off our tail, maybe Darryl can send them on a wild goose chase" says Paige, Leo shakes his head
"We can let Darryl risk his job for us anyway they're involved in this Azrael thing and according to the Elders they're involved in the much bigger picture" the sisters stare at him "they think the Source is involved in a power struggle, Satan has power on Earth now and the Source's power is in the underworld unfortunatly they need eachother and have an uneasy allience one would like to see the other dumped on his ass, you know the end of the world that was predicted in the bible well that is happening and it can be avoided, these agents are the key to defeating Satan, the thing is it needs four of them to do it and Satan needs the Source's help to get rid of them if he succeeds in getting rid of the agents they've agreed to a power sharing thing and that's where Azrael comes in, one of them is in a coma and one of them is the innocent we have to protect, Monica, the only way we can help is if they trust us, the Elders think that whatever the outcome of this thing with Azrael is will shape the destiny of the world" Leo replies
"But the Source can't be trusted and neither can the devil what makes them think the other can be trusted" asks Paige
"Even the ultimate evil needs allies" he replies, Cole looks uncomfortabe as Balthazar his demon half was once the Source's ally
"They need eachother until one or other of them is vanquished and then it's every demon for himself and God help Earth" finishes Cole
"But these guys are trying to out us, how can we protect them and us at the same time" says Pheobe "this Monica must be the key, if Azrael is killing witches with empathic powers then she must one, once we meet she's going to know about us, I got this feeling of you know..........oneness, she's not a witch but she'll believe us she's ok I'm sure, we have to trust someone, Darryl and Andy were fine with it maybe she will be too" the others look at her with hesitation
"Y'know Pheobe I think you're right we are going to have to trust her but when the times right we can't just blurt out we're witches" replies Piper.
San Francisco Police Department, 3.30pm
Scully and Doggett are surrounded by files
"I can't figure out what the sisters are hiding" says Doggett "but I can tell you it has something to do with Leo Wyatt"
"You mean how Paige told us he'd dropped out of med school and Pheobe told me he was a paramedic" remarks Scully, he nods
"Piper told me he was an army medic and I swear he appeared from nowhere" Scully stares in amazement
"What do you mean" she asks
"When I went into the club they only people there were Piper and her barman, the next minute her husband stands up from behind the bar saying it's all fixed" he replies
"Seems perfectly reasonable to me" she says
"But when I came through the door I could see the whole bar he wasn't there, he wasn't anywhere" he argues "
"Maybe Scotty beamed him in" laughs Scully "changing the subject you know that pentegram Paige had around her neck, Pheobe has one too"
"And so does Piper" says Doggett "I think Cortez's paranoia maybe worth investigating, I think we should get Monica over here"
"I'll contact the local office and see if they can get us some information on Leo Wyatt, his wife and her sisters" says Scully as she picks up the phone.
J Edgar Hoover Building, 3.00pm
Agent Monica Reyes is on the phone
".........ok John I'll be out there as soon as I can...........sure I'll call you the minute I land..........ok say hi to Dana for me.............ok bye" she hangs up and looks over at a coloured man in his late twenties who's grinning at her, "what!!!!!!" she retorts
"Nothing" he replies still grinning
"Don't give me that wide eyed innocent look Danny it won't work" she yells
"Ok ok it just seems to me and the boys that whenever John Doggett calls you go running" he ducks, still grinning as a notebook flies over his head
"This office and the X Files work hand in hand" she stops and thinks again "......I mean we work on a lot of the same cases, this time they need my specific expertise, Agent Doggett and Agent Scully are in San Francisico investigating the deaths of wiccans, they want my imput" she replies, Danny's face grows serious
"D'ya think it could be connected to our investigation" he asks, Reyes shrugs
"I won't know until I get there" she smiles at him "I want you to take over while I'm gone, you know which area's need to be monitored and you know who to watch, you've been coming along well Danny, I'm impressed by the work you've done, now I'm putting my faith in you, please don't let me down" she says, Danny looks pleased
"Thanks Monica, I won't let you down and thanks for giving me this chance" he grins at her again "hey if you're off to San Francisco you're going to need flowers in your hair" she grins back and starts to laugh, as she closes the door Danny starts to sing 'If You're Going to San Francisco' ,very loudly and out of tune, Monica shakes her head as she walks down the corridor.
San Francisco Police Department 3.00pm
Doggett is hanging up the phone after his conversation with Reyes, Scully is on the phone to former medical collegues, there is a knock at the door and a handsome blonde haired man comes in
"Agents Doggett and Scully?" he asks, Doggett nods "I'm trainee agent Ashton Wells, the local office sent me over with these files and they asked if I can help with this investigation as part of my final evaluation" Scully raises her eyebrows, frowns and looks at Doggett who shrugs
"I can't see any problem with that" replies Scully candidly, Doggett nods "so what do you have on the Halliwell sisters", Ashton hands over the files and Scully flicks through them
"Well" asks Doggett
"Piper Halliwell, successful business woman, Pheobe Halliwell unemployed university graduate, Paige Matthews, former wild child gone good, Cole Turner lawyer in the DA's office, nothing we don't know there and, surprise surprise no information on Leo Wyatt, I've called everyone I know to see where Leo went to med school, no sign of him in the last twenty years" she replies, the fax machine starts to whir into life
"Hopefully this is his Army records" says Doggett as he picks up the papers, he scans them and his eyes widen in surprise
"What" says Scully
"According to this Leo Wyatt died in 1942" he replies
"That can't be right, it must be his grandfather" Scully retorts, Doggett shows her the photo
"That IS the man I met today, either Piper's married a ghost or he's a deserter with a good plastic surgon" declares Doggett
"But if he did desert he has to be about eighty no plastic surgeon is THAT good" she replies
"Unless he's borrowed this identity" he remarks, Scully shakes her head
"Why it's not like he was MIA, that Leo must of had a funeral, family, it's like he's been lost in time and he hasn't aged at all, it is not medically possible" she blusters
It's about time we learnt the truth about Leo so as soon as Monica gets here we'll get him in for questioning, Monica's sixth sense, vibes, or whatever it is hasn't let us down yet" he says, Ashton's ears prick up at the conversation about Monica, so The Oracle was right, these Agents were the key to everything, the Source's soothsayer had said four mortals were the key Satan's eventual downfall, destroy one and the prophesy could not be forfilled and as one of them had the power he needed he'd been a willing participant in The Oracle's plan was to strengthen Satan's grip on the world, then she would ally herself to him and so complete their revenge on the Source by having the power he would never grant and that power could destroy the Source, Ashton/Azrael smiles he can't believe his luck.
San Francsico Airport 8.30pm
Scully and Doggett are waiting in the arrival's lounge for Monica Reyes, Scully is sitting down reading the paper but Doggett is pacing, he's agitated, Scully looks at him and sighs
"John sit down can't you, I'm exausted just watching you" she says
"This case is bugging me or more to the point Leo's bugging me, it doesn't make sense I've checked every record I can and they say he died on active service in 1942 but he's walking around San Francsico 60 years later as if nothing happened" he retorts, Scully sighs and closes her paper
"Stop obsessing over Leo there's probably some logical explaination for this, clerical error is the most likely" she says unconvincingly, Doggett stares at her and starts to laugh
"And I'm sure you believe in the Easter Bunny too" he laughs, Scully grins and then starts to wave as she spots Monica coming through the gate, Reyes waves back and jogs up to them
"Hi, so what's up" she asks, Doggett sighs
"We have a someone killing Wiccas, a dead man walking around San Francsico who's wife and her sisters are suspected of being witches, just your normal run-of-the-mill X Files case" he says, Reyes grins
"Ok, so Dana what's really going on" Reyes replies
"Pretty much what he said" Scully remarks, the three of the walk back to the car while Scully fills Reyes in on what's happened so far
Ashton Well's Apartment 9.00pm
There is a knock on the door
"May I be seen" says a voice, Ashton opens the door outside a woman is leaning on the wall
"What took you so long" he demands as he ushers her inside
"I had a little trouble leaving I had to make sure he was...........otherwise engaged or he'd miss me" she replies smoothly "what's so important"
"Did you bring it with you" he asks, the woman lounges on the sofa and produces a crystal ball out of her pocket
"Of course I never travel without it, so you got me all the way up here for a reading" she remarks
"Not just that some interesting information has come my way not only am I working with two of the mortals from the prophesy but the third is on her way and she has the power of empathy that I need to complete my transformation" Ashton states
"And you want me too give you some idea of what you are up against" she replies, Ashton is getting impatient with her
"Yes now stop playing games and get on with it Oracle" he retorts, The Oracle pouts playfully
"Don't be like that, we don't want to ruin a perfectly good coup because you're angry with lil' ol' me" she purrs, she runs her hands over the crystal ball and stares deep into it
"So?" he enquires, The Oracle smiles
"You're right she is the key if you take her power you will be restored and Satan cannot be defeated" she frowns
"What" says Ashton
"I see the Charmed Ones, they are working with the agents of the prophesy they mean to vanquish you, they are not allied with the FBI yet but they soon will be, you must make sure the allience does not happen" she points to figures in the mists of the crystal ball "this one will not believe the sisters, this one will not find easy to trust them but will in the end, choose your allies well Azrael" she says, he starts to pace the floor
"I have a few favours owed to me by a couple of hitmen, it's time to collect" he replies, The Oracle smiles as Azrael shimmers out, she sit's back and runs her hands over the crystal ball again she stares into it and frowns.
San Francisco Police Department, 18th May 2003, 10.00am
Agent Doggett and Agent Scully are in an office in the station waiting for Agent Reyes, Doggett picks up the phone and is just about to dial her mobile when she comes staggering in carrying a pile of books which she drops on the desk covering herself with dust
"Jeez Monica" coughs Doggett " you raid every antique bookshop in town or what", Reyes grins as she brushes herself down
"No I just borrowed them, I ran into Lieutenant Cortez last night and he told me about his pet paranoia", Scully groans,
"Not the Halliwell sisters again", Reyes nods at this
"He told me everything and believe it or not I have heard of them before, well a prophesy anyway" she replies, she opens a book and starts to thumb through the pages "Yep here we are 'three sisters born of a family of witches shall be the most powerful on Earth, they are The Charmed Ones', yada yada yada, this bit says 'one shall be visited with the power of prophesy, seeing into the future, one shall be visited with the power of telekineses, moving things with the mind y'know like Carrie and one shall be visited with the power to stop time' which is interesting 'cos didn't you say that you felt like you'd missed a few minutes yesterday John"
"That's what it seemed like to me, after reading all Mulders file's on time discrepency I guess I jumped to conclusions" he remarks "so what you're saying is that the Halliwell's are these 'Charmed Ones' and Piper zapped me with some kind of time freeze spell" Reyes shrugged
"Could be, but after speaking to Cortez and listening to your tale about Long-Dead-Leo I think a visit to the Halliwell's home is in order don't you" she says, the others nod
"Where's our little shadow" asks Scully, Doggett shrugs
"Haven't seen him" he replies
"Do you mean the blond trainee agent, quite a charmer isn't he" says Reyes, Scully grins
"Ooh Monica that was a quick move" teases Scully, Reyes blushes
"I ran into him after speaking to Cortez we had coffee and talked about the case, he seemed interested in joining my old department in New Orleans so I said I'd put in a good word after he graduated" Monica replies
"Faster than a speeding bullet" laughs Scully, she notices the look on Doggett's face, he is trying to supress a spark of jealousy "you go girl" she whispers
"So where is he then" asks Doggett, Monica shrugs
"He said something about a two day armoury course" she replies
"What say we have a word with the sisters" suggests Doggett, Scully and Reyes nod.
Halliwell Manor, 11.00am
Piper and Pheobe are in the attic, Piper is looking in the Book of Shadows and Pheobe is trying to write a vanquishing spell without much luck,
"Arrg this is rediculas I'm getting nowhere" she groans as she screws up another peice of paper and throws it on the floor "any luck with a potion" Piper shakes her head
"It looks like it'll have to be a combination of potions you know part demon type potion, part Vanquish, part cleansing etc" she gets up and starts for the door "I'll give this to Paige and see what she can do, she's coming on really well with her potion brewing".
In the kitchen Paige is standing at the stove throwing things into a big saucepan, she spots her sisters coming through the doors
"Stand back" she calls and she throws a handfull of leaves into the pot, a loud noise and a puff of blue smoke come out and Paige drops three crystals into it, "that should do the trick" she says as she hands the crystals to her sisters, they place them around their necks
"Well we're protected for the moment all we need now are the spell and the potion" says Pheobe, Paige screws up her face
"No luck huh" Paige replies, Pheobe shakes her head, just then the doorbell rings and Pheobe goes to answer it.
Outside Doggett and Scully are waiting, the door opens and Pheobe's face looks out
"Hi Agent Scully what can we do for you" she asks, her mouth drops open as she see's Agent Reyes coming up the path "ohmygod............um..........oh boy...........er.........is she with you.........ah sorry you'll have to wait" with that she slams the door and runs back to the kitchen " uh guy's..........guy's we have a major problem the FBI are outside and Monica, the innocent, is with them this is not good this is definatly not good", Piper and Paige start desperatly to hide the signs of witchcraft
"Stall them" hisses Piper to Pheobe
"Why me" Pheobe retorts
"Because you're good at it" Piper replies
"Will someone stall them" yells Paige, Pheobe goes away muttering.
Outside the three agents look at each other
"I don't believe this, they're mad to think they can shut us out like that" says Doggett, he bangs on the door "FBI OPEN UP!!!", he look's at Scully and Reyes who nod
"Let's not wait for an invitation" says Scully, with that he kicks the door open, sending Pheobe sprawling on her back
"Come in why don't you" she says getting up, Doggett is pointing his gun at her
"Where's Leo" he asks
"Not here, he's out...........somewhere" she answers, vaguely
"Where's Leo" he repeats, Pheobe sighs
"I told you he's not here, why do you want Leo" she asks
"Inaccuracies in his files" says Scully
"And the fact that he's dead" replies Doggett
"Ah........I can explain that........" says Pheobe, they turn to face the kitchen as an explosion is heard
"PHEOBEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!" Piper screams
"Uh oh gotta go" says Pheobe as she runs off into the kichen, followed by the agents.
In the kitchen Piper and Paige are dodging two of Azrael's hitmen, Piper throws out her hands and a chair explodes
"Oops sorry" she says, Paige is on her knees looking in the cupboard under the sink
"I know I left some spare potions in here" she remarks, "ah here we are", she throws it at the feet of one of the demons who disappears in a ball of flame
"What the hell is this" yells Doggett
"Occupaional hazard" replies Pheobe as she karate kicks the remaining hitman, Cole shimmers in
"Be carefull Hitmen are.............ah you know" he starts, a ball of blue light forms in his hand and he throws it at the demon hitman, who ducks and the energy ball bounces off the door, the three agents draw their guns
"That's not going to work you'll end up killing one of us, guns!!!!!!" Paige yells, the guns disappear in a swirl of bright light and reappear in her hands
"Get Down!!!!!!" shouts Piper, the agents duck behind the sofa as Piper raises her hands and the hitman explodes "you can come out now", Doggett, Scully and Reyes peer out from behind the sofa as the sisters start to clear up the mess,
"Here we go again more explainations to the insurance people, why don't they cover demon damage" moans Piper
" Will someone please explain what the hell just happened" says Scully
"I will" says Monica to the sisters surprise "ok correct me if I'm wrong, you are the Charmed Ones aren't you" they nod "three sisters bourne of a family of witches one with the power of telekineses one with prophesy and one can freeze time right?" the sisters nod again dumbstruck
"How did you know.........." starts Piper, Reyes interrupts her
"I studied mythology and folklore at Browns University, you're more well known than you realise" she smiles at them "it's a pleasure to meet you"
"So what was all that about" retorts Scully
"Demon hitmen sent by Azrael to stop you" says Cole "all of you" he gestures to the agents "you're more involved than you realize" Pheobe shoots him a warning look "he's on to you, he's in league with The Oracle, they've been following your every move" Piper snorts
"Ha, we've kicked that two bit fortune tellers ass before we'll do it again" she says, Scully is standing by the door with an agitated look on her face
"I can't believe I'm hearing this" she turns on her heel and marches out slammingthe door behind her, Doggett looks at Reyes and shrugs, he starts out of the door after her
"Hey Dana wait up" he calls, Scully waits for him to catch up "what's the matter with you" she turns on him
"Me!!, nothing's the matter with me apart from these women are making complete fools of us, demon hitmen, pyrotechnics, party tricks, I expected Monica to fall for this but I never expected you to take this laying down, what happened to the sceptic in you" she spits, he recoils at the venom in her voice
"I'm trying to keep an open mind like you and Mulder suggested several times, I thought this was the kind of thing you and Mulder were used to" he remarks, Scully rounds on him
"And this is mocking everything Mulder believed in, you should be ashamed of youself" Scully gets in the car and drives off leaving Doggett lost for words
"What was that all about" asks Reyes, Doggett shakes his head
"I have no idea, I've never seen her like this, I thought she would be the one believing in the Halliwell's story and I'd be the one saying it was all BS" he replies
"And do you believe them" she remarks
"I couldn't say, I don't want to make any judgements yet" he says, Reyes eyes widen, he sighs "remember the case of Jude, Vicki and the Brooklyn Devil Worshippers" Reyes nods "well it came back and bit me on the ass well it actually slapped my face but I got a first hand view of what my preconceived ideas and refusal to listen to other points of view had done, it left a bitter taste" Reyes smiles
"Humble pie usually does" she says "So?"
"So this time I'll listen to all sides then decide" Reyes grins
"We'll make a believer of you yet" they go back into the house to question the occupants.
Scully's Car
Scully is driving back to the police station, she is seething with rage and she's not quite sure why
"Damn them, damn them to hell" she rages "they're making a mockery of the X Files" she wipes tears from her eyes "damn you Mulder why won't you bloody well wake up and help me" she starts to cry, she pulls over into a parking lot and sobs
After she calms down she tries to rationalize her behavior, stress, delayed shock, she sighs she hadn't been sleeping well and Mulder's recovery had stalled, she felt better after having let off steam and her crying fit had helped too, she thought briefly about the things she had said to Doggett she guessed she'd have to apologise for it, she's about to start the car when she hears a tap on the window it's Ashton Wells
"God you startled me" she says "what are you doing here"
"I came to get coffee, it's good stuff here, you look like you could do with some" he replies, "By the way where's Agent Doggett and Agent Reyes" Scully's face drops
"Listening to the Wicked Witches of the West Coast tell them fairy tales" she mutters through clenched teeth Ashton laughs
"They think the Halliwells are witches, oh please" he says, Scully smiles sensing an ally
"You said something about coffee" she hints, he smiles
"And maybe we can find a way to solve this properly instead of chasing boogymen, leave them with egg on their faces" he cajoles, she smiles and heads for the coffee house, Ashton/Azrael senses victory, with his powers beginning to restore themselves he'd sensed a spark of anger in her, with carefull nurturing it had grown into full blown hatred of her partners and the Halliwell witches now all he had to do was wait for the split to grow wider, divide and conquor.
Halliwell Manor
Doggett and Reyes have been listening to the sisters life history, the death of their Mother, being brought up by their grandmother, the day they discovered they were witches, Prue's death, Paige's discovery, Monica was intreigued, Doggett was sceptical and it showed in his face, Cortez was right where there was good there was evil, deep down he knew the sisters were good but in his career with the X Files and in the NYPD all he'd seen was evil and it had come too close to his home, he listened but his mind kept going back to the confrontation with Scully, he'd never seen her like this and it worried him, his mind was reeling so he used a phone call as an excuse to sit in the garden and put his thoughts into order, he got the picture of Luke out of his wallet and stared at it for a while
"Cute kid" says Pheobe "your son?"
"Was" he snaps, a little harsher than he'd meant, Pheobe sensed she'd stepped on dodgy ground, she handed him a coffee cup
"Sorry I didn't mean to pry" she said, as she hands him the cup her fingers accidently brush his hand, she gasps as a vision swims in front of her eyes, Doggett catches her as her knees buckle
"Pheobe.......Pheobe what's happening" he cries, in her mind Pheobe sees him crouching next to a grave, he's speaking in a soft voice
"It won't be much longer, we're close to catching the devil worshipping b*****d's that did this to you......to us, soon....... very soon you'll be able to rest in peace my son, we all will at last" the vision starts to fade, she gasps as she opens her eyes
"Are you ok" asks Doggett as Piper, Paige and Monica come running over the lawn
"Yeah I'm fine I'm used to it by now" she replies
"Pheobs what did you see" says Piper, Pheobe looks at Piper then at Doggett
"It's nothing to do with this.........I can't say" Doggett helps her to her feet and hesitates with Pheobe while the others return to the house
"So" he enquires "what did happen or can't you tell me either"
"Something that helps me understand a bit more" she replies and starts to walk back to the manor, so why did the elder's show me that she wonders, the picture was obviously his son and so was the grave, his son must have been murdered by something evil, mortal or demonic, no wonder he didn't trust them he'd tarred everything supernatural with the same brush so it must have taken some effort to listen to what they had to say.
Back inside the manor they find Leo waiting for them
"What happened here" he asks, they take it in turns explaining the days events, Doggett and Reyes take him to one side
"So what's your deal" asks Doggett "the medical skills, the appearing out of nowhere, being dead, Piper said you were a Guardian Angel or something" Leo smiles
"I am I guess, my official title is Whitelighter, we protect the good witches and innocents from harm, we can heal by a touch, at the moment of death a truely selfless person is taken by The Elders and given the task of protecting others, as you know I was killed in action in 1942, I really was an Army doctor, I don't regret a thing" he says, Reyes is grinning
"I can feel it, the goodness in you, I don't come across it much in my job, I can't believe there really are angels up there"
"If you're going to stick around you might want to update your paper trail, if I can track you down I'm sure others can too" says Doggett, Piper and Pheobe join them
"You're not going to 'out' us are you" says Pheobe "we really need to be kept secret, for our own safety, what you witnessed today is mild by comparison
"I don't think anyone would believe us anyway" he replies
San Francsisco Police Department
Scully and Ashton Wells are combing through the evidence, Scully is resenting her partners attitude towards the Halliwell sisters even more since Reyes phoned her with an update an hour ago, she is pacing the office floor ranting at Ashton
"I can't believe them, they're insane, Monica, yes I knew she'd swallow this but not John, after all he's been through why would he believe them, it's her fault, I can't believe he'd listen to her, mind you I should have seen it coming, the late nights in her office, the drinks after work, the private jokes, the looks the smiles, ha!! the next thing I'll know is he's recommending her to join the X Files" she snarls, Ashton smiles it's almost time, he twists his hands infront of Scully's face and blows a powder at her, her eyes glaze over
"Why don't you get rid of her, she is a threat to you and him, just do as I ask and she will no longer matter, I need her, she will restore me, serve me and anything you desire will be yours, revenge on those who've hurt you, the restoration of Mulder to full health........anything" he whispers seductivly, Scully nods blankly
"What do you want me to do" she says in a flat voice
"Kill the Halliwell Witches, bring me Monica Reyes, the alley outside the P3 nightclub at 8.30" he strokes Scully's face "such passion, such anger, you will serve me well, go, bring me Monica Reyes" he replies, she walks out of the door and goes to find her prey
"May I be seen" says The Oracle's voice
"Yes" he replies, she shimmers in
"Well" she asks
"It's going very well, I have sent your unbeliever to kill the Charmed Ones" he replies
"How did you get him to do it" she says, Ashton's eyes widen
"Him?"
"Agent Doggett,he's the unbeliever, his heart is hardened to the supernatural" she says
"I worked on Agent Scully, it was her anger I felt" Ashton replies
"Was it anger towards the witches" she asks, he shakes his head
"It was anger towards someone who wasn't supposed to be there, I thought it was Monica Reyes, I thought she was jealous of her that's what I worked on, is it going to be a problem" he says
"It shouldn't be, after all if you kill the empath and the witches are killed the result will still be the same" says The Oracle, Ashton smiles
"I've waited too long for this"
Halliwell Manor
In the attic, Pheobe is explaining The Book of Shadows to Doggett and Reyes, in the kitchen Paige is trying to brew potions and Piper is trying to fix some lunch
"Carefull don't get any of that into my soup, we don't know what it'll do to the FBI agents" says Piper, Paige sniffs
"Mmm what herbs do you put in your Veg soup and is that bread I smell baking" she asks, Piper laughs
"You know better than to ask me about my culinary secrets, so how's the potion coming" Piper says, Paige frowns
"I've hit a couple of dead ends but with a bit of tinkering we'll get there" she replies,
"Anyway that's enough for now it's lunch time", Piper carries mugs of soup and coffee and a platter of rolls up to the attic, at the Book of Shadows Pheobe is explaining how it works,
"Jeez what's that" asks Reyes pointing at a picture, Pheobe smiles
"Gremlin and this is the spell to banish them back to the underworld it's kind of supernatural exterminator, Gremlins aren't evil just annoying, we had a water gremlin once it took us days to get rid of him we were always finding him dancing in the shower, annoying little thing" she says
"So where did this book come from" asks Reyes
"It's a family heirloom it's been written by the women of our family since the seventeenth century, every generation updates it, including us, this chapter should be quite interesting" Pheobe replies, Piper and Paige come through the door
"Lunch time" calls Piper, everyone gathers around and sits on the sofa or on the floor
"You really didn't have to do this" says Reyes, Piper waves her hand dismissively
"It's no problem we are all in this together now" she replies, there's a knock at the door, Leo peeks through the window
"Agent Scully's back" he says
"I hope she's got over what ever it was" says Doggett as Leo goes downstairs to let her in.
Leo opens the door and lets Scully in
"We're in the attic" he says, Scully follows him up the stairs, as she goes up she starts fiddling with her gun,
"Hey Scully you feeling any better" asks Doggett as she comes through the door, she nods
"Much better, I have seen the light, I know what must be done" she says as she draws her gun and fires at Paige, who disappears in a swirl of bright light and reappears next to Doggett,
"Scully what the hell you doing" says Doggett
"What you should have done" she replies in a flat voice as she fires at Pheobe who jumps in the air and levitates out of harms way "Kill the witches"
"Paige orb the gun" yells Pheobe
"Gun" says Paige, Scully's gun disappears and reappears in her hand, Scully lets out a howl of rage
"NOOOOOOOO!!!, I'LL KILL YOU WITCH" she picks up a knife and slashes at Paige's face but catches her arm as she raises it to protect herself, Doggett grabs Scully's arm and pins it behind her back dodging the wildly slashing knife, Reyes has her gun pointed at Scully
"Dana don't make me do this please" she pleads, she takes a closer look at her face "look at her eyes they're.........blank"
"I can't hold on to her much longer, do whatever it is you do Piper" says Doggett, Piper raises her hands and everything stops, she touches Reyes and Doggett who come out of it
"What the........" starts Doggett as he unfreezes
"She's frozen for the moment" says Pheobe "what was it you said about her eyes"
"I said they looked blank........you know........empty" replies Reyes peering at Scully
"Spell?" asks Paige, her sister nod, Leo places his hand on her arm and the gash begins to heal
"Can you do anything for her" Monica enquires
"I don't see why not" says Piper "how about the de-zombiefying spell we picked up from that Voodoo Queen in New Orleans with a few ajustments it should be perfect", Doggett looks at Reyes who shrugs, Pheobe is looking through the book
"Here, it says we need salt and gold"
"Gold?" says Doggett
"Like a necklace, ring, earrings maybe" she replies, he spots Scully's cross and chain
"Will that do" he asks pointing, Pheobe nods
"Put it in her right hand" she says, Paige comes through the door with a box of salt in her hand
"What do you want done with this" she asks
"Put some in her left hand and some in a circle around Agent Doggett" Pheobe replies "I need you to grab her hands and keep them closed nothing will happen to you as long as you stay inside the salt circle" she says to him "ok lets do it she'll unfreeze in a second", Scully twitches as the freeze wears off, Doggett grabs her hands and the sisters begin to chant
"A soul is bound by an evil spell, to bring it back from the gates of hell, put salt in her left hand and gold in her right, cast out the dark, restore her soul's light" at the end Reyes blows salt into Scully's face, she blinks and her knees buckle
"Dana........Dana.......are you ok" says Reyes, she nods feebly and collapse's to the floor
"Ahhh..........my God what did I do.......oh God........I'm so sorry I couldn't stop it" she groans, Reyes cradles her head
"It's ok Dana, you're ok now" she croons
"I remember being angry and I remember being with Agent Wells, I was angry........really angry......but I can't remember why" she mumbles, her face contorts as she remembers more "he said I had to kill the sisters and bring Monica to him at 8.30" tears start to roll down her cheeks "he said if I did this I'd get Mulder back, I could see myself doing it, I could see everything but I couldn't stop" Reyes hugs her tight
"Don't worry everythings ok now he was messing with your mind that's all" she says, she looks desperatly at the sisters for reassurance
"Why did he want Monica" asks Doggett suddenly, Pheobe picks up her drawings
"Does he look like this by any chance" she enquires, the three agents nod
"How did......" starts Scully
"He's a demon called Azrael he can control strong emotions and use them to his advantage" replies Pheobe "which is why Agent Scully got into the state she did"
"It still doesn't explain why he wants Monica" says Doggett
"He needs to replenish his powers by killing those with empathic powers and you're next" she says to Reyes "you're the one he needs to regain his full power after that he'll be unstoppable"
"How do you know all this" says a stunned Reyes
"Agent Scully dropped a packet of tissues in the hospital I saw your death in a vision when I picked them up" says Pheobe
"They were the ones you gave me back in Washington" says Scully, realization dawns on Pheobe's face
"Which is why I saw your death" she says to Monica, suddenly Cole shimmers in holding a struggling Oracle
"Look who I found sneaking around the underworld looking for Tempus" he says "now why d'you think she needs to mess with time" The Oracle glares at him
"Oooh I don't know, maybe a plan's gone belly up, prehaps a prophesy has taken the wrong track and she needs to start again" says Piper "am I right" Oracle shifts uneasily and stares at the floor "bingo"
"Who the hell is she" asks Doggett
"She's the Source's soothsayer, she can see the future and according to Cole she's working with Azrael to make sure Satan reigns supreme" says Pheobe
"So what went wrong" asks Cole
"Like I'd tell you" snarls Oracle "and all you're little truth spells won't work on me either" Pheobe walks up to her and looks her in the face
"Oh we don't need spells all we need to do is ask Cole to take you back to the underworld and tell the Source just what you've been up to, I'm sure he'll love to know what his trusted prophetess get up to behind his back" a look of panic crosses The Oracle's face
"No No please I'll tell you everything just don't tell him please, you don't know what it's like working for him especially now with Satan in the mortal world, he doesn't want to hear the truth I have to lie, tell him what he wants to hear and call in all kinds of favours to make sure it comes true so when I heard of Azrael's plan and saw Satan's demise in the mist's of time I decided to help in anyway I could" she says
"Hold on what's all this about Satan's demise and the mist's of time, what do you know, who is Satan disguised as" interrupts Doggett
"When a vision is surrounded in mist it means the events can still be changed if a vision is surrounded by stone it means events are set, they can't be changed, set in stone" answer's Pheobe
"I can't tell you about Satan because I don't know who he is up here when I see him I see his true self" Oracle says "truthfully I can't tell you"
"But you do know what's going to happen or you wouldn't have been looking for Tempus" Cole remarks, Oracle nods her head
"Four of you are the key to Satan's demise, you three and one who's body is here but his spirit is hovering between earth and the afterlife"
"Mulder" interrupts Scully, The Oracle nods
"Satan and his followers are watching him closely it is well known that the prophesy will not come true if one of you is dead, Satan has agents watching the one between worlds, but he has guardians not of this world or ours, I cannot see their destiny, Azrael know's this that is why he wanted to kill her" she points at Reyes "by taking her empathy he could be restored and the prophesy could not be fulfilled but you helped screw it up" she says to Doggett
"Me! what did I do" he retorts
"You believed the Charmed Ones, you were supposed to ally yourself with Azrael and bring down the witches, your past encounters with the supernatural were supposed to have turned you against them, Azrael misread the the signs and worked on Agent Scully's anger towards his alter ego Ashton Wells and thought she was the unbeliever, I thought everything would remain the same but events have started to change, I wanted Tempus to reverse time so we could start again but Balthazar found me first" Oracle hangs her head in failure
"So nothing is set in stone yet" says Pheobe, Oracle shakes her head
"But the mists are clearing" she replies
"And your precious plan is going awry or why would you need Tempus" retorts Piper Oracle doesn't reply, Piper raises her hands, Leo grabs them
"Oh no you don't, blowing her to smithereens is not going to help" he says
"Wanna bet" she spits, Leo smiles
"We've got her over a barrel, she keeps what she knows about the agents and their future to herself and Cole doesn't tell the Source about her and Azrael" he says, Oracle glares at him
"Never" she growls "I'll watch you die one by one", Cole smirks
"Have it your way" he says "Agent Doggett do you mind taking over, there's someone I need to speak to" Doggett grabs her arms and twists them behind her back as Cole shimmers away
"No Balthazor, Balthazor come back please" she cries, Cole shimmers back
"Changed your mind" he asks, she nods miserably
"Paige get the entrapment crystals" says Pheobe, Paige gets five crystals and places them in a pentegram shape around Doggett and the Oracle, when the last is in place a web is formed by bolts of what looks like electricity
"Hey how do I get out, am I supposed to stay here with her" asks Doggett not that I'd mind he adds silently, glancing at the scantily clad Oracle
"You can just step out" replies Pheobe "it's perfectly safe for you"
"So now what" says Reyes
"Get Azrael in the open and vanquish him" says Pheobe "I've finally got the spell finished what about you Paige"
"Just a couple more hours and I'll have the potion done" Paige replies
"And you'll need me to lure him out" remarks Reyes, the sisters nod
" No Monica you mustn't we've got no way of protecting you if something goes wrong" insists Doggett
"They have" she says nodding at the sisters
"Monica........" he says
"No I've made up my mind, you have to let go and have faith sometimes" replies Reyes
"Ok so what's the plan" asks Cole
The Alley Outside P3 Nightclub 8.25pm
The Halliwell sisters and the agents are in the storeroom of P3, the window gives them a perfect view of the alley, Cole shimmers in
"Azrael's on his way" he says, Paige hands Reyes and Scully a crystal each
"These will protect you from his influence" she says
"Ok, everyone ready for this" says Pheobe, they all nod, Reyes and Scully head into the alley and wait for Azrael to join them.
Azrael sees Reyes and Scully enter, the plan is going well he thinks, he looks into the sky and sees Venus just entering the moon's shadow
"Glad you could make it, we don't have much time" says Ashton
"Time for what" asks Reyes
"I've recieved intelligence that the Witch Finder may attack tonight I thought you'd like to be here" he replies
"But why only me" she asks
"Because you are the victim" he says, as he grabs her he changes into Azrael, his fingers slip from her neck as the crystal's power protects her from him, Cole shimmers in and throws an energy ball at him, it misses, Reyes throws herself to the floor and Scully ducks behind a dumpster, Piper, Paige and Pheobe come running into the alley Piper throws out her hands and blows up a pile of boxes, Azrael forms an energy ball and throws it at Paige
"Energy ball" she cries, the ball disappears and reforms in her hands she throws it at Azrael, it knocks him off balance, Pheobe jumps in the air and delivers a powerful martial arts kick to his stomach, he falls to the floor
"John........now " Pheobe calls, Doggett appears at the other end of the alley and throws a potion bottle at Azrael's feet, the bottle explodes in a cloud of green smoke, and he finds himself routed to the spot
"Quick the spell" shouts Piper, her sisters gather round her and they begin to chant
"That which was formed in Hell, Here may you no longer dwell, You'll have no power to enslave the free, We vanquish you with the Power of Three" Piper throws a potion bottle at him and he writhes in agony but doesn't die,
"What the hell happened" says Pheobe
"You are not powerful enough" gloats Azrael, he struggles to release himself from the magical force holding him "you will never be powerful enough to destroy me"
"What about me" says Monica "could I help tip the balance if I can sense things I might have a little power in me"
"We'll try anything at this point" cries Pheobe, so Reyes gets up and joins them, they recite the spell again and throw the last potion bottle, this time he disappears in a ball of flame,
"Wow I can't believe it, that's done the trick" gasps Piper
"Is it over now" asks Scully peering out from behind the dumpster
"Yes we're all safe for now" she replies, "Come in the club and we'll celebrate"
The Next Day
After writing up their reports the agents visit Halliwell manor to say their farewells,
"Hi come on in" says Leo "Darryl Morris is already here", the agents go into the living room where the sisters are sitting with Morris.
"So what happens now" asks Reyes
"Well we'll keep fighting demons and you'll defeat the Devil" says Piper
"Do you believe her then, that Oracle woman" asks Scully, Piper nods
"She is a very powerful soothsayer, she doesn't get it wrong that often" she replies "all we know is that the four of you must stick together for this and if you need advice we're only a phone call away" Reyes grins
"Oh I think you'll be seeing a lot more of me in the future........if you don't mind" she says, the sisters shake their heads
"We'd love to see you again" reples Pheobe
"What did you put in the report" asks Morris hesitantly
"Don't worry" says Doggett "your secret is safe with us we said that Ashton Wells was the killer, a religous zealot who thought that Wicca was evil and all those who practise it should be eliminated" Morris nods in agreement
"Sounds good to me and it'll knock Cortez's theories out of the ballpark" he says, everyone laughs, the agents get up and make ready to leave
"It's been an expirience, one that I can't wait to tell Mulder about" says Scully as she hugs Piper
"I'll call you soon" says Reyes to Paige
"Thank you for everything" whispers Doggett to Pheobe, as she hugs him she gets the familier tingle of a vision, she sees him standing in a wood with a dark haired man and a young girl, all around them is a bright white light, Doggett is hugging a blonde haired boy, his son, she remembers, she feels a sense of relief and happiness, she opens her eyes and smiles, she and her sisters wave as the agents drive off
"What did you see Pheobs" asks Piper, Pheobe smiles
"Peace at last" she replies.
San Francisco Railway Station, May 15th 2003, 8.30pm
The handsome blonde haired man looked at his watch for the umpteenth time and sighed, she was late and he was getting impatient, he'd been standing at the San Francisco railway station for about 30 minutes making sure nothing could upset his plans, he looks at his watch again, if she didn't hurry up the time would pass and he'd have to start again. A woman with long dark hair runs up the steps of the railway station, why oh why did it have to be tonight that the Con-Ed had decided to dig a hole in the middle of the road, she ran into the station and spotted him under the clock her face broke into a smile thank the Gods and Godesses he was still here she hadn't had a date for months and didn't particulaly want to loose this oppotunity especially with this guy. He looks up and see's her running towards him he smiles, the stereotypical wicca devotee he thinks, long hair, long skirt, beads,
"I am so so sorry I'm late the Con-Ed have the road up, thank you for waiting, I'm Holly by the way, blessed be" she blusters, he takes her hand
"Blessed be Holly I'm Ashton, I'm glad I waited, are you hungry I know this great place not to far from here" he replies, he moves towards the exit.
The couple are walking towards an allyway down the side of a nightclub, Holly is just finishing a quick description of her life and how she came to join the wicca,
"............so when I realised that I could sense people's emotions I decided to see what good use I could put it to, so a friend of mine put me in touch with a friend of her's who was a wicca and I finally found somewhere I belonged but it tends to put a cramp in my dating schedule, no one wants to date a witch" she finishes, Ashton stops in the alley and looks to the sky he sees Venus pass into the Moon's shadow and feels and a familiar pull, he bends towards Holly as if he is going to kiss her, she turns her face to his as it morphs into a sickly green, scaley, version of his handsom features with long vampiric fangs, she screams as he bites the back of her neck, she carries on screaming as she feels her life force slipping away, the demonic Ashton looks up as three women come running into the alley
"Stop!!!!" yells the youngest "Iron bar" a large iron bar forms in her hand and she swipes at the demon's leg, it misses but the demon trips
"Quick, the spell" shouts the middle one, she joins hands with the other two and they start to chant
"That which was formed below, here may you no longer dwell......" the demonic Ashton shimmers and dissappears
"Damn I knew I should have frozen him" says the oldest woman, the others are leaning over Holly
"She's in a bad way, can you call Leo" asks the youngest woman, some small balls of light start to swirl around them and they form into a man, another man appears in a shimmer the same way the demon dissappeared
"Cole, did you find out who he was" asks the middle woman, the man nods
"I'll tell you later" he says, the first man who appeared first is bending over Holly with his hand on her chest
"I can't do it, something's stopping me healing her, can you help" he says to the youngest woman, she also puts her hand on Holly's chest, her hand glows faintly
"It's no good, there's got to be some reason for this" says Leo, they all look up as a police car pulls into the alley, a hispanic man and a stout coloured man get out
"Well what d'you know, the Halliwell sisters, why am I not surprised" says Lieutenant Cortez
J Edgar Hoover Building, 17th May 2003, 9.30am
Agent John Doggett is sitting behind his desk leafing through the paperwork that's appeared over the weekend he looks up as his partner Agent Dana Scully comes in
"Hi, how was the week at Quantico" he asks, she smiles back
"The usual, I was teaching a bunch of trainees how to dissect a body, usual run of the mill stuff, anything interesting happen while I was away" she replies, he shakes his head
"No, all the ghoulies and ghosties must be taking a holiday" he laughs, the phone starts to ring, Scully picks it up "guess they've gone back to work"
".......yes Sir we're on our way up" says Scully into the phone
"Well vacations over" she says as she puts the phone down " AD Skinner wants to see us.
AD Skinner's Office
"Come in" says Skinner, the door opens and Doggett and Scully walk in, "Sit down" he gestures at the chairs
"What can we do for you Sir" asks Doggett, Skinner hands over a file,
"The San Francisco field office handed this to us yesterday, they think it's out of their league" he starts, Doggett hands Scully a series of photos of the victims who have a large portion of the back of their neck missing
"Ouch that's one hell of a hickey" remarks Scully, Skinner nods
"They're calling him the Witch Finder as all his victims practised wicca, he's attacked five women and killed four of them, he was disturbed by a group of people from a near by nightclub last time so the victim Holly Martin survived but she's in a coma which the doctors can't find a cause for" he replies Scully's interest is piqued by this
"There's always a reason for a coma" she retorts "trauma, oxygen deprivation the list goes on"
"Maybe you can explain it while you're there" says Skinner "you'll need to contact the local PD and work with them, a Lieutenant Cortez", Doggett and Scully get up to leave "good luck out there".
On the way back to the office they meet Agent Monica Reyes
"Hi what's up" she asks
"We're going to San Francisco to catch a witch hunter" replies Doggett
"Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair" Reyes says grinning
"Oh ha ha very funny" he retorts, the air conditioning is causing Scully's nose to run, she begins to sniff
"Sorry to break this up but have you got a tissue Monica" she asks, Reyes searches her pockets, pulls out a small packet and gives them to Scully
"Keep 'em I've got plenty more"
Halliwell Manor, San Francisco, 18th May 2003, 12.30pm
Piper, Phoebe and Paige Halliwell are sitting in their front room with Piper's husband Leo and Phoebe's boyfriend Cole all of them are looking troubled after their encounter with the demonic Ashton
"So Cole what do them downstairs say about this neck-biting-blood-sucking fang face" asks Phoebe, Cole sighs
"He's called Azrael but he's been bound for decades, he was once a powerful demon he could control the emotions of weaker beings, i:e humans, he'd use strong emotions like hate, anger, jealousy to his own ends, create havoc and what have you, anyway from what I understood a witch bound him years ago but didn't have the power to kill him, so how did he get free" he says
"The witch must have died, like when Grams bound our powers as kids, to hide our identities, the spell was broken when she died" replied Piper,
"So this Azrael is going around absorbing the empathic powers some humans have to.....what......recharge the old batteries" states Pheobe, Cole shrugs
"Could be, he was extremely powerful, rumor has it he was challenging The Source for supremecy so he's not going to be too happy to see him back" he remarks
"I'll see what the Elders have to say" says Leo, as he dissappears in a swirl of bright light
"And the rest of us will take the stairs to look at the Book of Shadows" yells Piper at the ceiling, the phone starts to ring
"I'll get it" says Paige.
In Halliwell Manor's attic a large leather bound book was propped up on a stand, a lot of candles and herbs covered the tables, Piper, Pheobe and Cole gathered around the book and started to flick through it,
"Where do we start, if Azrael's been bound for decades he might not be in here" says Phoebe
"Well the Book of Shadows hasn't let us down yet, I swear it writes it's self I've looked for information we've used before and not been able to find it" remarks Piper, she holds her hands over the book "Azrael Azrael find me Azrael", the books pages begin to flip over faster and faster until they suddenly stop, she quickly scans the page and frowns,
"Uh oh I don't like that look, I've never liked that look" groans Pheobe
"This is a warning not a spell, it says that if Azrael is released he will need to replenish his empathic powers, but can only do it by sucking it literally from a witch during the time Venus is in the shadow of the moon, it also says that no one witch has ever been powerfull enough to destroy him last time it took 3 witches just to bind him" sighs Piper
"Yeah but this time he's got the Charmed Ones to contend with you're the most powerfull witches on Earth" says Cole
"Who don't have have a spell to vanquish him with or nearly enough information on his alter ego" retorts Phoebe
"That's the least of our problems" says Paige coming through the door "that was Darryl Morris on the phone he says Lieutenant Cortez has called in the FBI, not the local guys but the big guys from Washington" she shakes her head "we're doomed Darryl's managed to keep the PD off our tail but we can't expect him to deal with the bureau too he's got too much to lose"
"Don't worry we'll deal with them when we come to it right now we've got a spell to write and a demon to vanquish" says Piper
"You should have let me leave Cortez in the underworld" snickers Cole "he'd have been at home there", Phoebe has been sitting in the corner thinking
"Do you think he'll try and finish Holly off, just think if she recovers she'll be able to identify him and his alter ego or he may want the rest of her empathic power" the others stare in amazement at her "it was just an idea, the hospital called me today remember I did some volunteer work there a few years back well they want me to do some holiday cover for them and they're going to pay me, so I thought I could see if I got.....you know.......a vision of her attacker" she says, Piper nods
"Ok, it's about all we've got to go on at this point"
San Francisco Police Department, 18th May 2003, 1.00pm
Inspector Darryl Morris is sitting at his desk with his head in his hands thinking that if Cortez ever found out what he'd just done he could kiss his badge goodbye, he'd just warned the Halliwell sisters that the FBI were becoming involved in the Witch Finder case, he'd taken on the role of their Earthly protecter after the death of his partner who'd been the boyfriend of their eldest sister Prue, he thought back to the moment when Cortez had informed him of the FBI's involvement.
Cortez had come over to his desk
"I just want to let you know that the FBI are sending two agents from Washington to help with the Witch Finder case" he'd said
"Why" Darryl had asked
"They've got the resorces to deal with serial killers and weird cults and a lot of weird things surround the Halliwell sisters, I know you think you owe Andy something by keeping an eye on them, but is it worth protecting them if it's going to cost you your job and to tell you the truth I never trusted Prue she always seemed to be hiding something and I'm damn sure her sisters are involved in a lot of the unsolved cases in this department" Cortez had replied, Darryl had protested his innocence , the Halliwell's were good friends and he didn't want to see them come to any harm
"Andy's dead and so is Prue, her murder is still unsolved and what ever killed her is still out there, if she was involved in some cult might they not come back for the others, why don't you tell me what they are into" Cortez had asked, Darryl had told him he had no clue what the sisters were into but he trusted them completely, Cortez had grunted and stalked off shaking his head.
Now Darryl was watching him talking to the two FBI agents in his office, a man and a woman he had a nasty feeling about this.
Lieutenant Cortez's Office
Cortez is going through the Witch Finder case with Doggett and Scully,
"........so this woman hears screams outside the P3 nightclub and calls 911 thinking it could be another Witch Killing we get there and find a group from the club already there trying to help" he explains
"And these are their statements Piper Halliwell, Pheobe Halliwell, Paige Matthews, Leo Wyatt and Cole Turner" asks Doggett, Cortez nods
"Piper Halliwell owns P3, Pheobe is her sister, Paige her half sister, Leo is Piper's husband and Cole is Pheobe's boyfriend" he replies
"A family affair" remarks Scully, Cortez lets out a deep sigh
"You don't know the half of it, there is something I don't trust about the Halliwell women and their men, anything weird happens in this city and you can just bet that one of them is not far away" Scully's head goes up
"Weird how" she asks
"No you'll think I'm crazy" he replies
"Go on" says Doggett "the X Files deals with crazy" Cortez sighs
"I was dealing with some unexplained deaths including their eldest sister Prue, Morris's former partner was Prue's boyfriend, he's a little too close to them for my liking, anyway I knew evil was behind it not just evil men but real evil, Inspector Morris and myself went to their home to question them and...........well this is where it gets a little hazy I think I saw Piper and Pheobe talking to two ghosts I get hit from behind then I find myself in the desert, a little later Cole Turner shows up and I find myself in Hell and then.......I don't know but there is something not right with those women" while the Lieutenant has been speaking Doggett notices Morris keeps looking into the window studying them, he looks back at Cortez as he finishes
"So are you saying the Halliwell sisters maybe involved in these killings and may have been involved in their sisters murder, how so" Doggett asks
"Well it's been rumored that Prue Halliwell was a practicing Wicca" Cortez replies
"That's not a crime" says Scully "Wicca's a recognised religion"
" I know but where there's good there's bad too" he replies "anyway you're here to help us catch a serial killer not to hear my paranoia, come with me and I'll introduce you to Inspector Morris"
"Does he remind you of anyone" whispers Doggett as they leave the office.
In the main office Darryl Morris is trying to look busy
"Inspector Morris I'd like you to meet Agent Doggett and Agent Scully" says Cortez, Morris shakes hands with the two agents "I'd like you to bring them up to speed on the latest developements on the Witch Finder case" Doggett and Scully sit down with Morris
"Look I'm not really the best person to ask about this" says Morris
"But you're leading this investigation" replies Doggett
"Is it you're involvement with the the lieutenant's main suspects" asks Scully with a smile, Morris lets out a sigh
"So he's told you about his paranoia then" he says "look just because Piper and her sisters we're first on the scene doesn't make them the killers, Cortez has had it in for them ever since he investigated Prue's death, he's convinced they had something to do with it virtually accused them of black magic at Prue's wake"
"So how did you get to know them" Doggett asks
"Prue was my late partner's girlfriend I kinda took it upon myself to keep an eye on her and her sisters, I know Andy would have done the same for me, I mean you two know what it's like your partner is like a member of your family" Morris says, Doggett and Scully look guiltily at each other, realising they know nothing about each other, each one is too wrapped up in their own problems to bother about the other,
"Yeah.....well I guess you're right" Doggett says quickly "so now we've indulged everyone's paranoia how about we get down to the real reason we're here" Morris is sure he can see something flash between them, not for the first time he wished he had Pheobe's gift of premonition
"Well he's targeting pracising Wicca's, he kills between 8 and 9 o'clock at night and takes a large chunk out of the back of their necks that's the bit we can't understand" says Morris
"When we were given this file we were told that his last victim was still alive but in a coma, have the doctors been able to determine the cause" Scully asks
"Not as far as I know" replies Morris "they're baffled, as far as they can see she suffered no trauma they way the others did"
"Is that because he was disturbed" asks Doggett, Morris nods "have you got men posted at the hospital just in case he tries to finish the job"
"Sure have" Morris replies "Cortez says you have a profile of this guy" Doggett hands it over
"We reckon it's some religious zealot who thinks that Wiccan practices are evil and that the witches should be eliminated, sounds a lot like your boss" he replies.
San Francisco Hospital, 19th May 2003, 10.00am
Pheobe is in Holly's room changing the water in her vase of flowers, she looks at the Wiccan symbols placed there by Holly's friends, with all the magic in this room surely she should be able to see something but no, nothing, she'd touched Holly and her possesions not a flicker of a vision, the sound of the door opening makes Pheobe turn around she sees a red haired woman coming through the door, not one of Holly's friends that's for sure she thinks noting the severe suit,
"Are you here to see Holly" she asks
"I'm Special Agent Dana Scully from the FBI" Scully pulls out her ID and drops the packet of tissues on the floor, both she and Pheobe bend down to pick it up
"I'm Pheobe Halliwell" as she touches the tissues Pheobe gets that familiar dizzy sensation when a vision is on it's way.
Pheobe sees the alley outside P3, she sees a dark haired woman and a handsome blond man talking, the man is smiling the woman is backing away suddenly the man turns into the demon Azrael and sinks his teeth into her neck, Agent Scully comes running into the alley with a man who Pheobe assumes is her partner, the man calls out a name, Monica, Azrael drops the body to the floor, he starts to grow and pulsate his skin glows sickly green, he has obviously regained his powers.
Pheobe groans and sinks to the floor
"Miss Halliwell are you ok" asks Scully, Pheobe gives a faint smile
"Yes I just bent down too quick that's all" she replies, Scully helps her too her feet and realises that this is one of the witnesses to Holly's attack
"Pheobe Halliwell, you were one of the witnesses weren't you, what are you doing here" she asks
"I work here, I'm just doing some holiday cover, I just wanted to see how she was doing there's no harm in that is there" she states, Scully shakes her head
"No of course not, could you tell me what happened we're helping the police catch her attacker" Scully replies, Pheobe thinks carefully trying to remember what she'd said in her statement
"Well we were in P3 my sister's the owner, we heard screaming so we went out and found her on the floor"
"You heard her scream over the crowd in the club" remarks Scully
"It wasn't busy then it was still quite early" blusters Pheobe "the walls are pretty thin"
"Lieutenant Cortez says you were there trying to help" Scully says
"Umm my brother in law Leo is a medic.....ah paramedic I know basic first aid, that's one of the advantages of working in a hospital you pick these things up" she smiles innocently, Scully is not convinced
"The hospital report says there were no scars on her body just a couple of scratches on her neck yet this woman is in a coma and you swear your brother in law attended to her" Scully retorts
"She was like that when we found her, you know Leo said that was odd, her being unconsious like that but he kept on trying to revive her, he's an angel our Leo" Pheobe says, she knows she's digging herself in deeper she'd always been a terrible liar "so why the interest in the coma"
"I'm a medical doctor, Holly's condition is intreguing, I'd like to get to the bottom of it, maybe her attacker has some kind of medical knowlege maybe he used drugs to induce the coma" admits Scully
"Wouldn't the tests have shown something" asks Pheobe, Scully gives her a questioning stare
"A lot of natural remedies are undetectable" she remarks, as are a lot of spells and potions thinks Pheobe
"Well I guess you're right now if you'll excuse me Nurse Robinson will be on my back if don't get moving with my chores, I guess I'll be seeing you around the hospital" Pheobe says smiling
"You can count on it " replies Scully noticing the pentegram necklace
"I was afraid you were going to say that" mutters Pheobe as she leaves the room
P3 Nightclub, 11.30am
Piper is sitting at the bar going through the stock sheets and writing up her weekly order, her barman is cleaning up after the previous night, Piper looks up and sees a man coming through the door, salesman on the offchance she thinks no he hasn't got that I-can-do-you-a-great-deal look on his face, in fact his face says law enforcement, Piper sighs, Pheobe had called her an hour ago and told her about the FBI agent at the hospital she'd also told her about the vision she'd had and would tell her about it when everyone was at home
"Can I help you" asks Piper
"Yeah I'm Agent Doggett from the FBI" Doggett replies he fumbles in his pocket for his ID, Piper sees small balls of white light swirling around, that meant Leo was about to orb in
"Ohh eek" squeaks Piper she raises her hands and time freezes, she turns to face a now fully formed Leo "why can't you use the door like everyone else", Leo smiles
"Sorry I did check it was safe, he must have appeared when I was in mid orb, what does he want" he says,
"He's with the FBI investigating the attack the other night Pheobe's already had a run in with one at the hospital" replies Piper, Leo looks Doggett up and down
"Hmm he's got that G-man look about him, could have stepped off of one of J Edgar Hoover's recruitment posters" he says, Piper frowns then smiles, sometimes it was easy to forget her husband had been dead for sixty years, Leo had been killed in 1942 during the battle for Guadalcanal after that the Elders had decided to make him a guardian angel, now he was her husband she had often wondered what marrage guidence councillers would make of her situation, she smiled again
"Honey they're not called G-men anymore" he grins sheepishly "he's going to unfreeze any minute get behind the bar and pretend you're fixing the tap or something" she says, Leo ducks behind the bar as Doggett unfreezes
".........I'd like to ask you about the attack the other night" Doggett continues as Leo stands up from behind the bar
"All fixed" he says as he looks from one to the other "umm have I missed something"
"No honey this is Agent Doggett, he's with the FBI, this is my husband Leo" says Piper "so how can we help" Doggett looks suspiciously at Leo
"I'd just like to know what happened here the other night" he replies
"Well we heard screams and went out to investigate, we found a woman lying on the floor, Leo administered first aid then the cops turned up" Piper shrugs "that's about it not much more I can tell you" Leo nods
"That's about all that happened" Leo adds, Doggett is still eyeing him suspiciously
"You heard a woman scream outside a busy nightclub" he states, Piper and Leo look at each other
"It was early so it wasn't that busy" she replies
"You said you husband administered first aid how badly injured was she" Doggett asks
"Erm well she was unconsious when we got there I checked for injuries to the head but couldn't see any other than that just a couple of scratches on her neck" Leo replies
"You checked for head injuries, bit advanced for basic first aid did you know what you were doing" muses Doggett
"Leo's a former army medic" Piper adds quickly
"You must have seen action in the Gulf then" he says, Leo nods cautiously "where were you" Leo looks to Piper for help
"He was right up there in the front line weren't you honey" he nods again, she leans over to whisper to Doggett "he doesn't like to talk about it not even to me" Doggett can't help noticing the pentegram on her necklace, maybe there is something in what Cortez had said about these sisters
"Ok, I'll be in touch later" says Doggett as he turns to leave, Piper leans her head on the bar and groans
"He's going to be difficult to put off, he's got that I-don't-believe-a-word-you're-saying look about him", Leo puts his arm around her
"Maybe you should start brewing a memory erase potion" he laughs
South Bay Social Services, 12.30pm
Paige is sitting at her desk, the two people in Mr Cowens office made her nervous, she'd had phone calls from both Piper and Pheobe about their visits from the FBI and she was sure that these two were them, Mr Cowens opens the door and beckons
"Paige could you come into my office for a moment" he says, Paige tries to stay calm, her orbing powers tended to go a little haywire when she was nervous, she comes in and closes the door
"What can I do for you" she asks
"This is Agent Doggett and Agent Scully, they'd like to ask you some questions about the attack outside P3 the other night" Cowen replies
"Miss Matthews can you tell us what happened that night" says Scully
"Well we went out after we heard screaming, we saw a woman lying on the ground Leo went over to help, Cole went to look to see if the guy was still about but he wasn't the police turned up, end of story" she says
"So as the club was quiet you heard the screams for help" Doggett remarks, Paige nods "and your brother in law managed to diagnose head injuries, how'd he do that"
"Umm I think he dropped out of med school, I.......erm......... haven't been in the family long, Piper and Phoebe are my half sisters we kinda met after Prue's funeral, it's a long story that you dont want to hear" she states firmly
"For now" he replies, he notices the pentegram on her necklace "pretty, where'd you get it" Paige smiles
"Present from my sisters" she replies "is that all"
"Not quite, where did your brother in law go to medical school" Scully enquires
"I have no idea you'll have to ask Piper" says Paige
"I intend too" mutters Doggett "how many jobs has this guy had"
Halliwell Manor, 2.00pm
Piper, Pheobe, Paige and Leo are in the kitchen discussing their visits from Doggett and Scully, Pheobe has just finished telling the others about her vision
"........so he calls out her name as Azrael drops the body and starts to grow......and glow" finishes Pheobe, she hands over a picture of Azrael's alter ego she's drawn
"And this is the guy who turned into Azrael" remarks Piper "what I can't understand is why you should get a vision of this Monica person from Agent Scully's tissues" Pheobe shrugs
"Who knows how it works all I know is we have to save this woman or Azrael gets his powers back" she says
"How do you propose we do it, go up to Agent Doggett and say 'oh by the way do you know someone called Monica, cos if you do tell her to stay away from San Francisco or she'll be a demons lunch and the said demon will regain all his power and if you'll forgive the pun all hell will be let loose', he'll tie us to the stake personally" retorts Paige "I don't think he believed the story I told him about hearing screams outside P3, he seemed more interested in Leo"
"What did he want to know about me" asks Leo
"Where you got your medical skills from, I told him you'd dropped out of med school, did I do wrong" she says noticing the faces
"I told him he was an army medic" cries Piper
"Ah I told Agent Scully he's a paramedic" admits Pheobe, noting the look of anguish on Page's face she smiles "don't worry sweetie, we've never had a cover story for Leo's medical knowlege, we all dropped a clanger today" Paige smiles weakly
"He's not going to be put off easily, he's got that determind look about him" remarks Piper "so what's the plan, write a spell to vanquish Azrael,
"Find someway to get the FBI off our tail, maybe Darryl can send them on a wild goose chase" says Paige, Leo shakes his head
"We can let Darryl risk his job for us anyway they're involved in this Azrael thing and according to the Elders they're involved in the much bigger picture" the sisters stare at him "they think the Source is involved in a power struggle, Satan has power on Earth now and the Source's power is in the underworld unfortunatly they need eachother and have an uneasy allience one would like to see the other dumped on his ass, you know the end of the world that was predicted in the bible well that is happening and it can be avoided, these agents are the key to defeating Satan, the thing is it needs four of them to do it and Satan needs the Source's help to get rid of them if he succeeds in getting rid of the agents they've agreed to a power sharing thing and that's where Azrael comes in, one of them is in a coma and one of them is the innocent we have to protect, Monica, the only way we can help is if they trust us, the Elders think that whatever the outcome of this thing with Azrael is will shape the destiny of the world" Leo replies
"But the Source can't be trusted and neither can the devil what makes them think the other can be trusted" asks Paige
"Even the ultimate evil needs allies" he replies, Cole looks uncomfortabe as Balthazar his demon half was once the Source's ally
"They need eachother until one or other of them is vanquished and then it's every demon for himself and God help Earth" finishes Cole
"But these guys are trying to out us, how can we protect them and us at the same time" says Pheobe "this Monica must be the key, if Azrael is killing witches with empathic powers then she must one, once we meet she's going to know about us, I got this feeling of you know..........oneness, she's not a witch but she'll believe us she's ok I'm sure, we have to trust someone, Darryl and Andy were fine with it maybe she will be too" the others look at her with hesitation
"Y'know Pheobe I think you're right we are going to have to trust her but when the times right we can't just blurt out we're witches" replies Piper.
San Francisco Police Department, 3.30pm
Scully and Doggett are surrounded by files
"I can't figure out what the sisters are hiding" says Doggett "but I can tell you it has something to do with Leo Wyatt"
"You mean how Paige told us he'd dropped out of med school and Pheobe told me he was a paramedic" remarks Scully, he nods
"Piper told me he was an army medic and I swear he appeared from nowhere" Scully stares in amazement
"What do you mean" she asks
"When I went into the club they only people there were Piper and her barman, the next minute her husband stands up from behind the bar saying it's all fixed" he replies
"Seems perfectly reasonable to me" she says
"But when I came through the door I could see the whole bar he wasn't there, he wasn't anywhere" he argues "
"Maybe Scotty beamed him in" laughs Scully "changing the subject you know that pentegram Paige had around her neck, Pheobe has one too"
"And so does Piper" says Doggett "I think Cortez's paranoia maybe worth investigating, I think we should get Monica over here"
"I'll contact the local office and see if they can get us some information on Leo Wyatt, his wife and her sisters" says Scully as she picks up the phone.
J Edgar Hoover Building, 3.00pm
Agent Monica Reyes is on the phone
".........ok John I'll be out there as soon as I can...........sure I'll call you the minute I land..........ok say hi to Dana for me.............ok bye" she hangs up and looks over at a coloured man in his late twenties who's grinning at her, "what!!!!!!" she retorts
"Nothing" he replies still grinning
"Don't give me that wide eyed innocent look Danny it won't work" she yells
"Ok ok it just seems to me and the boys that whenever John Doggett calls you go running" he ducks, still grinning as a notebook flies over his head
"This office and the X Files work hand in hand" she stops and thinks again "......I mean we work on a lot of the same cases, this time they need my specific expertise, Agent Doggett and Agent Scully are in San Francisico investigating the deaths of wiccans, they want my imput" she replies, Danny's face grows serious
"D'ya think it could be connected to our investigation" he asks, Reyes shrugs
"I won't know until I get there" she smiles at him "I want you to take over while I'm gone, you know which area's need to be monitored and you know who to watch, you've been coming along well Danny, I'm impressed by the work you've done, now I'm putting my faith in you, please don't let me down" she says, Danny looks pleased
"Thanks Monica, I won't let you down and thanks for giving me this chance" he grins at her again "hey if you're off to San Francisco you're going to need flowers in your hair" she grins back and starts to laugh, as she closes the door Danny starts to sing 'If You're Going to San Francisco' ,very loudly and out of tune, Monica shakes her head as she walks down the corridor.
San Francisco Police Department 3.00pm
Doggett is hanging up the phone after his conversation with Reyes, Scully is on the phone to former medical collegues, there is a knock at the door and a handsome blonde haired man comes in
"Agents Doggett and Scully?" he asks, Doggett nods "I'm trainee agent Ashton Wells, the local office sent me over with these files and they asked if I can help with this investigation as part of my final evaluation" Scully raises her eyebrows, frowns and looks at Doggett who shrugs
"I can't see any problem with that" replies Scully candidly, Doggett nods "so what do you have on the Halliwell sisters", Ashton hands over the files and Scully flicks through them
"Well" asks Doggett
"Piper Halliwell, successful business woman, Pheobe Halliwell unemployed university graduate, Paige Matthews, former wild child gone good, Cole Turner lawyer in the DA's office, nothing we don't know there and, surprise surprise no information on Leo Wyatt, I've called everyone I know to see where Leo went to med school, no sign of him in the last twenty years" she replies, the fax machine starts to whir into life
"Hopefully this is his Army records" says Doggett as he picks up the papers, he scans them and his eyes widen in surprise
"What" says Scully
"According to this Leo Wyatt died in 1942" he replies
"That can't be right, it must be his grandfather" Scully retorts, Doggett shows her the photo
"That IS the man I met today, either Piper's married a ghost or he's a deserter with a good plastic surgon" declares Doggett
"But if he did desert he has to be about eighty no plastic surgeon is THAT good" she replies
"Unless he's borrowed this identity" he remarks, Scully shakes her head
"Why it's not like he was MIA, that Leo must of had a funeral, family, it's like he's been lost in time and he hasn't aged at all, it is not medically possible" she blusters
It's about time we learnt the truth about Leo so as soon as Monica gets here we'll get him in for questioning, Monica's sixth sense, vibes, or whatever it is hasn't let us down yet" he says, Ashton's ears prick up at the conversation about Monica, so The Oracle was right, these Agents were the key to everything, the Source's soothsayer had said four mortals were the key Satan's eventual downfall, destroy one and the prophesy could not be forfilled and as one of them had the power he needed he'd been a willing participant in The Oracle's plan was to strengthen Satan's grip on the world, then she would ally herself to him and so complete their revenge on the Source by having the power he would never grant and that power could destroy the Source, Ashton/Azrael smiles he can't believe his luck.
San Francsico Airport 8.30pm
Scully and Doggett are waiting in the arrival's lounge for Monica Reyes, Scully is sitting down reading the paper but Doggett is pacing, he's agitated, Scully looks at him and sighs
"John sit down can't you, I'm exausted just watching you" she says
"This case is bugging me or more to the point Leo's bugging me, it doesn't make sense I've checked every record I can and they say he died on active service in 1942 but he's walking around San Francsico 60 years later as if nothing happened" he retorts, Scully sighs and closes her paper
"Stop obsessing over Leo there's probably some logical explaination for this, clerical error is the most likely" she says unconvincingly, Doggett stares at her and starts to laugh
"And I'm sure you believe in the Easter Bunny too" he laughs, Scully grins and then starts to wave as she spots Monica coming through the gate, Reyes waves back and jogs up to them
"Hi, so what's up" she asks, Doggett sighs
"We have a someone killing Wiccas, a dead man walking around San Francsico who's wife and her sisters are suspected of being witches, just your normal run-of-the-mill X Files case" he says, Reyes grins
"Ok, so Dana what's really going on" Reyes replies
"Pretty much what he said" Scully remarks, the three of the walk back to the car while Scully fills Reyes in on what's happened so far
Ashton Well's Apartment 9.00pm
There is a knock on the door
"May I be seen" says a voice, Ashton opens the door outside a woman is leaning on the wall
"What took you so long" he demands as he ushers her inside
"I had a little trouble leaving I had to make sure he was...........otherwise engaged or he'd miss me" she replies smoothly "what's so important"
"Did you bring it with you" he asks, the woman lounges on the sofa and produces a crystal ball out of her pocket
"Of course I never travel without it, so you got me all the way up here for a reading" she remarks
"Not just that some interesting information has come my way not only am I working with two of the mortals from the prophesy but the third is on her way and she has the power of empathy that I need to complete my transformation" Ashton states
"And you want me too give you some idea of what you are up against" she replies, Ashton is getting impatient with her
"Yes now stop playing games and get on with it Oracle" he retorts, The Oracle pouts playfully
"Don't be like that, we don't want to ruin a perfectly good coup because you're angry with lil' ol' me" she purrs, she runs her hands over the crystal ball and stares deep into it
"So?" he enquires, The Oracle smiles
"You're right she is the key if you take her power you will be restored and Satan cannot be defeated" she frowns
"What" says Ashton
"I see the Charmed Ones, they are working with the agents of the prophesy they mean to vanquish you, they are not allied with the FBI yet but they soon will be, you must make sure the allience does not happen" she points to figures in the mists of the crystal ball "this one will not believe the sisters, this one will not find easy to trust them but will in the end, choose your allies well Azrael" she says, he starts to pace the floor
"I have a few favours owed to me by a couple of hitmen, it's time to collect" he replies, The Oracle smiles as Azrael shimmers out, she sit's back and runs her hands over the crystal ball again she stares into it and frowns.
San Francisco Police Department, 18th May 2003, 10.00am
Agent Doggett and Agent Scully are in an office in the station waiting for Agent Reyes, Doggett picks up the phone and is just about to dial her mobile when she comes staggering in carrying a pile of books which she drops on the desk covering herself with dust
"Jeez Monica" coughs Doggett " you raid every antique bookshop in town or what", Reyes grins as she brushes herself down
"No I just borrowed them, I ran into Lieutenant Cortez last night and he told me about his pet paranoia", Scully groans,
"Not the Halliwell sisters again", Reyes nods at this
"He told me everything and believe it or not I have heard of them before, well a prophesy anyway" she replies, she opens a book and starts to thumb through the pages "Yep here we are 'three sisters born of a family of witches shall be the most powerful on Earth, they are The Charmed Ones', yada yada yada, this bit says 'one shall be visited with the power of prophesy, seeing into the future, one shall be visited with the power of telekineses, moving things with the mind y'know like Carrie and one shall be visited with the power to stop time' which is interesting 'cos didn't you say that you felt like you'd missed a few minutes yesterday John"
"That's what it seemed like to me, after reading all Mulders file's on time discrepency I guess I jumped to conclusions" he remarks "so what you're saying is that the Halliwell's are these 'Charmed Ones' and Piper zapped me with some kind of time freeze spell" Reyes shrugged
"Could be, but after speaking to Cortez and listening to your tale about Long-Dead-Leo I think a visit to the Halliwell's home is in order don't you" she says, the others nod
"Where's our little shadow" asks Scully, Doggett shrugs
"Haven't seen him" he replies
"Do you mean the blond trainee agent, quite a charmer isn't he" says Reyes, Scully grins
"Ooh Monica that was a quick move" teases Scully, Reyes blushes
"I ran into him after speaking to Cortez we had coffee and talked about the case, he seemed interested in joining my old department in New Orleans so I said I'd put in a good word after he graduated" Monica replies
"Faster than a speeding bullet" laughs Scully, she notices the look on Doggett's face, he is trying to supress a spark of jealousy "you go girl" she whispers
"So where is he then" asks Doggett, Monica shrugs
"He said something about a two day armoury course" she replies
"What say we have a word with the sisters" suggests Doggett, Scully and Reyes nod.
Halliwell Manor, 11.00am
Piper and Pheobe are in the attic, Piper is looking in the Book of Shadows and Pheobe is trying to write a vanquishing spell without much luck,
"Arrg this is rediculas I'm getting nowhere" she groans as she screws up another peice of paper and throws it on the floor "any luck with a potion" Piper shakes her head
"It looks like it'll have to be a combination of potions you know part demon type potion, part Vanquish, part cleansing etc" she gets up and starts for the door "I'll give this to Paige and see what she can do, she's coming on really well with her potion brewing".
In the kitchen Paige is standing at the stove throwing things into a big saucepan, she spots her sisters coming through the doors
"Stand back" she calls and she throws a handfull of leaves into the pot, a loud noise and a puff of blue smoke come out and Paige drops three crystals into it, "that should do the trick" she says as she hands the crystals to her sisters, they place them around their necks
"Well we're protected for the moment all we need now are the spell and the potion" says Pheobe, Paige screws up her face
"No luck huh" Paige replies, Pheobe shakes her head, just then the doorbell rings and Pheobe goes to answer it.
Outside Doggett and Scully are waiting, the door opens and Pheobe's face looks out
"Hi Agent Scully what can we do for you" she asks, her mouth drops open as she see's Agent Reyes coming up the path "ohmygod............um..........oh boy...........er.........is she with you.........ah sorry you'll have to wait" with that she slams the door and runs back to the kitchen " uh guy's..........guy's we have a major problem the FBI are outside and Monica, the innocent, is with them this is not good this is definatly not good", Piper and Paige start desperatly to hide the signs of witchcraft
"Stall them" hisses Piper to Pheobe
"Why me" Pheobe retorts
"Because you're good at it" Piper replies
"Will someone stall them" yells Paige, Pheobe goes away muttering.
Outside the three agents look at each other
"I don't believe this, they're mad to think they can shut us out like that" says Doggett, he bangs on the door "FBI OPEN UP!!!", he look's at Scully and Reyes who nod
"Let's not wait for an invitation" says Scully, with that he kicks the door open, sending Pheobe sprawling on her back
"Come in why don't you" she says getting up, Doggett is pointing his gun at her
"Where's Leo" he asks
"Not here, he's out...........somewhere" she answers, vaguely
"Where's Leo" he repeats, Pheobe sighs
"I told you he's not here, why do you want Leo" she asks
"Inaccuracies in his files" says Scully
"And the fact that he's dead" replies Doggett
"Ah........I can explain that........" says Pheobe, they turn to face the kitchen as an explosion is heard
"PHEOBEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!" Piper screams
"Uh oh gotta go" says Pheobe as she runs off into the kichen, followed by the agents.
In the kitchen Piper and Paige are dodging two of Azrael's hitmen, Piper throws out her hands and a chair explodes
"Oops sorry" she says, Paige is on her knees looking in the cupboard under the sink
"I know I left some spare potions in here" she remarks, "ah here we are", she throws it at the feet of one of the demons who disappears in a ball of flame
"What the hell is this" yells Doggett
"Occupaional hazard" replies Pheobe as she karate kicks the remaining hitman, Cole shimmers in
"Be carefull Hitmen are.............ah you know" he starts, a ball of blue light forms in his hand and he throws it at the demon hitman, who ducks and the energy ball bounces off the door, the three agents draw their guns
"That's not going to work you'll end up killing one of us, guns!!!!!!" Paige yells, the guns disappear in a swirl of bright light and reappear in her hands
"Get Down!!!!!!" shouts Piper, the agents duck behind the sofa as Piper raises her hands and the hitman explodes "you can come out now", Doggett, Scully and Reyes peer out from behind the sofa as the sisters start to clear up the mess,
"Here we go again more explainations to the insurance people, why don't they cover demon damage" moans Piper
" Will someone please explain what the hell just happened" says Scully
"I will" says Monica to the sisters surprise "ok correct me if I'm wrong, you are the Charmed Ones aren't you" they nod "three sisters bourne of a family of witches one with the power of telekineses one with prophesy and one can freeze time right?" the sisters nod again dumbstruck
"How did you know.........." starts Piper, Reyes interrupts her
"I studied mythology and folklore at Browns University, you're more well known than you realise" she smiles at them "it's a pleasure to meet you"
"So what was all that about" retorts Scully
"Demon hitmen sent by Azrael to stop you" says Cole "all of you" he gestures to the agents "you're more involved than you realize" Pheobe shoots him a warning look "he's on to you, he's in league with The Oracle, they've been following your every move" Piper snorts
"Ha, we've kicked that two bit fortune tellers ass before we'll do it again" she says, Scully is standing by the door with an agitated look on her face
"I can't believe I'm hearing this" she turns on her heel and marches out slammingthe door behind her, Doggett looks at Reyes and shrugs, he starts out of the door after her
"Hey Dana wait up" he calls, Scully waits for him to catch up "what's the matter with you" she turns on him
"Me!!, nothing's the matter with me apart from these women are making complete fools of us, demon hitmen, pyrotechnics, party tricks, I expected Monica to fall for this but I never expected you to take this laying down, what happened to the sceptic in you" she spits, he recoils at the venom in her voice
"I'm trying to keep an open mind like you and Mulder suggested several times, I thought this was the kind of thing you and Mulder were used to" he remarks, Scully rounds on him
"And this is mocking everything Mulder believed in, you should be ashamed of youself" Scully gets in the car and drives off leaving Doggett lost for words
"What was that all about" asks Reyes, Doggett shakes his head
"I have no idea, I've never seen her like this, I thought she would be the one believing in the Halliwell's story and I'd be the one saying it was all BS" he replies
"And do you believe them" she remarks
"I couldn't say, I don't want to make any judgements yet" he says, Reyes eyes widen, he sighs "remember the case of Jude, Vicki and the Brooklyn Devil Worshippers" Reyes nods "well it came back and bit me on the ass well it actually slapped my face but I got a first hand view of what my preconceived ideas and refusal to listen to other points of view had done, it left a bitter taste" Reyes smiles
"Humble pie usually does" she says "So?"
"So this time I'll listen to all sides then decide" Reyes grins
"We'll make a believer of you yet" they go back into the house to question the occupants.
Scully's Car
Scully is driving back to the police station, she is seething with rage and she's not quite sure why
"Damn them, damn them to hell" she rages "they're making a mockery of the X Files" she wipes tears from her eyes "damn you Mulder why won't you bloody well wake up and help me" she starts to cry, she pulls over into a parking lot and sobs
After she calms down she tries to rationalize her behavior, stress, delayed shock, she sighs she hadn't been sleeping well and Mulder's recovery had stalled, she felt better after having let off steam and her crying fit had helped too, she thought briefly about the things she had said to Doggett she guessed she'd have to apologise for it, she's about to start the car when she hears a tap on the window it's Ashton Wells
"God you startled me" she says "what are you doing here"
"I came to get coffee, it's good stuff here, you look like you could do with some" he replies, "By the way where's Agent Doggett and Agent Reyes" Scully's face drops
"Listening to the Wicked Witches of the West Coast tell them fairy tales" she mutters through clenched teeth Ashton laughs
"They think the Halliwells are witches, oh please" he says, Scully smiles sensing an ally
"You said something about coffee" she hints, he smiles
"And maybe we can find a way to solve this properly instead of chasing boogymen, leave them with egg on their faces" he cajoles, she smiles and heads for the coffee house, Ashton/Azrael senses victory, with his powers beginning to restore themselves he'd sensed a spark of anger in her, with carefull nurturing it had grown into full blown hatred of her partners and the Halliwell witches now all he had to do was wait for the split to grow wider, divide and conquor.
Halliwell Manor
Doggett and Reyes have been listening to the sisters life history, the death of their Mother, being brought up by their grandmother, the day they discovered they were witches, Prue's death, Paige's discovery, Monica was intreigued, Doggett was sceptical and it showed in his face, Cortez was right where there was good there was evil, deep down he knew the sisters were good but in his career with the X Files and in the NYPD all he'd seen was evil and it had come too close to his home, he listened but his mind kept going back to the confrontation with Scully, he'd never seen her like this and it worried him, his mind was reeling so he used a phone call as an excuse to sit in the garden and put his thoughts into order, he got the picture of Luke out of his wallet and stared at it for a while
"Cute kid" says Pheobe "your son?"
"Was" he snaps, a little harsher than he'd meant, Pheobe sensed she'd stepped on dodgy ground, she handed him a coffee cup
"Sorry I didn't mean to pry" she said, as she hands him the cup her fingers accidently brush his hand, she gasps as a vision swims in front of her eyes, Doggett catches her as her knees buckle
"Pheobe.......Pheobe what's happening" he cries, in her mind Pheobe sees him crouching next to a grave, he's speaking in a soft voice
"It won't be much longer, we're close to catching the devil worshipping b*****d's that did this to you......to us, soon....... very soon you'll be able to rest in peace my son, we all will at last" the vision starts to fade, she gasps as she opens her eyes
"Are you ok" asks Doggett as Piper, Paige and Monica come running over the lawn
"Yeah I'm fine I'm used to it by now" she replies
"Pheobs what did you see" says Piper, Pheobe looks at Piper then at Doggett
"It's nothing to do with this.........I can't say" Doggett helps her to her feet and hesitates with Pheobe while the others return to the house
"So" he enquires "what did happen or can't you tell me either"
"Something that helps me understand a bit more" she replies and starts to walk back to the manor, so why did the elder's show me that she wonders, the picture was obviously his son and so was the grave, his son must have been murdered by something evil, mortal or demonic, no wonder he didn't trust them he'd tarred everything supernatural with the same brush so it must have taken some effort to listen to what they had to say.
Back inside the manor they find Leo waiting for them
"What happened here" he asks, they take it in turns explaining the days events, Doggett and Reyes take him to one side
"So what's your deal" asks Doggett "the medical skills, the appearing out of nowhere, being dead, Piper said you were a Guardian Angel or something" Leo smiles
"I am I guess, my official title is Whitelighter, we protect the good witches and innocents from harm, we can heal by a touch, at the moment of death a truely selfless person is taken by The Elders and given the task of protecting others, as you know I was killed in action in 1942, I really was an Army doctor, I don't regret a thing" he says, Reyes is grinning
"I can feel it, the goodness in you, I don't come across it much in my job, I can't believe there really are angels up there"
"If you're going to stick around you might want to update your paper trail, if I can track you down I'm sure others can too" says Doggett, Piper and Pheobe join them
"You're not going to 'out' us are you" says Pheobe "we really need to be kept secret, for our own safety, what you witnessed today is mild by comparison
"I don't think anyone would believe us anyway" he replies
San Francsisco Police Department
Scully and Ashton Wells are combing through the evidence, Scully is resenting her partners attitude towards the Halliwell sisters even more since Reyes phoned her with an update an hour ago, she is pacing the office floor ranting at Ashton
"I can't believe them, they're insane, Monica, yes I knew she'd swallow this but not John, after all he's been through why would he believe them, it's her fault, I can't believe he'd listen to her, mind you I should have seen it coming, the late nights in her office, the drinks after work, the private jokes, the looks the smiles, ha!! the next thing I'll know is he's recommending her to join the X Files" she snarls, Ashton smiles it's almost time, he twists his hands infront of Scully's face and blows a powder at her, her eyes glaze over
"Why don't you get rid of her, she is a threat to you and him, just do as I ask and she will no longer matter, I need her, she will restore me, serve me and anything you desire will be yours, revenge on those who've hurt you, the restoration of Mulder to full health........anything" he whispers seductivly, Scully nods blankly
"What do you want me to do" she says in a flat voice
"Kill the Halliwell Witches, bring me Monica Reyes, the alley outside the P3 nightclub at 8.30" he strokes Scully's face "such passion, such anger, you will serve me well, go, bring me Monica Reyes" he replies, she walks out of the door and goes to find her prey
"May I be seen" says The Oracle's voice
"Yes" he replies, she shimmers in
"Well" she asks
"It's going very well, I have sent your unbeliever to kill the Charmed Ones" he replies
"How did you get him to do it" she says, Ashton's eyes widen
"Him?"
"Agent Doggett,he's the unbeliever, his heart is hardened to the supernatural" she says
"I worked on Agent Scully, it was her anger I felt" Ashton replies
"Was it anger towards the witches" she asks, he shakes his head
"It was anger towards someone who wasn't supposed to be there, I thought it was Monica Reyes, I thought she was jealous of her that's what I worked on, is it going to be a problem" he says
"It shouldn't be, after all if you kill the empath and the witches are killed the result will still be the same" says The Oracle, Ashton smiles
"I've waited too long for this"
Halliwell Manor
In the attic, Pheobe is explaining The Book of Shadows to Doggett and Reyes, in the kitchen Paige is trying to brew potions and Piper is trying to fix some lunch
"Carefull don't get any of that into my soup, we don't know what it'll do to the FBI agents" says Piper, Paige sniffs
"Mmm what herbs do you put in your Veg soup and is that bread I smell baking" she asks, Piper laughs
"You know better than to ask me about my culinary secrets, so how's the potion coming" Piper says, Paige frowns
"I've hit a couple of dead ends but with a bit of tinkering we'll get there" she replies,
"Anyway that's enough for now it's lunch time", Piper carries mugs of soup and coffee and a platter of rolls up to the attic, at the Book of Shadows Pheobe is explaining how it works,
"Jeez what's that" asks Reyes pointing at a picture, Pheobe smiles
"Gremlin and this is the spell to banish them back to the underworld it's kind of supernatural exterminator, Gremlins aren't evil just annoying, we had a water gremlin once it took us days to get rid of him we were always finding him dancing in the shower, annoying little thing" she says
"So where did this book come from" asks Reyes
"It's a family heirloom it's been written by the women of our family since the seventeenth century, every generation updates it, including us, this chapter should be quite interesting" Pheobe replies, Piper and Paige come through the door
"Lunch time" calls Piper, everyone gathers around and sits on the sofa or on the floor
"You really didn't have to do this" says Reyes, Piper waves her hand dismissively
"It's no problem we are all in this together now" she replies, there's a knock at the door, Leo peeks through the window
"Agent Scully's back" he says
"I hope she's got over what ever it was" says Doggett as Leo goes downstairs to let her in.
Leo opens the door and lets Scully in
"We're in the attic" he says, Scully follows him up the stairs, as she goes up she starts fiddling with her gun,
"Hey Scully you feeling any better" asks Doggett as she comes through the door, she nods
"Much better, I have seen the light, I know what must be done" she says as she draws her gun and fires at Paige, who disappears in a swirl of bright light and reappears next to Doggett,
"Scully what the hell you doing" says Doggett
"What you should have done" she replies in a flat voice as she fires at Pheobe who jumps in the air and levitates out of harms way "Kill the witches"
"Paige orb the gun" yells Pheobe
"Gun" says Paige, Scully's gun disappears and reappears in her hand, Scully lets out a howl of rage
"NOOOOOOOO!!!, I'LL KILL YOU WITCH" she picks up a knife and slashes at Paige's face but catches her arm as she raises it to protect herself, Doggett grabs Scully's arm and pins it behind her back dodging the wildly slashing knife, Reyes has her gun pointed at Scully
"Dana don't make me do this please" she pleads, she takes a closer look at her face "look at her eyes they're.........blank"
"I can't hold on to her much longer, do whatever it is you do Piper" says Doggett, Piper raises her hands and everything stops, she touches Reyes and Doggett who come out of it
"What the........" starts Doggett as he unfreezes
"She's frozen for the moment" says Pheobe "what was it you said about her eyes"
"I said they looked blank........you know........empty" replies Reyes peering at Scully
"Spell?" asks Paige, her sister nod, Leo places his hand on her arm and the gash begins to heal
"Can you do anything for her" Monica enquires
"I don't see why not" says Piper "how about the de-zombiefying spell we picked up from that Voodoo Queen in New Orleans with a few ajustments it should be perfect", Doggett looks at Reyes who shrugs, Pheobe is looking through the book
"Here, it says we need salt and gold"
"Gold?" says Doggett
"Like a necklace, ring, earrings maybe" she replies, he spots Scully's cross and chain
"Will that do" he asks pointing, Pheobe nods
"Put it in her right hand" she says, Paige comes through the door with a box of salt in her hand
"What do you want done with this" she asks
"Put some in her left hand and some in a circle around Agent Doggett" Pheobe replies "I need you to grab her hands and keep them closed nothing will happen to you as long as you stay inside the salt circle" she says to him "ok lets do it she'll unfreeze in a second", Scully twitches as the freeze wears off, Doggett grabs her hands and the sisters begin to chant
"A soul is bound by an evil spell, to bring it back from the gates of hell, put salt in her left hand and gold in her right, cast out the dark, restore her soul's light" at the end Reyes blows salt into Scully's face, she blinks and her knees buckle
"Dana........Dana.......are you ok" says Reyes, she nods feebly and collapse's to the floor
"Ahhh..........my God what did I do.......oh God........I'm so sorry I couldn't stop it" she groans, Reyes cradles her head
"It's ok Dana, you're ok now" she croons
"I remember being angry and I remember being with Agent Wells, I was angry........really angry......but I can't remember why" she mumbles, her face contorts as she remembers more "he said I had to kill the sisters and bring Monica to him at 8.30" tears start to roll down her cheeks "he said if I did this I'd get Mulder back, I could see myself doing it, I could see everything but I couldn't stop" Reyes hugs her tight
"Don't worry everythings ok now he was messing with your mind that's all" she says, she looks desperatly at the sisters for reassurance
"Why did he want Monica" asks Doggett suddenly, Pheobe picks up her drawings
"Does he look like this by any chance" she enquires, the three agents nod
"How did......" starts Scully
"He's a demon called Azrael he can control strong emotions and use them to his advantage" replies Pheobe "which is why Agent Scully got into the state she did"
"It still doesn't explain why he wants Monica" says Doggett
"He needs to replenish his powers by killing those with empathic powers and you're next" she says to Reyes "you're the one he needs to regain his full power after that he'll be unstoppable"
"How do you know all this" says a stunned Reyes
"Agent Scully dropped a packet of tissues in the hospital I saw your death in a vision when I picked them up" says Pheobe
"They were the ones you gave me back in Washington" says Scully, realization dawns on Pheobe's face
"Which is why I saw your death" she says to Monica, suddenly Cole shimmers in holding a struggling Oracle
"Look who I found sneaking around the underworld looking for Tempus" he says "now why d'you think she needs to mess with time" The Oracle glares at him
"Oooh I don't know, maybe a plan's gone belly up, prehaps a prophesy has taken the wrong track and she needs to start again" says Piper "am I right" Oracle shifts uneasily and stares at the floor "bingo"
"Who the hell is she" asks Doggett
"She's the Source's soothsayer, she can see the future and according to Cole she's working with Azrael to make sure Satan reigns supreme" says Pheobe
"So what went wrong" asks Cole
"Like I'd tell you" snarls Oracle "and all you're little truth spells won't work on me either" Pheobe walks up to her and looks her in the face
"Oh we don't need spells all we need to do is ask Cole to take you back to the underworld and tell the Source just what you've been up to, I'm sure he'll love to know what his trusted prophetess get up to behind his back" a look of panic crosses The Oracle's face
"No No please I'll tell you everything just don't tell him please, you don't know what it's like working for him especially now with Satan in the mortal world, he doesn't want to hear the truth I have to lie, tell him what he wants to hear and call in all kinds of favours to make sure it comes true so when I heard of Azrael's plan and saw Satan's demise in the mist's of time I decided to help in anyway I could" she says
"Hold on what's all this about Satan's demise and the mist's of time, what do you know, who is Satan disguised as" interrupts Doggett
"When a vision is surrounded in mist it means the events can still be changed if a vision is surrounded by stone it means events are set, they can't be changed, set in stone" answer's Pheobe
"I can't tell you about Satan because I don't know who he is up here when I see him I see his true self" Oracle says "truthfully I can't tell you"
"But you do know what's going to happen or you wouldn't have been looking for Tempus" Cole remarks, Oracle nods her head
"Four of you are the key to Satan's demise, you three and one who's body is here but his spirit is hovering between earth and the afterlife"
"Mulder" interrupts Scully, The Oracle nods
"Satan and his followers are watching him closely it is well known that the prophesy will not come true if one of you is dead, Satan has agents watching the one between worlds, but he has guardians not of this world or ours, I cannot see their destiny, Azrael know's this that is why he wanted to kill her" she points at Reyes "by taking her empathy he could be restored and the prophesy could not be fulfilled but you helped screw it up" she says to Doggett
"Me! what did I do" he retorts
"You believed the Charmed Ones, you were supposed to ally yourself with Azrael and bring down the witches, your past encounters with the supernatural were supposed to have turned you against them, Azrael misread the the signs and worked on Agent Scully's anger towards his alter ego Ashton Wells and thought she was the unbeliever, I thought everything would remain the same but events have started to change, I wanted Tempus to reverse time so we could start again but Balthazar found me first" Oracle hangs her head in failure
"So nothing is set in stone yet" says Pheobe, Oracle shakes her head
"But the mists are clearing" she replies
"And your precious plan is going awry or why would you need Tempus" retorts Piper Oracle doesn't reply, Piper raises her hands, Leo grabs them
"Oh no you don't, blowing her to smithereens is not going to help" he says
"Wanna bet" she spits, Leo smiles
"We've got her over a barrel, she keeps what she knows about the agents and their future to herself and Cole doesn't tell the Source about her and Azrael" he says, Oracle glares at him
"Never" she growls "I'll watch you die one by one", Cole smirks
"Have it your way" he says "Agent Doggett do you mind taking over, there's someone I need to speak to" Doggett grabs her arms and twists them behind her back as Cole shimmers away
"No Balthazor, Balthazor come back please" she cries, Cole shimmers back
"Changed your mind" he asks, she nods miserably
"Paige get the entrapment crystals" says Pheobe, Paige gets five crystals and places them in a pentegram shape around Doggett and the Oracle, when the last is in place a web is formed by bolts of what looks like electricity
"Hey how do I get out, am I supposed to stay here with her" asks Doggett not that I'd mind he adds silently, glancing at the scantily clad Oracle
"You can just step out" replies Pheobe "it's perfectly safe for you"
"So now what" says Reyes
"Get Azrael in the open and vanquish him" says Pheobe "I've finally got the spell finished what about you Paige"
"Just a couple more hours and I'll have the potion done" Paige replies
"And you'll need me to lure him out" remarks Reyes, the sisters nod
" No Monica you mustn't we've got no way of protecting you if something goes wrong" insists Doggett
"They have" she says nodding at the sisters
"Monica........" he says
"No I've made up my mind, you have to let go and have faith sometimes" replies Reyes
"Ok so what's the plan" asks Cole
The Alley Outside P3 Nightclub 8.25pm
The Halliwell sisters and the agents are in the storeroom of P3, the window gives them a perfect view of the alley, Cole shimmers in
"Azrael's on his way" he says, Paige hands Reyes and Scully a crystal each
"These will protect you from his influence" she says
"Ok, everyone ready for this" says Pheobe, they all nod, Reyes and Scully head into the alley and wait for Azrael to join them.
Azrael sees Reyes and Scully enter, the plan is going well he thinks, he looks into the sky and sees Venus just entering the moon's shadow
"Glad you could make it, we don't have much time" says Ashton
"Time for what" asks Reyes
"I've recieved intelligence that the Witch Finder may attack tonight I thought you'd like to be here" he replies
"But why only me" she asks
"Because you are the victim" he says, as he grabs her he changes into Azrael, his fingers slip from her neck as the crystal's power protects her from him, Cole shimmers in and throws an energy ball at him, it misses, Reyes throws herself to the floor and Scully ducks behind a dumpster, Piper, Paige and Pheobe come running into the alley Piper throws out her hands and blows up a pile of boxes, Azrael forms an energy ball and throws it at Paige
"Energy ball" she cries, the ball disappears and reforms in her hands she throws it at Azrael, it knocks him off balance, Pheobe jumps in the air and delivers a powerful martial arts kick to his stomach, he falls to the floor
"John........now " Pheobe calls, Doggett appears at the other end of the alley and throws a potion bottle at Azrael's feet, the bottle explodes in a cloud of green smoke, and he finds himself routed to the spot
"Quick the spell" shouts Piper, her sisters gather round her and they begin to chant
"That which was formed in Hell, Here may you no longer dwell, You'll have no power to enslave the free, We vanquish you with the Power of Three" Piper throws a potion bottle at him and he writhes in agony but doesn't die,
"What the hell happened" says Pheobe
"You are not powerful enough" gloats Azrael, he struggles to release himself from the magical force holding him "you will never be powerful enough to destroy me"
"What about me" says Monica "could I help tip the balance if I can sense things I might have a little power in me"
"We'll try anything at this point" cries Pheobe, so Reyes gets up and joins them, they recite the spell again and throw the last potion bottle, this time he disappears in a ball of flame,
"Wow I can't believe it, that's done the trick" gasps Piper
"Is it over now" asks Scully peering out from behind the dumpster
"Yes we're all safe for now" she replies, "Come in the club and we'll celebrate"
The Next Day
After writing up their reports the agents visit Halliwell manor to say their farewells,
"Hi come on in" says Leo "Darryl Morris is already here", the agents go into the living room where the sisters are sitting with Morris.
"So what happens now" asks Reyes
"Well we'll keep fighting demons and you'll defeat the Devil" says Piper
"Do you believe her then, that Oracle woman" asks Scully, Piper nods
"She is a very powerful soothsayer, she doesn't get it wrong that often" she replies "all we know is that the four of you must stick together for this and if you need advice we're only a phone call away" Reyes grins
"Oh I think you'll be seeing a lot more of me in the future........if you don't mind" she says, the sisters shake their heads
"We'd love to see you again" reples Pheobe
"What did you put in the report" asks Morris hesitantly
"Don't worry" says Doggett "your secret is safe with us we said that Ashton Wells was the killer, a religous zealot who thought that Wicca was evil and all those who practise it should be eliminated" Morris nods in agreement
"Sounds good to me and it'll knock Cortez's theories out of the ballpark" he says, everyone laughs, the agents get up and make ready to leave
"It's been an expirience, one that I can't wait to tell Mulder about" says Scully as she hugs Piper
"I'll call you soon" says Reyes to Paige
"Thank you for everything" whispers Doggett to Pheobe, as she hugs him she gets the familier tingle of a vision, she sees him standing in a wood with a dark haired man and a young girl, all around them is a bright white light, Doggett is hugging a blonde haired boy, his son, she remembers, she feels a sense of relief and happiness, she opens her eyes and smiles, she and her sisters wave as the agents drive off
"What did you see Pheobs" asks Piper, Pheobe smiles
"Peace at last" she replies.
