Piper was sitting at the kitchen table, the morning newspaper spread open in front of her.

"Oh - there it is," Prue said as she came into the kitchen.  "I'm always the one who brings in the paper."

"Good morning to you, too," Piper said, squinting at her.

"Uh...good morning," Prue replied.

"There really isn't any reason that you have to be the one to bring in the paper every morning," Piper said.

"It's just the way the writers set things up on Charmed," Prue said.  "But it has worked out that way here in real life."

"Well, maybe today will be different from how the writers set things up - and from what The Elders expect us to do," Piper said. She pulled out a bobby pin from her hair, placed it next to her on the table and straightened out her hair.

"Different?" Prue asked.  "How?"

"By-" Piper began to say.

"This is really nice," the young woman said to Phoebe as she followed her into the kitchen.  "Much bigger than my apartment."

"Morning," Phoebe said, as she put down the bags.  "Cindy, these are my sisters, Piper and Prue.

"This is Cindy," she said to them.

"Hello," they said.

"Hi," Cindy replied. She was in her early twenties, with blond hair stopping above her shoulders, and a fresh-scrubbed face. She was wearing a pastel yellow shirt with denim pants and stood an inch or two taller than Phoebe.

"Right here is fine," Phoebe said and Cindy put the larger of the two bags she was holding on the counter.

"You're out early," Prue said to Phoebe.

"I woke up early," Phoebe said, "so I decided to go over to the bakery and pick up some croissants as soon as they came out of the oven.  The fog was already gone and it was so beautiful that I decided to walk.

"But then I remembered we were low on jam and cheese and orange juice so I walked over to the supermarket.  While I was going through the aisles I forgot that I didn't take the car and by the time I got done I had more bags than I could carry walking back.

"That's how I met Cindy.  She was right behind me at the checkout.  She had only a small bag and offered to help me bring these back to the Manor."

"That was really nice of you," Prue said.  "I hope this didn't take you far out of your way.  I can drive you back home."

"No, not far at all," Cindy said.  "I live in a small apartment just a few blocks away.  It's nothing compared to what you have here. Have you been living here long?"

"It's...been in our family for some time," Prue answered.

"I've just moved here recently," Cindy said. "I decided it was time I went to college."

"Me too," Phoebe said.  "I've, uh, also recently started college."

"Then we have something in common," Cindy said.

"Since you brought our breakfast why don't you join us," Piper said.

"Thanks...but...I have some errands to do," Cindy said. "Maybe another time."

"How about coming by for dinner one night?"  Phoebe asked.  "We can get to know each other."

"I'd like that," Cindy said.  "I manage to get by with meals but I'm far from the greatest cook."

"Phoebe is," Prue said, "so you're in for a treat."

"Here's our telephone number," Phoebe said, writing it down.  "Call us and we'll pick a night."

"OK," Cindy said.

"I'll see you to the door," Phoebe said.

"Nice meeting you," Cindy said.

"Same here," Piper said.

"Thanks again for your help," Prue said.

"On Charmed," Piper said after Cindy left, "I was a chef before I had P3.  So why haven't my real culinary skills here been any better than it was before?"

"Maybe The Elders feel you don't need to wine and dine demons to vanquish them," Prue said, smiling.

“Uh, did anyone see my bobby pin?” Piper asked, holding her hair behind her head.

"It was nice having someone help us out for a change," Phoebe said as she came back into the kitchen.

"That's what I meant before," Piper said, not finding her boby pin and letting go of her hair.  "Something different today from what The Elders are expecting - our finding and vanquishing the demons by ourselves. Having someone to help us find the demons would be so nice.

"Like these people," Piper said picking up the newspaper. "They're a group that investigates strange para-normal incidents.  Like looking for ghosts, among other things. I wish we had them here to help us."

"I don't think they could," Prue said.  "They don't have any powers to use against demons."

"But they could just help us find them," Piper said, wishfully.  "Then we could just do our Charmed Ones thing to vanquish them.  And maybe we'd be done here and be sent back home."

"Well, we don't have anyone else to rely on," Prue said.  "So we're just going to have to be more like the Halliwells and get moving on finding these demons ourselves."

 

Phoebe was sitting at the desk in her room after breakfast.  She was writing on a pad, half a dozen pages on which she had written but crossed out some words lying next to it.  She finished writing and tore the page from the pad.

As she read what she had written a satisfied look filled her face.  She took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

    "Those who seek things strange and different

       Slightly changed to fit in, and to here do the same,

    Intensified for forty-eight hours

       To accomplish that for which they aim,

    With what they're most familiar blend them in here

       Bring them now from where we came."

"There.  That should do it," she said.  She folded the paper and put it in her desk, threw the other pages away and went downstairs.

"That's strange," Piper said that evening as she came into the living room.  "There was something just on the news about two women being attacked a few minutes ago in Golden Gate Park."

"Were they killed by a demon?"  Prue asked.

"No.  Just bitten," Piper said. 

"Bitten?"  Prue asked.

"On their necks," Piper said. "The attacks happened about ten minutes apart."

"What kind of demon would do that?"  Prue asked.

"It's called a vampire," Stuart said.

"Vampire?  No, it can't be a vampire," Prue said.  "On Charmed, we vanquish demons, warlocks, an occasional ghost.  Even a woogie.  But we don't do vampires.  That's a different show."

"Demons don't bite," Stuart said.  "At least not any that have been on Charmed.  But vampires do. It's their trademark."

"There wasn't anything on The Demon Dimension about vampires being a part of the plan for major destruction," Piper said.

"Exactly," Prue said.  "And as Charmed doesn't deal with vampires either,  this has to be something else.”  She thought for a moment.

"Frank's working late at the magazine preparing some material for me for a shoot," she said. "I think I'll drive over and pick it up.  On the way I can swing by the park and see if I spot anything."

"Be careful," Piper said.

"Don't worry.  I'll wear a scarf to cover my neck," Prue said, with a smile.

 

Prue got out of the car and walked into the park.  She looked all around her as she walked down the path, carefully checking each bush and tree.

She had seen two police cars at the park entrance when she came in.  Whoever attacked those women wasn't anything supernatural, she thought, so he's probably been scared away by the police.

She turned at a split in the path and took the right fork deeper into the park.  She walked for about five minutes and stopped.  There's nothing here, she thought and turned around to go back.

"EEYYEE!!"

Prue turned and started running in the direction of the scream.

"EEYYEE!!"

Prue ran between two trees and came to a small open space.  A lamppost lit up the area and she could see someone forcing a woman to the ground.  She couldn't see his face from the side.  But she could see that his mouth was by her neck.

"Hey!  Over here!"  Prue shouted.  He turned to Prue and she waved her hand at him, sending him flying.  The woman got up to her knees and looked at Prue as he stood up and started towards them.

Prue could see him clearly, now.  There was something about his face.  Something un-real, she thought. She waved her hand again, sending him flying backwards, then rushed to the woman.

"Who are you?" the woman asked but before Prue could answer he got up again and charged them.

Prue was about to wave her hand again when something came between them.  She looked on in amazement, as a young girl cartwheeled in front of her.

The girl spun around and hit him on his side, then punched him on his jaw.  He fell down but got half-way up and swung at her.

She somersaulted over him, kicked him twice and as he spun around, punched him in his stomach.  As he fell backwards to the ground, she jumped on him, took something from her belt and drove it into his chest.

"ARRGGHH!" he screamed.  Then he broke up into little pieces and disappeared.

As the girl stood up Prue could see what she was holding.  A stake.  A wooden stake.  The girl put it back into her belt and came over to them.

The woman, frightened and crying, was still on her knees.

"Don't be afraid," the girl said.  "He can't hurt you anymore.  You're both safe now."

The girl was dressed in black from head to toe but the fight had knocked her knit hat aside and Prue could see blonde hair sticking out.  As the girl turned to her Prue could see there was a look of surprise on her face.

"Will you take care of her?" the girl asked.

"Uh...yes," Prue answered but before she could say anything else the girl did another cartwheel and was gone.

 

"Yes?"  Piper said as she opened the front door.

"Prue Halliwell?" the man asked.

"No, I'm her sister Piper.  Who are you?"

"FBI.  I'm Special Agent David Fox," he said. "This is Special Agent Dana Gillian. We want to ask your sister a few questions."

"She's not home.  What is this about?"

"Hmm...Piper," he said and thought for a moment.

"Hmm...I'll ask you the questions, instead," he said. "May we come in?"

Piper opened the door and motioned for the agents to come in, then led them into the living room.

"Have a seat," Piper said.

"Thank you," Fox said. "We wanted to talk to your sister about the attack on Dale Carter last night."

"Why?" Piper asked.  "My sister just happened along afterwards."

"Look, Ms. Halliwell, we know there were some unusual circumstances surrounding the attack," Fox said.  "And we know your sister was there and saw it."

"My sister didn't see anything," Piper insisted.

"Dale Carter told us your sister saw everything," Gillian interjected.

"Then why don't you ask her?" Piper said.

"She's having an emotional reaction to the attack and doesn't want to talk about it," Gillian said.

"Hello," Phoebe said as she walked into the room.

"Uh, this is my sister Phoebe," Piper said.  "These are FBI agents."

"Phoebe!?"  Fox said.  He was silent for a few seconds.  "Phoebe...Piper...Prue...They're definitely all connected to it, Gillian.  They know something about it."

"Fox, that could just happen to be what their names are," Gillian said.  "It could just be a-"

"Co-incidence, Gillian?" Fox said. "After six years of you saying that to me every week, you should know by now that there aren't any co-incidences.

"All of their names begin with a 'P', "Fox continued. "They don't call them The P-Files for nothing."

"What are you talking about?"  Piper asked.

"We investigate anything relating to para-normal happenings," Fox said. "Like the attack last night."

"And...what para-normal thing do you think happened last night," Piper asked, getting a little nervous.

"You tell me," Fox said.  "Your sister was there.  She saw it.  Maybe something to do with...aliens."

"Fox, I think we've gone as far we can now," Gillian said. "Ms. Halliwell, we still would like to speak to your other sister.  Please give me a call when she comes in." She handed Piper her card.

They stood up and Piper escorted the agents to the door.  Gillian walked outside but Fox hesitated.

"The truth is out there," he said to Piper, solemnly.  He walked out the door then turned back to her.

"But you would make it a lot easier for us if you helped us bring it inside."

 

Prue came into the house and went into the living room where Piper and Phoebe were sitting.

"The Manor is being watched by a chain-smoking man across the street," Prue said. "From the number of butts I saw on the ground near him he's been there a while."

Piper went over to the window and carefully looked outside.

"I don't recognize him," she said.

"Neither do I," Prue said.

"The FBI was just here looking for you," Piper said.

"The FBI!?" Prue asked.  "Why?"

"They wanted to talk to you about what happened last night," Piper said. "They think you know something about strange happenings and aliens."

"Uh...since last night everything has gotten weird," Prue said. "FBI...vampires...aliens. The Book of Shadows is here to help us and we always find what we need in it.  But there isn't anything in it about vampires."

"Maybe The Halliwells and Warrens never had to take on a vampire," Piper said.

"Or couldn't," Prue said.  "Maybe...they can't be vanquished.  And that's why there isn't a spell for it.  Maybe the only way to defeat a vampire is to slay it...with a wooden stake through its heart."

"It doesn't need anyone special to do that," Piper said.  "Anyone can.  At least, that's what they say in the movies."

"If The Charmed Ones aren't needed to, and can't, vanquish vampires, why are we suddenly running into them?" Prue asked.

"Maybe someone cast a spell to bring them here," Piper said.

"Who would do that - and why?" Prue asked.  "If it was a demon, the vampires would have been coming after us - and they haven't been.  And a demon wouldn't include a vampire slayer in his spell."

They were silent for a moment.

"Phoebe!" they both said turning to her.

"What!?"  she said.

"Phoebe, what did you do?"  Prue asked.

"Why do you think I did something?" Phoebe asked.

"Because this is exactly the kind of situation that Phoebe would get us into on Charmed with one of her spells," Prue said. "And you've gone too far in becoming your character. You've completely taken on Phoebe's personality."

"You said we have to be more like the Halliwells," Phoebe retorted. "And anyway, you've taken on Prue's personality."

"Prue is responsible," Prue said. "She thinks about the affects of a spell before she casts it."

"Hmm...what about that episode when you cast a 'truth spell'?"  Phoebe said.

"Uh...the script showed that was, uh, an accident," Prue said.

"Well, this was an accident too," Phoebe said, wincing, "...sort of."

Phoebe stopped and Prue stared at her with an 'I'm waiting' look.

"I wanted to get some practice making up spells now that I don't have a script to read them from," Phoebe said. "And Piper, you were saying how you wished we had someone to help us find the demons so we could get back home.  And there was that article about that group that gets involved with para-normal things.

"So...I made up a spell to bring here those that get involved in strange and different things from where we came."

"From where we came?"  Prue asked.

"That group works out of Laurel Canyon," Phoebe answered. “That’s part of LA.”

"I can't believe you did that," Prue said.  "We're not ourselves here.  We're The Halliwells.  And The Charmed Ones are not from LA.  They're from a television show.  So everyone you brought here...were also from TV shows."

"That's why those FBI agents seemed so familiar," Piper said. "They look just like the ones from that show. But their names were mixed up and their characters were exaggerated."

"And their actions," Prue said, "like cartwheels and somersaults."

"The spell said to change them to fit in here and not be recognized from LA," Phoebe said."To compensate for whatever was changed, the spell said to intensify them."

"What else was in the spell?" Prue asked.

"That they should blend in here with what they're most familiar," Phoebe answered.

"And what do you think a vampire slayer is most familiar with?"  Prue asked.

"Vampires," Piper answered.  "And aliens are what those FBI agents are most familiar with."

"You have to undo the spell," Prue said.

"I can't," Phoebe said.

"What!?" Prue said, in disbelief.

"As long as I was practicing with spells," Phoebe said, "I wanted to see if setting a time for how long a spell would last the way we do on Charmed worked in real life.  It does...the spell can't be reversed until its time runs out."

"How long did you make it for?"  Prue asked.

"Forty-eight hours," Phoebe said, wincing again.  "But it started at nine o'clock yesterday morning."

"So until nine o'clock tomorrow morning," Prue said, sounding really upset, "we have to contend with a college girl who slays vampires in her spare time and FBI agents looking for little green men, not to mention the vampires themselves."

"Not to mention...the government conspiracy," Phoebe said, wincing for a third time.  "That chain-smoker outside is part of it.  He thinks you know something about aliens being around last night and wants to make sure you don't tell those FBI agents."

"I don't know anything about aliens," Prue said.

"He won't believe you.  In a government conspiracy no one believes anyone," Phoebe said.

"Maybe we can just stay in The Manor until tomorrow morning," Piper said.

"We can't," Prue said.  "There are vampires out there that can hurt and kill people.  Even though they're from a TV show, they're real while they're here.  And we'll be responsible for anyone who gets hurt by them."

"Maybe The Elders can zap them back to where they came from," Piper said.  "Just like they're supposed to do when they send us back."

"It was Phoebe's doing within this changed reality that brought them here," Prue said. "We're responsible for what we do here with our powers, not The Elders. We're going to have to go out tonight and look for vampires.  And hope that we can find them before they can hurt anyone."

 

Prue turned the corner and headed up the street.  It would take her by the park and let her, she hoped, spot any vampires lurking around.

She thought she heard something behind her and turned quickly around.

"Oh, its you," she said. "You followed me from The Manor."

The man took a last draw on his cigarette, threw it to the ground and rubbed it out with his shoe.

"I think we need to have a little talk," he said, slowly and deliberately.

"About what?"  Prue asked.

"About what you know," he said.

"Know about what?" she asked.

"About what no one should know," he said. "Including you."

"I don't know about anything that would interest you," she said.

"I think after your...mysterious encounter last night, you do," he said.

"Nothing mysterious happened to me last night," Prue said. "Why don't you just smoke another cigarette.  It will do wonders for your health. I have to be going."

"I don't think so," he said motioning with his head as he took out another cigarette.  Prue turned around and saw another man behind her.

"I do," she said.  She waved her hand at the man behind her, sending him flying into a car.  She turned back and waved at the cigarette man, sending him flying into a tree, the cigarette falling from his lips as he landed on the ground.

"Twelve more hours of this to go," Prue said to herself, looking at her watch.  "Somehow, she's outdone in real life any situation Charmed's writers could have come up with in a script for Phoebe to get us into."

 

Piper heard a noise on the other side of the bushes.  She went around them and saw two figures who seemed to be attacking a young girl.

The girl thrust her elbow into the stomach of one of them, who was holding a pipe, then somersaulted out of the way of the second.  She gave him a karate kick, sending him reeling backwards.  But as she turned around the first figure hit her hard across her side and stomach with the pipe, knocking her to the ground.

"Ohh!"  Piper threw her hands up and they all froze.

"Oh...oh...uh," Piper said when she saw that the figures were sort of human but grotesque.  Then she saw that the girl on the ground was young and blond.

"Oh!"  Piper put her hands to her mouth, looked at the girl and then back to the figures.

"Vampires?...Oh...they must be vampires," she said. "OK...think...how do you vanquish a vampire?  A spell...no...not a spell.  A stake."

She went over to the girl, knelt down beside her and saw a wooden stake hung in her belt.  She eased it out and stood up.

"OK...OK...just stay calm," she said to herself and walked over to one of the vampires.  She held the stake in her hand and positioned it by his heart.  She turned her head away, closed her eyes and, making a face, pushed the stake into his chest.

Piper opened her eyes and turned her head back - and he was gone.  She looked around her and didn't see him.  "I guess it worked," she said.

She went over to the second vampire and positioned the stake again.  She pulled her head back and made a face but this time she kept her eyes open.  She pushed the stake into his heart and watched as the vampire was transformed into tiny little pieces, fell to the ground and disappeared.

"Oh.  So that's what happens.  Hmm...faster than vanquishing demons - but not as neat," she said as she saw the small residue on the ground.

She went over to the girl and put the stake back in her belt, walked back to where she had been and raised her hand.

"Owww!" the girl said.  "Where are they?  Where'd they go?"

"Who?"  Piper asked.

"The vampires," the girl said.

"What vampires?" Piper asked, sounding innocent.

"They were just here.  Vampires don't just disappear," the girl said. She pulled out her stake and stared at it.

"There's vampire residue on it," she said. "You...must have slain them without my seeing you.  You must have a power. Are you a witch?"

"Witch?"  Piper asked.

"It's OK," the girl said. "You're secret is safe with me.

"I'm Bunny Winters.  I'm a vampire slayer."

"I'm...Piper Halliwell.  I'm...a...witch," she said, having difficulty saying the words.

"Arrggh" Bunny said.

"You're hurt," Piper said as she knelt down beside her.  Her shirt had been torn open from the vampire's pipe and she was bleeding.  "Come on, I'll take you home with me."

 

"How long have you been doing this?"  Piper asked as she finished bandaging her wounds.

"Four years," the girl answered. "I was just a normal high school girl, doing normal things and suddenly I found out that I had this power to be a slayer.  And that I had to save the world from vampires.  I was sort of anointed without being asked."

"Me too," Piper said.  "I was an actress-...uh, a normal person and then suddenly I found out that I was a witch and that I had to save the world from demons.  My sisters, too.  And no one ever asked us."

"I know it's important to slay vampires, to protect people and to save the world," Bunny said.  "But sometimes, I wish I didn't have this responsibility.  I wish I could be a normal girl again, doing normal girl things - like dating - without having to worry about vampires.  Without everything I want to do always being interrupted by having to slay a vampire somewhere."

"I feel exactly the same way," Piper said, "only its with demons.  We must have the same writers."

"The same writers?" Bunny asked.

"That's...uh...just a figure of speech," Piper said. "You ran into my sister Prue last night when you were...slaying a vampire."

"Oh.  She must have been the one who wasn't terrified," Bunny said. "I was surprised but now I understand why.  You've slain vampires before."

"No," Piper said.  "Actually, tonight was the first time.  We vanquish demons."

"I didn't see your sister use any power," Bunny said.

"We're very discreet when we use it," Piper said. "We check that no one is looking.  And if someone does see us we do whatever we can to cover it up.  No one knows about us except our friend Stuart."

"Me too," Bunny said."  I'm careful when I go out on patrol."

"Patrol?" Piper asked.

"Almost every night for two or three hours I go looking for vampires and slay them," she said.

"Almost every night?" Piper asked. "For four years?  And no one's seen you??  That's not very believable."

"One person's seen me," Bunny said.  "Kiley.  He's a commando for The Undertaking.  That's a super-secret government operation.  They have a five-story deep complex the size of a football field underneath the college campus.  They have dozens of people coming in and out of there every day and send commandos out at night to capture anything that isn't a normal human."

"Five-stories deep?" Piper asked.  "Dozens of people?  Commandos every night?  And this is supposed to be secret?  And no one's ever noticed.  That completely un-believable. On second thought, we most definitely do not have the same writers."

"Piper, is Prue home?"  Phoebe interrupted them as she came into the living room.

"No, she's not," Piper said. "Oh, this is my sister Phoebe.

"Phoebs, this is," Piper paused and took a deep breath. "Bunny...the Vampire Slayer."

"Ohh," Phoebe said, giving her a big smile.  "Hello!"

"Hi," Bunny said.  "Uh...I just got this really strange feeling - that you and I are connected. That somehow everything that's happened the past two days...is related to you."

"Real-ly," Phoebe said, opening her eyes wide and angling her head away from Bunny.  "That is strange.

"Piper, I'm worried about Prue," she said, turning to her.  "She was supposed to meet Stuart and me an hour ago.  She isn't answering her cell phone.  Stuart is looking for her but I'm afraid something's happened to her."

"She can use her power to defend herself against vampires," Piper said.

"But not against The Undertaking," Bunny said.  "They use tranquilizer darts.  She wouldn't even see them in the dark. I'd better go meet Kiley by the campus and see what he knows."

"You were hurt pretty badly.  Are you sure you can make it?"  Piper asked.

"I'll be fine by the time I get there," Bunny said.  "No matter how bad I'm ever hurt, once I get even a little medical attention I'm completely healed by the end of the hour."

"Just like that??"  Phoebe asked.

"She has very different writers from ours," Piper said.

"Only, I don't know if I can find my way there," Bunny said.  "This part of the city is completely unfamiliar to me.  It's almost like it never existed for me before."

"I can understand that," Piper said as she shot Phoebe a look.  "I've felt that way myself.  Phoebe will find the way with you."

"Let's go, then," Bunny said.

 

"It's safer for you if you wait here just in case there are any commandos around," Bunny said as she got out of the car.  "I won't be long."

"OK," Phoebe said.

Phoebe pulled out her cell phone and tried calling Prue again.  After ten rings she gave up and got out of the car to stretch.  As she walked around to the other side of the car she saw something lying on the ground.

Bunny's stake, she thought.  She must have dropped it when she got out of the car.  She knelt down, picked it up and held it in her hand.  She suddenly stood still with her eyes closed.

"Oh no," she said.  "She needs the stake."

Phoebe ran in the direction Bunny had gone in.  She kept looking all around, trying to find her. After a minute she saw her to her left and ran to her.

"Why did you leave the car?"  Bunny asked.

"I had a premonition that you were going to be attacked," she answered and just as she did, two vampires burst out from the bushes.

Bunny swung around and hit one in his stomach.  Phoebe let the second one have a kick in his stomach, too. The first vampire tried to grab Bunny but she somersaulted out of his way, then kicked him from behind as Phoebe ducked a swing from the second one.  Phoebe gave him a few karate chops as Bunny punched the first one on his jaw.

"Here," Phoebe shouted as she threw the stake to Bunny, then kicked the second vampire again.

Bunny caught the stake and drove it through the heart of the first vampire.

"Take it, Phoebe," she shouted as she flipped it back to her.  Phoebe grabbed the stake and drove it into the second vampire as he charged her.  He broke into little pieces and disappeared.

"Phew.  You're pretty good Phoebe," Bunny said.

"We make a good team, don't we," Phoebe replied.  "I'll have to talk to our writers about it."    

"Writers...your sister Piper said that also," Bunny said.

"Oh...that's...just a figure of speech," Phoebe said.

"Is having a premonition your power as a witch?" she asked.

"Yes, but I can't control when it happens," Phoebe answered.

"You three sisters are amazing" Bunny said. "I wish we had some connection between your lives and mine."

"We...sort of do," Phoebe said.

"Shh...that's Kiley," Bunny said. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

 

"What did you find out about Prue?" Phoebe asked.

"The Undertaking has her," Bunny said. "They suspect she has powers and want to probe her but they haven't done anything to her yet.  Kiley can't get her out but he'll help us get in to rescue her."

"Let's get back to The Manor," Phoebe said. "We have to come up with a plan."

 

"Kiley told me where she's being held," Bunny said.  "I know my way around the complex so we'll be able to find her.  He said the best time to come is right after dawn. But there are a lot of people there with a lot of real weapons, not just tranquilizers."

"You're going to have freeze them as we work our way in," Stuart said.

"If this place is as big as you described it, Bunny, then I won't be able to freeze everyone," Piper said.  She pulled out a card from her pocketbook and picked up the phone.

"Who are you calling?"  Phoebe asked.

"The cavalry," Piper replied.

 

"Prue is being held prisoner at this complex," Piper said to the FBI agents sitting in the living room.  "It's a secret government underground site for anything that's not a human."

Fox' expression changed and he shot a glance at Gillian.

"Prue told us that whatever happened last night involved something not human," Phoebe said.  "They think that Prue is connected to whatever it was.  That's why they kidnaped her."

"What do you know about it?"  Gillian asked.

"Nothing," Piper said. "Just what Prue said.  But if you help us rescue Prue you'll be able to ask her about it."

"If your sister is being held against her will that's a federal offense," Gillian said.  "We don't need any other justification to free her."

"What's your connection to all of this?"  Fox asked Bunny.

"I've been in the complex," she replied. "I know how to get around inside of it."

"You're part of this secret operation?"  he asked.

"No," she said. "I became involved with them not knowing exactly what they were all about."

"You seem too intelligent for that," Fox said, suspiciously.

"It's a long story," Phoebe said, "and we don't have time to explain it.  You'd need twenty-two weeks to see it unfold one episode at a time to understand it."

"We have to get in there right after dawn," Piper said, "and it's almost that time now."

"Then we'd better get going," Gillian said.

 

"This way," Bunny said.  They had made their way around to the far side of the campus and were now at the back wall of one of the buildings.  Bunny opened a hidden door and they went inside.

"Kiley reset the security so that we wouldn't set off any alarms," Bunny said.  "But there are still guards and commandos around."

Fox and Gillian pulled out their guns and held them pointing upwards.

"I'll go first, Gillian," Fox said. "You watch the rear."

"The elevator is over there," Bunny said and they carefully approached it.  The door opened and after checking that it was clear, Fox motioned for them to come in.  Bunny pushed a button and they headed downwards.

"She's on this floor," Bunny said, "but I'm not sure where.  Kiley thought they might move her during the night."

The hallway went down a short distance and stopped in front of a door.

"Stay behind us," Fox said.  He looked at Gillian and she nodded.  Fox kicked the door open and they burst into the room.

Three commandos, guns in their hands, turned around to face them.

"Freeze!  FBI!" Fox shouted, just as Piper raised her hand.  She raised it again to unfreeze Stuart, Bunny and the agents.

Fox stared at the frozen commandos in disbelief.

"They...actually listened to me," Fox said, "literally.  Usually when I shout that at someone he shoots at me."

"You should talk to your writers about that," Phoebe said.

"My writers?" Fox asked.

"That's just a figure of speech," Bunny said, and smiled at Phoebe and Piper.

They passed through the room into a second room and then came to the door of a third room.  Fox opened it carefully and they looked inside.

"Prue!"  Phoebe shouted.

Prue was lying on a bed, her hands and legs bound.  Stuart and Phoebe ran over to her and started untying her.

"Are you hurt?"  Piper asked.

"No, I'm OK," Prue said. "Just a little groggy from whatever they shot at me.  Where are we?"

"A large complex five stories under the college campus," Stuart answered.

"Hi," Bunny said.

"Hello again," Prue said.  "Who are they?"

"FBI," Piper said.  "They helped us get in and find you."

"Thank you," Prue said.

"But you're not free yet," Bunny said.  "We still have to get out of here. We can't go back the way we came in.  Those commandos are there and there may be more by now. We'll have to go out the other way."

"We'd better check it first," Gillian said.  Bunny led the agents out the room's other door.

"The spell will be over in ten minutes," Piper said, looking at the clock on the wall.

"That's good," Stuart said.

"No, it isn't," Prue said.  "Not while we're in here.  When the spell ends, all of this will disappear.  There won't be any complex.  We'll be buried five stories underground."

They looked at each other as the realization of their situation set in.

"OK," Bunny said coming back into the room.  "We're going out above the huge open three story area. We'll be exposed while we're on the walkway above it, but it's the only way."

"Lead on," Phoebe said.

Suddenly a commando came in through the door behind them. Before he could react to seeing them Prue waved her hand at him, sending him into the wall.

"Wow! So that's your power, Prue," Bunny said.

She quickly led them from the room and into a hallway where Fox and Gillian were waiting.  She walked ahead to a door and slowly opened it.  She motioned for them to come, then led them up a metal staircase to another door.

"OK," she said, "the walkway is on the other side."  She opened the door and they stepped onto the walkway.

They stood there staring in awe of what they saw three stories below.  The area was huge.  Dozens of people were talking, monitoring equipment or moving gurneys.

From their high perch, they could not make out what lay on the gurneys.

"The Undertaking at work," Bunny said, "with what they've captured.  Hidden from the world."

"What are they?"  Piper asked.

"Aliens," Fox declared.

"This is it, Gillian," Fox said. "This is what I've been after all of these years.  The aliens, the government conspiracy, the hiding of the truth.  It's all here, Gillian.  We've found it."

"You're vindicated, Fox," Gillian said.  "You've been right all along."

A shot rang out and a bullet whizzed by Piper.

"EEYYEE" she screamed.

"They've seen us," Bunny said.

"We can't go across the walkway," Phoebe said.

"We'll cover you," Fox said as he and Gillian returned the fire.  "Run for the door."

They started running down the walkway as the commandos below ducked for cover.

Bunny opened the door to the elevator and they all jumped in.  She pushed the button and the elevator took off.

"To the left," she said as the elevator stopped and the door opened.

They ran down the corridor to a door.  Bunny pushed some buttons and the door slid open and sunlight greeted them.

"Go," Bunny said. "I want to make sure Kiley's all right."

"And I want to talk to him," Fox said.

"Thanks," Phoebe said, and as she took Bunny's hand, both sensed something.

"We are connected," Bunny said, as a look of understanding came across her face.

"I'm going to miss you," Phoebe said.

"We can see each other again, Phoebe, if we both ask our writers for a crossover," Bunny said and winked at her.

Phoebe’s mouth opened wide as she tilted her head and stared at Bunny in disbelief.

"Come on," Stuart shouted, grabbing Phoebe and pulling her outside with Prue and Piper.

They stood for a moment, savoring being outside in the warm sun and the fresh air.

"Look," Stuart said as the door they had just come out of disappeared.

"The spell is over," Piper said. "It's all gone."

"Well Piper, you got your wish,” Prue said.  “What we've done these past two days has certainly been different from what The Elders were expecting us to be doing." 

"And different from what we expected to be doing," Piper said.  "I think I'll go back to dealing just with demons."

"Maybe there is something to how the writers set things up that's needed for us to be The Charmed Ones," Prue said. "And we shouldn't try to change it."

"No more looking for outside help," Phoebe said.

"And you can go back to bringing in the newspaper," Piper said to Prue. "Starting this morning."

"Speaking of morning," Stuart said as he yawned, "we've been up all night."

"And our car isn’t here,” Phoebe explained to Prue. “We came in the agents’ car.”

Honk honk.

“Need a lift?” a voice called out.

“Cindy!” Phoebe exclaimed.

They ran across the street and piled into her car.

“Thanks,” Phoebe said. “You have a knack for knowing just when to show up.”

“Either that or it’s just destiny,” Prue said, smiling.

“Maybe it’s both,” Cindy said, enigmatically and they drove off.