**Spoiler** "There's Something About Leo"

[~*~Kit_The_Kat~*~]

TEASER

INT. Manor - Attic - Pre-Dawn

Piper, yawning, is leaning over a map of the city with four push pins sticking out of it. She's using a ruler to measure the distance, trying to figure out where a fifth pin should go. Reaching for the pin, she accidentally stabs herself and yelps. Leo rushes in, a little too eager to help. Piper tells him it's nothing a little sleep won't take care of. Leo wants to heal it but Piper won't let him. They argue about it for a moment, then Leo tells her they need to talk. Piper tells him they need to figure out where the next demon attack is going to be. She figures out the distance and pushes the last pin in. "A pentagram…naturally." Leo ignores her, asking what she wants from him, what else he has to do to prove he changed. Piper, ignoring him, asks if Paige and Phoebe are done with the dye yet. Leo stops her, saying she didn't answer his question. Piper: "Oh, so now I'm supposed to answer your questions when you won't answer mine?" Leo: "What question?" Piper, tells him it's the same one she's had for the last several days…about what he's not telling her. Leo tries to fake it, saying he doesn't know what she's talking about. Piper, knowing better, excuses herself. She exits and Leo follows her.

INT. Manor - Main Hall/Stairs - Pre-Dawn

Leo, not willing to give up, chases her down. Piper tells him she doesn't have time to get into 'this' right now due to the invisible demons randomly killing innocents, and for all they know, the demons are working with the Avatars. Leo slips, telling her they're not. Piper asks how he knows. Leo covers, saying he doesn't, but he guesses he's not convinced the Avatars are the threat. Paige and Phoebe emerge from the kitchen with several vials in hand. Overhearing, Phoebe asks him why not. Leo claims that if the Avatars were behind it, and with as powerful as they are, why wouldn't they have just attacked. Piper: "What, sending a demon to possess you didn't count?" Leo says he thinks it's just their way of trying to communicate with him. Paige: "Wouldn't it have been easier just to knock on the door?" Phoebe asks if there's something he's not telling them. He says no, Piper says yes. She turns to Phoebe and Paige and asks if they're sure the dye will work. Paige says it's 5 AM and she's not sure of anything. Leo tries to interrupt, but Phoebe asks if they know where the demon's going to attack. Piper says she thinks they're making a pentagram and there's one point left…then says they have to go before sunrise. Leo tells Piper she can't just walk off. Piper agrees…saying they should orb, and gives Paige the address. Paige touches Piper's and Phoebe's shoulders and the orb out mid-stride. Leo yells out "No" and there's a flash of white light.

INT. Manor - Attic - Pre-Dawn

Piper's back over the map, jabbing herself on the pin. Leo enters, confused, "What happened?" Piper says she's okay, again saying that it's nothing a little sleep won't fix. Leo tells her she just said that…then moves over to her. Piper says she just found out where the next attack will be and asks once again if Phoebe and Paige are done with the dye. Leo says he doesn't know. Piper pushes past Leo and leaves. Leo, alone, searching for answers, is soon greeted by Alpha and Beta. Leo asks why they reversed time. Alpha says they didn't. Beta says he did.

FADE OUT

END OF TEASER

[~*~Kit_The_Kat~*~]

ACT I

INT. Manor - Attic - Pre-Dawn

Leo, still stunned, is telling the Avatars, that his emotions got the better of him. Alpha tells him that control is the first discipline of the Avatars. Without it he's a danger to himself and them as a whole. Beta informs them that when time is rewound, it drains power from all of them. Leo stammers, again saying he didn't mean to do it. Beta says the forces of good an evil rally against them and they must remain at full strength. Alpha tells him that nothing must get in the way of their goals. Leo says he understands, but Piper is his wife and she knows something's up, he wants to tell her. Alpha tells him the time isn't right, Beta says they understand why he wants to, and Alpha tells him that telling Piper too soon might bring disaster. Beta: "Through patience we let you find your path to us. Let Piper do the same." Leo says it's ruining his marriage. Alpha says their goals are greater than his relationship with Piper, that he must sacrifice his needs for those of the many. Beta says it's a burden he took up upon becoming an Avatar. Leo says he's not just an Avatar, he's a husband and a father, too. He joined them to preserve that. Alpha: "You joined us to stop the Black Nothingness we showed you in the future. And for that, you must have discipline with your powers." Beta: "Please, Leo, take our warning."

EXT. Alley - Dawn

Piper sits behind a gutted car along with her sisters, keeping a watchful eye on the closed bay doors of a nearby warehouse. Piper checks her watch, saying that it's almost dawn, and they need to keep their focus. Paige: "Right, focused." Piper, still staring at the door, "Phoebe?" Phoebe looks over at her: "Piper, we're focused, you've got tunnel vision." Piper asks what that's supposed to mean. Phoebe says it just seemed like she bolted away from Leo in a hurry, like she'd rather be hunting demons. Piper tells her that's ridiculous, Phoebe asks if it is and Paige says she doesn't know what her problem with Leo is anyway, since he's been great lately. Piper: "Right, there's no problem. He's good. He's all good." She pauses, staring at the warehouse doors again, as Phoebe keeps a skeptical eye on her. Piper breaks: "Okay, fine! I'm hunting demons to avoid dealing with Leo. My totally perfect husband." Phoebe: "Easy to see why you'd rather be splattering demons." Piper says she knows Leo, this is too perfect, even for him and she's waiting for the other shoe to drop. Phoebe tells her to ask him about it. Piper says she has, several times, but she's seen how he is…he just acts like she's crazy, which is why she's channeling her frustrations into something useful. Paige says she just hopes they can get the vanquish over with by breakfast because she has a date with Kyle, which she wouldn't mind showering for first. Phoebe informs her that breakfast isn't a date. Paige says anything's a date as far as she's' concerned, as long as he's not still obsessing about Avatars. Piper; "Okay, okay, I'd say we've all lost focus here." Phoebe's cell rings, "Sorry." She quickly turns it off and puts it away. Paige asks who would be calling at this hour. Phoebe, lying, "Who knows?" Piper, off her guilty look, "Avoiding something?" Before Phoebe can answer, their innocent approaches down the alley, twirling a key chain. He opens the bay doors and enters the warehouse. Paige: "Think that's our innocent?" Piper: "We're about to find out." Then she asks for the dye. Paige passes out vials of the dye, saying she'd feel a lot better if she knew who they were up against. Piper: "All we know is they have to become visible to attack…Let's go."

INT. Warehouse - Dawn (continuous)

As the innocent starts turning on lights, he turns, startled by an Enoch Demon, Malvoc, "Who are you?" Malvoc: "It won't matter." With lightening speed, Malvoc backhands the innocent, sending him flying into wooden crates. Piper, "Hey!" Malvoc turns as Piper runs into the warehouse, blasting him. The blast knocks Malvoc backwards, but it doesn't vanquish him. Recovering, he touches his bleeding shoulder then looks off to the side, as if seeing something, then commands: "Kill them!" With that, he cloaks, becoming invisible. Phoebe, reacting to the direction he was commanding, "Over there, throw the dye!" They throw their potions in the general direction, causing a blue haze to reveal 3 more Enoch demons, who are in the middle of charging the sisters. Two hurl energy balls at them, Paige calls for one, and gestures. It orbs out, then orbs back in…right into one of the demons, vanquishing him. Phoebe tackles Paige out of the way of the other energy ball just in time. Piper's gesturing, repeatedly blasting the last two demons, but it's not vanquishing them, only pushing them back, until the two decide to vanish. Piper, concerned: "Well, whoever they are, they're more powerful than we thought." Paige goes to the innocent and checks him out. "Which means they'll be back for him. He's still alive." Piper says they need to get him to Magic School until they can figure out who the demons are. Phoebe says they also need to make vanquishing potions. Paige: "Great, so much for my date." Piper says they'll do the potions so Paige can go meet Kyle. Paige asks if she's sure. Piper: "You don't want to avoid, I do. Go." Paige grabs the innocent and orbs out with him.

INT. Enoch Gang Lair - Eternal Night

A large group of Enoch demons, each wearing ritualistic black robes with a yellow armband, mill about, muttering their discontent. They turn as Malvoc, their leader, enters. Her surveys the scene, senses their concerns, and stops in front of a cave wall map of the city, a section of which has been marked with a pentagram. "The innocent has been marked, the territory staked. Soon, all within the pentagram will be ours to control." Another demon, Vassen, challenges him, "But the innocent lives. Our rivals…" Malvoc, cutting him off: "Can no more easily kill him than we can, not that the Charmed Ones are protecting him." Vassen: "Then, how is it that the territory is staked? As long as he lives, the Sokols could still try to claim it for themselves." Malvoc: "We want them to try…or, at least, make it look like they did." He faces the others with his plan. "The witches don't know who we are, right? So, we'll put them on our rival's trail - by making them think the Sokols attacked them."

EXT. Café - Day - Morning

Brody and Paige sit at a table awaiting their breakfast. They both are suffering from a little first date eagerness. Paige asks Kyle if he's nervous. Brody: "Me? No, why? Are you?" Paige: "Of course not, it's only breakfast." Brody: "I should have asked you out to dinner, I knew it." Paige: "I asked you out, remember?" Brody: "Right. Well, then YOU should have asked me out to dinner. Especially since we've already gotten the first kiss out of the way." Paige, a bit miffed, "Out of the way??" Brody: "That's not what I meant…I guess I'm a little rusty at this." Paige: "Not a big dater, huh?" Brody says he's chased the Avatars since he was seven and revenge doesn't leave much time for a social life. Paige: "I guess not." Brody, not being able to help it, tells her they're close, he can feel it. Paige tells him he promised no Avatar talk. Brody says she's right, and from there on out, no more Avatars. His cell rings, he takes it out, turns the ringer off without looking at it and stuffs it back into his pocket. Paige is pleased, until Brody looks like he's about to giggle. "What?" Brody: "It's vibrating now…kind of tickles." Paige is trying not to be mad as Brody pulls it back out, this time shutting it off and placing it on the table. "It's off. No more distractions." He smiles, then, his back starts to ring. Paige, not happy, picks up her menu. Brody pulls out another cell, this time taking the call. He tells Paige it's his emergency line, he has to take it. As he talks, Paige glances over at a happy couple in the next booth. Brody, into the phone, tells whoever it is to call back with some numbers are soon as they get them. He hangs up and turns to Paige with excitement. 'Intel just detected another unusual power surge in the area. Don't you see? I've been tracking energy spikes and this matches the pattern of power surges I've tied to Avatar activity." Paige puts her napkin on the table. "Do you know what this means?" Paige: "Yes. It means you eat alone." She stands and Brody pleads with her not to leave, but his cell rings again. He tries to ignore it, but it continues to ring and he snaps it up in frustration, watching Paige disappear around a corner.

[~*~Kit_The_Kat~*~]

INT. Manor - Kitchen - Day

Piper collects ingredients from the cabinets as Phoebe enters. "Well, nothing in the Book of Shadows on these demons, so we're up against a big cloaking question mark." Piper says she's working on getting around that. Phoebe picks up one of Piper's bottles and looks concerned. "Jacklebeet? Pretty powerful stuff. Exactly what state are you trying to blow off the map?" Piper: "Multiple unknown cloaking demons that don't blow up when they should require a little extra bang." Phoebe, noticing a small pot on the stove, goes to it, "Did you make spaghetti sauce?" She almost puts her finger in the pot when Piper shouts, "DON'T! That's the demon blood we picked up. We're going to use it to scry for them when I'm done with the vanquishing potion." Phoebe: "We really need two kitchens." Piper asks where the beetle toe is. Phoebe says that the last she saw it, it was in the attic. Piper collects bottles and Phoebe asks if she's still avoiding her "Leo problem". Piper says she's due her turn, since she remembers Phoebe avoiding someone a little while back. Phoebe says if she's referring to Leslie, she's right, "but my big sister gave me some advice that I'll pass back to her now: Stop dodging. Talk to Leo." Piper: "On the subject of dodging, who called this morning?" Phoebe, looking sheepish, "Darryl. He's worried that Brody has something to do with Inspector Sheridan's disappearance." Piper: "I thought you trusted Brody now." Phoebe says she does, yet she doesn't want to make waves with Paige and him…but, Darryl is sometimes right. Piper looks skeptical. Phoebe assures her not to worry, she's keeping it low-key. Darryl is coming over to talk while Paige is on her date. Leo orbs in and says hello. Piper, icily, "Hello." She gathers up her assorted bottles and herbs. As she heads out, she tells Phoebe she'll be in the attic. She exits, leaving Leo looking to Phoebe. Phoebe tells him not to just stand there, he needs to go talk to her. He leaves as the doorbell rings.

INT. Manor - Foyer/Front Door - Day

Phoebe opens the door and sees Darryl. "Can we talk?" Phoebe says they can since Paige isn't home yet and lets him in. Darryl says he's come up short on trying to find Sheridan. Phoebe: "Is that good? I mean, Brody wouldn't hurt her or anything?" Darryl says he doesn't think so, but he does think Kyle's shady, and while he was never a big fan of Sheridan, wrong is wrong. Phoebe: "Well, maybe I could get a premonition of off something of Brody's." Darryl: "No magic. I've been burned enough by magic." Phoebe: "Darryl, I know you had a bad experience last year, but does one instance of bad magic outweigh six years of good?" Darryl considers that as Paige surprises them by entering through the front door. "Hey, Darryl…" "Paige? Hi….hello…" Phoebe asks what she's doing home. "I thought you were on a date?" Paige: "So did I." A pause, then Paige turns to Darryl, who decides to beat a hasty retreat. "Uh, anyway, so, say hi to Piper for me, will ya? Take care." She quickly shuts the door as Darryl leaves. Paige wonders if he's friends with them again. Phoebe says she guesses so and moves off to avoid a very curious little sister.

INT. Manor - Attic - Day

Piper drops an ingredient into the cauldron as Leo's trying to get her to understand. "This is not the time or the place, Leo." Leo says he just wants his family back…he wants her back. Piper says she doesn't want to talk about it right now. Leo asks why. Piper: "Why not? Because this is a little dicey here, okay?" Leo: "I know that, that's why we need to talk." Piper; "Not that…" she glances at the cauldron, "THIS…one little mistake and I could blow up the entire house - this is a bad time!" Leo: "I just wish you'd trust me." Piper: "And I just wish you'd tell me the truth." Leo, looking upwards: "Damnit, this is so frustrating!" Everything freezes, including Phoebe and Paige on the stairs, Phoebe slightly higher up than Paige. Alpha and Beta materialize next to Piper, scowling at her frozen figure. Alpha tells Leo that 'this' can't keep happening, he cant' keep tapping into the collective for personal reasons. Leo says he can't help it. Beta tells him he has to keep up pretenses, there's no other way. Leo says there is…he could tell her the truth. Beta says they've been through that, Piper and her sisters aren't ready. Leo say he doesn't understand, he knows Piper, he knows she doesn't want to live like this and more than he does…she hates battling demons all the time. She wants a normal like for them all and he know she can handle the truth. Alpha asks "But what if she can't, if she's not open to our way, it'd risk everything we hope to achieve, everything we covet." Beta: "And cause her to lose perspective in the process, ignore what shouldn't be ignored." Alpha: "Which would put her at risk, too. There is much at stake." Leo restates firmly that she can handle it. Alpha and Beta share a look, "He needs to see for himself." Beta, reluctant, "Very well, but understand - we can't save them again. If anything goes wrong, it's over." Off that, they disappear and Piper unfreezes, obliviously continuing to add ingredients to her potion. She looks to see Leo, distracted. "What's the matter?" Leo says he needs to tell her something. Piper, still throwing ingredients into the cauldron, "I'm listening." Leo: The reason why I know the demons aren't working for the Avatars is because…" he pauses before he drops the bomb "…I'm an Avatar." She stares at him, thinking it's a joke, but then sees he's serious. As it begins to sink in, "Oh my God…" As she accidentally pours the bottle of beetle toe falls out of her hand, into the cauldron. A huge explosion destroys the cauldron, sending Piper flying backward and filling the attic with smoke. Leo: "Piper?!" He rushes to see if she's okay, turns her over, but the moment he does, she gathers herself enough to demand, "Stay away from me!" Leo backs off, worried he just made the worst decision of his life.

FADE OUT

END OF ACT I

[~*~Kit_The_Kat~*~]

ACT II

INT. Manor - Attic - Day

Paige and Phoebe rush into the room to find Piper picking up the debris. Phoebe asks what happened. Leo asks to help. Piper tells him not to. Paige asks if someone can tell them what happened. Piper; "The potion blew up - and, oh, by the way, Leo's an Avatar." Phoebe, not sure how to take it, can only ask "What?" Piper: "You know, an Avatar. The Looming Threat, Gathering Storm, whatever you want to call it…" Leo: "We're not a threat. We only want to save the world from itself." Phoebe: "He said 'we' - did he say we?" Leo says Piper wanted to know the truth and he told her, and also states that he told them she'd be able to handle it. Piper: "Handle what? That you're what everyone's afraid of, even the Elders?" Leo says they're only afraid because they can't understand, that the Avatars are beyond good and evil, they represent all they've hoped for…a life without demos. Paige says he's cracked, Phoebe agrees and Leo says he's never been more clear about anything in his life. Leo, to Piper: "I beg you not to be closed to this. It's the answer we've been searching for, it's everything we've ever dreamed about, I promise." Piper, moved by his sincerity, calms. Phoebe and Paige are anything but as they wait for Piper to say something. Piper says she thinks Leo should take the boys to Magic School. Leo tries to argue. Piper says she needs him to because she needs to think about everything. Paige: "Piper, you can't seriously trust him to…" Piper: "I can trust my husband with our children." Then she tells Leo to go. He reluctantly exits to get the boys as the sisters wrestle with the enormity of it. Phoebe asks if the think he's telling the truth. Piper says it would be a pretty stupid lie if he's not. Paige asks what she's going to do. Piper says she doesn't know, but they have demons to take care of and an innocent to protect. Then she asks if they can remake the vanquishing potion while she goes to clean up. They nod and Piper leaves, but calls to them, reminding them, "Not too much beetle toe." After she's gone, Paige tells Phoebe to forget the potion, they've got bigger problems. Phoebe: "I agree, Avatars trump demons. We need to save Leo." Paige; "Which means we're going to need Kyle's help.." Phoebe nods her agreement.

INT. Sokol Gang Cave - Eternal Night

Malvoc and Vassen (minus their arm bands) uncloak in the dark lair behind two Sokol guards. They quickly cover their mouths and stab them in the back with daggers. As the Sokol demons slump to the floor, Malvoc and Vassen, they quickly rip off their arm bands (red and black) then watch as the guards die and vanish. Vassen asks Malvoc what they're supposed to do now. Malvoc, looking at the arm bands, "Put them on." Vassen asks why and Malvoc informs him that they're going to attack the Charmed Ones. Vassen says it's suicide and Malvoc says only if they die, but he plans on fighting only long enough to let them identify them…as Sokols. Vassen says that's fine, the Charmed Ones can vanquish all the Sokols, but others will still challenge them for the territory. Malvoc says they won't be able to after they kill the innocent, since one the sisters vanquish their rivals, they'll think the threat has passed. Vassen, catching on, "And return the innocent…" He looks at the arm band. "We'll need more of these."

INT. Magic School - Study - Day

Leo looks briefly at the innocent sleeping on a couch. He turns to leave, but finds himself confronted by a female Elder. "Leo, something has happened." Leo tells her it's not a good time, he has to get back to Piper. The Elder says they've detected a great power surge, a time shift, and that it can only mean one thing…that the Avatars are making their move. Leo asks how she knows it's them. The Elder says that no demon has that kind of power, not since the Source. Leo asks what she wants him to do. The Elder tells him to alert the Charmed Ones. They expect the Avatars will be coming after them first. Noticing his look, she asks what's wrong. Leo says it's nothing, he just wonders what "they" really know about the Avatars. The Elder says they know the Avatars are a threat. Leo: "Why, just because they have power?" Elder: "Yes, the kind of power that in the wrong hands is a danger to us all." Leo: "Do you think we're a threat?" Elder: "I'm sorry…" Leo: "Elders have great power, too, but we're not a threat, except to demons." The Elder asks what his point is. Leo says his point is that they don't know enough about the Avatars to fear them. The Elder says that if they were benevolent, they wouldn't lurk around waiting to make their move, they'd show themselves. Then she tells him this is no time to lose faith in what the Elders are all about, they need him on their side.

INT. Manor - Main Hall/Sitting Room - Day

Piper, clothes changed, descends the stairs and Leo orbs in. Piper asks how the boys are. Leo says they're fine, Miss Donovan is with them. Piper asks how the innocent is. Leo says he's sleeping, still under the effects of the potion. Then he asks how she is…with everything. Piper says she doesn't know, but she has a lot of questions. Leo tells her to ask, he can talk freely now. Piper: "All right, what are they exactly? What are YOU exactly?" Leo: "I'm the same man you married. The Avatars mean to change the world, from the ground up, more so than the Elders ever could." Piper says they sound like everything the sisters fight against. Leo says they're not, they want to end suffering in the world. Piper: "And what about those heads tormenting you? Weren't you suffering?" Leo: "Yes, but they were merely giving voice to what I was already feeling inside - that there had to be a better way. They knew it was the only way I'd be open to it." Piper says she's not sure about it all. Leo says he know it sounds crazy right now, but the Avatars offer a world without demons. He tells her to think of what that could mean to them…to their family. Piper says it's their family she's worried about. Leo says if the Avatars can do it, "Think of a place where Wyatt and Chris could grow up without our fearing for them." He knows it's a big change, but it offers a great opportunity, a world beyond the endless battle of good and evil. Piper holds his look, wanting to believe, but their moment is interrupted by Malvoc, Vassen and two other Enoch demons, all wearing the Sokol arm bands, as they uncloak in twos. Vassen and the two others fire energy balls as Leo tackles Piper out of the way. Leo peers around one end of the couch and lightning blasts one of the demons. Piper peers around the other end, blasting Vassen, who doesn't vanquish but merely staggers backwards. The other demon fires an energy ball at Piper, wounding her. Leo, pissed, stands and with both hands, he blasts the demon and Vassen, vanquishing them both. Malvoc, behind the action, tosses his red and black band onto the ground and cloaks, disappearing just before Leo can turn his rage on him. Leo rushes to Piper's side, asking if she's okay. She tells him it's just a graze, and he heals her. "They must really want that innocent - I just wish I knew why." Leo says there will be more of them. Piper: "So what else is new?" She sees the band and crosses over to pick it up, "At least now we might be able to find them." Leo: "I don't mean just them, Piper. I mean there will always be more of them. Demons will just keep coming, just like they always have. Unless we let the Avatars stop it…forever."

[~*~Kit_The_Kat~*~]

INT. Brody's Apartment - Day

Kyle opens the door to find Paige. "I'm so sorry about breakfast. I handled it all wrong…" Paige tries to say something, but Brody cuts her off, "No, you don't have to say it. I've really thought about this. I know I have my head into Avatars too much, it can be overwhelming." Paige: "Kyle…" Brody: "I know, I know, I'm all Avatars, all the time. It has to stop, I know." Paige, trying again, "Well, actually…" Brody: "From now on you are an Avatar free zone. I've said my last about them to you, I promise." Paige, cant' stand it any longer, lets it out, "Leo's an Avatar!" Brody: "What?" Paige: "Yeah, he just dropped that little bomb on us this morning. We don't know exactly what it means, but…" Brody, driven, turns on his heels and heads to his bookcase. "Where are you going?" He opens the closet filled with a mess of clothes and luggage, searching for something. Paige tries to get his attention as Phoebe enters. Phoebe: "Parking in this town sucks. How's he taking it? " Paige points to him. He's muttering under his breath as Phoebe's cell rings. She answers and steps aside to take the call. " Darryl?" Darryl's in his office in the intercut, "I've changed my mind, the case is at a dead end, and if magic will find out what happened to Inspector Sheridan, I'm open to it." Phoebe: "Uh, Darryl, bad timing. Good to know though. Bye!" She hands up on a very confused looking Darryl. Paige tries to fill in Brody with what she hopes is a calming tone. He finds a silver, metal case and works the combination lock while Paige talks. "Leo says the Avatars aren't a threat. He says they're beyond good and evil." Brody: "Oh they're beyond good all right!" Paige: "I'm not explaining this right. My real point is that Leo is still on our side. That is, we can trust him." Brody, sarcastically, "Of course we can…" He finally gets the case open and pulls out an ancient looking ceramic vial, which he holds up to the light. Paige: "I mean that Leo may be in trouble with all this, but we have to look out for him, he's family." Phoebe, though, is more curious - concerned - about the look on his face. "What's that?" Brody: "It's a potion." Phoebe: "A potion? For what?" He stands and pockets the vial, "For killing Avatars." With that, he exits, grabbing and holstering his tranquilizer gun on the way. Phoebe and Paige exchange and anxious look, then follow him out.

FADE OUT

END OF ACT II


ACT III

INT. Manor - Foyer - Day

Brody charges through the front door, "Where is he?" Paige and Phoebe, still trying to appeal to him, yell for him to stop. Phoebe says they're not going to let him kill Leo. Kyle says they don't understand, he's an Avatar now. Paige: "No, he's our brother-in-law." Phoebe asks how he knows the potion even works. Brody: "Why else would they have killed my parents right after they discovered it?" Paige tells him he's not making any sense and even if he could get one, what good would it do since there other others. Brody says that killing one weakens them all…their powers are tied together. Paige tells him he's being ridiculous, Leo wasn't the one who killed his parents. Brody says that if Leo's one of them, he did. Phoebe says he just became one of them and they didn't come to him so he could kill Leo, they came to him so they could figure out how to get rid of the Avatars. Brody pulls out the potion, "This is the only way to get rid of them. When my folks discovered this, they didn't just discover a potion, they discovered a battle - one that happened five thousand years ago over our very future. The people then fought off the Avatars, and we have to fight them off now." He pushes onward.

INT. Manor - Main Hall/Sitting Room - Day (continuous)

He stops, along with the girls, as they see the demon wrecked room from the earlier battle. Phoebe wonders what happened while Paige calls out for Piper. Piper yells that she's upstairs. Phoebe says at least she's alright. Paige says it looks like the demons didn't wait around for 'us' to go after them. Brody asks how they know it wasn't the Avatars. He starts up the stairs, but they stop him with "He'll kill you first…you'll never get that potion out of your hand." Brody: "We'll see…" Paige says she knows it's about his parents, she gets it and tries to talk more, but he cuts her off, saying she doesn't know. Paige says she lost her parents, too. Brody: "They weren't murdered though, were they? Just because they found this?"" Paige says she knows Leo isn't a bad guy, promises him Leo isn't, and that for all they know, he could be brainwashed or possessed. Then she tells him to wait down there while they go see what's going on. Brody: "Just don't let him go. I've spent twenty years trying to find the Avatars, I don't want to lose them now." Paige holds his look, half understanding, half worried about what he'll do next. Brody watches as the sisters head upstairs.

INT. Manor - Attic - Day

Phoebe and Paige enter to find Piper and Leo pouring newly made vanquishing potion into vials. The Sokol arm band from the demon fight lies next to them. Piper looks up, "It's about time you showed." Phoebe asks what happened. Piper, "Well…guess what? We were attacked by demons." She corks a potion bottle and grabs an empty one and starts filling it. Piper: "Remember the 'spaghetti sauce'?" Phoebe nods and Piper continues, saying that if she'd use it to scry for the demon, they just might have been prepared. Then she asks where they were. Paige admits they were at Brody's, trying to get more information about the Avatars. Piper: "You what? Who said to go to Brody? This is a family thing." Phoebe: "This is more than that and you know it." Paige, to Leo: "You know Avatars killed Kyle's parents." Leo: "They'd never do that, it's against all they believe in." Phoebe: "Unless you've got a better argument than that, I wouldn't go downstairs." Leo asks why not. Piper; "Wait, he's downstairs? What's he doing here?" Paige: "Well, he's the walking Avatar encyclopedia. We wanted to protect Leo." Phoebe tells Leo that everything points to the Avatars being bad news. Leo says he knows it's a lot to take in, and it took him a while to adapt to the Avatar way, but he believes in the world they hope to create. Piper adds on that it's a world without demons and asks "Isn't that what we've been hoping for? This is what your Vision Quest was all about, Phoebe." Phoebe: "Yes, but, we should get there by our own violation. Not by a new power that wants to take the very thing from us that makes us Charmed Ones." Piper: "Let me get this straight. Are you saying you like demon fighting?" Phoebe says that's not it. Piper: "You like knowing that your nephews are threatened every single second of their lives?" Phoebe: "Of course not, but, let's face it, evil will always be a part of the natural world." Paige: "I mean, if there's anything we've learned it's that there's gotta be a cosmic balance." Phoebe: "That's why we were put on this earth. It's our destiny - our legacy to protect good." Piper: "Yeah, well, all I know is that legacy has killed our mom and one sister so far. If the Avatars were around earlier - they might still be alive. Think about that." Paige: "Will you at least let Kyle talk to Leo?" Piper snatches the potion vials and the red arm band then grabs Leo's hand. "Absolutely not. He's my husband. I'll deal with him - after we deal with the demons." Piper looks to Leo and they orb out. Paige calls after them, but they're gone.

[~*~Kit_The_Kat~*~]

INT. Sokol Gang Cave - Eternal Night

The Sokol Leader, wearing his arm band, backhands a guard, sending him flying across the cave. Other Sokol demons look on, watching, as the Leader approaches the fallen guard. "How is it that you're the only guard who still lives?" Guard: "I wasn't with them, I swear. I don't know what happened to them." Leader: "Something's not right - why would Malvoc attack only to retreat? How does that help him get to the innocent?" Leo and Piper orb in, holding up the arm band, "Lost something?" The Leader turns, but before his demons can attack, Piper throws the vials at three of them, vanquishing them, then Leo holds out both palms forward and releases a huge shock wave of energy at the rest of them, obliterating them. Piper: "Where did that come from?" Leo: "All part of the package." Piper: "I could hang up my witch hat permanently if I had those powers. No more spells, potions. It would be so…easy." Leo: "That's why I joined the Avatars. For you, for us, for the boys….for the world. We can have everything we've ever dreamed of. A safe home. A normal life. This could be our last vanquish ever." Piper look up at him as if he's just offered her the best gift ever, "That's all I've ever wanted."

INT. Manor - Conservatory - Day

Brody, livid, is pacing back and forth, his hands tight on the vial. Paige and Phoebe stand a safe distance away from him. "You let him go? You let the Avatar go?" Phoebe; "It's still Leo - will you stop referring to him a 'the Avatar'?" Brody: "We have to fix this, and we have to fix this quick. Where did he go?" Paige: "I don't know, he orbed out with Piper." Brody: "You don't know? Is Piper an Avatar now, too?" Paige: "No. I don't think so. I mean…" Brody: "Do you have any idea what's at stake here? You have no clue. This is fate of the world stuff." Phoebe tells Brody he needs to calm down, he's going to give himself a panic attack. Brody still ticked, restates he can't believe they let him go. Paige tells Phoebe that Kyle's not acting like himself. Phoebe tells her to orb the Avatar potion away from him. Paige asks "What if he flips out?" Phoebe: "Honey, he's already flipped." Suddenly, Paige drops to the floor with a tranquilizer dart in the back of her neck. Phoebe spins around to find a semi-automatic pistol aimed at her by a crazed Brody. "What'd you do…?" Brody: "It's just a tranquilizer, she'll be fine." Phoebe rushes to her side to check her as he drops the tranquilizer gun then upholsters the real one. "What are you doing?" Brody: "I'm killing an Avatar, and nobody's going to stop me."

EXT. Alley - Day

Leo and Piper orb in with the sleeping innocent in Leo's arms. Leo places him on the ground and backs away. "He should wake up in a couple of minutes." Leo: "Thank you, Piper." Piper: "For?" Leo: "Believing in me." Piper: "I always have and I always will - as long as you keep on being open with me. It's the only way." Leo says he knows and the innocent starts to stir. Leo and Piper ready themselves as Malvoc uncloaks and immediately fires and energy ball at the innocent, incinerating him. Piper: "What?" They both turn to see Malvoc, looking very proud, "Thanks for helping." He cloaks before they can return fire. Piper: "That's not possible - how could that happen? We vanquished them!" Leo, realizing, "No, we didn't…" Piper asks what he means. Leo: "Their markings were different - we got the wrong ones." Piper: "But the attacked us at the house!" Leo, shaking his head, "We were tricked." Piper: "Well, we wouldn't have been if Paige and Phoebe weren't chasing Avatars instead of helping me."

INT. Manor - Sitting Room - Conservatory - Day

Leo and Piper orb in, shocked to see Paige unconscious on the floor. Piper: "Paige?" Brody: "She's fine." They all turn to see Phoebe, in a chair, Brody with his gun trained on her, holding the Avatar potion as he tells Leo: "We're going to have a little chat."

FADE OUT

END OF ACT III

ACT IV

INT. Manor - Conservatory - Day

Leo and Piper are in a stand off with Brody. The tension about to explode. Brody still holds the gun on Phoebe with one hand…the vial in his other. Leo: "Brody, let's just take a deep breath here. We can talk this out." He takes a step towards him, and Brody makes a threatening gesture with his gun toward Phoebe and Piper calls for Leo to stop. Brody: "I don't want to hurt her, but I will if I have to." Leo backs off and Brody clenches the potion in his hand, looking Leo squarely in the eye. "Your kind is responsible for a nightmare that won't go away. For all the times waking in a sweat begging that the flashbacks would all just be a dream." Piper: "Brody, please…" Brody continues, "But it's not a dream, Leo - is it?" He continues saying that the Avatars are as real as the air they breathe, and just as vacant. Then he adds, "If I were you, Leo, I'd do as I say." Piper takes a defensive step toward Leo, who motions for her to stay where she is. Leo talks to him, trying to tell him what the Avatars are really about. Brody won't hear it, telling Leo he's got three seconds to "summon one of your buddies here" so he can kill him, otherwise, he's going to kill Leo. Leo says he can't summon them. Brody starts counting, "One…" Leo says the Avatars are not the enemy. Brody: "Two…" Piper, panicking, "Leo…" Brody: "Three…" A beat, then in a quick horrifying series of events, Brody rears back to throw the vial at Leo as Piper screams no, Phoebe dives out of the line of fire from Brody's gun and one she's out of the way, Leo sends a blast of lightening at Brody and hits him in the chest, sending him flying across the room, but…the vial shatters are Leo's feet, causing an eerie explosion of grey-black smoke, then it shoots into Leo's mouth and nose as if it knew exactly where to go. Leo, struck and stunned, staggers back as he struggles with the horror that's eating him alive inside…then he collapses to the floor, dying. Piper: "Leo?!" She runs to him. "LEO!" Leo: "I'm so sorry, Piper. It wasn't supposed to happen this way." Piper "Leo, you can't go. Not now. Please." Phoebe rushes over to check on Brody, only to find him dead. The room freezes…everyone but Leo, who takes a moment to register that before Alpha and Beta materialize near Leo. "Why? I don't understand…" Alpha: "The potion is real, Leo - it does, in fact, kill Avatars." Beta: "The collective power weakens with every last breath you take. We told you, the truth must come to them in their own time, not yours." Leo: "But Piper…" Alpha: "Understood, yes, but the others were not able to. And, so, WE became the enemy out of ignorance and fear." Beta: "And an innocent was lost because of it." Alpha: "Everything was lost…" Leo: "I just wanted to fix things with me and Piper." Alpha: "You've learned. And now you can save yourself. You have it in you to rewind time to just before you told her the truth - if you hurry." Beta; "If we all hurry." Alpha and Beta close their eyes, concentrating and seeing them, Leo does the same.

INT. Manor - Attic - Day

We find Piper where we saw her in the beginning, leaning over the cauldron, dropping in ingredients, except this time, she's frozen. An ingredient she just let go of is frozen, too...just above the brew. Leo, who's standing where he was in the earlier scene, is not frozen, but he is fully healed. He orients himself, realizing where he is, then we see Alpha and Beta standing nearby. "It worked." Alpha: "But at a price. All that's happened has taken a great toll on our power base. As it is, we may not have enough to implement our plan." Beta: "To rid the world of demons, to end the duality requires all that we had." Leo: "What if the sisters come to the truth? Won't their powers add to the collective?" Beta: "Yes, but it still may not be enough." Alpha says he shouldn't try this again, he can never tell Piper about them, not until she's ready. Beta adds "Until they're all ready. Even if it means you and she will never be together again." Leo hears it, but he doesn't like it, nods his understanding and the Avatars vanish. The room unfreezes and as the ingredient drops, it cause a puff of white smoke. Piper "This is not the time or the place, Leo. I don't want to talk about this right now. This is a little dicey here, okay?" Leo simply says "Okay" and Piper thanks him for dropping the subject. Leo says she's distracted. Piper: "Don't tell me how to demon hunt." Leo: "It's my fault. I've been pushing the couple stuff a little too much, I'm sorry. You need to focus on getting these demons." He picks up an ingredient and hands it to her, "Not too much beetle toe - you don't want to blow up the place, do you?" She looks to him, wondering, "What turned you around? What happened?" Leo: "Nothing, I just…realized I can't force things on you. If you're going to trust me, I'm going to let you have to let you do it in your own time." Piper: "There may be hope for you yet…" Leo: "Come on, bottle those potions - I think I know where the demons are going to attack next."

[~*~Kit_The_Kat~*~]

INT. Manor - Main Hall/Sitting Room - Day

Piper and Leo are standing in the same positions as when the Enoch demons attacked before time was reset. Malvoc, Vassen and two others uncloak, Leo tells her "NOW!" Piper throws her vials at two of them and vanquishes them before they can fire. Leo, using twin lightening blasts, does the same to the other two. After the smoke clears, Leo: "Now all we have to do is take care of the other gang, then we can bring the innocent back." Piper: "okay, I give up - how'd you figure out what this was all about?" Leo: "Believe me, you don't want to know."

EXT. Rooftop - Night

Candles, wine, flowers, and a lot of aphrodisiac-inspired food lay about as Brody and Paige have a picnic on the rooftop, enjoying the view and each other's company. Brody: "Thanks for giving me another shot." Paige asks how she could turn down a midnight picnic, then asks if his governmental duties don't usually leave him exhausted at this hour. Brody says no, he's not much for sleep anyway, besides, now she knows how she rates…breakfast, dinner, dessert….Paige takes the last bite of dessert with "Agent by day and a damn good cook by night. Any more things you haven't told me?" Brody: "Oh, plenty. But maybe in time we can discover each other's secrets. If you give me the chance." Paige: "Oh…maybe." Brody: "But for now…" He opens his jacket to reveal that it's empty, cell-phone and gadget free. "No ringing, buzzing or beeping. No interruptions." Paige: "No Avatar talk?" Brody: "I know I get a little wrapped up in my…passion at times. But I'm working on it." He looks at Paige and adds: "Looking into finding new interests." They kiss and as they break apart, Paige can't help it, "See, isn't this more fun than hunting Avatars?" For now, Brody has to agree as he and Paige share another kiss.

INT. Manor - Wyatt's Bedroom - Night

Piper and Leo stand by Wyatt's crib and Chris' bassinet, peering over their precious boys. Leo stands by Piper, wishing they could be closer, and Piper has a forlorn gaze, almost as if she's aware that she's had to let go of something, too. "I could do this all day, all night. Watch our boys sleep." Leo: "Me too." Piper thanks him for helping with the demons. Leo says he's always here for her. Piper says she knows he is, then adds that there's so much she wants for the family, sometimes it hurts just to think about it. Leo tells her not to let that stuff go, it's important to believe, to have dreams. Piper sighs, "When is this demon stuff going to stop? Sometimes I think there's got to be a better way." Leo: "In my heart, I know there is. Maybe someday we'll find it together." Piper: "I hope you're right…" Leo gazes at Piper, knowing he holds the secret to her happiness as they continue watching their sleeping sons.

FADE OUT

END OF EPISODE