The Importance of Being Phoebe/Plot

Paige is driving her car and talking on her cell phone to Phoebe; she just bought some ingredients for a potion to vanquish Cole. Someone has sued the Bay Mirror, claiming advice from Phoebe's column wrecked her marriage. A demon gestures and blows out Paige's left rear tire. She spins and collides with another car. The demon shimmers to a strip club where Cole is relaxing. The demon tells Cole that the other driver was hurt, as planned. Cole suggests mind control on some witnesses and a cop and all will be well. Cole gets up to leave, when one of the dancers, Kaia, pushes him down; she promised Cole a lap dance. Cole agrees, and Kaia shapeshifts into Phoebe's appearance.

Paige is in the hospital with a mild concussion. Phoebe mentions that the Bay Mirror's lawyers want to meet with her. Piper also has legal troubles -- the health inspector is coming back to P3, and the plumbing has exploded again. She thinks about using magic to fix it, but thinks it might be constructed as personal gain. Phoebe heads to her meeting, fully expecting to be fired. Paige tells Piper that she wants to track Cole down and vanquish him, if only to give Phoebe peace. Piper heads to P3. Paige is about to leave the hospital, when two cops show up and arrest her for felony hit and run.

At Cole's office, Dex, the demon who blew out Paige's tire, reports back to Cole. Cole asks about P3, and Dex says that their "people" are already there. It turns out that Cole is stirring up legal troubles for the sisters, in hopes that they'll lose the manor. Cole then reveals what he really wants--the Nexus. Once he gets his hands on it, he hopes to not only turn Phoebe evil and kill her sisters, but to reorganize the underworld under his leadership and take over the city. Just then, Phoebe, or so it appears, walks into Cole's office, carrying a picnic basket with whiskey in it. "Phoebe" starts to come on to Cole, but Cole recognizes her as Kaia and shoos her away. Dex warns Cole that Kieran demons, like Kaia, are extremely manipulative.

The health inspector orders P3 shut down, due to the plumbing problems. Just when Piper and Leo are begging for a break, two rats skitter under the inspector's feet. The inspector tells Piper to get rid of the rats and schedule another inspection within a few weeks. Piper fears, by then, P3 might never be able to reopen. She tries to blast one of the rats, but misses and knocks a leg off a chair. Piper suspects there's something demonic behind their troubles. The rats turn out to be two shapeshifting warlocks.

At the police station, Paige is getting her mugshot taken. She also wonders if there's something demonic afoot. Darryl can't help her; he's just been promoted to lieutenant.

The woman suing the Mirror claims Phoebe is taking out her anger at Cole on her readers, and has made it her mission to wreck other marriages. She is demanding Phoebe's firing. Elise believes Phoebe, but is forced to suspend her without pay. Phoebe is the first to suspect Cole by name.

Darryl comes to see Piper to let her know what's happening. Just then, Paige orbs out of jail. Darryl isn't happy; she has to be back for her bail hearing by 2 PM or else, he could get fired. Paige promises to be at the hearing. She suspects Cole is involved, because he's a lawyer and their problems are legal; Piper agrees.

Phoebe storms into Cole's office and demands that he admit to what he's done. Cole feigns ignorance and tries to compliment her, but Phoebe throws several papers all over his desk and tells him she hates him. She stomps back out. A few minutes later, Kaia walks in and shapeshifts into Phoebe, saying she wants to give Cole what he wants. Phoebe heads out of the office just as Piper and Paige are coming in to confront Cole. They are shocked to find him making out with "Phoebe", and head back out to figure out their next move. "Phoebe" wants Cole to dump the real Phoebe, but Cole won't hear of it.

Phoebe takes the stairs to the ground floor. She runs into Dex, who thinks she's Kaia. Just then, Kaia walks out of the elevator. After realizing he has the real Phoebe, he grabs her and shimmers away.

Piper and Paige tell Leo what they saw. They suspect that Cole has cast some kind of spell on Phoebe. Leo says the Elders have detected a huge spike in demonic activity, and think that the underworld is reorganizing under Cole's leadership. Piper remembers that Phoebe mentioned feeling "tempted," but Leo thinks she was using sex to get information out of Cole. Just then, the clock chimes--it's 2 PM. Paige orbs back to her cell.

Dex brings Phoebe to Cole's apartment. He tells Cole that Phoebe knows too much, and brought her to the apartment until their "operation" is over. Cole vanquishes Dex with an energy ball, but takes Phoebe prisoner. Cole has magically protected his apartment and Phoebe cannot call for Leo. Cole tells Phoebe about the Nexus, which he means to use to turn Phoebe evil again. He summons Kaia, who arrives in Phoebe's form. Phoebe is horrified, especially when Kaia copies her voice. Cole sends Kaia to the manor, then shimmers to the woman injured in Paige's accident. After asking a few questions, he touches her forehead. She gasps and dies.

"Phoebe" goes to the manor and Piper and Leo confront her. They suspect that Cole has put Phoebe under some spell. "Phoebe" convinces Piper to take her powers away, so that Cole can't use her powers against her. Piper casts the spell. Meanwhile, the real Phoebe, who is levitating to reach a ventilation duct, falls to the floor, her powers gone.

"Phoebe" convinces Piper that she's exhausted, and goes up to rest. As soon as she's alone, "Phoebe" goes in the drawer, finds a knife and shimmers over to Cole's apartment to kill the real Phoebe. Just then, Cole shimmers in, and "Phoebe" mentions that Piper, Paige and Leo are on to him. Cole orders "Phoebe" to make sure Piper goes to the bail bondsman. "Phoebe" shimmers back to the manor, just as Leo tells her and Piper that things have gotten worse for Paige.

The other woman in the accident died of a blood clot in the brain. As a result, Paige is now charged with vehicular homicide, and a judge raised her bail to $50,000. With no other way to get cash at this hour, Piper has to use the manor as collateral for Paige's bail. As they leave, "Phoebe" casts a knowing glance at the bail bondsman, who turns out to be Cole in a glamour.

Piper, "Phoebe," Paige and Leo return to the manor to find it overrun by demons. Cole is standing on the staircase, holding the deed. "Phoebe", who has the sisters' receipt, shapeshifts back into Kaia. Cole blows Piper, Paige and Leo out of the manor, and they can't get back in.

Kaia wants to be rewarded for her role in Cole's scheme, but Cole gives her another push-off. Kaia shapeshifts back into Phoebe's form, but Cole is convinced that the real Phoebe will be with him soon and orders her away. "Phoebe" shimmers back to Cole's apartment and fights with the real Phoebe, matching her blow for blow. "Phoebe" morphs back into Kaia and throws Phoebe's knife at her, when Piper reverses the power-stripping spell. Phoebe levitates out of the way, grabs the knife and vanquishes Kaia with it. She levitates into the ventilation duct and calls for Leo.

<p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:1em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Piper and Paige are still outside the manor, when Leo orbs in with Phoebe. Phoebe tells them that Cole wants the Nexus. He has to open the earth in the basement and take the Woogyman into him. She proposes banishing the Woogyman once Cole takes him in. She has a hunch that the banishing spell will suck every demon in the house into the ground, including Cole. Piper and Paige don't know if it'll work, but Phoebe thinks if she pretends to be Kaia, she can get to the basement.

<p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:1em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Phoebe enters the manor, pretending to be Kaia. She talks her way past most of the demons, except for the one guarding the basement. When he won't let her through, Phoebe shoves him down the stairs as Cole is standing over the Nexus. He takes in the Woogyman. Phoebe speaks the banishing spell, and all the demons in the house are sucked into the ground. However, Cole manages to get out of the hole. He compliments Phoebe on her fighting spirit, telling her it's how he fell in love with her. Phoebe replies that Cole is nothing to her now. She didn't feel a thing when she spoke the banishing spell, and she won't feel anything once she and her sisters figure out a way to vanquish him.

<p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:1em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Piper, Paige and Leo get back in the manor. Leo thinks they can reverse Cole's magic without any consequences.

<p style="border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;margin-top:1em;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Cole is back at the strip club when another Kieran demon, a friend of Kaia's, comes on to him. She shapeshifts into Phoebe and starts to do a lap dance, but Cole stabs her.