Little Box of Horrors/Script

Written by: Cameron Litvack

Season 7, Episode 18

Episode Number: 152

[Scene: Alley. A woman runs in with a small box. She looks behind her, but is kicked to the ground. The box falls. She gets up and groans. A female demon jumps down.]

Female Demon (Katya): It’s Nina, right?

Nina: You’ll never get it. I won’t let you.

Female Demon: I didn’t ask for your permission. (Nina stands up. Female demon chuckles.) It’s only a matter of time before I get the box.

Nina: Over my dead body.

Female Demon: Now that’s the thing with you Guardians. You’re always dying for that damn box.

Nina: Not always.

(Nina blasts the demon, but she hovers and lands. She takes out a dagger.)

Female Demon: Oh, come on, you can do better than that.

(She throws the dagger at Nina, and she catches it. Female Demon smirks. They fight and grab each other. One of them is stabbed. The box disappears.)

[Scene: Manor. Living room. Paige sits on the couch. She squints and covers her ears. A whine is heard. She opens her eyes.]

Paige: Phoebe?

Phoebe’s Voice: Coming! (She walks in with a cup.) Coming. I used castor root this time. It should dull all the senses.

(The whine fades out.)

Paige: I don’t care. Just give it to me. (Phoebe sits down. Paige takes the cup and a drink. Phoebe watches.) Thank you. (Phoebe smiles.) Do you mind?

Phoebe: Do I mind what?

(The whine starts up again.)

Paige: Looking so psychotically perky… (The whining stops.) While I’m so miserable?

(The whining starts.)

Phoebe: You know, maybe it’s psychosomatic. I mean, the inner ear has to do with balance, so maybe you’re feeling imbalance because the whole magic school thing.

(The whining stops.)

Paige: Phoebe, come here.

(Phoebe leans forward. Paige slaps her.)

Phoebe: Ow! (She chuckles.) What was that for?

Paige: Does that seem psychomatic to you?

(Wyatt orbs in, dressed in a bathrobe.)

Phoebe: Hey, big boy. I thought it was bath time.

Leo’s Voice: Uh, it is. (Leo walks in. He kneels down next to Wyatt. Paige puts the cup down.) Uh, hey, buddy. That was, uh, pretty funny, but I don’t think mommy’s going to think so.

Phoebe: What’s going on?

Leo: Uh, I think the terrible twos have begun.

Phoebe: Oh, well, magical boys will be magical boys.

Leo: Yeah, well, try explaining that to his magical mama. (To Wyatt) Listen, I think you better orb back upstairs before mommy turns you into a toad.

(Wyatt orbs out. The whining starts with pounding. Paige groans.)

Paige: Ow!

(Leo stands.)

Leo: What’s the matter?

Phoebe: She has a ringing in her ears.

Paige: No. It’s more like a jackhammer.

Leo: Really? Is it kind of like a dentist’s drill that kind of goes in and out?

(The whining stops.)

Paige: Yeah.

Phoebe: Why, you know what it is?

Leo: Well, it could be your Whitelighter powers coming on. (The whining starts. Leo kneels down.) You know, you could be hearing the call from the Elders. (The whining stops.) Before I learned to control my powers, it used to drive me nuts.

Paige: No. That’s unacceptable.

(The whining starts.)

Leo: Okay. Well, you’re half-Whitelighter. (The sound stops.) You can’t deny that.

Paige: Yes, I can. I want nothing to do with the Elders, okay?

Leo: All right, well, if it is what I think it is, you’re not going to have a choice. The only way to find out is to actually talk to an Elder.

(Paige rolls her eyes.)

Phoebe: Well, you can’t bring one over here. Piper will freak out.

Leo: All right, well, then maybe you should meet at Magic School. Look, do you want it to stop or don’t you? Come on. I’ll go with you.

(Leo holds out his hand. Paige sighs, grabs it, and orbs out with him. Nina appears, gasping for breath.)

Phoebe: Who are you?

Nina: Please, you have to help me find it before it’s too late.

Phoebe: Find what?

Nina: Pandora’s box!

Opening Credits

[Scene: Manor. Attic. Wyatt plays with his toys. Piper looks through the Book with Nina.]

Piper: Well, I guess since Excalibur is real, I don’t know why it’d be a surprise that Pandora’s Box isn’t as well.

(Phoebe walks in and hands Nina a cup.)

Nina: Oh, thank you.

Piper: How did you know to come to us?

Nina: You’re the Charmed Ones. (She dabs at the bruise with a tissue.) Everyone in the magical community knows about you.

Piper: Yeah. That’s becoming a problem. (The Book orbs to Wyatt.) Hey! Um, mister? Excuse me. (She kneels down.) Listen, what did I tell you about the orbing? Okay? Only when I say so. Thank you very much.

(She takes the Book and puts it on the stand.)

Phoebe: Piper, you can’t deny who he is, through the good, the bad, and the annoying.

Piper: Ah, I see you’ve been talking to Leo, haven’t you?

Phoebe: Look, just because you guys have completely different parenting styles doesn’t mean you can take it out on me. I’m just the sister.

Piper: And whose side are you on, exactly?

(Phoebe chuckles.)

Nina: Back to the box?

Piper: Right. Okay. Let me guess. A demon took it.

Nina: No. But we better find the next Guardian before one does.

Phoebe: Guardian?

Nina: Like you, we’re chosen beings, part of a magical lineage, one in which every generation a girl is born, meant to guard Pandora’s Box.

Piper: Right, hence the name ‘Guardian’. Got it.

Nina: Only, each girl is trained by the previous Guardian, instructed carefully about the dangers and powers of the box, except the next one hasn’t been.

Phoebe: I’m not following.

Nina: When Katya the demon attacked me, the box, perhaps sensing the danger, disappeared on its own, moving on to its next Guardian.

Piper: And you don’t know who that is.

Nina: No. I guess I wasn’t expected to survive.

Phoebe: So, what does Katya want with the box?

Nina: She wants to open it and release the world’s ills: Sorrow, famine, plagues, all the evil inside.

Piper: So, what’s to keep the new Guardian from accidentally doing the same, especially if she doesn’t know what’s in the box?

Nina: Nothing.

[Scene: UC Berkeley. College dorm. Two girls walk through the hallway.]

Blonde Girl: Seriously, Darcy, it’s all good. Stop stressing about him.

Darcy: I know, but how can I not? We’re supposed to have this big talk. I mean, what does that mean, anyway? I was stupid to fall for him.

Blonde Girl: Oh, come on, don’t say that. I mean it. He’s so not worth it. We got too much in life to be happy about than to let Adam Bice get you down.

Darcy: You’re right.

Blonde Girl: Mm-hmm.

Darcy: As always.

Blonde Girl: Oh, not always. You should check my French Lit grades.

Darcy: Ohh, that reminds me. (She looks at her cell phone.) Oh, I’m totally missing my chem lecture. I gotta go.

(Blonde Girl waves to her.)

Blonde Girl: Okay.

(Darcy starts to leave, but her phone rings. She turns back.)

Darcy: Wait! Oh, this is him. What do I do?

Blonde Girl: Just be strong. Don’t let him get to you, no matter what he says. Call me later.

(Darcy nods and starts to leave.)

Darcy: (to phone) Hello?

(Blonde Girl goes into her room. She closes the door and puts her books down. Pandora’s box sits on her bed and whispers come from it. She picks it up and opens the lid a crack. A screeching starts and black dust escapes. Blonde Girl quickly shuts it and starts coughing, dropping the box on the bed.)

Blonde Girl: What the heck?

(The black cloud goes through the air vent.)

[Scene: Magic School. Paige hears the whine and covers her ears. She sighs. The whine fades out. Leo and Female Elder are there.]

Female Elder: This is the global alert, Paige, one that only a Whitelighter can hear. You should be looking at this as if it was a gift rather than a problem.

Paige: A problem, for me, is when Leo rearranges my books here. I would classify this as a root canal?

(The whining starts.)

Female Elder: Nevertheless, this is who you are, who you have become.

(The whining stops.)

Paige: Well, I don’t want to become it, so fix it already!

Female Elder: Fix it?

Leo: Yeah, I don’t think she wants to hear the call, ever.

Female Elder: Well, that’s impossible. She doesn’t have a choice. (The whining starts.) It would be as if you wished to no longer breathe.

Paige: If this ringing doesn’t stop, maybe I don’t want to. (The whining stops.) Look, I just left magic school, okay? The last thing I want to deal with is you Elders.

Female Elder: I know, Paige, that in the past we have had our differences, but becoming a Whitelighter is as natural a part of your unfolding destiny as becoming a charmed one.

Leo: Perhaps if you explained to her why you called the alert.

Female Elder: We sensed a great threat, one which we have not yet been able to isolate. That is why we need every Whitelighter to be vigilant.

(The whining starts.)

Paige: Well, not this Whitelighter. Okay, just make it stop already.

(The whining stops.)

Leo: You know, maybe if Paige…helped a Whitelighter-to-be instead?

(The whining starts and stops.)

Female Elder: That’s a possibility.

Paige: Why? What would that do?

Female Elder: Helping others helps yourself…to find some clarity.

(Paige winces. The whining starts.)

Paige: Well, if clarity…makes this noise stop, whatever. I’ll try it.

(Female Elder smiles.)

[Scene: Manor. Attic. Piper, Phoebe, and Nina stand around the table as Piper scries.]

Phoebe: Come on, come on. What’s taking so long?

Piper: Relax, or I’ll give you a time-out.

Nina: Here. Maybe this’ll help.

(Nina gives her a necklace. Piper continues to scry. An alphabet block orbs in, knocking the crystal down.)

Piper: Wyatt! Time-out means no magic!

Phoebe: Scry now, parent later.

Piper: Well, you know, it would help if I wasn’t the only one around here who had to discipline him.

(Phoebe picks up the crystal and necklace.)

Phoebe: Let me do this.

Nina: Please, we have to hurry. If the box has been opened or if a demon’s found it…

Phoebe: We won’t let that happen. I promise. Look, we do this all the time.

(She starts to scry.)

Piper: Maybe we need a stronger connection.

Nina: I don’t know what else to try.

(The scrying crystal hits the map.)

Phoebe: Oh!

Piper: UC Berkeley. It’s on the campus. (Nina starts to leave.) Whoa! Where are you going?

Nina: You’ve done your jobs. Now I have to go do mine.

Piper: Wait; you saw where that got you last time. Why don’t you let us go with you?

Nina: I can’t let you risk it.

Piper: Well, we can’t let you risk it, either, not as long as there’s a demon after that box.

(Nina sighs.)

Nina: All right, but I’ll transport us there. It’ll be faster.

Phoebe: What about the Elders?

Piper: What about them?

Phoebe: Well, I mean, it’s Pandora’s Box. We should probably tell them something.

Piper: All right, you tell them. Mommy needs a time-out.

(Nina takes her and they disappear.)

[Scene: UC Berkeley. College dorm. Arguing is heard. Piper and Nina walk in.]

Piper: What’s going on around here? Something’s not right.

Nina: She must’ve opened the box. It’s the first wave of sorrow. (Crying is heard.) We have to hurry…before you become affected, too.

(She walks to the door and holds her hand above a door.)

Blonde Girl: (through the door) No, Darcy, we talked about this!

Nina: In there.

[Cut inside the room. She’s on the phone.]

Blonde Girl: (to phone) He’s not worth it! (Someone knocks at the door.) Uh, just a minute! (To phone) Don’t do anything stupid, okay? Promise? I’ll be right there. (The knocking continues.) (To phone) Okay. Okay! (She hangs up and opens the door to find Nina and Piper.) Can I help you?

Piper: Hi! My name is Piper, and this is-this is Nina, and we wanted to talk to you about something you…received, I guess, would be a good word for it.

Blonde Girl: Uh, look, whatever you’re selling, I’m not interested. My friend’s in trouble and if I don’t…

Nina: You have come into possession of something more powerful than anything you have ever known.

Piper: Yeah, okay, see, I was going to go with the less intimidating tactic, but…

Blonde Girl: What are you talking about?

Nina: The box. Where is it?

Blonde Girl: Uh…

(Nina walks over and picks up the box. Piper comes in and closes the door.)

Nina: How did it come to you?

Blonde Girl: I don’t know. It was just there. What is going on? What is the…

Piper: You haven’t by any chance been taking some Greek mythology classes, have ya?

Nina: Pandora’s box, a gift the Gods gave to Prometheus, one that contained all of the evils of the world, until Pandora unleashed it on an unsuspecting people. (In Kayta’s voice) I hope to do the same.

Piper: Aw, crap. (Nina shapeshifts into Kayata. Blonde Girl steps back.) Oh yeah, this is not good. This is not good at all.

[Scene: Manor. Attic. The Female Elder is there with Phoebe.]

Female Elder: This explains the global alert.

Phoebe: Alert? What are you talking about?

Female Elder: The one that Paige heard and every other Whitelighter. Pandora’s Box exists solely to tempt. It’s part of the grand design. If mankind chooses to open it again, so be it, but Guardians are supposed to protect it from being opened by demons.

Phoebe: So, then we should be fine. Piper and Nina…

Female Elder: Nina never should’ve let it out of her sight.

Phoebe: Well, apparently, she didn’t have a choice. Uh, the box moved on to its next Guardian by itself.

Female Elder: Oh, that’s not possible. It can’t move on unless the prior Guardian was already dead.

Phoebe: Okay, you need to orb me to Piper immediately.

[Scene: UC Berkley. Dorm room. Phoebe orbs in. The room is a mess.]

Phoebe: Piper? Where are you?! (Piper peers around an overturned desk. Phoebe sighs.) Oh, thank god you’re okay. (Blonde Girl peers out.) Who is she?

Piper: Meet Hope, the real Guardian of the box. Too bad she doesn’t have anything left to guard.

Commercial Break

[Scene: UC Berkeley. Hope’s room.]

Hope: Who-who are you people?

Phoebe: Okay, Hope, can you just try to calm down a little bit? We’re the good guys, I swear.

Hope: Oh, good guys. (She laughs.) Oh, then what was she?

Piper: She was a…

Phoebe: A demon pretending to be…

Piper: A guardian, just like you.

Phoebe: Yeah, uh, Nina’s dead, by the way.

Piper: Yeah, I figured. Not now.

Hope: (to Piper) You! You blew up my dorm…with your hands!

Piper: Yes, and I am very sorry about that.

Hope: Oh. Ha. Now you’re both calm, like this kind of stuff happens every day!

Piper: Well, it kind of does.

Phoebe: You see, uh…we’re witches.

Hope: What?

Piper: We can explain all of this in great detail much later, but right now, we need to get you goin’.

Phoebe: And fast. I’m feeling a little…

Piper: Bummed? Yeah, I know. Nina, or Katya I’m assuming, said that it was the first wave of sorrow from the box.

Phoebe: Great, so like a little appetizer? And she’s obviously immune to it, cause she seems more freaked than bummed.

Piper: Well, can you blame her?

Hope: What are you two talking about?

(Piper smiles.)

Piper: We just need to know one thing that’s…kind of important. Did you open the box?

(Hope shrugs.)

Hope: Only for a second. Some sort of dust came out, and then I shut it.

Piper: Well, from the sounds of the dorm out there, I’d say it was long enough. Shall we go?

Hope: Oh, I am not going anywhere with you people. You burst in here talking about Pandora’s Box and guardians and witches and god knows what else. (She begins to leave.) Now you expect me to leave with you.

Phoebe: Okay, look; I know exactly how you feel. When we first found out we were witches, it was really scary because, well, we didn’t have anyone to guide us, but we can help you. You just have to come with us.

[Scene: Building. A father stands with his daughter in front of an elevator. The bell dings and the doors open. Paige, a man, and woman stand in there. Daughter goes into the elevator.]

Father: Are you sure you don’t want me to go down there with you?

Daughter: I’m fine, dad.

Father: Now, remember; go straight to mommy, okay? She’s waiting for you in the lobby.

Daughter: Dad…

(The whine starts. The doors start to close. A businessman runs over.)

Businessman: Hey, hold the doors! (The whining stops. The businessman sticks his briefcase into the elevator doors and they open. He steps in.) Thanks a lot.

(He pushes a button. The whining starts.)

Daughter: I saw you on my way up, like an hour ago.

Paige: Yeah. I’ve been looking for someone.

(The elevator starts going down. The lights flicker and the elevator jerks.)

Woman: What’s happening?

(The elevator lights go out and it stops.)

Businessman: Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me.

(The lights go on. The woman turns to the man.)

Man: What? You’re going to blame me for this, too?

Woman: How dare you even imply that’s part of my agenda?

Man: I’m not having anything to do with your agenda.

Woman: I’m just standing here! I had nothing to do with it.

(Daughter hugs Paige.)

Daughter: I’m scared.

Paige: It’s okay. Oh, my god, the ringing stopped. That means… (They stare back at her.) It’s one of you. It…you… (She nods.) It stopped.

[Scene: Underworld. An energy ball is thrown at Pandora’s box. Nothing happens. Katya and a demon are there.]

Katya: If my powers couldn’t open the box, what would make you think you could?

Demon: Hey, at least I didn’t let the Guardian go.

(Katya sighs.)

Katya: There must be a way.

Demon: Well, at least now that we’ve got it, she can’t put the sorrow she let out back in.

Katya: Yeah, but she didn’t let out enough. Within lies the power to destroy cities, crumble empires, devastate all that is good in the world.

Demon: All this just to impress Zankou? Hey, just asking.

Katya: Oh, for too long I’ve had to watch lesser demons rewarded, been denied my proper place in the forefront. No. Zankou will no longer be able to deny me after this.

Demon: Why don’t you just shape shift into a Guardian?

Katya: Mmm. Taking the physical form of a Guardian doesn’t make me one. No. It will know.

Demon: Then what are you going to do?

Katya: I’ll make her open it for me.

(The demon and Katya smile.)

[Scene: Manor. Living room. Piper and Leo enter. Phoebe sits with Hope.]

Piper: There was nothing in the book on Katya, and scrying for the box did not work.

Phoebe: Well, maybe we should try magic school.

Hope: Wh…wait. Magic school? What is that?

Leo: It’s a place where you can learn more about your gifts.

Hope: Are you a witch, too?

Piper: No, he’s a-he’s-he’s a long story.

Leo: One that worked out well.

Hope: This is all so complicated.

Phoebe: Look, I know this is really hard to understand, but this is what you’re meant to do.

Hope: No. I’m meant to finish school, party, have fun. I don’t even know if I believe in magic. (Wyatt orbs in with his teddy bear. Hope gasps.) Oh! Where did he come from?

Piper: Ah… (She chuckles and pulls Wyatt toward her.) Uh, sorry. He’s not supposed to do that without permission. Don’t scare the pretty girl, okay?

(Leo kneels down.)

Leo: Okay, pal, listen, why don’t you take Wubby upstairs for a little nap, ‘kay?

(Wyatt orbs out. Hope stands up.)

Hope: Oh! I’m getting out of here.

(Phoebe stands up.)

Phoebe: Hope, wait. Look, there’s nothing that I can say that’s going to make this any better.

Hope: Can’t you just make up a spell or something?

Phoebe: Sometimes I wish I could, but then I realize all of this, you know, the good and the bad, makes me who I am, you know?

(Hope’s cell phone rings.)

Hope: It’s my friend Darcy. I have to help her.

Piper: You know, you could help a lot of people by finding that box.

Hope: You don’t understand. She’s like my sister. I have to go.

(She heads for the door.)

Phoebe: Hope, wait.

Hope: No! (She turns around and sends a blast to Phoebe, sending her across the room.) Ohh…my god.

(Leo goes over to Phoebe.)

Leo: Phoebe, you all right?

(Hope runs out of the house.)

Piper: Phoebe? You okay?

(Phoebe stands up.)

Phoebe: God, aren’t you tired of asking me that?

Piper: It does get a little repetitive. We’ve got to go get her.

Phoebe: It’s okay. You can’t force her to stay. Besides, she could obviously protect herself.

Piper: Well, what are we going to do?

Leo: Well, you’ve got to get the box back before Katya opens it.

[Scene: Elevator. The woman is arguing with someone on the other end of the elevator box.]

Woman: How are we supposed to stay calm? We’re stuck!

Man: Linda, please.

(Businessman loosens his tie.)

Female Voice: Ma’am, all I can say is we’re doing everything we can.

Linda: Well, it’s not good enough.

(Paige is on her cell phone.)

Paige: No, I said I’m trapped. There’s people all around.

[Cut to Manor. Conservatory. Leo’s on the phone.]

Leo: What did you say? I can’t hear you.

Paige: I said, I’m trapped in an elevator. I can’t just up and go. Besides, I don’t want this ringing in my ears to come back.

Leo: Wait, it stopped? When?

Paige: Right when we got stuck.

Leo: All right, then never mind. You need to stay there.

Paige: No, wait, what about, uh…

Leo: No. Your sisters can handle it. To help, and that’s what you need to do.

Paige: Okay. Who am I supposed to help?

(The phone gets disconnected. Leo hangs up.)

[Cut to Paige.]

Paige: (to phone) Leo! Leo? (She hangs up.) Ohh! Damn these phones.

Businessman: Yeah, mine’s dead, too. (He sighs.) Looks like we’re going to be here for a while, huh?

(Linda tries the voice box again.)

Linda: Are you still there? Hello?! Answer me!

Man: Honey, why don’t you just let them do their job?

Linda: Don’t ‘honey’ me. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t even be here.

Man: Oh, so now this is my fault?

(Businessman rolls his eyes.)

Man: You know, you were the one who wanted to go into counseling, not me.

Businessman: I think the natives are getting restless, huh?

(Daughter huddles by Paige.)

Paige: Hmm. Yeah. Looks like.

Businessman: So, what’s your name?

Paige: I’m Paige. (Mutters) Please don’t let this be the person I have to help.

(Businessman steps away.)

Businessman: Oh, all right.

Paige: (To daughter) It’s kind of nuts we’re being stuck here like this, right?

Daughter: I want my mommy.

Paige: Oh, sweetheart, I know you do, but you know what? We’re going to be just fine, I promise.

Daughter: How do you know?

Paige: Well, because I know things like that. (Daughter coughs.) Honey, y-you okay?

Daughter: I have asthma.

Paige: Fantastic. But I bet you have an inhaler in that pretty little purse of yours, right?

Daughter: My mommy has it.

Paige: Of course she does. (Businessman climbs up to check the roof.) What are you doing?

Businessman: I’m trying to get us the hell out of here.

(He starts hitting the ceiling.)

Paige: Brilliant idea.

Businessman: Well, at least it’s an idea.

Man: No, she’s right, you know. You could get hurt.

Linda: At least he’s doing something, Roger.

Roger: What is that supposed to mean?

Linda: You’re acting like a little girl, Roger.

(Daughter huddles closer to Paige.)

Roger: I am not acting like a little girl.

Linda: We’re stuck in this elevator, and what are we supposed to do? Do you need your mother, Roger?

Roger: Good luck. You’ll have better luck with her, you know?

[Scene: UC Berkeley. Hope’s room. Hope enters.]

Hope: Okay, Darcy? I’m here.

(Kayta, from behind the door, closes it.)

Katya: Mm-hmmm. (She holds Darcy’s cell phone.) Wonderful devices these things. It makes luring someone into a trap so…twenty-first century.

Hope: Where’s Darcy?

Katya: Oh… (She plays with Hope’s hair.) You’ll see.

(She disappears.)

Commercial Break

[Scene: Magic School. Piper looks through books. Phoebe walks in with scrolls.]

Phoebe: You’d think there’d be something about Pandora’s box in a place called Magic School.

Piper: Leo’s been reorganizing.

(Phoebe opens a book.)

Phoebe: Well, maybe we should get him to help us.

Piper: No, he’s busy.

Phoebe: Busy doing what? What could be more important than this?

Piper: Globally, nothing. Personally, I need him to wrangle Wyatt for a day so he can see what I’m talking about.

Phoebe: Piper, you know what Wyatt is going through is completely normal.

Piper: No, temper tantrums are normal. Uncontrollable crying is normal. Orbing all over town is not normal.

Phoebe: He’s not orbing all over town.

Piper: Not yet. Look, it’s not that I have a problem with him being magical, because if I did I would’ve bound his powers at birth. It’s just that he needs to learn that he can’t use his powers whenever he wants to, and Leo needs to understand that, too.

Phoebe: I think he does. I just think he deals with it differently.

Piper: Well, we’ll see how Mr. Mom deals with it after he’s been chasing around the kid now that Leo can’t orb.

Phoebe: You guys will figure it out.

Piper: You know, you have been much more optimistic lately.

Phoebe: Yeah, I guess I have hope. I mean, we lost Hope the person, but I have, you know…

Piper: I got it. I found something.

Phoebe: About the box?

Piper: No, the demon. Nothing new. Says she’s a shape-shifter.

Phoebe: Yeah, we found out about that the hard way. Won’t happen again.

Piper: She used to work for Demonic Dark Lords, then she went rogue. How very enterprising of her.

Phoebe: She probably just wants to make a name for herself.

Piper: Why is it that every demon who is trying to make a name for themself has to go and try to end the world?

Phoebe: Why don’t we ponder that fact while we scry for her?

(She starts scrying.)

Piper: Well, even if we find her, we have no way of getting there. We’re short an orber.

Phoebe: Well, we’ll have to come up with something. I mean, this place is called magic school for a reason, right?

[Scene: Underworld. Hope and Kayta are there. Kayta smiles.]

Katya: I won’t hurt you, Hope. I promise. I know you’re new to all this, and I know all this can be very scary.

Hope: Where’s Darcy? She’s not a part of this.

Katya: Isn’t she? I mean, she’s merely a pawn in all this. A pawn like you are. Whatever they told you, I know it was a lot to handle. You know, I’ve been told that I’m part of something. A greater purpose I think they called it. But you know what? It was all a lie. I mean, who the hell do they think they are, ruining your life like this, telling you that you’re meant to watch after Pandora’s box?

Hope: I don’t even know what it really is.

Katya: You shouldn’t have to know. You didn’t ask for this. You don’t want it. It’s unfair.

Hope: I just want my life back.

Katya: And I can help you get it back. All you have to do is help me. Open the box and you’ll be free from it…forever.

Hope: But won’t that…

Katya: End all this craziness? Well, that’s what you want, isn’t it? To go home…with your friend? Go ahead. Open the box.

(Whispers are heard. Hope hesitates.)

Hope: No…I can’t. I won’t.

Katya: Fine. I tried asking you nicely. Now I’ll have to make you do it. Lucius!

(Kayta’s demon appears in the doorway with Darcy. She’s crying.)

Hope: Darcy?

Darcy: I’m scared! (They disappear. Darcy screams.) I’m scared!

Hope: Don’t hurt her.

Katya: You know what I want.

[Scene: Elevator. Businessman tries to find a way out.]

Paige: What are you doing? Are you out of your mind? What if the elevator starts?

Businessman: Relax, sweetheart. I know what I’m doing.

(He opens a panel. Roger tries to open the doors. Linda is still arguing.)

Linda: Hello! Is anybody there? What’s going on? (Daughter struggles to breathe.) What is taking so long?

(Paige goes to her.)

Paige: Okay, honey, I need you to breathe. Just breathe.

(Roger hits the doors.)

Roger: Damn it!

(Linda scoffs.)

Linda: Big man.

Paige: Can you two get along for two seconds?

Linda: Hasn’t happened in three years. Why do you think we’re in marriage counseling?

Roger: Do you have to air out all our problems?

Linda: Oh, airing out our problems is your biggest concern? (Businessman gets zapped and falls unconscious. Roger pulls Linda aside.) Oh, my god!

(Paige goes and checks on Businessman.)

Paige: Uh…okay. (She kneels down.) He’s not breathing.

Roger: Oh, god.

(Paige checks his pulse.)

Paige: There’s no pulse.

(Daughter starts coughing and falls to the ground.)

Linda: Oh, my god. (She rushes over to daughter.) Come on, sweetie.

(She sits her up.)

Roger: What are we going to do?

Paige: (To Roger) Do you know CPR?

Roger: No.

Paige: Well, I need you to get down here and help me. You’re going to learn.

Roger: All right.

(Roger kneels down.)

Paige: (To Linda) I need you to sing to her.

Linda: Sing?

Paige: Just sing. Get her breathing in order. (Daughter gasps for breathe.) Anything. Just sing. (Linda holds daughter and starts singing “Hush Little Baby”.) I need you to put two fingers above the xyphoid process.

(Paige puts Roger’s hands on Businessman’s chest.)

Roger: The what?

Linda: Honey…you can do this, honey.

(Roger nods.)

Roger: All right.

Linda: Come on.

(She starts singing again.)

Paige: Push down five times for every breath.

Roger: Right.

Paige: Go.

Roger: One, two, three, four, five…

Linda: Come on. Sing with me.

(Daughter starts singing with her.)

Paige: Good. Good job.

(Daughter’s breathing calms down. Linda smiles.)

Linda: Good.

(Roger compresses on Businessman’s chest. He starts coughing.)

Roger: He’s alive. Okay. He’s alive.

Paige: Good job.

(The elevator jolts. The lights shut off.)

Linda: Oh, god!

(The elevator shakes. The lights go on and the elevator door opens. Father is there.)

Father: Wendy!

Daughter: Daddy!

(She goes and gives her parents a hug.)

Paige: (to Businessman) You okay? (The EMTs peer into the elevator.) He was electrocuted. We gave him CPR.

(Roger gets up. He and Linda hug.)

Businessman: (To Paige) Thanks.

(Paige sighs.)

[Scene: Underworld. The box whispers to Hope.]

Katya: Open it…or your friend dies. (Hope opens the box. Black dust rises up and gives an explosion, sending Hope to the floor. The black cloud leaves. Katya smiles, laughs, and pulls out a dagger.) It’s done.

Hope: But you said…

Katya: That I wasn’t going to hurt you? Yeah. I lied. (The demon appears in the doorway.) Since the next Guardian hasn’t been born yet and with you dead, there won’t be anyone around to put everything back.

(She throws the dagger. Hope blasts the dagger away and stands up. Piper and Phoebe appear.)

Piper: We’re too late. (She blows the demon up. Hope gasps. Katya takes the box and disappears.) Minions!

Phoebe: Hope, what are you doing here?

Hope: She forced me to open the box. She took my friend Darcy.

Piper: Where is she?

(Hope points.)

Hope: That way.

(They go in that direction.)

[Cut to Darcy. She sits in a cave crying. Katya appears and kneels down. She throws Darcy in the back. Katya smiles.]

Hope: (from other room) Darcy! Where are you!

(Katya sits down.)

Phoebe: (from other room) Darcy? (Katya takes a deep breath.) Darcy!

(Katya starts crying.)

Hope: (from other room) Darcy, where are you?

(She shape shifts into Darcy. Phoebe and Hope run up with Piper.)

Katya: Get me out of here.

(Hope nods.)

Commercial Break

[Scene: Manor. Attic. The sisters, Hope, and Katya (disguised as Darcy) are there.]

Paige: Okay, well, I guess your day trumps my day. Thanks for bringing me home to clean up the mess, though. Is anybody else feeling blue?

Phoebe: It’s the effects of the box being opened.

Piper: Okay, there’s still a demon on the loose, and the longer he is, the more we’re all going to be affected.

Katya: Yeah, exactly. Um, this is crazy. We need to leave.

Phoebe: You’re safer here.

(Katya shakes her head.)

Katya: No.

Hope: It’s okay, Darcy. They can protect us.

Katya: Hope, that thing was trying to kill us. She wants to kill them. We’re sitting ducks here.

Piper: Not as much as you are out there. As long as Katya knows that Hope can put all the evils back in the box, she is a very large target.

Phoebe: Which means you are, too.

Katya: No, not if she doesn’t go along with it. Look, no one says that you even have to care about this stupid box anymore.

Paige: Actually, she does. You see, because it’s her birthright.

Katya: Says you. (Paige rolls her eyes.) Hope, listen to me, okay? We don’t even know these people. For all we know, they could be the demon.

Piper: Ah! That’s ridiculous.

Katya: Is it? She’s done it before. That’s what she does, right? (To sisters) Right? Hope, we can only trust each other.

Hope: You’re right.

Piper: Hope…

Phoebe: No, actually, I think she is right.

Paige: Phoebe!

Phoebe: We can’t make her do something she doesn’t want to do. This is her path to either follow or not. But before you leave, Hope; let Paige show you how to contact us, god forbid anything. (To Piper and Katya) We’ll see you downstairs.

(Piper takes Katya and leaves.)

[Cut downstairs. Leo holds Chris.]

Leo: Wyatt? (Piper and Katya come down. Piper smiles.) What’s going on?

Piper: I’m not sure. Where’s Wyatt?

Leo: Um…he, uh… (A noise comes from the kitchen. Wyatt giggles. Piper smiles.) Excuse me.

Piper: Sure.

(Leo leaves.)

Katya: What’s taking them so long up there?

Piper: I don’t know. What’s your hurry?

Katya: I just want to get out of here as soon as possible.

Piper: Uh-huh.

(Hope and Phoebe come downstairs.)

Hope: Okay, let’s go.

(Hope and Katya start to leave.)

Piper: I hope you know what you’re doing.

Phoebe: Trust me.

[Cut to front porch. Hope and Katya exit. Katya glares at Hope.]

Hope: What? What’s the matter?

(Katya grabs Hope’s hair.)

Katya: This is getting to be way too easy.

(She shape shifts back into herself, laughs, and disappears.)

[Cut to cave. Darcy is asleep. Katya and Hope appear. She tosses her away. Darcy opens her eyes.]

Darcy: Hope.

Hope: I’m okay.

Katya: Actually, not for long.

Hope: Okay, you heard me say it, and I meant it. I do not want anything to do with that box. I swear!

Katya: But you will…in time. You’ll come to believe in yourself, your powers, just like Pandora did. And then you’ll want to get the box back, put the sorrows back…but, see, I can’t let that happen.

(She takes out a dagger. Hope stands up.)

Hope: You won’t have a choice.

(Katya laughs. Darcy stands up.)

Katya: What? You think you can stop me?

(She throws the dagger.)

Hope: Dagger!

(The dagger orbs and hits the wall.)

Katya: But…Guardians can’t orb!

Hope: No, but Whitelighters can, and into anything they want, too…or anybody.

(She orbs into Paige.)

Paige: Sorry we haven’t met before, but I’ve been otherwise engaged!

(She throws a potion at Katya. She is vanquished.)

Darcy: What-what is going on here?!

Paige: It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m here to get you home, all right? Pandora’s box! (It orbs to Paige.) I need you to give this to Hope for me. I’d give it to her myself, but there’s somebody I have to see. (She waves her hand.) Home!

(Darcy orbs out.)

[Cut to Manor. Attic. Piper, Phoebe, and Hope are there. Darcy orbs in.]

Piper: Darcy?

Darcy: Will someone tell me what the hell is going on here?

Hope: That’s her.

(Phoebe takes the box and smiles.)

Phoebe: Just didn’t want to make the same mistake twice. Okay, Hope, we need your help. You’re the only person that can do this.

(She gives the box to Hope.)

Hope: I don’t…

Phoebe: Listen to me. This is your destiny.

Piper: Just like becoming witches was ours.

Hope: I just…uh, don’t know if I can do this.

Darcy: You’re forgetting something about Pandora’s box. According to myth, when all the sorrows are released, there was one thing left at the bottom of the box—hope.

Phoebe: You can do it. (Hope opens the box. The black dust comes and swirls around, then goes back into the box. It closes.) Told you you could do it.

Hope: Thank you.

[Scene: Golden Gate Bridge. Paige is there. Female Elder orbs in.]

Female Elder: How are the ears?

Paige: Better, thank you. It was pretty risky of you, sending me off to help a future Whitelighter.

Female Elder: Was it?

Paige: Yes. We almost didn’t get Pandora’s box.

Female Elder: But you did get it back.

Paige: Yes.

Female Elder: Which proves that you can handle both your Charmed and your Whitelighter responsibilities.

Paige: I don’t see what that has to do with…

Female Elder: Didn’t it make you feel so proud, accomplishing what you did in that elevator?

Paige: Of course, I did.

Female Elder: And you did it all by yourself, without your sisters. Maybe this is what you have been searching for, Paige, your separate identity. Being a Whitelighter can give you that and much more.

Paige: Like what?

Female Elder: Fulfillment. You’re a natural, Paige. Everything you've been and done in your life has been preparing you to be a Whitelighter. Everything you needed to help those people has been inside of you all along.

Paige: Well, it did feel good to save them.

Female Elder: Then don’t fight that. Embrace it, not for me, not for the Elders, but for yourself. Think about it?

(Female Elder smiles.)

Paige: Wait. Just out of curiosity, who was the future Whitelighter I was supposed to save?

Female Elder: You were.

(Paige chuckles. Female Elder orbs out.)

[Scene: Manor. Conservatory. Leo holds Chris. He gives Wyatt, who’s on the floor, a ball. Piper walks in.]

Piper: So how was your day?

Leo: Very funny. Actually, it was all right. It calmed down a bit once Wyatt tried to orb a toy to himself and hit himself in the head.

Piper: Oh, no.

Leo: It’s okay. It was just a little bump, but it was enough to teach him that he shouldn’t do it again.

Piper: Is that your way of telling me that magical boys will be magical boys again?

Leo: No. You know, we both need to teach him when and where to use his powers, though it’s not going to be easy.

Piper: And on the other hand, we do need to realize that he is who he is, and even though I want a normal family. (She sits down.) I don’t want it at the expense of them finding their own identities.

Leo: Well, uh, Chris here is going to be coming into his powers shortly. It could get a little nuts around here.

Piper: As opposed to what?

(Leo chuckles.)

Leo: Yeah.

Piper: We’ll deal with it as it comes, together. And until then… (To Wyatt) Why don’t you show mommy all those cool tricks you’ve been learning? Go ahead. It’s okay.

(Wyatt uses his power to move his toys.)

End