The Power of Four
Piper’s POV
I woke up to the sight of rubble everywhere and my husband Leo weeping over my non-responsive body. The last thing I remember is the demon Shax throwing my sister and I through the dining room wall. Everything after that is a blur. My mind spins as I try to piece together bits and pieces of what has happened and why Leo was crying so much. “I-I’m sorry Piper… I wasn’t- I couldn’t get here in time.” Leo stuttered and mumbled through his tears. His hands quickly went to my leg as a white glow overcame it, and suddenly, there was no more blood. “What do you mean?” I pleaded, “Where’s Prue?” I tried to get up but my eyes spun and my body came crashing back down. The look in Leo’s eyes did more than any words could have. It was the look of grief, the look of despair… the look of mourning. Once again my vision blurred and I couldn’t stop myself from screaming. All of a sudden all the pain Leo had taken away from me with his healing powers came back a million times worse. The thought of losing my sister hurt more than any broken bone ever could. And the fact that her lifeless body was sitting not only five feet away from me made the pain even worse. I couldn’t bring myself to look. But I had too. Didn’t I? I mean, she is my sister. Was, my sister. And now she’s gone and I can’t even bring myself to look at her one last time.
The thought of my last remaining sister flooded my mind. “Where is Phoebe? Where is she!” How am I supposed to tell her this? How am I supposed to tell her the Power of Three is gone and we no longer have an older sister? How am I supposed to tell my baby sister that I’m no longer the middle child? That I am now the oldest.
Warmth washes over my hands with a sticky feeling I dreaded to feel. I look down to see a red goo that didn’t belong to me. It was Prue’s blood.
SEVEN MONTHS LATER
Piper’s POV
Today makes seven months since Prue’s death. My heart has been empty ever since. Leo and I have been having problems, and I know it’s all my fault. I get so angry with him, and he says he doesn’t blame me because he knows I’m not mentally stable, but every time I see his face I just see the blood of my dead sister. He had the power to save my sister. He had the ability to save Prue’s life but he decided to save me. ME. Prue was closer to him when he came in the room, Prue was the more powerful witch, Prue’s injuries were more extensive, yet, he chose to save me. Call it survivors guilt, but we all know he chose to save the wrong sister. If Leo would’ve at least tried to save Prue, he might’ve been able to save both of us, but within the time it took him to save me, Prue was already dead.
“Morning sunshine,” Phoebe says greeting me with coffee. That used to be Prue’s job. Prue used to wake up early, before any of us, and make a pot of coffee for us to all share. I like Prue’s coffee better.
The sound of unfamiliar footsteps walk through the hall and enter the dining room followed by an unfamiliar figure. Paige. This is something I don’t know if I will ever get used to.
When we were young, after Phoebe was born, our mother has another baby, but she never told us about her. Mom fell in love with her whitelighter which had been forbidden until Leo and I got married. A witch/whitelighter hybrid was unheard of and completely against everything the Elders wanted. So mom decided to keep the baby a secret and give her up for adoption. We didn’t know Paige existed until after Prue had died.
When the Power of Three died, it seemed as though all the good in the world had died with it. There has been missing persons cases and unexplained deaths all over the state of Maine, and we knew it was because we were no longer there to help. Without Prue, we weren’t unstoppable anymore. And now we know, we weren’t the only ones hurt by Prue’s death.
FLASHBACK
Piper’s POV
Grams visiting us in our dreams is not something we’re unfamiliar with, it’s something that she’s done many times before. She usually only does it when the mater at hand has to do with life or death, so I immediately knew something was wrong. In the dream, I was in an empty room with dark walls, no doors, no windows, just a lightbulb and an old wooden table with four chairs. This is where grams always talks to us. The room is guarded by spells that only allows those in the Halliwell bloodline, while they’re sleeping, in. It seems as though I was the last to arrive to this meeting because Grams, and two girls were already sitting at the table. I knew one of them was Phoebe, but who was she talking to? “Prue?” Phoebe and the girl next to her look up at me with curiosity in their eyes. The mystery girl has pale white skin and long brown hair. Her eyes sparkle in the dim light of the lamp above her and her chine protrudes with a deep dimple down the middle. Who is this?
“No Piper. This is Paige. Your little sister.” My head snaps around quickly to look as Grams who had just given me the news. “W-what?” I spit out. “She’s what?”
Paige’s POV
“Morning sisters!” My cheery greeting does not seem to exactly fit the mood in the room. I know Piper kind of resents me. She makes me feel like I’m a replacement, like the only reason I exist it to fill the hole Prue left, but she doesn’t want me to fill the hole. And she lets that be known.
“I think I’m going back to bed,” Piper mumbles, “I can’t do this right now.” She tosses the glass coffee cup on the table, spilling it on the morning paper.
“No you’re not. Piper, you know how busy today is going to be. We have to bring flowers to Prue’s grave, and we still have to work on what Grams talked to us about.” Phoebe is not impressed by the way Piper acts while I’m around. Piper gets very closed off and quiet whenever I enter the room and it’s very clear that it’s because of me. “Piper, you need to stop. I understand that you’re hurting, but being rude to Paige is helping nobody. It’s only hurting our relationship with each other and our chances of ever getting Prue back-“
“We’re not getting her back! Phoebe, wake up! You heard what Grams said… the only way to get our sister back is by sacrificing another for her. We are not doing that! So let me be in pain. Let me grieve, just leave me the hell alone.” Piper starts to get up, but Phoebe’s hand on her wrist stops her.
“I will not leave you alone Piper. We are sisters. Sisters are there for each other when we’re in pain. Piper, I am your shoulder to cry on, and I always will be, but taking your pain and anger out on Paige is not the way to do it. She is your sister too, whether you like it or not.” Phoebe lets go of her grip on Piper’s wrist and I let out a sigh of relief. No one has ever stood up for me before, and I’m not exactly sure how to react.
FLASHBACK
Piper’s POV
My legs start to shake and I feel as though I’m going to faint. “My sister?” A million thoughts are going through my head. Prue has only been dead for three months, and now we have another sister? How is that even possible?
Grams sees the confusion on all of our faces and she beings to explain to us how mom fell in love with her whitelighter and eventually had a baby. “How did we not know mom was pregnant?” I ask, completely dumbfounded that this is even a possibility.
“You girls were so young. Prue was the only one who would’ve been able to understand your mother was pregnant. Your mother knew the Elders would never let her keep the baby to herself, so she decided it was best to not let you know. You girls just thought she was getting fat.” Grams smiles wide as memories of us as children flash through her mind. “You were so curious and worried the day she went into labor. There was so much commotion when her water broke, I almost slipped the secret to you that day… I wish I had, but that’s in the past. This is now. And what I’m about to tell you is very important…it could save your sisters life.”
Phoebe’s POV
We always get Prue daffodils. They’re her favorite flower. I never understood why, because I’ve always favored roses, but daffodils were a flower she made sure we always had in our garden.
It’s been a while since the last time we came to her gravesite. It makes me feel sick coming here, but I do it anyway. Piper is the only one that seems to be in pain all the time but that's only because I chose to not let my pain show.
I wonder if they know that I cry myself to sleep every night?
I pick up the dried out bouquet of daffodils and replace it with a new one. We come here every month on the anniversary of Prue’s death, and we use this time, mostly, to tell Paige more about the sister she never met and tell her about how important she was to the world. Paige is still a new witch, so she’s growing into her powers. I think telling her about who Prue is and what she did for the Halliwell coven inspires her to do more
Paige’s POV
I will never be as powerful as Prue. Phoebe, Piper, and Grams have told me so many stories of what she’s done, and it terrifies me. What if I’m not able to bring back the Power of Three? What if I’ll never be strong enough to help my sisters fight off evil? If they put too much faith into me, and it goes wrong, I could end up killing all of us. How do I know if I can trust myself? How do I become as powerful as Prue?
FLASHBACK
Gram’s POV
These girls have no idea how important it is to me that I am finally able to tell them about Paige. All these years I’ve had to keep her a secret from my family and from herself. It is her birthright to know who she is and where she comes from, but here she is, in this empty, black room, with complete strangers. The poor girl has no idea who any of us are or where she is, and I can see the fear in her eyes. She knows this isn’t just a dream. “What do you mean I’m their sister?” Paige asks me, “I’m an only child. I- I was adopted, I don’t know anything about my birth family.”
“I know sweetie, and I’m very sorry you don’t know us, but we need your help. Overtime, once we explain to you who you are, you will learn to love and trust us. I promise.” I try to assure her.
“What do you mean ‘you’ll explain to me who I am’? I know who I am, but you don’t. I’ve only just met you! And I don’t understand how I got here. Where even am I?”
Grams sighs, “you’re in a dream. A different kind of dream, not like one you’ve ever been in before. In here you are allowed to make your own choice, and you have complete control over your actions, unlike a normal dream. And after this is all done, you will be able to remember everything that happens. So I expect you girls to try to find each other when this is all done.” The look on Paige’s face is mixed with curiosity, anger, and sadness. This poor girl is so confused. “Paige dear, I need you to listen to me when I tell you this. And I need you to not freak out. Okay?”
“What? What are you going to tell me?”
“Paige. You are a Halliwell. You’re more than just a Halliwell, you are a Halliwell witch. One of the Charmed Ones.” I heard Piper beside me fall into her chair.
“She’s a what? Grams…you’re telling us she’s a charmed one. That the Power of Three is still alive?” Phoebe questions
“Well it can be,” I reassure her, “if you girls react to this properly. If you teach Paige the right way, and you respect each other, then, yes, the Power of Three is still viable.”
“What in the world are you talking about?” Paige pulls her wrists away from my hands, “I don’t know who you people are or what you’re trying to tell me I am, but I don’t believe any of you. Please, just please, take me back home.” Paige pleads.
“Paige darling, I need you to understand that what I’m telling you is the truth. I’m not some crazy old lady making up stories. Here- let Piper show you.”
Piper never could not listen to me. No matter what I asked her to do, she’d always oblige. Piper lifted her hands and suddenly the chair across the room exploded and the shards of wood froze in mid air. “Ahh, now see Paige? See the power you and your sisters hold?”
Paige’s POV
The ride home from the cemetery was silent. After this morning’s stunt in the kitchen, my relationship with Piper could go one of two ways. She either hates me even more now, or she’ll finally accept me as her sister.
When we got back to the house, I was the last one out of the car. I was too afraid that if I left the car first, my sisters would either stay behind to talk about me, or they would drive off as fast as they could. I feel like the first option is more likely.
I open the door to the house and Piper and Phoebe are both already sitting down and watching TV. “Guys, I thought we had stuff to do-“
“Shhhh.”
“Did you just shush me?” I walk into the living room and see what is capturing their attention on the TV. There’s been an explosion in downtown Portland, effecting multiple buildings, but from what the report said, there was only one casualty. Everyone else in the buildings walked out without any cuts or bruises. “That doesn’t make sense,” Phoebe whispers.
“Oh my God! Look!” Piper yells, frantically pointing to the TV screen, “It’s Barbas. That’s him, right there!” Phoebe grabs the remote and pauses the TV, and sure enough, it was him.
FLASHBACK
Piper’s POV
I freeze the shards of wood in the air as Grams continues to explain to Paige how she is a witch. After blowing up two more chairs, and Phoebe levitating, I think Paige finally came to grasp the idea of witches being real, and that she, in fact, is one.
“This is all just so crazy. You have to understand why this is so hard to believe.”
“I completely understand sweetie. I’m just glad you’re deciding to trust me and actually believe what I’m saying. I know if you don’t grow up with magic, it can be very hard to understand and accept it. Just ask your sisters. They weren’t exposed to magic until just recently. But they’ve come to accept it very well.” I look to Paige and give a small smile and a nod, agreeing with what Grams said. “But now that you understand who you are, I must tell you girls something very important. If there is anyway you want to save Prue, you must listen to me. I know your sister died, but there is a way to bring her back.”
“Without dark magic?” I ask.
“Yes, without dark magic.”
“Well what is it?” Phoebe leapt from her seat and sprang to Grams side. “We’ve never been able to bring anyone back from the dead before without using dark magic. And you know dark magic is forbidden by the Elders.”
“Yes, I am well aware of that... This solution does not use dark magic, but it is indeed dark. In order to bring your sister back to life, you will need to exchange her life with another. That is all I can tell you.” Phoebe’s smile fades and she backed away from Grams.
“So you’re telling me, in order to bring Prue back, we need to sacrifice someones life? Grams, how could you ever offer this as a solution. How could you possibly think we would risk the life of an innocent, the people we are meant to protect, in order to be selfish and bring our sister back from the dead.”
“See thats the thing, Phoebe, it wouldn’t be selfish. Doing this would be for the greater good. Bringing Prue back and adding Paige to the mix would only increase your powers and allow you to save more innocents. This would introduce you all to the Power of Four.”
“So if we chose someone to sacrifice, we get our sister back?” I ask curiously.
“Precisely.”
I turn my head to Paige. “Well, we’re going to have to find someone then, aren’t we?”
Piper’s POV
“That’s him. That’s Barbas!” I frantically point to the flashing TV screen. Phoebe picks up the remote to pause it, and sure enough. I was right. “The explosion has to be because of him.” Barbas is the demon of fear. He feeds off of what his victims fear the most, and uses that fear to kill them. This one must’ve been fire. All three of us have fallen victim to a Barbas ploy, but we’ve always been able to get out of them with our heads still attached to our bodies.
“Guys…” I stutter, “Grams never said it had to be an innocent we needed to sacrifice in order to save Prue. We only thought that.” I turn around to face both of my sister excitedly, “this is it. This is our chance. Don’t you see it? We’ve always hated Barbas. He’s made our lives a living hell, and this is our chance to change things. If we sacrifice him for Prue, we win in every way. We get our sister back, and we finally get rid of the demon thats haunted us the most.” At this point I’m practically jumping up and down with excitement. This is it. This is how we save Prue.
-
Hours have gone by, which included bickering between us about whether this is the right thing to do or not and it definitely is. We have decided in order to save our sister, the only viable person to sacrifice would be Barbas. And since he was so close to us, it really just made it perfect. And in order for this plan to work, we needed to do it now. We know he is in the area, so we need to move fast.
“The mall,” Paige says, “that’s where he’ll probably be. It’s the busiest place in the area, and you know he likes busy places to find his next victim.” She was right.
Phoebe’s POV
We enter the mall expecting to find crowds of people lined up in the food court with mothers trying to pull their kids away from the carousel and groups of friends laughing together. But we found no such thing. We walk in to a dead food court. A literal dead food court. Bodies of its inhabitants lay every which way with a familiar figure standing over them. Barbas. I can’t see his face but I know it’s him.
“I’ve been expecting you girls.” His deep voice croaks. He turns around to face us with a devilish smile on his face. The doors behind us slam shut making us jump. “I know exactly why you’re here, but I don’t think you know why I am.” Confusion wafts over our faces.
“What do you mean?”
“Well… I’m dying. You see, every being has an end, and unfortunately my time has come. Now I know about your sister and what your Grams has told you, so naturally I know you’re here to kill me. So I figured I’d have some fun before my time is over. I’m not going to fight you…much.”
“You have to be joking. You’re not actually going to make it that easy for us, are you?”
“Yes. Yes I am.” He raises a hand and sends Paige across the room. “But you better get started though, because I’m getting impatient.” My jaw drops and I run to help my sister up.
“What the heck.” She huffs, brushing off her knees.
I turn to look for Piper, but she’s already running across the food court in Barbas’ direction. “Piper no!” As soon as the words leave my lips, Piper screams. An army of spiders crawl after her, as she climbs on top of a table to get away from them. Piper’s biggest fear? Spiders. And Barbas knows it. He’s trying to use our fears against us.
Paige's POV
Phoebe helps me up and I instantly hear Piper scream. She's climbed on top of a table and I see a swarm of spiders crawling on the ground. "That is so disgusting." I whine. "What are we going to do? I thought he said he isn't going to give us much of a fight?"
"He's not. Spiders are nothing compared to what Barbas can do. This is childs-play." Phoebe reassures me. "I'm gonna levitate over there and then I need you to orb to grab the vanquishing potion and vanquish Barbas." My eyes widen at the thought of this.
"What if I can't do it?"
"Paige... you can do this. I believe in you." Phoebe is already flying over to Barbas. This is it. This is my chance to show my sisters I'm actually capable of helping them. My mind thinks of the place I want to go, and bam there I am. I look up to see Phoebe toss me the potion. I grab it and slam it into Barbas' back. The demonic shrieks that left his body is not something you never get used to while vanquishing a demon. His coat bursts into flames followed by the rest of his body. I feel a wave of relief rush over my body.
“That was so much easier than I thought it would be.” My sisters nod in agreement as Piper wipes away her tears and climbs down from the table as the spiders begin to disappear. “Well now that he’s gone…what about Prue?” Piper asks.
I hear footsteps turn the corner and enter the food court.
“Hello? Piper? Phoebe? A voice I have never heard before makes my ears perk up, and then I realize, turning around, it’s her.
I woke up to the sight of rubble everywhere and my husband Leo weeping over my non-responsive body. The last thing I remember is the demon Shax throwing my sister and I through the dining room wall. Everything after that is a blur. My mind spins as I try to piece together bits and pieces of what has happened and why Leo was crying so much. “I-I’m sorry Piper… I wasn’t- I couldn’t get here in time.” Leo stuttered and mumbled through his tears. His hands quickly went to my leg as a white glow overcame it, and suddenly, there was no more blood. “What do you mean?” I pleaded, “Where’s Prue?” I tried to get up but my eyes spun and my body came crashing back down. The look in Leo’s eyes did more than any words could have. It was the look of grief, the look of despair… the look of mourning. Once again my vision blurred and I couldn’t stop myself from screaming. All of a sudden all the pain Leo had taken away from me with his healing powers came back a million times worse. The thought of losing my sister hurt more than any broken bone ever could. And the fact that her lifeless body was sitting not only five feet away from me made the pain even worse. I couldn’t bring myself to look. But I had too. Didn’t I? I mean, she is my sister. Was, my sister. And now she’s gone and I can’t even bring myself to look at her one last time.
The thought of my last remaining sister flooded my mind. “Where is Phoebe? Where is she!” How am I supposed to tell her this? How am I supposed to tell her the Power of Three is gone and we no longer have an older sister? How am I supposed to tell my baby sister that I’m no longer the middle child? That I am now the oldest.
Warmth washes over my hands with a sticky feeling I dreaded to feel. I look down to see a red goo that didn’t belong to me. It was Prue’s blood.
SEVEN MONTHS LATER
Piper’s POV
Today makes seven months since Prue’s death. My heart has been empty ever since. Leo and I have been having problems, and I know it’s all my fault. I get so angry with him, and he says he doesn’t blame me because he knows I’m not mentally stable, but every time I see his face I just see the blood of my dead sister. He had the power to save my sister. He had the ability to save Prue’s life but he decided to save me. ME. Prue was closer to him when he came in the room, Prue was the more powerful witch, Prue’s injuries were more extensive, yet, he chose to save me. Call it survivors guilt, but we all know he chose to save the wrong sister. If Leo would’ve at least tried to save Prue, he might’ve been able to save both of us, but within the time it took him to save me, Prue was already dead.
“Morning sunshine,” Phoebe says greeting me with coffee. That used to be Prue’s job. Prue used to wake up early, before any of us, and make a pot of coffee for us to all share. I like Prue’s coffee better.
The sound of unfamiliar footsteps walk through the hall and enter the dining room followed by an unfamiliar figure. Paige. This is something I don’t know if I will ever get used to.
When we were young, after Phoebe was born, our mother has another baby, but she never told us about her. Mom fell in love with her whitelighter which had been forbidden until Leo and I got married. A witch/whitelighter hybrid was unheard of and completely against everything the Elders wanted. So mom decided to keep the baby a secret and give her up for adoption. We didn’t know Paige existed until after Prue had died.
When the Power of Three died, it seemed as though all the good in the world had died with it. There has been missing persons cases and unexplained deaths all over the state of Maine, and we knew it was because we were no longer there to help. Without Prue, we weren’t unstoppable anymore. And now we know, we weren’t the only ones hurt by Prue’s death.
FLASHBACK
Piper’s POV
Grams visiting us in our dreams is not something we’re unfamiliar with, it’s something that she’s done many times before. She usually only does it when the mater at hand has to do with life or death, so I immediately knew something was wrong. In the dream, I was in an empty room with dark walls, no doors, no windows, just a lightbulb and an old wooden table with four chairs. This is where grams always talks to us. The room is guarded by spells that only allows those in the Halliwell bloodline, while they’re sleeping, in. It seems as though I was the last to arrive to this meeting because Grams, and two girls were already sitting at the table. I knew one of them was Phoebe, but who was she talking to? “Prue?” Phoebe and the girl next to her look up at me with curiosity in their eyes. The mystery girl has pale white skin and long brown hair. Her eyes sparkle in the dim light of the lamp above her and her chine protrudes with a deep dimple down the middle. Who is this?
“No Piper. This is Paige. Your little sister.” My head snaps around quickly to look as Grams who had just given me the news. “W-what?” I spit out. “She’s what?”
Paige’s POV
“Morning sisters!” My cheery greeting does not seem to exactly fit the mood in the room. I know Piper kind of resents me. She makes me feel like I’m a replacement, like the only reason I exist it to fill the hole Prue left, but she doesn’t want me to fill the hole. And she lets that be known.
“I think I’m going back to bed,” Piper mumbles, “I can’t do this right now.” She tosses the glass coffee cup on the table, spilling it on the morning paper.
“No you’re not. Piper, you know how busy today is going to be. We have to bring flowers to Prue’s grave, and we still have to work on what Grams talked to us about.” Phoebe is not impressed by the way Piper acts while I’m around. Piper gets very closed off and quiet whenever I enter the room and it’s very clear that it’s because of me. “Piper, you need to stop. I understand that you’re hurting, but being rude to Paige is helping nobody. It’s only hurting our relationship with each other and our chances of ever getting Prue back-“
“We’re not getting her back! Phoebe, wake up! You heard what Grams said… the only way to get our sister back is by sacrificing another for her. We are not doing that! So let me be in pain. Let me grieve, just leave me the hell alone.” Piper starts to get up, but Phoebe’s hand on her wrist stops her.
“I will not leave you alone Piper. We are sisters. Sisters are there for each other when we’re in pain. Piper, I am your shoulder to cry on, and I always will be, but taking your pain and anger out on Paige is not the way to do it. She is your sister too, whether you like it or not.” Phoebe lets go of her grip on Piper’s wrist and I let out a sigh of relief. No one has ever stood up for me before, and I’m not exactly sure how to react.
FLASHBACK
Piper’s POV
My legs start to shake and I feel as though I’m going to faint. “My sister?” A million thoughts are going through my head. Prue has only been dead for three months, and now we have another sister? How is that even possible?
Grams sees the confusion on all of our faces and she beings to explain to us how mom fell in love with her whitelighter and eventually had a baby. “How did we not know mom was pregnant?” I ask, completely dumbfounded that this is even a possibility.
“You girls were so young. Prue was the only one who would’ve been able to understand your mother was pregnant. Your mother knew the Elders would never let her keep the baby to herself, so she decided it was best to not let you know. You girls just thought she was getting fat.” Grams smiles wide as memories of us as children flash through her mind. “You were so curious and worried the day she went into labor. There was so much commotion when her water broke, I almost slipped the secret to you that day… I wish I had, but that’s in the past. This is now. And what I’m about to tell you is very important…it could save your sisters life.”
Phoebe’s POV
We always get Prue daffodils. They’re her favorite flower. I never understood why, because I’ve always favored roses, but daffodils were a flower she made sure we always had in our garden.
It’s been a while since the last time we came to her gravesite. It makes me feel sick coming here, but I do it anyway. Piper is the only one that seems to be in pain all the time but that's only because I chose to not let my pain show.
I wonder if they know that I cry myself to sleep every night?
I pick up the dried out bouquet of daffodils and replace it with a new one. We come here every month on the anniversary of Prue’s death, and we use this time, mostly, to tell Paige more about the sister she never met and tell her about how important she was to the world. Paige is still a new witch, so she’s growing into her powers. I think telling her about who Prue is and what she did for the Halliwell coven inspires her to do more
Paige’s POV
I will never be as powerful as Prue. Phoebe, Piper, and Grams have told me so many stories of what she’s done, and it terrifies me. What if I’m not able to bring back the Power of Three? What if I’ll never be strong enough to help my sisters fight off evil? If they put too much faith into me, and it goes wrong, I could end up killing all of us. How do I know if I can trust myself? How do I become as powerful as Prue?
FLASHBACK
Gram’s POV
These girls have no idea how important it is to me that I am finally able to tell them about Paige. All these years I’ve had to keep her a secret from my family and from herself. It is her birthright to know who she is and where she comes from, but here she is, in this empty, black room, with complete strangers. The poor girl has no idea who any of us are or where she is, and I can see the fear in her eyes. She knows this isn’t just a dream. “What do you mean I’m their sister?” Paige asks me, “I’m an only child. I- I was adopted, I don’t know anything about my birth family.”
“I know sweetie, and I’m very sorry you don’t know us, but we need your help. Overtime, once we explain to you who you are, you will learn to love and trust us. I promise.” I try to assure her.
“What do you mean ‘you’ll explain to me who I am’? I know who I am, but you don’t. I’ve only just met you! And I don’t understand how I got here. Where even am I?”
Grams sighs, “you’re in a dream. A different kind of dream, not like one you’ve ever been in before. In here you are allowed to make your own choice, and you have complete control over your actions, unlike a normal dream. And after this is all done, you will be able to remember everything that happens. So I expect you girls to try to find each other when this is all done.” The look on Paige’s face is mixed with curiosity, anger, and sadness. This poor girl is so confused. “Paige dear, I need you to listen to me when I tell you this. And I need you to not freak out. Okay?”
“What? What are you going to tell me?”
“Paige. You are a Halliwell. You’re more than just a Halliwell, you are a Halliwell witch. One of the Charmed Ones.” I heard Piper beside me fall into her chair.
“She’s a what? Grams…you’re telling us she’s a charmed one. That the Power of Three is still alive?” Phoebe questions
“Well it can be,” I reassure her, “if you girls react to this properly. If you teach Paige the right way, and you respect each other, then, yes, the Power of Three is still viable.”
“What in the world are you talking about?” Paige pulls her wrists away from my hands, “I don’t know who you people are or what you’re trying to tell me I am, but I don’t believe any of you. Please, just please, take me back home.” Paige pleads.
“Paige darling, I need you to understand that what I’m telling you is the truth. I’m not some crazy old lady making up stories. Here- let Piper show you.”
Piper never could not listen to me. No matter what I asked her to do, she’d always oblige. Piper lifted her hands and suddenly the chair across the room exploded and the shards of wood froze in mid air. “Ahh, now see Paige? See the power you and your sisters hold?”
Paige’s POV
The ride home from the cemetery was silent. After this morning’s stunt in the kitchen, my relationship with Piper could go one of two ways. She either hates me even more now, or she’ll finally accept me as her sister.
When we got back to the house, I was the last one out of the car. I was too afraid that if I left the car first, my sisters would either stay behind to talk about me, or they would drive off as fast as they could. I feel like the first option is more likely.
I open the door to the house and Piper and Phoebe are both already sitting down and watching TV. “Guys, I thought we had stuff to do-“
“Shhhh.”
“Did you just shush me?” I walk into the living room and see what is capturing their attention on the TV. There’s been an explosion in downtown Portland, effecting multiple buildings, but from what the report said, there was only one casualty. Everyone else in the buildings walked out without any cuts or bruises. “That doesn’t make sense,” Phoebe whispers.
“Oh my God! Look!” Piper yells, frantically pointing to the TV screen, “It’s Barbas. That’s him, right there!” Phoebe grabs the remote and pauses the TV, and sure enough, it was him.
FLASHBACK
Piper’s POV
I freeze the shards of wood in the air as Grams continues to explain to Paige how she is a witch. After blowing up two more chairs, and Phoebe levitating, I think Paige finally came to grasp the idea of witches being real, and that she, in fact, is one.
“This is all just so crazy. You have to understand why this is so hard to believe.”
“I completely understand sweetie. I’m just glad you’re deciding to trust me and actually believe what I’m saying. I know if you don’t grow up with magic, it can be very hard to understand and accept it. Just ask your sisters. They weren’t exposed to magic until just recently. But they’ve come to accept it very well.” I look to Paige and give a small smile and a nod, agreeing with what Grams said. “But now that you understand who you are, I must tell you girls something very important. If there is anyway you want to save Prue, you must listen to me. I know your sister died, but there is a way to bring her back.”
“Without dark magic?” I ask.
“Yes, without dark magic.”
“Well what is it?” Phoebe leapt from her seat and sprang to Grams side. “We’ve never been able to bring anyone back from the dead before without using dark magic. And you know dark magic is forbidden by the Elders.”
“Yes, I am well aware of that... This solution does not use dark magic, but it is indeed dark. In order to bring your sister back to life, you will need to exchange her life with another. That is all I can tell you.” Phoebe’s smile fades and she backed away from Grams.
“So you’re telling me, in order to bring Prue back, we need to sacrifice someones life? Grams, how could you ever offer this as a solution. How could you possibly think we would risk the life of an innocent, the people we are meant to protect, in order to be selfish and bring our sister back from the dead.”
“See thats the thing, Phoebe, it wouldn’t be selfish. Doing this would be for the greater good. Bringing Prue back and adding Paige to the mix would only increase your powers and allow you to save more innocents. This would introduce you all to the Power of Four.”
“So if we chose someone to sacrifice, we get our sister back?” I ask curiously.
“Precisely.”
I turn my head to Paige. “Well, we’re going to have to find someone then, aren’t we?”
Piper’s POV
“That’s him. That’s Barbas!” I frantically point to the flashing TV screen. Phoebe picks up the remote to pause it, and sure enough. I was right. “The explosion has to be because of him.” Barbas is the demon of fear. He feeds off of what his victims fear the most, and uses that fear to kill them. This one must’ve been fire. All three of us have fallen victim to a Barbas ploy, but we’ve always been able to get out of them with our heads still attached to our bodies.
“Guys…” I stutter, “Grams never said it had to be an innocent we needed to sacrifice in order to save Prue. We only thought that.” I turn around to face both of my sister excitedly, “this is it. This is our chance. Don’t you see it? We’ve always hated Barbas. He’s made our lives a living hell, and this is our chance to change things. If we sacrifice him for Prue, we win in every way. We get our sister back, and we finally get rid of the demon thats haunted us the most.” At this point I’m practically jumping up and down with excitement. This is it. This is how we save Prue.
-
Hours have gone by, which included bickering between us about whether this is the right thing to do or not and it definitely is. We have decided in order to save our sister, the only viable person to sacrifice would be Barbas. And since he was so close to us, it really just made it perfect. And in order for this plan to work, we needed to do it now. We know he is in the area, so we need to move fast.
“The mall,” Paige says, “that’s where he’ll probably be. It’s the busiest place in the area, and you know he likes busy places to find his next victim.” She was right.
Phoebe’s POV
We enter the mall expecting to find crowds of people lined up in the food court with mothers trying to pull their kids away from the carousel and groups of friends laughing together. But we found no such thing. We walk in to a dead food court. A literal dead food court. Bodies of its inhabitants lay every which way with a familiar figure standing over them. Barbas. I can’t see his face but I know it’s him.
“I’ve been expecting you girls.” His deep voice croaks. He turns around to face us with a devilish smile on his face. The doors behind us slam shut making us jump. “I know exactly why you’re here, but I don’t think you know why I am.” Confusion wafts over our faces.
“What do you mean?”
“Well… I’m dying. You see, every being has an end, and unfortunately my time has come. Now I know about your sister and what your Grams has told you, so naturally I know you’re here to kill me. So I figured I’d have some fun before my time is over. I’m not going to fight you…much.”
“You have to be joking. You’re not actually going to make it that easy for us, are you?”
“Yes. Yes I am.” He raises a hand and sends Paige across the room. “But you better get started though, because I’m getting impatient.” My jaw drops and I run to help my sister up.
“What the heck.” She huffs, brushing off her knees.
I turn to look for Piper, but she’s already running across the food court in Barbas’ direction. “Piper no!” As soon as the words leave my lips, Piper screams. An army of spiders crawl after her, as she climbs on top of a table to get away from them. Piper’s biggest fear? Spiders. And Barbas knows it. He’s trying to use our fears against us.
Paige's POV
Phoebe helps me up and I instantly hear Piper scream. She's climbed on top of a table and I see a swarm of spiders crawling on the ground. "That is so disgusting." I whine. "What are we going to do? I thought he said he isn't going to give us much of a fight?"
"He's not. Spiders are nothing compared to what Barbas can do. This is childs-play." Phoebe reassures me. "I'm gonna levitate over there and then I need you to orb to grab the vanquishing potion and vanquish Barbas." My eyes widen at the thought of this.
"What if I can't do it?"
"Paige... you can do this. I believe in you." Phoebe is already flying over to Barbas. This is it. This is my chance to show my sisters I'm actually capable of helping them. My mind thinks of the place I want to go, and bam there I am. I look up to see Phoebe toss me the potion. I grab it and slam it into Barbas' back. The demonic shrieks that left his body is not something you never get used to while vanquishing a demon. His coat bursts into flames followed by the rest of his body. I feel a wave of relief rush over my body.
“That was so much easier than I thought it would be.” My sisters nod in agreement as Piper wipes away her tears and climbs down from the table as the spiders begin to disappear. “Well now that he’s gone…what about Prue?” Piper asks.
I hear footsteps turn the corner and enter the food court.
“Hello? Piper? Phoebe? A voice I have never heard before makes my ears perk up, and then I realize, turning around, it’s her.