A/N: This is just the prologue. I really like Brendan and I've always liked writing about how things might have been different for the charmed ones had their families knowledge of the prophecy hadn't interfered with their lives from such a young age. For me this is the best of each world. The prologue is just a mash up of scenes from the first season.
Phoebe made her way up the stairs of the Victorian mansion until she got to the attic door. After trying to open the locked door, she turned to head back downstairs when she hears a creak and turns to see the attic door opening. Walking inside, Phoebe sees a glistening white light appear from nowhere and shines on an antique trunk. Phoebe opens it and finds a thick, old leather bound book and closes the trunk before sitting on it. Blowing the dust off, she opens the tome and begins to read.
"The Book of Shadows," she reads and turns the page. "Hear now the words of the witches, the secrets we hid in the night, the oldest of Gods are invoked here, the great work of magic is sought. In this night and in this hour, I'll call upon the ancient power, bring your powers to we sisters three, we want the power, give us the power."
Prue and Piper ascended the stairs to the attic, unaware of the magic at work inside the manor. Dancing blue lights opened up above the broken chandelier while shaking its crystals.
"What are you doing?" Prue walked briskly towards her youngest sister.
" Uh ... reading an incantation. It was in this Book of Shadows, I found it in that trunk," she said before Prue took it from her grasp.
"How did you get in here," Piper questioned Phoebe while Prue assessed the situation.
"The door opened," she replied slapping her hand against her leg.
"Wait a minute, an incantation? What kind of incantation?"
"It said something about there being three essentials of magic. Uh, timing, feeling and phases of the moon. If we were ever gonna do this, now - midnight on a full moon - is the most powerful time."
"This? Do what?"
"Receive our powers."
"What powers? Wait, our powers? You included me in this?"
"No, she included all of us," Prue interrupted the two. "'Bring your powers to we sisters three.' It's a book of witchcraft."
"Let me see that," Piper softly demanded and reached for the book.
Phoebe and Piper sat on the front steps leading up to the manor. "According to the Book Of Shadows, one of our ancestors was a witch, named Melinda Warren," Phoebe said cluing Piper in.
"And we have a cousin who's a drunk, an aunt who's manic, and a father who's invisible," Piper replied while standing. She began to make her way to the street.
"I'm serious. She practiced powers. Three powers. She could move objects with her mind, see the future and stop time. Before Melinda was burned at the stake, she vowed that each generation of Warren witches would become stronger and stronger, culminating in the arrival of three sisters," she said informing Piper of her research. "Now, these sisters would be the most powerful witches the world has ever known. They're good witches and I think we're those sisters."
"Look, I know what happened last night was weird and unexplainable, but we're not witches and we do not have special powers besides, Grams wasn't a witch and as far as we know, neither was mum," Piper said before kissing Phoebe's cheek. "So take that Nancy Drew."
"We're the protectors of the innocent. We're known as the charmed ones," she yelled after Piper as her sister drove off.
Darkness cloaks his voice. The only lighting came from generous amounts of candles strategically lit around the local parish church. "I wake up at night. My heart pounding, a voice whispering in my head: 'You're a fraud. You can't fool God.'"
The man he confides in, Father Austin, tries to offer solace in place of the young man's fears. "These are not new fears, Brendan. I've watched you grow, wept for you, rejoiced in you, you are not a fraud. I know your heart."
"You don't know my family, Father. Generations of evil; evil that's in my blood," Brendan said.
"The blood of the sacrament washes it clean." The priest sat with Brendan, unaware that Brendan's fears had caught up to him.
"Hello, Brendan." Greg said coming forward.
"Long time, no see," Paul added standing next to his older brother.
"How'd you find me?"
"Yeah, good to see you too. Didn't mean to interrupt your conversation. We'll wait outside for you so we can have a family reunion," Greg said.
Outside of the church Piper, Phoebe and Prue were loading the van they had used to transport the food for that night's church event.
Prue handed Piper a serving tray. "Hey, you know what? The next time Quake does a food pantry, why don't you call some guys."
"Yeah, I'll just go through my handy guy Rolodex."
Phoebe joined in on the sister bantering. "Which I believe now stops at 'J' for Josh, or is it 'B' for boyfriend," she asked.
"I don't wanna talk about it."
"Why not, Piper? You know you like him and he calls you all the time. Why don't you just go out with him?"
"I told you. Because I'm too busy with work and my instincts are telling me to lay low."
Prue could understand Piper's hesitance. "Always trust your instincts."
"Whose side are you on," Phoebe asked Prue and the three watched as nuns walked across the path.
"Now, they have got the right idea," Piper said still frustrated by her guy issues.
"Who, the nuns," Phoebe asked.
"Yep. Nice safe environment."
Phoebe smirked. "Yeah,if you like monks."
Piper continued on with her pitch. "Stress-free, no need to worry about guys, no wardrobe."
"No wardrobe?" Phoebe turned to look at Prue and then back to Piper. "Okay, now you're scaring me."
"Um, whose pen is this," Piper asked as they finished cleaning up.
"Oh, it's, uh, Brendan's, I think," Prue said joining in the conversation again. "You know, the cute guy who signed for the food, remember?"
"I remember him, yes," Phoebe said recalling the cute guy.
"Good, then you can take it to him," Piper said handing it to her. "I think he's in the church office."
"Okay, just don't go taking any vows while I'm gone, all right?" Phoebe took the pen and instantly had a premonition. "Oh, oh, cute guy, I just saw him being attacked by a warlock."
"Where," Prue asked.
Phoebe tried to recall her vision. "I think it was here somewhere."
"All right, let's split up," Prue suggested and the three frantically searched the church grounds.
Inside the church, Brendan was still confronting his older brothers.
"Give it up, little brother. You're praying to the wrong deity. Aren't you, Brendan? I mean after all, we can't deny who we are," Greg taunted him.
"You don't scare me, Greg."
"Sure I do," Greg said as he changed into a warlock. "We've come a long way to find you. We're not leaving until you join us."
Paul tried to reach out to his baby brother. "Please, Brendan, we don't want to hurt you."
Greg hits Brendan and he falls to the floor, clearly contradicting Paul's previous statement. "Did you really think that the church could save you?"Greg picks up Brendan up off the floor to hit him again when Prue entered the church.
"Hey," she shouts and uses her power to send Greg flying across the room. "Piper! Phoebe!"
"We'll come back for you," Greg promised and he and Paul ran off.
"Prue," Phoebe called out.
"You guys, over here!" Prue turned to Brendan. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, thanks," he muttered before running off.
"Wait, where..." Prue called after him.
"Hey," Piper shouted.
"What happened," Phoebe asked Prue.
"I don't know, but uh, I'm gonna go find out."
Prue found Brendan at the stables where he taught children how to ride horses and volunteered to take care of the animals.
"How'd you find me?"
"Father Austin told me that you would be here. We need to talk."
"Look, uh..." he said searching his memory for her name.
"Prue," she offered.
"Prue. If you're worried about my telling anybody about your secret, you don't have to. It's safe with me."
"Yeah, well, that's good to know but why? I mean, most people would be pretty freaked out if they saw what you saw."
"I'm not like most people."
"Yes, I know. Most people aren't attacked by warlocks."
"I don't wanna talk about that," he said getting on a horse.
"Okay. Ah, hi, just can I borrow this for a minute," Prue asked a stable hand in her pursuit of Brendan.
"Sure, go ahead."
Prue rides at a gallop until she catches up to Brendan and eventually passes him.
"Hey, wait up. If you keep your grades up maybe you can come riding again too," he jokes.
"Oh, you promise?"
"Who are you, anyway," Brendan wondered aloud.
"Oh, well, that's not fair, I asked you first."
" Do you actually expect for me to believe that you're a good warlock?"
"No. There's no such thing. I can explain it to you if you let me. I can make you understand. I won't hurt you. I need your help."
"For what," Prue asked.
"To stop the other warlocks. To stop my brothers."
"A warlock naturally comes from two warlock parents, like Greg and Paul do. But they're just my half brothers, I had a different mother," Brendan explained to Prue.
"A human mother?"
"Yes. A wonderfully human mother."
"So then we have something in common. My father was human."
"Difference is, he came from good. Mine came from pure evil. Descended from an ancient warlock line, intent on furthering the Rowe coven. Three brothers destined to become the most powerful force for evil the world has ever known."
"The evil Charmed Ones," Prue said.
"Only, I went into hiding. I didn't wanna be a part of it. I wanted to break the chain. Make amends for all that my family's done."
"By becoming a priest?"
"Embracing God in that way is the only way to lose my power, my warlock nature forever. And with it, keep the Rowe coven from ever being. I've been at war with myself all my life, Prue. Running from the evil inside me. I guess it finally caught up."
"You can fight it. Fight them."
"No, I can't. My brothers are too powerful, they're relentless. They'll keep hurting the people I care about until I give in. They'll even hurt you."
"I can take care of myself. It's you that I'm worried about."
"Ahh, don't worry about me. I know what I have to do. I have to kill my brothers before they trick me into killing somebody else. You'll have to follow me to their place, and then and your sisters will have to kill me."
"You betrayed us, little brother. I'm very disappointed," Greg said.
"Leave them out of this, Greg."
"You're protecting witches now? You make me sick."
"Prue," Piper asked wondering if it was time to make a move."
"Now!"
Piper tried to freeze them but they have some sort of protective shield around them and Phoebe throws the knife at them but the shield blocks it. Prue's powers are also blocked by the shield.
"No, not this time. I'm ready for you but family first," Greg said getting ready to attack Brendan.
"Yeah? Come and get me."
Greg picked up the athame and gets ready to throw it at Brendan when Paul stops him.
"Greg, wait," Paul shouts. The truth is, Paul wants his brother more than he wants his powers. The Rowe coven prophecy means nothing if he can't have his family.
"Brendan, don't let them turn you, don't use your powers," Prue said.
"Give him a chance," Paul said. "It's not too late, Brendan, you can still join us. You are either with us or you are against us.
"Then I'm against you."
"Then you will die," Greg said and threw the athame at him only for Paul to intercept and step in front of Brendan. "Damn you, Brendan."
"Greg," Paul calls and removes the blade from his chest. "Damn you!" He throws the knife and hits Greg in the chest; both expel their last breath and turn to dust.
"I'm sorry," Prue says as she steps towards Brendan.
"I'm not."
The church's clock tower chimes signaling it's time for the ordination. "It's time," she says.
"Yeah, I know. After all these years, after everything I've given up to get here, a sacrifice never seemed greater than it does right now."
Prue looks up at him and kisses him.