Witchlighter Chapter 2- One and the Same Pt. 1

July 2006

It had been two months since the Charmed Ones' Ultimate Battle, but somehow real life had failed to get the memo. It went on as usual: Demons attacked, Whitelighters aided their charges, and Paige Matthews carried on with her Whitelighter duties.

It was the last week of July and, so far, a fine late morning. Dressed in a blue sleeveless top, pink pajama pants, and white sneakers, Paige emerged from the kitchen of the apartment she shared with her parole-officer husband Henry Mitchell. She was on her way to their bedroom to handle a non-magical problem: a spouse down with a cold for the past three days. She entered the room, carrying before her a tray balancing a glass of water, a cold medicine bottle, a spoon, a napkin, and a ham-and-cheese sandwich on a paper plate. The bedridden Henry greeted her with a barrage of coughing and sneezing.

"How are you feeling?" Paige asked as she placed the tray on the bedside drawer.

"Lousy. Are you sure you can't heal me?" Henry asked between coughs and sniffles.

"My powers heal wounds, not a cold you caught from a parolee," Paige said, filling the spoon with the cold medicine. She moved it towards Henry's mouth. "Now say 'aah'".

Henry turned away in protest. "Not to sound like a kid, but I hate that stuff."

"Too bad. You need to get well so you can get back to work, and the only way that can happen is for you to take your medicine," his wife reminded.

"Can't you just give me a vitamin or something?" He was positive that he didn't want another taste of that medicine.

"People take vitamins to avoid getting sick in the first place. You didn't, so be a good boy and take the yucky stuff," Paige replied firmly. Suddenly, she heard a jingling in her mind. "Come on, Henry, I don't have time for this! My charge is calling!"

"I'll take it later," the mortal lied.

"Oh no, I'm not falling for that one. And I hate to have to do this, but you insist on being stubborn." Paige looked down at the spoon. "Medicine!" she commanded.

The fluid orbed straight into Henry's mouth, which his wife swiftly clamped her hand over to keep him from spitting the medication back out. He swallowed reluctantly and let out a couple more coughs. "Paige, I could've choked!"

"My apologies, but you left me no choice. I have to go. Be sure to eat your breakfast."

"Yes, Mom," Henry muttered.

Paige's body changed into a glowing cloud of white and blue lights. Henry covered his eyes; in his sickened state, the orbs were too bright for him. When the glow rose up and vanished, he turned to his sandwich on the paper plate. He picked up the plate and looked at it quizzically. "Paper plates?" he asked himself, confused as to what happened with the real plates.

(X)

Paige materialized in an alley beside her charge Lena, a brown-haired witch with the gift of deflection. Today however, the self-protection mode Lena had chosen was to hide behind a Dumpster. And Paige quickly saw the reason why -- four crimson-shirt demons. Three were apparently minions while the fourth, wearing a black leather trench coat and finger-cut gloves, appeared to be the alpha.

"Oh, Paige, thank God you're here!" Lena whispered in relief. "I need help!"

"I can see that. Stay down," Paige advised. She stood and faced the demons. "What's wrong, boys?" she taunted. "Scared?"

Two minions replied by hurling at her what looked like red energy balls. I've seen those before, Paige thought, but what are they?

"Energy balls!" she shouted, extending her hand to deflect them. To her shock, the oncoming balls didn't deflect; they fused together in mid-air and hit her, wounding her while blasting her onto her back.

All three minions conjured a shock ball, taking aim at Paige. "We have her, Sivor," one said to the alpha demon.

"Then kill her!" Sivor ordered. The minions obeyed, hurling the balls at the Charmed One.

"Paige!" Lena cried out in alarm. She jumped up, both hands extended. A pair of blue shields materialized in front of Paige and deflected the shock balls back at their owners. Two of the demons were hit and exploded as the third one dodged the remaining ball. The force of the explosion flung Lena off her feet to land beside Paige on the ground.

Paige picked herself up, torn between healing her charge and battling the demons. But Lena's groan of pain settled the matter; Paige knelt beside her and placed her hands over Lena. Golden light emanated from her palms, healing her charge's unseen bruises.

Sivor's remaining minion watched the procedure in amazement until Sivor angrily shoved him toward the two witches. "What are you waiting for? An invitation? Get them!"

Paige raised her head as the minion fired off two shock balls. Swiftly placing a hand on Lena's leg and shoulder, Paige orbed herself and her charge out of harm's way, causing the shock balls to explode against the concrete ground.

"Come on," Paige said to Lena after they had rematerialized in the same spot, "we have to fight back. He's a minion; he shouldn't be too much trouble. Just, uh...cause a distraction." She fixed her eyes upon Sivor's belt and orbed out.

Lena began to run. "Come get me!" she called to the minion in a taunting voice.

"It's a trick!" Sivor said, looking all around for Paige. "Where is the Whitelighter?" He turned to see his minion chasing after Lena. "Get back here!" he shouted.

"Athamae!" a voice called out.

Sivor turned to see Paige behind him, his athamae orbing from his belt and into her hand.

"Thanks a bunch!" Paige said, grinning as she orbed out of sight.

"Damn!" Sivor cursed, preparing to chase after his minion.

Paige materialized behind the minion and stabbed him in the back. He screamed in pain as he exploded, taking the athamae with him in his fiery demise.

Lena ran back to Paige and they faced Sivor together.

"I'll be back!" he snarled as he flamed out.

"Of course you will," Paige sighed. "God forbid I should ever get a peaceful day."

"Thanks, Paige," Lena said gratefully. "I was on my way to work when the demons appeared. They chased me down the street and into this alley, and that's when they attacked me." She gave Paige's pajama pants an amused look. "It seems I called before you were ready to go to work yourself."

Paige looked down at her pajamas and chuckled self-consciously. "Uh, yeah, I wasn't dressed for demon-vanquishing today. I should get you out of here, though. That demon said he'd be back. Naturally, I might add."

"Thanks, but I honestly have to get to work. I'll be fired if I keep taking days off."

"Okay, go," Paige said. "Our friend won't attack in public unless he's either the boldest or stupidest demon around. Meanwhile, I'll stop by my sister's place to research him."

If only photocopying the Book of Shadows worked back then, she thought.

Suddenly, a jingle of a different tune alerted Paige: that of a mortal in pain. She turned to Lena. "I have to go, but when you get to work, call me on my cell so I'll know you're safe."

Lena smiled and nodded. "I will. Thanks again, Paige."

She watched as Paige orbed out of sight, rushing to her next charge.

(X)

Paige orbed into yet another alley, one that was a few blocks away from where Lena had been attacked. Sprawled on the ground, a short distance away, was Paige's latest charge: Sally, a Whitelighter-to-be. The two had never met, but Paige was assigned to monitor her safety. This was the first attack sent on Sally. And standing over the terrified woman, aiming a crossbow at her heart, was a Darklighter.

Paige's hand shot out. "Crossbow!"

The Darklighter stared in wonder, as his crossbow orbed out of his grip and into Paige's. She aimed the weapon and fired. The arrow hit the Darklighter squarely in the chest, but instead of exploding, he pulled it out with a painful groan.

Paige's eyebrows flew up. "Oh, upper level Darklighter." She realized and then turned to Sally. "They must really have it out for you."

The woman stared up at her attacker from the ground. "Who are you? Some kind of hit man?" she cried as the weaponless Darklighter glared at them. She turned to Paige. "And who are you? How did you pop up? What's going on?"

"Save the who's, how's, and what's for now; I'll explain it all in a bit," Paige said. She still aimed the crossbow at the Darklighter, but she knew she couldn't fire off a second shot because she was now out of ammunition. And it would be hard for me to hit my target while he has the arrows, she thought grimly.

The Darklighter glared menacingly at Sally. "Don't worry. I'll be back for you," he growled as he vanished in a black-orb swirl.

The woman gaped at her attacker's exit. "W-w-what the hell?" she stammered.

Holding the crossbow in one hand, Paige lowered it to her side and approached her charge. "I guess I should explain a little thing called 'magic', but for now, where were you heading off to?"

"I'm going to a fundraiser at the community center down the block," Sally explained, pointing down the end of the alley.

Paige smiled. "Really? They're holding a fundraiser?"

"Yes. All the proceeds are going to a children's charity."

"Wonderful! Mind if I join you?" Paige asked, feigning interest to remain close to her.

Sally smiled her relief. "Oh, no, not at all. You handled that hoodlum -- whoever or whatever he was -- so well that I already feel safe in your company."

"Great, let's go," Paige said. She took a few steps with Sally before she realized that she was still in her pajamas. She smiled sheepishly. "Uh, actually, can we go somewhere else first to chat real quick? Somewhere possibly discreet?"

(X)

In an Underworld lair, Sivor was pacing back and forth when the Darklighter appeared before him. The demon stopped his pacing.

"How did it go, Malox?" he asked.

"The Charmed One interfered, just as he said she would. And you?" Malox asked with folded arms.

"She interfered all right. I lost three minions; one of them wasn't thinking clearly and the fool got himself killed when the Charmed One used my own athamae on him. Fortunately, it was destroyed along with him, so she can't use it to track me."

Malox heaved a regretful sigh. "Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking clearly either. She stole my crossbow and she can use that to track you through me."

Sivor took a deep, concerned breath, noticing Malox's wound. "If she does, then we're in trouble."

"You're not in any trouble at all." The disembodied voice brought the conversation to a halt as the pair looked around. Black orbs rained down in front of them to coalesce into a grim-looking man clad in black from his waistcoat to his black boots. He had dark facial hair while tribal markings covered the left side of his face. He gazed at Sivor and Malox with shadowy eyes.

"Avo," Sivor greeted him as Malox nodded a welcome. "What's our next move against the half-breed witch? We attacked her charges, as you commanded, but she's clever and resourceful. The only things we accomplished were dead minions and a stolen crossbow."

"Keep her busy," Avo said. "This plan of wearing her out by attacking different charges of hers is good, so we'll play it through." He grinned at Sivor and Malox. "Demons and Darklighters working together; this is the unity I'll create when I become the new Source."

"Is this because you're half-demon and half-Darklighter?" Malox ventured.

Avo nodded. "Definitely. I have to prove myself to the Council of the Underworld if I'm to be the next Source. I would have already owned that throne if I hadn't been denied it because of my Darklighter heritage. I have more power than many demons, and the belief that I can never rule or be respected due to my lineage and its powers is pure ignorance. The Council told me repeatedly to strip myself of my Darklighter half, but I refused every single time. I'm going to be the Source and I've found the way to gain the respect I need to do so. And that's by both destroying and killing the Witchlighter."

(X)

Paige returned to her apartment bedroom in a shower of blue-white lights. Henry lay in bed, asleep. On the night-stand was the tray, packed with the empty paper plate, the half-full glass of water, the medicine bottle and its spoon, and the now-used napkin. Wanting to see how he was doing, Paige crept to his side and gently nudged him. "Henry," she whispered. "Henry."

He opened his eyes and slowly smiled. "Hey."

"Hi," she answered, sitting down beside him on the bed. "Listen, I'm sorry I had to leave so abruptly, but two charges were under attack and they were both calling for me. Then, after I chased off the demons, that one charge I told you about -- Sally -- I had to teach her about magic. And I'm not done; I have to go to Piper's to research the demon that attacked Lena, the other charge." Paige sighed. "This is just never going to end for me."

Henry sat up and leaned against the backboard of the bed. "Paige, you'll burn yourself out the way this is going. You've taken on too much responsibility: Charges, demons, and me. And not to sound selfish, but these days I hardly get to see you."

"I know," she sighed. "It kills me that you keep coming in last. But, like you said, I have responsibilities. And one of them includes looking up demons." Paige gave Henry a quick kiss and stood up.

Henry spotted her small, but noticeable wound above her hip. "What happened to you?"

Paige looked down at her injury. "Oh, I should take care of that. I'll raid Piper's medicine cabinet; she always keeps it stocked with supplies. Are you going to be okay without me?"

"Yeah, I will. And speaking of supplies, can you get more paper plates? I eat a lot, so if we're going to be using those, we'll need about fifty more."

"Excuse me?" Paige asked, raising her eyebrows. "What's gotten into you?"

"I just ate a sandwich off a paper plate. Why are we using them? We have actual plates."

"Hmm, let's see," Paige said, placing her hands on her hips, "I've been off saving the world, so I haven't had time to do the dishes. I guess you have a different idea of marriage in mind. Maybe we can have that stereotypical marriage where only the wife does the household chores?"

"Paige, you forget that we alternate doing the dishes every week, and it's now your turn." Henry broke into another fit of coughing. "I'd do it myself without complaining, but I'm stuck here in bed at the moment."

"I don't have time. Look at me, I'm still in my sleep-wear! There's no time for me to change, let alone do the dishes. There's also the laundry, but even that's not going to fit into my schedule. I have to go." She turned, ready to orb out.

"Wait, I forgot to tell you. That Lena girl called here saying she got to work okay."

Paige turned back and stared at him. "She called here? Why? I told her I was reachable."

"Actually, you weren't; you left your cell phone here. Don't worry, I told her I'd let you know that she was all right."

"Thanks," Paige said as she made her way to Henry to get her cell. "I have to go now."

He looked at her attire. "Don't you want to change first?"

Paige shook her head. "I can't waste anymore time." And on that note, she orbed off.

(X)

Paige materialized in the Halliwell Manor's conservatory, where she had sensed Piper. After coming out of orb, the first sight meeting her eyes was that of her oldest sister playing with her two sons, Wyatt and Chris, as morning sunlight beamed in through stained-glass windows. The two little boys quickly took notice of Paige.

"Aunnie Paige!" Wyatt excitedly called. Paige smiled as he half-toddled, half-ran to her. Her eldest nephew was improving daily in his speech skills, but he occasionally had difficulty getting words out.

She knelt down and gathered the little boy into her arms for a hug and a kiss on his cheek. "Hey, Wyatt, how are you doing?"

Piper Halliwell rose to her feet with a grin. "Paige! How's it hanging?" She chuckled when she caught sight of her half-sister's bedroom ensemble. "Oh, I didn't know this was a come-as-you-are visit. The boys and I would have kept our pajamas on."

"N' Paid," squeaked Chris as he toddled to his aunt.

Paige knelt again to give Chris a hug and a kiss on his cheek, then stood to greet Piper as she approached. "Oh, don't ask," she sighed as they embraced, "I'd rather not get into it. Everything is good. Unfortunately, I'm here on business, but I wanted to come by and see you first. I hate not being able to hang out here lately."

Piper pulled back and looked at Paige "What is it?" she asked. "Charges under attack or do you need the Power of Three?"

"No, you're safe." Paige frowned. "I, on the other hand, have to go to the Book of Shadows and look up a Darklighter and a demon."

"You have your work cut out, don't you?" Piper said. "By the way, ix-nay on the demon-nay. It's bad enough that my sons have to grow up around it, but I'd rather not have them hear about it every week. That's how nightmares begin."

"Okay, I'll be upstairs then." Paige began to walk off, but Piper called her back. She turned to see her sister looking at her wound in concern.

"What's up with that?" Piper asked.

Paige looked at her injury. "Oh, um, yeah, the bad guys had these strange red energy balls. I didn't know what they were, so my orbing power didn't work. I recognized them from when one of my temp bosses was killed by them several years ago, but I think I was too upset to look them up."

"Hold on, Paige. You've never had to get your commands down precisely. Remember the Scabber demons we battled? They were spitting acid all over the place and I believe you said--"

"'Icky stuff'. Yeah, yeah, I remember. But somehow I don't think that will work on these new guys, so I have to consult the Book."

"Okay, you do that," Piper said, nodding. "I'll get something from the medicine cabinet for your wound."

Paige smiled. "Thanks," she said over her shoulder as she left the conservatory. She went up the staircase to the attic, where she found the now-mortal Leo moving a bureau that Piper wanted to have placed in their bedroom.

"Hi, Leo," Paige greeted her brother-in-law as she entered.

Leo stopped his work, turned to her, and smiled. "Paige! How are you?"

"What do you think? I'm walking into the attic to the Book of Shadows to look up a demon and Darklighter." She stopped in front of the green leather-bound tome sitting as always on its wooden podium, opened it, and started flipping through its parchment pages. She heaved and sighed as she did.

"What's wrong?" asked Leo.

"It's this whole Whitelighter-on-call thing at every hour of everyday. It gets a little tiring."

Leo nodded sympathetically. "I know. It was hard for me as well when I was a Whitelighter. Don't worry about it, Paige. It'll grow on you to where it seems like getting up every morning and going to work." He returned his attention to the bureau.

"I'd agree, except that when I was a social worker I'd be home by afternoon and was never on-call," Paige replied, continuing her search. "Just last week I had a charge call me at four in the morning. Luckily, I was able to get rid of the demon without much effort. But I wish the demons would sleep when I do, and leave my charges alone."

Piper entered the attic, carrying a first-aid kit. "How's it going?" she asked as she came up alongside her sister.

"Still haven't found either demon or Darklighter," Paige responded without looking up.

"Why are you searching for a Darklighter in the Book? You can just whip up a standard vanquishing potion. There aren't really any Darklighter entries except for different types," Piper reminded, moving closer. "Was there something different about this one?"

"Yes, there was. I used his own arrow on him and he didn't explode; he would have if he was your basic Darklighter. So here I am, researching. Maybe there's a disempowerment spell in here that'll weaken this particular one."

"The Book has spells and potions for disempowering witches and warlocks, but, to my knowledge, there's nothing in there for demons and Darklighters. Otherwise, we would've been making those potions every morning and chanting those spells every day."

Paige stopped flipping through the Book and almost slammed it shut. "Thanks, Piper, that's just what I need to hear," she said in annoyance. "Got any more good news?"

Her evident frustration made Piper and Leo exchange worried glances. "Come," Piper said gently, taking Paige by the arm. "Let's go sit on the couch."

"No! I have to find these --"

"Do as she says, Paige," Leo interjected, his voice taking on its old Whitelighter authority. He gestured toward the Book with his head. "Whoever you're looking for will still be in there."

Paige opened her mouth to protest again, but changed her mind and nodded in defeat. She let Piper lead her to an old couch, where they sat down side-by-side.

Piper opened the first-aid kit and removed a small bottle of rubbing alcohol, which she applied to a cotton ball. "Paige, is everything okay?" she asked as she cleaned her sister's wound. "You said it was, but you're not acting like it is."

Paige heaved a weary sigh and slumped back into the couch. "Its just life right now, Piper," she admitted. "I'm a Whitelighter and a witch; I have charges to help, charges to guide, and demons to track and vanquish. I'm also Henry's wife and I have to make room for him too. It's hard enough juggling all that when things are going well, but today two of my charges were attacked at practically the same moment by different evils. I had to go to their aid. On top of that, Henry's been down with a bad cold for the past three days, and I haven't been able to stay home long enough to take care of either him or the apartment because of my responsibilities."

"Wow, your plate's really spilling over," Piper said. She gave the used cotton ball to Leo for him to toss out, and removed a gauze bandage from the first-aid kit.

"I know," her sister said unhappily. "With a sick husband at home, I should be there for him. Hell, I want to be with Henry right now, but I also have to be there for the rest of the world. It's not fair to him, Piper, I love him. He shouldn't be the very last item on my to-do list."

"Hey, preaching to the choir here, sister," Piper said in a gentle, supportive tone. She fastened the gauzed bandage in place over Paige's wound with adhesive tape. "Remember? I fought for the longest time to have a normal life, and thankfully I've now had one for a while. You and Henry are now in the same boat that Leo and I were in, so you must realize that you'll have to fight like hell to shape your life the way you want it. It's a witch's lot."

"But I'm not just a witch, Piper. I'm a Whitelighter, and that's what keeps me so busy!"

"Then talk to the Elders about this, Paige," Leo suggested. "Ask them if they can lighten your workload."

"I think I'll do that," Paige agreed. "I knew my life wouldn't be magic-free after we won the Ultimate Battle. However, what I didn't want was more work in the bargain, so I'm going to have a word with the Elders. But I still have to find the demon and Darklighter pests."

She got up, returned to the Book of Shadows, and resumed flipping through it. Suddenly, she stopped at a page and slapped it triumphantly. "Gotcha!" she crowed.

Piper turned to Leo. "I think she's got him," she joked.

Her husband grinned. "You think?"

"Oh hush, you two!" Paige retorted. She read the entry out loud, "Sivor leads powerful demons known as the Hellspawn. These demons tend to run in packs, and their powers include shock balls, fireballs, and firebolts. Hellspawns increase their powers by killing other demons to obtain theirs, and the strongest are vicious and quick to act." She stopped reading Paige scanned the bottom of the page, "There's a spell and it looks good to me. I'm writing this down."

Piper approached with pen and pad in hand. "Here you go," she said, offering them to Paige.

Her sister shook her head. "You don't have to help out, Piper. I can do this."

"In case you haven't noticed, you're a little stressed, so if I can help, I will," Piper replied. She smiled. "And I would hardly call handing you pen and paper helping out."

Paige smiled a bit sheepishly. She took the pad and pen, wrote down the vanquishing spell, and closed the Book of Shadows. "Good, I got my spell for Sivor. I'll now assume I can also weaken the Darklighter's magic with a spell; as long as it's well written it should work. Now I have to go tell my charge that she'll be safe once I vanquish the demons."

"Good luck with that." Piper suddenly snapped her fingers. "Oh, before I forget, Billie's flying in from Chicago next week in time for your birthday."

Paige rolled her eyes. "Oh, man, I forgot that my birthday was coming up!" She grinned. "I guess your reminding me means no surprise party, huh?"

"Nope, just a family dinner," Piper replied, returning the smile. "I'm doing the cooking, so take joy in that."

"Always do, but now I have to end the sisterly visit and get back to my charge before the demon strikes again. Call you later."

"Bye, Paige," Piper said as they embraced. "And, again, good luck"

Paige waved good-bye to Leo. Stepping away from her sister, she took a moment to sense a vacant area at Lena's workplace, orbing out after she did.

(X)

After Paige materialized, she took in her surroundings, or rather, what she could see of them in the dark; she had orbed inside a janitor's supply closet. Oh, well, she thought wryly, at least I didn't orb straight into mud.

Finding the door unlocked, she opened it cautiously and peered around. When she was satisfied that the coast was clear, Paige stepped out of the closet. She went quickly around a corner and down the hallway, in the direction where she had sensed Lena. She had carefully rehearsed an explanation in case someone stopped her and asked why she was there, but the preoccupied employees walked by, taking no notice of her, despite her clothes.

Lena was an assistant coordinator for Golden Gate Events, an organization that staged numerous venues inside Golden Gate Park. The Head of Directory had been upset with her for her recent but constant tardiness, but Lena could hardly tell her boss that she had been battling demons, Sivor being the newest and strongest one to date. Lena had no rough history; she was simply a witch in need of a Whitelighter's protection and guidance. And she couldn't have asked for a better Whitelighter than Paige.

Paige reached Lena's office, knocked on the door, and heard the sound of approaching footsteps inside. Lena opened the door, holding a clipboard to her chest.

"Paige! What are you doing here?" asked Lena in surprise. "Didn't your husband give you my message?"

"Yes, he did. I'm sorry I didn't get back to you, but I didn't have my cell phone with me and another charge of mine needed help." Paige glanced around and lowered her voice so Lena's co-workers wouldn't eavesdrop on the conversation. "I want to talk about the unfriendly visit you had today."

"Do you need to talk to me now? I have to finish up some things here."

"It can wait. Mainly, I just wanted to see how you were." Paige smiled. "I'm glad you're safe. If you need me, you know the drill."

"Thanks, Paige," Lena responded, smiling back. "I'll let you know. I should be done soon." She stepped back and closed the door.

Paige turned to leave. Suddenly, she gasped and stopped dead in her tracks, grabbing her upper arm in pain as a woman's frantic cry for help reverberated through her mind.

"Oh no," Paige said in horror. Sally was in trouble.

She looked quickly around, saw no cameras or people in sight, and orbed out as fast as she could.

(X)

This was the first time Paige had orbed into an alley since morning; it was now afternoon. She spotted Sally writhing in pain on the ground, an arrow protruding from an upper arm. Paige ran to her.

"Well, well. Look who's back," came Malox's sneering voice.

Paige skidded to a stop as she saw the black-clad Darklighter standing near-by, crossbow in hand and loaded with a deadly arrow. She bit her lower lip. Sally desperately needed healing, but Paige had to buy herself time. She couldn't risk the Darklighter's arrow coming at her, especially since she couldn't even kill him with one.

"I'll get you too, Whitelighter!" Malox threatened, raising his weapon to shoot.

"Will you now?" Paige challenged him. Seeing an open Dumpster, she waved her arm in Malox's direction. "Darklighter!"

The startled Malox was engulfed in a white orb cloud. Paige hurled him at the Dumpster, but only managed to slam him into the side of a building. He landed on the ground, reforming.

"I think I need to work on my targeting," she said ruefully to herself.

Sally's moan reached Paige and she rushed to her. "Arrow!" she called, extending an open hand. The projectile swirled out of Sally's arm in glowing white light to materialize towards Paige's grasp, but she threw it to one side before it can touch her. Paige knelt next to Sally, and placed her hands over her charge's wound. The golden light from Paige's palms bathed the ugly injury, which closed and healed without a trace. Sally's facial expression became more relaxed as her pain disappeared under the ministration.

Suddenly, Paige heard the Darklighter get to his feet, followed by the sound of an arrow being pulled from its quiver. She turned to see Malox take aim and fire his crossbow. She grabbed Sally and swiftly orbed them both away, causing Malox to miss his targets.

The Darklighter cursed in frustration. He walked over to where Paige had thrown the first arrow, picked it up, and smelled Sally's blood on it. "So close," he muttered. He exited the alley in a sinister cloud of darkness.

(X)

Paige and her charge came out of orb in the middle of the Mitchell apartment living room. Panting, she stood up and helped Sally off the floor and onto her feet.

"Are you okay?" Paige asked.

Sally nodded gratefully. "I'm fine now, thanks to that marvelous healing ability of yours."

"Paige? Is that you?" called Henry from their bedroom.

Before she could answer, he stepped out, dressed in a white t-shirt and gray briefs. He stared at the sight of the surprise visitor. "Who's this?"

Sally turned crimson in the cheeks. "Oh, dear."

"Um, honey, go back inside," Paige said quickly, trying to defuse the awkward moment.

He retreated, as much out of embarrassment as well as obedience.

"Will you excuse me for a moment, Sally?" Paige asked over her shoulder as she followed Henry.

"Of course," replied her charge, giving a self-conscious smile.

Paige entered the bedroom to find her husband pulling on a pair of sweat pants. "I am so sorry, Henry, but I had to bring her here; a Darklighter attacked her. I'm going to cloak our place because I figure she'll be safer here."

Henry sat down on the bed and sighed. "Paige, I know you have a magical job to do, but I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me in on it. You're my wife and we're partners, so I'd like at least a little advanced warning if you're going to bring your work home."

Paige gave her husband an irritated look. "Can you not refer to her like she's a document I have to finish?" she said, folding her arms. "My charges call me at random, they don't make appointments for me to save them. There's nothing I can do about it if they need my help. Now, I need to cloak Sally before I go have a word with the Elders."

"The Elders? Why are you going to talk to them?" Henry asked, finishing his question with several coughs and sniffles.

"I'm going to ask them to lighten my workload. Chasing after two charges today caused me to start my day without brushing my teeth." She looked down at her attire and slapped her sides in frustration. "And I'm still in these damn pajamas. I should be grateful I was able to put my sneakers on to take out the garbage or I'd probably have glass in my feet."

Paige walked over to her bureau, opened a drawer, and pulled out a long black box with gold lining in it. She removed two crystals and placed them down in two separate corners of the bedroom. She then entered the living room, carrying the box with her. She smiled at Sally as she placed a crystal near the living room window and the front door.

"Okay," she told her charge, "the crystals have been blessed and programmed to hide you from Darklighters. As long as you stay here, you should be safe."

"But, Paige, I can't stay!" Sally protested. "I have to get back to the community center for the children's charity drive!"

"Sally, please don't make me feel bad about protecting you. I'm sure the community center will be fine until I can vanquish that Darklighter, which I plan on doing after I speak with my bosses. On the other hand, if you'd like to do me some charity, you can take care of my husband while I'm gone. He has a cold and needs attention, which I can't very well give him at the moment."

Sally smiled and chuckled. "All right. It's the least I can do for imposing upon you both."

"Thanks, and you're not imposing at all," Paige said. "I have to go." Her body transformed into a glowing column of orbs.

"Hurry back," Sally called as Paige orbed out of the apartment.

(X)

Normally, Paige would have gone to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge and call for her bosses, but there was no time to waste. She aimed for the very heavens themselves, where the Elders and other full Whitelighters resided, and she was off.

Her orbs flew upward into the sky, passing through clouds, but she had to use all her mental strength to hold a picture of the heavens in her head. Usually, orbing was instantaneous for Paige, but that was when she knew exactly where she was going. On this particular trip, however, she didn't, so she remained in orb and used her senses to search. When peaceful, quiet feelings washed over her, she knew she had arrived, and she came out of orb at that moment.

Paige's jaw dropped. "Whoa!" she exclaimed, her eyes going wide as she looked around. She wasn't quite prepared for the sight that met her. Filament-marble halls bathed in soft blue light, the place where she had materialized didn't look so much like Heaven as it did the interior of a huge building straight out of Ancient Rome; pillars rose up from the floor to support a towering, vaulted ceiling while a veil of cool mist extended throughout the majestic structure, flowing around Paige's feet as it did.

As she began walking down the hallway, Paige observed white-robed figures, their hoods pulled down over their heads so nothing could be seen of their faces except for a golden glow emanating from within the depths of the hoods; a number of them walked together in pairs, uttering clicking sounds as they went. These Paige knew to be Whitelighters. She didn't know what the clicking noises were for until she remembered that Leo had said this was how Whitelighters held private conversations with one another. A sort of Whitelighter-ese, as the late Prue Halliwell had called it.

Paige continued on down the hallway, a number of Whitelighters turning to stare at her as she passed them. Some recognized her as a Charmed One, where others looked at her as if she didn't belong there. She knew she didn't, but she also knew that she wasn't the first Halliwell sister to grace these halls. Five years ago, when Leo was helping Paige master her orbing skills, he told her the story of how he had broken all the rules by bringing Prue, Piper, and Phoebe to this very place to save Elders, Whitelighters, and witches alike from a particularly nasty warlock called Eames. After killing a Darklighter for his crossbow and a Whitelighter named Natalie for her orbing power, Eames had invaded the heavens to begin his murderous rampage by firing at the first Whitelighters he saw -- only to discover those Whitelighters to be the Charmed Ones in disguise. After using Eames's own arrow against him, the Halliwells had delivered the coup de grace with a three-part vanquishing spell.

Suddenly, Paige caught sight of gold-and-white robes as a pair of Elders emerged from the mists. As they drew closer, she saw two familiar faces. "Sandra! Odin!" she called. They turned as she trotted up to them, amazement registering on their faces.

"Paige, what are you doing up here?" Sandra asked in mild disapproval. "How did you get up here?" Her face then softened when she saw Paige's bandaged wound. "What happened?" the Elder asked in a gentler tone.

"A group of demons attacked one of my charges," Paige explained. "She and I fended them off, but not before they tag-teamed me with a shock ball."

Sandra removed the bandage, held out her hand over Paige's injury, and healed it in a shower of golden light.

"Thank you," Paige said, giving Sandra a grateful smile. "I have to speak with you both. I would've called you from Golden Gate Bridge, but this is urgent and sometimes you don't answer my first call."

Odin's face darkened. "If we don't, it's because we're busy. You should know that by now," he said sharply. "And why are you here in the first place? You know you're not supposed to be."

"Well, I didn't come for one of your little tongue-lashings, and I don't have time for it either," answered Paige as she glared at Odin. "One of my charges has a demon after her and another is being stalked by an upper-level Darklighter."

"Then take care of it," Odin countered. "You're a Whitelighter, Paige; it's why you have charges."

"That's my problem," Paige shot back. "I have too many! I'm so busy answering their calls that I barely have a second for myself or my husband anymore."

Odin looked Paige up and down, taking in her bedclothes. "I see," he said, smirking. "Couldn't find time to change?"

"Exactly!" she said. "I didn't have time to change into my clothes this morning, and I still don't have time to do it because a charge might call me at any second and that would risk me orbing out topless! I can't be super-witch, super-wife, and super-Whitelighter twenty-four-seven anymore, so I came here to ask you to lessen my workload. Can you?" The two Elders didn't respond. Paige looked at them and placed her hands on her hips. "Well, can you?" she repeated.

Sandra turned to Odin. "I think we should tell her. Don't you?"

"Yes," Odin said with a nod, after a moment's pause.

Paige looked from one Elder to the other, puzzled by the sudden change in their attitude and their words. "Tell me what?" she asked.

"It's about your destiny--" Sandra began.

"As a Charmed One?" Paige interrupted. "Sandra, in case either you or Odin didn't hear, my sisters and I won the Ultimate Battle two months ago. Are you going to tell me that there's now more that we have to do?"

Odin shook his head. "Not you and your sisters together, Paige, just you. Your destiny with the Power of Three for the most part has been fulfilled. It's now time for you to embrace your full heritage and a new destiny as the Power of One, the Witchlighter."

Paige stared at the Elders, taken aback by this sudden announcement. A Witchlighter? she thought in confusion. The Power of One?

End of Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hey guys. Thanks for reading. Please review as it would mean a ton for me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to hearing what you think about it. Let me know how you feel about length because I can go longer if you wish.

The Switchfoot song has been removed. I've been so inconsistent with getting songs to match chapters, I figured I'd erase that one. (Just a note for those who revisit the chapter and say "What the hell?")