Author's Note: Hi everyone.
First off, let me start by offering my apologies. For anyone who is/was interested in the continuation of this story, I'm really sorry I've waited so long to get back into updating it. I have been back a couple of months now but just couldn't get over the writer's block as quickly for this one. I have updated my other story with a few chapters and one more should be coming out before my "big move." Yup, lol, I'm moving again in the coming weeks so things have been rather busy and hectic again. We've found a better living arrangement, as the fire just kicked us out of our old home so unexpectedly, we had to go where we could in the beginning. Now that things have settled down a bit, we'll be going somewhere else.
Also, let me take the time to offer my sincerest thanks to all of you who left thoughtful and encouraging words over my situation when I needed to leave and stop updating my stories all the way back in March. I really appreciated it. :o)
And I'll conclude by letting any readers for ROTUK know that I'll be working on putting out at least one more chapter before the "move." After that, I'll pick back up with the writing again once I'm settled in. I've just been super-busy with planning the move that I'm behind on finishing it because I started working on this story and new chapter first.
Now for the next chapter:
Chapter Three: The Scattered Agenda
"Wait. Let me get this straight?" Phoebe's voice carried from across the living room couch, where she now sat, trying to recount the unbelievable story just told to her by Prue. "A half-lighter is a cross between a whitelighter and a darklighter?" She snorted, although not because she found it funny. "How the hell is that even possible?"
"I don't know," Prue answered the question honestly. "But now we know that they do exist out there somewhere. Which means they are very real, not to mention, they pose as a very serious threat to both whitelighters and Elders. And by extension to us."
Phoebe's laughed with a sarcastic edge. "Of course."
"Yeah, tell me about it." Prue sighed, a quick roll of her eyes affirming that she felt the same way as Phoebe did regarding the latest news.
"So then what?" Phoebe speculated further. "Are these half-lighters supposed to be the result of that generation 666 plan Leo told us about some time ago? Back when we were helping what's her name?" she strained her brain, placing her hands at the sides of her temples, desperately trying to recall the name.
"Daisy?" Prue immediately put out there.
"Yeah, Daisy," Phoebe snapped her fingers. "Although, wait a minute," she contemplated on second thought. "I thought she was a future whitelighter-to-be when Derek tried to seduce her over to evil. She wasn't even a whitelighter yet, right? Or am I missing something?"
"She wasn't," Prue agreed and then thought on it some more. "Which begs the question, how are darklighters even getting close enough to whitelighters to be in relationships with them, let alone producing offspring with them?" Confusion was etched all around and within the lines of her face. "I mean, I thought they were supposed to be able to sense each other out?"
"Uh-huh," Phoebe nodded. "I think our tracklighter friend over there needs to explain that one a little bit better," she smirked in Andy's direction. "Talk about really breaking the rules. And the Elders are worried about a good witch and a whitelighter?" she rolled her eyes, making light of Piper and Leo's situation.
Prue and Phoebe both turned their attention back to Andy, seeking a better explanation. However, he appeared distracted, pacing over the length of the floor in the living room, staring blankly into the space that was surrounding him. He had allowed Prue the honor of being the one to relay all the facts to Phoebe, the very same facts he had given to her only moments ago.
"Andy?" Prue pushed, calling out and breaking him from his trance.
His concerned expression shifted back in the direction of Prue as the sound of her voice resonated with him. Although, during the last several moments, he had managed to completely block out most of what the two sisters had been discussing with each other and trying to sort out.
"Huh?" he threw back their way.
Prue and Phoebe shared a quick look.
"Whitelighters and darklighters?" Prue asserted. "How are they getting together?"
Andy pulled himself away from his thoughts. He dropped the deeply, contemplative demeanor and then headed back over towards the chair. He took a seat across from Prue and Phoebe, who were both seated on the couch next to each other. Then for a split second, he made direct eye contact with his former love. Enough time had passed for them to at least get over the initial awkward feelings of from his sudden and unexpected re-entrance into their lives. However, that didn't mean that all the awkwardness had vanished. Even though they had been sharing 'space' for a little while now, both could still feel the intense sparks and heated energy that lingered in the air between them. Prue was still settling into the idea of seeing Andy walking around again. It was strange, while his sudden reappearance felt surreal, it also felt like the most natural thing in the world to her. Almost like things were finally back to 'normal' after this whole past year. His presence was so familiar to her, it was like he had never left at all. However, when he would make any eye contact with her, those nervous butterflies would jump to life in the pit of her stomach.
"The Elders don't know how it happened, they just know it did," he answered them honestly, quickly breaking all eye contact with Prue. "But that's where I come in, " he clarified. "And others like me. To find out."
Phoebe narrowed her eyes, wanting a more thorough explanation behind this new destiny he apparently now possessed. She waited a few seconds, hoping he would offer more insight into this. When he didn't, she spoke up.
"Yeah, uh, speaking of that, I'm a little confused. How is that you're different from a whitelighter again?" she asked. "I mean, whitelighters can sense and track darklighters because they are their evil counterparts. So I'm still trying to understand why they can't just find these half-lighters ... whatever they are, themselves?"
She made a face.
Andy sighed. "Well, for starters, whitelighters are usually pacifists by nature," he elaborated for them. "That's why their job is to guide and assist their charges, not really to go into any type of combat. That's what you do, and other charges like you, but as a tracklighter, I'm different. Not only do I retain all the abilities any average whitelighter would have such as healing, sensing, and orbing but I can also track and kill. With my own crossbow. Something a whitelighter wouldn't normally do and something a whitelighter doesn't even have," he explained.
"Crossbow?" Prue questioned. She was curious about that. "Like the ones the darklighters already have?"
Andy nodded. "Similar," he answered her. "But a little different. I'm not immune to the poison of darklighter arrows, just like your average whitelighter wouldn't be; however, I am immune to the poison my own arrows carry. But normal whitelighters could have an adverse reaction if they ever came into contact with one of them, just like they would with a darklighter's arrow. The poison from my arrows is basically like a special cocktail blend of what would be needed to take out a whitelighter and a darklighter combined."
"Oh. So then you're like a special task force for Elders and whitelighters?" Phoebe cracked, a small smile spreading across her lips. "Can't really say that I'm surprised?" she teased him, although, half serious at the same time.
"Phoebe!" Prue scolded gently, a small smile spreading across her own lips.
Andy smiled too, before responding back. "Sort of. I guess that would be the mortal equivalent to what I do now," he surmised, thinking about and then comparing his new role as a tracklighter with that role from his former days in the mortal world as an Inspector.
Prue sighed, quickly turning serious once again. "So, I guess that clears up how and why you can stop them but average whitelighers wouldn't be able to. But the only question I have left is why can't whitelighters sense or track them? Whitelighters have the ability to sense darklighters already."
"Because we're pretty sure it has something to do with them being 'hybrid' instead of just being one or the other," Andy explained further. "It confuses things. Somehow, this dual nature they possess provides them with a unique ability to cloak their darklighter half while in the presence of other whitelighters. It's dangerous because they can appear completely normal to other whitelighters. And I will assume that the same can be said for them if they wanted to block the whitelighter side of themselves in the presence of the Underworld."
"Great," Phoebe sighed, giving a quick roll of her eyes. "A supernatural shield that gives them the best of both worlds."
Prue quickly agreed with that one. "No kidding. Just imagine all the damage they could do if they really wanted to take over up there," she indicated with a nod of her head towards the ceiling, making reference to the realm inhabited by both Elders and whitelighters alike. "They can just come and go as they please and ..." her voice suddenly drifted off as an overwhelming feeling of dread overtook her. Her thoughts shot to their missing sister.
Prue's eyes widened meeting Phoebe's. A sudden fear resignated inside of both sisters as their minds were suddenly running rampid with the same exact thoughts. Both of them continued to look at each other, the same expression held firmly in place. Unfortunately, the conclusion just seemed to fit.
"Piper?" Prue threw out.
"And Leo?" Phoebe followed suit, nodding her head in agreement because she had reached the same conclusion. "Oh my god!" She lept up from the couch.
Could all this new information really be connected to Piper and Leo's unexplained disappearance?
"Andy?" Prue addressed him with a sense of urgency and a dead serious look plastered across her face. "Does any of this have something to do with Piper and Leo and why they're gone?" Then, she too, rose to her feet quickly and began pacing. "It's been two months without a sign or word from either one of them and nobody has any answers. Piper left to go back up there with Leo. Up there!" she stressed again. "Have the Elders been keeping it from us?"
Andy slowly got up from the couch. The concern etched in her voice was very evident and the protective streak that had always been there, when it came down to one of her sisters and their safety, came to life. He couldn't blame her. Piper and Leo's whereabouts were a mystery and no one seemed to know how it was possible or where they had gone.
"Prue, look, I honestly don't have the answer to that," he offered her.
"Andy, come on?" Phoebe's voice pleaded in a serious way. "If you know more than you're saying, you have to tell us. This is Piper we're talking about. Our sister."
"Phoebe, I'm not hiding anything," he turned to address her, defending himself. "I've told you basically everything there is to know at this point. And it's not like I don't care about what happens to Piper too," he sounded a bit offended by the insinuation he thought he was receiving.
Prue sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "Andy, sorry," she apologized, opening them back up. "We know that you care about Piper. That's not what we meant, it's just ..." she paused to gather her thoughts and express her concerns more efficiently. "But it's possible, I mean, more than possible that it's connected somehow, right?" Prue asserted. "I mean, half-lighters can be conversing up there right now, pretending to be whitelighters, and you guys wouldn't even have a clue," she concluded strongly. "Piper and Leo could have run into trouble with them."
"Prue, anything is possible at this point, we just don't know anything for sure," he answered back, frustration evident in his own voice. He crossed his arms and sent her a strong and determined stare. His tone switched over from frustration into one that was laced with firmness. "But you need to listen to me and I mean it. I know you're concerned for Piper, I'm concerned for her. But do not try and get involved in this. You don't have what it takes to stop them, even if we knew for sure that they were in trouble because of half-lighters."
"Andy, you know I can't make that promise," Prue declared with just as much determination thrown back through her own words. "Not when this involves my sister and Piper's life might be on the line."
"Well, if you're not careful, your life might be on the line," Andy's voice rose a notch when he challenged her stubborn-ness head on.
Prue felt some of the unresolved resentment she still held towards him rising to the surface once again. She sent him her best cold glare. "Well, thank you, but see, I'm a big girl now. So I really don't need you coming here to the manor anymore trying to protect me. I can take care of myself." Her eyes then narrowed some more. "Not so sure the same can be said for you, though."
Andy just stared back - desperately trying to bite his tongue.
The tension between the two former lovers was building back up inside of the living room and Phoebe quickly moved to intervene. She stepped up closer, almost in between them, putting her hands up in the air and signaling to them that the impending argument needed to be stopped before it got out of hand with one of them possibly saying something they would regret later on.
"Alright, listen, obviously there's alot going on here and we're all on edge but can we not turn on each other because of it," she stressed. "Let's just cool down and then decide the best way to deal with these issues. One at a time," she stressed. "Like, starting with Melissa," she pointed out. "Who's been in that bathroom an awfully long time now."
Phoebe made a face and looked down at the watch on her wrist as the thought had suddenly dawned on her. Prue, on the other hand, just averted her gaze away from both of them.
"Fine," Prue interjected curtly. "You go check on Melissa while I go do some other checking of my own," she declared, turning around on her heels. She headed in the direction of the staircase. "I'll be in the attic, " she informed her sister.
"Prue?" Andy called out, instinctively taking a few steps to follow her but was stopped by Phoebe when he felt her reach out for him.
"No, wait, just let her go for right now," she advised him as gently as possible. "Let her calm down first, trust me. Let me just go check on Melissa to see what's taking her so long and to make sure she's all right."
Andy didn't move a muscle. He just looked over at her and nodded his acceptance.
"Okay. Be right back," Phoebe's faint smile followed her spoken words.
Andy's eyes followed Phoebe's retreating form as she left in the direction of the downstairs bathroom. After she disappeared from his line of sight, he stared back one last time in the direction Prue had departed to.
"Yeah, right," he let out a sigh. "Welcome back, Andy," he muttered to himself, turning back in the direction of the living room.
(-X-)
She was in a hurry to catch up but she hadn't been paying much attention when she suddenly slammed into a hard body now in front of her, blocking her path. It was dark outside and she was about several steps away from the manor. She had instinctively let out a loud scream.
"Melissa?"
The familiar sound of the voice calling her name immediately broke through her screaming fit, causing it to come to a quick end.
The adrenaline was still coursing through her body and the sound of her rapidly beating heart began to calm within the first few seconds she was able to identify the voice of the person standing before her. The young teenager visibly relaxed, closing her eyes and sighing out loud, after realizing that the unexpected collision course was met with someone who wasn't much of a stranger at all.
"Paige," the name passed through her lips. "You scared the s ..." but the young teenager didn't get the chance to finish the sentiment.
"Don't finish that sentence, please," Paige immediately intervened, putting an end to the colorful phrase that Melissa had intended to relay.
Melissa huffed. "Fine, whatever. What I meant to say was I didn't want you to leave me here by myself," she offered instead.
Paige smiled at the young girl. "Uh, yeah, sorry about that. I got a little ..."
"Freaked out?" Melissa finished for her, arching her brows.
Paige thought about it. "No, actually, I was going to say distracted," she settled on. "But, whatever." She glanced back over towards the manor, sighing, and feeling annoyed with what she felt forced to do. "Come on," she instructed, taking steps back towards the illustrious sized home.
"Wait, no, how come we're going back?" Melissa hesitated, her uncertainty made very clear to Paige. "I thought you wanted to leave?"
"Um, yeah, I actually really do. But unfortunately? We're stuck," Paige let out a sigh. "We really don't have another choice right now," she argued to the young girl. She stopped just in front of the cemented stairs and then turned back around, beckoning with her body language that she expected Melissa to follow her lead. "Well? Come on. What are you waiting for?"
Melissa crossed her arms defiantly. "Nah-uh," she declined and proceeded to shake her head with as much determination as she could muster. "The Addams Family in there," she nodded in the direction of the Halliwell Manor, "is a little too weird even for me. I say we run for it while we still have the chance."
Paige couldn't help the smirk that broke out on her face. "You've actually seen that?" she asked the teenager of the new generation. "For some reason, I don't believe you. Because that show is even before Paige time."
"Hey, I've seen the movies a couple times. Those aren't that old, you know," she stressed deliberately. "Not like you, anyway," a smug look suddenly covered the teenager's face.
Paige arched her eyebrows. "Hey! Believe it or not, kid, I'm not really that much older than you."
"I'm still not coming," Melissa stubbornly persisted, refusing to move from her designated spot on the sidewalk.
"Look," Paige groaned. "The last thing I want to have to do is go back up in there myself but we're stuck out here for miles and miles with no way back," she turned serious. "And if I don't get you back to the Center soon, before someone notices you're missing, we're both looking at a whole lot of trouble. I happen to need my job, okay?" she emphasized, nodding her head for effect.
Melissa's own reaction was to groan back in response and then roll her eyes in dramatic fashion before reluctantly giving in. She shuffled her feet against the sidewalk, making her way back in Paige's direction as slowly as possible. Paige moved back, allowing Melissa to take the lead. The young social worker-to-be followed behind at a close distance and as they approached the small porch leading to the front door, Paige remembered one last detail.
"Oh, yeah, and by the way. I left my purse back at the club. Without my car keys we aren't going anywhere!"
(-X-)
Cole sat at his office desk, continuously twirling a pencil around in between his fingers over and over again, in the same pattern and with the same frequency, without putting much thought into it - the only current evidence of his distracted state of mind. He sat with a blank stare, his look penetrating the space found directly in front of him. A big window, over-looking the big city skyscrapers found in San Francisco and the noisy traffic below, loomed before him. He sat with his back facing his desk.
Among his many thoughts, the one that plagued him the most was the witch:
Phoebe.
He had spent a considerable amount of time within her company during the past month, studying every inch of her, every inch of her life, of her sisters lives, and any strengths or weaknesses he could work to exploit. He had managed to successfully infiltrate the inner core of the Charmed Ones existence, penetrating the outside bubble blown up for the rest of the mortal world to see, and it was all due in part to the vulnerability of the youngest witch. Cole latched onto the mortal witch's desires, planning to take full advantage of them. The most prominent of those desires just so happened to be her willingness to take risks in finding that one true love.
However, there was also now a downside. His close involvement, in addition to the frequent contact with the intoxicatingly beautiful Phoebe Halliwell, had awakened a part of himself he fought to keep buried as Belthazor. But no matter how hard he tried to subdue it, extinguish it, those conflicting feelings for her would always manage to find a way to fight and reawaken deep within him. Her very presence, or rather, the mere thought of her within his presence, could distract him beyond the point of comprehension. Cole found himself inexplicitly drawn to the vibrancy that resonated from her care-free spirit and the thought of her full cherry-colored lips within inches of his own, brought chills up and down his spine. It was such a strong and forbidden attraction but one that was growing nevertheless. He acknowledged very quickly that if he wasn't careful he could be playing with fire.
Too late, he knew he was.
Cole had a duty to the Underworld, more specifically, to the Source. And then suddenly, without even turning around in his chair to look, he felt the presence of another inside of his office. It was an unwelcoming presence.
Her presence.
"What did I tell you about just dropping in here unannounced?" his cold, emotionless tone was directed at her. Then he spun around in his chair to face her. "Karen?" he called the half-lighter by name, staring at her with an expression that appeared just as emotionless as his voice had sounded.
"Belthazor?" she nodded her head in greeting. "It's nice to see you too," she mocked him back, a dark expression suddenly breaking out and covering her face. It was a part of that darker nature that was usually hidden away from mortals found in the outside world. But here, with him, there was no need for any pretenses and she didn't appreciate being dismissed in such a brusque manner.
"Nah-uh!" he quickly interjected in a scolding fashion. "It's Cole here," he corrected. He got up from his chair and walked around to the front of his desk, standing just a few feet away from her. "And I must say, if you insist on making these appearances in my office, without my knowledge or consent? Then I insist that you use the door like everyone else," he nodded in the direction of his office door. Next, he crossed his arms. "Now what are you doing here?" he immediately cut to the chase.
"What do you think I'm doing here?" she mocked him very openly. "The Source is becoming impatient."
Cole smirked. "When has he ever been known for his patience?" he cracked.
Karen Croft sighed, rolling her eyes in the process. "He wants his plan put into motion. Like as in right now. And I'm here to report back to him on the progress you've made. With the other witch. I believe her name is Phoebe?"
"Phoebe isn't your concern. She's mine," he snapped, in a tone that came across more defensive than he knew it should have sounded. Almost possessive or even protective in nature. "You handle your business and I'll handle mine. End of story."
The half-lighter snickered in response to his assertion.
"Yes, Cole. It seems like the witch has become more than just business," she taunted him. However, she then ventured further into an area that proved to be a mistake. "You've been spending way too much time with her as it is," she criticized. "There's been more than enough time to secure what is needed from you."
Cole advanced on the half-lighter, stopping short of being only within inches of her face. He glared at her quite menacingly. Suddenly, he lost control and his physical appearance shifted and transformed into the part of himself best known to most of the Underworld. The vile, red creature with the black, paint markings covering his face now stood in place of his human form. With one of his large hands, he grabbed for Karen's throat, encircling it in one swift motion, and squeezing in an attempt to persuade her through intimidation and force.
"Now you listen to me," he seethed with venom dripping through his words. "I work alone here. Which means, I don't report back to you or to anyone. My assignment, how I'm going about it, and when I am or am not ready is not of your concern. I'll be the one to report back to the Source when I've secured the witch. Are we clear with each other, half-lighter?" the demonic voice spat out at her.
Karen Croft absorbed the words but kept a defiant stance. She remained silent, didn't struggle; however, her narrowed eyes and icy glare were shot at him as she nodded her head in between choking sounds. Small coughs also managed to escape from her during the unexpected assault. Belthazor interpreted her silence and choking as submission. After pulling away, he stepped back and transformed into the human image of Cole once again.
"Good." He retreated back around to his desk and then sat down. "Besides, I think you need to be a little more concerned with how you're going to finish accomplishing things from your end, don't you?" his confident tone carrying over to her as he looked down to straighten out his tie. "For instance, Prue," he laughed. "Who, last time I checked, still appears to be walking around up here in the mortal world."
"We can handle Prue Halliwell!" she spat back in defiance.
"Really? While she is being paid visits by tracklighters?" he then slipped in the not so subtle admission of what he had discovered at the manor a short while ago.
"What?" Karen reacted with a look of distaste. Her face immediately paled, draining of all it's color.
Cole smirked, enjoying her discomfort at the news. He folded his hands inside his lap, leaning back in his chair.
"There was one at the manor earlier," he continued on. "Which begs the question," his face took on a serious, contemplative expression meant to mock her further. "How exactly is it that you plan on getting close enough to her now in order to do what you need to get done?"
The half-lighter looked worried.
"Because I'm guessing it'll only be a matter of time before that tracklighter, or another one just like him, tracks you down," he laughed at her. "Maybe you should take that back to the Source," he cracked, mocking her earlier inference that Cole's motives should be called into question. There was no need to report back to the demonic liege regarding his own dealings; however, hers on the other hand? He loved sowing the seed of doubt within her.
Karen began pacing, her backside now facing Cole. She started to think about what she had just come to learn recently, from the darklighter who had been working alongside the half-lighters. "If that's really true, then I'm afraid that's not the only problem we have," she opted to share.
"We?" Cole mimicked her. "No, no, no," he chanted in mantra. "See, we, don't have any problems. You; however, do have a problem. These tracklighters have been designed to sense and track your kind, not mine," he made his point very clear to her. "So, here's what I predict. I'll continue on with my own assignment and deliver to the Source as soon as I'm finished. As promised. You on the other-hand?" he paused and then let out a laugh. "Not really feeling so confident about. Which means, I have no doubts that after you fail, the Source will dispose of your kind and just have me pick up right where you left off," he sealed her doomed fate for her with a smug smile set in place.
Karen Croft turned around on him, a strong and intense glare flashing in her eyes. "There may be a fourth Charmed One that no one knew about it," she spat out rather suddenly and unexpectedly.
Cole was taken aback. A serious look took root. "What?"
(-X-)
Piper and Leo had spent what felt like hours going through the boxes scattered in the attic. They had found nothing to give any indication that the Halliwells had in fact descended from such a powerful line of magic. Even worse, they panicked when they discovered Leo no longer had access to his powers, much like Piper.
"Leo, this is just ridiculous. There's nothing in here at all," Piper let her frustration out, pushing the last box away from her and finally giving up. The attic was a mess, discarded items were found everywhere on the floor. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know. But we definitely need to start with finding your sisters," he settled on.
Both got up from the floor where they had been kneeling.
"How?" Piper protested. "What if they don't live here anymore?" she made it a point to stress once again. "We have no idea where to find them, let alone how to."
"Only one way to find out," he answered her. He shared a brief look with her and then headed in the direction of the door. Piper followed behind him.
However, there was then the sudden sound of a voice traveling up to them from the second floor. It made both of them stop dead in their tracks. With their bodies frozen in place, feelings of nervousness and uncertainty fluttered to life within each of them. This particular voice did not sound familiar. Any short-lived expectations of it being Prue or Phoebe were quickly put to rest.
"Hello?" the voice could be heard getting closer. "Piper? Are you home?"
Well, whoever it was, it definitely sounded like the person knew them or at least, they knew who Piper was. Both Piper and Leo backed up, reconsidering their decision to leave the attic.
"This really sucks," Piper vented through a whispered hiss. "I don't even have my powers to rely on right now."
They quickly looked around the attic, each one of them desperately looking to secure something to use in their defense should the need arise. Leo's eyes scanned the contents scattered across the floor and he quickly located a set of antique candlesticks sticking out from some newspaper inside of a box. Before the search, the newspaper had apparently been used to keep them protected in their place of storage. He bent over and pulled two of them out.
"Here!" he announced, handing one candlestick over to Piper as fast as he could. Piper grabbed ahold of it and then each one took a defensive stance, preparing for an impending attack by the intruder. They lifted the candlesticks high into the air almost above their heads.
"Piper, it's me," the voice now carried into the attic, bringing with it the woman the voice belonged to. "I ..." she halted her sentence and stopped herself abruptly. She had only made it a couple feet into the attic before being greeted by the peculiar sight in front of her. Her eyes darted around the room. "Uh ..." she stuttered. "Is everything okay?"
Piper and Leo glanced at each other, reaching the same conclusion and while communicating with a simple look in their eyes. This woman didn't appear to be a threat, but boy, in this precise second did they sure feel stupid for being wrong. Now they had placed themselves in the awkward position of having to explain. Piper and Leo glanced at each other, each letting out nervous laughs to cover up the embarrassing moment.
"Uh, yeah, sure. Uh-huh," Piper nodded her head, quickly bringing the candlestick down until it was hidden behind her back. Leo copied Piper's actions, and both of them plastered on a fake smile while shooting them in the direction of their unfamiliar guest.
"Sorry about that," Leo threw out a big, flashy smile. "We, uh, we just thought we heard something. "You can never be too careful," he tried to use as a quick cover-up for the candlesticks.
"A burglar," Piper quickly improvised. "We thought maybe we heard a burglar."
A confused expression washed over the other woman's face. "Didn't you recognize my voice? And what about the alarm system?" she inquired.
"Not working," they both answered the question simultaneously.
The other woman's eyes widened. "Oh. Right. So then you thought that waving two candlesticks around in the air, above your heads, was going to alert 911 instead?" She flashed a smile at them and then let out a peculiar but uneasy laugh.
Piper laughed, feeling some uneasiness of her own, while trying to play along. "Haha. That's very funny. We just, um, we thought ..." she trailed off, struggling for the right words to explain, but then Leo quickly jumped in to the rescue. She was feeling so on edge and it was making her sound stupid.
"Sorry, we couldn't hear you. Didn't know it was you," he quickly offered up, trying to imitate what one would consider an apologetic smile of sorts.
"And uh, listen, speaking of alarm systems, did I happen to leave the door unlocked while I was downstairs? I'm assuming that's how you were able to let yourself in." It didn't hurt to be too careful, Piper reasoned. What if she really was a demon, or worse, had something to do with how and why they got here?
Another peculiar look crossed the woman's face.
"Uh, no," she stammered out slowly. She pulled the key from out of her pocket and then flashed it in the air for both of them to see. "You gave me a spare key last summer, remember? When you went on vacation and I house sat for you. You told me that I was free to use it any time I wanted and that I could just let myself in. Did you want it back?" the hesitant question came next.
"Oh no," Piper quickly waved it off. "If I gave it to you to use, I'm sure there was a good reason for it," she brushed off. "But listen, uh ..." she pushed for a name, squinting her eyes in the process. "Um ..."
"Susan?" the woman put emphasis on her name, feeling completely baffled by what she considered to be an extremely odd display of behavior. What was going on today?
"Right, Susan!" Piper exclaimed with a bright smile. "How are you doing? Yeah, look, I'm sorry for the weird reception but I've just been a little scattered this morning," she tried desperately to sound as convincing as she could.
At the same time, Piper's mind quickly shot somewhere else. If this woman really was just a friend, she wondered if perhaps Susan could hold some answers to the whereabouts of her sisters. The only thing, though, how would she break into that conversation without making herself appear any more suspicious to the woman than she already did?
"It's not a problem," Susan replied. "I just stopped over because you weren't answering your phone and I wanted to let you know that dance class was cancelled for today. The teacher came down with the flu so you didn't need to drop Melinda off."
Upon a more careful inspection, Susan noticed the physical changes.
"Hey, did you guys do something different with your hair? You both look ... different," she settled on.
"Um, yeah, actually we kind of did a little something ..." Piper stammered some more of her words, exchanging uneasy looks with Leo, who also tried to play it off with more smiles and some quick talk.
"Right, we needed a change," he threw out after Piper.
Susan just continued to glance back and forth between the two of them. She nodded her head in response to their rushed explanation. For as long as she could remember knowing them, this just seemed a little weird. But she made it a point not to dwell on that for too long. It just is what it is, she reasoned.
"So, Susan. About Phoebe?" Piper began as casually as possible.
"Sure. What about her?" Susan smiled at the mention of the other sister's name. "Did you hear from her yet? Is she already back from Paris?"
Paris?
"Paris?" Piper repeated her own thought, only in a much calmer tone, as she pretended to go along with the flow of information. "Right, um, yeah we actually talked, for awhile and hey," she finally broke through the stammering, trying to act like she was enthused. "Wouldn't you know that when I finally got her on the phone, one of the first things she wanted to ask me about was Prue and how she was doing?" Her bright fake smile remained in place the entire time she spoke.
What the hell was Phoebe doing in Paris?
However, the shift in expression that crossed the other woman's face suddenly caught Piper's immediate attention. Susan's smile had quickly faded and her face resembled a mask of shock. Gone, was the friendly exterior that had graced the flow of conversation just seconds ago and now the woman held a very somber disposition. For the life of her, Piper couldn't figure out what it was that she had said to cause the woman to react in such a manner. Damn, had she inadvertently said something that had just gotten them caught out? She was suddenly worried. But the next few words ended up shocking Piper even more.
"Piper?" Susan appeared to tread on this next topic very cautiously. "You and Phoebe haven't seen or spoken to Prue in years."
(-X-)
Inside of the Underworld, the darklighter walked at a steady pace. He walked down a long path that twisted at odd angles and appeared to stretch on endlessly until merging into a dark and dismal enclove, covered in deep shadows. The linear pathway the broke out in front of him was shielded in between a number of paddle-locked doors that were found in rows on each side of him. It was a dark and dingy atmosphere, with a few scattered torches on the walls providing some light to lead the way. The smell of fear permeated in the space around them. Perhaps that was because the small enclosures found beyond the doors were being used to house their prisoners. Or to be more precise, prisoners belonging to the half-lighter clan.
The darklighter was accompanied by another. A fellow brethren but only in part. All similarities ended there and the darklighter made sure to remember that. His comrade beside him was in fact a half-lighter. They were a blended mixture of his nature and of that belonging to his immortal enemy, the whitelighter. This fact alone put the darklighter on guard because he knew these half-lighters had their own agenda, much like most of the demonic Underworld.
They're being kept in here," the half-lighter announced, approaching one of the locked doors with a key. "Is the Source ready to have them moved and planted inside the mortal world?"
"No!" the darklighter declared. "Not yet. We still haven't secured the other two sisters to finish the process."
"Then why did you need to come here right now?" the half-lighter turned on him.
"To make sure that you live up to your end of the bargain with the Source and his plan!" he sneered back at the half-lighter. "We may need to use another space to hold another witch."
The darklighter was very aware that the half-lighter clan had struck up an agreement with the Source. In return, they were allowed to keep their quarters in the Underworld and to continue with their affairs so long as it didn't interfere with the Source and his plans. Only, now, some of them were working in league with the Source to help bring his own plan against the Charmed Ones to fruition.
"Another witch?" the half-lighter's eyes narrowed. "What witch? Karen has told me nothing of this," he made reference to his fellow comrade, who was in charge of this operation connected to the Source's plan.
"Karen is busy working on securing the last two witches!" the darklighter bellowed. "But we've unfortunately come across another problem," he stressed. "And it needs to be dealt with immediately."
"I thought Belthazor was assigned to one of the witches?" the half-lighter threw back, confusion appearing on his features. "Karen was in charge of securing the last two. And we weren't informed about any other witch. Karen never mentioned it."
The darkligher interjected quickly. "Karen has been made well aware of this new wrinkle in the Source's plan. I've already made her aware of it. She's left it to me to try and figure out how to deal with it before we bring it to the Source's attention."
The half-lighter could be annoying with his incessant need to follow proper channels, through his own kind, before following through on anything that needed to be done. This unnerving trait had to be connected to the whitelighter side, the darklighter assumed, which was in direct opposition to a darklighter's true nature of anarchic proportions.
The first half-lighter had actually been created by accident here in the Underworld when a clan of darklighters had captured a whitelighter. Instead of killing him, they had attempted to infuse the whitelighter's blood with a darklighter's in the hopes of learning how to obtain their abilities and like-ness. The experiment was carried out in the hopes of achieving a way to infiltrate the realm of Elders and Whitelighters. However, after the merging of blood had taken place, the newly created half-lighter, a former darklighter, had changed, vanishing amongst the Underworld and taking the whitelighter with him. Rumors spread shortly afterwards that the whitelighter had eventually been killed. However, in time, others of his kind began popping up.
"Can you supply it or not?" the darklighter seethed through clenched teeth.
The half-lighter recoiled at the tone. "Of course we can supply it. But how do you plan on getting to the witch in order to get her here?"
The darklighter turned on his heels. "I'll worry about that."
(-X-)
Huh?
That was the only word that ran through Piper's mind in the few seconds that followed the other woman's revelation.
"Huh?" Piper found herself putting a voice to her thoughts.
It was the only word that Piper's mind was able to throw out at her when she heard this friend Susan tell her that she hadn't seen nor heard from Prue in years. Also, not just Piper, but apparently Phoebe as well.
"Has that suddenly changed?" Susan pushed further, her curiosity piqued.
However, just as Piper was about to push for some much needed answers, the tension felt in the air was broken by the light-hearted banter and giggling of two little girls making their way inside the attic. Rebecca, or Becky, as the other little girl was usually called, stopped near her mother. Melinda, on the other-hand, ran up to her mother, throwing her arms around her waist for a big hug.
"Mommy?" the little girl addressed Piper excitedly. "Auntie Susie says that if it's okay with you, I can have a sleepover with Becky tonight. Because we didn't get to dance today and there's no school for us tomorrow. Can I? Can I?" she pleaded.
Piper looked down at the little girl, then over to the woman named Susan and her daughter. Then she looked back to Leo, who just shrugged his shoulders in response to what was happening around them.
"Please?" Melinda begged some more.
"Um, sure," she let out hesitantly. "Why not?" she enthused for her little girl's benefit. She honestly didn't know how she felt about the situation. Could she really trust this woman? Did her future counterpart?
"Yay!" Melinda jumped up and down excitedly. "Thank you mommy, thank you." She hugged her mother again and then ran back over to meet her friend, who was seen rejoicing at the news as well. The two little girls then went to make their retreat from the attic and the three adults were once again left standing alone.
"Um, if you want me to go and help her pack, I can do that for you?" the friend named Susan offered, while pointing over her shoulder. "I mean, I wouldn't mind ..." her own voice now filled with uncertainty from the strange encounter the three of them had just shared. Her eyes quickly scanned the messy condition of the attic with boxes and tons of its former contents cluttering the floor. "Besides, it looks like I just caught you two in the middle of something important."
Leo followed the direction of her eyes. "Oh, that," he laughed it off. "You know, just some spring cleaning." His bright smile was thrown her way on purpose.
"It's the middle of October," she shot back at them, shaking her head a little bit.
The smiles on both Piper and Leo's faces dropped.
Susan closed her eyes, shaking her head more urgently. "Uh, yeah, never-mind," she waved it off with her hand. "Just remember, next weekend, is the annual fund-raising dinner to help raise money for the kids costumes. We need to put anything we earn aside into our collection for the recital at the end of the year. Don't forget to be there. It's still being held on the ground floor at the dance studio. I know you volunteered to cook and I know that things can get distracting around here so I just didn't want you to forget ..."
"Wait, I did?" Piper's eyes widened in response to the surprising news that she was expected to prepare some type of meal for an unknown quanity of people related to her daughter's extra-curricular activity. She quickly remembered to cover up. "Oh, right, I did. Not a problem, thanks for reminding me."
"Sure. Uh, listen, I'll have Melinda back home before dinner time tomorrow night, is that okay?" she started to back away in the direction of the attic door.
"Fine," Piper indicated with her smile and a strong nod of her head. "Bye. I mean, bye, Susan," she remembered to throw her name out there last minute.
After both of them were pretty sure that their unexpected guest was out of sight and out of earshot, Piper immediately turned to confront Leo. Loud sighs escaped from the two of them and deep intakes of air immediately followed as the two of them had fought to restrain the release while in the presence of Susan.
"Okay, Leo, this is turning into a freaking nightmare," Piper vented, bringing her hands up to rest against her forehead. "I can not believe this is happening."
Leo reached out to pull her into an embrace. "We're going to figure this out," he attempted to soothe her as best he could given the cirumstances. "And at least we know where Phoebe is and Prue can't be that far away."
Piper pulled back and looked up into his face.
"No. I mean, I can't believe that I'm being expected to prepare and hand over a full course buffet by next weekend," she cracked. "That takes alot of time."
Leo's eyes widened in surprise.
(-X-)
The doorbell rang, followed by an incessant knocking against the door.
"Coming!" Andy shouted out.
He approached the front door and after he opened it, he was greeted by the sight of the young woman who had darted out of the manor not too long ago, alongside Melissa. She was the same woman from the bathroom of P3 and he had saved her life. A look of momentary confusion graced his features as he suddenly contemplated how Melissa had ended up on the other side of the door with her. She was supposed to be using the bathroom. At that precise moment, Phoebe jolted into the foyer in a hurry.
"Uh, Andy, we've got a big problem. Melissa's not ..." however, her voice trailed off as she reached the front door. "Oh," she stopped just beside Andy. "Okay. I guess you're not in as much trouble as I thought. Someone here want to let me in on what's going on," she pointed between Andy, Paige, and Melissa. "And you, missy, I thought you said you just needed to use the bathroom?" Phoebe scolded the teenager, who then averted her gaze from Phoebe in a guilty fashion.
"I did," she admitted, while smirking. "I just needed to use the window too. After I was done."
"Uh-huh, right," Phoebe answered, rolling her eyes. "Not smart, kiddo. That darklighter could have come back for you. And then we would have had no way of knowing that you were in trouble."
"But he didn't," Melissa stressed back with clear defiance.
"Not the point," Phoebe matched her tone. "The point is you couldn't have known that."
Paige couldn't help but to roll her own eyes in response to Phoebe's lecture. "Look, this isn't a social call or anything," she finally interrupted. "The kid," she stressed back, "is my responsibility."
"Hey, I'm not a kid!" Melissa objected, folding her arms, and sending a less than pleased expression in Paige's direction.
Paige; however, ignored it. "It's just that we're stuck with no way back," she came across a little bit defensive. "And Melissa, well, she needs to get back where she belongs before everyone thinks she's gone missing. Again," she added with emphasis. "My car and my keys were left back at the club."
Andy nodded, stepping aside to allow them both entry back into the manor.
"Right," Phoebe sighed and acknowledged with a nod of her head. She ushered them inside.
"I can take them back," Andy readily offered his assistance.
The uneasy feeling overtook her senses once again as the young woman named Paige stood directly in front of her. That odd sensation of familiarity returned and a strange energy felt like it lingered in the air between them. After remembering it, she quickly contemplated why she had been the one to sense it earlier in the attic while Prue denied feeling anything at all. As she stood there observing Paige more closely, her distant body language told Phoebe everything she needed to know. This other woman had some obvious reservations. Reservations about them, about what she had seen earlier, and probably questions about what happened to her. In truth, Phoebe couldn't blame her either. However, almost instinctively, she tried to open a rapport with her.
"Listen, Paige. We're really sorry if any of this has scared you or even confused you in some way but it's very important that we can ..." but she didn't get to finish because Paige interjected very quickly.
"I'm not confused," she asserted quite forcefully. "I know what I saw, I just don't like what I saw. Big difference," she readily volunteered. "But it's not really a discussion I'm into having because the only reason I came back her was find myself a way back. To get my car. And to get my keys. End of story," she stressed, folding her arms.
Andy arched his brows. Some of her mannerisms and the stubborn streak she carried were definitely familiar to him. He began to re-assess his earlier suspicions regarding the young woman. She wasn't really a threat like he initially presumed, which meant she was genuinely looking out for Melissa's welfare. But he still sensed the presence of whitelighter traits emanating from within her.
Who was she?
"Andy will help you get back but first we need to know that we can trust you," Phoebe pleaded with her.
Andy stood on the sidelines silently, watching the exchange.
"You can't tell anyone what you saw, about who we are, otherwise it can bring us a whole lot of trouble. And then we wouldn't be able to help others like you. Or Melissa."
"Uh? Duh!" Paige mocked, rolling her eyes for effect. "Do I have stupid tattooed on my forehead or something?" She almost sounded offended. "Why would I tell anybody anyway? Aside from the fact that I would come across sounding like a complete and raving lunatic, who would actually believe such a story?" she tried to argue what she felt was logical.
Wonder if all this has anything to do with why their other sister is missing? Piper? Well, it's not going to happen to me, she thought.
"Alright, fine. But the fact still remains that you might be in some serious trouble ..."
"Phoebe?" Prue's loud voice, filled with panic, suddenly interrupted the conversation. The sound of it carried all the way down the staircase before she was even in sight.
All attention was drawn to Prue. Concerned and puzzled faces watched as she came racing down the stairs with the Book of Shadows held in her hands. Her quick strides carried an urgency with them and as she met up with the small group gathered in the foyer, she ignored the presence of the two outsiders. Then, she thrust the front cover of the Book in front of Phoebe in order to show her what had grabbed her immediate concern. Phoebe's eyes also went wide and then her eyes met with those of her sister's. She reached out to touch the cover.
"Oh my god, what happened?" her own voice sounded panicked.
Andy took a few steps in their direction. "What's the matter?"
The Triquetra symbol gracing the cover off the Book of Shadows was no longer united. The loops were divided and separated. Paige, who had also been standing in the background observing the odd behavior playing out before her, also stepped forward to take a closer look. The Book had managed to grab her attention, not because it was the center of the strange events occurring in the moment but because after she took a careful look at it, she recognized it as the same one from her dreams. Or rather, from her nightmares, the ones she had been having off and on for days now. Thinking back, she had been vaguely aware of it while Prue had been standing by it in the attic, just before she had taken off in such a hurry. She hadn't paid too close attention. But now, it mesmerized her. She took some cautious steps forward until she was in close proximity with the two sisters.
Andy and Melissa both watched her curious movements.
"Hey, that looks just like," Paige started to share as she reached out to touch the front cover with Prue and Phoebe.
Prue shot her a strange look and was tempted to pull the Book of Shadows away but felt restrained from doing so. Suddenly, everyone was startled by the unfolding events. Upon Paige's contact to the Book, the contact made by all three of the women, at the same time, resulted in a blue light shooting up out of the Book - from where the Triquetra was once formed.
"Um, whoa!" Phoebe jumped back, looking toward the ceiling with the others. "What the hell is going on?" she exclaimed, looking up.
The blue light then hit the ceiling and a sparkly halo of light reverted back down, enveloping Prue, Phoebe, and Paige. Paige was tempted to turn around and run but found she was restrained from doing it. After a few seconds, the shimmering of light finally coalesced and shot back down in a straight line into the Book of Shadows. The loops began to glow a bright red, shaking, until they began to move. Finally, they did and they reformed back into the Triquetra formation.
When it was finished, both Prue and Phoebe stood back in shock. Prue held on tighter to the Book of Shadows in her arms. They cast surprised looks at one another first and then they turned to stare at Paige.
"Okay. Who exactly are you?" Prue demanded to know.
Paige could only stare back.
To Be Continued: Thanks for reading. Please don't forget to review because it gives me some insight and ideas into what people think and whether or not people are still actually interested in reading it. Like I stated before, sorry for the long wait, but between everything that is going on in my personal life right now and the writer's block, it couldn't be helped. I'm going to pick back up with this story after the move is over.
Stay Tuned ...
