FEAR'S LABYRINTH
a Charmed fan fiction by Jennifer A. Johnson
DISCLAIMER: "Charmed", "The Charmed Ones" and other related entities are owned, (TM) and (c) by CONSTANCE M. BURGE, AARON SPELLING Television Inc (A Paramount / Viacom Co.), and The WB (AOL Time Warner Company). All Rights reserved. This website, its operators, and any content on this site relating to "Charmed" are not authorized by Aaron Spelling Productions. No copyright infringement is intended. Any reproduction, duplication or distribution of this material in any form is expressly prohibited.
ACT THREE.
Paige is up in the attic, flipping through the Book of Shadows. She had gotten Henry to come pick Leo up and take him back to their place, seeing as how her powers were all out of whack and she couldn't trust herself to be around him long enough to orb him there. Leo assured her that he had full faith in her and her ability to get him there safely and had tried to get her to have faith in herself. He almost had her convinced, but ultimately Barbas won out and she refused to be his cosmic taxi. So Henry had come and gone, with a slightly perplexed look on his face and a promise from Paige that she'd explain everything later. Leo had suggested she look up something called Chaos Magick in the Book of Shadows before they left, and so that's what she's doing- looking up Chaos Magick.
Paige turns the page. The next entry just happens to be the one she's looking for. Chaos Magick: the ability to walk into a room and make things around you explode, levitate, and fly everywhere. Often accompanied by electrokinesis, the ability to control, generate, or absorb electrical fields. It is a very rare, and very powerful, gift.
"Good times," she mutters. That certainly sounds like what happened downstairs, but--
"You don't want it."
Paige looks up. Prue seems to be studying her carefully. Paige suddenly feels very annoyed. Plus, her hair is all frizzy from the exposure to all that electricity downstairs. All in all, it hasn't been a good day. She slams the Book shut. "No. I don't." And she wasn't just talking about the new power, either.
Prue seems to know what Paige is thinking. Her eyes narrow, and her lips twitch. "Hmm."
Paige decides to distract her new sister with one of her rants. She paces the length of the attic, while Prue just sits there and watches. Five steps, turn. Five steps, turn. "The Elders thought our powers would advance with you here, okay, but this is ridiculous. We can't keep putting Leo in danger every time one of us has a girly mood. What happens when it's--" here she makes mocking air quotes "--our time of the month?" End air quotes. She stops her pacing to consider the ramifications. "My god, think of the massacre." Prue kind of frowns. "... Okay," Paige mutters and ducks her head. Clearly, Prue isn't used to her special brand of humor yet, so she decides to change the subject. "How's Piper?"
"A little freaked."
"You couldn't get her out of the basement, could you?"
Prue starts to say something, then settles for a simple, "No."
So the All Power Prue isn't so powerful after all, Paige thinks. Like the Man Behind the Curtain. She tells herself to wipe the smug look off her face. It doesn't work.
Her cell phone rings, making her startle and take out the nearest light bulb with a sudden burst of Chaos. She ducks away from the glowering Prue to take the call. "We'll be right there," she assures the person on the other end, then quickly flips her phone shut. She turns to Prue. "Phoebe's in the emergency room."
Prue leaps up. "Let's go!" Paige takes her by the hand and orbs them out of there.
---
Paige holds her hands over Phoebe's semiconscious body. She can feel all their eyes, boring into her back, as they watch her, expecting her to work her whitelighter mojo and heal her sister.
They had gotten Phoebe home all right; the doctors had insisted she stayed the night in the hospital, but she hadn't been unconscious then. Prue, being Prue, had talked them into releasing her into her care. Phoebe had been fine as they waited for the doctor to leave the curtained-off examine room so that they can orb, but so many people in pain, coupled with Prue and Paige's sisterly concern, finally pushed Phoebe over the edge. She lapsed into a state of semiconscious, neither wake, nor asleep. Except for the occasional moan or eyelid flutter, she hasn't moved on her own since. Coop had wanted to bring her home, to their apartment, but Prue simply overruled him and took her to the manor. Now, the entire Halliwell clan- minus Piper, Victor, and the boys- are crowded into Phoebe's old room, waiting for her to be healed.
Astral Barbas' voice taps into Paige's subconscious. "Shut up!" she hisses. "Oh, God. Please work," she begs her hands. She closes her eyes and whispers, "Please," again, then opens her eyes.
Suddenly, Phoebe moans. Her eyes roll beneath the lids, making them twitch. Paige jerks back, then leans in to get a better look at her semiconscious sister. "Did I heal ya?"
Leo's concerned voice floats over to her. "I don't think you can," he says softly.
"Why the hell not? I healed you, didn't I? And you were dead! Phoebe is not dead!" Paige exclaims, making another light bulb explode. Henry jumps behind her, then does a double take when he sees the damaged lamp.
"Phoebe's ailment isn't physical, Paige," Leo tries to explain. "It's emotional. As a whitelighter, you can only heal the physical."
"Enhanced power my ass!" The clock radio, the stereo, and the TV all explode at once. Henry startles again. Sparks fly. Smoke fills the room. Paige irritably blows her bangs out of her face. "And that keeps happening, why?"
"Your power comes from your emotions, Paige," Leo reminds her. "You know that. And so does Phoebe's. She has to learn how to channel her power. You all do. If you don't..." He looks down at the semiconscious Phoebe. It's pretty clear what he means. Phoebe moans again under the weight of all their concern.
"Get out of here," Prue says, her voice deadly calm. "Sisters only." The Charmed Ones' significant others obey. Henry hesitates long enough to wait for Paige. She finally follows the men out.
Paige stops just outside the door. She frowns. "Wait a minute..." She turns back to the room. She sees Prue move to Phoebe's side. She strokes Phoebe's forehead and leans in to whisper, "Don't die on me."
Prue senses Paige watching and stops. She looks up. She waves her arm. The door slams shut in Paige's face.
---
10,293. That's how many of those little spackle things are on the ceiling. 10,293. Paige counted them. Twice. She glares over at Henry, who seems to be sound asleep. "I'm glad none of this is disturbing you."
Paige slams her hands down on the bed. She rolls over and gets up. She goes into the living room and plops down on the couch. There is nothing in the world like late night infomercials. They never put her to sleep, but at least they kept her amused until daylight came. Tonight, however, all she finds are those annoying 'Girls Gone Wild' commercials. "Terrific!" Paige says in a sarcastically bright voice. She casts the remote aside and stands up. Maybe there was something in the fridge that could keep her entertained for an hour or so. Anything to keep the Fear at bay.
Suddenly, a pair of invisible hands slam down on her shoulders. She feels their weight there, though they lack corporeal form. The astral Barbas leans in real close and purrs into her ear, "Hello, Paige." His breath is hot on her face, and smells vaguely of rotting flesh.
"You're not real," she whispers. "We vanquished you."
"Yes. Yes, you did." He flashes out, then flashes in before her. "But you can't get rid of your fears. I'll always be here." He pokes a ragged nail against her chest, where her heart is beating rapidly. "And thanks to you and your delicious Fear, I'm almost strong enough to break free of the Hell you sent me to." He forces his toothy grin upon her. "So to speak."
She tries to run, but he appears in front of her. "Uh, uh, uh, let's check your Fear at the door." Barbas passes his hand in front of her face, then reads his palm. An evil smile wriggles on his face like a worm. "You're afraid that your sisters won't want you anymore. That they'll abandon you, just like everyone else. Isn't that cute?"
Barbas moves out of the way. Suddenly, Phoebe, Piper, and Prue appear in front of her. "Paige? What's going on?" Piper asks. They seem to be just as confused as their youngest sister.
She tries to go to them, but her feet refuse to listen to her brain. She remains frozen to the spot. Barbas leans in again. "Oh, the Fear paralyses you. I can't believe you forgot that."
A blue-white light descends from the ceiling, bathing Phoebe, Piper, and Prue in its brilliant glow. A whirlwind swirls around them, sweeping their hair off their shoulders. "The Power of Three will set us free," chant The Original Charmed Ones.
"No," Paige moans. Beads of sweat glisten on her forehead. Her breath comes in shallow gasps. Her heart pounds in her chest.
"The Power of Three will set us free... The Power of Three will set us free."
Paige screams. She dissolves into a cloud of ash that settles onto the carpet. "The Power of Three," Prue breathes.
The ground rumbles. Barbas' projection of The Original Charmed Ones vanish, and Barbas himself appears. He takes in his new surroundings. He throws his head back and spreads his arms to the ceiling. "I. Am. Free!"
END ACT THREE.
