Chapter 3

When the paramedics leaped out of the ambulance, a terrible sight met their eyes. A woman lay motionless on the ground, her shirt completely covered in blood. As the paramedics ran towards the lady, a man rushed out of the apartment that neighbored the alley.

The man explained, "I was the one who called it in. I looked out the window just as a man stabbed her with some type of sword. I went to call 911, and by the time I got back, the man was already gone."

Both of the paramedics nodded in surprise and rushed to the woman's side. Mike, the more experienced paramedic, put his fingers to her neck and hurriedly announced, "We've got no pulse. Doug, grab the portable defibrillator now."

As Doug raced to comply, Mike snapped on a pair on latex gloves and began pushing down on her chest to begin CPR. 1, 2, 3…. he thought as he carefully counted out the number of pushes before breathing into her mouth.

Doug returned with the defibrillator. He quickly spread the gel on the paddles and commanded, "Charge to 200." He placed the paddles on the woman's chest and watched anxiously as the current spread through her chest. He checked for a pulse and to his surprise, there was a very faint pulse. This woman's a fighter, he thought with a slight smile.

"Let's load her up and give her a transfusion. Call the hospital and tell them to prep an OR," Mike ordered. As he began to lift her, a wallet fell out of the woman's pocket. He opened it up and saw the name Paige Matthews.

"Where could she be? She should've been back by now," Henry worried aloud. Every time his wife went off to help one of her charges, he barely breathed until she came back safe and sound.

Piper tried to reassure him, "She'll be fine; she always comes out okay."

Just then, the phone rang forebodingly. As Piper picked it up, something felt…wrong. The man on the other end of the line almost immediately confirmed that feeling, "Is this Piper Halliwell?"

"Yes, it is. What's going on? Who is this?" the brunette asked with worry clearly running through her tone.

"I work at the hospital. Your sister, Paige Matthews, was brought in earlier in critical condition," the man said ominously.

Piper yelled, "What happened to her?" She nervously clenched her hand around the phone, her fingers tight with tension.

"I cannot discuss the details over the phone, but I assure you that our doctors are doing everything they can to save her life."

The moment the phone call ended, Piper began to slowly slide to the ground before Leo put his arms around her to keep her upright. She murmured to her anxious family, "Paige got admitted to the hospital earlier. The doctor said that she was in pretty bad shape."

Henry didn't say a word, and simply grabbed his keys off of the counter. He rushed out the door and was immediately followed by the rest of the Halliwell clan. All of them were worried for the optimistic, fun-loving witchlighter.

For a long time, Paige felt deprived of all her senses. Everything was black, and she couldn't even hear her own breathing. This lasted for what felt like an eternity. Although it was a bit frustrating, it did give her some time to think.

She was very confused as to why the Valkyries had taken her soul. Had they been the ones who had caused her death? she wondered. There had been that moment right before Sal stabbed her when she had felt some kind of shove that had stopped her from orbing. But if that had been them, why had they even wanted her in the first place? If they had needed a Charmed one, Piper was far more powerful and experienced than Paige could ever hope to be.

The thought of Piper brought tears to her eyes. She would never see her family again because of one stupid warlock and a clan of sword-toting Valkyries. Henry…she had finally found happiness with him, and now it was disappearing just as quickly. It seemed that it was impossible for her to ever stay happy.

Then, all of the sudden, she felt herself being forcibly pulled out from the bottle. When the world reappeared in front of her eyes, she was immediately weighed down with the stares of a dozen Valkyries.

At the sight of the group that had torn her away from her family, Paige flew into a rage, "How dare you help a demon kill me? I thought you were supposed to be forces of good and instead you're killing off good witches!"

Freyja, surprisingly, remained calm while she answered, "The battle between good and el has begun, and we needed more firepower. We were afraid that evil would overcome us, which would result in the end of all good. You are a witchlighter who can aid us greatly with your advanced sensing, orbing, and witch powers."

Paige paused in her rampage for a moment to look up in surprise, "The war started?"

Freyja nodded, "We sent out the first troops a few hours ago."

"Why didn't you just ask me and my sisters for help? We would've come," Paige asked.

"Because the place where the battle is taking place, the Elysian Fields, is made so that only the Valkyrie, their warriors, and evil can enter. This was determined long ago, when the final battle was first prophesized. You would've never left your family," Freyja answered.

This stunned Paige for a moment before anger took over, "You had no right to make that choice for me! You tore me from my family." The furious witch dove at Freyja and punched her directly in the face. The Valkyrie retaliated by swinging her fist into Paige's nose. There was a crack, and blood gushed out of Paige's nose. Freyja then kicked upwards into Paige's stomach. Paige let out a gasp as she struggled to regain her breath. She stepped backwards away from the warrior and covered her bleeding nose with her hand.

Freyja turned around and instructed Mist and another Valkyrie, "Take her to the holding area, until she's ready to cooperate." With those words, Paige felt her hope dissipate - this meant that she was truly never returning home.

AN: Thanks for reviewing the previous chapter! I apologize for my lack of medical knowledge in first part. Secondly, in case you're wondering, they were able to bring Paige's body back to life because her soul being gone does not equal permanent death if her injuries are not deadly enough. Her body can still be kept alive. I'll start writing the next chapter after 3 more reviews.