Dark Lights Will Guide You Home Part 2

Piper dove over the sofa in Paige's living room, letting out an inaudible wince from the scorching flames that had singed her ankle as she jumped for cover behind Paige's couch. She looked up, stumbling slightly on her injured foot. Craig stood with his hand still raised; smoke billowing from his palm as an after effect from shooting fire. "I don't want to hurt you." He said, his deep voice cracked slightly as he spoke, lowering his arm from its offensive position.

"Then go back to wherever you came from." Piper said back, opening her fist as a potion fell from her sleeve and landed in her palm. She hurled the vial at her 'nephew's' chest, but the concoction only succeeded in creating a small combustion of cold blue fire on his torso, "That was the most powerful vanquishing potion we had…" She breathed, before collecting herself and throwing out her hand, using her geokinetic abilities to manipulate gravity and make it drag Craig across the room, pinning him to the wall with a suffocating crush.

"You can't vanquish us… You don't have the power…" He coughed out, obviously finding it hard to breath underneath Piper's gravity strangle hold. "There's only one way to truly get rid of us… And you'd never risk it." He smirked, holding the eldest Charmed One's stare as she advanced upon him, her hand still raised.

"I've spent the last hour beating the crap out of my nephews. What makes you think I wouldn't risk it?" She said darkly. "What's your se…" She trailed off as two people suddenly fell down the stairs, at a war with each other still as they tumbled down each step, somehow not even registering that they were falling down a flight of stairs.

Annabelle was the first to recover from the fall, rolling over from her lying position and delivering a solid punch to Sam's gut before leaping to her feet while the teenager groaned in pain. He glared at her, momentarily distracting the mercenary long enough to kick her in the ankles, bringing to the floor again. The two clamped on to each other's shoulders, Sam's physical strength easily greater than Annabelle's as they wrestled each other into a standing position.

The teen suddenly let go of his opponent, clenching his fist and throwing it towards Annabelle's mouth. The blonde stumbled back from the force of the punch, raising the back of her hand to her mouth to wipe away from of the blood. She bared her blood covered teeth to Sam, turning her head to the side and spitting out the crimson liquid to the floor, "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to hit a lady?" She growled, flying at her enemy and punching him in the jaw, causing him to stumble back as she had did, "Especially if you hit like a girl."

"You have no idea what I'm capable of." Sam growled, throwing out his hand from his side and releasing a bright burst of multi-coloured light that hit Annabelle hard in the chest. The blonde was thrown across the foyer, landing in the dining room and falling through the glass table in the process, smashing it with her person with a loud crash.

"Annabelle!" Piper shouted, letting go of her geokinetic grip on Craig and running to her friend. She stepped over Sam, who had now broken out into a sweat and was struggling to breathe, much like his female counterpart. The eldest Charmed One inspected the women lying in the bed of glass. Her face had been cut from all the sharp shards of material flying around, along with a large patch of ice and frost covering her chest. She was in no fit state to bail them out.

Craig knelt down beside his brother, shaking his head and sighing at the fact that Sam had been stupid enough to use his powers. Standing up, he raised his hand, a plume of deep red fire burning in his palm. Piper had her back to him as she lifted Annabelle into a sitting position. He could take her out and finish this. He had fought his aunt three times in the past hour, always with the same result; he had the chance to break that tie…

But he didn't, "Halliwell Manor!" He boomed, gesturing towards the two women with his free hand and enveloping them in a cloud of black and purple orbs that carried them up through the ceiling and away from the battle. "Sorry, Dad…"


Phoebe grabbed a golden tassel from the top of the Book of Shadow's spine, bringing it down in the page she looking at and using it the bookmark. She closed the tome over, the silver triquetra shimmering in the soft light of the attic. The middle Charmed tenderly run her hand across it, letting out a sigh, "Give me strength…" She groaned, before picking up the ancient book and carrying it towards the door, heading downstairs.

She made her way down, looking into the living room as she descended. Piper sat in the love seat, a white glow being cast over her from Leo's hands as he repaired her superficial wounds. Her ankle was relieved of its burn, and the stitching of her jeans began to knit back together, completing the process. "You okay? You seem to come back even worse every time you go after the twins." Leo asked kindly, stroking the side of his wife's face in concern.

Piper raised her hand, gripping his in hers gently and giving it a squeeze, "Yeah, I'm fine; although I think those kids both need a serious grounding. In what reality is throwing fire at your aunt thought to be acceptable behaviour? Paige screwed up royally as a parent wherever those two came from."

"Yeah, well, I'd rather take the flame thrower any day. The other one fights dirty, and I'm sick of having my teeth knocked out for the third time tonight…" Annabelle growled, her mouth twitching uncomfortably.

"It sounds like you gave as good you got." Phoebe smirked, setting the Book of Shadows down on the living room table and opening it up at the page she had marked, "I think I found the power that one of the twins hit you with. Was it Sam? Or Craig?" She asked, looking up at the two women for confirmation.

"I think Craig is the one that can use his powers, so it would be Sam, as he started sweating as soon as he threw Annabelle into that table." Piper informed her younger sister, attempting to look at the book from an upside down angle, "So, what power was it? I'm guessing it had something to do with ice?"

"You would be correct." Phoebe replied, beginning to read from the book, "Although it is extremely rare, it has been known for a witch's cryokinetic abilities to manifest in the form of lights. It was brought about when a coven in the Northern reaches would pray to the Aurora Borealis centuries ago, forming a pact with the mystical show of lights and drawing on its power through ice." The witch shrugged at the entry, "I guess it sorta makes sense… Mel and Emma have the whole 'light and dark' thing; these guys have a fire and ice deal going on…"

"So how do we get rid of them? We've went up against them three times with different strategies, and each time we get the same result." Annabelle asked, falling into the sofa with an eyebrow raised, "We've tried athames, our own powers, potions… Short of you guys doing your Power of Three thing, I think we're out of ideas."

Piper shot the idea down immediately, shaking her head, "No, we're not bringing Paige into this. Telling her that she has to vanquish her hypothetical sons would just open up a can worms which we should really just leave alone. Besides, what if the Power of Three didn't work? Then she'd have more time to sit with the information and maybe not even give us her full support."

"There's an extremely slim chance of the Power of Three being ineffective." Leo pointed out, "I mean, how many times have you proven that over the years? But I think you're right, Paige should be kept out of the loop. Who knows how she would react to all this?" He asked rhetorically, sitting down on the arm of the sofa.

"But she knows Hades is in her house. She's going to want to be around for killing his sorry ass." Phoebe replied, beginning to look through the book again with an angry sigh, "Why is there nothing on dealing with counterparts in here?" She growled, slamming it shut, "Useless…"

Piper shrugged, "Well, you know how that thing works. It something isn't in there, it'll appear as soon as we've learnt it, in beautiful calligraphy too. Like the limited info we have on our bald power stealer. Everything we know about him is in there…" She placed her hand gently on the cover. "What?" She asked, seeing Annabelle chewing on her thumb in thought.

"Nothing… It's just that Phoebe got me thinking when she said something about counterparts." She replied, her brow creasing as racked her brain for anything she may have seen in the book that could be useful, "Do you think maybe Melinda and Emma are the keys to vanquishing them?" She asked, moving to open the book before Leo pointed at her hand.

"How are you still bleeding? I healed you. Are you alright?" He asked, frowning at the smattering of blood all over the back of the mercenary's hand.

Annabelle looked down, tutting and shaking her head in disgust, "Oh, that would be from when I hooked your nephew in the face. I don't think you're powerful enough to return this blood to his gums. He totally deserved it too; something tells that kid didn't have many boundaries when he was little." She went to turn another page, before Phoebe suddenly lunged out and grabbed her wrist. "What are you doing?"

"Do not wash that hand." The middle Charmed One said firmly, "I think I have a plan."


"Just how sure are you that this plan is going to work?" Annabelle asked uncertainly, giving Phoebe a look as the middle Charmed One rubbed a poppet in the still moist blood on her hand. "We might be able to find a more full proof way to use this blood instead of just wasting it on a failed spell."

"I'm positive." She replied, grabbing a maker pen from the Book of Shadow's altar and drawing a female symbol on the side of the poppet that wasn't covered in blood. She laid it down beside another doll, which had been blessed and marked in the exact same way, "With the boys having so much in common with Melinda and Emma, these poppets will call to the teen versions of the girls from time and space. All we need to do is focus the aim of a desire spell. It'll bring them into our time so they can deal with Sam and Craig themselves."

Piper stood at the copper potion pot, throwing in the ingredients that Phoebe had instructed, before pausing, "Uh… Pheebs? I'm not sure if we have any dragonfly wings left. Could you take over stirring duty while I go check the kitchen?"

The middle Halliwell sister, turned around, biting her lip, "Um… I probably shouldn't." She replied, gesturing towards the smoke and steam brimming over the side of the pot, "It's just that second hand smoke is just as dangerous as smoking a cigarette, and I…" She trailed off, closing her eyes slowly and sorrowfully.

"I'll take over." Annabelle quickly jumped in, walking past Phoebe and taking the spatula from Piper, "And I'm pretty sure we still have some dragonfly wings left. They should be in the cupboard to the right, the one under the toaster." She replied, beginning to stir as Piper walked off towards the door.

"Wait a minute!" Phoebe shouted, narrowing her eyes at a jar in the dresser on the far side of the attic. She walked across, grabbing the jar and cringing at its contents before turning around with an eyebrow raised, "Dragonfly wings… Lots and lots of them…" She murmured, giving Piper a questioning glance.

The eldest Charmed One hesitated for a moment, before breaking out into a bout of nervous laughter, "Oh! Silly me! I completely forgot about those…" The volume of her voice got lower as she spoke, along with her confidence, "Let's just drop these in, shall we? You got the spell ready?"

"Yeah." Phoebe replied, picking up the blessed poppets from the table and walking towards the smoking copper pot, her steps getting smaller and smaller as she neared it, before taking in a breath and striding confidently the rest of the way.

Piper took the spell from her sister, laying it down in front of them before taking a poppet for herself and gripping Phoebe's hand in hers, beginning to chant together, "Figures of desire, we free you here… Dance in flames, go far and near…" They both dropped their poppets into the pot, causing the amount of smoke blooming from the cauldron to intensify, "Grant us now, bring to this place… What we summon through time and space…"

There was a bright flash, before a massive cloud of swirling white lights appeared in the centre of the room. It was the biggest culmination of magical lights that either witch had seen, making them feel a little apprehensive at the raw power in the air. The duo squinted through the brightness, trying to see what was happening within the wall of magic that was spinning like a tornado in the attic. It was after around a minute when the lights began to slow their spinning. The harshness of the light began to fade, along with the globes themselves, leaving the two Charmed Ones with something a lot more than they had expected. Four figures stood on the rug in the attic, three of which the sisters recognized, there was another that was a complete stranger.

Melinda stood with her dark green eyes darting around the room. She clearly realized that she had been summoned, unlike the last time. Her long, blonde hair seemed was tied back into a ponytail, revealing thin layer of dark brown hair that was normally hidden underneath her more dominant colour of hair. Low riding jeans revealed the top of a red rose that sat just next to her left hip bone, while the white tank top she was wearing almost reached the top petal of the floral tattoo. "What the…?"

Emma couldn't have been more different to her twin sister if she tried. Her curly blonde-brown hair fell down her back, hardly even reaching her shoulder blades. The green of her eyes stood out fiercely against the light smattering of jet black eye shadow that made the area around her eyes seem even deeper. Her baggy jeans scraped the floor, only leaving the toes of her white sneakers visible while the teenager fidgeted with her hands underneath the long sleeves of her black blouse that dipped down the centre of her torso, just leaving enough to the imagination, "Aw, crap…"

Faith looked the most calm out of all four figures. She casually surveyed the room with warm, brown eyes. The tanned complexion she got from her father seemed to fit with the black jeans that she wore, although they weren't nearly as low as her older cousin's. What she was wearing on her top half was covered by a brown suede jacket that was zipped up or her neck. She looked at the two witches with a bored expression, moving a strand of dark brown hair away from her face in the process, "Ugh… Now what?"

It was the forth that had everyone stumped. She, unlike the other three, wasn't dressed for a typical night out. She was dressed her pajamas it seemed, her blue eyes wide with fear as she stared at the strangers through her sophisticated pair of spectacles. Her pajama top had a large imprint of a cartoon cat, and nothing was on her feet. The girl dropped the glass of water in her hand, looking around from side to and causing her glossy, deep red hair to switch from shoulder to shoulder, "What's going on?"

Piper frowned at the girl for a few moments. She seemed so familiar, as if she had seen her in a dream or far in the past. It annoyed her that she couldn't figure it out, as the girl had clearly been called by the spell for a reason, and she didn't see how summoning a stranger would help them. The eldest Charmed One pondered over the possibilities for a few more seconds, before her eyes widened in realization.

"Lorna!"


Paige took in a deep breath as she inhaled the clean air around her. She looked towards the glowing city of Atlantis, the floating street lights hovering through every alleyway and avenue that could be taken by anyone in the kingdom. It was a little cold, she thought, wrapping her arms around herself before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She flinched in surprise, turning around to see her husband facing her. "Hey."

"Hey…" Aidan replied, walking towards the edge of the balcony, his hand brushing down her arm in the process. He turned around so his back was facing the city that he ruled over, so he could look Paige in the way. The elemental folded his arms, sighing, "So… Who's going to be the first to break the silence?"

The witchlighter smiled sorrowfully, walking over to the railing and delicately placing her hands on the turquoise metal, running her hand across the pattern etched in the material, "I don't understand how you can be angry at me for something I had no conscious control over." She finally admitted, "I mean, I would think that our two daughters would be proof enough that you won." She spat sarcastically, biting her lip in frustration.

"I know… I don't understand either." Aidan replied, shaking his head as he looked down, "It's just that we've been through hell and back to get to where we are now, and this feels like some black cloud hanging over everything that we've worked for." He tried to explain, still staring at the floor.

"And all the crap that you did doesn't put a few blotches in our fairy tale?" Paige asked sourly, "Do you know what I was feeling when I found out that I was pregnant?" She whispered, looking down at the castle walls, "At first, I hoped to God that the test was wrong, and that I wouldn't need to go through it alone… But do you know what was going through my head right after that? I thought that if the test was right, that I would want it, with every fiber of by being, to be your child. Not some darklighter that could only get me when I was evil!" She looked up at him, her lips pursed tightly, "And if you can't believe that, and that I love you, then I think we've wasted the last five years of both of our lives…"

The two of them stood in silence, before a small vibrating noise reached their ears. A channel of swirling particles came from the sky and flew in between them before coiling into a tornado and forming Annabelle. Her usually sleek blonde hair was a complete mess, "Christ! That is a lot of barriers!" She cursed loudly, before sensing the tension between the two people, "Am I interrupting something?"

"No." Paige said quietly, her voice cracking with just one word, "What is it?"

Annabelle looked at the two of them. Seeing that she had clearly came in at an inappropriate time, "Um… Piper and Phoebe sent me to come and get you. They need your help for… something. Just a little spell gone slightly awry… Nothing to worry about or anything."

"Um… Okay…" She croaked back, moving across to the blonde and taking her hands. "I'll be back later." She said to Aidan, "Just make sure Wyatt and Chris don't catch on, because they'll orb out of here and want to help…" The witchlighter warned, "Do you think you can get out the same way you got in?"

Annabelle sighed, mentally limbering herself up for the task of getting through the transportation barriers of Atlantis, "Sure, just hold tight and prepare yourself." She warned, gripping onto Paige's wrists tightly and vanishing in a flurry of particles that flew into the night sky, leaving Aidan with his thoughts.


"Useless boy…" Hades growled as he sneered down at his son who was lying on the sofa, recovering from the physical shock he suffered from using his powers. "What good was conjuring him when you seem to be the one that does all the fighting?" He looked up, glaring at Craig, who was sitting on the opposite sofa, his feet on the coffee table as he stared to the dark street, "And why did you help them escape when you could have easily killed Piper and the blonde?"

Craig looked down, turning the silver chain on his wrist over and over again, "You said you wanted to take out the Power of Three. If I had killed Piper, the other two would have come at us in an emotional rage that would have boosted their strength and destroyed us easily. I would have thought you of all people wouldn't want that to happen." He replied with a hint of venom, "Why you can't do your own dirty work is beyond me…"

Hades was standing over him in a flash, bringing his fist down hard on the teenager's cheek, "Don't you dare talk to me like that!" He hissed. "I conjured you, and I can take away that life just easily…"

Craig winced in pain, already feeling the skin beginning to swell, "How did you do that? I thought you were incorporeal…" He whispered, still nursing his cheek like a small boy as he looked up to his father.

"Like I said, I conjured you. You're bound to me, and it allows me certain privileges that I don't have with other humans." He grabbed Craig's chin, forcing him to look up at him, "Remember that the next time you think of giving me attitude…" The darklighter growled, moving back over to Sam in the same instantaneous way he had traveled before, "Now, let's send you back to the Void." He said lowly to the unconscious teen, "You're no use to me sweating on a couch…" Hades spat, raising his hand over Sam and preparing to reverse the ritual.

Thinking fast, Craig jumped from the sofa, "No!" He cried, causing his father to stop and look at him with frustration and confusion. He had to think of something, "Um… We're twins. Spiritually and magically bound… If you send him away, you'll send me away too…" He said meekly, "And then you're left to deal with the Charmed Ones your own."

Hades glared at him, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or not. He brought his arm back to his side, giving his son a doubtful look, before beginning to walk into the foyer, "Call me when he wakes up. I'm going to go and prepare the house for our guests." He warned, dissolving into a column of dark orbs that dispersed throughout the house, melting into the walls.

Craig let out a relieved sigh, sitting down on the coffee table and playfully hitting his unconscious brother on the arm. His voice began to crack as he spoke, a trait he got from his mother, "Don't worry, bro. I'm gonna get us away from him…"


"Um… Are you okay in there?" Piper asked cautiously as she sat on the edge of her bed. She turned around, still seeing no one at the doorway of her closet, which was why she jumped when Lorna's head suddenly came around the corner, smiling timidly before stepping out, fully dressed in a casual outfit of Piper's as she held her pajamas in her hands.

"Yeah, thanks for the clothes, by the way. Mine must be the most embarrassing time travel debut of all time." She smiled, noticing as Piper kept rolling her hands around each other and was blinking, "You're nervous, I get that. It's okay. I don't blame you for being nervous, I'm nervous too. I mean, why wouldn't you be nervous? Why wouldn't I be nervous? Maybe-,"

"Do you realize that you've said the word 'nervous' five times during that little ramble without even taking a breath?" Piper smiled, beginning to loosen up slightly, "Now, you see, this is what happens when you're raised by an overreacting martyr." She joked, sitting down on the bed. "So, what age are you? I mean, the last time we did this, Mel and Emma were nineteen, so have we taken you from the same time? Or…?"

Lorna thought the statement through a little before speaking, "I don't really know if I should answer that… I mean, future knowledge and all?" She smiled nervously a little, before narrowing her eyes, "Actually, I don't think knowing our ages would do much, but then again-,"

"You like to think things through, don't you?" Piper smiled, "That's a good thing though, I'm glad to see that you have some common sense."

"Yeah… I guess I've taken Leo's advice to heart way too times that it actually stuck. You guys are always a little protective of me." Lorna explained, folding her arms in a fashion that took Piper by surprise at how much the simple gesture reminded her of herself, "Although you're even worse with Wyatt and Chris, who are always up to something, no matter what age they are." She grinned, obviously thinking of the many memories she had of her foster brothers' antics.

"Oh, so the three of you all get along perfectly?" Piper asked with a hopeful tone.

The redhead shrugged, pushing her glasses back her nose as she did, "Well, we've had our differences, but it's just the normal kind of things that you'd expect from brothers and sisters. They're great. They scared off quite a few bullies; Emma does that too, that girl can argue."

Piper's eyes widened with fury, "You were bullied? Give me the names of these kids and I'll get to them while they're still toddlers!" She exclaimed, slamming her fist off the mattress before sighing, "Oh God… Please don't say I was one of those parents that is oblivious to the trauma of their child…" She cried out, putting her hand to her head.

Lorna let out a laugh, but it came to a stop instantly when she snorted and she covered her mouth in embarrassment, her blue eyes widening with surprise, "Aw, man… Even in a different time I'm a geek." She groaned, having to put her glasses back up once more, "Oh, right! Your question!" Lorna suddenly remembered, "No, you weren't one of those parents…" She smiled slightly, "You and Leo are…" The redhead paused, trying to figure out the right word to describe the couple.

Before she could finish her sentence, a crash sounded from downstairs. Piper's head flipped around to the door to where the noise was coming from. She groaned loudly and got to her feet, clomping out of the room at a fast pace. Lorna followed suit, shaking her head and smiling nostalgically, "Ah… Some things never change."


"I told you it was going to be a bumpy ride!" Annabelle spat at Paige, who was currently grumbling to herself as she tried to get up from the wreckage of the living room coffee table. "Maybe you should talk to your husband and get him to lower some of those stupid force fields. I mean, why does a city with a massive magical army even need them?" She asked, standing up and brushing down her clothes.

"You ask him!" Paige immaturely replied, pouting as she too checked her clothes for any sawdust that was disturbed by the table's destruction, "Ugh, looks like I'm gonna be cleaning up more than a spell now. Piper is going to freak out!" She exclaimed, looking down at the wrecked piece of furniture.

Piper stormed down the stairs and into the foyer, her hands raised so she was ready to attack any demon that had caused the crash. She rounded into the living room, Lorna by her side. "Annabelle!" She cried, seeing the broken coffee table and letting her hands fall to her sides, "That was new!"

"I'm sorry, I'll get kill some demons for other demons tomorrow and buy you a new one." Annabelle replied, glaring at Piper when she gave her a doubtful glance, "You're from the future." The blonde addressed Lorna, "Do I get her a new table?"

Lorna nodded, smirking as she did, "You do, and Piper here is secretly glad that you broke it, because Leo picked it out and he has horrible taste. Oddly enough, he doesn't even notice that it's a different one, well, not until… I should probably shut up…" She trailed off, pursing her lips as if to stop herself from letting out any more future knowledge.

"Wait a minute; she's from the fu…? Lorna?" Paige whispered in shock, narrowing her eyes and inspecting the teenager with amazement, "What's going on? And please say she's the only one, I don't have the patience or strength right now to deal anyone else…" She groaned, letting her chin droop to her chest.

"Um… Well…" Piper moved to her sister's side, linking their arms before walking towards the sofa and sitting down, "We should probably fill you in on what's been happening while you've been away. You just need to promise me that you'll just shut up through it and let me talk, and then you can ask whatever questions you want. Okay?" Paige nodded slowly, not sure what was going on. "Alright then…"


Phoebe stifled a yawn as she looked out into the dark suburban street that her house sat on. She perched herself on the window ledge, shifting the curtain slightly and watching with sheer confusion as she watched Mrs. Hunter walk along the dark sidewalk with her son's dog. The middle Charmed One checked her watch, looking back again to see the old woman smile eerily at her from the other side of the street. "That woman is just all kinds of crazy…" She muttered.

"It might interest you to know that she doesn't really change." Faith said from behind her, making Phoebe jump with surprise. The teen completely ignored her mother's reaction, choosing to watch their neighbour, "I think the latest we've ever seen her out was around twelve thirty-five. Freaky, huh?"

The middle Charmed One raised her eyebrows, "Wow, she's still alive and creeping us out in your time? What age are you anyway?" She asked, watching Faith carefully so she could pick up any body language that would indicate is she was lying or not.

"Sixteen." She replied simply, moving away from the window and flicking her hair to her back as she did, "And you yanked me away from something very important, I was about to out to a party!" Faith complained, turning around to glare at her mother, as she was obviously to blame for the teen not being out in the first place.

"So does that mean that we took you from the same time of day as us? Oh, that explains why Lorna was in her pajamas… I'm guessing that she was having a quiet night in or something?" Phoebe suggested, shifting the curtain back and folding her arms over her chest.

Faith sorted out a laugh, "Yeah, or it could be that she's a loser." She sneered, shoving her hands in her pockets before catching a heated look from her mother, "Wow, no matter what time I'm in, I always get that look…" She grumbled, before looking towards the stairs as Melinda and Emma came down them. Emma was holding Connor's favourite baseball cap, it had been given to him by Brennan on his last visit home.

"Connor loses this when he's six. Make sure that doesn't happen, it means a lot to him, alright?" Emma shook the cap in her aunt's face, before setting it down in the dining table and taking quick glances at everyone in the room, "So, are we still waiting for Lorna to get dressed? Or can we just go and kick some half-brother ass?"

Phoebe's eyebrows rose in surprise, "You know, you seem to be taking this awfully well, considering the fact that you're here just to kill family." She said.

"We're here to do what we're destined to do." Melinda quickly replied, swiping strands of her hair away from her face, "Ugh, I hate wearing my hair like this…" She growled, pulling out the clip and letting her hair fall to its natural position. She shook it slightly with her hands, trying to get rid of any evidence of it being up, "That's better."

"I think what my sister was trying to say before she distracted by her hair…" Emma shot a look at her twin, who gave her a glare in return, "… Is that we know how all this plays out, because we've heard stories about your adventures." She simply explained, "It's just a matter of following what you guys told us about the situation and the future stays intact."

"And that includes letting Aunt Piper and Aunt Phoebe figure out for themselves why the spell summoned you and Lorna, Faith." Melinda warned, pursing her lips and giving her youngest cousin a warning.

The teen rolled her eyes, "I know…" She groaned, before making a quick gesture with her hand, "Witch's honour!" She said theatrically with a put on smile, before returning to her normal self. "Although I don't think it really matters considering they figure out pretty quickly anyway."

"You know, if you're trying to keep future knowledge, you may want to not talk about it while a past person is in the room." Phoebe suggested with a smirked, laying her hands on the back of a chair at the table, "So, mind telling me why the spell did summon Faith and Lorna?" She asked her two nieces casually, hoping they would know.

Emma smirked in response, "Nice try." She looked at her watch, letting out a groan, "God, what is taking Lorna so long to get dressed? She never takes this long for these things, that's one of the main reasons she's awesome." The teen emphasized, glaring at Faith, who merely rolled her eyes.

"Whatever…" She mumbled in response, "Seriously, what college freshman is in their pajamas and ready to bed by eleven thirty? She should be out partying; instead she just sits in her dorm room, studying…"

"Faith, you're sixteen, what the hell do you even know about college?" Melinda spat, straightening herself up so she could take part in the argument.

Before the youngest out of them all could respond, a large of cloud of orbs lit up in the dining room entrance. Each of them had to squint their eyes slightly to avoid the glare of blue and white light as Piper, Paige and Lorna formed. A tornado of particles soon brought Annabelle into the house, bringing together the blonde's instantly.

"Did you get her up to speed?" Phoebe asked Piper.

The eldest Charmed One opened her mouth to respond, but Paige got there before her, stepping out in front of the two people she had transported, "Yeah, she did. Are we ready to do this?" She looked to her future daughters, "Or more importantly, are you two ready to do this?"

Melinda and Emma exchanged a nervous glance, before nodding together, "Mom…" Melinda began, moving towards Paige, only to have the witchlighter step back slightly and put her hands up as if to ward her away.

"Later… Okay?" Paige said with a pleading tone, "I just want this over quickly so I don't have time to think it through…"

The witchlighter went to raise her hands to her face, but she was distracted when hundreds of tiny black spheres began to spin rapidly around her. It didn't take long for a purple haze to gather around her, making her vanish from everyone's sight as she was swallowed by a violet cloud that flew up through the ceiling.


Paige reappeared, immediately being filled with a feeling of dread as she took in her surroundings. She was standing in the bedroom of her new house. She felt her hands being forced together and looked down to see bands of black orbs around her wrists, putting them together before becoming one solid cuff, trapping her hands. The witchlighter crunched up her eyes, attempting to orb out, only to find that she still stood in the same place.

"That little bracelet will bind your powers and keeps those pesky hands out of harms way." Hades informed her from behind, making Paige jump in surprise and turn around to face her two sons for the first time. Both of them were wearing looks of regret, which made her suspicious, but nowhere near scared. "Nice to see you again, Paige…"

"What do you want?" She spat back, giving him a heated glare.

He stepped forward in front of his sons, grinning, "You and your sisters. Dead. What else of course?"


"Okay, we can't wait for Leo to get back from the Elders." Piper said strongly, rubbing her palms together as she paced the attic, "They've taken Paige, and God knows what they're doing to her. We need to move fast." She decided, suddenly spinning around to face her sister, who was currently filling up a satchel of ghost stun potions at the copper cauldron. "Phoebe, are you going to come with us?"

The middle Charmed One shrugged uncertainly, "I guess… My powers are the only thing that can hurt him when he's incorporeal anyway…" She said meekly, before her face filled up with hope as she turned to Faith and Lorna, "Unless you guys have psychic powers that pack a punch?"

Lorna looked down at the ground, "Sorry, all I have is empathy. Actually, I should probably stay behind. I don't have any active powers and I don't know martial arts like Melinda and Faith, so I'm pretty much useless in a fight. I'll just get in the way…" She said sadly.

"Premonitions are about as far as my powers go, apart from jet levitation that is, but that isn't going to be much use with an incorporeal demon, so you'll need to cast the spell that makes him corporeal first before I can do any damage." Faith quickly explained, looking towards the attic door as Annabelle walked in, carrying the spell that she had copied from the book, which was still sitting in the sun room.

"That'll be Phoebe's job." Annabelle stated, walking towards the witch and handing her the spell in exchange for the satchel, "You try and stay out of harms way. Say the spell and we'll be able to take it from there, I hope." She added quietly, looking around the attic and frowning, "I take it the twins have gone to check out the area?"

Piper nodded, "Alright, we should get going. We'll distract Hades while Phoebe says the spell, and the twins will take care of the boys while all this is going on." The four of them huddled together, preparing for Annabelle to transport them to Paige's house. The eldest Charmed One gave Lorna a sympathetic look, before rejoining the circle they had made and vanishing in a swirl of particles….


"I break this bind, with this rhyme…" Paige whispered, watching as a golden glow washed over her black orb shackle, only for it to be consumed by the darkness and take away whatever effect the spell may have had in the first place, "Damnit…" She growled, setting her hands back on her knees with her huddled up position on the bed.

Her attention was drawn to the door, where Sam and Craig stood hesitantly, looking around the hallway nervously before Sam walked briskly into the room and clambered onto the bed. The teen waved his hand over his mother's binds as his brother kept watch at the door. The black orbs dissolved into nothing, freeing Paige's hands and her personal powers. "Get out of here." Sam hissed.

Paige gave him a look of momentary shock, before stroking his face tenderly, "You're good boys…" She whispered, "I'm sorry…"

Before Sam could reply, a column of glowing water began to rise up from the floor. The fluid splashed to the ground when it reached a certain height, leaving Melinda and Emma standing in its place, "Get off!" Emma shouted, throwing out her hand towards Sam and blasting him in the back with a jet of inky darkness that flew from her palm. The umbrakinetic shot threw the boy off the bed, making him land on the floor hard. "Mom! Go! They need you downstairs!" Paige nodded wildly, before vanishing in a cloud of bright orbs that fell through the floor, heading for the downstairs.

Craig frowned darkly from the doorway, throwing his arm forward and shooting a searing stream of crimson fire at the twins. "Flames!" Emma called, holding out her hand at the attack and causing the fire to be swept up in a mass of glowing bubbles that redirected the attack at its sender. Craig disappeared in a swirl of black orbs, allowing the fire to pass through him and hit the wall and causing a large scorch mark that stained the white surface greatly.

It had begun.


Piper let out a yelp as another arrow flew into her sleeve, pinning her to the wall by her clothes. "Crap!" Before she knew it, two arrows had been shot at her ankles, going through her jeans and repeating the process that had been done with the sleeves of her blouse, "Shit!" She shouted, trying to move her hands before realizing that her pinned sleeves were holding them in place. "Phoebe, say the spell! Phoebe?"

The eldest Charmed One frowned in confusion as it seemed that her younger sister was having a panic attack behind the couch. Phoebe was breathing heavily, looking out to the battle with a fearful glance as she watched Annabelle and Faith fight fruitlessly against the incorporeal darklighter. She let out a small scream when an energy ball zipped past her and crashed into the wall. "I can't do this…" She whispered, whimpering and curling up into a little ball, sobbing loudly.

"Phoebe! Get a grip, goddamn it!" Piper ordered, before she began to flick her hands from their stationary position, barely managing to freeze the arrow that had been heading straight for her. "Wait a minute… What the hell am I doing?" She hissed to herself in self-disgust, before taking a deep breath and becoming a flurry of fuzzy particles that easily escaped from the four arrows holding Piper's clothes to the wall. The witch became solid again, instantly dashing to the sofa and having to dive the rest of the way to avoid an energy ball.

"I can't… Piper, I can't…" Phoebe said hurriedly, shaking her head rapidly as the tears began to fall, "I don't… I just…" She buried her head in her arms, before Piper wrenched the supports away and forced her to look at her.

"Yes you can, Phoebe. You're one of the strongest people I know, you just need to get past this little glitch in your head. Just take a deep breath, and-," She was interrupted by Annabelle being thrown into the wall beside them, cracking the plaster slightly with her body and falling to the floor unconscious.

The middle Charmed One's eyes widened with terror as she looked at unconscious woman, her breathing becoming more erratic. "Mom!" Faith cried out, before there was a yelp of pain, followed by a loud crash that lasted for a few seconds. Phoebe looked up over the edge of the couch to see that her future daughter had been thrown into the bookcase. She was lying on the floor with her hair splayed over her face, blooding seeping from the back of her head.

"Faith!" Phoebe shouted, jumping to her feet with Piper to face the darklighter that had been responsible. Shoving her hand into her pocket, she wrenched out the spell that Annabelle had given her before they had come here. Paige orbed in by their side as she began to chant, looking over her sister's shoulder to see what the spell would do. "I call on spirits far and wide, bring your power to my side, pull this ghost into our plane, help us to deliver his bane."

A faint orange glow shone around the outline of Hades' body. He frowned, feeling slightly different, but gave the three witches his usual smirk, "You can't defeat me…" he growled, striding towards them and conjuring a buzzing, neon blue energy ball into his palm, preparing to launch.

"Remember what this feels like?" Piper quipped, throwing out her hands and blasting the darklighter into the wall of the living room with a shower of fiery sparks. Hades' looked up in disbelieve, standing in a slouched position from being thrown against the wall. He was wavering, still shocked at the amount of force applied to his newly corporeal body. "Paige, orb the arrow." Piper ordered, glancing to the arrow that she had frozen in the air while being pinned to the wall.

The witchlighter glanced between her enemy and the arrow, her eyes narrowing with hate, "I've got a better idea…" She growled, walking towards the arrow in stasis and plucking it out the air with her hands. Paige strode up to Hades' while he was still recovering, her face scrunching up into one of gritty determination as she plunged the arrow into the darklighter's heart.

"Paige…" He choked, blood seeping the side of his mouth as he shot an empty look in her direction.

"Love hurts…" She replied, taking a few steps back and watching as a fierce plume of scorching fire erupted from the floor and enveloped Hades. The darklighter screamed in utter agony, his head flying back in the direction of the ceiling as his flesh began to burn and sizzle. There was a final burst of heat, before an explosion took the ghost away, leaving only a small trail of smoke that dissipated through the ceiling.

"Paige, Faith needs healing…" Phoebe said softly, stroking her daughter's head as the witchlighter made her way across to her downed niece. Paige bent down, putting her hands over Faith's head and releasing a warm golden glow that began to knit up the gash in the back of her head.

Piper helped Annabelle to her feet, the mercenary let out a loud groan as she put her hand to her forehead, clearly feeling the pain of being knocked out. "Are you okay?" The eldest Charmed One asked her, earning a searing glare from the blonde for the question, "Hey, I was just asking!" She turned her attention to the stairs, where Melinda and Emma were making their way down towards the rest of them, "I take it the boys are gone?"

"Yeah, they just vanished a few seconds ago… The darklighter is gone then?" Melinda asked, putting her hands on the banister as she looked down into the living room and surveyed the scene with a blank look.

"Yeah, it's over…"


Smoke danced in the hallway of first floor. It began to writhe, as if having a form of its own before it grew in height and started to become thicker. After it a few seconds, a column of fog was in the hallway, before it faded away, leaving Hades standing there with a smirk on his face at the fact that he had managed to evade death from the Charmed Ones. "Those idiots… Just wait…" He growled.

"Faking your own vanquish, huh?"

The darklighter jumped, turning to face who had addressed him. "I mean, couldn't you have just moved on? I would have. Especially if I knew what was about to happen to you…" Lorna said darkly. Her usual timid and kindly expression had been replaced with one of confidence and ruthlessness. Her deep blue eyes held no emotion, just an icy stare, which was in full effect, thanks to the fact that her glasses were nowhere to be seen.

"Who the hell are you?" Hades spat, looking her up and down with disdain.

Lorna rolled her eyes, "Silly demon… That doesn't even matter anymore…" She said in a low, husky voice that was far from her normal tones, "You see, out of all the Halliwells… The Charmed Ones, their kids, their husbands, and all those dead witches that came before them… They're all pretty powerful. But nothing in this world will prepare you for me…" She stared at him, giving him a dark look.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's see. We can't have you screaming and alerting everyone downstairs, so say goodbye to you mouth!" She said, waving her hand at the darklighter. "I never get tired of seeing that." She giggled, watching as Hades' eyes widened in horror at the realization that his mouth had disappeared from his face. "Bye, bye…" The redhead whispered.

Lorna's pupils suddenly expanded, enveloping the irises of her eyes and making it look as if she had two black dots in the centre of each eye. A supersonic screeching ran through the hallway as Hades' seemed to violently twitch from the noise. It got even higher pitched, before blood began to seep from the darklighter's eyes. He gave her a pleading look, before bursting into a shower of red sparks that vanished the instant they hit any surface.

Lorna's eyes returned to normal and she took a deep breath. She smirked at her handiwork, before vanishing in a swirl of light pink orbs that carried her through the ceiling and back to Manor, to where everyone else thought she was.


Piper let out a content sigh as she mixed up a cocktail. She glanced up to the stage, where the DJ was certainly earning his pay, not allowing the music to stop blasting through P3 and therefore keeping the crowd loud and entertained. "Here you go… And here you go…" She said sweetly to the couple as she put a bottle of beer onto the counter and poured the mixture that she had been making into a glass.

"Hey, keep the change!" The man grinned, putting his arm around the waist of the woman next to him. "I'm in a generous mood." He explained, not being able to keep the smile off his face, "We just got engaged!" The man beamed, gently making the woman's hand and holding it up to Piper, showing off the ring.

"Oh! Congratulations! Well, in that case…" Piper went back to the till, opening it up and taking out the twenty dollar bill that she had deposited just before making the drinks, "… This one's on the house! Put that towards the wedding!" She smiled, putting the money back into the man's hand. "Have a nice life together!" The eldest Charmed One called out, before turning back to the till and closing it over, "Hey, stranger!" She greeted Leo as he made his way to the bar, laying his forearms down on the counter.

"Hey!" He said back, looking towards the stage, "Wow, that DJ is really working for this pay check, isn't he?" The elder commented, making his assumption from the size of the crowd. "I can't believe you had time to book that guy with all the demon stuff going on yesterday."

Piper shrugged. Moving towards him and leaning over the counter, giving him a loving peck on the lips, "Well, maybe if you weren't away up in the clouds taking care of important business all the time, you would realize that your wife is pretty damn awesome!" She smirked, glancing towards the DJ, "I'm thinking of giving him a contract offer. I mean, with all the restaurant stuff, I'm not going to be around much longer to pick out acts."

"You gonna miss not putting your life and soul into this place?" Leo asked, knowing that his wife had become extremely attached to her club in the last ten years of owning and running it.

The eldest Charmed One thought it over as she dried a glass off, "A little… But this place is pretty self-supporting now. I just need to sort out a few last details and then I take a back seat where this place is concerned. Besides, I've always wanted to open a restaurant, and I'll be able to pour my heart and soul into that even more."

"S'cuse me!" Phoebe shouted over the music, "Pregnant gal coming through! Thank you!" She smiled at the people dancing that she had interrupted before returning towards the bar and settling herself on a stool, "What's happening, people?" She asked brightly, placing her purse on the counter and grinning at her two family members.

Piper smiled in return, "Well, looks like someone found the balance where pregnant behaviour is concerned!" She commented, setting down the glass, "I guess meeting Faith put a lot of things in perspective for you, huh?"

Phoebe nodded, "Yeah. I've decided that I should just follow my instincts where the baby's concerned, as Faith's little visit has taught me that I am destined to have a beautiful, if not slightly obnoxious, daughter!" She announced, making theatrical bows when Piper pretended to clap, "Well, that and when we were sending them home this morning, Faith told me to 'chill the freaking hell out'. Yeah, apparently, having a mother that cowers behind furniture when a demon attacks isn't thought as cool."

"Really?" Piper said mockingly, "I never would have guessed. I'll tell you what is cool though, knowing that we…" She glanced at Leo, "… Were able to raise Lorna to be a smart and resourceful individual that actually listens to a parent's advice, especially your little speeches, mister."

Leo's eyebrows raised in surprise, "Really? Did she mention whether or not Wyatt and Chris are as perceptive as her? Or have we just got a 'magical boys will be magical boys' situation all over again?" He asked, raising a free beer to his lips.

"Oh, I think it's definitely the latter." Piper said with an amused tone, "But we'll handle it." She assured him, kissing him softly, "I hope." The eldest Charmed One added, before Phoebe almost leapt off her bar stool with a yelp, "What wrong with you?"

"I think I just figured out why the spell summoned Faith and Lorna!" She said excitedly, "Think about it, we cast a desire spell, so on some level; we must have wanted them to be here. For example, you secretly wanted to know if you could raise someone else's child properly, and I wanted to know if my child was going to be safe. It makes perfect sense if you think about it,"

"Yeah, I'd rather not…" Piper cringed, not wanting to think about spells going awry, "So, do you think Paige will be joining us tonight?"

Phoebe looked down at the floor, "Um… I don't think so. Hades reopened some wounds for her and Aidan. He's staying in Atlantis for a couple of days until they find the courage to actually speak to one another. I think we should just give her some space… She'll be fine; she'll come to us when she wants to…"

Piper bit her lip, "I hope so…"


Paige lay on top of the covers of her bed, tears silently rolling down her porcelain face as she faced the window. Moonlight was streaming through the glass, illuminating her shaking form as she quietly sobbed into the pillow. She remembered feeling like this when Aidan had left all those years ago, the dark hole in her stomach that just seemed to devour her soul at an agonizingly slow pace. She tightened her grip around the pillow her head lay upon, gritting her teeth before she let her other arm flop off the side of the bed.

She flinched slightly when something wet began lapping at her fingers. The witchlighter raised her head and looked over the edge of the bed to find Sandy trying to get her attention, whining softly as she nudged Paige's hand with her nose. "Hey, girl…" She said softly, "Where are your puppies? Are they sleeping?" Obviously, she didn't get an answer, "Come here…" Paige said, tapping the part of the bed next to her and making Sandy jump up.

As if she knew to comfort her owner, the dog lay down beside Paige, staying close to her to keep her warm, especially as she was not under the covers, and without her husband to keep her warm in bed. The witchlighter scratched around Sandy's neck, kissing her on the top of the head and stroking her ear. It was there it hit Paige, the reason why she had got a dog in the first place: to not be alone. It was on a night like this that that reason was existent more than ever. Snuggling closer to her pet, Paige smiled as she began to drift into sleep.

"Thank you…"