Author's notes: This was extremely difficult to write trying to keep up with who was who and how they would react or say something. Again I know I leaned very heavily on the source material but I hope you guys enjoy it.
Piper enters the Chinese herb shop. She pulls out her shopping list. 'Okay first things first, powdered toadstool.'
She looks up and sees a woman, who is dressed like she stepped out of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, arguing with the store clerk.
"Please sir, you have no idea how important this to me." The lady pleaded.
"Then come back later." The clerk responded unyielding.
"If I could I would but I can't! I need it now!" The woman was clearly losing her patience.
The clerk points above him. "Look lady, that dagger belongs to my family. It is an heirloom passed down from generation to generation. It's not for sale!"
Piper cut in. "Speaking of sale, do you happen to have some powdered toadstool?"
The clerk nodded and began to look for Piper's order.
"My father needs the Dragon Blade. He said your father…"
"Look." The clerk cut her off. "My father won't be back until Tuesday. Unless you need something else, I have a customer."
Just as the clerk turned away the woman, with a catlike ease, hopped onto the counter. From the counter she jumped into the air, grabbed the blade from the wall mount and landed back on the counter.
"Hey!" The clerk yelled.
Reflexively, Piper froze the scene in front of her. The clerk froze, meanwhile the woman was too fast for Piper's powers, and she jumps out a nearby window.
'I just wanted some freaking powdered toadstool' Piper thought to herself as she chased after the woman.
"Hey?" Piper called out after the woman but she didn't stop running. "Stop!" Piper yelled and woman froze in place.
Piper moved toward the woman slowly. 'Did I freeze her? I didn't even move my hands' Piper thought to herself as she moved in front of the frozen woman and waved her hand in her face. The woman's head unfroze.
"What is this? What have you done to me?" The woman asked trying to look around.
"I froze you. It's one of my gifts. Why did you still that blade?"
The woman struggled. "I don't have time for this. My father…"
As if on cue an elderly Asian man, dressed similarly to the woman, stepped into the alley.
"Father I have the Dragon blade." The woman called out.
The elderly man reached out his hand. "Quickly An-Ling, you must give it to me now! Time is running out!"
"I cannot move. This woman has done something to my body." An-Ling said.
Suddenly a man rose up out of a puddle nearby. He steps up behind the elderly man and stabs him in the side.
"Father no!" An-Ling screamed as Piper's power wore off releasing her.
The younger Asian guy glared at An-Ling. "I have only just begun to get my revenge." He said as he grabbed her father and disappeared in the puddle.
An-Ling dropped to her knees. "Father." Tears fell from her eyes.
Piper kept her distance
"Yen-Lo has been injured and captured my father. And it is all your fault!" An-Ling said angrily.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't know what was going on. But if you will allow me to help you fix this situation. Me and my…" Piper slight paused at the thought of Phoebe. "Me and my sisters are witches. We may be able to help you find your father. But I really need you to come with me." She said reaching her hand out to An-Ling.
"I have seen your power. I believe you are willing to help." An-Ling said grabbing Piper's hand.
She and Piper make their way to Piper's jeep and get in.
"All of this and I still didn't get any powdered toadstool." Piper said frustrated as she put her key in the ignition and drove off.
In a matter of moments Piper and An-Ling were walking into the manor. "Leo!" Piper called out.
Leo orbs in almost immediately. "What's wrong Piper?" He asked looking toward An-Ling.
"Leo this is An-Ling. Her father was stabbed and kidnapped." Piper said.
Leo looked at Piper confused. "That sounds like you should be calling Darryl instead of me."
"Oh I forgot to add, the man who stabbed her father disappeared in a puddle of water." Piper explained.
Leo nodded. "Got it."
"An-Ling why don't you sit and I will be right back with some hot tea. Keep her company ok honey?" Piper said as she headed toward the kitchen.
Both An-Ling and Leo sat down. "Are you hurt or in any pain?" Leo asked.
An-Ling shook her head. "No. Yen-Lo wasn't after me. But know that he has my father and I have what he wants, he will be after me."
"Who is Yen-Lo and what does he want?" Leo asked.
Just then Piper returns with a few cups of tea. "Here we go." Piper says as she sits the cups down and sits beside An-Ling.
"An-Ling was just about to explain who Yen-Lo is and what he wants." Leo explained to Piper.
"Yen-Lo was a powerful disciple of my father, the Zen Master, but he used my father's teachings for evil and his own gain. That is ultimately why my father passed him over as his successor. And because of that, Yen-Lo swore he would get revenge against my father." An-Ling explained.
"Do you know where Yen-Lo escaped to with your father?" Leo asked.
An-Ling nodded. "He escaped to a mystical place between the boarders of life and death."
Piper furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "The boarders of t life and death?"
Leo looked at Piper. "He's basically in Limbo."
"Gotcha." Piper said. "So what was so important about that blade that you took from the store?" Piper asked.
An-Ling took a sip of tea and immediately felt a warm soothing feeling wash over her. "The Dragon Blade has the ability to trap human souls. That is why Yen-Lo wants it."
Piper looks at An-Ling sympathetically. "Do you think that your father is still alive?"
"For now. Yen-Lo doesn't just want to kill my father, he wants to punish him. Holding him in Limbo does just that. It keeps my father's soul from moving on. But if he uses the Dragon Blade he will trap my father's soul forever." An-Ling said sadly.
"May I see the Dragon Blade?" Piper asked.
An-Ling reached to her belt and handed the blade to Piper. The blade was jade green, rigid and very sharp.
"Do you know how to get into Limbo?" Leo asked
An-Ling lowered her head. Sadly I was not able to master that skill."
Piper put the blade on the table. "Well we have to find our own way into Limbo. Prue?! Paige?! Can you guys come in here for a sec?"
An-Ling shook her head. "I can't let you all get involved. Yen-Lo will come for me next."
"All the more reason for you to stay here and let the sisters help you." Leo explained.
Piper winced on the inside at the word sisters. She wondered if she would ever get comfortable with hearing that again.
Prue and Paige come down the stairs and walk into the living room.
"Guys, this is An-Ling. Her dad has been kidnapped by a pissed off student with authority issues, who can travel through puddles of water. And that is the Dragon Blade. It has the power to trap human souls." Piper explained.
Paige eyed the Dragon Blade. "May I see that for a moment please?"
Piper hands Paige the Dragon Blade.
"Hmm, this seems to almost date back to Feudal Japan or even the Ming Dynasty. The fact that the blade is made mostly of jade means that someone with money and power had this made." Paige stated with a matter of fact tone.
Piper and Leo stared at Paige. "Wow Paige. You really seem to know your stuff. Honestly you sounded like Prue for a moment." Leo said.
Prue shifted while looking at Paige.
"Oh, I uh, did some studies for ancient Asian artifacts when I was in college. One can never be too well rounded I say." Paige said nervously.
As Paige handed the blade to An-Ling she was overcome by an immense force of energy. She closed her eyes to see a young Asian man stabbing an elderly man with the dragon blade. When the vision was over Paige stumbled forward only to be caught by Prue.
"What did you see?" Prue asked.
Paige blinked and shook her head as she sat in a nearby chair messaging her temples. "It came in to me in erratic flashes. Like a TV with bad reception."
Prue moved closer to Paige. "First you have to relax. The more you fight against the feeling the harder it is to perceive the vision. Just go where you are being pulled."
Piper looked back and forth between Prue and Paige but said nothing.
"Now what to you do you see?" Prue asked Paige.
Paige closed her eyes and focused. "Ok I see two Asian men one older, one younger. The older one seems to be bound in some way. I see…" Paige gasped and shuddered opening her eyes. "He stabbed the old man with the Dragon Blade. I couldn't see where exactly they were. It was too distorted."
"Must be a side effect of them being in Limbo." Leo said.
"We must save father!" An-Ling said popping up off the couch.
"We will." Piper assured her. "This guy travels by water right? So Paige and I will turn off the water. Prue you are the best at the Book of Shadows so can see if you can find away into Limbo."
Prue nodded slightly. "Um Leo can you come with me?"
Leo nodded. "Sure Prue."
Piper and Paige headed to the basement.
"You just sit tight An Ling and keep drinking that tea alright." Prue says as she and Leo head to the attic.
As soon as they stepped in the attic Prue turned to Leo. "Leo I have something to tell you."
"What is it Prue? As your brother-in-law and whitelighter, you can talk to me about anything." Leo said.
"Ok, here goes. I'm not really Prue, I'm Paige. I was working on a potion for Piper's test I sorta wished I was Prue and the potion blew up. And the next thing I know I'm in Prue's body and she's in mine." Prue said.
Leo looked at her in shock. "You gotta find a way to fix this Paige!"
Prue held up her hands. "I know, I know. We have a killer Kung-Fu master on the loose. Plus I miss my body. Prue is sooo tense." Prue said touching her shoulders. "Just don't tell Piper. She already seems annoyed with me anyways."
"Ok. First we deal with Yen-Lo and then with you and Prue. Let's check the Book." Leo said opening the Book of Shadows
In Limbo Yen-Lo has An-Ling's father bound to a withered tree. "It is amazing how our wounds stop bleeding here." Yen-Lo said as he pressed the Zen Master's side. "See, no pain."
"We are not meant to stay in this place Yen-Lo." The Zen Master said.
Yen-Lo looked around. "Tell me about it. I thought Limbo was a beautiful place. Not some barren wasteland with a giant sucking hole in it."
"This place takes on the form of its inhabitant. This is how you view life. But it doesn't have to be this way. You can still redeem yourself by being reborn." The Zen Master said.
Yen-Lo scoffed. "Oh please, I know how karma works. I'll probably be reborn as a beetle or something."
"Have I taught you nothing? You know that one can escape their karma." The Zen Master said trying to appeal to Yen-Lo.
"You're right, but then again, no one has ever escaped Limbo before." Yen-Lo said smiling.
The Zen Master looked around. "I see no water for you to return to the land of the living." The Zen Master said.
Yen-Lo laughed. "You know that was a problem I thought about as well. But then I remembered that there's a nice watery lining in every cloud."
Lightning crashed overhead as Yen-Lo lifted up into the air. "Now I'm off to kill your daughter. Wish me luck." Yen-Lo continued to rise into the clouds.
Meanwhile back at the manor Prue and Paige are standing in the second floor hallway. "I told Piper I would help you look in the Book and she should keep An-Ling company since she was drawn to An-ling as an Innocent." Paige said to Prue.
"Prue what are we supposed to do if we have to fight Yen-Lo" Prue asked Paige.
Paige ran her hands through her hair. "Oh God you're right. You are the one with the offensive power now. Okay how about this?" Paige turned Prue so that she was facing a picture on the wall.
"Focus on the picture and imagine it moving toward you." Paige explained. "Now wave your hand at it."
Prue complied. She waved her hand but the painting didn't move at all.
"Try it again with a little more oomph! And squint too." Paige urges.
Prue squints her eyes and waves her hand and still nothing happens.
"What happened to my powers?!" Paige said hysterically.
"I don't know. I barely know how to control my own powers let alone yours." Prue responded.
"You have to try again." Paige said putting her hand on Prue's shoulder.
"Look I tried ok. But it's clear that I can't move that freaking picture!" Prue yelled.
Suddenly whitish/blue orbs surround the pictured and orbed into Prue's hand.
"What?" Prue said looking at Paige.
"That is so not my power." Paige complained removing her hand.
Prue thought back to a prior convo with Leo. He explained to her that by her being half whitelighter she would be more of a pacifist. "I think it's because I'm half whitelighter." Prue said.
"Ok put your power is premonitions not telekinesis." Paige retorted.
A light bulb went off in Prue's head. "It's your power but apparently when we touch my whitelighter half changes how your power works somehow."
"That's actually pretty interesting but right now you need to know how to throw someone against a wall." Paige said frustrated. "We need to get back in our bodies. Soon! Do you remember what was in the potion you were making?"
Prue nodded. "Yeah, but we are out of powdered toadstool."
"I know where we can get some." Paige said confidently.
Just then the doorbell rang. "I got it!" Paige yelled as she headed down the stairs. She opened the door. "Hello may I help you?"
A young mocha skinned guy smiled back at her. "Ha, my dad told me you had a good sense of humor Paige."
Paige mentally slapped herself on the forehead. 'Come on Prue, you are Paige until she can reverse the effects of the potion.'
"Paige right. That's me. Good ole Paige." Paige said absently.
Prue walked up behind Paige. "Mason Hi."
"Hi. And you are?" Mason asked.
"Oh I am Prue Halliwell, Paige's older sister." Prue said slowly. "Paige has told me so much about you; you being the boss' son and all." Prue said looking at Paige.
Paige nodded slowly. "Right, right. Well you take care now." Paige started to close the door but Prue stuck her arm out.
"Paige, weren't you going out on a date with Mason?" Prue said glaring at Paige.
Mason nodded. "Yeah, I hope Italian is good?"
Paige smiled "Well I do like…"
Prue bumped Paige. "Chinese. You like Chinese. Like Chinatown Chinese." Prue said hastily.
"Oh, right." Paige said catching Prue's drift.
Paige reached for her coat but Prue stopped her. "This is your coat because it goes with the outfit you wearing. Plus your keys are in the pockets." Prue said handing Paige a different coat.
"Yeah thanks." Paige said rolling her eyes heading to her car with Mason.
Prue closed the door.
"Who was at the door?" Piper asked coming into the living room.
"Uh Paige's date." Prue responded.
"Is she going on a date at a time like this? I can't believe her!" Piper said angrily. "It seems like she doesn't even care about being a witch or helping An-Ling. Not to mention she has yet to pass a potions test."
"I do care…that Paige going out but she does care about being a witch and saving Innocents. She's just trying to get the swing of things. Give her some time to come around." Prue said.
"I hear you but I really don't know how much time we can spare Prue." Piper said walking away.
Prue felt super guilty. "I better fix this. I hope Prue is doing better than me."
Paige glances around the herbal shop. Mason sees a weird jar with a squid in it. "What is this place?" Mason asked sounding partly disgusted and partly intrigued.
"I really need to get some powered toadstool. And here it is." Paige said picking up a few packages.
"Well let me tell you I'm not really into the herbal thing." Mason explained.
"From what I gather neither is Paige." Paige said absently as she waited in line to pay for her purchase.
Mason's eyebrow raised. "Do you normally talk about yourself in the third person?"
Paige shook her head. "Sorry. Bad habit that really needs to be broken."
"It's cool. We all have our quirks. So what's that for?" Mason asked gesturing to the powdered toadstool packs.
Paige furrowed her eyebrows. I can't say it's for a body swapping potion can I? "It's an aphrodisiac." Paige blurted.
Mason laughed. "Oh wow." He cleared his throat. "My dad was certainly right about you."
The line moved and Paige stepped closer to the counter. "What else did your dad say about Pai… me?" Paige asked.
"He said that you were unique. He also said that if he doesn't promote to social worker soon, you will quit and start your business. Or end up in jail, but he wasn't too sure of which." Mason said smiling.
Paige paid for her purchase. "That sounds more like Phoebe to me." Paige said.
"Who's Phoebe?" Mason asked confused.
"She is, was… a long story." Paige turned to look to Mason. "Not having as much fun as you thought you would huh?"
"We are shopping for sexual stimulants in a store filled with animal parts. This is definitely interesting for me." Mason said.
Suddenly there was boom of thunder and rainfall. At the same time Paige felt a jolt of energy run through her. She closed her eyes. She could see an Asian man walking in the manor attic. As quickly as the feeling came it went.
"Paige are you okay? You kinda blanked out on me." Mason said.
"Yen-Lo." Paige whispered as she opened her eyes.
"Yen-Lo? What's that, another aphrodisiac?" Mason asked.
Paige shook her head. "No not quite. Look Mason you seem like a very sweet guy and not to mention very, very cute. But I will have to take a rain check on dinner tonight."
Mason look slightly disappointed. "Fine. It's no problem. Maybe some other time."
Paige left the store in a rush.