A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Phoebe will be bringing up the subject of Leo again to Paige during this episode (in chapter forty). Plus, when Phoebe says an italicized 'evil plan' in this chapter, imagine she is saying it in the same way that she says it in Sense and Sense Ability.

Chapter Thirty Eight: Which Prue Is It, Anyway? (And Taking Control 2)

Paige found herself getting into the routine of meditating for an hour each morning after the day of the earthquake. The routine meditation kept her in control of her telepathy power. Therefore Paige made sure to do the meditation as soon as she woke up each morning so as it did not affect her day.

A couple of days after the Woogyman event, Paige was sitting in the kitchen by herself when Phoebe walked in.

'Paige, I was looking for you,' said Phoebe.

Paige looked up from her cereal bowl. She had been late getting up that morning and by the time she had finished meditating, Prue and Piper had already left for work. Phoebe had been in the shower when Paige had made her way down to the kitchen so they had not spoken yet that morning.

'Morning, Pheebs,' said Paige. 'What do you want?'

Phoebe grabbed a bowl from a cupboard and a spoon from a drawer before sitting down at the kitchen table. Phoebe took the cereal box that Paige had left on the table and filled her bowl to the brim with cereal. Phoebe put the cereal box down.

'Paige, I was thinking…' started Phoebe. 'Your power…'

'What about it?' asked Paige.

Phoebe stood up and went to the fridge, bringing out a bottle of milk. She sat back down at the table and poured milk into her now overflowing bowl of cereal.

'Well, you were able to go into my mind…' said Phoebe.

Phoebe stood back up and placed the milk bottle back in the fridge. She sat back down and put a spoonful of milky cereal into her mouth.

'Pheebs, aren't you going to finish your sentence?' asked Paige.

Phoebe pointed at her face, possibly in an attempt to tell Paige that she had to wait until Phoebe had finished her mouthful of cereal.

Paige sighed. Phoebe was annoying when she did this sort of thing. Paige wanted to know what Phoebe wanted to ask her. Why did Phoebe have to be so slow about getting the question out there?

Phoebe swallowed her mouthful of cereal. She was about to dig her spoon into her bowl again, but Paige moved Phoebe's bowl out of reach – consequently, due to the overflowing nature of the bowl, this action caused milk to slosh all over Paige's hand.

'No more cereal until you get to your point,' laughed Paige.

'Oh yeah,' laughed Phoebe. 'I wanted to know whether you think you could ever possess someone.'

'Excuse me?' said Paige. She was not expecting that at all.

'Do you think you could use your telepathy to possess someone?' asked Phoebe as she snatched her bowl back from Paige, spilling milk all over the kitchen table.

'What gave you that idea?' Paige asked before Phoebe could take another spoonful of cereal.

'Well, the night after I had been dispossessed of the Woogyman –' Phoebe paused to shiver at the thought of the Woogyman '– I thought back to how you went into my mind and started talking about taking control, ' said Phoebe.

'Yeah, and..?' said Paige. She did not see how this connected to the idea of her being able to possess others.

'Well, I was thinking, if your telepathy is powerful enough to travel into someone's present state of mind…' said Phoebe. 'Do you think you could possess them?'

Paige stared at Phoebe in shock. 'Phoebe… Are you still evil?'

Phoebe laughed. 'Paige, of course I am not evil. Why would you say such a thing?'

'Why would you suggest I learn the art of possession? Only evil possess people,' said Paige.

'Only evil possess people because only evil are strong enough from corrupted power,' said Phoebe.

'Hang on, so now you are saying that I am corrupted?' laughed Paige.

'Of course not, Paige,' said Phoebe. 'What I am trying to say is that you are a Charmed One with an amazingly powerful power. I think you could be strong enough to do it.'

'I still do not see why I would actually want to possess someone,' said Paige, taking a spoonful of cereal to eat while she waited for Phoebe to reply.

'Imagine this, Paige,' said Phoebe. 'Prue, Piper, and I are battling a demon. The demon is beating us, because for some strange reason he is uber-strong. You use your telepathy to enter his mind and then to possess him. Once you have him possessed, Prue, Piper, and I would have time to recover while thinking up a vanquishing spell, while you delve through the demon's mind to find out his evil plan.'

Paige swallowed her mouthful of cereal while contemplating what Phoebe had said.

'Why did you say 'evil plan' with a weird accent?' asked Paige.

'Not the point, Paige,' said Phoebe. 'What do you think?'

Paige shrugged. 'It could be interesting, but I cannot exactly test the theory out.'

Phoebe grinned. 'I thought you would say that.'

Paige frowned. 'Who are you suggesting I practice on?'

'Prue or Piper as a joke,' said Phoebe.

Paige stood up and took her empty bowl to the sink.

'No, Phoebe,' said Paige.

Phoebe had followed Paige over to the sink.

'Aw, come on, Paige,' said Phoebe. 'It would be fun.'

'Phoebe, aren't you meant to be the older sister out of us two, hence the more responsible one out of us two?' said Paige as she washed the bowl.

'Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaa se, Paige,' said Phoebe.

'No. No. No. No. No,' said Paige.

It had been two weeks since their initial conversation about possession via telepathy. Phoebe and Paige stood in the attic with Prue and Piper. Prue had just cast a worrying spell.

'How about now?' Phoebe thought to Paige.

Paige looked from the three Prue's standing in front of them to Phoebe and sighed. 'Sure,' Paige thought.

'Yay,' thought Phoebe.

The previous day, Phoebe had had a premonition that Prue was going to be stabbed. Piper, Phoebe, and Paige had gone into total defensive mode over Prue's safety. Prue had seemed to think she could handle it on her own, even after barely escaping an attack from the people who wanted to kill her. Phoebe had suggested a 'multiplicity' spell to Prue which Piper and Paige had been against Prue using. However, Prue had cast the spell and the result stood in front of them now: Three Prues.

Phoebe continued thinking in conversation with Paige, 'You really are going to agree to try out possessing one of the Prue clones?'

'Why not?' thought Paige.

The three Prues and Piper left the attic leaving Phoebe and Paige to clear up.

'So,' said Phoebe. 'Which Prue is it going to be?'

'I don't know just yet,' said Paige. 'Phoebe, do you think I am powerful enough?'

Phoebe smiled. 'I don't think you are. I know you are.'

Paige smiled. 'Thanks, Pheebs. You do realise the only reason I am agreeing to attempt to possess a Prue clone is because Prue won't let Piper, you, or me help her with this threat? I only want to possess a Prue clone so as I can be there to help Prue without Prue stopping me.'

Phoebe nodded. 'I know. Why do you think I found that specific spell in the Book? I knew you would agree with the idea of possessing a Prue clone.'

'Sly, Pheebs, very sly,' said Paige.

Phoebe and Paige had finished tidying the attic.

'Say I was successful,' said Paige. 'How do you stop Piper and the real Prue from finding my unconscious body?'

'I will think of something,' said Phoebe.

'Okay. Say you do think of something, what do we do about Piper and the real Prue asking where I have gotten to?' asked Paige.

'We will go down to the kitchen now and you will tell them you are off somewhere,' said Phoebe, pushing Paige out of the attic.

Phoebe and Paige entered the kitchen.

Piper was busy cooking dinner. The three Prues sat at the kitchen table.

'Piper, I thought you had already prepared dinner,' said Paige.

Piper turned around and said, 'Yes, but that was before we had an extra two mouths to feed.'

Piper glared at the three Prues, unsure of which two were the clones and which one was the real Prue.

'Sorry, Piper,' said one of the Prues. 'Trying to stop someone from killing you really works up an appetite.'

'Apparently it multiplies your appetite by three times,' said Piper sarcastically.

Phoebe sat down at the one remaining seat at the kitchen table.

'So Prue,' said Phoebe, addressing all three Prues. 'Seeing as today's outfit multiplied by three with the spell, do you think I could borrow it another time? I mean, when you go back to normal, you will only need one of those outfits. Not all three.'

'Phoebe!' said all three Prues at once.

'Wow, that was quite a chime,' laughed Paige, still standing by the kitchen doorway.

Phoebe looked at Paige and then suddenly remembered, 'Oh, Paige has something to say!'

The three Prues and Piper turned to Paige expectantly.

'Oh… yeah…' said Paige hesitantly. She knew that once she said this she was basically confirming to Phoebe that she would go ahead with the plan. 'I… er… I am leaving town for the next couple of days. I think you can cope without me.'

The three Prues smiled. One of the Prues asked, 'Where are you going, Paige?'

'Er… To New York… To see the Stratton family…' lied Paige.

Piper did not look pleased to hear Paige was going away for a few days.

'Paige, how can you leave when Prue's life is in peril?' said Piper.

Paige felt guilty. 'Piper, I –'

One of the Prues interrupted Paige, and said, 'Piper, leave Paige alone. She can go. I can take care of myself.'

Piper sighed.

Soon dinner was over. With a vote as to who should do the washing up, they had reached stalemate. Piper, Phoebe, and Paige all voted for one of the Prues to do the washing up, while the three Prues had voted that Piper, Phoebe, or Paige should do it as Prue was too busy. It was a battle of stubbornness. Unfortunately for Piper: Prue (times three), Phoebe, and Paige were more stubborn than her. Therefore, Piper gave in and muttered that she would do it otherwise nothing would ever get done.

Later that night when everyone had gone to sleep, Paige was awoken by a knock on the attic door. The attic door creaked open and Phoebe stuck her head inside.

'Psst, Paige,' whispered Phoebe. 'Are you awake?'

'I am now,' whispered Paige as she stretched.

Phoebe walked into the attic, shutting the door quietly behind her.

'We should do it now,' whispered Phoebe.

'We? I think it is me that is going to have to do it, not you,' whispered Paige.

'Yeah, but I am the one who is going to have to cover for you,' whispered Phoebe.

'Where do you want me to do this?' asked Paige. 'The basement?'

Paige smiled when she saw Phoebe's worried expression. Paige knew that Phoebe would never suggest the basement, especially after what had happened two weeks earlier.

'Where, Pheebs?' asked Paige.

Phoebe beckoned for Paige to follow her as she made her way out of the attic. Paige got up and followed her. They crept down the attic steps as they did not want to wake Prue or Piper. They crept across the landing before creeping down the steps towards the foyer. They crept past the living room towards the kitchen. The two Prue clones were sleeping in the living room, so Phoebe and Paige did not want to wake them.

Phoebe came to a stop in the kitchen.

'Pheebs, are you actually considering the basement?' Paige asked.

Phoebe shook her head. 'I was just trying to remember the spell.'

'The spell?' whispered Paige.

'You'll see,' said Phoebe.

Phoebe ushered Paige into the conservatory and gestured for Paige to sit on the chair.

'You want me to do this in the conservatory, where the Prues or Piper can walk in on me?' whispered Paige confused.

'Paige, trust me,' whispered Phoebe. 'Concentrate on possessing one of the Prue clones. Come in here when you have succeeded and I will show you how I am going to keep your body hidden from Piper and the real Prue, okay?'

Paige sighed. 'Okay.'

Paige sat on the chair, crossed her legs, and closed her eyes.

'I am a Prue clone. I am currently asleep on the sofa in the lounge. I am a Prue clone,' Paige thought.

Suddenly Paige felt dizzy, like her mind had jumped a few thousand miles in a millisecond. She opened her eyes:

Paige found herself standing in an empty void like she had when she had been inside Phoebe's mind a fortnight ago.

The void was not as empty as she thought because Paige turned around to see a figure approaching her. It was Prue. Well, the Prue clone.

'Paige!' shouted the Prue clone. 'Get out of my head.'

'I am doing this for the real Prue's own good,' said Paige.

'What are you doing?' asked the Prue clone.

'I am taking control!' said Paige.

Paige closed her eyes, clenched her fists. She took a deep breath.

'Taking control,' Paige repeated. 'Taking control.'

Paige opened her eyes. It was dark. She could feel the sofa beneath her. She was lying on the sofa. Paige slowly stood up and walked into the foyer where it was bright enough to look in a mirror.

The reflection staring back at her in the mirror was… it was Prue.

Paige had successfully possessed one of the Prue clones! She had taken control.

Paige made her way into the conservatory where she found Phoebe sitting on a chair. Phoebe had her head in her hands so had not noticed Paige walk in. Paige gaped at seeing her own still body sitting so peacefully on the chair.

Paige cleared her throat and Phoebe looked up.

'Prue?' said Phoebe, obviously not wanting to give too much away in case this was one of the non-possessed Prues and not Paige.

'It worked,' said Paige smiling.

'Paige?' said Phoebe grinning. She jumped up and hugged the Prue clone that was Paige. 'I never thought I would be so happy to see Prue.'

'That sounds weird, Phoebe,' said Paige.

'You sound weird,' said Phoebe.

'I do?' said Paige.

'Well yeah, because you have Prue's voice at the moment,' said Phoebe.

'Oh, this is too weird,' said Paige. She automatically went to tuck a lose strand of her hair behind her ear, and then moaned, 'I don't like how short Prue's hair is.'

'Then after all this is over, make sure never to cut your own hair that short,' said Phoebe. 'I am still trying to grow my own out after the unfortunate decision to have it cut short. I think, by 2003, it will be the length I want it to be.'

Paige laughed. 'Do you think Piper will ever get her hair cut short?'

'Hmm… I doubt it,' said Phoebe. 'I think she will probably get rid of that fringe soon though. We all know that Piper getting a fringe was a mistake.'

Paige laughed again.

'Oh my gosh, that is so freaky!' said Phoebe. 'You are doing Prue's laugh.'

'So how are you going to hide me –' Paige pointed over to her motionless body on the chair '– from Prue, Piper, and the other clone?'

'Thanks to my magnificent spell casting idea,' said Phoebe. She cleared her throat and began to chant:

'Prue and Piper shall not see,

That Paige sits before thee.

Paige shall remain hidden,

Until she finishes a mission that would otherwise be forbidden.'

'That last line was a little long,' laughed Paige.

'Well, let's hope the spell worked,' said Phoebe, ignoring Paige's insult towards Phoebe's spell craftsmanship.

'I am sure it did, Pheebs,' said Paige. 'You are the best out of all of us at making up your own spells.'

Phoebe smiled. Paige yawned.

'I am tired,' said Paige. 'I think I will go back to the attic.'

'Sorry, Paige, but you are going to have to go back to the living room and sleep in there,' said Phoebe.

Paige groaned. 'Phoebe, your idea is already getting on my nerves.'

'Wow,' said Phoebe. 'If you did not sound like Prue before, you definitely do now.'

'I hate it when you are right,' sighed Paige.

Phoebe laughed. 'Okay, now you are sounding less like Prue. There is no way she would ever admit to me being right.'

Paige smiled.

'Wake me in the morning if I am not up when everyone else is up,' said Paige as she wandered out of the conservatory.

'You are supposed to be Prue,' said Phoebe. 'Prue is never the last up – clone or not.'

Paige groaned. The only part of the following day that she was looking forward to was making sure that her eldest sister staid safe from the magical, fatal threat.

A/N: Wow. No cliff hanger. That's strange. Anyway, just to clear things up: While Paige is possessing the Prue clone, I am still going to keep referring to her as Paige in the narrative, otherwise it would get far too confusing if I started calling her 'the possessed Prue clone' or 'Pink Prue' – ah, look, I have already given away which Prue clone she has possessed before Phoebe has even gotten around to issuing colour coded sweaters (They are cardigans in the show! Why do they call them sweaters? Or is that just an American term?).