Darkness Within:
The Final Chapter
*** *** ***
"Ah!" cried Julia from the front door.
Her two brothers ran in from the kitchen. "What?" they said in unison.
Julia went in the house, holding the paper, and something else in her arms. She giggled. "It's just a cat. Cute kitty. What are you doing here?"
"You should put it out," said Pru, coming from the kitchen. "It could be rabid."
"It looks sick. Look how thin it is," noticed Drew, munching on a sandwich.
"It's supposed to be like that," Xan corrected. "Pru is right though, it could be rabid."
"Wait, it looks like it's ours, see?" Julia showed them the tag on the cat's collar. It had the triquetra, the symbol which was on the Book of Shadows.
Their aunt Paige came in from upstairs. "Oh you found him!"
"Looks like he found us," said Pru. "What's his name?"
"His name's Kit. My sisters just had to put their sense of humor into the cat. He's been missing for a long time now. Come here, li'l fella."
The cat hissed at their aunt, and jumping from Julia's arms, went out the door.
"Weird. Why did it hiss at you like that?" asked Julia, making her way to the door.
"Hmm. I don't know. It'll come back. In the meantime," said Aunt Paige, looking at her watch, "we have to get going."
*** *** ***
The five were eating at a restaurant called Quake, having left the Mr. Inne to guard the house. It was there that they found out that Piper used to manage the place. Aunt Paige couldn't believe it.
"Hey, shouldn't we be getting a discount for this?" asked Drew over his dessert.
"Jobs don't exactly stick to people when they quit, Drew," answered Pru.
"Which is okay, since I'm paying," Aunt Paige said, "don't worry 'bout it, it's all on me." She looked around for a waiter, asking for the check.
"You know what's weird? That a cat which has been missing for some months suddenly appears when we show up. Is that a coincidence or what?" Xan said.
"You think it has something to do with, you know," Julia leaned closer, "our being witches?"
"Why don't you speak up, J." Drew drank a glass of water. "I don't think the people at the other table heard you."
"Guys, please. Don't bring that here." Pru frowned, watching Aunt Paige pay the bill.
"Pru." Aunt Paige placed her hand on Pru's. "You have to accept this. It's your destiny. Our destiny. Resisting it just makes it harder."
Pru sighed. She put her fingers to her temples. All at once her head was pounding. She closed her eyes, as her head suddenly swam. On opening her eyes, she saw her sister and brothers staring at her. What were they looking at? She followed their gaze to the source of their awe.
Faint blue light was surrounding her glass. Slowly, it changed into a photo of her mother, and back into a glass.
She gasped as she knocked it over the table.
*** *** ***
"I'm sorry, Aunt Paige, the glass, I-"
Pru was apologizing to Aunt Paige. They had went back to the manor, their plans of a San Francisco shopping spree halted. Pru complained of the headache she had.
"Don't apologize, Pru. You're just probably tired. Take a nap." Aunt Paige shooed her niece upstairs, Xan, Drew and Julia waiting in the hallway.
"Well, that was a surprise. But Pru shouldn't be keeping you here. Here," Aunt Paige gave her keys to Drew. "Take the car, go wherever you want. You do know how to drive, right?"
Drew showed his license to his aunt. "I'm an excellent driver."
"I'll be staying here in case something happens to your sister. Go and have fun."
The three said their goodbyes and went out the front door.
"I'm guessing Aunt Paige doesn't really need to know about your experience with dad's car, hmm?" Julia said.
Drew opened the car doors. "Shut up."
Xan went in the car. "Pru has a power now. And we're next. But it doesn't make sense. In the book it says our ancestor's powers, moving things with her mind, seeing the future and stopping time would be passed on to future generations."
Julia grinned. "Maybe we mutated. Or at least Pru did. And you don't really know that she did it."
"Look on the bright side," noted Drew. "Would you want to be stuck with seeing the future? Man, that'd be totally useless."
"Let's not worry about it," said Julia, getting restless. "Mall now. Witch stuff later."
*** *** ***
A little while later, the trio were in a grocery store. Julia had suggested they get some real food.
"Aunt Paige is cool, but she does not have good taste. In food, I mean."
Drew was going down the aisles of the store, looking out for anything interesting. Cereal, milk, frozen pizza, ice cream. What else could they get? Around the corner he spied a blonde girl, about his age, lurking around the fresh produce. I could definitely get some of her.
She looked up from the fruits, noticing his eyes on her. She smiled seductively.
...well hello there, handsome...
Huh? Drew looked around. Where did that come from? Nobody was around. Who said that? Then it struck him. Demons? He looked back at Girl Near the Vegetables, and even more compliments echoed around his head.
He sighted an old woman in the same aisle he was in. He began to stare at her. Could she be a demon? Anyone could be a demon, he thought.
...don't need too much sugar. Maybe I should get something else... Why is that boy staring at me?
Drew was suddenly aware of the old woman, staring back at him. Those thoughts. It just popped in my brain. They were hers.
...is he taking so long...
...hope mommy lets me get candy...
...life sucks where is he... ... gotta hurry gotta run...
A sea of people. All their thoughts and ideas flowing into his head.
It was his power. He could read minds.
*** *** ***
"So you're saying that you're a telepath?" asked Xan, recalling certain comic book terms he had picked up in his childhood. They had found each other, hurried to get everything, and left the mall. Now they were in the car, which was when Drew decided to tell them. Electricity was in the air. Xan could feel it.
"I can read your head. Yeah," Drew said, having read the same comic books Xan had. "It makes sense. I was born a few minutes earlier than you. Something happened to you yet? Julia?"
Xan and Julia shook their heads. "Okay, prove it," said Julia.
Drew stopped at the red light, and took a deep breath.
"Julia, you're thinking you don't believe me. Xan, you can't wait to get your powers."
"That's easy. It's obvious what we're thinking. Okay, I'm thinking of food right now. What is it?"
Drew narrowed his eyes. "A big chunk of ham."
Xan turned his eyes to Drew, and then to Julia. "Ham?"
"What? I wanted to test him. He is right, by the way. Cool."
Xan settled back into the seat. "We should hurry back home. Something might have happened to Pru."
*** *** ***
Pru was in her bedroom. She had woken up from her nap, and though she still felt strange, she was more relaxed now. After Aunt Paige had sent her to the room and before she slept, Pru had been thinking about all that had happened. All the while, she had been... changing some of the things in the room without noticing it. When she finally did, she had decided to rest.
So now she was awake. She had begun to accept what was happening to her and her family. My power is great, after all, she thought. Very handy. At the moment, she was toying with a pencil, changing it to a pen. She realized that her power could only last about ten to fifteen seconds. Something she couldn't figure out was how it all worked.
You used to think there were no such things as witches. And now you're a witch. Defying science shouldn't be a problem... Damn. I should have went with them. Then I could amaze them with my matter-altering ability. See me, The Great Purity Madison, able to make a rabbit *into* the hat.
Pru put down the pencil/pen. Maybe I should read through the Book of Shadows. What else can I do?
She jumped and ran out her room when she heard her aunt scream for help.
*** *** ***
Drew stepped on the gas.
Julia was pressed back into the seat. "Okay, why the sudden rush?"
"Aunt Paige's in trouble."
"What? How do you know?" questioned Xan, holding back the groceries about to fall on the car floor.
"I just do. I was trying to pick up on Pru's thoughts and it felt as if she was in danger."
"Okay, Drew, we should slow down a bit."
"There might be a demon or a ghost or something."
"Drew, I think Aunt Paige and Pru can- Look out!"
*** *** ***
"Aunt Paige!" Pru yelled, her voice echoing throughout the house.
"Aaaah!" It was then she realized that the scream had come from the attic.
"Oh no." Pru ran up the stairs, finally getting to the attic door. She tried to turn the knob. Won't open. Pru began to bust down the door. "Paige!" Pru sighted the vase of flowers on a table near her. Taking it into her hands, she concentrated, as faint blue light began to appear around it. Soon, a crowbar had taken its place.
"I'm coming, Paige!"
*** *** ***
"OhGodohGodohGod. We're dead, we're dead."
Julia opened her eyes. Fortunately, they were still alive, right in the middle of an intersection. Strangely though, their car, which was amidst others that were in shambles, was still intact, except for a few minor dents. Stranger still, a shiny, silver field was enveloping their vehicle.
Just as soon as she saw the same silver energy around Xan's hands, the field disappeared. Julia looked at her brother, her lips forming a smile.
"You did it. That was your power."
Drew was looking around him, as people in the streets looked on at the near-five-car pile—up. It didn't seem as if anybody noticed what Xan had just did. Drew breathed a sigh of relief. "That was too close."
Xan looked at his hands in disbelief. His eyes lit up, as he said, "Pru's still in danger. We have to get home fast."
Julia's smile quickly turned into an expression of dread. "Did anybody see us? The shield-thing?"
Drew looked at his sister. "No," he assured her, "and hopefully nobody will see our license plate when we hurry on out of here."
*** *** ***
Finally, Pru was able to jimmy the attic door open, and she quickly slipped inside. Inside, Paige was tied up with a strange rope which gave off an unearthly glow. Near her was a man who, though she had never been formally introduced to, Pru knew enough of to recognize.
"Mr. Inne?!" The man's face contorted into an evil grin, fangs sprouting suddenly from his mouth.
"Pru!" her Aunt Paige yelled. "Help me!"
Feeling the crowbar in her hands, she hurled it at the manor's gardener. In midair, it changed back into a vase and knocked Mr. Inne unconscious.
The alien rope which bound Paige earlier vanished, and she ran to her niece, giving her a hug.
"You know I've been waiting for you."
Pru looked on inn horror as Mr. Inne's eyes flew open, and she found herself tied with the same white cords.
"For twenty-three years, I've been waiting. Now all that has finally paid off."
*** *** ***
"Something's happened."
"What?" cried Julia to Drew, as she was thrown back into the seat.
"We have to hurry. Something's happened to Pru."
Xan looked around them. "Wait, are you sure nobody noticed? Slow down, we might get arrested!"
"There's no time. And I don't know if anyone saw us, I couldn't read their minds. Too far."
"Too far?? You read Pru's mind, and we won't even reach her in ten minutes!"
"I don't know, maybe it has something to do with being family, or something. And we're getting there in less," said Drew.
"Okay, just don't get us in another accident. Please." Julia held her seatbelt tightly.
*** *** ***
After finally arriving, the three hurried up the Halliwell Manor, breathing heavily and with hearts beating fast. Once inside, they called for their sister.
"Pru!"
"Pru?"
They went down the hall, and were welcomed by Paige's dry voice drifting from the conservatory.
"Well, well. It sure did take *you* quite a long time. I was beginning to lose my patience," said Aunt Paige, a cruel smile formed from her lips.
Pru was in a chair, tied together with glowing ropes, their Aunt Paige standing right beside her, pressing a dagger to Pru's neck. Near her was a monstrous Mr. Inne, almost unrecognizable with his fangs and horns. Julia had almost forgotten who he was, since he had been gone ever since they saw him the first day.
"I was getting restless," she continued. "You almost had me slit your sister's throat here."
"Aunt... Paige??" Xan's eyes widened in disbelief.
"No. No." Julia was shaking her head.
"Yes. It's me. See? Aunt Paige. Did you bump your head on something?"
"You're not our aunt," said Drew, his eyes set on the woman in front of him.
Paige rolled her eyes. "Ugh, what is taking you so long? I was thinking, you know, a little 2-on-3 before I get your powers. I don't even know what they are. Why don't you show me a demo, just for old time's sake?" A coat rack turned into some dark blue energy, as it disappeared and reappeared in Paige's hands.
"Here!" Paige threw the blue orb at the three. Xan immediately raised his hands, and the gray field surrounded them, the orb crashing into it and exploding into nothingness.
"Ah, force-fields. I'm going to like that power." Paige looked over to Mr. Inne "Mason?"
Mr. Inne smiled as he cast spheres of black energy at Xan, breaking through his barrier, knocking him senseless.
"Xan!" Julia cried, as she and Drew ran to their brother.
Another ball of dark flew through the air, hitting Drew.
"Drew!" screamed Julia. She held her brothers, tears starting to form in her eyes.
"And then there was one. Hmm. Maybe I'll just kill you anyway. I'm sure any power of the new Charmed Ones will be of great use. Come here." Blue light began to surround Julia, and a feeling of weightlessness came over her.
"No!"
From Julia's hands came bolts of electricity, finding their mark on Mr. Inne and Paige. The two crumpled on the floor, and the ties which had Pru helpless vanished.
"J!" Pru ran to her sister, hugging her. "We have to get out of here." The two sisters helped their brothers get up.
"No," Xan said, his face contorted in pain as he talked, "we have to get to the book."
*** *** ***
The four siblings dashed up the attic stairs. Upon getting there, Xan went instantly to the Book of Shadows. He flipped through its pages, while Pru, seeing a dresser, began to push it toward the door.
"Drew, help me get this on the door."
"How'd mom ever figure out how to find what they were looking for?" Xan's head swam with all the book's pages.
Julia made her way to her brother. "Let me help."
Pru and Drew were now building up a blockade on the door. "No," said Pru, "you have the lightning fingers. You have to be on guard. Oh, and Drew? I know this is a bad time, but what's your power?"
"Reading minds. And I know there's something wrong with Aunt Paige."
"Of course there's something wrong with Aunt Paige!" yelled Xan. "She's a freaking demon!"
With Xan's outburst, the pages of the Book of Shadows began to flip by themselves.
"Whoa. And the pages flip again."
"Whoa is right." Drew shook his head, snapping out of his surprise. "Okay, hear me out. When I try to read someone's mind, usually, only one voice pops in my head. When I tried it with Aunt Paige-"
"Stop calling her Aunt Paige," Pru snapped.
Drew rolled his eyes. "When I tried it, two different voices came up. And one of them didn't feel human."
"So what you're saying is?" Julia asked.
"What, exactly?" Pru interrupted.
"That Aunt Paige has been possessed by a shadow," said Xan.
"Huh?" Drew asked, going over to the BOS.
"It's a low-level demon which usually aid advanced demons. As some demons don't have real shadows, a shadow creature takes its place, sometimes acting as a messenger of sorts. Some are more powerful than others, being able to possess humans, witches and even warlocks and other demons."
"Can we kill it?" Julia was anxiously waiting for the attic door to come down in shambles.
"Wait! What about Mr. Inne?" Pru had been almost inside a trunk, looking for something. In jubilation, she took out a hammer, grasping it in her hand.
Xan flipped through a few pages. "I don't know, maybe he's a shadow too."
Suddenly, the four were thrown back as the attic door exploded in dust and splinters, revealing Paige and Mr. Inne.
"Sorry to invade on your privacy here, but I just couldn't resist eavesdropping on your little chat." She snapped her fingers, signaling her partner to bind them.
"This time, I won't make any mistakes, since I already know your powers. You're right on everything, 'cept for old Mason over here. He's just a golem who knows only one thing – bloodlust. Oh, and I gave him his green thumb. Ain't I the coolest?"
"Why are you doing this?" cried Julia, while she and her siblings struggled to free themselves.
"Why, to steal your powers, my pretty. Hmm. Odd how the youngest of the Power of Three – oh, I'm sorry – Four, has the strongest power, and her sister and brothers are useless."
"I resent that," Xan said, fuming.
"Ah, but you will resent me even more when I kill your younger sister first. The whiniest are always the easiest to get rid of."
"You don't scare us," said Drew.
"Ah, but that's why I have him," replied Paige, referring to Mr. Inne. "Now, to begin..."
Paige walked over to them, but was blocked by Xan's force-field.
"You should know by now that that power's useless against us." Paige began to orb in her hands a dagger, while Mr. Inne was preparing a shadow ball.
"We do." Pru smiled as the ropes, which held her and her siblings' arms, changed into wood splinters. "That's one thing about my power you don't know about." Seeing this, Mr. Inne threw his projectile at the shield. The Madisons escaped just in time, and Julia zapped back the sphere of black, striking Mr. Inne, blowing him up into bits. In fury, Paige threw the dagger at Julia.
"J, look out!"
Julia screamed as Drew grabbed her, escaping from the sharp blade just in time.
"Guys! The spell!" Xan yelled.
"No!!" Paige shrieked. The book began to orb to Paige, but it appeared to have a mind of its own, resisting the foe and falling back on its stand.
"You can't touch our book," said Pru, as she, Xan, Drew and Julia began to chant.
In this darkness hides evil's blight,
Give us the strength and restore our sight..
With power which flows through hearts of kin,
Release the shadow which lives within.
Paige doubled over in pain. She howled in agony, dropping to the ground. A ghostlike, black, featureless creature jumped out of the motionless body.
It looked at them with seething hate, as a hissing sound came from its mouthless face.
Julia raised her hand sending a bolt of electricity at the demon. The shadow creature's body shook as the shock flowed through, and he blew up in dust.
"Aunt Paige."
They crowded around their aunt, fearing the worst.
The eldest child checked her aunt's pulse.
"She's still alive."
*** *** ***
Paige lay on a hospital bed. She had only a few days to go. Her nephews and nieces entered the room. Knowing their aunt had little time left here, smiles were on their faces as they sat down on the uncomfortable room seats.
"Hello," they greeted. "How ya feeling?" asked Julia cheerfully.
Aunt Paige sat herself up. "Hi," she said weakly, "I'm fine, thanks. The drugs they're giving me are making me groggy." Paige grinned.
Pru placed a spray of the manor's daffodils on a small table. "Just clipped a few of these from the house. Is that okay?"
Paige smiled, and nodded. "Thank you for being here. You can't believe what this is doing to me. And especially after what happened... I'm sorry."
"It wasn't like you could do anything," said Xan, comforting his aunt.
"Yeah. You wouldn't believe how it feels. Being able to move your own hands and legs after twenty-so years of being helpless, watching someone else move your body like a puppet."
"We still have so much questions." Pru told her. "But this isn't the time."
"What you told us when you were... taken over. Was that just one big lie?" Drew asked, hesitantly.
"Not everything. The shadow used my thoughts to tell you the truth. But what he didn't tell you was what happened. When I betrayed them all by succumbing to evil. When your Aunt Phoebe and I almost died. When your mother left." Paige sighed, her eyes meeting her family's expectant faces. "And I think it's about time I told you what happened to me. To all of us."
And Paige Matthews told Purity, Drew, Xan and Julia Halliwell-Madison her story.
The Final Chapter
*** *** ***
"Ah!" cried Julia from the front door.
Her two brothers ran in from the kitchen. "What?" they said in unison.
Julia went in the house, holding the paper, and something else in her arms. She giggled. "It's just a cat. Cute kitty. What are you doing here?"
"You should put it out," said Pru, coming from the kitchen. "It could be rabid."
"It looks sick. Look how thin it is," noticed Drew, munching on a sandwich.
"It's supposed to be like that," Xan corrected. "Pru is right though, it could be rabid."
"Wait, it looks like it's ours, see?" Julia showed them the tag on the cat's collar. It had the triquetra, the symbol which was on the Book of Shadows.
Their aunt Paige came in from upstairs. "Oh you found him!"
"Looks like he found us," said Pru. "What's his name?"
"His name's Kit. My sisters just had to put their sense of humor into the cat. He's been missing for a long time now. Come here, li'l fella."
The cat hissed at their aunt, and jumping from Julia's arms, went out the door.
"Weird. Why did it hiss at you like that?" asked Julia, making her way to the door.
"Hmm. I don't know. It'll come back. In the meantime," said Aunt Paige, looking at her watch, "we have to get going."
*** *** ***
The five were eating at a restaurant called Quake, having left the Mr. Inne to guard the house. It was there that they found out that Piper used to manage the place. Aunt Paige couldn't believe it.
"Hey, shouldn't we be getting a discount for this?" asked Drew over his dessert.
"Jobs don't exactly stick to people when they quit, Drew," answered Pru.
"Which is okay, since I'm paying," Aunt Paige said, "don't worry 'bout it, it's all on me." She looked around for a waiter, asking for the check.
"You know what's weird? That a cat which has been missing for some months suddenly appears when we show up. Is that a coincidence or what?" Xan said.
"You think it has something to do with, you know," Julia leaned closer, "our being witches?"
"Why don't you speak up, J." Drew drank a glass of water. "I don't think the people at the other table heard you."
"Guys, please. Don't bring that here." Pru frowned, watching Aunt Paige pay the bill.
"Pru." Aunt Paige placed her hand on Pru's. "You have to accept this. It's your destiny. Our destiny. Resisting it just makes it harder."
Pru sighed. She put her fingers to her temples. All at once her head was pounding. She closed her eyes, as her head suddenly swam. On opening her eyes, she saw her sister and brothers staring at her. What were they looking at? She followed their gaze to the source of their awe.
Faint blue light was surrounding her glass. Slowly, it changed into a photo of her mother, and back into a glass.
She gasped as she knocked it over the table.
*** *** ***
"I'm sorry, Aunt Paige, the glass, I-"
Pru was apologizing to Aunt Paige. They had went back to the manor, their plans of a San Francisco shopping spree halted. Pru complained of the headache she had.
"Don't apologize, Pru. You're just probably tired. Take a nap." Aunt Paige shooed her niece upstairs, Xan, Drew and Julia waiting in the hallway.
"Well, that was a surprise. But Pru shouldn't be keeping you here. Here," Aunt Paige gave her keys to Drew. "Take the car, go wherever you want. You do know how to drive, right?"
Drew showed his license to his aunt. "I'm an excellent driver."
"I'll be staying here in case something happens to your sister. Go and have fun."
The three said their goodbyes and went out the front door.
"I'm guessing Aunt Paige doesn't really need to know about your experience with dad's car, hmm?" Julia said.
Drew opened the car doors. "Shut up."
Xan went in the car. "Pru has a power now. And we're next. But it doesn't make sense. In the book it says our ancestor's powers, moving things with her mind, seeing the future and stopping time would be passed on to future generations."
Julia grinned. "Maybe we mutated. Or at least Pru did. And you don't really know that she did it."
"Look on the bright side," noted Drew. "Would you want to be stuck with seeing the future? Man, that'd be totally useless."
"Let's not worry about it," said Julia, getting restless. "Mall now. Witch stuff later."
*** *** ***
A little while later, the trio were in a grocery store. Julia had suggested they get some real food.
"Aunt Paige is cool, but she does not have good taste. In food, I mean."
Drew was going down the aisles of the store, looking out for anything interesting. Cereal, milk, frozen pizza, ice cream. What else could they get? Around the corner he spied a blonde girl, about his age, lurking around the fresh produce. I could definitely get some of her.
She looked up from the fruits, noticing his eyes on her. She smiled seductively.
...well hello there, handsome...
Huh? Drew looked around. Where did that come from? Nobody was around. Who said that? Then it struck him. Demons? He looked back at Girl Near the Vegetables, and even more compliments echoed around his head.
He sighted an old woman in the same aisle he was in. He began to stare at her. Could she be a demon? Anyone could be a demon, he thought.
...don't need too much sugar. Maybe I should get something else... Why is that boy staring at me?
Drew was suddenly aware of the old woman, staring back at him. Those thoughts. It just popped in my brain. They were hers.
...is he taking so long...
...hope mommy lets me get candy...
...life sucks where is he... ... gotta hurry gotta run...
A sea of people. All their thoughts and ideas flowing into his head.
It was his power. He could read minds.
*** *** ***
"So you're saying that you're a telepath?" asked Xan, recalling certain comic book terms he had picked up in his childhood. They had found each other, hurried to get everything, and left the mall. Now they were in the car, which was when Drew decided to tell them. Electricity was in the air. Xan could feel it.
"I can read your head. Yeah," Drew said, having read the same comic books Xan had. "It makes sense. I was born a few minutes earlier than you. Something happened to you yet? Julia?"
Xan and Julia shook their heads. "Okay, prove it," said Julia.
Drew stopped at the red light, and took a deep breath.
"Julia, you're thinking you don't believe me. Xan, you can't wait to get your powers."
"That's easy. It's obvious what we're thinking. Okay, I'm thinking of food right now. What is it?"
Drew narrowed his eyes. "A big chunk of ham."
Xan turned his eyes to Drew, and then to Julia. "Ham?"
"What? I wanted to test him. He is right, by the way. Cool."
Xan settled back into the seat. "We should hurry back home. Something might have happened to Pru."
*** *** ***
Pru was in her bedroom. She had woken up from her nap, and though she still felt strange, she was more relaxed now. After Aunt Paige had sent her to the room and before she slept, Pru had been thinking about all that had happened. All the while, she had been... changing some of the things in the room without noticing it. When she finally did, she had decided to rest.
So now she was awake. She had begun to accept what was happening to her and her family. My power is great, after all, she thought. Very handy. At the moment, she was toying with a pencil, changing it to a pen. She realized that her power could only last about ten to fifteen seconds. Something she couldn't figure out was how it all worked.
You used to think there were no such things as witches. And now you're a witch. Defying science shouldn't be a problem... Damn. I should have went with them. Then I could amaze them with my matter-altering ability. See me, The Great Purity Madison, able to make a rabbit *into* the hat.
Pru put down the pencil/pen. Maybe I should read through the Book of Shadows. What else can I do?
She jumped and ran out her room when she heard her aunt scream for help.
*** *** ***
Drew stepped on the gas.
Julia was pressed back into the seat. "Okay, why the sudden rush?"
"Aunt Paige's in trouble."
"What? How do you know?" questioned Xan, holding back the groceries about to fall on the car floor.
"I just do. I was trying to pick up on Pru's thoughts and it felt as if she was in danger."
"Okay, Drew, we should slow down a bit."
"There might be a demon or a ghost or something."
"Drew, I think Aunt Paige and Pru can- Look out!"
*** *** ***
"Aunt Paige!" Pru yelled, her voice echoing throughout the house.
"Aaaah!" It was then she realized that the scream had come from the attic.
"Oh no." Pru ran up the stairs, finally getting to the attic door. She tried to turn the knob. Won't open. Pru began to bust down the door. "Paige!" Pru sighted the vase of flowers on a table near her. Taking it into her hands, she concentrated, as faint blue light began to appear around it. Soon, a crowbar had taken its place.
"I'm coming, Paige!"
*** *** ***
"OhGodohGodohGod. We're dead, we're dead."
Julia opened her eyes. Fortunately, they were still alive, right in the middle of an intersection. Strangely though, their car, which was amidst others that were in shambles, was still intact, except for a few minor dents. Stranger still, a shiny, silver field was enveloping their vehicle.
Just as soon as she saw the same silver energy around Xan's hands, the field disappeared. Julia looked at her brother, her lips forming a smile.
"You did it. That was your power."
Drew was looking around him, as people in the streets looked on at the near-five-car pile—up. It didn't seem as if anybody noticed what Xan had just did. Drew breathed a sigh of relief. "That was too close."
Xan looked at his hands in disbelief. His eyes lit up, as he said, "Pru's still in danger. We have to get home fast."
Julia's smile quickly turned into an expression of dread. "Did anybody see us? The shield-thing?"
Drew looked at his sister. "No," he assured her, "and hopefully nobody will see our license plate when we hurry on out of here."
*** *** ***
Finally, Pru was able to jimmy the attic door open, and she quickly slipped inside. Inside, Paige was tied up with a strange rope which gave off an unearthly glow. Near her was a man who, though she had never been formally introduced to, Pru knew enough of to recognize.
"Mr. Inne?!" The man's face contorted into an evil grin, fangs sprouting suddenly from his mouth.
"Pru!" her Aunt Paige yelled. "Help me!"
Feeling the crowbar in her hands, she hurled it at the manor's gardener. In midair, it changed back into a vase and knocked Mr. Inne unconscious.
The alien rope which bound Paige earlier vanished, and she ran to her niece, giving her a hug.
"You know I've been waiting for you."
Pru looked on inn horror as Mr. Inne's eyes flew open, and she found herself tied with the same white cords.
"For twenty-three years, I've been waiting. Now all that has finally paid off."
*** *** ***
"Something's happened."
"What?" cried Julia to Drew, as she was thrown back into the seat.
"We have to hurry. Something's happened to Pru."
Xan looked around them. "Wait, are you sure nobody noticed? Slow down, we might get arrested!"
"There's no time. And I don't know if anyone saw us, I couldn't read their minds. Too far."
"Too far?? You read Pru's mind, and we won't even reach her in ten minutes!"
"I don't know, maybe it has something to do with being family, or something. And we're getting there in less," said Drew.
"Okay, just don't get us in another accident. Please." Julia held her seatbelt tightly.
*** *** ***
After finally arriving, the three hurried up the Halliwell Manor, breathing heavily and with hearts beating fast. Once inside, they called for their sister.
"Pru!"
"Pru?"
They went down the hall, and were welcomed by Paige's dry voice drifting from the conservatory.
"Well, well. It sure did take *you* quite a long time. I was beginning to lose my patience," said Aunt Paige, a cruel smile formed from her lips.
Pru was in a chair, tied together with glowing ropes, their Aunt Paige standing right beside her, pressing a dagger to Pru's neck. Near her was a monstrous Mr. Inne, almost unrecognizable with his fangs and horns. Julia had almost forgotten who he was, since he had been gone ever since they saw him the first day.
"I was getting restless," she continued. "You almost had me slit your sister's throat here."
"Aunt... Paige??" Xan's eyes widened in disbelief.
"No. No." Julia was shaking her head.
"Yes. It's me. See? Aunt Paige. Did you bump your head on something?"
"You're not our aunt," said Drew, his eyes set on the woman in front of him.
Paige rolled her eyes. "Ugh, what is taking you so long? I was thinking, you know, a little 2-on-3 before I get your powers. I don't even know what they are. Why don't you show me a demo, just for old time's sake?" A coat rack turned into some dark blue energy, as it disappeared and reappeared in Paige's hands.
"Here!" Paige threw the blue orb at the three. Xan immediately raised his hands, and the gray field surrounded them, the orb crashing into it and exploding into nothingness.
"Ah, force-fields. I'm going to like that power." Paige looked over to Mr. Inne "Mason?"
Mr. Inne smiled as he cast spheres of black energy at Xan, breaking through his barrier, knocking him senseless.
"Xan!" Julia cried, as she and Drew ran to their brother.
Another ball of dark flew through the air, hitting Drew.
"Drew!" screamed Julia. She held her brothers, tears starting to form in her eyes.
"And then there was one. Hmm. Maybe I'll just kill you anyway. I'm sure any power of the new Charmed Ones will be of great use. Come here." Blue light began to surround Julia, and a feeling of weightlessness came over her.
"No!"
From Julia's hands came bolts of electricity, finding their mark on Mr. Inne and Paige. The two crumpled on the floor, and the ties which had Pru helpless vanished.
"J!" Pru ran to her sister, hugging her. "We have to get out of here." The two sisters helped their brothers get up.
"No," Xan said, his face contorted in pain as he talked, "we have to get to the book."
*** *** ***
The four siblings dashed up the attic stairs. Upon getting there, Xan went instantly to the Book of Shadows. He flipped through its pages, while Pru, seeing a dresser, began to push it toward the door.
"Drew, help me get this on the door."
"How'd mom ever figure out how to find what they were looking for?" Xan's head swam with all the book's pages.
Julia made her way to her brother. "Let me help."
Pru and Drew were now building up a blockade on the door. "No," said Pru, "you have the lightning fingers. You have to be on guard. Oh, and Drew? I know this is a bad time, but what's your power?"
"Reading minds. And I know there's something wrong with Aunt Paige."
"Of course there's something wrong with Aunt Paige!" yelled Xan. "She's a freaking demon!"
With Xan's outburst, the pages of the Book of Shadows began to flip by themselves.
"Whoa. And the pages flip again."
"Whoa is right." Drew shook his head, snapping out of his surprise. "Okay, hear me out. When I try to read someone's mind, usually, only one voice pops in my head. When I tried it with Aunt Paige-"
"Stop calling her Aunt Paige," Pru snapped.
Drew rolled his eyes. "When I tried it, two different voices came up. And one of them didn't feel human."
"So what you're saying is?" Julia asked.
"What, exactly?" Pru interrupted.
"That Aunt Paige has been possessed by a shadow," said Xan.
"Huh?" Drew asked, going over to the BOS.
"It's a low-level demon which usually aid advanced demons. As some demons don't have real shadows, a shadow creature takes its place, sometimes acting as a messenger of sorts. Some are more powerful than others, being able to possess humans, witches and even warlocks and other demons."
"Can we kill it?" Julia was anxiously waiting for the attic door to come down in shambles.
"Wait! What about Mr. Inne?" Pru had been almost inside a trunk, looking for something. In jubilation, she took out a hammer, grasping it in her hand.
Xan flipped through a few pages. "I don't know, maybe he's a shadow too."
Suddenly, the four were thrown back as the attic door exploded in dust and splinters, revealing Paige and Mr. Inne.
"Sorry to invade on your privacy here, but I just couldn't resist eavesdropping on your little chat." She snapped her fingers, signaling her partner to bind them.
"This time, I won't make any mistakes, since I already know your powers. You're right on everything, 'cept for old Mason over here. He's just a golem who knows only one thing – bloodlust. Oh, and I gave him his green thumb. Ain't I the coolest?"
"Why are you doing this?" cried Julia, while she and her siblings struggled to free themselves.
"Why, to steal your powers, my pretty. Hmm. Odd how the youngest of the Power of Three – oh, I'm sorry – Four, has the strongest power, and her sister and brothers are useless."
"I resent that," Xan said, fuming.
"Ah, but you will resent me even more when I kill your younger sister first. The whiniest are always the easiest to get rid of."
"You don't scare us," said Drew.
"Ah, but that's why I have him," replied Paige, referring to Mr. Inne. "Now, to begin..."
Paige walked over to them, but was blocked by Xan's force-field.
"You should know by now that that power's useless against us." Paige began to orb in her hands a dagger, while Mr. Inne was preparing a shadow ball.
"We do." Pru smiled as the ropes, which held her and her siblings' arms, changed into wood splinters. "That's one thing about my power you don't know about." Seeing this, Mr. Inne threw his projectile at the shield. The Madisons escaped just in time, and Julia zapped back the sphere of black, striking Mr. Inne, blowing him up into bits. In fury, Paige threw the dagger at Julia.
"J, look out!"
Julia screamed as Drew grabbed her, escaping from the sharp blade just in time.
"Guys! The spell!" Xan yelled.
"No!!" Paige shrieked. The book began to orb to Paige, but it appeared to have a mind of its own, resisting the foe and falling back on its stand.
"You can't touch our book," said Pru, as she, Xan, Drew and Julia began to chant.
In this darkness hides evil's blight,
Give us the strength and restore our sight..
With power which flows through hearts of kin,
Release the shadow which lives within.
Paige doubled over in pain. She howled in agony, dropping to the ground. A ghostlike, black, featureless creature jumped out of the motionless body.
It looked at them with seething hate, as a hissing sound came from its mouthless face.
Julia raised her hand sending a bolt of electricity at the demon. The shadow creature's body shook as the shock flowed through, and he blew up in dust.
"Aunt Paige."
They crowded around their aunt, fearing the worst.
The eldest child checked her aunt's pulse.
"She's still alive."
*** *** ***
Paige lay on a hospital bed. She had only a few days to go. Her nephews and nieces entered the room. Knowing their aunt had little time left here, smiles were on their faces as they sat down on the uncomfortable room seats.
"Hello," they greeted. "How ya feeling?" asked Julia cheerfully.
Aunt Paige sat herself up. "Hi," she said weakly, "I'm fine, thanks. The drugs they're giving me are making me groggy." Paige grinned.
Pru placed a spray of the manor's daffodils on a small table. "Just clipped a few of these from the house. Is that okay?"
Paige smiled, and nodded. "Thank you for being here. You can't believe what this is doing to me. And especially after what happened... I'm sorry."
"It wasn't like you could do anything," said Xan, comforting his aunt.
"Yeah. You wouldn't believe how it feels. Being able to move your own hands and legs after twenty-so years of being helpless, watching someone else move your body like a puppet."
"We still have so much questions." Pru told her. "But this isn't the time."
"What you told us when you were... taken over. Was that just one big lie?" Drew asked, hesitantly.
"Not everything. The shadow used my thoughts to tell you the truth. But what he didn't tell you was what happened. When I betrayed them all by succumbing to evil. When your Aunt Phoebe and I almost died. When your mother left." Paige sighed, her eyes meeting her family's expectant faces. "And I think it's about time I told you what happened to me. To all of us."
And Paige Matthews told Purity, Drew, Xan and Julia Halliwell-Madison her story.