FOUR
"I've got something," said Piper, coming into the manor.
Paige and Phoebe were already there. There were papers spread
out on the coffee table in the living room and Piper decided that they
had been there for a while. Apparently they had learned some things
as well.
"So do we," said Phoebe. "Not all of it good. What did you
find out?"
"You two first," said Piper. "I want to see if what I think is
going on is actually going on."
"Well," said Phoebe, "apparently I don't work at the paper. In
fact, I don't seem to have a job at all. No one at the job claimed to
know me. Their advice columnist claimed to have worked there for
three years. And Janice acted like she had never met me before. I'm
also on parole from prison. I met my parole officer. Whomever is
doing this has gone to a whole lot of trouble."
"I don't work for Social Services," said Paige, "but unlike
Phoebe, everyone there did seem to know me. They seem to be under the
impression that I work for a lawyer named Carlson. I even found my
office and was able to look around a bit."
"Find anything interesting?" asked Piper.
Phoebe and Paige just looked at each other. Paige reached over
and pulled out a printout of what looked like the front page to a
newspaper. She handed it to Piper.
"This, for one thing," said Paige. "I'm not sure what it means,
but it seems that whomever is doing this to us wants us to think things are completely different from what they really are."
Piper took the paper and looked at it. It was dated about two
years earlier. The headline read "WIFE KILLER GETS LIFE WITHOUT
PAROLE". Beneath the headline was a photograph. It showed Victor
Halliwell being led out of a building in handcuffs flanked by two
policemen. In the background the three sisters could be clearly seen
watching as their father was being led away.
"So, according to this," said Piper after scanning the article,
"dad murdered mom in a jealous rage about three years ago. And he was
found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole."
"Apparently," said Phoebe. "And the picture is good. It
doesn't look like a fake, even though it obviously is."
"I wonder," said Piper thoughtfully.
"I also found some information on the family," said Paige.
"Apparently the computer in my office has access to a great number of
websites. According to the information I found," she pulled out
another piece of paper, "I'm not a half sister. I'm a full sister.
Which explains why the guard at work referred to me as 'Miss
Halliwell' and not 'Miss Matthews', which is my real name. Piper,
you're the oldest and Phoebe is the middle sister."
"What about Prue?" asked Piper. "Did it have anything on Prue?"
"Nothing," said Paige. "According to the information I could
find, we're the only three Halliwell sisters. There's not even a
vague reference to Prue."
"Which explains why the pictures of her disappeared," said
Piper.
"This isn't making any sense," said Paige. "How could someone
have the ability to change all these things? And how could they
possibly have gotten to our friends and coworkers and have them
pretend not to know us? I don't think even the CIA or the F.B.I. have
that kind of power. It doesn't make any sense."
"I think it does," said Piper.
"Why?" asked Phoebe. "What did you find out?"
"I went back to the center, just as I said I would," said Piper.
"I searched Pamela's room but didn't find anything. Everything was
pretty much just as we saw it the other day."
"Well, at least that hasn't changed," said Paige.
"Patrice came in while I was there," said Piper. "But she was
different. Her clothes were different from what she was wearing the
other day. And her demeanor was different. More confident. More
self-assured. It's like she was a totally different person."
"Maybe we just caught her when she was tired the other night,"
suggested Phoebe. "People act differently depending on their mood,
you know that."
"I know," said Piper. "But there was something else. She was
wearing a necklace. A necklace with the symbol of the triquetra on
it."
"Are you sure?" asked Phoebe. "The triquetra is our symbol.
It's the symbol that shows we are . . . were the Charmed Ones."
"There's more," said Piper. "While Patrice and I were talking,
someone else came in. It was Leo. And he didn't recognize me. It
was as if he'd never seen me before. He had no idea who I was."
"That's impossible," said Phoebe. "Leo's our White Lighter.
His job is to guide and instruct us. Even if someone were trying to
convince us that things were different, they could never get to Leo."
"No, they couldn't," said Piper. "But I'm telling you, Leo had
no idea who I was. And the way he spoke to Patrice, it was like he
was telling her about a demon attack they had to get to. You know,
the way he does with us when others are around. She knew exactly what
he was talking about and they left almost immediately."
"That's strange," said Paige. "What you're describing is
another group of Charmed Ones. That's not possible."
"I think it is," said Piper. "Think about everything that's
happened since we first woke up. All the pictures of Prue and Paige's
parents have vanished. The Book of Shadows has disappeared. We all
know that no one could have sneaked in and stole it.
"Then we find out that everything we know has changed. We don't
work where we used to. None of our friends seem to know us. Phoebe
is on parole from prison. Paige works for some lawyer and apparently
has for some time. And then we find Leo and what appears to be
another Charmed One. Someone who's not even in the Halliwell family.
Which means that, as we know it, she couldn't possibly be a Charmed
One."
"What are you trying to tell us, Piper?" asked Phoebe.
"I don't think anyone is trying to convince us of anything,"
said Piper. "I think that everything we've experienced is genuine.
Leo and Patrice orbed out of the center. Which means that Leo is
still a White Lighter. And if he's with Patrice, she must be a witch.
The necklace she was wearing would identify her as a Charmed One."
"You're sounding crazy," said Paige. "That's not possible."
"Anything is possible with magic," said Phoebe. "We've all seen
some pretty strange things that magic can do."
"Exactly," said Piper. "I think that someone, or something, has
somehow been able to change things. Everything that we know and
understand. Maybe whoever it is has gone back in time and been able
to alter things. It's happened before. When we went back in time to
save Melinda. I think something like that has happened here."
"You mean," said Phoebe, "that this is how things might have
been if we had never been the Charmed Ones? I don't think I like this
version of our lives."
"That might explain part of it," said Paige, "but not
everything. It might explain why we're not the Charmed Ones, but it
doesn't explain why I don't have my White Lighter powers. My father
was still a White Lighter. Even if someone was able to go back and
change things, if I didn't have the same two parents, I wouldn't be
who I am."
"That makes sense," said Phoebe. "There's got to be more to it
than someone going back in time and changing things."
"You're absolutely right," said a female voice.
The sisters watched as a woman suddenly orbed into the living
room.
"I've got something," said Piper, coming into the manor.
Paige and Phoebe were already there. There were papers spread
out on the coffee table in the living room and Piper decided that they
had been there for a while. Apparently they had learned some things
as well.
"So do we," said Phoebe. "Not all of it good. What did you
find out?"
"You two first," said Piper. "I want to see if what I think is
going on is actually going on."
"Well," said Phoebe, "apparently I don't work at the paper. In
fact, I don't seem to have a job at all. No one at the job claimed to
know me. Their advice columnist claimed to have worked there for
three years. And Janice acted like she had never met me before. I'm
also on parole from prison. I met my parole officer. Whomever is
doing this has gone to a whole lot of trouble."
"I don't work for Social Services," said Paige, "but unlike
Phoebe, everyone there did seem to know me. They seem to be under the
impression that I work for a lawyer named Carlson. I even found my
office and was able to look around a bit."
"Find anything interesting?" asked Piper.
Phoebe and Paige just looked at each other. Paige reached over
and pulled out a printout of what looked like the front page to a
newspaper. She handed it to Piper.
"This, for one thing," said Paige. "I'm not sure what it means,
but it seems that whomever is doing this to us wants us to think things are completely different from what they really are."
Piper took the paper and looked at it. It was dated about two
years earlier. The headline read "WIFE KILLER GETS LIFE WITHOUT
PAROLE". Beneath the headline was a photograph. It showed Victor
Halliwell being led out of a building in handcuffs flanked by two
policemen. In the background the three sisters could be clearly seen
watching as their father was being led away.
"So, according to this," said Piper after scanning the article,
"dad murdered mom in a jealous rage about three years ago. And he was
found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole."
"Apparently," said Phoebe. "And the picture is good. It
doesn't look like a fake, even though it obviously is."
"I wonder," said Piper thoughtfully.
"I also found some information on the family," said Paige.
"Apparently the computer in my office has access to a great number of
websites. According to the information I found," she pulled out
another piece of paper, "I'm not a half sister. I'm a full sister.
Which explains why the guard at work referred to me as 'Miss
Halliwell' and not 'Miss Matthews', which is my real name. Piper,
you're the oldest and Phoebe is the middle sister."
"What about Prue?" asked Piper. "Did it have anything on Prue?"
"Nothing," said Paige. "According to the information I could
find, we're the only three Halliwell sisters. There's not even a
vague reference to Prue."
"Which explains why the pictures of her disappeared," said
Piper.
"This isn't making any sense," said Paige. "How could someone
have the ability to change all these things? And how could they
possibly have gotten to our friends and coworkers and have them
pretend not to know us? I don't think even the CIA or the F.B.I. have
that kind of power. It doesn't make any sense."
"I think it does," said Piper.
"Why?" asked Phoebe. "What did you find out?"
"I went back to the center, just as I said I would," said Piper.
"I searched Pamela's room but didn't find anything. Everything was
pretty much just as we saw it the other day."
"Well, at least that hasn't changed," said Paige.
"Patrice came in while I was there," said Piper. "But she was
different. Her clothes were different from what she was wearing the
other day. And her demeanor was different. More confident. More
self-assured. It's like she was a totally different person."
"Maybe we just caught her when she was tired the other night,"
suggested Phoebe. "People act differently depending on their mood,
you know that."
"I know," said Piper. "But there was something else. She was
wearing a necklace. A necklace with the symbol of the triquetra on
it."
"Are you sure?" asked Phoebe. "The triquetra is our symbol.
It's the symbol that shows we are . . . were the Charmed Ones."
"There's more," said Piper. "While Patrice and I were talking,
someone else came in. It was Leo. And he didn't recognize me. It
was as if he'd never seen me before. He had no idea who I was."
"That's impossible," said Phoebe. "Leo's our White Lighter.
His job is to guide and instruct us. Even if someone were trying to
convince us that things were different, they could never get to Leo."
"No, they couldn't," said Piper. "But I'm telling you, Leo had
no idea who I was. And the way he spoke to Patrice, it was like he
was telling her about a demon attack they had to get to. You know,
the way he does with us when others are around. She knew exactly what
he was talking about and they left almost immediately."
"That's strange," said Paige. "What you're describing is
another group of Charmed Ones. That's not possible."
"I think it is," said Piper. "Think about everything that's
happened since we first woke up. All the pictures of Prue and Paige's
parents have vanished. The Book of Shadows has disappeared. We all
know that no one could have sneaked in and stole it.
"Then we find out that everything we know has changed. We don't
work where we used to. None of our friends seem to know us. Phoebe
is on parole from prison. Paige works for some lawyer and apparently
has for some time. And then we find Leo and what appears to be
another Charmed One. Someone who's not even in the Halliwell family.
Which means that, as we know it, she couldn't possibly be a Charmed
One."
"What are you trying to tell us, Piper?" asked Phoebe.
"I don't think anyone is trying to convince us of anything,"
said Piper. "I think that everything we've experienced is genuine.
Leo and Patrice orbed out of the center. Which means that Leo is
still a White Lighter. And if he's with Patrice, she must be a witch.
The necklace she was wearing would identify her as a Charmed One."
"You're sounding crazy," said Paige. "That's not possible."
"Anything is possible with magic," said Phoebe. "We've all seen
some pretty strange things that magic can do."
"Exactly," said Piper. "I think that someone, or something, has
somehow been able to change things. Everything that we know and
understand. Maybe whoever it is has gone back in time and been able
to alter things. It's happened before. When we went back in time to
save Melinda. I think something like that has happened here."
"You mean," said Phoebe, "that this is how things might have
been if we had never been the Charmed Ones? I don't think I like this
version of our lives."
"That might explain part of it," said Paige, "but not
everything. It might explain why we're not the Charmed Ones, but it
doesn't explain why I don't have my White Lighter powers. My father
was still a White Lighter. Even if someone was able to go back and
change things, if I didn't have the same two parents, I wouldn't be
who I am."
"That makes sense," said Phoebe. "There's got to be more to it
than someone going back in time and changing things."
"You're absolutely right," said a female voice.
The sisters watched as a woman suddenly orbed into the living
room.