Charmed
"The fight" Part 1
It had been a few weeks now after the Charmed ones met their new neighbor. Paige had shocked when she opened the door after their time- traveling and saw the leader of the League of Seven standing in front of her. Luckily for her, this reincarnation of Dorian wasn't evil, or at least that's what she was led to believe. She had almost attacked him when behind him his wife came forward. Paige was still ready to strike, remembering that the other member of the League of Seven that they hadn't killed was a woman, but the Jacques' (Dorian's last name) son sprung forward with her mother, and Paige had a soft-spot for children. She realized that they couldn't be evil. The family was introduced to the Halliwells (Piper and Phoebe were equally terrified when they met their new neighbors), and they hadn't heard from them ever since. That would change in the upcoming days.
Watching the ancient Charmed ones die was a milestone in the girls' relationship with witchcraft. After seeing how defenseless those extremely powerful witches had become during their fight with the League of Seven, the three of them had all secretly been practicing with their powers. They even started writing some pages on the Book of Shadows, something that they had done only a couple of times during their four years as witches.
Apparently Sam wasn't that mistaken when he told Paige that there was a whitelighter manual. With all the free time the youngest Halliwell sister had she started doing some research about angels (which could be considered Whitelighting 101) and had benefited from her rekindled relationship with her biological father. He taught her how to orb faster and clever ways to blend in after orbing in a public place. She was glad to develop this part of her powers, she had only started to use them to their full extent. But the best part was the magical library. Leo had never shared this information with the Charmed ones because the Book of Shadows had always been reliable and they never seemed to need more information, but there was a secret library in downtown San Francisco that could only be visited by magical beings (sort of like Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter universe). Paige was ecstatic when she saw all the volumes of the history of magic and was especially pleased when she found the potion books row. She started making even more potions than she already was.
And after some days of going through the whole library, just to see all the books it contained, Sam presented her with her Whitelighter Manual (she bought it for her, that's the only way that a new whitelighter can get one, when another one gives it to him or her as a gift). It was almost as thick as the Book of Shadows! It had Paige's name carved on the top, like the triquetra of that other magical tome she had at home. It wasn't a surprise for Sam when his daughter dived head-on her new book. Paige wanted to read it all the same day Sam had given it to her, but it was a large book and that wasn't possible. Curiously Paige couldn't take her manual home, she had to leave it there every day after several hours of reading. She hated this stupid rule but she never won the arguments she had with the strict librarian. If you think your local librarian's tough imagine a woman who has to guard thousands of magical books!
But there was an added bonus to visiting the library. Paige was finally meeting other witches. She had always wondered why the only witches she met were either dead or were just innocents she saved and never met again. Since it was a magical library all kinds of creatures came and went during her hours reading. She already had a werewolf friend and was a bit scared when a female vampire had asked her if she wanted some blood. Paige wasn't that keen on vampires since the last time she had been one, but this one was just polite, she had seen Paige's white skin and after only seeing her at night she assumed the Charmed one was also a vampire.
After a strange encounter like the one with the vampire Paige had met James. He was a witch like her. They met when one day when she had gone up to Mrs. Von Troop (the fierce librarian) to ask for her whitelighter manual (they were kept in a special shelf that could only be accessed by her) and she wasn't able to find it. Paige was very alarmed because the warning at the beginning of the book said that manuals must never be lost (there's a whole chapter on how to find your way to the Elder's council when orbing), but she calmed down when someone said, "here it is, you left it on the table." That was James. Since then, he had been Paige's hero. She never exactly knew what powers he had, but he was a walking library, and for the moment this was a huge turn-on for Paige. They quickly became friends and spent hours discussing about the right ingredients for each potion. She was really happy when she was with James.
Piper was glad to see how happy her sister was. Paige had come back after her first day at the library and told Piper and Phoebe all about it, like a child who comes back after the first day at school. Piper was especially glad because she finally had the house to herself during the day. Phoebe went to work at the crack of dawn (Piper was amazed at how she was becoming so much like Prue) and didn't come back until dinnertime. It was the same for Paige, she woke up early, had breakfast with Piper and Leo and went all day to the library. Piper even made her lunch and bought her a Charlie's Angels vintage lunchbox (Paige loved the show, said she felt connected with the angels somehow). Leo was working all day, Piper never bothered him anymore about being late after their baby had switched their powers and she knew all the work a whitelighter had to do. So the manor was all hers. She loved it.
After a wild shopping spree that quickly ended when Piper remembered what happened when she was infected by the demon with the seven deadly sins, she had finally finished the baby's nursery. She bought everything from a beautiful cradle, what seemed like a million stuffed animals, and all the things a parent thinks a baby needs (she kept a brown box, just for the cute pictures Phoebe told her she'd take). Piper also started cooking again, it had been a long time since she had been a chef and she missed being at the kitchen all day brewing up something that wasn't meant to vanquish a demon. She made cookies, cakes, pies, soups, sauces, and mixed them in the most eerie ways to satisfy her cravings (she was pregnant after all). After a long discussion with Leo and her sisters she had finally accepted to the whole home-birthing idea. Or at least that's what Piper had led them to believe.
The shock of seeing her ancestor die had great importance for Piper too. The fear of leaving her child motherless had grown stronger, so the fact that she was alone for the most part of the day gave Piper time to finally visit a real doctor. She liked Eva and everything, but after seeing some pictures of her mother in a real hospital after having Prue, she got up the nerve to visit one. She didn't know which doctor to go to, but after asking in many of the baby stores she had visited one name stood out from the rest, Dr. Parker Weil. He was new in town, gave appointments to almost no one and was apparently one of the best in the country. And besides, he had Piper at the P name.
The power practicing wasn't something only Paige did. Instead of going to the Lamaze class (Piper thought it was stupid and was tired of ending up alone since Leo always left before it even started) she stayed at her sisters-free home and practiced her powers with the baby. She knew that the baby understood everything she said so Piper was able to freeze or blow up anything she wanted without the baby interfering with her powers. She was getting so good that she could even freeze or blow up things even when she wasn't looking at them, like the kid the Charmed ones had helped a few years earlier who could move things with his mind without seeing them.
So she wasn't so scared anymore then about going to a real doctor with the threat of exposing herself as a witch. She got an appointment with Dr. Weil very quickly, which was odd since supposedly it was something impossible (according to one saleswoman you had to wait almost a year for him to meet with you, which is stupid for a pregnant woman if you think about it), and when she was in the elevator going up to his consult, she warned the baby about using powers and confidently entered the doctor's office, knowing the family secret was safe and that her child would behave.
Dr. Weil was perfect. Funny, smart, and handsome, Piper understood why he was so popular with pregnant women. She even called him Parker. He was very casual and intelligently managed to calm down all the women that visited him. Piper had only had about three or four consults but she felt as if Parker and she were old friends. His reputation was true, he was a great doctor and patiently answered all the questions Piper had. They ended up talking a lot and that's why the pregnant Charmed one felt they were so close. Piper told him about not wanting to take too much drugs, so he kindly prescribed some herbs she could take and gave her a special powder mix he made for nausea. She was very happy because his remedy stopped the excruciating nausea she had been having for almost all of her pregnancy. She even got an ultrasound picture which she proudly showed to all the women at her pre-natal yoga class.
Phoebe was very happy for her sisters. Paige only spoke about all the things she was learning at the library and about James, and Piper liked being alone all day so much that it seemed like each morning she wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. Phoebe was working really hard at the newspaper, besides her column she was also now a reporter (small pieces) and was also taking a class on journalism on her alma mater. Her sisters thought that she was avoiding magic after the whole time-travel experience, but they were sorely mistaken. Phoebe had been leaving for work so early because she left early from the office, took her journalism class, and then went to practice with her powers.
Her powers had advanced some months before but the premonitions had shortly disappeared again when she went back to work and especially after she started taking her class. She wasn't going to let that happen again so she remembered how when she worked at Bucklands with Prue she had some premonitions with the objects up for auction, that's how she got the idea to go back there and try to recover her power. The girls had some boxes in the basement of the manor where they had put all of Prue's things after Paige moved in and used their older sister's room. She went through the boxes and finally found what she was looking for, her sister's key for the Bucklands' warehouse, where they kept everything. Phoebe left her class one day and headed to the place where her oldest sister used to work in. It was very different from when she had last seen it and she was curious about Prue's office, but she didn't want to be spotted because somebody could remember her. So she snuck through the emergency staircase and to her surprise they hadn't changed the locks so the key still worked.
The warehouse was as she remembered. It almost seemed like it had the same vases, paintings, lamps, and chairs dusting up. But what Phoebe was looking for were the boxes with the jewelry items, the last time she had gotten a premonition was with a bracelet, so she wanted to start with something like that. She found one box with necklaces and chose one with a blue gem (there was a beautiful one with a red one, but she had bad memories about necklaces with red jewels). Phoebe concentrated very hard wanting to call a premonition but it was useless, nothing came up. She tried a couple of more times and was almost getting frustrated when she took the last necklace of the box, a very simple golden one. The premonition came immediately, and it was stronger than before.
Phoebe's astral projection was inside the premonition like the last time with they gypsy charm. She was in a hospital, but it wasn't San Francisco, Phoebe realized she was in Paris after she saw the Eiffel tower through the window. No one could see her, it was like she was a ghost, so she started walking around and for no reason went into a room. There was an old woman in the bed and for a moment the Charmed one thought the old lady had looked at her. But then she saw that her husband was standing behind her at the door. He looked very sad. There was no one else in the room which Phoebe thought was strange and after a short conversation in French that Phoebe couldn't understand the man went out again to look for someone. Phoebe noticed the golden chain in the old woman's hand. A young woman came in and Phoebe understood that a family had just reunited. The dying mother gave her daughter the chain and then the premonition ended.
Phoebe loved the experience. She was able to move inside the premonition and to some extent control the length of it. The Charmed one found another jewelry box and practiced again. When there was no more jewelry left she continued with furniture. It was great, her power was up and running and she got to visit a lot of places. She visited ancient China with a vase, a marble sculpture got her a trip to Greece, and a beautiful chair transported her to 19th. century England (she was glad to finally understand a conversation). Every time she got a new premonition she practiced moving things inside it. Like Patrick Swayze in Ghost, another of her favorite films. She was getting so good at it that she even drank a cup of tea during her visit to England. Although there was a downside to the voyages, when she came to herself she was very tired. Piper even wanted to call Elise so she wouldn't make her sister work so much. Phoebe didn't mention her practicing to her sisters.
All the events in the Charmed one's lives had kept them so busy that they didn't realize how long it had been since they were attacked by a demon. The vanquishing marathon that preceded the time-travel was the last time any of the girls had killed evil. What they really didn't know was that someone was else was helping them with that job.
Dorian and Clara were indeed the only two living members of the League of Seven. They were going to attack the girls after the other five demons did, but when they blinked inside the house they overheard when Leo gave them the rings and while the sisters were in the past the demons came up with a plan to surprise their enemies. They killed the Charmed one's neighbors (an old couple defenseless to their fireballs) and kept their grandson alive so he could pose as their son. They had mind-controlling powers so the boy didn't try to escape and tell someone. They began their plan by eliminating all the evil that came near the sisters. Every time there was a warlock attack they quickly killed it so the sisters wouldn't even get the call for help. They did that with the weaker demons, the more powerful ones they recruited to help them in their plan against the sisters. Dorian had already found two incredibly strong warlocks and Clara came across another powerful demon. They wanted an army.
It was a Thursday night and for the first time in a long time everybody was at the manor for dinner. Piper had been cooking all day (she was in a great mood after a morning appointment with Dr. Weil) and she had prepared a feast. Everybody was very hungry. Paige had spent all her day showing her quick orbing to James, Leo was off for the night, and Phoebe came home early after her trip to Spain (a sword took her to the inquisition, it wasn't pretty). Piper walked in from the kitchen and the family was amazed by all the delicious food which they all enjoyed. When they had finished eating and were about to clean the table and go see a movie Leo was called by the Elders and so he went away to help one of his charges. The doorbell rang and Paige went to answer while Piper picked up and washed the dishes and Phoebe ran up to the attic to look for her favorite blanket so she would be warm and cozy for the movie.
Paige answered the door and it was James. "Hi James, what are you doing here? I thought we said we would meet each other tomorrow at the library." Paige was confused but her friend quickly answered, "I know we agreed to that, but I spent such a great time today that I wanted to drop by and thank you for everything." Almost forgetting her manners, the Charmed one invited him in and they kept talking in the living room. "It's been great meeting you Paige, I never thought I would find someone so beautiful and special that could also understand all the things that come with being a witch." Paige was blushing, you could really tell because of her incredibly white skin. "I'm also very happy when I'm with you, in fact I was just telling my sisters all about our day and was going to call you to invite you for dinner tomorrow, so you can meet the whole family." James accepted and they kept chatting about a potion he had started making for a vengeance demon he knew was in town.
In the kitchen Piper was washing the dishes when suddenly she heard someone knocking at the kitchen door. It was Parker. Piper was delighted to see him and let him in. "Parker, what a surprise! What are you doing here?" To which he answered, "well, you forgot the nausea powder you asked me for today during our consult and I was in the neighborhood so I thought I could bring it to your house, no charge for the house visit of course." Piper laughed and said, "you shouldn't have bothered with that," she suddenly remembered how no one else knew about Parker, "thank you very much and I guess I'll see you then next week." Piper wanted to almost throw him out of the manor, but Dr. Weil made a charming comment about her being his favorite patient and how nothing was a bother when it concerned Piper and then he smiled. The sister stood in awe every time Parker smiled with his perfect white shiny teeth. She forgot about being caught by her sisters for going to a real doctor and offered Dr. Weil a cup of coffee. He gladly accepted and they sat in the kitchen table.
Phoebe was up in the attic and after finding her blanket she was ready to go down, make some popcorn and enjoy her movie when she got a premonition. She had touched the attic door and suddenly she projected inside the attic, only it was a bit darker. She turned around and saw Jordan, the neighbor's kid grabbing the Book of Shadows and running to the door. Her practicing with her powers helped since she was able to tackle him and take back the Book of Shadows. But then the premonition ended. Jordan wasn't there, but Phoebe knew he might come later and try to steal their heritage. She turned around so she could warn her sisters but she was thrown in the air and hit herself with the trunk from which she took the blanket. When she finally came to herself, she saw Dorian and Clara. She didn't know what was going on but that quickly changed when the warlock started talking. "We've come to kill you and your sisters, we can see you've prevented us from getting the Book of Shadows, but that's about to change." Jordan came in the attic and since he wasn't evil he was able to take the Book of Shadows. Phoebe tried to attack but Clara sent an energy ball towards her and she was thrown to the other side of the room. Clara left with Jordan and the Book of Shadows while Dorian walked near Phoebe ready to kill her. The Charmed one screamed for help but the demon laughed and said, "they can't help you, we have them covered."
Both Paige and Piper heard the cry for help, many fights in the past had started with someone warning the others about danger in the attic. But when both of them stood up and tried to go and help they noticed that the men they were with were evil. James and Parker suddenly changed and their eyes were pitch-black. The sisters were afraid and for a good reason since the two were telekinetically thrown and blacked out.
The fight had begun.
Phoebe was having a hard time evading and trying to attack Dorian. One of his powers consisted on throwing energy balls that could bounce off walls and search their prey. Phoebe was glad she'd also been training with her levitation but regretted not taking the martial arts class she had intended too. Suddenly there were about five energy balls following her and finally one hit her in the back. She was near the ceiling (she had also gained some control over her levitation) so the fall was hard. Dorian laughed but Phoebe didn't give up. The sister remembered all the athames they had scattered in the manor and reached for one to attack Dorian. She didn't think that would vanquish him, but for now she just wanted to hurt him.
Behind the kitchen counter Piper woke up and felt really bad. Parker had thrown her against the wall and the glass from the counter windows had shattered. She had a nasty cut on her left arm, and was waiting for the baby to heal her when nothing happened. Parker was looking at her and laughed, "you really thought that was just nausea powder? That is a very special potion that slowly diminishes a witch's power. Your baby may still be alive, but he can't help you right now." Piper was both angry and amazed, because she had just found out her baby would be a boy. She wasn't going to let a demon kill her son before he was even born. The oldest Charmed one stood up and headed for her kitchen knives to use them as weapons but Parker threw a lightning bolt at her. Piper's reflexes were better than ever with all the practicing so she was able to freeze the bolt before it hit her. "Very nice witch, but I've got more powers up my sleeve." He was right, large ninja stars appeared in his hands and he swiftly threw them at Piper. She blew them up without hesitating. Her maternal instinct was at its highest, and she wasn't going to let a warlock kill her or her son.
Paige felt like she used to when she woke up the morning after all- night partying, but right now it was even worse. She touched her head and when she saw her hand it had a bit of blood. She was also very dizzy. The youngest Charmed one came to her senses and saw James standing in front of her guarding her. She remembered what had happened and orbed out. To her surprise, a force kept her from going anywhere and she was just able to move a few feet. "No orbing today Paige, I'll make sure of that." "You bastard, what have you done to my powers?!" Paige was really mad and expected an answer. "You were stupid never asking me what my powers were, and really stupid for showing me your blitz-orbing. I have the ability to contain powers, not only deflect them, so you won't be able to leave." Paige felt very stupid for trusting James so much, but she had to get to the attic to help Phoebe. She called for several things to throw at James but with a wave of his hand the objects returned to where they were. She was almost defenseless.
The three sisters were in great danger. The warlocks and demons they were facing were very powerful, and they didn't stand a chance being apart. The Charmed ones knew that in order to vanquish them, they'd have to use the Power of Three, so they had to figure out a way to regroup.
The athames didn't work. Dorian was powerful and quickly shimmered or blinked when he was in danger of being hit. Phoebe was hiding behind a couch but knew that the demon could strike again anytime. She had to figure out a way to contact her sisters. It came to her suddenly, she remembered the mind-reading spell her sisters had cast a few years ago when they wanted to know if their boyfriends were evil, but she couldn't make out all the words, so she had to improvise. Dorian saw some shimmers around Phoebe and knew that wasn't good, so with a wave of his hand the couch disappeared. Phoebe had to find a new place to hide before she could attack Dorian again.
"Paige?! Piper?! Can you hear me?" Both sisters were shocked to hear their sister's voice on their heads and answered in unison, "yes Phoebe, where are you?" Piper also remembered the mind-reading spell so she knew what was going on and Paige was just glad to find out that her sister had telepathy. "OK, first you Piper, where are you and is someone attacking you?" Piper didn't want to answer to the second question, but the situation didn't give her much of a chance. "Kitchen and my gynecologist turned evil is keeping me here." Piper suddenly heard the same thing from both her sisters, "gynecologist! When did you get a doctor Piper?" She explained everything and their sisters told her they really needed a long chat after the fight to clear things out, but right now they were in danger. "Now Paige, what about you?" "Living room and James, that son of a bitch! He also has the power to contain my orbing, I can't leave this place with him here!" Piper told them about what Parker had done to the baby and also about it being a boy. Her sisters were glad but they would celebrate later. "And you Phoebe, are you in the attic?" Piper's question was quickly answered. "Yes, I'm in the attic and guess who planned all this, Dorian! Seems like we should've vanquished him that day after all. He and Clara are evil, and Jordan took the Book of Shadows." The sisters knew they were in great danger, and they had to figure out a way to vanquish the demons without the Book of Shadows.
"First things first, we need the Power of Three, so Piper, since Paige can't leave the living room we'll have to get to her. Can't you freeze your doctor?" Phoebe had started to make a plan. Piper answered, "I think I can, but it won't last long, he won't blow up either. I hate it when that happens. What about you? How are you going to come downstairs without Dorian killing you?" Phoebe told her that she would figure something out, but that she should go now to join Paige. Paige had to keep herself alive which was easy since James would only use his power when she tried to escape or attack him.
Piper had an idea. If she could blow things up all around Parker maybe she could dodge him without him attacking her again. The cut on her arm was really bad but Leo didn't answer to her calls. What Piper didn't know was that even if Leo wanted to orb in the house he couldn't because of a shield the demons had put up around the house. She was still hiding behind the kitchen counter, and Parker couldn't see her, but she started blowing up things around him. She was thankful for the practicing of her powers. She blew up the plant that was on the table, the glass of the cabinet in front of the table, the lamp over him, the glass of the door that lead to the washer and drier, and two of the chairs. Parker tried to evade all the explosions, but he was hit by the lamp. Piper saw a chance of escaping and sprinted to the living room. She turned around and froze Parker. She knew it wouldn't last, but at least she could get to Paige before he shocked her with a lightning bolt. She entered the living room through the solarium, surprising Parker so he couldn't contain the freezing and so Piper joined Paige. Now they just needed Phoebe.
Phoebe was a bit desperate. Attacking Dorian with her martial arts wasn't going to help her, he evaded her all the time so that offense was useless. Then she got an idea, she managed to take one of the athames she had thrown to Dorian, and with her ever-evolving power she called a premonition. She went to the past, right when she was about to throw the first blade to the demon. But she projected behind Dorian and since she caught him off-guard, she gave him a triple kick which rendered him unconscious. She came out of the premonition, saw that Dorian was still on the floor, and although she was more tired than ever before after coming back from a premonition she headed for the door, and ran down the stairs to meet her sisters. Parker and James were standing in front of the living room guarding Piper and Paige, so they didn't notice when Phoebe came behind them and jumped over them using her levitation. Piper knew she had to quickly distract them so she froze them but that only worked on Parker so Paige tried to orb out so James would use his power on her instead of Phoebe. She landed in front of the couch where the sisters were shielding themselves and so the three of them were finally together.
"Nice to see you guys!" Phoebe was still panting from the running, but she was glad about finally being with her sisters. Now they could think of something to vanquish the demons using the Power of Three. Parker and James were again waiting so they had a few moments before Dorian woke up and came down. "What are we going to do now?" Phoebe was scared at the thought of having to face all three demons plus Clara without the help of the Book of Shadows. "I can't remember any spells that could help us right now," Paige said and then after thinking a bit continued, "and all the offensive potions I made last week are in the kitchen, one of those could work to attack them." Phoebe and Paige looked at Piper hoping she had already figured out a plan to kill all the evil in the house. She looked back at them and said, "why are you looking at me? I'm not the one that figures out plans, that was Prue's job! I really hope she could be here, she always knew what to do when we were in danger, I'm not good at staying calm in these tense situations." Phoebe added, "it would be great if Prue was here! She would probably think of something that'd vanquish them in a minute." Piper in despair repeated, "I wish Prue was here!"
"I am."
It had been a few weeks now after the Charmed ones met their new neighbor. Paige had shocked when she opened the door after their time- traveling and saw the leader of the League of Seven standing in front of her. Luckily for her, this reincarnation of Dorian wasn't evil, or at least that's what she was led to believe. She had almost attacked him when behind him his wife came forward. Paige was still ready to strike, remembering that the other member of the League of Seven that they hadn't killed was a woman, but the Jacques' (Dorian's last name) son sprung forward with her mother, and Paige had a soft-spot for children. She realized that they couldn't be evil. The family was introduced to the Halliwells (Piper and Phoebe were equally terrified when they met their new neighbors), and they hadn't heard from them ever since. That would change in the upcoming days.
Watching the ancient Charmed ones die was a milestone in the girls' relationship with witchcraft. After seeing how defenseless those extremely powerful witches had become during their fight with the League of Seven, the three of them had all secretly been practicing with their powers. They even started writing some pages on the Book of Shadows, something that they had done only a couple of times during their four years as witches.
Apparently Sam wasn't that mistaken when he told Paige that there was a whitelighter manual. With all the free time the youngest Halliwell sister had she started doing some research about angels (which could be considered Whitelighting 101) and had benefited from her rekindled relationship with her biological father. He taught her how to orb faster and clever ways to blend in after orbing in a public place. She was glad to develop this part of her powers, she had only started to use them to their full extent. But the best part was the magical library. Leo had never shared this information with the Charmed ones because the Book of Shadows had always been reliable and they never seemed to need more information, but there was a secret library in downtown San Francisco that could only be visited by magical beings (sort of like Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter universe). Paige was ecstatic when she saw all the volumes of the history of magic and was especially pleased when she found the potion books row. She started making even more potions than she already was.
And after some days of going through the whole library, just to see all the books it contained, Sam presented her with her Whitelighter Manual (she bought it for her, that's the only way that a new whitelighter can get one, when another one gives it to him or her as a gift). It was almost as thick as the Book of Shadows! It had Paige's name carved on the top, like the triquetra of that other magical tome she had at home. It wasn't a surprise for Sam when his daughter dived head-on her new book. Paige wanted to read it all the same day Sam had given it to her, but it was a large book and that wasn't possible. Curiously Paige couldn't take her manual home, she had to leave it there every day after several hours of reading. She hated this stupid rule but she never won the arguments she had with the strict librarian. If you think your local librarian's tough imagine a woman who has to guard thousands of magical books!
But there was an added bonus to visiting the library. Paige was finally meeting other witches. She had always wondered why the only witches she met were either dead or were just innocents she saved and never met again. Since it was a magical library all kinds of creatures came and went during her hours reading. She already had a werewolf friend and was a bit scared when a female vampire had asked her if she wanted some blood. Paige wasn't that keen on vampires since the last time she had been one, but this one was just polite, she had seen Paige's white skin and after only seeing her at night she assumed the Charmed one was also a vampire.
After a strange encounter like the one with the vampire Paige had met James. He was a witch like her. They met when one day when she had gone up to Mrs. Von Troop (the fierce librarian) to ask for her whitelighter manual (they were kept in a special shelf that could only be accessed by her) and she wasn't able to find it. Paige was very alarmed because the warning at the beginning of the book said that manuals must never be lost (there's a whole chapter on how to find your way to the Elder's council when orbing), but she calmed down when someone said, "here it is, you left it on the table." That was James. Since then, he had been Paige's hero. She never exactly knew what powers he had, but he was a walking library, and for the moment this was a huge turn-on for Paige. They quickly became friends and spent hours discussing about the right ingredients for each potion. She was really happy when she was with James.
Piper was glad to see how happy her sister was. Paige had come back after her first day at the library and told Piper and Phoebe all about it, like a child who comes back after the first day at school. Piper was especially glad because she finally had the house to herself during the day. Phoebe went to work at the crack of dawn (Piper was amazed at how she was becoming so much like Prue) and didn't come back until dinnertime. It was the same for Paige, she woke up early, had breakfast with Piper and Leo and went all day to the library. Piper even made her lunch and bought her a Charlie's Angels vintage lunchbox (Paige loved the show, said she felt connected with the angels somehow). Leo was working all day, Piper never bothered him anymore about being late after their baby had switched their powers and she knew all the work a whitelighter had to do. So the manor was all hers. She loved it.
After a wild shopping spree that quickly ended when Piper remembered what happened when she was infected by the demon with the seven deadly sins, she had finally finished the baby's nursery. She bought everything from a beautiful cradle, what seemed like a million stuffed animals, and all the things a parent thinks a baby needs (she kept a brown box, just for the cute pictures Phoebe told her she'd take). Piper also started cooking again, it had been a long time since she had been a chef and she missed being at the kitchen all day brewing up something that wasn't meant to vanquish a demon. She made cookies, cakes, pies, soups, sauces, and mixed them in the most eerie ways to satisfy her cravings (she was pregnant after all). After a long discussion with Leo and her sisters she had finally accepted to the whole home-birthing idea. Or at least that's what Piper had led them to believe.
The shock of seeing her ancestor die had great importance for Piper too. The fear of leaving her child motherless had grown stronger, so the fact that she was alone for the most part of the day gave Piper time to finally visit a real doctor. She liked Eva and everything, but after seeing some pictures of her mother in a real hospital after having Prue, she got up the nerve to visit one. She didn't know which doctor to go to, but after asking in many of the baby stores she had visited one name stood out from the rest, Dr. Parker Weil. He was new in town, gave appointments to almost no one and was apparently one of the best in the country. And besides, he had Piper at the P name.
The power practicing wasn't something only Paige did. Instead of going to the Lamaze class (Piper thought it was stupid and was tired of ending up alone since Leo always left before it even started) she stayed at her sisters-free home and practiced her powers with the baby. She knew that the baby understood everything she said so Piper was able to freeze or blow up anything she wanted without the baby interfering with her powers. She was getting so good that she could even freeze or blow up things even when she wasn't looking at them, like the kid the Charmed ones had helped a few years earlier who could move things with his mind without seeing them.
So she wasn't so scared anymore then about going to a real doctor with the threat of exposing herself as a witch. She got an appointment with Dr. Weil very quickly, which was odd since supposedly it was something impossible (according to one saleswoman you had to wait almost a year for him to meet with you, which is stupid for a pregnant woman if you think about it), and when she was in the elevator going up to his consult, she warned the baby about using powers and confidently entered the doctor's office, knowing the family secret was safe and that her child would behave.
Dr. Weil was perfect. Funny, smart, and handsome, Piper understood why he was so popular with pregnant women. She even called him Parker. He was very casual and intelligently managed to calm down all the women that visited him. Piper had only had about three or four consults but she felt as if Parker and she were old friends. His reputation was true, he was a great doctor and patiently answered all the questions Piper had. They ended up talking a lot and that's why the pregnant Charmed one felt they were so close. Piper told him about not wanting to take too much drugs, so he kindly prescribed some herbs she could take and gave her a special powder mix he made for nausea. She was very happy because his remedy stopped the excruciating nausea she had been having for almost all of her pregnancy. She even got an ultrasound picture which she proudly showed to all the women at her pre-natal yoga class.
Phoebe was very happy for her sisters. Paige only spoke about all the things she was learning at the library and about James, and Piper liked being alone all day so much that it seemed like each morning she wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. Phoebe was working really hard at the newspaper, besides her column she was also now a reporter (small pieces) and was also taking a class on journalism on her alma mater. Her sisters thought that she was avoiding magic after the whole time-travel experience, but they were sorely mistaken. Phoebe had been leaving for work so early because she left early from the office, took her journalism class, and then went to practice with her powers.
Her powers had advanced some months before but the premonitions had shortly disappeared again when she went back to work and especially after she started taking her class. She wasn't going to let that happen again so she remembered how when she worked at Bucklands with Prue she had some premonitions with the objects up for auction, that's how she got the idea to go back there and try to recover her power. The girls had some boxes in the basement of the manor where they had put all of Prue's things after Paige moved in and used their older sister's room. She went through the boxes and finally found what she was looking for, her sister's key for the Bucklands' warehouse, where they kept everything. Phoebe left her class one day and headed to the place where her oldest sister used to work in. It was very different from when she had last seen it and she was curious about Prue's office, but she didn't want to be spotted because somebody could remember her. So she snuck through the emergency staircase and to her surprise they hadn't changed the locks so the key still worked.
The warehouse was as she remembered. It almost seemed like it had the same vases, paintings, lamps, and chairs dusting up. But what Phoebe was looking for were the boxes with the jewelry items, the last time she had gotten a premonition was with a bracelet, so she wanted to start with something like that. She found one box with necklaces and chose one with a blue gem (there was a beautiful one with a red one, but she had bad memories about necklaces with red jewels). Phoebe concentrated very hard wanting to call a premonition but it was useless, nothing came up. She tried a couple of more times and was almost getting frustrated when she took the last necklace of the box, a very simple golden one. The premonition came immediately, and it was stronger than before.
Phoebe's astral projection was inside the premonition like the last time with they gypsy charm. She was in a hospital, but it wasn't San Francisco, Phoebe realized she was in Paris after she saw the Eiffel tower through the window. No one could see her, it was like she was a ghost, so she started walking around and for no reason went into a room. There was an old woman in the bed and for a moment the Charmed one thought the old lady had looked at her. But then she saw that her husband was standing behind her at the door. He looked very sad. There was no one else in the room which Phoebe thought was strange and after a short conversation in French that Phoebe couldn't understand the man went out again to look for someone. Phoebe noticed the golden chain in the old woman's hand. A young woman came in and Phoebe understood that a family had just reunited. The dying mother gave her daughter the chain and then the premonition ended.
Phoebe loved the experience. She was able to move inside the premonition and to some extent control the length of it. The Charmed one found another jewelry box and practiced again. When there was no more jewelry left she continued with furniture. It was great, her power was up and running and she got to visit a lot of places. She visited ancient China with a vase, a marble sculpture got her a trip to Greece, and a beautiful chair transported her to 19th. century England (she was glad to finally understand a conversation). Every time she got a new premonition she practiced moving things inside it. Like Patrick Swayze in Ghost, another of her favorite films. She was getting so good at it that she even drank a cup of tea during her visit to England. Although there was a downside to the voyages, when she came to herself she was very tired. Piper even wanted to call Elise so she wouldn't make her sister work so much. Phoebe didn't mention her practicing to her sisters.
All the events in the Charmed one's lives had kept them so busy that they didn't realize how long it had been since they were attacked by a demon. The vanquishing marathon that preceded the time-travel was the last time any of the girls had killed evil. What they really didn't know was that someone was else was helping them with that job.
Dorian and Clara were indeed the only two living members of the League of Seven. They were going to attack the girls after the other five demons did, but when they blinked inside the house they overheard when Leo gave them the rings and while the sisters were in the past the demons came up with a plan to surprise their enemies. They killed the Charmed one's neighbors (an old couple defenseless to their fireballs) and kept their grandson alive so he could pose as their son. They had mind-controlling powers so the boy didn't try to escape and tell someone. They began their plan by eliminating all the evil that came near the sisters. Every time there was a warlock attack they quickly killed it so the sisters wouldn't even get the call for help. They did that with the weaker demons, the more powerful ones they recruited to help them in their plan against the sisters. Dorian had already found two incredibly strong warlocks and Clara came across another powerful demon. They wanted an army.
It was a Thursday night and for the first time in a long time everybody was at the manor for dinner. Piper had been cooking all day (she was in a great mood after a morning appointment with Dr. Weil) and she had prepared a feast. Everybody was very hungry. Paige had spent all her day showing her quick orbing to James, Leo was off for the night, and Phoebe came home early after her trip to Spain (a sword took her to the inquisition, it wasn't pretty). Piper walked in from the kitchen and the family was amazed by all the delicious food which they all enjoyed. When they had finished eating and were about to clean the table and go see a movie Leo was called by the Elders and so he went away to help one of his charges. The doorbell rang and Paige went to answer while Piper picked up and washed the dishes and Phoebe ran up to the attic to look for her favorite blanket so she would be warm and cozy for the movie.
Paige answered the door and it was James. "Hi James, what are you doing here? I thought we said we would meet each other tomorrow at the library." Paige was confused but her friend quickly answered, "I know we agreed to that, but I spent such a great time today that I wanted to drop by and thank you for everything." Almost forgetting her manners, the Charmed one invited him in and they kept talking in the living room. "It's been great meeting you Paige, I never thought I would find someone so beautiful and special that could also understand all the things that come with being a witch." Paige was blushing, you could really tell because of her incredibly white skin. "I'm also very happy when I'm with you, in fact I was just telling my sisters all about our day and was going to call you to invite you for dinner tomorrow, so you can meet the whole family." James accepted and they kept chatting about a potion he had started making for a vengeance demon he knew was in town.
In the kitchen Piper was washing the dishes when suddenly she heard someone knocking at the kitchen door. It was Parker. Piper was delighted to see him and let him in. "Parker, what a surprise! What are you doing here?" To which he answered, "well, you forgot the nausea powder you asked me for today during our consult and I was in the neighborhood so I thought I could bring it to your house, no charge for the house visit of course." Piper laughed and said, "you shouldn't have bothered with that," she suddenly remembered how no one else knew about Parker, "thank you very much and I guess I'll see you then next week." Piper wanted to almost throw him out of the manor, but Dr. Weil made a charming comment about her being his favorite patient and how nothing was a bother when it concerned Piper and then he smiled. The sister stood in awe every time Parker smiled with his perfect white shiny teeth. She forgot about being caught by her sisters for going to a real doctor and offered Dr. Weil a cup of coffee. He gladly accepted and they sat in the kitchen table.
Phoebe was up in the attic and after finding her blanket she was ready to go down, make some popcorn and enjoy her movie when she got a premonition. She had touched the attic door and suddenly she projected inside the attic, only it was a bit darker. She turned around and saw Jordan, the neighbor's kid grabbing the Book of Shadows and running to the door. Her practicing with her powers helped since she was able to tackle him and take back the Book of Shadows. But then the premonition ended. Jordan wasn't there, but Phoebe knew he might come later and try to steal their heritage. She turned around so she could warn her sisters but she was thrown in the air and hit herself with the trunk from which she took the blanket. When she finally came to herself, she saw Dorian and Clara. She didn't know what was going on but that quickly changed when the warlock started talking. "We've come to kill you and your sisters, we can see you've prevented us from getting the Book of Shadows, but that's about to change." Jordan came in the attic and since he wasn't evil he was able to take the Book of Shadows. Phoebe tried to attack but Clara sent an energy ball towards her and she was thrown to the other side of the room. Clara left with Jordan and the Book of Shadows while Dorian walked near Phoebe ready to kill her. The Charmed one screamed for help but the demon laughed and said, "they can't help you, we have them covered."
Both Paige and Piper heard the cry for help, many fights in the past had started with someone warning the others about danger in the attic. But when both of them stood up and tried to go and help they noticed that the men they were with were evil. James and Parker suddenly changed and their eyes were pitch-black. The sisters were afraid and for a good reason since the two were telekinetically thrown and blacked out.
The fight had begun.
Phoebe was having a hard time evading and trying to attack Dorian. One of his powers consisted on throwing energy balls that could bounce off walls and search their prey. Phoebe was glad she'd also been training with her levitation but regretted not taking the martial arts class she had intended too. Suddenly there were about five energy balls following her and finally one hit her in the back. She was near the ceiling (she had also gained some control over her levitation) so the fall was hard. Dorian laughed but Phoebe didn't give up. The sister remembered all the athames they had scattered in the manor and reached for one to attack Dorian. She didn't think that would vanquish him, but for now she just wanted to hurt him.
Behind the kitchen counter Piper woke up and felt really bad. Parker had thrown her against the wall and the glass from the counter windows had shattered. She had a nasty cut on her left arm, and was waiting for the baby to heal her when nothing happened. Parker was looking at her and laughed, "you really thought that was just nausea powder? That is a very special potion that slowly diminishes a witch's power. Your baby may still be alive, but he can't help you right now." Piper was both angry and amazed, because she had just found out her baby would be a boy. She wasn't going to let a demon kill her son before he was even born. The oldest Charmed one stood up and headed for her kitchen knives to use them as weapons but Parker threw a lightning bolt at her. Piper's reflexes were better than ever with all the practicing so she was able to freeze the bolt before it hit her. "Very nice witch, but I've got more powers up my sleeve." He was right, large ninja stars appeared in his hands and he swiftly threw them at Piper. She blew them up without hesitating. Her maternal instinct was at its highest, and she wasn't going to let a warlock kill her or her son.
Paige felt like she used to when she woke up the morning after all- night partying, but right now it was even worse. She touched her head and when she saw her hand it had a bit of blood. She was also very dizzy. The youngest Charmed one came to her senses and saw James standing in front of her guarding her. She remembered what had happened and orbed out. To her surprise, a force kept her from going anywhere and she was just able to move a few feet. "No orbing today Paige, I'll make sure of that." "You bastard, what have you done to my powers?!" Paige was really mad and expected an answer. "You were stupid never asking me what my powers were, and really stupid for showing me your blitz-orbing. I have the ability to contain powers, not only deflect them, so you won't be able to leave." Paige felt very stupid for trusting James so much, but she had to get to the attic to help Phoebe. She called for several things to throw at James but with a wave of his hand the objects returned to where they were. She was almost defenseless.
The three sisters were in great danger. The warlocks and demons they were facing were very powerful, and they didn't stand a chance being apart. The Charmed ones knew that in order to vanquish them, they'd have to use the Power of Three, so they had to figure out a way to regroup.
The athames didn't work. Dorian was powerful and quickly shimmered or blinked when he was in danger of being hit. Phoebe was hiding behind a couch but knew that the demon could strike again anytime. She had to figure out a way to contact her sisters. It came to her suddenly, she remembered the mind-reading spell her sisters had cast a few years ago when they wanted to know if their boyfriends were evil, but she couldn't make out all the words, so she had to improvise. Dorian saw some shimmers around Phoebe and knew that wasn't good, so with a wave of his hand the couch disappeared. Phoebe had to find a new place to hide before she could attack Dorian again.
"Paige?! Piper?! Can you hear me?" Both sisters were shocked to hear their sister's voice on their heads and answered in unison, "yes Phoebe, where are you?" Piper also remembered the mind-reading spell so she knew what was going on and Paige was just glad to find out that her sister had telepathy. "OK, first you Piper, where are you and is someone attacking you?" Piper didn't want to answer to the second question, but the situation didn't give her much of a chance. "Kitchen and my gynecologist turned evil is keeping me here." Piper suddenly heard the same thing from both her sisters, "gynecologist! When did you get a doctor Piper?" She explained everything and their sisters told her they really needed a long chat after the fight to clear things out, but right now they were in danger. "Now Paige, what about you?" "Living room and James, that son of a bitch! He also has the power to contain my orbing, I can't leave this place with him here!" Piper told them about what Parker had done to the baby and also about it being a boy. Her sisters were glad but they would celebrate later. "And you Phoebe, are you in the attic?" Piper's question was quickly answered. "Yes, I'm in the attic and guess who planned all this, Dorian! Seems like we should've vanquished him that day after all. He and Clara are evil, and Jordan took the Book of Shadows." The sisters knew they were in great danger, and they had to figure out a way to vanquish the demons without the Book of Shadows.
"First things first, we need the Power of Three, so Piper, since Paige can't leave the living room we'll have to get to her. Can't you freeze your doctor?" Phoebe had started to make a plan. Piper answered, "I think I can, but it won't last long, he won't blow up either. I hate it when that happens. What about you? How are you going to come downstairs without Dorian killing you?" Phoebe told her that she would figure something out, but that she should go now to join Paige. Paige had to keep herself alive which was easy since James would only use his power when she tried to escape or attack him.
Piper had an idea. If she could blow things up all around Parker maybe she could dodge him without him attacking her again. The cut on her arm was really bad but Leo didn't answer to her calls. What Piper didn't know was that even if Leo wanted to orb in the house he couldn't because of a shield the demons had put up around the house. She was still hiding behind the kitchen counter, and Parker couldn't see her, but she started blowing up things around him. She was thankful for the practicing of her powers. She blew up the plant that was on the table, the glass of the cabinet in front of the table, the lamp over him, the glass of the door that lead to the washer and drier, and two of the chairs. Parker tried to evade all the explosions, but he was hit by the lamp. Piper saw a chance of escaping and sprinted to the living room. She turned around and froze Parker. She knew it wouldn't last, but at least she could get to Paige before he shocked her with a lightning bolt. She entered the living room through the solarium, surprising Parker so he couldn't contain the freezing and so Piper joined Paige. Now they just needed Phoebe.
Phoebe was a bit desperate. Attacking Dorian with her martial arts wasn't going to help her, he evaded her all the time so that offense was useless. Then she got an idea, she managed to take one of the athames she had thrown to Dorian, and with her ever-evolving power she called a premonition. She went to the past, right when she was about to throw the first blade to the demon. But she projected behind Dorian and since she caught him off-guard, she gave him a triple kick which rendered him unconscious. She came out of the premonition, saw that Dorian was still on the floor, and although she was more tired than ever before after coming back from a premonition she headed for the door, and ran down the stairs to meet her sisters. Parker and James were standing in front of the living room guarding Piper and Paige, so they didn't notice when Phoebe came behind them and jumped over them using her levitation. Piper knew she had to quickly distract them so she froze them but that only worked on Parker so Paige tried to orb out so James would use his power on her instead of Phoebe. She landed in front of the couch where the sisters were shielding themselves and so the three of them were finally together.
"Nice to see you guys!" Phoebe was still panting from the running, but she was glad about finally being with her sisters. Now they could think of something to vanquish the demons using the Power of Three. Parker and James were again waiting so they had a few moments before Dorian woke up and came down. "What are we going to do now?" Phoebe was scared at the thought of having to face all three demons plus Clara without the help of the Book of Shadows. "I can't remember any spells that could help us right now," Paige said and then after thinking a bit continued, "and all the offensive potions I made last week are in the kitchen, one of those could work to attack them." Phoebe and Paige looked at Piper hoping she had already figured out a plan to kill all the evil in the house. She looked back at them and said, "why are you looking at me? I'm not the one that figures out plans, that was Prue's job! I really hope she could be here, she always knew what to do when we were in danger, I'm not good at staying calm in these tense situations." Phoebe added, "it would be great if Prue was here! She would probably think of something that'd vanquish them in a minute." Piper in despair repeated, "I wish Prue was here!"
"I am."