Twister Trouble


The Manor

"Look, I don't want to talk about it right now, okay? Just leave me alone!" With the flick of her wrist, Piper froze her sister. She didn't mean to really, as much as she would have liked to get some relief from her nagging questions. She unfroze Phoebe and kept walking.

"Piper! You did that on purpose! If you didn't want my help, fine, but you didn't have to use your powers on me." She grabbed Piper's wrist to get her attention, knowing Piper didn't want to listen to what she had to say. She was determined to get through to her. "I know it's hard, honey, I do-but you've got to get back out there and have a little fun. Ah!" She hated it when that happened. A startling image flashed through her mind before her eyes of Piper. She was on the ground surrounded by what looked to be like a bunch of trees. She was crying and staring up at something with a look of sheer panic on her face. As quickly as it came, the image disappeared, leaving her to wonder what to think of it.

"Geez, Phoebes, I'm sorry. I didn't know it hurt you that much. I know you just want to help, but I have to do this one my own time, and on my own terms."

"Wait..Nuh...no! You can't go out! Nevermind what I said!"

"What? First you want me to go out and now you don't? How can you change your mind in a split second? You know what, never mind. I have to get out of here. This is too much to handle for me right now. I need to clear my head. We'll be back in a bit." With that, she walked off, leaving Phoebe to wonder where and when the scene in her premonition was going to take place. She just hoped she could stop it. She had to find Paige.
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The Park

"Oh Wyatt, what's mommy going to do? I know your daddy likes to come visit, but it's too hard on mommy when he has to leave. I can't let daddy go yet. I've tried but it's just so hard. And Auntie Phoebe wants mommy to find a new guy and mommy's just not ready." He stares back at her, somehow knowing her inner turmoil, and smiles brightly at her. She sighs deeply and stares off into space.
"Ya know, little guy, I wish I had an optimistic side of me like you seem to have. You don't have a care in the world except when you eat or sleep."
The wind starts to pick up, and she holds Wyatt close to her body so he doesn't get chilly. Staring down at the only man in her life, she sighs again and gets up from the park bench. She sets Wyatt back into his stroller and starts to walk home, when she notices a trashcan flying straight at her. She is too late to freeze it and it hits her in the leg, knocking her off her feet. She lands on her wrist, hearing a sickening snap as a sharp pain shoots up her arm. She watches with tears in her eyes as Wyatt's stroller shakes violently, ready to topple over any minute. She grinds her teeth against the pain as she struggles to get up. She looks up to see a giant swirling mass coming straight at her.

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The Manor

Piper had been gone over an hour and they were starting to worry. A bad feeling was settling in the pit of Paige's stomach as she realized Piper should have been home. She never left for more than a half hour, as Wyatt usually had his afternoon nap around three. It was now 3:15 and she hadn't returned yet.
"Don't you remember anything? Signs? Landmarks? You don't have much to go off of, and who's to say it isn't going to happen today, Phoebe? You know, your premonitions aren't much help sometimes." She could feel the tension in the air, and she knew Phoebe was stressing over her vision. They both wanted to help Piper out before something happened to her.

"Ah..think Phoebe..think! Museum? Could be...all I remember is that there were trees, and grass...and...oh, it's no use! I don't know when it happens or where it happens! She sat down on the couch heavily." She was worried about Piper. Not knowing when she was going to get attacked or even where wasn't giving them much hope. For all she knew, Piper could be in danger already. She had to think of some clues. If there were only a way to see what she saw in her vision again. That was it! There had to be a spell for that. If Piper wasn't back yet, then that meant the premonition was happening now and she didn't have any time to waste.

"Come on, we're going upstairs!"

"Huh? Wha-"

"Oh, just come on! Okay, I think there's a way for us to orb where Piper is. I know we don't know where she is but we both know that she isn't here yet and she should be, which means that it's happening now or has happened already and we have to get to her and Wyatt. I don't want to lose another sister." She flipped through the Book of Shadows and found what she was looking for.
"Here we go. Oh I am so glad you're a whitelighter. There's no way to do this without being able to orb already. Okay, here goes nothing." They held hands, saying the words out loud.
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The Park

They found themselves standing under a large tree and noticed something was immediately wrong. The large tree they were standing under was missing several branches and they were in the middle of a pile of torn twigs and leaves. They looked around to get their bearings. She noticed a sign and immediately knew where they were.
"Paige, we're down the street! Piper took Wyatt for a walk. I can't believe I didn't realize that. She said she needed to clear her head. She always goes to the park!"

"It's okay. You weren't thinking clearly. You were stressing out, it happens. Let's just find them, okay?" Seeing her sister nod, they both started walking. They had only gone a few steps when they heard what sounded like a freight train. They turned around to see the source of the loud noise. In utter disbelief they stood there in front of the first tornado to strike the city in who knows how long.
"Oh my go-" She couldn't believe what she was seeing. San Francisco did not get tornadoes.

"Uh...I'm not an expert on weather but uh..do we uh..get those? I mean um...aren't those supposed to be like..in Kansas?" This was wild. She'd only seen two tornadoes in her life and they were on television. She didn't know what to do. Her mind was maid up when she saw what was about to happen. The tornado was headed for someone and that someone was Piper.
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"Oh my gosh! Okay, what to do, what to do. What do I usually do when I am in the path of a tornado? Oh yeah, I've never been in the path of a tornado so I have no idea. Past experience is thrown right out the window. Hearing Wyatt screaming broke her out of her reverie.
"Wyatt, honey, mommy's coming. Ow! God. Mommy's Ow coming." Her legs were shaking and she couldn't get the leverage to get up, so she started crawling with one hand over to the stroller. She reached the spot where Wyatt was and grabbed the handle with her good arm. Her wrist and hand were killing her but she had to save her son. She painfully raised herself up to a standing position and on wobbly legs hobbled as fast as she could to try and get away before it got close enough to pick her up. Debris was swirling all around her and dirt was getting to her eyes, making it difficult to see clearly. Through the massive debris cloud she saw two figured running toward her. She tried yelling at them to get away but they kept running, not caring about their own safety. Her throbbing hand was now unbearable and she was getting sick to her stomach. Nausea was now kicking in and the tornado swam before her eyes. Knowing she was not going to make it, she gave one painful shove in hopes that the stroller would make it to her rescuers before Wyatt was thrown out of the stroller by the strong winds. She turned back to the tornado, ready to go once and for all. She wasn't ready.
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"Oh my God, Piper! Piper!" Phoebe started running with Paige not too far behind. They made their way closer to the swirling mass of tree limbs, trash receptacles and other debris. They hoped they could make it there in time.

Paige saw her sister trying to get up and get to Wyatt to help him, and felt helpless as she ran as fast as she could a few steps behind Phoebe.

"Paige. I'm going to try and help Piper. Don't let Wyatt out of your sight!" Seeing Paige nod, she had one thing in mind...to save her sister. She knew Paige would do her best to save Wyatt.

As they neared Piper and Wyatt, they saw her push the stroller and realized what their sister was doing. She was trying to save her son, and coming into terms with her fate. If they had anything to do with it, death would be cheated today.

Paige ran up to the stroller that Piper had shoved her way and grabbed the handle as she took off in a dead sprint to get to safety wherever that may be, as Phoebe finally caught up to Piper and helped her up.
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She sat on the ground crying, knowing she would never see her family again. Wyatt would grow up without her in his life and will always feel the void she felt when she lost a parent. She hoped that he would find a way to get through the pain. Leo would be a terrific father, and would have the help of Paige and Phoebe to raise him. She was thinking about how much she would miss everyone, when she felt two arms lift her up into a standing position. She realized what was happening, as she turned around. "Phoebe? No! Go! Save Wyatt! Oh God! Wyatt! Where's Wyatt?!" She searched around for her son and found him nowhere.

"Piper, it's okay. Let's go! Paige has Wyatt! Come on! We have to get out of here!" Seeing no reaction, she grabbed her sister's wrist and jerked. The reaction she got wasn't one she expected.
Piper jerked her arm free, howling in pain. More tears sprung to her eyes as black dots swam before her eyes. She felt herself getting lightheaded as a wave of nausea hit her like a ton of bricks. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out abruptly.

"Oh..no...Piper! Oh no...not good. Not good! Honey, wake up! Wake up Piper! Oh God..not now! Somebody help! Somebo-Paige! Help me!" She saw Paige running up to her and was never happier to see her sister in her life.
"Grab her other arm, we have to get out of here fast!" Paige grabbed Piper's sleeve and hoisted her arm over around her shoulder to help get her to safety. They both made their way as fast as they could.
"No, wait! Wrong way. The car's that way!" Phoebe knew they weren't going the right direction and knew they didn't have any time to be going the wrong way. They had to get out of there fast.

"Just trust me! This way!" She pointed the right way to go and they continued to drag Piper out of harm's way. They made their way to the street where their SUV was waiting to pick them up. "Get in! I'll drive!" After getting Piper in, Paige gunned it, and they sped away down the street. In the rear view mirror, she could see the tornado make its way out onto the bay and become a waterspout. It then lifted up into the sky, leaving a wake of stunned onlookers behind.

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The Manor

"Leo! Leo! I still think she should have gone to the hospital. What if something is seriously wrong with her? Look at her hand." She started filling a bag of ice as Paige got a pillow and blankets.

"I know that, but I thought Leo could heal her. She was rethinking her decision now that Leo wasn't there to heal Piper. He was nowhere to be found.

She laid the blanket on a shivering Piper and gently lifted up her head to place the pillow onto the couch. She stared down at her sister, hoping she made the right decision. She was seriously worried about Piper, and by the expression on her sister's face, she could tell Phoebe was too.
"What happened? I mean...San Francisco doesn't get tornadoes. I don't get it."

"I don't know. I honestly don't. We'll look into it later. I want to keep my eye on Piper. I would like to know something else, though. Why the run-around back there? Why'd you move the car? I wouldn't have known where you parked and we could have been in real trouble."

"Well, it's something I learned in college. I took an Intro to Meteorology class as an elective. Tornadoes move southwest to northeast. We were in a direct path of the tornado. So, we had to go in a direction where it would be safe. That's why I told you we had to go that way, because it was northwest of the tornado. We were totally safe as long as we continued in that direction. When I went and got Wyatt, I moved the car. I knew he'd be safe there while I went back to help you."

"No kiddin! I'm so glad you took that class, dear. It saved our lives." She placed a towel onto Piper's wrist and set the ice bag down on top of the towel, hoping to bring the swelling down. She was about to say that she hoped Piper would wake up soon, when she noticed her sister move.

"Uh..." Piper didn't have her bearings and wasn't sure where she was or how she got to where she was. "Wyatt!" She tried to get up and having forgotten about her injured wrist, fell back onto the couch. Her vision got blurry as her eyes started watering again. She'd never felt so much pain in her life. Nausea returned and she lost what little she'd had to eat that day.

"Piper, honey, don't move. I know it hurts but we're trying to get the swelling down. You're at the manor. Wyatt's safe. Just lay back down, okay?" She hated seeing Piper in so much pain. She'd give anything to take that pain away. "Stay calm. Paige will you go upstairs and grab some clothes for Piper while I get a towel?" She returned in a matter of seconds to clean up the mess.

"Oh God. Where's Leo?" She wished the pain would go away and she wished Leo were there. He was always there to heal her.

"We don't know. We tried calling for him but he can't be reached. You know he'd be here if he could. We'll just have to wait for him. Let's get you out of those clothes, okay?" She grabbed the clothes Paige handed her and helped Piper get on a new outfit.

"Here. I brought something to help you fell better. I know you don't want to drink anything right now but it'll help. Just take small sips. Now, this will probably make you tired but right now I'm sure you'd welcome that, huh?"

She hissed as another wave of pain shot through her arm. "Yeah. I wish Leo were here, though. I don't mean it that way, you guys are a big help. You saved my life. I just miss him sometimes. Times like these." A tear made its way down her face as she closed her eyes, willing the pain to ebb and Leo to return.

"We'll be in the kitchen if you need us." Seeing Piper nod, Phoebe and Paige went into the other room to think up a plan.
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"We've been at it for hours and we have nothing. Well, not nothing. We've been through this whole book twice and all that's in there concerning the weather is one page on miscellaneous spells. I don't get it. How are we supposed to prevent something like a tornado?"

"I know, Paige. I don't get it myself. The book says that whatever isn't covered in the book is most likely a result from someone getting lucky. Now, what if someone for whatever reason somehow found a way to spawn a tornado? No demon has been able to figure out how to change the weather. They've been trying for years because they know how deadly weather can be."

"Right, which means all the demons out there are going to be looking for whoever concocted that tornado and they are going to find a way to make up their own. Only next time that happens, it'll be deadly. We can't risk that happening again. I don't understand how we find who did it, though."

"That's easy. We get out the map and we scry for demons. Every demon in the city has got to be making a mad dash to find whoever set off that tornado to find out the secret. We just have to track where they end up."

"I like! I'll grab the stuff." Paige got up from the table and went upstairs. Finally, she felt they were getting somewhere.
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"Ten sixteen University Boulevard. It's on campus."

"I don't like the idea of you going alone, but you're the only one who an orb out if you get into trouble and I don't want to leave Piper and Wyatt here alone."

"It'll be okay. If I get into any trouble, I'll come back here. It shouldn't be too hard. I'll just grab whoever spawned the twister and bring them here to keep them safe."

"Okay, be careful."
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San Francisco State University

"Excuse me, where's the weather building?" She didn't have a clue where she was going. After getting some rather vague instructions, she made her way down the street. Students usually took earlier classes to get out as soon as possible, so there weren't many students out and about on campus. She looked into the window of the Atmospheric Science office and glanced around. People were running around in a frenzy, obviously excited over the tornado that hit the city. As she stepped up to the door, it suddenly swung open. Her reaction was quick enough where she was able to get out of the way before being knocked over by a student that came barreling out of the office.
"Geez, why are you in such a hurry? Why aren't you in there talking about how much of a rarity that was for California?"

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. I didn't hurt you did I?"
"No, you didn't. What's wrong?" The student looked scared.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. You'd have me locked away in some nut house."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. I know what this is about. You made that tornado happen." Seeing the shocked expression on the young girl's face, she knew she had the right person.

"I can't explain now, but we've got to get out of here. Come with me and I promise I'll explain on the way."
The student reluctantly followed her down the hall.
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The Manor

Leo orbed into the manor, just as Paige and the wannabe meteorologist came through the door.
"What's wrong? I heard you guys calling me earlier but I couldn't get away. I was tracking Chris on one of his mysterious missions." He glanced around and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Leo, I'm so glad you're here. Um...Samantha, will you wait right here? I'll just be one second." She grabbed Leo's hand and led him to Piper and Phoebe.

"Piper needs healing. She's hurt."

"What? How? When? Nevermind, just show me."

"That's what I'm doing. She's in there. I have to get back to Samantha, and I'll let Phoebe fill you in. We'll be in the kitchen." She watched Leo walk into the living room and went back to Sam.

"Piper! Honey, what's wrong?" Seeing he got no response, he turned to Phoebe. "What happened to her?"

"Long story short...tornado, yes tornado hit the city. Piper got in the way. Broke her wrist. Lots of pain. Heal her now!"

Leo heard the urgency in her voice and did what he was told. He placed his hands on Piper's wrist and the swelling subsided.

"Why isn't she waking up?" He nervously watched her, hoping she would open her eyes.

"She'll wake up soon. Paige gave her some pain pills and they made her sleepy. They'll wear off in a little bit. Speaking of, did I hear Paige? Where is she?"

"Yeah, and she had some girl with her."

"Oh, good! That little tornado that hit the city was spawned by a student at the university. Now every demon in a hundred mile radius is honing in on that kid looking for a way to destroy mankind using the weather. We have to keep her safe."

"Good call. Do you think that girl knew she was a witch?"

"I don't know let's find out."
They walked into the kitchen and found Paige and Samantha talking. Samantha looked worried.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I just wanted to see what one looked like. I'm from San Diego and I've never seen a tornado before. I didn't even think I'd be able to do it. I just made up some stuff and poof, there was a supercell on the radar!"

"That's the problem with spells. I'm assuming you do know you're a witch, right?" Seeing Samantha nod, Phoebe continued.
"When you cast a spell without looking into the consequences, things like that happen. Spells like the one you made up are not thought out clearly and are very dangerous because there might not always be a way to do them safely. That's why it's best to just not do anything unless you have a way to repair the damage done."

"She's right. Now we need to keep you safe. This won't make any sense to you but there are people who want to do the very same thing but to hurt people. We can't let that happen. I know you don't understand what we're telling you but just know this, your life is in danger. We can help you, but you've got to trust us. Can you do that?"

Samantha nodded, knowing she had to help them get out of the mess they were in. If people were going to use the weather to hurt people, she had to find a way to stop them. She didn't know how, but she got them into this mess and she was going to help them get out of it.

"I have an idea. Samantha, you and I are going to the television station and we're going to use their computer. You know how to do maps right? Okay, good. We're going to go down there and you're going to be in charge of getting information together so that people won't know it was you. They'll think it was just some rare storm system that hit California. The people that are after you won't know it was a spell, they'll just assume it was some freak weather event and leave it at that. Now, let's go."

Seeing Samantha and Paige leave, Phoebe and Leo went back into the living room to check up on Piper. Seeing she was waking up, they approached the couch.
"Piper, honey, can you hear me?" He was relieved to see her looking up at him.

"Leo?"

"Yeah, it's me. You're wrist is as good as new. How are you feeling other than that?"

"Okay. I feel like I just ran a marathon. I'm exhausted! What happened?"

"Uh...funny thing about that, see...."Phoebe went on to explain the strange weather and the cause of it, as Leo went to pick up Wyatt who was waking up himself after a long nap.

"Hey big guy. How's my boy?" He set Wyatt down next to Piper on the couch.

"Oh, sweetie, mommy's so glad to see you're okay. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him" She wiped away a few stray tears that had made their way down her face.

"Piper, you were amazing. You should have seen her, Leo. She wouldn't let anything happen to him. She saved his life."

"I didn't care about myself. All I cared about is the safety of my son. And, I kept thinking of how much I'd miss him and everyone else. Phoebe, I know you want me to find someone again, but I haven't been happy for a long time. And I know why, now. I've been dealing with losing my husband, and honey, I know you didn't leave for good but it's really hard. I just am really struggling right now. And I realized today that my son comes first. I am happy with my son in my life and my family, and I'm not going to rush things. What happens happens." They were about to have a group hug, when they noticed the evening news was on.

"...where an unusual weather system swept through the city, bringing, are you ready for this, a tornado! You heard me, a tornado! Fortunately, only one person received minor injuries and damage consisted of a few trees. This truly was a rare occurrence. Back to you, Jane"
"Minor?! I'll show them minor!" Piper got up and turned the television off, making Phoebe and Leo laugh.

"All right, People. Into the kitchen! I'm going to fix us something to eat. Piper, you take it easy for a change and let me do the cooking."

"Oh no. I'll take a tornado over your cooking any day" Piper and Leo laughed at Phoebe's reaction as they all walked into the kitchen to have a nice, calm meal.

Outside, the sky was clear and cloud-free.