Chapter 6
Paige cautiously walked down the church aisle, her shoes keeping a steady rhythm... click, clack, click, clack... Her heart was pounding just as hard. She spotted a nun standing at the side and approached her.
"Excuse me. Are you Sister Agnes?" The woman turned.
"Yes. And who might you be?"
"I'm Paige. Paige Matthews," she told her, slight hope in her voice that her name alone would spark recognition.
"No," she shook her head apologetically.
"You might not remember me. I probably changed a little bit since you last saw me on August 2nd 1977." As soon as she'd spoken the date, the woman's face paled just a bit as she gasped.
"Oh, dear Lord." Paige's heart became even louder as she followed the woman who led her into a small office. She hunched over a trunk, pulling out a wooden box. "I was just about your age, when they came," she explained, placing the box on a table.
"They? My mother and my father?" Paige's heart leapt.
"They came in a swirl of bright white lights just like... angels," the Sister sighed, then nodded as she remembered that day almost reverently.
"White light," Paige repeated, feeling connections spring up in her mind. "What do you mean?"
"Well, that's how they appeared, with you in their arms! I was stunned. I - I didn't know what to think. They said that you were in great danger, that they had no other choice but to give you up, to protect you." Paige could see it, feel it... how horrible.
"Danger? What kind of danger?" she demanded.
"Well, they didn't say. But I could tell from their pain that it must be very real. They asked me to find you a good home, a safe home, and to keep their secret... until you came looking," she smiled knowingly.
"But how could they know?" Paige whispered.
"Because you come from them, my dear," she smiled, and Paige smiled back, "As wonderful and precious as your adoptive parents were to you, you still come from angels." Sister Agnes reached inside the box and pulled out a comfortable-looking bably blanket, with a 'P' embroidered in one corner. "They asked me to save this for you for this day. It's what they bundled you up in," she handed it to Paige, who touched it at the same time as being afraid to damage it. "Your mother had only one request - that your name begin with a P." She thought of the Halliwell sisters... Prue, Piper, Phoebe... Paige. She really was one of them. Just then, there was a knock at the office door. Paige didn't look up, still entranced by this treasure from her past. "Yes, may I help..." the Sister began, but then stopped. When Paige looked up at her, the woman stood still like a statue. Paige gasped and stepped back, looking up to see...
"Hey there Paige, how are you? We have to get out of here now, and you're coming with us," said the eldest, Prue.
"What did you do to her?" Paige gasped again, pointing to the nun.
"Oh, we just froze her. She'll be fine," said Phoebe.
"Yeah. Good thing we got that potion right, who knows what could have happened otherwise."
"Prue..." Phoebe drew her attention to the blanket in Paige's hands. Prue got the same faraway look on her face.
"Is that our blanket?" she started to reach for it, but Paige pulled it back defensively.
"No! That's mine! Leave me alone!" she pushed past them and out of the office.
"Oh, she's family alright..." Prue muttered as they followed, out into the main church."
"Paige. Paige. Paige!" Phoebe called after her.
"Stop or I'll freeze!" Prue took her turn. Paige stopped, turned to them as they stopped too, a few feet away.
"Okay, one she's a witch, two you don't have that power!" Phoebe whispered to Prue.
"She doesn't know that," Prue whispered back.
"Will you please just leave me alone?" Paige demanded as she began to leave again.
"Look, we know what you're going through. We went through the same thing when we first found out we were witches, too," Phoebe told her.
"I know you don't want to listen to us, but you have to. Someone's after you, someone bad." Paige turned to them again.
"Trust you? You just froze a nun! How do I know you're not the bad ones?"
"If we are then so are you, sis..." Prue dared her.
"Prue," Phoebe looked to her older sister as Paige once more turned to leave.
"Alright then, you try it."
"You have a magical power, you know," Phoebe attempted. To their slight surprise, Paige stopped and turned. "Mmm..." the two approached the new witch. "At least, if you're a Charmed One, you do. And the sooner you learn it, the sooner you'll be able to protect yourself."
"I have a power?" Paige asked.
"According to the prophecy, the third sister has the power to stop time. Like Piper could," Prue explained, still so uneasy about speaking of her dear little sister in the past tense.
"How does it work?"
"You just... decide what you'll freeze," Phoebe nodded her head toward a stack of papers, being blown back and forth lightly by the wind of an open window. "And then you throw your hands out toward it." Paige did as told, feeling somewhat silly at it. Nothing happened. She looked to Prue and Phoebe.
"Or, uh, you could flick your wrist. She used to do that sometimes..." Prue suggested. Flick of the wrist, no result once again. She looked at the sisters with a slight air of victory in her face.
"Well, maybe I'm not one of you after all if I can't even..." The door of the church, which had been held open by a small block of wood jammed under it, suddenly clattered closed, making Paige jump. So on edge as she'd been with all that had happened to her lately, her hands bawled up and flew over her head.
What happened next went by very quickly, but slow enough for her to register it. Something seemed to have appeared in her right hand, and was now pushing at her closed fingers to get itself out. She pulled her hand back in front of herself, fingers up, and uncurled the tight fist almost afraid of what she'd find in it. Three glowing orbs swirled around in her palm before shooting out toward... a cat, who must have wandered in from outside and caused the door to close. The orbs dove at it. As soon as they hit the cat, it flared momentarilly before stopping in its tracks.
"Oh..." Paige whispered very slowly as the sisters took in this turn of events with much of the same silent surprise.
"So perhaps the whitelighter in her makes it work differently?" Phoebe suggested, crouching to look at the cat. She reached out to pat its head and it unfroze, looking up at Phoebe, then Paige.
"This is just great..." Prue muttered. Suddenly, there was a high pitch screeching sort of sound coming in from outside.
"What is that?" Paige asked, breathing heavily.
"I don't know," Phoebe told her, although she had a sneaking suspicion. The doors flew open, revealing a young man lying on the ground, looking up at them pleadingly.
"Paige."
"Shane?" she rushed to help him. "What's the matter? My god, what happened?"
"I don't know. Someone's after me." She helped him up.
"Paige!" Phoebe called, as she and Prue started following her.
"Come on. Let's get out of here," Paige told Shane and they started off, the unfrozen cat trotting after them quietly.
"Paige! Come back!" Phoebe called before she and Prue were suddenly thrown down. They screamed all the way as they slid down the aisle. "Whoo!"
"What the hell was that?" Prue asked, catching her breath.
"Good question." They turned to see the Sister had unfrozen as well, and was now staring down at them. She did not look happy, not one bit.
*
Back at the manor, some time later, Prue and Phoebe were retelling what had happened at the church to Leo and Cole.
"So the Source was there, at the church?" Leo asked.
"Well the gargoyles weren't exactly whistling Dixie, Leo," Phoebe told him.
"Plus, we were knocked back on our butts by something and let me tell you, it was powerful... very," Prue winced, sitting back.
"But if he was there, why didn't he try to kill Paige?" Cole asked, sitting across from them.
"Maybe he didn't want to go up against the Charmed Ones," Phoebe suggested.
"No, that doesn't make sense. He knows that Paige is new to her powers. If ever there was a time to attack..."
"Wait a minute," Leo interrupted the demon, "What if he's not trying to kill her anymore? What if he's trying to lure her to his side?"
"Translation please?" asked a clueless Phoebe.
"The mythological window," Cole explained, wondering why he hadn't thought of it earlier.
"There's a window of opportunity, an opening," Leo continued.
"48 hours," Cole added.
"Right, 48 hours where a nascent witch who hasn't chosen to use her powers for good or evil yet can be swayed either way," Leo sat.
"Wait, so all he has to do is cast a spell on her?" Phoebe asked nervously.
"No, he can't," Cole reassured her, "It has to be her choice, but he can tempt her, entice her. If he gets her to use her powers for evil..."
"She becomes evil forever."
"And just who put together that little party favor?" Prue asked, glancing at Cole. He looked to the ground. She turned to Leo. He looked to the ceiling. "Oh never mind..." she sighed.
"Okay, so we have less than 24 hours to get to Paige and no idea how to find her," Phoebe sighed.
"But I bet the Source does..." Prue pointed out, fury building in her about that fact.
*
"This is useless," Phoebe closed the Book of Shadows, cleared her throat. "We're never gonna find Paige without a little help," she spoke a little louder than needed. The book immediately opened of its own accord and began page-flipping before stopping on one entry. "Works everytime," she smiled to herself. "Okay, an enchantment spell. Wait. How is this gonna help find her?"
"Well, maybe it's not to find Paige. Maybe it's so we can ID the Source. See here? "So she can reveal the evil within."
"But that'll only help if we can find him..."
"Maybe we can, or at least, maybe you can," Leo looked at Cole.
"What does he mean?" Phoebe asked, suddenly nervous again.
"Demons can sense the Source's aura. It's how he reminds us of his power, his reach. Maybe if I focus on it..."
"Then he'll know you're doing it. And he'll find you..." Phoebe breathed.
"Not if I was careful. It's your only chance at saving your sister.
"Okay. So we need something to enchant," Prue spoke up.
"Right, um..." Phoebe looked around, inwardly still unsure about this decision. She found something and reached for it. "Oh!" She held up a pair of pink kiddy sunglasses. "How about these?"
"Phoebe..." Prue smirked.
"What? They're perfect."
"Oh great," the sisters held on to the glasses as they recited the spell together.
"Magic forces far and wide,
Enchant these so those can't hide,
Allow this witch to use therein,
So she can reveal the evil within."
The lenses glowed briefly. "Hmm..." Phoebe looked at them.
"You should try them, see if it works," Prue told her. Phoebe put on the glasses and looked around, stopping at Leo and smiling.
"Well?" he asked.
"Nothing. You look the same."
"How 'bout me?" Cole asked. Phoebe turned to him and let out a scream. "What?" he asked, not knowing she saw him as his demon form Belthazor. "What do I look like?"
"You look like hell," she took off the glasses. "Enchanting." Cole smiled as Phoebe looked to the ceiling. "Thanks for the magical assist Grams."
"How do you know it wasn't somebody else?" Prue pointed out, making Phoebe inwardly a little happier for a moment.
*
Not long after, at social services, an angry Jake Grisanti left Mr. Cowan's office looking not at all happy, as his wife followed him. Paige, sitting at her desk, followed him with her eyes. No one had seen that something was different with her, that something dark had possessed her in some way. She silently followed the couple as they left the building. The force of the Source's pull had given her a momentary power boost, and as she stood a few feet away from the 'evil' man, she held out her hand. A single orb swirled out at the man, dove through his back.
Grisanti stopped moving in a sudden gasp, clutching at his chest. "Jake, what is it?" his wife pleaded. He seemed absolutely terrified, slightly hanging in position. It was as though his heart refused to move forward along with his body, causing him great pain. "Jake!" Carol Grisanti whimpered, looking at the anguish in his face.
Across the lot, Prue, Phoebe, Leo, and Cole arrived, scanning their surroundings. "I don't see Paige anywhere," Phoebe breathed.
"Are you sure this is the right place, Cole?" Prue asked.
"The Source is here. I can sense him."
"Wait. There she is," Leo finally spoke up. Phoebe slipped on the sunglasses and looked at her sister, hand still outstretched. She was surrounded with a veil of black swirling energy.
"What is she doing?" Prue asked.
"I don't know, but she's got a black aura around her," Phoebe informed them.
"The Source?" Leo guessed.
"No. It can't be. If Phoebe saw my demonic self, thens he'd see his too."
"Yeah. Well, whatever it is, it's not good. Come on." They approached their sister as they saw a small crowd was slowly gathering around the writhing man.
"Jake! Jake!" Carol Grisanti continued to plead.
"Paige? Paige? It's me, Phoebe. And Prue," Phoebe stood next to her younger sister.
"He's evil. He's hurting his child," she spoke, sounding very much like someone possessed.
"No. You're being seduced into doing this," Phoebe told her.
"Enough of this," Prue stepped up, pulling Paige's arm down. "Leo, get her back to the manor. Now!" she pushed the girl toward her brother-in-law. He orbed away with her. At that moment, Jake dropped to his knees, feeling relief already. Carol crouched next to him.
"Let's get out of here," Cole told the girls and they left.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Carol asked as Jake stood. "Maybe you'd better lay back down." But he'd seen what he had to do now.
"I'm not covering for you anymore Carol. You keep your hands off our son." Hopefully, Paige would get the chance to see her first good deed as a witch happen, even if that hadn't been her intention...
Paige cautiously walked down the church aisle, her shoes keeping a steady rhythm... click, clack, click, clack... Her heart was pounding just as hard. She spotted a nun standing at the side and approached her.
"Excuse me. Are you Sister Agnes?" The woman turned.
"Yes. And who might you be?"
"I'm Paige. Paige Matthews," she told her, slight hope in her voice that her name alone would spark recognition.
"No," she shook her head apologetically.
"You might not remember me. I probably changed a little bit since you last saw me on August 2nd 1977." As soon as she'd spoken the date, the woman's face paled just a bit as she gasped.
"Oh, dear Lord." Paige's heart became even louder as she followed the woman who led her into a small office. She hunched over a trunk, pulling out a wooden box. "I was just about your age, when they came," she explained, placing the box on a table.
"They? My mother and my father?" Paige's heart leapt.
"They came in a swirl of bright white lights just like... angels," the Sister sighed, then nodded as she remembered that day almost reverently.
"White light," Paige repeated, feeling connections spring up in her mind. "What do you mean?"
"Well, that's how they appeared, with you in their arms! I was stunned. I - I didn't know what to think. They said that you were in great danger, that they had no other choice but to give you up, to protect you." Paige could see it, feel it... how horrible.
"Danger? What kind of danger?" she demanded.
"Well, they didn't say. But I could tell from their pain that it must be very real. They asked me to find you a good home, a safe home, and to keep their secret... until you came looking," she smiled knowingly.
"But how could they know?" Paige whispered.
"Because you come from them, my dear," she smiled, and Paige smiled back, "As wonderful and precious as your adoptive parents were to you, you still come from angels." Sister Agnes reached inside the box and pulled out a comfortable-looking bably blanket, with a 'P' embroidered in one corner. "They asked me to save this for you for this day. It's what they bundled you up in," she handed it to Paige, who touched it at the same time as being afraid to damage it. "Your mother had only one request - that your name begin with a P." She thought of the Halliwell sisters... Prue, Piper, Phoebe... Paige. She really was one of them. Just then, there was a knock at the office door. Paige didn't look up, still entranced by this treasure from her past. "Yes, may I help..." the Sister began, but then stopped. When Paige looked up at her, the woman stood still like a statue. Paige gasped and stepped back, looking up to see...
"Hey there Paige, how are you? We have to get out of here now, and you're coming with us," said the eldest, Prue.
"What did you do to her?" Paige gasped again, pointing to the nun.
"Oh, we just froze her. She'll be fine," said Phoebe.
"Yeah. Good thing we got that potion right, who knows what could have happened otherwise."
"Prue..." Phoebe drew her attention to the blanket in Paige's hands. Prue got the same faraway look on her face.
"Is that our blanket?" she started to reach for it, but Paige pulled it back defensively.
"No! That's mine! Leave me alone!" she pushed past them and out of the office.
"Oh, she's family alright..." Prue muttered as they followed, out into the main church."
"Paige. Paige. Paige!" Phoebe called after her.
"Stop or I'll freeze!" Prue took her turn. Paige stopped, turned to them as they stopped too, a few feet away.
"Okay, one she's a witch, two you don't have that power!" Phoebe whispered to Prue.
"She doesn't know that," Prue whispered back.
"Will you please just leave me alone?" Paige demanded as she began to leave again.
"Look, we know what you're going through. We went through the same thing when we first found out we were witches, too," Phoebe told her.
"I know you don't want to listen to us, but you have to. Someone's after you, someone bad." Paige turned to them again.
"Trust you? You just froze a nun! How do I know you're not the bad ones?"
"If we are then so are you, sis..." Prue dared her.
"Prue," Phoebe looked to her older sister as Paige once more turned to leave.
"Alright then, you try it."
"You have a magical power, you know," Phoebe attempted. To their slight surprise, Paige stopped and turned. "Mmm..." the two approached the new witch. "At least, if you're a Charmed One, you do. And the sooner you learn it, the sooner you'll be able to protect yourself."
"I have a power?" Paige asked.
"According to the prophecy, the third sister has the power to stop time. Like Piper could," Prue explained, still so uneasy about speaking of her dear little sister in the past tense.
"How does it work?"
"You just... decide what you'll freeze," Phoebe nodded her head toward a stack of papers, being blown back and forth lightly by the wind of an open window. "And then you throw your hands out toward it." Paige did as told, feeling somewhat silly at it. Nothing happened. She looked to Prue and Phoebe.
"Or, uh, you could flick your wrist. She used to do that sometimes..." Prue suggested. Flick of the wrist, no result once again. She looked at the sisters with a slight air of victory in her face.
"Well, maybe I'm not one of you after all if I can't even..." The door of the church, which had been held open by a small block of wood jammed under it, suddenly clattered closed, making Paige jump. So on edge as she'd been with all that had happened to her lately, her hands bawled up and flew over her head.
What happened next went by very quickly, but slow enough for her to register it. Something seemed to have appeared in her right hand, and was now pushing at her closed fingers to get itself out. She pulled her hand back in front of herself, fingers up, and uncurled the tight fist almost afraid of what she'd find in it. Three glowing orbs swirled around in her palm before shooting out toward... a cat, who must have wandered in from outside and caused the door to close. The orbs dove at it. As soon as they hit the cat, it flared momentarilly before stopping in its tracks.
"Oh..." Paige whispered very slowly as the sisters took in this turn of events with much of the same silent surprise.
"So perhaps the whitelighter in her makes it work differently?" Phoebe suggested, crouching to look at the cat. She reached out to pat its head and it unfroze, looking up at Phoebe, then Paige.
"This is just great..." Prue muttered. Suddenly, there was a high pitch screeching sort of sound coming in from outside.
"What is that?" Paige asked, breathing heavily.
"I don't know," Phoebe told her, although she had a sneaking suspicion. The doors flew open, revealing a young man lying on the ground, looking up at them pleadingly.
"Paige."
"Shane?" she rushed to help him. "What's the matter? My god, what happened?"
"I don't know. Someone's after me." She helped him up.
"Paige!" Phoebe called, as she and Prue started following her.
"Come on. Let's get out of here," Paige told Shane and they started off, the unfrozen cat trotting after them quietly.
"Paige! Come back!" Phoebe called before she and Prue were suddenly thrown down. They screamed all the way as they slid down the aisle. "Whoo!"
"What the hell was that?" Prue asked, catching her breath.
"Good question." They turned to see the Sister had unfrozen as well, and was now staring down at them. She did not look happy, not one bit.
*
Back at the manor, some time later, Prue and Phoebe were retelling what had happened at the church to Leo and Cole.
"So the Source was there, at the church?" Leo asked.
"Well the gargoyles weren't exactly whistling Dixie, Leo," Phoebe told him.
"Plus, we were knocked back on our butts by something and let me tell you, it was powerful... very," Prue winced, sitting back.
"But if he was there, why didn't he try to kill Paige?" Cole asked, sitting across from them.
"Maybe he didn't want to go up against the Charmed Ones," Phoebe suggested.
"No, that doesn't make sense. He knows that Paige is new to her powers. If ever there was a time to attack..."
"Wait a minute," Leo interrupted the demon, "What if he's not trying to kill her anymore? What if he's trying to lure her to his side?"
"Translation please?" asked a clueless Phoebe.
"The mythological window," Cole explained, wondering why he hadn't thought of it earlier.
"There's a window of opportunity, an opening," Leo continued.
"48 hours," Cole added.
"Right, 48 hours where a nascent witch who hasn't chosen to use her powers for good or evil yet can be swayed either way," Leo sat.
"Wait, so all he has to do is cast a spell on her?" Phoebe asked nervously.
"No, he can't," Cole reassured her, "It has to be her choice, but he can tempt her, entice her. If he gets her to use her powers for evil..."
"She becomes evil forever."
"And just who put together that little party favor?" Prue asked, glancing at Cole. He looked to the ground. She turned to Leo. He looked to the ceiling. "Oh never mind..." she sighed.
"Okay, so we have less than 24 hours to get to Paige and no idea how to find her," Phoebe sighed.
"But I bet the Source does..." Prue pointed out, fury building in her about that fact.
*
"This is useless," Phoebe closed the Book of Shadows, cleared her throat. "We're never gonna find Paige without a little help," she spoke a little louder than needed. The book immediately opened of its own accord and began page-flipping before stopping on one entry. "Works everytime," she smiled to herself. "Okay, an enchantment spell. Wait. How is this gonna help find her?"
"Well, maybe it's not to find Paige. Maybe it's so we can ID the Source. See here? "So she can reveal the evil within."
"But that'll only help if we can find him..."
"Maybe we can, or at least, maybe you can," Leo looked at Cole.
"What does he mean?" Phoebe asked, suddenly nervous again.
"Demons can sense the Source's aura. It's how he reminds us of his power, his reach. Maybe if I focus on it..."
"Then he'll know you're doing it. And he'll find you..." Phoebe breathed.
"Not if I was careful. It's your only chance at saving your sister.
"Okay. So we need something to enchant," Prue spoke up.
"Right, um..." Phoebe looked around, inwardly still unsure about this decision. She found something and reached for it. "Oh!" She held up a pair of pink kiddy sunglasses. "How about these?"
"Phoebe..." Prue smirked.
"What? They're perfect."
"Oh great," the sisters held on to the glasses as they recited the spell together.
"Magic forces far and wide,
Enchant these so those can't hide,
Allow this witch to use therein,
So she can reveal the evil within."
The lenses glowed briefly. "Hmm..." Phoebe looked at them.
"You should try them, see if it works," Prue told her. Phoebe put on the glasses and looked around, stopping at Leo and smiling.
"Well?" he asked.
"Nothing. You look the same."
"How 'bout me?" Cole asked. Phoebe turned to him and let out a scream. "What?" he asked, not knowing she saw him as his demon form Belthazor. "What do I look like?"
"You look like hell," she took off the glasses. "Enchanting." Cole smiled as Phoebe looked to the ceiling. "Thanks for the magical assist Grams."
"How do you know it wasn't somebody else?" Prue pointed out, making Phoebe inwardly a little happier for a moment.
*
Not long after, at social services, an angry Jake Grisanti left Mr. Cowan's office looking not at all happy, as his wife followed him. Paige, sitting at her desk, followed him with her eyes. No one had seen that something was different with her, that something dark had possessed her in some way. She silently followed the couple as they left the building. The force of the Source's pull had given her a momentary power boost, and as she stood a few feet away from the 'evil' man, she held out her hand. A single orb swirled out at the man, dove through his back.
Grisanti stopped moving in a sudden gasp, clutching at his chest. "Jake, what is it?" his wife pleaded. He seemed absolutely terrified, slightly hanging in position. It was as though his heart refused to move forward along with his body, causing him great pain. "Jake!" Carol Grisanti whimpered, looking at the anguish in his face.
Across the lot, Prue, Phoebe, Leo, and Cole arrived, scanning their surroundings. "I don't see Paige anywhere," Phoebe breathed.
"Are you sure this is the right place, Cole?" Prue asked.
"The Source is here. I can sense him."
"Wait. There she is," Leo finally spoke up. Phoebe slipped on the sunglasses and looked at her sister, hand still outstretched. She was surrounded with a veil of black swirling energy.
"What is she doing?" Prue asked.
"I don't know, but she's got a black aura around her," Phoebe informed them.
"The Source?" Leo guessed.
"No. It can't be. If Phoebe saw my demonic self, thens he'd see his too."
"Yeah. Well, whatever it is, it's not good. Come on." They approached their sister as they saw a small crowd was slowly gathering around the writhing man.
"Jake! Jake!" Carol Grisanti continued to plead.
"Paige? Paige? It's me, Phoebe. And Prue," Phoebe stood next to her younger sister.
"He's evil. He's hurting his child," she spoke, sounding very much like someone possessed.
"No. You're being seduced into doing this," Phoebe told her.
"Enough of this," Prue stepped up, pulling Paige's arm down. "Leo, get her back to the manor. Now!" she pushed the girl toward her brother-in-law. He orbed away with her. At that moment, Jake dropped to his knees, feeling relief already. Carol crouched next to him.
"Let's get out of here," Cole told the girls and they left.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Carol asked as Jake stood. "Maybe you'd better lay back down." But he'd seen what he had to do now.
"I'm not covering for you anymore Carol. You keep your hands off our son." Hopefully, Paige would get the chance to see her first good deed as a witch happen, even if that hadn't been her intention...