Chapter 1

Kyle's Apartment-night

Paige orbed in to Kyle's apartment, and collapsed on the bed, worn out from excessive orbing and out of control emotions. She had spun an orb trail that would take her sister's hours, if not days, to unravel and by then she would be over everything. She had to be, because Piper was right about Kyle. About everything. Hearing someone confess her worst fears did little to cleanse her soul.

All Paige wanted was to wallow in her pain, to grieve over the loss of the love of her life, but she knew know that she had to move on with her life and protect the world and her family from Zankou. It was her destiny, and she was going to fight her pain until she overcame it. Kyle would have wanted her to survive and to protect the world that he died trying to save.

All of this thinking about Kyle brought fresh tears to Paige's eyes and she rolled over, curling herself up in a ball. She cried for all of the times they had laughed and kissed and loved each other, for the times to come that would be empty without his presence, for all of the times she wouldn't get to feel his arms around her. She cried for her guilt, in causing his death and for hurting her sisters by being so selfish, and she cried for the immense amount of loneliness she felt without him here telling her to trust in herself and her sisters. She cried because she knew that soon, she wouldn't let herself cry anymore, she would adopt the Halliwell philosophy of ignoring and suppressing your pain until it almost disappears. It's what her sisters did for Prue, what Phoebe did for Cole, what Piper was doing for Leo, and what Paige had to do for Kyle.

Paige cried until she was too dehydrated to cry any more. Then she sat up, wiped her tears off of her face, and began packing his room up, almost in a trance. This is how she would say goodbye, how she would mourn him and move on. By the time his apartment was packed and ready to go, she would be ready to fight Zankou and move on with her life as best as she could. Paige knew that when she did return to the manor, Piper would be acting a little differently than she had been when Paige left. Piper's words cut her heart in two, but Paige knew how easy it was to say anything at all when your heart is suffering from loss. She knew how much she wanted to curl up and die, and Piper was right…Leo meant more to the world, to the entire family, than Kyle ever could.

Paige, in fact, was so busy saying goodbye to Kyle, so focused on moving on, that she didn't notice the movement in the corner of the room, or the growing shadow as it inched closer towards her. The image of an athame flickered on the wall, as the sunlight hit its shiny surface.

Manor-Attic-Dawn (Early Morning)

Piper was scrying, tears on her cheeks as she moved the crystal from location to location on the map. It's my fault. I shouldn't have yelled at her, it's not her I'm mad at, and even if I was I had no right to be so brutal to my own sister. I'm mad at Leo, for leaving so willingly and for the Elders for calling him away. But Paige…she was in mourning. Mourning like a ordinary person, but not like a Halliwell. When we find her, I can't wait to apologize and tell her how much I need her to be able to mourn, so I can see how its done, so I know that at least someone around here has the chance to move on, to be normal.

Damn, if only Paige couldn't orb…this wouldn't be necessary.

Phoebe entered the attic at a run, looking almost as harried as Piper. She felt her sisters' pain through her 'sister connection' but seeing the look in her sisters' eyes was too much, especially with her empathy, even with Chris' blocking potion. She knew what they were going through, what Paige was now going through alone. Phoebe, although she wasn't planning on admitting it, was scared that Paige would disappear and never return. She was terrified that she would never see her sister again.

"The boy's are fine; I sent them to Magic School with Ms. Donovan. She came to see if Paige had some paper's graded yet…Did you find anything?" Phoebe was hopeful, but she wasn't stupid. Paige had been a witch for a few years now, and was well aware of how to magically hide her trail. She was a true Halliwell. Suddenly, Phoebe received a miny epiphany. They were thinking as witches, not as sisters. The second she began to think as a sister, she knew exactly where Paige was. It seemed obvious, and she felt incredibly ignorant for not realizing it sooner.

"Come on, I know where she is!" Phoebe called as she ran down the hall. Piper followed her, completely confused, but desperate for a lead of any sort.

"How? You're not a telepath now, are you?" Piper's voice was even more panicked. The last thing they needed was more powers to sort through. With two family members on the loose, one voluntary and one not, adding uncontrollable powers to the mix was a nightmare. Phoebe laughed as they slammed the front door and rushed to the car.

"No, I'm a sister." Piper was very confused by this statement, and Phoebe began to explain as they started the engine and drove out of the driveway.

"It's like me and mausoleum … Cole and I had our special place, somewhere that I could go to think about him and vice versa." This seemed to confuse Piper even more.

"Why would Paige go to the mausoleum?" Phoebe looked sharply at her sister, and realization began to dawn in Piper's eyes.

"I get it! She's got to be at Kyle's apartment." Phoebe nodded and the two sisters shared a laugh, one of the first laughs they had uttered for three weeks.

Kyle's Apartment-early morning

The shadow watched Paige as she wept openly and waited. When she was at her worst, totally vulnerable and emotionally raw, he would attack. Until then, he would wait and watch and plan. It wouldn't be long.

Paige felt her hands tremble as she began to pack the last box of his bedroom. Her head hurt unceasingly, she missed Kyle so much her heart ached, and she was fatigued. But she had to pack this last box, to at least finish her journey of acceptance that much sooner.

"Hello, Paige." A cold sinister voice whispered her name and Paige spun around, alarmed. Her guard was down, she was exhausted and hardly emotionally fit for a battle with an ordinary human, let alone a demon, right now. To Paige's horror, she was face to face with Zankou. He smiled his evil grin and twirled an athame between his fingers.

"I was hoping to find you here. Hoping to kill you here, all alone, with no one to come to your aid." Zankou laughed as panic grew in Paige's eyes and she began orbing out. She managed to raise herself to the ceiling, but then she fell down again and landed hard on the floor. She was too tired to orb, too tired to breathe, but yet she had to fight Zankou all on her own.

"My sisters and I with vanquish you." Paige said, with more certainty than she possessed. Zankou shook his head and gathered a fire ball in his hand.

"I cloaked the apartment from scrying. They won't come until it is too late, and without the Power of Three there is no need for me to wait before becoming the next Source." Paige dodged the incoming fireball and careened in to a huge desk, smashing it and receiving a nasty gash on her leg. They began to fight, Paige using her limited energy to throw random objects at Zankou and for dodging his knife attacks and fireballs, and Zankou having what seemed to be the time of his life.

Paige knew she was fading fast and wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. She thought of her sisters, and prayed with all of her heart that somehow they had managed to find her, that somehow they would save her before it was too late.

Kyle's Apartment Building-early morning

Piper and Phoebe were wandering around the hall, trying to find Kyle's apartment. Neither of them knew which one it was, where it was, or how to get there. They were beginning to get desperate, knowing that every second Paige spends alone she is digging deeper wounds.

Phoebe was touching random doors, trying to get a premonition of Paige, while Piper was wandering aimlessly. Suddenly, a mind-numbing scream echoed throughout the building. Piper and Phoebe turned to each other, and exclaimed,

"Paige!" simultaneously. They began to run in the direction of the screams. Piper's heart was racing and her witch senses were in full speed. She knew, KNEW, that something was not right with Paige, that she was in danger. Phoebe seemed to know it, too, and her eyes were wide with dread and shock anticipation.

They reached the door from which the screams were emanating and Piper immediately blew it up. The sister's rushed inside; expecting the worst, dreading the demonic situation they knew was to come.

"Paige!" Piper cried out, terrified. The room was definitely the place of a demon attack. Furniture all around was in shambles, items scattered around the floor, scorch marks everywhere and the smell of blood lay heavily in the air. Paige, however, was no where to be found.

"Hello, witches." Phoebe and Piper spun a round at the tone of the sinister voice, prepared and ready for battle, not anywhere near ready for what they saw next. Zankou, the practically invincible demon, and Paige. Zankou held a bloody Paige tight to his chest with one arm, and pressed an athame spotted with blood to her neck.

"Paige, oh my god!" Piper exclaimed, and tears of worry, love, and fright sprang in to her eyes. Paige was bleeding from her shoulder, and from a scorch mark on her stomach. She looked battered and bruised and almost at the point of collapse. She was beyond the point of serious healing needs, and looked as if she was fighting for life at every second. And she was in the arms of the second most dangerous demon, next to the Source of course, that they had ever fought.

"Watch it, witch." Zankou said to Piper as she began to raise her blasting arms. He pressed the knife harder to Paige's neck and a tiny trickle of blood seeped from the wound and ran down her neck. "You make one move, one at all, and she'll be dead before you can blink." Piper and Phoebe looked at each other, and into Paige's painfilled, almost unresponsive, eyes. The full situation was hitting home and they felt panicked and helpless. Zankou was going to kill their sister, in front of them, and there was nothing they could do about it. A Power of Three spell would be impossible, seeing how Paige was almost knocked out and in the arms of a demon.

Zankou smiled, noting that the remaining Charmed Ones had almost given up. This might be easier than he thought, killing the Charmed Ones. He would take his time, playing off of his hostage, killing Paige first and enjoying their suffering. Then he would make his move and end the Charmed Ones forever. All he had to do was press down a little bit harder on that athame…

10