Chapter 26: Saved by the Prue

A/N: Wow! I am so happy that I got 150 reviews! I've finished this story in my head and I'm happy to tell you that there are 9 more chapters. They live in my head right now, but you'll see them sooner or later. Probably a little later since I type real slowly. If I owned Charmed, I would buy each person who reviewed a monkey. None of you will receive a monkey…

Future Piper was a bit worried about Paige since she woke up. She was talking non stop about the inspiration she had and her new plan. The thing that slightly concerned Future Piper was that Paige would not tell them what had happened while she was unconscious. Her baby sister said that nothing had happened, and the rest of the family seemed to have accepted that without question. They waited patiently for Paige to explain her plan, but future Piper had other things on her mind. She knew that something huge had happened while Paige was unconscious. She couldn't figure out why Paige would hide something that big from her, or from all of them.

Paige's eyes met future Piper's for a moment before she explained her plan. It was in that instance that she felt guilty for not telling her sisters the truth. She had seen the pain her sisters had gone through, right after meeting her…right after loosing Prue. She knew that pain first hand. If it was possible, she would cause them no more pain. Paige could just imagine how it would feel to learn that she had seen Prue, and they haven't. However, if Future Piper was becoming suspicious she might have to tell them. She opened her mouth to speak, and then suddenly stopped.

Future Piper had cocked her head to the side. It looked as if she was listening hard. Future Piper had heard someone whisper her name. Tears sprang to her eyes as she heard it once again. It was a voice she thought she could never hear again. "Piper", whispered the voice of Piper's dead older sister. The voice whispered again, "Piper, listen to Paige. She's right, you know. She can help, you know." Piper was shocked. She didn't know what to think. "Go on Paige, tell us your idea", said future Piper, suddenly smiling. She knew who the voice was. It was the one person Piper would listen to, no matter what.

Paige looked doubtful, but continued with her explanation. "Well, I kept thinking that although we are all strong alone, our powers are much stronger combined. Future Piper and Chris may be the ones who are supposed to vanquish the Jorgen king in the end, but wouldn't their power be helped with a power of three boosts?" They all looked at her with wide eyes. Phoebe smiled, and gave her a congratulatory pat on the back.

"I can't believe we never thought of that!" Phoebe exclaimed, sounding absolutely perky. "Let me get the potion me and Leo made. There's enough for all of us". Phoebe rushed off to the kitchen to get some vials to put the potion in. Phoebe paused at the cauldron full of potion. Her eyes got lost in its glittering blue surface. As she filled the vials, she realized just how many times they had already done this. Would they be doing this for the rest of their lives? Sure, normally they were the ones who were victorious. It was their rare loses that hurt the most of all, especially the loss of Prue. She had no idea why she was thinking of Prue that moment, but she began remembering.

Subconsciously, her fingers gripped the diamond pendant Prue had given her for her sixteenth birthday. Suddenly, a vortex opened in her mind. She was in a brilliantly white place; it looked as though it was made of clouds. That was when she saw Prue, wearing a long white dress. Her older sister looked so calm and serene; it was almost as though she was glowing. When Prue spoke, it was in calm soothing tones she would use when Phoebe was young and had a nightmare.

"I know you are frightened Phoebe", Prue said serenely. "As long as you all stay together, you will be all right. The power of three may set you free, but the power of four can do so much more." The vision faded and Phoebe was thrown back into reality. She hurriedly filled several vials with the now cooling potion. She rushed towards where her family had gathered. Phoebe was still unsure about whether or not she would tell them what she had seen. The death of Prue was a difficult subject for all of them. It always would be.

While Phoebe was getting the potion, Paige was busy tweaking certain parts of their half finished vanquishing spell. She couldn't concentrate on the spell however, because of the internal debate she was having. It was very difficult to decide whether or not to tell everyone all she had seen. Paige had already resolved not to tell them anything unless absolutely necessary. Her resolve was quickly weakening however, and she wasn't sure she could keep hiding this from them forever.

Chris seemed to notice that she was staring off into space instead of writing the spell. "Aunt Paige, is anything wrong?" Chris asked his voice full of concern. Since the others left, Paige and her nephew were left alone. That was the only way Paige would be able to talk to her future nephew. No one objected. They all knew Paige needed to talk to someone. If it was Chris she wanted to talk to, so be it. They were all very curious about what Paige had experienced while unconscious. Chris seemed the only way they could find out.

Paige sat cross legged on the floor and took a deep breath. It was time to tell someone about what she had seen. She knew she could trust Chris to keep this to himself, at least for now. He knew all about secrets that were necessary to keep. "Chris, I saw Prue", Paige said exhaling quickly. "She helped me, but please don't tell my sisters." Chris nodded. All Paige had to do was to look deep into his emerald green eyes to know that he was telling the truth. Chris trusted his aunt Paige with his life, and would do anything she asked, without question. Suddenly, he turned his head to the side for he heard a voice he had only heard a handful of times in his young life.

"You must convince her to tell them Christopher", the voice said, "She will listen to you". He knew that voice. It was the voice of his dead aunt Prudence Halliwell. It was the voice of the very women Paige had met over an hour before. Chris looked at the youngest of his aunts. His features showed a mixture of shock and amazement. "I heard aunt Prue!" he exclaimed. Paige looked extremely surprised at this statement. She slowly got up and looked at Chris.

"What did she say?" asked Paige, trying to look only mildly interested.

"She said that I should convince you to tell your sisters about who you met while you were out", Chris admitted ruefully. Paige sighed. She almost knew this was coming. Paige got up and walked towards the hallway adjacent to the kitchen. She was purposefully taking her time to plan exactly what she was going to say. "Where are you going?" Chris called after her.

"I guess I'm going to tell my sisters everything", Paige said with a sigh.

From his underground cavern, the king of the Jorgen Demons could still see everything that was happening at the Halliwell Manor. He was very happy to see that the Charmed Ones were preparing for his attack much less that he was preparing for theirs. Why, in just a few short hours, he had gained enough new minions to rival even his old army. He had finished drawing the maximum power from his ancestors. He had to admit, he didn't equal the Charmed Ones in power. He did come close, but it wasn't nearly enough.

What he lacked in power, he made up for in cunning. Now he knew the Charmed Ones better than they knew themselves. After his plan was executed, the Charmed Ones would be begging to die. It was foolish to attack them with power alone. He would mess with their mind a bit. He would triumph where others had failed. His army was large enough to cause a sufficient distraction. He had come to the conclusion that the only way to kill a Charmed One was to kill someone she loves. He had so many wonderful choices. The sisters would never know what hit them.

TBC…

Up next…Chapter 27: Vanquisher or Vanquished One? … This is the question the Charmed Ones must ask themselves about Christopher Perry Halliwell.