A/N: Again, the flashback is from the book, "Shadow Of The Spinx," not from me. BTW, just so nobody who isn't familiar with Egyptian mythology gets confused, "Bastet" and "Bast" both mean the same person/Goddess, but they can be said either way. Also, there are some people/religions who still worship Ra and other ancient Egyptian figures, so I just want to say that I'm making Ra the "bad guy" for the purpose of my story and that he is not actually "evil." This chapter is a play on, "a regular basket case." ShadowRose950: Wow, thank you so much for such an inspiring review! (Yeah, I understand about those HP obsessed people, lol, I don't get what all the hype is about.) moonfirefairy: Thanks you! RJF: Aww, thanks, I was rather proud of it. (Second time typing it and all. Grr.) Yeah, those Halliwell women have to go through great lengths to get the good guys, so when they do, they really know how to keep 'em! chyp: Thanks for reviewing and I'm sorry that you feel that I'm using too much Piper in this story. But I wanted to focus on a sister that I hadn't focused on a lot inthe previous stories. money makes me smile: Yeah, Pearl is the blunt type. lol She's a true Halliwell. Yeah, I already have ideas formulating for their teen years. The-Cheese-Fairy: I know! Poor Piper and she's the one least happy with magic! Hmm, maybe her destiny is trying to tell her something? Glad you liked Paige's line about how she has to eat, apparently it was pretty popular along with Pearl slapping her hand over Brandon's eyes. LOL to the line about Glenn, Victor, and Andy on Opera with, "My Wife's A Witch...Literally!" Hey, I might have to steal that line from you sometime! lol Good times. winter blaze: Aww, thanks and thnak you for checking out my Challenge Fic. Prince Halliwell: Piper is my favorite too and I wish the show would've shown more of Piper's wild side. LOL to your "LOVED how Paige could think of food at a time like this!" Yeah, that's Paige for ya. charmedsisters: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like how things are playing out. peanut2lb: Aww, Peanut, I'm always so eager for your reviews. This one just made me grin, because I think the best compliments are when people think that you've written something show worthy or better than show worthy, so thank you so much! Yeah, there will be more references to the movie with Hallie Barry later on (personally I loved the movie and I love cats and "Charmed" and yeah, I had to pull it all together). I'm glad that you like the ever growing bond between Andy and Glenn. I wish those two would've been able to meet on the shwo, because they would've had so much in common!

Every Halliwell Counts

Chapter 16: A Regular Bastet Case

"I think we need to summon Bastet," Paige said as she looked down at the Book in her hands.

"How?" Prue asked.

"What about the spell thatyou andPiper used to helpyou find Paige?" Leo suggested.

"Which one?" Phoebe asked, curiously. "As I recall, we cast a lot of spells that day."

"The desire one," Leo replied.

"I don't remember it," the psychic said as she shook her head.

Leo walked over to Phoebe. "Maybe I can help?" He asked, placing a hand on the psychic's shoulder.

Phoebe gasped as a rush of energy passed through her, signaling a premonition.

----Premonition----

Together Piper and Phoebe spoke the words they had heard in the temple. "Ancient wise ones, link to my will, my greatest desire, you now fulfull." Over and over their voices chanted.

----Premonition----

"Are you okay, Pheebs?" Paige asked.

Phoebe nodded. "That spell!"

Leo grinned, satisfied that his plan to trigger a premonition for the witch had worked. "I know you guys used it for a different purpose, but since your greatest desire is to get answers, I figured it should work because of the way it's worded."

Phoebe slapped her brother-in-law on the back. "Good thinkin', dude!"

"So now what are we doing?" Prue asked.

"Just repeat after me," Phoebe replied as she grabbed the nearest hands of each of her remaining sisters. "Ancient wise ones, link to my will, my greatest desire, you now fulfull!"

"Ancient wise ones, link to my will, my greatest desire, you now fulfull!" Paige and Prue chanted together.

Suddenly air began to whoosh through the attic, swirling around everyone and everything. A rumbling noise filled the air, followed by complete silence. Then golden swirls appeared, forming into a tunnel shape and swirling around like a twister, then as fast as they'd appeared, they vanished, leaving behind a beautiful Goddess. She had the head of a sleak cat and the body of a beautiful, young woman. Dark paws replaced her hands and she wore an off-white dress with golden hieroglyphics. A collar of golden nefer beads was spread out from her neck to just past her shoulders and a long tail swished behind her. The Cat Goddess had beautiful glowing emerald eyes and golden earrings hung from her perfect cat ears. The ancient Egyptian Goddess smiled at Paige, nodding her proud head. "Paige, it's good to see you again," she purred.

Paige grinned, pulling her hand out from under the Book and waving at the podium, orbing the Book back into its resting place. "It's good to see you too, Bast. It's been too long."

"That it has," the Cat Goddess agreed.

"I'm sure you know why we've summoned you," Phoebe butted in. "By the way, it's good to see you again."

"I feel the same, Phoebe," Bast replied. "And yes, I know why. You girls need answers and I need your help."

"Our help?" Prue asked. "Our sister is the one who's gone cat crazy!"

Phoebe leaned over and smacked Prue's arm. "Have some respect!"

"I know and I apologize, but until I can be re-annointed on the Day of the Feline, I'm unable to change your sister back from being one of my Catwomen."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Pearl jumped in. "Like the movie?"

Bast grinned. "Yes, dear, like the movie. After all, humans can't come up with brilliant ideas like that on their own." Her emerald eyes twinkled. "I have Catwomen spread all over the world, but they aren't used for committing crimes, they're used to stop evil. But Sekhmet is turning them."

"Sekhmet?" Prue asked.

"She's another ancient Egyptian Goddess," Leo filled in. "But unlike Bast, she has the head of a lioness."

"So she's evil?"

"No," Bast stated. "She's being corrupted."

"Who could corrupt her?" Paige asked.

"Ra," the Cat Goddess replied somberly.

"Ra?" Brandon echoed. "As in, Ra the Sun God?"

"Yes," Bastet confirmed. "He was imprisoned long ago by Isis, our untimate Goddess, but somehow he's escaped."

"Well how did Isis imprison him the first time?" Prue asked.

"She was stronger than him," Bast replied. "Isis is the most powerful Egyptain deity. She tricked Ra, who had been the most powerful, into revealing his true name to her. In doing so, she gained power over him and gained his powers. Ra was evil and so she imprisoned him in a magical tomb to save the world from his greedy hands."

"So again, if she's so much more powerful, then how'd he escape?" Prue asked.

"Magic changes, dear," Bastet replied calmly. "It grows and becomes different from early times and although it could never be as good or the same as it was, it can still help to do or undo things of the past."

"Kind of like The Hubble?" Phoebe asked.

"The Hubble?" Bast asked, perplexed.

"It's the most amazing space telescope that's ever existed! But the technology is from the sixties and seventies. There's nothing else like it and there won't be. That George Bush wanted to disban it in his second term and put some other technology up there to compensate for it, but it would never be as good. Luckily he never finished his term, so it was never decommisioned. So it's a really good thing, ya know? It's old and has a lot of problems, but it's still the best."

Bastet nodded in understanding. "Exactly," she replied. "However, Isis may be old, but she doesn't have a lot of problems."

Phoebe blushed. "I-I'm sorry, I meant no disrepect."

"I know," Bast replied.

20 Minutes Later----

Bast lapped up the last few drops of milk from a small bowl on the table, as they were now gathered in the kitchen.

"So the burglaries are because Ra and Sekhmet are trying to retrieve special artifacts?" Prue asked, still completely confused by what was going down.

"The Treasure of the Feline," Bast filled in.

Phoebe slapped her older sister's arm. "Weren't you supoosed to be Buckland's best and brightest?"

"I didn't deal with the ancient Egyptian section that often!" Prue defended.

Phoebe rolled her brown eyes and waved the Cat Goddess on. "Please, go on."

"There are nine items."

"Like there are nine lives?" Paige asked.

"Exactly," Bast nodded.

"And so let me get this straight," Pearl began. "We've got to save the last three artifacts so that Ra and Sekhmet can't get to them, so Ra can't annoint Sekhmet as the new Cat Goddess. Then we have to find Ra, re-imprison him and save Isis, all in time for the Day of the Feline, so we can re-annoint you as the Cat Goddess for another nine-thousand years?"

Paige instantly wagged a warning index finger at Pearl and Brandon. "No, no, no! You two won't be doing anything!"

"What?" Pearl shot up from her seat. "We have to help!"

"It's too dangerous!"

"I'm a witch!"

"You're a child," Paige replied sternly.

"I'm a Blessed One!" Pearl hissed.

"Pearl, maybe we should listen to her," Brandon replied timidly.

"You're siding with her?" Pearl asked, incredulously.

"No, no! I don't have sides, I'm just-just worried about you," the teleporter admited.

Pearl felt her body become less tense, but she refused to show weakness in front of her mother. "Come on," she replied as she took ahold of Brandon's hand. This isn't over! The young whitelighter-witch thought.

"Okay," Brandon whispered, before teleporting them away.

"First things first!" Phoebe announced. She grabbed Prue and led her out of the room. "You go down to the station and pick Darryl's brain about the burglaries, Paige and I will stay here and try to uncover more about the Day of the Feline and Ra."

"Who put you in charge?" Prue asked, laying her blue eyes on her baby sister.

"Because I'm the only one qualified," Phoebe replied. "You weren't around when we delt with Bastet and ancient Egypt before and since Piper took off out of the house like a cat out of water, I'm the next eldest with experience in this situation, automatically making me the leader." She gave her eldest Halliwell sister her signature grin, before pushing her out of the kitchen. "And remember, try to stay out of Andy's way for a while, he's still pretty upset about the earring and we don't need a marital fight while we're trying to save the world!"

Prue threw a glare at her psionic sister, before trotting towards the front doors.

TO BE CONTINUED...