A/N: Sorry for the long delay, again! I've just had so much school work with finals and the last two weeks of school, as well as having to help a friend with her project so I've been staying really late aftr school and getting home only to see someone else hogging the computer. Anyway, this chapter is a play on, "cat got your tongue?"I don't have a lot of time, so I can only answer question type reviews at the moment. Sorry! I promise to catch up next chapter! peanut2lb: LOL Yes, you will be seeing Piper's "leather bound and diamond tipped tail" returning as her Catwoman whip soon. And what can I say? Pearl is a Halliwell, Paige's daughter at that. You can't expect her to take a backseat, can you? lol Yes, yes. I had to get my digs in about Bush. Grr! I hate that-that vile man, if you can call him that. It's funny that you say that, because although I have a majority of dislike for Republicans (not specific people, but the Republican party in general), I'm not a Democrat. I'm independant, because there are a few things that I strongly disagree with the majority of Democrats about. But hey, it's a new generation, you never know. Not that I'll change to a Democrat, because I won't, but I do MUCH rather prefer their "general ideas/framework." chyp: Actually, I was thinking of doing just that. ;) I have an a great title in mind, I just haven't fit it in yet. Prince Halliwell: Piper isn't Sekhmet, butshe has had her wild sideunleashed, again. (This'll be explainedmore, later on.) The-Cheese-Fairy: Yes, Pearl has a definite rebellion going on. Just wait until she's a teen! lol Yes, I'm a huge fan of Bush digs and sorry, I can see your frustration of Pheebs being in charge! lol charmedsisters: I almost put that line in there (in fact, it may have been in the original chapter), but damnit, I just had to loose all of the originals (which were better than the re-writes, in my opinion). But at least she got the point across and Paige knew it. LOL Maybe I'll have her say that later? I dunno, though. She's gonna get her butt into a lot of trouble. Ooh, maybe I should zip my big mouth?

Every Halliwell Counts

Chapter 17: Kit Got Your Tongue?

Brandon and Pearl appeared in the spare room of Brandon's house, where his Book of Shadows was kept.

"I can't believe my mother!" Pearl ranted, as she walked over to the neatly made spare bed and hopped onto it.

"She's just worried about you, Pearly." Brandon replied, as he walked over to a large cherry wood chest and placed his hand smack dab on the center. A red glow enveloped the chest and when Brandon took his hand away, the lid magically lifted open. Brandon smiled as a large, black leather book floated up to his reach and he plucked it from the air. "My Book isn't nearly as good as yours is," he explained as he crawled up onto the bed next to his best friend. "It's actually a combined Book of Shadows. When my parents got married, they magically combined their own Books of Shadows to form it all into one, so it could be passed down to their kids, thus me. But both my mom and dad are ancient Egyptian fanatics and they have this puppy packed with almost everything on ancient Egypt!" The young witch began to flip through the pages of the Book. "Okay, here it is," he grinned as he placed his Book between them.

"Wow, Isis is so pretty," Pearl marveled.

Like you. Brandon thought, smiling at Pearl without her noticing.

Pearl brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face and turned the page.

Andy pulled his vibrating cell phone from his back pocket and placed it to his ear. "Darryl?"

Darryl sighed, as he stared down at the body of a young woman in her late 20's or early 30's. "We've had some new developments in the burglaries."

Andy's face contorted. "What happened?" The Inspector asked, somberly.

"There's been a murder," Darryl replied quite simply. "I need you down here now, before we disturb the body. I think there's something you should see."

"I'm on my way," Andy said as he clicked his phone shut and deposited his phone into his back pocket again. He grabbed a jacket from his closet and headed out of his and Prue's room.

Persia bounced into the kitchen, her golden locket swaying on her neck. As soon as she saw the strange woman who liked like something out of another era from the back, she mistakenly took her for a demon. Lemon yellow sparks instantly began to glitter on her fingers.

"Whoa, whoa!" Phoebe exclaimed, waving her hands at her eldest daughter. "Put those down, Sparky!"

Persia frowned. "Who is that?" She pointed to Bast.

Bast turned toward the young witch and smiled. "I'm B-"

"Bast!" Persia exclaimed, her face turning crimson. "I'm so sorry!"

"How does she know?" Paige asked, looking curiously at her electric niece.

"When I studied magic and everything, Egypt was my favorite! They're ancient society was so rich in magic and-and Bast was one of my two favorite ancient Egyptian Goddesses! That and I learnedthat some Wiccans still worship Isis, which also intrigued me."

"It's kind of hard not to like Her, isn't it?" Bast asked, looking at the electrokinetic.

"Her?" Phoebe and Paige echoed.

"Isis," Persia informed, staring at Bast. "With a capital 'H.'"

"I thought ancient Egypt was polytheistic?" Phoebe asked.

"It is," the psychic's eldest daughter replied.

"Then why the capital?"

"Because even though it is polytheistic, some who feel very strongly about a specific deity capitalize it anyway to show their faith. I capitalize the 'h' or 's' when talking about Her, because Isis is a very important figure to me. I just never realized that she was real before!" Persia explained. "Bast, you don't think that maybe I could meet Isis, do you?"

Bast's face fellow, her pointy cat ears dipping down. "Isis is missing and the Realm of the Ancient Egyptian Deities is in shambles."

"The Realm of the Ancient Egyptian Deities?" Persia asked.

"All the goddesses and gods from ancient religions have their own realms that are only accessible by their magick, not even The Elders can get in. Of course the Roman and Greek is combined, as they are the same deities with different names," Bast explained.

"But then why is yours in shambles?" Persia asked.

"Because Ra and Sekhmet have been there, searching..."

"Searching for what?" The witchlighter asked.

"The statues."

"Statues?"

"To kill us," Bast replied.

"I thought you were immortal?"

"We appear immortal to the mortal world, Paige. But every ancient Egyptian deity has an ancient statue of themself. The statues are enchanted. If the statue is destroyed, then so is that deity. But they're secretly, magically hidden so that if a deity becomes corrupt, the others can take her or him down."

"Well then why the hell didn't you do that with Ra?" Phoebe explained, clearly confused.

"He, with the help of other outside forces, hid his statue beyond our knowledge. After Isis entombed him, she magically hid the resting place of our statues so that if he were to ever return, he couldn't find and destroy them. So when he got free, he naturally returned to the Realm in order to find and destroy Isis' statue. There was a battle and it didn't last long, Isis defeated him, but barely. She knew he'd return. It was then that I noticed how the cats of the world had started to become strange, restless. I didn't figure it out in time and now Isis and the rest of the deities are gone, except me. Isis cloaked me before she vanished, because she knew she'd need outdside help too, powerful help."

"Us," Paige breathed.

"Right and she knew that we already had a history together," Bast explained.

Phoebe walked over to the kitchen table and slid into a chair, leaning her elbows on the table and propping her head in her hands. The psionic witch wasn't sure what to do next. Then she felt a soft, fur covered creature rub against her leg. Phoebe poked her head under the table to see Kit rubbing her Siamese body against her and she smiled, reaching down to stroke the aging cat across the head. Then she noticed Piper's cat, the one she'd gotten after their visit with Santa Clause oh so long ago, come trotting up behind Kit, also there to comfort her. The two cats began to purr and lean against Phoebe in a comforting manner. I wish I knew what my next move should be. She thought, as Kit jumped into her lap.

TO BE CONTINUED...