Howdily doody! Thanks for the reviews! And I did have an awesome time in London! I wish I lived in a city! Lol! I'm posting this early because tomorrow I've got to go to rehearsals and I don't know when they'll be finished!
Phiona- I liked Jason too! (Obviously…lol!) You'll see if you're right about Paul in this chapter! Thanks for the review!
BlueOrbs998- Paul is bad news…very bad news… You'll see what I mean! Lol! And 'awesomeingly' should be a word! I'll petition it to be added to the dictionary! Lol! Thanks for the review:D
Powerof4- Thanks for the review! Both Andyz do rock, don't they!
Money makes me smile- thanks for the review! You'll see if you were right about Paul in this chapter!
Charmed1s-Halliwells- thanks! You made me smile!
Passions- You'll see who Paul is in this chapter! Thanks for the reviews! And I hope you did well in your exams! I have mine coming up in May…not looking forward to them AT ALL!
Prince Halliwell- Paul's identity is revealed in this chapter! Glad you liked 'Melly-Jay's candle quip. Thanks!
Peanut2lb- Glad you liked it! I had to put some sort of remark about Phoebe from Prue in there! And I agree that they cut them out of spite! But then claim it is because Shannen Doherty doesn't want her face shown on charmed! Urgh!
So you don't get confused about the conversation Prue and Piper are having in the beginning of this chapter, Marmite is Prue's kitten. This takes place in August 2007, six months after the last chapter. For once, I actually like something I've written so I hope you enjoy it! Time to find out who Paul really is…
Chapter19- Attack of the Clones
Prue ran into the kitchen, avoiding the many cardboard boxes that lined the hallway of the Halliwell Manor and she appeared to be very panicked.
"Mommy!" She yelped loudly, jumping up and down in an agitated manner.
"What sweetie?" Piper replied, her attention turning from the box she had been filling with Mark's cooking appliances, to her daughter.
"I lost Marmite!"
"You lost her? Where was she the last time you saw her?"
"Daddy was giving her breakfast," The girl pointed towards the half eaten dish of cat food before her voice turned sour, "And then the stupid Elder men jingled for him so I gived her some more food and now I can't find her!"
"Are you sure she hasn't gone out to play with the other kittens in the street?" Piper asked hiding her smile as she watched her daughter's concerned nature come through.
"No, she didn't because I asked Auntie Paige and Uncle Mark and they didn't open the door for her and I didn't and you didn't and what if she was gotted by demons?"
"Prue, calm down sweetie. No demons are going to kidnap your cat." Piper tried not to look amused as her daughter's eyebrows shot up.
"What if Auntie Paige packed her in a box?"
"I think she would have noticed Sweetie. Go and ask Laura and if you still can't find her then call for Daddy and get him to sense her, okay?"
"Daddy won't come." The petite witch/whitelighter said with a frown, "He's always workin!"
Piper sighed and forced a smile onto her face. She had always hated the fact Leo was called 'up there' so often, but recently it had seemed as though Leo spent more time with his charges than he did with his own family. She knew it was Leo's job, but Prue was beginning to take her father's frequent absences to heart and it upset her.
"I know he works a lot honey, but you know he'd rather be here with you and Andy."
"Yes…" Prue's frown faded, but her pout remained as she turned and stomped back down the corridor. "Laura!"
Prue found her cousin in their bedroom, packing all of her toys into a large cardboard box. She interrupted Laura's cheerful humming as she made her way to her curly haired cousin's bed.
"Have you seen Marmite?" She asked grumpily, still angry that her father was, once again, up in Elder land.
"Nope, why? Have you losted her?"
"Yes." Prue replied, "I checked every room…a bazillion times!"
"Wow!" Laura looked impressed as she absentmindedly dropped a stuffed bear into the box. "My mommy says that when we gets our new house me and Rachael can get our own cat!"
"I wish you didn't have to move." Prue whispered. Although she was excited about getting a room to herself, the prospect of her best friend moving across town was not one she liked to think about. In three days time, the Andersons would have left the Manor and the following week, Prue was starting school. This, however, she was looking forward to.
"But when I moves, you can come sleep at my house, like we do at MJ's!" Laura could tell her cousin was in a bad mood and she was not making a very successful attempt of cheering Prue up. But suddenly, an idea hit her. Magic always cheered Laura up, so there was a likely chance it would cheer Prue up too. "I got an idea." She announced.
"What?" Prue replied, jumping off the bed.
"We can go to the attic and-"
"Wait!" Prue yelped, interrupting Laura's idea. "I didn't look in the attic for Marmite. Maybe she went up there?"
"Maybe!" Laura gasped. "I'll race ya!"
The two girls rematerialised at the same time in the Halliwell attic, each with a look of mischief on heir face. They knew they weren't meant to be in the attic without one of the adults, but the fact that they were doings something naughty made it more fun. Laura was the first to spot the tabby kitten, curled up behind piles of old novels but when she dashed to pick her up, the cat was startled and fled further back into the mounds of junk.
"Prue, call for her!" Laura announced.
"I can only do it if I can see what I gots to call for!" Prue told her cousin with a scowl. Marmite had gone so far back into the attic that neither cousin could see her any more. "Try to lift this box with me." Each girl grabbed the side of the box, which contained an assortment of odd ornaments and was blocking their path to where the cat had fled, but found it too heavy. "Oh no!"
"Um… How do we get her out? What if she's stuck?" Laura looked up when her cousin did not answer and followed Prue's gaze to the podium in the middle of the attic. Her blue eyes lit up at the sight of the Book of Shadows, and a smile, which matched Prue's, appeared on her face.
"Maybe there's a spell?" Prue suggested.
"But I can't read!"
"I can." Prue smiled, remembering the spell she had cast on herself a year ago to allow her to read the woogy spell. She knew not to bring the incident up with Laura, so did not explain how she could. "Book of shadows!"
The booked appeared in a flurry of white lights and the two little girls sat side by side on the floor, flipping through the many pages.
"What's that word say Prue?" Laura asked as they passed a rather frightening picture.
"Wendigo…" Prue squinted her eyes and cracked a smile; "I think my mommy was one of those once!"
"Cool!"
They continued to turn the pages, passing darklighters, nauctaters, Belthazor and banshees, until a triumphant look settled on the eldest cousin's face. "Look, this one says 'to multiply your strength by three.' Maybe if we do this one then we will be strong enough to move the boxes?"
"Yeah! Help me say it though."
"Okay, hold my hands." They joined hands and stood up, each anticipating the super strength they were about to receive, neither expecting what would actually happen. "Take our powers blessed be, multiply their strength by three!"
The cousins' eyes did not move from each other and for several moments they stood in silence. "Did it work?" Laura asked, and was slightly startled to hear two other voices ask at the same time. She looked to her left and her jaw dropped; she saw another version of herself hugging another Prue, and to her right, she saw the same thing. "Uh oh!" All three Lauras declared.
"Cool!" Exclaimed all three Prues in perfect unison. "Now we can all move the boxes!"
Ten minutes later, one of the Prue clones flipped through the Book of Shadows, trying to find a reversal spell, as one of the Laura's lifted the kitten from behind a dusty old lamp and began climbing back over the obstacle course of junk that led to the other Lauras and Prues.
"Just orb!" The Prue clone, which was not reading the book, yelled.
The Laura with Marmite in her arms looked up shyly, a look the real Laura rarely wore, and frowned. "My Mommy and Daddy says not to use magic for pernosal gain…"
"Stop being such a baby!" The same Prue taunted, before she and one of the other Lauras began to randomly orb about the room, shrieking in laughter as they did so. "And it's personal, not pernosal! Stupid…"
"Hey!" The real Laura stood defiantly and glared at her cousin's clone. "Don't be so mean!"
"She was only playing!" The mischievous Laura clone defended. Things in the attic were getting a little confusing.
"Be quiet!" The real Prue shouted, putting the room into an awkward silence. "We have to tell our Mommies."
"Tell Daddy…" The Prue at the book said timidly, "He won't get so mad…"
"But he's never here anyway!" The second Prue clone argued, but something appeared to dawn on her as she began to orb out.
"Wait!" Laura yelled. "Where you going?"
"To get my Daddy back!" The clone's voice lingered in the air and both the real little girls shared a worried glance.
"Uh oh!"
After finally convincing the timid Laura and Prue that it was okay to orb downstairs, the two Prues and three Laura's appeared in their bedroom. The remaining Prue clone immediately began to tidy, whereas the bashful Laura clone sat with the small kitten on her knee in the corner. The mischievous Laura clone looked less than amused at all of the others and frowned.
"This is bowing!" She announced, rolling her eyes. "I want to play owb waces!"
"No!" The real Prue said, taking charge. "Stay here while I go find my Mommy."
"Fine!" The roguish Laura clone yelled, folding her arms and kicking the cardboard box at the foot of the bed. "But you can't stop me saying spells!" A small smile spread across her lips, "I won't ask nicely, I won't ask twice, make this bedwoom full of mice!"
"Don't!" Laura screamed at her clone, but it was too late.
Each of the girls and their clones let out ear piercing screams as white mice filled up the pink carpet and emerged from under both beds. They all, including the Laura who had cast the spell, jumped onto a higher surface, avoiding the rodents, which had begun to roam the floor. The timid Prue burst into tears as the timid Laura struggled to keep Marmite from pouncing at the mice. The mischievous Laura fell back laughing at her own handiwork, whilst the original Laura froze the mice in place. Prue, however, had inherited her mother's dislike of mice and even though they were frozen, continued to scream.
xxxxx
Mark made his way quickly up the stairs of the manor, heading to check on what progress Laura had made with packing her stuffed animals. He stopped in his tracks as a chorus of loud screams echoed from his daughter's room. Panic engulfed him, but confusion also filled his mind. Why had he heard so many screams? He ran to the door of the room and pulled the door open aggressively. The sight which met his eyes was certainly not what he had been expecting.
The opening of the bedroom door had broken through the young witch/whitelighter's freeze. Mark was too stunned to move as hoards of mice dashed past his feet and all through the Manor. Piper was not going to be happy. He was even more startled as he watched his niece's cat dash past, in pursuit of one of the mice, with Laura chasing after it, before he turned to see Laura in her bedroom…two Lauras…and two Prues.
"Oh shit!" He exclaimed, before scolding himself for using such language in front of the girls…all four of them. "Pixie?" He asked.
"Yes," Both girls replied. One looked amused, the other worried as to what her father was going to say.
"What did you do?"
"I'm s…s…sorry…" The fearful Prue, still in tears, replied. "We…we was trying to get Marmite back…"
"And then I spelled up some mice!" Laura's excitable clone declared proudly.
"No, before that?"
"Daddy?" The real Laura said. "We casted a spell from the book…"
Mark, intent on listening to his daughter and nieces explanation, forgot about the third Laura who had rushed past him in the door. She had followed Marmite into the foyer, where the kitten was attempting to pounce on one of the mice, which had escaped down the stairs. She was utterly horrified at the prospect of a dead mouse inside so, much like her Auntie Piper did when she was angry with Marmite, she opened the door, picked up the kitten and took it outside. Scared, encase the kitten would run into the house if she placed her down too near the front door, the Laura clone marched to the bottom of the stairs and placed a slightly calmer Marmite onto the grass. As she turned to head back into the house, a cold voice from behind her caught her off guard and, politely, she turned to address Paul McFarland.
"Hello Laura." He sneered. His face showed sheer triumph as he approached the little girl. Although, he was blissfully unaware that she was a clone.
"H…h…hi." The clone replied meekly as fear entered her heart. Her mother and father had told her that she wasn't to go near this man, but she couldn't just walk away because it might hurt his feelings.
"I've just made some cookies, would you like to come into my house and get some?"
"Um…" Two voices battled inside the clone's mind. She knew she shouldn't go, but if she refused, she might upset the man. "I guess…b…but I have to come back soon."
As she cautiously took his hand, a shiver ran down her spine and she began to deeply regret her answer. Paul McFarland could not believe his luck. He was half expecting to have to kidnap the little rugrat, but she had accepted his offer almost straight away. Too content with his own success, he did not realise that the same girl he had just taken into his own house, was stepping out of the Manor to retrieve the kitten.
Back in the Manor, Piper was desperately trying to think of a spell to banish the mice which were running around her home. For the moment, she was too tied up in ridding the Manor of rodents to shout at her daughter.
"I don't like mice, they're not very nice, take them away, don't let them stay!" Although Piper's spell had not been her best work, the mice disappeared from her home, thus enabling her to face her daughter…s.
"Prue, what have I told you about casting spells from the book?"
"I'm sorry Mommy, but Marmite was stuck and we needed to rescue her…"
"That's no excuse to use magic!" Paige scolded from her place at her sister's side, before turning to face what she had established to be Laura's clone, due to her inability to say 'r', which the real Laura had been taught to say. "And you, Little Miss Mischief, should not use spells to conjure mice!"
"Wait a minute…" Piper's angry tone turned to a perplexed one as she mentally counted the girls. "Which spell did you use?"
"The one what said mupitly your strength by three." The real Laura answered.
"Then there should be three of each of you…"
"There was." The Laura clone told her Aunt with a smirk, "But the othew me wan away because she was too scawed of mice and the other Pwue orbed out!"
"Where to?" Piper asked, fearing that if Laura's clone had been able to cast a spell powerful enough to fill the house with mice, that Prue was perfectly capable of exposing magic.
"To…g…get back D…Daddy." Prue's clone replied.
Xxxxx
The blinding white light of the place she rematerialised in washed out the brightness of the Prue clone's orbs. She had to blink several times before her eyes became accustomed to her surroundings, but when her vision finally became clear, she wondered how her father could spend so long up here and not get a headache. Everything was white; the mist, the sky, the peculiar looking robes which draped over everyone, and the air was full of odd clicking sounds, which appeared to be the whitelighter's way of communicating.
The clone wondered aimlessly for a few minutes, earning herself a few curious glances, before deciding that the people wearing gold had slightly more authority that the people dressed in white.
"A'scuse me." She said impatiently, tugging on the horrific excuse for clothing. "Is you my Daddy's boss?"
The person, who appeared to be a plump, elderly, African-American man with a fuzzy beard, removed his hood and looked to the little girl, surprised that she had mastered orbing 'up there' at such a young age. There was no doubt that this was Prudence Halliwell-Wyatt, for Leo Wyatt was the only whitelighter with children, and this little girl certainly bore a resemblance to Piper.
"Well, little miss," The elder said smiling, "My name is Zola, and yes, I'm your father's superior. I'm afraid he's with a charge right now."
"He always is." Prue's clone replied angrily. Although the man was being nice to her, she had developed a dislike to all the people who kept her daddy so busy. "That is why I am here."
Zola chuckled. This little girl was lucky she had approached him and not another of the elders, who would most certainly have gotten angry. He had heard of the Halliwell determination, but this girl certainly was not afraid of confrontation. "What would you like to talk about?" He asked, taking her hand, "I'm sure your mommy's worried about you."
"Nope, she's got the other mes!"
"Right…"
"Well, I came to ask if my Daddy could come home yet?" Her voice showed determination, but the melancholy edge melted Zola's heart. (AN- yes, the elders have hearts! Gasp I thought Zola seemed like a nice elder… lol)
"I'm afraid he's got to look after his charges." He told her, feeling a sudden burst of guilt.
"But I'm his charge too!" Prue exclaimed and a tear, which she quickly brushed away, fell from he corner of her glistening eyes. "Why come he never looks after me? Or my brother! Or my Mommy?"
"Well…I…" Zola did not know how to respond, or how to deal with a crying little girl. But his mind could not move from what she had said. Perhaps Leo Wyatt did have too many charges. "I'll see what I can do…"
xxxxx
The timid Laura clone found herself in a dark and dreary room. The faded green wallpaper was flaking off the damp walls and the foul stench of rotting flesh caused the small clone's stomach to churn. She was perched on the end of a hard, brown, rotting sofa and, as she slowly sipped the cup of water she had been given, she glued her blue eyes to a blackened spot on the already dirty carpet. Paul McFarland approached her and she arched her back, tensing all of her muscles as fear engulfed her.
"Whatever is the matter?" He asked, bringing his face so close to the Laura clone's that the stench of his breath caused her eyes to water. The clone gasped and her urge to vomit grew when she saw what the man had been hiding behind his dark glasses; his one eye almost glowed yellow and where the second eye should have been there resided a huge, disfiguring scar, which looked as though someone had gouged Paul McFarland's eye out with a knife…or even an athame.
"I…um…I have to go find m…my Mommy…" Laura's timid clone eventually choked out, her voice trembling as much as her body.
"Oh, but I'm afraid you're not going anywhere…Pixie."
"W…why not?" Tears began to trickle down her face as the clone tried with all her might to orb out, but failed. She watched in horror as Paul stepped backwards, giving her a malicious grin as his body began to change form and his skin began to blacken.
"Because you walked straight into my trap." He growled. His voice was now deep and grizzly, but he was no longer Paul McFarland…he was Decron. "And by killing you, I'll cause your parents so much pain that they'll never even consider a third child, thus enabling me to live forever!" As a huge fireball formed in Decron's large, charcoal black hand, the timid clone let out a blood-curdling scream; the last sound Laura's clone would ever make.
Xxxxx
Paige watched over the two original little girls, Andy and Rachael in the kitchen and Piper kept her eyes on the clones in the living room, whilst Mark searched the Manor for the missing clones with little success. Paige began to prepare lunch for her family, allowing Laura and Prue to entertain their younger siblings and although she was still not pleased about them using magic, she couldn't help but smile.
"If you're happy and you know it…touch your nose!" Laura sang loudly.
"Tut yo nose!" Rachael repeated, banging her fists on the tray of her highchair excitably.
"If your happy and you know it tou-" Laura's happy singing cut off as she fell to the floor.
At her eldest daughter's sudden scream of pain, Paige dropped the tray of sandwiches, which she had been carrying, onto the counter with a loud bang. She turned to find Laura curled up on the floor with a look of excruciating pain on her normally happy face. Laura's tears fell freely as she clutched her stomach, as if she had been shot.
"Pixie?" Paige gasped, "What happened? …Mark! Piper!"
"Ow…" was all the defenceless little girl could choke out between sobs, "It's burnin',"
"What is? Please tell Mommy what's wrong… Prue, what happened?"
"I don't know…I'll go get Uncle Mark."
"Make it stop!" Laura screamed, breaking Paige's heart.
From what Paige could see, Laura was perfectly fine, and when her daughter's pained expression faded, she was even more confused.
"It…it's gone." Laura whispered. Although relief washed over the little girl, Laura still looked very scared. She lunged forward into her mother's arms and did not pull out of the hug until Mark and Piper entered.
"What happened?" Mark asked, kneeling next to his wife.
"I don't know," Paige replied wearily. "She just started screaming and saying it hurt…then it stopped."
"Oh no." Piper exclaimed, her mind flashing back to when Prue had cloned herself all those years ago. She had felt immense pain…but only when her clone had been killed. "Have you found the third clones yet?"
"No, why?"
"Just get the scrying tools out- now!"
xxxxx
Decron bore all of his sharp, rotted teeth in a satisfied grin as he kicked the pile of dust, which he had turned Laura's clone into, still unaware that she had been a clone and not the real girl. His plan was falling into place perfectly. Now that Laura was dead, he knew the Andersons would not want another baby. They would set their hearts on protecting Rachael; too scared that another child would meet the same untimely demise as Laura. As long as the third child was never conceived, Decron could never be vanquished and he could take his rightful place as the Source of all evil.
"Seer." He hissed, summoning his loyal servant.
"Yes master." The slender blonde replied, appearing in an arch of flames. Her face looked as though it may have been pretty once, but a number of horrific scars concealed her attractive facial structure. As she made her way towards the ominous demon, her crimson cloak trailed on the floor, sweeping the remaining ashes of Laura's clone. "You called?"
"I've succeeded in killing the eldest child." He told her smugly, but as he approached her, his looming posture appeared to threaten the seer. "Is the future of the third child finished?"
The seer's shocking green eyes lolled back into her head and concentration spread across her scarred face. When she pulled out of her vision, she glanced apprehensively at her master. "I see that the coming of the New Year will bring the conceiving of the third child, and with it… your demise."
"What?" Decron roared, striking the seer across the face as his body filled with wild rage. "How is that possible?" His loud voice was enough to make the structure of the house tremble, and with it, the seer.
"The child they call 'Pixie' is not dead." She told him and despite the fact she had a calm facade, it was clear she was petrified of the demon in front of her. "…The one which you killed was only a clone…"
Decron knew it would only be a matter of time before the Andersons found him out. He did not want that to happen. For his plan to come into play, they needed to think he was a mortal, but as he looked to The Seer, who was still pacing the room, the workings of another plan entered his mind. "Seer," He growled.
"Yes." She replied attentively.
"I need your assistance."
xxxxx
In the attic of the Halliwell Manor, Paige, Mark and Piper stood over the table with a map of San Francisco and a scrying crystal. Paige had already orbed Rachael and Andy to Darryl's and cast a spell upon the crystal so that it would scry for the timid clone and not the remaining two Lauras. Piper jumped in shock at how quickly the crystal landed, but was even more surprised to discover that it had landed firmly on Prescott Street.
"Paige, maybe your spell didn't work?" She asked, but found her sister on her way out of the attic door. "Where are you going?"
"Isn't it obvious? That creep across the street!" Paige exclaimed as if it had been as clear as day. "Come on!"
"Wait, what if you're making a mistake?" Piper's question was ignored as both of the Andersons dashed down the stairs. She looked to the four girls in the corner and fixed an authorative look on her face. "Don't go anywhere."
xxxxx
The very determined Prue clone sat cross-legged on the floor of Elder Land (AN- Does that sound like an amusement park to anyone else?), surrounded by white mist, waiting impatiently for one of the elders to find her. The incessant clicking of whitelighters and elders alike was driving her insane, but she was not going to move until somebody told her that her daddy could come home. After what seemed like hours, Prue's clone was greeted by a familiar voice.
"Prudence!" Leo sounded shocked, angry and happy all at the same time as he picked Prue's clone off the floor and hugged her.
"Daddy!" The clone, unsure of Leo's mood, decided that she would not explain had led to her father being called to a meeting in front of all the elders, but instead hope that he was happy. "I'm sorry." She blurted. One of the disadvantages of being a clone was that she could not stop herself from speaking what she was thinking.
"What for?" Leo asked, raising his eyebrow. In all his time as a whitelighter he had never been able to convince the elders to give him more time with his family, but apparently Prue had succeeded in doing so. "Daddy's coming home!"
"You are?" She questioned excitedly, pride swelling within her, "I telled them elders good! Didn't I?"
"You sure did!" Leo, noticing that Prue looked slightly light headed, prepared to orb back to earth, but a friendly voice stopped him.
"Leo," Zola said, approaching father and daughter, "It's been great having you in our service for so long."
"I've still got charges." Leo reminded his long time friend.
"Yes, but only a small amount, and it's unlikely that you'll be here nearly so much in the future."
"Well at least I get to spend more time with Piper and the kids now." Although Leo was over the moon about the prospect of spending time with his family, leaving behind the hectic lifestyle of being one of the whitelighters with the most charges was quite upsetting. "I guess I'll see you next time you call."
"Goodbye Leo." Zola said, "And make sure you look after that little girl. She's quite the little Halliwell."
"Tell me about it." Leo's laugh lingered in the air as he and Prue's clone disappeared in a cloud of orbs. He still did not know that the Prue in his arms was a clone.
xxxxx
The Andersons arrived more quickly than Decron had anticipated, but perhaps the fact they had come at that precise moment was going to work to his advantage. He heard them burst through his door, and smirked at the ropes which the seer had already tied around his wrists. As he quickly resumed his form of Paul McFarland he nodded to the seer and she shot him a sly smile in return, before carefully aiming an energy ball into his chest. She could foresee her own death, but had waited her entire antagonising life to cause pain to the fellow demon that had put her through so much torture.
"H…help!" Paul called and as Paige, Mark and Piper burst into the room, his sneer turned to a very convincing look of fear.
"What the hell?" Paige exclaimed as she saw the crumpled form of the man she had been so convinced was evil.
"What the hell is happening?" Paul whimpered, forcing back a grin with all of his might as he watched Paige discover she had been 'wrong'.
"We'll explain later!" Piper told him, turning her attention to the seer, who was enjoying her last minutes of life a little too much. "Who are you?" She enquired.
"Somebody who has ultimately had a hand in your downfall." She replied. "I did kill your daughter after all."
"Afraid not, BITCH!" Mark could no longer contain his rage at the fact this she-demon could kill an innocent child, especially his little Pixie, and feel no remorse whatsoever. His fingers began to emit small sparks of electricity and before he could stop himself, his nauctater genes brought about a huge adrenaline rush and lightning forks shot towards the demoness, ending her pitiful life in a fiery vanquish.
"What the hell are you people?" Paul gasped. It was unfortunate that his seer had been forced to have such a painful death, but he no longer needed her. She had told him when the third child would be conceived and that was all the information he would need to prevent his birth.
"Um…Leo!" Piper looked skyward and prepared to shout again, but her husband materialised next to her.
"What the heck is going on at the Manor?" He asked, having just discovered the group of clones in the attic, but his attention quickly turned to the scrawny man in the corner. "What happened?"
"I have no idea!" Paige replied. After being so convinced that this man was evil, it was hard to grasp that he was, in fact, their innocent. "What did happen?"
"That woman- whatever she was- attacked me! She said something about needing a good view of the witches…oh god! Are you witches?" Paul replied, pushing his glasses up his nose. "And then she came back with the little girl and she…she killed her!"
"He's bleeding." Piper told her husband with genuine concern in her voice. She was falling for Paul's performance hook line and sinker.
Leo moved forward to heal the 'innocent', but Paige and Mark were still not convinced. As much as they would have liked to believe his story, something was telling them that Paul McFarland was still untrustworthy. "If he heals, he's good." Paige whispered to the nauctater miserably. On some level she did not want him to heal, but it appeared that Leo's miracle hands were, indeed, healing him.
Paul winced as the healing power came into contact with his skin. It was so full of good. He knew the wound was not going to heal properly, but he hoped he was suppressing his demonic side enough for the moment for it only to leave a small scar.
"Thank you." He said, pushing his shirt over the scar before Leo could take a proper look. "Now please tell me what the hell just happened?"
"Well, you see-" Before Piper could explain the situation with her well practiced 'what we tell innocents' speech, Leo cut her off with a wave of his hand, throwing a glowing powder over the man. "Oh! Um…let the object of objection become but a dream as I cause the scene to be unseen." Piper quickly blurted the spell before Paul could come out of his dazed state.
"You're going to go to bed and when you wake up in the morning, you will have been in bed sick all day today. Got that?" Leo said, putting the memory dust into effect.
"Yes…" Paul wondered aimlessly through his house, only just managing to contain his smile until he reached the living room door. Memory dust? That whitelighter was a foul source of good if ever there was one! But maybe now, the Halliwells would trust him enough to allow him near the kids. He would prevent the existence of the third child. And now it was going to be even easier than before.
"Why did you dust him?" Piper asked as the foursome exited the grotty house. It was very rare that a whitelighter would use memory dust, especially on an innocent.
"Just because he's an innocent," Leo started, but Paige finished his sentence with a snarl, clearly very angry.
"It doesn't mean we have to trust him." And with that she stalked across the road, avoiding Mark's eyes, still convinced that Paul was not who he claimed to be.
Xxxxx
Back in the Manor, Leo, Piper, Paige and Mark discovered that only the two original girls remained. Paige and Mark were still very disheartened that Paul had turned out to be good and on some level, they still did not trust him. They took Laura and went, as a family, to retrieve Rachael from her Uncle Darryl's, deciding that they needed to have some well-earned family time alone. Although they were incredibly happy that Laura was safe, something the demoness had said was playing in both of their minds: 'Somebody who has ultimately had a hand in your downfall'. Neither wanted to decipher what she had meant just yet, waiting until they returned home to look in the Book of Shadows. The coming week was going to be hectic with moving across town and they needed five minutes peace. As the Andersons sat together, watching the ducks swim across the pond in Golden Gate Park, all they wanted to do was enjoy each other's company. What they did not know, however, was that the demoness' words had had some truth behind them.
Xxxxx
After Leo had collected Andy from Darryl's the Halliwell-Wyatts had sat down for dinner in the Manor and explained exactly what had happened during the day to Leo, who was still a little bemused by it all. Leo had also explained to Piper about what Prue's clone had done 'up there' and the eldest charmed one's anger towards her daughter for casting a spell had been suddenly quashed. Now that Leo's list of charges had been shortened, they too could have some well needed family time. Something that Piper had been looking forward to for a long time.
AN- IMHO this chapter was one of the best so far, so please be nice in your reviews! Lol! Also because I need some confidence- I've got to sing, by myself, in front of two-hundred people on Wednesday evening:S So now we all know what happened to Decron…although I'm pretty sure you all worked out he was Paul a while ago! And I know that chapter had a lack of Phoebe (not that it's a bad thing…) but she'll be back for the next chapter! (coughUnfortunatelycough) It won't be long until the whole Decron and the 'Third Child' thing is explained properly, I promise! And for now, I will leave you with the wisest words ever sung: "I am the egg man. They are the egg men. I am the walrus. Cuckoo Cachou Cucuckoo Cachou." (I think The Beatles shared my mindset! Lol!)
Next chapter, 'Crappy Halloween'- When the Halliwell-Wyatts agreed to go to this Halloween Party, they should probably have picked their costumes a little more carefully! And Cole and Jason don't appear to get on…at all.