The title of this chapter has changed and is also a play on the great show 'Tru Calling'.
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Princess Pinky: Thanks! Glad you liked it! Patty is the teenage daughter of Prue and Andy and no, you haven't missed anything, but all will be revealed in time…; )
Truth Calling:
"We need to face the facts, the power of two just won't do," Phoebe said, as she limped away from the scorched remains of their latest demon; Willow staggering behind her.
"So what are we gonna do?" the redhead asked,
"try and persuade Piper, again," the clairvoyant replied, her light brown hair blowing back in the breeze as they walked towards the car formerly belonging to Prue; which Phoebe had finally decided that she wanted.
The following morning, Patty lay on her bed writing in her diary. Her extremely dark brown hair showering down on her face as she; dressed in a pink dressing gown, furry blue slippers and pink cotton pyjamas, scribbled down her latest feelings in the purple book she hid her secrets in:
Dear Diary, as I said two days ago; my aunt Piper has quit. She's given up on magic; something my mom told me to never do shortly before her death. But lately, I feel like I'm with strangers, or rather I'm the stranger. I wish I could tell you more but I've gotta rush, my stupid ex-favourite aunt is calling me.
"Patricia I said breakfast is ready!" Piper impatiently yelled up the stairs, storming back into the kitchen and sitting down at the table; holding her head in her hands as she let out a frustrated groan.
"Piper, are you okay?" Tara asked, walking in, Piper turned around and her look answered everything. Wearing a long, flower print, purple, skirt and a long-sleeved, navy blue, sweater; Tara sat down just as Piper stood up. The brunette was about to make herself a cup of coffee when she completely missed her cup and spilt it all down her denim skirt and purple v-neck, meaning the only item of clothing, which she was wearing, dry was her thin heeled black boots.
"This day sucks," she growled, dabbing at her damp clothes and gritting her teeth as the boiling liquid blazed against her skin,
"maybe some magic will help with that," Phoebe said, walking in and plopping onto one of the stools.
"Don't start Phoebe," Piper warned,
"I'm just saying, your life wasn't this bad when you used your powers," the younger of the sisters argued,
"you're right, it was worse," Piper said, turning to face her sister and then walking away.
"Let me guess, you mentioned magic," Patty sighed, walking passed Piper and entering the kitchen,
"yes, I did, and it looks like she's made a definite decision to stop using hers, forever," Phoebe replied,
"we can't just give up; quitters never prosper," Willow argued, taking a seat next to Tara.
"I agree," Patty said, through a mouthful of her chocolate chip pancake,
"so what do we do?" Tara asked,
"I think I have an idea," Phoebe said, heading upstairs and then walking back down with the book of shadows.
"Are you sure this will work?" Willow questioned, moments later,
"I'm positive, it says the spell is to see the truth, so with it I should be able to find out how Piper really feels; how she truthfully feels," Phoebe replied, before sitting cross-legged on the floor and casting the spell from the book, which was set in-front of her:
"Hidden things that hide and scare,
I know that you are really there,
So let this spell just show me where."
Phoebe momentarily slipped into a shallow slumber and then awoke to find her surroundings in a strange shade of darkness,
"hey guys, I think it worked," she said, turning to see Willow and Tara staring blankly at her, while Patty was nowhere to be seen. She went upstairs and reached out to knock on Piper's door, before something down the hall caught her attention; Patty's door wasn't there, it was just the wall, and where her door had once been there was now a picture of Prue hung. Phoebe continued to look around and found that Patty's baby book was empty, and found a framed photograph of what would normally show Prue pregnant at the age of 16, which now still showed Prue but minus her baby bump,
"Piper! Willow!" she yelled, still clutching the photo. By the time she heard footsteps on the stairs, everything was back to it's normal colour and the spell was over,
"what is it?" Willow asked, "did you find Piper?"
"no, I think she's out, but I did find something else," Phoebe replied, glaring at Patty as she and Tara walked up behind the youngest charmed one.
"Aunt Phoebe are you okay?" the teen asked,
"never been better," she replied, her eyes focused in a dark stare, "I'm going to get dressed," she said, keeping her eyes on Patty until she entered her room.
Twenty minutes after walking into her room, Phoebe walked out; now dressed in black leather pants, a three-quarter length sleeved yellow top, and black boots, with a dark beaded choker that had a yellow rose on it around her neck, and her hair pinned up with the front bit in thin curls. She walked straight passed Willow and Tara without saying a word, then made her way through the attic and grabbed the book,
"what're you looking for?" Patty asked, walking in and brushing down her black skirt and blue halter neck as some dust sprinkled down on her from the ceiling,
"you actually," Phoebe replied, still focused on the book,
"okay, now you're starting to scare me, why would I be in the book of shadows?" Patty said, beginning to assume that her aunt was possessed or something and quietly picking up an athame from the table not far from the door.
"Shouldn't I be the one using that on you?" Phoebe said, slowly turning around,
"what are you?" Patty questioned,
"a Halliwell," she replied, running forward as the adrenalin pumped through her body and she kicked Patty in the jaw with a boost from her levitation.
"No you're not, you're some kind of demon pretending to be one," Patty argued, using her only power of telepathy to connect with Phoebe's mind and channel her levitation power into herself,
"I don't know what or who you are, but get the hell out of my house!" Phoebe commanded, running forward and knocking Patty down to the ground.
"Phoebe, what is wrong with you?" Willow questioned, as she and Tara burst through the door,
"she's not human!" the precognitive exclaimed, pointing at Patty as she stood up,
"we know, she's a witch," Tara calmly said,
"no, you don't understand, when I cast the truth spell she wasn't there, every trace of her had been erased, she's not real!" Phoebe explained,
"uh Pheebs, maybe you should have some camomile tea, y'know, to calm yourself down," Willow suggested.
"If you don't believe me then I'll find someone who will," Phoebe firmly said, storming out through the door,
"are you okay?" Tara asked, as she and Willow helped Patty up,
"yeah, I think so, but is she?"
"we don't know sweetie, losing your mom and now your aunt Piper leaving is tough on her, we just have to give her some space, let her sort out what's real and what's not real in her own head," Willow told her, walking over to the window and watching as Phoebe pulled out of the driveway in her car.
Meanwhile, Piper was on the other side of town looking around an available apartment,
"Mrs Halliwell, we have several other offers, so if you're interested I'd advice you to let me know straight away," the estate agent; Mrs Nicholas, said.
"Sure, I understand, I just need to call my husband and ask him," Piper informed her,
"of course, I'll be outside if you need me," Mrs Nicholas informed her, walking out from the apartment,
"Leo!" Piper called,
"hey, is something wrong?" he asked, orbing in.
"No, I just need your opinion, do you like this place?" she replied, glancing around,
"sure, but I don't see what's wrong with the manor, besides, all six, well seven including Cole, aren't gonna fit in here," he said,
"it's not for the seven of us, it's for the two of us, when I said I wanted magic out of my life I meant it," she told him,
"I don't know Piper, I don't think we should be moving out so soon, you've hardly even slept on this decision," he objected,
"I've made my mind up Leo, and not you, Phoebe, Willow or any demon is going to change my decision," she said, then, as if on cue, a crash from outside the door led them to run out into the hallway and find Mrs Nicholas with her head in a puddle of her own blood.
"Now do you see why I want to move out so bad?" she snapped, blowing up the attacking demon as she breezed through the corridor, her fists clenched and her teeth ground together.
As night came, Phoebe returned to the manor with Cole at her side,
"Phoebe, are you sure you want to kill your niece?" he asked,
"I told you, she's not my niece," Phoebe replied,
"yes I am!" a voice said, as Patty came down the stairs.
"Get her!" she yelled, suddenly, Willow jumped out from the sitting room and flung the couple across the room, before Tara ran out from the kitchen and blew glittery blue dust over them; creating sky coloured light bindings around them.
"Cole shimmer us out of here!" Phoebe ordered,
"I can't," he replied,
"fine, I'll get out by myself," she said, thinking up a spell:
"A magic dust created this trouble,
Trapping us two beings double,
Led to by my finding,
Let me go, So I may know,
What my niece is hiding."
A burst of bright white lights swallowed Phoebe and destroyed the mystical chains; releasing Cole.
Phoebe reappeared in some kind of warehouse in the Bay Area, and only when she looked forward did she realize she was right behind another woman. A small red dress and matching heels clothed the woman, and gold toned curls sat atop her shoulders,
"where did you hide my key?" she questioned, poking at the monk tied to a chair in-front of her with an athame.
"I've got plenty of keys, ya want one?" Phoebe said, the woman turned and suppressed a laugh when she saw Phoebe,
"and what are you, the slayer?" she smirked,
"worse, I'm charmed," the witch replied, pitting a levitating kick to the presumed demon's stomach.
"It's a good job I'm not ticklish otherwise I'd be laughing right now," the woman told her, before grabbing the clairvoyant's throat and tossing her across the room,
"help me," the monk pleaded,
"shut it holy guy," the blonde snapped, glancing at him before turning back to Phoebe.
"Who the hell are you?" Phoebe hissed,
"Glory, and you are?" the stranger cockily replied,
"the witch who's about to kick your ass," Phoebe said, before saying a made-up spell:
"I call upon the power of three,
To blast this woman and set me free."
A swirl of blue appeared by Phoebe and threw Glory across the room, giving the potential flyer the chance to grab the monk and escape. Glory stamped her foot when she found the heel of her shoe had broken off from Phoebe's blast, and accidentally release a crack through the floor and destroyed the support beams; causing the ceiling to collapse down on her.
Outside, Phoebe was pulling the monk along as fast as she could, but he couldn't go any further and slouched against a wire fence,
"go," he instructed,
"I'm not leaving without you," she said,
"my journey's done," he told her.
"No, it's not, we need to get far away from here and your journey can continue," Phoebe said,
"you have to…the key, you must protect the key," he ordered, before letting out a sore cough,
"fine, we can protect the key together," she told him,
"many more will die if you don't keep it safe," he simply said.
"How? what is the Key?" she asked,
"the Key is energy; a portal, it opens the door…" he began,
"like a little normal key?" she said,
"no, for centuries it had no form at all, my brethren were it's only keepers, then the abomination found us. We had to hide the key, gave it form, moulded it flesh…made it human and sent it to your family," he explained.
"Patty…" she murmured,
"we knew the charmed ones would protect it," he said,
"but the memories…" she stated,
"we built them," he told her,
"then un-build them, none of us asked for this," she objected,
"you cannot abondon,"
"I didn't ask for this! I don't even know…what is she?"
"human…now human, and helpless, she's an innocent in this and she needs you,"
"she's not my niece," a tear began to form in her eye,
"she doesn't know that," he said, and then he exhaled one last breath and passed away, leaving Phoebe in a state of shock.
She arrived back at the manor and found the place in silence, all except sobs which were echoing down from the attic. Phoebe walked up there and passed her room, Piper's room and Willow's room; seeing everyone asleep, then she headed up to the attic and found Patty scrunched up on the floor with tears flowing from her eyes,
"what's wrong sweetie?" Phoebe asked, taking the teen in her arms.
"You don't want to kill me?" Patty whispered,
"no, I understand now," Phoebe whispered back, "now tell me what's wrong," but Phoebe already knew what was wrong; the candle of lit circles and the open book of shadows told it all.
"I tried to summon her, but I couldn't, it wouldn't work, I just wanted to….to see her…" Patty cried,
"I know, I know," Phoebe soothed, stroking her niece's hair.
To be continued…
Next chapter- The Elders offer the family a deal; they'll tell them everything they know about Glory, if Piper rejoins the power of three. Phoebe tells Piper about Patty in hopes of it persuading her to back to their charmed destiny. And Glory sets out to find the Key.
"A Glorificus Day" should be up soon