A/N: You have NO idea how sorry I am for not updating! FanFiction and my computer were at war, and finally the site is working! I couldn't do anything until recently. So now, I'm back! And I promise to be as prompt as possiblewith the chapters. There's only a few left.

The song used at the end of this chapter is "Blowin' In The Wind" by Bob Dylan. I know it won't look like it makes any sense on paper, but it just fit right in my head somehow. You try listening to it after you read. At least it's not another fanfic with Coldplay's "Fix You." I swear, that's the fanfic song of the year or something...

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

The confused demon looked around, trying to figure out who had just summoned him. Upon seeing Wyatt, he instantly bowed.

"My Lord," he said humbly. Wyatt loved the title he'd appointed to himself. "How can I be of service?"

"As you are probably aware, every witch around wants to see me killed," Wyatt began. "They are threats. Most of them are pathetic, but some on the other hand are strong. My aunts- the two remaining Halliwell sisters- pose the greatest threat to my life."

"I am aware, sir," the demon replied.

"So… I'll need you to take them out," Wyatt said.

"What? Sir, they may not have the power of three anymore, but I'm still no match for them. It's suicide."

"In that case… how do you think they'd fare against four of you?" Wyatt waved his hand as he talked, and before the demon could comprehend what he was doing, three clones stood beside him. Wyatt grinned evilly at the quartet. "Form a strategy. If you charge them sporadically, they'll have no idea what's going on," he suggested.

"One thing, my Lord," the original demon asked. "What about their whitelighter? Whatever damage we do to them, he can easily fix."

Wyatt grinned again. "Leave that to me."

…………………………………………………

Phoebe peered over the cauldron. "Well, if this works, we'll have one kick-ass potion," she said.

"Then we'll just have to figure out how to catch Wyatt off guard long enough to throw it at him," Paige commented.

By now, everyone was beginning to accept that there wasn't a way to turn Wyatt back. Of course, they still couldn't bear loosing another family member, yet alone causing the loss, so once their third power-stripping potion had failed, they decided to make one that, if effective, would leave Wyatt completely invalid- like a vegetable. They hated imagining him, with all of the potential he once held, unable to do anything at all, but it was better than killing him. That was a last resort.

"Leo, any strategies on an attack formation?" Phoebe asked. He didn't answer. "Leo?" she asked again.

"Shh…" he replied.

"What is it?" Paige asked.

"You're not gonna believe this… but it's Wyatt. He's calling for me," Leo said. The optimism was evident in his voice.

"What?" Phoebe asked in disbelief.

"Do you think he wants to turn back?" Paige asked.

"Maybe," Leo said. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he smiled. "I'm going to him."

"Of course. By all means, do whatever it takes to talk him back here," Phoebe said. Leo orbed out. "Okay, back to the potion…"

"Hmm…" Paige muttered.

"What is it?" Phoebe asked.

"Nothing, just… is it cold in here?"

"Not really… do you want me to turn the heat up?"

"I dunno. I just felt real cold all of a sudden…"

Phoebe's eyes widened as she realized what was going on. "Oh my God," she gasped.

"'Oh my God,' what?" Paige asked.

Instead of answering, Phoebe dashed into the living room where Pam was watching TV. Upon her entrance, Pam could instantly tell that something was wrong.

"Mom, what's going on?" she asked.

"No time to explain. Get your sister, get Chris, get Stella and Andy, take some potions, and lock yourselves in the attic. Promise me you won't come out."

"Why…"

"Pam, promise me that you and Chris will stay up there and protect the children," Phoebe said sternly.

"I promise," Pam replied.

Phoebe hugged her. "I love you. Now go, quickly."

Pam was scared- she'd never seen her mother act like that before. But she did as she was told and ran up the stairs.

Phoebe returned to the kitchen. Paige looked at her like she was nuts.

"Grab an athimae and fill up some potion vials," she said, offering no explanation.

"Why?" Paige asked. "What's going on here?"

Phoebe paused, formulating her response. "Your life might be in danger."

Just then, as if on cue, a demon shimmered in right next to Phoebe. Without second thought, she plunged the athimae into him and he erupted in flames. An eerie silence then took over the room.

"Did you have a premonition of him or something?" Paige asked.

"No," Phoebe replied. "It was something you said."

After she finished that, a demon appeared in the kitchen again… only it seemed to be the same demon as before. He stood right in Paige's blind spot.

"Paige, look out!" Phoebe called warily. Paige turned to see the demon spring to attack and orbed out in fear. Phoebe hurled her athimae at him, but he shimmered away and all she hit was the wall.

Paige reappeared. "What in the world is happening?" she pondered aloud.

"I dunno… but I could swear that demon was the same one I vanquished two minutes ago," Phoebe replied warily.

"Did you get him this time… er, again?" Paige asked.

"No, he got away… which means he'll be back. Keep on your toes," Phoebe advised.

They began to walk around the kitchen, surveying to make sure no one else was hidden anywhere, waiting to attack. Phoebe peered in the laundry area, and the same demon appeared in front of her.

"He's in here!" she called to Paige, backing up.

"No, he's over here!" Paige called back. She too was retreating from the other side of the kitchen.

The two sisters walked backwards until they met each other- in front of them were two of the exact same demon. No time to think about how this was possible- right now their only concern was surviving. They stared at the two demons, waiting for someone to make a move. That was when a third one shimmered in right behind them, knife in hand. Sensing the presence, Phoebe spun around and grabbed the hand with the weapon. She flipped the demon over her shoulder and onto the floor. That's when the other two sprung to action.

Energy balls went flying, and both sisters deflected them with their respective powers. Suddenly everyone was running around the kitchen, ducking, throwing, punching… it was like some sort of warped boxing match.

………………………………………

"Wyatt?" Leo called out as he finished orbing. "Where are you?"

"Over here… dad," Wyatt replied, emerging from the shadows. Leo caught on to the sinister tone in his voice, and his guard went up.

"You said you wanted to talk," Leo said.

"Yes…" Wyatt smirked. "I wanted to ask you, what do you think the funeral arrangements are going to be for Paige and Phoebe?"

"What?" Leo asked in disbelief. Before he could do anything else, Wyatt had magically encased his father in the very same magic-proof cage that he had been imprisoned in as he struggled between good and evil.

"You know," Wyatt laughed, "they say love is blind, but they never said it made you stupid."

"Let me go!" Leo demanded.

…………………………………………

The mad dash through the kitchen continued. On one lap around the counter, Phoebe stumbled over the unconscious demon she'd previously flipped to the ground. One of the other demons took this opportunity to thrust an energy ball at the unbalanced witch. Paige instantly turned to her sister and orbed the energy ball away… taking her eyes off the demons. They struck.

"Paige!" Phoebe cried out as she sailed backwards against the walls. Two energy balls, dead-on.

Phoebe couldn't run over to her collapsed sister just yet- there were still demons to deal with. She grabbed the cauldron full of potion they'd been saving for use against Wyatt, and without thinking twice, she tossed the contents at them. They instantly fell to the floor, completely unharmed but also completely unable to move. Phoebe tossed the cauldrom aside angrily- she had just realized that the potion's contents hadn't been written down. In her rage for what they'd just done to Paige, she pulled the athimae from the wall and killed them both.

"LEO!" Phoebe shouted. She prayed that he'd hear her as she held Paige's head in her lap. The energy balls had left a gruesome mark, and Paige was unconscious. Her breathing was shallow. "LEO!" Phoebe screamed again, even louder.

…………………………………………………

Back in his cage, Leo winced in pain.

"Tell me, which one is it?" Wyatt asked.

"It's Paige…" Leo replied through a wince.

"Ah, so the youngest dies first."

"Not if you let me go heal her!" Leo begged. "Please, Phoebe's calling me. Don't be responsible for your aunt's death, Wyatt. You don't have to do this…"

"Where exactly are you going with this, dad?" Wyatt smirked. "You know, if you joined me, you wouldn't have to go through with these stupid moral pep talks."

"Never," Leo replied defiantly. "Just because you took the easy way out doesn't mean I will, too."

"Hold your tongue," Wyatt warned.

"No…" Leo shut his eyes. "She's gone. Dammit, Wyatt, just let me go! What are you trying to do here?"

"One down, one to go," Wyatt replied nonchalantly. "And you're not getting out until that happens."

……………………………………………

Phoebe was weeping. She had lost her voice shouting for Leo, and Paige no longer had a pulse. She tried to cry out for the whitelighter again, but her voice was too horse and the tears were making her hyperventilate. She'd known this was going to happen when Paige mentioned that she felt cold. It was the same chill her other two sisters had felt when they died. Why couldn't she have just figured out some other way to protect Paige? She was mad at everything… the world for making her lose everyone, the demons for killing Paige, herself for not thinking of a better strategy, Leo for not responding to her calls…

"This CAN'T be happening!" she shouted with all of her energy, kicking the cabinents.

Upstairs in the attic, Chris and Pam had been hearing everything for the last twenty minutes or so.

"I really think we should go down there…" Chris said again.

"I promised my mom we'd stay up here and protect them," Pam replied, gesturing towards her five year-old cousins who were playing with the dollhouse. She gently rocked Allie.

"Well, I didn't make any promises. Did you hear all the commotion down there? And the shouting? Something's not right," Chris said.

"Well, then we should definitely stay here," Pam said. Chris eyed her. "I mean, if something is wrong… we have to carry on the family legacy-"

"Stop it!" Chris said. "Don't think like that."

"Shh… you're upsetting Stella and Andy," Pam advised.

"I don't care anymore. I just wanna get out of here."

……………………………………………

"Alright, I've waiting long enough," Wyatt said finally. "Tell Aunt Phoebe she's lucky. I'll get her soon." He released Leo from the cage.

After spending forever trying to talk him down, Leo was tired of leaving with some cryptic response that would attempt to affect his son's morals. "You bastard," he said instead, and orbed away. Wyatt gave him a very evil glare before he did.

……………………………………………

Leo appeared in the kitchen. As soon as Phoebe saw the blue orbs, she shot up to face him.

"Where the HELL have you been?" she shouted. Her voice was raspy from all the screaming she'd been doing.

"Phoebe-"

"She's DEAD, Leo! Paige is dead!" The tears were beginning to fall again. "I called for you over and over. Did you even hear me, or did you just tune me out?"

"Phoebe, listen…"

"I don't want to talk to you," she sniffled. "Get out."

"What?" Leo asked, dumbfounded.

"Get. Out."

Leo too looked on the verge of tears now, but he obliged and orbed away. Just then, Phoebe heard Pam and Chris coming down the stairs. They had heard her shouts and were coming to investigate. She met them in the living room.

"Mom, what's-"

Phoebe hugged Pam before she could continue. She wiped her eyes, but it was no use. More tears only followed. "Go to your rooms," she told them. "Keep an eye on the little ones. And whatever you do, don't go into the kitchen." She wanted to spare them the memory of seeing their aunt brutalized.

"There's blood on your hands," Pam said to Phoebe. "And your shirt."

"Just go upstairs, please…"

"Tell us what's going on,"Chris said. Pam knew that she wouldn't want to know whateverthe answer was, but she didn't stop Chrisfrom asking.

Phoebe sighed and grabbed a box of tissues. "Sit down."

How many roads must a man walk down

Before you call him a man?

How many seas must the white dove sail

Before she sleeps in the sand?

Yes'n, how many times must the cannonballs fly

Before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friends

Is blowing in the wind

The answer is blowing in the wind

Yes'n, how many years can a mountain exist

Before it's washed to the sea?

Yes'n, how many years must some people exist

Before they're allowed to be free?

Yes'n, how many times can a man turn his head

And pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friends

Is blowing in the wind

The answer is blowing in the wind

Yes'n, how many times must a man look up

Before he can see the sky?

Yes'n, how many ears must one man have

Before he can hear people cry?

Yes'n, how many deaths will it take till he knows

That too many people have died?

The answer, my friends

Is blowing in the wind

The answer is blowing in the wind

A/N: Okay, I know what you're thinking. You hate me. I go missing for almost three months, come back, and kill off another sister. Like I said before, I WILL fix this. You'll just have to go with me, and try not to hate me too much. And if anyone was planning on ruining my Christmas by killing me for all this... ha ha, I'llbe on vacation! Good luck trying to find me!