As they all headed to the attic, Holly quipped, "I sure feel like we've done THIS before."
In the basement of the Summit Shipping Company Shannen began to stir. She laid on a cold concrete floor with her eyes and hands tied. Her backed ached from lying on the concrete and the ropes around her wrists dug into her arms.
"Hello!" she cried out. "What is going on here?"
"Shut up, witch!" cried the demon.
"Oh, God!" moaned Shannen.
"You're bound so you can not use your powers on me," he said with evil glee.
Shannen snickered to herself after the last comment.
"You will not be free until your sisters give up their powers to me," he demanded.
"That's not going to happen!" cried Shannen knowing the real truth but trying to be strong like her charactor.
"Then you will all DIE!" he threatned.
"Won't someone yell 'CUT'" thought Shannen. "No, because this demon IS REAL!"
Leo tried to reassure Alyssa and Holly that Shannen would be all right until that
night.
"He won't kill her as long as he still thinks he can get your powers and Shannen doesn't let him know who she really is," explained Leo as he went through a cabinet in the attic."Found it." Leo said excitedly.
"Here Alyssa let me pin this to your shirt."
"A very pretty strange looking pin. I don't need a gift. We need to go rescue Shannen," exclaimed Alyssa while fingering the pin.
"And you will. Try and lift this ashtray," said Leo pointing to the table next to her.
Alyssa picked it up. "It's not that heavy!" she said annoyed.
"Now think of raising it," said Leo raising his voice.
Alyssa did it just to humor the whitelighter. The ashtray floated up and then came crashing down as Alyssa lost her concentration.
"I did that! Magic? How Leo?" asked an astonished Alyssa.
"With the pin. A little trinket that the Charmed Ones took from a not so talented warlock. It will give us a little advantage tonight. YOU have to practice," explained Leo.
"How about me?" asked Holly.
"The demon will expect something from Piper aka Holly so giving Phoebe aka Alyssa the power will be more surprising," Leo told Piper.
Alyssa stood back and concentrated, "OK. Let's see what I can do."
"If it will work, go to it PHOEBE!" said Holly as she started to rise. "Hey, put me down! Alyssa!"
"Sorry. Just practicing," she said not too sheepishly.
"You're a quick study," said Leo.
"Actors have to visualize things very quickly and be a quick study. I just
visualize moving something and it does. You should try acting in front of a green scene where we do our special effects," explained Alyssa while working on larger and larger objects.
"Really. That's the hardest part of this show. But somehow I think that'll be easier visualizing things once we get back," said Holly. "If..."
Alyssa continued to practice her new skill as darkness came to the Manor.
"Witch, it won't be long now. And I will have all of your powers." he boasted.
"You're being over dramatic. Try a little more sympathy or least some wit. You're not going win any awards with that attitude," said Shannen sacastically.
"All I want is your powers.!" said the demon.
"Yea, yea, yea. And then you'll let us go?" asked Shannen.
"No, I'm going to kill you all with YOUR powers," he said chuckling.
"Good luck. I wouldn't bet on it. Though I should have remembered our track record with demons and warlocks. Ever think of being am agent? We have some real
sharks at home that would eat you alive!" yelled Shannen.
"You want to feed me to the sharks? You can't even get yourself untied!" sneered
the demon.
"PLU-EZZE, this is my first kidnapping. But my sisters will free me soon," Shannen said in her most defiant Prue voice.
Long before the appointed hour the demon kept gloating over Shannen who had had enough of this ham.
The demon heard a noise and the door flew off its hinges. In walked a very
confident-looking Alyssa. Phoebe always had a little fear in her walk and in her
expression since she had no active powers.
"No!" yelled the demon as a fireball came at Alyssa who gently sidestepped it.
"I'm not toast. You are!" she hissed as the demon flew against the wall. Shannen's bonds and blindfold flew away. The demon rvanished in terror now that all the Charmed Ones were there with strange new powers.
"Ah, Phoebe?" asked Shannen looking closely at her rescuer.
"Nope!" replied Alyssa.
Seeing her wrist art now quite visible she responded, "Ah, Alyssa, did you really do that? When did you become a witch?"
"Just a borrowed power. Something left over from a previous unknown adventure. We have to get you back to the Manor." Alyssa said as Holly and Leo orbed in.
"Hi guys! You missed all the fun! Well, the end was fun," said Shannen. "Alyssa was awesome."
"Thank you," she replied modestly.
"We were just being safe. If one of us doesn't make it we still might be trapped
here. And I want to head home," said Holly. "Soon!"
"Hopefully it will be soon. Ladies, I'm driving!" said Leo as they all vanished from the basement.
Back at the Manor the girls collapsed. "The worst life and death struggles I usually see is taking the freeway," said an exhausted Shannen.
"Or some strange fan stalking us. Any more of those wicked things coming after us?" asked Alyssa.
Leo said, "Phoebe would know. We'll just have to take it one day at a time,"
"No P3 tonight?" asked a very chipper Holly.
"Just a sandwich and to bed for me," sighed Shannen.
"Well, I'm going down to MY club. P3 isn't the same without Piper there. Right Leo?" asked Holly.
"Uh, yea, but..." Leo said hesitantly.
"So I'm going to play barkeep and you guys can relax. Coming, Leo?" asked Holly who smiled and reached for thier guide.
"Alyssa and Shannen should be safe here at the Manor. Besides people should see us together," explained Leo.
"Great! Good night, guys." exclaimed Holly as they headed for the Jeep.
"Dinner, Alyssa?" asked Shannen.
"Those sandwiches sound great! I haven't eaten anything decent since we got here," she replied.
Scrounging through Piper's kitchen they made up some sandwiches and sat at the old kitchen table.
"Did you ever imagine in your wildest dreams that a place like this existed?" asked Alyssa.
"In my dreams, yes. In the heads of the writers, yes. And to a certain extent in the heads of the actors who create them. Not on this scale. It means anyone who writes a story, thinks up a fantasy or creates a video has a corresponding world in some other dimension. That is just so incredible." said Shannen taking another bite of her sandwich.
"Real X-file stuff!" Alyssa replied.
"More like the Twilight Zone. Anyway the sooner we get back the better," said Shannen.
Someone knocked at the front door.
"Now what?" asked Shannen looking more annoyed than worried.
"Oh, it could be an obsessed innocent, a reformed warlock, Inspector Darryl, .." said Alyssa.
"I get the point. Do you want to get the door?' asked Shannen.
"Sure." she replied as Alyssa walked to the front door.
"Hi, Pheebs. You didn't make it to school so I brought your notes. Can I look at your Sociology notes from last week. I was out sick. Where is everyone?" she asked hopping into the Manor.
"Sure, come in..uh" said Alyssa not recalling this bit player. "Piper's at the club and Prue's in the kitchen."
"That is one great club. You guys are so lucky owning a place like that. Also somewhere to hang out. I'd loved to work there summers when I'm old enough. Do you think Piper would let me? I know I would do good. I like people. I'm a real people person. Oh, hi Prue. I'm Carol. Carol Martin. Phoebe and I have a couple of classes together. She is so smart. And she lived in New York and gee I just want to get out of California and see the world. That sandwich looks terrific. Is that real salami?. I can't eat things like that. I like prefer greens and fruit. I'm a veg-e-an-tarium. Can we go get your notes, Phoebe?" continued Carol.
"Sure, if I can find them. Up to my room!" said Alyssa looking funny at Shannen with a "help me out here" look.
"You're on your own with this one." said Shannen finishing her sandwich.
"Who wrote her?" she thought to herself as they headed upstairs.
Alyssa spent the next hour trying to figure out Phoebe's filing system and listening to Carol.
"Thanks, Phoebe, Hope you make it to school, tomorrow," said Carol waving good-bye.
Shannen was sound asleep now and Alyssa had the run of the house. It was almost midnight, but she was too hyped to try to sleep. In the living room she found the Book of Shadows.
"No, I shouldn't. That's Phoebe's foible, not mine. I think..well maybe just for a while." said Alyssa with a little wicked gleam in her eye.
She got out the Book of Shadows and started perusing it. In it were spells for all kinds of marvelous things besides vanquishing demons. She really did not want to cause any trouble for there had been enough stories about the old consequences worry until she came to spell that reawakened the Halliwell's powers.
"That must have been one of the most powerful spells. Phoebe was basically mortal when she said it. AND so am I. Midnight is here and there is a full moon out. Let me try it," said Alyssa. She made up the appropriate word changes and started reciting the spell.
"Hear now the words of the witches,
The secrets we hid in the night."
Even though no storm was around, lightning and thunder began. Alyssa starts to smile and got a real kick out of it.
"The oldest of old gods are invoked here,
Great works of magic are sought."
The storm gets worse as lightning is now striking in the neighborhood. Alyssa's reading got more dramatic.
"In this night and in this hour,
I call upon the ancient power.'
The noise is become deafening and Alyssa could not even hear herself, but she was as charged as the air around her.
"Bring us back the witches three,
We want the Charmed Ones,
give us Charmed Ones."
The lightning finally hit something very close. The lights went out and a green flash occurred in the living room. Three shadowing figures appear. The lights came back on, the storm stopped and Alyssa saw almost perfect copies of Shannen, Holly and herself sitting next to her.
"We did it! We're home!" shouted Phoebe.
"Oh, this drafty old house never looked so good," cried Piper.
Then the Charmed Ones looked up and saw Alyssa sitting there. Phoebe approached her. They both stood up and circled each other eying the other one very carefully.
"Alyssa?" asked Phoebe.
"In the flesh," she replied breaking into a big smile. The hugged each other tightly.
"It's is so good to meet you! We were kind of lost in your lives," exclaimed Pheebs.
"Can you see us trying to be witches?" asked Alyssa.
"Will at least you've had some pretend practice," said Pheebs.
"And how come we didn't change places?" asked Prue.
"Yea, well. Where are our.. um.. other selves?" asked Piper scratching her head.
"Shannen's is asleep and Holly is at the club with Leo," said Alyssa.
"Does Leo know?" asked Piper a little worried.
"He's the only on who did. He has just been watching over us. It was my idea to try and bring you back. I cast a SPELL!" said Alyssa proudly.
"So did we. Maybe it took all of us to bring us back," suggested Pheebs.
"Well, I've had enough excitement. Tomorrow we can deal with getting these guys back," said Prue.
"There's someone in your bed right now. Oh, Shannen. There's someone down here you'll want to meet!" called up Alyssa.
The four women headed up the stairs with Alyssa leading the way.
"Alyssa, unless the whitelighter express is heading to stage 10 at Warner Brothers, I want some sleep!" said Shannen coming out of Prue's room stretching and yawning.
"Shannen. I'd like you meet Prue Halliwell. Prue, Shannen," said Alyssa smiling broadly.
"Ah, well, hello." said Prue. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Prue offered her a handshake.
Shannen just took it and stared for a minute.
"Nothing to say, Shan?" asked Alyssa.
"Well. As much as this world was hard to accept, I am at a complete loss for words when I find myself shaking my own mirror image's hand," said Shannen.
"Actually, she isn't your mirror image. That would be the reverse. Besides, you're both right handed," said Pheebs.
"Nothing else to say to your doubleganger?" asked Alyssa.
"Oh, of course. Hi. You're exactly how I'd picture you," said Prue looking at her from head to toe.
"Likewise," said Prue. "You do look different. Especially in the eyes. You have got something different behind them."
"You've got that magic in your eyes," replied Shannen.
"And all those crinkly things from allyour squinting," chimed in Piper.
Though everyone was very tired they all joined in Prue's room talking to all hours. Phoebe wanted to know what it was REALLY like being a star. And Shannen and Alyssa were finding out how their characters really felt and acted in different situations. One doesn't get this type of chance often.
Around 3 AM, Holly came in with Leo and looked at the five of them.
"I'm not so tired that I'm having double vision. You MUST be the real Charmed Ones. AND YOU'RE PIPER?" Holly asked with a very quizzical look on her face.
"AH, yep. THE ORIGINAL. Welcome to Halliwell Manor. Club running OK?" she said a little peeved.
"Ah, yea. Did I do something?" asked Holly a little hurt.
"No. Everyhing is FINE. I don't mind you pretending to be me, but this is MY whitelighter. Hello there, Leo!" she said looking deep into his eyes.
"Hello, Piper. Nice trip?" he asked.
"Only the final destination, my love!" she replied.
"Ahh. Now that's the way to write a happy ending!" sighed Alyssa.
"We're not happily home yet!" Shannen reminded her.
"Everyone to bed. We will tackle it in the morning," said Prue.
"Yes, sir!" said Piper as she took Leo's hand.
"If you insist," said Leo. "Good night!"
"Holly, bunk in with us," said Pheebs. "Let the love birds have a reunion."
And the seven of them headed off to sleep. More or less.