A/N: Wow. Not a lot of reviews last chapter. Are the lot of you guys not liking this? I apologize if that's the case.I had actually expected to end this subplot last chapter, but it decided that it didn't want to end there. Go figure. BTW, guess what! I'm working on setting up a website with the entire Warren family lineage, pertaining to THIS series. I'm almost done with it, and once I am, I'll be posting a link on my profile. :)

Change Happens

Chapter 21: Death Takes A Belland

Paige pulled her IV closer to her side, as if it were her only support in the world. And in fact, being as alone as she was, it seemed to be just that. She didn't dare to step further into the tunnel without light. A spell. I need a spell. She began to rub her hands together in concentration. "Bring forth light where shadows dwell, expose a path for this Halliwell."

She knew it wasn't the best of spells, just a shortened and reworded line from one of the spells Paige had found in the Book of Shadows during the time Piper had made her study it after discovering that she was a witch. However, when light exploded from seemingly nowhere and lit a path down the previously darkened tunnel, she figured it couldn't of been such a bad makeshift spell. She rubbed her belly again. "You'll help your good ol' Auntie Paige, right? You'll warn me if the bad Shadow Demon is coming after us?"

----

"Whoa." Persia raked her hand through her long, brown locks. "It's a little barren."

"Well it is Death's world."

"And we're getting out of here as soon as possible," Phoebe jumped in. For miles, all she could see was shifting brown sands and a cold, gray sky. The air was old and still. In fact, it slightly reminded her of how limbo was before she and her sisters had freed An-Ling's grandfather.

"Is that it?" Persia motioned her hand, indicating an ominous looking cave several yards away from them.

Phoebe looked cautiously towards her husband. "Cole?"

"Yeah." His strong body visibly stiffened. He'd never been to the place except for one Halloween, back in the twenties. Today was different, because souls from the afterlife weren't fighting to get through the Shadow Realm and into the world of the living.

"Dad?"

Cole's face softened, ever so slightly. "Yeah." He slid his arm around his step-daughter's petite shoulders. "Let's get this over with." Something deep down inside him was telling him not toproceed. He knew how much this meant to his wife and daughters, though. He had to. I have to at least try.

----

Chase ruffled Prissandra's baby soft hair. "You are just the cutest little thing!"

Prissandra cooed incessantly. She always seemed to squeal when Chase came over and played with her.

"You know, you are so much better with kids than I am."

Chase laughed. "I'm surprised. You're, what? The second oldest out of a bazillion kids?"

"I'm third oldest out of my family's new generation," Phiona sighed. "But before Persia came into our lives, I grew up as the second oldest."

"I see." Chase scooped Phiona's little sister into his arms and swung the child about. "So why aren't you more baby friendly? I mean, it seems as though you'd be great with them."

"I dunno." The Blessed One blushed. "I feel awful that you're this great with kids, and you don't have cousins, let alone siblings."

"Well there's-"

"Real siblings."

Chase expressed a snort of laughter. "I guess I just like kids."

"Are you planning on having kids someday?"

Chase tickled Prissandra's tummy, making her squeal. "I hope so. I think being a dad would be so much fun!"

Phiona leaned across the back of the sofa, smiling as her friend performed a raspberry on her baby sister's stomach. "I think you'd make a great dad."

"Really?"

"Really."

Chase just grinned.

"Phi?"

Phiona twirled on her heel, as her father came into the room. "Dad, is something wrong?"

"Uhm, no. Actually, I was just looking for Andy and Pandora."

"Oh, uh." Phiona squinted in remembrance. "Pandora came down here like, uhm, five minutes ago to get some orange juice for Uncle Andy."

"They aren't in Prue's room."

"They aren't?" Phiona crossed her arms in confusion. "She went right back upstairs."

"Have you tried doing that locating thing that you do?" Chase popped up from playing with the toddler.

"No. I was going to use that as a last resort."

"Well maybe we should?"

Leo stood unmoving for a minute, then his brow creased. "They're at the park."

"The park?"

"With Ohanzee loose? Why would he take Pandora there?" Phiona threw up her hands in a classic flustered way that she'd learned from her mother. "And how did they leave? It's not like it's that easy for them to just climb through the window."

"Maybe Pandora cast a spell?" Chase suggested. "Like the one you cast to take us to Ms. Matthews."

"Are you going to go bring them back?"

Leo rubbed his chin in contemplation. "They don't seem to be in any trouble right now..."

"So?"

"So maybe I should wait until they call me." The whitelighter had a pretty good idea of where they probably were, anyhow. He didn't want to interrupt Andy's time with his daughter, unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Where's mom?"

"She's in the attic with Brianna and Pearl."

"Brianna's still here? I thought she would've disappeared once we freed her."

"Everything happens for a reason, Phiona. She might have to stay until Ohanzee is vanquished. He was how this whole thing got started in the first place, you know."

"Right."

"Something wrong?"

Phiona chewed her lip. "No."

"You know you can talk to me."

"It's not that." Phiona flexed her fingers in frustration. "Look, can we just deal with this Shadow Demon mess first?"

The blonde frowned. "Yeah, sure." He smiled sympathetically. "I'm just an orb away if you need me."

"Thanks, dad."

Leo passed a silent goodbye to Chase and orbed out, heading for the attic.

----

"Ohanzee." Paige stopped short of rounding a corner. Up until that point, she hadn't felt or seen anything that could alert her to the demon's presence. But now icy shivers were crawling all over her body, from the sheer amount of pure evil that was near. On one hand, her ability to sense evil was good in the sense that it gave her fore knowledge. On the other hand, the evil that she could feel was almost too over whelming for her system.

"You've dealt with Death." The voice seemed to hum from literally every open space in the cave. It was cruel. Cold and chilling to the bone.

Paige turned slowly, making two parallel curved lines in the dirtwith her shoes, as she turned in a three hundred and sixty degree circle. "Show yourself."

"And you've lost."

"Are you too scared to come out and play?" Paige inched her hand towards the pocket of her over sized maternity top. "I said show yourself!"

"Silly witch." Behind Paige, the ominous shadow slowly crept across the illuminated the walls of tunnel.

"You've given up more than you know to come here."

"I did what I had to do, to keep you from killing again."

"Am I really worth your family?"

"They aren't here. It's just you and me."

"I could kill you right now."

"Really? You seem to be all talk and no action."

"I'm savoring your last breaths."

Paige laughed mockingly.

He struck. The Shadow Demon reached out menacingly towards the young witch's shadow, wrapping his shadow hands roughly around her slender neck. He watched as her physical body went rigid and struggled against his vice-like grip.

Paige grabbed at her neck. Her mind screamed for oxygen. It felt as if her lungs were on fire. She couldn't orb. She couldn't concentrate enough to orb. He had her. He was going to kill her. Then she caught sight of their struggling shadows. Her mind flashed with a new idea. She focused her eyes on the wall, moving her hands towards her neck. This time, however, she mentally summoned something between her fingers.

A cloud of flurry orbs deposited a jewel handled, double edged athame within Paige's hands. She could now see its shadow against the wall and with a swift motion, she slashed the knife just inches from her throat. It appeared to slash at nothing but air, but on the wall, she could see a dark liquid spray from the bulging fingers around her neck. She gasped.

"Agh!"

Paige touched one hand to her neck, rubbing the now swelling marks. With her other hand, she moved quickly across the wall. She was chasing after Ohanzee's shadow. The whitelighter Charmed One wanted so badly to call for her prey, but she knew that because there was nothing in the physical world to call upon, she couldn't do it. Then her eyes flashed. She flung her hand out in front of her, and the athame was already leaving her hand as she did so.

Ohanzee moved with stealth. He was wounded now, and he knew the Charmed One had the upper hand. In his haste, he didn't see the cloud of orbs materialize up ahead. It wasn't until he was moments away, much too close to escape, did he see the shadow of the athame just inches from him. He let out a howl as the shadow of the athame punctured his dark chest.

The athame dropped to the ground with a resounding clank. The whitelighter curled her white fingers into a fist and wrenched her arm to the side. The athame orbed from its resting place on the dirt floor and reappeared in mid air. Its shadow darted into Ohanzee's side, bringing forth another spray of shadow blood.

The Charmed One moved in again, this time walking directly up to the shadow of the fallen beast and plucking the athame from the ground. Revenge danced in her pupils, as she struggled to bend down. Paige refused to allow her massive stomach to get in way. Nor the pulsating welts on her neck. Her fingers clutched her weapon of choice a little tighter, making her hands look scarily bony. Then a guttural howl emitted her throat as she raised her arm above the shadow on the wall. Suddenly her own shadow seemed to exude such power. Then she struck, plunging the shadow of the athame deep into her enemy's body.

----

"What the hell?" Persia moved her hands slowly across the rocky wall. Only seconds ago, it had been a gaping opening of pitch blackness.

"Cole." Phoebe tugged lightly at the cuff of her husband's shirt. "Throw an energy ball at it."

Cole stepped back and held out his hand. A small yellow spark crackled above his palm, which slowly formed into a hissing sphere of pure neon yellow energy. He reared his arm back and cast the magical weapon at the rocky wall. He stared in visible surprise when it did absolutely nothing. No splinter of rock, no shake of Earth, not even a simple sound of energy clashing with something. It had simply been absorbed into the wall.

"Maybe it's just me, but I'm pretty sure they don't usually do that," Persia voiced sarcastically.

Pam glanced up at her older half sister, with a sneer on her face. "Ya think?"

"Pam," the psychic growled through gritted teeth. She grabbed her youngest by the shoulder and pulled her to her side.

"You can't enter."

Phoebe whirled around to see an unusually tall being, dressed totally in black. In all honesty, his stoic features gave her the creeps. She was sure she knew who it was, though. "You don't look at all like your pictures."

"And you don't have warty green skin." His voice was sarcastic, and frankly bored. He folded his arms over his meaty chest.

"Why won't you let us in?" Persia met his gaze with an equally steely one of her own.

"Because your aunt has done what she has come here to do."

"Look," Phoebe sneered, "we have to help her vanquish that demon."

"It isn't a Power of Three demon," the Angel of Death corrected. "You won't receive entry. Besides, you don't want to give up what she's given up."

"And what was that?"

"You'll find out when she does."

Phoebe's eyes flickered. "She doesn't know?"

Death was silent for a moment, then he plucked a paper from his pocket and glanced it over. "I told her it was something of great importance to her, and she agreed. I didn't have to tell her anymore."

Phoebe's fists were curling. Her stomach was doing flips. "What have you done?" She ran towards the deathly being.

Death was faster. He caught her by the arms and held her several inches from himself. "I haven't time for your games, witch. I have to go, and so do you." Then he was gone.

Phoebe, having nothing to hold her up, fell forward. Her body hit the ground with a hard, bone crunching smack. Her eyes widened as a late burst of psychic energy flooded her mind. Then tears sprang instantly from her eyes as she pulled her wrist to her face and realized the time on her watch.

----

A burst of shadow flames were visible on the wall of the cave. They lasted for several minutes. Shrieks of pain and agony echoed across the bare walls as Ohanzee experienced his last moments. Then with a final ear shattering boom, his shadow disappeared.

Paige stared breathlessly for a moment, just staring at the wall where his shadow had just been. Then the entire cave returned to pitch black, as her spell had finally run its course. She returned her athame to her dress pocket, blindly reached for her IV stand, and then orbed home. She had no idea what lay ahead.

----

Pearlinda touched the side of her mouth. A trail of dark cherry blood coated her fingers as she brought them back into her line of vision. She cringed. Her whole body felt like it was on fire. The pain in each one of her limbs was unbelievable.

"Pearl!"

The Blessed One struggled to keep her eyes open. Her vision was becoming blurred as blood gushed over her thick lashes and into her eyes. There was a high pitched ringing in her ears, which was cutting out the noise of her Aunt Piper's frantic voice. Her body slumped against the wooden wall of the Halliwell attic. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hold on.

Then she heard footsteps. A scream. Mom! With all her strength, she moved her hand across her bloody eyes and squinted through the curtain of blood. She could make out a figure running in front of her. A man. No! Dad, don't! It was too late. He'd already become her human shield. Her mortal shield. He'd taken the energy ball that had been meant for her. Now she could faintly hear his shallow breathing. A cough. And then nothing. Through her bloody vision, she could see a shadowy being of unusual height by her father. Dad!

A faint apparition of Glenn Belland appeared next to the Angel of Death. He was clearly stunned, and quite confused. The mortal looked around. What he saw could've chilled his blood. His wife was on her knees, banging the floor with her fists, as she wailed for Leo. Turning, he could see Piper blasting a pack of demons across the room. But what was the most surreal for him, was his own body at his feet.

"It's time."

Glenn stepped back, staring wide eyed at Death. "Who are you?"

"The one who's hear to take you to your afterlife."

"A-afterlife?" Glenn shook his transparent head. "Oh no. You've got the wrong man!" He moved back, not realizing that he'd literally walked through Paige.

"Oh really? Look at yourself."

Glenn looked down. He realized he was dressed in all white clothing. White jeans, a white dress shirt, even white shoes. "No fuckin' way!"

Death waved his arm and a swirling portal appeared before them. "You have to come with me, it's your time."

Glenn turned, staring down at his bawling wife. He could see that Leo was there now, with his hands over a bloody wound on his body.A woundthat wasn't on his transparent self. "Leo..."

Leo looked mournfully at Paige. His hands were shaking as he pulled them away. "I'm so sorry, Paige. I..." His voice cracked as he turned his head away from his brother-in-law's lifeless form. "I can't heal the dead."

TO BE CONTINUED...