She laid the candles out before her. The scent of sage permeated the room, cleansing and blessing the space. She picked up a green candle, lit it and placed it right before her at the northern pinnacle which represented the Earth. Next she picked up a yellow candle, lit it and placed it to her right at the eastern point which represented the Air. She picked up a red candle, stood up, turned around and place it on the southern point which represented Fire. At the western point, which represented Water, she lit and placed a blue candle. Finally she lit and placed two candles in the center, a black and white one. The black candle absorbed negative energy and the white candle promoted positive energy. With the circle cast she was ready to summon the spirit.
"Hear these words, hear my cry; spirit from the other side-"
"Mother, why are you wasting our time with this?" Prue asked Piper.
Prue, Piper's youngest daughter, was lured upstairs to the attic by the sage scent. Piper had named her after her older sister. Her aunt had been long deceased but she always felt a responsibility to live up to the witch that she was. It was Prue's daughter Jodi that had first been kidnapped and secretly she blamed her mother for what happened. Prue loved her mother immensely but couldn't comprehend how she could leave Jodi alone in the park while she chased a demon. Prue didn't dare share her thoughts with anyone else in the family; she knew that to do so would tear her family apart. Prue would, however, question any action she felt her mother did that would waste precious time in finding her daughter. Contacting dead spirits in the attic was on the top of her list.
"Prue, your Great-Grandmother may have fought this Demon. Don't underestimate Grams, she was a powerful witch," Piper said.
"It wasn't my Grams I was underestimating," muttered Prue.
"Excuse me?" Piper questioned.
"Just get on with it!" Prue cried, "We're wasting valuable time right now."
Piper could tell that Prue's confidence in her was shaken. While her sons had always confided in their mother, Prue had always kept Piper at arm's length. Even in Prue's youth she was independent and strong. If someone bothered her, she took care of it. If she needed something, she would find a way to get it. Piper felt that, even from the womb, her daughter never really needed her. Piper was afraid that this situation would be all the prompting that Prue would need to cut her out of her life.
"Ok," Piper sighed, "Hear my words, hear my cry; spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee. Cross now the great divide.
A trail of orbs descended from the ceiling and cascaded down to the floor. It twisted up tightly and a bright light emitted from the coalesced form. The light flickered and dimmed as the orbs trailed up and exited through the attic ceiling. In the light's wake, in a translucency that seemed to grow more solid with each passing second, stood the spirit of someone the Charmed Ones had not seen in almost forty years.
"Prue?" Piper asked.
"Piper don't cry," Spirit Prue implored.
"What do you mean 'don't cry'? I haven't laid eyes on you in almost forty years! Where's Grams? I was calling for Grams. I can't believe you're here!" Piper said.
Prue, Phoebe's daughter, took a step back to capture an image of her namesake. Her aunt looked exactly like her photos; poised, confident and young. She felt connected to her Aunt, though this was their first meeting. She had been told stories about how fearless, ambitious and determined her aunt had been. The image she held in her mind was that of a warrior of sorts, a woman to be reckoned with. She wanted to be independent much like her aunt had been.
Prue's admiration as a child towards her Aunt Prue inspired her to climb the corporate ladder. Her stint as an Ad Executive lead to her opening her own Public Relations firm. Her success spilled over towards her family when she revamped her mother's restaurant, Halliwell's, changing it from a quaint family dine-in to the city's premiere hot spot. Her work kept her afloat through two failed marriages and single parenthood. When her father, Leo, died it was work that she turned to. She often wondered if she compared to her namesake and this was her opportunity to find out.
"Grams isn't here because Grams can't help you," Prue said to Piper, "That doesn't matter, though. I need you to listen to me carefully. The whole family is in danger."
"What do you mean?" Prue asked Spirit Prue.
"Prue, this I my daughter Prue. I guess you can guess who I named her after," Piper said.
"I know your family, Piper. They're my family. I'm always watching over them; all of our ancestors do. That's part of the reason our family has thrived and prospered. On a subconscious level the ancestors have been guiding their descendents."
"Well, I guess someone's been sleeping on the job because lately we haven't been doing so well," Piper said.
"Actually, someone's been kidnapping our ancestors," Spirit Prue said, "Which is partly why Grams isn't here with you,"
"Was Grams caught?" Piper asked.
"No, she's laying low. So is Mom and Grams' mother," Spirit Prue said.
"Shouldn't you be lying low too?" Prue asked Spirit Prue.
"That's the funny thing with spirits, the longer you've been in the ethereal plane the more influential you are. In a way, the longer you're a ghost the more powerful you are. Since I've been deceased the shortest amount of time I'm less of a target than Mom or Grams are. It's also why our influence over the family has waned so much. We haven't been dead long enough to really break through to you all. I'm afraid you're all alone now."
"You're our gut instincts," Prue said to her mother and aunt, "You, the ancestors, are what gives us those gut feelings. We're flying blind now, aren't we?"
"Honey, don't worry," Piper cooed to her daughter.
"Mom! You don't understand. I can't think a situation out like Wyatt and Chris can. I've always relied on my gut instincts to lead me to where I'm supposed to go. Whether it's been professional or wiccan I've always relied on it." Prue cried.
"Prue," Piper said to the apparition before her, "Who is doing all of this? Why are they taking our children, our grandchildren?"
"I don't know Piper," Spirit Prue said, "Something about it all is familiar but I can't place it. Whoever it is knows an awful lot about this family. I'm sure they're also behind the kidnapping of the family spirits. Methodically they're breaking us down. You all need to be careful. You need to rely on your greatest strength: your love for each other. Don't let the ties that bind unravel."
As they spoke, an ominous shadow appeared on the attic wall nearest Spirit Prue. At first it danced with the flickering of the candles' flames but it slowly moved toward the ceiling where it could move out of sight. Once there it moved closer towards Spirit Prue. As it inched closer and closer the candles danced more rapidly until they were wildly flickering.
The Halliwells noticed the flickering but thought nothing of it at first. As it increased a chill crept into the room. The temperature dropped 30° as a low howl came from the ceiling. Suddenly the windows in the attic popped open and gusts of wind coursed through the room. The candles barely kept lit as the shadow gathered itself in preparation of attacking Spirit Prue.
"I have to go!" cried Spirit Prue, "That's what kidnapped our ancestors!"
"Help me close the circle," Piper cried to her daughter.
Piper ran to the table in the center of the attic where a small cauldron was centered and various bottled herbs were stored. She threw some dried sage in the cauldron, lit a match and caught the sage on fire. Piper and Prue ran to the circle and blew the candles out, beginning with the western point and moving counterclockwise.
"Be careful and blessed be," said Spirit Prue.
Piper and Prue then blew out the center candles. Before the shadow could attack Spirit Prue it ascended and was sucked into the ceiling. Prue disintegrated into hundreds of tiny orbs that spiraled from the floor to the ceiling in a radiant stream. Once the last orb had ascended the temperature in the attic returned to normal and the gusts that coursed through the room vanished. Wafts of smoke rose from the candles and the cauldron as the scent of sage once again permeated the room. Piper and Prue were left standing in the middle of the room wondering what action to take next.