Thank you Rini08, littlemissbad, charmingbrenda, and lizardmomma for your reviews and for being such loyal readers!

Keep in mind that this is an alternate universe...so things are not always what they seem. ;)

We now bring you the latest installment -- enjoy!

PART TWENTY-TWO: "Screwed Up Destiny"

Curiosity got the better of Prue and she had to know the name of the innocent they had lost. She reached into the young woman's purse and found her wallet. "Mary Jones," she read aloud, before shifting a despondent gaze to her baby sister. "Phoebs, she was only 28."

Phoebe nodded, her eyes filling with tears. "Just like Piper."

Ever the realist, Cole spoke up, breaking the sudden hush that had fallen over the downtown rooftop. "You guys do realize what this means, don't you?"

Both sisters looked up at him with watery eyes and blank expressions, their minds obviously elsewhere. "Not to sound callous or anything, but somebody's gonna have to call Darryl and let him know about...her." He gestured at the innocent, who was still lying on the ground where he had set her a few minutes prior. "So why don't I go set her back down there, one of you two make the call, and we head home?"

Phoebe and Prue silently nodded. Taking the innocent carefully in his arms, Cole shimmered back down to the sidewalk and laid her back down in the same spot he found her after Kernus blew her off the roof.

While he was doing that, Prue pulled out her phone and quickly dialed Darryl's number. After taking a deep breath to get her emotions under control, she put the phone up to her ear and walked a couple of steps away. "Darryl? There's something you need to know..."

Leo held onto a distraught Phoebe, trying to comfort her as best he could. After Cole reappeared on the rooftop, Leo gently handed her off to the half-demon and orbed to the Manor. Her call to Darryl complete, Prue flipped her phone shut and joined Phoebe and Cole for the short trip back home.

Seconds later, Cole shimmered in the Manor with Prue and Phoebe, who were in utter shock as to what had just occurred on the rooftop. Losing an innocent was never an easy thing. But to lose one who looked so much like Piper on the day that they had said good-bye to her. Well, that was too much. He quietly stepped away, knowing that nothing he or Leo could say would help the two girls.

Even though they basically had no tears left, the two sisters sobbed on each other's shoulders, all the while wondering what they were going do without the Power of Three and how they could possibly survive continuing to lose people to Kernus. Much to their surprise, the sound of orbing filled the room.

When Prue looked up and saw Andy, she began to run to him, but then she saw that there appeared to be a young woman standing just slightly behind him. "Andy? Who's that?"

Andy didn't answer her question; instead he asked one of his own. "Did you mean that, Prue? Do you and Phoebe want the Power of Three back?"

"Of course we do!" cried Phoebe. "That's what made us The Charmed Ones!"

Prue gave her little sister a look. "If it meant that we could use the Power of Three to get rid of Kernus, of course. But that's impossible."

"No, Prue, it's not. I have someone for you to meet. This is my charge, Paige Matthews. Prue and Phoebe Halliwell, I'd like you to meet your half-sister."

"We have a half-sister?" Prue demanded, then turned to Phoebe. "Did you know we have a half-sister?"

Phoebe shook her head. "Nope. You?"

"This is the first I've heard. And if she's Andy's charge, she has to be a witch. So she's another one of Mom's daughters?" and Andy nodded.

At that point, the half-sister in question stepped out from behind Andy and waved shyly, a wary smile on her face. Like their lost innocent, she too bore a strong resemblance to Piper, with the cheekbones, hair length and smile. But that's where the similarities ended. This girl was taller than her half-sisters and her skin was much paler than Piper's and her hair much darker. In fact, unlike Mary Jones, this girl looked more like Prue than Piper, except like a younger Prue. There was no doubt that she was even younger than Phoebe.

And that's what hit Phoebe. "How old are you?" she had to know.

"24," Paige replied, her first words to one of her half-sisters.

"24!" wailed Phoebe. "So I was only the baby for two years?"

"No, Phoebs," Prue insisted, going over to put her arm around Phoebe even as she glared at both Andy and Paige. "I don't care how many younger half-siblings we have, you'll always be my baby sister."

"Of course she will," Paige agreed quietly. "I was raised as an only child. I've gone to college. I'm an assistant social worker. And I've never met either of you before now. No way I'd want you to treat me like the baby of the family, the same way I wouldn't know how to treat either of you as my older sister. But the same monster who killed your sister killed my parents. So if you can help me get rid of him, please do."

Prue continued to glare at her suspiciously. "Something doesn't make sense here. How can you be our half-sister if your parents were just killed? Our mother must've died when you were just a baby."

"She means her adoptive parents," Andy told them. "That's why she called for me. Kernus killed them when he was trying to kill Paige. I got there too late to heal them."

"And they will always be my parents the way she," and Paige pointed at Phoebe, "will always be your baby sister. Even if we do have the same blood mother."

"No way," Prue insisted, shaking her head. "Absolutely no freaking way! I would've been, what, eight, when you were born? I'm pretty darned sure that I would've known if Mom was pregnant and she wasn't. I don't even remember her ever getting fat." She then switched her suspicious glare off of Paige and over to Andy. "And how long have you known about all of this?"

"How long have I known about all of what? That Paige is your half-sister?" The two Halliwells nodded their heads. "I just found out right before I orbed her here." Undaunted by the pair of 'Yeah, right' looks issued in his direction, he continued. "Paige" and he pointed his thumb over to the newcomer, "was my first charge, given to me shortly after my death. But I swear--I had no idea that she was related to you guys up until just now. Just as I'm certain that the Elders had no idea she was your half-sister or they would've never given her to me as a charge."

"So how did you find out?" Prue demanded.

"After I tried to heal Paige's parents and couldn't and then comforted her, I asked Paige why she was still alive. "

"That thing never meant to kill my parents." Paige took over the story. "It meant to kill me. It threw this huge wave of air at me when suddenly I saw all this white sparkly lights in front of my eyes and then I didn't see anything and then I saw the white sparkly lights again and that thing was glaring at me and then left. And that's when I turned and saw the hole in the wall and saw my parents dying and that's when I screamed for Andy."

"She orbed?" Phoebe asked in shock.

Andy nodded. "That's when I went to check with the Elders and that's when they figured it out."

So did Prue as she put it all together. "Sam. You're Mom and Sam's daughter."

Cole muttered to Leo, "Sam?"

"Their mother's white lighter. They had a daughter. Piper and I could've had children. I didn't think it was possible."

Cole smirked. "Hmm. Apples don't fall far from the forbidden tree, I see."

Prue turned to glare at him. "Shush!" Then she turned back towards Andy. "I still think this is all impossible!"

"Haven't you learned yet, my darling? Anything's possible. You just have to know how."

There was Grams glowing behind them. "Hello, my darlings."

Paige simply stared in awe as Phoebe cried out, "Grams!" then she grew serious. "If that's true, then we want Piper back. No. Wait. Actually, we demand Piper back."

Grams' smile quickly faded. "Sorry, my darling, but that's something that cannot be done."

"What?!" exclaimed both sisters, their eyes opening wide.

"Wait, wait, wait. Timeout here." A puzzled expression crossed Phoebe's face as she made a 'T' with her hands. "You just told us that anything is possible. If that's the case, then we want our sister back; we want her back now. Not in five minutes, not tomorrow, not next week. NOW!"

"I know you want her back," Grams soothed sympathetically. "And I know you miss her terribly--the pain of losing her is plainly written all over your faces. But you need to understand. It's not Piper's destiny to come back, nor is it your destiny to have her back."

Prue rolled her eyes as she let out a sarcastic laugh. "Destiny, smestiny! That has got to be absolutely the lamest excuse I have ever heard. In case you haven't noticed, our destiny is All. Screwed. Up. Period. Exclamation Point! So if you want to fix it, then you bring Piper back right now!" Then she turned to look at the newcomer. "No offense meant."

Paige nodded. "None taken. If getting this Piper back means you guys can get rid of Kernus, then that's just fine with me. Really, it is."

"But you don't need Piper to get rid of Kernus," Grams pointed out. "You just need you three."

"No," Prue insisted. "We need the Power of Three and for that we need three sisters descended from Melinda Warren, and she's not our sister."

"But she is your half-sister through me, through your mother. That makes her your sister-witch and will allow you to reconstitute the Power of Three. Charmed. Again."

"But we don't want to be Charmed Again!" Prue insisted.

"We don't?" Phoebe asked.

"No, we don't. It only means more deaths. Although I don't like the idea of losing more innocents, I couldn't take another death of someone I love."

"I know you're hurting, my darling, but unless you do something, Kernus will just keep on hurting you worse. Ever since Piper, he's been targeting witches who look like her, look like you, look like Phoebe. Paige would've been the fourth one."

"So there's others out there?"

"Yes, and there will be more if you three don't get rid of him. He's doing it to torture you two more after he broke the Power of Three."

"Of course he is," Phoebe muttered. "Apparently breaking the Power of Three wasn't good enough for him then…that figures. That just figures."

"Speaking of the Power of Three, I'm still confused about something here, Grams," Prue interjected. "Why didn't anyone tell us that we have a half-sister and why don't I remember Mom growing fat?"

Grams smiled as she waved her hand. "A little incantation and a pregnancy can stay hidden, my darling. Your mother and Sam gave her to a pair of witches who could raise her properly and wouldn't be surprised when her powers were released along with yours. And we did it to protect Paige, so the demons wouldn't know that there was another Halliwell who wasn't a part of the Power of Three."

Paige shook her head. "I'm a Matthews, not a Halliwell."

"No, you're my granddaughter, so that makes you a Halliwell no matter what your last name is," although the looks on Prue's and Phoebe's faces said that they weren't so sure about that.

Seeing that, Paige shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I don't know you any more than I know them and I already have two wonderful grandmothers, so I'm still a Matthews."

Grams looked insulted. "My dear, if your parents and I did not want to protect you, you would not have had that wonderful family you're so fond of!"

Paige nodded. "That might be. But it's not important." Even as Grams harrumphed again, Paige continued, "But Andy said the Elders thought that somehow the three of us could use something called The Power of Three to get rid of Kernus. That's what's truly important or I wouldn't even be here. You guys just mentioned that Power of Three thing too. So can you tell me what they meant?"

"Gladly, darling." Paige rolled her eyes, but Grams took no notice and continued. "In a nutshell, here it is: The Power of Three is the most powerful connection in the universe It came to be due to Melinda Warren's spell."

"Melinda who?" Paige asked.

"Melinda Warren," Grams repeated. "One of your ancestors, the first one of our family born in America. The Power of Three allows three sisters who are descended from her to become more powerful as a unit than they would be by themselves."

"Really? That's what it is?" and she looked at her half-sisters.

Prue nodded. "That's it. Right, Phoebs?"

"That about covers it," Phoebe agreed. "The Power of Three spells are the most powerful spells the world has ever known."

"And you think this could work with me?" Paige asked, her eyes wide.

"Well, it won't hurt to try." Grams waved her hand and produced a piece of paper. "Here's a spell just for that purpose. After all, that's one of the reasons I came down, my darlings, to give you this."

Phoebe took the paper and quickly scanned it. "If this is what we've gotta do to regain it, then I'm all for it. How 'bout you two?"

"May I see that, please, Phoebs?" Phoebe handed the paper to her big sister, who also gave it a quick read. "Are you sure about this?" she asked.

Determination flashed in Phoebe's eyes. "I've never been more sure that this is what we need to do. For Piper." She glanced over at Paige, who was now reading the spell. "So, whatcha think?"

Paige handed the spell back to Phoebe and gave her a thumbs-up. "I'll do it. Anything to take down that...thing that killed my parents."

"Prue?" Phoebe looked over at her big sister.

"Fine," Prue sighed and blew her hair out of her eyes. "I'll do it. But just to get rid of Kernus...no new Charmed Ones!"

Phoebe and Paige exchanged a glance that said 'We'll talk her into it later' then both exchanged identical smiles.

"Well, what are you three waiting for?" Grams' spirit tapped her foot impatiently. "The next millenium?"

After shooting Grams a look, the three gathered together, held hands and began to chant:

"Hear now the words of the witches,
The secrets we hid in the night.
The oldest of Gods are invoked here,
The great magic is sought.

In this night and in this hour,
We call upon the ancient power.
Listen to us sisters three.
Bring back now the Power of Three. "

"Good-bye, my darlings!" smiled Grams "I love you!"

"Thank you, Grams!" Phoebe smiled back before adding, "Tell Piper we love her!"

Prue looked at the spell again and then the other two. "Well, let's see if this works. Wanna give it a shot?"

"Might as well," shrugged Paige. "Let's go for it."

"Unbreakable object ready, Phoebs?"

Phoebe held up an old plastic cup that had been sitting on a nearby table. "Ready."

"When Phoebe tosses it, you fling out your hands."

"Like this?" Paige flung out her hands.

Prue nodded. "Exactly like that. Okay. Toss it." Phoebe tossed the cup towards Paige, who instinctively flung up her hands in surprise.

The cup stopped in mid-flight and Paige moved her hand under it as if she were looking for hidden strings. "Whoa," she grinned. "Cool. It's just...hanging there. Is that supposed to happen?"

Seeing Paige's reaction, a big grin came to Phoebe's face. "That's exactly what's supposed to happen. Melinda Warren said that one of the Charmed Ones would be able to freeze time. That was Piper's power. Now it's yours." She shifted her eyes over to Prue. "Okay, should we see if she's got the explosion thingy going?"

"Explosion?" Paige's eyes widened. "That sounds scary."

Prue shrugged. "Scary but effective."

An unsure look crossed the newest Charmed One's face "Well, okay, I guess. How does it work?"

"Try getting mad at the cup while focusing your energy into making that frozen cup burst into tiny bits, 'kay?" Prue coached. "And flick your hands rather than throw them out."

"Bursting into tiny bits...right." Paige narrowed her eyes and flicked her hands. But the cup didn't explode. Instead it sped up and flew right at Phoebe, who ducked just in time.

"Hello! What the hell was that?" she exclaimed. "'Cause that cup didn't explode. It darn near took my head off!"

Prue nodded. "So instead of freezing and exploding, she can freeze and speed up? A different use of time-manipulation which could prove useful."

"So I didn't screw up?" asked Paige uncertainly.

"No," Prue shook her head, smiling. "Far from it. You did everything right--just caught us by surprise. It worked differently for you than it did for Piper, that's all."

"Whatcha think?" Phoebe asked.

"With a bit more practice, I'd say she's just about ready," Prue proclaimed. "But why don't we check our options in that big book upstairs? The more prepared we are for this guy, the better."

"Amen!" ageed Phoebe fervently.

"Oh, you guys have your own Book of Shadows?" asked Paige.

"You don't?" asked Phoebe surprised.

"No. My parents are part of a coven and there's a coven Book of Shadows, but one just for you own family..." she shook her head in amazement.

Phoebe grinned. "I guess our family has always been its own coven. Our Book's like a member of the family--it always tells us what we need to know."

The oldest, the baby and the youngest headed up the stairs. Cole made to follow, but was stopped by Andy and Leo. "This is something the girls will have to figure out by themselves."

Meanwhile in the upstairs hallway, Prue warned, "Just to make this clear, you two--we're only going up to the attic to show Paige the Book and to find a way to vanquish Kernus, alright? Nothing else. I mean it."

"Got it," agreed Paige

"Yeah, we got it." Phoebe knew better than to disagree. She turned to smile at Paige when suddenly she ran right into her big sister. "Hey!" she cried. "Think you could warn me next time you decide to come to a stop right in the middle of the doorway?"

Prue didn't answer; she didn't even hear a word Phoebe said. She stood perfectly still, her eyes opened wide in shock. "That can't be. I'm seeing things here."

"Not another one," Paige muttered, looking around Prue. "What is this place? Some sorta hangout for ghosts?"

Because there was someone standing at the pedestal that held the Book of Shadows.

Someone who was writing in the Book with her finger.

Because that someone was glowing.

And that someone was Piper Melinda Halliwell-Wyatt!

She looked up and grinned at her sisters. "Check this out--look, I don't even need a pen. Now how cool is that?"

Her two sisters stared in shock. "What are you doing here?" Phoebe babbled. "Grams just said..."

Piper rolled her eyes "Since when have I ever followed their crappy rules, hmmm? You better believe that I'm sure not gonna start following them now! Not only that, but did you seriously think that I was gonna just sit back and let you guys have all the fun of taking down that SOB Kernus? No freakin' way! Not when I found a fantastic way of getting rid of him.

"I've been thinking about this ever since Mom spilled the beans to me about Paige. Which was quite a surprise, believe me. It's a good thing I'm already dead.

"But I've been waiting for you guys to come together and restore the Power of Three. I mean, it was bound to happen eventually, knowing our lives. So c'mon over here and check out my idea."

All three of the living ran over to the ghost and read what she had written. Prue turned to look at her sister in shock. "Piper! This is different, especially coming from you. You've never been that bloodthirsty!"

Piper shrugged. "Well, I've never been this dead before either. Besides, you don't want Kernus throwing those big funnels of air at you when you're trying to vanquish him, do you? This will be sure that none of you end up as dead as me. Speaking of which...it looks like I'm not gonna be able to stick around down here much longer. Have fun, you guys, and I love and I miss you! Tell Leo I love him, too!"

With that, she disappeared in swirl of blue lights, leaving behind three very stunned Charmed Ones.

Paige stood transfixed, staring at the spot where Piper's spirit had been just seconds earlier. "Wow. So that was Piper." The Halliwell on either side of her wordlessly nodded as wistful smiles played across their faces. "Now I see why you guys miss her so much. She's, she's great. I wish I could've had the chance to get to know her."

"And I bet she wishes that she could've gotten the chance to get to know you too," Phoebe smiled. "Something tells me that she really would have liked you. Family meant everything to her."

"That's true. She is...was the heart of this family," Prue added. "And what she would've wanted us to do right now is take down this demonic SOB, so let's get down to business. Phoebs? Think you can handle the potion? You two were always the best at that sort of thing, and I don't want to end up vanquishing us by accident. And Paige? Why don't you help me 'Kernus proof' the attic."

"Kernus proof? What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, let's get everything to the edges of the attic. That'll give us a big space to work with when we summon his sorry ass here."

"Gotcha." Paige gave a thumbs-up and started to drag a nearby chair to the edge of the attic. She was about halfway there when she noticed that her fellow 'Kernus proofer' was still rooted in place -- obviously lost in her memories. "Well?" she teased, putting her hands on her hips. "Are you gonna help, or are you just gonna stand there? Furniture don't move itself, ya know."

Prue smiled wistfully, "Yeah, you're right," and walked over to the couch and began to slowly move it. Then Paige's words hit her. Giving her a devilish look, she asked, "Who said furniture doesn't move itself?"

"Huh?"

Again Prue grinned and waved her hand and TK'd the couch over to the wall.

"Hey!" cried Paige. "Personal gain!"

"Yeah, but it's fun, and it's not hurting anyone."

Paige grinned back. "No, it's not. Let's see if this works," and flicking her hands, she sped up time for the chair so it moved itself over to the wall. "Cool!"

Prue smiled as she TK'd a table. "We can call it giving you a chance to practice your new power."

Paige also smiled as she sped up time for a trunk. "Sounds good to me!" as she then threw out her arms, freezing time for the trunk.

By the time Phoebe came up with the potion, she looked around, amazed to see that all of the furniture was against the walls. "How'd you do all of that so quickly?" she asked. "I thought I'd have to help," and when both her sister and her half-sister gave each other sheepish looks, she just laughed, which got the other two laughing. Somehow that helped relieved all of the tension all three had suffered, much like Andy pouring Cole with the water had done so that morning.

When they were finally all laughed out, Prue turned solemn before asking the other two, "Are you ready?" and the other two became solemn, too.

Phoebe nodded. "Ready and raring to go! Let's get that bastard!"

"Not really," Paige admitted. "Can't we have some sort of dress rehearsal first?"

The other two agreed and tried using the spell and the potion on an old doll Phoebe didn't really want any more. When they saw how well Piper's idea worked, they knew they were finally ready to do this. Joining hands, they began to chant:

"Magic forces black and white,
Reaching out through space and light,
No matter where he may now be,
Bring the demon Kernus here to we."

"Okay," Prue warned, "Here he comes."

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