As we blessed the crystals, Paige was talking to herself. This was not unusual, but she was lost in her thought. "Paige, what is it?" I asked.
"The vanquishing potion is too easy."
"Easy?" I asked.
"This demon killed a dozen or so of our children, and we just blow him up. I want him to suffer."
Piper had placed a band-aid on her finger as she finished blessing. "I agree. What do you have in mind?"
"If a plague killed our family, the plague should kill him back," Paige sucked her cut finger as she sat at the kitchen table. Grabbing a scrap of paper and a pencil, she started brainstorming on the spell.
Phoebe started to load the crystals in a basket. "There's something else. If the spell is different, so should the potion."
"What do you suggest?" I began placing plates in the dishwasher, an antique to today's standards, but it still works.
"We have to bless the potion also."
Paige looked up, "We have to bleed again?"
Piper reopened her band-aid, "'Fraid So."
Each of us grabbed a vial of the potion and dropped blood inside the potion. The potion changed colors based on whose blood was inside. My vial had turned almost velvet, while Piper's turned lavender. Phoebe's vial changed from purple to pink, and Paige's sparkled—it must be the whitelighter blood.
"Are we ready to call for Kyle and Leo?" Phoebe and Piper immediately said yes, but Paige was silent. "What's wrong, Paige?"
"Let's say the whitelighters create the crystal cage, and it destroys the darkness. We orb to the demon's lair, throw a potion, and vanquish the demon. Then what?"
"Honey, what do you mean?" Phoebe placed her hand on Paige's back.
"What will stop the Cleaners from erasing everything: our past lives, the time now, and the family we reunited with? The Cleaners erased Wyatt from our memories. What would stop them now? I hated being alone, and there were days, even married, I felt as if I had to conquer the world on my own. I don't want to lose my sisters again, when I can have them all together."
Piper didn't say anything, but she had tears in her eyes. "You're right." She hugged Paige, "We're going to fix that right now." Piper approached the Book.
We gathered around the Book and said the protection spell, "Moments lost make witches wonder, warlocks plot or demons plunder, if this is not a prank, help us to fill in the blanks."
"Thank you, Piper."
"I don't know if it's going to work, but at least now, we'll have a fighting chance."
The four of us returned the Book of Shadows to the attic. "We have the potions and crystals, but where's the demon?" Phoebe wondered.
"Duh?" Paige bounced her hand on her head.
"What, Paige?" I questioned her.
"The prophecy—it already tells us. Look—Egypt."
Piper was not pleased, "Egypt? Again?"
"At least, you weren't changed into a mummy."
"Or possessed."
"I had to pick between the two of you, and I had to deal with invincible ex-Source of All Evil, remember?" Phoebe guiltily nodded. "Sorry, Piper."
It was near dawn when everything was in place. Darryl, Shelia, and Kyle were going to create the crystal cage, so we could vanquish the demon with the new spell and the blessed potions. Mom, Grams, and Dad decided to stay at Halliwell Headquarters to keep an eye for little Piper and get Kip up to pace.
"Dad, I want to go," Leo argued.
"Son, you're not a full whitelighter anymore. The frigid cold could kill you."
"I'm their whitelighter, well, I was." Piper grabbed his hand and kissed it.
"All right, you can, but you are the in-betweener. You will tell me when to put the crystal in place." Leo smiled, but I could tell Kyle was still worried.
The four whitelighters orbed with the blessed crystals; we knew with the Earth's rotation that it will take several hours to cage the entire world. It didn't matter—we were going to be busy anyway.
We gave our hugs to Grams, Mom, and Dad. "Prue, you're not going to wake Kip?" Phoebe wondered.
"I can't. If I look at him or little Piper, I won't have the courage to go through with it." I grabbed Paige's and Phoebe's hands, while Piper held Paige's.
"Ready, sis?" Piper asked Paige.
"I am now."