TEN

"That doesn't sound like the Andy I knew," said Phoebe. "He was always such a caring person. In fact, he even. . ." Her voice trailed off as she thought about Andy's death.

"Power does strange things to people," said Piper. "When he discovered that Prue and I were witches he couldn't handle it. He and his partner, Darryl Morris, turned us over to the authorities. They were rewarded with instant promotions. Any position they wanted was theirs for the taking. Andy chose to become commandant of this camp. Morris is the Commissioner for the Western District of Homeland Security. They're both considered something of heroes."

"For what?" Phoebe asked. "Turning in a couple of witches?"

"Not just witches," said Piper. "The Charmed Ones. When the Sovereign Protection Act of 1974 was passed our identities became common knowledge. No one knew exactly who we were but we became public enemy number one."

"How did all this happen?" Phoebe asked. "Cole told me some of it. But it's hard to believe this all happened because of what Hitler tried to do during the Second World War."

"Cole?" questioned Piper. "You'd do well to stay away from him. He's a bad one he is. He'll be nothing but trouble for you."

"You'd be surprised how much help he can be," said Phoebe. "Given the right incentive. What else happened?"

"In the early 50s," continued Piper, "some little known senator named McCarthy started a witch hunt. A real one. I don't know why but he saw witches as the ultimate evil. He convinced a lot of people – powerful people – that we were the cause of all the problems in the world."

"That sort of happened in the real timeline," said Phoebe. "Only McCarthy was interested in communists, not witches."

"A lot of witches were exposed back then," said Piper. "We had to go underground. But every witch that was identified gave the authorities more information about us. In the late 60s they learned about Melinda Warren's prophecy. They hadn't known that Melinda Warren's daughter has survived so they had trouble tracking her descendants. We were safe until Andy and Darryl discovered who we were."

"They told me other magical beings were killed on sight," said Phoebe. "How come they let witches and warlocks live?"

"Because we're human," said Piper. "According to them, we aren't prisoners. We're being protected from the outside. To keep normal humans from attacking us for whatever they feel we're responsible for. Other magical beings aren't human so they aren't afforded the 'protection' we get. They're considered enemies of the state and are killed on sight."

"I still don't understand how they can do this," said Phoebe. "The Constitution prohibits anything like this. It can't be legal. How are they able to get away with it?"

"They changed the Constitution. A special amendment just for us. I understand it passed in a matter of weeks. I don't understand how you got here. Whoever you are you claim to be my sister. You should have been taken into custody as soon as you made that claim."

"Why?"

"They're afraid of us. Even though there are only Prue and me they're afraid a third sister might pop up completing the Power of Three. That's crazy. Mom didn't have any more kids before she and dad split up. Then when she died that prevented her from ever having a third daughter."

"But she did have a third daughter. Me. When did she die?"

"February 28, 1978. When they finally identified who we were they came to take us into 'protective custody' as Andy put it. Mom tried to stop them and they murdered her for her trouble."

"Mom died on the same day in the original timeline. But she was killed by a water demon. We were finally able to vanquish it. What about Grams?"

"Our grandmother was murdered the same time. After mom died they took us into custody and we ended up here. Grams tried to rescue us and they killed her."

"Grams died in 1998 from a heart attack. We got our powers shortly after that. This is all so crazy. So much has changed and yet is still the same. I don't understand how all this could have happened by the spell I cast."

"What spell?"

"My premonitions weren't working very well recently," Phoebe explained. "So I cast a spell to see if I could figure out what happened. But instead of telling me what I wanted to know it brought Nostradamus into the present. That's when everything went to hell."

"Who is Nostradamus?" Piper asked.

"He is – or rather was – someone who made hundreds of predictions about the future. People still debate how accurate his predictions were. He lived about four hundred years ago. I don't see how bringing him into the future could have changed things so much especially since most of the changes seem to have take place in recent history."

"Who are you really?" Piper asked. "Prue and I don't have any sisters or brothers. You're obviously a witch or you wouldn't be in this camp. So what do you have to gain by claiming to be my sister."

"I know it's hard to accept but I am your sister. And I'm not the only one. You mentioned Paige Matthews that anchor woman."

"Yes. Like I said she's one of the most outspoken opponents against witches. She even has a special segment on her nightly broadcast identifying witches that haven't been captured yet."

"Well, she's more than that. She's our half sister. Like I said, her father is Sam, mom's White Lighter. When she was born they gave her up for adoption so the Elders wouldn't find out about her."

"That's crazy," said Piper. "White Lighters don't come to Earth any more. It's too dangerous for them. As soon as they're identified they're killed. Even demons are afraid to come here. The government has a series of satellites in orbit that helps them identify magical beings. If someone stays in one place too long the satellites will pick them out of the general population."

"That doesn't mean they don't come here. They can orb. As soon as the satellites pick them up they can just orb to somewhere else. I can't believe they've abandoned us completely."

"Doing a little 'sisterly bonding'?" Prue asked walking up to the two.

"You're back early," said Piper.

"Trudeau got a phone call," said Prue. "Kind of interrupted the 'interrogation'. A phone call about her." She looked over at Phoebe. "Someone seems very interested in you."

"More than interested," said Cole, walking up to the three. "I just saw a car pull in. It was Captain Barger. In all the time I've been here he's never once come to this camp. Now he chooses this day to make a visit? I find that just a little too coincidental."

"What do you care, Turner?" Piper asked with undisguised disgust in her voice. "You've never shown even the slightest interest in what the rest of us do. Why should you care if someone is interested in one of us?"

"Look," said Cole, glancing at Phoebe, "I prefer to stay to myself. But if the administrator is coming here it could impact any one of us. So this isn't exactly altruistic on my part. Forewarned is forearmed as they say."

"He says he can get us out of this camp," said Phoebe. "I believe him."

"Of course he can," said Prue sarcastically. "That's why he's hanging around here now. He just loves it so much."

"You can debate the sincerity of my actions later," said Cole. "But I suggest we get inside before the commandant and the administrator come looking for one of us."

"He might be right," said Piper. "If they're after one of us we need to decide what we're going to do about it."

"What's there to do?" Prue asked. "It's not like we can exactly catch the next bus out of town."

"If Cole can get us out of this camp," said Phoebe, "then we just might have a chance. At least let's give ourselves the option."

"Okay," said Prue. "But just for the record I don't like you and I don't trust you. You try anything funny and I don't care how strong you are you'll regret it, understood?"

"Yeah, I understand," said Cole with no enthusiasm.

They all turned and followed Cole back into the compound.