Chapter 5
The Power of 4
Patricia's head laid lightly on Sam's shoulder. The two had called it an all-nighter and had spent the whole night in the fire of escape of Paige's apartment. Peeking through every chance Paige would turn to make sure she had no unexpected visitors. Luckily, she did not.
"She's leaving," says Sam when he sees Paige exit her apartment. "We've gotta be strong this time." Sam orbs with Patricia into the hallway right in front of Paige. Paige jumps back.
"What the he…" says Paige. "How did you do that?"
"Magic," says Patricia. "You do believe in magic, don't you, Paige?"
"Yeah, rabbits coming out of hats. Money coming from peoples ears."
"Those are tricks. Magic is more." Patricia freezes time and walks over to Sam, who isn't moving anymore. Paige notices this and waves her hand in front of his face, and then she looks at Patricia.
"How did you…"
"I have the power to freeze time. Just like Piper, your sister."
"What?"
"Prue, Phoebe, and Piper are your sisters. Half sisters."
"I'm not so sure of this."
"It's the truth. Yes, you're an orphan, but your parents gave you up for a reason and left you at church with a nun. A sister Agnes."
"How do you know that? Uncle Dave told me she found me…" Patricia unfreezes Sam and he glares at her. "Do you know who my parents are? Where are they?"
"Yes, we do."
Suddenly, the lights in the hallway start to flicker. The three of them draw their attention to down the hall where Shane appears out of nowhere. Sam could see the dark shadow within him.
"Patricia, get her out of here," says Sam. "Now."
"Sam, no. Let's go orb back to the manor together," says Patricia.
"What are you guys talking about?" asks Paige.
"Paige, you stood me up," says Shane.
"Shane, I'm sorry. You sort of disappeared on me in the parking lot."
"Make it up to me. Breakfast." Shane extends his hand. Paige walks pass Sam and Patricia. Sam grabs a hold of Paige.
"No, don't go with him," says Sam.
"He's my friend."
"No, he's not." Sam met eye to eye with Shane, and his eyes rolled up black with fire in them. Paige saw that.
"Paige, I won't hurt you." Shane suddenly appears next to her and begins to shimmer out, and Patricia grabs on shimmering with them.
"Patricia," calls Sam. "Damn it." He quickly orbs to the Manor to warn the Charmed ones.
Shane shimmers to the underworld with Paige and Patricia. The Source exits Shane's body and pushes Patricia to the ground. Paige pulls away and sees the Source's true form. It frightens her. She then sees Shane's body on the floor.
"Shane," says Paige.
"Paige Mathews, you were unwanted from your family and now they beseech you for their own personal gain," says the Source. "After years of searching, they only come to you to bring you trouble and pain. You don't have to yield to them. They don't deserve anything from you."
"Who are you?" asks Paige, kneeling next to an unconscious Shane.
"I am someone who will let you use your power as you wish, and not for other agendas like others want you to use. It's for no one but you. This is what you've been searching for your whole life. This is why you have the power."
"The power?" Paige looks at Patricia. "What powers?"
"Don't play coy, Paige. They only want you for your power. You don't have to share it. It's yours. You can create your own destiny, and you can start it right now. Call for your sisters' powers, so they will no longer bother you again. Be rid of them and start by getting rid of her." The Source points at Patricia. Patricia gets up and looks at Paige.
"Paige, don't listen to him," says Patricia. "He's just using you to get to you and your powers. You can create your own destiny, but not the path he's chosen for you."
"Silence," says the Source as he smacks her and tosses her against a rock wall.
Back at the Manor, Sam tells the sisters about the Source and him taking Paige and Patricia.
"How do you know he was the Source?" asks Piper.
"Blackness and fire in his eyes and when he shimmers, the same," says Sam. "No other demon has that."
"He's right," says Cole. "It's the Source."
"We need to save her," says Piper.
"But how?" asks Phoebe. "They could be anywhere."
"In the underworld," says Cole. "He'd take her there."
"What does he want with her?" asks Prue.
"Power. Charmed power. It's as close as he'll ever get to getting it."
"We have to stop him," says Sam. "Isn't there a way you can call for Paige. She's a witch. A spell…"
"To call a lost witch spell," says Piper. "It might just work."
The sisters head upstairs to the book. Phoebe flips to the page in the book of Shadows and finds the spell. Piper starts to prepare the ingredients for the spell to work, then walks over with Prue to the book.
"Power of the witches' rise. Course unseen across the skies. Come to us, we call you near. Come to us and settle here." The three say together. They then prick themselves and shed their blood with the rest of the ingredients. "Blood to blood, I summon thee. Blood to blood, return to me."
"Do you think it will work?" asks Phoebe.
"Let's hope…"
Suddenly, white orbs appear before them and Paige emerges from them. Prue, Piper, and Phoebe are glad to have her back. Sam is glad, too, but his thoughts go to Patricia.
"Where is Patricia?" asks Sam.
"She's with that half face guy," says Paige. "How did I get here?"
"There is no time to explain," says Piper. "We need to prepare some kind of…"
The Source suddenly appears with Patricia in his hand. He has her by the neck and glares at everyone.
"Balthazar, what a surprise," says the Source. "I'll take care of you soon enough. First the witches, then you." Balthazar wants to fight the Source, but he knew he'd never win. He fears him and tries to keep his composure.
"We have a stronger power now," says Prue. She took Piper and Phoebe's hand. "The power of four." Phoebe tries to grab Paige's hand, but she pulls away. "Paige."
"Paige, who are you willing to save? Strangers who have never done anything for you, or your mother's soul?"
"My mother's…" says Paige as she looks at Patricia.
The Source tightens his grip on Patricia's neck. Paige looks at her in the eye, and then she looks at the sisters.
"Find the spell to remove their powers."
"No, Paige," says Sam, trying to stop the Source. The Source easily tosses him out, and Sam goes hurling through the window. Leo quickly orbs to his side.
"Now the spell. Prudence, find it for her." Prue glares at the Source when he calls her by her full name. She approaches the book and turns the pages. Paige walks over to Prue and Prue lightly touches her getting a premonition from her.
She sees the Source destroying Patricia's soul, burning the three sisters and vanquishing an angry Balthazar when Phoebe is killed. Then she sees Paige fall to her knees on the ground and the Source is about to kill her, too, when she orbs out.
Prue's vision ends and one spell burns in her mind, which she had seen in the book. Before she walks back over to her sisters, Prue quietly and quickly says a spell as she is still touching Paige.
"What's Mine is Yours, What's Yours is Mine, Let our powers cross the line, I offer up this gift to share, Switch our powers through the air," says Prue.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing." Prue walks back to her sisters and watches as Paige looks at the book, then back at the Halliwell sisters.
"Do it," says the Source, tightening his grip on Patricia some more. Paige took a deep sigh and began to read the spell.
"Before the passing of this hour, take away all their powers," says Paige.
Paige and the Source look at the Halliwell sisters, when suddenly the powers of the witches exit their bodies and dissipate into space. Prue leads the sisters over to Paige's side. Paige is confused because she knew what she had done was something unforgivable, even for sisters.
"Finally, the Charmed ones are no more," says the Source. "I am rid of my biggest threat." He releases Patricia and forms a large black orb.
"Black orb," says Prue, raising her hand up making the black orb that the Source had come to her and now it is hovering over Prue's hand.
"How did you do that?" asks Piper.
"I exchanged powers with Paige," says Prue, and then she throws the orb at the Source which sends him out of the attic and down the stairs.
"I'm sorry about this," says Paige. "I didn't know what else to do."
"It's okay, Paige," says Phoebe. "We would have done the same."
Paige goes to Patricia and helps her up. Patricia takes her hands and smiles at her. She then hugs her.
"Is he going to come back?" asks Paige about the Source facing her sisters.
"Not for a while. He's wounded," says Cole, sighing in relief that the Source didn't kill Phoebe or him. "But he'll be back."
"And we will be ready for him," says Prue.
"How? Our powers are gone," says Phoebe.
"Not exactly," says Patricia. "They've been removed, but can be returned just as easily."
"How?" asks Paige.
"Magic. Good magic."
"What spell?" asks Piper.
"The one that brought you your powers in the first place." They all look at the Book of Shadows and see the pages being turned by themselves.
"How is it doing that?" asks Paige.
"Grams," says Phoebe.
"Here we are," says Patricia as she walks over to the book. "This should do it. Come." Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige walk over to Patricia and look at the book.
Blue orbs appear before them, and Leo and Sam appear. They are both relieved that the girls are okay and safe.
"This will also fix the mix up with your powers." Patricia looks at her girls, then steps aside.
"Paige, would you say the spell with us?" asks Prue.
"Okay," replies Paige as she takes Prue's hand and the four begin 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 work of magic is sought. In this night and in this hour, I'll call upon the ancient power, bring your powers to we sisters, we want the power, give us the power."
The power of three return from whence they came to the sisters. It reverts the mix up of the powers because of Piper and Prue's death, and Prue's power switching spell as well.
"Oh, my gosh," says Paige. "Shane. We need to go back there. We need to find him."
"Back to the underworld," says Cole. "That's suicide."
"Shane." Paige cries a tear for her friend and in an instant he appears in a blur of blue orbs. "Oh my…Shane." She kneels down to him and turns him around. He begins to wake and sees Paige.
"Paige," says Shane. "Where am I?"
"You're going to be okay."