Phoebe Turner Halliwell: Thank you for reviewing and I'm glad you enjoy it!
Kings Lioness: Thanks for reviewing my story. I probably won't start a Tamora Pierce fan fiction until I get an idea for it...but I like yours a lot! Thanks for continuing to read my story!
Chuckles1414: Thanks for reviewing! I'm so glad you liked the chapter. There is more torture to come. I had to debate with myself whether all the torture I use should be included, but I don't think Lynxe could fufill her plan without it. Thank you for the honor of adding me to story alert! I appreciate it!
Oni-Gil: Thank you for reviewing! I'm still waiting for you to cough write an original fan fiction, but I like your others!
Patricia L. Bryans: Your words really mean a lot to me and make me feel so good about myself. Thank you for once again reviewing, and thanks ever so for reading my story. I continue it for you.
-12-
A soft, white blanket of fog enveloped Paige as she hovered between consciousness and unconsisousness. The subtle moisture gently caressed her mind, easing the slight pounding in her head with light, wispy touches against her temples. As she floated slowly through her own mind, a shadowy figure emerged from a cloud in front of her vision and began gliding toward her. As it drew closer, Paige could see that it was a man dressed in pure white robes lined with gold, tall and strong, and handsome with gentle but shocking blue eyes and a warm smile, but his forehead was ever-so-slightly creased with lines of anxiety. As he held out his hand to her, Paige noticed that bright white points of light shimmered around him, making him look like an allusion: the perfect vision of an angel. When he spoke, his deep, rich voice echoed slightly, ringing with authority and knowlage, but also with love and caring. Just the sound of it made the hair on the back of Paige's neck prickle.
"Do not be afraid, Paige Matthews. You are surrounded by friends and loved ones. You must believe them. You are one of them: a Charmed One. There is nothing to doubt. They will protect you. Return the protection. Keep them safe and love them. But there are four more you must save. Four who's lives will soon be drawn to an end if they are forgotten. Save my wife. Save my sisters-in-law. Save the Magicked Ones. This is your destiny, all of yours. Nothing happens by accident and everything happens for a reason. Protect your sisters. Save your sisters. Love your sisters." His soft voice trickled away slowly, threatening to fade into nothingness.
"Wait!" Paige called desperately, flinging out her hand as if to stop him from vanishing. "Who are you?" But the man was dissolving into millions bright white lights, saying her name over and over.
"Protect them, Paige. Wake up, now."
"Paige, open your eyes!"
Slowly, Paige did as she was told. As she did, she saw three familiar faces above her: her newfound sisters, Prue, Piper, and Phoebe, all looking relieved.
"Good, you're awake," Prue said, smiling as she helped Paige sit up slowly.
"How are you feeling, sis?" Phoebe asked, referring to Paige as family for the first time since meeting her.
"A little shaky, I'll admit. I guess that happens when you find out you're a witch with a dest-...destiny!" Paige suddenly sat bolt upright, jolting Phoebe off her and stared around the room. "Wait a second! Who was that man?"
Piper's eyebrows furrowed and she looked at her sisters. "Wait, what man?"
The youngest Halliwell stared at Piper uncertainly for a few seconds, as if trying to see if she was joking or not, then spoke again. "Ok, I don't know if you'll believe this, but when I was...well, you know, out of it, I dreamed a young man talked to me. He was tall with blue eyes, but there were lights around him. Almost like he was...an angel."
A wide grin crossed Phoebe's face and she laughed at her sister, believing it to be a jest. "An angelic tall man with blue eyes? Sounds cute. Well done, sis!"
"What did he tell you?"
The room went silent as everyone looked at Patty. She had sat in a chair, but her hands were clasping the arms of it, and her voice was shaking slightly, but she looked straight into her daughter's eyes as she asked.
Paige looked relieved that her mother believed her. "He told me to accept my destiny of being a witch, and to accept you as sisters," She said, looking at the Charmed Ones. "That I was surrounded by family. Then he told me to save his wife and save the Magicked Ones-"
Before Paige had gotten any further in her tale, Lucy had jumped off the couch suddenly. She almost fell beside Paige and took hold of her hands, applying pressure unconsciously as her heart beat rapidly in her breast. "What did he say? My sisters...we're the Magicked Ones! Are they alright? Are they alive? Please tell me what he said!"
Paige's face contorted in pain as Lucy's vice-like grip tightened even more. She looked into Lucy's eyes and saw the desperation of a frantic sister, the hope and love swimming in them. She knew better than not answering. After all, she would want to know everything if her new sisters were being held captive by demons. "He told me that it is our destiny to save the Magicked Ones. He said, 'Protect your sisters. Save your sisters. Love your sisters.' But all my sisters are here and safe." She looked up for an explanation, her thin eyebrows lifting slightly.
Prue straightened, thinking for a few seconds, then said softly, "Lucy, you're breaking Paige's hand." Lucy suddenly realized what she was doing and released Paige's hand, muttering apologies. Prue watched as Paige massaged her hand for a few seconds, her mouth drawn in a line of pain, before answering. "Protect your sisters...that means us," she explained, gesturing towards Piper and Phoebe. "Save your sisters," she broke off, thinking, but Phoebe answered for her.
"...That means the Magicked Ones. Witches are all sisters spiritually. The beings that Wiccans worship-we are all their children. We have a lot in common. It all fits."
Piper was watching Lucy. The Magicked One's face had become blank, her once sparkling blue eyes withdrawn and slightly cloudy. She did not make a noise, but seemed to be drawn inside herself, perhaps thinking about the message Paige had received, perhaps thinking about her sisters. Tears began welling up in her eyes, shimmering brightly in the dull lighted room. "That was Jay," Lucy whispered, mostly to herself. The others looked up to see a single tear trickle down Lucy's smooth face and splash onto her knee. "Our whitelighter. That's who it was. My sisters...what if they're...I just deserted them...what...what if they're dead? It'd be all my fault. I left them to deal with the demons. It's my fault!" With that, she dissolved into a flood of tears, burying her head in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
Shocked into silence, Piper and Phoebe looked uncomfortably from Lucy to Grams to Patty, but Prue knelt in front of the crying woman and placed her hands on Lucy's knees. "Lucy, look at me." When the younger woman didn't, Prue reached up and lifted her chin gently. Lucy reluctantly looked through tear-filled eyes into the calm, but intense brown ones of Prue. "Lucy, it isn't your fault. What would have happened if you stayed and didn't orb? Youd've been killed too. There would have been no hope for any of you. This demon wants you four dead, and probably wants that to get at us. It's because of you that your sisters are alive. It's not because of you that they are in danger.
"But," Lucy sniffed, her throat clogging. "How do you know that they're not dead?"
"Because your whitelighter said to save them. You know you can't save someone who's already dead, if I may put it bluntly, and you know that, or should. You did not desert them, Lucy. You gave them a chance to survive. Why else did you orb here? You gave us a chance to help you, and help you we will. Your sisters' fates, and yours as well, have been placed in our hands. We would die to keep you and your sisters alive. We will do everything in our power to save them. But it is not your fault. By being alive, you are keeping them alive, and we will save them. Do you understand me?" Prue asked, wise eyes searching Lucy's face.
Slowly, Lucy took a breath, then another. It seemed as though she was fighting back the urge to cry, biting her lip hard.
"Lucy?" Prue asked. "Are you with me?"
A strange light, an odd mix between determination and hopelessness shone in the young witch's eye as she looked up, her face hard, and nodded twice.
Prue gave her an encouraging smile and squeezed Lucy's shoulder. "All right." Businesslike, she stood up and turned to her sisters. "Ok. We don't have much time left, so we have to move quickly, and it has to be now. Piper, Paige, you two brew up some vials of the strongest vanquishing potions in the Book of Shadows. Don't worry, Paige, Piper and Grams will help you. Piper has vanquished plenty of demons with potions that she has made up. She's good." At Grams' slight cough of annoyance behind her, Prue added, "And, Grams is pretty damn good at it too. Phoebs, write a spell for a combination of Finding a Lost Witch and Teleportation."
As the four of them set to work, Lucy stopped Prue, who was crossing the attic towards the door, asking, "What can I do?"
Prue almost instructed her to keep out of the way and rest when she caught sight of Lucy's pleading eyes. How could she refuse Lucy's help when it was her sisters they were rescuing? It must be hard enough being safe while the others were in danger. But what could she do? Prue wrinkled her brow, trying to remember an old song that told of the Magicked Ones and their powers:
Responsible the Eldest is
Liable to Explode or Freeze.
Pensive is the Second,
Quiet but deadly,
Thrusting Away and Viewing the future.
The third-born, Compassionate,
Flying and Herbs her grace.
Stubborn be the youngest,
Whitelighter and witch combined,
With thoughts of Spells and Orbs.
The Magicked Four are ready,
The Power of Four will Protect.
Lucy had the knowlage of spells which would be useful to Phoebe. Prue noted the hopeful look in her Innocent's eye and aknowlaged it. She nodded towards Phoebe. "You can practice your spells with Phoebs." The look of pure gratitude she received made Prue's heart melt. Watching Lucy rise from the couch and join Phoebe at the Book, Prue sighed slightly. There was much to think about and much to do. The biggest task the Charmed Ones had ever faced were upon them, looming like a cloud, a heavy weight on their shoulders. But this was their destiny. The existence of Good rested upon saving the Magicked Ones and banding together to defeat Zoltof and his henchmen. A difficult task, to be sure, especially since they knew nothing of the demon, or any of his followers except that they were extreamly hard to kill. To save the Magicked Ones, the most powerful witches ever along with themselves, was almost an impossible task. But they had to do it for Lucy's sake. For the sake of Good. They were risking more than their lives. They were risking the entire world...the entire existence of Good.