Party Crashers
Time had flown by and August was upon the family. Excitement was potent and in the air as they prepared for Piper's ninth birthday. Oddly enough, the individual most excited for the party was not the birthday girl, but Victor. He hadn't spent a birthday with any of his girls in two years and he was looking forward to being a part of it again. Presently Piper sprinted into the kitchen.
"Daddy, make sure we have lots of balloons, ok?" she called to him.
"Balloons, got it," he said, adding it to his list.
"Oh and can we get streamers too?" she asked, tugging on his sleeve.
"Ok, streamers too," he sighed. This list just kept growing. Piper was about to open her mouth to spout off more party decorations when he stopped her.
"I think we have enough, sweetheart," he interrupted her.
"Ok," she sighed.
"Prue! Phoebe! Come on, we're going to the store," he shouted into the sun room. Two pair of footsteps resounded on the wood floor and Prue and Phoebe appeared in the kitchen. Together the family of four headed for the car. Once they arrived at the store he turned to the girls, dispensing their marching orders.
"Prue, you're in charge of plates, napkins and forks. Phoebe you need to get cups and hats. Piper, you come with me for balloons and streamers, he said, tearing the list in half. He gave the top portion to Prue. Prue took Phoebe by the hand and headed in the direction of utensils and paper plates. Victor and Piper headed down another aisle.
"How many hats do we need?" Phoebe asked, staring at the array of pointed party hats. Prue looked at her half of the list. It read twenty hats.
"Twenty," Prue answered. Phoebe pulled down a package, staring at it. She slowly began to count the hat.
"This has seven," she informed her older sister. Prue stood there for a moment, doing the math in her head.
"We need two more packages," she told the five-year-old.
Phoebe grabbed two more, counting them.
"But that's twenty-one," she murmured.
"That's ok. Come on, we have to get more stuff," Prue said, dragging her sibling along.
Down another aisle, Piper and Victor were grabbing packages of balloons. They had already filled the basket with six bags of streamers. Piper reached for another but Victor stopped her.
"We have enough streamers," he told her. She gave him puppy dog eyes but to no avail.
"Let's go find your sisters," he said, heading towards the aisle where Prue and Phoebe had first gone down. They caught up with Prue and Phoebe just as they were heading for the front of the store.
"Geez, have enough streamers?" Prue snorted.
"I like them," Piper snapped. Prue stifled a laugh as she tossed what they had accumulated into Victor's basket. They got in line and Victor paid for the mountain of supplies.
"Can we put them up when we get home?" Piper asked, sounding hopeful.
"No, honey. The party isn't until tomorrow. We'll put them up tomorrow," Victor answered. Piper let out another sigh but didn't ask again. She helped carry the bag in and set them on the dining room table.
"Why don't you girls go ride your bikes for a while? It's a really nice day," Victor suggested. All three girls' eyes lit up as they sprinted to find helmets and protective padding. Prue was helping Phoebe with her helmet when Andy came pedaling down the sidewalk.
"Hi Prue," he greeted.
"Hi Andy. Want to ride with us?" she replied.
"Ok, sure. Want to go down to the lot so we have more room?" he suggested and Prue nodded.
"But Prue...Daddy said we have to stay close," Phoebe reminded her oldest sister.
"It's ok, Pheebs. Come on," Prue retorted. The foursome headed down the sidewalk a little ways until they came to a small abandoned lot. Andy began riding around in tight circles finally taking his hands off the handle bars.
"Watch this," he said, veering the bike in the opposite direction quickly. The front wheel swerved and he began to topple towards the ground. Prue stopped her bike and squinted, righting him before he fell. Not noticing he extra push he placed his hands back on the bike and stopped, smiling broadly.
"Cool," Prue remarked. She fixed her sisters with a glare, saying 'don't say anything'. They continued riding around the lot, amusing each other with tricks until the sun began to set.
"I have to get home. My mom said I could only stay out until it got dark," Andy said, sounding disappointed.
"We should go home too," Prue agreed, ushering her sisters back to the sidewalk. They rode single file back up to their houses.
Little did they know what had happened in the Manor while they were gone. Victor had watched them head off down the street with Andy. He knew they would be alright going a little farther down the street. Just as he turned his back to the window he felt something hot hit his arm. He looked down to see a scorch mark and seared flesh. He looked up to see a dirty looking man standing in front of him
"You're coming with me," he sneered, grabbing Victor and disappearing. They reappeared in the Underworld in a dank cave. Victor managed to get free and backed away.
"Who are you?" he asked as confidently as he could.
"I'm you," he replied, shape shifting into Victor. Victor suddenly realized what was going on.
"Leo!" he roared.
"He can't hear you down here. So scream all you want. It won't do you any good," the demon snickered in Victor's own voice.
"Have a nice life," he added before shimmering out. He reappeared just as the front door opened and the girls walked in, unbuckling helmets and padding.
"We're home," Prue announced, catching the imposter off guard.
"Oh...good," he replied, giving them a smile.
Prue just looked at him strangely but headed upstairs. The rest of the evening passed by uneventfully. The Imposter Victor managed to not raise suspicion. He was just walking out of Piper and Phoebe's room when he ran into Leo.
"Where'd you come from?" he gasped, his hand instinctually trying to form a fire ball
I just wanted to make sure you had everything under control for Piper's party tomorrow," Leo answered, noting Victor's odd behavior.
"Oh...everything is fine," the imposter answered. He hadn't known one of them was having a party. But that would provide the perfect distraction. He would prove to the Source that he could do the job.
"Well I'll see you tomorrow afternoon," Leo said, disappearing in orbs. The imposter heaved a sigh of relief. He looked around and headed for the attic. He pushed the door open and looked in. There appeared to be no preset traps or obstacles. With a cocky smirk he strode up to the book, reaching out for it. Before he could touch it, it sent him flying back with a shot of electricity.
"Damn," he cursed, rubbing his now sore hand. He would have to find a way to get past the book's defenses. He should have expected it to have some sense for evil. He stared at the book for a minute longer before deciding he would take his chances in the morning.
The following morning dawned and Piper was the first one up. She was sitting at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal. She kept eying the party supplies under the table in the next room. She was soon joined by Prue.
"Happy Birthday, Piper," she greeted, giving her younger sibling a big hug.
"Thanks," Piper replied, sounding a little sad.
"What's wrong?" Prue asked, noticing her sister's sudden change in demeanor.
"I just miss Grams. It's kind of sad that she won't be here to share birthdays and Christmas anymore," the almost nine-year-old sighed.
"I know. It's like after Mom died," Prue murmured. Piper nodded and they fell into silence.
"Piper!" Phoebe screamed, running into the room as her older sisters were rinsing their dishes. The five-year-old wrapped her arms around Piper's waist, trying to unsuccessfully lift her up.
"Hi, Phoebe. Thanks for the birthday hug," Piper said, returning the gesture.
"Where's Daddy?" the youngest Halliwell asked, noticing their father was nowhere to be seen.
'Probably still sleeping," Prue muttered with a shrug.
"Want to start putting up decorations?" Piper asked, eagerness in her voice.
"Don't you think we should wait a little while?" Prue asked.
"Nope," Piper answered with a giggle. Prue just let out a sigh and started opening plates and utensils. She laid them out neatly on the dining room table while Phoebe tried to hang a streamer.
"I can't reach," she whined. As if on cue, Leo appeared.
"Decorating already?" he asked.
"Can you help me? I can't reach," Phoebe murmured. Leo nodded and picked her up around the middle. He lifted her up and she taped the streamer to the ceiling. Half an hour later the entire first floor of the Manor had been covered in balloons and multi-colored streamers.
"We should get Daddy up. People will be here soon," Piper said, rushing upstairs.
"I think she's excited," Leo laughed.
"She loves her birthday," Phoebe informed him. Upstairs Piper knocked on her father's door. It was pulled open by the imposter.
"Come on, Daddy. People will be here soon," she said, starting to drag him downstairs.
"I'm coming," the imposter said, having fight off the disgusted feeling of cheeriness and kindness.
"The house looks...great," he commented once they were back downstairs. Before anyone could say a word, the doorbell rang. Piper sprinted and pulled open the door.
An hour later the party was well underway. Leo was helping to supervise as the imposter Victor stood by. He was hoping for a break that he could sneak upstairs and try to snatch the book again. Luckily he didn't have to wait long. The kids were swarming around the cake, Leo cutting. It gave the demon time to slip away unnoticed. Up in the attic he was approaching the book. He concentrated, willing it to believe he was Victor. He reached out his hand and the book didn't send him flying this time. He managed to pick it up. He turned to start walking out of the attic when he way was barred by a robed figure.
"My Lord," he breathed, bending down in the Source's presence.
"You have taken the Book. Perhaps you are not as worthless as I had previously thought," the Source simpered.
"Thank you, my liege," the demon whispered.
"Now…give me the Book," the Source demanded. The shape shifter willingly handed it over. Or at least he tried to. It sent him flying backwards. The shape shifter gulped, knowing this wouldn't end well. Downstairs, Phoebe was eating her piece of cake when she was hit by a premonition.
She saw Victor in the Underworld, his arm badly wounded. It jumped to the shape shifter in the attic, stealing the book. She saw the Source appear and demand the Book be given to him.
Her eyes shot open and she nearly dropped her cake. She managed to catch it and set it on the table before going in search of Prue. She found her oldest sister in the kitchen.
"I had a vision. Daddy is hurt. And he isn't really Daddy. He tried to steal the book," Phoebe rambled.
'Slow down, Pheebs," Prue whispered, catching Piper out of the corner of her eye. She mouthed the word 'freeze' to the birthday girl. Piper just nodded and the room froze.
"What is it?" Piper asked, running into the room.
"Phoebe just had a premonition of some demon pretending to be Dad trying to steal the Book of Shadows," Prue informed her younger sister.
"So…that's not Daddy?" Piper asked and Prue shook her head.
"Come on, we have to save Daddy," Phoebe urged, heading for the attic. Prue started to follow but stopped when she realized Piper wasn't coming.
"Come on, Piper. What's wrong?" she asked.
"I think I should unfreeze Leo," she murmured. Prue just rolled her eyes but shooed her to do it. Piper unfroze Leo and filled him in on the way up the stairs. The Source was still lying on the ground when the attic door creaked open. He flamed out just in time to avoid being seen. The Victor imposter looked up.
"Oh, thank goodness you girls came. I thought a demon was trying to steal the book," he lied.
"You're not Dad," Prue spat, sending him head over heels crashing into a chest. Realizing something must have happened to tip them off he shape shifted back into his real self.
"Smart little witch," he snapped, fire ball forming in his right hand.
"Where is my Dad?" Piper demanded, not happy at all that her party had been interrupted.
"Now why would I go and tell you a thing like that?" he sneered.
"Because if you don't we'll vanquish you," Prue threatened.
"But if you vanquish me then you'll never find where I hid your Daddy," he taunted. Getting fed up, Piper flicked her hands at him, freezing him. Thinking, she unfroze his head.
"My sister can vanquish you. Now tell us where he is," the nine-year-old hissed.
"Ok, ok. I'll make a deal with you. Let me go and I'll take you to your Daddy," he pleaded. They may just be children but he knew the Warren line was powerful.
"We are supposed to make deals with demons. You're evil," Prue snapped. She flicked her wrist, moving the frozen fire ball even with his chest.
"He's in the Underworld. Please…just let me go," he begged. The girls turned their backs, huddling together.
"What do we do?" Piper asked in a whisper. Leo had been watching the entire exchange quietly.
"I have an idea," he muttered so only they could hear him. Three pair of eyes were now upon him.
"I'll follow him down and bring your Dad back," he suggested.
"But what if he hurts you?" Piper asked.
"He won't. I promise," he assured her. The here girls looked at each other and nodded. Piper turned and unfroze him. They watched slowly as he reached out and took the fire ball, extinguishing it.
"Let's go," Leo said authoritatively. The shape shifter gulped but shimmered out, Leo following behind in orbs. Down in the Underworld they reappeared, finding Victor huddled in the corner.
"Leo?" Victor rasped, his voice hoarse.
"Let's get you out of here," Leo said, helping Victor to his feet. Leo turned to look at the shape shifter as he and Victor disappeared. He set Victor on hiss feet in the attic, quickly healing the man's arm.
"Daddy!" Piper squealed, rushing towards him and hugging him tightly. She was soon joined by her sisters.
"Thank God you are safe. I was so worried about you," he breathed.
"Let's go downstairs. It's almost time to open presents," Piper said, remembering all of the frozen guests downstairs. Victor scooped Piper up and swung her around a few times.
"Happy Birthday Piper," he said, kissing her cheek as he put her back down and followed her out of the attic.
A few hours later the Halliwells were busy cleaning up party debris. Victor was following Prue and Phoebe around with a garbage bag. Piper was sitting in the sun room, organizing her presents. She looked up as Leo sat down next to her.
"Happy Birthday, Piper," he whispered, handing her a small box.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Open it," he instructed. She pulled the paper off and undid the top of the small box. In it sat a small silver locket in the shape of a triquetra.
"It's beautiful," she gasped, pulling it out and slipping it around her neck. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him hard. He returned the gesture, holding on just a second longer. She pulled away and placed a swift kiss on his cheek.