"When I was looking through the Book of Shadows, I saw these wood carvings. They looked like something out of a Bosch painting," Phoebe told her sisters as the three of them left the restaurant, "All these terrifying images of three women battling different incarnations of evil."
"Evil fighting evil, that's a twist," Prue mused unhappily.
"Actually, a witch can be either good or evil," Phoebe explained, "A good witch follows the Wiccan Rede – 'an it harm none, do what ye will.' A bad witch or a warlock has but one goal – to kill good witches and retain their powers. Unfortunately, they look like regular people. They could be anyone, anywhere."
"And this has what to do with us?" Prue asked.
"Well, in the first wood carving, they were in the slumber. But in the second one, they were battling some kind of warlock. I think as long as we were in the dark about our powers we were safe. Not anymore."
"Has anything weird or unexplainable ever happened to you?" Piper asked her boyfriend Jeremy. He surprised her earlier, coming to congratulate her for getting the job (before she even told him she got it, because he was confident she will), and now they were sharing a cab from dinner.
However, as much as she wanted to just enjoy it all, Piper couldn't stop thinking about the fact she made Chef Moore freeze in place during her audition.
"Sure," Jeremy answered, smiling softly, "It's called luck, or fate. Some call it miracles. Why? What happened?"
But it was obvious they weren't talking about the same thing, and Piper wasn't even sure she wanted to tell him about it just yet. She wasn't even sure what 'it' was. Could Phoebe be right about all of this witches things? Did she and Perry also have… magical accidents?
"Forget it," she told her boyfriend. She trusted him, but this was all just too weird, "Even if I could tell you, you'd swear I was crazy. Open your fortune cookie," she changed the subject.
"Okay…" Jeremy said and opened the cookie she gave him, "Soon you will be on top."
"It doesn't say that," Piper said, smiling.
"Yes, it does."
"Let me see," she snatched the piece of paper from his hand.
"Is that a bad thing?" he teased her.
"-of the world," Piper corrected him amusedly, "Soon you will be on top of the world." She threw the paper back at him.
"Oh," Jeremy asked their driver, "Can you make a left on Seventh, please?"
"Seventh?" Piper was confused, "I thought we were going to your place."
"We are, but you reminded me of something. I wanna show you the old Bowing building. The view of the Bay Bridge, it's amazing."
"Excuse me," Prue asked the pharmacist, "Where do you keep the aspirin?"
"Uhh… aisle three."
"Chamomile tea works great for headaches," Phoebe told her.
"Not for this one it won't," Prue said, holding a hand to her temple again.
"You know what else works great for headaches?" Perry quietly told her twin, "If you stopped talking to her about witches for a moment."
"Well, I'm not afraid of our powers," Phoebe told Prue, completely ignoring what Perry just said, "I mean, everyone inherits something from their family, right?"
"Yeah – money, antiques, a strong disposition… That's what normal people inherit!" Prue angrily answered.
"Who wants to be normal when we can be special?" Phoebe said with a smile.
"I want to be normal," Prue said, her headache getting worse with every second, "I want my life to be… You know, isn't this aisle three?" she snapped, not seeing aspirin anywhere.
"Well, we can't change what happened," Phoebe said, "We can't undo our destiny."
"Why not?" Perry asked absentmindedly while she helped Prue search for the aspirin, "Can't we just not use our powers?"
"I don't think it works like that," Phoebe told her, but she didn't sound very unhappy about it.
"Well, then maybe you can get a vision of where the aspirin is?" she muttered.
"I see chamomile tea right there," was her sister's unhelpful answer.
"Look," Prue snapped at her, "I have just found out that I'm a witch, that my sisters are witches, and that we have powers that will apparently unleash all forms of evil. Evil that is apparently going to come looking for us. So excuse me Phoebe, but I'm not exactly in a homeopathic mood right now."
"Then move your headache out of your mind," Phoebe taunted her. Seeing the anger on Prue's face as she glared at their sister, Perry was about to search for some excuse to drag Phoebe away. But before she could come up with anything, a bottle of aspirin flew from the shelf to Prue's hand.
For a second they all just stared at it, but then Phoebe smiled and said, "You move things when you're upset."
"This is ridiculous," Prue said, "I thought that you landed on your arm, not your head."
"You don't believe me?"
"Of course she believes you, Phoe-" Perry started to say, but Prue told them angrily, "No, I don't. Of course I don't!"
"Roooger," Phoebe sang teasingly, and more aspirin bottles jumped from the shelf. "Now, let's talk about dad and see what happens," she said smugly as Prue and Perry picked the bottles up.
"He's dead, Phoebe," Prue said coldly.
"No, he's moved from New York, but he's very much alive."
"He isn't to us," Perry said, this being one of the only things she and Phoebe were never in agreement about.
"He died the day he left mom," Prue told their sister sternly.
"What are you talking about?" Phoebe smiled as she spoke, thinking her sisters were being completely irrational about this, "He's always been a major button-pusher for you, Prue. You're mad he's alive, you're mad I tried to find him, and you're mad I came back. Dad, dad, dad, dad, dad, dad, dad."
Prue and Perry glared at her, but were instantly startled as every box and pill bottle in aisle three shot out of the shelves. The three sisters looked at the mess in astonishment, and Phoebe softly gasped.
"Feel better?" she asked Prue, smiling.
"Lots," their older sister answered with a small smile on her lips as well. Even Perry chuckled at how bizarre it all was.
"The Book of Shadows said that our powers would grow."
"Grow to what?" Prue asked sarcastically, looking at the scattered medicine around them, and all three of them laughed.
"You are gonna love this," Jeremy told Piper, closing the door of the old building's elevator, "I bet you tell Prue and the twins the moment you see them."
"I never mentioned Phoebe came home," she said in confusion.
"Yeah, took you a while to mention they were twins too," Jeremy said, turning to face her as he pulled out a big knife, "I had to figure it out myself."
"Figure what out?" Piper asked in shock, staring at the knife, "What is this?"
"It's your surprise," he said, a malice in his voice and face that has never been there before.
"Jeremy, stop it. You're scaring me," but he just looked at her with a mean grin, "Dammit, I'm serious!"
"So am I!" Jeremy said, his voice harsh like she's never heard it before, "See, I've waited six months for this, ever since 'Grams' went to the hospital. You see, I've known for quite some time that the moment the old witch croaked that all your powers would be released. Powers that would reveal themselves as soon as the three of you got together again. When you and Prue moved back into the house, I thought it was just a matter of time. But Perry's the wrong twin, so I had to wait for Phoebe to return."
"It's you, wasn't it?" she said, the terrible realization dawning on her, "You killed all those women."
"Not women. Witches."
"Why?!"
Jeremy raised his hand, flames coming out of its spread fingers, "It was the only way to get their powers." In a much deeper, growl-like voice, he added, "And now I want yours."
"Piper's definitely not home unless she's turned into a cat," Prue told the twins, walking over with a cat in her hands. Sitting at Perry's feet, Vic raised her head to look curiously at the newcomer, but decided it wasn't a threat and resumed her nap.
"How'd the cat get in?" Phoebe wondered.
"I don't know… Someone must've left a window open," Prue said, "Um, did Piper leave a message?"
"She's probably out with Jeremy," Phoebe answered, "Roger called."
"Yeah, I heard," Prue said in disgust. Phoebe shook her head thinking about their sister's obnoxious ex, and Perry glared at the phone.
"Prue?" they heard Piper's voice call out from outside.
"We're here," Perry called back, and a second later their sister hurried in and locked the door behind her.
"Piper?" Phoebe said in worry. She was clearly afraid of something, and Prue asked, "Oh my God, What is it? What's wrong?"
"Quick," Piper said rushed toward them, "Lock the doors, check the windows. We don't have a lot of time. Phoebe, in the Book of Shadows, did it say how to get rid of a..?"
"Warlock?" Phoebe asked her.
As Perry started making sure the house was locked properly, she heard Prue quietly say, "Oh my God…"
The Halliwell sisters were sitting around a low table in the attic, a circle of candles around them and the Book of Shadows and a small cauldron before them.
Phoebe's found a ritual in the book that might help them stop Jeremy, and right now it seemed like their only hope.
"Okay, we've placed the nine candles anointed with oil and spices in a circle," Prue said, checking the ritual's requirements.
"Wait, I only count eight," Piper corrected her.
"Oh, you forgot this one," Phoebe said, showing them a tiny birthday candle.
"Will it even work with a birthday candle?" Perry asked, doubtful.
"That's the best we've got," Phoebe shrugged and said, "I guess Grams was a little low on witch supplies." She lit the candle and placed it in the cauldron.
"Alright, next we need the poppet," Prue continued.
"Got it," said Piper.
"Alright, we're set. Get ready to cast the spell."
"Okay…" Piper said, letting out a nervous breath, "First I'll make it stronger." She took one of the roses Jeremy sent her yesterday, and pressed its thorns into the poppet.
"Your love will wither and depart from my life and my heart," she chanted the incantation, "Let me be, Jeremy, and go away forever. Okay, the spell's complete," she said after placing the poppet in the cauldron.
"Let's hope it works," Prue said, and the four sisters watched as smoke started rising from the cauldron. After a moment the poppet and the rose disappeared in a soft flash of light, and then a quick puff of fire shot from the cauldron about a foot in the air.
Prue and Piper got up to leave, and Phoebe closed the Book of Shadows, but as her twin touched the cauldron Perry saw her suddenly seem to freeze up in place for a second. "Guys," Perry called her older sisters, who turned to look at them in concern.
"It didn't work!" Phobe said when her eyes opened, sounding as scared as her sisters felt.
"What?" Piper said, and her voice was faint with fear.
"The spell, it didn't work!"
"How do you know?" Prue asked, somehow keeping calm.
"When I touched the pot, I had a flash. I saw Jeremy."
"You touched the pot and you saw him?"
"He's on his way here."
Following Prue, the sisters rushed down from the attic. It seemed that escaping was their best option. But when the oldest sister opened the door, Jeremy was already there. His face looked horrifying, covered in cuts and large thorns. Piper and Perry gasped, and Phoebe let out a short scream.
"Hello, ladies," he said in an unnatural voice, brandishing his athame, as Prue backed away and stood protectively between the warlock and her sisters. Vic was standing at her feet, growling and barking at Jeremy threateningly.
"Get out of here," Prue ordered her sisters, throwing the warlock against a doorframe telekinetically, "Now!"
They listened to her, as much as they all hated the idea of leaving her with Jeremy, and headed up the stairs.
"Cool parlor trick, bitch!" the warlock said, smiling, as he started moving towards her again, "Yeah, you were always the tough one weren't you, Prue? Huh?"
She used her power to throw him against the doorframe again, and this time he fell to the floor. While he was down and Vic assaulted him, Prue ran to join her sisters upstairs.
"Phoebe, you were right," she said, "Our powers are growing."
"Put as many things against the door as you can," Piper said. They barricaded the door with a couple of dressers, a chair and a trunk, but Perry wasn't sure it will hold.
To her relief, however, she heard Vic running upstairs. Smart girl, Perry thought with a smile, She just bought us some time, and now she'll probably go to my room.
That brief second of joy was soon over, when she heard Jeremy's booming unnatural voice again. "You can't keep me out, fools! My powers are stronger than yours! Do you think you can stop me with pets and furniture?!" He laughed maniacally, and their makeshift barricade slid aside away from the door, "You can't stop me, and you can't outrun me! Haven't you witches figured it out?! Nothing, nothing can keep me away!"
"What do we do?" Piper desperately asked, "We're trapped."
From behind the door, they heard the awful sound of Jeremy's laughter again. Then the door was encompassed in a blood-red light, before it shattered to pieces. The Halliwell sisters flinched back, and all but Prue shrieked in fright when they saw Jeremy standing at the door holding his athame. The warlock had a wicked smile on his face scarier than anything Perry's ever seen. There were bite marks on his legs, but if he was in any pain it didn't seem to slow him down.
"After I'll have your sisters' powers, mortal," he said, looking directly at Perry, "killing you will be a nice little bonus."
"Stay behind us, Perry," Prue ordered her urgently, and told their other sisters, "We'll face him together. Do you remember the spirit board?"
"The inscription on the back!" Piper said. If their mom's message was ever going to make sense, now would be the time. And, besides, they really had no other options anymore.
"The Power of Three will set us free!" the sisters said together, as Jeremy shot a ball of fire at them from his athame. But rather than hit them, it just surrounded the four sisters in a flaming circle.
For a second they stared at the tall flames in shock, but the fire couldn't get to them. "Come on, we've got to say it together," Prue urged her sisters, taking Phoebe and Piper's hands in hers. Unable to help, Perry just stood behind them and watched. But she didn't feel helpless – for some reason, she knew she's never been safer, and that her sisters' Power was much greater than Jeremy's.
"The Power of Three will set us free!" her sisters began to chant together, "The Power of Three will set us free! The Power of Three will set us free!"
Jeremy's athame shot some sort of energy bolt at them, but it couldn't enter the circle. Even as the flames were replaced by a whirlwind, the wind could not do any more than blow through their hair.
Even though it was clear that he couldn't get to them, Jeremy still laughed. "I'm not the only one," the warlock said while Perry's sister continued to chant, "I'm one of millions! In places you can't even imagine! In forms you would never believe! We are hell on this earth!"
"You'll never be safe!" he shouted in rage, "And you will never be freeeee!"
But threats did not help Jeremy, and as he screamed the last word, the warlock exploded – leaving behind nothing but a little puff of smoke. The sisters looked at the spot where he stood just a second ago, looking like something out of a nightmare.
"The Power of Three," Prue said in amazement, as they were all finally starting to realize what it meant.
Piper, Phoebe and Perry were sitting in the living room together. The stray cat was in Phoebe's lap, and Vic was sitting beside Perry.
"I can't believe I'm asking this," Perry asked her sisters, "But isn't it kinda weird that you're all witches and I'm not?"
"Do you want to be a witch?" Piper asked her.
Perry shrugged. "I just don't like being the exception, I guess. Especially when there doesn't seem to be any explanation why."
"Well, you are the youngest."
"Phoebe and I are twins, Piper," Perry reminded her older sister.
"Yeah, but she was born first."
"Oh, that's right!" Phoebe said, smiling proudly.
"So, what? The magic ran out?" Perry asked sarcastically.
Piper was about to say something, when Phoebe asked, "Is Prue talking with someone outside? I think I hear a man's voice."
"Ooh, maybe it's Andy!" Perry said excitedly, "They ran into each other at the hospital yesterday."
The three sisters went to find out, Vic following behind them and the cat still in Phoebe's hands. When they opened the door, they saw Andy getting back to his car.
"It is Andy," Piper said.
"Told you," the twins answered in unison.
"What did he want?" she asked Prue curiously.
"He asked me out," their older sister answered, making them smile.
"And you said..?"
"Well, I started to say yes… and then I stopped. I wondered if I could date. I mean, do witches date?"
"Not only do they date, but they usually get the best guys," Piper joked, and her younger sisters giggled softly. Considering their Grams' four marriages, and of course their father, that statement was probably not very accurate. But in Andy's case, it was definitely true.
"You will not be laughing when this happens to you," Prue said, but she was smiling nevertheless, "Believe me, everything will be different now. For all of us."
"Well, at least our lives won't be boring," Phoebe said.
"But they'll never be the same."
"And this is a bad thing?"
"No, but it could be a big problem."
"Prue's right," Piper said as the four sisters walked back into the manor, "What are we gonna do?"
"What can't we do?" Phoebe said excitedly.
"Fix the attic's door?" Perry suggested, smiling, "Lucky you have your 'charmless' little sister." Piper hugged her with one arm while walking.
"We are going to be careful," Prue said, "We're going to be wise, and we're gonna stick together. The four of us."
"This should be interesting," Piper mused.
Note: Perry's always been a crafty/handy type - deconstructing stuff to learn how they work, fixing broken things or making sculptures and tools from whatever materials she found. After highschool she spent four years expanding her self-taught knowledge, studying and apprenticing in skills like metalworking, electrician-ing, carpentry etc. About six months before Grams died she started a freelance business making custom items like antique replicas, weapon props, and the like.
Hopefully this makes at least some sense...
Thanks for your question fictionreader23 & thank you so much for reading this story.