Old Scars and Fresh Wounds (Updated 7/2)

[mcharmed21]

Author: Nat365

For those of you who haven't read it, start here. For those that have, scroll down until you see UPDATED PART:

A thousand years after an evil height,
When a witch bears a girl-child, at the stroke of midnight,
An evil is awakened, strong and untrue,
And an old family must be paid it’s due.
And only together, the child and the three,
Will stop the coming of the dark prophecy.


Panting, the young girl ran at full tilt down the New York street, trying to escape. She breathed heavily, and people either side of her, who she knocked out of the way, wondered that she didn’t slow down or collapse from exhaustion. They also wondered what she was running from. None of them had time to assess her clothes, looks or age, but if they had, they would have seen that she was around sixteen, and looked and dressed like someone who lived on the streets, which, in fact, she did. She turned into an alley, and cornered the demons she had not been fleeing from, but pursuing.
“Now, are we going to do this the easy way, or the hard way?” Kalia asked the two ugly demons in front of her.
“A child like you thinks she can defeat us?” Boomed one demon.
“I guess the hard way.” She sighed, and shrugged, then shot out electricity from her hands. The demons exploded in a fiery vanquish.
“It gets easier every time.” She stated, then walked over and picked up her bag, which was what the demons had been trying to get. She checked the contents, to make sure nothing was missing. There was her mother’s wedding ring, passed down through her side of the family, her diary, her teddy she had had since birth, a $20 bill, a baseball cap; some dog treats for Pepper, and of course, her locket. This locket had also been passed down through generations of her father’s side of the family, and had finally come to her. Not one member of the family had been able to open it, and neither could she, try as she might. Ever since she had come into her powers at sixteen, demons had been after her, the ring, and especially the locket, and she couldn’t figure out why. Just then Pepper, her salt and pepper cocker spaniel, trotted into the alley behind her.
“Hey Pepper,” She greeted the dog, “wanna see what I have for you?” she reached into her bag, took out a treat, and tossed it to the dog, who snatched it out of the air. Kalia grinned. Trust Pepper to cheer her up. She walked out the alleyway, Pepper at her heels.

Piper was at her wits end. Wyatt wouldn’t stop nagging, and Melinda wouldn’t stop crying. Piper walked up and down, trying to soothe her one-year-old daughter, while Wyatt pulled at her trouser legs, trying to get attention.
“What, what do you want?” Piper yelled at him. He looked up at the furious face of his mother, and then he too burst into tears. Piper gave an exasperated sigh, and yelled for one of her sisters to get downstairs and help her. Phoebe obliged, and rushed to comfort her nephew.
“Hey little guy, come on.” She said soothingly, “you’re three now, you’ve got to be a big boy, especially as daddy’s away working.” Leo was off with a charge, and so couldn’t be at home to help with his children. Slowly, Wyatt stopped crying, and told his aunt that he wanted some juice. Meanwhile, Piper was still trying to comfort Melinda as Paige came down the stairs.
“Oh Paige, thank God!” Piper exclaimed, “Will you please try singing to Melinda, nothing else is working.” Paige took Melinda from Piper, and began to sing to her in a soothing voice. Slowly, Melinda too stopped crying.
“Oh Paige you’re a treasure, I could never sing like that.”<br>“Nonsense, the kids respond just as well to when you sing, I just had a feeling you weren’t in a singing mood. What you need is a break with Leo, some time off, away from children and demons.”<br>“She’s right you know.” Phoebe said, walking in from the kitchen with Wyatt at her heals, spilling the juice all down his front, “You and Leo really need a break. Paige and I could manage.”<br>“And how is Leo supposed to swing this with the elders? Oh Wyatt honey, be careful.” Piper rushed to rescue her son’s juice cup.
“He’s on paternity leave isn’t he?” asked Phoebe.
“Have you not been listening to my ranting the past few days? He’s just come off paternity leave, that is the problem.”<br>“Honey, relax, breathe.” Phoebe told her, “You know children’s emotions are affected by their parents.”
“Someone’s been in the psychology books again.” Paige quipped.
“It’s true though, their emotions are affected by mine.” Piper replied, “Paige, give me back Melinda.” Piper took back her daughter, and hugged her. As she held Melinda, Piper felt calmer. She rocked her child gently, and soon the baby was sound asleep.

[mcharmed21]

Kalia was looking for somewhere to sleep that night. Pepper trotted along behind her, and gave a little whine.
“Come on Pepper, we’ll be getting food soon.” Kalia soothed her, though she didn’t know where from. The only shops open were the seven-elevens. She decided she would slip in and grab something, then leg it. Then she remembered her powers. Quickly, while passing the store, she gestured, and a couple of chocolate bars, a chicken sandwich and a packet of chips came flying off the shelves and into her hands. She bolted, Pepper running along behind.
Ducking into an alley Kalia tucked into the sandwich, giving half to Pepper. The dog licked her hand in appreciation, and tucked in too. Kalia had both the chocolate bars, as she knew chocolate is sometimes poisonous for dogs, and didn’t want to take the chance. She had met Pepper about a year ago, when she found her as a puppy abandoned in a box. Since then the two had stuck together, and she was now around a year old.
After the pair had finished their meal, Kalia settled down to sleep. She had had a sleeping bag till about a week ago, and then it was stolen. Since then she had been sleeping without anything, though she wore a fleece to keep warm, or if it was a warm night, she rolled it up and used it for a pillow. She lay down, and was soon asleep.

Piper was walking down the streets with Leo. Paige and Phoebe were right, she thought happily, we really do need a break, and New York is the perfect place.
“How do you think we should get her back?” Piper heard the gravely voice coming from an alley.
“That sounds demonic.” Leo said.
“Just when I was beginning to relax.” Piper complained. The pair of them turned down the alley, and found two demons standing over a sleeping girl.
“HEY!” Piper yelled, and blew up one of the demons. The girl woke with a start. Piper turned to the other demon to blow him up too, but she found she didn’t need to. The girl shot electricity at him, and he exploded. She then turned and telekinetically lifted Piper and Leo into the air.
“Who are you?” Kalia asked, glaring.
“Hey, we just saved your but!” Piper said, angrily, “Now let us down!”<br>“We’re the good guys,” Leo said, “trust us.”<br>“I don’t trust anyone, least of all people who do good things for no reason. What do you get out of helping me?”
Piper didn’t know how to answer that one. She helped people because people needed help; there wasn’t another reason for it.
“We just help people, that’s what we do.”<br>“What, are you good Samaritans or something?” Kalia asked.
“Close enough, now LET US DOWN!” Piper yelled.
“Ok.” Kalia replied, and promptly dropped them.
“Oww.” They got up groaning.
“So, why did you help me?” Kalia started to ask, then felt faint. She collapsed, and the dog next to her started barking.

Kalia was lying on the sofa at the Halliwell Manor. Piper, Phoebe and Paige were discussing what to do about her.
“Piper, are you sure she’s a good guy? I mean, she held you and Leo up in the air, which takes a lot of power. I mean, what if we’ve just let a demon into our home? And that dog keeps growling.”
“Come on Phoebe, she’s just worried about her.” Paige interjected, “Besides, Piper and Leo heard the demons talking about kidnapping her, that could hardly mean she’s evil.”<br>“What, evil never hurts other evil? Come on Paige, you know better than that, evil’s always fighting.” Suddenly, Phoebe went straight up in the air.
“I am not evil.” Kalia said, standing up. Pepper barked.
“Well why don’t you prove that by putting our sister down.” Piper said.
“Hey, what’s this?” Paige asked, picking up the locket, which Kalia had dropped, and opening it.
“How did you do that?” Kalia asked, dropping Phoebe in shock. The room then filled with a brilliant white light, emanating from the locket and blinding them all. When it subsided, they all went to look inside the locket.
“There’s writing inside.” Paige stated, and they read the script out loud. On one side, the background was silver, and the text written in gold. On the other, the background was black, and the text was written in red.
On the silver side, the writing read: A thousand years after an evil height,
When a witch bears a girl-child, at the stroke of midnight,
An evil is awakened, strong and untrue,
And an old family must be paid it’s due.
And only together, the child and the three,
Will stop the coming of the dark prophecy.

[mcharmed21]

On the black side, the writing read: When darkness prevails, and they are united,
Old and young, bold and unsighted,
Evil will triumph over good forever,
Unless a small band does endeavour.
And only together, if good is her choice,
Will trio and child cry out in one voice,
Rise up against depravity,
And stop the coming of this prophecy.

“We have to work out what these prophecies mean.” Phoebe was itching to consult The Book of Shadows.
“Phoebe.” Piper touched her arm gently. Kalia was sitting on the sofa in shock. Phoebe went and sat next to her. Paige sat on the other side, and Piper crouched in front of her.
“You know, you still haven’t told us your name.” Piper said gently.
“Kalia.” Kalia replied shakily.
“Got a last name?” Phoebe asked.
“No.” she replied, a little too sharply.
“Well where do you live?” Paige asked, “Are you running away, or…”
“I don’t have a home.” Kalia replied.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Piper asked.
“No, I don’t, especially not to strangers in a place I don’t know. Just put me back on the streets. I’ll survive, I’ve been doing it for six years.”<br>
The sisters moved to one side to discuss what was going on.
“She’s a classic example of a kid the social services failed.” Paige said, sadly.
“She’s been on the streets for six years.” Phoebe said, shocked. She looked over at Kalia, who was looking inside the locket again.
“Ok, guys, she’s our innocent, we can’t put her back on the streets of New York, but right now our job is these prophecies.” Piper was worried. The only magical girl-child she could think of was Melinda.
“Piper, don’t worry,” Phoebe said, reading her thoughts, “Melinda wasn’t born at midnight.”<br>“Kalia,” Piper said, going over to her, “What happened to your parents? Where are they now?”<br>“Dead.” Kalia replied, “And it’s none of your business.”<br>“Kalia, why don’t you stay here tonight, borrow some of our clothes. As long as you don’t mind sleeping on the sofa.” Paige said kindly. She knew that kids with tough pasts needed to talk when they were ready, and not before.
“Fine by me, don’t really care either way, as long as Pepper can stay too.” She added hastily.
“We wouldn’t have brought her back here if we weren’t willing to let her stay.” Leo smiled.
“She’s not house trained, she’s never been in a house.” Just then Pepper went to the door, whining.
“She learns fast.” Phoebe commented, and they let her out. “Kalia, do you want to borrow some of my stuff? We’ve got a spare toothbrush somewhere around, and Piper’s a great cook, she’ll whip you up something.”<br>
When Kalia was upstairs in the shower, the girls were in the kitchen wondering what to do about her.
“Well she can’t stay here forever.” Phoebe said.
“Pheebs, let’s worry about these prophecies first, then about what we’re going to do with Kalia. She can stay here for now.”<br>“Piper, I keep telling you, Melinda isn’t in danger, she can’t be this child. She wasn’t born at midnight, and the prophecy is very clear on that.” Phoebe said again, a little exasperatedly. Her sister had been worrying for over an hour.
“But I was born at midnight.” Came a voice from the door. Kalia was standing there, her hair still damp from the shower.
“What?” Piper asked.
“I was born at midnight.” Kalia repeated, “I fit the prophecy. Which makes sense, since it’s my locket.”<br>“You want some soup?” Piper asked her.
“Sure.” Kalia sat down at the table, and Piper put down a steaming bowl of soup in front of her.
“You ready to talk yet?” Piper asked.
“Nope.” Kalia answered bluntly, between mouthfuls. When she had finished, she strolled into the living room, collapsed onto the sofa, and switched on the TV as if she’d been doing it every day of her life.
“Kalia, wait,” Piper called after her, “we need to figure out these prophecies, and we need to know about you. Sometimes it helps to talk.” Kalia continued flicking through the channels, ignoring Piper, and then suddenly stopped. On the TV, a woman burned to ashes. Piper recognised it as a scene from an old horror flick, but Kalia was staring like it was real, as if it was really happening before her eyes.
“Kalia?” Piper asked, worried.
“My mom, she died like that.” Kalia took a deep breath, “While killing my dad.” Tears began to roll down her cheeks. “I was ten years old. I walked into the room. I saw them both. Mom read something, I think it must have been a spell, and dad burned. Then she looked at me. Just looked at me, and burned too. I ran away. No one looked for me.”<br>Piper put an arm around Kalia, and she sobbed on Piper’s shoulder.

[mcharmed21]

“What a horrible thing to happen to a kid.” Piper had told Paige and Phoebe what Kalia had told her.
“I can’t believe no one even noticed she was missing.” Said Page, horrified. “I mean, when I lost my parents, it was terrible, but at least I had family to turn to. Kalia had no one.”<br>“Imagine having to learn to be totally self sufficient at ten. It must have been a nightmare. It was awful growing up without a mother and father, but at least Piper and I had Prue and Grams.”<br>“I can’t imagine what else she must have gone through on the streets. There are all kinds of bad guys out there. Anything could have happened to her. It just makes me glad that, if anything happens to me or Leo, Wyatt and Melinda would have you.” Piper had really connected with Kalia, they all had. And they all felt the pain she must have gone through. Suddenly, there was a scream from the other room. They all rushed in, to find Kalia electrocuting a demon. Another one shimmered in behind her.
“Kalia, look out!” Phoebe yelled. Piper gestured, and blew up the other demon.
“Those were two of the guys who’ve been after me. They’ve been chasing me since my sixteenth birthday, which was also when I came into my powers. They’ve been after me, and the locket, and my mother’s ring.”<br>“Do you have any idea why, Kalia?” Paige asked.
“None. Except maybe those prophesies in the locket. That might explain what they want with that. But me, and the ring, I don’t get what that’s about.”<br>“Have you seen the power you have? The only other witch I know that can kill a demon, just using their power, is me.” Piper said, truthfully.
“You guys still haven’t told me who you are, or why you’re helping me.” Kalia commented.
“We’re the Charmed Ones. We’re good witches, who’s, well I suppose it’s a calling really, is to help other people. Innocents, and protect them from evil. And right now Kalia, you’re our innocent.” Paige told her.
“Huh. So you’re helping me, because you have to. Or because you think I’m some helpless victim, is that right? Well if that’s the case, I may as well leave right now.” Suddenly, Kalia shimmered out. The girls were shocked, and even more so when they heard her voice from the kitchen.
“What the hell just happened?!?!?!?” They rushed into the kitchen, and found Kalia standing there, looking completely bewildered.
“You just shimmered, that’s what’s happened, and that’s a demonic power!” Phoebe said, sternly.
“You guys think I’m a demon now, is that it?” Kalia demanded, angrily.
“We’ll soon find out.” Piper replied, “Phoebe, use your empathy.” Kalia turned to Phoebe, and Phoebe read her.
“I can’t sense any evil intentions from her. But there is something demonic. It’s tiny, barely readable. She might be part demon from way back, which would explain it.”<br>“There is no demon in me, I’m normal, I’m not evil!” Kalia insisted, getting angrier.
“No one’s saying you are, Kalia. Being part demon, especially such a small part as Phoebe sensed, doesn’t mean that you’re evil. A whole demon, that’s evil. But if a demon has even the tiniest bit of humanity, then they can be good. Especially if they’re raised good. If they’re raised by demons, they stand almost no chance. We learned that the hard way.” Piper reassured her. Phoebe, however, was remembering Cole, and their failure in the end, to get him good. But she didn’t want to be bitter. He was dead, and nothing was bringing him back.
“I just want to know what is going on. Why are all these demons after me?”<br>“We have to check the Book of Shadows again. Maybe we can find Kalia somewhere in it, and that might lead us to these prophecies.” Piper stated.
“I’ll go get it.” Said Paige, and orbed out. She then orbed back in with the book. “Guys, there’s a little spell I’ve been tinkering with that might make searching this thing a whole lot easier.”<br>“Well anything’s worth a shot.” Phoebe replied, “Go for it.”<br>“I call upon the powers that be,
You’re needed by these sisters three,
Guide us through this heavy tome
And help us discover the unknown.”
The book glowed brightly. Piper went and looked inside it, then looked up, horrified.
“Paige, the book is blank!”<br>“Not completely. Just look through it till you get to any pages with words on them.” Piper began flipping, and then she stopped.
“‘Slater, a mythological demon. No one is sure if this monster existed, however, he was rumoured to be the lord of all evil, over 900 years ago.’ Well, this coincided with the prophecies, ‘1000 years after an evil height’”

[mcharmed21]

“But it says 900 years.” Paige replied.
“The entry was written around 100 years ago, Paige. Do the math. But I don’t understand what this has to do with Kalia.”<br>“Does the book say anything else?” Phoebe asked.
“Just a lot of details about his descendants. It says that he fell in love with a mortal woman, and then impregnated her. Because of this, those under him rose up in rebellion. They were not able to destroy him, but they severely weakened him, enough so he went into a kind of hibernation. The mortal’s child grew up powerful and evil, but he too fell in love with a mortal woman, and had a child with her. This cycle continued over centuries, each male child falling for a mortal woman, and having a son with her, until the last two descendants had no powers at all. But then the story changes. A thousand years to the day that Slater was destroyed, His latest descendant would be born a girl, child of a witch. The child’s witch powers would be greatly enhanced by the spark of demon left in her. But she would…” Here, Piper stopped reading, and looked up with concern. “Kalia, I think this is talking about you.”<br>“No, it can’t be, I’m not a descendant of a demon, my father was not evil, you can’t say that.”<br>“Listen to the rest: ‘She would lose both her parents and grow up alone. The spark of evil that had lain dormant for so long would awaken in her father, as he was seduced by the power his daughter held. Her mother would bind her powers, but to no avail, and would eventually have to vanquish her father. However, the power held by Slater’s descendants is that, if they are vanquished by any witch not wielding the Power of Three, the witch too would burn.’ Kalia, it is talking about you.”<br>“Does it say anything else?” Kalia asked, bluntly. Her emotions were too painful for her to acknowledge them at that point. Piper looked at the book, then back at Kalia.
“No, nothing else.” Kalia walked out of the room without a word.
“Ok Piper, what else does it say?” Phoebe asked. She and Paige had both sensed that their sister was holding something back.
“The Charmed Ones will be appointed the task of guiding this girl away from evil. If they fail, then she will join Slater, and help him back to power, and together, they will obliterate good for eternity.” Piper replied.
“Wow.” Paige said, shocked, “That is some task.”<br>“Can we tell her about this?” Phoebe asked.
“No. It says she must be free to chose, unaware of the consequences. We should try training her in her powers.” Piper suggested.
“What, so she’s better at magic when Slater gets to her?” Phoebe said, scornfully.
“No.” Piper replied, giving her a look, “So that when he gets to her, or sends more demons after her, she has a better chance of defending herself. And so we can spend some time with her, and help her choose the right path. Phoebe, maybe you should teach her to fight.”<br>“You think that little hell-raiser would listen to me?” Piper gave Phoebe another look. “Alright, alright.” Phoebe backed down, “I’ll go talk to her.”<br>“Talk to me about what?” Kalia walked back in.
“Do you get some kind of kick out of doing that? Oww!” Piper kicked Paige behind the kitchen counter.
“Doing what?” Kalia asked, defensively.
“Walking in during our conversations.” Paige replied, undaunted by the looks her sister was giving her.
“Well, you were talking about me, so I don’t think you can talk. Anyway,” She said, turning to Phoebe, “what were you going to talk to me about?”<br>“Teaching you to fight.” Phoebe replied.
“You think I need to know anything else about fighting?” Kalia said, scornfully.
“Well, then why don’t we go down to the basement, and you can give me a lesson. No powers allowed, of course.” Phoebe said, slyly.
“Sure, whatever.” Kalia agreed, and followed the middle Halliwell sister down to the basement.

“Right then, come at me from behind.” Kalia did what Phoebe asked, and got flipped over her head and onto the mats. Phoebe bought them when she was first learning, as one of the main things to learn in martial arts was to fall safely. However, they’d not been used for years.
“How the hell am I supposed to learn anything if you keep throwing me about?” Kalia complained. Phoebe decided not to comment on how she was now the teacher.
“Ok then, let’s try something else. I’m going to stand still, and you have to try and push me over.”<br>“Yeah right, and end up on the floor again?”<br>“Trust me.” They got into position. “Now, push.” Kalia pushed as hard as she could, but could not knock Phoebe down. “It’s all about using your enemies strength against them. Ok, now I’ll show you how to do it.”<br>A little while later, Kalia got the hang of it. “You learn fast.” Phoebe commented.
“Well, I had to didn’t I? It’s not like I’ve ever had teachers. The only reason I learnt anything was because I knew my mother would want me to. So, I started teaching myself at the local library. I took an Internet test. Apparently, I’m at a senior level. It’s nice to know you’re not as dumb or lazy as the people looking down on you seem to think.” They sat down on the steps leading to the basement.
“Kalia,” Phoebe paused, not sure how to continue, “did you do ok? On the streets, I mean.”<br>“You mean, was I ever attacked, molested, abused?”
“Yeah, I suppose that’s what I meant.”<br>“Well, dirty old men will be dirty old men. I had a lot of attacks, but I always managed to get away somehow. Then I made friends with Jack, Ellie, Kevin, Sam and some of the other older kids. They looked out for me. Sam, she was the one who found me. I’d been on the streets for about two months. She rescued me from a prowler who’d been going after kids in the area I was staying. She took me back to the others, and I stayed with them. They were all somewhere between thirteen and seventeen. I don’t think I would have survived without them, they were my family. But as everyone got older, they all began to split off, and I lost touch with them. All except Sam. She and I were closer than anyone else, and when she split off on her own at seventeen, I went with her. I was fourteen. The only other person I was that close too was Ellie. But she died a year after I met her. She was stabbed in an alley. I knew who it was, but the police could never prove it, and they didn’t spend much time trying. Anyway, last week, after two years together on our own, Sam vanished. People on the street do that all the time, but not her, not without telling me. I told her about my powers when I got them, and she never had a problem with them, so that can’t be it. I don’t know what’s happened to her, and I’m really scared.” Phoebe looked at the girl sitting next to her. It seemed to her that she had lost everyone she’d ever got close too, and now with this Sam gone, she’d completely lost her faith in people.

[mcharmed21]

“Well, sounds to me like Sam would want you to keep on going.” Phoebe said, trying to cheer Kalia up a little. The girl grinned.
“You know, you remind me a lot of Sam. Piper, she’s more like Ellie. And Paige, she’s definitely a Jack.” Phoebe laughed.
“Well, I expect she’ll be pleased to hear it.”<br>“Jack was a free spirit. Paige seems like one as well.”<br>“Was?” Phoebe questioned.
“It’s always easier to talk about people who’ve gone in the past tense. It’s less painful.”<br>“You’ve lost a lot of people haven’t you?” Phoebe said
“Great, now this has turned into a therapy session. I’m sure this is riveting for you.” Kalia replied.
“You know that we’re not going anywhere, don’t you?” Phoebe told her, putting a hand on her shoulder, “Piper, Paige and me. We’ll always be there if you need us.”
“Yeah, right. I’m just some kid you found on the street, why would you be there for me?”<br>
Kalia had been at the Halliwell manor for almost a month. Pepper strolled around like she owned the place, and it made her laugh to think about how easily the dog had adapted to life there, when she was still adjusting. She had grown to trust all of the sisters, and they to trust her. Piper had even left her to babysit Wyatt and Melinda a few times. At that moment, she heard Phoebe at the door.
“I had a wonderful time at dinner tonight Jack.”<br>“Well, why does it have to end there?” Kalia heard him reply, then the sound of passionate kissing.
“No, no, no.” Phoebe pulled away, “Not tonight, Jack. I have to get to work in the morning. And my sisters, my nephew and niece, and my younger cousin are all home.” The girls had decided to tell people that Kalia was their young cousin who had come to stay with them. She had met most of the people they were close to, including Darryl, who took her on a tour of the police station.
“Well,” Kalia heard Jack reply, “we’ll just have to wait. If there are all these people in your house, maybe next time you should walk me home.”<br>“Yeah, maybe next time.” More kissing, then the door shutting. Kalia heard Phoebe trying to creep quietly up the stairs.
“Busted!” She whispered, sticking her head out of the bedroom door. Phoebe winced, then recovered herself. After all, the best defence is a good offence.
“And what are you doing up so late? Curfews are there for a reason you know.”<br>“Yeah, so I’ll be out of the way, and you can all get ‘quality time’ with your guys. How long has this thing with Jack been going for anyway?”<br>“A month and a half. He’s gagging for it, but I don’t know.”<br>“Do you love him?” Kalia asked.
“I think I could.”<br>“And are you ready to move the relationship on?”<br>Phoebe thought for a second. “Yes, I am.”<br>“Then next time, go for it.” Kalia replied.
“I cannot believe my relationships have got to a stage where I need a teenager to tell me what to do with my sex life.” Phoebe grumbled jokily, “Now, go to sleep.”<br>Kalia went back to bed with a grin on her face.

“I don’t understand it.” Piper said to Paige, “Kalia’s been here for almost a month, and we’ve only had the regular demon attacks. If this demon guy is after her, why hasn’t he attacked by now?”<br>“I don’t know.” Paige replied, “You know, her birthday is coming up.”<br>“No, I didn’t. Did she tell you?”
“Not exactly. I asked Darryl to look up the missing persons files for New York, around the time she disappeared, and then look for her name. There was a file on her. It also talks about her relatives.”<br>“What does it say? Is there anyone who could take her in?”<br>“In her parents’ will, they asked her aunt and uncle to take care of her, but they’ve died. They had a daughter though, Kalia’s cousin. She’s 22.”<br>“What are you guys talking about?” Phoebe asked, walking in.
“Paige has found one of Kalia’s relatives.” Piper replied.
“Yeah, and I was wondering if we should get in touch with her. What do you guys think?”<br>“Bad idea.” Phoebe replied, “We need to wait until this whole magic thing blows over. Slater is going to attack, and it would be irresponsible of us to reunite her with long lost relatives now.”<br>“I agree. She needs to be here until we’ve sorted this out. The book even said that.” Piper interjected.
“You guys are right, but I feel bad knowing this and not telling her.” Paige said, looking guilty.
“We will tell her the moment this all sorts itself out.” Piper replied decisively.
“If it does.” Phoebe added, “I trust Kalia, but we all know what the pull of evil can be. What if she can’t withstand it?”<br>“She will.” Paige said, though she sounded unsure, “She has to.”

Kalia was sitting with Leo in the living room.
“So, what else did they get up to?” She asked, delightedly. Leo had been telling her about the Charmed Ones more outrageous adventures.
“Hmm.” Leo thought about it for a moment, “Piper once killed me.”<br>“No way! But you’re already dead!” Kalia said, with disbelief.
“She and Phoebe were evil at the time.” Leo explained.
“They’ve been evil?”
“Oh yeah, loads of times, all three of them. But they always manage to get out of it, somehow. They remember the good in them, it’s too strong to be vanquished. You have that good in you too.”<br>“Yeah right. I mean, Phoebe told me about all the good their family has done. What has mine done? Most of them were demons!”
“But you’re not responsible for what they’ve done, it’s what you do that matters. The girls have faith in you. Now all you need is faith in yourself.” Leo put a hand on her arm, “Kalia, look at me.” She turned, and looked into his eyes, “Trust yourself. When the time comes, you’ll do the right thing.”<br>“What do you mean, ‘when the time comes?’” Kalia asked, suspicious.
“I mean, if you ever have to make a choice.” Said Leo, covering badly.
“You know something. What didn’t they tell me?” Kalia was beginning to get angry.
“What’s going on?” Piper said, striding in from the kitchen. She quickly eyed up the situation. “Leo, what did you say?”<br>“He said I’m going to turn evil, that’s what he said!” Kalia shouted.
“That is not what I said, and you know it Kalia.”<br>“I’m not listening to this.” Kalia said, and abruptly shimmered out.
“Why the hell did we help her get a handle on that power?” Piper asked, exasperated.

[mcharmed21]

“Ok, this is serious, we need to find her.” Kalia had been gone for almost a day, and Phoebe was beginning to panic.
“Pheebs, relax, she’ll be fine. Remember, you’ve been teaching her, and she has enough powers to take care of herself.” Piper said, though she sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than Phoebe.
“Not against Slater, what if he attacks her while we’re not there?”<br>“Phoebe, worrying won’t help.” Paige said, “We need to try scrying for her again.”<br>“She’s shimmering too fast. Every time we find her, she shimmers somewhere else. Last time she wasn’t even on the map. Look, we know her well enough by now to know that she’ll come back when she’s ready. The best thing we can do for now is wait.” At that moment, Kalia shimmered in. The girls all rushed over too her.
“Where have you been? – We were worried.” Paige said.
“I went back to New York.” At that moment, Pepper rushed in, barking like crazy, and leapt up at her. She smiled. “I missed you though.” She said, kneeling down to hug the dog. Tears came to her eyes. “I couldn’t find any of them. Everyone’s left. We’re on our own again girl.”<br>“But you’re not on your own, you’ve got us.” Piper said, crouching down beside her.
“No, I haven’t.” Kalia replied, standing up again. “If you lot cared about me, you would be honest, instead of lying.”<br>“Well, we’ll be honest with you now then, and maybe you’ll understand why we didn’t tell you everything. Come sit down.” Phoebe started walking towards the living room, then stopped, and turned back to wait for Kalia. She hesitated, then followed.
“So, what didn’t you guys tell me?” Kalia got straight to the point.
“That Slater is after you. That he’ll try and turn you evil.” Piper replied. Kalia took a deep breath.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” She asked.
“Well, when we first met you, you weren’t in a fit state to hear anything like that. You were already upset enough to hear that Slater was your ancestor. And, later on, we decided that it would be better if you chose without our influence.”<br>“So, basically, he’s going to come after me. And what happens if I choose good?”<br>“Then we can defeat him, together.”<br>“Or he’ll kill me.”<br>“We won’t let him.” Phoebe said, fiercely. Kalia suddenly began to cry.
“Hey honey, what’s wrong?” asked Piper, putting an arm around her. She looked up, saw all of their concerned faces, and managed a watery smile.
“You guys are willing to risk your lives to protect me. I don’t deserve it.”<br>“Hey, you’re bleeding.” Leo had spotted blood on Kalia’s sleeve.
“Oh yeah, I had a run in with a demon.” Kalia replied.
“And you’re talking about it like it’s no big deal? Kalia, this is serious.” Paige was stern.
“No it’s not, just another one of the henchmen after the locket again. I pulled a few of the moves you taught me, Pheebs.” Phoebe ducked her head to hide her smile.
“Look, just promise us you won’t run off again.” Piper wagged her finger at the teenager.
“Ok, ok, I won’t do it again.” She raised her hands in defeat.
“Here, let me heal that.” Leo reached out his hand and healed the cut on her arm.
“Thanks. Ok, I’m going to bed, it’s late.” Kalia headed upstairs.
“You know, I was looking forward to my kids growing up, going to school, becoming teenagers. Well, not any more.” Piper collapsed onto the sofa. Suddenly, a swirl of orbs appeared in the living room.
“Hey!” The girls watched as an Elder appeared. They knew him from previous Elder encounters as Randolph.
“Randolph, what are you doing here?” Leo asked.
“I’ve come to talk to all of you about something, though this will probably affect Phoebe more than the rest of you.”<br>“Why, what’s happening?” Phoebe asked, concerned.
“Look, this decision had nothing to do with me, or any of the other Elders." Randolph paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and continued, "Cole has been brought back.”<br>“What?!?!?” Everyone responded, hardly believing what they'd just heard.
“There are powers higher than the Elders, you know. The Powers That Be say that he still has more good to do on earth. They’ve removed his demonic half. He’s completely human now.”<br>“Well, where is he?” Phoebe was growing agitated. She had thought that Cole was out of her life, a collection of good and bad memories, nothing more. Now it seemed that he was back, and, human or not, she did not want to be with him anymore. She knew that not everything that happened between them was his fault, but they had been through too much, and in a relationship, you have to know when to say enough is enough. The problem was, Cole had never seemed to know.
“You won’t be seeing him, at least, not for a while. He’s in England.”<br>“England? Why England?” Piper asked.
“I don’t know, I’m just the messenger.” He started to orb out, then came back. “Oh, and they said that one day, your paths would cross with him again.” Then he orbed out.
“I cannot believe this. I thought he was gone.” Phoebe sat down in shock.
“Sweetie, we can’t worry about him now. Cole is all the way in England, and we have other things that need more immediate attention.”<br>“You’re right, you’re right. But if and when we do see each other again, I don't know what I'll say to him."

Kalia was lying on the bed in her room, thinking. She was frightened of the future. She wanted to be good, but faced with that choice, she didn’t know if she could be. She was descended from such a strong evil. If even The Charmed Ones had succumbed to evil, what chance did she have? And even if she did manage to resist, it wouldn’t do her any good, because Slater would just kill her anyway.
“Hello.” Kalia stood up abruptly. The voice was male and unfamiliar. Sure enough, a strange man, quite obviously a demon, was standing by her door. She immediately got into attack stance.
“Relax, I’m a relative.” The demon smiled nastily.
“You’re Slater?” Kalia asked, feeling a lump rise in her throat.
“Hardly. I’m merely one of his surviving descendants.”<br>“So, you’re one of the ones who fell for a mortal. Who was she?”<br>“None of your damn business!” The demon replied, and Kalia could tell she had touched a nerve.
“And you had a son with her, where’s he? Or was he vanquished?”<br>“My son was your grandfather, you miserable witch!” He replied, spitting his words. Kalia felt them, almost as a physical punch in the stomach. “And the first of Slater’s descendants without powers.” He continued. Kalia recovered herself.
“Then you must be very weak, it shouldn’t be too hard to get rid of you.” She pulled her arm back to shoot off some electricity.
“Not so fast.” She put her arm down, but remained battle ready, “I have some information for you. Slater doesn’t want to take you by force, but he will if he has to, and your new friends can’t stop him. They may be Charmed, but he’s stronger than they are. All that will happen if you don’t submit is that they will die, and you will be brought to Slater anyway. So, it’s your choice. Go to him, or he’ll come to you.” With that, the demon shimmered out.

Kalia didn’t know what to do. Her heart told her to go, to leave so her friends would be safe. But both her head and her instincts told her to stay, and tell the girls what happened. They would be able to help. Living on the streets, she had learnt to harden her heart, and to always do what her head told her, but this past month with the sisters had changed that. She was beginning to trust her emotions. However, over six years of following her head won over, and she went downstairs.
Paige was the first to spot her, and knew immediately knew that something was wrong. Kalia was white and shaking. She rushed to meet her at the bottom of the stairs, and had to catch her to keep her from falling.
“What’s happened? You’re shaking. Come and sit down.” Paige guided her to the sofa.
“There was a demon in my room.”
“Piper, Phoebe!” Paige called her sisters. They recognised the urgent tone of voice, and came running.
“Paige, what is it? Kalia what happened?”<br>“She met a demon.” Paige replied.
“Not just a demon. He was a relative of mine.” Kalia kept her eyes downcast.
“Was it Slater, did he try and get at you?” Phoebe sounded very worried.
“No, it was another one of his descendants, my great granddad, apparently, the last of Slater’s descendants with powers. He didn’t try to attack me.”<br>“Then what did he want?” Piper voiced the question on all of their lips.
“He told me, if I didn’t go to Slater willingly, then he… he would…” Kalia started crying again. “This is the second time today.” She laughed through her tears.
“Did he threaten you?” Paige put a comforting arm around the girl.
“No. He…”
“He threatened us, didn’t he?” Said Piper, guessing.
“And now he’s going to kill you, and it’s my fault.” Kalia stood abruptly. “I have to leave. This is all my fault; I’m putting you all in danger. I should go.”<br>“Kalia, look at me.” It was Piper who spoke.
“You sound like Leo.” She complained, but nevertheless, she locked eyes with Piper.
“None of this is your fault. You can’t help your destiny, or the greed and evil of others. You did the right thing in telling us. Now we can all work together, and figure this out.”<br>“You know, you guys can be really annoying when you’re right.” They all smiled. For the moment, at least, Kalia felt better about who she was.

[mcharmed21]

“This is hopeless, we’re getting nowhere.” Paige was very frustrated. The girls had been trying to find Slater, with no success.
“Maybe we should call it quits for tonight.” Piper suggested, “Kalia, you should go to bed, try and get some sleep.” Kalia was too tired to argue, and headed off to her room.
“Her birthday’s tomorrow you know. I forgot to mention it, what with her running away, and the demons.” Paige looked at her watch. “Actually, it’s technically right now. She was born at midnight, remember?” Suddenly, the book started flicking. Phoebe smiled.
“I love it when this thing does that. You never know if it’s mom, grams or just the book itself.” The three of them walked over, and looked at what was written on the page. Piper started reading.
“The Carpenters: A witch family that dates back to Melinda Warren. They were well renowned for their skills in creating spells, and vanquishing demons. Mary Carpenter and Melinda Warren were close friends, before Melinda died. The Carpenters owe the Warren’s a great debt. Mary took in Melinda’s daughter Prudence after Melinda was burned at the stake, and she and her own daughter, Jane, grew up very close. Prudence grew up, married and had children, however, Jane, though married, had no children. One day during a battle with a demon, Jane was put in danger, and Prudence sacrificed herself to save her friend, who had been like a sister. Soon after this, Jane got pregnant with her first child. As a consequence, The Carpenters have always been indebted to the Warrens for saving their line, and the favour must be repaid.”<br>“Ok, so what does any of this have to do with Slater?” Phoebe asked, puzzled.
“Maybe nothing.” Said Paige, and promptly walked out of the room. Piper and Phoebe looked at each other, then raced out after her.
“Wait! You know something, what do you know?” Piper asked, once they’d caught up.
“Shh!” Paige hissed, then pushed open the door to Kalia’s room. She was fast asleep on her bed. Paige crept over, and opened her bag.
“Paige, what are you doing?” Phoebe asked in an urgent whisper. Instead of answering, Paige pulled out the locket. Then they all crept out of the room, and back to the attic.
“Paige, you can’t just go through her private things like that!” Piper scolded.
“Look.” Paige said in reply, and opened the locket. “And an old family must be paid it’s due.” Realisation dawned on Phoebe, but Piper was confused.
“I don’t get it.”<br>“We’re the old family.” Phoebe replied, urgently, “And Kalia’s family are the Carpenters.”<br>“Her last name is Slater, all his descendants took his last name when they went into society. You remember, once she found out where it was from, she wanted to change it.”<br>“There are two sides to every family Piper.” Paige said. Piper’s eyes grew wide.
“Her mother! Oh my god. Ok, we need to work out what the book means when it says ‘the favour must be repaid’.”<br>“We also need to get Kalia a birthday present.” Paige said.
“This is hardly the time, we have more serious issues to contend with. And besides, what shops are going to be open past midnight?” Piper asked. Paige opened her mouth to respond. “Wait, don’t answer that!”<br>“I was going to orb to somewhere where it isn’t midnight.” Paige replied, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I would have talked to you about it today… or yesterday,” She corrected herself, “but we had that little crisis with the AWOL teenager, and now it’s too late to get anything here.”<br>“Just don’t go to England. I know our paths are destined to cross with Cole again, but I’m not ready for it quite yet.” Phoebe said.
“Pheebs, it would be five in the morning there anyway, that’s no good.”<br>“Ok Paige, you and Phoebe decide where you’re going, and go there. I’ll stay here.” Piper took charge.
“Are you sure?” Phoebe replied, “Because we could always get her something tomorrow… today, and give it to her later. It would be just as much of a surprise.”<br>“Yeah, but I like the idea of her waking up with presents, I get the feeling she hasn’t done that for a long time. Get something from each of us, and Leo. Oh, and orb that locket back.
“I can’t, or I would have orbed it up here. It has some kind of magical protection on it.”<br>“Ok then, give it to me, I’ll get it back, you two get the presents.”<br>“Right then.” Paige grabbed Phoebe’s arm, and started to orb out.
“Wait, where are we…” Phoebe began to ask, then she and Paige vanished in a swirl of orbs. Piper smiled to herself at her youngest sister’s impulsiveness, and went downstairs to put the locket back, and check on her babies.

[mcharmed21]

Slater was pacing up and down the cavern. He was beginning to get very angry. He had lost a lot of minions to get this girl used to killing, and now those stupid witches had got hold of her, it had completely negated whatever work he had done in making her evil. It meant that he would have to give her a crash course once he got hold of her. At that moment, the demon who had contacted Kalia shimmered in.
“Daniel,” Said Slater, feigning concern, “did the little witchy hurt you?”<br>“I told you, my name is Mordeo.” The demon snapped back, annoyed.
“Oh yes, because the name your mummy gave you isn’t good enough, Daniel. If you weren’t a relative I’d… Anyway, what happened? She was supposed to have come down here by now!”<br>“She went to the sisters.” Mordeo looked down at his feet.
“SHE WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!? HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?”<br>“My lord, I was not responsible. I only delivered your message, I could not control what the witch did about it.”<br>“You…” Slater made to strike Mordeo, but then drew back, a curious look on his face.
“We are looking at this all wrong, Daniel. It is not a bad thing.”<br>“It’s not?” Mordeo was confused.
“Come tomorrow, you will see, Daniel. You will see.”<br>
UPDATED PART:

Kalia woke up that morning to see something wonderful. Presents! She rushed to the end of the bed, and began opening them, her eyes shining with excitement. She read the first card. The present was from Phoebe. Kalia smiled. It was a pair of boots, very sophisticated and stylish, very Phoebe. She tried them on, then stood in front of the wardrobe mirror, preening. Then she rushed back over to the bed to open the next one. It was from Piper. This present was very different from the last one. It was a teddy. She smiled again, and hugged it close, but she couldn’t help feeling a little sad. It had been so long since she had had a soft toy. It was the perfect present from Piper. Then there was Paige. After she tore it open, she sat on the bed, looking at the makeup set, and wondering what to use. She had never worn makeup before.
“I’ll help you with that.” Paige poked her head round the door. Kalia got up, and hugged her.
“Thank you all so much, this is the best birthday I’ve had in a long time.”<br>
“Phoebe, how could you make me call you in China to tell you what present I wanted? That call will have cost a fortune!”<br>“Well you did say go anywhere. And it’s not like you’ve never had to call there before. Remember, Jason?”<br>“I think that was Hong Kong.” Leo corrected her.
“Whatever, my point is…” At that moment, Kalia and Paige walked down the stairs. She was wearing the boots, and had her makeup done expertly by Paige. She was also wearing the top that the girls had gotten her from Leo. Piper smiled.
“I didn’t recognise you for a minute. You look way too old for teddies now.”<br>“It was brilliant. Thank you.” Kalia walked over and hugged her.
“Careful!” Paige warned, but it was too late. Kalia had got foundation on Piper’s top. Piper looked at it, and laughed.
“I’ll go get changed.” She said, and headed upstairs. Kalia then turned to Phoebe and Leo, and hugged and thanked each of them for their presents.
“But I’ll bet it wasn’t you who picked out that top, Leo.” She joked.
“How’d you figure that out?” He asked. Kalia eyed him up and down.
“I wouldn’t have thought you’d have taste that good.” Phoebe and Paige cracked up.
“What is everyone laughing at?” Piper asked, coming down with a new top on. Then her eyes widened. “Look out!” She yelled, but it was too late. As Phoebe and Paige turned, the demons attacked. One of them telekinetically threw Phoebe into a wall, and she fell, unconscious and bleeding. The other stabbed Paige in the gut. Her eyes widened, and she sank to the floor.
“Paige, Phoebe!” Kalia yelled, and she, Piper and Leo all rushed forward. But another demon shimmered in behind Kalia, grabbed her, and shimmered out.

[mcharmed21]

“Leo! Quick!” Piper yelled, pointing to Paige. Leo rushed to her, and started to heal her. Piper ran to Phoebe.
“Oh my god! Leo, her neck, I think it’s broken!” Piper was in hysterics. “Leo, you have to heal her.”<br>“I need to heal Paige!” Leo hesitated, then made a decision. Leaving Paige half healed, and hoping it would be enough, he turned his attention to Phoebe. He put his hands over her, and began to heal. Piper rushed over to Paige, and attempted to stem the blood flow the normal way, through pressure to the wound. Leo had healed her enough so the blood wasn’t gushing, but she was still bleeding profusely.
“Leo, what is taking so long?” Piper asked.
“She’s hurt really badly.” At that moment, Phoebe’s neck snapped back into place, and she took a long, shuddering breath. Leo at once rushed over to Paige, not stopping to ask Phoebe how she was. He finished healing the other sister, but the blood was still left on his wife’s hands.
“Piper,” Phoebe said quietly, sitting up, “what happened to Kalia?” For the first time, Piper looked around, and realised that the girl was missing. Then she remembered the demon appearing behind her.
“They got her, didn’t they?” Paige asked the question, but they all already knew the answer. Piper’s face was set.
“We have to get her back.”<br>
Kalia was sitting in a cavern in the underworld. In front of her was a table. A nail had been driven through her hand, and deep into the wood. She had been trying to shimmer away, but to no avail, and she couldn’t telekinetically remove it. She gritted her teeth, and tried to ignore the pain. Then she opened her eyes, and glared up into the face of Slater.
The demon looked down at his captive, and saw the strength that her years on the street had given her. He admired it, but it was a mixed blessing. It could either be a barrier to what he wanted to do, or it could be a major asset.
“So, what are you going to do with me?” the teenager asked, daring and menace glinting in her eyes. Slater waved his hand, and a holographic image appeared. It showed Phoebe flying into the wall, and Paige being stabbed.
“You see that? You did that. You have gotten your friends killed, when all you had to do was come with me willingly.”<br>“No. No, they are not dead.” Kalia shut her eyes, refusing to believe it. Slater telekinetically forced them open. But this time there was a different image. She saw her mother and father’s deaths. Over and over again.
“You’re responsible for this too, you know. If you weren’t powerful, your father wouldn’t have become evil, and your mother wouldn’t have had to kill him. And die.”<br>“No, no, no!” Kalia shook her head furiously, tears running down her cheeks. She sobbed violently, and tried to shut her eyes. Slater kept them open. She blurred her vision, but she could still see it. Her parent’s deaths, again and again. Then she felt something else awaken. Beneath the terrible sadness, came a spark of colossal anger, and hatred.
“You can feel it, can’t you Kalia? You can feel me inside you. You can feel the hate, and the evil. Let it consume you, Kalia, give into it. You’ll never have to feel grief or loss again. You won’t believe the freedom, the power.” And as he spoke, Kalia felt the evil rise. She fought, hard. But she suddenly thought how easy it would all be. To never feel anything again but power. To never lose anyone again. Even as her resolve grew weaker, the hate grew stronger. And with the hate, came an almost indomitable evil.